Territory is a sensitive issue for animals and humans alike. For humans, on a broad scale, it means a country—its territory—and on a smaller scale, a home.

None of the three basic necessities—food, clothing, and shelter—is unimportant, but shelter is what keeps us safe in our daily lives. Without a home, we’re never safe from natural disasters or all sorts of other mishaps. That’s why humans and animals alike need territory to lead safe lives.

Even humans get wary or confrontational when a stranger enters their home. How much worse would it be for an animal? I hadn’t set out to locate the gorillas’ territory for no reason.

'But judging by the owlbear and the mad dogs, there seem to be territorial disputes here too.'

I’d set out boldly enough, but there was plenty to worry about. First, what would happen to the territories of the owlbear and mad dogs now that they were gone? I’d wondered about that several times, but hadn’t noticed anything so far. There had been a kangaroo in the cave where the owlbear lived, but it had run away at the sight of me.

The possibility of other animals moving in to claim the vacant territory was finally starting to feel real. The saber-toothed tiger was a monster I’d barely defeated even with the speed-sloth’s help. Alone, I would have died several times over.

'If something’s bold enough to muscle into that saber-toothed tiger’s territory...'

It might have challenged the tiger even while it was alive. Or it might already have become the undisputed ruler of this whole area.

'I’ve been marking my territory pretty regularly too.'

I wasn’t being serious, of course. I just relieved myself wherever. Still, I’d believed that would count as marking my territory a little.

'Here’s the owlbear cave.'

Retracing yesterday’s route from memory, I reached the owlbear cave. My original plan had been to use this as a starting point to explore the surroundings.

"Kyuu! Kyu!"

That was before Roundfur dashed inside. I hastily called after him, but he was already in there. Shaking my head, I entered the cave.

"Kyaaaak! Kyaaak!"

Before I’d gone very far, though, Roundfur came running back out. Judging by his terrified expression, something must be in there. I managed to calm the trembling cub and peeked inside.

"Whoa."

I could see why he was terrified. The things inside were no joke. The kangaroo I’d seen yesterday was hopping around in there. The problem was that it wasn’t alone—there were several of them. Apparently, they’d claimed this place as their territory. Exactly what I’d feared had happened. A mob of kangaroos had taken the owlbear’s place.

'But do kangaroos live in environments like this?'

Maybe it was just a preconceived notion, but on the Earth I’d lived on, kangaroos usually lived in Australia. I supposed they could live anywhere with grass, trees, or other things to eat... but I couldn’t help finding them a little out of place.

Putting my feelings aside, I decided to retreat quietly. Picking a fight now would do me no good, and I still had plenty of places to explore.

'To escape, I’ll have to pass through the animals’ territories...'

That bothered me too. I would inevitably have to trespass on other animals’ territory. With bad luck, I could end up fighting the animals that ruled those territories one after another. I needed more information to prevent that.

'Wait. Come to think of it...'

I turned to look back at the entrance to the owlbear’s nest. I was thinking about Lais Kraone, the owner of the books I’d found here.

'How did that person live in an owlbear’s nest? Were they here before the owlbear arrived?'

Allfather would probably tell me about that later too. After gazing at what was now the kangaroos’ cave, I moved on.

I still couldn’t pin down where the gorillas’ territory was. Using my trip upriver as a reference would help, but even that was vague.

'The river itself could be their territory.'

It was easier on my nerves to treat this as general exploration while mapping out territories. If I found any droppings along the way, I could just stop. With my excellent sniffer dog—no, sniffer bear—along, finding them should be easy.

"Sniff, sniff. Sniff."

"Hey, now. Roundfur, that’s yucky. Yucky."

That didn’t mean I wanted him to find mushrooms. I hastily stopped him for fear he might eat one.

I continued exploring, carefully marking my path so I wouldn’t get lost. As I went, I suddenly realized the terrain was gradually changing.

'This is practically a jungle, not a forest.'

The leaves were turning a deeper green, and moss was becoming more abundant. Quite a few stretches of the forest floor had been stone rather than dirt, but at some point, it had become nothing but tangled roots.

Even the air had changed noticeably. Especially the humidity. It had been somewhat dry just a moment ago, but somewhere along the way, it had grown damp.

'It didn’t feel like space shifted around me, though.'

There was none of the jarring change I’d felt across the river. It was more that I’d simply found myself in a jungle at some point. I considered turning back, but decided to explore a little longer.

"Holy f*ck."

Not long after making that decision, I discovered a new species. I had no idea where it had come from, but a creature was crawling steadily forward. It looked exactly like a snail. The problem was its size. Its shell alone was much bigger than me. Its actual body went without saying.

'Is this what a snail from Maple World would feel like?'

Watching a person-sized snail crawl along was utterly horrifying. But it also puzzled me. Wouldn’t something that big get eaten in no time?

'There must be a reason, right?'

No poking it just to find out. Leaving it to go on its way was the best policy. I passed the snail, which was crawling along as slowly as a sloth. Before long, I realized how it managed to survive.

HISSSSS

"..."

The ground the snail had passed over—all the grass there had melted. Worse, wisps of smoke were rising as though even the soil had dissolved.

It seemed to be either poison like the golden frog’s or some acidic substance. Given how snails worked, perhaps its entire body was poisonous and acidic. Eat that thing, and your body would probably melt into liquid.

'... I’ll call it an acid snail.'

Surely it wouldn’t spit liquid from its mouth like the frog. Just in case, I put plenty of distance between us.

I explored various parts of the jungle, but eventually turned back after finding nothing else of note.

'Do the gorillas not live here?'

Either they lived farther in, or I’d gone in the wrong direction. Roundfur hadn’t found anything in particular either, so it felt like a wasted trip.

'The time... I’ve still got plenty left.'

Checking the time on the forum, I saw it was only two thirty. I’d planned to explore until five at the latest, so I could probably keep looking a little longer. Still, I stayed out of the jungle as a precaution. Running into gorillas would be trouble.

"Hmm?"

Just as I was deciding to head back, I spotted something strange: a tree with a deep indentation in the middle. With all the fighting in the Forest of Four Seasons, a scarred tree wasn’t unusual. But the mark on this one really stood out.

'Is that... a handprint?'

A handprint was clearly stamped into the trunk. Whatever else it was, it didn’t look human. I couldn’t tell what kind of ape it belonged to. I wasn’t an expert.

I could tell exactly two things: it was much larger than my hand, and its proportions were different. The palm was much bigger than the fingers, and the whole thing was more than twice the size of my hand.

'... This could be a territorial marker.'

That was my guess as I examined the print, which easily accommodated my entire hand.

If a gorilla really had left this mark, I should probably leave right away. Wandering around here could get me ambushed.

'Are there any other signs?'

Still, I wanted to get a clearer idea of their territory. I couldn’t let a single handprint scare me into doing nothing. I was just about to turn my head when it happened.

"Huh?"

My fingertips brushed another indentation. There was another print beside the large handprint. The trunk was so thick that I’d nearly missed it. But that wasn’t what surprised me.

'This one... actually looks like a human handprint.'

It was far smaller than the handprint beside it. Though bigger than my own hand, it was within the range of a normal large hand. I wondered if it belonged to a young gorilla, but that wasn’t it either.

'The fingers are long.'

The fingers were particularly long. Comparing the two prints made the difference obvious. Could it have belonged to Lais, who’d been attacked by the gorilla troop? That didn’t seem right either. I didn’t know why, but the marks gave me a sense of closeness. As though they’d made the prints to show off their bond.

I studied the two handprints and took a photo, planning to post it on the forum later.

'They look pretty old... I don’t know.'

I couldn’t tell whether a survivor had made this print or whether it belonged to a mutant. Still puzzling over it, I headed out of the jungle. I couldn’t stay any longer.

'I’ve got things to think about. Better head back to camp.'

I wanted to explore more, but I changed my plans. I’d found what appeared to be a trace of a survivor. And a survivor other than Lais, at that.

'How did they end up leaving a handprint? With a gorilla, no less?'

Turning the stubborn question over in my head, I returned to camp. The moment I got back, I felt the tension drain out of me.

"Hmm?"

But something was strange. Something felt inexplicably off. What was it? I couldn’t put my finger on it. Everything was familiar, yet somehow unfamiliar. The objects seemed to have shifted subtly.

'Why’s the laundry down? Did I not secure it properly?'

The first sign was the laundry I’d hung on the line, now strewn across the ground. The metal tub seemed slightly out of place too, and something was off about the charcoal container. Signs that someone had been here were everywhere, putting me on guard.

'There’s nobody inside, though.'

I peeked into the cave and found no one. For a moment, I’d thought there was an intruder. Rubbing the back of my neck, I put away my weapons and stepped inside.

As soon as I entered the cave, the sense that something was wrong grew much stronger. No, it wasn’t just a feeling. Something was missing altogether.

"Huh?"

I tended to keep my belongings neatly organized so they’d be easy to find. That made it easy to identify what had disappeared.

"What the hell? Where are the fasting pills?"

The fasting pills were gone. Sack and all. Since they were mostly for the speed-sloth, I kept them in one place. If they were missing... there was only one explanation. Someone had broken into my camp and taken them.

Thieves even in the forest? But it wasn’t strange, really. Hadn’t a raccoon stolen fasting pills during the last downpour? Of course, the speed-sloth had taught that raccoon a lesson, and it had ended up in Roundfur’s belly.

"..."

Had hearing that the fasting pills were gone come as quite a shock? The speed-sloth scrambled down from my back at its fastest possible peacetime—not wartime—speed. Then it stared forlornly at the spot where the fasting pills had been. I could practically feel its devastation and fury.

Who on earth had stolen the fasting pills? They hadn’t even touched anything else.

'Could there be footprints?'

The culprit always leaves a trace. Leaving the quietly furious speed-sloth behind, I went outside. A careful inspection of the ground revealed footprints that hadn’t been there before.

'I’ll post these on the forum.'

I didn’t know who the culprit was, but...

'I’ve never seen Speedy this angry before.'

All they had left to look forward to was death at Speedy’s hands.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the jungle.

"Ooh-ho-ho! Ooh-ho!"

"Oooooh! Ooh-hoo-hoo!"

The gorillas were enjoying an unexpected feast.