(Yukito's side)
I arrived at the inn and realized that only Yuu-chan and Sikiyomi-san were there.
Meanwhile, I couldn't find Hime anywhere.
I asked Sikiyomi-san about it, and she told me that Hime had gone out to buy carrots, since she had asked for her help.
Luke still hadn't returned either. I was a little curious about what he had been doing all day, but I decided not to think too much about it.
"Sikiyomi-san, is there anything I can help with?" I asked.
It was already midday, and Sikiyomi-san had been in the kitchen ever since I arrived, up until about ten minutes ago—that is, right now.
She was clearly preparing lunch for all of us.
"Relax~ Everything will be ready soon. If you insist, you can help by eating my cooking like usual," she said while stirring something inside the pot.
I left the kitchen, because I didn't know what else to say to her.
If everything was really going to be done soon, then there was nothing else I could do. And just as she said, I would fulfill that request.
—
About twenty to thirty minutes later, Hime and Luke returned to the inn separately, at different times.
Hime arrived first, since she was slightly delayed after helping an injured girl.
As for Luke, there was not a single person around who knew what he had been doing all day.
Sikiyomi-san prepared a soup filled with various kinds of vegetables and mixed with chicken meat as their lunch.
Yuu had also gathered with them again, after spending the day quietly zoning out in his room because there was nothing he wanted to do.
On the other hand—
On one of the roads connected to the forest within the city, there was a man standing near the forest.
He had gone there to collect fruits that were already in season and to gather tree branches scattered on the ground.
Once he had gathered enough, he planned to sell what he had found for money.
However, this afternoon, he encountered something that turned into a terrible situation for him.
Srek, srek.
"Hm?" He noticed the leaves on the trees rustling and making sounds.
The bushes around him were also shaking, as if something was about to come out from within them.
He immediately became alert and swallowed his saliva, trying to calm himself down.
"W-who's there?!" said the old man, whose voice grew louder the longer he spoke.
It wasn't just the sound of bushes and leaves; he also felt like he heard something resembling a roar, along with footsteps coming from afar.
Naturally, this made his legs tremble, as he felt that he was in danger.
He tried to walk backward, intending to return to the city road so that he could survive.
But it wasn't that easy, since the path between the city and the forest was nothing more than a narrow trail. On top of that, he had already gone fairly deep into the forest.
He repeatedly looked to the right, left, and every direction he could see, carefully keeping his eyes alert—
When he turned his gaze toward the bushes on his right, he immediately stopped retreating and stared straight at them.
Slowly, he saw a pair of red eyes peeking out from the gaps in the bushes.
Not just one—there were countless pairs of eyes staring straight at him.
At first, he thought there was only something inside the bushes, but when he looked around—
Boom!
The bushes surrounding him were now filled with red eyes, all of them seemingly watching him closely.
"Damn it!" he shouted, overwhelmed by despair and anxiety, his chest feeling tight.
Without thinking any further or hesitating, he turned around and ran with all his strength, trying to escape the forest and return to the city.
He intended to report this discovery to the guild, which would surely investigate the forest themselves.
Suddenly, a massive monster appeared before him, towering several times taller than his current height.
The monster blocked his path, leaving him unable to move anywhere.
Sweat began to pour down his temples and neck, and his hands felt cold with sweat.
His legs wanted to tremble, but he could only stand frozen, unable to believe what was happening to him.
His heart was filled with restless emotions, a feeling that seemed to scream that he wanted to survive and return home alive.
Like many wild monsters, upon encountering its prey—a human—the creature immediately attacked the man.
—
The man's friend, who had originally been invited by the man who was attacked by the monster to go to the forest together, became worried.
He was certain his friend had said he would return around three o'clock, but even by five in the evening, he still hadn't come back.
Since he thought he would only be checking on his friend, he hadn't brought any tools or equipment with him—he went empty-handed.
When he arrived at the edge of the forest and failed to find his friend, he decided to go deeper inside.
Eventually, he found a large basket, the kind usually carried on one's back while traveling.
And it belonged to his friend.
He approached the basket and saw that its contents were still intact—several apples and tree branches.
"Oi! Oi!" he shouted.
He tried calling out his friend's name, but there was no response.
Instead, the atmosphere felt increasingly ominous, as night was about to fall.
He hurriedly left the forest, bringing his friend's basket with him.
In his mind, he suspected that his friend had gone missing. Because of that, he immediately went to the adventurers' guild to report the incident to the adventurers and the receptionist there.
—
The next day, Yukito's party went to the guild, intending to take on a quest so they could earn money again.
However, they began to sense that something was off, as the guild was far more crowded than when they first arrived in the city.
They asked the guild receptionist to find out what was really going on.
"Excuse me, what's going on here? The adventurers look like they're all prepared for something," Luke asked.
"Ah, yesterday we received a report. Someone was declared missing in the forest, and only the victim's basket was found there," the receptionist replied.
"Because of that, the guild's higher-ups have already reported this incident to Marcen-sama. Incidents of people going missing like this have already happened for the fifth time this month," the receptionist continued.
The four of them asked several more questions and eventually decided to stay at the guild for the time being.
"These adventurers are gathered because the guild master requested it. When he returns later, he will likely form an investigation team to head directly into the forest," the receptionist said.
—
(Yukito's side)
After understanding the general situation, I asked the three of them.
"Could this be related to Abbys?" I asked.
"I don't think that's impossible," Luke said.
"But so far, monsters sent by Abbys usually come from outside the city. This would be the first time—if the missing people really are the work of Abbys' forces," Hime said.
sigh… I really hope the situation can stay calm.