Chapter 19
“Then let’s go again. Get ready.”
“You’re really persistent. What am I supposed to prepare?”
Grumbling, Lanken didn’t refuse Viletta’s orders. She gave a faint smile and pointed to the tail of the herd.
“Let’s target the one at the very back. Iola, can you use magic to lift the soil high and knock down a tree?”
“Depends on the size and the soil,” Iola replied.
“And if we want to topple a tree onto the path where Lanken is?”
“With preparation time, that should be possible.”
The more powerful and advanced the magic, the longer it took to create the formula. Viletta nodded as if she understood.
“Good. That will make things easier. Before the herd passes here, I’ll separate the last one from the group. Then, Iola, you can bring the tree down.”
“So you want me to drop the tree as if splitting the herd apart,” Iola said.
“Exactly. And if possible, as if hitting a big-horned rhino with it.”
“But I’m not sure it’ll actually knock it down.”
The tree Lanken was on wasn’t very large. A big-horned rhino would probably get up immediately even if hit.
“So Lanken jumps from the tree as it falls and drives his sword in,” Viletta explained.
“Is that even possible?”
Lanken furrowed his brows, unsure.
Falling with the tree, then leaping to strike the rhino—Viletta could vaguely picture it in her mind.
“Theoretically, yes.”
The branch Lanken sat on wasn’t too high. Even if he slipped, it wouldn’t cause serious injury.
“And if he accidentally falls?”
“Leave everything after the fall to Iola, just like before. If it’s dangerous, I’ll jump in myself.”
If the herd charged at Lanken, they could handle it with the same method as before. There might be a flaw, but trying it would reveal a solution.
Fortunately for Viletta, Iola readily agreed to the plan.
“If things go wrong, I can lift Lanken from the soil, so don’t worry. It’s worth trying. But how do you plan to separate the last one from the herd?”
“What? Has it already started?”
Iola extended his hand and focused, just like before. He kept an eye on the tree Lanken stood on, but never once lost sight of the herd’s movements.
Surprised by the sudden start, Lanken drew his sword and began estimating the distance by eye.
The plan hinged on how well they could separate the last rhino from the group.
The herd passing under this tree moved in a straight line for a long distance.
Animals like rhinos act as one when in a herd. Any threat approaching their bodies gets met with horns, so approaching a single one is nearly impossible.
But once isolated from the group, the leading rhinos rarely notice anything unusual and keep moving. Even if they sense something, they don’t turn back.
A lagging member is left behind, unfortunate but ignored. They don’t risk themselves for a separated companion; survival comes first.
So if they could separate the last rhino, it wouldn’t turn back even if the tree fell.
Viletta folded her left-hand fingers into a scissor-like shape, leaving only her index and thumb extended. She pointed at the last rhino with her index finger.
“I can use magic too, though not as well as Iola.”
Then she grabbed a thin paper box from her waist and threw it with all her strength.
A small puff of wind rolled like a bullet around her finger and shot forward.
Viletta’s wind magic was nothing more than this: creating a tiny air projectile. Weak enough that it only stung when it hit someone, enough to tear thin cloth or paper.
The projectile hit the last rhino, tearing the paper box and releasing a cloud of strong-smelling spices.
The object, originally for self-defense, spilled over the rhino’s snout.
“Mooaaah!”
Rhinos have sensitive noses.
Iola had told them this.
The rhino at the tail, overwhelmed by the pungent spices, couldn’t move forward and stomped its feet in distress. Meanwhile, the herd surged ahead without it.
What had been a two-step gap quickly became five. Confirming the distance, Viletta shouted excitedly:
“Perfect!”
“Get ready!”
Iola shouted toward Lanken.
From the base of the tree, Lanken lifted soil on one side, tipping the tree. The ground heaved, shaking even the tree where Iola and Viletta stood across the path.
From the toppling tree, Lanken leapt downward, sword ready.
The tree struck the rhino’s back, and although the sword didn’t hit a vital spot, it lodged in deeply.
But the force of the falling tree plus his leap caused the sword to pierce firmly. Blood gushed from the wound. Even if not a vital spot, a deep enough strike left no chance of survival.
His legs shook, eyes blinking, but his life would soon end.
As soon as Lanken’s sword embedded in the rhino, Iola leapt from the tree, guiding Viletta. He blocked the rhino’s approach with one hand and approached.
“Are you alright? We need to finish this!”
Iola drew his sword. Lanken, covered in blood, let go of the hilt, his head bowed, trembling.
“…Huh?”
“Well done. Now we just need to lure the herd somewhere else before they return…”
“Did you see? We got it!”
Lanken lifted his face, glowing like a child, cheeks flushed, breathing heavily.
“Look, Viletta! We did it!”
He was ecstatic. More than pride at catching the rhino by a hair’s breadth, it was pure joy and excitement. Lanken shone as if something wonderful had happened.
While Iola observed, Viletta bounced over to Lanken.
“Did you see it? Look! We did it! Success, see?”
Holding hands with Lanken, she jumped up and down. Her face, like his, was bright with happiness.
Her cheeks glowed like sunset as she struggled to contain her joy.
“Amazing! Incredible! We did it! We can tell everyone! Send the horns to the elders! No, send the head!”
“Of course! Father will be thrilled! We caught such a beast! Naturally! Nothing is impossible for me!”
Their faces bloomed with delight like perfectly timed flowers.
It was indeed a success. A hunt they feared might fail, with little preparation, had gone perfectly.
Viletta, often brash and failing before, had finally succeeded.
They couldn’t hide their emotions, laughing even as blood from the sword-stuck rhino soiled their shoes.
“Isn’t this amazing, Iola? We did it! Can you believe it?”
Iola, standing beside two people acting like children, gave a composed reply:
“Of course. You said it was possible.”
Unlike Viletta and Lanken, he didn’t cheer. For him, this wasn’t a great challenge or unexpected success—it was an outcome he had already accepted the moment Viletta said “we can do it.”
A firm, unshakable belief poured into Viletta, different from pure joy.
“We’ll definitely catch dragons too!”
Viletta beamed and embraced him.
“Congratulations on your engagement.”
“Thank you.”
“Najin’s fame is well-known even in Filian. Where is your brave son?”
“Haha, he’s spending time with his fiancée elsewhere for now.”
Specifically, he had gone dragon hunting. Monain almost unconsciously tightened his handshake.
“Already getting along well, I see. May the future bless these young ones!”
The viscount smiled, unaware he almost crushed Monain’s hand. Once greetings ended, Monain scowled at his subordinates.
“Any word from Iola yet?”
“None.”
“Damn it, what’s he doing? Who misses his own engagement ceremony? Are you sure Iola has no lover?”
“None. If he did, he wouldn’t hide it.”
“That’s him! Then why did he leave?”
On the day of the long-awaited engagement, Iola Najin and Viletta Medlidge’s ceremony was underway… without either of them.
Contrary to Cadlen’s claim that he’d return by the day before, there was still no word.
