The Peerless Kobold - Chapter 36
After distributing our loot, I sat there absentmindedly as I looked at the other kobolds in the settlement who looked happy despite feeling a little uncomfortable with the leather armor they had put on.
In an attempt to develop the cultural life of the pack, we had ventured into the northeast along the Steele River once, but… now that I had looked at the map Muriel carried with her, I understood that it was difficult to advance in that direction. The northeast contained both the Balberra Forest which was the skull-marked, dangerous territory and to the north was Warren City, the core city of the Ferias Territory in the Kingdom of Riastize, which was both very risky to approach.
“Garuu, wafan…” (We should go to the south after all…)
Easteria Forest, where we live, is part of the continent’s largest forested area that stretches across the national borders of nations, and to the south of it lies the Ancient Forest where the Elves live.
I did not want to go that far, but I would like to explore the south at least once…who knows, we might find something unexpected.
And since our settlement is very close to Viel village and the town of Zelgra, we cannot ignore the fact that we risk being found by the humans, so just to be safe, it would also be wise to find another location for the pack to relocate to in case of emergency.
Also, Lancer was the only one out of the six of us who had not evolved yet, so I thought it would be a good idea to make it one of the goals for our next journey…
“Wau, kuruaaoon, vaaugaruo uuooruon.” (Well, that’s just my reasoning, but I just really want some stimulation and change.)
Maybe it was the nature of all living things to travel in search of something new.
(It more or less served a real purpose, though.)
As I was making up my mind to venture into the southern part of the forest, I called my tall, skinny childhood friend over.
“Waoan, guaru gauruwooonh.” (Blazer, I’m entrusting you with protecting the pack for now.)
“N, voaaon?.” (Sure. You’re going out again?)
“Wafu, woarufauon…” (Yes, we’re going to the southern part of the woods.)
After that brief talk, I called over Ax too.
“Gurua, garuon?” (Boss, what’s up?)
“Wauuh, guruuuooon.” (Ax, I’m leaving the pack in your care too.)
As I asked the two of them to take care of the pack in my absence, I looked at my beloved brethren who happily held their weapons in their arms.
“Wauan voruaoon.” (Go train them, okay?)
“Waoon, gurua.” (Yes, Boss!)
“Guonh.” (Of course.)
If I only left the training to Blazer, then his habits would heavily influence the others, but Ax’s pensive nature should balance it out to some extent…
After spending several days in the settlement to prepare myself for the journey, the four of us— Dagger, Buster, Lancer, and I set off for the southern part of Easteria forest.
But our main problem along the way was primarily our supply of water.
It wasn’t as accurate as the map that Muriel had, but according to the map we found among the bandits’ possessions, it would take a two day’s walk from the south of the settlement to reach a tributary of a river different from the Steele River.
Just in case, each of us had prepared 4 days’ worth of water in several leather flasks. We intended to turn back once we could not find a water source and had used about half of the total amount of water we brought, but…
“Kyuu, kuuao~n.” (Big brother, it’s the river~!)
Despite our secret fears, we found a water source in the form of a tributary on the afternoon of the second day just as we expected.
Moreover, there was also spring water in the vicinity. I had also seen some beech trees here and there that store a lot of water…The south part of the forest might just be blessed with plenty of water.
As I was speculating for a bit, the sound of splashing water brought back my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Buster had stepped into the shallows, drew some fresh water into his flask, and thirstily gulped it down.
Gulp, gulp…
“Gafah!” (Puhaa!)
“…Guoruwoaruu kuruaounh.” (Don’t drink too much or your stomach will become upset.)
As I sat down on a rock by the riverbank, I watched Lancer, who had always been good at taking care of people, admonishing our large childhood friend, and my sister, who had been playing in the water, move her large fox ears with a twitch.
“Wafa, kuoarun?” (Can you hear that?)
When I listened carefully, I could hear it too.
Is this… the sound of someone screaming?
