The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Volume 6

1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-7183-3142-6
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects

With the flame dragon defeated, peace returns to Iluk. Peace, however, doesn't mean rest and relaxation, and Dias quickly finds his hands full and his schedule packed. First there's the falconkin Sahhi, a hunter who joins the village in the hopes of making a name for himself for the pride of his hometown. Then there's Hubert, who has discovered that the area south of Baarbadal is uninhabited; he has his sights firmly set on acquiring it and expanding the domain's borders! However, they're about to find out that sometimes a place is abandoned for a reason, and that something ancient still resides to the south...

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fuurou

Weitere Mitwirkende

Kinta

Lim, Hengtee

Leseproben

Treading Out Across a Landscape of Smooth White Snow—Senai and Ayhan

“Falconry in these parts is all about foxes. Their meat is pretty average, but the Peijins buy pelts at a high price. If you tan and wash them so they’re in good shape, you’ll get a fine price for them come spring.”

A few days had passed since Sahhi had become a resident of Iluk Village. There wasn’t a hint of snow in the clear blue sky, which made for perfect hunting weather. Senai and Ayhan had taken Sahhi out on their first hunting expedition.

“Just judging by Sahhi’s size, you could even hunt wolves. Like foxes, their meat isn’t all that tasty, but again the pelts sell well, so they’re not a bad catch. If it’s tastier meat you’re after, you’ll want to be on the lookout for rabbits and birds. Deer too, but you’ll want to take them down as a team; you two with your bows and Sahhi or the dogkin on support.”

The one doing all the talking—and it wasn’t clear if he’d even taken a second breath from the moment they set out—was Uncle Zorg, who’d come flying to the village that morning to tell the twins all about the perfect hunting weather.

As far as Zorg was concerned, Senai and Ayhan were essentially Alna’s adopted children. The onikin didn’t consider bloodlines a matter of huge importance, and so Zorg considered the twins part of his own family. The twins, too, saw Zorg as a fine uncle and teacher of the hunt, and they nodded along happily as he prattled off his explanations, enraptured by every word.

The twins had seen the incredibly strict way in which Alna treated her brother, but they had also seen the other side of her—the way she had crafted him a bow and arrows, the way she cooked for him, and how she prepared medicinal tea to ease his exhaustion. Through all of this, the twins understood that Alna loved him...in her own way. Their minds were still those of children, and while they sensed a wall between the two siblings, they sensed it was not the kind of wall that could destroy their relationship entirely. This was why they smiled so brightly and why Zorg, when faced with these smiles, grew even more spirited.

The twins were accompanied by a number of dogkin bodyguards and, as always, Aymer, who rode aboard Senai’s winter hat. The girls held between them a long pole, at the top of which sat the star of today’s show. The pole had been readied at Sahhi’s request, when he’d explained that the higher up he sat, the more easily he could find prey. In order to ensure the twins were not left with too heavy a load to bear, the falconkin sat gingerly, his magical energy helping to keep his body light.

In this way, Sahhi scanned the snowy plains with a piercing, focused glare...and at the same time, he remained wary of Zorg, who was leading the group onwards. It was he, after all, who had been so insistent on going hunting together.

The flame dragon materials had all been gathered, and so really Zorg no longer had any business in Iluk. In fact, he should have been busy with the task of dividing those materials between his people, and yet here he was. For Sahhi, Zorg was someone to keep tabs on.

And while Zorg had given up on convincing Sahhi to join the onikin tribe, he nonetheless saw an opportunity to ascertain the location of the falconkin’s nests. Sahhi wasn’t going to say a word and remained steadfastly cautious.

Of course, Zorg didn’t want to draw the ire of his sister and his two nieces, and so he had been prudent, but he simply couldn’t rid himself of the thought of how it would be to have a falcon like Sahhi and how much more he could earn over the winter with such a falcon by his side.

So for much of the expedition, a unique and somewhat nervous tension existed between the onikin and the falconkin: Zorg continued his explanation to the twins while occasionally glancing in Sahhi’s direction, and Sahhi made it obvious that he was not about to let his guard down.

Time passed, and just as Zorg’s excited chatter finally calmed, Sahhi’s eyes picked up the tiniest of movements, a near imperceptible change in the landscape around them. The falconkin watched closely, and when he was sure that what he had in sight were animal tracks, he spoke.

“Stop for a moment. I see tracks. Now, let me explain what to be aware of when hunting with a falconkin. As Zorg has already explained, the best days are like today, when the skies are clear and the air is warm. This makes it easier to fly, and the slight melting of the snow means it is more likely our prey will leave tracks that we can follow. As we were leaving, Dias said that it is hard to hunt when you are surrounded in white, but in fact the opposite is true. As for why, if you look there, you will see.”

Sahhi then thrust a wing out, pointing to a specific location. The twins squinted and stared while the dogkin and Aymer tilted their heads curiously.

“We see it!” cheered the girls.

“As expected, those who hunt with a bow boast good eyesight. Zorg has been aware of them for some time, but you two were quick to pick them up too. Aymer and the dogkin can’t see them yet, but what we’re looking at are the tracks of our prey. And by the looks of them...I’d wager it’s a fox. All that is left now is to chase it and to hunt. Dias is...something of...an absent-minded sort, and it’s likely he’d never have noticed such tracks.”

Sahhi then spread his wings and, with a shake, had himself ready to fly at a moment’s notice. He directed the twins to carefully follow the tracks they’d spotted, and all the while he stared onwards to where those tracks led.

“Hunting is easiest when you can climb to a higher vantage point after spotting your prey, but in plains as flat as these such options are nonexistent. And that is where I come in. All you two have to do is hold my perch tight, then stay silent so as not to disturb my work. Please do not bark or run wild, my dogkin friends; we falconkin launch our attacks in an instant, from the depths of silence, as that is our way. Now come. We shall soon spot our prey.”

There was a glimmer in Sahhi’s eyes as he shut his beak and settled into a position from which he could launch whenever he wanted. A few moments later, a large fox revealed itself, digging through the snow. At Zorg’s signal everybody fell silent and crouched down low.

“It’s so far away,” whispered Senai.

“We’d never hit it with our bows from here,” added Ayhan.

Though there was definitely an animal out there, it was so distant that only the twins and Zorg were able to make out the general shape of it. However, none were able to make out from the blurry shape that it was a fox, and when they stated as much, Sahhi chuckled from atop his perch.

“Once a falconkin can make out the form of an animal, from whatever distance, there is nothing it cannot hunt. All you have to do is hold my perch up high and remain calm.”

With that, Sahhi spread his wings, and with a powerful flap, combined with his magical energy, he drifted up into the air. He flapped his wings again until he reached a point at which he could simply stretch his wings and glide. From here he drifted silently towards his prey.

“Did he get spotted?!” whispered Senai.

“Will the fox flee?!” whispered Ayhan.

As Sahhi closed in, the fox digging through the snow became aware of the falconkin’s presence. Its hair stood on end and its tail shot upright, and it let out a bark of intimidation that reached even the twins. But none of this stopped Sahhi, who was on a direct course straight for his target. The fox spun, ready for battle...

...but the decisive blow took only an instant.

Sahhi’s talons gripped the fox by its neck and torso, and with a smooth, swift jerk he snapped the animal’s neck, so cleanly that the fox felt not even an instant of suffering. The fox didn’t cry or struggle, simply collapsing in the snow as if all the energy had simply dissipated from its body. Sahhi landed by the animal’s side and deftly folded his wings over his chest—a show of respect for the fox, which had bravely stood ready to fight, even in its last moments.

Zorg, the twins, and the dogkin came running soon after, and each of them clasped their hands together or put their hands to their chest like Sahhi to offer up their own prayers. When they were done, Zorg quickly whipped his knife from his satchel and set about dressing the animal. Sahhi returned to the top of his perch and looked down as the twins helped Zorg with his work.

“Well, it seems you have no problems with dressing hunted animals,” he muttered. “Although I should have realized that from the moment you left with me on this expedition of ours...”

His words were for nobody in particular, but the twins still picked up his message with their long, pointed ears, and they looked up at him.

“We’re fine with it. And besides, it’s important,” said Senai. “It’s the circle of life.”

“We treat what we hunt with respect, waste nothing, and show our gratitude,” added Ayhan.

Sahhi responded to the girls’ words with silence. Meanwhile, Zorg continued to work his knife through the animal as he spoke up.

“Looks like Alna has taught you two well,” he said. “You’re good girls, the both of you. This fox hunted mice out here and made them part of its own flesh and blood. In turn, we hunted this fox, and by eating...