Kamigami – 21 part 1

Chapter 6 – Star Wolf

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With both hands, Sheto raised the mass of grass up in front of him. It had been weaved with fine fibers, and had once been the shirt he had worn.
But it had fallen apart, and so he could not wear it anymore.

“No good. Thought I could…take apart and reuse, but…”
‘I see…’

He gave up and threw it onto the ground. He was by a river that was surrounded by rocks, and had been inspecting the shirt after washing up. Now that he understood that he had lost one more of his possession all he could do was sigh.

“Won’t have a shirt now. If I have time, will make with vines and bark.”
‘…Also, you will need to make more arrows and other tools.’

Said Salia, and Sheto sat down weakly.

“Salia, other Heroes. Know where they are?”
‘I don’t know. It’s not like anyone will tell me if I ask. As for giving you a detection ability, you do not have sufficient protection.’
“Very troublesome to not know.”

Everything he used could be found in the forest. That being said, they could not be used immediately. Selecting the right materials, preparing them by drying or boiling them. It took time to turn them into tools.
Normally, everyone at the settlement had their own roles, and they did it slowly. But now, he had to do everything by himself.
On top of that, he had to gather food every day. He wanted preserved food for emergencies as well, and that also took time.

“Pot, jar, basket, tan table, whetstone. Not enough of anything.”
‘Even if you had them, you could not carry all of that around with you…’

When he first started this journey, the separation with the other villagers was an emotional one. However, he was not feeling the pain of not having friends in terms of living day to day.

‘It would be different if you could build a base. However, if it was known that you had a permanent home, then the Heroes would attack again.’
“Salia. How many Heroes are left?”
‘Do you really want to know?’

She chuckled in a tired voice. He could smell the fatigue, but just waved his hand for her to continue.

‘Over a hundred Heroes are participating in this game.’
“…What?”
‘But the majority of them do not have as much power as my brother’s Hero. Also, most of them are active here, in Morania.’
“Wait a minute! So many Heroes. Why do they not spread!”
‘Because they are weak.’

With resignation, Salia began to explain it to him quietly.

‘The Heroes of lesser gods are not given proper protections. They rely solely on leveling up. And so they are placed in places where there are not too many monsters. Places with weak monsters.’
“Like me.”
‘Even if you have become stronger, you are still a kobold with no allies. It is little wonder that they think that they might be able to defeat you.’

Sheto finally understood the situation then. Why the Heroes seemed to be so enthusiastic about targeting him.
In other words, he would be in danger no matter where he went.

‘That being said, there is no need to take on all of them at once.’
“…Aye. Because they fight over the prey.”

The kobold thought of the irony.
He was the prey now. Like some kind of wild bear who prowled in the forest.

‘While we cannot let them defeat us, we cannot be reckless in attacking them either. For now, we run away and try to remain undetected. And like that, we hunt only those who attack.’
“Yes, but…”

That also meant this battle would last for a very long time. An extended, harsh battle.
After realizing this, Sheto started to get hungry.

“Will go. Get food.”
‘Not fish today then?’
“Changed my mind. Will eat meat. For strength.”

He picked up his bow and quiver and started to walk. As he had no shirt, the stone necklace was clearly visible against the fur of his chest. As were the many scars. Even the healing magic had not erased them.
Not only that, but the more serious wounds had resulted in bumps, and there were patches on his arms and legs where fur would not grow.
The more he journeyed, the more wounds he received. And the harder it became to live.
Eventually, his body would be discarded on the earth, just like his old shirt.
He brushed the dark thoughts away as he climbed the hill and entered the forest.
The wind of early summer carried the scent of young leans, which helped to calm him.
He entered the forest as a hunter. He felt happy.
It had rained a few days ago, and so there were clusters of mushrooms growing on the ground. However, their smell would also make the prey harder to track.
On the other hand, the soft dirt left deeper footprints. Sheto saw the prints of a rabbit, and smiled.

“Salia. Be quiet for now.”

He said, just in case. Then he nocked an arrow and slowly moved forward.
It was a dense forest with very little light. And so he relied on his ears.
Twenty paces away, the creature was on its hindlegs as it sniffed the air.
Was it wary of something? Just as Sheto wondered this, the prey bounded off.
The arrow cut through the air and tore into the prey.

“What!?”

Tore into. No, it wasn’t the arrow, but fangs that did that.

‘A wolf!?’

Just as he had unleashed the arrow, the beast had jumped out and snatched the prey from the ground. Then it turned and glared at Sheto with its yellow eyes.

“Wait! That’s mine!”
“Grrrr…”

But the wolf did not leave. It just stared at Sheto angrily.

“My arrow hit it! It is mine!”
“Grrr…grrr…”
‘It seems that he feels the same way. I suppose he had been targeting it first.’
“Grrr…”

That being said, it was Sheto’s arrow that killed it. Otherwise, the rabbit might have escaped the wolf’s attack.

“We could…share.”
“Grrr….”

Once it realized that the whole thing would not be taken away, the wolf laid the prey on the ground. Still, it continued to look discontent.

“Half. How about it?”
“…”
“You can take guts.”
“…”
“Give me the skin and one thigh. No more!”

This seemed to be enough, as the wolf then sat down, and both were able to relax.

“…You, greedy.”
“Woof.”

‘Of course,’ the wolf seemed to say. And then it yawned. That was when Sheto noticed that there was a patch of fur on the wolf’s forehead that resembled a star.

‘A Star Wolf.’
“They are smart. Long time ago, the village fisherman had one.”

He then approached the prey and split it open with his hatchet. The star wolf watched this with a serious expression. Sheto then removed the parts he would keep, and then offered the rest on a tree branch.

“Here.”
“Awoo.”
“Sorry. For bothering your hunt.”

When two chased after the same prey, the hunters would admit their faults and apologize. It was not about one-sided demands. That was the etiquette of the mountains.
As if understanding this, the star wolf lowered its nose and licked Sheto’s hand.

Next Part

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Bonus chapter courtesy of Photo! Thank you so much!!