Chapter 123
Chapter 123
A few days away from Monroy…
Currently, we’re becoming closer to the Demon Zone .
We may arrive in the Demon Zone by tomorrow .
[Welcome back . ]
Washing clothes at a river, Seras looks up .
Just a while ago, I was shopping in the nearest village .
Currently, we’re camping lightly inside a forest .
[I’m sorry, Touka-dono . I’ve left all the resupplying up to you . ]
Basically, I’m in charge of procuring supplies .
[Well, it’s because my face isn’t identified by anyone . If I just say I’m a traveler, no one would suspect anything . ]
Wringing out the water out of the clothes, Seras smiles .
[Well, I’m not as good at acting as you . ]
[I’m just good at removing my presence and slipping into crowds . ]
Were-leopards and Dark Elves would surely stand out .
Seras certainly have that ability to change her appearance .
However, her beauty would still attract the attention of others .
Her ability to change her appearance isn’t omnipotent .
She couldn’t significantly change her appearance .
She couldn’t alter her age and gender .
She also couldn’t change the physical features of everything below her head .
She said that she focuses most of her ability on altering the shape of ears, so she could change the other aspects that much .
I gave the things I’ve bought to Seras .
[Once we enter the Demon Zone, you won’t have to use the power of altering your appearance . You should be able to sleep normally without depending on my . ]
It seems that Seras doesn’t have any compensations left that she had to pay .
If she were to use the power of the spirits, she won’t be able to sleep for a while .
However, she could sleep if I were to use my .
If you were to think about cheating, this should be considered one .
However, the spirits haven’t made any complaints even now .
[Where’s Eve and Liz?]
[They’re taking care of the horses over there . ]
Together with Seras, we went towards where the two of them were .
[You’ve returned, Touka . ]
[Touka-sama, welcome back . ]
It seems that Eve and Liz reached a point where they could pause what they’re doing .
[Pinniii~♪]
This time, Pigimaru is house sitting again .
Pigimaru is currently being held in the embrace of Liz .
It looks like they’ve become close friends,
Now then…
[How about we start eating?]
The sun is about to set and the sky is about to turn dark .
The weather has been favorable these past few days .
It was quite sunny today too .
The temperature is quite moderate and we pa.s.sed our time peacefully .
We sat down in a circle .
Today’s dinner is as follows .
Broiled meat .
Some fruits .
And the main dish, stew .
We decided to use the ingredients that won’t last long today .
As for seasoning this stew, I entrusted it to Liz .
[It would be great if it’s palatable…]
I sip some of the soup .
Delicious .
[I guess I could leave food preparation to Liz from now on . ]
[Ah… Thank you very much . ]
[Pimumuu~♪]
Apparently, it also suits Pigimaru’s tastes .
However, it was quite a curious sight for me to see the soup being consumed in his body .
The color just disappears without mixing into his body .
Crouching down, Liz gently pets Pigimaru .
[Fufu… Thank you, Pigimaru-chan…]
[Pii~♪]
I called out to Seras who had begun cleaning up with haste .
[Seras . ]
[Yes . ]
[I’ll clean that up, so help Liz change her clothes . ]
I bought some clothes and equipment for Liz today .
I can’t rent someone else’s because of the difference in size .
Liz has been wearing the same clothes until now .
Most of all, we will soon be entering the Demon Zone .
Liz can’t just enter into that area unprotected .
She would need armor to protect herself in case of emergency .
[Though I said that… This is the only thing that fits Liz’s physique . ]
There are hardly any options I could pick when it comes to armor for children .
By the way, I simply measured Liz’s size along the way .
[It seems that some n.o.ble from somewhere has made her daughter wear this once, but it ended up being thrown away . It was supposed to be a gift for her, but she didn’t like it . ]
And, he said that n.o.ble has just thrown it at the village where he pa.s.sed by at that time .
Seras is closely checking the equipment .
[It feels like it’s already a complete set of equipment . It looks like it puts heavy emphasis on its appearance, but the protection it gives itself is quite good . ]
This would protect Liz’s body more than the current clothes she’s wearing .
I looked towards Liz .
[…Is that armor fine with you, Liz?]
[O- Of course! Thank you very much, Touka-sama!]
[…If you don’t like it, you don’t have to force yourself, you know?]
[T- That’s not the case at all . Rather, Touka-sama had to go out of his way just to buy this clothes for me… I’m actually quite glad . ]
She’s too meek…
[Seras . ]
[What is it?]
[That complete set of equipment, you could take away some of the parts based on your judgement and replace them with cloth . ]
Seras giggled .
[Understood . ]
For the me right now, I can’t do anything but bear a grudge towards that n.o.ble with a detestable hobby .
▽
Our journey to the Demon Zone has been fairly smooth .
It must be because we were able to travel almost out of the sight of others .
Before, Eve and Liz said that they have travelled together .
They’ve also travelled while trying to hide from the eyes of the public .
That’s why they’re already used to travelling like this .
Seras Ashrain was a fugitive .
She also has been keeping her travels hidden from the eyes of the public .
I’ve also been travelling while hiding my ident.i.ty .
The point is that everyone knows how to travel away from the eyes of the public .
Eve’s ears that could keenly detect sounds .
Eve’s night vision that gives her visibility even in the dark .
These two had also played a role in our smooth travel .
[It’s a bit roundabout, but it seems we’ve finally arrived before the Demon Zone . ]
Eve looked at the distant gentle hill .
If we were to follow the road and descend down from that hill, we would be able to enter the Demon Zone .
We’ve made some detours because we’ve been avoiding castles and forts scattered about in the area .
The people in those castles and forts were the ones hunting monsters that have come out of the Demon Zone .
There are not many instances of that happening, but there were still some rare chances that monsters would appear .
Even though that’s the case, they also haven’t covered up the whole area .
There are also some places where they were scarce .
Therefore, there are some cases where some monsters get past .
In fact, we have encountered some golden-eyed monsters before we arrived here .
Well, I hardly had the chance to make my move though .
Incidentally, we’ve released the horses in the forest before we arrived in front of the Demon Zone .
We can’t bring them along in the Demon Zone .
That was Eve’s decision .
Currently, we’ve kept our luggages to the bare minimum .
I stood next to Eve .
[It looks like a sea of trees . ]
This is the scenery I could see from the top of the hill .
There was complete darkness spreading out in a forest .
I couldn’t see the other side of the forest at all .
There was certainly a curtain of mist in the distant forest but…
From the scope of the area I could see in, it currently reflects the silence of the Demon Zone .
[That is?]
I could see a really large tree in the distance .
Obviously, it’s the only oddly gigantic tree in the forest .
[That’s the Corrupted Tree . ]
Eve answered .
[Corrupted Tree?]
[It is said that it was originally a holy tree . Currently, it may have become the symbol of the Demon Zone . ]
[The other name for the Golden Demon Zone was the “Great Ruins, right?]
[Umu . ]
There used to be a civilization in the past there huh .
You could say that there were ruins all around the world… .
Did this world already got destroyed once?
▽
We decided to take some rest before we entered the Demon Zone .
We will depart tomorrow morning .
As expected, we would need to be in tiptop shape .
After we finished setting up our camp, we took some rest .
[By the way, Eve, do you remember to find the whereabouts of the Witch?]
[I don’t . ]
[Hmm? Ah, so you have a map to go there huh . ]
[No, I don’t have such a thing . ]
Wait a minute .
[———————-]
No, it would be alright .
Eve definitely knows where the witch is .
We’ve confirmed it through Seras’ lie detector .
[Don’t worry, Touka . ]
Eve stands up .
Looking down on me, she held out her hand .
[Stand up . And then, fill it into me . ]
I stand up .
[What am I going to fill in?]
[Your magic energy . ]
[In your arm?]
[To be exact, into my right hand . ]
[…I understand . ]
Eve’s voice is filled with confidence .
This may be some kind of special way to show the whereabouts of the witch .
I held unto Eve’s hand .
Her claws kind of feels like those of a beast .
However, her hand feels just like normal human skin .
[Should I really inject magic energy into your hand?]
[Umu . Just like Elves, us were-leopards weren’t good at kneading magic energy . It takes time for us . But if you’re a human who’s knowledgeable with magic, you should be able to do it quickly . ]
No, I’m not that knowledgeable about magic though .
However, that’s the case huh…
I could read the mechanism of how this works .
[I’m going to start . ]
[Umu . ]
I started injecting my magic energy .
I remembered that time .
That door in the Disposal Ruins that opens and closes when I injected my magic energy .
My hand started to shine in a bluish-white hue .
The faint light started moving into Eve’s palm .
[Nhnn… Mhmm… The feeling of being injected with magic energy feels strange…]
[Oh?]
From Eve’s palm, an emblem started floating out into midair .
It started floating until it hovered in front of my eyes .
It looks like a holographic image .
There’s also that .
It kind of feels similar to the Status display…
Seras and Liz’s mouth were wide open .
Even Pigimaru looks quite impressed…
[Pumii~]
–as he cried out .
The emblem’s shape started changing .
[This… looks like a simple map, doesn’t it?]
That’s the first thing I thought it resembles .
[Umu . This glowing green dot over here is probably our location . ]
I could also see another glowing dot on the map .
It’s situated north of the green dot .
[That is to say, this red dot in the north is—]
[It’s probably where the Witch of Taboos is . My father told me that . ]
[I see, so that’s how it works huh…]
[It’s because we can’t make a map of the Demon Zone . But with this, we just need to move knowing that we would make these two glowing dots closer to each other . ]
[Is it the witch that taught him how to make this emblem that turned into a map?]
[That’s what I heard . ]
[Hmm? Does that mean you’ve never met the witch?]
[I haven’t . ]
I heard that the inheritance of this emblem has been restricted .
It was only inherited by the tribe chiefs and their children .
Eve explained so .
Then, Eve must be the daughter of a tribal chief huh…
Well, I won’t intrude into topics like that .
The whereabouts of the Witch of Taboos .
That means the path we have to venture has become clear .
That’s enough for now .
Although we’re still resting right now, the Forbidden Curses are steadily getting closer to my grasp .
[Alright, we’ll be taking some rest today . ]
I turn my back on the Demon Zone .
[And tomorrow, we would finally enter the Demon Zone . ]