Chapter 3 : The Hunted

“Is it different now?” Karito questioned.

“(Nom nom…) Fuuh ah. I have heard the story that at that time, various beastmen slaves joined hands with some humans who went against the Alwina Kingdom and revolted all at once. Even though the physical strength of the beastman and demi-humans was much more than the humans’ at that time, they weren’t clever enough as their technology didn’t develop adequately. But, with the cooperation with human beings from the rebel army, they were taught how to fight using their skills and heads.” Reona elaborated. “It is not unusual for beastmen to marry the Royal Family now, and there are a lot of countries with beastmen as their kings as well. In any case, I don’t know much about other countries. Even the story I just told you was taught by my father.”

Several hours had passed since we escaped from the annihilated village. The sun had already completely set on the horizon.

The night’s darkness of this world without streets is so dark that it can’t be compared to the darkness of any downtown back on Earth. Every time night came, it made Karito feel like the world had totally sunk into darkness.

On the other hand, when you look up into the night sky, the number of shining stars in this world was several times more than that of Earth’s. It can’t even be compared to the starlight from planetariums.

The three of us decided to spend the night in the forest near the road. We dug a shallow hole and made an open air fire with tree branches and leaves from the forest. We could scatter the smoke and control the light as well. It’s one way that I learnt of when I checked the net about survival.

“Still, this is delicious. Even though the taste is rather strong, it is my first time eating this sort of food! Hey, Rina! You should eat without reserve. Because you bled a lot, you need to eat a lot of meat to replenish it.” Reona stated.

“Ye-Yes, I understand. However, this bag sure is unusual…” Rina was looking at the object (retort pouch) in her hand with bewilderment and curiosity.

She had regained her consciousness on her older sister’s back,just a while before Karito and Reona were deciding to camp out. Her condition was so good that the fact that her body and internal organs had been pierced by a blade seemed like a lie.

When she first woke up, she lost the memories she had before she lost consciousness (her village being overrun by Aruwina Kingdom’s soldiers, and herself getting stabbed), but after a brief moment, she started to panic before she finally calmed down with the help of Reona. She hugged her younger sister who was screaming and thrashing violently at her chest, and kept stroking her head until she had finally quietened down.

When Rina had calmed down, Karito introduced himself to her. Looking at his unfamiliar appearance (black hair and eyes), unfamiliar figure (special armor), and unfamiliar weapon (M14EBR), Rina, who was only a girl from a remote village, was surprised to encounter an unknown existence like Karito at the beginning. But, because of her older sister’s persuasion, he was able to avoid leaving a negative impression somehow.

Still, the decisive factor of persuasion was the phrase, ‘her and her elder sister’s saviour’.

It was at that moment when the two sisters who had just survived the slaughter, finished embracing each other while confirming their familial love for each other.

“―GRowwlll” The sound of a stomach growling, similar to the cry of small animal sounded at the same time.

One was blushing, while another one put her hand on the source of the sound and said [when you feel relieved you become hungry]. He doesn’t even have to say who it was.

That was why, after they had collected the dried wood and started the fire, the three of them ate dinner while surrounding the open air fire.

Reona and Rina didn’t have anything besides the clothes they wear on their bodies. They couldn’t have taken any baggage while escaping from their village, which resulted in not having any food at all. It can’t be helped since their house was burned down, and they had rushed out, not knowing when the pursuers would come.

The rations (combat ration) that those two ate were the rations from the self defense force which Karito had dished out.

They were puzzled at first, looking at the metal like bag (retort pouch), but as soon as they had eaten one piece of the hamburger steak, they seemed to be pleased. The two had carried the spoon to their mouths without stopping .

“Another serving!” Reona demanded.

“O-Onee-chan! He has already helped us with much effort and shared precious food to us! You musn’t be unreasonable.” Reona, who was energetically asking for a second helping, was stopped by Rina immediately.

Being pointed out by her younger sister, the tension immediately reversed. Her animal ears and tail hung down as though she was feeling sorry.

“Ah, I’m sorry Karito, for me to ask for such luxury…” The beastwoman apologised.

“You don’t have to worry about such a thing. Because there is a lot, you can eat as much as you want.” The male smiled.

Anyhow, he can literally provide them with an infinite amount. Having been in contact with friendly people after the span of a year, Karito was very generous and easy going..

…Is it okay for a wolfman to eat something that’s mixed with onions? But, if you remove the animal ears and tail, they look like a human, so it probably was okay, or so he thought. If it was no good, he would have to sincerely apologize. If he wasn’t mistaken, chocolate is also not good.

As if emphasizing Reona’s pleasant mood from being able to get a second serving of delicious food, the tail sprouting from her back swayed left and right. Looking at this, Karito smiled wryly as he carried a spoon of stewed pork and potato (a kind of military ration from the French Army) to his mouth, and looked up. Before he knew it, the face of Reona was right in front of him. Startled, Karito bent backwards.

Drool was coming out from her mouth. Her sight was set on the stew. The speed of her wagging tail was much faster than before. It was like a propeller or an electric fan.

What she was hoping for, the drool dripping from her lips already said it.

“…Do you want a bite?” Karito sighed.

“Is it okay?!” Reona yelped in excitement.

“Onee-chan!” Rina uttered exasperatedly.

He couldn’t have betrayed her expectations after being shown such an expression. Judging from Rina’s behavior, unbefitting of someone of a tender age, she seemed to act as a stopper for her wild elder sister.

Reona leaned to him with eyes was full of expectation. Her big breasts and deep cleavage shook slightly from the movement. Wondering if it was her aim or not (probably the latter), but having such goods brought near to him… Tt was like poison to Karito’s eyes.

Whatever it is, it was touching Karito. She pressed it to his arm with all her strength. However, the softness and the warmth of her body wasn’t transmitted to Karito through his armour plate that could deflect a rifle bullet.

(It would be better to make it thinner…)

By reflex, even Karito had his own share of sexual desire despite its disappointing extent.

As he was trying hard not to show his regrets through his face and words, he took the spoon to Reona’s mouth. Without hesitating, Reona tasted the tip of the spoon that was being held out.

It was an indirect kiss, the thought flashed for a moment in his mind. Even though he was suddenly hugged by a beautiful girl, all the same, Karito wasn’t that inexperienced to be excited over an action of that level. In the first place, not to mention pretty girls, isn’t such a reaction meaningless

“Delicious! Another bite!” Reona exclaimed.

“It looks like a CM of green juice.”

[TL: for those who was interesting just google 青汁のＣＭ]

Reona tilted her head to one side as if she wanted to ask what was green juice. My smile collapsed when I held out another spoon for her to take another bite. Her animal ears were twitching up and down happily, as if showing Reona’s state of mind to her surroundings.

“Onee-chan is so embarrassing…” Rina sighed.

“I can’t help it! It’s so delicious! Hey, Rina, you take a bite too.” Reona suggested.

“Fue… A-An ~ ” Rina opened her mouth.

She thought about it for a moment before responding in the end. It looks like she was interested in the stew as well.

Reona turned her back to Karito and lowered her back to assume a crawling position, and held out the spoon to feed the stew to her younger sister. Karito was watching them warmly, but…

[TL: wait for it]

At that moment, he noticed something.

There was only a small cloth that was not even close to covering Reona’s waist. As result of her nearly crawling posture, the important part of the women which originally had to be hidden was revealed to the fullest.

[TL: I know it!]

[ED: As expected…]

“Wait, I can see it , I can see it! Rather, isn’t she making fun of me?!)

The cloth that was covering her secret region wasn’t inferior to those that covered her breasts. The white cloth’s level of design was much better than the rag cloth that was used to wrap around her breasts.

…Gah, the piece of cloth that acts as underwear was considerably thin, and it was tightly digging into Reona’s sensual body. Thanks to that, it went beyond the description of being sexy to the point that it can only be expressed as erotic. The slit line was completely clear. This sexiness can easily beat that of gravure idols.

On top of that, her tail was shaking like those classic hypnosis methods using a string on five yen coin. As he was looking at it, Karito’s reason felt like it was being snatched away little by little. Is she trying to tempt me? God damn it! She’s trying to tempt me today?!

The spoon being taken away by Reona has left Karito’s right hand empty. That very right hand was unsteadily reaching toward Reona’s buttocks. .

Just another five cm until her buttocks. It was at moment that Reona turned to face Karito. The figure of Karito stretching his hands halfway towards her was captured in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” Reona asked.

“Waa?! I didn’t do anything?!” Karito fumbled.

[ED: Yeah right.]

He tried to pull himself back, but it was already too late.

Reona recollected the place of Karito’s hands and her posture from before, and smiled complacently, figuring out what had Karito intended to do. .

The smile isn’t like the smile of pure joy when she tasted a dish from another world, but of that like a succubus trying to tease him.

“Kukuku, if my benefactor wishes to, I will let you touch my ass once, twice, or as many times as you want, but it should be done in secret, okay?” Reona continued smiling.

“…Forgive me. Please let me in on such a thing some other time.” Karito apologised.

“I am looking forward to it.” Reona smiled.

“Ah, Onee-chan is too shameful…” Rina blushed.

As expected, it was impossible to do sexual things openly in front of the young girl (Rina), so I would have to endure it. But, since I have made the promise, if there is take two, I will take the opportunity.

Karito thought that Reona was like those voluptuous Onee-san character who makes fun of the MC in eroge.

The image of him embracing Rina was overturned soon.

“However, Karito… You truly are a strange fellow.” Reona stated.

The moment he retracted his hand that was stretched out to her raw plump ass before, he tried to avert his eyes from embarrassment. His ears reacted to the slightest sound, so at the very least he could turn to look at Reona once again.

And what Karito witnessed was the loveliness that teased a naive young guy, her beautiful face which gave off a unique eloquence that would not let the partner feel discomfort, for a moment, that face was covered in melancholy.

When Reona noticed that Karito was looking at her again, she immediately returned to her smiling face. .

Not having the courage to closely examine the nature of the gloomy feeling that crossed her face in that moment, Karito could only go along with her smile, before looking down to the stew in his hands.

“That reminds me, how old are you, Reona?” Karito asked.

“I’m 15 years old this year.” The beastwoman replied.

“You are younger than me?! It is a foul play to be this erotic this young! Rather, I thought you were older than me!” Karito complained.

“Erm, how old are you, Karito?” Reona asked.

“19… No, a year has passed since I came here, so I will be 20.” Karito answered.

“Eh, is that so? You don’t really… …Nn?” Reona looked up suddenly.

Her animal ears twitched a little, as if trying to find something.

“Is there something wrong?” Karito questioned.

“Onee-chan?” Rina looked worried.

“I heard something just now. It was the cry of a beast… There is the voice of a human too!”

“A pursuer!” Karito frowned.

He covered the fire in the hole with the soil that he dug out immediately to put it out. The figures of the three were surrounded by darkness. Moonlight didn’t reach them much due to the trees’ thick branches, and the leaves growing on them.

Karito listened carefully while equipping his M14EBR. The silence spread, making the world feel like it had stopped moving. Only the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind could be heard.

He looked around him hard for the figures of people, but he couldn’t find any… That was what he would like to say, but when being cautious like this, even the silhouettes of trees and bushes would look suspicious in the dark. It’s bad for his heart. In particular, Rina was terribly scared. Even though Karito couldn’t see her face clearly in the dark, he could sense the fear coming out from her clearly.

Because he couldn’t understand this turn of events, he asked the instigator of the situation in a low voice.

“Was it really the voice of people?”

“Don’t make light of the sharp ears of an adult of the Garm tribe… However, regarding the direction to where I have heard the voice, it seems to have come from the sky…” Reona elaborated.

“…Sky?” Karito asked.

Reona looked up towards the night sky. Following her, Karito looked up as well. For a while, nothing seemed to change. The pitch black sky was still filled with bright stars.

But, he didn’t have time to admire it this time. Karito equipped his goggles and switched it to the infrared night vision mode. The world in his field of vision that was shrouded in darkness changed into colors consisting of red, purple, blue, and black. By looking at the different colors of heat that each object has, it allowed Karito to see in the darkness.

In the sky where even starlight disappears as if it was swiped with ink, a pink silhouette floated.

From the looks of it, it seemed like a person who was sitting on a four legged beast with wings spreading out from its back. The distorted large silhouette swooped down towards Karito and his group. He realized it was because the human mounting the beast released his hands from the reins, and projected his right hand.

“Enemy attack!!” Karito yelled.

The warning and the jockey’s right hand twitched at the same time. A light ball swept over the tip of the trees, hitting the ground several meters behind Karito, and an explosion occurred. The three people flew from the impact and fell down.

A wild shierk resounded.

“Hoatchaa!?”

Unfortunately, the place where Karito fell onto was the place where he had put out the open air fire just now. It’s only been a while since it was put out, so the soil was still extremely hot. The armor Karito had equipped didn’t have any resistance towards fire damage, and thus, he was burnt.

He jumped up immediately, patting the area around his stomach to cool off the burned area. At that moment, a large shadow passed by overhead. Reona saw through the real nature of that being at once. The Garm tribe didn’t only have sharp ears, but also sharp eyes that see well in the night.

“That was a Griffon! It‘s the pursuers from Aruwina Kingdom!” Reona exclaimed.

“It’s slightly unexpected for them to chase from the sky..! Do you know what kind of attack was it just now?” Karito asked urgently.

“It’s the Magic Cannon! You will turn into meat paste if you receive a direct hit, so be careful!” The beastwoman warned.

He looked at the bomb’s trace of impact. Judging from the scale of the explosion and the indentation on the ground, its power seems equal to a small sized mortar, or an RPG (Anti-Tank Rocket).

Unlike an ordinary cannonball, it didn’t shatter to pieces when it exploded. Even though he didn’t have to worry about being damaged by the shattered pieces, it was still dangerous. With this power, it seems like it will not be a good idea to use the surrounding trees as a shield. You would either be pulverized together with the trees, or be ripped apart by the exploding woodchips.

The griffon that had just left turned back and started attacking again.

“Reona, bring Rina to the other side. Lower your stance and escape quickly!” Karito ordered.

“What do you intend to do, Karito!?” Reona demanded.

“I’m going to fight back!” The man stated.

As he took some distance away from the sisters, he made a diversion shot with his M14. He intended to draw the attention of the griffon rider with this. By removing the silencer, the firing flame (muzzle flash) of a large diameter rifle stood out in the darkness. As expected, the rider turned the head of the griffon towards Karito who was visible from firing flame.

This was fine. Karito thrusted one knee out and shifted to a shooting in the kneeling position. He selected full auto on his M14EBR, and aligned to the griffon’s silhouette that grew bigger over time.

Simultaneously, as he stopped his breathing for a moment, he made the shot. He suppressed the gun that was moving intensely from the rapid fire. He corrected his aim with his finger from each burst, and finished shooting a magazine in no time.

Among the bullets that have been shot, ten or more of them tore up the flesh of the griffon along with its rider, crushing his head, and bursting his internal organs, completely stopping their breaths.

Thanks to the experience of anti aircraft shooting on high-speed flight targets, (mainly attacking the enemy’s helicopter. Depending on the model, it can even be shot using a handgun) it resulted in the rider being careless, charging straight into them without being able to take any evasive movement, making the target bigger.

“Uo, how dangerous!” Karito breathed heavily.

Two seconds later, Karito released his shooting position and rolled to the side. The griffon and it’s rider’s body crashed into the place where Karito had been. *Gusha!* Karito grimaced as he heard the unpleasant gory sound of the impact from nearby.

“There are more reinforcements! Four riders will approach soon, and there is dragon mixed in this one too!”

“As expected of fantasy! Will the dragon breathe out fire as well?” Karito asked.

“Of course!” Reona nodded.

“How far can the dragon’s breath reach!?” Karito questioned.

“Erm, probably around 50 melts? That was what my father told me before, but I’ve never seen the breath on my own. Anyway, let’s escape. The opponent this time is too difficult to handle!” The beastwoman urged.

[TL: melts probably their own standard of measuring, I think it is meter.]

Karito operated his PDA while rushing the two of them, replacing his equipped weapon to another from the item box. His breath was heavy, and his heart was throbbing intensely too. However, what allowed him to pass a calm judgment was the <WBGO(Game)> which offered a sublime real battleground experience.

It was in an anti air battle such as this, that it was important to show large offensive power to his opponent to suppress them, Karito thought. Be it a bluff or anything else, it would work fine. If we show them excessive firepower, even they would not approach us recklessly.

The weapon Karito chose according to his plan was M46 light machine gun made by the Fabrique Nationale company. It was the improved type from the MINIMI sub machine gun that even the Japan Self-Defense Force adopted for their special force. It can use the M16/M4 assault rifle bullet on its belt link too.

If it uses the 5.56mm Nato bullet, its power might degrade, but its firepower far exceeded the M14.

[TL: I doubt you guys want to see an ammo so I didn’t bother to search it]

It was said that it was lighter than the original model, but it is still 1 kg heavier than the M14BR. While being able to reload 200 bullets into the belt and feeling the profound weight of the light machine gun, Karito ran towards the centre of the forest. Just diagonally ahead was where the two parties had moved first, with Reona carrying Rina who didn’t have the stamina and running power compared to the two.

The world recovered its light suddenly. When I took off my goggles and moved my neck to find the cause, a swirling, dazzling light sphere was floating in the night sky. It seemed to be a type of magic flare.

I heard a roar which sounded like a cow and a lion from the sky.

“The dragon breath is coming!” Reona warned.

At the same time as Reona’s warning, Karito jumped to the side and turned over, pointing the muzzle of the light machine gun at the area where he heard the roar of the beast.

The marked dragon approached rapidly from the distance of 100m. Its height was about 20m, the size which probably about the same as a light airplane. The body that was illuminated by the flare light was gray, and it was covered with thick muscles that seemed to enable it to dance in the sky freely. Looking as if it was accumulating something, the dragon raised its neck, its face and throat bloated.

Anticipating the dragon’s breath, the MK46 spouted out fire. The light machine gun discharged 5.56mm bullet flying from the muzzle at the initial speed of 940m/s and discharged 12 bullet/s. The tracer shell was loaded into the belt link at one shell for each 5 bullets, and it allows one to see the trajectory like a red laser clearly. He altered the trajectory of the tracer along with the barrage.

[TL: Tracer shell was just a bullet that was painted red on the tip of it like]

*Thud thud!* Karito could hear the sound of the rifle bullets sinking into the body of the dragon between the intervals of the gunshot. When Karito looked at it, the bullets hit between the area of its chest and its long neck.

Forgetting the existence of its rider, the dragon writhed in pain and agony as its balance broke.

Like the griffon from a while ago, the dragon fell and plunged at the direction of the three. This time, it went across the space between Karito and Reona, who was carrying Riina, breaking a few trees in the process before coming to a stop.

It was unfortunate for the three, but the rider was nearly unhurt. In addition to the fact that the 5.56mm shell couldn’t pierce through the dragon’s body, its body became a cushion for the fall.

“Die! You traitor of the human race-” The rider yelled.

“You stupid bastard!” Karito sighed.

He fired without question. Holes appeared in the rider’s winter coat layered with thick skin armour as the man was forced to perform a dance of death.

The bullet shells lodged through the back of the body, and dug into the body of the dragon that laid on its side. The dragon leaked out a painful scream and raised it head; it wasn’t dead yet. It seems like the 5.56mm bullet wasn’t enough to kill the target this big, he analyzed calmly while shooting its head, this time stopping its breath completely.

“Amazing, to kill a dragon this easily…” Reona was in awe.

Disregarding Reona’s admiration, Karito remained cautious. But, there was no sign of attack coming from the remaining Sky Cavalry. They were circling in the air. Things seemed to go according to Karito’s plan. They became cautious of Karito’s assault, and were keeping their distance.

The effect of flare disappeared, and darkness fell onto the forest once again. This was the most suitable timing.

“At any rate, let’s run. We will have look for some place to hide.” Karito instructed.

“I heard that there is a fort for travellers to take a rest in after we pass through this forest! If I am not mistaken, it is this way!” Reona replied.

As soon as Reona said that, she began to run. Karito ran after her as well. The pursuers shot up the flares again, but they continued to run without minding it. Within a forest with slippery grounds and trees roots sticking out of the earth, the two of them continued running with a speed like that of a sprinter on flat ground.

As soon as they went through the forest, they saw the shadow of a building. It was surrounded by high walls in the darkness; it was a stone fortress.

“It’s there!” Reona shouted.

They sprinted with all their strength. Because there wasn’t any place to hide, the two sprinted with a speed that could compete with a car, and they passed through the open gate and entered inside.

It seemed to be an unpopular place as it had that abandoned look where people haven’t been using it for some time. After all, at the point where the information about Aruwina Kingdom invading was heard, users of this place like travelling merchants and adventurers will naturally evade coming to the direction of Reona’s village.

He scanned the surroundings to make sure, but as expected, there was no other sign of life. The inside of the three storey building was pitch black as parts of the door and the windows were blocked, Karito took out a chemical light (when you bend it, the liquid inside will react and glitter) from his item box and lit up their surroundings. From the look of it, the first floor was a dining room.

They found a lamp in the cabinet enshrined in the corner of the room, and lit it up as lighting of the first floor.

He left Reona and Rina there and looked for a staircase to the upper floor. When he arrived on the roof, he looked for a place that was as inconspicuous as possible.

Soon, the pursuers were circling in the sky around the fort. They had obviously noticed that Karito had escaped to this fort. For certain, they would be watching the fortress where Karito has shut themselves in.

Surely they would be chased again if they attempt to escape from the fortress. Even if they had to remain confined in the fortress, there was a high probability that Karito would not be able to cope when they attack continuously

If they were to be caught by pursuers as it was, what kind of experience will Rina and Reona go through? That thought dominated Karito’s mind rather than his own safety. It would truly be terrible.

“Rather than saying that we’ve succeed in running away from them, it’s more accurate to say that we’ve been cornered by them, huh?” Karito sighed.

What should he do now? Karito wracked his brain.