Kays Translations

Chapter Nine: His First Resolve

(It will be all right… Little Boars are low-rank monsters!)

They were somewhat stronger than the weakest creatures encountered at the beginning of the game, but they were hardly formidable enemies by its standards.

That knowledge did little to calm Ren now.

In his previous life, he had never fought a wild animal, much less a monster. As the creature rushed him with its tusks bared, sweat ran down the back of his neck.

“Brwooo!”

The Little Boar leaped for Ren’s throat.

Startled, he thrust the Wooden Magic Sword in front of himself and wedged it between the monster’s jaws.

He could not stop its momentum. The impact drove him backward and onto the ground.

“Ghh…!”

Filthy tusks drew closer while foul saliva dripped from the creature’s mouth.

The direct, unmistakable intent to kill was unlike anything Ren had experienced. For one terrible moment, fear crushed his will.

(I will not lose!)

He forced himself to move.

Ren braced his arms and pushed against the Little Boar.

“What…?”

To his astonishment, the monster flew backward.

It had required almost no effort.

(Of course… Training with Father made me much stronger than I realized.)

Another Little Boar lunged as Ren regained his feet.

This time he did not buckle. He received its charge head-on, his enhanced strength keeping him steady.

“If this is all you can do, then I can handle you!”

He hurled the monster aside and stepped toward the third.

“Bwa–?!”

Ren swung the Wooden Magic Sword into its skull. The tremendous impact crushed its head.

A second monster rushed from behind, and he turned to strike its body. The blade did not cut through its armor-like coat, but the force caved in its torso.

The two Little Boars collapsed.

“Bwooo…”

The final creature fled deeper into the forest with a frightened cry.

Ren did not pursue it.

He immediately turned toward the bridge.

“Ren! I had no idea you were so strong…!”

Mireille had managed to get Roy’s arm over her shoulder, but the difference in their size made her progress painfully slow.

“It’s safe now! Let me help. We have to get Father home quickly!”

Still stunned by her son’s strength, Mireille obeyed. Even together, however, they struggled under Roy’s weight.

Ren quickly realized there was a better way.

“I’ll carry him.”

With Physical Ability Boost (Minor), the difference in their builds no longer mattered as much as it should have. Ren lifted Roy onto his back and felt some of his panic ease.

(I’m glad I summoned the sword before we left.)

Because he had not known what they might find, Ren had summoned the Wooden Magic Sword at the manor and worn it at his waist.

That decision had allowed him to protect his father’s life.

As soon as they reached the road between the fields, Mireille rushed ahead.

“Ren, I’m going to fetch Grandma Rigg!”

“Grandma Rigg?”

“She knows medicine. If anyone in the village can help him, she can!”

“Understood!”

Ren continued toward the manor alone with Roy on his back.

There was no room for loneliness. Every thought was occupied by his father’s condition.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The edge of the sky gradually turned deep blue.

Ren, who had not slept at all, saw the approaching dawn from his bedroom window.

“Is that… Grandma Rigg?”

The exhausted midwife had just stepped outside after spending the night treating Roy.

Ren hurried from his room and ran out of the manor.

“Grandma Rigg! How is Father?”

No one had yet told him the extent of Roy’s injuries or whether his condition had improved. Even Mireille had been sent from the room because she would interfere with the treatment.

“Young master… there you are.”

Grandma Rigg turned and approached him.

“I have managed to stabilize the master for now.”

For now.

That meant Roy was still not safe.

(Of course he isn’t… not after wounds like those.)

When they had placed him in bed, Ren had finally seen the full extent of the damage. A deep slash crossed Roy’s abdomen and had nearly exposed his organs. Several bones appeared to be broken as well; it was astonishing that he had managed to walk as far as the bridge.

“I still can’t believe a Little Boar could do that to Father…”

Grandma Rigg quietly shook her head.

“Then it was another monster?”

“Most likely. But the forest around here contains little besides Little Boars and large insects. I cannot imagine what creature inflicted those wounds.”

Ren lowered his gaze and thought.

(The D-rank monster attacked him.)

And it had appeared in a part of the forest close to the village.

Roy knew the area too well to recklessly venture somewhere dangerous. The monster must have entered territory he normally considered safe.

“Thank you, Grandma Rigg.”

“There is no need to thank me. I am going home to rest, but I will return this evening to examine him again. If anything changes before then, send for me immediately.”

“I will. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Her steps were heavy as she left. She looked entirely unlike the energetic woman Ren met during his morning walks.

She had clearly given everything she possessed to keep Roy alive.

Ren bowed toward her retreating back, then returned inside.

(I have to go back to the forest later.)

The Little Boar carcasses remained near the bridge. If their blood and flesh were left there, they might attract the D-rank monster.

(I also need to learn exactly what the monster is.)

With Roy incapacitated, Ren was the only person in the village capable of fighting.

He was still an inexperienced seven-year-old, but at least he possessed a skill.

(If I do nothing, it may come into the village.)

If the creature had moved so close, Ren needed to reduce the weak monsters it could use as food, just as Roy had been doing.

Still thinking, he reached his parents’ bedroom. He knocked, waited for Mireille’s answer, and entered.

“Father…”

Roy lay in the large bed, his body wrapped in bandages that were already stained rather than white. His eyes remained closed, but his chest continued to rise and fall.

The sight of that breathing finally loosened some of the tension in Ren’s body.

“When he wakes, I’ll make sure he knows you saved him,” Mireille said from a chair beside the bed.

“I was lucky too.”

Ren gave a strained smile, then noticed the parchment resting on her lap.

“Is that what Lord Weiss brought?”

“Yes.”

Normally Ren would have asked permission, but this time he reached for the parchment without a word.

His eyes found the monster’s name.

(That can’t be true.)

“I believe this is what attacked him,” Mireille said.

“Yes… probably… but…”

“But what?”

“Nothing.”

Inside, Ren’s thoughts were in turmoil.

Why was that monster here?

Of all creatures, why this one?

(A Thief Wolfen…)

The Thief Wolfen was a wolf-like monster with pure white fur, four tails, and six eyes. Standing upright, it reached approximately four adult men’s heights.

Its first defining trait was extraordinary speed.

The second was the power suggested by the word thief in its name. It manipulated wind magic with exceptional precision, extending the air around its body like invisible hands to steal objects from its opponents.

Even in the game, encounters with Thief Wolfens were extremely rare. It was entirely possible to complete the story without ever finding one.

They were not weak, either. Their combat strength placed them in the middle to upper range of D-rank. Defeating one could yield rare items, making the reward considerable–for anyone capable of winning.

(The problem is that it is far too strong.)

Ren would gladly have defeated it if he could.

But a boy who had only fought his first Little Boars the previous night had no chance against a Thief Wolfen.

(No. I cannot fight it.)

No matter how he considered the battle, he could not imagine victory.

Yet he could not ignore it.

If his conclusion was correct, the Thief Wolfen had appeared in the forest near the bridge. At that distance, it could reach the village before long.

(I have to keep it away somehow.)

“Ren…? What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly become so quiet?”

“I was thinking.”

“Thinking about what? You aren’t planning to enter the forest, are you?”

“I’m the only one who can fight.”

Mireille sprang from her chair in alarm.

“No! You aren’t ready for that!”

“I defeated three Little Boars at once.”

“That changes nothing! What will happen if the monster that defeated your father appears? You cannot safely face something stronger than he is!”

It was an entirely reasonable argument.

Ren felt its weight, but he had no intention of yielding.

“Mother, the village is already in terrible danger.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“No matter how strong Father is, he would never deliberately challenge something this dangerous alone. If the Thief Wolfen attacked him, doesn’t that mean it appeared much closer to the village than anyone expected?”

“That is…”

“We don’t have time to wait and hope.”

There was another reason as well.

“I was born into House Ashton. Like Father, I have a duty to protect this village.”

Mireille finally fell silent.

The sight hurt Ren, but he did not withdraw his words. Weiss himself, commander of the baron’s knights, had spoken of House Ashton’s duty to protect the village.

As the wife of its head, Mireille knew that Ren was right.

“I considered evacuating everyone,” Ren continued. “But there is no guarantee we wouldn’t encounter monsters outside the village. And even then, I would still be the only one able to fight.”

Remaining in the village was safer than fleeing blindly.

Until the baron’s reinforcements arrived, the most practical plan was for Ren to hunt weaker monsters in the part of the forest nearest the village and prevent the Thief Wolfen from being drawn any closer.

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