Ch.1111. Animal Friends (4)

Blood Rabbit. These giant rabbits are ecosystem-disrupting magical beasts characterized by their blood-red fur and the horn protruding from the crown of their heads.

That sharp horn on their crown can be used to stab enemies directly, but they can also launch ranged attacks by rapidly shooting their blood from the tip of the horn.

Therefore, the method I chose to locate a group of Blood Rabbits was to detect the smell of blood and life force. If there’s a smell of blood where multiple life forces are clustered together, it’s safe to assume Blood Rabbits are present.

In reality, my judgment wasn’t wrong at all.

Except… I discovered that the Blood Rabbit group I found was hunting a young Silver Deer.

Blood Rabbits are omnivorous magical beasts with extremely territorial instincts. So it’s not particularly surprising that these highly aggressive creatures would target a young Silver Deer that wandered into their territory, but…

That’s one thing, and this is another.

Knowing what Silver Deer mean to my master and me, and being well aware that Silver Deer are intelligent enough to be considered sentient beings… I simply couldn’t stand by and watch this young Silver Deer being hunted.

[GROOOOOOAAAAR!!!]

I let out a wild magic spell, “Wild Roar,” and inserted myself between the Blood Rabbit group and the Silver Deer. The combination of my sudden appearance and the paralyzing magic caused both the Silver Deer and the Blood Rabbits to freeze in place.

Of course, this paralysis doesn’t last long. The effect of wild magic cast without proper incantation doesn’t maintain its hold for long on magical beasts with relatively high magic resistance.

As a result, the Blood Rabbit group, quickly recovering from their paralysis, glared fiercely at this giant fire bear attempting to intrude on their territory and steal their prey, then charged at me.

Streams of blood shot out from the tips of the unicorn-like horns growing from the center of the Blood Rabbits’ foreheads. The larger ones reinforced their bodies with magical power and charged with all their might, attempting to pierce me with their horns.

But naturally, I could move before the momentarily paralyzed Blood Rabbits.

-Whoosh—CRASH!!!

Using the fire bear’s massive body as a mass weapon, I hurled myself forward, crushing the surrounding Blood Rabbits beneath me. From that position, I swung my front paws and used my jaws to crush several more Blood Rabbits.

In modern fiction, being strong and large often means being slow… but that’s nonsense. Powerful muscles grant speed to those who wield them.

In other words, the most agile being here was me, with the power of a mighty fire bear combined with the speed of a wild horse.

Meanwhile, the blood streams shot by the Blood Rabbits didn’t cause much damage. My wild magic-enhanced tough bear hide, thick layer of fat, and dense muscles easily blocked the blood streams.

But… these Blood Rabbits with their rolled-back eyes still maintained their hostility. Even after witnessing some of their group die horribly, they showed no fear—rather, it only increased their aggression—

-CRACKLE!!!

Lightning shot by Corin, the thunder bird waiting in the rear, flew toward the still-hostile Blood Rabbits. This lightning, which Corin gathered and released at my command, chained instantly according to Corin’s control, reducing more than half of them to charred heaps in an instant.

And after this, only stragglers remained.

I bit off their heads with my teeth. I tore out their entrails with my front paws. The thunder bird’s lightning from behind crackled, frying the Blood Rabbits that were starting to regain their senses, preventing their escape.

Not a single Blood Rabbit survived this brutal massacre.

※ ※ ※

In the middle of Blood Rabbit corpses leaking excessive amounts of blood relative to their size. Looking around at the blood-soaked surroundings, I suddenly remembered why I had annihilated the Blood Rabbits and hurriedly turned toward where the young Silver Deer was.

[……..]

Silver Deer. As the name suggests, this magical beast characterized by its silver-colored body was staring at me with terrified eyes.

Certainly, it’s understandable to be frightened of my current form—a blood-covered fire bear emanating the aura of a ferocious beast…

‘…The bleeding is severe. It won’t last long at this rate.’

[T-that’s terrible, master…?!]

The problem is that this young Silver Deer is severely wounded and needs immediate treatment.

Thanks to the Silver Deer’s healing ability, it’s barely hanging on despite having a hole in its neck… But the healing ability of a young, low-ranked magical beast is only enough to delay death slightly.

Moreover, my healing magic isn’t skilled enough to use on others, so the best option here is to call someone who can heal it.

‘…I have no choice.’

After shedding my fire bear form and returning to human form, I broke one of the “insurance” items I carried—a short rod-shaped magical tool that allowed me to contact Master Dalia immediately.

With a snap, my consciousness reached Master Dalia. If I speak now, the master should be able to hear me.

[—What’s wrong, Gregory!?]

[I found a dying Silver Deer in the forest! Please come quickly!]

[I understand!]

As soon as my message reached her, the master quickly asked if something had happened to me, and after I answered, she recognized the urgency of the situation and maintained the connection—

‘…?!!’

At that moment, the “forest” opened. The mystery of this Aleinos Forest responded to the request of its rightful caretaker and changed its form.

Space distorted. The forest, the mystery of great nature, rearranged its shape according to the movement.

And after a complex flow of mysteries that I could barely comprehend, Master appeared riding a Silver Deer through the opened “forest.”

After Master Dalia, riding her animal friend, the Silver Deer Delfin, passed through the opened pathway of the “forest,” the form and mystery of Aleinos Forest gradually returned to its original state.

“Gregory, where are you?”

“Over here!”

No further dialogue was necessary. Master jumped off Delfin and rushed over to heal the young Silver Deer, and to my surprise, Silver Deer Delfin directly addressed me as I watched.

“…Thank you for saving one of my kind, my friend’s disciple.”

“It’s nothing, Master’s animal friend… I mean…”

“You can just call me Delfin.”

“Ah. Yes, Delfin. I only did what any aspiring druid should do.”

Since we didn’t have much interaction normally, there was some awkwardness, but I tried my best to dissuade Delfin from bowing his head in gratitude to me.

“…I see. Dalia didn’t take you as her disciple for nothing.”

“You flatter me, Delfin.”

Although Delfin’s unexpectedly high evaluation of me was quite burdensome, I wasn’t thick-skinned enough to openly express discomfort in front of Delfin’s goodwill.

Anyway, seeing the young Silver Deer gradually being healed by Master Dalia’s hands, I was about to relax when a question suddenly occurred to me.

Silver Deer are basically magical beasts with high intelligence, but in their natural state, most don’t exceed the low rank. Therefore, I learned that they live in groups based on their high intelligence and sociability…

This raises a question.

Why on earth was a young Silver Deer, which should be living in a herd elsewhere in Aleinos Forest, being hunted alone in the middle of this forest?

Master said that the Silver Deer habitat in this Aleinos Forest is separated into a different space through barriers. Indeed, this forest is full of mysteries and has a structure different from normal terrain.

The managed Aleinos Forest that I frequently roam is relatively safe with fewer dangerous creatures and magical beasts. Master told me that unmanaged areas are so dangerous that even she could die if she entered carelessly, so they’ve been isolated by distorting space.

And the residents of Aleinos Forest, the sentient beings, each live within barriers that guarantee sufficient territory. Naturally, Silver Deer cherish their young and try not to let them out of the barriers.

So there shouldn’t be any Silver Deer in this managed forest…

“Um… Master, is the Silver Deer alright?”

My thoughts were interrupted at this point. After seeing Master approaching with the young Silver Deer in her arms, her answer to my question followed.

“I’ve healed all the wounds for now. …The problem is that it lost too much blood. It will probably need to rest for a while.”

“Phew… That’s really a relief.”

With a sigh of relief, I quietly gazed at the exhausted Silver Deer, when suddenly, from somewhere deep in my mind, a thought that didn’t seem like my own quietly seeped in.

Perhaps this Silver Deer and I might form a deeper connection. I thought I heard someone’s voice saying so from somewhere.