After defeating another group of Giant Toads desperate to have a fight against us, I decided to take a short break with Megumin.
"T... this day's gonna be rough," she said.
I nodded, agreeing with Megumin.
Even though I'm now level 14, it's hard to maintain high concentration under the relentless assault of various Giant Toads.
This situation forced me to temporarily remove the rosary, since keeping it on me would prevent real rest.
Yeah, I finally figured out the true nature of the rosary.
This item is supposed to attract good encounters to me, but the number of monsters appearing decreases greatly each time I take it off.
A scam, from an objective point of view.
But I plan to use this to speed up my leveling during my time in this world.
It's thanks to this new understanding of my item that we were able to have this break, without too much worry about a new monster chase.
"Do you have any idea where the manticore is?"
Faced with the absurd question, I looked at Megumin with a look literally screaming: are you stupid? How would I know!
But I didn't say anything verbally that... brutal.
"I don't know, but I have a way to find out."
Megumin didn't understand at first, but she seemed to grasp my intentions the moment I retrieved my hat.
She was wearing it over hers, since it wasn't practical for me to keep it on.
I immediately turned my attention to a group of crows resting on a tree.
[Hey, I'm the human right under the tree.]
I sent my thoughts to the largest crow, who was lounging on the best branch.
At first, he was surprised, but it was temporary.
The animal looked at me with a curious and interested air, which was a more positive reaction than expected.
Now that I think about it, I remember it was mentioned in my past life that crows are very intelligent.
Especially since the animals in the Konosuba universe are usually an improved version of those on Earth.
Taking this mental revelation into account, I decided to propose a civilized deal with the leader of the crow group.
I took out a small portion of my emergency rations, aka dried meat.
[I'd like some information about this creature and I'll give you this in advance. After that, a bigger portion. So, deal?]
The crow flew off the branch suddenly, to come down in front of me.
Honestly, it was huge.
If I had to compare its size to another animal, I'd say: the size of a domestic dog.
The flying animal stood there, while its gaze was fixed on the meat in my hands.
[If you agree, then nod your head.]
The crow complied.
As promised, I gave him the dried meat.
The animal devoured it quickly, then simply looked back at me with its abyssal black eyes.
I immediately sent through thought the images showing the manticore on the quest poster.
If he can lead us to this monster's territory and, preferably the beast's nest, then he'll get more meat.
After receiving the information, the crow just nodded once more before taking flight again.
The groups of crows, who had remained silent until now, immediately followed him.
If we don't follow him, then he stops on a branch, and conversely, he flies off in the same direction.
"Did you tame this animal?"
I refute Megumin's words, because they're misused here.
The crow was hired by me, thanks to a deal beneficial to both of us.
It's not a master-animal relationship, but a contract between two individuals.
"I just offered to feed him with meat, but he has to provide the manticore's location."
The crow doesn't know why we want to meet the manticore, nor how much dried meat this creature will bring in.
The black winged beast's only concern is receiving more meat at the end of the deal.
Everyone wins, right?
"Hmm... I feel a bit bad for him."
Megumin seemed to pity the poor animal, who's contributing to a quest worth millions of Eris in exchange for dried meat.
Sorry, but that's how the world works... At least, the capitalist one.
The crow chief is just paying the price of his ignorance.
...
[Thank you for your service, you deserve it.]
I gave all my dried meat reserves to the crow, because he helped me enormously.
If I had undertaken to find the high-rank monster alone, then I would have potentially lost my day searching for it.
Caw.
The crow made a satisfied sound, while feasting with his fellows in front of the pile of meat at their disposal.
[I can't really understand your cawing or your language, but I hope I can count on you again later.]
The crow nodded, before returning to voraciously eat his easily earned food.
"Well, Megumin, we're facing an annoying enemy," I said, after leaving the crow with his group.
Megumin displayed an attentive expression.
She's really taking this hunt seriously, which is understandable and logical.
If I succeed, then I'll potentially become a confirmed adventurer, and that potentially includes her.
It's a rare opportunity, but also a risk.
One mistake equals pure and simple death.
"But, I have a solution to allow your magic to reach this flying animal."
The problem with Megumin's Explosion magic is its poor compatibility against flying creatures.
The manticore is not only capable of flying, but it also has a certain level of intelligence.
It can even express itself!
"What are you planning to do? I accepted the quest, but you haven't explained your plan in detail yet."
Indeed, Megumin only knows the broad outlines of my plan.
This boils down to: Find the manticore, prevent or reduce the manticore's mobility, injure the manticore and finally finish off the manticore.
Simple, right?
But theory has always been like that, and practice is another world.
"Don't worry about the details, Megumin. You just have to stay back and chant your spell."
I only have one minute to deprive the manticore of its wings and potentially injure it.
As for the lack of information in my plan for the Crimson Demon? The less she knows, the better it can work.
After our interaction, I headed toward the beast lying in a cavity on a rocky hill.
On the way, I immediately applied all possible buffs on myself.
Blessing.
Boost.
Resistance.
Protection.
Haste.
A good portion of my mana was gone, but I feel capable of using my intermediate magic twice or only my item triggering advanced magic.
During my preparation, the mana fluctuations didn't take long to attract the manticore's attention.
It rose from its nest, while its hideous human face fixed its gaze on me.
(Image)
"H... hey? Can we talk for a minute? I heard you're an intelligent creature."
What was the creature's response?
"Ghaa!!!"
Yeah, even the crows were more civilized.