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To come across one snake Magic Beast in a forest is to come across a flood of them.

“I sure wanna know who was it dat said dat!” Svemir complained.
“Really does make you wonder, doesn’t it? You can’t deny, though, that folks in the past said some wise things.”

Foldia said as he swiftly dispatched a snake Magic Beast that had unexpectedly materialized from the bushes. He then shook his sword, removing the blood from it.

“Well that was easy. I never thought I’d see a Letan Ega (Numbing Snake) here… At the rate we’re going, it wouldn’t be strange if we encountered even a Veno Ega (Poisonous Serpent).”

Foldia remarked as he examined the lifeless body. Unlike the Im Ega’s blue markings, this snake’s markings were distinctly yellow.

“This is normal. Snake Magic Beasts thrive best in forests like these. Given that their way of living is rather consistent among breeds, it is common for them to cluster in the same areas.”
“Aren’t you always keeping a watch on the area with Mana Scan? Why don’t you warn us?”
“Look here. This forest is teeming with countless more Magic Beasts that won’t touch us unless we touch them first, in addition to those that have hostile intentions toward us. I can’t tell which one is which in a split second.” Merc answered back to Foldia’s attack.
“So that’s how it is.”

Foldia calmly remarked as if he had never known of this before.

“Of course, I’ll warn you if there’s a stronger Magic Beast, but if we exclude their venom, the Im Ega and the Letan Ega aren’t any more dangerous than a Belbit.”
“I see. That explains why Magic Beasts attacked us constantly while Astard was on watch.”
“That’s right… Wait. You imbecile!”
“Ouch!”

As soon as Foldia said Astard’s name, Merc’s face turned pale, and she swiftly struck him in the side.

Merc had even used Mana Hardening because it was a reflexive strike, but Foldia was able to move back and minimize the impact. Ultimately, Foldia escaped unscathed.

Nevertheless, the quick incident startled both Svemir and Edin, who both turned to face them.

“Hey! Wat’s up?”
“A-A lover’s quarrel perhaps?”
“No, it’s nothing.”

After offering them a friendly smile in response, Merc turned to face Foldia, who was massaging his side and said in a soft voice.

“Don’t say Astard’s name so casually. They’ll see through our cover.”
“I’m sorry. That was my bad. But, did you really have to hit me?”
“T-That’s… Let’s say it was an old habit.”

Foldia frowned at Merc, not convinced by her explanation.

“You never change do you.”
“Look who’s talking. You’re as careless as always.”

Merc said in a low voice and turned to face Svemir and Edin, who were curiously glancing at her and Foldia.

They didn’t appear to have heard Astard’s name uttered just now. It didn’t matter if they hadn’t heard it or if they were just more interested in Merc’s actions after that. The fact that they chose not to pursue the situation any further was all that mattered.

“How bout we make camp here?”

Svemir proposed after the party had traveled for a bit longer and the sun had nearly set.

“I-I can still walk. And the sun’s still up. We can walk a bit more, can’t we?”

Edin, who appeared to be exhausted but in truth still had a lot of vitality in him, asked.

With a wry smile, Svemir looked at him.

“No can do. I can still see ya are still kicking, but we must get ready now or we won’t be able to make it later. In the forests, darkness spreads quickly.”
“I agree with old man Svemir. It’s hard to work when you can’t see. I know you’re worried about your family, but it’ll all be wasted if you get hurt.” Foldia said, backing Svemir’s proposal.
“O-Okay…”

Apparently accepting the proposal, Edin stated as he sat down. Most likely, as soon as he decided they would be camped here, his power left him.

It was now clear that he had overexerted himself.

“I-Is it really okay for us to sleep here? There might be other snake Magic Beasts around…”
“Snake Magic Beast such as the Im Ega and the Letan Ega are diurnal creatures. They won’t come after us at night unless it’s the middle of the summer.”
“R-Really?”

Following Merc’s explanation, Edin asked, his face now filled with hope.

However…

“That being said, there are still nocturnal Magic Beasts that we need to worry about.”
“Ah…”

In a split second, Edin’s eyes lost their hopeful glow.

“Don’t look glum, pal. I and missy here will keep watch during the night. We won’t let a single Magic Beast lay their claws on you.”
“Mr. Svemir is right. If push comes to shove, we’ll even have this meathead, right here, fight.”
“What did you say?”
“To begin with, only Mr. Svemir and I agreed to the request. You’re merely tagging along. Don’t you think you should keep watch for your own safety as well?”
“That’s…”

In reality, Foldia didn’t need to keep watch in a location of this level because he could normally react to an assault right away even if he was asleep.

The same was true for Merc. There was no way she could just lie down and sleep, though, as she had already accepted the request and was skilled at scanning. She, like Svemir, had to maintain her turn keeping watch.

In addition…

“Okay, I’ll keep watch as well. I’m still worried about the gazes we felt before entering the forest.” Foldia said.

The mysterious presence that the party had sensed before entering the woodland had abruptly vanished once they were inside.

Since Merc’s group had already entered the jungle, the suspect presumably felt that his presence was now pointless and withdrew it. Furthermore, because Merc’s group had disregarded his warning, the next move would probably be a direct attack.

The group was unsure of the identity of this mysterious adversary, but they did know one thing. That he was stronger than any of the forest’s Magic Beasts. That fact by itself prevented them from relaxing.