Yarg tied a new rope to Partner’s hand, and with a string connecting the rope, Yarg takes Partner to the Manticore.

Yarg walks behind Partner with his spear pointing directly at Partner’s head.
As for Tatarc, there’s a glowing stone that’s tied at the end of his spear serving as a torch in the night.

Yarg did well to have endured Partner’s knee-kick in the face, though I think it was still painful for him, seeing as he occasionally rubs his bandaged nose from time to time.

Tatarc might’ve found Partner to be suspicious since he kept on glaring at us along the way.
But, when Partner looks back at Tatarc, he awkwardly looks away.
As he looked away, he spoke.

“…… We will be arriving at the Manticore’s den soon. It knows two people will come to it and offer a sacrifice when the sun goes down. It should be drooling while waiting right about now.”

So, does the Manticore stay in one place all day long?
And, the direction we’re going… is that where the shrine maiden who can use〖Telepathy〗strike a deal with the Manticore?

The Manticore should be lying down on its favorite rock or something by now.
It was worth waiting until this exact time of the night when the Lithuvar Tribes will be gathering.

“Hey Tatarc, don’t spout nonsense like that”

“Y-Yes……”

Yarg looks down at Tatarc before turning to face hatefully at Partner again.
Tatarc really hates the Manticore a lot, huh.

Partner is now ignoring Tatarc’s gaze at her and silently walks alongside Yarg.

Eventually, we arrived at a large cave.
It’s really giving off a “sacrificial cave” kind of vibe, and it seems to have been naturally formed under the rocky mountain.
The cave entrance is a lot bigger than the other one, and it looks deeper as well.

Near the entrance, there was a carving that resembled the Manticore on the wall.
They made it look like this cave was just made for the Manticore.
I guess they were serious when they wanted the Manticore to always stay in a good mood.

Yarg stopped just a few feet before the cave and shot a nasty stare at Partner.

It seems like he felt suspicious on Partner too. After all, Partner didn’t resist once on the way here.
With how tame Partner was during the whole walk, I can’t blame them for being suspicious at Partner.
Yarg did get his finger bitten by Partner, he was kneed to the face, and he was also stomped and looked down on.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“…… Something’s not right”

“What? You want me to go wild at you again?”

Yarg glared hatefully at Partner while slightly glancing at his bitten fingers.
He doesn’t show it in his face, but I think he’s remembering the pain he felt back when Partner bit his fingers.

Meanwhile, Tatarc extends the torch-like stone from his spear up front and proceeds to enter the cave.
Still, I didn’t think the cave would be even bigger inside.
The width is the same as the Red Ant’s nest, but the passageway is longer.
With this, it’ll be easier to fight and escape.

But, there’s still one more thing we need to be sure of……

“…… This cave, does it lead to a deadend?”

“Y-Yes, it does.”

Partner immediately asked what we needed to be sure of, and Tatarc answered smoothly too.

Nice of you to confirm that, Partner.
That helps.

“Then, escaping won’t be easy here.”

Partner licks her lips while gazing at the cave entrance.

“Tatarc! How many times have I told you to stop with your meddling talks!”

Yarg yells at Tatarc.
Maybe they misunderstood Partner and thought “it won’t be easy to escape from the Manticore here”, even though Partner meant “it won’t be easy for the Manticore to escape here”.
Wait, don’t tell me… Partner, do you intend to corner the Manticore in this cave?

Partner clicks her tongue.
The clicking sound echoes throughout the back of the cave.
That echo seemed to have woken something up.

A loud footstep approaches closer.

“…… The Manticore… is coming.”

Yarg mutters to himself.
His voice is slightly stuttering. He’s clearly afraid.

And then, Tatarc threw his glowing stone at Partner and points his spear as he rushes forward.

“T-Tatarc! What are you-……?!”

“Yarg-san, step aside! Out of the way!”

Tatarc grabs Yarg’s shoulder and pulls him aside.
Yarg stumbles down and lets go of Partner’s string that’s attached to her rope.

Tatarc then swings his spear to Partner’s rope.
Partner jumps up and avoids it.

“Ah!”

Tatarc got surprised upon seeing Partner’s unexpected movements and tripped.
Partner… I think Tatarc was trying to set you free… you shouldn’t have jumped.

…… Although, I’d prefer to catch the Manticore off-guard, so it’s better to have a rope tied behind us.
Besides, we can free ourselves anytime.

“Tatarc! What on earth are you doing?! Enough of this foolishness!”

Yarg shouts as he tries to stand up.

“Eh, ah, no…… ee~eh?”

Tatarc seems to be really confused, looking at Partner and Yarg alternatively.

“…… Uhh, maybe I shouldn’t have done that?”

Partner asks to me.
N-Not exactly…… oh well, what’s done is done.

I thought we would’ve been screwed, but your quick reflexes was still for the best.
And, at last, from the deepest part of the cave, along with the loud footsteps, a familiar large monster appears before us.

“Geba geba geba~a!”

We meet again, Manticore.
In addition to being comparatively larger than a human, that creepy face which looks like a mixture of a leopard and a human is utterly terrifying.
When I first encountered it, I wasn’t all that scared before since it was smaller than me compared to my dragon form, but looking at it now from a human’s perspective, I can understand their fear.

When the Manticore sees Partner, it starts to drool from its fangs.
Yarg runs away a significant distance before stopping to turn and watch in the sidelines .

“…… I-I brought a sacrifice for you!”

Yarg said to the Manticore, hoping it would spare him.
The way he said it felt like he was begging the Manticore not to kill him.
This is why the Lithuvar Tribe fears the Manticore.