I left the cave with Lily in tow as the thick scent of trees and earth tickled my nose. I was accustomed to this smell after spending a month in the forest, but I had forgotten about it over the last few days. That’s because my nose was blocked up by congealed blood and wasn’t working after getting beaten up.
We began by searching the immediate area. The cave I found was a tiny hole on the side of a small hill. The surrounding area was lush with greenery, and the cave itself afforded a poor view of its surroundings. That also meant it was difficult to find. It was probably fine to use that cave as our base for the time being.
“...Found one.”
After an hour of investigating the area, we happened across a monster. A life-sized puppet made of wood was wandering around the area. We called this monster a magical puppet. It was the most common monster within the forest.
Much like Lily, magical puppets possessed a special ability of their own. It could pretty much be summed up as the ability to manufacture magical goods. The puppets themselves were armed with wooden weapons and armor, and these were enhanced using magic. They were astonishingly sturdier than steel.
These armaments were actually the main equipment used by the cheaters of the exploration team. The acquisition of weapons and armor was a primary concern for the team when exploring the forest and fighting monsters. They couldn’t go on fighting barehanded forever.
If this were a video game, any old monster would likely have a chance of dropping a weapon. Unfortunately, this was reality, and it wasn’t that convenient. Magical puppets were an exception, however. If defeated carefully, it was possible to take the weapons and armor they were using. As a result, the magical puppets in the area around the Colony were hunted to extinction in a frenzy to acquire equipment. The one before me was likely a survivor of said hunts.
“It’s looking good.” I slapped Lily’s body as she sat next to me. “Let’s get us a weapon.”
The magical puppet was equipped with a spear and buckler. Setting aside whether Lily was capable of using such a weapon, it wouldn’t hurt to have such tools available to us. The only thing left to do was to see whether or not I could successfully tame it.
For now, I made preparations based on the assumption that this would become a fight. We went around in the direction the magical puppet was going to cut it off. It was good fortune we found it before it noticed us. This way we could check whether I could tame it without having to suffer a surprise attack.
It might have been better for us to scrupulously plan our every move under the assumption that a battle would break out. However, I possessed no such knowledge. Besides, be it by good or bad fortune, I didn’t possess many tricks in my hand to play. Thus, I didn’t have the leisure to formulate any manner of complex plan. The only thing I could do was resolve myself.
I gritted my teeth, suppressed my fear, and started the operation.
“Hey! You there! Look over here!”
I jumped out of my hiding spot and got its attention by shouting at it. The magical puppet turned toward me.
“—!”
And in an instant I knew this wasn’t going to work. My senses were telling me that this one wasn’t going to obey me. In other words, this was our enemy.
The magical puppet fiercely dashed toward me.
“...Tch.”
This was a tough situation. I was assaulted by fear toward an enemy I could never defeat. I grit my teeth and pushed down my dread. The strength which gave me the ability to do so was surely what people called trust.
“Do it! Lily!”
The charging magical puppet was struck by a water bullet fired from the side. Splinters of wood flew through the air along with one of its arms.
Lily didn’t move particularly fast for a monster, but it wasn’t all that difficult for her to assault an enemy who had been struck by a surprise attack. Her gelatinous mass crushed down on the magical puppet, and its wooden body began creaking.
“Alright! We got it!” I cheered joyfully.
However, it wasn’t going to go that smoothly. The magical puppet didn’t drop its spear when it was struck, and it used it to stab Lily’s body.
“Gaah?!”
The spear pierced through Lily with a splash as liquid came flying out. The pain I could sense through my mental path with her felt like an unpleasant scratching on my consciousness.
“Lily!”
A second and third time. The magical puppet continued to gouge its spear into Lily’s body. She was apparently unable to use magic while holding down her enemy and continued to eat more strikes. Each time the spear pierced her, liquid shot out and wet the ground.
Lily really wasn’t a monster suited for battle. Her feelers wrapped around the puppet’s arm to try and stop its attacks, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the spearpoint from repeatedly puncturing her body.
Lily’s digestive fluids were eating away at the magical puppet’s body. With such a large form crushing down on it, the cracks which ran down its body from the initial attack were spreading. However, it was possible that Lily wouldn’t be able to hold out until it died. I couldn’t just watch from the sidelines.
“You bastard! Just die already!”
I roared at the puppet and rushed toward the grappling monsters. Lily was my only means of combat—and my last ray of hope. I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I lost her here. But that wasn’t all. The logical part of me saw her as such and decided to take action, but I also possessed a pure fear of losing her.