"...What do you mean?" (Reina)
Crimson Vow left the village and heads towards the "Forbidden Forest".
"Perhaps there are some villagers who are not happy with our presence. And not just a few, but a significant number of people. And that includes children..." (Mavis)
Reina and Mavis talked with serious looks on their faces as they walked.
"It doesn't seem like it's just a factional dispute within the village or anything like that. If it was just a simple factional dispute, children wouldn't have been dragged into it, and they wouldn't have hated us or attacked us. We are merely workers who have been hired to exterminate monsters." (Pauline)
"Normally, a small village wouldn't gain from making the hunters and guild its enemies..." (Mile)
Pauline and Mile were right.
No matter how many conflicts there were within the village, they would never involve outsiders...especially merchants or the Hunter Guild. Doing so would be a major disadvantage to the entire village.
"Well, that's not something we know about. We only receive requests from villagers who are in trouble because their precious livestock is under attack, and we hunt them down regardless of whether they are monsters or wild animals. We have nothing to do with factional disputes within the village." (Reina)
The three of them nodded in agreement at Reina's words.
That's right. Hunters only had to carry out the requests they received.
As long as the request was reasonable and did not deceive or trap the Hunter...
Sincere wishes would be answered with sincerity and success.
And wickedness would be meted out with retribution.
That was what a Hunter was.
"...And that's why we came to the Forbidden Forest..."
It seemed that they were not lost, but were the victim of a pack of wolves. The forest where they lived was not far from the village. It was about an hour and a half walk away.
However, they didn't want to stay the night in the village, so they left at an awkward time, and if they went into the forest now, it would get dark very quickly. So...
"Let's camp here tonight and go into the forest tomorrow." (Reina)
Mile and the others nodded in agreement with Reina's decision.
And of course, in the evening we have dinner, a bath, and some Japanese folk stories.
There were nearly 10 hours between sunset and sunrise. Of course, that was too long to sleep the whole time.
Although they were on the edge of the forest, sound and smell were magically shielded so it's not a problem.
For a normal Hunter, this would be the smell of cooking, but it could also be the "Soft, delicious smell of a young human woman" or even the smell that attracted monsters or wild beasts.
And the next day.
As soon as they got light, Crimson Vow entered the "Forbidden Forest."
However, even though it was bright outside, that was before they entered the forest.
This was a virgin forest that was not managed and had not been pruned or thinned, so it was dim even during the day.
And it's a forest where no one could enter...
Thud!
Creak!
Splash!
"The preys are delicious..." (All CV)
Yes, there were a lot of monsters and normal animals.
There were a variety of animals, from small to large, as well as monsters, and the absence of "Humans, the irregular species that hunt more prey than they can eat and destroy the balance of the ecosystem," so the population was probably reasonably balanced.
"It's not just orcs, but deer, boar, cattle and other animals you can hunt, which is delicious. Both for eating and for selling..." (Mile)
Yes, as Mile said, unlike monsters that multiply quickly no matter how much you hunted them, normal animals like deer, boar, and cattle were tasty and could be sold for a high price. And they rarely attacked humans.
As a result, they had been hunted to extinction near human settlements and their numbers were low, and if they were hunted far away, the transportation was difficult and the meat would spoil during the transport, so although the meat was popular, there was not much stock available.
But here, there was a lot of hunting, and thanked to Mile's item box, there was no need to worry about transportation or durability. And there were no other hunters or hunters, so it was a hunting ground that was just made for the Crimson Vow.
"It really is like it was made for us..." (Mile)
Mile paused, as if he had just realized something.
"...What's wrong?" (Reina)
And when something seemed strange about Mile, Reina immediately noticed.
"Ah, well... this is definitely the 'Forbidden Forest', right?" (Mile)
"That was the name..."
"Doesn’t that mean that humans shouldn’t enter? Is there some reason it was named that? Maybe it’s because of legends, religious taboos, or maybe it’s dangerous…? Was it okay for us to go in?" (Mile)
"Ah……" (Other 3)
It's too late now.
"N-no, it's because we were asked to exterminate the wolves that live in this forest..." (Mavis)
Mavis said that, sounding a little impatient.
"But in that case, wouldn't it have been better to wait in the village and ambush the wolves when they came to attack the livestock? If that's the case, then we can be sure that we can fight back against those who attack the village's livestock, right? But the village chief and his people made us go into the forest to hunt them down. A vast forest where there might be other herds that don't come to the village, and where we might not encounter the herds that do come to the village... Well, I have exploration magic, so I think we can manage somehow. So, I didn't particularly object to what the village chief said. I'm sure the same is true for you all, right? But, the village chief doesn't know anything about my exploration magic, so why didn't we choose an interception strategy that would definitely capture the swarm approaching the village?" (Mile)
"Ah……" (Other 3)
If it was okay to enter in order to hunt, then it was not a "Forbidden Forrest," it would be an "Allowed Forest."
"So, the villagers who were hostile towards us didn't want us to enter this forest?" (Reina)
"Is it something taboo in the village? Or is it that they don't want their treasure trove of profitable prey and harvested goods to be plundered..." (Mile)
Mavis and Pauline were pondering the conversation between Reina and Mile.
It took an hour and a half to walk to the village empty-handed. It would take even longer to carry the prey, but these were not weak townsfolk. If they were carrying something valuable, it would be no problem.
That was, provided hunting and gathering in the forest was permitted...
"Could it be because we are young women? Adult men are not allowed to enter the forest full time as a livelihood, but women and children are allowed to enter occasionally and share in the forest's bounty... It's not uncommon to hear stories of gods and spirits being tolerant of children and women... Did they choose to send us into the forest because we happened to be the ones given the job? If we fail and another hunter has to try again, the chances of a female party coming are very low. Since we can only resort to counterattack tactics from now on, we decided to send them into the forest this time... Even if we fail this time, it will just mean that the request was unsuccessful, so there will be no financial loss for the village." (Pauline)
Everyone again nodded in agreement at Pauline's opinion.
Certainly, if the request failed and the hunter had to be changed, there would be no major drawbacks for the village, other than the loss of time.
Only children are allowed to enter the forbidden forest...
...'Forbidden Kids'!! (Mile's mind)
And Mile was thinking about something the others didn't quite understand...