NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53 - Chapter 53: Fieldwork
Chapter 53: Fieldwork
Four days have passed since then. The black wolves continue to intermittently attack the village. Each time, the comrades scatter them, but they can’t reduce their numbers to a manageable level. On the contrary, the numbers seem to increase with each passing day. What initially seemed like a simple sweep of the black wolves isn’t going smoothly. The villagers, who were initially optimistic, are now frustrated and anxious due to the prolonged situation. It’s not a good trend. Marie and Azir also seem unable to find a good solution. Gradually, their movements and decisions seem to lack vigor.
“All right, Zamza, let’s go to the next house.”
“Does this have any meaning?”
“Well, who knows? Maybe not, but there’s nothing else to do.”
Zamza reluctantly follows me while wearing a sour expression. By the way, I, who have no particular role, have only done two things in these four days. One is making a map of the village. It’s not a particularly large village, so I was able to make a fairly accurate map. By the way, I used the back of the drawing I had in my bag when I was first thrown into this world. It felt like directly touching cultural maturity when I smoothly slid the pencil on the quality paper, and I felt a tingling pleasure. I regret that I won’t be able to obtain paper and pencils of this quality again.
During the process, no one paid attention to the map-making, but everyone liked it when it was completed. It’s easy to understand the condition of the fences and repairs using this map. It also includes terrain information around the village, which seems to be useful for Marie and the others in planning their battles. Of course, it accurately shows the number of houses and their conditions. The other thing I’ve been doing is making a list with Zamza right now. By the way, I can read to some extent, but I’m still not good at writing. Surprisingly, Zamza can write. Perhaps his greatest characteristic is his abnormally high learning motivation. Certainly, an ordinary demon man you hear about wouldn’t think to absorb something from weak humans. So, while having Zamza write the characters, I’m progressing with making the list. Thanks to the map I made in advance, we can grasp all the households without omission. Three more houses to go. Then we’ll have visited all the households. Well, there were only 35 houses, so it’s not that difficult. From morning to night, we go around one house at a time and just listen to the residents’ endless stories.
“Huh? Wasn’t Mr. Thomas next door single?”
“Nah, Thomas has always been fond of women. He’s quick to lie about stupid things…”
Thanks to talking to everyone individually, I ended up understanding the detailed human relationships of the villagers, even unwanted affairs. Remembering the tired face of the instructor who taught me fieldwork twenty years ago, I wonder if he’s in his seventies now… He probably wouldn’t have imagined that I would be doing fieldwork in another world.
Meanwhile, everyone leaves my protection to Zamza and chases after the black wolves. Marie also tries various tactics like using traps, but it seems there haven’t been any noticeable results.
On the fifth day, to break this situation, Marie goes alone on a reconnaissance mission from early morning. Around noon, rain starts to sporadically fall. While we’re trying to use the rain to wash our heads, Marie, who was on reconnaissance, rushes to us with an unusual sense of urgency.
“Something bad has happened. The black wolves are launching a full-scale attack.”
“Is it different from before?”
As Gisella hands out water and towels, she asks.
Marie drinks the water in one gulp, regains some composure, and calmly begins to speak.
“I deliberately ignored the conspicuous black wolves today and went deep into the Tamir Mountains, where the wolves come from. I tried to force my way through the wolves’ attacks while navigating through uncharted territory. After a while, my field of vision suddenly opened up, and I came across a bowl-shaped terrain.” Marie continues to stare into the void, recalling the scene with her finger on her forehead.
“And there, I found… countless black wolves, literally thousands of them, crawling around.”
“What… What will happen to this village?”
“This village is doomed. We’ll do our best to escape ourselves. Bonus might not understand this since they haven’t participated in combat, but as the number of black wolves increases, their individual strength grows stronger.”
There was a faint possibility of abandoning the village given the recent unfavorable situation. But now that I’ve already memorized the faces and names of each individual in the village, I can’t help but feel attached. I don’t just know about worthless affairs. Just a while ago, I was holding Joshua and Mito’s baby in my hands.
“Can’t we do something about it?! We can surely do something! There are three onis here! Marie and Kuro are strong!”
Zamza shouts with a desperate expression.
You were also with us.
Zamza is strong and looks good. Unlike other oni men, he doesn’t show any rough gestures. Surprisingly, he’s popular among the villagers and is often talked to. Being young, he’s probably even more emotionally attached.
“…It might work. But if we do, there’s also a possibility of total annihilation. And we can’t abandon the residents. If we can successfully evacuate them to the town of Savoia, there’s a high chance we can save lives.”
Marie answers with a bitter expression.
What she just said might be an optimistic outlook…
“Anyway, I prioritize the lives of my comrades. I can’t accept losing Kuro, Shiro, and Gisella. Marie, Azir, do you have a specific strategy?”
“Should we all evacuate the village immediately and move towards Savoie as quickly as possible?”
“No, Azir. There are 153 villagers. There are also small children and elderly people, and convincing them to give up their possessions will require persuasion. It will take half a day to organize everyone for a cohesive evacuation. If we panic and rush, it will only make things worse.”
“Splitting into two groups, one for evacuation guidance and the other for reducing the number of black wolves while buying time. Is this a realistic approach?”
“Understood. We’ve just finished making the list. Let’s efficiently share information with all the villagers and persuade them. As for guiding the villagers, Azir, Zamza, and I will handle it. Marie, Kuro, Shiro, and Gisella will take care of the attacks.”
Shiro furrows her brows.
Gisella also looks troubled as she looks at us.
“Bonus…”
“Shiro, well, I might seem unreliable and you might worry, but if worst comes to worst, sacrificing Zamza and Azir to survive is fine. Maximizing firepower against the black wolves is crucial for overall survival.”
“…Understood.”
“Huh… Am I gonna be sacrificed?”
“Gyau gu gyau?”
“Kuro, well… I think you’ll probably be fine, but be careful.”
Kuro stares up at us intently. Somehow, I feel an attachment to her and start patting her head.
“All right, there, there.”
“Gyauuu!”
Kuro happily makes a sound while rubbing her head against me. She’s much stronger than me and not someone who falls behind to black wolves. But I still have an image of Kuro as an ugly and weak imp in my mind. Plus, she’s actually small in size. I can’t help but worry.
“I’ll fight too!”
“Be quiet.”
“But I…”
As expected, Zamza starts to complain.
Gisella immediately stops him in half anger.
He hesitates for a moment, but Zamza tries to persist, then looks at Shiro’s face, lowers his head, and falls silent.
“Zamza, you probably remember the faces of the villagers better than anyone else except me. Ensuring the evacuation of all 153 people without missing anyone is your fight, isn’t it?”
“…Understood.”
I say something plausible and convince Zamza. Surprisingly, he listens to what I say obediently.
“Then let’s split into attack and evacuation teams and start preparing,”
“Can we leave the communication between teams to Azir?”
“It’s fine.”
Now, first, I have to think about how to approach the residents. Marie and the others are already walking towards the gate. It seems like they’re discussing their battle strategy as they walk. As usual, Marie acts quickly once a plan is decided. I watch them leave with a feeling akin to praying for their safety. And as the gate closes again, the distant howls of the black wolves reach our ears. Unlike before, this time, the terrifying number of howls overlaps, creating waves that feel like they’re tearing through the air and invading our brains directly with discomfort.
“S-Something’s wrong! Ah… the black wolves… it’s… hopeless…”
We hear the strained voice of a villager who was on watch. The three of us exchange glances and rush to the watchtower to confirm the situation.
“This can’t be real…”
“Were we too late…?”
“…”
The ground at the foot of the mountain is writhing with blackness. Peering into the darkness, it becomes vaguely clear that they’re all black wolves. It seems Marie’s estimation wasn’t exaggerated at all. The overwhelming number of black wolves flooding towards the village is so absurd that it feels pointless to even acknowledge it. The sight is so eerie and frightening.
And the four members of the attack team are already outside the gate. The battle will begin shortly—.