Chapter 3

The last to come out was the father and his son. Fortunately, the boy was okay, he got away with just a few scratches but this whole experience would forever leave a scar in both his mind and heart. He was a child after all and his mind was still too fragile and delicate, just a slight push like this incident could break him.

It was a pity that his innocence and purity had been tainted at such an early age. A child as young as him probably doesn't even know the meaning of death. Traumatized and scarred by everything he had seen, he was too shocked to even comprehend most of it.

The man by his side, however, had a blank expression. It was unknown just how intense his feelings were. His wife was heavily injured and though he had hope, he knew deep down that she couldn't stay with them anymore.

The father was trying his best to stay strong and not break down. If his son were to see him crying like a little child, the boy would be as overwhelmed as him.

A few minutes passed, and as expected, the woman couldn't make it. The father, despite the pain he's going through, took his son away from the scene. Tears were forming in his eyes but once he turned his back away, carrying his son, he didn't dare look back.

The traveler felt slightly sympathetic but the feeling was too little for him to even notice. He understood their grief and suffering but his perspective of death was completely different from theirs.

The traveler stood still for a good two minutes, just feeling and hearing the things that surround him. The people couldn't help but feel sorry for the family of three, they knew how it felt to lose a loved one. They were murmuring about how they could comfort the boy and the father.

The traveler thought that since they were already talking, it would be a great time to ask about the rumored beast, which isn't a rumor anymore. Though he wondered, the woman had said that it was just a rumored beast but the locals seemed to be quite familiar with this occurrence.

After some time, he got all the information he could get. From his conversations with the residents, he discovered that the beast was never just a rumor. There had been plenty of attacks from it and knights had tried their best to defend against it.

However, the knights couldn't succeed. The village chief was the one who decided to pass it off as just a rumor to not attract attention. Their main source of income was from the travelers and tourists after all so they couldn't afford to say that there was a ferocious beast around the area and lose the chance to get more guests.

According to the citizens, the village chief had paid mercenaries to get rid of the beast but still, none succeeded. This made the traveler confused, why couldn't they handle a simple beast? Knights alone should be enough but the chief hired mercenaries and was still unsuccessful?

He was low on money and if there was a reward for catching the beast, then he wouldn't mind taking his time to hunt it down, and luckily, there was. The more attacks there were, the value of its head will increase, they say.

Currently, the reward for killing the beast was fifty thousand alvas. In the traveler's opinion, it wasn't a bad amount but at the same time, for a beast that has been running around destroying people's property and even taking their lives, it can be considered pretty low.

If only he had enough time then he would wait for a couple more days for the beast to attack so its value would rise. However, sadly, he has to leave tomorrow so he should deal with it now.

The traveler was then caught in a dilemma. He thought if he needed to talk to the village chief first before hunting it on his own. But it was almost noon and if he didn't have any more time to spare. If he doesn't go now, he would miss his lunch and that would be a big problem.

He thought about it for a while before deciding that now is a good time to hunt it down. Its energy would at least be down since it had to fight the knights and forcefully enter the house. That was probably tiring so... Without a second thought, the traveler headed towards the forest.

As he was wandering around, he thought about the things he could do with the beast. He wasn't a brute so he wasn't planning to attack it directly and he didn't have a sword with him or a weapon suitable to kill it. He heard that the beast was two meters tall, almost a meter wide, and was two meters and a half long.

It is an animal with a tiger body but a puppy head and chicken feet. Imagining the size and appearance of the beast, it would be quite terrifying, wouldn't it? Despite that, the traveler didn't feel frightened, and for what reason? He was very friendly with animals ever since he was young. Knowing that he currently had no weapon, the traveler abandoned the idea of killing it. The beast was probably hurt and he thought that any normal person would feel pity.

In his mind, the beast was lonely and needed friends. The traveler fell into deep thought once more. Wouldn't it be nice to ride a... Tiger, puppy, chicken animal?

"Hmm, that sounds nice..." He said in a low voice. When he did, a raven landed on his right shoulder. It made some strange noise. It wasn't high-pitched but was still annoying and bad. It was like listening to someone trying to belt but can't sing.

"He's nearby? That's great."

Perhaps... The traveler had already gone insane since a long time ago but if he could talk to animals, it would be helpful for him. The traveler then looked at his surroundings and heard a sound to his left.

The beast knew of his existence as soon as he stepped inside the forest, it was its territory after all. For a long time, the beast kept wondering if this hairless monkey was his foe or friend, it couldn't tell for some reason.

"Oh? So you were there this whole time. Why didn't you say anything?" Said the traveler as he approached the creature hiding behind some trees and tall grass.

The beast wondered if the person in front of it was crazy. How could he approach such a disgusting creature such as itself with a relaxed and friendly manner? The beast began to feel strange.

"Are you a hybrid of three animals? I would call you Chimera then if that's okay."

The traveler smiled, "Chimera, can you come with me? I'm not trying to get you killed or anything..."

† Mundivagant †

The residents of the village were devastated. They had lost another companion again, when will this tragedy end? The woman who was lost was a mother to a son that's not even ten years old, how could that monster take her away?

They wanted to blame the knights for not being strong enough but they couldn't because they were the ones who risk their lives to protect and save the people. The knights would also apologize every time they couldn't catch the beast although they already did their best.

Some interested guests from the inn were also present in the scene. They were confused but felt the heavy atmosphere so they didn't dare to ask.

The woman was already taken away and the village chief arrived in front of his people. He was old and wrinkled but surprisingly, the condition of his body wasn't bad. It was unlike the others that were crooked, weak, and bent. If not for his white hair and wrinkles, he could be mistaken as a middle-aged man.

He too felt devastated because he thought that this happened under his care therefore the blame should be taken by him. He didn't know the right words to say to encourage the residents.

After an hour, the people finally became less and less. The guests went back to the inn to rest while the locals went straight to their homes, afraid that the beast might come and attack them. As for the father and son, they were with the chief.

Two hours after the incident, it was approximately eleven thirty a.m. The traveler entered the inn once more and asked the woman behind the counter for some food. He ordered chicken with rice and beans.

The guests who went in and out of the inn kept screaming for some reason.

When the traveler finished his meal, he went to the terrified lady on the counter and asked where the village chief was. But despite how scared she was, she was still a professional and asked for two alvas before giving information.

The traveler was a cheap guy, he couldn't understand why he needed to pay just to know the location of the chief which should be free information.

The one he was asking was a woman, and women were scary so he ended up agreeing anyway.

The whole inn was in turmoil. There was a huge beast at the entrance. It had a tiger body, a puppy head, and chicken feet. What's more terrifying was its size and the way it was there, staring at everyone who leaves and goes in. It was strangely calm and didn't attack anyone.

The woman behind the counter asked the traveler, "What in the world is it doing there? Someone call the knights!"

"Calm down." The traveler smiled, "It will be fine."

"???" The woman was confused, "Um, sorry?"

The traveler chuckled and left. When he was out, he greeted the beast warmly and headed towards the village chief's house. The village was a rural area, very few houses were around and they were far apart from each other so the traveler guessed that it would take more than thirty minutes of traveling by foot to get to the chief.

He would prefer if the chief would come to him instead but because he went ahead to catch the beast without informing anyone, he figured that it would be rude to do that. Still, taking a walk with Chimera wasn't a bad idea, it was like taking his pet dog for a walk.

The traveler, despite being a traveler, was bad at directions so he was glad that there was a marble path.

"From the Inn straight to the field of lilacs then turn left? Left? Wait did she say left?"

The traveler thought for a while and decided to go right. He hoped that he wouldn't get lost.

"She said there should be a house and the next step is to turn... Right?"

"But I've been walking for a while, I haven't seen any houses."

"Did I go the wrong way? Should I go back? But... How do I go back? Which way is it again?"

"... Did I forget to write it down in my journal?"

"Oh right! I have my journal!"

"I feel like my memory is getting worse and worse."

The traveler couldn't help but feel helpless. He sighed and took his journal out. The traveler assumed that his memory has gotten worse again since he even forgot to write down the details of the little chat he had with the lady and how he met Chimera.

He decided that now is a good time to write it. He might forget about it later on and he couldn't afford to do so. The details about his meeting with Chimera were important to him after all.

As he was lost in his own small world, an older man and five knights were walking towards him. They came from the direction where he was heading.

"What... What are you doing with this beast!?"