Chapter 69 – Vampires (5)
Aaaaah!
The creepy sound of wings as if tickling the eardrum directly.
Match!
Roden, who had winced her eyes in her sleep, reflexively swatted her own cheek and forced her to open them.
“Write it.”
Roden, who was rubbing her eyes, fumbled for his switch to turn on the magic light. Then he muttered involuntarily.
“The damn mosquito…”
Cesco makes me sick.
As expected, the crushed mosquitoes and bright red bloodstains that had filled the guy’s stomach were clearly visible on the palm. It’s not a very pleasant picture to say that I saw it as soon as I opened my eyes.
The scenery through the window is the bright sun slowly rising from over the hill. In terms of experience, Roden woke up about 20 minutes earlier than usual.
Roden, who felt uncomfortable falling asleep again because of the mosquito remnants on her palm, headed straight to the bathroom to start the early morning.
While I was spending some time alone organizing items in the basement or reading a book, Loxia’s visit, who woke up the second in the family after Roden, opened slowly.
The girl, who rubbed her eyes like a cat, nodded as soon as she made eye contact with her owner.
“…Master, did you sleep well?”
“Did Roxia sleep well?”
“Yes…”
Roxia’s voice, having just woken from her slumber, is slightly stretched. After she said good morning, she washed her face with cold water, and the girl, who was alert, started making her breakfast with the owner.
“Haaam—good morning everyone.”
“Aww! The two of them always get up early.”
By the time the breakfast was almost ready, the twin sisters who came out side by side for the last time greeted each other in order, washed up briefly, and sat down at the table.
The four people gathered like that began to eat as usual, with one hand holding the tableware while the other hand was gently touching the area that had been bitten by a mosquito.
No matter how itchy it is, I’m in the middle of eating, so I can’t scratch openly. Fumbling around her shoulder, Marill put down her utensils and looked at Roden.
“Brother Roden, that medicine that cools you down when you apply it… Can I get you another bottle?”
“It’s okay because there’s still some left over. I’ll hand it to you later.”
“Thank you. By the way, mosquitoes are getting more and more serious these days.”
“That’s right. Especially this morning I was forced to wake up because of mosquitoes.”
The mosquitoes that have recently been infested are gradually spreading despite the steady subjugation of adventurers who have a lot of hatred towards them. Now it’s not just Barmela’s territory, but it’s about to spread all over the nearby lands.
Even if you sleep outside or inside the house, you are often attacked by some mosquitoes that have crept in between the window frames.
Merim, who had been quietly listening to the two of them while munching her mouth, gulped down her contents and pointed to Roden and Roxia, who were seated across from her, in order.
“Hmm, judging by the appearance, it seems that oppa and Roxia were bitten while they were sleeping too?”
“This time, he’s been sprained.”
“I stop and get caught between my ring fingers, so even if I apply medicine, it’s painful…”
“Ugh, why did she take it away?”
The four people, who talked to each other about where they were bitten by mosquitoes, finished their meal shortly after, packed their belongings and equipment, and got ready to go out.
After putting on all the equipment, he came out to the living room and put on a helmet. Roden muttered in a lifeless voice.
“Damn the mosquitoes… We’ll just have to put an end to it this time.”
“Seeing as he tried to kill the mosquitoes himself even after closing the store for a few days, it seems that my brother has been fed quite a bit this time.”
“Don’t even talk. Now, just hearing the letter “ㅁ” Of a mosquito makes the hairs all over your body stand up.”
Even the body of a superhuman who can freely handle auras cannot completely escape from the clutches of mosquitoes. This is also true of Roden, who was called a hero in the past.
Theoretically, you can completely defend against mosquito attacks in real time by wrapping mana all over your body, and if you are at the level of Roden, you can keep it even while sleeping.
However, if you take such a method, the fatigue accumulates day by day, and the energy automatically disappears. In simple terms, it means that the quality of sleep is drastically reduced.
Roden eventually chose to sleep well, but… In return, he bites off a little bit of his arm and leg every night.
Not only that, but her twin sisters and Loxia are also donating blood to mosquitoes between closing and opening her eyes, so all four of them are quite stressed.
Until now, I had not been able to identify the source of the mosquitoes, so I had been passively responding, but as soon as I received clear information that the epicenter of the mosquito crisis was a swampy area in the southeast direction, I decided to resolve the current situation quickly.
Of course, he didn’t forget to accept a request from the adventurer’s guild to completely eliminate the source of mosquitoes in advance. If you move, it’s better to have a reward.
Money is always right
Snug.
After lightly polishing the bastard sword and inserting it into the scabbard, Roden decided to go over to the girl who was practicing spells and make a final check.
“Roxia, do you really intend to follow me? I’ve said it before, but it’s okay to watch over the house while we’re gone.”
This time, instead of returning home in half a day, he closed the store for a few days before going on an expedition.
Even the destination is a swampy area belonging to a rather rough terrain in the surrounding area. From the point of view of the guardian, it is a place that is reluctant to take it together.
Her twin sister looked at her girl with a silent nod, as if Roden had the same idea.
“I’ve thought about it on my own, but I’d rather be with my uncle and sisters than remain at home alone. I’ll do my best not to disturb everyone… Can I follow along?”
“…Okay. If that’s the conclusion you came to after thinking for yourself, then I won’t say anything more. Instead, this expedition could be more dangerous and more dangerous than usual, so stick close to us at any time. Okay?”
“Yes!”
That’s how Roden and Roxia, twin sisters. In this way, the four of them completely locked the store door to end the mosquito crisis, and started walking side by side toward the swampy area in the southeast direction.
* * *
As the sun began to set in the early evening, the group of Roden, who were walking toward the swamp, stopped for a moment at the midway point connecting the dense forest and the swamp.
“If we go further like this, we will enter the area where the Lizardmen live.
Roden looked around and spoke quietly. He pulled out a wide cloth from his inventory and spread it across the bush, and the four of them settled into it.
The width of the cloth on the floor is not at a level where four people can lie down, but there is enough space to sit and rest comfortably.
Beep beep.
With Merim’s help, Roden coolly drank a water canteen filled with half-frozen water and looked at the map showing the simple topography of the swamp again.
In the center of the map, [The village of the Blackscale Tribe] Was written simply and clearly.
Merim, who was steaming herself with a small block of ice created by her magic, stared blankly at the knife Roden was holding before opening her mouth.
“Hey, hey. Roden oppa, have you ever seen a Lizardman…?”
“I happened to run into them a few times when I was traveling in the past. How about you guys?”
Her twin sisters shook their heads side by side. Roden met her eyes with Roxy, just in case, but she also shook her head.
… Well, if you didn’t have to go to the swamp, it wouldn’t be unreasonable that you didn’t have a relationship with the Lizardmen.
“Then, do you know the approximate information about Lizardmen?”
To this question, she confidently nodded, saying that her twin sister knew a word.
“Yes. Lizardmen in the northern continent where we live usually only settle in humid locations like swamps, and their relationship with humans… I know they are in a neutral position.”
“For now, it is classified as a beastman, but it is said that its entire body is covered with hard scales instead of hair.”
“Both are correct. Upon investigation, they say that the Blackscale tribe, which we will meet soon, often trades with human merchants. Let it stop.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Roden’s party rested for a few more minutes, then got up and started moving forward again. I intend to continue on without stopping until it is completely dark.
In the middle of the road, they encountered swarms of mosquitoes accompanied by giant mosquitoes several times, but it was just a little annoying happening for them who got used to dealing with them.
… After a while. As the blue moon was about to rise above the sky, a huge lake slowly began to appear in Roden’s field of vision.
The sight of the 15-kilometer-wide lake, which emits more green light like the leaves around it than blue light, looks like a huge living creature.
At the end of such a lake, wooden buildings were gathered in the middle of the swamp. The wooden foundation of the house was completely submerged in the swamp. It is truly a structure for living aquatic life.
At first glance, the building the Lizardmen live in looks rough, but is quite efficient and artistically designed.
“Wow… These are better-built buildings than I thought. Uncle, is the village where the Lizardmen live originally like this?”
“No, it felt a bit wilder than here, but maybe there are people who are good at building buildings. Or that the Lizardmen who live here are exceptionally good at building buildings… Well, let’s go to the main gate for now.”
In the Lizardman’s village, there is a 2M high wooden wall that is so elaborate and densely crafted that it would be rude to compare it to the fence built in the goblin village I’ve seen before. Quite a few monsters wouldn’t even dare to invade the Lizardmen’s living quarters.
Roden has options such as jumping over fences or cutting down, but he didn’t come all the way here to attack the Lizardmen’s village.
As the four slowly approached the front door, a Lizardman guard, a resident of the swamp, hissed at Roden’s party, alerting them. In their hands is a spear, a very effective weapon for hunting.
The scales that reflect dark blue light cover the whole body, and the muscles in the body and tail show the warrior’s unique physical beauty.
Just before Roden, who had lightly raised his hands to lower the guards’ vigilance, opened his mouth, the Lizard Man spoke first.
“…Did you guys come all the way here to get rid of the nests of bloodsucking insects?”
