327 - - a forest encounter of an adventurer

Just after entering the forest of kobolds.

Today, a young man with a green adventurer's tag was wielding a sword for tomorrow's sustenance.

"Hahaha!

The shield that I lifted in desperation just barely bounces off the beak of an oncoming monster.

If it had been even a little later, it would have pierced its whistle for sure.

Before I could relax, the bird let out a vicious cry, circled in midair, and came at me again.

"Don't come here!

The young man tries hard to bend over and step backwards.

But, in a bad moment, he trips on a tree root at his feet.

As the young man's feet get tangled up and he lands on his buttocks, the monster attacks without mercy...

"Heeeee!"

A young man wields a wooden sword in fear.

Accidentally, it strikes the monster in the head.

The bird with the sharp beak falls to the ground with a dull thud.

The young man stares in stunned amazement, but finally realizing what is happening, he throws down his shield and rushes to his feet.

He then swung his wooden sword into the air and slammed it into the monster lying on the ground.

"Whoa!　Whoa!　Waaaaah!"

The young man swings the wooden sword down again and again.

His arms did not stop until the bird's whole body was smashed and it stopped moving completely.

"Hmph ......,huh ......."

The young man, who barely escaped with his life, was on the ground on his hands and knees, breathing heavily.

His face is drenched in sweat and covered in splattered bird blood and feathers.

"......, you won. Yes, we did it. ......!"

The name of this young man is Tobari, and he has just narrowly defeated the second strongest man in the forest of kobolds, the Sharpened Beak.

He is a young Central Chinese man who has just come out of the countryside.

"Well, now I'm one step closer to being a hero. ......"

Most of the Central People cannot receive the blessings of the Six Great Gods.

Therefore, their aptitude as adventurers is extremely poor, but there is a reason why Tobari dared to take up this dangerous profession in the border town of Dadaan.

Rumor has it that the man was not blessed with the blessings of the six gods either, and had only the skill tree of an unknown deity of time.

Moreover, it is said that the man had only one branch for decades, and he worked on that one branch with all his might.

But the man rose from such unfortunate circumstances with only one obscure skill and his sword.

He reclaimed the border town of Bossalia, which had fallen and been overrun, and easily slayed a giant red dragon that was nestled in the lake.

The name of the man who has accomplished many feats and is now called a hero is Thor.

He is a star of hope for the young people of Central Japan.

"Someday I ...... will be like him ........., hey, why are you on my back?"

"Yeah?　I thought you wanted me to ride on you."

Tobari, who had been on all fours and lost in deep emotion, seemed to have lost patience with the lack of tension.

He asks the child, who is straddling his back before he knows it, in a tone of exasperation.

He exhaled deeply at the answer he received.

The joy of coming back alive from the tense situation and the afterglow of the victory were all gone.

No, I was just about to get really emotional. It was the moment when I could say that I had beaten the odds at the last minute and climbed one rung on the ladder to heroism...what are you eating?

The young man let out a startled yelp as the two cats plunged their faces into the sharp-beaked carcass in front of him and started munching on their own.

"Black, Shimmer, did you get some food? That's great!"

"No, I didn't!　Yes, it's easier to eat, but come on!"

It seems that the cat's meat has been minced into a perfect size for it, probably because it was minced so well by the wooden sword.

Tobari's shoulders slumped on all fours as he watched his newly defeated prey being devoured.

The child rolled forward on his back and landed dexterously on the ground.

He patted the young man on the shoulder with a friendly tap.

"Thanks, bro. Black, is my territory okay?"

"Meow!"

"Meow!"

"Huh, that's enough. Just leave me a beak and I'll go to ......."

Standing up and brushing the dust off his knees, Tobari looked again at the child in front of him with two cats in tow.

The age of the child was probably between five and ten years old.

She had honey-colored curly hair with an arc at the tip, and large, adorable violet eyes.

She was wearing red clothes that seemed to be easy to move around in, and had a small leather bag (pochette), a water bottle, and an insect cage slung diagonally over her head.

And in her hand, for some reason, she was holding a large insect net.

He appears to be a little boy who has come to collect insects.

"...... huh, you really surprised me."

It was about ten minutes ago that Tobari encountered this strange child.

He was walking through the treacherous forest with his back to the trees when he suddenly tumbled out of the bushes.

I was so shocked that I hit my buttocks as hard as I could.

At first, I thought that I had taken a wrong turn and wandered into such a place.

But when I thought about it, I realized that the outer gate is guarded by a guard, so that not only children but also ordinary people cannot easily pass through it.

Yes, you need an adventurer's certificate to pass through that gate.

"There's something dangling from it. ......"

Tobari, still sitting on the ground, rushes to call out to him, but his eyes widen at the sight of the object swinging around the neck of a small child.

It was clearly an adventurer's card, although the color of the edges was not clear because of the beetle clinging to it.

"Why would a child be an adventurer?

"Hey, brother, what are you doing?"

"Uh, well, I was thinking of hunting for a pointed beak today. ......"

When Tobari answered in a hushed tone, the child thought for a moment and then gave a friendly smile.

"Well, I'm going with you, Moo!"

And here we are.

Tobari stared at the chest of the child who called himself "Moo" to make sure once again.

"Yeah, it's definitely an adventurer's card," he said.

"What?　Kuroisuke, did you go to the shrine?"

"I'm very curious as to why the rhinoceros beetle hasn't escaped, though."

Moo, accompanied by these two cats and the mysterious beetle, says that this kobold forest is a treasure trove of beetles.

The correct story is said to be about a man named Riccar, but the child's description only gave me the impression that he had red hair and looked like an idiot, so I'll let it slide.

So, I went to capture a new species of rhinoceros beetle with great enthusiasm, and bumped into Tobari.

"No, I didn't come here for an adventure!　You just came to catch a bug?"

"You don't understand. It's a beetle. They're black and amazing!

"Most bugs are black!　Didn't your mother or father stop you?"

"Tor-chan?　I told Toru that we were going on an outing."

I didn't say where we were going.

"Oh, I see. So it's okay. Is ...... okay?"

The purpose of the trip is too strange to begin with, but the premise of a child adventurer is even stranger, so it doesn't really matter.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure there are two pretty girls in Hero Thor's crew. So, why is Moo following me?"

"Beak pickles eat beetles. I'm going to have to kill a lot of them.

"Oh, yes, that's right."

Their pointed beaks peck at the wood and eat the insects that lurk inside.

They are the natural enemy of the beetle.

No, I was almost eaten by one myself.

Moo will protect the peace of the rhinoceros beetle!　Let's go, brother!　Ninilas said that people are too short to be lazy."

"Who the hell is that?　Yes, yes, all right."

Strangely enough, the child guesses exactly where the pointed beak is.

And yet, somehow, he never encounters a horned mole or a forest slime.

"Hmmm, this is the strength of the locals. ....... No wonder your parents forgive you.

"And you, brother, you're not very good at this, so I'll teach you how to do it!

"What, what's that weird move?"

"This is how you always do it, To-chan. Like this, like this, like this!

"Wait a minute. Is it like this?"

Tobari, skeptical, tries swinging the sword as the child tells him to.

Strangely enough, he is able to fight a good battle with the pointed beak.

"Is this one of the strengths of the locals? ......"

Tobari continues to defeat the sharp beaks, despite being surprised by what is happening.

A child and two cats play freely beside her.

Before I knew it, two hours had passed.

"Well, we beat them pretty well. Let's take a break.

"Yes, what's today's snack?

"What, did I miss something?"

Tobari takes down her backpack and rummages through the contents.

Moe rolled his eyes and shouted at the sight.

What's that?　You've got a weird hand, bro!"

"Oh, this?　This is my skill set.

The young man, with his arms shoulder-deep in the not-too-large bag, replied in a proud manner.

Tobari's skill, given to him by the sky god, is a little unusual in that it allows him to increase the size of a divided space from its original size.

While it is not yet possible to do this for large areas such as rooms, it can more than double the capacity of portable bags and crates, making it a skill that is very useful for transportation.

"Let me see, let me see!"

"Here you go. I may not be much of a fighter, but with this one skill, I'm sure I'll rise to be a hero!

"It looks like I'm not going to make it.

"No, it's not. What are you doing?

Tobari's voice was filled with impatience at the sight of the child's lower half completely enclosed in the leather bag he had handed her.

"I could only go so far."

"That's right. My is still only doubling. I can't try it on a human, or a cat for that matter!

"No?"

"No, it'll fit, but, wow, it's kind of cute, though!"

"Good for you, Black, Stripes."

"No, no, no, it's not good. What are you eating?

"There was something wrong. Yeah, it's pretty good."

Tobari put her hands on the ground in disappointment as the child began to munch on a piece of bread she had saved for dinner.

He was tapped lightly on the shoulder.

"Children eat everything right away," he said.

"Well, that's true, but ....... Well, I'm making more money today than I thought I would, so it's all good."

"I shouldn't have eaten. Well, I'm going to make you Moe's b*tc* to make up for it."

"Hobun?　With apologies!　Isn't that funny?"

"Mmm, something's coming from over there!"

Tobari's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he looked deeper into the forest at the sound of Moe's sudden voice.

Goblins!　How did you get here?"

A green-skinned, deformed humanoid figure jumped out from the shadows of the trees.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to do it!　Moo-chan, I'll take care of this!"

"Rairai!"

Let's go!　Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Tobari, shouting loudly, leaps at the goblin.

The pointed beak of the goblin will not attack any further once it is away from the tree it is in.

But this is not the case with the fast goblins, and the only option is to fight until one of them falls.

The goblin is light. Is this the strength of a man who has someone to protect him?

The young man wields his sword so selflessly that he is unaware of the many glowing needles piercing Mu's body behind him.

He also fails to notice that the goblin, which usually acts in packs, is alone, and that he has a grievous wound on his back.

"Hmmm, not bad. But this is the end!　Take that, Love Sword!

"Gaaaahhhh!"

The monster screams in despair and collapses to the ground.

It seems that the wounds it had sustained earlier have reached their limit.

"You won! ...... I see, I could do it too."

"Oh. You did it, brother!"

"......Thank you, Moo-chan."

Tobari stares at the child intently.

Then, as if determined, he speaks to Moe.

Hey, Moo. "Hey, Moo, I was wondering if you'd like to continue to party with me..."

"Oh, today is the day your grandma makes stew!"

Tobari's words are interrupted by the sound of a stomach bug, and he opens his mouth with a sigh.

Moe, holding his belly cutely, waves his hand with a big smile at the speechless young man.

I'm going home. See you later, brother.

"What, what, what?"

"Yuyake Maruyake, why is it red~♪"

Tobari could only watch in amazement as the child left, humming a tune.

Moo returned home in a good mood, but when Sora asked him at the dinner table where he had gone today, he answered truthfully and was severely scolded by Thor.

Tobari, on the other hand, was in a good mood the next day and challenged the goblins, escaping with his life.

Later, however, he made a big hit with his handbag with a stuffed cat peeking out from it, and turned into a big merchant, but that is another story.