After I made my mind to go to Fara town, I started walking through the narrow path of the dense forest that connects to the Fara’s mountain range.
To reach my destination I started moving steadily towards the south.
It was peaceful as I didn’t encounter any monsters.
（But I will be troubled if this peace continues）
If I want to eat something, I need to find at least one animal.
Monster-san, you can come out whenever you want〜
I will let you spend a night in my stomach…
Come, into the sea of stomach acid.
Come into the dreamland, the place where you will dissolve from how comfortable you will feel.
「Monster〜 Monster〜」
Even though I long to find monsters, I don’t feel the presence of one.
Since at first glance I look weak, I thought that they would take the initiative and come to attack me.
「…………」
I got depressed because of what I just said.
I’m now somewhat bored.
Even though it seems fresh at first, the same scenery has already tired me.
Thanks to the rain that left all this sticky soil I can’t advance at all! Damn you all!
I contradict myself with every step I take.
Oh,that’s right, I’ve noticed several things as I walk.
I have short legs.
Each step I take is short.
Now I understand the value of my missing wings.
Ah, my mobility is decreasing sharply…
The mountains are still far away.
Now I’m a little hungry.
Uu, this may take longer than expected.
Anyway, I have to walk, walk and walk even more.
The leaves and branches prickled my feet as I continued to walk.
Ye〜ah, I wouldn’t have to go through this kind of situation if I could fly. But if this kind of situation repeats itself, then I have to get shoes.
Although I can clean my dirtiness if I use water magic.
It would be easier to walk if I had shoes.
They also need to be waterproof.
When I reach town, with the money I’ll earn working, I’ll have to buy shoes.
I began to imagine what my life would be like once I arrived at the town, while absentmindedly walking.
After a whole night walking, two days after I started my journey… I was finally able to see the foot of the mountain.
It seems that my sense of distance was a little off…
Well, it’s not about if my sense of distance is correct or not… I’ve never traveled on foot so I would not know if I was right or not.
Leaving that aside, I’m hungry.
It’s about damn time for you monsters to appear.
Don’t tell me, I’ll have to get to the point of eating soil to survive…?
No… It could have a good taste.
After all, I’m a gargoyle made of minerals as base.
Eh, the same as the… soil? It could work.
（If it works, I won’t have to worry about food anymore for life!）
Wait wait! Hunger made my thoughts go in a dangerous direction.
I shook my head, driving away the dangerous ideas that came to my mind.
I thought I would be okay not eating for five days, but…
The second day has not even ended, and hunger is already making me weaker.
Now that I think about it, I have resistance against a variety of magic, such as poison, fire, water, light and darkness, but not hunger… It can’t be helped, I have never experienced hunger.
Around here, in addition to wyverns, there should be lesser orcs.
I wonder why none appear?
Did any abnormality happen to the forest due to Rannu’s death?
Please, monsters-san.
Please, come out quickly.
I pray for the appearance of monsters.
It’s alright, everything is alright, I’m sure we’ll meet.
Let’s pray… let’s pray. Come!
『Uwaaaaaaaaa!』
Uooo, it’s heeeeeere!
The high pitched voice of a woman could be heard ahead on the road,
It came! The long-awaited monster has appeared!
Although judging by the scream, it might not be a monster, but bandits or a molester.
A sense of justice ran through my body as I thought about how I would benefit from the situation.
I hurriedly rushed towards the direction of the scream.
A young goblin and slime were being attacked by three wyverns from the sky.
「…………」
What woman? Where is she?
A male, the goblin. How could I make such a terrible mistake?
I wonder if my hearing got bad.
I’m sure I got him wrong since he is still young and his voice hasn’t changed yet.
W-Well, it’s my long awaited monster.
It’s not a problem, let’s ignore what I have heard.
No matter how I look at them, there are not perverts around here.
「Hiiii!」
Although they aren’t the heroines that I had anticipated so much, let’s save them for the time being.
I’m not a good person, I just don’t want to see a corpse.
I’m sure they will come to attack me once they finish with them.
One of the wyverns started to descend quickly towards the goblin.
「Suuu!」
Listening to the scream of a male goblin doesn’t make me happy at all, well, even if it were one a female goblin it wouldn’t make any difference.
I started casting magic barrier around the goblin who was being attacked.
Aiming my hand towards the goblin, I invoke the magic water, 『Water Barrier』 .
A transparent membrane of water started surrounding the goblin and the slime.
The elasticity of the water membrane can return to a certain extent part of the enemy attack.
Though it’s useless against thrusting attacks of a certain level, it has no problem withstanding the wyvern’s claw.
「It should be fine now. If you don’t want to die don’t leave that membrane」
「Eh, ah…」
Dumbfounded, the male goblin couldn’t realize what had happened just now.
In order to protect the goblin, I stood in front of the wyvern.
「Anyway, you don’t seem to be injured」
「You… are?」
Seeing that their attacks were useless against my barrier, the wyvers started to glare at me.
Their sharply eyes were shining while looking at me.
It seems that I made them angry.
Normally I would let them go… but…
But right now my body calls for food. I can’t turn a blind eye.
And besides, it seems like they hate me.
Let’s quickly put this in order.
Bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa, bassabassa. (SFX: Flapping wings)
「…………」
Stop flapping your wings…
Stop flapping unnecessarily your wings, are you all boasting? Eh!? Are you!?
You all sure are cheeky being only low ranked dragons.
Maybe, the gargoyles of a few days ago and now these wyvers, are all laughing from the sky at me who has become a ground war specialist?
Aaah, these guys are angering me.
「Be prepared to die!」
Now, how should I take care of them?
I could use a wide range magic, but if I were to do that, it would harm the precious meat.
Taking advantage of me being absorbed in my thoughts, the wyverns started to descend again.
Hey, you act too fast!
（Close combat? Better for me!）
Wyverns are specialists in attacking at high speed.
However, no matter how fast they move, for me they are nothing more than snails.
「Take a look at this!」
I brandished my claws towards the flying wyvern neck, stopping its advance.
Without realizing that it had lost its neck, the wyvern fell to the ground, dying.
The other wyverns, surprised at the death of their friend, spread their wings, and quickly began to escape.
（You think I would let you all escape?）
『Water cutter』
Two blades of water were fired at high speed.
Their target, the neck of the remaining two wyverns.
The two remaining wyverns necks were also completely separated by the water blades.
What was left in their place were three neckless wyverns bodies lying on the ground.
I may have been a bit cruel, I’m sorry for that.
But again, this is how mother nature works.
Now that I think about it, there was no need to hunt three wyverns.
(It’s time)
Now that I have obtained my food, it’s my long-awaited meal time.
U~mu.
How should I eat it?
Naturally I don’t have cooking skills.
If possible, I would like to roast it or boil it but…
I can’t use fire magic.
Guguuuu~ my empty stomach roars.
I’m sorry, endure it a bit longer.
I can’t make my stomach wait any longer.
As expected, I have no choice but to eat it raw.
For now, let’s start with the most tender part, the stomach…
It doesn’t look very tasty, but let’s get with it.
「Well then, itadakimasu」
「Wait a minute!!」
As I resolved myself to put the wyvern meat in my mouth, the young goblin that I had rescued, in a hurry interrupted me.
Right, I had forgotten that I had rescued him.
「What? Have you come to interrupt a person’s meal? Or have you come to appeal that your meat is more tasty than the wyvern and you wish for me to eat you?」
Since my meal was interrupted, I got a bit irritated.
「Hii! I beg your pardon, please don’t eat me. I just came to tell you that you have to extract the poison of the wyvern meat before eating it」
「Extract the poison?」
「Yes. Wyvern’s internal organs contains poison. The organs need to be removed and sun-dried for about a week before it’s edible」
「Eh… For real? Then I must wait for a week?」
「Yes, but it really surprised me, I didn’t think you would eat the meat raw without first extracting the blood」
「I see, I’m sorry for what I did. Thanks for telling me」
I have lived for a long time, but I really have no idea of anything that is not combat-related.
「No, you have saved my life. Forgive me for introducing myself late, I’m Daidarian, and this slime here is called Baum. Thanks for helping me when I was in danger」
A quite polite child is this goblin-kun.
「Even so, It’s really amazing that you can defeat this amount of wyverns. They should be the strongest monsters around here」
「After all I have lived for 1500 years, my combat experience is not ordinary」
「Eh? Wait wait wait, I’m sorry but no matter what, that is impossible」
He didn’t believe me.
If I were in his position I too wouldn’t be able to believe that a gargoyle has lived for more than 1500 years.
And if I were to appeal that it’s true instead it would sound even faker, besides it would be troublesome thing to do. Let’s leave it as a misunderstanding.
「By the way, what do you plan to do with those wyverns?」
What should I do?
I have resistance against poison so there would be no problem even if I wanted to eat it.
But knowing that it contains poison, my desire to eat it went away.
It’s also true that I need to put some food in my stomach.
As expected, I have to eat it regardless of the poison?
「U~m, this meat has poison」
「That’s right…」
「It takes a week to extract the poison to make it edible」
「That’s right…」
「But even so, if you are hungry, you have no choice but to endure the poison and eat it」
「But I telling you the poison will kill you!」
But he told me that.
After not eating for a day, I have become this.
If I have to endure for a week, I will starve to death.
「Um, I have a suggestion, wouldn’t you mind letting me dismantle it?」
「But no matter how you look at it, a week would be…」
「It’s true, but if it is only to separate the poison, the slime that I bring with me should be able. I only need a couple of hours」
「What!」
Why, why didn’t you tell me sooner!
If you had told me, I would have treated the meat more carefully!
「Yes… It’s just that the slime is in a weakened condition and since there is no river nearby it can not rehydrate itself. If this continues, it will dry up completely. That’s why…」
「I see… In other words, you want me to re-hydrate it using water magic?」
「Yes… could you please be able to do it? I really apologize for asking you this after you saved our lives. 」
「Of course, I don’t mind」
It’s a cheap compensation for being able to have a meal.
「Th-Thank you very much! Good for you, Baum」
Daidalian tightly hugged the slime he carried in his arms.
『Pi…pigiii….』
It seems that the goblin and the slime understand each other.
Since I’m not using telepathy I don’t understand what the slime says.
It seems that they too were recently freed from Rannu’s slave magic.
All this time after leaving Rannu’s castle, Daidarian protected weakened Baum until they reached this place.
Not having a river nearby, and with the magic path cut, the slime was left with no source of food to keep on living.
Even so, I think that this pair, goblin and slime, did a good job surviving until now,
While Daidalian is dismantling the wyvern
I started giving water to the slime at once.
I feel good because in a little while I will be able to eat.
