“Unusual disappearances?”

“Yes, that’s right…. Young Mercenary.”

Sax’s village headman had come early in the morning to visit.

He had heard from the villagers about Yuuto who had recently been staying at the inn and taking care of work at the village’s guild.

And now, the village headman had come to tell Yuuto about a certain problem that had come up.

Before crossing the Minke Plains, there’s a forest called Yashino Woods. Sax’s villagers go to hunt and gather herbs there.

But, recently the men who went out hunting would have one person who wouldn’t come back. The first disappearance happened the day before Yuuto arrived in the village. In the week that’s pa.s.sed since that day until today, ten of the village’s men have disappeared.

Therefore, the contents of the request were like this: Find out the origins of the disappearances and rescue the missing villagers.

The advance payment would be 20 silver coins. If he succeeds then he’ll receive a further 50 silver coins and 30 copper coins. With 50 silver coins, he could stay at an inn two levels better than the one he was in now for a week with meals included and still have a lot of change leftover.

He had no reason to refuse. Yuuto accepted the 20 silver advance payment and headed towards Yashino Woods.

A little after noon, Yuuto arrived in front of the forest but was greatly troubled. The reason being, vines had entangled themselves across the entrance, with it being no exaggeration to say that it already looked like a wall.

With so many vines growing repeatedly without end like this, it would take a long time to cut them down one by one. However, if he were to burn them, the aftereffects would be troublesome.

“Now then, what should I do?”

Taking some dried jerky out of his bag, Yuuto began to chew on it. Whenever he was at the end of his ropes or wanted to concentrate, he’d always do this. Then, when he took out another piece of jerky, a phial fell out of his bag.

“Ah….”

A dark reddish brown liquid spilled out from the phial. It was the herbicide he’d received from Ashidaka that had fallen out. He’d thought to sell it to the farmers later so Yuuto hurriedly picked it up.

It was a shame. From the beginning, it was just an ordinary liquid that poured out, so by the time he picked it up half of it had disappeared. As soon as he put the lid back on the phial, an unexpected spectacle was seen in front of Yuuto’s eyes.

“Huh? You’re kidding?”

It was as if someone had thrown a pebble into a pond and a ripple had spread out. The gra.s.s up to his waist began to wither from the roots and before long, the vines that had kept Yuuto from proceeding had rotted away.

Then, with the all the vines rotten and withered, the path into the forest had opened up. With a look of shock, Yuuto gazed at the bottle of so-called “herbicide” that was far too effective.

This is already a strong poison. That peddler called it an herbicide but if it was used in the fields, they’d never be able to be used again.

Shaking the liquid in the phial as he gazed at it, Yuuto put it in his bag and set out through the entrance that had opened up in front of him.

“….Can’t find a thing.”

After that, how long had it been? Relying on the animal trails, Yuuto continued to search for the villagers. With the coming of dusk, the forest was dyed in the sounds of insects calling. Once he thought to return to the village, he arrived at the inner part of the forest.

It can’t be helped, tonight let’s camp out for the first time in a while. This was all the time he could spare for searching, otherwise, monsters would surround him and it would be like the time he was surrounded by wolves all over again.

Thinking that, Yuuto dropped his bag and started to set up camp. First off was eating something. He took out some hardtack and dried jerky, but then in Yuuto’s view something sparkled.

Thinking it strange, Yuuto put the food in his hand back into his back and approached the tree with the shiny object. Glittering at the base of the tree there was a lead bullet from a musket.

However, Yuuto had a bad feeling about this. In any case, it wasn’t a used bullet but a brand new one at that. After being fired, there would be a small mark left behind from the gunpowder igniting and yet there wasn’t one.

Speaking of that, Yuuto rummaged in his bag and took out the pistol. It was something that he’d been given by the Musket Brothers but he’d forgotten to return it.

However, as usual on the brother’s pistol no gunpowder or bullets have been put in, on the contrary, not even a flint-stone had been set. He doesn’t carry useless object like gunpowder or flintstones. His bag s.p.a.ce isn’t infinite.

Yuuto threw the pistol and bullet away somewhere. Now then, it was finally time for dinner so Yuuto reached inside his bag.

It was at that time. Yuuto’s nose picked up some sort of scent. It wasn’t the peculiar smell of herbs or antidotes nor the savoriness of dried jerky.

Then in that moment his consciousness turned towards something, a smell that made his body throb. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, rather he felt it was only a pleasant smell. Yuuto carrying his bag on his shoulder went towards the place the smell was coming from.

Step by step, the smell got stronger. Pushing through a thicket, folding branches, his feet moved deeper into the forest.

Then just when Yuuto came out into an open area.

“WHA-?!”

Suddenly, something came from his side and with a strong force, sent him flying. Yuuto’s legs had left the ground because of the remaining force. Still, with the ground and the sky rearranged, Yuuto was able to see that something in that clearing.

“V-vines?!”

Seeing that shape, he planned to cut them down when he landed on the ground and went to draw his sword. But feeling a presence from behind, he stopped and quickly crouched down.

Pa.s.sing just a couple centimeters overhead, a wind cutting sound was ringing in Yuuto’s ears. Then Yuuto realized there wasn’t only one vine.

This time for sure, Yuuto drew his sword and quickly checked his surroundings. There were ten vines altogether, and all of them were waiting for some purpose.

“Ara, what a cute little boy.”

Suddenly, a captivating woman’s voice was heard and Yuuto turned his line of sight to the direction it came from. And found out the truth behind the mysterious disappearances.

Yuuto curbed his aggression as tied up in the st.u.r.dy vines were the village’s men. To the left and right were five men apiece, ten all added up. Exactly as the village headman had said.

In the center, standing on top of a thick trunk grew a large, blue rose. From there, a voluptuous and glamorous, thin blue-colored woman with only her upper body exposed, which made Yuuto bend over from the arousal.

“If I….reveal everything, then the village’s woman will probably be sad.”

Yuuto was at his wit’s end. This monster, known as the Alraune, was a monster that seduced men and absorbed their vitality to live. Furthermore…

“Blue petals… You’ve been in this forest for a long time? How many men have you sucked clean?”

“Oh? That’s right… roughly in the three digits perhaps? But bu~t, for humans, these people might be my fi~rst.”

With that tone resembling of a harlot and pretty, blue petals fluttering about, the Alraune had grown up absorbing a huge amount of vitality.

‘Blue Alraune’

Alraune were among the knowledge that he had crammed into his head, but this was his first time seeing a real one.

“Sorry but, because I have to return those people that were taken… can you let them go?”

Saying that, with his sword leaning on his shoulder, Yuuto glared the monster with a sharp glint in his eye. However, the Alraune, the petals exposing her upper body, bent over and returned his words.

“I wouldn’t mind taking a favor from a cute little boy like you bu~t, rather than being teary eyed, you seem like you might swing that blade at any moment after all.”

“Ah, so it’s a negative answer then? Because it’s my job, I also wanted to avoid getting hurt… right?”

Lowering his sword,since the difference in combat strength was despairing.. He’d looked for openings but it was hopeless. However, since he’d already received the request, he had to complete it.

“Shall we start? Monster.”

“Come he~re, little boy?

With that conversation, Yuuto broke into a run.