Greetings from the Translator: Astherfeld Cryomorph, reporting in. I will be taking care this novel under Flamm"s last name Apricot (following site standard) from here on forward. As per usual with other novels, I will be giving some announcements before the chapter.
First of all, I don"t make a promise I can"t make, so I"ll be straight: I can"t promise a timely update. What I can promise you is to release at least one chapter every two weeks. Unlike other novels I work on, these chapters are huge, so I can"t promise you one chapter per week. Depending on the situation, I might split the chapters into two, releasing one part per week and totaling in a whole chapter every two weeks, but I understand that it might make an inconsistent mess, so I"ll try to do that less, except if it"s under popular demand.
Second of all, I also promise you that this would be the last chapter that has a TL note before the chapter. From the next chapter forward, I will put all translator notes/comments after the chapter, so you can choose to read it or not. I understand that y"all came here for the chapter and not my rambling, so you can choose whether to read it or not.
Either way, enjoy your stay, enjoy the chapter, and I wish you and your extended family a blessed day.
—Astherfeld Cryomorph
We Finally Meet Again Within the swaying coach, the three, Flamm, Milkit and Sarah stuff their mouths with lunch.
The soft and springy white bread was cut to make a gap, and inside it was smeared by spicy sauce while meat and vegetables are wedged between them.
The innate sweetness of the bread and the spiciness of the sauce mixes into a mild flavor that are enjoyable by children.
The lunch was made by Milkit who woke up early before they left the capital.
She wrapped them with paper and brought them for lunch.
Sarah: “Ih ge"i-hush”
With her mouth jammed, Sarah said thus.
Looking at Sarah"s puffed cheeks, Flamm inadvertently choked.
Milkit: “I"m glad you enjoyed it.”
Flamm: “You"re so good at cooking too, huh Milkit?”
“It"s nothing much.”
Flamm: “Is it though? I mean, this is really delicious. You made the sauce from scratch, didn"t you?”
Milkit: “Well I did, but…”
Is that cooking skill something to be cultivated for slaves?
Flamm can also cook, but this too is a very impressive feat.
What was the ingredient, I wonder? I have to ask for the recipe next time. With a serious expression, she bit down on her bread.
Flamm: “By the way, what kind of town is Enichidae?”
Sarah: “Ih a konkrihaid uih ngohing mah.”
Flamm: “Pfft……Sarah-chan, you can answer after you"re done eating.”
Flamm cautioned her as she laughed, and Sarah chewed the chewy bread stuffed in her cheeks and swallowed them in one go.
Is this what they call youth? Flamm took a mental damage.
Sarah: “gulp…It"s a countryside with nothing much it seems. Some time ago they mainly sell medicinal herbs though.”
Flamm: “Some time ago as it may, it"s way back before we were born, right? I remembered the crackdown began just after the war with the demons.”
The war with the demons was an incident 30 years ago.
One day, demons suddenly invaded humanity"s territory to claim them.
The Empire"s army stood up to defend them, and despite taking ma.s.sive casualties, they successfully drove them away.
The church"s clergymen also partic.i.p.ated in the battle, coming out with great achievements. This resulted in the influence of the church soaring within the Empire—or so that"s how it went.
Of course, the Origin had the greatest influence as a religion in the Empire, but at that time, there were still a some believers of other religions.
However, in the present day, 30 years after the incident, there are virtually no other religion than the Origin.
Sarah: “I have no idea why they detested medicinal herbs that much.”
Flamm: “Did they not teach the reasons in the church?”
Sarah: “In the church, they say that medicine will weaken your faith, or your healing magic efficiency will decrease, but there"s no way I"ll believe things like that…yet again, there are children who believe it firmly.”
Being taught thus since they were young, there definitely would be some children who would believe them.
Sarah wasn"t one of them, but—as the carriage shook, her body leaned forward.
As she did, Flamm noticed a mysterious blue tattoo on the back of Sarah"s neck.
Flamm: “Hey, Sarah-chan, what is this behind your neck?”
Sarah: “Ah, that?”
Sarah touched it with her fingertips, and she started explaining.
Sarah: “My hometown…is now long gone, but they believed in a different G.o.d and not Origin-sama. My parents were one of them devout believers, so when I was little, they drew this mark on me. They used a special paint that makes it not gonna disappear, so it"s left like that.”
Special paint? Is it similar to how Flamm"s slave mark was given to her?
But to have lost your hometown, just what had happened?—It was a sensitive question to have been asked, but Sarah herself spoke about it.
Sarah: “By the way, my hometown was destroyed by the demons. It"s already past 8 years ago, and I was only 2 at that time, so I don"t remember much.”
The girl powerlessly smiled.
Sarah: “That Marionee-sama was the same. That was probably why she cared for me.”
Flamm: “Marisan too…”
Never having a chance to talk about it, Flamm didn"t get to know about her circ.u.mstances.
The reason why she behaved differently upon facing demons was because of the grudge she held for the demon had destroyed her hometown.
Perhaps the one person who is the most motivated for journey to slay the demon lord was Maria after all.
And for her, the existence of the non-combatant, useless Flamm is nothing more than a wrench in the gears of her plan.
Sarah: “Even now the demons are still invading human territories over and over again.”
Flamm: “Eh? Even now?”
Sarah: “It"s not a public knowledge, but there are several towns that are flattened in the countrysides.”
Such information should be exempted from the Empire"s newspaper, and that means for the people of the church who knows of this matter, it is a highly cla.s.sified information.
On top of the matter of medicinal herb, Sarah felt that the current policy of the church doesn"t sit well with her.
Sarah: “Fortunately there hasn"t been any casualties, but I definitely won"t forgive "em! If I see a demon I"ll definitely defeat that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Sarah strengthened her tone.
Despite having no memories of her destroyed hometown, she seems to definitely be holding a grudge.
The demons continued on their path of destruction even after the war was over, so Sarah"s rage is justified, but Flamm thought something was off.
Why hasn"t there been any casualties?
Flamm had witnessed the power of the three demonic generals.
With that power, they should be able to turn a countryside town along with its people into a sea of flames.
…is it because they don"t feel like it?
No, Flamm couldn"t boldly put that thought into words in front of Sarah whose hometown had been destroyed in front of her.
But then again, who exactly was the one at fault—
Sarah: “But before that, I"ll need to grow stronger so I can win when I gotta face "em.”
Milkit: “Now that I thought of it, you managed to catch those thieves easily, so isn"t Sarah-sama already plenty strong?”
Sarah: “You can call me Sarah-chan just like you did to Flamm onee-san, you know? Being called “Sarah-sama” somehow makes me feel uncomfortable.”
“I can"t possibly…”
Flamm: “Sarah-chan feels troubled, so please go along with it, okay?”
Milkit: “…If master said so. Then, Sarah-chan.”
As Milkit changed the way she calls Sarah, the latter nodded happily while taking a bite of her bread.
Sarah: “Yu kan skhan me if yu want.”
Milkit: “U, Understood…Scan.”
She had learned Scan just last night.
They ended up postponing the reading and writing lessons because of it, but there will be a lot more chance to use it, so she learnt it it overnight.
It was the first time Milkit ever use magic, so she was awfully nervous.
Although, Scan is a spell that doesn"t require any sort of control, so it"s a spell that even children can cast.
Once you"ve gotten the gist of it, you can still use it no matter how unskilled you are.
Milkit herself, who thought “someone like me can"t possibly do it” without confidence managed to learn the spell in just about an hour.
In glee of managing to cast the spell, she excitedly scanned everything around her, be it the status of Flamm or that of her equipment, over and over again.
Afterwards, they spent several hours explaining the words and numbers displayed from the scan.
Even though she was only earnestly explaining some simple words and numbers, looking at Milkit who looked like she was enjoying every second of it, a smile naturally bloomed on Flamm"s face.
Milkit gazed at the information displayed before her.
Looking at the appearance in front of her, she brought her hand onto her mouth and chuckled, causing Flamm to also be drawn to check Sarah"s status.
——————————————————————————
Sarah Ambiren
Attribute: Light
Strength: 285
Intelligence: 301
Endurance: 123
Agility: 227
Intuition: 133
——————————————————————————
And thus, they were shocked.
Is this seriously the status of a 10-year-old? they thought.
The sum of her status value is 1069, meaning her strength is similar to those of a lower C-rank adventurer.
Perhaps the reason why she was granted freedom of actions by the church is because they recognized her talent.
Seeing the surprisingly high status, Flamm remembered her impatience and quickly scanned the status of the crest she has on her palm and the gauntlet next to her.
——————————————————————————
Item: Soul-Eating Zweihander
Rarity: Epic
【Strength -320】
【Intelligence -99】
【Endurance -297】
【Agility -183】
【Intuition -111】
——————————————————————————
Item: Blood-stained Steel Gauntlet
Rarity: Rare
【Strength -82】
【Intelligence -101】
——————————————————————————
The total is 1193—that"s alright, I haven"t lost, she thought.
The Soul-Eater curse was strengthened after she killed the Anzu, stacking the debuff.
Yet again, the change was minuscule.
To impose a bigger status change, she"ll have to cut down a lot of monsters.
It"s uncertain, however, if the speed of Flamm"s improvement can match the speed of Sarah"s development.
It"s not as if Flamm is trying to compete with Sarah.
Naturally that means there is no need to rush, but at the very least, as long as she is being called “onee-san” by Sarah, she wants to look admirable like one.
Sarah: “The clothes that you two are wearing, are those common items without any enchantments?”
Sarah asked the two as she scanned their clothes.
Common-grade equipment cannot be enchanted.
That means their equipment are very normal items.
Flamm: “If you set the looks aside, you can buy some Rare-grade clothes, but…still, right?”
Sarah: “Certainly there are some with good design and great stats, but clothes like that are way beyond our budget, right?”
Common is the lowest-grade of equipment, and you can"t scan them to figure out the good or bad part of the clothes.
Sarah: “But still, those are some cute clothes you"re wearing, Flamm onee-san…I mean, the one I"m wearing looks childish in comparison.”
Sarah took a glance to her developing limbs and turned crestfallen.
But she immediately recovered and turned to praise Milkit"s clothes.
Sarah: “But I admire Milkit onee-san"s clothes though. That frilly lace, that ribbon on the chest, I mean it"s full of cuteness. I too would like to wear something like that sometimes.”
Flamm: “Milkit chose this herself. It suits her really well, right? I feel happy for being able to see it every day.”
Sarah: “I get you, I want one of her for myself.”
Flamm: “No way, this girl is exclusive to me.”
Saying thus, Flamm hugged Milkit"s arm.
In the wake of the two"s praises, Milkit who is not used to being praised hung her head in embarra.s.sment.
Milkit: “…Master, Sarah-chan, are you by any chance poking fun at me?”
Flamm: “Fu-fu-fu, have I been found out?”
Sarah: “Myy~ Milkit onee-san is quite sharp isn"t she?”
Flamm: “It"s because she"s my maid, you know?
Milkit: “You"re saying that sort of things again, come on…”
The girl puffed her cheeks.
Her change of expression is percievable even through her bandaged face.
Including this gesture, Flamm thought honestly that the girl is very cute.
Milkit, as well, started out thinking there"s no way that is true in self-denial immediately as she was praised, but recently, she is gradually started to be honest and feel happy.
It doesn"t change the fact that it"s still embarrasing, however.
It"s only been several days that the two lived together, yet during those times, the distance between the two had certainly shortened.
Sarah: “Really, how admirable.”
Looking at the two messing around, Sarah said thus.
What appeared in her mind was her elder-sister figure Maria.
They haven"t been meeting each other recently.
The loneliness she felt resurfaced as she saw the scene of Flamm and Milkit who looked like siblings.
◇◇◇
Despite the boring ride, the three had so much fun chatting that time pa.s.sed by in the blink of an eye.
They stopped by the transit town, staying for one night while having a taste of the local goods before leaving the next morning on another carriage.
Depending on the weather, the road and the condition of the horse, there is a possibility of having to spend another night, but they arrive to their destination—Enichidae—later that night.
After they disembarked the carriage, the carriage left for another town.
The next carriage will arrive in this town in 3 days.
If the three can"t harvest the medicinal herbs by then, they"ll have to request another carriage after a while, but they should be done by then.
They were nailed to the ground as they stood gazing at the scenery unfolding in front of their eyes.
It"s true that there are houses lined up like usual, yet the lights that flicker in front of them are a mere handful.
The main street void of illuminations from street lights were swallowed by the darkness. It"s in a condition where if they want to proceed, they would need to bring a lantern as if they were to explore a cave.
Flamm: “Is there people living here?”
Sarah: “It looks like only about a dozen of people left living here.”
Milkit: “I wonder if there is even an inn in a place like this.”
In every town there would normally be at least one establishment for travelers to stay their night.
Believing thus and wandering around looking for an in, the three couldn"t find an inn, and they can"t even find anyone to ask.
Depending on the location, you could also ask town of the inhabitants if you can stay over.
Or perhaps they can stay outdoors and enjoy the views—as those thoughts crossed their minds,
Milkit: “Isn"t it that over there?”
Milkit found a signboard that looks like it belonged to an inn.
But there were no lights in the building, and the entrance was locked.
Flamm put her lantern near the door, and she found traces of a torn poster.
She stood still and tried reading it.
Flamm: “To visitors with businesses in the inn, please ask for Stude from the house next door, it said. I wonder if they kept it closed if n.o.body comes.”
Milkit: “Is it because there are barely any customers?”
Sarah: “It used to be bustling with people back when they can harvest medicinal herbs. I"m somewhat sad to think that the church is responsible for this….”
The three felt listless for some reason, but they can"t help but to be immersed with sentimentality.
Soon, Flamm led the group, to the house next door and rung the bell on the entrance.
As she did, a middle-aged plump man showed his face.
It seems like he"s Stude.
Flamm told him that “we would like to use the inn“, and the man replied “how many hears has it been” with a surprise.
It was a line that instantly worried the three.
But the man brushed the past aside and opened the inn, and as they entered, they noticed that it was relatively clean and tidy inside.
From the several available rooms, they chose a double-sized room, and Flamm received a key from Stude.
Stude: “We don"t serve food anymore, but there is a kitchen, so if you plan to cook, you"re free to use it.”
Flamm: “Can we?”
Stude: “Yeah, I mean there"s rarely anyone ever using it, so you can do as you like. You can buy ingredients in the stores near the big road, and if you want you can also eat over there. Also, if you have any issues, you can come to the house next door. We can deal with minor problems, and if it"s a major problem, we can move you to another room, and you can do as you like from then on.”
After a careless explanation, Stude left.
The three were briefly stunned as they gazed on the man"s back, but that that man had just portrayed what had become of this place, so they couldn"t help but to think deeply about it.
But they had just managed to safely get an accommodation with a roof, so they should enjoy it for now.
They entered the room, and both Flamm and Sarah hurriedly lowered their luggage in the corner of the room.
Then the two stood side-by side, looking at each other and nodded. They took some steps back, did a run up and jumped face-first into the bed.
Poof!
Milkit: “……?”
Milkit stood still, unable to comprehend such unusual ceremony.
But Flamm, still horizontally lying on the bed, pats the area next to her.
It"s like she wants to say you come too.
She can"t possibly object to her master"s orders.
Milkit lightly ran toward the bed and jumped to the bed with moderation.
She didn"t quite understand, but it was a little fun.
Milkit: “…is there a meaning in this action?”
Milkit asked as her face sinks into the bed.
Flamm: “Don"t you always want to jump into a soft bed?”
Sarah: “Absolutely.”
Flamm: “It"s that kind of thing.”
Milkit: “Haa…”
In the end, she couldn"t understand.
Well, I bet as long as it"s fun, you don"t need a reason to do it, Milkit thought, coming up to a conclusion.
Afterwards, the tree rose from the bed, briefly chatted until their stomachs are empty and took some bread from their luggage. This time, it was a plain bread with nothing in between, but they all ate it for dinner regardless.
They then realized that the bath in the inn couldn"t be used, so they sought advice from Stude, so they were allowed to borrow his bath.
In the meantime, Sarah tiptoed her way and said let"s talk about love!, but since none of the three had any romantic experiences, the conversation didn"t go anywhere.
There are several things that they can do afterwards, but they were tired from the journey, so they decided to retreat to bed early and slept side-by-side in the same bed.
But just before they go to sleep, Milkit said “I"ll be fine sleeping on the floor“, but it goes without saying that Flamm forced her to sleep on the bed.
◇◇◇
The next morning, Flamm was woken up by the boisterous Sarah who yelled “WAKE UP~!”
Sarah who lived in the church lived an orderly life, and that includes including waking up unusually early.
It would also seem that the habit of waking up early had been ingrained into Milkit, leaving Flamm to be the last one to wake up.
The girl who woke up with droopy eyes put on her outfit and briskly headed out with the two.
They headed out to the shops in the road to both procure some food and to gather information.
Enichidae"s townscape in the bright morning was different from last night—and it looked even more desolate.
Perhaps there were more stores in the main street before?
Yet right now,there were barely any trace left.
No thanks to those traces left, the town was in a condition that looks like it"s about to die out.
The three sought a store that was open, proceeding while looking around restlessly.
What they found first was the food store that Stude told them about.
The building itself was decrepit, but the inside of the store was comparatively lovely, making them look forward to the flavor of the food they sell.
As they continued walking, they reached a place with no lights, but there were some stores that sells vegetables and daily necessities.
They took a step inside the store to check the condition, and at the far end on the counter was an old lady sitting down, wearing a gla.s.ses and reading some sort of book.
When she noticed Flamm"s presence, she raised her voice, saying “You"re customers from the outside? How unusual.”
Sarah gave a slight bow and went up to the lady with an affable smile.
Sarah: “We came from the royal capital!”
Old Lady: “Hee, the capital. Three girls with unusual clothes, on top of that? There hasn"t been anything as unusual as you three. Even though you can"t harvest medicinal herbs anymore as well.”
Sarah: “You can"t harvest them, but there are some growing around, right?”
Old Lady: “That"s true, but the cave they grow in had those behemoth roaming about, so no one wants to get close. If you all want to go there, you better stop quick. It"s not a good place.”
The old lady said so insultingly.
This time, Flamm walked close and asked.
Flamm: “When you say behemoth, what kind of monster is it specifically?”
Old Lady: “I don"t know. I haven"t seen it myself, you see. I think everyone who had seen it all died. There were dozens of adventurers like you who came looking for the medicinal herbs, but I haven"t heard of "em returning.”
Flamm: “No one, is it?”
Old Lady: “Yeah, without exceptions. Speaking of which, this morning there were several men that asked about the cave. For two groups to ask the same thing in one day, talk about unusual. I"ve warned them anyways, but they might be dying right about now…”
The old lady"s eyes looks like they"re looking far away as she said thus.
In front of the old lady whose words carry a certain type of conviction, the three sunk into silence.
Not a monster, a behemoth.
There was no other choice but to confirm the existence of whatever is in that cave themselves.
After buying some foodstuff, the three returned to the inn briefly.
There they made lunch, packed them into a basket and gathered their belongings.
Flamm: “Is it really going to be okay?”
Flamm and Sarah who were done packing went out of the inn with their belongings in one hand.
This time, Milkit stayed behind. They thought that they couldn"t possibly bring Milkit who had no combat power into a cave where there"s a behemoth.
Flamm: “First of all, if you think it"s dangerous, escape first.”
Milkit: “But…”
Sarah: “I"ll follow as well!”
Flamm: “Milkit, I understand that you"re worried, but if you don"t send us off with a smile, we probably won"t be able to bring up our strength.”
Milkit: “The way you"re saying it is unfair.”
Flamm: “Nfufufu, you knew that I"m that sort of master, right? Well then, we"ll be going.”
Sarah: “We"re going~!”
Saying thus, the two left Milkit.
Their unease were still left engendered, but as long as she can help bring forth Flamm"s determination, Milkit forcefully made a smile under the cover of her bandages as she bowed.
Milkit: “Have a safe trip, Master and Sarah-san.”
◇◇◇
It had been 30 minutes after the two left the village.
In the dense forest, their target cave suddenly appeared out of nowhere as it opened its mouth.
Perhaps the place was well-maintained in the days when it was bustling with crowds. The entrance was so hugely enlarged that there"s no way this place is naturally opened.
But right now, there are barely any people that moss are growing here and there.
Flamm sighed to dispel her nervousness. She then lit her lantern and took a step into the cave.
While being careful not to slip on the moss-covered footing, the two progressed on the dark path on and on.
Sarah: “It"s unexpectedly bright, isn"t it?”
Sarah said in a small voice, but her voice echoed nevertheless.
Flamm: “That may be right. Seems like lights are pouring in from the rifts on the cave roof.”
For the parts that are covered with lights, plants that look like medicinal herbs are growing.
Perhaps the Chiarly field is also growing from a place where there are lights pouring in.
They tried snuffing out their lanterns, and it seems like there should be no problems looking ahead.
As they proceeded onward, the path broadens.
They noticed the planed walls, giving hints that this place too had been tampered by human hands.
???: “Gugo…”
From the depths, a beastly growl was heard.
Flamm put her index finger to her lips with a shush and Sarah immediately held her breath.
Stopping on their tracks and focused in hearing their surroundings, they could hear footsteps that doesn"t belong to a human echoing around.
Flamm attempted to walk as quietly as possible—and after peeking out her face on the bend of the path, she confirmed the figure.
It was a monster with green skin, a muscular build and a towering height of 3 meters.
Sarah: “It"s an ogre, isn"t it? it"s a C-cla.s.s monster.”
Sarah said with a low voice.
Its profile that could be seen briefly sometimes resembles an angry oni, with its sharp fangs growing as far as its chin, giving a sense of oppression.
One horn grew out of the middle of its forehead, and it grazes the cave roof every time it moves about.
Flamm activates her Scan and checked its status.
——————————————————————————
Ogre
Attribute: Earth
Strength: 608
Intelligence: 9
Endurance: 623
Agility: 136
Intuition: 81
——————————————————————————
Its status reflects its looks.
They don"t need to worry about magic and them forming a group, they are a category of monster that are easy to fight.
At the very least, unlike the Anzu that could unleash wind magic all of a sudden, this monster is a league better than the Anzu.
Furthermore, this time it"s a fight of 2 against 1, so this should be a lot easier than before.
But they can"t lower their guards. If they are hit in the wrong place, there is a danger of dying instantly.
Sarah: “I think there shouldn"t be a problem with the two of us here.”
Flamm had explained about her status to Sarah last night.
OF course, Sarah was surprised at first, but since she saw Flamm capturing the thieves at the capital, Sarah didn"t doubt her strength.
Flamm: “…Alright, let"s go.”
When the ogre showed his back, the two broke into a run simultaneously on Flamm"s mark.
The fight from now on will be one-sided.
Flamm"s Soul-Eater and Sarah"s mace will inflict one heavy attack that would certainly end the Ogre"s life.
Especially, Sarah"s lunging strike combined with her twisting her body packed a lot more punch than Flamm had imagined.
She"s still 10, so she"ll be a lot more terrifying as she grows up.
The ogre roared and flailed its arms about, but against the two who are calm and collected, there"s no way that it would hit anything.
The movement of the monster that took damage slowed down, and its power slowly drains away.
At last, Flamm pierced her long sword into its chest, and as she pulled it out, the giant fell face-first to the ground.
The two then worked together to flip over the ogre"s body, and then they cut out the ogre"s fangs from its head.
As a weapon material, the ogre"s fang could fetch quite a high price.
Their objective is the medicinal herb, but there"s no harm in securing the loots.
They lightly wiped the ogre"s fang and jammed it into their bags before they continued their search.
The cave was wider than they expected. They sometimes heard some monster-like cries, but they rather chose not to fight them.
The two painted the cave wall as they progressed to mark them so they don"t lose their way back out.
As they did, the brightness of the cave intensifies.
Could they possibly be reaching the surface?
They followed the twisting path and finally turned towards the light source. Then—
Flamm: “I never thought there could be a place like this…”
Sarah: “I thought it was weird for herbs to be growing in a cave, but if it"s like this, then it"s possible.”
There was an open area where there were no cave roof.
That place was rich of gentle sunlight pouring in, and a stream of spring water poured through, creating an ideal place for a field of plants to grow.
It"s all the more appropriate to call it the inner garden of the cave.
With various plants big and small growing around, it shouldn"t be difficult to find the Chiarly.
Flamm: “But somehow…”
The clear air, the comfortable temperature, they almost felt like lying down on top of the gra.s.s, but.
Sarah: “…Isn"t it too quiet?”
Sarah asked Flamm with unease.
The girl nodded in agreement.
Even though this is a very livable place, somehow there were no signs of life.
The only sounds eerily echoing were the murmurs of the stream and the blades of gra.s.s swaying in the wind.
Flamm: “For now, let"s quickly find the medicinal herbs and go home.”
Sarah: “You"re right. It"s better if we don"t stay here for too long.”
As they said that, the two nodded to each other before splitting up and started searching for the herbs.
But right afterwards,
BOOM!
An ear-rending explosion roared from behind them.
Flamm turned her body towards the explosion with a twitch.
What she saw there was the sight of the cave roof sealing their exit, and the vulgar smile of two men.
Sarah: “Why did they suddenly blow it up!?”
Flamm: “Don"t tell me, they"re Dain"s henchmen? Did you seriously follow us this far away!?”
Was it some sort of revenge for handing the two men who stole Rich"s bags into the church knights?
They recalled that the old lady said there were two men who was gathering information before them, and it was these two.
But Sarah and Flamm couldn"t have imagined that they would follow them in a journey two days away from the capital to Enichidae.
As the collapse settles, Flamm approached a hole made by a boulder stopping the collapse partially and a.n.a.lyzed the situation.
Flamm: “It"ll be difficult to move this by hand…but I don"t think it"s impossible.”
Sarah: “If we force it open, it might collapse again though. Wouldn"t it be better to search for another exit?”
Flamm: “You"re right. Umm…I"m sorry, I ended up involving you in something terrible.”
Sarah: “Why are you apologizing, onee-san? Isn"t Dain the bad person who"s been consolidating the adventurers in the western district? So that means they"re the bad ones. When we get out of here, I"ll bring them judgment with these hands of mine!”
Clenching her fist, Sarah declared with strength.
Flamm who was regretful that she made it a personal grudge felt slightly relieved that she wasn"t the only one.
In any case, if they can"t get out from this direction, they need to do what Sarah said and look for a different exit.
If there was a different exit, there won"t be any difficulties, but this area is very wide, and there would be places that haven"t been explored yet.
Flamm: “Alright, first we"ll look for the herbs, and then we"ll look for the exit—”
Just as Flamm said that, they could hear something moving.
Interrupting her own sentence, she turned her gaze toward the thicket.
Sarah: “What happened?”
Flamm: “I think I heard something move just now…maybe it"s a monster.”
They stopped briefly, looking in the direction of the sound—and then a green-skinned humanoid giant peeked out the thicket and very briefly entered their vision.
Sarah: “Looks like an ogre, I think we could just beat it like we did before.”
“……”
Sarah: “Onee-san?”
Flamm: “…hold on.”
Flamm felt that something about that ogre is off.
Doesn"t the part of the face that peeks out earlier looks too different than the one they defetaed before?
They couldn"t see it clearly thanks to the thick gra.s.s, but the monster moved, and when its head appeared before them again,
Flamm: “What…is that…”
Flamm waas speechless.
It has no face.
In its place was the peeled skin, revealing its red flesh with twisted shape like a vortex.
Furthermore, the vortex of flesh continued spewing blood as they saw it.
The red body fluid that flows out of its face soaked its shoulder and its chest, making the ogre"s skin look more black than green.
Sarah: “It"s…not an ogre…? No, but the body is that of an ogre, isn"t it?”
Flamm: “S-Scan!”
To understand what it is, scanning it would be best.
As Flamm aactivates her magic, the information of the monster is lined up.
——————————————————————————
F̵͟O͠u̸nD̕ ͡͠yÓ̀͢u
オルʷtͪʸriͣbͬbͤuʸtͦeͧ: イグrUn͘n̶i͟ng ͝a̷wAy͟ ͢fŗOM
S̴ͦͬTͥ͝Ŕeng̀th͜: 7シヌ
ĮnT͘E͜L͟ĺi͞g͜eNC̴e: RESPONSE RESPONSE
Ḛ̫͕͍̎ͫ͒͛̍́̆n͇̤̺̟ͯͬ̿̊͒D̗͚̮͎̣ͦ̓ͪu̪̞͇̺̒̉̾ͨ̾r͓͍͉ͯ͌̅͆̊̊ã̩͕̰̱͗n̮̙̜̹͖c͍͔̹̳͛̏̏̽̂̆̈Ȇ̞̜̺͙͑͌̿̇R̼̹͙͓̱̝a̞̦̩̜͙ͪͩ̎n̩͈ͯc̪̗ͤ͐̄ͮ̿͋̂e̳̬̞͎̬̐ͅ: 9ͣデͨアͨ1ͤᵖドͭ
Agility: S̛͘͘A͘Lv̕A̸҉T͘͝I͜O̕N
DIE: 14
Fulfill your duty, Flamm Apricot ——————————————————————————
The words are impossible to understand.
Their instincts told them of its danger, as if it"s squeezing on their hearts.
Flamm unconsciously gripped her chest, her body cowering in fear.
Sarah: “W…What the h.e.l.l…is that? I"ve…never seen it…!?”
Sarah who also activated her Scan was also scared as she shrunk away.
Failure in magic activation are common, but no one has heard about it in a spell as simple as Scan.
It"s even more impossible for two of them to happen at the same time.
This means that the displayed status truly belongs to that monster.
That"s the sort of information that thing is carving out.
Sarah: “And why is…Onee-san"s name……written in its status…?”
Flamm: “I"ve no clue, but—!!”
The ogre-like creature didn"t notice the two, but as soon as they used Scan, it turned its flesh-vortex face toward the two and stared at them.
The circle slightly turned into an elliptic shape.
Flamm thought that the thing is looking at them. Smiling.
Flamm: “I think it"ll be bad if we don"t run away.”
The thing raised its clenched green fist toward the sky.
The behemoth then swung it down with all its strength, striking the ground.
For the ogres who can never use magic, such actions had never been anything more than a threatening move.
Yet right after it struck the ground, Flamm felt that her footing is distorting.
Chapter 9 >
TLNotes:
There"s a discrepancy in the definition of “behemoth” and “monster” in the chapter. The old lady said that there is a “bakemono”, while the other type of monsters (i.e. Anzu, Werewolf etc.) was mentioned as “monsutaa”. Later the narration said “Bakemono, not Monsters”, so despite both having the same meaning, I can"t just say “monsters” for both. I can"t also use “ghosts” since it"s a differen thing entirely. Since the narration kinda implies that “bakemono” is more dangerous than “monsters”, I used the word “Behemoth”. This will probably be changed if anyone had any better idea.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.