‘Sheto. Do you know, what it is, that a hunter needs?’
That was what his father asked, the first time that Sheto took down a rabbit with his bow.
‘A good bow?’
‘No. Something more important, than tools.’
‘Friends?’
‘Of course, that is important, too. But something else, just as important.’
‘…I don’t, know. What, is it?’
‘Here.’
He chuckled and poked Sheto’s head.
‘What you think. How to hunt. How to live. You must think like that.’
The words returned to Sheto, and he muttered.
“I understand.”
Why had he been thinking about it all of this time? A meaning for living.
“I, want to live. That’s why, I thought it.’
In order to go against a world that told him to die.
“I, want to live.”
There was no need to think hard.
A hunted rabbit will run until the last moment. Not give up and allow itself to be caught.
There was no argument behind it. He was like that. And so he would be.
Even if one is weak and fated to die, you can still wish and resist.
It didn’t matter if it was a crime, if it was evil. If he was a kobold.
“Then, what should I do?”
But it did not change the fact that he was just a hunter.
‘Sheto. What is the secret to hunting a wolf?’
He suddenly recalled Salia’s words.
Up until then, he was just a weak creature.
But a weak creature did not mean a weak hunter. It was because he used the power inside of him, and made the most of it, that he was able to win.
“Pa.”
Sheto’s head reached out, to the thing deeper than memories.
“I, will use it.”
The other piece of wisdom his father had given him.
The secret that was never to be used.
“Sheto.”
When she returned to the god seat, she saw that Sheto was doing something on the other side of the water mirror. He had gathered thick vines and small stones, and was tying them together.
‘Ah, it’s you, Salia.’
“I’m sorry for leaving you for so long… Were you alright?”
‘Yes. I’m fine, now.’
While she was relieved to see this, she was not sure how to convey her two reports to him.
‘Something happened? The smell, very anxious.’
“Really. It’s troublesome when you can’t hide anything… Then I will be honest. The Heroes will come all at once, and attack you.”
Sheto seemed to go pale. Still, his expression quickly became serious.
‘Mountain hunt. Like hunting a mad bear. They hunt me.’
“But, do not worry. I have figured out a way to protect you.”
‘You are…going to use the blessing?’
He seemed more surprised than upset.
“I changed the way that I think, a little. I would rather use it than lose you.”
‘To live, you will offer others.’
He was not judging her. There was something far-sighted in his look. A will rather than resignation.
“Sheto. Did something happen?”
‘No. But, if that is what you decided, I, won’t say anything.’
“…Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not sacrificing people. Or worlds.”
And then the kobold looked up at the sky.
‘I…not level up yet. And so…’
“Don’t worry. You won’t go empty-handed. I just need a little time to prepare. When it is possible, I will tell you. That being said, it should be in time for the battle against the Heroes.”
‘I see. That’s good.’
The thing that the kobold had been working on. It was a single net made of vine, that had stones and pieces of wood weaved in. If not used carefully, it could easily hurt the person who was using it.
It looked very strange, and not like something that would be used for hunting.
“Wha…what did you make?”
‘Salia. I, actually had something.’
The kobold came off more intense than usual, as he explained it to her.
‘I, was thinking. How to live. In a world, where everyone tells me, to die.’
He checked the net, and after attaching a large rock at the tip, he began to swing it around.
‘But, none of that matters. I know. I want to live. So, I will live.’
It rotated faster and faster, and his face grew harsher.
‘Hah!’
The net was unleashed, and wrapped around a tree branch in front of him. The stones and wood shards dug into the branch, and then the small creature pulled it back.
With a painful scratching sound, the net returned to Sheto’s feet.
‘To live, I will use, all of me.’
“Sheto. That is…”
‘Pa taught it to me. He said, only use it when you have to.’
“You never told me that before…”
‘This, not a hunter technique. Pa, said I should never tell anyone.’
Now that she thought about it, during the battle against Zephalis’s Hero, most weapons and traps had been meaningless.
However, there would be no barriers in the next battle. And Sheto, with his own will, was starting to think about how he would fight.
Upon seeing all of this, Salia said what had been secretly on her mind.
“Sheto. I have one suggestion for you.”
‘What?’
“This battle. Let’s win.”
For a second, the kobold tilted his head with a suspicious expression, then his jaw dropped as he understood.
“Up until now, I had abandoned myself, somewhat. As a fallen god, I had lost my confidence, I suppose. But now, I have something to protect. My world. And you.”
‘Salia…’
“And so I will tell you again. Sheto. Together, let us defeat the Heroes and Demon King, and win this battle.”
‘…You, stole my words.’
The kobold chuckled and scratched his muzzle.
‘I, said something similar, before. It was just, in the moment… But, now…it’s different.’
The small monster had already discarded weakness.
He was going to stand with his own strength, without making excuses.
‘I, will fight and fin. Hunt down all Heroes, and the Demon King.’
“I see. Then I will tell you one more thing.”
‘What?’
“About the right of the victor.”
She would not have even thought about it before. But the words came out easily now.
“The Hero who is victorious, can have one wish come true. Whether it’s being king of the world, having unimaginable wealth, the most beautiful woman… Well, there are exceptions.”
‘Not…bring the dead back to life?’
“I am sorry.”
‘…Then, there is only one thing. I want.’
The kobold said in a whisper.
‘One forest. Where no one, kills us.”
A small, sincere hope.
Salia carved it into her heart, and nodded.
“I see. That is it then. My Ganari. Let us hunt down all our enemies.”
‘Aye. Let’s do it together, Nagayubi.’
They stretched out their hands, as if to touch each other.
And then surpassing both time and worlds, the fingers met with their promise.