“Hey, don’t go ahead, you giant.”
Kesh the hobgoblin said to the ogre with annoyance.
The creature’s muscled back twitched. Still, it seemed like he had no intention of stopping his advance. He glared back and then continued to walk while looking at the surrounding forest.
“I am the leader of this unit! Listen to me!”
“Shut up, squirt! You keep with the yapping, and I’ll eat you!”
Gaide had been like this ever since he joined them. He was the sole survivor who returned from the failed ogre assault on the fortress.
“Hey, partner? Why are you so angry?”
“Eh!? What did you say!? As if I could be anything else!”
In the forest that was dark during the day, the ogre’s angry voice echoed. The dozens of goblins behind Kesh looked nervous.
“What the hell is our chief thinking!? And why are we being made to search for a kobold!?”
“I told you to keep it down, fool! Your voice is horrible to listen to already!”
“How could I be silent! The Hero’s army is coming, and I must get revenge for my brother and comrades! Why waste time on that runt!”
At this rate, there was little point in avoiding the main roads. His shouting was causing the birds to fly away.
“Listen to me, you damned meat head! This order comes directly from the Demon King himself!”
“…Eh?”
Berganda had told him to keep this a secret until they reached the dungeon, but the limit had been reached. Predictably, the ogre’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Th-the Demon King!? The one who the boss works for?”
“Aye. If you understand now, shut your mouth.”
Kesh sighed with relief as the other calmed down. And then he gathered the others together.
Apparently, a rumor is spreading amongst the humans. About a terrifyingly strong kobold who is killing Heroes. That is who we are searching for.”
“…I can never understand the way humans think. Those tiny creatures wouldn’t even be fit for breakfast.”
Gaide and the others were sometimes referred to as man eating giants. And they determined many things by how they filled their stomachs.
“Really, does the chief understand what it is he pushed onto me…”
“What did you say?”
“I said…that if you do encounter this kobold, you are not to eat him!”
“Gahaha! I don’t know if I can promise that. I’m a little hungry, you see. I was searching for a snack.”
The others shuddered at his words. It was well known that a hungry ogre would eat allies if tempted.
“If any of my soldiers become useless because of you, I’m going to gouge out your eyes.”
“Oh, how scary. I would never go against Hookslash Kesh. Alright, let’s go.”
The ogre was in good spirits again as he stood in the front. Kesh sighed and followed after him.
“Kesh! Kesh! Hey, Kesh!”
A voice suddenly rang from above. The hobgoblin looked to see an imp jumping through the trees.
“What is it?”
“Close! Close! Human merchants passing! Humans! Have lots of supplies!”
“Oh, that’s good to hear! Alright! Let’s get ‘em!”
The ogres cheered happily at this.
It had been a long march, and many of them were irritated. They would not last long without a distraction. Besides, if they could acquire supplies and human slaves, it would help them with expanding the dungeon.
“Alright…good. But first, tell me about the composition of this merchant caravan. …Hey, Gaide! I told you, I am the leader here! Listen to me!”
As the star wolf stepped lightly over the dead leaves, Fi held onto the saddle with one hand and looked at his smartphone with the other.
Little by little, a map of the surrounding area was filled in. While the scope was limited, he was grateful that as far as his eye could see, the map would automatically make a record.
“How is it, Fi? Find anything?”
Sheto held the reins and walked next to him.
While Guto had auto recovery now, carrying two riders and baggage would be too heavy a burden. And so Sheto always walked.
“Nothing much. It’s just trees… The town road is five hundred meters… No, it’s like…sixty steps for me from that beech tree to the right…?”
He pointed to a tree that was quite a distance away.
The kobold saw it and nodded.
“Probably, need twenty more. But Fi, you have become better at measuring distance.”
It was one of the first thing Sheto had taught him in the mountains. How to estimate the distance between you and your destination.
They had made a game of it, repeated every time they traveled through the mountain. And he was able to measure distances with his own or Sheto’s strides, instead of meters.
“Wait, you can tell where there is a road?”
“Aye. Wind sound is different, when passing through trees. Near roads, branches murmur. Besides, roads are made along mountains. And so, look at the shape, the slant, and judge distance.”
He followed Sheto’s words and closed his eyes and focused on his horns. Suddenly, the sounds seemed to become stronger.
Unlike human ears, dragons picked up sounds in the air through their horns.
Normally, he did not focus on it, as it would be too loud. But right now, it was as if he could hear all the sounds of the world.
“Ah…this? This noisy…feeling.”
“Probably. You have good ears. No, horns.”
“The voice…of the Demon King’s castle? After hearing that…I’ve become more sensitive.”
It wasn’t just that. After learning from Sheto and living in the mountains, he felt as if his body had changed into something different.
The first time he noticed it, was because of the food.
‘Hey, this. Does it have hare?”
‘Good catch. Small pieces, dried. That’s all.’
His tongue could sense the strange difference within the fish soup. After that, he was able to tell what kind of animals or plants had been added.
It was the same with sound. The crying of birds, and Guto’s howling… The way he adjusted it when finding prey, or cautious warning…
Recently, he started to sense changes in temperature and humidity more strongly. The changes of the air at dawn was enough to wake him up.
None of this would have been thinkable while he was human. At first, he had thought he was going crazy, and even sent worried messages.
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