Chapter 111 – [Hero] Journey
We closed the case and left town the next day.
With the dog leaving the village on its own volition, they won’t be attacked again, but for us, the case isn’t quite over yet.
“Perhaps he will be the first and not the last. There must be more cases like that around.”
Before departing, we had a meeting at the village chief’s house.
Where do we go now
I wanted to visit the forest of the elves, but I agreed that the problem at hand was more urgent.
The experiment of cursing people to change their form, was probably an experiment conducted while the two Four Heavenly Kings imprisoned us inside Aseila.
“Maybe it was before. Because it didn’t seem like a curse that could be made overnight.”
“Yes, it may have been prepared a very long time ago. But if you do that, something strange happens.”
Actually, Seria and Arin were leading the conversation, and Uni and I were listening.
“Is there anything strange about it?”
“Yes, if they have been experimenting like this since the old days, why are they showing their tails after not leaving a single trace?”
“Um…”
Of course, none of us knew the answer.
Only the Four Heavenly Kings know that.
“As expected, I have to catch one of them to dig up information…”
Seria frowned and said that.
It sounds easy, but is it really possible?
We all felt that fact, so we sighed deeply.
After that, I shared my opinions a little more, but I couldn’t know anything for sure.
It’s all speculation.
Considering that similar rumors have not been heard in the surrounding villages, it is possible that similar experiments may not have been conducted in this area,
There might be someone in this town reporting the results of the experiment.
There was no solid evidence of anything.
“Um… So what should we do?”
“To be honest, there is nothing we can do. You can’t just dig into this case all day when there’s no evidence.”
Arin seemed a bit dissatisfied with Seria’s words, but she didn’t particularly find fault with it, as if she recognized that she was too unreasonable in reality.
“So where are we going now? Since the location of the Four Heavenly Kings has also been specified, I don’t think we need to stop by the villages mentioned in the church…”
Even though I found the Four Heavenly Kings, I had to avoid them. Is this a hero?
It was funny to see ourselves, but this was our reality.
“Hey, then that… How about the elves’ forest?”
When everyone was silent, I cautiously presented my opinion.
Then, sure enough, Seria looked at me with her eyes wide open.
“You want to walk right into the trap the enemy has set?”
“No, that… There is no destination anyway. I don’t think they set a trap…”
Of course I’m not sure.
How can you trust the Four Heavenly Kings?
However, what I personally felt after seeing Sera is only a subtle impression that she may not have lied to her.
Of course, this alone can’t put the party in danger, but right now, there are no other options.
“Certainly there is truth in what the hero said. If they were going to set a trap, they wouldn’t have let us escape the city in the first place.”
“We don’t even know exactly what their purpose is. It’s too dangerous.”
Seria was steadfastly against, the rest were in favor.
In the end, Seria lowered her tail first, as if she knew that persuasion would not work.
“OK got it. You can go.”
“Thank you, Seria.”
“Whew… Whatever happens, I don’t know.”
Even if she said that, if something happened, she would be the hardest.
Because that’s Seria.
Seeing Seria grunting with her arms crossed, I smiled slightly.
***
So we set our next target for that distant elven forest.
Since it was not a one-day or two-day walk, we naturally intended to pass through several towns and villages along the way.
As I trudged along again for the first time in a while, there were as many encounters with monsters as before.
“Quyeeeeek!”
“Eric, ahead!”
Caang!
I raised my sword and blocked the opponent’s weapon.
The man-sized orcs were carrying sharp weapons, probably on their way to killing other humans.
“Bless you!”
Upon receiving Arin’s blessing, her body began to gain strength.
I cut off the orc’s sword with overwhelming power and swung the back of the sword into the orc’s neck.
“Queueek!”
The shock must have been so great that one orc stumbled.
Just as I was about to retrieve the sword, another orc jumped at me from the side.
Perong!
At just the right time, Seria’s magic exploded and burned the orc.
“Thank you, Seria!”
“Oh, it’s not me.”
“Huh?”
She turned her head to greet Seria, but she was holding another orc.
It seemed that the opponent had already lost their will to fight, but the orc was still alive even though his lower body was half melted.
“Keuk, keuek… Kiek…”
At that point, wouldn’t it be better to just kill him?
I slowly turned my head at the cruel look.
Behind me, Mr. Jeren was standing holding a staff.
“You have to be careful.”
“… Thank you.”
His gaze naturally went to the staff he was holding.
The staff that Seria was holding. Why is he holding this?
Needless to say, it was because Seria gave it to him.
Every time I saw this, I felt like my insides were boiling for some reason, but there was nothing wrong with Seria’s words that he had to use her full power after he was able to use her magic.
However, he said that the staff was a precious thing he received from his teacher.
Can I pass it on to others so lightly?
I didn’t like that at all.
“Eric! There are still more!”
Yuni shouted loudly at me with one eye open.
“Oops!”
Damn, I was caught off guard!
I hurriedly turned my body forward, but two orcs were already approaching me.
I can’t deal with both at the same time… !
Still, I stopped the hammer wielding by the guy closest to me.
Cooong!
“Heuk!”
I blocked it, but the shock was transmitted intact.
My head is dizzy.
There is still one left.
But I can’t swing my sword right now!
“Kwueeeeek! Que… Eh?”
At that moment, the movement of the orc who was screaming and running toward me stopped.
“Kuh, kuh?”
First of all, the orc didn’t stop because he wanted to.
The orc tried to move his body with a bewildered look, but he was immovable.
“Whew… Thank god. Hero, are you all right?”
I heard Arin’s voice behind me.
Scale? Did Arin do this?
“I’ll talk to you later. First of all, please focus in front of your eyes!”
“Yes!”
Yes. First of all, this guy in front of me comes first.
I knocked him off balance with Yuni’s spirit art and stunned the orc with Arin’s blessing.
Roaring!
In the end, the corpses that fainted were finished off by Seria.
“Ha… Are you still unable to kill me?”
“Sorry…”
“It’s okay. It’s not even a day or two, so what?”
Seria looked at me with cold eyes, as if I looked a little pathetic.
I thought I overcame it too…
Maybe it’s because I’ve met only very strong opponents these days, but since I’ve been dealing with normal monsters like this, I’ve been able to afford it to some extent.
As long as you don’t be vigilant like before, you won’t get hurt.
As a result, they hesitate before cutting their breath again.
In the end, when Seria took care of them, they all died the same way, but I didn’t want to kill them.
Even thinking about it, it was a ridiculous mindset.
“There is nothing wrong with respecting life itself, hero.”
As I was making a gloomy expression, Arin came over and comforted me.
“Yeah, thank you… But killing monsters is my role…”
“You worrying like that proves that you are kind.”
Arin put her hand on top of mine and smiled at her.
“Haha… Is it? Thank you.”
After taking a break like that, I suddenly asked a question I had heard before.
“How did you do that? The orc couldn’t move.”
“Ah, is that what you mean? Actually, Sera-san, no, I learned from the Four Heavenly Kings.”
She whispered to me as if telling me her secret.
“Ah, manipulating people… ?”
“It’s not that far…”
Arin said that in her Aseela, she taught her to use her blessings more accurately.
The priests’ blessing eventually strengthens the opponent’s body, which is equivalent to having some control over the opponent’s body if you look closely, she said.
“Therefore… Well, it can be exploited like we saw then, but it can also be used in a way that binds the opponent’s movements like this.”
“Awesome, I didn’t know it was such an ability.”
“… I didn’t know either. No one has ever said anything like this.”
Her expression darkened when she said that.
“I think very few people know about this. How does she know all this detail?”
“Um… I know.”
“Remember the greeting she said to us before she left town?”
Oh, that’s it then.
I don’t know, but it was a very formal greeting.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually seen it, but it’s a very old religious ritual.”
“Okay?”
“Yes. It is a greeting to someone who is equal to or slightly higher than you.”
Why does the Four Heavenly Kings know that?
“Maybe she is an old person.”
“Antiquity…”
Arin cautiously stated her own guess.
She is old
In fact, no one really knows about their identities, so maybe she’s right.
“Then did a person become a monster?”
She didn’t know where she had heard her story, and Yuni suddenly stuck her head out and interrupted her story.
“Yoo, Uni! You were surprised. How long have you been there?”
“Hee hee, from the beginning?”
“No, you should have said something.”
It’s a surprise.
Sometimes she would appear like a ghost like this.
It would be nice if you could show off your popularity when you come.
Arin was a little taken aback, but she answered her questions obediently.
“I don’t know. Maybe the man in the village turned into a dog and died…”
“Dead?”
“… Lord, I almost died… It might be something similar.”
When Arin pointed out her mistake, Arin corrected her, blushing slightly.
She thought for a moment to see if her thoughts had not yet been sorted out, she said.
“People change into other beings… In fact, that dog also looked close to a monster. Maybe they are doing research on turning humans into monsters?”
“Um…”
It’s a terrible sound to hear.
A person turns into a monster?
Wouldn’t the precarious war situation become even more unfavorable?
“It is definitely a big crisis. I think I need to report this incident as well.”
After organizing her thoughts, Arin’s expression turned bad.
If her guess is true, she must act quickly.
However, their laid-back attitude.
… Maybe the experiment is already over?
No, it won’t be
So, isn’t it that we already have little chance of winning?
I let go of my worst imagination.
“What are you all doing? Aren’t you eating?”
Seria called us from afar.
“Ah, yes. I’ll go!”
Responding to her words, I turned around and flinched.
It was because Mr. Jeren was standing right next to Seria.
Too… Isn’t it close?
One of his hands was hidden behind Seria, making it difficult to see.
“Yes… The two of us will be preparing, so would you like to come slowly?”
Seria probably looked at me and smiled her eyes.
Together?
I cried out for some reason.
“No, I will go now!”
“… Okay.”
Seria laughed, covering her mouth with her hand as if she knew it.
After dinner in a slightly awkward atmosphere, we went into the tent and got a good night’s sleep.
Of course, you don’t know when the enemy will appear, so I set up a vigil again this time.
Normally, I always stand in the middle, but this time I felt a bit uneasy and changed the arrangement a bit.
Jeren, me, Arin, Yuni, and Seria in that order.
I was worried that he might do strange things to my colleagues, so I placed him first, and I decided to stand next.
Seria is… I wanted to somehow distance myself from him.
I hope it’s just my one-sided guess.
When he announced the order of his vigil, he and Seria had similar expressions.
Thanks to that, even during the first hour of his vigil, I barely slept.
I was so nervous that I could hardly fall asleep.
“Oh, you are awake. Are you okay?”
“Ah, it’s okay… It’s just that I couldn’t sleep…”
I shook my hand lightly at him who was worried about me and switched to him.
At least so far nothing has happened.
I hope it’s all just my whim.
I sat in front of Yuni’s campfire and lost myself in contemplation.
Maybe 5 or 10 minutes passed like that.
There was a rustling sound from the side, and then someone from the woman’s tent suddenly poked his head out.
“… Scale?”
“Hero.”
Looking at the slightly surprised face, I didn’t know whose turn it was now and came out.
Perhaps for a brief business or a drink of her water, she came over to me, hurriedly trimming her messy hair.
“It’s a coincidence, hero. I didn’t know it was the time when the hero was awake.”
She’s next to me, but if she didn’t come out knowing I was there, does that mean she was expecting Mr. Jeren?
For some reason, I was slightly offended.
“I thought she had just fallen asleep.”
Her subsequent words made me realize that I was suspicious.
Arin was just saying it in the manner that he thought that time had passed, but I just over-interpreted it.
Feeling embarrassed for some reason, I poked the firewood with a branch for no reason.
“Huh, should we talk about something like this?”
Arin sat next to me and pushed her face close to mine.
Perhaps because of the roaring bonfire right next to me, the heat rose to my face.
“Uh, yes…”
“Thank you.”
I unknowingly lowered my gaze slightly.
I don’t know why.
No, you really don’t know
My gaze, lowered, was very familiar to her chest.
Also.
Under her priest’s uniform, Arin’s nipples were showing off her presence without underwear.
“… Warrior? Where are you looking at?”
“Oh no! Sorry!”
I did the stupid thing of denying and apologizing at the same time.
Arin heard my stupid answer and she burst into laughter.
“Hero, you know what? The warrior’s gaze is very sloppy these days…”
“… Um, sorry…”
Did you know everything too?
I sneaked a sneak peek from time to time, but I guess she knew it all.
“Sure. When I look at the hero, he sometimes turns his head in a hurry with a bewildered face.”
“Ugh…”
She got stabbed in the face by her, and I had no excuses, so I just blushed at her.
“… Are you curious?”
“What?”
She entered through the brief gap between conversations.
“My heart… Are you that curious?”
“…”
Embarrassed, I almost reflexively denied it, but I kept my mouth shut.
I want to see you honestly
But how could he say that in front of Arin?
You might be slapped for being a pervert.
“Well, then… Would you like to see it?”
Arin said that while sneakily pulling up the hem of her priest’s robe.
And I answered stupidly.
“… Is that okay?”
