Chapter 17
“This has turned into something even more horrifying.”
A pig’s head or a goat’s head lying around like that made the scene look less like an engagement ceremony and more like a slaughterhouse. It felt as though the dreadful screams of the Medlidge family were echoing in the air, but Viretta ignored Rankhen’s concern.
“And besides, it seems like Rankhen is terribly worried about me. You don’t really believe that a delicate young maiden like me—fragile as a single flower—could hunt a ferocious beast, do you?”
“Do you remember how we almost died when we went looking for that huge alligator?”
“I don’t look back at the past. Don’t obsess over things that are already over.”
“You should! Learn from the past!”
“I’ll only look to the future and walk the glorious path laid out before me! I’ll prove my skills by hunting a great beast!”
“You’re planning to hunt it yourself, Miss Viretta?”
Iola, who had been clearing away small branches and bushes beside her, widened her eyes. Viretta smiled softly, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
“Of course!”
She hadn’t thought it through that far, but from this moment on, that was how it would be.
“I knew you had passion and determination, Miss Viretta, but I didn’t realize you meant to roll up your sleeves and jump straight into the hunt yourself.”
“Did you think I’d just stand behind and give orders?”
“Yes, I’m ashamed to admit it, but I did have that prejudice. After all, you’re wearing clothes that don’t exactly suit hunting.”
Viretta was wearing a high-waisted long skirt. Without a petticoat, it was only slightly voluminous and fell to about a hand’s breadth above her ankles.
Each time she stretched her legs, the teal skirt fluttered lightly.
“You’re also wearing a short cape whose purpose is… unclear.”
“It’s a fashion trend that’s about to take off. The times will catch up to me.”
The dark-colored cape, chosen to accent her outfit, was extremely short—barely reaching her chest.
“And you’re wearing high heels.”
Viretta tapped the mountainside lightly with her five-centimeter heels. Shoes like that might be uncomfortable for some people, but Viretta, accustomed to high heels, walked across the slope as if it were flat ground.
“They’re comfortable once you get used to them. This is my everyday wear, after all.”
“Is that so? Why did you choose high heels as everyday shoes?”
Even without heels, Viretta was about half a head taller than average. With heels on, her eye level rose higher than that of most men.
Standing in her heels, Viretta’s eye level was almost the same as Iola’s and Rankhen’s. She spread her hand and shaded her eyes as if gazing into the distance, smiling.
“Because it feels great.”
She enjoyed looking down on others. Viretta liked her tall stature.
“And it widens my field of vision.”
Once you got used to them, heels were no trouble at all. Iola nodded while looking at Viretta’s high-heeled shoes.
“I suppose even heels are no exception to that rule. But actually, everything we just talked about is secondary… You aren’t carrying any weapons.”
“……”
That part, she truly had forgotten. At Iola’s blunt yet polite remark, Viretta stared straight ahead in flustered silence.
Rankhen and Iola each carried a sword, but Viretta’s hands were empty. She had even left her large pack at the inn.
“And you don’t have any tools for setting traps either.”
“W-well, anything in the mountains can become a tool, you know…”
She couldn’t admit now that she had simply forgotten.
Fortunately, Iola was the kind of person who would kindly accept even such a poor excuse.
“You’re absolutely right. And since you’re a mage, it should be fine even without tools—you could come with nothing but yourself. I overlooked that.”
“Oh, right! I can use magic. I studied under a renowned mage for two whole years!”
“As expected. That explains your confidence. What kind of magic can you use, and to what extent?”
“I can use a little light and wind magic. My master always said he’d never seen a student like me before. He even said I have great potential.”
Having found an escape route, Viretta puffed up proudly.
While Viretta roamed freely up and down the mountain without a weapon, Rankhen remained silent. He didn’t criticize her boasting, nor did he try to stop her plans.
From long experience, Rankhen knew how journeys like this tended to end. Words would never change Viretta’s mind. Only results could.
Viretta burned like fire—she had to blaze fiercely once before it burned out. Just like when she had charged off to find the lake monster, only to retreat after nearly being bitten by an alligator, claiming she had “figured out what the monster really was.” She needed a trigger.
In short, if today’s hunt failed, she might simply say, “I’ll build my skills and try again next time!” and return home. And if anyone were injured during the hunt, she would definitely turn back.
After all, even Viretta knew that if she couldn’t catch a single large beast, talking about hunting a dragon was absurd.
She was unrealistic—but not oblivious to reality.
“So what are you planning to hunt?” Rankhen asked.
“You said the largest beast on this mountain is the Great-Horned Ox, right? It’s small compared to a dragon, but it should be good for a test hunt.”
“Alright.”
That was why Rankhen stayed quiet. If they were going to return home in the end anyway, he saw no reason to interfere with her brief wandering and enjoyment.
If they failed today, they could still return just in time for the engagement ceremony. Then there would be no problem at all.
“So, are you finally going to happily cooperate with me? That makes me glad. Then let’s prepare for the hunt. I’ll lure the Great-Horned Ox.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes. I’ll draw it in, and you two jump down from the trees and finish it off. How does that sound?”
“Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Of course. I don’t have a weapon, after all. A bow would’ve been nice, but I can’t blame anyone for poor preparation. You said the Great-Horned Ox charges down this path in the afternoon, right? Let’s wait here.”
“That’s a dangerous decision.”
“It’s fine. Viretta will handle it somehow.”
Rankhen patted Iola on the shoulder. Iola blinked her clear green eyes.
“Do you truly believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. If Rankhen, who has watched over Miss Viretta, says so, then I’ll trust you both completely.”
“Mm.”
In truth, Rankhen hadn’t thought very deeply about it.
As the ending drew near, he grew calm. He firmly believed that they would be heading home shortly.
After all, there was no way Viretta could hunt a ferocious beast.
* * *
They should have thought more carefully. No matter which way.
Viretta, Rankhen, and Iola—each of the three came to the exact same realization.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Viretta screamed as she sprinted through the forest. Just as she had declared beforehand, her high heels did not hinder her running at all. It felt as though she were barefoot, encountering no resistance as she dashed along the mountain path.
Using the agility she had honed by vaulting over walls, Viretta leapt over rocks and bushes and glanced back.
“There are so many! So many! Why are there that many?!”
The problem was the number of Great-Horned Oxen. Ten of them were charging together in a single herd.
“Great-Horned Oxen naturally move in herds!”
From atop a large tree, Iola shouted down at the crown of Viretta’s head as she fled.
“You should’ve told me that beforehand!”
“I tried to stop you!”
The timing of their warnings was always too late.
Only after climbing the mountain did they point out that she had no weapon and unsuitable clothing, and only after she was being chased by a herd did they mention that Great-Horned Oxen moved in groups.
Viretta ran with all her might. By sheer luck, the dense trees and rocks blocked the oxen’s path enough that she was still alive.
“Of course, with my outstanding skills, I could take down even a hundred of these cows—but next time, please be more specific when you try to stop me!”
The plan collapsed spectacularly from the very start. If there had only been one ox, she could have lured it between the two trees where Iola and Rankhen waited, giving them a chance to jump down and strike its back.
But ten Great-Horned Oxen were not something three people could handle.
Each ox, bearing massive horns, was larger than a cart and weighed as much as four grown men combined. Being gored would mean at least severe injury.
“Then I might as well tell you this too! Ordinary swords can’t even cut through a Great-Horned Ox’s hide! They’re usually hunted with bows and spears!”
“You should’ve told me that earlier too!”
“I thought you had a plan since you said you could use magic… Ah—use magic!”
“Use what magic?! She’s terrible at magic too!”
From a tree across the way, Rankhen looked down at Viretta in mounting panic.
Being chased by ten Great-Horned Oxen wasn’t a matter of failure anymore—it was a matter of life and death. If he’d known it would turn out like this, he should have examined everything far more carefully from the start.
He wanted her to fail—but he never wanted Viretta to get hurt.
“Didn’t you say you had potential?!”
“I do! But it’s so deeply buried that my master said it’ll probably bloom in my next life!”
Her master had never denied her potential. He had simply said it was so thoroughly sealed that it was useless in this lifetime.
To be precise, his words had been: “There’s no hope in this life. Try again in the next.”
“Well, that’s not wrong! But… no, never mind. I’ll lure them away.”
For the first time, true urgency appeared on Iola’s usually composed face. Finally realizing how badly things had gone wrong, Iola gripped his sword tightly.
