Chapter 111: When Kazu feminizes, we won’t know at what timing the heat starts unless he actually feminizes

[A/N: Posting extra Chapters because we hit another weekly milestone!]

"When Kazu feminizes, we won’t know at what timing the heat starts unless he actually feminizes."

Hearing Yuri’s talk, Kazui asked.

"Is that so?"

"Leonization’s properties seem to differ a little by person, so Lumia-san said there are a lot of things you don’t know unless you use it."

"The timing the heat starts differs by person too?"

"Seems so. So if I’m awake when Kazu’s heat starts, doing it while he’s asleep would be impossible."

"I see..."

With an expression that looked convinced, Kazui continued.

"Including that kind of thing, I should properly hear an explanation about Leonization from Lumia-san."

Kazui had still only been taught the basics about Leonization from Lumia.

Unlike Yuri, for whom half a year had already passed since acquiring Leonization.

"We’re going to the Guild hall after this, so if Lumia-san is there, why not ask about Leonization?"

"Yeah. If Lumia-san is there I’ll ask for the detailed talk."

"In your case, Kazu, even if you don’t meet at the Guild hall, don’t you have chances... to hear from Lumia-san?"

"No, I don’t have chances like that."

At Yuri’s question, Kazui pretended not to know.

"Really? Yesterday Kazu and Lumia-san’s state felt like something happened."

(This guy is sharp only about this kind of thing. He was pretty much right about Monica too.)

As an example of a woman interested in him, Yuri had named the Fallon sisters.

Yuri had talked to the effect that the Fallon sisters being harsh with Kazui was so-called tsundere, and if he changed how he treated them they might go dere.

When he heard that talk it had been hard for Kazui to believe.

But through last night’s experience, having experienced Monica’s "dere," Kazui had been made to realize Yuri’s sharpness again.

"I’ll keep secrets properly, so if something happened don’t hide it. Tell me."

Yuri continued.

"It’s also something that concerns Kazu’s ability as an adventurer, so as someone in a party with you I want to know."

Without answering, through the window connecting the truck bed and the cabin Kazui called out to the contractor man in the driver’s seat.

"Stop! Ahead to the right front, there might be a Yatebeo!"

"A Yatebeo? That man-eating tree?"

The young man in the driver’s seat returned surprised words while hurriedly stepping on the brake.

The truck let out a brake sound and stopped suddenly.

"A Yatebeo? Seriously?"

Yuri, who had been watching the rear, turned forward to check and asked Kazui.

"You didn’t start saying that to dodge the conversation?"

"It’s serious. Probably... that tree is a Yatebeo!"

Kazui pointed at one of the trees standing in a row on the right side of the road, ahead to the right front.

It was a tree standing about twenty meters from the truck.

"It only looks like an ordinary tree, but maybe a beech?"

Just as Yuri said, the tree Kazui pointed at only looked like a beech about five meters tall with lush green leaves and good branching.

Many of the trees standing around here were maples or beeches.

"Look around the base. The tree is standing on top of car ruts, right?"

The road in the forest was not paved, so car ruts remained on the earth-covered road surface.

There were occasional forks in the road, and there were also automobiles that left the road and went in among the trees, so there were also ruts stretching toward the forest on the left and right.

And the tree Kazui pointed at was standing on ruts stretching toward the trees standing in a row on the right.

"Ah, you’re right."

"Ruts left in the dirt disappear right away when exposed to rain and wind. In other words if a tree is standing on ruts, either someone planted it recently... or it moved here on its own."

While giving off flashes of Aura, Kazui continued.

"I can’t think anyone would go out of their way to plant just one tree in a forest like this. Naturally that’s a tree that moved here on its own. A Yatebeo."

A Yatebeo was a type of tree-system monster called a man-eating tree.

It was a tree for form’s sake, but it was also a monster.

Like slimes, to adventurers it was fodder-level, usually a Private monster.

But because it was also a real tree, if it slipped into a forest or grove it was a pain to find, and it was also an opponent you had to be wary of for surprise attacks.

Incidentally, it did not actually eat people. It attacked and killed humans and used roots like tentacles to suck energy dry from the corpse.

"I see..."

While impressed by Kazui’s sharp eyes, Yuri muttered.

Then he created an entrance and exit in the defensive barrier for Kazui going to hunt the Yatebeo.

Same as with the slime, there was no option to go around.

Actually there was only one detour nearby, but a Yatebeo was standing at the entrance to that detour, so Kazui and the others could not use it.

To head to Aquila they had to eliminate the Yatebeo.

"Then I’ll hunt it."

Having finished activating Aura Mail, unlike with the slime he had tried to check first, Kazui went outside through the entrance and exit intending to hunt from the start.

Leaving the truck, he charged toward the Yatebeo with force.

(I have to finish it before it starts moving around. It’s a troublesome opponent!)

A Yatebeo was basically the type of monster that ambushed and launched surprise attacks, but its movement speed was also equal to a human’s.

However, when it lowered its roots into the ground and camouflaged like an ordinary tree, it could not move.

It took several tens of seconds to undo the camouflage and change into a form that could move.

For Kazui who could not use Aura Speeder, if he did not finish it before it started moving around it could become a troublesome opponent.

And with Kazui’s Aura Shot, at a distant range the power was too weak and defeating a Yatebeo would take time.

On top of that it sometimes deployed vines like tentacles and defended against Aura Shot.

Even if you destroyed the vines with Aura Shot, the vines regenerated immediately.

That was why Kazui did not use Aura Shot and charged to launch a fast attack on the Yatebeo before it started moving around and finish it with direct strikes.

Sensing Kazui rapidly approaching, the Yatebeo revealed its true form as a monster.

Vines like tentacles that had been hidden in the branches and leaves whipped toward Kazui.

Not only did they have powerful striking ability like whips, if they wrapped around and squeezed they had the ability to cut not only a human body but even an automobile’s metal frame.

For an ordinary human, the moment they were wrapped around, death could not be avoided.

About twenty of those vines at once roared and attacked Kazui.

With splendid reading and footwork, Kazui evaded the vine attacks and approached the Yatebeo.

(Compared to Roro-san’s and Monica’s attacks, they’re slow and simple and easy to read.)

While evading the vine attacks, he glanced around the Yatebeo’s base and instantly checked the state.

From around the base, roots that until a little while ago had been hidden underground were appearing above ground while writhing like tentacles.

(The roots are already quite a bit above ground! I have to hurry!)

When a Yatebeo moved, it put tentacle-like roots above ground and then twisted multiple roots together to create many legs.

In that state it used the many legs and moved like a giant octopus.

At the stage the roots were above ground, the Yatebeo still could not move.

But it was a situation where it was only a matter of time before all the roots came above ground, were twisted together into legs, and it started moving around.

If it became able to move around, for Kazui who could not use Aura Speeder it would become a troublesome opponent. That was why he had to hurry.

While evading the fierce attack of the Yatebeo’s vines as if being attacked at once by many whip-users, Kazui kept advancing.

Along the way he took vine strikes several times and was tormented by intense pain as if he had taken body blows.

Even so he somehow prevented only being wrapped by the vines, kept advancing, and at last caught the Yatebeo in the attack range of direct strikes.

(It’s already making legs!)

Around the Yatebeo’s base, several octopus-like legs had already been created.

At a timing of only a few more seconds until it could start moving, Kazui reached the Yatebeo.

While evading the vine attacks he kicked the ground and leaped.