The Tanaka Family Reincarnates - Chapter 383
I Have Always Had It on Me [Part 1]
“What- How?! There are no inflammables here, right?”
The campsite before the forest had always been well maintained. Not even a single weed could be spotted there. And yet, the flames closing in from the forest did not weaken but continued to spread even on plain sandy soil with nothing to burn on, just as one of the knights exclaimed in dismay.
“This, this is the work of a monster!”
Skyte hunters’ expressions clearly exposed their panic.
“We didn’t bring any fire-proof cloth!”
“In this situation, we might be burnt black!”
Flames conjured by a monster did not need combustible materials.
When confronting flame-wielding monsters, it was necessary to have a cloth resistant to the monsters’ fire called a fireproof cloth. It was a special cloth made from the tanned hide of a water-wielding monster and also one of the essential items for borderland hunters.
No matter how excellent a hunter was, a mere human couldn’t float in the air. If the fire caught on one’s feet, there was nowhere to escape, and no matter how hard one struggled, one would still be burned. That was where the fire-resistant fireproof cloth came into play. Hunters would spread it on the ground to secure their foothold.
However, the type of monsters that required the need for the essential item of fireproof cloth rarely appeared here, in Skyte Barony. Although they had it in their warehouse as supplies, it wasn’t included in the regular items they carried on them for hunting.
“Ugh, if only we have fireproof cloth…”
They were already surrounded by flames with no way out. The place they were standing on could be covered in fire anytime now.
The Lord of Skyte regretted he didn’t select fireproof cloth to be one of the regular items. If they had that, they could at least protect the King and the prince from the monster’s flames…
“Oh, it’s alright, y’know?”
Someone patted the shoulder of the regretful Lord of Skyte.
“Count Stuart…?”
At that moment, Lord of Skyte realized. ‘That’s right. Count Stuart’s here.
It wouldn’t be strange if he brought the fireproof cloth as a regular item. After all, he is the lord of Palace, the territory with the vastest area of monster appearances among all the borderlands in the Kingdom.’
The Lord of Skyte turned his head with a relieved and delighted expression.
“…Eh?”
However, the item Count Stuart facing him held in his hands was not fireproof cloth. No, now that the Lord of Skyte thought about it again, the Count was always lightly equipped, even when hunting, and shouldn’t have carried bulky items like fireproof cloth. And now, what the Count held in his hands with a smug face for some reason was…
“Uh? Pardon… that is…?”
It was a thin, silvery stick that looked like it would snap easily. It was just a thin stick that wasn’t even long enough to become a weapon. And that very stick was held in the rugged Count’s right hand.
“Please rest assured. I might forget anything but this one thing. I always have it ready with me all the time… Isn’t that right?”
“Indeed.”
“Huh?”
“ “ “Yes!” ” ”
After declaring so, the Count turned his face toward other Stuart family members.
The Countess swiftly pulled out the same silver stick as the Count from her groomed hair (she looked kind of cool doing that). Each of the three siblings also took out a silver stick from somewhere and grinned.
Only the Count’s younger brother, Acting Lord Arban, eagerly took out a silver stick from an accessory bag attached to his belt with a bewildered expression, seeming like he couldn’t comprehend the Count’s intention.
“Gasp! That… Is that perhaps a magic wand?!”
The Kingdom had no magicians. Everyone was aware of that fact.
Still, the Lord of Skyte found himself in utter confusion.
In children’s picture books, magicians carried magic wands, but no magicians depicted in historical records wielded anything of the like.
Still, the Lord of Skyte already found himself in utter confusion. To the point that he thought to himself, ‘…I see, so this whole family are magicians…’
“Huh? No. It’s just a plain ol’ crochet hook, though…?”
The Count denied the Lord of Skyte’s assumption.
If you looked closely, the head of the stick was slightly bent.
“Huh? Crochet hook?”
“Yes, an essential tool for lacework.”
Count Stuart stroked the crochet hook lovingly.
“Uh?”
“ “ “Huh?” ” ”
The ones who put their hopes in the Stuart family weren’t the Lord of Skyte alone. The hunters, knights, prince, and king who had been watching over the situation also cocked their heads in puzzlement.
The family that should have been the most reliable was mysteriously grinning with a crochet hook for lacework in their hands.
“Because we will crochet it now.”
*thump thump* Count Stuart banged his fist on his chest as if to say, ‘Leave it to me.’
…not very unlike a gorilla.
“What do you mean— Gasp!”
Then, it dawned on the Lord of Skyte.
…that the House of Count Stuart had gone mad.
That’s right. Lord of Skyte and everyone here knew this situation was, in fact, a crisis with no escape. No matter how much of a veteran a hunter was, one simply couldn’t think of any means to resist these flames without a fireproof cloth.
‘They, who had been fighting monsters more than anyone else, must have fallen into despair the moment they understood that. Who could really blame them for escaping from reality after despairing?’ sighed the Lord of Skyte to himself.
“I guess this is… the end.” The Lord of Skyte prepared himself for his death.
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