Day 2 of Ogre Hunting: High Ogre Subjugation
Melanie asked us to return to the base camp used for Ogre hunting.
However, when we arrived, there was no one there.
It seemed that, as Melanie reported, everyone had returned to the town.
Tents and other equipment were left behind, so they must have been in quite a hurry.
Not my concern, though.
Ogres are known to be active during the day, so it was decided that we would check the caves they use as nests at night.
I’m participating, but my role is mostly to keep watch for any Ogres trying to escape.
I don’t usually participate in combat.
Lately, I’ve been having fewer opportunities for combat, but as a merchant, that’s the right approach.
Even though I want to fight.
“The nest is undoubtedly that cave. There are plenty of footprints going in and out.”
“Do you have any idea of the total number of High Ogres?”
“It’s a bit tough since there are footprints of the normal ones too~”
“Understood. We’ll wait in the forest until late at night, and then we’ll launch a surprise attack when the Ogres are asleep.”
“What should I do?”
“Lady Lily, you will be on standby. If any Ogres on watch or escaping show up, you can defeat them. But we plan to take care of most of them without any escapes. It’s not a cave but a small crevice, so there shouldn’t be any leaks.”
“I understand. I’ll just keep quiet.”
This time, I have no role at all.
A bit disappointing.
We waited in the forest, observing the situation while waiting for nightfall, and the operation began.
Keuko and the others threw something like a smoke bomb into the crevice before entering.
According to Tomoa, it was a smoke bomb mixed with a sleeping agent, which is sometimes used to safely hunt monsters.
It’s reasonably priced, but it only works in closed spaces, and it affects us too, so it can’t be used without precautions.
Still, it’s a handy item.
About 30 minutes after tossing the smoke bomb into the crevice, everyone started entering.
At that point, I had nothing to do.
There were Talat’s threads around us, so we were well-prepared against any aerial attacks.
Well, it was quite boring.
“There’s nothing to do, and making goods would be too careless…”
Hmm, I really have nothing to do.
Everyone will be in the cave defeating the Ogres and collecting the loot until they’re done.
On the other hand, taking a nap alone is too risky.
I need something to do…
“Hey, hurry up!”
“Idiot, don’t shout.”
Huh?
I heard voices coming from beyond the forest.
I wonder who it is?
“We need to hurry; those Red-rankers are going to take all the good stuff.”
“I know. We should interrupt the battle and get a share.”
I confirmed the source of the voices, and about five adventurers were approaching.
From their conversation, it seemed like they intended to jump into the middle of the battle and grab some of the loot.
Hmm, what should I do?
“I can’t afford to have them interfere; maybe I should knock them out.”
I activated a weak lightning spell to knock out the adventurers.
They smelled a bit burnt, but there shouldn’t be any life-threatening injuries.
Now, where should I leave these guys?
For now, I’ll use Talat’s threads to tie them up to make it easier to move them.
“… Oh? Who are these individuals?”
While I was dealing with the adventurers, everyone from the Wildcat Claws had returned.
According to them, the cave wasn’t very large, and there were only about ten High Ogres living inside.
However, they found some new human bones and equipment that seemed to belong to adventurers, suggesting that some lost adventurers had become their prey.
It seemed that the adventurers themselves bear some responsibility for this, so we didn’t need to worry too much.
I mentioned that I had tied up these adventurers while they were dealing with the High Ogres in the cave and collecting loot.
“I see. It seems like they were aiming for the leftovers from our fight.”
“That seems to be the case based on what I overheard. What should we do them?”
“Leaving them here and having them get eaten by monsters won’t leave a good taste in my mouth, so let’s take them back to the base camp we were using. We can have them smell the sleeping potion, and they’ll remain asleep until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Understood, let’s do that.”
While ensuring that the adventurers didn’t wake up, we had Talat transport them.
I just made sure to wrap them more securely than usual, so they wouldn’t be dragged across the ground.
When we reached the base camp, we put them into the tents and removed the restraints, allowing them to smell the sleeping potion.
They should be safe here.
Since dawn was approaching, we decided to return to Vardmoi.
We could rest when we got back home.