Part 2
---[Underwood], Northeastern plateau with a sea of trees that grew wildly on its top, Edge of the Boundary.
Fifteen minutes before Izayoi and Kuro Usagi met up.
Upon the plateau that was dyed scarlet by the setting sun, little dust twisters were born from the raging tornado like winds.
The suddenness of the strong winds caused the queer looking flock of birds----- a eudemon that was a cross between a deer and bird having the stag horns and bird wings, the Perytons flapped their wings to take to the skies. [18]
"----Now's the time!"
The voice of a girl came from a little hill where the winds appeared to have blown from-------That was the signal given by Kasukabe Yō.
The flock that was driven to the skies and out of the cover of the forest was immediately under fire from arrows that were shot from the sea of trees below. And seven of them fell from the skies.
"I hit them!"
"That was a good catch!"
"No, it's not over yet!"
The cheers of the hunters could be heard from the sea of trees, but some were still on their guards. Having shot their wings to prevent the Perytons escape, the Perytons had already half-risen their bodies to point their sharp horns towards their attackers.
The Perytons have prepared their stance and finally showed their true colors---- the ferocious nature of a predator.
However, the follow-up attack was from another girl upon the shouted order from Asuka.
"Mel! Use the chance to destroy their stability!"
"Yes!"
Accompanying the young child's voice, the ground beneath the Peryton's legs became a muddy slush that sealed their movements.
The Perytons' who had their flight and stable ground stolen from them couldn't help but fall to the ground without being able to move. The hunters wasted no time to use their arrows to seal their fates when they saw this good opportunity.
Having ran over to see the results of the hunt, Yō gave a sigh of relief and relaxed her shoulders.
"…. Asuka, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Kasukabe-san, thanks for your hard work."
"Thanks, and with this we should be ranked in the top few of the Hunting event?"
"It may not be so. However, the rules did say that horned eudemons are awarded more points, so I guess we can hope for the best."
Setting their goal on the coming out first, they nodded to each other in confidence.
---This hunting event that they participated in was one of the Gift Games hosted for the Harvest Festival.
After the battle with the huge dragon, those eudemons that are classified under the category of 'aggressive man eaters' continued to roam the perimeter of [Underwood].
After they started to launch attacks on the reviving Communities, the [Draco Greif] Alliance could not stand by and watch it anymore, deciding to purge the pest that were the Perytons. So—
"This kind of chance shouldn't be wasted with so many participants on hand at the Harvest Festival. Why not make it into a game that amasses the participants and host a hunting event in an attempt to welcome them?"
-------Izayoi's suggestion was well received by the host who then implemented his idea. And that was how the currently ongoing Game was formed. The duo bent their heads poring over the sheepskin parchment that was the 'Geass Roll', as they reread to confirm the rules of the game.
<<GIFT GAME NAME: "[Underwood] Harvest Festival * Hunting Department">>
List of Participant(s):
*Free for all (Please register for this event to participate. Registration ends one day before the game event)
Rule(s):
*Competition will be between Communities (The game allows the formation of alliances in the midst of the game.)
*All participants are to wear the hunting equipment provided, be it a human or sub human participant.
*To determine the winner, results of the score will be calculated by the weight of the game.
*Game that have horns would be awarded extra points [However this is limited to game that can be used for ingredients].
*Duration of the event will start from noon of the day before the Harvest Festival till the sun set on the same day.
Oath: Participating Community, swear upon your glory and flag to respect the above stated content.
"[Draco Greif] Alliance" Seal
Scanning through the Game clearing conditions once more, they nodded to each other.
"Perytons of this size with the addition of their horns, there should be high points awarded for these."
"Hehe. Yep. Though half of the points would go to the members of [Six Scars], it should still be quite high."
"Nn. But my Gift is almost at its maximum use limit…… and it's almost time we went back."
The duo turned to look at the line of people transporting the Perytons they had caught behind them.
One of the members came over energetically. "Wow! So our regular customers were that strong! With this amount of game, the Harvest Festival will be fired up!"
[Six Scars]' Carol Gundark lightly waved her nicely bent tail.[19]
She too wore the hunting armor and helmet and the bow and arrows issued to the participants of this Game.
"Perytons aren't only ferocious, they like to gather in a flock. If it were up to us only, it wouldn't have gone so well. To be able to bring down these many game with much ease, our female regulars are definitely something!"
They smiled in response to her cheers. At this point, Asuka suddenly asked:
"I heard that these Perytons are edible?"
"Of course! The meat of Perytons is quite similar to venison and is very delicious! Grilled, pickled or even processed into jerkies, they would taste great! These Perytons will definitely be served for tonight's opening ceremony in various delicious cuisines!" Carol gesticulated happily but suddenly gazed towards the horizon where the sun was setting.
"Also…… During the battle with the huge dragon, half of the ingredients that we had originally prepared for the Harvest Festival were mostly destroyed or had turned bad. If we can't make use of all the game that all the various Communities caught or harvested to welcome everyone, it would be very disappointing. The results of this hunting event will surely lead to the success of the Harvest Festival……Hehe, I will let the guests have a taste of our very tasty dishes!"
Carol did a thumbs up, seemingly excited and happy.
Hearing Carol's words, Yō used her lips to bite her finger as she started to imagine the feast awaiting her arrival during the opening ceremony.
"Oh right…..If I remember correctly, tonight's opening ceremony is a buffet."
"Yep that's right, but Kasukabe-san, drooling is a little unsightly….."
Only then did Yō return to her senses and rub the trail from the corner of her mouth. An old fellow, sitting on the horse pull cart for transporting the Perytons, gave a wry smile as he watched them having fun. He's the Cat Elder, Garol Gundark. Garol shouted to them:
"Hey, the game has been loaded! Hop on!"
"Yes!" The trio answered in high spirits as they boarded the horse drawn cart.
However in the next moment--------the loud roars of beasts in their death throes came from a close distance within the forest.
"……Oh? Seems like someone caught a big one?"
Garol said heartily as he cracked the whip to hurry the horses.
Leaving the forest behind, they joined the trail of people down the road that led from the plateau to the game collection point. The horse driven cart jerked violently as it travelled on the uneven road that was seldom used and in disrepair. Even so, Asuka greatly enjoyed herself to the point of even laughing in joy for it was her first experience sitting on a horse cart.
"This kind of 'old gen' transport tool has it's own charm and feels interesting."[20]
"Nn. Want one of these for [No Name]?"
Seeing Yō's nod in agreement, Garol's eyes lit up with a sparkle.
"If you require one, you can find us [Six Scars] to negotiate the trade anytime! We will even provide a friendship price and other special offers! Even now, we are also providing rental services for 'Hippocamp' drawn carts!"
"Rea…Really? That sounds great too."
Noticing how quickly the conversation became one about trade, Asuka couldn't help but give a wry smile. However, the thought of riding a horse cart on the water surface, wasn't a bad idea. If the upcoming Gift Game "Rider of Hippocamp" is interesting enough, having everyone together to sightsee would be quite a plan too.
"…..Will Kuro Usagi enjoy it? What do you think, Kasukabe-san?"
"I think it's not a bad idea. Let's classify it under Plan V and record it down."
"Nn!" Meeting each other's eyes, they nodded.
Puzzled, Garol tilted his head.
"Did something happen to Kuro Usagi-san?
"Oh, actually------"
Before Asuka could finish her words, the whole cart was tossed from the ground following a large explosion sound.
The goods were also airborne before violently crashing back onto the cart, and they were tossed up again twice more.
The suddenness of the situation had caused Asuka and Garol to jump up and clutch the back of their heads in pain as they had knocked it on the cart when their heads jerked backwards.
"Ouch…..! What…. What were those tremors?!"
"Yep, What was it? It felt like some huge object dropping on the ground."
Yō, the only one who managed to be in a prepared stance for battle peeked outside from the slits in the cart. But before she could make a confirmation of her observation, the driver of the horse cart, Garol, had started cheering.
"Oh, Oh Oooh! That's really amazing! It seems like the champion of the hunting event will not going to be us!"
"------What?" Asuka and Yō looked at each other.
Unable to ignore those words, they jumped out of the cart and went to see with their own eyes.
The sight that met their eyes was a mountain of carcasses, thirty over Perytons and twelve other man-eating eudemons, lying in the middle of the plateau having been struck down by a single strike.
"….. So you guys also joined."
The voice of a calm and composed woman travelled to Asuka and Yō's ears.
Both of them looked towards the source of the voice that was from a vantage point. That silhouette outlined against the light belonged to the mask knight Faceless.
Asuka looked up at her with a face of displeasure.
"Those are my thoughts exactly, Masked Knight-sama. I had thought that you wouldn't participate in this kind of barbaric Games."
"Nn, I did think of that……but it is part of my job to play along."
Saying that, Faceless lightly sighed. From her look, it would seem that she wasn't really willing in this matter.
Her reaction caused Asuka to be taken aback. Ever since the first day they met, Asuka had witnessed many impressive skills executed by this person and felt the transcendental airs exuded from her. Never did she expect to see this side of Faceless
Asuka's eyes continued to measure up Faceless, causing her to tilt her head in puzzlement.
" ….. Is there a matter?"
" No…. nothing."
Asuka frantically denied and turned her gaze elsewhere. But a seed of curiosity had already taken root in her.
Under that pure white armor and icy cold metal mask------ what kind of face is she hiding?
Garol was the first to break the awkward atmosphere as he remarked regretfully:
"Oh my~ That's quite impressive! That amount of game is at least five times of ours?"
"……Five times?"
Faceless once again cocked her head in astonishment to look towards the horse cart that belonged to Asuka and the others. And following that gaze, she gave a soft sigh and a displeased expression after she judged the amount of game that was held within.
Her reaction would really infuriate those who saw it. Asuka stepped forward to retort.
"Hey, wait! Upon seeing the result of other team's hard work, that kind of reaction, isn't it a wee bit too impolite?"
"…. Excuse me if I offended you. I actually thought that you guys would have caught more game than this."
Asuka and Yō were at an utter loss of words.
Faceless took out a Gift Card that stored all the game in a flash and started sprinting towards the other side of the hill.
Before disappearing over the hill, she had turned to look back once more….. but she had only done so to give a tired sigh.
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