Two-Person Galactic Journey: Earth Was Destroyed While Imprisoned in Space Prison

Chapter 198

Chapter 198

The smoked meat was a hit with Emotion as well.

When Kait said he'd take more time next time, she reluctantly agreed. It seemed the line about "rushing ruins the flavor" worked.

However, after all the consumption, there wasn't much meat left. It didn't seem wise to make Emotion hold back two or three times in her current state. Deciding that new meat was needed, Kait headed north, where Rutimi De was said to be knowledgeable.

"Should we... leave Queen Bee behind?"

"Oh? Why is that?"

"From too high up, we might miss most of the creatures."

"I see. That makes sense."

In reality, even from atop a rock, they could barely distinguish most animals. Emotion might be able to do better with her sensors, but even then, accuracy clearly dropped from the air.

A rumble came from a short distance away. Looking over, a lion-horse was leaping up. It was probably trying to eat a winged snake again.

"I'm kind of curious about how that big guy tastes."

"Indeed. But consuming a whole one would be quite the task."

Kait was curious about the lion-horse's flavor, but it was simply too big and would be a burden even if they hunted it. Even sending it to Adie Ze and the others would be more trouble than it was worth.

Kait decided to leave hunting lion-horses for when they encountered them as enemies, and for now, head north. He floated Queen Bee high into the sky and applied concealment. That should minimize the impact on Ramadite's ecosystem.

"Alright, let's hurry to the site. Emotion, can you take sphere form?"

"Huh? I don't mind."

No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn't understand it—Emotion transformed in stages from a humanoid form about Kait's height to an android form, and finally to a ball-sized form from when she used to be his warden.

The appearance was nostalgic, but her capabilities were incomparable to back then. For one, she was floating in the air without a gravity unit, which already set her apart from the past.

'So then, Captain. What's the point of me transforming—'

"That's obvious."

Kait picked up Emotion mid-question and used psychic power to launch into the air.

The reason, of course, was that it made her easier to carry.

***

"Kyurukyurukyurukyuru"

"Alright, this should be the area."

Even when one sea of trees ended, another began. On this planet, each forest seemed to expand its own territory, with drastically different vegetation in each. Kait, unfamiliar with such things, couldn't tell the difference at all—and unfortunately, there were no Smallfolk around who had that knowledge either.

Since the Smallfolk depended on Guardian Trees for their survival environment, they apparently weren't very familiar with other types of vegetation.

"Kyurukyurukyurukyuru"

"Hey, Emotion. We're almost there."

Flying just above the treetops seemed to be somewhat stressful, as Emotion had been making those sounds the whole time. Kait ignored it and landed around the forest break Rutimi De had mentioned.

The change in vegetation was extremely obvious. The leaves shifted from yellow to shocking pink. The trees on the northern side were taller and thinner. He looked up at the unpleasantly colored leaves. Apparently, there were creatures that liked to eat such leaves—how strange.

"So, Rutimi De. You said there was a recommended animal around here, right?"

'Yes, Kait Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)! It's a beast that lives in the trees, like us.'

"A tree-dwelling animal, huh... Emotion?"

"Doesn't seem to be around here."

'I think they're deeper in. Their natural enemy, the Small Evil Beasts that live in the yellow forest, keeps them from coming close to this area.'

Since the Smallfolk recommended it, it was probably a small animal. The winged snake being its natural enemy made it similar to the Smallfolk in that regard.

Kait suddenly wondered, rather pointlessly, if winged snakes were protected by Tuna.

"So winged snakes don't come to this pink forest?"

'Not never, but it seems they don't like the smell of the leaves around here. I heard they only come if they're really starving.'

If that's the case, you'd expect all the Smallfolk to gather in the pink forest.

Rutimi De spat those words out with clear disgust.

'Well, Small Evil Beasts rarely come, but this area is home to Horned Beasts that build nests and settle in. They're a real pain because they're not impossible to repel.'

So, the pink forest had its own unique enemies.

The fact that they lived in Guardian Trees meant the Smallfolk were in an environment full of natural enemies.

At that moment, Dolti Mu, who had been quiet, spoke up.

'We Smallfolk had our living conditions dictated by where the Guardian Tree seeds flew.'

"I see. So you couldn't choose where you ended up."

'Yes. If the seed flew in a different direction, even family could be separated for life. This is actually my first time seeing the inside of the pink forest.'

Guardian Trees apparently grew relatively fast and could adapt to various types of forest vegetation.

The fact that other trees allowed them to grow probably meant Guardian Trees were beneficial not just to the Smallfolk, but also to the surrounding trees. Until they grew from seed to a decent size, the Smallfolk had to endure a harrowing lifestyle.

From what he'd heard, it was easy to understand why they wouldn't form much attachment to their homeland.

Then, a rustle above made Kait stop in his tracks. Without looking, he focused solely on the presence.

Another rustle. When he heard something running across the branches, Kait flicked a small stone he had picked up on the way. Thanks to his body modification, the stone flew with bullet-like speed.

"Gii!"

It must have hit somewhere on the body, as something fell from the tree.

Before it hit the ground, he reached out and caught it. Kait thought its six legs made it look like a weasel.

***

Speaking of weasel-like creatures, badgers were supposed to be quite tasty. That said, appearances could be deceiving. To be sure, he showed the captured six-legged creature to Emotion, who was still in sphere form.

"Is this the right one?"

'Yes! That's it. Sometimes they climb all the way up to the Guardian Trees. That's when we trap them and snap—'

Tough little folks.

Whenever they climbed up, the Smallfolk would be in an uproar. While the creature was small to Kait and the others, it was nearly the same size as the Smallfolk. Even with traps, the hunt was still tough.

'We use the fur, bones, and meat—nothing goes to waste!'

A life of gathering traps and weapons from beasts and bugs. Truly, an important resource.

Kait figured they'd better finish the bare minimum work before it woke up and went wild. They had only caught one, but that wouldn't be enough to feed Kait, Emotion, and the Smallfolk.

"Now then, how many do we need to hunt..."

Emotion was a big eater to begin with. And now, on this gourmet journey she had requested, it was impossible to know how much would satisfy her.

Still, carrying a freshly killed six-legged creature barehanded would just scare everything else off.

Kait decided to send the freshly killed six-legged creature ahead to Rutimi De.

He then gave instructions to Emotion, who was eyeing his now-empty hand with visible regret.

"Emotion. I'm thinking of taking down several in one go. Give me the coordinates."

When he broke off five branches to mark the targets, Emotion gave a deep nod.

"Leave it to me, Captain. I'll get the coordinates, wind direction, and posture all spot on."

"I'm counting on you."