Hey all! Sorry for the long wait. This chapter took a lot of time to write and I'm glad I got to finish it!

Thanks for all the comments and likes you guys have been leaving!

Enjoy!

The sound of footsteps woke Naofumi.

Blinking, he saw sunlight spilling through the slats of the window. He put a hand over his eyes to block out the light.

He tried to move, only to flinch when a tingling sensation ran up from his legs to his spine. It hurt to move them. It was the same sensation when one of his legs would fall asleep. Except worse.

All that walking would tire anyone. Well, anyone who never bothered to try and exercise.

As carefully as he could, he pushed himself up from the bed, wincing when his legs moved so much an inch.

He didn't have to look far to see where the footsteps were coming from. Their room at the inn was big enough for three beds and a large table in the corner. There was enough space to move around. Which was what Mina was doing.

Barefooted, she spun and dipped and jutted her hips, moving to an imaginary beat. Naofumi watched with awe. He'd never been one for dancing, let alone watching it. But something about Mina's graceful steps enthralled him. It wasn't because her outfit was revealing. It actually emphasized her movements. Each wave of an arm was like water flowing through a curved line. Each jut of her hips and stomach was fast, rough, yet graceful.

Mina raised her arms, causing her bangles to clatter. Her knees slightly bent to the side; she moved her arms down until they reached her hips. Then, like a panther, she spun quickly on her toes. She stopped and planted a foot on the ground.

"Good morning, Naofumi."

Her soft voice startled him. She wasn't even looking at him!

"Morning." He stretched his arms, yawning in the process. "How'd you know I was awake?"

"A dancer must keep their eyes and ears open at all times when performing," Mina said, starting a new dance routine. "That, and I could see your reflection in the mirror."

He looked around and on a mantle near the door, a mirror was sitting there with his reflection.

Shrugging off the sheets, Naofumi tried once again to move his legs but stopped. Each movement was like tiny spears jabbing at them. Giving up, he settled back into bed.

"Are you having trouble with your legs?" Mina wasn't looking at him, but she could probably hear him and his efforts to move.

"They hurt like hell." As if on cue, his legs ached, causing him to flinch again.

"Walking for a long period of time will do that to you. Rachel should be back soon. Maybe she can alleviate your pain."

Now that she mentioned it, Rachel was nowhere in sight. Her belongings were gone and her bed was made.

Mina didn't have to look at him to see he was confused. "Rachel left earlier to sell some of her medicine. She wants to make as much money before we leave back to Lute Village. I must say, I commend her for her practicality."

"How long has she been gone?"

"A little over an hour. We woke up earlier and decided to let you rest." Mina was now performing what looked like a ballet routine. "Compared to us, you still have yet to build any endurance and stamina. We'd thought it be better if you rest before we meet with Rowan."

His gaze going back to the window, the morning sky was light grey with clouds. They didn't look like rain clouds. It was facing the front of the inn and he could see the villagers moving around.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"Almost ten-thirty. The inn has a clock that was made in Innis and it's accurate. Rachel said she'll be back around that time."

Since there wasn't a clock in their room, Naofumi leaned back against the headboard and continued watching Mina dance.

"Do you do this every morning?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes," Mina said.

"Even though you're not with Lula's anymore?"

Mina chuckled. "Yes, even so. We were taught to practice dancing every morning without fail. If you skip out, your movements start to wane and you have to start from the very beginning. You could say this is a force of habit. Not that I mind."

Naofumi felt a ping of jealousy for a moment. Mina had a hobby which turned into a job she loved. The same goes for Rachel. He didn't mind being an otaku, but if only he could turn that into a job.

"You don't mind leaving Lula's? I thought you'd be pretty sad to leave."

Sad to leave a steady job and be with a sad sack like me.

"Don't worry, Naofumi." Mina declared. "I told you I didn't mind leaving. Traveling with you will give me more opportunities to search for my parents. And, maybe find some information on the Black Foxes."

"What about them?" To him, the Black Foxes didn't sound threatening when their name was said. Not to everyone in Melromarc, though.

"The Black Foxes hasn't attacked in a while." Mina started another dance. "Their last known hit was on a nobleman in a city near the border of Faubley. That was ten months ago. I'd figured if by traveling with you, I can get more information in each town we visit."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Naofumi asked. "How do you plan on doing that anyway?"

"I'm glad you asked," Mina replied. "Earlier, I spoke with the man who owns the alehouse here at the inn, and gladly offered my services of dancing for the customers. They sometimes have people play instruments and not only will I make money, but I can go around and listen to what people are saying.

"And," her tone was teasing. "Alehouses have alcohol. And with alcohol, there are loose lips. And with loose lips comes information." She ended with a wink before going back to her routine.

The door then opened.

"I'm back!" Rachel hollered. "Morning, Naofumi. Your legs OK?" She went to her bed and set down her satchel on it.

"Just peachy." To emphasize his lack of comfort, he tried to move his left leg only grip the sheets tight when a shot of pain ran from his leg to his spine.

"You really should work on that stamina of yours." Rachel came around and kneeled down next to him. "This should help."

She let her hands rest on both of his legs. Murmuring something Naofumi couldn't hear, her hands began to glow green. A sudden warmth spread from his legs to all of his body, to even the ends of his fingers. It was a pleasant kind of healing, one that expelled the pain and soreness of his muscles and made them more relaxed.

When Rachel removed her hands, Naofumi could no longer feel any pain. He moved his toes and no pain erupted. He went to swing his legs out of the bed and there were no complications.

"Holy shit," he exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"Just something I learned when studying to be an apothecary." She went back to her bed and began to examine the inside of her satchel. "Since I already have an affinity for healing, this stuff comes easier and is stronger too."

"How did you fare with selling your medicine?" Mina stopped her dancing and sat on her bed.

"Perfectly!" Rachel took out a coin pouch. "Made lots of copper and silver coins. This, along with my previous amount, should last us for months. Assuming we get the silver moose and leave as soon as possible."

Naofumi fell back on the bed. That's right. The soreness of his legs made him forget about the hunt.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. They had six days to get a silver moose and go back. Should they succeed in their hunt, they can leave tomorrow, beat Motoyasu, and leave Lute Village.

It was strange. Strange that he felt the need to protect Lute from Malty's useless toll and Motoyasu's need to one-up him. By all means, he should've just left them to handle it on their own. But seeing Malty's smug look made him think otherwise.

"What time did you say it was again?" He pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge, reaching for his boots.

Mina looked at the clock. "It is now 10:42. We can have brunch and wait for Rowan."

"You had me at brunch," Rachel said. "All I had to eat was an apple and a banana before I left. I could go for some meat." She patted her slim stomach.

Brunch did sound good. Rachel may have healed his legs, but she couldn't stave off starvation.

When he finished putting on the rest of his armor, they went downstairs and ordered their meals.

"So," Rachel drawled out as they took their seats. "You guys excited about the hunt?"

"Hardly." Naofumi's blunt truth may have sounded rude, but that was how he felt. "I just hope Rowan can get us a silver moose quickly."

"We have until noon before he arrives," Mina said. "Since he was born here and hunted with Gareth, I trust in his expertise in hunting."

"Think this'll be easy?"

"Yes. It is better to have a hunter than someone else who isn't. We need someone who knows how to hunt and track."

The closest Naofumi has ever been to hunting was in video games. No surprise there. Some of the games he played that allows them to pick a class has hunter as a choice. It only gave the character stat boosts.

This was going to be a new experience for him. What he wasn't looking forward too was the wait. He may not be a hunter, but what little he knew, sometimes hunters had to wait hours before they find their target. There was no guaranteed Rowan could capture a silver moose today.

Then there was Rowan himself.

Before Malty's betrayal, Naofumi was never a good judge of character. He was proved wrong with Rachel and Mina as they surprised him.

With Rowan, Naofumi could see that he was shy, if not timid. The way he presented himself when he saw the shield was that of someone who tried to act like it was nothing but was trying too hard to not stare. Like he was a cat ready to run away if he was spooked.

But there was something about him that contradicted his shyness. The way he spoke to Naofumi about understanding being lonely. Judged. He said those things to him like it was nothing. There was truth to his words. His courage to say them must've taken a lot of guts. Or he's much braver than he looks.

That bravery better help them.

Their meals came and by the time Mina had finished her beans, the alehouse door opened and Rowan came in.

He looked around before spotting them and waved. Naofumi didn't return the wave. A sharp kick to his shin from Rachel made him hiss in pain. He raised a hand and waved slightly.

If Rowan saw the altercation, he didn't say anything.

"So…" He stood there fidgeting his fingers together. "I know I'm early. I just wanted to wait here for a bit before we left. But since you're all here, guess I don't have to wait, then. Hehe." He laughed nervously.

"A hunter always hunts early, I presume," Mina observed, her voice calm. "We just finished eating and are ready when you are."

"Great!" Rowan said, his posture straightening. "If you guys are ready, we can leave now."

Naofumi couldn't help but notice the glimmer in the boy's eyes. It was like someone waved a bag of gold coins in front of him.

Do hunts make him excited?

He didn't have time to think about it as the left the alehouse and made their way to the village entrance.

"OK," Rowan turned to them. "There's a river not far from here that cuts the forest in half. Water lilies grow there and they are part of a silver moose's diet. It's almost noon, so there should be at least a few in the area."

"And you're sure you can get us one?" Naofumi didn't want to doubt his abilities. After all, from the way Rachel and Mina described Gareth, Rowan must be an expert if he was Gareth's apprentice.

But looks aren't everything. And seeing is believing.

Rowan nodded a bit enthusiastically. "Of course. I've hunted all kinds of animals and monsters. Getting a silver moose for you guys will be easy. In fact, I think you can leave tomorrow once I use a taming spell on it."

Taming spell?

That was new.

Rowan ushered them out of the village and when they arrived at the fork from yesterday, he led them down the other path.

The map he had in his knapsack paled in comparison to how large this patch of land was. Naofumi wasn't good at math, so he could not estimate how many acres this place was. This region covered a large section of Melromarc. There was no telling how large the other regions are, let alone other countries.

Naofumi was glad Rowan was with them. He barely knew the kid, but it was better to have someone like him who knows this place like the back of his hand.

"Here's where we need to go," Rowan said, halting them with a hand. He pointed to a dirt path that went off the central path. It was smaller but looked feasible.

The walk was slightly aggravating, having to move branches out of the way and insects buzzing around them.

"Look!" Rachel stopped and pointed at an elk who was eating leaves from a low branch. "Isn't it cute!"

The elk in question had horns that could very well pierce through skin. Naofumi made a mental note not to piss off the animals here. Shield Hero or not, he'd doubt his shield could protect him from the wrath of the forest animals.

"He is majestic, isn't he?" Rowan observed. "Lived here my whole life and I never get tired of seeing the animal life here." His gaze went to Naofumi. "What do you think?"

"Uhh… I guess so?" Truth be told, he did think the elk was majestic. Like a king of the forest.

"Anyway," Rowan took his eyes off of the elk. "Let's get moving. It'll take a while before we get to the river."

"Lead the way," Mina said.

They continued their walk. The trees become more spread out as they went along. They were bent and shaped at odd angles, like trees from a fairy tale. Naofumi half expected a pixie to come fluttering out from one of the tree hollows.

"Wait."

Rowan halted and Naofumi nearly bumped into him.

"What is it?" Was there a beast nearby? Rowan did not sound tense, but he had more experience hunting. This could just be another day for him.

Rowan crouched down and ran his hand over the dirt.

"I think we got one." He said, still observing the ground.

"What makes you say that?" Rachel asks.

"Come look." He waved them over. When they crouched down to see what he was looking at, they saw a rather large hoofprint.

"This belongs to a silver moose. The print looks fresh, probably ten minutes old, if I had to guess. Which means there should be one close to the river."

He reached into the underside of his fur shawl and pulled out a spider the size of his hand.

"The hell?" Naofumi gasped. Does the guy keep spiders on him?!

Rowan held the spider close to his face then set it on the ground. It scurried off ahead of them at a fast speed.

"What was that just now?" Rachel asked.

"I told her to scout ahead," Rowan replied. "She'll tell me if there's a sliver moose by the river."

Naofumi had questions. A lot of questions. But Rowan began walking.

Their walk took about a few minutes before Rowan stilled.

"Damn it," he muttered loudly.

"What?" Naofumi asked.

"We're too late." He looked back at them. "My spider reached the river and there aren't any silver moose. The one that left he hoofprint must've gone somewhere else to eat."

"Does this mean we have to look somewhere else?" Mina asked.

Rowan shook his head. "No. The river is a hotspot for silver moose on account of the water lilies. We're gonna have to wait a while until another one shows up."

Naofumi groaned. "And how long will that take?"

"Probably thirty minutes. Or an hour… maybe more. That's the thing with hunting. You sometimes have to wait a long time."

He wanted nothing more than to let out a loud yell like people do when they're in a remote area where no one could hear them.

This wasn't going in the right direction. None of this was.

"Sorry." Rowan rubbed his arms, looking dejected.

Naofumi bit back a curse. The way Rowan looked was that of a puppy that was kicked. Sad eyes and hunched down.

"Don't worry," he offered, trying to sound as calm as he could be. "We still have six days left before the race. We can afford a few hours."

This seemed to work, as Rowan's frown morphed into a reassuring smile.

"Thanks," he said. He looked a little happy now.

"Let's keep going."

Their walk was not long. Five minutes later, the trees became sparser and Naofumi could see a large clearing and he could hear the sound of water.

They made it.

Lining the river were several water plants. What was most noticeable were the white flowers growing adjacent to the river.

"Are those…"

"Water lilies," Rowan answered. "They bloom during the spring, so there will be plenty for the silver moose to feed on."

The anger from earlier went away. Naofumi couldn't help but smile. Just a little. If they had to wait, so be it. Six days was plenty of time to wait.

"What do we do next?" Mina asked.

"First, we have to find someplace to hide. Silver moose tend to be skittish if they see other animals or humans." He pointed to a massive log sitting close to the river. "There. We can hide behind that log."

When they all were behind the log, Rowan sat down and settled his bow on the ground. "We can relax. My spiders are already in their positions. They'll tell me if a silver moose is near."

Naofumi sat, followed by the girls.

"I've been meaning to ask," Naofumi settled his gaze on the hunter. "How does that work? The beastmaster thing."

Rowan sat up straight as if he was called by a teacher. "You still don't know about beastmasters?"

"I found out chimeras existed not long ago. I think that says a lot about my knowledge of this world."

"Sometimes I wonder how you're even alive at this point," Rachel reached into her satchel and took out her pipe. "I know you're still new here, but you could at least start asking questions instead of just going with the flow."

"I have to agree," Mina said. "It's dangerous to not have the proper knowledge of the world."

"No need to tell me twice," Naofumi said, irritated. He hated not knowing how things worked around here. He hated it more than he was seen as an idiot to everyone. Not that the other Heroes were knowledgeable either since they still think this world is some sort of augmented reality game.

If being ignorant is bliss, they must be very fucking happy dumbasses.

"What would you like to know about beastmasters?" Rowan's question snapped him back into reality.

He had a lot of questions. If a person can control wolves and spiders, what else could they manipulate?

"How does it work?" It was a simple question.

Or so he thought.

"No one knows, really," Rowan responded.

When Naofumi didn't speak, Rowan continued. "There isn't an exact science to how this works. Not even mages themselves know how we can manipulate animals. It's one of those things that just happens without any cause."

"OK then." This was going to be more difficult than Naofumi imagined. "Can you at least tell me the basics of what a beastmaster is?"

"Sure." Rowan shifted his body until he was facing Naofumi. "To put it simply, as the name suggests, beastmasters are people who can manipulate animals. We have a telepathic bond with whatever animal we have a strong affinity to. In my case," He reached under his shawl and held his hand out, "it's spiders I can control."

The spider in his hand was a black widow. Naofumi almost recoils at the sight of it. He didn't have arachnophobia, but anyone would flinch if they saw a spider that can kill a person with its venom.

"Why spiders?" He asked when Rowan slid the black widow back underneath his shawl.

"It's because I have a strong affinity for spiders. As I said earlier, no one knows why there are people out there who have this ability, but usually, there's always one type of animal a beastmaster has a strong connection to. My master, Gareth, can manipulate felines. From house cats to mountain lions, felines are his strong suit. Whereas I can manipulate all kinds of spiders, though not other arthropods."

"I take it beastmasters can control wolves too, right?"

This made Rowan's eyes widened. "You met with Legrand?" His voice was urgent like he heard bad news.

"Who?"

"S-sorry," he shook his head. "You met with the captain of the royal knights?"

"…yeah. Why?"

Rowan was about to say something but closed his mouth. He twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"No reason," He finally said. "Gareth and Legrand know each other, is all." He chuckled, though it sounded forced.

The way he reacted when he heard the captain's name, the nervousness that showed up suddenly. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know something wasn't right about Legrand and Gareth. Bad blood? Betrayal? Naofumi didn't know.

"Anyway," Rowan said hastily, "back to beastmasters."

Talk about a shift in subject. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about Legrand.

Strange.

"How did you become a beastmaster?"

Rowan seemed glad to be talking about something different. "We don't become beastmasters. We're born with it."

"Born with it?"

"That's how it's been," Mina supplied. "What may seem strange to you is common knowledge for all of us. From the waves to beastmasters, there's no strangeness in this world other than where you came from."

"That," Rachel said, letting out a puff of smoke from her pipe, "and this stuff is taught at schools and universities."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Naofumi said. "How the hell is someone born with the ability to control animals?"

"No one has been able to find out why," Rowan said. "When a baby has been born, a flock of a certain type of animal would gather around where the baby was born. That's how you know when they're a beastmaster."

"Then what, a bunch of spiders showed up to your home after you were born?"

"I was actually born in the village's hospital. A day after my birth, spiders from the hospital to all of the other villager's houses surrounded the room where my mother, father and I occupied." He smiled, reminiscing on the fond memory. "My parents said I made all the nurses and doctors scream when spiders crawled out from everywhere. It was an eventful birth."

If a bunch of spiders showed up out of nowhere around the time of a baby's birth, of course it would be eventful. And nightmarish.

"What then? What do you do from there?"

"Well, when a beastmaster is born, the animal they can control usually stay far away during the first few years after the baby is born. By the time the kid is five, the animals start to get closer and are more tamed. Since there's a telepathic bond between them, they can sense a beastmaster's emotions. Kids are kids, so they think it's cool and don't think much of it. Once they get older, they start to get the hang of controlling their animals."

Interesting. "You talk to them and they talk to you?"

"Not really. Yes, I can talk to them and give them commands both verbal and telepathic. But since animals can't speak, unless it's a rare magical animal, they don't use words. Rather, beastmasters can sense what an animal is trying to say. Like if one of my spiders is trying to warn me danger is approaching, they send rapid buzzing noises to me. Or they get in front of me and block me from where ever we're going."

This was starting to become more interesting. Normally, Naofumi would've not believed a single word coming out of Rowan's mouth (I mean, spiders? And animal telepathy?) but he was forgetting he was stuck in a magical land with actual chimeras, magic users, and people who can talk with animals.

Forget all the RPGs he has played, this world was much better! Minus him being accused of rape and a majority of the country hating him, of course.

He'll be glad if by the grace of God that stigma will go away.

But for now, he had an array of questions to ask Rowan. He felt like a five-year-old asking a bunch of questions, giddy with excitement. This feeling of normalcy, or something close to it, was comforting. No one to glare daggers at him. Just him and these three people in the middle of a forest.

"You said Gareth can control cats, right?"

Rowan nodded, his smile brightening at the mention of his master. "Yes. He's called the King of Cats. Any feline he meets would follow him or be tamed right on the spot. Once, when we were on our way to Siltvelt for a hunt, a mountain lion jumped out in front of us but when she saw Gareth, she sat down and didn't look like she was about to maul us."

Wow. Had this happen back home, Naofumi would've been dead meat. Literally.

"Gareth has trained long and hard to master his skills as a beastmaster and hunter," Rowan went on. "Which is why he's earned his status as a legendary hunter. Give him any kind of animal or monster to hunt, he and his cats will go and get the job done."

"I've heard tales of Gareth's hunts," Mina said. "Was it true that he took down a dragon and her younglings who terrorized a village near the mountains?"

"Yep! I would know, I was there too. Nearly got scorched by the dragon's fire breath. But we got the job done quickly. Got a lot of gold coins from that. Despite nearly getting burned, I had a good time hunting."

"Your enthusiasm shows," Rachel pointed out. "Kind of like how when I make medicine. Nothing's better than making perfect medicine. The same goes for a good hunt, right?"

"Or when perfecting a dance routine," Mina added.

"Yes!" Rowan practically shouted the word. "After a good hunt, I come back feeling happy. And I have Gareth to thank for that. If he didn't take me as his apprentice, I don't know what I would've done."

Naofumi couldn't help but smile, genuinely smile, at Rowan's elation. His own smile was infectious, it was hard not to smile.

"You said Gareth was out on a hunt, right?"

Like a twig snapping easily, Rowan's smile turned into a frown and the glimmer in his eyes dimmed.

Damnit! He remembered yesterday when Rowan said Gareth was away. For a brief moment, Naofumi saw the hurt in his eyes just mentioning it.

He was so happy until Naofumi opened his big mouth.

"Yes," Rowan said. "He's away on a-"

His head snapped to the left where the river was.

Naofumi looked but saw nothing but the river and trees.

"What are you-"

"A silver moose is coming." Rowan crawled to the log and peered over it. "One of my spiders saw it go in the direction of the river."

Not long after the words left his mouth, a moose emerged from the trees.

Naofumi only ever mooses in textbooks and pictures. He knew they could grow as large as a truck and have massive antlers. But this moose was far different.

Its fur was pure silver. It almost seemed to glisten in what little sunlight there was. Compared to a regular moose, the silver moose is taut, its muscular legs firm like that of a runner's. It looked small from afar but if Naofumi was to get close, no doubt the moose will tower over him. The antlers themselves were massive and black as the night.

The moose sauntered to the river bed, lowered its head and ate a water lily.

"Beautiful," Mina observed.

"Damn," Rachel said. "Never thought I'd get the chance to see one."

"So what's the plan?" Naofumi asked. "You're gonna shot it with one of your arrows?"

"No," Rowan shook his head. "Since you need one to race, I can't risk hurting it with my arrows. And it'll be harder to put a taming spell on it if it's injured. What we need is to surround it and capture it."

"And how do we do that?"

Rowan smiled. "Watch."

He lifted a hand and using his index finger, he drew a circle in the air. An orange circle formed and Rowan drew a pattern in the circle.

"Grow."

The sigil shattered.

Where the moose was, patches of the grass glowed orange. The moose was oblivious to the glowing grass. Naofumi was about to ask what Rowan did, but he didn't have to. It wasn't the grass that was glowing.

In one patch, a spider grew to the size of a small car.

The moose spat out the flower from shock and turned-

Another spider grew from the grass. And another. And another. The moose was surrounded by five giant spiders. When the moose flanked to the left, the closest spider stepped in the way. When the moose saw an opening, a spider blocked its way. They had it completely surrounded on all sides.

"Alright," Rowan said. "Now I just need one of my spiders to jump on it and start webbing it."

"And that's it?" Naofumi could hardly believe that this was so easy.

"Yes. First one of them will numb it with a bite and the others will wrap its legs. That should allow me to put a taming spell on-"

His words died as a look of dread replaced his assuring expression. "Oh no."

"What?" Naofumi didn't like those words.

"Something's coming."

The spiders sensed this as they stood still. The silver moose took advantage of their stillness and bolted out of there, running into the trees.

A loud piercing cry shook the forest, causing the birds nesting in trees to take flight.

"What the hell?" Rachel looked around to see where the growl came from.

"Should we leave?" Mina was already starting to stand, ready to run.

Then, something burst through the trees, startling them all.

It was a bear. Not a black bear or a grizzly bear. This bear was much, much larger than any bear Naofumi had ever seen in pictures. Its fur was the color of rust speckled with red. The claws were the most intimidating thing besides its size.

"A devil bear," Rowan said. "We need to leave. Now. My spiders will take care of it."

He ushered Mina to kneel back down. "It probably smelled us. They're known for their sense of smell. We just have to wait for an opening before running. Devil bears aren't as fast as silver moose or a tyrera, but they're fast enough to catch a human."

Rowan set his gaze on his spiders, staring intently at them. Naofumi could only imagine what he's saying to them telepathically.

The devil bear toon one swipe at the nearest spider. The spider jumped back before retaliating by jumping on it. The bear thrashed around, trying to dislodge the spider from its back. But the spider held firm, wrapping its legs around the bear's abdomen. The bear was bucking around like a bull trying to shake loose its rider.

Its thrashing was futile. With eight legs wrapped around it, it was impossible to shake off the spider. The spider knew this as well. It reared back its jaw and sunk its fangs into the bear's neck. The bear's piercing cry of pain shook the travelers in their core.

"Gods." Mina grimaced.

The spider unwrapped itself from the bear just as another spider charge in, knocking the bear on its side. Then all the spiders pounced on it, clawing and biting the fleshy parts of the bear.

"Now." Rowan ran back to the back they had taken. The girls watched the carnage a little bit before following Rowan.

Naofumi stayed behind. His feet were rooted to the ground. The logical side of him said to follow Rowan. If the bear somehow manages to free itself from the spiders, he will become its target. But the logical side of him was subdued by his curiosity. Right in front of him, giant spiders were biting and clawing a massive bear. When he could smell the metallic scent of blood, it hit him how real this is.

How real it is for someone to manipulate animals to their every bidding.

A spider tore a chunk of the bear, the entrails splattering to the ground. The scent of blood was too much. Naofumi covered his nose but the action proved fruitless as he could still smell the blood.

The bear stopped moving. The spiders began to wrap it in silk, preparing it for a meal.

Naofumi turned, looking over his shoulder once more at the carnage. At the reality of this world.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't get a silver moose for you guys."

Naofumi shifted his weight awkwardly as the hunter bowed.

"I promise you that by tomorrow, I will get you a silver moose."

After the group had left the river, Rowan informed them defeatedly that because of the presence of the devil bear, it might've scared off any silver moose there was. He still insisted that there might be one if they looked hard enough.

Two hours later, their search resulted in no silver moose.

It was easy for anyone to place blame on Rowan. Being the apprentice of a master hunter should've made him an expert at finding and capturing animals with ease. Thinking about it logically, Naofumi knew the blame fell on the damned bear. That damned devil bear. If he ever went back to his world, he would never look at a bear the same way.

Actually, he would never see a spider the same way. Go figure.

Placing blame on the bear didn't help with his anger. There just had to be a freaking bear the size of a car to scare away the only animal he needed to ride. Were the gods of this world against him like everyone else? Naofumi was starting to think so.

"It's fine," he waved a hand dismissively. It was not fine, but he didn't want Rowan to blame himself.

The hunter looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. We still have a few more days, so we can find one tomorrow."

The words were easy to say. Actually doing it was going to be difficult. So long as they didn't run into another devil bear, capturing a silver moose should be easy.

Rowan stood straight and smiled. "Y-yeah. Tomorrow for sure. For now, let's enjoy the rest of the day doing…" he trailed off. "Whatever you guys were doing before. Before I showed up, I mean. Or if you want to do something else?"

He reminded Naofumi a little of those shy kids he had seen in school. There were lots of them in university too. For someone who could control spiders, he didn't look or sound the part.

Rowan was trying hard to socialize with them. Clearly, small talk was not his strongest forte. Hunting and spiders seemed to make him talk more.

"We'll see."

Rachel nudged him with her elbow. "Be nice. He's the only hunter who's willing to help us."

"Why don't we rest and get a meal at the inn?" Mina suggested. "A good meal will lift our spirits, wouldn't you say?"

"That sounds great," Rowan said. "I help out the owner by bringing in fresh game. They've got fresh vegetables too. We can together. I-if you'll have me, of course."

Mina placed a hand on his arm. "We would be delighted to have you join us. You are helping us. It's the least we could do."

Rowan's eyes shifted to Naofumi for an answer.

"…sure."

"Thank you!" The glimmer in Rowan's eyes returned.

They were not far from the village. A faint trail of smoke rose from the trees, meaning the village was close.

When the gate came into view, a wolf was lying down next to a post.

"Ummm…" Rachel stopped and backed away from the gate. "Should we be worried about that?"

"Wait." Rowan pushed onward, showing no fear of the wolf.

The wolf heard them and lifted its head. There was something familiar about it to Naofumi for some odd reason.

"I think this is one of Legrand's wolves."

"The Captain?" Naofumi asked. What the hell was he doing here?

"Yes, there's no mistaking it. The wolves here stay away from villages. This one is tamed. No doubt it belongs to Legrand. But why is he here?"

Entering the village, a large group of villagers was clustered together at the village center. It was still cloudy, but some of the sun's rays penetrated through, making the gold lining on the black armor stand out.

"He certainly stands out, doesn't he?" Mina quipped.

"Who wouldn't with all that black armor," Rachel said. "How much do you want to bet that's actual gold on his armor?"

"Hardly seems practical to have gold on any armor, doesn't it?"

While the women talked, Naofumi glanced at Rowan to ask him about Legrand when he noticed how the hunter was staring intently at the man. It as the same stare when he saw the silver moose. Calculating. But there was also a hint of nervousness as well. Not the kind of nervousness a shy person has. It was more along the lines of not wanting to talk with someone even though they had to. That kind of nervousness.

He did say that Gareth and Legrand knew each other. Does the same apply to Rowan?

Naofumi was about to ask when Rowan reached over and tapped a villager on the arm.

"Excuse me. Do you know why the Captain is here?"

"Did you hear Rowan?" The villager looked back at the Captain. "The mayor asked him to find some bandits who stole some of our crops a while back. He found them and is collecting the reward."

The crowd started to disperse and they could see Legrand speaking with an older man, a bag of coins extended to him.

"I insist." The mayor shook the bag. "You did us a wonderful service of capturing those dastards. It's the least I could do."

"You never give up do you?" Legrand laughed, taking the bag.

"But of course! In fact, why don't you stay here for a while? You spent days chasing leads until you found them. With Gareth gone and Rowan taking hunts here and there, we need all the help we can get."

As if sensing someone was watching them, the mayor looked in their direction. "Ah! Rowan! Good to see you there."

Legrand turned and a looked surprised to see them.

"Shield Hero." He nodded in Naofumi's direction. "Fancy meeting you here." His eyes soon landed on Rowan.

"Hello, Rowan. I hope things are going well for you in Gareth's absence."

"Y-yeah. I-I mean, it is. Doing good." Rowan said forcefully.

"Well, this is splendid!" The mayor boasted. "The Captain of the knights and Haven Clove's own hunter together. What say we throw a party tonight at the inn? Rowan, if you're not busy, I hope you can make it."

"Uh…" He looked between the mayor and Legrand who regarded him with a friendly face. "Sure. Yeah. I'll be there."

"Marvelous! I should go inform the innkeeper at once!" The mayor trotted off to the inn, leaving the five of them there.

"What are you all doing together?" Legrand asked

"I was helping them hunt a silver moose." Rowan answered.

"Silver moose? What on earth would you need one for?"

Naofumi explained the situation to Legrand who nodded.

"I see. That Malty can be quite a handful."

More like shit-ful, Naofumi thought. He didn't care if that wasn't a real word.

"Well then, I wish you luck on your hunt. Feel free to ask me for help. I may not be a hunter like Gareth or Rowan, but I can help."

"I'll be sure to ask." Rowan looked at the ground before looking back up at them all. "I'm gonna go home now. See you all tonight at the party."

He left quickly like a mouse running to its hiding hole.

"He's a shy one, that Rowan." Legrand crossed his arms. "Shy, but resourceful."

"He said that you and Gareth know each other." Rachel said.

"About six years. The Queen had asked him to come and teach the knights how to properly hunt monsters if we ever came across any. I owe it to that man for teaching me. I can see why Rowan looks up to him."

He says this, but Naofumi remembered the look Rowan had on his face when he saw Legrand. Like there was more to him than just a helpful knight.

And it seemed Rowan knew this as well.

"Now that we're all here, why don't I treat you all to lunch? You guys must be hungry from all that walking and waiting."

He walked in the direction of the inn. Rachel and Mina followed while Naofumi stayed behind.

Something wasn't right.

And Naofumi knew when something isn't right, it could only mean one thing.

Trouble.