Chapter 34

Rosetta’s footsteps were slow but there was no hesitation .

The footprints of the demon bear had almost disappeared but, Rosetta seemed to be convinced .

It may be the benefit of her ability and skill from having received the love of the Hunting God .

「Nn? Everyone, take a look at this . Wolf, it is the footprint of a demon wolf . 」

「…I really can’t tell them apart,」 I said .

「I also cannot tell them apart . 」

And, Arti was silently peeping .

It is at the level where only if you examined carefully, you just might pick up the slight dent on the ground .

「It may be difficult to understand for people who are not hunters, but this is the footprints of a demon wolf . 」

「In other words, did the demon wolf snatch the sheep from the demon bear?」

「Maybe, if it was a pack of demon wolves then they could contend with the demon bear . 」

Rosetta now tracked the footprint of the demon wolf .

After following the trail for a while, Rosetta stopped .

「Strange, the footprints of the sheep do not disappear . 」

「Hmm? Tell me more . 」

「The sheep which were separated from the shepherd should have fled the bear . 」

It is easier to hunt the ten sheep which were separated than the forty sheep protected by the shepherd and the sheepdog .

That is why the demon bear chased after the ten sheep .

After that, on the way, the demon bear and the pack of demon wolves fought and the demon wolves won .

Then this time, the demon wolves would attack the sheep .

「From the perspective of the demon wolf pack, sheep without a guardian would be an easy hunt . 」

I’m not familiar with sheep, but I do have sort of an experience in facing a demon wolf .

It’s a very quick and powerful monster . As Rosetta said, the flock of sheep would not have survived .

「The footprint of the sheep being chased by the wolves is as expected so far . 」 Rosetta said .

「Does that mean that the ten sheep are fleeing in unison?」 I asked .

「Yes, that’s it… Wait a minute . It might’ve been a different scenario . 」

「Nn?」

「…there are eleven . 」

「Aren’t you counting it wrong?」

「I checked it over and over . It’s not a mistake . 」

The possibility of the number of sheep increasing while being chased by demon wolves is impossible .

It is more realistic to think that the shepherd has miscounted, rather than think the sheep multiplied .

However, it is difficult to think that an expert shepherd would mistake the count .

As we walked further, we came upon a big cave . The entrance was even larger than the demon bear’s nest .

「It seems like the sheep footprint are continuing into the cave . 」

「What about the footprint of the demon wolves?」

「They were trying to hunt the sheep, but it looks like it didn’t go well . 」

It was difficult to grasp what had happened .

Rosetta seemed to be on the same boat as well . She was obviously bewildered .

「Nn–? Rosetta, so the sheep escaped into the cave without being eaten by the wolves?」

「That’s right, Tina . It might be hard to believe but everything points to that fact . 」

「I believe in you, Rosetta . That’s what friends do!」

「I believe you too . 」 Arti said .

「Tina, Arti, thank you!」

Rosetta looked very happy as everyone stated their trust in her .

「I will go ahead and investigate the entrance of the cave . I wonder if the sheep are truly in there . 」

「Ah, be careful . 」

Rosetta carefully approached the cave; when the distance to the cave was a bit less than one meter, a white figure jumped out .

「Uwa . 」

Rosetta quickly jumped back to take cover but the white figure was faster .

Rosetta was blown away about three meters .

「That hurts . 」

She seemed to have taken a proper stance to brace for impact, so she wasn’t seriously hurt .

「Me~ee~eee~eee!」

The white figure cried out loudly in front of the fallen Rosetta .

I somehow knew that it means 「Don’t get close to this place!」

「Is that a sheep?」

「No, it’s a goat . 」

Its body height was around 0 . 5 meters . The horns on the forehead were also small and it had the appearance of a baby goat .

However, its movement was unusual .

Even though Rosetta’s movement was substantial it easily head-butted her .

It’s obvious that this was not a simple baby goat .

「What I did was, I mistook the footprint of a goat for a sheep…」

Rosetta seemed to be in shock .

However, both sheep and goats have two hoof prints . At the level that I am, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart even if I examined closely .

「You can’t help but mistake the footprints that were beginning to fade away . Sheep and goats have similar footprints after all . 」 I said .

「I wouldn’t be able to notice the difference, no matter how many times I look at them . 」

As Tina said so, Arti silently nodded .

I asked the baby goat .

「…Were you the one who protected the sheep from the demon wolves?」

「Mee . 」

The baby goat seems to be saying 「yes . 」

「I have never heard of such a case . 」

Rosetta was puzzled .

I gently spoke out to the baby goat .

「We came from the village where the sheep lived, as we accepted the request to exterminate the bear and wolves . 」

「Mee?」

The goat seemed to be asking「So, you aren’t an enemy?」

「No, we are not enemies . We defeated the bear, if the sheep are all alive, then I want to return them back to the village . 」

「Mee」

He seems to have understood our intentions . The baby goat went into the back of the cave .

And, he came back with ten sheep .

「Waa, all ten of them are still alive!」

Rosetta was deeply moved .

We were able to safely recover the valuable property of the poor village that was supposed to be lost .

Surely, the villagers would be happy .

「It would be hard to fight while protecting the sheep, so I want to return the sheep back to the village before we move on to the wolf extermination . 」

「I think Rosetta’s strategy is a sound one!」

Tina agreed with Rosetta while happily petting the sheep .

Arti also nodded in agreement while petting the sheep .

On the other hand, the baby goat pushed his forehead lightly on my toes .

He seemed to be in high spirits, as the tail is shaking with tremendous force .

And so, I pet the baby goat .

「Are you perhaps a god-beast?」

「Mee?」

I felt like the baby goat is asking「What is that?」

It was similar to being able to understand RunRun and Fluffy, just from listening to its cries .

It is likely to be a god-beast too . I met a god-beast in an unexpected way .