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Chapter 14 - Chapter 14: Emilia… Seems Pretty Intense

Just as Rikuto and Puck were basking in their moment of mutual understanding—

Emilia: "Rikuto, Puck, would you like some lunch?"

From outside the room, Emilia peeked her head in through the doorway.

The silver-haired girl walked in holding a small box and asked sweetly if they wanted to eat.

Rikuto, who had been in high spirits, froze instantly.

It was painfully obvious—he had mixed feelings about Emilia's emergency rations.

Her food came from a small village near the edge of the Elior Forest.

It was something like compressed rations—dense, dry, and meant for long-term storage.

As everyone knows, no matter how good something tastes, eating it non-stop for several days will eventually make you sick of it.

And Rikuto had been eating those rations for four or five days straight now.

According to Puck, those compressed blocks were the only thing Emilia could buy.

Aside from the one merchant who sold them, no one else in the village was willing to do business with her.

Silver hair, long ears, violet eyes—nobody wanted to associate with someone they believed was the cursed Witch.

Rikuto: "Emilia, how would you like to go on a thrilling and action-packed hunt?"

He turned toward the silver-haired girl holding the food box, wearing a perfectly serious expression.

---

The icy wind of noon swept through the trees, sending chunks of melting snow tumbling from the treetops.

Between the swaying shadows, Emilia and Rikuto walked side by side through the forest, their boots crunching into the thick snow beneath them.

Their footprints trailed off into the distance behind them.

Today, the silver-haired princess of Elior Forest had stepped beyond her territory—with a man at her side.

Among the snowy brush, a beast moved—large as a direwolf, with a spiral horn jutting from its head.

The creature lacked intelligence and failed to recognize the girl as the forest's guardian. Crouched in ambush, it eyed the resting pair, preparing to pounce at top speed.

Thump—

A chunk of snow fell from the treetops.

The horned beast surged forward, lowering its head in a straight charge—not at the princess, but at the one next to her.

Its wild instincts told it the man was weak. If it moved fast enough, it could score a full meal today.

Rikuto: "Now!"

Deemed the weaker one, Rikuto suddenly shouted.

In an instant, Emilia snapped her hand upward. At her command, green vines burst forth from beneath the snow, surging straight toward the onrushing beast.

The charging beast had no time to react—its leg was suddenly yanked tight by an emerald vine lasso and yanked upward, flipping it into the air and leaving it hanging from a tree.

And it wasn't alone—dozens, hundreds of vine snares erupted from the ground in all directions, a net of traps that had been lying in wait.

Rikuto had long since prepared a veritable web of entrapment around them.

"Got it!" ×2

Their joyous voices rang out in unison.

The silver-haired half-elf struck a pose she'd practiced beforehand, raising her hand high in the air.

Smack!

Rikuto high-fived her with a grin, letting out a bit of tension through the gesture.

It was Emilia's first hunt—just like it was Rikuto's—and the thrill and excitement made her heart race.

Rikuto: "You moved fast, Emilia!"

Rikuto stood up and praised her enthusiastically.

Emilia: "And you gave the order at just the right time, Rikuto."

Still visibly excited, she looked down shyly and returned the praise.

They continued forward together, trading compliments—though to be fair, Rikuto started it by intentionally over-praising Emilia. Embarrassed, she had no choice but to respond in kind.

Soon, they arrived at the tree where the beast hung suspended.

Rikuto: "Just as I thought—a top-tier hunter always takes the perspective of the prey."

Looking at the first catch of the day dangling from the branches, Rikuto beamed with satisfaction.

He'd been crouching here all day like a hunter waiting by a rabbit hole. His legs had gone numb, but finally—it paid off.

But just as he was reveling in triumph—

Crack—crack-crack—

The creaking of breaking branches signaled an ominous twist of fate.

Thud!

The massive beast crashed to the ground—right in front of Rikuto.

Dazed from the fall, the horned wolf shook its head. Its greenish eyes refocused, glinting with renewed ferocity.

With a snarl, it lunged at Rikuto.

Its enormous jaws aimed straight for him, lined with vicious, glinting fangs.

And in that moment—Rikuto's only option was to raise his arms defensively and shout:

Rikuto: "Puck!!"

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!

Ice-blue spears materialized midair.

They didn't pierce the wolf but dissolved upon impact, releasing energy that enveloped the creature—freezing it solid in place.

Eyes wide, tongue still lolling from its mouth, the frozen beast's feral expression became absurdly cartoonish in its icy prison.

Puck, floating lazily, withdrew his paw with a casual wave and drifted over to Rikuto's side like it was no big deal.

Puck: "Gotta say, Rikuto, your cry for help just now was pretty heroic~"

He gave a tiny thumbs-up with his paw.

Rikuto, for his part, looked utterly unfazed.

Rikuto: "Of course I was prepared. No way I'd wander into the forest like this if you weren't around, Puck."

He explained himself with a straight face.

"Later, I'll design a set of mass-produced crossbows and have a dozen of them gang up on these guys..."

Glaring at the frozen beast, Rikuto silently vowed in his heart.

Was he the kind of man to be scared into submission?

Emilia: "So, Rikuto… what do you plan to do with it?"

Emilia was examining the frozen wolf when she turned to him curiously.

Rikuto: "Wait… you're not even a little sympathetic?"

He blinked, genuinely surprised.

Given her gentle personality and her affinity for spirits, he'd expected her to show some hesitation or compassion.

Emilia: "Rikuto, are you underestimating me?"

She turned to him, slightly puffing out her cheeks in mock annoyance.

"If something sees others as food, being turned into food itself is only natural."

Though Emilia pitied the frozen creature, she didn't sympathize with it.

To put it simply: "It's sad that it died… but it deserved to."

Emilia loved nature and animals.

But in her view, a predator that tried to eat them being killed in turn was perfectly logical.

This wasn't revenge. It was the natural order.

Predation, survival of the fittest—that was nature.

Killing to eat and killing for sport were not the same.

This was a lesson buried deep in Emilia's memory, something someone had once taught her.

Rikuto: "I see~"

He nodded solemnly, looking like a student who'd just absorbed a valuable lesson.

Rikuto: "Now comes the real question…"

He looked at both Emilia and Puck, brow furrowed.

Rikuto: "Does wolf meat… taste good?"

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