「…How did you kill these things?」
「Punches, knife-hand strikes, and kicks.」
「…Huh?」
I had the work bots gather their corpses in one place so we could go through the loot. After examining the bodies they brought over, Spica looked thoroughly freaked out by my answer. That was what I had been going for, sure, but I hadn’t expected her to be this disturbed.
「You fought them barehanded? Against armed Predators?」
「Yeah.」
「Didn’t they have bows? Throwing spears?」
「I knocked all the arrows out of the air. Caught the spears and threw ’em back.」
「The arrows and spears they threw at you? With your bare hands?」
「Yeah. Piece of cake.」
At that, Spica stared at me like I was some kind of exotic animal.
I don’t get it.
While we were talking, Spica’s sisters dragged over the Predators they had killed. Eighteen in total. Each of them was dragging two, and they made it look easy even though the corpses clearly seemed heavier than they were. Apparently, the claim about their physical strength was true.
「Oh myyy, quite a haul you have here…」
The big horned woman and her companions showed up as well. They must have decided the fighting was over.
「Is ‘quite a haul’ really what you should be saying when you see a pile of corpses…?」
I’m used to seeing dead bodies, so this doesn’t particularly bother me… But between Spica and this big horned woman, they sure seem used to them too.
「This sort of thing happens all the time, you knooow. Still… You killed them very cleanly.」
The big horned woman sounded impressed as she examined the Predators I had killed in hand-to-hand combat. Compared to them, the ones Spica and her sisters had shot with their projectile guns were pretty badly torn up.
「Boss Glen here says he killed them barehanded.」
Boss Glen, huh? Quite a promotion from ‘you.’
「Oh myyy, how strong. I do like a strong maaaan.」
The big horned woman gave me a broad, dubious smile.
I can’t tell whether this woman means a word of that.
「Should I say I’m flattered?」
「Mmhehe… In a world like this, I’m always happy to have a tough business partner.」
「Well, thanks. Anyway, about the loot from these things…」
All they had were loincloths made from some kind of rawhide, crude clubs and bows, and other things that didn’t look remotely sellable. There was some unidentifiable stuff in what seemed to be their satchels too, but…
「There really isn’t much loot to be had from Predators… Some places capture them alive and pull out their organs, though.」
「Apparently, they can be compatible with human-based races, at least sometimes? You need compatibility agents, of cooourse. But those are rather hard to come by on this planet.」
Compatibility agents were nanomachine preparations that completely eliminated rejection and other problems associated with biological organ transplants. Apparently, they had a much longer, more complicated name, but hardly anyone used it.
「You burn through ammunition, there’s practically no loot, getting hurt costs you a fortune, and if you lose, you’re in for hell. There really isn’t anything good about fighting Predators.」
「I see.」
Come to think of it, Spica said Formican children turn out Formican as long as the father is from a human-based race. What happens if the father is a Predator? Supposedly, these things only produce males and use females of other races to reproduce… But I get the feeling she’d be pissed if I asked that right now. Better keep that question to myself.
「Then I’ll just dispose of the whole lot.」
Obviously, nothing good would come of leaving corpses like these lying around. They would become breeding grounds for pathogens and attract carnivorous wildlife. They weren’t exactly pleasant to look at or smell, either.
「You’re fine with me disposing of yours too, right?」
「Yeah, that’d help. Burning or burying them is a lot of work.」
With Spica’s agreement, I decided to have the work bots dispose of all the bodies. I had dealt with those assholes from the other day the same way.
How, exactly? Well, let’s just say I’ve got more fertilizer now. Haven’t made any fields yet, so I don’t have a use for it just yet.
「Glen-san.」
Erika joined us while we were talking, dressed in her new clothes. Then her expression stiffened at the sight of the corpses lined up in front of us, and she made what looked like a prayer gesture.
Oh yeah, Erika belongs to that Cordia Church, doesn’t she? Haven’t had a chance to ask her much about it yet, but if it’s called a church, it’s probably a religious organization.
「Hmm? Erika-san, might you be with the Cordia Church?」
「…Yes, I am.」
「I seeee… If you have any messages you’d like passed along, just let me know.」
「Yes, thank you.」
Apparently, the big horned woman had figured out Erika’s affiliation from that tiny gesture.
That’s some impressive insight.
「Well, that takes care of the problem. Let’s break this up.」
I was hoping to put an end to any further speculation about Erika and get everyone to disperse, but Spica objected.
「Huh? Come on, Boss. I told you about us, so now it’s your turn to answer our questions, remember?」
「I remember. I’m not trying to weasel out of it. That wouldn’t be fair.」
「Ohhh? What’s this about? I’d like to hear tooo.」
「Um, Glen-san. So would I…」
The big horned woman and Erika joined in on my exchange with Spica. And it didn’t stop there. Spica’s sisters and the big horned woman’s companions started chiming in with complaints that it wasn’t fair and demands to be included.
Knock it off, you lot. This is gonna get out of hand.
「All right. Let’s call it a day with the work. Once you’ve got your camp set up, we can exchange information over dinner. I’ve got plenty of questions for Erika and the rest of you too.」
I would have to decide which information to share, but having several more or less friendly sources would make it easier to compare their accounts. If Erika, the big horned woman’s group, and Spica’s group all agreed that something was accurate, I could probably consider it reasonably reliable.
☆★☆
「This is delicious. Could you spare some more? I’d pay you very well, you knooow.」 This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Lyra—the big horned woman who led the caravan—made that offer as she ate the rations I had provided, but I shook my head.
「No deal. I don’t have a way to restock.」
It wasn’t impossible to take the shuttle out and buy more, but there was no need to volunteer that information. I had camouflaged the shuttle, so neither Spica’s group nor Lyra’s should have noticed it was there.
「How’s the stew?」
「Not bad.」
As for me, I was eating something called pemmican stew, courtesy of Spica and her sisters. They had made it with some of their own ‘safe’ pemmican. Apparently, the ingredients included dried meat and fat from a six-legged wild herbivore common in the area, along with dried berries of a different kind from the ones Erika had gathered.
They ate the pemmican as it was when they wanted a quick meal. When they had time to sit down like this, though, they dissolved it in boiling water, crumbled in hardtack made from grain flour baked hard, and simmered it into a stew.
Incidentally, ‘safe’ pemmican meant pemmican whose ingredients were clearly known.
So what’s in the unsafe stuff?
There was no telling. It might contain the same herbivore meat, or it might be made with foul-smelling carnivore meat. It might not even come from a warm-blooded animal, but from giant insects—apparently, this planet actually had plenty of those. Or it might come from ‘two-legged sheep.’ The uncertainty about what had gone into it was precisely what made it unsafe.
I probably couldn’t tell what kind of meat it was even after eating it, but yeah, I’ll pass on the two-legged sheep.
As for the stew itself, it really wasn’t bad, just as I had said. The meat and fat gave it a rich, savory flavor, and the berries’ aroma and tartness blended in surprisingly well. It was also more filling than it looked, probably thanks to the hardtack they had crumbled in and simmered.
Still, I’d get tired of this pretty quickly if I had to eat it every day.
「Sooo, about your goal, Glen-san…」
「…Yeah.」
「You’re looking for a wife? What a romantic ambition.」
Lyra gave me a knowing grin.
Go ahead and laugh. This is a serious wish for me.
「I’m sure you’ll reach your goal in no time, Glen-san.」
Erika said that from the seat beside me.
Feels like she’s sitting awfully close. Actually, I’m pretty sure she’s well inside my personal space. Hmm, is this that suspension bridge effect? Can’t say I mind, but isn’t this a little risky?
「Ufufu… Once this is a nice, safe farm, I’m sure the ladies will be lining up. You’ll have your pick of them.」
「Let’s hope so.」
「If that happens, we could set up a colony here. I bet we’d have strong kids with you, Boss.」
「Don’t you think I get a say in this too?」
「What’s that supposed to mean?!」
Spica’s eyes narrowed in open anger.
I’ve got no complaints whatsoever about their abilities, but that lack of curves is a bit… I’m sure guys who like that sort of thing would be thrilled, though.