Tenkomori: The Homecoming Club Conquers Another World
Chapter 167

Chapter 167. Land of Harvest

The battle with the orcs ended, and the beastmen were busy inspecting their weapons and tending to the wounded.

After listening to the reports from the two beastmen who accompanied him, Quid glanced at Sarhas, gave me a brief look, and then turned his gaze in the direction where the adventurers had been.

There was no proof they were the Blue Thunder, but there was no doubt humans had been wandering nearby.

After a moment of thought, Quid ordered the beastmen to increase their scouting efforts.

After that, we headed southwest at a slower pace, nearly running into a pack of Nudrooks hunting wolves and discovering ogre footprints, but our caution paid off, and we passed by without incident.

The only surprise attack came from a soft-bodied monster called a Mame.

Its [Stealth] skill was mediocre, but it had a natural mimicry ability.

An injured beastman claimed he was suddenly attacked by tree bark and showed us a three-centimeter-long claw. At first, I thought it had been torn off in a struggle, but there was no trace of bleeding. It seemed the claw was designed to detach, like a wasp's stinger.

I'd wanted to see one in person after hearing about it in Merchant's idle chatter, but the Mame had already fled, and its presence was faint and far away.

With no time to waste on personal curiosity, I gave up.

Other than that, there were no major issues, and we safely made it through the night.

As usual, the beastmen took up watch, I rested, and Phil quietly joined the lookout.

Quid remained inactive until the morning of the fourth day, when we advanced through the Deep Forest in our usual formation.

I thought we might reach our destination today—but just then, a scout returned in a panic.

"It's Jisero!"

We hurried through the forest, and suddenly, Quid stopped.

His moved expression told me we'd arrived, but all I saw was untouched nature.

The Deep Forest was lined with ancient trees centuries old, and the earth rolled unevenly as if to block human intrusion.

True, the space ahead was more open and seemed easier to traverse.

But plenty of trees still grew thickly, and the uneven ground was covered in deep underbrush. It was too natural to call a village. Had I come here alone, I doubt I'd have noticed.

Quid likely wasn't reading my mind.

He spoke as if convincing himself.

"Fourteen years of neglect. Without human hands, the forest reclaims everything."

"Couldn't it be maintained? Or taken over by non-humans?"

Following my gaze, Quid glared deeper into the ruins.

"Goblins?"

"I'll help. There are about twenty."

"Not even worth calling a skirmish."

"Then call me if anything happens."

With that, I stepped into the ruins of Jisero.

Leaving the beastmen preparing for battle behind, I pushed through the underbrush with my feet.

Almost no traces of the village remained.

Back then, it had been night, with only burning houses and moonlight to dimly illuminate the scene.

Even if I'd arrived during the day, it would've been hard to recognize in this state.

As I scanned the area for anything familiar, Phil jumped down from my shoulder.

Now that we were away from the beastmen, he must've relaxed his guard.

Watching the still-sleepy Phil yawn, I noticed the flat stone beneath his feet.

Looking around, more stones like it were buried in the grass and dirt. These were part of the path.

Following the stones with my eyes, I spotted the remains of a house's foundation hidden in the undergrowth.

So it really was a village.

What kind of life had the beastmen lived in this deep forest?

As I tried to picture it, a sudden commotion made me turn.

The goblin extermination must've begun.

Pausing to listen, the noise overlapped with the clamor from fourteen years ago.

Burning houses.

Grotesque figures emerging from the darkness.

Fourteen years had changed much, but some things stayed the same.

Recalling the memories, I looked around at the towering trees.

The moonlit scene resembled an ink-wash painting.

Comparing past and present, I moved through the ruins.

Then, upon reaching a certain spot, I stopped.

It felt familiar.

Surrounded by Garneles, searching for an escape—this was the view I'd seen.

If this was where I'd landed, that house had its door destroyed, and the one beyond it was ablaze.

Which meant…

With each step, the memories grew clearer.

Walking, I avoided claws and dodged lunging Garneles.

Until I reached the house.

Kneeling, I placed a hand on the ground and felt something hard.

I gripped it and pulled.

"What is that?"

"A sword… or what's left of it."

What I held was a decayed hilt, its blade long gone.

With a little pressure, the hilt shattered into pieces.

Returning it to the ground, I stood and looked at Sarhas.

"Finished?"

"Yes. The goblins' nest was an old storage building. Some walls and ceiling remain. They'll use it as a base."

"A goblin nest? Sounds rough."

"Can't afford to be picky."

"Fair enough."

Nodding, I looked back at the ground.

A part of me might still be buried here.

For a moment, I smirked at the foolish thought.

What would I even do if I dug it up?

Besides, that was just a copy made by the chubby one. The real me never came to this world.

Noticing Sarhas's puzzled stare at the hilt, I shook my head toward the old storage building.

"Battle scars. Let them rest."

With that, I walked away.

◇◇◇◇

The former storage building where the goblins had lived was on the west side of the ruins.

Its foundation was relatively intact, with parts of the walls and ceiling still standing. Though filthy and cleared of corpses, the beastmen had propped branches against it to make a crude shelter.

Joining them, I set my backpack down in a cleaner spot.

Catching my breath, I noticed Quid was missing.

No need for [Presence Detection]—I quickly spotted him.

He stood near the center of the ruins, beside a large tree, his demeanor oddly tense.

After a brief hesitation, I approached. Sensing me, he spoke without turning.

"This is where it began."

Standing beside him, I looked up.

"A Mêlée tree? Impressively large."

"Naturally. It's at least three hundred years old."

As he spoke, Quid fixed his gaze on me.

"Our ancestors fled the empire into the Deep Forest. They were attacked by monsters, ran out of food, and lost many comrades. Then, this tree saved them. Since then, they called it the Tree of Beginnings and cared for it diligently. They planted more Mêlée trees from its fruit and found other fruit-bearing trees nearby. That's why this place is called Jisero—the Land of Harvest."

Looking around, I realized all the trees here bore fruit.

Mêlée, Aklue, Masran—others with edible nuts.

But without caretakers, many had withered or been reduced to stumps.

Still—the Tree of Beginnings?

Strange fate. For me, too, this was where it all began.

"So, for the beastmen living in the Deep Forest, this is their origin."

"Not all of them. Just my ancestors. For example, Reje—"

He caught himself mid-murmur, clamping his mouth shut with a bitter look.

Reje—probably the village Sarhas had mentioned.

And from his tone, there were others. The beastmen's roots in the forest ran deeper than I'd thought.

To dispel the awkwardness, I changed the subject.

"What about the adventurers we saw yesterday? Any signs they came here?"

"None so far. I've sent scouts, but Jisero is vast. Finding them is up to luck."

"If goblins nested here, they might've avoided it. Little to gain from killing them. Any other adventurers?"

"Doesn't seem so. Even if the forest swallowed traces, the trees here are thinner. Hard to miss. They'd camp deeper in. And—"

Quid cut himself off again, this time sharpening his gaze toward the forest.

Following his line of sight, I caught the scent of water.

"Linger too long, and we're Garneles food."

"Is the lake close?"

"Not too close, but too far makes water scarce."

Too far was inconvenient, too close was dangerous.

They'd apparently settled just outside the Garneles' hunting grounds, but a group this large would've been noticed.

More likely, a few had settled by the lake and multiplied over time.

"Wish we'd struck before they grew."

"Can't blame them for missing it. The lake's huge, and they avoided it when unnecessary."

Nodding, I studied the base.

"If Jisero's in their hunting grounds, won't they attack here too?"

"No. Scouts used this place before, and Garneles never showed. They hate straying too far from water."

"Then why attack the village?"

Quid shook his head.

"No idea. Maybe someone provoked them, or food ran low. Whatever the reason, they eat beastmen. If our numbers grow, they'll attack again."

Anger seeped into his voice.

He'd been a child back then, but I never asked about his family.

Had the Garneles killed them?

Pretending not to notice his mood, I pressed on.

"Won't settling here be tough unless we deal with them? Finding their nest won't be easy. Any leads?"

"We'll discuss that tonight. I want everyone to hear."

"Understood."

Returning to camp, the remaining scouts reported no adventurer traces, Garneles, or troublesome monsters.

Watching Quid receive the reports, I pieced things together.

Rumors of beastmen in the Deep Forest had existed before.

The ruins here confirmed them, but it was probably too late to matter.

Even with concealment magic or tools, the goblins' presence meant it hadn't worked. And after fourteen years, adventurers must've found it.

Maybe the rumors of beastmen visiting Fasden were backed by Jisero's ruins.

I recalled the Blue Thunder I'd seen.

If they'd come searching for the beastmen's village—or to confirm its destruction—their employer was either Viscount Fasden or a slave trader fulfilling an order.

The latter wouldn't push too hard, but the former spelled trouble.

Later, as the sun dipped, we ate an early dinner.

Surveying the beastmen chewing dried meat, Quid spoke up.

"Listen closely. Our goal is Garneles extermination—or at least driving them from Jisero's territory. To do that, we must find their nest. We haven't located it yet, and past attempts failed when they spotted us. But this time, we fight back. If their defenses are strong, that's likely the nest."

The beastmen wore grim resolve, but Quid never mentioned the adventurers.

None of them questioned it.

Some form of concealment was certain—but did beastmen have such magic?

Overthinking, perhaps, but I sensed elves' influence.

Like beastmen, they were a persecuted race. Skilled in magic, elves could easily hide things.

But asking would be pointless, so I raised another question.

"You say we'll fight, but there are over a hundred. How?"

"A head-on clash is suicide. That's why we're a mobile unit. If outnumbered, we retreat and regroup. They hate leaving water."

"Understood. One more thing—how smart are Garneles? If they catch on, they might counter us."

"Don't worry. They're emotionless, barely sentient. Doubt they'll strategize."

I wasn't convinced.

How did he know Garneles lacked emotions?

[Taming] allowed some communication, but could anyone really bond with crustaceans?

And the royal guards' intelligence surpassed the average human's.

Calling them "barely sentient" would make most humans incompetent.

Silence made Quid assume no more questions. He began assigning scouting duties.

Watching silently, I pondered.

The Garneles that attacked Jisero were mostly workers and soldiers.

If Quid survived, he must've fled into the forest early.

And royal guards wouldn't bother chasing scouts.

Did the beastmen not know about them?

If they knew and hid it—were they planning to use me as bait?

Even Sarhas would struggle against royal guards.

Add swarms of workers and soldiers, and even Phil and I would be hard-pressed.

Maybe that was their plan.

Hard to say, but the beastmen seemed to underestimate the Garneles.

As Quid finished, I pretended to check my gear and whispered to Phil.

"Expect the unexpected in this fight. No telling what'll happen."

His wagging tail reassured me as I revisited the past.

Their coordination surpassed most armies. The Garneles weren't as weak as the beastmen thought.

And late that night, just after arriving in Jisero, the unexpected struck.

"Enemy attack! Garneles!"

As the panicked scout rushed in, Phil and I stretched and rose to our feet.