How to Use the Lord’s Future Diary

Chapter 12

It seemed like Dr. Nickel noticed my bewildered mood, because his explanation grew even more long-winded.

“Of course, that strange habit wouldn’t have existed from the beginning. But horned rabbits are prey animals at the very bottom of the food chain. Naturally, prey are bound to be highly sensitive to environmental changes. Isn’t that the fate of prey?”

“The fate of prey, huh. So, you’re saying they establish their territory around their droppings in order to breed in a safe place? And because a place without droppings is unstable, they neither defecate nor attempt to breed there?”

“That is my guess, yes. All creatures develop in ways favorable to their survival. Even beings of another world should not be so different from animals in that respect, don’t you think?”

At first, I thought it was utterly absurd, but the more I listened, the more plausible it started to sound.

Besides, this man had a silver tongue. I felt myself getting drawn in little by little.

‘Is this why people fall for scams?’

I felt confused.

“Well, fine. Let’s give it a try.”

“Thank you, my lord. You will not regret this.”

To be honest, I still didn’t believe Dr. Nickel’s theory was correct.

The idea that droppings required more droppings to appear struck me as pure irony, not to mention the fact that if they truly only bred in safe areas, I had no explanation for why they hadn’t bred at all during the three years they’d been under protection.

No matter how stupid they were, shouldn’t they have realized this place was safe even without droppings after being protected for three years?

‘Besides, this guy doesn’t even make sense.’

This man claimed that, since horned rabbits were otherworldly creatures, common sense didn’t apply. Yet at the end, he slipped in our world’s logic to explain their habits.

But logic didn’t matter much.

Since the diary had shown me this man, unless it was truly nonsensical, I intended to grant his request.

‘And the timing is perfect.’

Now was the best possible moment to attempt such an experiment.

To properly capture horned rabbits, I would have needed to wander the Monster Mountains or the Forest of Illusions for quite some time, but thanks to the recent chaos, parts of the Forest of Illusions had been cleared out.

That meant it was the perfect time to capture horned rabbits without special danger.

The only problem was that finding their homes was even harder than finding the rabbits themselves.

As the weakest in the region, horned rabbits hid their dwellings meticulously.

‘Finding rabbit dens to obtain droppings will be the hardest part. I’ll need some time.’

There was no helping that.

It just meant I’d have to do some legwork.

Conveniently, the knights were abuzz about training the recruits. I could arrange a joint search under the pretense of recruit training.

‘And depending on the results, I might be able to understand the diary better too.’

The timing of the diary’s vision had been uncanny.

It had appeared just when I was worrying about the territory’s food supply, and the lunatic the diary had mentioned at the end had brought a supposed solution.

Yet, his logic was ridiculous, something anyone would laugh at.

But what if this man really did solve the food shortage of my territory?

‘Then the diary’s credibility will skyrocket.’

Since the diary’s true nature remained unclear, I had to keep that in mind as well.

---

I announced the creation of a horned rabbit search party to the people of the territory.

Knights, rangers, and soldiers were mobilized, making it quite a large expedition.

Most of them shook their heads, wondering what pointless thing this was.

“But my lord, horned rabbits are already—”

“There’s something I need to confirm.”

“… Ha. Understood, my lord. I’ll prepare.”

“Feels like another pointless errand.”

“So you’re not doing it?”

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Tch, such a personality.”

Butler Harold and Rudick both seemed to think this was wrong, yet they followed my will anyway.

Usually, they treated me casually without formality, but when it came to official orders, they obeyed thoroughly. That was something I greatly appreciated.

“I’m coming too.”

“Peter, you too?”

“Yeah. We’ll be staying in the Forest of Illusions for a few days, right? Then I have to go.”

“Why?”

“Because Evil Spirit Grass is from another world. It doesn’t pair well with crops, but it might be different with other otherworldly plants. And the Forest of Illusions has the richest variety of them.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You never know. There might be some famine crop capable of coexisting with Evil Spirit Grass.”

“In that case, fine. You’re in.”

The alchemist Peter also wished to join this expedition.

He intended to search the Forest of Illusions for famine crops compatible with Evil Spirit Grass.

Normally, I would never have taken a non-combatant like Peter on a forbidden expedition.

But the forest was comparatively peaceful now, and Dr. Nickel, the so-called scholar of Otherworld Studies, would also be with us.

There was no reason not to bring Peter along.

Since our goal was searching for horned rabbits, adding in a search for otherworldly plants wouldn’t cause much trouble.

“Oh, an alchemist, is it? Remarkable.”

“And you’re the scholar of Otherworld Studies, yes? I have high hopes. It’s perfect timing, since I was planning to explore otherworldly plants anyway.”

“Excellent. Just trust this Jack Nickel.”

The territory’s alchemist, Peter, and the self-proclaimed scholar of Otherworld Studies, Jack Nickel.

I had thought that the calm, intellectual Peter would clash with the scam-artist aura of Dr. Nickel, but surprisingly, the two got along well.

Not exactly—what stood out was how skilled Dr. Nickel was at handling people.

“The potions of Johnson Territory are very famous, I hear. Their quality is so high they sell with a premium, yes? About 30%, was it? Truly remarkable.”

“Well, of course. That much is basic. Honestly, the potions on the market are practically watered-down versions.”

“Ohhh, incredible! As expected of a descendant of a great alchemist.”

“Haha, that’s a bit much.”

“The great alchemist in the heavens must be so pleased. To see his descendant following directly in his footsteps—what could bring greater joy?”

With Nickel constantly flattering him, Peter was completely losing his composure.

‘Well, to be fair, that guy really is impressive.’

Everyone in Johnson Territory knew Peter was outstanding.

But Johnson Territory was a land of rough men, and rough men were stingy with recognition and praise.

For Peter, who had no immunity to direct flattery, Nickel’s silver tongue might be a formidable opponent.

Still, did he really have to get so completely disarmed?

This so-called intellectual of Johnson Territory acting like that was just ridiculous.

“As expected of the knights of Johnson Territory. You look very dignified indeed.”

“Haha, do we look so?”

“I’ve traveled many southern territories, but I’ve never seen knights with such power and vigor. I believe this expedition will be most successful.”

“Worry not. We’ll guard you thoroughly so there’ll be no problems in the search.”

“I shall trust you.”

Even Rudick was slowly getting swayed by Nickel’s sparkling eyes.

That said, since he was more like a wild beast in nature, it seemed he was also quietly evaluating Nickel.

“He looks a bit frivolous, but he doesn’t seem malicious.”

“You think so?”

“At least he has clear judgment, doesn’t he? And yes, we are indeed brimming with power.”

“… Hmph.”

Was it my imagination, or had Rudick also half-fallen for his smooth words?

I didn’t take it too negatively though. It didn’t feel like malice, just good flattery.

And in the end, what mattered most to me was whether horned rabbits could actually be bred.

If rabbit breeding really became possible, I didn’t care how shady Nickel seemed—I’d carry him on my shoulders if I had to.

“From here on, it’s dangerous terrain. Everyone, be alert.”

“Understood. Knights, on guard!”

“On guard!”

“On guard!”

We crossed the outer edges of the forest with light hearts.

This was where our people gathered ironwood and herbs. Both soldiers and knights were well accustomed to this area.

But from here, we had to head deeper inside.

Unlike the Monster Mountains, where monsters crawled down every winter, the creatures of this forest tended to be quieter. Because of that, we hadn’t paid much attention here.

Which meant it had been a very long time since we last pushed past the outskirts of the Forest of Illusions.

“It’s quieter than I thought.”

I had expected tension, but the forest was surprisingly silent.

So many monsters had poured into our territory recently that this side had become relatively empty.

Occasionally, groups of Class 5 or 6 monsters attacked, but compared to the Monster Mountains, this place was practically calm.

At this rate, we’d have no trouble securing what we wanted.

“First, we should set up a base camp.”

“I see a good spot over there. The view is clear, and there are only two entry points, which makes it easy to defend.”

“Really?”

“The rangers checked it already. In the forest, their word is law.”

“That’s true. Alright, let’s head there.”

The place the ranger led us to was where two shallow hills intersected, so discreet one could walk past without noticing.

If someone had told me to find a hiding place, I would’ve chosen this exact spot. It suited me perfectly.

As expected of specialists whose lives revolved around reconnaissance, they had found an excellent site.

“But wait…”

Just as I was moving toward our new base camp with satisfaction, something strange caught my eye.

Unfamiliar plants were growing there, but they looked as though someone had tended to them.

Plants arranged in neat rows and columns—no one could mistake that for natural growth.

And there was a faint sign of presence…

“Eek!!!”

Sensing something odd, I gestured to a ranger. Nodding, the ranger moved to the spot I pointed out and suddenly lifted something away.

It looked like a rock, but it was far lighter. Once it was removed, something else was revealed underneath.

A boy—about in his mid-teens, if judged by human standards.

I said “human standards” because what appeared was not human.

“Isn’t that… a beastman?”

“Yes, a beastman. Judging by the ears… rabbit tribe?”

That’s right. A beastman.

The child hiding there belonged to the rabbit tribe.

When people think of beastmen, they usually imagine something half-human, half-animal, but he didn’t look like that at all.

From a modern perspective, it was more like someone cosplaying as a beastman.

Aside from the ears and tail, he was fully human. Anyone fond of such traits might even say, “Oh, nice.”

In fact, beastmen in this world were not much different from humans, and they could even have children together.

I didn’t know how the genetics worked, but apparently when humans and beastmen married, the child was born either fully human or fully beastman, without any half-bloods.

“To think we came to capture horned rabbits, and instead…”

But instead of horned rabbits, I had found a rabbit-tribe child. The whole situation struck me as nothing but absurd.