The Havassa Board——the massive outdoor market with six hundred permanent stalls in Havassa, the great market city at the continent's center——begins to stir with the dawn. When Daichi and Lily arrive at the butcher's first thing, the shelves are empty. Literally empty. Nothing on the counter. "[surprised]……Huh, no fang boar today?" The beastman shopkeeper glances at Lily. His cat-like yellow eyes confirm Daichi for just a moment, then look away. "[cold]Zero stock today" He says it curtly and begins wiping the counter with a cloth. Daichi peers behind the shelves. There's truly nothing there. The second shop is the same. The third too. "[serious]They're coordinating their story, aren't they" Lily analyzes it with a straight face in front of the fourth shop. Daichi sighs. "[sarcastic]Analysis later" "[serious]But if we don't accurately grasp the situation, the next move——" "I said later" The fourth shop is run by a Stonebody——a large species with skin as hard as stone, gray in color——shopkeeper. Solidly built, arms about as thick as Daichi's thigh. Daichi decides to take a chance and call out. "Do you have fang boar meat?" "[cold]No" Immediate answer. Eyes averted. And from behind the shelves, dried fang boar meat pokes out. A bundle of dried meat slides out from the edge of the shelf, its face showing. Bound with rope, clearly fang boar. Daichi and Lily see it at the same time. "[surprised]……It's visible" The shopkeeper silently shoves the dried meat back into the depths of the shelf. "[cold]No" He says it again. Daichi feels all his strength drain away. Standing still, his entire body goes limp. "[sarcastic]The merchant guild really is thorough……" Lily nods quietly beside him. Tolvarn Merchant Guild——the long-established major trading house controlling sixty percent of Havassa's distribution——has sealed off their supply routes. That's what the people who raided Kelvin's warehouse yesterday did. The path to obtaining fang boar meat through the legitimate market is completely blocked. "[serious]……Then I'll contact Kelvin" "Yeah" There was nothing else to do. ――――― At the Board Council Hall——the three-story stone building on the north side of the central plaza, the autonomous organization overseeing commercial transactions——they obtained a hunting permit. 0.2 zecta per day. While Kelvin completes the paperwork, Daichi leans his back against the hall's wall and looks up at the sky. It's blue. Not a cloud in sight. The three of them start walking the North Road just before noon. Gacho Forest——a broadleaf forest spreading across the southern foothills of the Frost Ridge Mountains, about thirty-five kilometers north of Havassa——the path changes from stone pavement to gravel, eventually becoming little more than a beast trail. The air gradually becomes more humid, the scent of wood growing stronger. Kelvin speaks as he walks. His voice is mature and calm, without waste. "[serious]Fang boar move in groups. They're sensitive to scent, and when pursued, they charge. It's safer to use magic to separate one from its territory than to hunt alone" Lily nods. "[serious]I'll use magic to feint while guiding it. Kelvin can finish it from the side" "That leaves me with nothing to do" After saying it, Daichi thinks for a moment. He wanted to make his role in coming with them more meaningful. "[serious]What if I act as bait to draw it deeper, and Kelvin finishes it from the side?" Kelvin goes silent for three seconds. Lily turns around. "[serious]Daichi, you can't use magic. You'd just run away, right?" "[serious]I'm fast though" He puffs out his chest. He really is fast. Even in high school, he was good at PE. Kelvin says curtly. "[serious]Your speed and a fang boar's speed are different matters" "[serious]If we do what Daichi says, we all die" It's a declaration. Daichi tries to argue back. Lily and Kelvin exchange a silent look. Their gazes return to Daichi. Those eyes say "rejected" in unison. Daichi opens his mouth again. The two exchange looks once more. Another "rejected." He doesn't try a third time. Lily's straightforward approach it is——that's what was decided. Or so it should have been. ――――― The moment they enter the forest, the air changes. The trees are tall, leaves overlap and the sunlight narrows. Dead leaves pile up underfoot, rustling with each step. A bird calls somewhere, then stops. Daichi is walking ahead. To be precise, he realizes he's become the leader. Lily is walking while preparing to deploy her magic circle, so it happened naturally. That's all it is. That's all it should be. He crosses a place where tree roots jut out prominently and emerges into a slightly open area. On the ground, there are hoof prints. Round and large. Not just one. Several. Daichi traces them with his eyes—— He looks ahead. Three brown masses are facing him. Fang boar (Gacho)——forest-dwelling magical beasts about two meters long, pig-type creatures with fangs carrying faint magical power——three of them, nostrils flaring as they look at Daichi. Daichi stops. The three stop too. One second of stillness continues. Then one of them stamps its front hooves. The ground shakes with a thud. Daichi runs. "[scared]Run!" A cliff appears. Exposed bedrock at the cliff's edge. His back hits the rock. Three of them are there. In front. Directly ahead, to the right, to the left. There's no escape route. No magic. No weapons. The bottom of the cliff is invisible. The fang boar's tusks glow with faint light. A pale blue, weak light. But definitely magical power. The air changes with a rough texture. He might die. The words fall into his head. Not abstract fear. The kind of fear his body knows. His feet go cold, his knees trembling faintly. Am I going to die here—— No. He was naive. He thought he could outrun them. His judgment was naive. Anger comes first. Real anger at himself. He draws air into his lungs to shout and buy time. In that instant—— BOOM!! An impact comes from beneath his feet. The ground shakes, light spreads. A magic circle deploys at the feet of all three. Pale blue geometric patterns spread in an instant——and detonate. The shockwave slams the ground, the fang boar fly backward. One, two, three. Each tumbles in a different direction, disappearing into the brush. Silence falls. Daichi remains with his back against the wall, looking ahead. Lily is standing there. About twenty meters away. Her silver hair sways in the wind. One hand extended forward, the remnants of the magic circle still glowing at her fingertips. Daichi takes a step forward. Lily's knees buckle. "Lily!" Kelvin closes the distance in an instant. His large frame moves in front of Lily, both arms catching her collapsing body. The moment he catches her, Daichi sees her face. White. Her complexion is paper-white. Her lips are faintly tinged with purple. Her hands are shaking. The hands resting on Kelvin's outer coat tremble in small movements. "[serious]Early stages of hypothermia. She used too much magical power" Kelvin picks up a branch and throws it to Daichi. "[serious]Start a fire. Strike the stones together" Daichi searches for stones. Two hard stones like river rocks. He strikes them together. Sparks scatter. They fall on dead leaves. They don't catch. Again. More sparks. Kelvin layers his outer coat over Lily while warming her body. The sparks catch on the dead leaves on the third try. Thin smoke rises. Daichi blows gently. Slowly, slowly. The flame begins to grow small. He layers branches. Dry branches, thin ones first. It's similar to stacking cardboard in the convenience store warehouse. Stacking while considering balance. The campfire begins to burn properly. ――――― By the time Lily's body temperature gradually returns, Daichi is on his hands and knees in front of the fire. He can't move. It's my fault——the words just keep circling in his head. It was he who rushed ahead into the group's territory. Because he, who can't use magic, took reckless action, Lily had no choice but to use a great spell. Lily burned through her body heat. Because of me. Kelvin quietly sits down beside him. "[serious]What happened" Not a blaming voice. Just asking. Daichi tells him honestly. Everything. Becoming the leader, seeing the tracks, stopping, running, being cornered at the cliff's edge. Kelvin says nothing while listening. When Daichi finishes, Kelvin pauses briefly before speaking. "[serious]Don't make that kind of judgment next time" That's all. He doesn't yell. Doesn't blame. Just that. The matter-of-fact tone hits harder than being yelled at. Daichi can't lift his hands from the ground. "……Daichi" A hoarse voice. Lily's eyes are open. Covered with two of Kelvin's outer coats, lying near the campfire. Her complexion is still white, but light has returned to her eyes. "[gentle]As long as Daichi is safe……that's……" She breaks into a cough there. Not a severe cough, but her body shakes. Daichi can't respond to anything. As long as Daichi is safe, that's——the words lodge somewhere in his chest and won't come out. He could say it's your fault for doing something reckless, and it would make sense. But Lily doesn't say that. Without saying it, she says only that. He should say something, but words won't come. His expression crumbles. Not anger or sadness, but his own helplessness shows plainly on his face. Lily's hand extends slightly from the edge of the coat, trembling. Daichi takes off his jacket to layer it on top, reaching out his hand. Kelvin has already handled it. Kelvin is already applying a cloth soaked in medicinal herbs to Lily's hand. Daichi's hand swings through empty air, floating. He returns his hand to his lap. "……Thank you" He says it toward Lily, or maybe toward Kelvin. He's not even sure himself. ――――― "[surprised]Ah, there's one over there" Lily points. Beyond the brush, outside the territory, one fang boar lies on its side. One of the three sent flying by the shockwave. Still unconscious. Kelvin stands up. "[serious]We can secure it" He approaches quietly and delivers the finishing blow. Daichi looks away. He understands it's necessary, but he's not used to watching it. Lily struggles to raise her upper body and says. "[excited]We did it, one boar!" Daichi turns back. "[sarcastic]Did it? You collapsed" "[serious]I did collapse, but we got one boar. This is a result" An immediate response. Logical, not reflecting at all. Kelvin returns. "[serious]Lily is right" Daichi alone is caught in the middle. Two against one, and one of them just collapsed. Daichi stays silent. He has nothing to say. But the silence feels different from before. Kelvin brings the boar closer and brings his nose near it. "[serious]……We can't sell it like this. The smell is too strong. It won't pass the Board's quality inspection" Two days until the Board Council's product presentation inspection——or rather, it's down to one day now. To sell it as a legitimate product, they need to do something about this meat. Lily looks at Daichi. "[gentle]Can you do something with knowledge from your world, Daichi?" Daichi touches the boar meat. It's firm. The color is deep red. The texture is closer to pork than beef. The source of the smell is blood and probably fat. He traces through memories from his original world. A conversation he had with the store manager at the convenience store's prepared food section. Rub salt to draw out blood and remove the smell. Mix a small amount of baking soda to soften the fibers. Combine that with herbs to reduce the odor. If this world's medicinal herbs have something similar—— At the medicinal herb shop "Karine's Drop," he saw those bluish leaves. They had a strong refreshing quality. Those might work. And coarse salt. Available at the Havassa Board. Salt cure it, let it sit overnight, then smoke it. ——He can do it. Probably. The momen