The guild master's daughter apparently volunteered herself because there was a female scholar in the investigation team, and she thought it might be lonely for the only woman. The guild master had said this before revealing that the accompanying staff member was his daughter, while they were listening to various explanations.
The next day.
"Are you ready? Then let's go!"
"Ooh!"
The 'Red Oath' set out.
It would take half a day to reach the village where Robles was captured. While this area could be described as a forest, the villagers would get angry if you said so. This place was, after all, a village "at the edge of the forest." They had a feeling that if they stopped by the village, they would be welcomed and detained, so they decided to keep moving without stopping. It was very convenient that they didn't need to replenish their water or anything. They soon passed what the villagers called the "real entrance to the forest."
...And then, in the forest.
Immediately after entering the forest, they thought it was just an ordinary forest, but suddenly a Fang Bear appeared. It was like in an RPG, where you encounter a mid-boss right after leaving the "starting village." Unfortunately for the Fang Bear, the ones who came out of the village were not level 1 Onion Knights equipped with wooden sticks, but rather Tama-mogi Knights equipped with fearsome mystery swords.
Squeal!
"Having something like that in such a shallow part of the forest is a bit dangerous, isn't it?"
The group, having stored the Fang Bear, continued deeper into the forest.
"There seem to be a lot of small animals... They must be fleeing from deeper in the forest," Reina said.
Indeed, it seemed there were more animals and monsters than usual.
Among them, Mile hunted and stored in the item box the dangerous creatures or those designated by the guild, which would otherwise be a mere consolation. It was better than doing nothing, and it was part of the mission. Moreover, culling was on a commission basis, and selling the materials was extra. They hunted while moving forward, trying not to fall too far behind in their search for the missing investigation team.
The forest grew dark quickly. Since they entered the forest around noon, they had to set up camp after not advancing much on the first day. They planned to set out as soon as it was light enough the next morning, so they had a simple dinner and went to sleep early.
"Still, something feels different, doesn't it?"
Reina was right. On the second day, as they moved deeper into the forest, they could sense that something was different. Since this was the first time Mile and the others had ventured into this part of the forest, they couldn't say if it was always like this, but it was clearly different from other forests. First, the small animals and small monsters that seemed more numerous on the first day were now scarce. There were fewer small animals and small monsters that served as prey for medium-sized animals and monsters, and as a result, there were also fewer medium-sized animals and monsters. However, there were relatively more powerful creatures like Fang Bears and Ogres. They were part of the culling mission, so they were all defeated and stored by Mile. Normally, they could only carry proof of the kill, but here, they could store the entire creature, which greatly increased their earnings compared to other hunters.
It seemed that the weaker creatures, which didn't have a strong sense of territory, had disappeared, leaving only the more territorial ones. Of course, even strong monsters might have moved for the same reasons as the small animals, or to follow their prey, like the Fang Bear they first encountered.
"When there are fewer weak animals and monsters, several reasons can be considered.
1. Their food source has disappeared.
2. The number of predators has increased.
3. The environment has become inhospitable for reasons unrelated to food.
4. They have died off in large numbers suddenly..."
Mile, who had been listening to Reina, nodded slightly in response to her hand signal and casually grabbed the slingshot from her belt with her left hand and a pebble from her pocket with her right.
Whish!
Mile quickly loaded the pebble and fired, but it missed and disappeared into the shadows of the trees.
"...Sorry, I missed..."
"It's fine. They'll probably come back."
Indeed, something was watching them from a nearby tree. Not sure if it was human, Mile had fired with restraint, but it had dodged. Mile had become more adept with the slingshot and had not been using nanomachines for trajectory correction recently, but her aim had been quite accurate. She had missed because it had dodged, which meant it was watching them closely.
"...So, 1 and 2 are unlikely. The wild herbs, fruits, and insects that serve as food for small animals are normal, and we haven't seen many medium-sized animals or monsters.
And 4, a sudden disaster or major environmental change that would cause mass deaths, doesn't seem to have happened..."
"Hey, Reina, what about that thing earlier..."
Ignoring Mavis's words, Reina continued as if nothing had happened.
"That leaves an external factor. If the monster population has changed suddenly, it could be..."
"A powerful creature has appeared or invaded, causing a drastic change in the ecosystem..."
Reina nodded, and Mavis and Pauline's eyes widened in shock.
"Mile, you're using some difficult words, but do you understand what they mean?"
Mavis asked, and Pauline nodded.
The two were surprised by that.
"Because I was the top student in my country's academy!"
"No, that was because Mile crushed all the top students in practical magic..."
"Who said that?!"
"Reli... Ah, never mind!"
"Reli... san, right!"
"Ahhhh..."
"Can I continue?"
Reina's voice, with a cross mark on her forehead, made the three of them chime in.
"Yes, please!"
"So, I thought it might be a Fenrir or a land dragon. If that were the case, just confirming its existence would complete most of the mission, but the situation has been different for a while..."
Such a monster, even for A-rank hunters, couldn't be defeated by just four people. The guild never expected a small party to resolve such a situation; that's why the mission was for "investigation" and "cause determination," not "resolution." The resolution would be carried out by a larger force after the cause was identified. This was the purpose of the investigation mission.
"...Being watched?"
Pauline, as usual, had a good nose for such things.
"Yes. It seems to be watching from the trees and can escape in an instant, so it's probably not human..."
Mavis, who usually spotted prey first, seemed to be bad at finding intentionally hidden targets and was completely unaware, looking shocked. Mile, who didn't like cheating and was afraid of everyone getting used to it, wasn't using wide-area detection magic. However, she was afraid of a situation where they couldn't recover, so she was using short-range detection magic to avoid ambushes. She had noticed, but Reina, who had noticed without magic, was impressive.
The three of them chimed in at Reina's words.
"...Demons?"
Indeed, if they were told "not human" in this forest, the first thing that came to mind was the story told by the elderly magician (whose name they had long forgotten) about receiving something from a demon.
Everyone's expressions tightened.
The 'Red Oath' members, who now considered themselves as strong as mid-level C-rank hunters, felt uneasy facing demons. After all, demons were a race known for their magical prowess. Moreover, anyone who came to such a place couldn't be of average strength. Objectively, only Mile had a chance of winning in a one-on-one fight, and even that was just a possibility. The four of them could handle at most two demons, and that was only if the demons were weaker than they imagined. The demons in the old stories were that strong.
...All they could do was hope the stories were exaggerated, like Mile's "Japanese exaggerations."
Mavis, unconsciously, felt in her pocket.
There were two small containers given to her by Mile before they left the capital, in case of an emergency. Metal containers of this size wouldn't break easily. However, the "Japanese exaggeration" story Mile told after giving them, about a single piece of bread, made Mavis glare at her slightly.