Chapter 12. Sanpik
by Foreigner Β· 2026-08-26
The five of them went out.
It was Bedrun, Greon, Hereid, Gihun, and Erarion.
Bedrun prepared the weapons and horses.
Gihun didn't ride a horse.
Bedrun: "Why?"
Bedrun asked.
Aron: "Because it's slower if I ride."
Bedrun: "......"
Aron: "I'm faster."
Bedrun watched him for a long time.
Bedrun: "Ride."
Aron: Yes.
A sanpik was a type of wild boar, he said.
Aron's memory brought up an entry.
'Sanpik. Southwestern foothills of Mount Dedun. Thick hide and fast feet. Charges head-on when threatened.'
'Edible.'
Aron: "Oh."
Gihun said.
Hereid: "What's 'oh'?"
Hereid asked.
Aron: "Nothing."
Gihun was a little glad that Aron's memory had worked properly for once in a long time.
They didn't see a single one on the first day.
Bedrun: "That's strange."
Bedrun said.
Bedrun: "They're definitely around here."
Erarion: Commander! I think, you see, with all the orcs roaming around lately, the mountain pigs might have all gone west. Because animals are very sensitive to loud noises, and mountain pigs, in particular, have highly developed hearing, it even says so in my master's book, and that book is...
Gihun raised his hand.
Aron: "Erarion."
Erarion: Yes!
Aron: "Be quiet."
Erarion: I'm quiet, though?
The four of them looked at him.
Erarion: ......Am I not?
That evening, Bedrun brought out some alcohol.
Bedrun: "Aron."
Aron: "Yes."
Bedrun: "What if we don't catch any tomorrow either?"
Aron: "What does my lord say?"
Bedrun: "He doesn't say anything."
Bedrun tilted his glass.
Bedrun: That's what's most terrifying.
Gihun laughed.
Greon: "Would the young lord like a drink?"
Greon asked.
Aron: I'm sixteen.
Greon: "......"
Greon took his glass back.
Greon: "I didn't know that."
Hereid: "He's sixteen and he caught an orc lord."
Hereid said.
Greon: What does that have to do with alcohol?
Hereid: Oh, nothing.
Bedrun: "Hereid."
Bedrun said.
Bedrun: You drink it.
That night, Gihun couldn't sleep.
The four of them were sleeping in front of the fire.
Gihun heard the sound.
It was the sound of four people breathing.
'.......'
He hadn't heard that sound for over 70 days.
Gihun liked it.
Liking it was a little scary.
μλ‘ : On the morning of the second day, Gihun stopped walking.
Aron: It's over there.
Bedrun looked in that direction.
It was a forest.
Bedrun: Where.
Aron: Where?
Aron: There's something behind that tree.
Bedrun: Which tree?
Gihun pointed with his finger.
It was about a hundred meters away.
Bedrun: ......Aron.
Aron: Yes.
Bedrun: Can you see that over there?
Aron: I can't see it.
Bedrun: Then what is it?
Aron: I can hear it.
Bedrun didn't answer that.
And he went in that direction.
There was a Sanpik.
That day went well.
They caught three in the morning. Bedrun drove them, Greon tripped them with his halberd, and Hereid slit their throats.
The three of them worked well together.
They had been together for ten years, so it was to be expected.
Gihun initially just watched.
Gihun initially only watched.
Hereid: my lord, aren't you going to do it?
Hereid asked.
Aron: What?
Hereid: Hunting.
Aron: I'm not very good at herding.
Hereid: Then what are you good at?
Gihun thought for a moment.
Aron: Hitting things.
Hereid: ......
When the fourth Sanpik appeared, Gihun showed them.
There was no herding, no traps.
Gihun walked over and hit it once.
The Sanpik fell sideways.
Greon: ......
Aron: Is this okay?
Greon put down his halberd.
Greon: I don't know why we came.
There was a problem in the afternoon.
Three came out at once.
One of them was large.
It was about twice as big as the previous four, and had white fur mixed in on its shoulders.
'.......'
Aron's memory brought something forth.
'The leader of the pack has white fur.'
'If it feels threatened, it attacks the weakest first.'
Gihun turned his head.
Erarion was standing next to a tree.
He was alone.
Aron: Erarion!
The leader was already running.
Erarion froze on the spot.
He didn't freeze, he covered his head and prostrated himself on the ground.
It was fast.
Only prostrating himself was fast.
Greon went first.
He laid his halberd flat and pushed its flank.
Its direction was slightly off.
Only slightly.
The sanpik twisted its body and hit Greon.
The halberd flew from his hand.
Greon rolled backward.
The sanpik turned towards him again.
A person lying on the ground is small.
Sanpiks attack the small ones first.
Gihun was twenty meters away at that time.
Bedrun thought about that twenty meters many times later.
He had never seen a person cover twenty meters like that.
Gihun got close to the sanpik.
He got close and lowered his body.
He planted his feet and twisted his waist.
His fist shot out.
It was its temple.
There was a sound.
It wasn't the sound of bones breaking.
It was a duller sound.
The sanpik flew sideways.
It flew and hit a tree.
The tree shook.
The forest became quiet.
Gihun dusted off his hands.
As he did, he looked at his fist.
'.......'
It didn't hurt.
Gihun found that a bit strange.
Greon sat up.
Greon: my lord.
Greon: Are you alright?
Aron: ......Yes.
Greon picked up the Hellbird.
As he picked it up, he said,
Greon: Look at that.
Erarion was still lying face down.
He was covering his head.
Aron: Erarion.
Erarion: ......
Aron: It's over.
Erarion: ......Really?
Aron: Yes.
Erarion: Are you sure?
Aron: Yes.
Erarion slowly lifted his head.
And looked at the Sanpik under the tree.
Erarion: ......What is that?
Aron: That thing from earlier.
Erarion: That?
Aron: Yes.
Erarion stood up.
He stood up and brushed off his clothes.
As he brushed, he was already speaking.
Erarion: No, I mean, when I first saw it, I thought it was a bit strange, right? So I lowered my stance, and that's because such animals perceive things from a high vantage point first.
Hereid: Erarion.
Hereid: Yes!
Erarion: Yes!
ν€λ μ΄λ: Hereid said.
Hereid: I didn't cry.
Erarion: I didn't cry.
Erarion: I didn't cry!
μλΌλ¦¬μ¨: They caught ten by that evening.
Bedrun: Ten.
λ² λλ°: Bedrun counted them and then stood for a moment.
Bedrun: It's ten.
Aron: Is that a lot?
μλ‘ : Gihun asked.
Aron: It's one or two every two days.
Bedrun: One or two every two days.
Aron: Usually.
Bedrun: Usually.
At night, they lit a fire and roasted one.
Hereid drank alcohol.
He boasted while drinking.
Hereid: Do you know how many I caught today?
Aron: How many did you catch?
Hereid: One.
Aron: ......
Hereid: But that one was the biggest.
Bedrun: The biggest one is under that tree over there.
Bedrun said.
Hereid: A person didn't catch that one.
Hereid said.
The four of them laughed.
Gihun laughed too.
After laughing, Gihun realized that he had laughed.
'.......'
74 days had passed.
On the first day, he had vomited by the river, thrown fruit, and almost wet himself at the sight of a wolf.
Now he was sitting by a fire.
There were four people beside him.
One of them called him by name.
Gihun stopped that thought.
Because if he thought too long, the next thought would come.
The next thought was this.
These people will stay here.
And he would leave.
Bedrun: Aron.
Bedrun called.
Aron: Yes.
Bedrun: What are you thinking about?
Aron: ......Meat.
Bedrun: Eat.
Gihun received the meat.
The next morning, Bedrun saw ten of them.
Bedrun: Two would be enough for the castle.
Aron: What about the rest?
Bedrun looked west.
Bedrun: There are four villages.
Bedrun: They were all raided by orcs.