Seeing Myjack and Gum leave the camp, Claude heaved a long sigh from the window.
He had no choice but to come up with an excuse to get them to leave. He didn't want to bring the two of them into the forest to look for the person in hiding.
There were many things he didn't want them to find out, such as the fact that he was a one-ring rune magus. The person hiding in the forest was likely to be a rogue magus as well. Most people wouldn't be able to control such a huge black wolf.
What puzzled Claude the most was that if the person who could control the black wolf was a rogue magus, wouldn't his personality be a little too … How should he put it?
Just the amount of food that the village elder's wife put in the basket made Claude suspect that if he was the one hiding, he wouldn't stay in the forest for long. Who would be able to endure such crude food?
Black bread, sausages and salt were all military rations. If Claude and the others hadn't set up camp in Squirrel Village, the only food the villagers would have been able to bring out was wheat cakes.
Claude even wondered if the person hiding in the forest couldn't move around easily, so he trained a wild wolf to help him trade medicine for food.
But when he thought about it, he felt that it was highly unlikely. There was a jar of wild honey in the basket he used to trade for food. It would be difficult for someone who wasn't agile enough to get the honey from the beehive, unless he trained a black bear that wasn't afraid of bees.
Another possibility was that the person in hiding was a shut-in and didn't want to go out. He would rather endure the torture of food than leave the mountain.
That was what Claude was curious about. When he thought of a way to send Myjack and Gum away, he decided to go up the mountain and see if the person in hiding was a rogue magus.
After packing his things, he put on his backpack and a flintlock and went out to inform Mazik that he was going to the back of the mountain to see if there were any beasts worth hunting. If his luck wasn't good, he might have to stay in the mountains for two days.
It would be the rainy season in a few days. When it rained, they would have to stay indoors for more than 20 days.
Therefore, he had to take advantage of these few days when it didn't rain to go out and exercise more.
Mazik was delighted and didn't think too much about it. Perhaps he was looking forward to Claude going out, so he promised that with him around, Claude would be able to hunt without any problems.
He smiled and turned to leave. He knew that the moment he left, Maziq would definitely run to his room in search of the two bottles.
The problem was, would the old drunkard be able to find the two bottles of good wine he had hidden?
If he had known that he would steal it, how could he not have hidden the wine …
Claude didn't go up the mountain from Squirrel Village's side. Instead, he took a small path to the left of the camp and entered a small valley that was around 15 hectares in size. That was Squirrel Village's farmland and their largest grain farm.
Winter wheat had been planted, but the snow and ice covering it had not melted yet. It looked like a vast expanse of white.
Claude recalled that there was a small path leading up the mountain in the valley. He wasn't sure if it was left behind for gathering firewood or medicinal herbs.
If he went up the mountain from there, the villagers of Squirrel Village wouldn't be able to find him.
However, the path up the mountain was rather steep. It took Claude quite a bit of effort to climb up the slope. His uniform was stained quite a bit with mud. He grabbed a few handfuls of white snow and wiped them clean, leaving the stains on his clothes for the time being.
It was much easier once he reached the top of the slope. Even though the weather was getting warmer, there were patches of greenery in the forest. The snow had melted in many places, revealing grayish-black and reddish-brown mountain rocks.
However, most of the forest was still covered in a thin layer of white snow.
The ground was rather wet and he had to be careful when walking. Places without snow and ice were prone to mud, while places with snow and ice were slippery.
The waterfall and pool at the back of the mountain that the villagers of Squirrel Village spoke of was still quite a distance away from where Claude was.
He had to pass through the pine forest in front of him and climb over a few small hills to reach the foot of the mountain in the distance. It was basically a huge detour.
If he were to go up the mountain from the small path north of Squirrel Village, he would have to travel at least half the distance.
However, that path was used by the villagers to collect firewood and medicinal herbs. Claude didn't want to be discovered by the villagers, so he decided to take the longer route.
Entering the pine forest felt like he had returned to his youth when he was hunting in the wood. He forgot about his identity as a soldier and felt extremely free and relaxed. He was in a very good mood.
There were very few venomous insects and vines in the pine forest. Apart from the wet and slippery leaves beneath his feet, he didn't have to worry about anything else.
Two squirrels that had woken up early from hibernation leaped over the pine branches, startling the birds into chirping.
Spring had arrived quietly and all living things were coming back to life. The pine forest was filled with life.
Claude took the gun from his back and was about to light the match when he decided against it.
There were a few grouse looking for food among the fallen leaves under the pine tree. Claude wanted to open fire, but he remembered that the sound of a gun would travel far in the forest and people would notice him. So, he decided against it. It didn't matter if he had a gun or not in the forest.
However, the grouse were really fat. Claude crept closer and hid behind a pine tree when he was five to six meters away.
"Pata, pata." Two mental shock spells were thrown over, and the two fat grouse fell to the ground, dizzy and disoriented.
Claude hurried over and the three remaining grouse scurried into the depths of the pine forest.
He didn't care about them. He grabbed the two grouse that were flapping their wings and snapped their necks before hanging them on his backpack. They would be his lunch.
There were actually many delicious ingredients in the pine forest. Claude picked some mushrooms and mushrooms as he walked. Those could be stuffed into the beggar's chicken.
After walking for more than an hour, he finally walked out of the pine forest. He climbed up a small hill and took out his telescope to observe the movements in the distance.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. There weren't even any signs of human activity.
It seemed that finding a person hiding in the forest wasn't going to be easy.
He decided to go to the waterfall and pond at the back of the mountain first. Considering how nervous the villagers were when he said he wanted to go for a walk, it seemed that the person in hiding was active in that area.
After going over another small hill, he could vaguely hear the sound of the waterfall.
Claude checked the mountain in front of him and chose a gentle slope to go up.
The slope was mostly made of rocks, so he didn't have to worry about dirtying his clothes.
However, when he finally reached the top of the mountain, he realized that he had gone too far. The waterfall was in a small valley far away and he was standing on the top of the mountain.
Looking for a way down, he walked for another half an hour towards the valley and finally reached the top of the waterfall.
There were a few streams that converged to form the waterfall that hung on the walls of the valley.
Standing on top of it, he could see the entire valley.
At the bottom of the valley was a large, green pond. The waterfall flowed over the pond and out of the valley.
On one side of the pond was a gentle slope that was covered by a dense forest.
The other three sides were steep cliffs.
If Claude wanted to reach the pond, he would have to make a big turn at the top of the valley and go down through the forest on the other side.
He looked at the sky and saw that it was already past two in the afternoon. He hadn't eaten lunch yet.
He decided to deal with the grouse next to a clear stream at the top of the valley. He would go down to the pond after he was full.
He found some dried branches and gutted two of the grouse. After cleaning their stomachs, he stuffed mushrooms and stuffed them with mud. Then, he dug a hole and placed them inside. He piled the branches on top and lit a fire. It would be ready to eat half an hour later.
During that time, he could use the stream to wash his dirty uniform and use the fire to dry them.
By the time Claude started eating, it was already past three in the afternoon. He took out two pieces of rye bread and dipped it in the chicken juice from the grouse. As he ate, he looked at the valley below him.
He had used a telescope to observe the valley and didn't find any signs of human activity.
He couldn't help but feel curious. If the people in hiding didn't come here, why would the villagers be so afraid of him coming here?
When he was almost done eating, he suddenly noticed some movement in the forest on the other side of the valley. He hurriedly extinguished the fire.
Fortunately, the branches were dry and didn't produce any smoke. Coupled with the wind at the top of the mountain, the people below wouldn't notice the fire.
Claude hid behind a boulder and peeked his head out to look at the valley below him.
A big black wolf scuttled out of the forest, quickly and familiarly scuttled to a large rock by the side of the large pool and laid down.
It was the big black wolf that went to the forest behind Squirrel Village to trade for food. Claude recognized it right away.
He could not help but perk up. He had finally found traces of it. However, why did this big black wolf run to the side of the big pond and lie down on the rocks? This place did not seem like its old lair …
There was another commotion in the forest. A few small trees swayed, and then a big black bear waddled out of the forest.
The strange thing was that the bear looked a little strange. It seemed to be floating as it walked and seemed rather thin. It even walked on two legs to the edge of the pond.
The big black wolf turned a blind eye to the black bear. Instead, the black bear walked to its side and splashed water on it from the pool.
The big black wolf whimpered a few times in dissatisfaction but didn't move.
That's weird. What's the bear trying to do? Is it trying to drink water or catch fish?
All of a sudden, the bear stood up on its hind legs and its chest split open. A naked figure with long black hair and fair skin slid out of the bear's skin and slid into the pond.
The bear was actually a young woman in disguise. No wonder she looked so strange and out of place.
Claude stared at the figure of the woman swimming in the pool with his mouth agape. He couldn't help but bend down and reach his left hand into the stream to test the water temperature. Hmm, it's a little warm. It's no wonder she's swimming in the pool.
Claude raised his binoculars and watched carefully. The woman swimming in the pool was actually a young girl. She looked to be around 16 or 17 years old. Her breasts were rather ample and her body was still in the puberty stage. She looked young and innocent.
She had long black hair and a few streaks of green paint on her face. She looked like the special forces camouflage they wore on TV in his previous life. However, her face was rather beautiful. It wasn't oval or oval, but rather a combination of the two.
Her eyes were rather large and he couldn't tell what color they were. They seemed to be black and purple at the same time.
Just as he was engrossed in watching, the big black wolf on the rock beside the pond suddenly stood up and stretched its nose out to sniff the air. Soon, it looked in Claude's direction and howled.
The scent of the two grouse was rather strong and it finally reached the bottom of the valley. The big black wolf smelled it.
The bottom was less than 30 meters away from the top and it didn't take long for the big black wolf to notice Claude peeking from above.
The girl raised her head from the pool and looked in the direction where the big black wolf was roaring.
It was rather awkward to be caught peeking.
Claude thought about it for a moment before he stood up and waved at her. "Hey …"
The girl swam towards the shore in a panic and climbed out of the water. She burrowed into the bear pelt on the ground and ran towards the forest.
The big black wolf growled at Claude a few times before following behind her.
Claude yelled from above, "Hey, wait! I don't mean any harm …"
Nobody paid attention to him. Soon, the forest became silent and only the sound of the wind could be heard.