One of the territorial capitals located to the west—Arios City.

I was in a place further off the road, about ten kilometers down the highway heading west from there.

In Riana, areas outside cities and villages are mostly forests unless they’re being used as farmland—and that applies even to the edges of highways.

And those forests are typically home to monsters.

During February and March in the winter, a large movement of people heading to the royal capital occurs in line with enrollment at the Noble Academy. To keep them safe from danger, the Knight Order conducts patrols and exterminates monsters along the way.

Of course, this area’s monsters have been exterminated as well, but when a monster-free zone appears, it can cause monsters from elsewhere to flow in.

Monsters are fundamentally nocturnal and rarely come out of the forest during the day, but it’s not impossible.

A newly arrived pack may not have firmly established their territory yet and could wander out into the open during the day.

Well… in the end, these hastily-formed packs are just messing around in their hastily-formed territory. If you poke them a bit, they’ll apparently retreat into the forest immediately. Still, Seriana ordered me to exterminate them, and I’ve been granted the authority to do so.

In that case, I need to take my job seriously.

I’m aware I tend to slack off, but when it comes to work, I’ve rarely ever cut corners.

So—time to get to work, seriously.

◇

A few days ago, Seriana tasked me with patrolling the highway area, and while I was out, I spotted a pack of wolves moving along the road.

Luckily, there were no people nearby, and the place was far from any settlements, so I didn’t necessarily have to engage them—but while I was debating whether I should go out of my way to take them down, they started barking at me.

I moved away and glanced down, but they were still chasing me…

I’ve had them follow me during night travel before—maybe it’s just part of their nature.

“Alright then… Hup!”

If I just kept moving, they might have given up eventually, but my mission right now isn’t traveling—it’s extermination.

With one breath, I activated my Blessed Item and Divine Protection and began a steep dive toward the center of the pack.

It’s broad daylight, so no blinding attacks.

Let’s do this!

“Ha! Teyah!”

With 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 activated on my right foot, I crushed one in the center, then immediately swung at another right beside it.

The wolf hit by that blow was sent flying several meters without even a scream and never got up again.

One hit, huh!

But there were more than just those two wolves—the rest of the pack was still there.

However…

“Go!”

The wolves lunging at me from behind were intercepted by my snakes on my command.

With 【Amber Shield】 and 【Wind’s Garment】, wolf-level attacks aren’t much of a threat, but that doesn’t mean getting hit feels good. I still need them to fend the attacks off properly.

Leaving the rest of the pack to the snakes, I scanned the surroundings… There were monster presences on the forest edge, but none seemed like they were about to come out.

We can leave those alone!

Meanwhile, in the grasslands opposite the forest, across the highway—it’s unclear whether they’re after us or the wolf corpses—but monsters and beasts were slowly tightening a ring around us.

“Oh? You done already?”

As I kept my eyes on the approaching monsters, Akame stretched his head in front of my face, seemingly finished dealing with the rest of the wolves.

It wasn’t just Akame; the other two looked unfazed too.

They’re Riana’s monsters, but not ones from the Magic Realm.

Same for the wolves I kicked earlier—monsters of the same species, but they’re not as strong as those from the Magic Realm.

Or rather, they’re even weaker than normal.

The monsters approaching us now are the same—they’re all weak, and in terms of threat level, they’re not worth paying attention to.

Normally, I would’ve ignored them.

They’re just that insignificant.

Monsters usually live in places rich in mana, like forests and mountains. They’re not supposed to inhabit open grasslands like this.

The mana disperses too easily here, making it an unsuitable environment for monsters to thrive.

So then—what are the ones here now?

They’re monsters driven out of their original homes, now relocated here.

The grasslands are wide and have water sources.

There are also small animals around, so food isn’t an issue.

However, since the mana in the grasslands is thin, monsters that settle here weaken with each generation.

They’re barely different from regular beasts, and unless they actively attack, they can usually be ignored…

“But they look ready for a fight…!”

Even with my intimidation mode activated—excluding 【Shadow Sword】, 【Purple Wings】, and 【Amber Sword】—it’s having no effect.

Monsters from the First Forest would avoid me in this state…

Even if there’s potential food lying nearby, are these guys just dull?

I can’t just leave them be—fine then.

Time to wipe them out!

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera ・Divine Protection・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】

Blessed Item ・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】+1【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・8 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards