Ch.225The Butterfly Effect-Observing NPC. (4)

In the Eight Continent, it’s common knowledge that humans captured by monsters become breeders. According to academic consensus, only orphans who haven’t been taught or infants without cognitive abilities would be unaware of this fact.

“W-wait, that must be a lie, right? Y-you’re carrying monster-attracting incense and leading monsters here? S-such jokes…”

“Y-yes!! They must be attracted to the incense we’re burning right here?! That’s impossible. No one would move through these mountains carrying this much incense unless they’re suicidal maniacs or crazy people who want to become monster breeders…”

[KEEEEC!!!]

[keeeeeeee!!!]

[kuooooooo⎯⎯⎯!!]

“Nice try denying reality. The women who are leading monsters to us right now are neither suicidal volunteers nor monster breeder applicants. They’re just strong enough to lure hundreds of monsters and still escape or defeat them.”

“T-that’s impossible…!!!”

“W-wait!! I’ll tell you everything you want to know!! I’ll talk, so please let me g…!!!”

“Yes. I clearly said I’d let you go if you talked now. Hmm? Oh look, I can see monsters approaching in the distance. Unfortunately, you seem to have lacked both time and intelligence.”

“I hope you’ll still be able to talk after being impregnated by monsters,” I said, cutting off my words and lying down on the tree with my eyes closed. The two men began screaming like little girls.

“I am an imperial soldier!! It’s true I came to commit terrorism in the rear!!”

“I was just following orders!! They selected capable soldiers from our unit!!! I was just chosen for the mission!!”

“Right, that’s information I already know and don’t really care about. Keep talking.”

“The person who gave me orders was the direct aide to the Eastern Border Commander of the Empire!!”

“There are other units infiltrating different rear cities besides us!!”

“We brought the bombs from outside the border!!”

“They said it was to push the Ponia front line further inward!!!”

“No!! He’s wrong!! They ordered the rear attack because a demon appeared inside Ponia!!!”

“Oh. Now that’s interesting. Who? Who said that a demon appeared inside—”

[keeeeeeee!!!]

[kuooooooo⎯⎯⎯!!]

“Hmm, well. See that? They’re here now.”

As the two were spewing information haphazardly, the monster horde finally came into view. They were clearly excited, chasing something intensely. Orcs, goblins, and trolls were just the basics—there were even Red Wolves that only appeared mid-game. I could even see an Ogre larger than the tree we were in. Huh? Is that a Fallen Knight? There’s even Champion-level monsters mixed in? My goodness, look at the state of Ponia.

“It’s the Prime Minister!! The Prime Minister said he could use a demon!! I saw him talking directly to our unit commander!!! I’ve told you everything, please let me go…!!!”

“What…? I only heard about pushing the front line with rear attacks to make the offensive easier…”

Oh. Finally some information I was curious about. As the approaching monster army drew closer, they were now crying and screaming to be released, and I simply shrugged and climbed down from the tree.

-Tap! Tap!

“Jack!! I killed as many undead as I could on the way. This incense works too well!!!”

“No matter how many I kill with my sword, they keep coming. I think every monster in this mountain has been lured here. Is this really okay?!”

Two people approached quickly, stepping on tree branches like ninjas from the islands. They landed beside me looking somewhat anxious, and I gave them a bitter smile.

“Sorry for making you work so hard.”

I gently patted their heads and stepped forward. The monsters—whether in heat or enraged—howled and charged toward us. Not to be outdone, the tied-up terrorists behind us also started screaming, creating a chaotic scene.

“As a reward, I’ll show you art.”

-BOOM!!!

When I struck the air, explosions began throughout the mountain, sweeping away monsters. Flesh fragments painted the sky, and monster howls turned to screams as the darkened mountainside burst into brightness. Within seconds, a massive chain of explosions completely incinerated the monsters.

Wow, those bombs they were carrying that we placed on surrounding trees worked well! Michael Bay would have loved this spectacle. After it ended, I looked at the two people beside me…

-Rumble rumble rumble!!!

“Jack, I don’t want to make you feel bad, but…”

“…Yes? What is it?”

“Weren’t you a former forest ranger? This seems a bit…”

“Hmm, was that too much?”

I tried to practice the famous saying from my previous life, “Explosion is art,” but perhaps it was excessive? As I shielded myself from the falling dust and monster remains, I looked at the mountainside that had been a dense forest until moments ago, now leveled almost to a plain.

…Damn. Those imperial bastards.

“N-no. That was your—”

“Shut up.”

When one of the terrorists who had been screaming like a girl tried to cowardly throw out facts, I punched him in the philtrum to silence him. Then I questioned the one who had mentioned the Prime Minister earlier.

“Earlier, you said the Imperial Prime Minister claimed he could use a demon? If you think you don’t need to answer now that the monsters are gone, I’ll take that thing around your neck and walk you around the mountain again. The monsters must be quite angry after so many of their kind died. You’ll be a breeder for at least five years…”

“I-I’ll tell you everything. Please, anything but that…!!”

Of course, no one wants to be a monster breeder. Especially male pregnancy—it’s unimaginable and horrifying. As he now promised to tell me anything, I was organizing my thoughts about what to ask next.

“Huh? Jack?”

“Yes?”

“I think that forest ranger we met this morning is approaching.”

“…He’s fast. Coming quite quickly.”

Oh my, such a diligent forest ranger. Did he come out on patrol again after patrolling earlier? Or was he living outside the city like me? I was wondering how to explain the situation to him, as detected by Chikuyo’s ears, but my deliberation didn’t last long.

“You two take this terrorist back to the inn.”

“What about you, Jack?”

“I’ll finish up here and come right back.”

“…You’re not planning to fight, are you?”

“Of course not. I don’t fight with people I can talk to.”

After handing the terrorist who knew about the Prime Minister to Miho and Chikuyo, and confirming they quickly moved away, I spoke to the terrorist I had punched in the philtrum earlier.

“I’m going to hand you over to the person coming. The explosion here was all your fault. Understand? If you spout nonsense, next time I’ll make monsters shit through your asshole. Make good choices.”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

After untying the man who had answered somewhat hesitantly, I smeared his face with dirt. When I sensed someone approaching, I started tying him up again. This way…

-Tap!!

“Who are you people!! What on earth…?!!”

“Johnson? Wow. You got here quickly.”

“J-Jack?”

Seeing me tying up the terrorist, he opened his eyes wide in surprise, and I began mixing truth with fabrication and manipulation. I told him this man was an imperial carrying bombs, and during our fight, he detonated them, causing all this.

“So, you’re an Imperial? What on earth have you done? Why would you come to Ponia and do this to the mountain…?”

“No!! It wasn’t me!! This man kidnapped us and used bombs to…!!!”

-Thwack!!

This bastard! When the terrorist didn’t understand and tried to tell the truth to create confusion, I immediately struck the back of his head. Despite falling face-first, he didn’t stop his fact-bombing.

“He threatened us to extract information… M-monsters!! He gathered monsters with monster-attracting incense and blew them up with those bombs!! It wasn’t me!!”

“…Jack? Is this true?”

Sigh, this guy is definitely destined to be a monster breeder.

He probably thought he was finished even if handed over to Ponia, so he tried to screw me over with his fact-bombing. Slightly annoyed, I answered Johnson’s furrowed-brow question.

“Jack, even if this person is truly an imperial spy. If you’re the one who did this to the mountain, I cannot stand by.”

“Sigh, I guess there’s no choice.”

I wanted to hand him over and end this quietly, but these damn terrorists. If I ever negotiate or talk with these bastards again, I’m not human.

“You’re right, Johnson. I did it.”

“…Jack, why did you do that? If you caught an Imperial, couldn’t you just hand him over to the guards?”

“That’s true, but there were circumstances that prevented me from doing so.”

“What circumstances?”

I ran my hand through my hair, sighed once, and decided to use a method that would likely work on Johnson. Honestly, I wanted to avoid using it…

“Johnson, do you remember the forest ranger Jack you mentioned this morning?”

“…Huh? Why suddenly bring that up…”

“I am that forest ranger Jack. The one who caused trouble in Poria village at 15, earned 800 cans weekly, and lived on Ponia Mountain with his little sister.”

“…W-what?”

When I revealed the truth, Johnson’s eyes grew even wider than before. Yes, I knew this would work!

“And I came back because I learned that the Empire is planning to attack Ponia, taking advantage of a demon that has appeared. There was an unfortunate ‘accident’ during this man’s interrogation, but it wasn’t intentional.”

“…A-are you? Are you really forest ranger Jack?!!”

“Yes.”

“Ugh…!!!”

At my sincere confession, Johnson’s eyes seemed to glisten slightly, and he immediately lunged at me and embraced me tightly. Um, wait, this isn’t what I wanted…

“I sincerely respect you!! Senior Forest Ranger Jack!! It’s an honor to meet you!!!”

And he genuinely cried with emotion, shouting with corrected pronunciation.