Kakaros, who had been quiet until then, sniffed the air and headed toward a far corner of the storehouse. The rest of us followed him into the deeper recesses.
“This is….”
Kyle muttered in disbelief when he saw it: a huge breach in the wooden wall of the storehouse.
“Yes. That is exactly where the rats have been coming and going.”
Baron Talin replied with an embarrassed smile.
When one hears “rats,” one imagines a hole just slightly larger than a fist—but this was no mere rodent-sized gap. It was large enough for a grown man to slip through. How big must these “rats” be to gnaw such an opening?
“You’re saying rats made this?”
Even Elonen sounded astonished, as though he had never seen anything like it.
“They should have told us sooner if the rats were that big.”
Kyle grumbled, peering closely at the wall.
“These aren’t ordinary rats; they’re monsters. They must be hauling food away in sacks.”
Ever-cool Kakaros examined scattered grain and theorized.
“That’s right. Each time they raid, they fill baskets as though shopping and carry everything off. We tried every method to stop them, but they even attacked people…”
Clearly, something unusual was happening. Normally, only top-tier monsters showed any sign of intelligence or coordinated attack. Yet these creatures moved with clear purpose.
Two possibilities occurred to me: either lower-class monsters had developed a hive mind like ants or bees, or some entity was directing them.
I leaned toward the latter—it seemed likely that whatever created these monsters also commanded them.
“Why would the rats ‘shop’ for food here? Were they preparing a feast? Ha ha…”
Elonen cracked a trivial joke, perhaps to lighten the tension, but no one laughed. The air grew colder.
I inwardly cringed at the awkward atmosphere.
“Kakaros can track them.”
The elf who had been most thoroughly inspecting the storehouse spoke. At his words, the baron’s face lit up.
“Is that true?”
“But I don’t know what we’ll find when we follow the trail.”
It would be fortunate if there were only a few rat-monsters—but we had to consider other outcomes.
“Then let us pursue them to their lair and wipe it out.”
Elonen suggested, puffing up beside Kyle like an eager sidekick.
“Exactly. Otherwise this abundant storehouse will soon be empty.”
“Please, please help us! This storehouse holds a year’s provisions for the village. If we lose it, we won’t have even porridge this winter.”
At Kyle’s reply, Talin bowed his head in relief and cried out.
Kyle would have helped regardless—such was the Hero’s duty—but given our urgent quest to find the Black Flame Dragon, I wondered if he might hesitate. Instead, Kyle nodded resolutely.
“Understood. We will help. But know this is solely for the village’s sake.”
At last, the baron’s anxious face brightened with hope.
“Thank you! If you need anything, we will provide it without question.”
“We have no further needs. But is there anything else you can tell us? Anything about these monsters.”
I asked for any additional information, but Talin shook his head.
“What I’ve told you is all there is.”
His lip trembled slightly, as if he were hiding something. Yet Kyle did not press him further.
“First, let us find Gerard. We will need his aid.”
Kyle turned and nodded at Kakaros. The elf, who had been examining the storehouse seriously until then, sighed deeply.
“Very well. I will track them.”
Gerard had slipped away when we first arrived; I wondered what he might be doing in the village.
When we tracked Gerard, we found him at the market entrance, arguing with a stranger and pointing aggressively.
“You want to buy this potion for only three pence? Are you out of your mind? Did you even read what I said?”
Gerard shouted at the man holding a glass vial; the man replied coolly.
“I heard you perfectly. You said it cures poison and paralysis, didn’t you?”
“Exactly! You think your marvelous magic potion is worth only three silver? I wrote the price on this board here!”
Gerard pounded his chest in frustration and pointed to a wooden sign. Only then did I notice the writing:
[Special Potion Sale—The Merchant Is Crazy. Three Bottles = One fleur]
It seemed that even in this crisis he was hawking potions. Truly mad for money.
Yet the customer, undeterred, snapped back brazenly.
“But I only have three silver.”
This patron was not easily cowed—like a terrible buyer haggling at a secondhand sale.
Gerard’s face went red with rage as he prepared to shout at the man, but Elonen stepped between them.
“Gerard, are you scamming people again?”
“A scam?”
The man, who had been haggling shamelessly, glared and retorted.
“A scam? Elonen, watch your tongue. These are potions I made with all my care. You should be grateful to buy them at all.”
Gerard scowled at Elonen’s interruption.
“I know. I also know you sell them at ten times the normal price.”
“What did you say? Ten times?”
At Elonen’s remark, the customer spat next to Gerard.
“No wonder you look obnoxious. They say you can’t trust blue hair!”
“This isn’t blue—it’s navy, you fool. If you don’t want it, leave. I won’t sell to someone who doesn’t appreciate its value.”
Gerard waved the man off contemptuously, then shot Elonen an angry look for ruining his sale.
I expected him to stay annoyed—but he quickly noticed us and caught up to the situation.
“So what did the baron ask of us?”
“It’s nothing difficult—he wants us to exterminate the rats stealing his supplies.”
Kyle, who had arrived next to us, answered in place of Elonen.
Gerard had guessed the baron would ask something, but he was surprised to learn it was rat extermination.
“Rats? Does he want us to brew rat poison? There’s such a potion…”
Gerard frowned and rifled through his bottles, but Kyle shook his head.
“These are no ordinary rats. They seem to be monsters.”
“Monsters? Then that changes everything.”
Gerard brightened for the first time, stuffing potions into subspace with practiced ease.
“Well, my sales were failing anyway. This is perfect. Who knows what rare ingredients we might find in a new monster.”
“That’s right. Kakaros can follow their trail, so let us go at once.”
Kyle patted Gerard’s shoulder as he strode off.
“But shouldn’t we be hunting the Black Flame Dragon first? We can help with the rats after we find the dragon…”
Just then Gerard asked the obvious question. But Kyle, firm in his resolve, did not slow his pace.
“It won’t take long. Let us clear this up quickly. The damage seems severe, and we might find clues about the magic crystal the Archbishop Fremlyn mentioned.”
I hadn’t realized Kyle was concerned about that—but I had been thinking the same.
“That makes sense. Then let us waste no time.”
At last Gerard joined us, and the party set off together.