Manuke FPS

Kay: if you know any good romance novels, send them my way. I have the cheesey romance bug again.

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After hearing from Chancellor Zephanel about the identity of the pale-skinned humanoids ――the Empress Ant and its larvae, I immediately returned to the Labyrinth Island from Amar.

On the way, I went to the dock in Big Ship, the ship city, and tried to find out if the trio were still there, but they were nowhere to be seen. I tried to talk to the sailor who was working, but it seems that he saw a trio of vagrant people, not a trio of pale-skinned humanoids.

The vagrant was probably a juvenile, but it seems that the trio had also gone somewhere. I gave up on the search and moved back to the rocky mountain base I made on the labyrinth island, but as soon as I left the base, I felt a sense of incongruity.

“….who’s there?”

The sound sensor picked up the faint noise. Besides, I heard a high-pitched sound of hitting wood.

I went in the direction where I could hear the sound and went up to a hill with a good view while watching out for the larvae. There, I saw a sailing ship floating on the coastline. The course was the opposite direction to Labyrinth Island. Was it returning to Big Ship? ――In other words, someone was dropped off on the labyrinth island

In order not to irritate the overflowing monsters around the labyrinth island, it is basically forbidden to approach the nearby sea. Still, there are adventurers and explorers like me who land in with the goal of getting rich quickly. That sailing ship must have carried such a daredevil up here.

In the direction of the murmuring――as I approached the coastline, I found several men who appeared to be sailors a little further inside from the sandy beach.

Several small boats were washed up on the beach, and sailors were carrying out the wooden boxes that were piled up there.

All of the sailors had bodies that had been trained like strong warriors, and I could see them carrying many weapons with them. Apparently, the work of these sailors is not only to set up the campsite, but also to hunt on the labyrinth island.

The armed sailors were looking for something while tapping the beach with long sticks. Are they wary of pugroids? The hermit crab monster could be easily identified by the sound of digging on the sandy beach, so it was a pretty tasty monster as prey.

They got carried away and hunted in a wide area while advancing along the coastline, hunting almost all the pugroids that lived on the sandy beach near the landing point. Hiding in the bushes and watching the men’s movements, I took note that the leaders were three people wearing deep hoods.

Their number made me involuntarily think, are they the juveniles? But through the scope I used, I could see their faces under the hood.

“They are――not.”

Hidden under the deep hood was a face different from that of the Empress Ant’s larvae. In fact, the person is not even a beastkin, just a regular human who seemed to be younger than the trio I knew. I could only see the face of one of them, but I imagined the two would be different as well. The three men in the deep hood had the sailors build a simple house, a protective fence, and a small building that looks like a hut.

Are they planning to catch something on this labyrinth island?

If their goal is the same as mine, hunting magic stones, then they’ll be competitors…but I can’t just kick them out of the labyrinth island. If I could at least find out their fighting strength and range of action, I would avoid them and work hard on my hunt, as I move to confirm the location of the Empress Ant――.

If possible, I don’t want others to know that I’m here. It should be the same on the other side. If they were found landing on the labyrinth island, they will be punished by the lord of Big Ship. Even if I don’t feel like it, there is a possibility that it will develop into a silence due to fear of being discovered.

By the way, should I change my appearance to Jonah by avatar customization? No, if they find me then things will devolve into a battle. I should keep myself from being found instead after all ――what is that?

The sailors and the hoods were carrying the last large cargo while keeping a close watch on their surroundings. But it’s not a crate or a packing bag—it’s an egg. Its size is about two meters. The color is a clear light blue like ice… yes, it’s translucent. A white object was floating in the center of the egg, and a glistening blue liquid resembling capillaries was circulating around it.

The translucent egg was carefully transported and placed inside the newly built fence that looked like a breeding hut.

Are those men going to hatch that egg here?

For half a day after I first discovered them, I continued to monitor the men’s movements. I’m also curious about the Empress Ant, but it’s hard to take action until I can clearly see the purpose of these men. Moreover――.

A hooded man came out from a simple log house. The man was holding a bag that looked like a tool bag and walked towards the transparent egg. And then――they put their hand in the bag, took out a stone that looked like a magic stone, and threw it into the egg.

It’s like feeding. The thrown magic stone slowly sinks into the egg and dissolves while bubbling as it is digested inside. Each time, the egg flickered in rich colors and shone as if it were happy.

The reason why I was watching for half a day was that I was worried about the egg’s reaction. The hooded man comes out of the log house every hour and throws magic stones into the eggs. It was clear that he was nurturing it up.

Armed sailors also form parties and set out from camps surrounded by protective fences to hunt monsters in the surrounding. I tried to track them down, but even if they hunted monsters, they only collected magic stones and ignored the materials.

An ordinary adventurer or explorer would not ignore those materials as they can sell for good money. I think it’s wasteful that they ignore the materials, but it’s obvious that their goal was purely collecting magic stones.

When the chasing party returned to the campsite, I eavesdropped on the voices of the other sailors discussing the results of the search――

“How was it?”

“There are no monsters at all. It’s useless if you don’t go deeper.”

“……that’s strange. There aren’t any Pugroiders, so maybe there are other adventurers on the island, or maybe there’s a superior species lurking nearby.”

“It might be quicker to go directly to the crater… I’ll tell you. You guys should re-explore the surroundings.”

They must be planning to redo the search around the campsite――-if they continue like this, they’ll find me, so I slowly retreated and left the campsite.

While moving through the shrub forest, I organized what I saw and heard at the beach campsite. Those sailors were hired by the three Hoods. The purpose is to hunt magic stones on the labyrinth island, and it is to feed the mysterious egg they brought in――so far it’s easy to read.

Then what is the purpose of the three hoods? What are they going to do with the egg once it hatches?

I don’t know if that egg belonged to a monster or a natural animal, but I guess they’re treating it like pets or something――

When I thought about it, an idea ran through my mind――

An ordinary man――unknown egg――pet――raising――the “fellow system”. No, but why are they here?

The true identity of the hooded trio, one of whom is probably the Eighth Prince of the Drak Royal family, Zagir? The remaining two are either guards or direct retainers. I don’t know what kind of egg that egg is, but if you plan to enslave the baby that was born and make it a pet, it’s a reason to raise it.

The Kingdom of Drak chose the path of becoming a vassal state of the Viceburn Empire, and in response to that Imperial Order, the Royal bloodline pedigree skill holders went south. The information was brought in by the 17th Princess Cortine, who ran away from the Drak Royal family. It was thought that the target was the Kingdom of Kurtmerga. But turns out, they crossed the sea and landed on a labyrinth island.

However, this is just my guess. If there’s any way to be sure――it’s the real face.

It seems that Prince Zagir and Princess Cortine, Coty, look alike. I got a glimpse of the true face of one of the three, but he was a middle-aged man who was completely different from Coty. I need to check the faces of the remaining two, and if they look like Coty, that man must be Prince Zagir.

I stopped and leaned my back on one of the shrubs to think about my next move. The movement of the Drak Royal family is the movement of the Viceburn empire. The “Rafflesia”, which caused a rebellion in the Kingdom of Kurtmerga, was also connected to the Empire. The rebellion was ousted, but the ringleaders Kilik and Felix are still out there.

The territorial expansion of the Viceburn Empire will not stop. The Imperial decree to the Drak Royal family may not have been a direct attack on the Kingdom of Kurtmerga, but they may have been ordered to gain power for further use.

Then――a lot of adventurers and general guild staff are moving around Amar in the Kingdom of Kurtmerga. I asked about the progress before Ashley went to work at the command post, but they didn’t even find Prince Zagir. Is it necessary to confirm whether the movement is a waste of effort, even in the sense of deciding it?

Empress Ant, the larvae, and a large number of armed sailors under Drak Royal family employment. Even though I came to the labyrinth island to focus on magic stone hunting. I let out a sigh at the appearance of obstacles one after another. I looked at the map floating in my field of vision, confirmed the sailor’s party, and returned to the sandy beach campsite.