Actions and Consequences

13. Actions and Consequences

"Was it really okay to leave that child behind?!"

As they rode toward the destroyed Tochka, a man galloping alongside Tori shouted loud enough to compete with the thundering hooves.

Tori cast a sideways glance at the man—Ronar, whom he had stopped yesterday—and raised his voice to match as he guided his horse.

"I couldn't exactly bring her along without knowing if it was safe, could I?!"

"Well, I suppose that's true!"

By "that child," Ronar was referring to Shia, who was not with them.

Naturally, there was no way he could have brought her. He had told her to return to the inn and wait there, but Shia had clung to Tori's clothes, refusing to let go and stubbornly pleading to come along.

Tori had eventually managed to persuade her, which was why he was here now—however, Ronar had witnessed the entire exchange, and both men had panicked quite a bit when Shia had looked as if she were about to burst into tears.

It was rare to see Shia act so insistent, as she was never one to be selfish, but if things were as he suspected, it was better for her to be inside than out.

Though, in truth, the night was when things became truly dangerous.

The ruins of a Tochka came into view ahead, and the group brought their horses to a halt.

"...This one was smashed to pieces."

As the voice suggested, the Tochka had been obliterated from the foundation up. Debris was scattered at their feet and all around the site; the men surrounded the ruins with grim expressions.

"I don't see any traces of gunpowder."

"No... but if it wasn't explosives, then was it a magic item?"

"Hmm, magic items, huh. I don't know much about those."

"Neither do I. Hey, traveler, what about you?"

"—Eh?"

Tori, who had been observing the ground a short distance away from the others, looked up as the conversation turned to him.

"...Pardon?"

"I said magic items. Do you know of any magic items capable of doing something like this?"

"Magic items? ...Yes, well, a few."

"Oh! Like what—"

"But this wasn't a magic item."

"What?"

"This was the work of a magic beast."

"Huh?"

Every man turned a suspicious gaze toward him at that conclusion.

"Now hold on a minute. A magic beast? The Landbull herds are already gone, aren't they?"

"I imagine so. I saw a pile of buried carcasses a short distance from here."

"!"

"...T-then it couldn't have been a magic beast, right?"

The men seemed surprised that he knew about the carcasses, but they quickly pointed out the contradiction. Tori gave a light shrug.

"I never said it was a Landbull. In the first place, a Landbull couldn't perform a feat like this."

"T-then what are you saying it was?"

As Ronar asked on behalf of the group, Tori didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pointed to the ground beside him.

Crushed stone had been spread around the Tochka to prevent grass from encroaching, but the surrounding area was covered in knee-high grass.

And where Tori pointed, that knee-high grass had been flattened, creating a path-like trail that led into the brush. It looked as if something heavy had been dragged along.

"What does that mean? I can see it looks like a path, but..."

"Ronar-san, have you ever gone deep into the eastern forest?"

"No, I haven't."

"Then you don't know about the wetlands either?"

"I don't."

"I see... well, I suppose it can't be helped then. The magic beast lives there."

"A magic beast does?"

".........No way... ...A Serpent...?"

One of the men whispered faintly.

"A Serpent?!"

"What?! A Serpent?!"

Everyone knew that name. They were dangerous magic beasts of the large-species variety.

However, voices of denial immediately rose.

"But why all of a sudden?"

"Exactly! This has never happened before, so why would a Serpent...?"

"It's impossible, right?"

To those voices, Tori spoke casually, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"It is because you all eradicated the Landbull herds."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"It is the natural result. Their primary food source, the Landbulls, are gone. Serpents are intelligent magic beasts. I suspect it managed the population carefully so that the herd wouldn't go extinct despite its appetite. And then, suddenly, the Landbulls vanished."

"......"

"Serpents also have a keen sense of smell. That is why it noticed that pile of carcasses. Landbulls that weren't eaten, but simply killed. ...This is retaliation. It coiled around the structure in a fit of rage and crushed it; that is the cause of this carnage."

It was possible that his own act of digging up the soil had alerted them to the scent, but since that was a path he had already taken, he kept quiet about it.

Tori looked up at where the upper section of the Tochka used to be. The men who looked up with him seemed somewhat pale; perhaps they were seeing a phantom of a massive snake coiled around the shelter.

"...Then... what are you saying we should have done...?"

Someone murmured, and Tori cast an exasperated glance their way.

"What you should have done...?"

"I mean, come on! Are you saying we should have just lived in fear of magic beasts forever?!"

"But you've managed to live that way until now, haven't you?"

"Tch! That's...!"

"Furthermore, by acting as you did this time, you've only attracted an even greater threat. It's completely counterproductive."

"......!"

Tori let out a small sigh. This wasn't the end. He had to deliver the final blow to the men who were already turning pale.

"More importantly, there is what comes next."

"......Next...?"

"The Landbulls are gone. So, what will it use as its next primary food source?"

"......"

"What is the prey that won't disappear immediately?"

"......H-huh... No way... You mean us...?"

"It's the only option. Besides, I heard the town has been quite lively at night recently, hasn't it? It has surely noticed the town's existence."

"That can't be!"

Tori looked at the men with pity as despair washed over their faces.

There were now two paths they could take.

The Serpent Tori and Shia had encountered was a single individual, but in reality, there might be more. They could either continue to fight those Serpents, or they could abandon the town.

However, in the end, that was a decision for the people who lived on this land to make; it was not Tori's concern. He was merely a traveler who happened to stop by.

Therefore—

His answer to the men who clung to him, asking what to do, was by no means a mistake.

"We'll be leaving here by the end of the day. I think it would be best if you all reached a decision by nightfall."

They were not helpless children like Shia, but adults capable of making their own judgments. That was precisely why they had to bear the consequences of their own actions. Naturally, without delegating that responsibility to others.