Chapter 382:
I Think They’ve Multiplied
“EXCUSE ME, Miss Ivy, Mr. Druid, are you home?”
Just as we returned from prepping baaba meat at Kohl’s house for the food stall, we saw the familiar backsides of a trio waiting for us in front of our tent.
“It’s the gentlemen of Zephyr,” I told my father. The conflicted look in his eyes made me feel like we really needed to sit down and talk it out. “Hello, gentlemen. What brings you here?” I called out to the trio.
“Huh?! Ah, good thing we caught you. We came here to tell you something, but we didn’t realize you were out.”
“Yes, sir, we were at a friend’s house.”
Zinal gave me a hard stare in reply. I answered with a curious look, then felt a sharp tug at my back. I looked up at my father, a little surprised.
“And what did you want to talk about?” My father’s brow was slightly furrowed. Zinal looked equally disgruntled, but he quickly hid it.
“Oh, we just got some news.”
“News?”
Were we expecting news? If we were, would it be about the problem in the forest?
“Well, it’s more like we wanted to pick your brains about something. Could you hear us out?”
If they wanted us to hear them out…that meant this might take a while. And they might not want what they asked us to be overheard.
“Um, I’ll just go make some tea. Sit tight.”
I hurried back to the tent and opened the front door. My creatures had come with us that day, so they eagerly bounded out of their bag.
“Sorry, guys, we have company. I’ll just get your potions out,” I whispered to them.
Sora and Flame jiggled in reply. I took their potions out of the bag along with some spent magic items for Sol. I gave the three a satisfied nod, and they jiggled back at me.
“Have a nice supper. I’ll be back soon. Ciel, hold down the fort for me, okay?”
I waved goodbye to the quartet, grabbed enough tea leaves and cups for the five of us, and left the tent.
“I’m gonna go make us some tea, Dad!”
I grabbed the pot on top of our table and headed to the cooking area. Oh, we still haven’t picked up our table from the repair shop yet. I hope we manage to get it tomorrow.
I returned with the tea to find the mood inexplicably gloomy. Was there bad news?
“Here you go.”
After I set cups of tea in front of everyone, I sat in my chair and my father activated the magic item on the table.
“So, what did you want to tell us?”
“Our rampaging monsters in the forest have multiplied. Quite suddenly, in fact.”
What? They’ve multiplied?
“Explain.”
“The elite adventurers who make up the survey team are patrolling the village every day, close enough that you can see them from the gate. We’ve gotten more and more reports from those surveyors that the unusual feeling in the forest was getting stronger and stronger. We went to see for ourselves and, sure enough, it had increased dramatically in the span of just a day. So we talked it over and decided that the monsters had to be multiplying.”
“So you sensed the anomaly, sir?” I asked.
“We think it’s easier to sense now that there are more monsters.”
I get it. So if the monsters multiplied that quickly, does that mean the village is more likely to get attacked? I did hear that monsters tend to expand their circle of attack when they ran out of things to eat, but then how did they multiply so suddenly? Something’s definitely off.
“Are there really more monsters?”
“Mr. Druid, you are a traveling adventurer. Have you heard any news during your travels that might be relevant?” Garitt looked my father dead in the eye. He shook his head no in reply, and Garitt said, “I see.”
Hmmm…I can’t quite put my finger on it, but aren’t they overlooking something? No, that’s not it. I feel like I’m so close to the answer…but what is it? It’s a monster that’s good at blending in with its surroundings, and it can multiply suddenly… Ah, it’s no use. I’ve got nothing.
“By the way, did you folks help out with a baaba food stall?”
“Huh?” We looked at Fische, startled by the sudden change of subject.
“Oh, am I wrong? Sorry, it’s just that I had some, and it tasted a lot like the stuff you cooked us for dinner.”
“Oh! Yes, we did help out. So you ate some, sir?”
“Yes, Zinal smelled it and realized it smelled an awful lot like the food we ate here, so we lined up to get some.”
So they came to the stall. And they said it’s because it smelled like the food I cooked here, so I guess that means people can’t resist the flavor. Eeee, I’m so honored!
“Thank you very much, sir.”
“Oh, no, I should be thanking you,” Zinal insisted. “A recipe that makes baaba edible is good news for Hataka. My son lives here, so I’ve been worried. Thanks, Miss Ivy.”
“I’m just glad you like it.”
Zinal really is a great dad. I don’t sense any reason why my father should be suspicious of him. I stole a glance at my father, and I could tell he was staring at Zinal. Does he still not trust him?
“Yeah, well, we had one other bit of news. They’re going to put together a new survey team.”
Oops, we’ve changed the subject again. A new survey team? Are they really going to head into a forest where there’s probably way more monsters?
“This time, the survey will only cover the outskirts of Hataka. You can’t fight your enemy unless you know it first.”
Okay, I guess this means it’s still safe enough. Oh, I wonder if this information is a secret from other villages?
“Excuse me, sir, but is it all right if other villages know about Hataka’s problem?” I asked.
The gentlemen of Zephyr gave me confused looks, and my father looked startled.
“Village news does spread, albeit slowly. Nobody keeps anything secret. But why do you ask?”
“Your mentor lives in the town of Oll, Dad. He knows about all kinds of things, so he might have some information for us. Could we ask him?”
“You’re right, my mentor has wasted a lot of time traveling everywhere.”
Wasted a lot of time? I shot my dad a disapproving look, and he shrugged his shoulders sheepishly in reply.
“A mentor in Oll…are you talking about Monz?” Garitt asked my father eagerly.
Monz? Who’s Monz?
“Oh, you know him?”
Huh? Know who?
“Yes, he helped me out of a tight spot once. So you’re an apprentice of his, Mr. Druid?”
“Yeah, you might say that.”
If my father is his apprentice, then…
“Dad, is Monz your mentor?”
My father looked surprised by my question. “Huh? Didn’t you know?”
“Well, you always just call him Master and everyone else only calls him Mentor, even all the villagers. I don’t think I ever actually got his name.”
I didn’t forget it, did I? I just never learned it…I hope.
“So you’re an apprentice of his. Yeah, I heard Monz stopped the monster attacks in Oll last year. He’s still in action, then.”
Garitt sounded particularly proud of the old mentor. I guess he must really like him a lot.
“Ohh, right, he did solve that problem. He got a lot of help, though.”
“Did you help him, Mr. Druid?”
“No, not directly. I lost my arm a little while before that, and I hadn’t gotten used to the change yet.”
My father’s tone was casual, but the men of Zephyr looked horrified. My father just laughed it off, though.
Things have gotten kind of awkward… Well, I’d better just ask what I wanted to ask.
“So, um, is it okay if I tell your mentor about our problem in Hataka?”
“Of course. I’d feel very reassured to hear Mr. Monz’s opinion.”
Mr. Monz… Yeah, it just doesn’t feel right.
“So should we send a faax tomorrow?” my father asked.
“Good idea. You know, we might’ve gotten a reply by now anyway,” I said.
“Sure, we sent faaxes to everybody. I completely forgot.” My father smiled sheepishly.
“Wow, so you communicate with people by faax?” Zinal leaned forward, looking a bit surprised.
I leaned back, also in surprise. “Yes, sir. Everyone worries about me, you see.”
“Everyone?” Zinal gave me a curious look.
“Well, never mind that,” my father said, placing a hand behind my back so I wouldn’t fall over. “Anyway, how much should we tell him? Should we say that the members of Zephyr are involved?”
The trio nodded in reply. That must have meant they were fine with us letting him know everything.
“Got it. We’ll send the fax first thing tomorrow. Think we should wake up early?” I asked my father.
“Yeah. The sooner we take care of this, the better.”
Yes, I’m always eager to fix problems as quickly as possible. I only hope my father’s mentor does know something that might help us.
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