At night, in the flat valley at the foot of the mountain.

  “Crack~! Pop~!”

  The sound of sparks popping from campfires echoed constantly, but it was drowned out by the cheerful chatter of people.

  Due to the damage to many beast carts and the need to treat the injured,

  the caravan had decided not to continue its journey. Instead, it set up camp in the flat valley, planning to depart only after the carts were repaired.

  To thank the adventurers and passengers for their brave fight, several merchant groups brought out their reserve premium ingredients and alcohol to reward everyone.

  “We’re really lucky today—no casualties at all!”

  By the campfire, Anjie held a tankard of foam ale gifted by the merchants and said happily.

  Watching her tipsy state, York snorted disapprovingly:

  “Hey, don’t get drunk! We’re in a dangerous area right now!”

  “Relax~! Don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud~! Since there’s already such a huge group of goblins here, where else could other demonic beasts be~!”

  “This is just to be safe. We’re guards—what kind of guards get drunk on duty?”

  Anjie pouted in dissatisfaction. “Fine! I won’t get drunk!”

  “That’s more like it.”

  “I’ll only drink three more cups...... no, two!”

  “You really...... have no intention of not getting drunk at all—!”

  While Hunting Fangs bickered, their leader Alec returned to the campfire after finishing the merchants’ emergency meeting.

  He plopped down on the ground, grabbed a tankard of foam ale, and chugged it down.

  “Ahh——! That’s refreshing!”

  “Hahaha~! Right? Nothing beats a drink after a fight, am I right~!”

  Anjie laughed, winking teasingly at York.

  York was furious. He glared at Alec in exasperation and asked gruffly:

  “Alec, how did it go? Can we leave tomorrow?”

  Alec shook his head.

  “Not tomorrow. According to the merchants, the repairs will take at least until tomorrow afternoon—so we’ll have to stay here for an extra day.”

  The tipsy Anjie chimed in: “Ugh, can’t we just leave the broken carts behind?”

  “That’s impossible.”

  Alec rejected the idea.

  “Nearly a quarter of the caravan’s carts are damaged—we can’t abandon them. Besides, when I said repairs will be done tomorrow, that’s already after writing off the completely destroyed ones. Wait...... Anjie, are you drunk?”

  “Huh? N-no I’m not...... burp~!”

  “......”

  “Your foam ale is confiscated.”

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  Alec ruthlessly took Anjie’s tankard away.

  “No——!!!”

  ......

  Meanwhile, in the jungle near the camp,

  a Throat-Slit Rabbit was foraging in the dark. Suddenly, it tensed up as if sensing danger.

  But no matter how much it looked around, it couldn’t find the source.

  Just as it relaxed, thinking it had been mistaken, a hand reached out from the darkness, grabbed it by the ears, and lifted it up.

  “Perfect—dinner’s ready!”

  Hulim Heyerar held the rabbit high, a satisfied smile on her face.

  “!!?”

  The Throat-Slit Rabbit panicked, flailing its limbs wildly and baring its sharp teeth to intimidate Hulim.

  “Be quiet.”

  Thud!

  With one tap, the rabbit went limp, only its hind legs twitching slightly.

  Hulim carried the rabbit, preparing to return to the camp.

  But she took only two steps before stopping abruptly, glancing suspiciously into the deeper parts of the jungle......

  Beneath a large tree,

  a sneaky-looking man was talking to a mysterious figure with a black cloth covering their head.

  “What? You’re saying not a single one of them died!?! Are you joking? Then all our efforts were for nothing! Do you know how much trouble it was to lure all these goblins here?”

  The man sounded extremely angry.

  “......”

  “They’re too strong? Then why didn’t you poison their food earlier? I gave you the poison, didn’t I!”

  “......”

  “The adventurers bring their own food, so you couldn’t find a chance to poison it?”

  “Hmph...... but now you have a chance.”

  “......”

  “Hehe, there’s no water source nearby. Only those few merchant groups have enough water for the entire caravan. Both passengers and adventurers will need to get water from the merchants tomorrow. When that happens, you do this......”

  “......”

  “Just do as I say—stop asking so many questions!”

  The mysterious figure’s tone suddenly turned impatient.

  “Once you get this done, I’ll consider your request——”

  “——Hmm!? Who’s there!”

  The man seemed to detect movement. He shouted at the nearby bushes, motioned for the mysterious figure to be quiet with one hand, and reached for the sword at his waist with the other, cautiously approaching.

  Rustle! Rustle!

  The bushes shook. The man tensed up and drew his sword immediately.

  Then, a rabbit hopped out. Seeing the man holding a sword, it was startled and scurried away.

  “What the hell—it’s just a Throat-Slit Rabbit!”

  The man sighed in relief and slowly sheathed his sword.

  He turned back to the figure under the tree and said firmly:

  “Remember this—when we come tomorrow, I want to see them all incapacitated! Otherwise——”

  He didn’t finish his threat. Instead, he left the figure and walked deep into the forest.

  “......”

  The mysterious figure in the black cloth stared in the direction the man had left, lingering for a long time before quietly turning back toward the camp......

  A while after the two left,

  a small figure jumped down from the tree where the conspiracy had unfolded.

  She first looked in the direction the man had gone, then turned to the camp, deep in thought.

  Although she hadn’t heard everything the masked mysterious figure had said, she could guess the gist from their conversation.

  “Bandits or something like that......”

  ......

  At the camp,

  “Ah, Hulim! You’re finally back! Where were you earlier? I was looking for you but couldn’t find you.”

  Seeing Hulim reappear, Alec waved her over eagerly.

  “I went to catch this.”

  Hulim held up the Throat-Slit Rabbit for Alec and the others to see, then walked over to their campfire and sat down.

  “Mr. Alec, do you know how to barbecue? Let’s have roasted rabbit together.”

  “Oh, a rabbit! Nice~! We’re in for a treat~!”

  Anjie, still tipsy, looked at the rabbit excitedly.

  “?......Is Ms. Anjie drunk?”

  Hulim tilted her head in confusion.

  “Don’t pay attention to her!”

  York rolled his eyes at Anjie, then turned to Hulim.

  “Let me handle the rabbit. Everyone in our team is a terrible cook except me! And don’t be fooled by my looks—I’m actually pretty confident in my cooking!”

  Oh, that’s a surprise. Hulim had thought York was the scholarly type, but he was unexpectedly good at life skills.

  York took the rabbit, cleaned it quickly, rubbed it with his own spices to remove the gamey taste, skewered it on a sharpened stick, and held it over the campfire to roast.

  While York prepared the rabbit, Hulim quietly told Alec what she had witnessed earlier......

  Ps：To celebrate me getting a new job, I’ll spam updates today—wish you all a happy weekend!