Butcher Demon
Chapter 297

We followed the trail of shadow ink left by the trees and eventually arrived at a river. The sky was already getting dark.

From there, we quickly made our way upstream. Based on the information we got from Gofrat, we were heading toward the goblin's nest.

"Um, Gevaudan. Earlier today, You were talking to two aliens, right? What were you talking about?"

"Lots of things. The weather, discussions about Atlantis, And where the goblins are going."

"Oh, Atlantis...?"

"The first guy introduced himself as Baghwan. I couldn't really tell his race, but the second one, Gofrat, said he was a Dark Elf. It's the first time I've seen one."

Haruka took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

"——So, you can have normal conversations even with aliens. I thought they are more violent and savage folks."

"On the battlefield, maybe. But it's the same from their perspective too. Because in a live-and-death situation, the one who shows mercy dies. I lived with them for a while, and their everyday life isn't much different from yours. It's just that our common sense is completely different, and there are plenty of friendly folks among them."

Like the part where they consider Earthlings as food...

"Weren't you scared? Living among aliens..."

"Given the circumstances, I was nervous, but not scared. In fact, I was the one scaring them. You're probably scared of me too."

I lifted the paper bag on my head and showed my face to her.

However, Haruka's expression didn't change, and shook her head.

"..... No. I wasn't afraid of you, even since the first time we met."

"Maybe it's because the circumstances of our meeting were unique."

"When I asked for help, you immediately stood by me. From then on, you helped me even without me asking. Honestly, it was very reassuring."

"But back then, you said 'eek,' didn't you?"

"I didn't."

Haruka turned her head away from my remark.

"Come to think of it. At that time, you said you would do anything to help me. So what are you willing to do now? Now it's a different deal from the rescue we're doing now, wasn't it?"

"What about you, what do you want me to do?"

I wanted to throw in Sex with defenseless Haruka! as a response, just to see how she'd react, but a psychological break kicked in.

Because she seemed to respect me in some way. My desire not to let her down harden my restraint. Despite being somewhat addicted to sex and always thinking about it, I still had a bit of self-respect left.

Damn it. Normal people are hard to deal with. I miss sexually liberated girls. Like Natsuki or Lydia.

I want casual sex, something like grabbing a piece of candy from the table when I'm hungry.

——my little guy is about to throw a tantrum.

It's been a while since I let slip the chance of a lifetime to engage in an 8P with Titania and others, it's been a while since I've been "active." How many days has it been? I haven't experienced such a dry spell this long since I became a Butcher. Is this some sort of destined trial? A drought of women. My little guy might turn into a mummy soon. I need to release some pent-up desires somewhere, or I might lose my temper accidentally.

"Whoa, strong wind!"

——Peeeeeeeeeeee...

A gust of wind blew, and at the same time, I heard the sound of a flute as Haruka holds her hair. It seemed like the horn flute Yakumo was holding started to play on its own as it caught the wind.

*Peee... Peee... Peee...*

The echoes reverberated back. Sounding unnatural considering it was outdoors.

Looking ahead, I saw a waterfall at the end of a stream.

Well, not exactly a waterfall, but more like a steep flow of water down a moss-covered slope. There wasn't a conventional pool at its base. The sound was echoing from there. There's still a considerable distance to cover from here. Could that be the cave Gofrat mentioned? It's a good thing we didn't miss it.

"What does he mean by 'taken in'? It just looks like a bit of a steep slope....."

"Maybe, but a part of that slope might be a cave entrance hidden by vines and moss. That part where the water flows vertically is a prime suspect. It's a natural hideout."

"What's your plan?"

"I'll go and check it out. If it's a hit, I'll push in. You two should hide somewhere..."

I need a secure spot for Haruka and Yakumo to wait. However, this area only had dead trees, offering limited hiding options.

"Let's go over there first."

Thankfully, we spotted a sizable tree cluster nearby. In this forest of dead trees, that area was unusually dense with trees that has black leaves and bushes.

After prodding Haruka and Yakumo there, I look around to see if the area is safe.

"Whoa."

And, unintentionally, a voice escaped my lips. Haruka, caught by my reaction, peeked out from the bushes and let out a startled "eep" along with a gasp.

Countless eyes were silently fixed upon us from above.

Perched on tree branches were crows. Their numbers are staggering. Everything I thought were leaves just a moment ago turned out to be crows. On the surrounding treetops, branches were bending under their weight, and at a glance, there were easily over a hundred of them. Just crows, but not just that. When they gather like this, there's an eerie quality to it. Like Hitchcock[1].

"Quiet. If they wanted to attack, they would have done so by now. Just keep quiet and hide inside."

"....."

Haruka tightened her grip on Yakumo and retreated further into the bushes.

Ignoring the crows, I turned my attention toward the waterfall. There were roughly a few lookouts. Their presence confirmed that there must be a goblin nest deep within that waterfall.

Meanwhile, there were no goblins patrolling. I was hoping to use <Nightcrawler> to quickly kill them, but it was still early in the evening, and it was only effective at night.

So I took out my rifle from my bag. It's an ordinary assault rifle, but it has an effective range of about 100 meters.

I then took out the suppressor and attached it to the muzzle. I twist the suppressor onto the muzzle. Next, change the magazine to a subsonic round. Then reload the magazine.

Even with a suppressor, normal ammunition still made quite a noise. Therefore, to execute a silent kill, it was necessary to switch to subsonic rounds along with the suppressor, preventing the bullet's speed from breaking the sound barrier. Of course, this severely compromised the bullet's power, making it less suitable for direct combat with aliens. However, in this situation, where the goblins didn't seem to be using the defensive barrier——as the Four girls referred to it as "Shielding"—subsonic rounds should do the trick.

As an extra precaution, I took out a Polaroid camera from my bag and took a snap. *Snap. Whirr...*..... Yeah, nothing. The goblins were too far away to appear larger than the specks in the image but with this, I've "exorcised" them.

——Interestingly, the invisible defensive barrier manifested as a vague paranormal image when captured on analog cameras for some reason...

Thus, taking a photo like this before sniping was a classic yet effective method of confirmation. Back then, we used to refer to the unshielded, defenseless aliens we spotted as "exorcised." How nostalgic. Well then, shall we start the killing?

I peered through the scope and aimed at a goblin that dozed off atop the waterfall——Pufft.

Goblin away. tree Goblin. Pufft. Pufft.

Pufft. Lastly, The goblin that heard its companions fall.

――what the heck is that.....

Through the scope, I spotted a gigantic frog left by the riverbank. It was huge. Too huge. It's the size of an adult. To be honest, it was quite unsettling, but, well, it looks like its head was crushed and it's dead, so I decided to leave it alone.

"――All right, cleanup complete. I'll be heading out now."

"And what do you want us to do?"

"There's a chance more goblin patrols might return. So stay here and be quiet... Oh, right, take this."

I handed over the assault rifle I had just used. Haruka's arm dropped with the momentum of receiving the gun.

"With its current state, even you should be able to handle the recoil. Do you remember what I taught you?"

"Yes. I'll be fine."

With a firm nod in response to the weight in her hands, Haruka reassured me. I taught her how to handle a gun. There was no hesitation in her eyes. She seemed confident.

"Goblins attack in numbers. With just that rifle, it's like spilling a drop from the bucket. If you're spotted and attacked, don't hesitate to run. Then blow Yakumo's flute. I can hear it quite well for some reason, ."

"..."

I could see a small worry fall over Haruka's face at the "if attacked" part

In the past few days, she had likely been subjected to a series of cruel acts, perhaps the cruelest she had ever experienced in her otherwise peaceful life. It was only natural for her to feel fear when she saw herself reflected in those experiences.

I patted her head gently and spoke.

"No need to worry. I'll definitely come to help——*buzz*"

Suddenly, my voice was cut off.

Oh... The speaker's battery ran out...

"?"

Haruka looked puzzled.

I tried to tell her that the battery issue through gestures, but it was proving to be quite difficult. I want to charge it at the cabin, but I had completely forgotten.

"???"

Battery... How do you gesture 'battery'...?

"―――Your voice, um.... doesn't come out?"

Yes, that's it! I make circles with both hands, the perfect gesture for 'correct'.

"Heh... Uh, got it. Please be careful. I'll take responsibility for protecting Yakumo-kun."

Apparently, the small technical trouble had played a role in easing her nerves.

Leaving the two of them behind, I approached the waterfall stealthily.