Chapter 115: The Beastfolk Have Come Again

“Next time, I’ll make them regret ever crossing us!”

Lua shouted, her voice blazing with fury, her entire body trembling with the anger of the humiliation she had just endured.

“Spread every nasty rumor about them… no, better yet—sneak into the guild in the dead of night and wreak havoc inside! Make it look like they did it…”

She muttered these dark, dangerous ideas under her breath, her eyes flashing with a reckless gleam. Her fellow party members, however, exchanged worried glances. It was clear they felt they had to stop her before she went too far.

“Uh… hey, maybe we shouldn’t do that,” one of them said cautiously.

“Even if we did, it wouldn’t benefit us at all…” another added.

“Y-Yeah, I agree,” a third chimed in, voice trembling slightly.

“What? Are you saying you’re taking their side?!” Lua snapped, turning to glare at them.

“N-No, that’s not what we mean…” they stammered.

“Come on, remember when we first started as adventurers! They looked down on us just because we were all women! We all swore back then that we’d show them what we were capable of!”

“That’s right! Think about how the old us would feel if they saw who we’ve become now!”

Lua froze, a moment of realization dawning on her face.

When they had first set out as adventurers, their hearts had been full of lofty ideals and determination. Reality, however, was harsh, and as they gradually realized their own limits, they had come to accept—almost complacently—that being admired by male adventurers was enough. Somewhere along the way, they had forgotten the fire that had once driven them.

“…You’re right…” Lua murmured weakly, recalling those days, her fierce resolve momentarily softened.

Her companions pressed on with renewed vigor.

“Instead of trying to take others down, we need to get stronger ourselves!”

“Yes! And then we’ll show them!”

“Alright… I get it! As adventurers, we’ll face them head-on and prove ourselves!”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Then let’s get moving—time to find a quest!”

With their determination reignited, they headed to the bulletin board where quests were posted.

“Something good…? Ah! Here it is!”

They had found a special kind of quest.

“A series of mysterious disappearances in the city? Huh… I think I’ve heard rumors about that.”

“But isn’t that the lord’s job? Why is the guild handling it?”

“Apparently, the lord has been investigating, but hasn’t been able to get any leads at all.”

Recently, the city had been plagued by a string of unexplained disappearances. Young women were vanishing without a trace. Whoever or whatever was behind it had yet to be caught, and solving the case—or even uncovering a clue—would earn the adventurers a substantial reward from the lord.

“This seems… really tough,” one member admitted.

The number of adventurers who could take the quest wasn’t limited, but the reward depended entirely on success. Quests like this, known as bounty quests, were high-stakes affairs: if completed, they could be a tremendous achievement, but competition was fierce, and the risk was significant. Other strong adventurer parties might have already taken it up.

Lua, however, smiled wickedly.

“Look closely at this. See? All the missing people are young women.”

The other members froze in shock.

“That means… one of us can act as bait to lure the culprit!”

◇ ◇ ◇

Back in Arcel, I returned to check on things at my secondary home garden.

“Alright. By now, the monsters should be starting to gather again.”

Because I had overdone the automatic garden-leveling technique, even using the monster-attracting incense barely brought any creatures. I had paused the process temporarily, but now enough time had passed that it might be safe to resume.

As usual, I opened part of the barrier to allow monsters to enter. Shadows began to move at the edge of the magical wilderness.

“Good. They’re coming. The rest is up to you.”

“――”

As I prepared to let the golems handle the battle, I noticed something strange.

“…Huh? Those aren’t monsters.”

Looking closer, I realized the approaching figures were beastmen.

They numbered around ten, from teenagers to those in their forties. They looked battered and worn, as though they had just emerged from the heart of the magical wilderness, some visibly injured.

“Th-there are people…”

“Here… of all places?”

They, too, regarded me with a mixture of shock and caution.

“Um… hello, nice to meet you,” I said, offering a tentative greeting.

Hesitant but curious, they began to approach, stepping carefully into the garden. As they crossed the threshold of the barrier, the concealment spell faded, revealing the full view of the garden. Their eyes widened at the sight.

“Wh-what is this place?”

“There’s a place like this near the magical wilderness…?”

At this point, I had no choice but to explain briefly.

“This is my home garden. I have my reasons for keeping it here.”

“A… home garden…?”

“Or maybe it’s more like a farm…”

One of the beastmen, who had been watching in confusion, suddenly froze, sniffing the air.

“This smell…!”

One by one, the others began reacting in the same way, their voices rising in surprise.

“Huh? …This is!”

“No mistake about it!”

“It’s the scent of Io-sama!”

Io-sama?

“Wait… you know Io-san?”

“So it’s true! Io-sama is here!?”

It seemed they were acquaintances of Io-san. Being fellow beastmen, it wasn’t surprising that they knew her—but recognizing her by scent alone was impressive.

“Uh… shall I guide you to her?”

They nodded enthusiastically, clearly thrilled. I led them straight to Io-san, watching their expressions light up as we approached.