The mist faded and the attacks stopped suddenly.
In the quiet forest, only the sounds of birds and rustling of bushes could be heard.
There were also his footsteps and growling stomach.
“Ugh…I’m hungry…”
He had not felt it while he was nervous, but nothing had happened for some time now. And so he could not help but feel it. Food over here was completely different, and there were some dishes that were absolutely disgusting. But he had survived this long.
Now that he thought about it, all of his belongings were still on the saddle.
“If I had a backpack, I could have brought some food with me…”
There was stale bread, salted meat, and sour wine. Though, sometimes Ril or Elka would manage to turn them into tasty sandwiches, or they would catch fish.
“Fish… Maybe if I could find a river…”
He thought, while also remembering that he had no way to make a fire.
The other three had always done that for him. After all, he had never used a tinderbox in his life.
Though, Ril was able to do it, in spite of being clumsy. Elka used magic, and Axle could even do it through scraping his blade against his armor.
“It can’t be helped… These days, we just use induction heating. Not even gas…”
It was wrong to expect someone from modern civilization to be able to survive in the stone age. He grumbled to himself as he went down the slope. That was when his eyes caught something in the bushes.
Purple berries on a small tree. They were about the size of his pinky.
“Ohh! Did I find something edible?”
He rushed towards them but then paused. Perhaps there would be a trap here as well. He used his sword to tap the ground. Then he looked up and scanned the surrounding trees.
There was nothing.
He broke off one of the branches and waited. Nothing.
The berries were a little hard, but they had a smooth surface that glimmered.
What if they were poisonous?
“No, I have to test it. Just one. And if they are…”
He slowly brought one to his mouth, and crushed it between his tongue and upper jaw.
“…Gah!”
Intense bitterness spread through his mouth.
“Gaaaahh! Blegh! Blegh! It’s so sour and bitter!”
Even after he spat it out, he felt as if his taste buds had gone mad.
“Damn it. I don’t think it’s poisonous… But…gahh…!”
He hit the branches with irritation, and crushed the berries under his boots. He also crushed the white flowers as well.
“That’s right. If they were edible, he would not have left them…”
The creature was tormenting him. And so taking away food would not be too much effort.
“Alright then. I should go somewhere that he hasn’t gone yet… Huh?”
From somewhere, he smelled something delicious.
The sounds of meat sizzling over a fire. The wind carried it straight to Koji’s nostrils.
“…It is just me and him here… Right?”
Of course, the kobold must be at the source of this smell. It might be a trap. However, right now, he was able to use magic again. He could attack while the kobold was eating. Kill him and take his food.
“…Am I a bandit now?”
That being said, there was nothing else to eat. And if he defeated the kobold, he would then be freed from this place. Thinking this, he continued to follow the smell through the forest.
Eventually, he heard the sounds of running water, and came out into a clearing in the trees.
There, the kobold sat near the edge of a cliff. He was cooking meat over a fire.
He didn’t know what kind of meat it was, but it smelled terribly good. The kobold looked serious as he inspected the meat, and he seemed a little happy at the results.
Koji checked his surroundings. There were no obstacles or boulders around the kobold. Nothing that would shield him. Not only that, but he was not holding his bow. All he had was the small sword on his belt.
“A trap… Shit.”
Yes. Who would be so foolish to be tricked by something so obvious? However, the meat looked so good.
“Blow him away with magic…and then it’s finished.”
Even if he notices, he could still take the meat. And then he would have the advantage.
“…Pierce, Ze-”
He whispered and pointed his bracelet ahead. He was hidden in the shadows of the trees, and so the kobold should not be able to see him.
“Phant!”
In the next instant, the kobold disappeared.
“Wha…t!?”
The magic arrow pierced the spot where the kobold had been sitting, carving away the fire and ground.
However, there was no body or blood remaining.
“Co-could it be some kind of magic!?”
He jumped out from the bushes and then ran to where the fire had been. That was when he saw the silver back.
Indeed, there had been a cliff near the fire. About two meters tall near the river, and there was a steep slope.
“Shit!”
He must have known of Koji’s presence from the beginning. Koji looked up at the sky.
“A-are you watching!?”
Now that he thought about it, his own god was forbidden from helping him. But nothing had been said about the goddess and the kobold.
“…What the hell is this! You cheaters!!”
He shouted. But it was too late. He was so mad at the idiot god who had decided all of this without him.
“What is wrong with him!? What kind of idiot would do that! Why would you accept those conditions! You damned trash god!”
But now, the sadness and hunger overrode his anger.
There was no trace of the meat now. Either he had destroyed it, or the kobold had taken it away.
‘Hey, Hero!’
He heard the voice calling from far away. The monster that had escaped.
“Where did you go, you damned monster! Come out and fight me!”
‘No. I’m eating now. The meat, very good.’
He was likely making his voice echo against the river walls by the valley. Koji could only curse the thing without knowing its location.
‘You, tried to eat my meat. Not good to cheat.’
“You’re the cheater! Setting traps like this!”
‘Then you. Take off the armor. If you stop with the tricks, I stop.’
“SHIIIIIITTT!!”
He roared, and the monster fell silent. He was probably eating that delicious meat. Koji’s hand shook as he gripped his sword.
‘But I, will not stop. Hunting you.’
“Wh-what!?”
‘The mountains, have prey. Rivers, have fish. Hunt if you can.’
It was like he was challenging him to prove himself. Koji looked at the height of the cliffs again.
“Oh-oh, I will do it then!”
He had a bad habit of allowing others to provoke him. However, it was true that he needed food now. He had eaten fish like this before, and the ones in rivers shouldn’t be poisonous. Besides, there was also another problem that was as important as food.
While checking his feet, he slowly descended. The kobold must have run away, as he no longer spoke.
“…Surely he won’t attack from the water.”
He glanced towards the river. It seemed quite deep. There didn’t seem to be anything strange going on. Besides, it was just one kobold. Pitfalls and vines traps were about as much as it could manage.
Still, it was difficult to move. The sword in his hand was a bother, and he was scared of dropping it. Besides, his hand was tired from carrying it for so long.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally reached the bottom. At the same time, he was terribly thirsty.
Not only had he not eaten anything since yesterday, but he had not drunk anything either. His mouth was dry and sticky.
“But…it’s river water.”
As a modern human, he knew he was not supposed to drink it. Even his party members had told him to avoid it, no matter how clean.
“Also…I don’t have the tools to catch fish.”
With a sigh, Koji went to the water and removed just his gloves, and washed his hands and face. The water was cool and comforting.
“Surely I could at least rinse my mouth…”
He scooped up some water with his hands.
There was a giant bug inside.
“Ahhh! Gross!”
He threw it away, and then noticed that something was wrong.
“Wh-what the hell…!”
Bugs were flowing down the river in front of him. They were probably river bugs, but they did not move as they went down stream.
Also, he even saw fish floating down with the white bellies visible.
“Whhaaa!”
‘Don’t misunderstand. I, will not stop you. But will bother you.’
Poison. The word came to his mind as he frantically put on his gloves again and held his sword up.
‘You, cannot be poisoned. But fish, bugs, can.’
“What the hell are you doing!”
‘Take them if you want. But, will your armor allow poisonous fish in?’
The fish continued to flow down. Perhaps if he were to take one, the armor would protect him from the poison. However, they were flowing too fast for him to catch them.
‘I, watching you. When you move, eat, sleep. Everything.’
“Ugh…”
‘Do not forget.’
And then the voice stopped. However, at this point, nothing could make Koji feel safe.
He looked up the cliff, and squinted at the branches of a tree that hung over.
There was no one there. Just small birds perched randomly.
“Shiiiit!”
Koji’s scream echoed through the valley.