Chapter 104

Territory (3)

Territory was an extremely sensitive matter, whether for animals or humans.

In the broadest sense, a human’s territory was their country and its borders. On a smaller scale, it was their home.

Food, clothing, and shelter were all essential, but shelter was the element responsible for providing safety.

Without a home, people could never be safe from natural disasters and all manner of other dangers.

Therefore, both humans and animals required territory to live safely.

Even humans became wary or confrontational when strangers entered their homes. Animals would naturally react even more strongly.

I hadn’t set out to explore the forest and identify the gorillas’ territory for no reason.

’But considering the Owlbear and Mad Dog, there must be territorial conflicts between the animals too.’

Although I had set out confidently, there were more than a few things that concerned me.

First, what would happen to the territories that had belonged to the now-deceased Owlbear and Mad Dog?

I had considered that question several times, but nothing noteworthy had happened so far.

There had been a kangaroo inside the Owlbear’s cave, but it had fled upon seeing me.

Only now was I truly beginning to understand that other animals might move in to claim the vacant territories.

The saber-toothed tiger was a monster I had barely defeated with Namu-Ppareumbo’s assistance.

Had I fought it alone, I would have died several times over.

’If something is powerful enough to force its way into a saber-toothed tiger’s territory...’

It might have challenged the saber-toothed tiger even while it was alive.

Alternatively, it might already have become the dominant predator of this entire region.

’I’ve been consistently marking my territory too.’

Of course, I wasn’t being entirely serious.

I had simply been relieving myself wherever I pleased.

Even so, I believed it must have served as a territorial marker to some extent.

’This is the Owlbear’s cave.’

Retracing yesterday’s route, I arrived at the Owlbear’s cave.

I had originally planned to use this location as the starting point of my search.

That was before Wonmo dashed inside.

"Kkyuu! Kkyuu!"

I urgently called out to him, but he had already disappeared into the cave.

Shaking my head, I followed him inside.

"Кkyaaagh! Kkyaagh!"

However, Wonmo came racing back out before I had gone very far.

Judging by his terrified expression, something was inside.

After barely managing to calm the trembling Wonmo, I cautiously peered into the cave.

"Oh."

I could understand why Wonmo was frightened.

The creatures inside were anything but ordinary.

It was the kangaroo I had seen yesterday.

It was hopping around inside the cave.

The problem was that there wasn’t just one. There were several of them.

Apparently, they had claimed this place as their territory.

Exactly what I had feared had happened.

A mob of kangaroos had taken over after the Owlbear’s death.

’But can kangaroos even survive in this kind of environment?’

Perhaps it was merely a preconception, but on Earth, kangaroos usually lived in Australia.

As long as they had grass, trees, and other sources of food, there was no reason they couldn’t survive here.

Even so, their presence felt oddly out of place.

Regardless of how I felt about it, I decided to withdraw quietly.

Fighting them now would only disadvantage me, and there were still many places I needed to investigate.

’If I want to escape, I’ll have to pass through other animals’ territories...’

That also bothered me.

I would inevitably have to trespass into territories belonging to other animals.

If I was unlucky, I might be forced to fight a series of battles against the creatures ruling those territories.

That was precisely why I needed more information.

’Wait. Come to think of it...’

I turned and looked back at the entrance to the former Owlbear nest.

I was thinking about Rice Kraone, the owner of the book I had found there.

’How was he able to live inside the Owlbear’s nest? Did he live there before the Owlbear arrived?’

Allfather would probably be able to tell me later.

After one last look at what had now become the kangaroos’ cave, I continued onward.

I still had no way of estimating where the gorillas’ territory might be.

It would have been convenient to use the area upriver as a reference, but even that was uncertain.

’The river itself could be part of their territory.’

It would be easier to treat this as both exploration and an attempt to determine territorial boundaries.

If I discovered any droppings along the way, I could stop immediately.

After all, I had an excellent detection dog—no, a detection bear—with me, so finding them should be easy.

Sniff, sniff.

"Hey, Wonmo. That’s dirty. Don’t touch it."

That didn’t mean I wanted him to search for mushrooms.

Worried that Wonmo might eat one, I hurriedly stopped him.

Afterward, I continued exploring while carefully marking my route so I wouldn’t get lost.

As I proceeded, I suddenly realized that the terrain was gradually changing.

’This is practically a jungle rather than a forest.’

The leaves were becoming a deeper shade of green, and moss was growing increasingly abundant.

Moreover, while the forest floor had often consisted of stone rather than soil, at some point it had become covered entirely in tree roots.

Even the air had changed noticeably, particularly the humidity.

It had been somewhat dry moments ago, but at some point, it had become humid.

’I didn’t feel myself crossing into a different space.’

It wasn’t anything like the alien sensation I had experienced when crossing the river.

It merely felt as though I had gradually entered a jungle without noticing.

I considered turning back but decided to explore just a little farther.

"Good lord. What the fuck?"

Not long after making that decision, I discovered a new species.

A creature of unknown origin was steadily crawling forward.

Its appearance was unmistakably that of a snail.

The problem was its size.

Its shell alone was much larger than I was, to say nothing of its actual body.

’Is this what the snails from Maple World would look like?’

The sight of a human-sized snail crawling along was utterly horrifying.

At the same time, however, it puzzled me.

Wouldn’t a creature that large be quickly devoured?

’There must be a reason it survives.’

I shouldn’t touch it merely to satisfy my curiosity.

The wisest course was to let it continue on its way.

I passed the snail, which was crawling even more slowly than a sloth.

Not long afterward, I discovered exactly how it had managed to survive.

Hissssss—

The grass along the snail’s trail had completely melted.

As if that weren’t enough, even the soil appeared to have dissolved, with smoke rising from the ground.

The substance was probably poisonous like the Golden Poison Frog’s toxin, or perhaps acidic.

Considering the nature of snails, its entire body might be poisonous or acidic.

Anything that tried to eat it would probably melt into liquid.

’...I should name it the Acid Snail.’

Surely it couldn’t spit acid from its mouth like the frog, could it?

Just in case, I moved far away from the snail.

I continued exploring various parts of the jungle, but after finding nothing unusual, I eventually turned back.

’Do the gorillas not live here?’

Either they lived deeper inside, or I had searched in the wrong direction.

Wonmo hadn’t found anything either, so it felt like the entire excursion had been a waste.

’There’s...still plenty of time.’

When I checked the Gallery clock, it was only two thirty.

I had planned to continue exploring until five at the latest, so I could afford to search a little longer.

However, as a precaution, I decided not to reenter the jungle.

It would be disastrous if I encountered the gorillas.

"Hmm?"

Just as I resolved to return, I discovered something strange.

It was a tree with a deep depression in the center of its trunk.

Since fights constantly broke out in the Forest of Four Seasons, finding a damaged tree wasn’t unusual.

However, the mark carved into this particular tree stood out.

’Could this be...a handprint?’

A distinct handprint had been imprinted on the trunk.

I couldn’t tell much about it, but it certainly didn’t appear to belong to a human.

I didn’t know what kind of ape had made it. I wasn’t an expert.

There were only two things I could determine.

It was much larger than my hand, and its proportions differed from those of a human hand.

The palm was much larger than the fingers, while the hand itself was more than twice the size of mine.

’...This might be a territorial marker.’

I examined the impression, which was large enough to engulf my entire hand.

If a gorilla had truly made this mark, it would be best to leave immediately.

If I wandered around unnecessarily, I might be ambushed.

’Are there any other marks?’

However, I felt the urge to determine the territorial boundary more precisely.

I couldn’t allow a single handprint to frighten me into doing nothing.

Just as I was about to turn my head—

"Huh?"

My fingertips brushed against another indentation.

There was a second mark beside the large handprint.

The tree was so thick that I had nearly overlooked it.

However, there was another reason I was surprised.

’This one...really looks like a human handprint.’

A much smaller handprint had been carved beside the larger one.

Although it was still bigger than mine, its size was within the limits of an ordinarily large human hand.

I wondered if it belonged to an adolescent gorilla, but that didn’t seem right either.

’The fingers are long.’

Its fingers were unusually long.

The difference became obvious when the two prints were compared.

Could it have belonged to Rice, who had been attacked by the gorilla troop?

That didn’t seem right either.

I didn’t know why, but the prints gave me a sense of companionship.

It was almost as though the two owners had made them to display their bond.

After carefully examining both handprints, I took a photograph.

I intended to upload it to the Gallery later.

"They seem pretty old...but I don’t know."

I couldn’t tell whether the smaller print had been left by a survivor or a mutant.

Still pondering the mystery, I headed out of the jungle.

I couldn’t remain there any longer.

’I have something to think about, so I should return to the shelter.’

I wanted to continue exploring, but I changed my plans.

After all, I had discovered a mark that might have belonged to a survivor.

Furthermore, it belonged to a survivor other than Rice.

’Why would someone leave a handprint? And why beside a gorilla’s?’

Still contemplating that baffling question, I returned to the shelter.

The moment I arrived, all the tension drained from my body.

"Hmm?"

Something was strange.

I sensed an inexplicable incongruity.

What was causing it?

I couldn’t identify it at all.

Everything was familiar, yet something felt wrong. The positions of various objects seemed to have changed slightly.

"Why has the laundry rack fallen over? Did I fail to secure it properly?"

The first oddity was the laundry I had hung up, which was now scattered across the ground.

The iron container’s position seemed to have changed slightly, and something about the charcoal container also looked strange.

There were signs throughout the shelter that someone had visited, putting me on guard.

’There’s no one inside, though.’

I cautiously peered into the cave, but no one was there.

For a moment, I had thought an intruder might still be hiding inside.

I rubbed the back of my neck before lowering my weapons and entering the cave.

The instant I stepped inside, the feeling that something was wrong became far stronger.

No.

It wasn’t merely a feeling.

One of my belongings had completely disappeared.

"Huh?"

I usually kept everything neatly organized so that it would be easy to find.

Therefore, I immediately realized what was missing.

"What the hell? Where are the fasting pills?"

The fasting pills were gone.

The entire sack had disappeared.

Since Namu-Ppareumbo was the one who primarily ate them, I always kept them in one specific place.

If they had vanished, there could be only one explanation.

Someone had broken into my shelter and taken them.

The idea of a thief living in the forest seemed absurd, but it wasn’t unprecedented.

Hadn’t a raccoon stolen some fasting pills during the last torrential downpour?

Of course, Namu-Ppareumbo had taught that raccoon a painful lesson before it ended up inside Wonmo’s stomach.

"..."

Perhaps it was deeply shocked to hear that the fasting pills were gone.

Namu-Ppareumbo scrambled off my back at the fastest speed it could achieve outside combat.

It then stared blankly at the spot where the fasting pills had been.

I could vividly sense the devastation and fury radiating from it.

Who could have stolen the fasting pills?

Stranger still, the thief hadn’t touched anything else.

’Maybe they left footprints.’

Criminals always left traces behind.

Leaving the silently furious Namu-Ppareumbo inside, I stepped out of the cave.

When I carefully examined the ground, I discovered footprints that hadn’t been there before.

’I should upload these to the Gallery.’

I didn’t know who the culprit was, but...

’I’ve never seen Ppareumbo this angry before.’

It seemed the thief had nothing left to look forward to but death.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the jungle—

"Ooh-ho-ho! Ooh-ho!"

"Ooh-ooh-ooh! Ooh-hoo-hoo!"

An impromptu gorilla feast was underway.