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Chapter 18: Traps and Trees

The temperature within the forest was a bit low as the trees were thick. It also had moderately dense foliage, providing sufficient shade to Ryan and everyone while still allowing sunlight to slip through.

“This isn’t so bad,” Ryan murmured as his eyes swept throughout the vicinity. He walked carefully across the ground with Joan and the group. “Do you guys harvest a lot of trees here?”

“Only when it is needed, Master Ryan. We use them to build an assortment of tools or to serve as firewood. Most of the time, we work in the fields.”

They had only been walking for a couple of minutes and encountered nothing dangerous so far.

After some time, they heard a rustle from a nearby bush. Ryan quickly turned to the source of the sound with an alert stance and with his sword ready.

“Who’s there?”

As if on cue, a brown rabbit leapt out of the greenery, seemingly as spooked out by their arrival as much as they were of it.

Before it could run away, an arrow struck it on its back. The rabbit fell into the ground with a soft thud.

Spike quickly stepped forward with a dagger and slit off a part of the rabbit’s neck in one go. He held the rabbit by the ears and turned to the others with a bright smile.

“This is a good catch!”

“Is it…?” Ryan raised a brow.

“Yeah, they’re usually pesky and fast bastards,” Spike replied. Realizing that it was Ryan he was talking to, he cleared his throat. “Master Ryan.”

“They usually hide quite well too, Master Ryan. And oh, this is called Brown Burrowing Rabbit,” Doran explained. “A lot of them spend their time underground and would only come to the surface to find food. They would always quickly go back to their burrow.”

“… So just like regular rabbits.” Ryan muttered quietly to himself.

“Are you going to cook this for yourself or sell it, Spike?” Doran asked.

“I was thinking…” Spike paused and then glanced at Ryan. “This rabbit belongs to Master Ryan. He is the one who insisted that we come here into the forest. We wouldn’t have caught it if he didn’t order us to.”

“Ah, you were the one who caught it, Spike, so it’s yours. If you give me a little bit, I’d appreciate it. Also, there’s something else I have in mind. If we somehow come across another rabbit, try to catch it and don’t kill it.”

“Not kill it?” Spike looked confused.

“Does… does Master Ryan wish to keep it as a pet?” Doran asked.

‘I see. It seems like they have never crossed their minds to raise rabbits for meat. Probably because they already spend a lot of time working on the fields more than anything else.’ Ryan thought. ‘Can they even make enough food for their animals? My mission is to make sure that they are sufficiently fed since they’re prone to food shortages. I guess it’s a little hard. But a rabbit only needs to graze on grass and other root crops.’

“If we can catch a male and female rabbit, we can probably breed them and become a decent food source,” Ryan said. “They reproduce and grow fast, so there will be enough meat for everyone. We need a cage too, and I think the blacksmith or carpenter can make one. A wooden one would be more than enough.”

“Oh!” Spike and Doran glanced at each other in surprise. This idea never occurred to them.

Although they were used to scavenging a little bit to get extra food for the winter, the thought of breeding didn’t cross their minds.

“Hmm… if that rabbit is nearby, then it means that its group has got to be close, right?” Tom said as he walked ahead, glancing around in earnest.

Ryan observed the path Tom was walking on and noticed something odd.

The trail mostly consisted of dirt, occasionally covered by fallen leaves from the trees. However, there was a specific section that was predominantly hidden beneath leaves and foliage.

It blended seamlessly with its surroundings, discreetly concealed.

With haste, Ryan rushed towards Tom and swiftly grasped the scruff of his shirt, pulling him backward just in time to prevent him from stepping on it.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Master Ryan?”

“You have to be more careful,” Ryan said, glancing at the covered dirt trail. The distribution of leaves and other foliage looked so natural that Ryan even second-guessed himself for a bit, wondering if he was overreacting.

“Careful?”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Ryan picked up a nearby stone and casually flung it into the mass of foliage, watching the leaves swiftly descend into an unseen pit.

“A pit trap.” Doran’s eyes widened.

"And not just any ordinary trap," Ryan stated. "It would already be troublesome if it were deep and difficult to escape, but this one? It's designed not just to injure, but to kill."

Ryan gestured towards the pit trap, pointing at a series of sharpened wooden spikes firmly embedded at the bottom.

"Any unfortunate creature, and even us, would have been impaled like skewered skish kebabs."

"You saved my life, Master Ryan," Tom's shoulders trembled as he tightly clutched the Grimoire in his hands.

"I would never allow anyone to die under my watch," Ryan responded with a smile, but his expression turned serious as he glanced at Spike and Doran. "Have there been any similar traps in this area before? You mentioned Kobolds and their traps, but I didn't think that there'd be such things in this area."

“Never this far out, Master Ryan.” Spike said, looking bothered. “They usually keep to the mountains and rarely go down. Something must have happened if they’re going this far…”

“Then it appears that we need to investigate this,” Ryan said.

“Investigate?” The three men stared at Ryan in disbelief.

“Do you believe that's a wise course of action, Master Ryan,” Joan cautiously interjected, finally breaking her silence for the first time.

Spike, Doran, and Tom jumped at Joan’s voice. They had almost forgotten she was present, as she had somehow managed to blend into the background.

Ryan grinned. "If it proves too dangerous, we will make a swift getaway and slip away undetected. However, we cannot allow this to happen again. This is our forest, and we won't allow these Kobolds to monopolize our resources!"

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