Hunting, Infinite Pebbles, Black Robe

An overcast sky, and oddly cool even though it was nearly summer: it was the early afternoon of just such a day.

Unusually, I was away from Master, wandering through the mountains.

<I hope you find some good prey!>

That's right, I'm out hunting alone!

You see, after finishing my usual training, I invited Master to go hunting with a look, and he went,

“............”

and shook his head. I got turned down.

Apparently, he was about to start mixing some medicines.

I thought I'd help him with that, but apparently that's still too early for me, so I wasn't allowed. Aww, man!

So, Master shut himself in his room, which gave me some free time, and that's how I ended up heading out for a solo hunt!

......Oh.

<Ah, Emi, behind the rocks up ahead to the left......>

Yep, I noticed, Omake-sama.

“Fugi...... fugi.”

“Gyuu gyu fugigi.”

“Fugii! Fugii!”

There, making strange noises as they greedily devoured something, were 3 hunks of meat.

<They aren't meat yet, Emi. Those are Yahajiki Boars.>

Yahajiki Boars are omnivorous and ferocious boar monsters!

They always move in herds of 3 or more, and they're terrifying creatures that can tear even a human hut to pieces when they charge as a group!

Their hide is abnormally tough; half-hearted arrows just bounce off without leaving a single scratch!

(Source: <the Hunting God's Isekai Reincarnation Broadcast>, as viewed by Omake-sama)

<They aren't all that big, though. All 3 are about as big as you, Emi.>

And it's not a big herd, so maybe they're young and inexperienced, freshly split off from their mother's herd?

<Do not let your guard down.>

Of course!

I further strengthened the 【Presence Concealment】 that I always keep active in the mountains and cautiously approached my prey.

Then, I leaped with 【Grasshopper】, descended from the air straight for the Yahajiki Boar's neck...... and with 【Mantis】, a single flash.

I sliced its head clean off.

This is the method Master used against the Electrideer.

I'm not on Master's level, but I've become able to do it to some extent.

The 2 that were left, startled, reacted in completely opposite ways.

“FUGIIIIII!!!”

Of those, 1 flew into a rage and tried to charge at me.

However, the distance between us was too short for it to gain any momentum.

Their charge only becomes a threat after they've had a running start and reached sufficient speed.

With me right there, it had nowhere near enough distance to do me any damage.

In the end, all he (?) did was move his neck into a position that made it easier for me to hunt.

I slammed my fist down hard on that boar's head from above.

And not just any knuckle bonk.

A blow charged with magic power, strong enough to shatter rock.

【Magic Strike】.

The boar's head burst, leaving a reddish-black stain on the mountainside.

I nimbly sidestepped the headless boar's body as it kept barreling toward me, and turned to look at the other one.

The last one had apparently chosen to flee.

It turned its backside to me and started running away at full speed.

But you see, Boar-chan.

I'm starving.

Brutal training day after day has my stamina and magic power running on fumes.

I have to eat plenty of delicious meat to restore my energy.

I'm a carnivorous girl!!

I thrust my hand into the ground and grabbed a handful of soil.

I cast 【Solidification】 on the soil in my hand, turning a plain clod of dirt harder than a stone, and 【Stone Throw】!

The speed of the 【Stone Throw】, boosted by my increased proficiency in 【Body Strengthening】, was too fast for the eye to follow.

The final boar, pierced through the body by the 【Stone Throw】 I launched, collapsed, twitched a few times, and then stopped moving.

Now, thanks to 【Solidification】, as long as there's ground, I can perform 【Stone Throw】 continuously even without any pebbles.

I've named this 【Infinite Pebbles】.

Omake-sama came up with the name.

<......Still, Emi, you've become quite strong in just half a year......>

Ehehe! You think so? Yeah, maybe I have!

It's all thanks to Master!

<......Yes, I suppose. You certainly did find a good master, but still, this rate of growth...... As expected of>

......? As expected of?

<......It's nothing. ......Well, you see, Emi, I'm feeling a little frustrated!>

Frustrated?

Why?

<I've been with you, Emi, for all 6 years since you reincarnated into this world. And I like to think I've taught you all sorts of things to make you strong enough to survive.>

Yeah.

<And yet, you, Emi, have gotten far stronger from the half year that man taught you than from the 6 years I did. It makes me wonder what on earth I've been doing all this time......>

Awawa...... don't be depressed, Omake-sama.

I'm always incredibly grateful to you, and if it weren't for you, I would've died a long time ago......

Besides, I think the only reason I can keep up with Master's training is because of the foundation you built for me!

【Body Strengthening】, 【Presence Concealment】, and 【Magic Perception】...... you're the one who taught me all of those, right?

Plus, you help me think through Master's tasks!

I am who I am because of you, Omake-sama!

<......Ufufu, thank you, Emi.>

Ehehe! You're welcome! I'm counting on you from here on too, Omake-sama!

......Now then! Let's hurry up and process these boars! It'll be a pain if other monsters show up and steal the meat!

<You're right!>

And then, right at that moment.

As I tried to approach the boar carcasses, I noticed the black thing that these boars had been greedily devouring together.

For the first time, I actually paid attention to it.

What is this?

A piece of black cloth?

......A robe?

I reached out and gave it a pull.

Koron, and something rolled out.

When I saw it...... leaving the boars I'd worked so hard to hunt just as they were, I started sprinting at full speed toward Master's hut.

I have to report this.

This is an emergency.

Something is happening.

What the boars had been devouring was a mass of flesh, hacked to pieces, bones and all, by something razor-sharp.

What had rolled out when I pulled the cloth was the severed head of a woman I didn't know.

In these deep mountains, where I had never seen a single human being other than me and Master.

A human had been murdered.

However.

By the time I reached Master's hut, things were already in motion.

Master and a man with a shaved head, wearing a black robe, were facing each other, their killing intent clashing.

And because I was distracted by that sight.

I failed to notice another man sneaking up behind me without a sound.