The commander of the beastmen, who had been kept at a safe distance from the hut and had heard the angry report from those who had been refused to approach it, immediately formed a new capture team after the capture team returned in the afternoon.
The fact that they were resorting to such a despicable tactic meant that they were not in a state to fight properly.
The second capture team, prioritizing mobility, consisted of a select few, twelve in total.
It sounds good to say "a select few," but while it was true that they had thought the escapees' fighting power was not much, in reality, they did not have the luxury to dispatch more fighting power.
The interception team that returned yesterday evening had a high rate of injury. Now, twenty were out of commission. Excluding those skilled in surveillance and information gathering, and those reserved for defense in case of an emergency, most of the remaining were laborers and support personnel, leaving only a few fighters.
It was out of the question to send women and young people, who had been brought along as laborers and miscellaneous duties, even if the enemy's fighting power was low, as there was always a possibility of something happening.
Moreover, the proud beastmen could not send non-combatants and children to fight while leaving adult male warriors, who were supposed to be fighters, in the rear. If they were to do such a thing, they might as well accept the extinction of their clan. It was not an option for them at all.
Accompanied by weak humans who could not see in the dark and were not hunters, it would take two days to cross the forest.
Although nearly half a day had already passed since the escape, if a relatively small number of beastmen pursued with all their might, it would not be too difficult to catch up. The humans would need to take a nap to maintain their strength, but the pursuers had rested well last night and could go without sleep for a day and a half. A few short breaks would be sufficient.
With this in mind, the commander sent out the new twelve-member capture team, after repeatedly emphasizing the "place that must not be approached" to the first members.
"…It's about time. Be careful…, ugh!"
Just as the leader of the capture team was trying to alert everyone, it happened.
"Dodge! Make a wide detour!"
The faint odor from a distance was already making them want to vomit.
Struggling to endure the nausea, the capture team made a wide detour around the area, wasting a considerable amount of time before finding the escapees' scent again.
On the other hand, the "Red Oath" had initially used their short breaks to recover everyone's strength and for Mile's work, but finally, during one of the breaks, they were able to hear the story from those who had been captured.
Since moving at night was inefficient, they took longer breaks. If they were to trip and get injured due to fatigue, it would only slow them down.
Therefore, during a longer break, they distributed easily digestible food and water from Mile's storage, and had a light meal and briefing.
The briefing was conducted by Taffy, a guild employee.
According to Taffy, the lord had provided a small amount of funding to form an investigation team to investigate the forest's anomalies. The team included the elf Dr. Kurelia, her assistant, a hunter for protection, and Taffy from the guild.
The funding was provided by the lord, but the investigation team was officially sponsored by the guild. This was more to shift responsibility to the guild in case something happened, Taffy explained, but to the "Red Oath," it was irrelevant.
Dr. Kurelia was the only woman in the team, so Taffy, as a guild employee, volunteered to accompany her out of consideration.
This much, the "Red Oath" already knew from the guild master.
"And then, while conducting the investigation, we were surrounded and captured by a large number of beastmen."
"……"
The "Red Oath" listened silently to Taffy's story.
"That's all."
"……Huh?"
"That's the sequence of events so far."
"……That's short! The explanation is super short!!"
The four of them, unable to help it, inserted a "tsukkomi" (a comedic reaction) in the style of Mile.
"Who are those beastmen! And what are they doing there!"
Reina pressed further.
Indeed, they needed to confirm this to make sense of the situation.
"Well, they're looking for something, apparently….
I didn't hear it directly, but I overheard a conversation…."
(……This is useless!!)
The four were dejected when a voice came from behind.
"It seems to be some kind of excavation. Not for minerals, but for ruins or something….
But apparently, they haven't found anything yet, and they're not even sure if the object they're looking for is really there. It's more like it might be here….
The search is supposed to be a secret, and they themselves don't seem to fully understand it. They're probably just doing the fieldwork for someone who asked them to."
Dr. Kurelia's explanation was listened to with interest by Mile and the others.
"But how did you manage to get that information, even though it's supposed to be a secret?"
"Using a secret technique passed down among elves for dealing with humans and beastmen."
Dr. Kurelia, with a smug look, answered Mile, who asked curiously.
"Wow, amazing! What kind of technique is it!"
Perhaps feeling sorry for Mile, who was looking at her with sparkling eyes, or perhaps just wanting to show off, Dr. Kurelia explained the secret technique with a proud face.
"You do it like this.
You fold your hands like this, place them under your chin, and make your eyes watery, and say,
'I'm bored. Sir, could you tell me a story…'"
(Oh my god!!)
Everyone was taken aback.
Dr. Kurelia, who looked like a 15-16 year old elf, was actually much older.
(Frightening! Elves are frightening!!)
The men were trembling in fear.
In this world, elves do not have ears that extend horizontally like in Japanese manga. Even those with the largest ears are at most like Vulcans, and some have ears that are only slightly more pointed than humans. So, if they are hidden by hair, it is often difficult to tell the difference.
The beastmen probably thought Dr. Kurelia was a new hunter or something similar, just like Mile and the others.
Mile, unlike the beastmen's commander, estimated that it would take about a day and a half for them to reach the "village at the edge of the forest." She was good at making such estimates, as long as human factors were not involved.
It was understandable that the beastmen's commander had miscalculated. He did not know that the escapees had someone with better night vision than the beastmen leading them, had sufficient water and food, and did not need to carry it, and that they were using luminescent markers.
Furthermore, the results of Mile's various confirmations with Dr. Kurelia, her assistant, and Taffy, the guild employee, were as follows.
"Do you underestimate the elves living in the forest?"
"Do you understand what it means to be an assistant to a fieldwork-oriented doctor?"
"Being a guild employee, and with a father who is 'that,' I do have a C-rank hunter's license, you know?"
The guild master was referred to as "that"…
Mile judged that, given the physical condition of everyone, who had escaped just before falling asleep and were already exhausted, it would be difficult to continue to the village without sleep and with only short breaks.
While they could stay awake, the fatigue and decreased attention would likely result in frequent falls and sprains, significantly slowing their progress.
The only option was to take a long break and let everyone get some sleep.
If the trap completely disabled their sense of smell and tracking ability, it would take about half a day to return to the excavation site and send a replacement team.
If it did not have that effect, it would take a few hours to reacquire the scent.
The trap, which had a greater effect than Mile imagined, was unknown to her.
Regardless, the only thing they could do now was to cover as much distance as possible before everyone's fatigue reached its peak.
After the escape, they walked all night and welcomed the sunset the next day without being caught by the beastmen's pursuit team. The group was finally able to take a proper break, having a proper meal and some sleep.
The next day, they planned to leave as soon as it was light enough to walk safely, bypass the "village at the edge of the forest," and head straight for the capital, aiming to arrive by evening.
In this situation, the village was not a safe place. If a large number of beastmen attacked, it would be over.
It was much better to head straight for the capital rather than involving the villagers in danger.
The captured individuals, having had their first warm meal in a long time, were lying down and taking a nap.
Earlier, Mile had effortlessly taken out food, tents, and blankets from her storage, and Loli Baba…, Dr. Kurelia, except for her, was staring at the fresh vegetables and meat left on the plates.