Chapter 105: Hostage (1)
KwYTtWhoever that bastard was, he had completely earned the sloth’s hatred.0zI
sgKyxThinking that, I made a post on the gallery. Not about the handprints, but about the footprints.dlpcN4Z
XlwThe handprints could wait. Identifying the culprit was the urgent matter right now.8HQ
qEfr5Not only because the sloth’s main food supply had completely disappeared, but because it was a serious issue for me as well.9Ax9
A7qXqEY‘At this rate, I won’t even be able to leave the house unattended.’T5J864W
XEsShould I have installed iron fences earlier? I don’t know.XgVW
G4Y76Maybe not even fences. Perhaps I should have built a door from the beginning. It was something I was seriously starting to consider.tLAyrKI
BBqbUasTitle) Does anyone recognize the owner of these footprints?L7w
UmybWildGrillsfSb
Zof02A(Photo of animal footprints)NoKnq
mcS(Photo of animal footprints)Xt31B
zNy40J2(Photo of the sloth’s back radiating emptiness and fury)KyDE5Q
E3W(Photo of Wonmo nervously looking at him from the side)xjGAVyy
xBR2p49I went exploring today, and when I came back, my fasting pills were gone.sPeCFe
jSUs8I think these footprints belong to the culprits. I’m asking because they seem to be from several different individuals.PX4
5gS└HeavenlyDemon: More than footprints, they look like handprints. By the way, I can feel the sloth’s fury just from looking at the photo.qKT
U8WxR└Swordmaster: That’s true. And Wonmo glancing sideways looks adorable too. Does he understand that something serious happened?d2B43Lp
OphT└WildGrills: Wonmo is surprisingly perceptive. Ah, HeavenlyDemon-nim. If it’s not too much trouble, could you give me more fasting pills?wd1t
0mS└HeavenlyDemon: That’s not a problem, although it will take time. Fasting pills use rare herbs, so supplies are limited.AgJA6Z
pCCFAs soon as I read that comment, I looked at the sloth’s reaction.bt7x0i2
sSvHe was still staring fixedly at the place where the fasting pills had been.TlT
G8rz2xoIf I compared it to a person, it would probably feel like all the meat dishes on the table suddenly disappeared.9vYzp
1WfzcaJAnd from now on, you could only eat vegetables and herbs.671D6A0
9YvSThinking about it that way, even I would be furious.Cko
knUStBesides, this problem didn’t only affect the sloth.Rl5G
2iP‘Not only did they invade my territory, they also stole my belongings.’7jyGyCr
IdqxZAlthough it was somewhat embarrassing to admit, every time my stomach hurt, I relieved myself near the shelter.D9ls
9e75wZ5I wanted to mark my territory, even if only a little. I even used to cover everything with dirt afterward.g477
qwZfgZBut since I was going to live here for a long time, establishing my own territory was inevitable.0QxXVG
0p1GR1E└StarlightPrincess: Stealing food really makes them bastards. What do you plan to do if you find them?eWN
myoreU└WildGrills: I don’t have time to look for them today. I’ll go tomorrow.GIcMeX
hEHRGD└DemonPrincess: And is the uniform okayyyy?08nr
MY247└WildGrills: It was lying on the ground.AxM
MHx9└DemonPrincess: …….U3LN
tE46That probably meant something had changed with the gorillas as well.TbpNfT
UZdf1KWhether it was their aggressiveness or some other characteristic, it definitely wasn’t good for me.vCi
S4y2‘And it doesn’t seem like there was only one…’xon
TiGsThere were many footprints.FA6aV7
1gchAnd looking closely, each one had a different shape.bbTSzFQ
qWpHRoughly estimating, there were about four or five creatures.jWvKa
2uWHhAuEven one would have been troublesome. But now an entire group had invaded my home.xmTEhsJ
MmMRwhIt was a situation I couldn’t ignore.4g3NKNH
kEvI absolutely had to teach them a lesson.8Qbqj
HrDy4E‘But how?’8nl
DDOnY7I didn’t even know exactly where the gorillas lived or when they would return.KciRa
EENrThey could loot the place every time my animal companions and I were away.KZyfUM
dTsIt seemed there was no choice but to prepare traps and wait.rFzswQ
Iw9eFKEntering their territory was far too dangerous.sdHr
Djl‘I never imagined they would strike first like this.’H7w
nWqpERgI thought I would invade someone else’s territory before other animals invaded my home.fQyL
lqlxOAs I said before, I should have realized it from the moment that raccoon shamelessly stole the fasting pills.chacJ10
Sg7j6The animals in this forest seem to evolve in directions completely outside my expectations.YcdI6
j4UO2└SunForEver: And what will you do if you catch the thieves? Just kill them?sgwewe
08D└WildGrills: If they do it again, I won’t have a choice. This is my home.slb8
y3gZeRX└SunForEver: You’ve become tougher. You hesitated a lot before acting against the sloth.hVU
EQxZ9└WildGrills: It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kill him. I just couldn’t;;QU679
f8k8└SunForEver: Ah, right. I forgot.JHv
57d└Looks like the sloth is really furious this time.KcMb7zD
EenbX6e└I don’t know who they are, but they’re already dead hahaaMEaBs
mlh└Gorillas vs sloth. This excites me way too much.nBs
W69└DwarfPassingBy: What happened? Did they steal something from you?tODpW
bBx32b└WildGrills: Fasting pills. The sloth’s food. They’re also my emergency rations.VFspO
5AQ└DwarfPassingBy: Ah, I see. Then you’ll have to install a door or something hahaNnY6eHF
zcD└WildGrills: I’m seriously considering it.Nvbvzv
rxPlrBH└DwarfPassingBy: Nah. Better not. Even if you put in a door, they’ll just destroy it anyway.8EW
kgnzwNZ└WildGrills: …That’s true too. Ah, fuck.f8JiAJV
gG44YvO└Your fate was to be looted;;bdOcRV
MWFC3t└There’s no choice but to leave the house completely open LOLfIW0qiN
wQMs└Grills’ house distributes free resources to everyone.ATS
M8pXoUg└WildGrills: Shut up, you bastards.c0odf
N8qEjp└Grills. The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime.FcIdJb
x3hyDA└The guy above is right. They might come back tomorrow.GH9
HXS0O└WildGrills: Then in the end everything depends on tomorrow. Understood.1rTUt
rtl4After chatting with the gallery for a while, I looked around the shelter.gmAd4l0
71RqCAside from the cave, the outside was a fairly open area.l152R
Vjh1sAlthough I had installed barricades, small animals could still infiltrate easily.0Ng9X
gkMH‘And as the dwarf said, even if I build a door, they’ll probably destroy it.’ZTzH
2HOpjI could defend against small animals with fences.z5p1J
hGliBut against large beasts, even a door wouldn’t be of much use.yf1
AI39There were too many absurdly extreme creatures to come up with a proper solution.eQ6
YvJqF9cThe best approach would be to make this area recognized as my territory so they wouldn’t dare enter.zCG
8fF‘Should I comfort the sloth first?’iYSy
nyekThe sloth was still staring blankly into space.viMNSv
WzSzSMore than fury, he radiated defeat.p4JzJ
ZcnfdcI tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but stopped.ceZm
dLTrjINow that I thought about it, this bastard still hadn’t taken a bath.KqZp
HbxSo I slowly lowered my hand and spoke to comfort him.kGT
bvH99po“I’m angry too, sloth.”a5WJoO
crSl“…….”L6Y82B
KB2X“For now, we still have food for today, so don’t worry too much. Although I can’t promise we’ll get the fasting pills back.”5pAalVf
mF5We could get more thanks to HeavenlyDemon.KDhuDEI
zCHBZ3EBut the ones that had been stolen were probably gone for good.WfmD1cw
vz8KOAs AllFather said, gorillas are herbivores.3wjHPT
uaEu4U6There was a very good chance they had already eaten all of them.fxeNG
B3E“For now, hang in there. Those guys might come back tomorrow. Then we can teach them a lesson. Got it?”axcWy9
BV2GGr“…….”AUxH
3np“Cheer up a little. Wonmo is picking up on your mood.”OrlN
6esLOnly then did the sloth turn his gaze to the side.euO
Xw316Toward where Wonmo was.ELP
UmtxcuThe moment Wonmo met the sloth’s eyes, he flinched for an instant, but immediately began rubbing his cheek against him.yA4Hrg
LL8j4II“Kyuu. Kyuuuu.”U9p6
ZFG“…….”bCz
bIdksxWonmo’s adorable affection seemed to calm his heart a little.By5
BwedDBThe sloth slowly raised a paw and rested it on Wonmo’s head.kGx
txQVIt seemed he also considered Wonmo a pet or family.glT6Oc
w47pNL5I smiled in satisfaction for a moment, but soon began thinking about how to deal with this problem going forward.XwU
2eiVz‘Traps won’t do any good. Isn’t there something like a security camera?’XDJ1x
i5GaSince there was even an orichalcon mine nearby, I wondered whether some kind of similar magic existed.L51xoh
Rlp1WkoIf transmission spells existed, it made no sense for there not to be something like CCTV.FMDdY
U2ircIf I couldn’t stop them from looting my house, at least I wanted to see the culprit’s face.Nf3eT
7oK0s‘Or maybe I could scare them off with an alarm.’iVjXp9
X4MhMoHIt didn’t seem like a bad idea.zApF9
uOxQRHMaybe DemonPrincess would know something about that.xLW8a
0UAhZykJust as I was about to open the gallery to ask about it.zyraknH
i3iRustle—v8rEF2f
lbLgDps“…….”wcq
iMR60Something clearly brushing through the grass could be heard from outside.nGr
Lt8gpThe moment I heard the sound, I completely stopped the motion of opening the gallery.E0Ki
loU96Wonmo, who had been acting adorably, also sensed something strange and froze with his round eyes wide open.V7U6r1
5Zx1And the sloth…uGhtJmN
iYNvBvSwiish—Abv
Ke0gWekSlowly turned his head toward the cave entrance.tDSP1Y
ybgI did the same.56XRN
KrgSOO2Silently and cautiously, I slipped a hand into my subspace bag.9kHC5G6
SmFRfhBWhat I pulled out was a crossbow.kWB7IzJ
6PS1CH1The same crossbow I always carried with me just in case.0uuH
a0Mu08hIf I had picked it up from the ground, it would have made at least a little noise.EJ6
FRxoBR4But since it came from the spatial bag, it made absolutely no sound.Wr2N6J
xNkIPDrawing the string wasn’t difficult either.REf
mCo4CMy physical strength had increased so much that this was now child’s play.x2S
wOD— Uu! Uuu!CLQm
mgv7yfY— Uuuuu!NM1
UwuZg7kMonkey-like voices coming from outside the cave.FGzIJEh
jBgI didn’t know whether they were small monkeys or gorillas.fHug
lgthyBoTo confirm it, I would have to see them directly.zVOS
99SNlI4Completely concealing my presence, I moved forward silently.j2qtynw
zZ0LaAnd just as that anonymous user had said about criminals always returning to the scene of the crime.Lqz
eeH“Uu! Uu!”1KS8
F5Rx1p“Uuuuu.”Lgfgg
2L0dThey weren’t monkeys.bF2
3pREpaThey were two gorillas talking outside.sdD5
rUSxWOne of them was beating his chest and gesturing in frustration, while the other seemed to be trying to stop him.5d2C
XcJh4anJust as expected from creatures that understood the concept of “theft,” they seemed much smarter than ordinary gorillas.jxS
lZ2KavqBut to me and the sloth, they were still nothing more than thieves.QkQP
ES9Bastards who steal food in the wild deserve to die.7gCnXM
7UqYnXAfter all, they steal while fully understanding the consequences it can bring.gO94z
Xy4Swiish—8vro7M
xXR7bjeI slowly raised the crossbow and aimed at the gorilla.eTBSNW
7ON2jYThey still didn’t seem to realize we had returned and continued chatting among themselves.MHOlW9
ZjEv5D8Every fiber of my body wanted me to pull the trigger immediately, but I restrained myself with superhuman patience.bjlL
oGgkEI needed them to get a little closer to improve my accuracy.APdU
iakIt was still too early.EREMX
FDSYSplash!rL9s
4WVQT35“Uuuuu!”oRHOZ
87v001“Uuu?”ExM
DKhvodVWere the fasting pills not enough for them?aXKxw
yIsOne of the gorillas pulled a fish out of the metal container.Wap
0G6The fish was so large that even the gorilla had to hug it with both arms.J1w1VY
5P50jDlThe moment I saw that, I felt my anger rise even more.lFnC
SjbkThe otters had also tried to steal my fish.z5xmfvW
P7m1nMHAnd every one of them ended up dead.OKQGSK
pSGThat gorilla would share the same fate.0GYH
4LGm5ZlSwiish—bonGL4N
mMTiAs I continued aiming silently, the sloth moved to my side.9Oje4
rDC22dnHe didn’t step forward.fTiHhl
HsgFeqHe simply remained right next to me.NZtqEpt
zexHmmIt felt exactly like an observer accompanying a sniper.HzE1SK
UGW9ls“Uu! Uuuuu!”SPJFON
3OA“Uuu.”N7FW
IfQoIFinally, the gorillas turned around, laughing happily as they prepared to leave.HDinCnR
TAFZiI aimed at the one who had coveted the fish.jvfn
YT9L8tTI completely held my breath.smAzKBt
VJY6sGAnd just when the sight was perfectly aligned.qozonw
WrMeCd— Fire.OBr
xONXiMaybe it was my imagination, but a voice that seemed to belong to the sloth echoed inside my head.kbT0
KcK2sThe instant I heard that voice, I pulled the trigger without hesitation.e8fDLY
gKjpsA3Fwooosh!icTz8DU
HiRThe moment the string was released, the bolt cut through the wind.6HuXsY
Hu7And flew straight toward the gorilla’s broad back.sGwP
EB2zDn3Thunk!!wQ9
RUi9HQM“Guoooaaargh!!”1Jjm
zqN“Uooo?!”Ci9V
R4VCGEBFlap flap—U9iz
J87The bolt buried itself perfectly in the gorilla’s back.lFUy4E
7uwAt the same time, the gorilla roared in pain.uH9a
WPfqbiThe fish he had been carrying flew into the air as he thrashed wildly.4N39JQY
yOPeCreak—aUT3
iq2I didn’t stop there.5yHZ
DL8fbQ5I immediately drew another bolt and cocked the crossbow again.sH5OQVf
4cH8mXVOnce more, I aimed at the gorilla.9n00C
0IsuThe other one had already fled into the undergrowth.ZG4tF
yH04Even the gorilla pierced by the bolt was desperately trying to escape.zyd
Wc0He didn’t even seem to have the presence of mind to pick up the fish he had dropped.9zsHWsq
8m2fkIf he had been human, one shot would have been enough to bring him down.5DM9T
BHrR9But a beast was still a beast.qQp7I
SgiPEven so, beasts have ways of losing their mobility.sIp
lIGSTThunk!JNk
M0TDoJO“Guaaaargh!!”T4h7pr
PSJlzExactly.ICbmS
LvcBy targeting the legs.pznB82
bd1q4The bolt buried itself cleanly in the gorilla’s calf.h9LM
V7tREdWI fired as soon as I finished reloading, so I got pretty lucky.Au5b
sLlOr maybe my skills had genuinely improved.oiu
imYabWhatever the reason, the situation favored me.QZrqUli
WW5BThe moment the gorilla collapsed to the ground, I grabbed my sword and shield and went outside.OkCal
p4G6The sloth also climbed onto my back, ready to enter combat at any moment.aX3
jVjn00“Uoo… uoo…”Ifh3u3
2yLThe gorilla tried to crawl into the undergrowth somehow.XAh
XUDHMBut his companion had already abandoned him.VGZg0
H81mz8iThere was no one left who was going to help him.EshtZD
227eiI walked right up to the gorilla, who was desperately dragging himself away.jZ5
Ivtics4The gorilla sensed the shadow looming over him and slowly turned his head to look at me.OMG
QQBZ“U… uoaa…”hvp
2PYoxnDThe gorilla stared at me with a face completely filled with fear.Uz70
R8dVABut then he saw the sloth hanging from my back and his eyes widened.47CqX
61TxYIt was the kind of reaction that said.krL0f
lDurcjVWhy are you here?86N
CjrQm4As if he couldn’t believe the current situation.yd8
2P9b6s2I didn’t know what had happened between them, but it was obvious he recognized the sloth.QMUxXO
fuIl5Dm“U… uugh…”sKur9
HD8ZS5AThe gorilla pointed at the sloth with a finger and then fainted.H2W7uO
1ZaXQZThe foam coming out of his mouth made it clear he couldn’t withstand the physical and mental shock.nkl
0Em5Even though he couldn’t speak, his reactions were exactly like those of a person.mhbBc3f
dT46xwPHad their intelligence really increased that much?KwGB
M0dvBut more than that, what truly seemed strange to me was his reaction.B0wbN04
BELfuW“Sloth.”G6vqDVb
z1V6WR1“…….”CjAuj
fRl4j“What the hell did you do to them?”wV1XMuf
fokh52DWas he some kind of local bully?RPgkD
fGfYI didn’t know.680
km8nwT‘Though judging by their reactions, it really does seem that way.’KxE52S6
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