Chapter 93.3

93 Part 3

The appearance of that peaceful-looking girl eased their tension somewhat.

At that moment…

“Ah–!”

Suddenly, a brown bear emerged from a bush and attacked the girl.

— Watch out!

— We have to help her!

Both of them readied their bows.

During that time, the bear swiped at the girl.

— Dodge it!!

Before those words could emerge from their mouths, the girl swung her staff down at the bear.

“BAM!!”

The bear’s head exploded as the staff collided with it.

“Fa!?”

“Nu!?”

Their astonishment leaked out of their mouth as nothing more than a meaningless sound.

The girl’s attack had been far from sophisticated.

Nonetheless, her staff shattered the brown bear’s head.

A girl whose attack was this powerful, even though the attack itself seemed unpolished and half-hearted…

Such a result had far exceeded their imagination and expectations.

“I need to get used to this…”

Having heard the girl’s voice from a distance almost caused the men to black out.

— What does she mean, that she needs to “get used to this”…?

Was she restraining herself?

And still she managed to completely destroy that bear’s head!?

They became even more confused.

It didn’t look like the threads of their confusion would be unraveled anytime soon.

Shortly after that, the girl was easily dragging the brown bear’s body, which didn’t weigh less than a hundred kilograms, using only one of her hands.

Seeing that display of power, the men nodded at each other.

A mysterious life form.

The power of that masked man.

And this girl, who boasted an absurd amount of firepower.

They were intrigued. How on earth did they manage to obtain such power?

However, they didn’t find a snake after curiously poking around this bush.

They had found something much more devilish.

There were beings in this world who had delved into a realm where ordinary humans should never reach out to, no matter how curious they were.

A mysterious life form…

Having witnessed the girl’s battle with the brown bear, the two men continued to be one with the forest, still trembling until sunset.

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“Uuhh… I’ve been sullied… I’ve been sullied…”

“Haah…”

Haruki sighed, completely fed up with Chep’s whining, which he had been subject to for quite some time now.

She said she had been sullied, but of course, not because Haruki had assaulted her or anything like that.

This was only the result of her feelings as she had to go to Kamui Rock no matter what.

Chep was packed into Haruki’s backpack.

He originally wanted to carry her in his arms, but he didn’t want to deal with any of her complaints about her “being touched by a man” or “being looked at with such lewd eyes”.

That being said, with her slow walking speed, there was no way she would make it to Kamui Rock before sunset.

When Haruki put her in his backpack, Chep ended up stepping on the Killer Rabbit corpse he had there.

To be exact, she hadn’t been “sullied”, but rather, she had gotten herself dirty.

But just because Chep was getting dirty didn’t mean Haruki would throw away the Killer Rabbit’s corpse.

This was essential for Haruki to be able to stand out!

No matter what, and even if it cost him his life, he wasn’t going to let go of that Killer Rabbit until the moment he died.

— I have to get Chep’s “important matter” over with quickly so I can return to earning points for the contest!

Carrying Chep on his back, Haruki expanded his Detection range as he continued to run.

He had to keep on looking for more monsters, even while on the move.

An adventurer was someone who killed monsters for a living.

It was by no means someone who cared for a monster’s will.

Even if Chep could speak like a human, she was still a monster. What Haruki had to do with her was to defeat her, not to talk with her or help her out.

However, Haruki didn’t kill Chep.

But it wasn’t out of sympathy or compassion.

He had a feeling that was what he had to do for now.

A special salmon and Kamui Rock.

Haruki was very intrigued by those two things.

Adventurers were curious beings, always in pursuit of the unknown.

Their own curiosity constantly led them into unknown territory.

And they would put their own lives on the line in order to satisfy their curiosity.

Haruki was acting purely in order to satisfy his own curiosity as an adventurer.

However, at that point, Haruki’s guess was highly likely to be wrong.

But even so, he obeyed the urge of his own curiosity.

Something good could happen.

Haruki’s body was satisfied just by that feeling of expectation.

He wanted to move forward as fast as possible, but the footing was so bad it was difficult to go any faster.

The trees in front of him were blocking the way, and the roots of the trees were rising from the ground.

He wanted to go faster, but couldn’t.

It was tantalizingly irritating.

In this case, which would be the best way to move around…?

A certain way swooped down upon Haruki’s mind.

“… Should I give it a try?”

Haruki took a deep breath and touched a nearby tree.

“Okay, let’s go!”

“W-What are you going to–”

Haruki stepped on the tree.

He put all his strength into the sole of his feet, and jumped.

“… Dooooooooo!!”

Chep’s screaming echoed throughout the Kamuikotan forest.

Haruki was soaring through the air.

The wind roars across his ears, making a roaring noise.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the trunk he was aiming for.

As soon as he touched that trunk, he jumped off it and moved on to the next trunk.

— It works!

Haruki had a broad smile on his face.

Like a ninja, Haruki jumped from tree to tree, moving incredibly fast towards Kamui Rock.

All while ignoring Chep’s cries for help…