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Chapter 70. Lionhead In The Wilderness

"Miss, the foreman who oversees Greva is here."

Melvin brought the lion head he was working on earlier. With a height of over 2 meters, it has a unique mane. It's imposing up close.

If this guy punches you, you'd die in an instant.

"Thank you for your hard work. I apologize for coming suddenly."

Cherina greeted the lion head with a light greeting as if she didn't feel any fear.

"Hey, I'm Greva. Nice to meet you."

Huh?

I expected him to speak with a deep, gravelly voice, but... huh?

"I'm sorry for disturbing you during work, but I'd like to hear about the recent situation with lumber."

"Yeah, there's been an increase in skilled raftsmen lately, and a considerable amount of timber is flowing in. Many are aiming for a fortune. Most raftsmen wanted to sell it at a high price midway through to Sevites. Well, the world isn't that kind. Raftsmen with longstanding trades are favored, and even though Sevites is a major city, it seems they don't need to buy everything, so a lot of it is flowing down here. With oversupply, if we don't sell it here, it'll just flow into the sea, so the prices are dropping day by day. Well, it's good and bad that the selling price is also dropping."

It's comical to see Lionhead explain the situation fluently despite his appearance.

"I see, so is there sufficient stock?"

"Yeah, there's plenty. Cherina, please buy a lot. I'll study hard!"

Wow, the contrast between his appearance and his demeanor is severe. What a disappointing lion he is.

"I currently have no plans to use lumber, but if the price is at its lowest, I might consider it."

This woman says it so casually.

"Of course, now is the best time to buy! Right? Right!"

"But if so many raftsmen are coming down, the prices are likely to keep dropping."

"No way! Even if we lower the price further for purchase, there aren't enough people to process it! If we end up increasing the workforce, there's a possibility that the price might go up!"

"Is there demand, though?"

"The demand for firewood is high, but that area is originally dirt cheap. There's no profit."

"What about building materials?"

"The economy overall is declining. There are many vacant properties, and only your place, Cherina, bothers to build new ones. Also, if you buy in large quantities for large ships, the Baron will be pleased, thinking he's being helped, right?"

Disappointing Lion Greva bows and pleads. Yeah. He lost out by being scared.

"Let me think about it."

That's where the conversation ends, but Disappointing Lion doesn't back down.

"For the past few days, we've been receiving orders for various woods from Velerro's place. Unlike before, they're asking for all types of wood we handle, even sorted by drying days, as if they're using it for some research."

"..."

"No, I'm not trying to pry at all. I'd just really appreciate it if you could place your orders as soon as possible so I can learn."

He's not just a disappointing down-and-out lion; his merchant's face isn't bad.

"Hehehe, didn't you realize I deliberately ordered everything here so you'd understand? Greva, you lack training. Perform your scams at a more appropriate time. For example, it might have been effective if you brought it up during our first greeting."

"Ugh..."

He already showed his weakness.

"I can't promise, but I might come to place an order soon. At that time, I'll make sure you learn properly."

"Miss Cherina, you're unmatched. Please continue to rely on me..."

That's when Greva cut him off.

And Greva's expression suddenly changed into the face of a fierce beast.

It's the expression of a lion hunting in the wilderness.

"What...?"

"Everyone! Gather! Spirits! Something's wrong!"

"What do you mean?"

Greva, Yaralai, and Hugg follow.

"Did something happen?"

I look around. There are only piles of lumber stacked up in the wilderness.

"Anyway, let's go to the sides of those two."

I take Cherina's hand and move to the side of Hugg and Yaralai. Cherina's four guards also gather around.

"So, what's..."

"Shh! Quiet!"

Then, they start singing with a mysterious melody. It's like the time they used sorcery... no, techniques.

"...Animals, they're coming this way!"

Everyone turned their attention in the direction Yaralai pointed. All I could see was the horizon of the wilderness. Wait? What's that?

As I squinted, I could faintly see dust rising on the horizon. At first, it was just a dot, but gradually, it billowed into the sky.

It's a landscape I vaguely recognize. And then it clicked in my mind. Yes, it's like the Paris-Dakar rally I saw on TV!

It resembles the sandstorm kicked up by a big 4WD running at high speed across the horizon. But in a world where cars don't exist, what could create such a dust cloud...?

"It's... it's a Hagle! A Haglebuffalo is coming!"

One of the workers who was lifting logs shouted from the top of the log pile. They must have spotted it early from their vantage point.

Upon hearing this, all the workers screamed and started to flee.

"Hurry! We might make it to the city gate if we run!"

Indeed, the city walls are visible enough that the gate isn't too far away if we run along the wall.

"...It's futile. By now the guards must have noticed and closed the gate."

"Yeah."

Hugg and Yaralai remained calm.

Well, with these two, they could probably handle a buffalo on their own.

"Cherina, I haven't been commissioned, but I'll hunt the buffalo, okay?"

Yaralai asked Cherina.

"Huh? Uh, yes. There's no problem if there's a risk of attack, especially since it's a Hagle. It's dangerous..."

"Alright, I'll hunt it."

With a quick movement, Yaralai wielded a black needle on his back and a dagger as thick as a child's arm with one hand. It's impressive that he can handle such a thing with one hand.

"What are you doing, you selfish elf?"

"..."

"If it's just a buffalo, I'm enough. You stay back."

"...You, hit iron or something, you nuisance."

"What did you say!? You twig elf! You hit some nearby lumber instead!"

"...Are you going to die first? Dwarf."

"I'll smash you as a warm-up!"

Hagg aimed a giant iron hammer at Yaralai. The two glared at each other fiercely, kicking up dust.

"Wait, wait, wait! Do you guys understand the situation?! It's dangerous right now, so why are you fighting?!"

I don't know how dangerous a buffalo is, but judging from the reactions around me, it seems like quite a formidable opponent. The most dangerous animal I know is a wild boar, but that thing is quite dangerous; its hide is so thick that even if you try to attack it with a hatchet, it won't damage it.

I really thought I was going to die back then.

People of Japan, if you see a boar in the mountains, don't challenge it. It's impossible to finish it with punches between the eyebrows like in manga. Seriously impossible.

So, how big is a buffalo? Are they as big as cows?

From such thoughts, I looked at the dust cloud again.

Gradually, its shape became clearer.

A slightly elongated face with two menacing horns. Whether it's because of a high spine or a low neck position, its back seems visible above its face. Its fur seems to be a mix of black and brown. Compared to the buffalo I know, it seems to have less fur overall, mostly short-haired. Its ears extend sideways and sway up and down with each step it takes, kicking up sand.

Roughly speaking, it looks like the animal I imagined, but something feels off.

What's off?

I couldn't find the answer for a while.

Perhaps it was because the screams around me were too loud to concentrate. Even Cherina, who is usually brave, clung to me with a pale face. Melvin, along with the four guards, also surrounded Cherina with swords in hand.

Come to think of it, Melvin's "light sword" is still broken... sorry.

Hmm, it's running fast. And it's coming straight toward us.

I decided it would be better to hide in the shadow of the lumber, so I hid with Cherina and the guards.

"Akira, don't move from there."

"Got it."

There's no way I can handle it. I've only just started learning wave techniques, and I've only been building basic physical strength.

The buffalo is getting closer and closer.

But something feels strange.

Gradually, I can hear a loud noise. Is it footsteps?

Isn't that weird?

We've been able to see the buffalo for quite some time now, but only now can we hear its footsteps...?

"Oh."

I realized it. I realized it too late.

"Hey... isn't that thing too big?"

It was easily the size of a city wall.

――――

"Evacuate! Evacuate!" 

Foreman Greva shouted loudly.

"Where should we go!?"

"Anywhere, just run!"

"Waaah!"

It was utter chaos, like overturning a bucket. And that panic was spreading to us.

"Hey, Yaralai, Hagg! Let's run too!" I shouted to them from the shadow of the lumber. We had to shout because of the buffalo's footsteps and the screams around us.

"Huh? Where would we run at this point?"

"Where...?"

That's right, no one knew where to run, which is why everyone was in a panic. Some were jumping into the river. Others were clinging to logs trying to go downstream.

"How about that? Let's use the logs to go downstream! We're almost at the city walls. Once we pass them, we'll be in the town!"

Even if it's the slums, it's not the time for such talk.

"Oh? We don't have time for that, see?"

Following Hugg's calm words, I turned my head, and there, a huge... yes, it was already a gigantic buffalo right in front of us... No, wait, it stopped a little ahead. It's a miracle I didn't get run over in its mad dash. I really don't want my second death to be from being run over by an animal.

"Hey Hagg, why did it stop?"

"You'd know if you looked. It's noisy."

As I was told, when I peeked out, the buffalo started munching on the stacked logs.

Isn't it weird for it to be chomping down on logs like that?!

"Hey, Cherina... isn't it... too big?"

"Y-yes... that... is huge."

"Yeah..."

"Yes, it's probably about 30% larger than the normal size."

Huh?

"Huh?! Only 30% larger?! It's just 30% smaller than a normal one?!"

"Huh? Yes, that's right. I've only seen corpses, but that's about it."

Man, I underestimated this other world.

"Yaralai! Hagg! Let's run!"

"It's just a herbivore, no need to run."

"...? Run? Why?"

I don't understand what they're saying.

"Why?... That thing's huge! We can't do anything about it!"

"No problem... let's go!"

As Yaralai started running, he uttered words that sounded like a mysterious melody.

"Spirits, spirits of the wind, lend me your power. Wind, wind, dance around me!"

For some reason, I understood Yaralai's words clearly this time.

And it wasn't his usual broken speech.

Probably, he didn't use the local language, and the mysterious translation-san is translating it for me.

"I'll have it all to myself! I am the hammer! I'll crush everything before me! I'll smash everything that stands in my way! I am the hammer!!"

This time, Hugg started cracking his knuckles and saying something like a chuunibyou.

I thought he was fooling around, but as soon as he finished speaking, his muscles swelled even more, and his eyes began to shine with a fierce light.

Not metaphorically, he was emitting light. No, his whole body seemed to be faintly glowing.

"What's that?!"

"That's, wave technique! Amazing power!"

"Wave technique?!"

"I've never seen wave technique with such powerful force before."

"Do you understand?"

"The stronger the force of the wave technique, the more it emits light."

"I see, that guy Hagg is shining bright."

You're shining, man.

Sorry, just wanted to say that.