Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 45
“This is…”
Kyle muttered in disbelief at what he’d found. A huge hole had been punched through the wooden wall of the storeroom.
“Yes, that’s right. This is the trace left by the rats coming and going.”
Tallin replied with an awkward smile.
When you hear that rats have been getting in, you might expect a hole just a bit bigger than a fist, but what we were looking at now was on a whole different level.
It was a passage large enough for a grown man to walk through with ease. Just how big were these rats to leave a hole like this?
“You’re saying rats made this hole?”
Even Elonen muttered in disbelief, as if it was his first time seeing anything like it.
“If the rats are that big, you should have told us right away.”
Kyle grumbled as he examined the wall closely.
“They’re not ordinary rats. They’re monsters. Looks like they carried off entire sacks at a time.”
Amid all this, the cool-headed Kakaros inspected the scattered grains and made his guess.
“That’s correct. Every time these things attack, they pack up the food like they’re shopping at a market and carry it away. I’ve tried all sorts of things to stop them, but they even attack people…”
It was clear that something unusual was going on. Normally, except for the highest-ranked monsters, most monsters were thought to be mindless and aggressive.
But these ones were definitely acting with some sort of intent.
That left two possibilities: either these low-level monsters were displaying collective intelligence like ants or bees, or there was someone commanding them.
Personally, I leaned toward the latter. If there was already someone creating monsters, it was likely there’d be someone commanding them, too.
It even crossed my mind that maybe both situations were connected.
“So what do you think the rats did after shopping for food here? Did they make themselves dinner or something? Haha…”
Elonen attempted an awkward joke to lighten the tense mood, but nobody laughed, making the atmosphere even colder.
…That just made me feel more embarrassed.
“Kakaros can track them.”
Kakaros, who had been examining the storeroom more diligently than anyone, spoke up. Tallin’s face brightened at his words.
“Really?”
“But I don’t know what we’ll find if we follow them.”
If it was just a few rat monsters, that would be fortunate, but we had to be ready for other scenarios as well.
“Then shall we follow and wipe out their lair?”
Elonen spoke with the air of a sidekick buttering up to the boss, looking at Kyle.
“We have to. Otherwise, this well-stocked storeroom might be empty before long.”
“Please, I beg you! This storeroom holds enough food for the whole village for a year. If this keeps up, we won’t even have gruel to eat come winter.”
Tallin cried, bowing deeply at Kyle’s answer, as if he’d been waiting for it.
Honestly, Kyle would have helped even without such desperate pleas. He thought it was a hero’s duty.
Still, since they needed to search for the Black Flame Dragon, I wondered if he might change his mind, but Kyle nodded firmly.
“Understood. We’ll help you. But we’re doing this strictly for the sake of the villagers.”
Only then did the anxiety on Tallin’s face finally melt away.
“Yes, of course! If you need anything, I’ll provide whatever you require—just say the word.”
“There’s nothing in particular we need. But is there anything else you can tell us? Anything at all about monsters would help.”
Just in case there was more information, Kyle asked, but Tallin shook his head.
“What I’ve told you just now is everything.”
For some reason, the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch. It felt like he might be hiding something. But Kyle didn’t press.
“For now, let’s go find Gerard. We’ll need his help.”
Kyle turned and signaled to Kakaros. Kakaros, who had been examining the storeroom so intently, let out a deep sigh.
“Understood. Kakaros will find him.”
Earlier, when the party was called to the lord, Gerard had quietly slipped away.
Everyone’s used to him acting independently, but I couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to in the village.
