Butcher Demon
Chapter 296

After parting ways with Baghwan, we walked for a few more hours.

The forest was dead. The forest that was lush and green in the morning now looked desolate and bleak. The temperature had dropped, and it would be very cold in thin clothes.

There was no doubt that we were in Mifosis.

The fact that Baghwan mistook Haruka for a citizen was proof. His way of speaking also indicated that he had no doubts that he was in Miforsis.

Somehow, we had stepped from Australia to Mifosis.

We must have gone through the gate. Maybe it was around when the plants suddenly changed. But what bugs me is that there were no guards. A gate without any aliens and poorly secured. Humanity would totally want to attack that, right? But how could such a gate exist for so long without anyone noticing it?

――That's not it.

It wasn't there for long. It was newly created.

The vague doubt in my mind was becoming a certainty.

"――What's this?"

A strange scene blew away my serious thoughts and made me stop in my tracks.

There was a box ahead of us.

It was a box with a jet-black surface adorned with delicate goldwork, it looks so luxurious that it seemed out of place in such a forest. The lid was tightly closed without any gaps, and not a speck of dirt could be seen on the surface. It shone with a glossy black radiance.

The box was just there among the dead trees. It's really odd. There was no way someone would open such a suspicious box. Obviously, I'm ignoring it. Is this what Baghwan talking about?

I remember he says something like, "It's no good, so you shouldn't do it." What really is "no good" mean? Now I'm curious now that I'm thinking about it... Hmm.....

hmm...

――If it's me doing it, it would be alright no matter what happened right?

"Both of you, step back a bit."

I had the two of them move away and cautiously reached for the ebony box. Here we go... hup! ―― It didn't budge. The lid was locked tight.

"Oh, well."

As I was about to give up and return to the two, at that moment...

――Clank.

It was Yakumo. Somehow, Yakumo had slipped under my crotch without me noticing, using my apron as a cover, reached for the lock of the box. And he opened it.

"Well, there are many things I want to say, but... if it's already open, there's no helping it."

I hid Yakumo on my back again, then carefully lifted the lid.

The contents of the box, which opened smoothly without making a sound, are――.

"...a bottle?"

Me, Yakumo, and Haruka ―― the three of us peered into the bottom of the box and saw a single glass bottle rolling on top of a luxurious velvet lining. It looked like one of those black bottles that could contain cola.

"What is this?"

"It looks like it has black liquid inside."

Haruka pointed out.

I lift the bottle and give it a shake and indeed, it makes a splosh and splashing sound, and the liquid inside ripples. I feel like I've seen something like this before...?

"I'm not sure, but should we take it with us...? I mean, what's with this box? Did someone drop it?"

"Doubt anyone would carry around a box like this."

Haruka tilted her head. That's a valid point.

I give it a kick.

It rolls over, it's a box after all. A wooden, expensive-looking box. I wonder if the box is more valuable than what's inside?

"Welp..."

Might as well.

I lifted the box and turned to the right. Taking a deep breath while looking back at the path we had just walked.

I thought it might be Baghwan, but evidently, it's not. He wasn't really hiding his presence that well. If it were him, he would've followed us much more cleverly.

I heave and threw the box.

The box flew straight and hit a tree, exploding into pieces.

"Uwaa――!"

Among the scattered fragments, I heard a scream. It was a young man's voice.

At that moment, I sprinted full speed toward the source of the voice.

I tackled the pursuer who had fallen behind the trees, immobilizing him with well-placed joint locks.

"That's hurt!"

"Who are you?"

Since he was most likely an alien, I decided to speak to him in an alien language right from the start.

The man had dark brown skin and his ears were pointed, like Tiriel's ears.

"Wait! Don't eat me! I'm a legitimate corpse scavenger!"

'Legitimate corpse scavenger' ―― I chewed on the word that pact such a powerful punch that hammered the cultural difference. Indeed, this must be another world.

While keeping him restrained, I continued to question him.

"Why. Follow?"

"Of course, because you guys looked like you were about to die..."

Hmm, that's quite a defense only a corpse scavenger could offer. Maybe he really is one.

"Name?"

"Gofrat! <Rusted Dusk> Gofrat. I'm a dark elf! And what are you? A talking Butcher?"

Oh, a dark elf...

For the very first time, I met a dark elf. It's like running into a famous person unexpectedly on the street –– I'm super excited.

He's pretty small and doesn't carry any weapons. Seems harmless enough, so I released him, just for now.

"Gevaudan. friendly. butcher."

"Ugh, All of a sudden, what's going on..."

Gofrat grumbled with a sulky expression.

His skin was much darker than Lydia's, closer to black or really dark gray. The only thing that contrasted was his blond hair, kinda like Tiriel's. Even though he seemed young, he spoke like someone older. The disproportionately large backpack he carried on his back gave credibility to his unknown profession as a corpse scavenger.

Just as Haruka and the others caught up with us, I decided to ask Gofrat some more questions.

"Like I said before, I'm a corpse scavenger. I collect magic stones left behind in the bodies of those who died in the wilderness and sell them. It's a legitimate job recognized by the nation, so it's unfair to treat me like a criminal you know! Even if you didn't know, there are things that you shouldn't do to others, you know!"

Came a serious protest. Sorry about that.

"But. we. dead. waiting."

"That may be so, but I'm not going to do anything to you, right? Whether you live or die is your problem. Well, I was kind of hoping it was because of that treasure chest earlier."

"Treasure, chest?"

"Yeah, the one you threw at me. I don't know why it's on the surface, but lately, they've been popping around here and there. They're full of traps, so, many clumsy corpses that accidentally got caught by it are piling up. I suppose it's their high season."

Gofrat said with a cheerful look. It's strange to see someone smiling, saying they're happy that everyone dies from stepping on a trap.

Apparently, the box that Yakumo opened a while ago was a treasure chest.

――And what's a treasure chest?

"But how in the world did you open that? You guys are an unauthorized party. Do you have a ◎▲ skill or something? In that case, I might as well join you. ◎▲ are rare, you know. And if you die and left some magic stone, I can make some good money. Ehehe..."

Gofrat looked up at me, his cheeks slightly flushed.

I didn't quite understand, but did he just say he hopes we die? Is it appropriate to say something like that right in front of the person? So this is what corpse scavenger is like.

"Going. ahead. slowly. Goblin. see. any?"

"Goblin? No, I didn't see one."

"Baghwan. went. Saw. Woman. following. Group.."

"Who's Baghwan?"

"Feather, hat, scarf, wanderer."

In an instant, Gofrat's expression stiffened.

"Are you guys related to that guy...?"

"We. not."

We just spent some time together taking shelter from the rain and listened to him talk about the Fantasy Continent.

"...Forget it. I'm not going with dangerous folks like you. I need to earn money and go back to my mother."

Corpse scavenging for his mother... How grateful. I admired his determination for a moment.

"I'm not bothering with your magic stones anymore. Go die somewhere and be crow's food for all I care."

Gofrat turned his face away with a sulky expression.

What an attitude. It was almost like he disowned me, saying something like I won't even bother picking up your bones, that was a bit shocking. I was so happy to have a chance to get to know the dark elves......

"Candy. want?"

In an attempt to recover things through candy diplomacy.

"Candy?...Thanks!"

He happily accepted the candy and put it in his mouth, puffing out his cheeks while rolling it around. He had a faint smile. Cute. Or is he really just a child? Elves are so hard to read when it comes to age. I wonder how old Tiriel is.

"I haven't seen a goblin, but if you mean the woman that talking to Baghwan guy, I know what happened to her."

"A woman?"

"Yeah. She was wandering around like you guys, looking like she was about to die, so I followed her for a while. But she got caught in a teleportation trap. She didn't get sent too far, but by the time I caught up, she was already surrounded by magical beasts. I saw them attacking her and dragging her into their nest. I can't scavenge the body once that happens. My combat skills are weak, and I'm solo. She was a potential corpse, but it's a missed opportunity now."

"Hmm... What, Look?"

"She wore a strange hat and looked like a slut."

Could she be one of Baghwan's travel companions? But that guy didn't seem worried at all even though she got caught...?

"I've never seen anything like the magical beast that captured her before. It seems to gather men and women who seem to lack magic power from various places and take them into the cave. I wonder if those are subhumans..."

Could that be the Goblin group I've been searching for?

"Where. cave?"

When I asked, Gofrat squinted his eyes and stretched out his hand.

I placed a candy on his palm, but he didn't move. Did he want more? I gave him another one, and finally, he continued speaking. Quite a cheap deal.

"It's over there. There's a river, and if you go upstream, you'll replace a small waterfall. It's behind that."

――Over there...

In the forest, saying "over there" was equivalent to telling us to get lost.

"More, detail."

"I can't give any more detail in the forest with no road like this."

Gofrat chuckled playfully. I felt disappointed. So to cheer myself up, I decided to taste a dark elf.

"Not enough. Burning. Dark elf. eat."

As I extended my dark tongue and hands, he stumbled back and waved his hands frantically.

"Hey, hey! Wait a moment! Haah... Well, I guess it can't be helped. If you promise to not say anything, I might help you out."

"Show. Quickly."

"Yeah, yeah. Just stand in front of that tree over there for a minute."

"Run away. Eat."

"I won't."

Feeling suspicious, I did as he asked and stood in front of the tree he pointed to.

My huge body blocked the sun, casting a dark shadow on the tree. Then, the next moment.

I saw a pattern appear on the trunk of the tree.

"What. is this?"

"It's <Shadow Ink> It's a special ink that can't be read in direct sunlight. the characters only appear in the shadow of the sun. I use it as my personal signpost. I do this because sometimes I have to chase after a potential corpse through unfamiliar territory so I don't get lost."

I let the sun shines on the characters. Nothing. Creating a shadow with my hand. Patterns and arrows become readable. How mysterious!

"interesting."

"Hehe. It's actually an invention of our ancestors."

"Ancestor."

"Our ancestral deity, <Gilbert> can grasp shadows with 13 fingers. Pretty amazing, right?"

"Amazing."

Touching shadows sounds like fantasy. But what happens when you grasp a shadow? It's unimaginable. For now, I'll just give a round of applause.

"Well, nowadays you can just get it if you pay for it. But we know the recipe, so as long as you have the materials, you can make it yourself."

Gofrat snorted proudly. He seemed pleased with my genuinely surprised reaction.

"What. use? purpose?"

"As you can see, You can write secret messages like this. And, well... use it for.... shady things that I can't tell people about.....I can't tell someone I just met too much."

Dark. Dark elves are a dark race after all.

Anyway, according to his explanation, I could follow the reverse marks on the trees to get to the cave where the women were taken.

However, to see the Shadow Ink, I needed the shadow of the sun, and it couldn't be read at night.

Still, having such a clear guide would significantly shorten the tracking time, a valuable piece of information. Very helpful.

"Thanks, Gofrat."

"I won't ask what you're going to do in that den Gevaudan, but if you're planning to cause mayhem, just leave the bodies inside. No one is willing to buy those magic stones unless they were from legitimate vendors. I'll put them to good use."

A shrewd dark elf.

"Also, what about that subhuman woman over there? She's not a war prisoner, is she? If you're not going to eat her, could you give her to me? I'd like to try something with the subhuman woman."

This guy could tell that Haruka was a human, even though she hadn't spoken a word. My wariness of him quickly increased.

"Why. know. subhuman."

I asked, hiding Halka behind my back. "Ah." Gofrat continued, waving his hand dismissively.

"You see, I can tell if someone has magical power or not. And if I look closely, I can even see what kind of skills they possess. But it's not really something to boast about, as it's just an elven specialty. Gevaudan, you have a bit of unusual magical quality too. I can't see your skills very well though. Maybe it's because you're a butcher. I heard butchers don't have magic. I guess rumors are not so reliable after all."

Creating glasses with both hands, Gofrat peered at me.

Elves could see magical power and skills. I learned something new.

"Woman, friend. No give."

"Heh, well... a friend....I guess it can't be helped....."

Baghwan had a similar reaction. It seemed that when a butcher called a girl a friend, they'd inevitably be put off. Gofrat's gaze was fixated on Haruka. Speaking of which, Baghwan also looked at Haruka and seemed taken aback. I see, it's not the butcher that's that they're taken aback by, but the person recognized as a friend by a butcher. Like, how can you hang out with a butcher? I was getting smarter. I thought.

"Thanks, information. better go, hurry."

"Yeah. This candy is delicious. See you later."

We parted ways with Gofrat, the corpse scavenger, and followed the marks he left behind.