Chapter 9: Preparing for the first time

(It's okay...! Little boar is a low-level monster!)

If he had to say, it's a little bit stronger than the monsters that appear at the beginning of the game.

However, even in his previous life, he has never experienced fighting a beast. Witnessing the rush of a creature different from humans, Ren saw Little boar with his fangs exposed in front of him, and sweat poured down his neck.

"Bruuu—-!』\

The Little boar leaped at Ren's neck.

Startled, Ren hurriedly brought his wooden magic sword to the front and gagged the Little boar's mouth.

However, he could not kill the little boar's momentum and he sat on the ground as if he were being pushed down.

"Gu…gu…!"

The dirty fangs of the little boar were approaching, dripping with fishy drool.

The tension that he had never experienced before had made brought down Ren's spirit. It was the first time he saw it, and he was terrified of its direct intent to kill.

(I'm not going to lose….!)

This is not good.

The first thing that Ren did was to discipline himself and push his arms forward to resist the little boar.

"Eh...?"

To his surprise, he was able to push the little boar away.

It was so easy, so effortless.

(—- Well, my training with my dad must have made me a lot stronger.)

Another little boar jumped at Ren, who stood up with surprise.

This time, he did not even buckle down, but rather bravely took it with a physical strength that didn't even flinch.

"This is great! If it's you guys, even I can do something about it —-!"

The little boar was flung backwards, and he stepped toward the third little boar.

"Bua—-?!』\

Then, he took a swing at the head with the wooden magic sword. The head was crushed by the strong impact.

Ren then slashed the body of another little boar that was approaching from behind with his sword. Although it did not break the thick fur, the strong impact caused the little boar's torso to be heavily dented.

"..."

"Buooo….."

In no time at all, two of the little boars were dead, and the one that remained ran off deeper into the forest with a pitiful cry.

Of course, Ren doesn't give chase.

He hurriedly looked toward the bridge to see how Mireille was doing.

"Ren! I didn't know you were that strong….!"

She was walking with Roy on her shoulder, but she wasn't making much headway due to the difference in their size.

"It's all right now! I'll lend you my shoulder too. Let's hurry and get dad back to the mansion!"

Mireille, who had been bewildered by her son's strength, was also surprised when he said he was fine in a strong tone. She hurriedly started to walk forward, but she still could not walk as she wanted because of Roy's weight.

However, with Ren's help, she was finally able to relax.

No, it would be better if I carried him on my back by myself, Ren thought.

The benefit of physical ability UP (small) had nullified the difference in physique to this extent.

(Good thing I summoned it.)

Ren, who carried Roy on his back, calmed down slightly.

In fact, this time, because he didn't know what was going to happen, he had summoned his wooden magic sword before he left the mansion and carried it on his waist first.

I'm so glad I could save my father's life thanks to that.

"Ren! I'm going to go get Grandma Rigg!"

Mireille left Ren as soon as they entered the field road and started walking.

"Grandma Rigg, ...?"

"She's skilled as a medicine woman, so I'm sure she can help us!"

"I understand!"

I did not feel lonely on the way home.

I was too worried about Roy to do so.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The edges of the sky begin to turn lapis lazuli.

Ren, who had not been able to sleep at all, saw this and realized that morning was near.

"Who's that ... grandma Rigg?"

He opened the window of his room and looked out to see that Grandma Rigg, who was supposed to be focusing on Roy's treatment, had just come outside, looking exhausted.

As soon as Ren saw her, he rushed out of the room and left the mansion.

"Grandma Rigg! What happened to my father?"

Ren had not heard anything about the condition of the wound or what had happened to him.

Even Mireille had been asked to leave the room on the grounds that she would be in the way of his treatment.

"Bo-chan... just in time."

Then Grandma Rigg turned on her heel and came up to Ren.

"If you are talking about the master, I have been able to calm him down for the moment."

In other words, Roy is not safe yet.

(That's right ... after such a serious injury. ...)

When I returned to the mansion last night and put him to bed, I checked how badly he was hurt. His abdomen had been cut deeply across, just before his internal organs were pushed out.

Several bones throughout his body were shattered and I could imagine that he had difficulty walking.　

Roy must have done everything in his power to get back to the bridge.

"But I can't believe ... dad got hit by a little boar..."

In front of Ren, who muttered as if he couldn't believe it, Grandma Rigg quietly shook her head.

"So you mean it's a different monster then?"

"I suppose so... But the woods around here are full of monsters like little boars and big bugs, so even I have no idea what kind of monsters are to blame."

Ren looked at Grandma Rigg, who looked down at him as if she was troubled and thought.

There's a possibility that the D-ranked monster is responsible for dad's wounds—-

(It has appeared near this village.)

It was also in a place not too deep into the forest.

Roy would know the forest around the area and wouldn't have ventured into a reckless place. So it showed up relatively close to the village, he thought.

"But thank you. Grandma Rigg."

"Don't worry about it .... Well, I'm going home to rest now, but I'll check on him again in the evening. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call me."

"I understand. Thank you so much for today!"

As she left the mansion, grandma Rigg's steps showed signs of fatigue. Unlike the woman I usually see on my walks, she was drained and her steps were heavy.

It seemed she had worked hard all morning.

Ren bowed his head toward her back and thanked her, then went back inside the mansion.

(I have to go to the woods later.)

I have to go get the little boar corpse I left by the bridge so that the smell of blood won't lure the D-ranked monster.

(Also, I need to get the monster's name, even if I have to force it.)

Now that his father has fallen, he's the only one who can fight.

He is still an inexperienced seven-year-old, but he's fortunate that he has skills.

(If I don't do it, it might come to the village.)

If that monster appeared relatively close to the village in the forest, I need to hunt them, especially the weak monsters that will be its food.

Ren, who was walking while thinking about these things, eventually reached his parents' bedroom.

After knocking on the door and receiving Mireille's reply, he put his hand on the doorknob and went inside.

"... dad."

When he entered his parents' bedroom, he found Roy lying on a large bed.

His appearance was painful, with dirty bandages, not pure white, wrapped all over his body. If you looked at his face, his eyes were closed, but if you looked at his chest, it was rising and falling with his breathing.

Ren saw this and tensed up slightly, realizing that his father was really alive.

"I'll have to let him know when he wakes up that you were there to save us."

Mireille sat on a round chair next to the bed.

"Ah, I was lucky too, though."

Ren noticed as he said with a wry smile.

"Is that the parchment that Master Weiss brought?"

"Yes."

Ren saw the parchment that Mireille had placed on her lap and reached for it.

Ren, who usually asks permission before acting, picked up the parchment without asking Mireille this time.

(... You're lying, right?)

"That monster probably got to him."

"Yea... I think so... but….."

"But ...?"

"... No. Nothing."

Ren, with a look of surprise on his face, wonders in his mind

Why, why is this monster in such a place?　

Seeing the name of the monster, which he had not expected, made him panic inside.

(I can't believe it was —- Thief Wolfen ,,,,,,,,)

Thief Wolfen.

In appearance, it was a wolf-like monster with pure white fur, four tails, and six eyes. It's about as tall as four grown men, which is about right.

The first is that its speed is extraordinary.

The other is that it's skilled at stealing something from its opponent, as the name "Thief" implies. This is because it uses wind magic with great dexterity and steals by stretching out the wind around its body as if it were an invisible hand.

The probability of encountering this character is low even in the game era and it's common not to be able to find them even at the end of the game.

However, it's not weak in battle and is a medium to high D-ranked monster. If you defeat it, it will drop rare items, so it's more than worth defeating.

(The problem is that it's strong.)

That's right, even Ren would like to defeat it if he could.

But for Ren, who defeated Little boar for the first time last night, Thief Wolfen was too much for him.

(No. I can't fight it.)

No matter how many times he thought about it, he didn't think he could beat it.

Even so, he couldn't ignore it.

If his prediction was correct, Thief wolfen had appeared in the forest not far from the bridge. He could imagine that it would appear in the village in the not-too-distant future.

(I have to get it away from the village somehow.)

"Ren….? What's wrong? Why the sudden silence?"

"Oh, um….. I was lost."

"Lost? You're not going to go to the forest, are you?"

"I'm the only one who can fight."

Mireille, panicked, got up from her round chair in response to the tone of his voice.

"No! It's not safe for you yet!"

"But I was able to defeat three little boars at the same time."

"But that's not enough! What if the monster that attacked your father shows up! It's not safe for you, who can't beat your father!"

It was a very honest opinion.

Ren was also pushed back by this sound argument, but he did not intend to give up.

"Mom, but we are in a very dangerous situation right now."

"….. what are you trying to say?"

"I don't care how much stronger my dad is, I wouldn't be reckless about something so dangerous. But if he was attacked by this Thief wolfen, doesn't that mean that the Thief wolfen appeared closer to the village than expected?"

"That is —-"

"There is no time to be lost."

Besides.

"I was born into the Ashton family, and like my father, I have a duty to protect this village."

Mireille finally fell silent at her son's words.

Ren's heart aches at the sight of it.

But he does not recant. Weiss, the head of the baron's knighthood, had also mentioned the Ashton family's duty to protect the village.

Mireille, the wife of the head of the family, knows that he's right.

"I thought about escaping with everyone in the village, but there was no doubt that monsters would appear outside the village. But after all, I'm the only one who can fight there."

Then it would be safer to stay in the village.

It was still more practical for Ren to hunt monsters in the forest not far from the village until the baron's reinforcements arrived.