Chapter 236: Monsterization (4)

The capture on that day was a complete failure.

The Half-Moon Wolf cub was incredibly agile despite its small body.

Also, due to its sudden appearance, the fact that they tried to catch it haphazardly without even forming a proper formation was a major blunder.

Still, the fortunate thing was that the cub was continuously sighted by the mercenaries around the camp.

This made it certain that the cub was lingering around its mother, and Ianco gathered the mercenaries to hold a strategy meeting.

Yuria was also present at the meeting.

Although Ianco did not call for her, Yuria participated in the meeting as if it were natural. No one looked at it strangely, and Ianco also only glanced at Yuria but did not stop her.

It was fortunate for Yuria, who had prepared arguments in advance in case she was stopped.

Thus began the capture strategy meeting.

“How should we catch it? That guy is incredibly fast.”

“I thought we had it completely surrounded, but it slipped away. Unless it’s a trap, it won’t be easy to catch physically.”

“Really? Then what’s there to worry about? We can just set a trap right away.”

The content was to set a trap and place the dead mother inside as bait to lure the cub.

“What do you think, Doctor?”

At Johnny’s question, Dr. Edric adjusted his glasses and answered.

“The probability of success certainly looks high.”

It was a hundred times better method than just running around the mountain chasing after the cub.

Added to that was the expert’s assurance that the probability of success was high.

The expressions of the mercenaries brightened in an instant.

However.

“No.”

There was an objection.

It was Yuria, who had been sitting quietly until now.

“Why?”

“Spirit beasts are clever creatures. It’s better not to attempt it rashly.”

Johnny had an expression of incomprehension.

“Still, there’s no harm in trying, is there? It’s better to set a trap and run around than to run around without any preparation. From our perspective, having a trap as insurance makes us feel secure even if we come up empty-handed.”

“Right, Yuria. You seem to not know well, but in hunting, stamina is important, but mentality is also important. If you keep failing, you get exhausted faster. But if there is a trap, we can compensate for this part.”

The mercenaries nodded their heads, agreeing with each other, saying that’s right, that’s right.

Yuria looked at them pathetically.

‘Is this hunting?’

Anyway, it seemed the habit of hunting spirit beasts hadn’t gone anywhere.

Protecting spirit beasts, my foot.

To them, it was nothing more than a means of making money.

“Spirit beasts have emotions. They have high intelligence. Failing for no reason…….”

“That is why I just said the probability of success is high. Because spirit beasts have emotions.”

It was Dr. Edric.

Dr. Edric, who cut off Yuria’s words and intervened, fixed his glasses and asked.

“What is the reason the cub came here even though it instinctively knew this place is dangerous?”

“Well, because it would want to meet its mom…….”

“That is exactly it. Because the love for its mother is greater than the fear and terror of humans, it risked danger and came here, right? So, we can set a trap. Even if it knows it’s a trap, the cub will eventually go into it.”

Dr. Edric making a definitive conclusion.

Looking at him, Yuria sent a gaze asking, ‘Are you in your right mind?’

“Are you serious?”

“Why do you look at me with those eyes? Ah. Perhaps you feel sorry for the cub that will be sad to discover its dead mother? Hmm. Miss Yuria has a weak heart. You have to see the forest, not the trees, right? If you treat work emotionally like that, you cannot solve the monsterization phenomenon.”

Yuria shook her head and refuted.

“No. I think it is you, Doctor, who knows one thing but not the other.”

“Hmm? Why is that?”

“What is the reason we are trying to capture the cub right now? It’s to obtain a clue about the monsterization phenomenon from the cub using my empathy ability. In other words, it is a plan where communication with the cub is important. But, use the mother’s corpse as bait? Really?”

Silence wrapped around the room.

The Doctor shut his mouth tight.

He realized only then what the failure factor of the trap plan Yuria was talking about was.

As spirit beasts have higher intelligence than animals, they can feel and express high-density emotions like humans.

The Half-Moon Wolf cub would be the same.

If they set a trap using the dead mother Half-Moon Wolf as bait, they would be able to capture the cub as the Doctor said.

However.

That is the end.

There is no next step, which is the most important.

“There is no way a cub that saw its mother dead inside a trap frame would communicate with me.”

The reason they are trying to capture the cub in the first place is to gain a hint about the monsterization phenomenon through the cub.

But if the cub actually shuts its mouth, everything would be practically in vain.

“Hmm. I see.”

“Haha. What to do about this…….”

The mercenaries, who were watching the two people’s argument with bated breath, burst into sighs one by one as it seemed Yuria had won.

If so, the meeting was back to square one.

In the meantime, Yuria summarized the minimum conditions for capturing the cub.

First, to receive the cub’s help, they had to hide the fact that the mother was dead from the cub.

And they had to make it recognize humans not as dangerous beings but as grateful beings, and they had to capture it in the safest way possible.

“But you know. Earlier, we made such a fuss as a group saying we’d just catch it. But would it look upon us kindly?”

“Wouldn’t it work if we lured it with something like a favorite snack? Originally, kids are all the same. If you buy them something delicious, they just like it. A bad uncle becomes a good uncle immediately, I tell you.”

“Oho, that’s not bad? Then we just need to prepare the food the guy likes. But what is that?”

“I don’t know either, you punk.”

Back to square one again.

The meeting showed no signs of progressing easily.

It was then.

Dr. Edric looked at Yuria and asked.

“Then why don’t you go, Miss Yuria?”

Yuria tilted her head to the side with an expression asking what he was talking about.

“Of course, we will also go together.”

“I didn’t mean that, I meant for Miss Yuria to try going alone.”

“……Yes? Me alone?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Dr. Edric answered while pushing up his glasses.

“Because, Miss Yuria is different from ordinary ‘humans’ like us.”

While saying that, he smirked, and the moment she saw that, Yuria stiffened her face at the illusion that bugs were crawling all over her body.

And one more person.

Ianco, who was watching all of this, also could not manage his expression.

“That I am different from humans, what do you mean by that?”

“It is exactly as I said. The people here are people whose bodies are steeped in the smell of beast blood, but Miss Yuria, who came from afar, is not. Also, you can interact with spirit beasts.”

Ah.

Was that what he meant…….

The reason was plausible.

Because the Half-Moon Wolf is a spirit beast with a sensitive sense of smell.

Since there was no clear capture method for now anyway, she thought she could at least try.

“Alright. I will try going in alone.”

There was no need to drag out time.

Yuria left the meeting room immediately and went into the mountain alone.

***

The meeting room Yuria had left.

“Now, then, only the task of waiting until Miss Yuria brings the cub remains, so I will be in my room; please call me when she returns.”

Saying so, Dr. Edric left the meeting room, and Johnny followed behind him.

Before long, the mercenaries left in a swarm.

“…….”

Left alone, Ianco sat in his seat and was lost in deep thought quietly.

He was anxious.

The reason was because of what Dr. Edric said in the middle.

[Because, Miss Yuria is different from ordinary ‘humans’ like us.]

This sentence continued to torment him without leaving his mind.

‘Does he perhaps know?’

Looking only at the nuance, it seemed so.

The meaningful smile he built together with it was also exceedingly uncomfortable.

Of course, if he thought about the following words as well, he could know it was a pointless misunderstanding, but.

Ianco was extremely bothered by this unpleasant feeling that kept ringing at the back of his neck at the time.

That was an instinctive sense.

The instinctive intuition that placed him in this position and saved him from various dangers until now.

‘Did Johnny, this brat, perhaps reveal the secret…….’

The only ones here who knew that Yuria was a divine beast were himself and Johnny.

If Johnny divulged that secret.

It is a hypothesis he really doesn’t want to think about, but what if Johnny broke the promise with him?

“……Huu. Is it that I’ve become sensitive because I got older? There’s no way my brother would do that, but I keep getting strange suspicions.”

Ianco shook his head from side to side and built a bitter smile.

Right, it must be just a misunderstanding.

He believed so.

No, perhaps he wanted to believe so.

***

Yuria, who entered the mountain, leisurely circled around the camp.

That appearance looked more like she had just come out for a leisurely walk rather than the appearance of looking for something.

And actually, it was so.

Yuria did not focus that much on finding the cub.

Because she knew well that she didn’t necessarily have to do so.

To be honest, she didn’t accept the Doctor’s proposal to go alone without thinking.

It was a really plausible method and…… in fact, it was also a method Yuria had been thinking of throughout the meeting.

‘I was just waiting for the timing to speak because I was wary of Dad.’

She had asked the reason because she was curious about the Doctor’s intentions, but inside, Yuria was extremely glad for that proposal.

Yuria had a similar experience to this.

If asked when, it was when she first manifested the ability to communicate with spirit beasts.

At that time, the Green Circle, which also combined a distribution business, was a time when they were recklessly capturing even sub-adult spirit beasts and bringing them to the camp, and there, Yuria met a fairy who expressed affection while looking at her.

[Hehe. I like you. I want to be friends.]

It was the same afterwards too.

All the spirit beasts she met next also showed affection when they saw Yuria.

Of course, they were all spirit beasts seen within the Green Circle, and they were children trapped inside iron bars after being caught by humans.

Considering the situation, it was an unbelievable thing.

At the time, she just didn’t mind it much, saying ‘I guess I am a little special compared to other people’.

But now, having learned and experienced a lot of knowledge at the Academy, her thoughts had changed a lot.

No matter how much she thought about it, the events of that time were things that didn’t make sense.

‘Why did the children like me back then? Anyway, I am also the same human.’

They got angry and feared when they saw other mercenaries.

But Yuria was different.

‘Did they know that I would destroy the factory and set them free?’

So Yuria decided to ask this time for sure.

To the small and fluffy existence that appeared in front of her before she knew it.

“Aren’t you scared of me?”

It stared intently at Yuria with pupils pitch-black like black beans, then tilted its head to the side.

As if asking ‘Why should I be?’

Hek-hek──

Afterwards, the Half-Moon Wolf cub approached Yuria and rubbed its face against her shoes.

[Nice to meet you.]

One emotion transmitted into her head at the same time.

Yuria reached out her hand and stroked the fur on the cub’s head.

The cub went Hek-hek even more and made a good-feeling face.

“Why are you glad to see me?”

[Don’t know.]

It was truly blind trust.

And there, Yuria realized.

Just as the spirit beast expressed blind trust and affection toward her, conversely, she was also feeling similar emotions toward the spirit beast.

The gladness felt when meeting the same kind.

Kinship.

At the base of the blind trust and affection lay a thick sense of kinship.

‘…….’

Yuria hugged the cub like that and shared various emotions.

While doing so, she pondered about the essential problem of why she could feel these emotions with spirit beasts.

No matter how much she pondered, it was hard to find the answer herself.

However.

There was a person nearby who could give the answer.

That person was precisely Ianco.

Thinking of him, Yuria’s expression darkened.

‘Will he tell me?’

Before that, whether they could even have a proper conversation.

‘If I finish the job successfully, won’t he look at me differently at least.’

Thinking so, Yuria lifted the Half-Moon Wolf cub.

Hek-hek!

And she asked.

About the reason the mother Half-Moon Wolf was caught in monsterization.

Before long, darkness was settling thickly behind the mountain.

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