Chapter 86: Let’s Investigate the Lumberyard
Having received a request in the late morning, we set off toward the Forest, arriving at a river just before noon. Several adventurer parties were gathered along the riverbank, seemingly taking a break.
“Looks like they’re here to check on the Forest,” I remarked.
“Probably,” Rio replied.
It was about an hour’s journey from here to the Forest. Up ahead, a B Rank adventurer party was likely conducting a survey of the monsters within. Depending on the results, access to the Forest might be restricted.
I expanded my Presence Detection toward the Forest, but it seemed there were no signs of the notorious monsters within my range. When I intentionally extended my detection radius, it exceeded ten kilometers. If I couldn’t sense anything, we should be safe for a while.
“Well, shall we have lunch?” I suggested.
We found a vacant spot along the river and began to unpack our cooking gear. There weren’t any adventurer parties around that were preparing a full meal over a fire; most people opted for ready-made lunches since we were close to town.
After finishing our lunch, which had drawn a bit of attention, we made our way closer to the Forest. Not sensing any danger, we approached the entrance without much caution.
“Hey, you heard the warnings, right? Don’t go into the Forest,” one of the adventurers stationed at the entrance cautioned us. He was likely part of the Forest Surveillance team, responsible for alerting the Guild in case of any disturbances.
“Oh, we’re fine. We’re just here to check on the lumberyard as part of a request,” I assured him.
“The lumberyard? There are several collection points for various trading companies over there,” he indicated.
“Thank you very much!” I replied.
“If you sense anything unusual in the Forest, make sure to flee back to town immediately,” he warned.
“Understood.”
He was surprisingly kind. After expressing my gratitude, we headed in the direction he pointed out. After a short walk, we spotted a sturdy wooden fence. This must be the lumberyard I had accidentally wandered into the first time I passed through the Forest. There were several fenced-off lumberyards, but I couldn’t tell which was which. Thankfully, the names of the trading companies were written at the entrances, so I wouldn’t get lost.
Given the recent reports of a massive unidentified monster, it seemed the guards at the lumberyard entrance had vacated.
“Is this the right place?” I asked.
“Looks like it,” Rio replied.
Using the key Fleur had entrusted to me, I unlocked the door. Inside, I found a large stockpile of lumber, stripped of branches.
“Wow, this is impressive,” Rio exclaimed.
Most of the lumber was straight and thick, but there were also some pieces that were slightly warped. The largest logs appeared to be about three meters in diameter. There was no sign of any disturbance.
“Wasn’t it about ten logs, each around fifty meters long, that we needed?” I recalled.
“Yes, that’s what they said,” Rio confirmed.
“Alright, let’s quickly gather what we need and head back.”
I wandered around, storing the suitable logs in my Dimensional Box.
“Is this enough?” I asked.
“Yeah, but there are so many logs here,” she noted.
“Right? I wonder how many there are. It looks like there are over a thousand,” I mused.
“There must be other lumberyards like this one. It looks like a natural forest, so they probably aren’t doing any replanting,” she speculated.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re maintaining the Forest at all. The entrance is just overgrown with trees,” I observed.
“The plants in the Forest of Enchantment grow at an incredible rate; maybe it’s the same here,” Rio suggested.
“If that’s the case, we could harvest as much as we want,” I replied, contemplating the mysteries of the Otherworld around us as we continued our investigation of the lumberyard.
“It seems like there are no abnormalities here,” Rio concluded.
“Yeah, let’s head back,” I agreed.
Having encountered no issues, we exited the Rashiyu Trading Company lumberyard and locked the door behind us. As we walked along the path created between the other lumberyards to return to the main road, I suddenly sensed something.
“Huh? …Oh, it’s coming!” I exclaimed.
“What?” Rio asked, surprised.
I quickened my pace, sensing the presence of the monster we had been warned about.
“Could it be that Heavenly Wolf?” Rio inquired, running alongside me.
It seemed to be heading straight toward us, matching our speed. And there were other presences moving behind it. Could it be the B Rank adventurer party that had gone out for the investigation?
“It looks like it’s coming our way…” I said, my heart racing.
“The lumberyard might get destroyed,” Rio said, her voice tinged with concern.
“That would be bad. Let’s move away from here,” I suggested.
“Right.”
Following Rio’s lead, we veered off the path and into the grassy plains. After a short distance, we heard a loud crashing sound behind us.
“Whoa!” I exclaimed.
Turning around, I saw a cloud of dust rising from the direction of the lumberyard. We had moved far enough away to avoid any damage, but it might not have mattered.
“It seems to be coming straight for us,” I noted.
“Yeah, well, there’s not much we can do now,” Rio replied.
Beyond the wooden walls of the lumberyard, something massive was approaching us. The wall had been quite tall, yet whatever was coming was so large that it was visible over it. As it drew closer, it crashed through the wall as if it were made of paper, revealing its form.
—With a gigantic bone clamped in its jaws.
“…A bone?” Rio murmured, tilting her head in confusion.
The monster stopped about ten meters away from us, facing us directly.
From behind it, the adventurers who had been pursuing the monster also appeared. The adventurers who had been stationed at the entrance of the Forest were now nearby as well.
“What in the world is that…?” one of the adventurers muttered in disbelief as he took in the sight of the monster.
“I’ve never seen one this big before!” another exclaimed.
“Ah… Hey, there are kids over there! Are you alright?!” one of the adventurers shouted, spotting us.
They were raising their voices so loudly that it was bound to attract attention, but I felt an urge to respond, asking if they were okay instead.