I created a bear light and light up the cave.
"You really like bears, don't you?" (Marne)
Marne-san said, looking at the bear's light.
I didn't know how many times I'd said that, so I wouldn't deny it.
"I prepared some light just in case." (Marne)
Saying this, Marne-san took out something like a lantern and a flashlight from her item bag.
"Marne-san, you can use magic, right?" (Yuna)
"Only basic magic. So, although I can use light magic, I tend to use magic tools." (Marne)
Marne-san hanged the lantern on her waist.
It seemed to be just in case.
It seemed like she's thinking about various scenarios: what if I were to leave her, or if my light magic were to disappear?
Kumayuru and Kumakyu, carrying Marne-san and me, entered the cave.
The bear's light illuminated the cave.
"Adventurers can even enter caves like this, huh?" (Yuna)
"Monster subjugation, precious herbs, or ore; adventurers have different reasons." (Marne)
I got into gaming for similar reasons.
"More importantly, why are you asking me, a researcher? You're an adventurer, aren't you?" (Marne)
"That's true, but I was wondering why you would willingly go into such a damp, dark place." (Yuna)
"Well, I agree with that." (Marne)
The inside of the cave was lit up thanks to the bear's light.
With it being this bright, we shouldn't be attacked by a snake suddenly.
I checked my detection skill.
Snake's reaction was nearby.
Looking in the direction of the reaction, we saw a serpent, Snake, coiled up in the shade of a small rock, sticking out its long tongue and looking at us.
I didn't know if it's because of Marne-san's medicine or because of Kumayuru and Kumakyu, but they didn't seem to be coming any closer.
As I walked along, carefully observing my surroundings, I heard the rustling sound of something flying from above.
"Yuna, up." (Marne)
Marne-san also seemed to have noticed and looked up.
I looked up and saw countless bats hanging from the ceiling, occasionally flying around.
I checked my detection skill, but there's no reaction.
In other words, bats were not monsters.
"I feel ill" (Marne)
When Marne-san saw the bat stuck to the ceiling, she made a face as if she was looking at something she disliked.
I didn't like bats any more than I like snakes.
In the first place, there were probably not many people who say they like bats.
That rat-like face and those creepy wings.
If I had to choose between keeping a bird or a bat, I'd definitely choose a bird.
"Have they not seen us?"
Maybe it seemed that way because it's scary.
The thought crossed my mind that I should probably exterminate them, but then dead bats would start falling like rain, and that would be pretty disgusting.
Even if I avoided the falling bats, I would end up with a lot of dead bats on the ground.
I didn't want to walk over them.
It's Kumayuru and Kumakyu who were walking, but it's best to stay apart.
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu, we'll run through." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu took off running, and the bats chased after us, making a rustling sound behind.
It seemed that they realized we were their preys by running away.
"Yuna!" (Marne)
Marne-san cried.
The bats attacked.
Their mouths were wide open, with their fang bared.
Were you going to bite me?!
I used wind magic to create a small tornado.
A small tornado formed inside the cave, sucking the bats in.
If they attacked, I would show no mercy.
The wings of the bats were carved by the blades of wind. When the tornado was stopped, a large number of bats fell to the ground.
If they lost their wings, they couldn't fly.
"By the way, can bats be used as medicine?" (Yuna)
"I don't use them." (Marne)
Apparently, she didn't harvest them.
I didn't want to collect them in the bear box either, so I decided to leave them there.
As we moved away from the bat that had fallen to the ground, Snake, who was nearby, started to move.
I braced myself, but it moved behind us.
I turned around and headed towards the bats whose wings had been carved, rendering it unable to fly.
And I saw things I didn't want to see.
Snake opened its mouth wide and swallowed the bat whole.
"Ugh." (Yuna)
"Yuna, what's wrong?" (Marne)
"Marne-san, don't look behind you." (Yuna)
Even though I warned her, Marne-san turned around and looked.
"Ugh." (Marne)
Marne-san had the same reaction as me.
"That's what I said." (Yuna)
"If you're told not to look, it's going to bother me." (Marne)
Well, I agreed with that.
Even I, when I was told "Don't look," I thought "Why?" and ended up looking, out of curiosity.
The correct response here might had been "It's nothing."
I looked behind me again.
The number of bats was decreasing and the number of Snake was increasing.
By the time I returned, the bat had disappeared and maybe Snake's stomach was full.
I felt a little sorry for the bats, but it's in their own fault for attacking.
If they hadn't attacked me, I would have left them alone.
Despite witnessing this act of survival of the fittest, I continued on into the cave.
We turned right, went down a little, turned right again, and went up the hill.
There were Snake here and there, but they wouldn't attack.
"There are a lot of Snake, huh?"
Snakes could be found on walls and rocks.
"Maybe it's better to defeat them?" (Yuna)
They wouldn't come close, so I could defeat them by simply attacking them with magic from a distance.
"By the way, can Snake be used for medicine?" (Yuna)
"It's not used for medicine. I think it might be a food ingredient for adventurers. I've never tried it, but I hear it's pretty tasty." (Marne)
I'd heard of snake eating.
But that didn't mean I could just kill it, butchered it, cooked it, and ate it on the spot.
First of all, I couldn't butcher a snake.
Could it be done by Fina?
I moved forward with these thoughts in mind.
Occasionally bats flew overhead and Snake kept an eye on the situation, but apart from the bat attacks, everything was going smoothly.
Meanwhile, Marne-san spoke up.
"Kya" (Marne)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu, carrying us, came to a halt and I looked around.
There was nothing.
"Sorry, I was just surprised by the water falling from above." (Marne)
Sure enough, drops of water were falling from above.
Apparently, the droplet of water had unfortunately landed on Marne-san's neck.
When I looked at the detection skill, I noticed some interesting reactions.
Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumayuru seemed to have noticed and cried.
"Kumayuru, what's wrong? A monster?" (Marne)
Marne-san asked, since Kumayuru's reaction was the same as if he had found a monster.
"It looks like there's someone up ahead." (Yuna)
There were two human reactions.
"Human? An adventurer perhaps?" (Marne)
The entry and exit of the forest were free.
It wouldn't be strange if there were adventurers.
Personally, I didn't want to meet them because it would be a hassle.
The detection skill didn't seem to detect them, as they're a little far away, so we wouldn't be meeting anytime soon.
Above all, detection skills couldn't tell whether a person's reaction meant they're inside the cave or outside.
There was no reaction, so perhaps they were taking a break.
"What should I do if we encounter one?" (Yuna)
"You can't get involved with that. The adventurers you meet aren't necessarily good ones. If you get attacked in a place like this, no one will help you, and if you get killed, you can get eaten by monsters and the evidence can be destroyed." (Marne)
Certainly, they were not all good adventurers like Jade-san and Blitz and their party.
In every profession there were good and bad people.
"It's no good to doubt. It's also dangerous to trust."
For the time being, we decided to wait and see if we met.
While we were progressing smoothly without being attacked by monsterss or bats, Kumayuru and Kumakyu stopped moving and started to cry "Kyuu~n."
"What?" (Yuna)
Marne-san was surprised.
I quickly used my detection skill to confirm.
People's reactions were changing.
Fast-moving
Were they running?
Following that was one of Snake's reactions.
Were they running away from Snake?
So, they couldn't kill even one Snake?
It's possible that they were not adventurers but ordinary people, but I couldn't imagine there were ordinary people in this deep forest.
"What are these kids saying?" (Marne)
"People are fleeing from Snake and coming here." (Yuna)
"…………!?" (Marne)
Marne-san pondered my words.
"What should I do?" (Yuna)
My job was to guard Marne-san.
I couldn't just act on my own.
"Although I told you earlier that it would be best not to get involved, I don't want to abandon them." (Marne)
"So, are we going to help?" (Yuna)
Marne-san shook her head.
"But I can't fight, so I can't say I'll go and help. But I can't ask Yuna to fight. But..." (Marne)
It seemed like she was reluctant to abandon them.
I didn't want to see any dead bodies along the way either.
"By the way, I can defeat something like Snake easily." (Yuna)
I said this as if giving Marne-san a push.
It's for my own sake too.
"That's right. There are some medicines that Snake dislikes. Maybe we won't have to fight." (Marne)
I made Kumayuru and Kumakyu run.
"Run fast" (A man)
"It's no longer possible" (A woman)
A man's voice and a woman's voice echoed through the cavern.
Furthermore, the sound of something heavy crawling could be heard.
I had a bad feeling about this.
"Kumakyu, hurry up!" (Yuna)
Kumakyu, which I was riding, and Kumayuru, which Marne-san was riding, accelerated.
"Yuna, I saw them." (Marne)
Perhaps because she had elven blood in her veins, she discovered them before I did.
And a few seconds after Marne-san said that, I could see them too.
Two people were running.
Behind them was a giant serpent chasing them.
The detection skill displayed Snake.
So, if the monsters were different sizes, their name changed.
Author's Note
The 12th volume of the comic has been released.
There are also special benefits for in-store purchases.
Also, if there are any readers who are thinking of purchasing the entire series, if you purchase it from mangazenkan.com, you will receive a limited edition acrylic stand of Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
For more details, please visit mangazenkan.com.
*Sorry. For the time being, I will only post on Sundays.
[Book release schedule]
Book volume 20.5 was released on May 2, 2024. (The next volume, volume 21, is planned and in the works.)
The 12th volume of the comic was released on August 3, 2024. (The release date of the next volume has not yet been decided.)
The second volume of the comic spin-off was released on March 5, 2024.
The paperback version, volume 10, was released on May 2, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring Yuna and Sanya on the cover is August 20, 2024. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The next volume, volume 11, is currently in the works.)
Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.
Update History
25 Aug 2024: the author changed the number of the adventurers (after it's been released for 2 weeks), from 4 people to 2 people.