Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? Chapter 33

At Eden’s words, Asmun’s brows furrowed. He had been with her the whole time—what was she talking about?

“…Right now?”

“Yes.”

Asmun’s gaze darkened.

“I recall you saying that divine revelations come in dreams.”

“Yes, I thought so too, but just now—flash! Something passed through my mind. It’s definitely a revelation.”

“…….”

“You must take the lead in exterminating monsters immediately.”

At Eden’s firm voice, Asmun raised an eyebrow. She was too engrossed in her act to notice.

“You should probably slay… about thirty of them.”

“…….”

“Understood?”

Eden, hopeful, urged him with shining eyes, but Asmun’s expression remained unchanged.

“Priestess.”

“Yes?”

“Killing a few monsters in a place like this will not increase public favor toward me.”

A smirk, almost mocking, formed on Asmun’s lips. His face looked as if he believed Eden had made up this revelation to boost his reputation. Of course, she had.

“I’ll say it again—my duty is to guard you.”

“…….”

“So.”

Asmun’s red eyes gazed at Eden’s disappointed face.

“I will not leave your side for even a moment.”

The slight curve at the corner of his lips made it clear he wasn’t going to give in easily.

Damn it.

Eden knew now that such petty tricks wouldn’t work on Asmun anymore. She pursed her lips, staring at his irritatingly composed face.

That stubborn mule.

“Fine, then.”

Eden turned abruptly, pretending to give up on persuading him. She could feel Asmun following closely behind her.

“Priestess.”

As Eden and Asmun approached, Karon quickly stepped forward with a grave expression.

“From now on, I will be your escort.”

“What? Oh, no, I can’t be a burden.”

“A burden? As the Chancellor said, ensuring your safe return to the capital is our top priority. We’ll focus on hunting down the monster appearing in the west. Once it’s dealt with, we should return to the capital immediately.”

Oh no. My actions are changing their plans. Eden felt a little guilty. It seemed that just by being part of this expedition, she was already a nuisance.

‘What should I do? I might have to be an even bigger nuisance now.’

Suppressing her true thoughts, Eden simply nodded.

The reassembled hunting party set off once again. This time, the Holy Knights took the lead in handling monsters, with Karon guarding Eden’s left. Asmun was on her right, and behind them, Asmun’s knights followed in formation.

With such a luxurious escort, Eden almost felt like an emperor. Not that she disliked it, but it did make things more difficult for what she had in mind.

Contemplating how to maneuver around this obstacle, Eden turned to Karon.

“But how do we identify the monster we’re looking for?”

The number of monsters they had encountered so far already exceeded ten different kinds. At her question, Karon looked at her and answered kindly.

“I know what it looks like. When it appears, you’ll recognize it immediately.”

“What does it look like? I’d like to mentally prepare myself.”

Karon gazed into the air, as if recalling its appearance.

“Hmm. How should I put this… It’s very…”

A small chuckle escaped Karon before he turned back to her. His golden eyes glowed with amusement.

“…cute.”

His gentle voice was overly affectionate. Even though Eden knew the words weren’t meant for her, her ears flushed red.

This should be illegal—saying things like that with that kind of face.

“…….”

Standing beside them, Asmun stared icily at Karon with an expressionless face.

“Doesn’t His Highness seem to be in a foul mood?”

Ronpel, Asmun’s knight, had been keeping a close watch on his master’s mood. The prince had suddenly insisted on joining the western expedition, which was suspicious enough, but now his demeanor seemed unusually tense.

Could it be that he doesn’t like the novice priestess?

“Can a monster really be… cute?”

“You’ll understand when you see it, Priestess. It’s not particularly dangerous. It just occasionally tricks hunters or causes trouble when it wanders into villages. The issue is that we haven’t found a way to capture it.”

Still, a cute monster? Having only encountered grotesque creatures so far, Eden found it hard to believe.

What could it possibly look like to be considered cute? Maybe like a sparrow?

As she speculated about the appearance of this so-called cute monster, something in her peripheral vision caught her attention, making her frown.

When had that gotten there?

A small bird-like creature was hovering nearby, fluttering along as if following her.

“Is it as cute as that?”

Eden smiled as she pointed at the tiny, sparrow-rabbit hybrid.

Both Asmun and Karon turned their heads at the same time.

“No, a monster wouldn’t be as cute as—”

Just then.

Ding!

A sudden system notification echoed, and Eden’s face froze. An information window displaying details about a monster had appeared—right above the tiny bird.

But before she could read it, the creature flitted straight toward her.

“Kyuu!”

Then, the tiny creature opened its minuscule beak as wide as it could—

“Kyuaaah!”

—and sprayed a strange liquid directly at Eden’s face.

“Argh!”

She instinctively raised her arm to shield herself, but some of the liquid still splashed onto her skin. The sudden attack made her stumble, and at the same time, both Asmun and Karon drew their swords.

“Priestess!”

Karon shouted as the creature buzzed around mockingly, flitting just above Eden’s head. Asmun lunged forward, swinging his blade, but the nimble monster easily dodged the strike.

Eden hurriedly wiped the sticky liquid from her face. It reeked.

“Damn it….”

A baby sparrow…?

Her fury ignited as she glared at the creature circling above her.

[[@<Chupi>@Bold]

• Length: 0.3 feet / Weight: 5 pounds
• Type: Avian / Low-tier
• Description: A bird-type monster that lowers its target’s guard with its adorable appearance before attacking with a water projectile. The liquid it sprays contains toxins that cause skin blisters or peeling upon contact.

Despite its tiny size, a Chupi can lift up to 100 pounds using just its claws.]

Before Eden could even finish reading the information, another Chupi darted in from a distance and snatched the bag strapped to Karon’s horse in an instant.

“……!”

And that was only the beginning.

Dozens of Chupis suddenly emerged from the forest, swooping down and snatching the hunting party’s belongings without mercy. They were so fast and agile that even magical attacks were useless against them.

“Aaagh!”

“You bastards, drop that!”

“Ugh! I can’t see anything!”

The forest descended into absolute chaos. Eden frantically glanced back at the information screen.

Though Chupis were swarming everywhere, Asmun remained glued to her side, ensuring that none of them could get close.

Thanks to that, she had just enough time to finish reading.

[Chupi Swarm Behavior]

• When a single Chupi appears and causes disorder, a hidden flock will emerge to steal travelers’ belongings or, in some cases, abduct children to offer them to higher-tier monsters.

• Chupis are extremely fast and intelligent, making them difficult to catch. However, as low-tier monsters, they have an unexpectedly simple weakness.

• They mistake whistling for the call of their natural predator, the Seruka, and will go into shock before falling from the sky.

• Capturing them afterward is easy. Additionally, Chupi saliva, when mixed with oak leaves, serves as an excellent burn remedy.

“Whistling? That’s it?!”

It sounded absurd, but now wasn’t the time to doubt it.

Eden quickly puckered her lips and whistled.

Whiii—!

However, in the middle of the uproar, the sound was swallowed up by the commotion, making no impact. Frustrated, Eden stuck two fingers in her mouth and blew with all her might.

Whiiiiiiiiiik—!

That was when it happened.

A Chupi that had been darting past her suddenly froze mid-air, its tiny wings stiffening.

“Kyuuuk! Kyuwoook!”

It convulsed as if it had seen a ghost.

The eerie, grotesque screech made the chaotic battlefield fall eerily silent.

Eden seized the opportunity and whistled even louder.

Whiiiiik—! Whiiiiik—!

Now that the clamor had died down, her whistle rang clearly throughout the forest.

Upon hearing it, the rest of the Chupis trembled, panicking as they began dropping the stolen items from their claws one by one.

“Kyuuuuuk! Kyuuk!”

It was as if they had all been electrocuted simultaneously.

“Ahhh!”

Now, it was the hunting party’s turn to scramble—dodging the rain of their own stolen belongings as they fell from the sky.

Asmun reacted like lightning, reaching up to deflect a falling sword that was about to land on Eden’s head. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued whistling as hard as she could.

Realizing something, Karon quickly surveyed the area and commanded,

“Whistle! Everyone, whistle!”

Some of the less occupied members of the party immediately followed Eden’s lead, filling the air with a chorus of sharp whistles.

Mistaking the sound for their predator’s call, the Chupis completely lost their composure, flailing and colliding with one another in mid-air before plummeting to the ground one by one.

“Capture them!”

At Karon’s order, the knights rushed forward, throwing enchanted capture nets over the dazed Chupis.

A few managed to escape, but a significant number were successfully captured. Thanks to Karon’s quick understanding of the situation, the chaos had been quelled almost instantly.