Ch.40Let’s Make It (1)

I received information about the beastkin from the Holy Maiden.

Her name is Riyo, no surname.

She belongs to the Divine Engineer Corps with the rank of sergeant.

Literally an engineer. But an elite one.

“The Divine Engineer Corps can only be joined by those blessed by the Goddess of Creation, right?”

“Yes, and they say it has a high percentage of beastkin.”

There’s a saying that has long been associated with beastkin.

“When you think of beastkin, you think of crafting, and when you think of crafting, you think of beastkin.”

“And since she’s a fox beastkin, her manual dexterity must be incredible.”

Foxes are not only highly intelligent but also have excellent vision and hearing. Their eyes can immediately detect flaws in textiles, and their ears can determine carbon content just by listening to the sound of iron being forged.

This fox should be no different.

Knowing how to make things is a highly demanded skill for wilderness survival. Though I have reservations about beastkin, their animal senses could be useful.

I should at least treat her without prejudice.

“Look at this.”

The engineer pulled out a small toolbox.

“Do you know how hard it was to swim with this thing?”

Screwdrivers, wrenches, compasses, small calipers, and more. Lots of useful items.

“That looks heavy.”

“Impressive that she managed to swim with that.”

“She must value it highly. I’ve heard some beastkin treat their tools like divine idols. That might be why.”

“You mean idol worship. Is that acceptable in the Holy Spirit religion?”

“Totemism is indigenous to beastkin culture, so what can you do? The church seems to tolerate it as long as it’s not too extreme.”

The beastkin engineer showed me more than just that.

Axes.

She had two of them.

They weren’t large axes. Just hand axes, just the right size for chopping down small trees.

The engineer approached with bouncy steps and poked my side with the axe handle.

“Just so you know, if you try anything weird with Lady Black Cat or the Holy Maiden, I’ll chop you with this. Got it?”

Hostile tone, as expected.

I shouldn’t let my guard down just because this engineer has a low rank. She may be wearing a human disguise now, but her wild instincts could emerge at any moment.

In other words, I need to be careful when alone with her.

“Watch yourself.”

I’ll need to be on my best behavior.

***

“Aaaaargh!”

My arm is throbbing. It burns like fire.

“How dare you, how dare you step on my tail?”

The engineer snarled.

Here’s what happened:

While exploring, we came across a narrow path surrounded by trees. Only one person could pass at a time, so the axe-wielding engineer took the lead.

I followed right behind her, but her tail was so long that I accidentally stepped on it.

As a result, I received a bite wound on my left shoulder.

The pain is so intense I feel dizzy.

“Son of a—!”

“Not a dog? I’m a fox?”

What on earth did she learn from the Holy Maiden? Is that a macro response?

“How dare you step on a fox’s most precious tail! Unless you’re going to be my husband, don’t touch it carelessly!”

“Who wanted to step on it?!”

I slowly released the grip on my shoulder. It was bleeding a little.

“My goodness. That’s quite a bite.”

“Am I going to get rabies?”

“Don’t say such unlucky things.”

The engineer drew her hand axe and took a defensive stance.

Oh, damn it. How am I supposed to resolve this verbally? She’s not as reasonable as the Holy Maiden.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the standoff between me and the beastkin didn’t last long.

Rumble, rumble.

The tree right behind the beastkin uprooted itself and stood up.

“Huh?”

This didn’t look good.

There was a mouth and nose on the trunk part. The branches resembled human arms and legs. It was definitely different from the surrounding trees.

A monster.

The tree monster that suddenly revealed its ambush lashed out with its vines like a whip.

“Whoa!”

The engineer quickly dodged. Her animal instincts were intact—despite the surprise attack, she moved more nimbly than I did.

“Ghost, then tree. What’s next?”

As always, I took out my Piercing Blue Stone.

The stones flew with a whistling sound, calling forth beams of light. One hit the tree trunk, another hit a branch. Direct hits.

But it wasn’t enough.

The Piercing Blue Stone specializes in penetration. It’s excellent for striking vital points on animals, but plants are different. It won’t fall with just one or two hits.

Crack!

The tree monster continued to swing another vine. The sound of it cutting through the air sent chills down my spine.

“Aaaah! What is this? Why is a piece of wood attacking so arrogantly?”

While dodging the vines, I thought.

Penetration-type magic stones don’t work. I don’t know where its vital points are. Setting it on fire could be an option, but if that causes a forest fire, the engineer and I would be isolated.

Only one option left.

Neutralize its attack methods and cut down the base.

“Hey, beastkin!”

The engineer’s ears perked up.

“Axe!”

“What?”

“Give me the axe! The axe!”

The engineer, who had been wearing a blank expression, soon nodded with an “Aha!” look. She handed me one of her hand axes and jumped away.

I gauged the diameter of the tree.

It wasn’t thin by any means. But if we chopped at it from both sides, we could definitely fell it.

The engineer must know this too.

Fortunately, based on my three months of experience with the Valkyrie, I understood the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s military hand signals to some extent. Normal communication might be difficult, but in combat, we could coordinate.

I immediately signaled to the engineer, and she gripped her hand axe and ran to the opposite side.

Thwack!

In an instant, one chop landed. The monster’s attention turned to the beastkin. While she was being attacked, I ran to the opposite side and chopped.

Thwack!

The blade embedded itself quite sharply.

Now I noticed it contained Sephiron.

“It seems to be dealing more physical damage than the force of the swing. That’s good.”

“The presence of Sephiron means it can be converted to mana. Erich, aren’t you the expert in this theory? Give it a try.”

I was going to do that anyway, Senior Kalon.

I infused mana into the axe blade.

“The speaker is trying to induce a mana-Sephiron neutralization reaction by infusing mana where Sephiron is present.”

“Now we’ll see Ekirel that both mages and Holy Spirit believers can manipulate.”

“If you empty the Ekirel and fill it with pure mana, it forms a battle axe that can manifest magic. In the Magic Kingdom, these are called military artifacts.”

“Famous military artifacts of the Magic Kingdom include the ‘Stabilizing Blade’ of the Seven Swords, all of which show extraordinary power.”

“Question: Choose the option that doesn’t match the current topic.”

“Both of you, be quiet! Ugh!”

I barely blocked the vine and delivered another strike. This time properly, with an incantation.

[“Swing.”]

Crack!

The tree, already wobbling from several axe strikes, falls completely. The destructive power, enhanced by mana, vibrated from end to end, spreading from roots to leaves.

Thud!

The tree finally falls.

“Haha, become firewood obediently!”

The engineer jumped up and stood on the tree trunk.

If this had been a normal situation where we encountered a monster, fought it, and won, I would have thought nothing of it.

The problem was that because our clothes were soaked, both the fox engineer and I were only covering essential parts with hastily made grass skirts.

“Eh.”

As soon as I saw the engineer’s skirt coming undone, I turned my back.

Though she had beast ears and a tail, her body was essentially human. I should be considerate.

There was a rustling sound behind me, then another presence was felt.

[“An interesting magician.”]

A woman’s voice.

I immediately turned around.

“Huh?”

The engineer, who had pulled up her skirt, was tilting her head.

What was that just now? An auditory hallucination?

“Just as the Holy Maiden said, there were monsters. This is definitely not an ordinary island. We could be in trouble if we’re not careful.”

The hostility from the tail-stepping incident seems to have dissipated.

Or she forgot about it. The latter seems more likely.

After completing our exploration, the engineer and I gathered berries and insects. The Holy Maiden would determine which berries were edible, and the insects could be used as fishing bait or emergency food.

We also gathered some firewood and stones that could be used as magic stones. The soil was different from the previous island, with igneous rocks commonly visible.

Igneous rocks.

A general term for rocks formed from solidified magma.

After countless studies, mages discovered how to reverse the time of igneous rocks, reaching a level where they could handle not only fire but even lava.

If these are well combined, I might be able to make something that can keep the Valkyrie warm without a bonfire. Or find a way to neutralize tree monsters without setting fires.

There’s a lot to try.

Before sunset, the beastkin and I returned to the base.

***

After eating a meager dinner, we decided on night watch shifts. Since the Valkyrie said she wasn’t feeling well, only the engineer, the Holy Maiden, and I would take turns keeping watch through the night.

The full moon hung in the sky.

“Awoooo!”

What nonsense is she up to now?

Separate from my aversion to beastkin, my attention had been fixed on the engineer. She had been making something since early evening.

“Let’s make it~ Let’s make it!”

Combining wood and leaves in various ways, she quickly completed a hammock.

The engineer climbed into the hammock and swayed her body.

In the darkness, her ears and tail fluttered gently. Her irises sparkled like pearls as they caught the moonlight.

“I’ll sleep here. Holy Maiden and Lady Black Cat, please sleep comfortably in the lifeboat.”

She had prepared her own sleeping place in less than half a day.

Fascinating.

I thought a beastkin would just lie down on the ground to sleep.

With a hop, the engineer came down and stuck her head close.

“So, magician, what were you making?”

I was startled by her sudden lack of distance.

No, there was still distance. It was severe. It’s just that her curiosity seemed to outweigh that distance.

“Fox beastkin are said to be as capricious as they are cunning. They can seem distant one moment and pretend to be friendly the next.”

So, the body of a dog but the mind of a cat?

“Magician? I asked what you were making?”

The engineer’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity. She seemed interested in what I was making.

Well, it’s common knowledge that beastkin are interested in crafting.

I answered indifferently.

“A stone bed.”