Chapter 33: The Forest’s Peculiarities and Kane’s Behavior

As Lilina and I were about to apply for party registration at the adventurer’s guild, we were unexpectedly led to a back room.

In the small private room, which I had seen in the anime, there were only a sofa and a table. Lilina and I sat facing Remi.

There’s no need to do the party registration in a private room, so Remi must have another reason to talk to me.

…I hope Lloyd hasn’t done anything weird.

As I pondered this, Remi spoke with a heavy tone.

“Regarding the issue with the monsters in the forest that Lloyd mentioned, we’ve identified the cause.”

“Oh, really?”

It seemed the conversation was about the forest monsters I reported.

Good. At least it’s not about Lloyd’s misdeeds.

I sighed with relief and felt a weight lift off my chest.

Since they know the cause of the monster issue, they’ll probably resolve it soon.

Hmm? But Remi’s expression still seems grim.

“…Actually, it’s due to the actions of ‘Dragon King’s Flame.’”

“Huh, ‘Dragon King’s Flame’?”

I let out a slightly foolish-sounding voice at this unexpected mention.

Why is the name of Lloyd’s former party coming up now?

While I blinked in confusion, Remi continued.

“It seems they’re trying to level up and gather valuable materials, with Kane using his ‘Support’ skill on Zard, who then uses his ‘Decoy’ skill to lure strong monsters into the nearby forest.”

“Such a use of skills… I see.”

‘Decoy’ is a skill that lures monsters.

It’s supposed to attract monsters’ attention to the user, but by enhancing it with Kane’s ‘Support,’ it draws in distant monsters too.

Basically, it’s like setting up a flytrap to attract a swarm of monsters.

…Quite an efficient leveling method.

It’s a technique I haven’t seen in the anime, but it might be an efficient approach.

“Hmm? But they do kill the gathered monsters, right? If so, isn’t it not much of a problem?”

Using ‘Decoy’ to attract monsters might temporarily disrupt the ecosystem, but if they promptly defeat those monsters, it shouldn’t cause significant issues.

When I voiced this thought, Remi shook her head slightly.

“No. They think it’s a waste of time, so they leave behind any monsters that aren’t of a certain level. I heard this from other adventurers, so I’m not sure of the details.”

“What? They’re just leaving the gathered monsters behind?”

“They say they’re ‘too busy to deal with weaklings,’ so they only go after their target monsters.”

“Wait, shouldn’t the guild reprimand them? They should listen if the guild warns them.”

They must realize that leaving gathered monsters behind would disrupt the forest’s ecosystem.

And Kane, who should be the most concerned about such things, is part of this. Why is this happening?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Remi continued.

“We’ve warned them many times, but they don’t listen at all. Since Kane became the leader, their behavior has gotten worse.”

Remi sighed deeply as she said this.

I recalled how different Kane seemed when we met again.

“Oh, that reminds me. What happened to him? When I saw him after a long time, he seemed like a completely different person.”

“Huh? Oh, that’s right. It happened right around the time Lloyd stopped coming to the adventurer’s guild that Kane began to change.”

Remi lowered her eyebrows and continued with a sad smile.

“Since Kane became the leader of ‘Dragon King’s Flame,’ he has changed a lot. It’s as if he’s been venting all the frustration he’d built up, hiring porters just to take it out on them, and walking around mocking other adventurers and townsfolk.”

“…Huh?”

I let out a dumbfounded sound at Remi’s words.

Could Kane, who is supposed to be the protagonist of this anime, really be doing such things?

Wait a minute.

Isn’t this like a reversal of Kane’s and Lloyd’s roles?

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