Vol 2 Chapter 13 (2/2)
“……?”
I was confused at the sudden change in topic, and the lady explained their circumstances to me
According to what she said, their hoed by the spread of disease, and they had come here as travelers to try and help the people back at ho their fur and fangs in the large countries nearby to earn the money needed to buy medicine to cure the epidemic in their homeland
As they carried out their hunting and got rid of the Giant Foxes that werethe area, rumors of their exploits traveled like wildfire to all the nearby countries, and soon enough, they were receiving commissions from those countries to wipe out the Giant Foxes in the area
In any case, in the three months since they had left their homeland, these people had amassed a considerable amount of wealth The lady told me this with a proud look on her face
She also told me that she couldn’t wait to use the money that they had earned to help their friends ere suffering back home
The lady went to cart that aiting nearby, brought back a pouch, and placed it on my hand I could feel that it was fairly heavy
Looking inside, I saw that it was packed full of some powder It’s probably some kind of medicine
“This is the medicine”
I was right
“By the way, Witch-san… I’ you directions, but would you be willing to do so for me while you continue to travel?”
I tilted my head
“If your travels bring you to our village at so to deliver this to the head of our village? We need to stay here and continue to hunt for some time yet”
“Are you really okay with handing this over to a traveler like me?”
“You don’t look like a bad person, after all”
“…You’re too trusting”
Well, it’s not like I’d steal it or anything It’s of no use to me
What’s ive me directions, so there’s that as well
“Can you tell me where that country is?”
Hearing me say that, the lady was overly happy
“Thank you! That would really help a lot! Let’s see, our country is—”
Saying that, she looked down at the ain
After several seconds,
She froith her fingeraround a particular spot on the map
“Hmm? It’s not drawn on the map It’s supposed to be around here somewhere—”
Her finger was pointing to a place near the edge of the map
That was a place that I had visited once before
………
“I’o in that direction After I reach the nearest country, I plan to keep traveling in the direction opposite to the direction in which your home country lies”
I said that while putting on a calm expression
“I see…”
“I’ive me directions…”
“You don’t need to worry about that—I’ize I acted too rudely”
“………”
I returned the pouch with the medicine to the lady while she had a crestfallen expression on her face The heavy feeling of the purse disappeared from my hands
“……”
After spending a few moments unsure of what I should say to her,
“I hope that you et back to your hometown safely”
I blurted out so bland like this
“Thank you You’re kind”
The lady gave me a sad smile
Seeing her expression, I felt a terrible pain in my heart
Regarding the place that the lady had indicated, I had been there once before
It was about two ion
“……”
It wasn’t a case of their hoht That country no longer existed in that place
When I happened across that place two e number of corpses There were several dead Giant Foxes, soldiers, and civilians, and their bodies were all piled up like a mountain of refuse There were bodies of people who looked like they werestill with their eyes open, while others had been partially eaten and their insides were spilling out Some of the bodies couldn’t even be considered human, and just looked like a mass of some unidentifiable substance There were countless such corpses scattered around
The scene was so gruesome that I wanted to cover my eyes
However, there were still soe, a bunch of people had gathered around the body of a Giant Fox, just like the people I met earlier
Just ere they doing?
The athered around the Giant Fox told me
“We are soldiers dispatched fro countries We had received word that this area was infested with Giant Foxes, so ere sent to deal with it”
“By the tiot the infore As you can see, the villagers are all dead”
“Some idiots somewhere have driven all the Giant Foxes out of their country—Giant Foxes are not native to this region”
“Even our country is facing problems thanks to those idiots It’s really deplorable”
“According to soroup of people so every Giant Fox they can find That overhunting is probably the cause of this mess”
“The da chased out of the deserts, the Giant Foxes are slowly destroying this region It’s only a matter of time before our country is attacked as well”
After that, one of the soldiers begged me for a favour
“Witch-san, if you co your travels, would you please let us know? I can’t be at peace until I kill those idiots”
Theto me when he asked that, and I nodded to him
Back then, I still didn’t know about the lady and her friends, or their circumstances
I got back ona small cloud of dust
I followed the directions as were given by the lady out of the kindness of her heart The next country should come into view soon
The landscape is still as dreary as ever and there are no signs of a country anywhere nearby However, as long as it has not fallen into ruin, therethere
………
In the end, I wasn’t able to fulfill the wishes of either side The wish of the soldiers ere troubled due to their villages being attacked by Giant Foxes, and the wish of the lady and her friends ere going around hunting dangerous anirant either of them
I just averted aze from the terribly sad events and cruel reality
No one involved in this incident ca happy, and no one would be happy in the future either The reality of this situation was far too fruitless
However, I was incapable of doing anything about it
Nofor them is despair
Such a sad turn of events
“……I’m sorry”
Those words I whispered were not meant for anyone in particular They dissolved into the sand beneath the extremely clear sky, and vanished