I Wanted to Use Magic, So I Trained My Magical Power. I Wanted to Eat Meat, So I Went Hunting. And Then, Before I Knew It, I Had Become the Strongest... - Episode 12: What Are You Doing in My Room?

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Episode 12: What Are You Doing in My Room?

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“Set! …Ready! …Fire!”

Toruk-san’s voice echoed loudly.

The men had finished their early morning farm work. They gathered for crossbow training.

In the height of summer, farm work is usually done early in the morning or in the evening.

Midday is just too hot to work in the fields.

And for some reason, they’re shooting arrows from my storage room-bedroom outward.

Sure, it’s shady and avoids direct sunlight. But seriously—stop, it’s dangerous.

As for me, I take the children of those adults into the mountains.

They’re the ones who carry the prey I hunt.

I tried to refuse, saying it was too dangerous. But the village chief insisted.

Apparently, after we delivered dried boar and deer meat as tax last year, the lord demanded even more this year.

The mountains here are rich. Beasts rarely come down to the village.

So there was no need for pest control. And thus, no meat deliveries.

But once I started hunting for my own desire to eat meat, deliveries began.

Seems the lord got a taste for it.

At this rate, my future’s looking like a hunter.

I don’t hate hunting. But success depends a lot on luck.

Besides, I don’t dislike blacksmithing either.

I actually want to try forging a sword myself.

I sensed a beast’s magic. Probably a wild rabbit.

Lately, I’ve gotten better at identifying animals just by their magic.

I raised my left arm—

That’s the signal for the kids to wait there.

Making noise or getting too close with the kids would scare the prey away.

So they wait at a distance.

We didn’t hunt rabbits before the lord started demanding meat.

If we hunt, boars or deer are better since they yield more meat.

But focusing only on those could deplete the population.

So now we include fast-breeding wild rabbits as targets.

I spotted a wild rabbit about twenty meters ahead. It was munching on grass.

I readied my crossbow, inhaled, and held my breath.

*Thwip!*—a light sound. And the arrow struck the rabbit.

I’m the best crossbow user in the village.

Far better than the adults practicing in my storage room.

Even at thirty meters, I won’t miss a tiny target like a rabbit.

I blew my whistle to signal the kids.

They handle the bl00d draining and gut removal.

Like me, countryside kids don’t shy away from skinning animals.

They were selected for this reason too.

“You two take care of the processing and head home, okay?”

“Got it.”

We always move in pairs in the mountains, just in case.

A bird flew overhead.

Instinctively, I shot it with the crossbow.

The arrow hit perfectly, and one bird dropped.

“Take care of the bird too, please.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Two people are enough for a rabbit and a bird.

I took the other six kids deeper into the mountain.

Just before noon, I found something big.

This magic presence—it’s a bear, no doubt.

Bears are dangerous. I signaled the kids to retreat.

Approaching from downwind, I peered at the bear from behind a tree.

Huge.

A brown bear, similar to a grizzly from my past life.

I fired the crossbow.

The arrow sank into its left side. But it didn’t kill the bear.

It roared in rage and charged. I shot again.

This one hit the right shoulder—but still didn’t stop it.

I dropped the crossbow and drew the Divine Blade Kern.

“Uooohhh!!”

I carefully watched the charging bear’s movement and raised the blade high.

“VROOOAAARRR!!”

“KIEEEAAHHH!!”

I stepped in and slashed with Kern. It was filled with battle spirit.

I felt it hit. But the bear was still alive—tough beast.

It reared up on its hind legs—a mistake.

I activated full power body-enhancing magic and jumped,

Thrusting the sword into the bear’s throat.

I pressed with all my strength—

and severed its neck.

*Fwoosh!*—Bl00d spouted like a fountain as the bear collapsed.

“Whew…”

I shook off the bl00d from Kern, wiped it with cloth, and sheathed it.

I blew the whistle to call the kids.

But even dead, the bear scared them—they looked pale.

“Can you go call some adults? About five, please.”

“I—I’ll go!”

Rogga ran off. I sent the boy paired with him too.

We always operate in pairs in the mountains.

All the kids with me are older than I am.

But since I took down a bear this big, none of them underestimate me.

“Alright, let’s hang this guy from a tree.”

Using ropes the kids brought, we hung the bear from a thick branch.

It was so heavy we used a pulley system.

Yes, the kids even carry pulleys.

Thanks to that, we could hang a bear weighing over 500 kilograms.

Though I did worry the branch might break.

While I was gutting the bear, the adults arrived.

The same group that was training with crossbows in my room, led by Toruk-san.

“That’s a big one!”

Toruk-san said with a smile.

I’d heard bear liver can be used as medicine.

Should we take it back? I asked Toruk-san.

“Huh, really?”

This guy is unreliable……….

Guess we’ll just take it back and ask Nainen-san the apothecary.

It really was a big one—hauling it down the mountain was a pain.

But Nainen-san bought the liver.

And paid ten copper coins (equivalent to 100,000 yen).