Trading City Oyaimo 3

A few days later, the Survey Corps arrived in the town and began their investigation.

But the city and its surrounding areas... it didn't seem to be an easy task.

The townspeople went about their business energetically, but the soldiers walking the streets gradually showed signs of exhaustion each day.

After finishing that day's sales and packing up their goods, Yuri went looking for some children.

It seemed they had gone off to play and hadn't returned yet.

Upon hearing this, everyone instantly pictured something unpleasant in their minds.

The caravan members began searching for the children.

"Tarou, head toward the thicket on the outskirts of town! I'll circle around from the opposite side."

"Got it!"

Replying to Noel, she instantly dashed through the town at lightning speed.

Before setting out to search, I returned to the lodging facility once more.

Thinking they might come in handy, she hastily stuffed high-purity and other magic stones into her bag and rushed out of the inn.

The sun was setting.

She searched all over the town but couldn't find any sign.

Where could the child have gone? It should come back once it gets dark.

But if it hasn't returned, there must be a reason.

Maybe it really is lost?

Pulling out the town map, she marked the places where it might have wandered off to.

She searches through alleyways and quiet corners of town rarely visited. There are a few intimidating people around, so she keeps her voice low, praying she doesn’t run into any kidnappers as she wanders the area.

Eventually, she arrives at the overgrown, untamed spot—thick with trees and dense foliage, like a wild thicket.

"Ellie, is Mike around? Yuri’s worried about you!"

Since she hadn’t shouted aloud before, she now called out with all her might.

That was... a mistake.

Perhaps because she’d lived in Japan, she’d grown complacent—she’d assumed the city was safe.

It was a miracle she even sensed the presence behind her, the monkey-like monster.

"Oh... oh no..."

She couldn’t even scream, collapsing to her knees.

The monkey... looked nothing like something from this world.

Its body was perhaps twice the size of a human's, with a mouth disproportionately large for its head. A dull gemstone protruded from its left eye, sticking out like a tooth and piercing straight through the back of its neck.

One arm was unusually large, while the other, the left, seemed slender like a human's; both legs, however, were quite sturdy, hanging upside down from a tree.

The back teeth clench tightly.

That's why I saw it.

The monkey was eating a human arm.

I'd seen that outfit before. It belonged to Krowne, the fire mage. The mage had been attacked!?

I thought I had to run, and tried to stand, but fear kept my muscles from responding.

The monkey descended to the ground. When our eyes met—those sunken, piercing eyes—I felt as though it could see straight into my soul, its mouth curling up in a grin.

With astonishing speed, it swung its right arm upward and charged at me.

My body froze in terror.

Thanks to that, I managed to stagger to my feet and start running.

I desperately fled deeper into the woods, stumbling several times along the way.

It climbed back onto the trees, shaking the branches with a slow, deliberate pace as it followed me.

There were moments when it simply hovered above me, motionless, just watching.

Damn it! It feels like it's toying with me.

After going quite deep, I emerged into an open area.

Yet despair only grew stronger. Someone, unknown, had been roughly devoured—there was a corpse to prove it.

It had been using this forest to corner people and had eaten quite a few. It seems to possess high intelligence.

I remembered what my boss Yuri had told me: "If you encounter a monster, run first."

But the monkey was blocking the path, standing right where he had just come from. There was no choice but to accept the situation. He desperately tried to think of a solution.

"You might think you've won, but we're prepared too."

He knew he was bluffing, yet he forced the words out anyway.

He had a few flash crystals (Classification: Light Crystals) for self-defense, and several low-grade burst crystals (Classification: Fire Crystals).

As their names suggest, one emits a bright light, while the other simply shatters explosively when activated.

I don’t know how much this will actually help, but it should at least slow them down.

"Taro-kun, big brother!"

That was the last voice I wanted to hear—full of eager anticipation.

We watched the twins peeking out from between the trees, one from each side.

Saru grinned, while I grimaced.

Saru dashed toward the children.

"Damn it—take this!"

Throwing the shattering gem near the monkey caused it to activate, sending shards that struck the ape directly in the face. Though it couldn't inflict a wound... it did manage to halt its movement.

The monkey beast rubbed its face.

Seizing the opening, I slipped between the ape and the children.

"Eli! Mike! Run! Keep going straight—you'll reach the city.

Tell the soldiers there's a huge monkey in the town!"

"But—"

"Go, hurry up!"

After confirming the children had started running, he hurled the flash crystal at the approaching ape.

It burst into a blinding light, startling the creature and causing it to topple over.

Good, it's working.

If I can keep buying time by fleeing until the soldiers arrive, we'll be fine.

I'm half convinced this method will actually work, but

the monster ape rises to its feet and glares at me with narrowed eyes.

It's clearly on high alert after that attack.

But now the children won't be targeted anymore.

Probably because I've been watching the ape closely and started to understand its behavior. Though it looks unbelievable, its actions are exactly like those of a monkey.

As my fear fades, my mind becomes clearer.

I grasp the burst stone and prepare to throw it directly at the ape's face.

No matter how strong it is, vulnerable parts like the eyes and organs remain weak points.

If I aim for those, even if I can't knock it down, I should be able to render it immobile.

But just as I had hidden a magic stone, the monkey beast too had a hidden trump card.

It had been screeching like a monkey all along, but suddenly began emitting a dull, guttural growl.

Startled, I let my guard down.

"Khaa...!"

I was floating in midair. Couldn't breathe—I'd been blown back hard.

I had no idea what had happened.

When I managed to get back up, the monkey's legs were grotesquely swollen.

The monkey monster lowered its hips and charged forward with a devastating blow.

I rolled away to dodge the punch.

The monkey monster kept pounding the ground, and shards of stone and sand struck my body all over.

My stomach ached, but my left arm hurt even more—probably broken when I was thrown back earlier.

I’m too weak. Just one hit and I’m on the verge of death.

I don’t think I can last until the soldiers arrive.

Dodging another charging attack by rolling aside, I leaned against a rotting, half-fallen tree.

The monkey demon charges straight at me. I'll use this tree to pin it down!

I used a flash crystal to blind it.

The monkey quickly noticed and narrowed its eyes.

In that moment, I pulled out as many burst crystals as I could.

The monkey readied its charge.

Our eyes met. The monkey demon lunged at me.

Activated the burst crystals and scattered them around. Kicked the remaining burst crystals into the tree.

The force of the kick propelled me aside, dodging the monkey's charge while the burst crystals exploded outward.

Several fragments struck my legs.

At the same time, the crystals hit the bent giant tree, causing it to snap completely and collapse.

I pressed down on the monkey demon's head, pinning it beneath me.