Rodin came home late. We all had dinner in time. And I said the same thing I said last year in early October.

　The mayor called me.

　Last year I was called in with Gerda and told to send the commoner into the boa hunt. As a result, the plan went wrong and Rodin was mortally wounded in the hunt.

　Hearing this, Teresia's face changes dramatically. Her face looks like a mixture of worry, anger, and anxiety.

What did she say to you?

　Rodin has done nothing wrong but to listen to the questioning.

　Rodin freezes in his grip with a bowl of vegetable soup and a wooden spoon filled with meat scraps. It seems to be a question that cannot be answered immediately. There's a silence.

　After a long time, you tell me.

I have been asked to double the boa meat to be delivered in two years to twenty. For that, he wants both commoners and serfs to be able to participate in the hunt more.

"What?　Eh!　Oh no!　Phew, last year too!

　It is Rodin who tells you that Teresia was most anxious. I'm too upset to speak well. He's talking about what he had to go through last year. Murat began to cry because her mother Teresia screamed so loudly.

　Teresia rushes to console Murat.

Dad, I have to put Murat and Mash to sleep.

"What?

　It's Rodin and Teresia, surprised by Allen's condition. Unlike Teresia, who was upset and screamed, he spoke without a care in the world while carrying a spoon to his mouth. It's as if they hadn't heard anything.

　Finish washing the dishes and put mash and Murat to bed. Mash plays knightly games in the daytime and is tired and sleeps soundly. Pull the futon up to your shoulders.

　From the children's room, return to the living room. Rodin and Teresa are both looking down. The water in the wooden cup is now lukewarm. Teresia anxiously clasps the cup with both hands and shakes the water.

"So, Dad. Can we continue our discussion?

Yes.

　Then he talked about what he had heard from the chief today. Gerda was also there.

　As I said before, he wants you to double the number of boas you hunt in two years. He wants you to double the number of boas you hunt in two years.

　I'll tell you more about the conversation I had with the village chief. This is not a request from the chief. It was a request from the lord.

　The lord has been asking me for years if I could increase the Great Boar's hunt. That was to the village chief, but the word had been passed on to Rodin and Gerda from him.

　I had told the chief that this was a tough sell. There are few men, and the twenty serfs who go hunting are always the same man. They are not turning away newcomers as they did last year when they took in the commoners. Even the serfs have families. Many serfs think that a lump of boa meat is a small price to pay for their lives. Families disagree.

So you said no this time, right?

　Every year I've said no. They say that we can say no again this year.

"The lord says that if we don't kill 15 this year before doubling in two years, he will recruit serfs from his territory.

　The lord really wants to increase the number of boas captured. He wants to increase the number of peasants he can hunt, even if it means scraping them off the land. And he is talking about increasing the number of boas he catches.

　I was told that there are still many serfs who want to hunt within the territory.

"Huh?　Does that mean more serfs in the village?

Yes, more serfs in the village . . the land allotted to one man may be less, and maybe they will take away the land from the serfs who do not go hunting.

　A farmer can't have land. He has no right to land. The land we have cultivated since our parents were farmers can be taken away at the discretion of the lord. That's all the village chief said.

Oh no!

　When the chief told him, Rodin's vision went blank. Now I understand why Rodin has been looking so dark.
　For years I persistently asked. That hasn't changed. The lord's messenger told the chief that it was the only way if there were no more.

"Gerda and I have talked about hunting a little more often. I'm going to gather everyone together tomorrow to talk.

　Increase the frequency of hunting once every ten days. Then the numbers will increase. He is going to talk to the serfs who participate in the hunt about increasing the frequency of the hunt starting next month.



That way, if they increase the goal of taking out the boa next year and the year after that, they might end up accepting the serfs.

　Allen, who has been listening to you all along, interjects.

(Maybe more participants will give up on the hunt, forcing them to increase their frequency.

　There's a reason we hunt every ten days. You have to weigh your life against the burden of hunting. More hunting means more meat, but it's also more dangerous.

"What?　You're right. That's right.

　I'm surprised that Allen says it so matter-of-factly, but it is certainly true, and it is Rodin who is worried about it.

"And in order to do that, we're going to have to increase the number of participants in the hunt after all.

Yeah, that's right. But we made the mistake of adding last year. I don't know if anyone else will want to join, and if they do, it'll make the hunt harder.

　Rodin returns to Allen's words with a seriousness.

　I have been taking care of my brother in the household chores, plowing the fields after Rodin was seriously injured and fell. He has captured more than ten Albaherons and desperately defended his family. Rodin is more than just the eldest son to Allen, who has supported the family. And

"I have the wisdom that was given to me by the creator God Elmea.

(Here, I didn't know I was going to mention the setting we talked about so long ago. Well, that's more creditable.)

!

　Rodin's eyes widen in surprise. He says that Allen has been given a test that even a hundred men can't accomplish. And he confesses to Rodin and Teresia that the god of creation has given him wisdom and power to help him overcome that challenge.

"Let me solve this case. I have a feeling we can work it out.

　Allen declared that he would solve this problem with the wisdom given to him by God.



　Then it is the morning of the next day. Gerda, Rodin, and Allen are there. The place is Rodin's house. Allen said he would continue the conversation from last night when Gerda was there.

　The discussion won't proceed without Gerda's cooperation and approval. Rodin and Gerda are the two leaders of the boa hunt.

Is it true, Aren, that you can safely recruit more people into the boa hunt?

　He doesn't seem to trust it as much as Rodin. It is the suggestion of someone who has never taken part in a hunt. A suggestion from a six-year-old.

"You're never going to be safe.

(There is no absolute in hunting)

　My tone toward Gerda has recently become the same as that toward my parents. I was told not to speak to her in a very polite way.

"'Wha?

　Rodin and Gerda look at me as if it's still impossible.

But I think we can increase it more safely than the way you two thought. There's no way we're going to let a rookie play an important role in the wall in the first place.

(A low-level soft tofu defense rookie playing the role of a wall.

　When Allen was Kenichi, he spent countless hours hunting to make his game character stronger. It spans tens of thousands of hours. There are solo hunts for one person and paired hunts for two people. Mobile hunting, moving from one hunting ground to another. I have hunted in many ways. They have hunted in different ways depending on location and experience efficiency.

　Boa hunting is a simple method of bringing a boa to the hunting ground, and the waller holds and kills him. I recognize this technique as being called fishing hunting or waiting hunting.

　Of course we have experience hunting with newcomers. I have also accumulated countless experiences on how to safely train the newcomer.

'Oh?　You mean there's a better way?

Of course there is. I'll explain it to you now.

"Hmm?　And what's that?

I'll join you on your next hunt.

　Allen tells them to join the boa hunt. Allen suggested to the two of them a safer way to hunt, even with the newcomer.