CH 21

Chapter 21: Flesh of the Demon Beast

By the time Rina and I defeated the escaping demon boar and finally caught our breath, the rest of the herd had also been dealt with somehow.

The large male leader continued to fight surrounded by lumberjacks, but Beth's magic finally hit him directly, turning him into a fireball and causing him to fall.

The "mysterious female warrior" who had suddenly appeared had disappeared without a trace, leaving the situation unresolved.

When Muhalim and Beth looked at me with suspicion, I evaded their questions by saying it was some kind of magic but that I was forbidden to speak about it by my mistress, Cecily.

There were also rumors circulating among the soldiers who had participated in the battle yesterday about my strange skill of producing clay and me being Cecily's slave, so they concluded that I was a combat slave using special magic.

"Being able to use summoning magic..."

Beth murmured with a furrowed brow, but I pretended not to hear.

The hunters seemed unaware of the situation, probably because they were a bit further away and wouldn't suspect that I had done it.

By the way, we don't have a priest in our group who can use the "Purification" spell, so what about the magic stones? I was wondering about that when the hunters took out their knives from their pockets and started dismantling the demon boars. They were skillful.

"Demon boar meat is not that tasty, but it's edible, and we can use the skin and fangs too. So we'll quickly dismantle them and carry them back. The big one is too heavy to transport, so we'll just take the good parts of the meat and the fangs," explained a young hunter named Den. It seems that dismantling and taking them back is more valuable than purifying them to obtain small magic stones.

Den was about the same height as me and a little older. However, his archery skills stood out among the hunters, and he must have taken down two or three of them.

The lumberjacks dug holes in the ground to bury the parts they couldn't carry, and Beth used her newly acquired earth magic, while I helped by producing clay to fill the holes.

Afterward, the hunters and lumberjacks packed the boar meat and fangs into bags they had brought and carried them down to the small path at the foot of the mountain. I think it must be quite heavy, but the meat serves as food and the fangs can be processed for cash income, so they were in high spirits about their achievements.

Later, we found another nest in a similar way and exterminated it.

In this herd, only the male leader was a demon boar, while the females were regular boars.

There seem to be such things. In areas with dense magical power, insects and small animals gradually accumulate magical energy, which becomes concentrated in creatures that consume them. The higher the animal in the food chain, the more magical energy it accumulates.

It seems that wild boars become magical boars if they continue to eat food with high magical power.

From a pair of magical boars, offspring of magical boars are born, but it's unknown if one of them becomes a normal boar or if both options exist, and even the hunters don't seem to know the details.

Huh?

In that case, is it safe to eat magical boar meat? I wonder if humans could turn into monsters or something?

When I asked Den, they casually answered, "If you cook it properly, it's fine."

It feels like treating it like bacteria or viruses. Is that really okay?

When I asked Beth, it seems that it is generally advised to avoid eating only monster meat. There is a legend that during the era when the Demon King appeared, followers of the evil cult that obeyed the Demon King fed their believers only monster meat, turning them into demons.

However, poor villagers can't easily eat magical boar meat to begin with, and since humans are omnivores, as long as it's eaten in combination with vegetables, it doesn't seem to be a problem. In reality, if you only eat monster meat, your body can't withstand it and you may end up dying, so being a demon is highly questionable.

On the other hand, the affluent class doesn't eat the strongly scented monster meat, so it's still safe.

This reasoning is somewhat reassuring.

Furthermore, it seems that by intentionally weakening the purification performed by priests, it is possible to scatter magical power without causing the physical body to disappear. Purified meat that has been treated in such a way is circulating as slightly higher-priced ingredients in temples.

"But they say that a small amount of monster meat is good for nourishment and strengthening, especially for older men..."

Beth started saying and then abruptly cut off her words. Yeah, I know, right? An aphrodisiac, vitality for the night.

When I made a face like "I don't get it," Beth turned bright red and hurriedly left.

Too bad.

I was so tired. Not only did I have to go up and down the mountain path, but the hunters and lumberjacks who carried the meat of the demon boars had incredible stamina.

By the time the sun began to tilt towards the west, I finally made it back to the spring. I not only drank water but also poured it over my head to wash away the sweat.

The spring water was extremely cold, but it felt good. I had a ragged cloth in my pocket that I had saved from yesterday's bucket, so I used it to wipe my head.

It's tough not being able to take a bath since I came here. I wonder if hot springs don't exist in this world? If there are volcanoes, there should be hot springs.

Lina also got quite dirty from the melee, but I didn't want to be seen as a dirty person washing dolls in front of everyone. She would clean up after returning to the cell.

The main forces led by Knight Captain Zagu have also returned and are exchanging information with Muhalim. It seems they have also finished subjugating the kobolds.

However, they had more trouble than expected, and it seems that several people were injured. The level 3 priest returned with an exhausted face.

Anyway, we have finally completed the extermination of the monsters that came out of the labyrinth, which was the immediate goal for Kalena and the others.

But can we really defeat the labyrinth now?

In RPGs, monsters inside the labyrinth are usually much stronger and have a higher level of difficulty than those in normal fields, right?

As someone bound by a slave contract, I couldn't escape.

Once again, I felt a great sense of unease about the future.