Ryuugoroshi no Sugosuhibi

Chapter 17: “The aimless, leisurely travel through the domain”

Prev List Next

Chapter 17: “The aimless, leisurely travel through the domain”

The three teleported near a town that’s near the domain. The distance from the town to the domain is about six hours by foot, straight east.

The town’s name is Aterio. Besides the travelers that come here to either enter or pray at the domain, it’s just a small town with no specialties.

North of Aterio is the city that’s planning on holding the martial tournament. It’ll take about seven days to reach that town by foot from Aterio.

The three entered the town to find an inn.

Since Kousuke would be setting out on the same day, the room was meant for Viare and Alice.

They entered the room and Kousuke was told the various details of “Columudg”.

「When you enter “Columudg”, head to the forest in the northeastern area. The shrine is located in there. If you travel from this town to the domain, you should see a marshland the moment you enter. You can travel through it, but some parts are very deep so be careful. If you continue traveling straight you should see a river. There are monsters that live in that river, but you shouldn’t have any problems with them if you fly over the river. Past the river should be the forest with the shrine. The most important thing to do is to not kill too many animals or monsters in there. The same applies for the herbs and ores. Although, if it’s to protect yourself then killing them is fine. Killing for the sake of killing is prohibited in there」(Alice)

「What happens if someone does that?」(Kousuke)

「It was recorded that the person would get forcefully expelled」(Alice)

「I’ll be careful then. Hmm, then one last thing, what are the characteristics of the herb in question?」(Kousuke)

「It’s called “Italmik” and it’s an herb that blooms a small, pale blue flower. There are four oval leaves on it. The leaves grow near the roots of the herb and the stem is about five centimeters tall. If it’s in that domain’s forest then it should be growing everywhere. Make sure you gather the entire thing, roots included」(Alice)

「Got it. I’ll be heading out soon then. I’ll leave the things I don’t need to bring with you then」(Kousuke)

「Have a nice trip」(Alice)

「Please be careful to not get hurt」(Viare)

The two saw Kousuke off.

The moment he left the town he immediately flew towards “Columudg”. The direction of the domain had dark clouds in the sky, it looked like it was going to rain.

『I probably won’t get sick from the rain since its summer, but I really don’t want to get drenched』He thought as he flew.

Two hours of flying later, Kousuke noticed a swarm of tents and people below. He figured that this was the domain’s boundary.

He slowed down his speed and look down at the people below before entering into the domain. The group of people prayer down below never noticed Kousuke overhead.

His other reason for slowing down was because the possibility of crashing into an invisible wall wasn’t zero. In truth, all he felt was a tiny sensation, like a soap bubble landing on him. He was safely able to enter the domain.

He landed after he flew deeper into the domain. He didn’t want to land too close to the boundary since the people praying would see him and possibly cause a scene. He also didn’t want to use all of his mana just in case magic was needed.

「I’m glad there’s at least something like a road here」(Kousuke)

Rather than calling it a road, it was just spa.r.s.e sand bars that dotted the marshland. It was better than trudging through mud though.

Right when he was about to travel onward.

「The brother over there!」(???)

He was suddenly yelled at. The voice sounded like it came from a child.

Kousuke was startled by the voice and swiftly turned around and looked down at the source of the voice. He was surprised since he couldn’t sense the person’s presence at all. From his experience so far, anything within a few dozen meters of him that wasn’t intentionally hiding their presence would be noticeable. But he wasn’t able to pick up the slightest bit of presence of the person that yelled out to him even though he could sense other life forms in the marshland.

Behind a thin tree, a small boy around eight years old hopped out into the open. He had dark green hair, a dark green short sleeve shirt, and a light brown shorts on.

「Is.. Is something the matter? This place isn’t somewhere a small child should be」(Kousuke)

「I came here in my father’s place to gather herbs. I was able to avoid b.u.mping into any monsters so far, but I don’t think my luck will continue past this point. And while I was trying to figure out what to do, I saw you drop down from the sky. Hey! Since you’re here it means you’re heading to the shrine right? Please take me with you, PLEASE!」(???)

Kousuke was too good-natured to leave a child like this alone in a dangerous place so he nodded. 【TL: Kou-chan.. people can’t die in there remember?】

「I don’t mind taking you with me, but why did you come? Was there no one else older that could to this?」(Kousuke)

The child shook his head.

「Only my father and I have a t.i.tle that allows us to enter this domain」(???)

Kousuke figured that the child had no escorts since there were no adventurers around that could enter this domain. Otherwise, who would let a child go into such a place alone?

「Ah, I see. I’m Kousuke. Call me Kousuke, Niichan, Oniisan, or whatever else you want to call me」(Kousuke)

「Then I’ll call you Oniisan. I’m called Lin. Please take care of me!」(Lin)

「Me too」(Kousuke)

The two finished introducing each other and began walking.

The surrounding was filled with marshes, there were no signs of the river or forest. On occasion eel-like monsters with sharp fangs or plants with scythe-like roots would a.s.sault them, but Kousuke repelled them with his sheathed sword. The two proceeded without any issues.

Then, a small problem came up that made the two stop.

「There’s no more road to walk on…」(Kousuke)

「Yea, what should we do? I can’t tell by looking if its shallow or deep now」(Lin)

「I can carry you and fly. Sound good?」(Kousuke)

「Will your mana last? It looked like to get here you were flying as well」(Lin)

「I’ll be fine」(Kousuke)

He casted the spell and carried Lin. Kousuke flew at a reasonable speed to not scare Lin.

Despite flying high up in the sky, he couldn’t see any signs of the river. Perhaps he would end up spending the rest of the day just to get out of the marshland. On the other hand, he could see some rocks to the south. It looked about four hours away even if they flew.

「There’s still a long way to go…」(Kousuke)

At Kousuke’s words, Lin nodded.

After flying for fifteen minutes, Kousuke spotted a road so they landed.

As the two walked, the edges of the marshland came into sight, but they also saw raindrops splashing into the marshes. It wasn’t raining hard, but drizzling strong enough to create a heavy fog. The clouds in the sky seemed endless, it looked like the rain won’t stop any time soon.

Kousuke took off his jacket and covered Lin from the rain with it.

「We managed to get out of the marshland, but we’ll definitely get drenched by this rain. Lin, did your father tell you of any place that might work as a shelter around here?」(Kousuke)

「I think there should be some caves near the marshlands. He told me to rest there for the night」(Lin)

「Come to think of it we did see that before. Let’s head there then」(Kousuke)

「Mm」(Lin)

The two restarted their walking and headed toward to caves they saw before.

When they entered a cave they spotted remnants of a campfire and a small resting area left behind by previous travelers.

Kousuke took out towels to dry themselves off and started a campfire using the leftover firewood to dry their clothes.

「It’s starting to rain harder now. I hope it won’t continue past the night」(Kousuke)

The sound of raindrops. .h.i.tting the ground became louder. The rain became stronger overtime and didn’t stop the entire night.

「Let’s quickly eat something and get some sleep. Sound good Lin?」(Kousuke)

「Mm. I’m tired too」(Lin)

Despite stating his weariness, his voice sounded quite energetic.

Kousuke took out the rations and a pot filled with water he conjured using magic to make a simple soup. He considered making enough for breakfast the next day, but stopped since it might spoil overnight.

Since Kousuke only brought one bowl, they took turns to eat. Lin also brought some rations, but completely forgot to bring tableware.

When they finished eating, they cleaned the dishes with water and promptly lied down to sleep.

Kousuke glanced at Lin and saw him bundled up in the blanket with his eyes closed. Kousuke followed suit and also closed his eyes to sleep. His experience with Tony and the escort mission trained Kousuke to react instantly if anything happened while he slept.

That night, ignoring the one time when something’s presence drew close before withdrawing, was peaceful so his vigilance was unnecessary. That presence withdrew instantly when Kousuke stared at its direction.

The two woke up, had breakfast and resumed their travel through the wilderness. The rain from yesterday softened the ground, but compared to the marshes, the puddles and mud didn’t slow them down one bit. The clouds thinly blanketed the entire sky and the two were grateful for the weakened sunlight.

Past noon, around four o’clock, the two arrived at the river. The river was 80 meters wide. From a quick look around they couldn’t see anything resembling a bridge.

「The rain yesterday made this river bigger」(Kousuke)

The current was strong and the water level was abnormally high.

「It would be nice if we could fly over, but it seems dangerous right now」(Kousuke)

The clouds in the sky were starting to darken. It didn’t rain yet, but they could hear the thunder’s rumbling and the lightning in the clouds were brightening the sky. If they flew up carelessly, it was likely they would get struck by lightning. Kousuke could probably survive a lightning strike, but it would be a fatal strike for Lin.

【TL: Thunder = the sound, Lightning = the actual electrical bolt. I know some of you may know, but I hear it used interchangeably constantly and it bugs me…】

Their other option to swim through the river was equally bad though. With the current’s strength, Lin would more than likely get swept downstream. Also, the monsters in the river would make it impossible to swim across safely.

「We can try to find a more shallow point to cross, but if we can’t do you mind if we camp out for the night?」(Kousuke)

「Mm」(Lin)

They kept a five meter distance from the river as they walked downstream.

Unlike Kousuke who was absentmindedly staring at the river, Lin was observing the river with a curious glint in his eyes. The violent current piqued his interest. Lin understood the dangers of a strong current, but his childish curiosity was getting the better of him.

「Hm? Hey, it’s dangerous if you get close to the river」(Kousuke)

「I want to take a closer look for a bit」(Lin)

「You may slip on the edge and fall into the river you know?」(Kousuke)

「So no?」(Lin)

「Yea it’s a no」(Kousuke)

To that response, Lin lowered his head in a downcast manner. Kousuke was a little saddened to see him like that, but he couldn’t give permission to do something dangerous to another person’s child.

Five minutes later, they spotted rocks in the river that provided footing to cross. If the river was calm it would be a perfect way across.

「I think it’ll be safe if I’m careful enough. Lin, give me your hand」(Kousuke)

He held Lin’s hand and got closer to the river.

The depressed Lin’s expression suddenly began to sparkle.

Kousuke had his sword in the other hand to fight off any monsters that may suddenly appear.

「Can we cross using this?」(Kousuke)

The rocks were barely visible above the water and would occasionally get drowned out by large waves.

In this situation, if he was alone then it could work, but he has Lin with him right now and he figured it would be difficult to carry him across this.

While Kousuke was thinking, Lin was trying to lean over the edge to look into the river but realized his mistake. Kousuke was still holding his hand so he couldn’t sit down to get a closer look. Nevertheless, he barely managed by leaning as close as possible towards the river. Something noticed Lin and its pale blue octopus-like tentacle shot out from the river.

「Uwaaa!?」(Lin)

It gripped Lin’s arm and tried to drag him into the water. Lin’s face was strained while enduring the pain from being pulled back and forth.

「Tsk」(Kousuke)

Kousuke clicked his tongue, feeling irritated for not noticing the monster’s presence. He immediately swung his sword and dismembered the tentacle attached to Lin.

He grabbed Lin and distanced himself from the river.

He became cautious in case the monster came out, but it didn’t chase and the river’s state was the same as before.

「Probably a bad idea to cross that huh…」(Kousuke)

Since he’s unable to sense anything in the river, his plan to carry Lin and cross over was dropped and decided to camp for the night.

He unwrapped the tentacle on Lin’s arm and grimaced slightly at the slightly swollen arm.

「Lin, are you alright?」(Kousuke)

「Mm」(Lin)

「Really? It doesn’t hurt?」(Kousuke)

「Mm. I’m fine」(Lin)

He shook his arm to show its fine.

「I see. We’ll be resting around here until the river calms down. Let’s unpack」(Kousuke)

The two distanced themselves from the river, dropped their bags and sat on the dry ground.

The dark clouds in the sky slowly dispersed as the sun set and around 8 o’clock at night they were all gone. The night sky was completely clear and a beautiful starry view could be seen.

For dinner, Kousuke prepped the rations and grilled the dismembered tentacle, but Lin refused to eat the tentacle so Kousuke ate it all. It was a nostalgic moment for Kousuke to be able to eat j.a.panese food again.

As a precaution he casted a pesticide and poison removal magic on the tentacle before eating. His first bite was small and cautious, but it was unexpectedly delicious and it vanished instantly. 『It would have been more delicious with sauce or wasabi soy sauce』thought Kousuke while Lin’s eyes were reflecting disbelief at Kousuke’s actions.

The following morning. The originally violently flowing river was absolutely calm. The water was still difficult to see through, but the rocks’ positions were firmly recognizable.

Kousuke felt confident that he would be able to sense the monsters now so he carried Lin and lightly hopped from one rock to another. Just like yesterday, an octopus tentacle attacked them but Kousuke was able to ward them off without issue.

「We made it」(Kousuke)

He lowered Lin down and turned around. The octopus tried a last ditch effort to attack once more, but failed. 『What a waste』Thought Kousuke, as the tentacle he just lopped off fell into the river. He then urged Lin away from the river.

「The shrine is in that forest right? It’s a bit far」(Kousuke)

While focusing his gaze, he pointed at the small green area in the distance. It seemed Lin could see it too since he nodded.

「Yea, it’s over there」(Lin)

「Think we can make it to that forest within by today?」(Kousuke)

If they walk then Kousuke has to match Lin’s pace, making their travel slow. He set an ETA while taking that into consideration.

Kousuke and Lin leisurely began their travel since it’s not like the forest would run away. 【TL: Kou-chan, that’s a flag】

Noon came around so the two stopped to have lunch. The two’s surrounding was an open field with gra.s.s and a few large boulders. The sky was clear with the occasional bird monsters dotting it. The two managed to survive through the heat with the occasional breeze and magic ice wrapped in a towel. It was unthinkable to wear a jacket in this heat so it was wrapped around his waist.

「Once again, its rations. I hope when we enter the forest we’ll find something else to eat」(Kousuke)

「My father said there are」(Lin)

「Really? That’s a huge relief to know」(Kousuke)

As expected, eating rations every meal was getting tedious. He sighed in relief knowing there’s something else to eat soon.【TL: Kou-chan.. you ate an octopus tentacle LAST NIGHT】

Finished with lunch, the two began cleaning up but suddenly heard a bird monster’s cry from overhead. And that cry was getting louder by the moment.

「A monster?」(Kousuke)

He drew his sword and looked up. As expected, a bird monster was flying down towards them.

But everything wasn’t as expected! Behind that one bird monster were four more and were speeding up even more seeing Kousuke and Lin standing still. Furthermore, they weren’t disorganized, but flying in a V-formation.

They’re called “Trooper Eagles” and they hunt as a highly organized group. He saw a few of them before when he entered the domain, but this was the first time they attacked.

「Lin! Get behind me!」(Kousuke)

He hid Lin behind him and considered using the gust magic. It was instantly dismissed. He wouldn’t have enough time to use it.

Kousuke took up a stance and waited for the monsters’ attack.

A few seconds later, when the monsters were about three meters away from Kousuke, they twisted their wings slightly and abruptly changed their direction. Normally, doing that would be strenuous and painful for a bird, but because they were monsters they were able to continue flying without pause or discomfort.

The main goal of the Trooper Eagles wasn’t Kousuke, but his bag instead.

The leading three monsters plunged their talons into his bags and flew up. The remaining two plunged toward Kousuke to distract him.

Unable to move because he was protecting Lin, his bags were stolen.

After warding off the two, Kousuke turned his gaze toward the escaping three and casted a strong gust toward them to strike them down.

The three birds shook violently and dropped the bags, but the remaining two swooped in and retrieved it. In the end, his bags were stolen.

「I’ve been had!」(Kousuke)

From their mobility and speed difference in the air, Kousuke knew he wouldn’t be able to catch them.

「Why did they take your bags?」(Lin)

「They were probably after the rations inside」(Kousuke)

「Those monster’s sense of smell is that strong? Well, no point crying over spilled milk. Kousuke, something fell out of the bag earlier so let’s at least retrieve that」(Lin) 【TL: Wait.. Lin.. what happened to calling Kou-chan “Oniichan”】

Even though the important things were stored away back at the inn, all of his travel goods were in the stolen bags. Thinking about what he’ll do from now on, it would be a wonder if he didn’t sigh in frustration.

They recovered a pot, some salt and a few water bottles. The current Kousuke only had what he retrieved, the towel on his neck, the clothes on his back and his sword.

Lin’s belongings were intact.

「The loss of food is the biggest problem. It’s true I was bored of it.. But that doesn’t mean I wanted it to disappear!!!」(Kousuke)

「I’ll give you some of mine! Plus, we’ll be able to get more once we reach the forest」(Lin)

「That would be great」(Kousuke)

The only problem with gathering food in the domain was if the poison removal spell didn’t work and they get poisoned.

Kousuke wasn’t too willing to become a poison taster, but he travelled on, albeit in low tension.

Within the day, the two stopped and camped about an hour away from the forest. He confirmed the amount of rations left and knew they had to search for food in the forest now. They only had enough to last until lunch the next day.

「Alright, so we’ll soon be entering the forest. There doesn’t seem to be much food at first glance though」(Kousuke)

「There really isn’t any」(Lin)

「By the way Lin, do you know where the shrine is located inside? I was only told that its somewhere in the forest」(Kousuke)

「I don’t know either. I know that it’s very small, even if you fly up you won’t see it」(Lin)

「I see. Just when I was considering flying around to look for it… Oh well, guess we’ll just have to search for it on foot. Let’s go」(Kousuke)

With the leaves blocking the blazing sunlight, the two travelled through the cool forest. There wasn’t anything like a road in the forest so they chose paths with the least bushes. He avoided cutting through the bushes since he thought it might be considered “pointless killing”.

He stayed vigilant for any presence of beasts(food) and observed his surroundings carefully for fruits and mushrooms as they proceeded. Because of that, the two did not speak. Before, the two would chat and sing to relieve their boredom, but the two urgently needed food so even Lin was cautiously observing his surroundings.

Mushrooms were the easiest to spot. Still, they couldn’t determine if all of them were safe to eat. The two also never felt any presence of animals nearby, even with Kousuke’s ability to sense nearby presences. Unfortunately, the animals and monsters in the area were afraid of Kousuke and were hiding, making his ability to sense presence pointless since it only works against beings that aren’t hiding. The current Kousuke isn’t able to find anything as long as they hid.

In the end, their meals for the day were mushrooms that Lin said were safe and nuts they found. He was grateful they had food to eat, but it was tasteless.

The following day the two continued to search for the shrine and gather more food. Kousuke’s desire for delicious food and his incredible comprehension skill allowed him to learn how to feel hidden presences within that day.

The next day after, he was able to hone in on the general locations of the presences more accurately and was finally released from the vegetarian diet.

Since Kousuke has no knowledge on how to set up a trap, he used “Earthen Spear” in the general location of the presence. Since he still wasn’t able to feel the exact location of the beasts, he spam casted in hopes of eventually hitting it.

「Today I ate well!」(Kousuke)

He exclaimed while rubbing his stomach and tossing away a bone.

Despite it just being salted, Kousuke was grinning happily since his previous vegetarian diet was truly tasteless.

They weren’t able to finish the hare they caught so Kousuke chopped it up into smaller pieces and wrapped it up in a thoroughly cleaned leaf. It was stored with crushed ice to make it last longer.

「Hm?」(Kousuke)

Right when the two were about to resume their search, Kousuke sensed a number of hidden presences encroaching them slowly.

Guessing they were monsters, Kousuke casted “Guard” on Lin and told him to stay still.

『Were they attracted to the blood of the hare we caught?』Kousuke thought. In fact, the two were far away from the original spot they drained and cooked the hare, so why were they going to them?

A minute pa.s.sed, the nearby bushes shook and four monsters appeared. Furthermore, there were two more hidden in the trees. The monsters looked like a panther with grey fur. With their grey-ish eyes, they were glaring directly at Kousuke.

Kousuke swung his sword in a threatening fashion. He was surrounded and it made it difficult for him to move. He wanted to avoid fighting in this disadvantageous situation if possible. So far in their travels, the monsters that approached them would flee when he threatened them, but these panthers didn’t budge at all.

「Then.. Victory for the first to strike! “Invisible strike, SHOCKWAVE“!」(Kousuke)

He used one of his newest spells. With a wave of his hand, a shockwave shot forth. A few of the panthers were thrown back roughly, but the actual damage they took were light since the spell was casted in a wide manner.

The panthers began to move the moment the spell went off. Four of them pounced toward Kousuke simultaneously.

Kousuke used a nearby tree to shield him from the first two, dodged the third, and stabbed out his sword against the fourth. The sword stabbed into the shoulder, but when he pulled it out he noticed there wasn’t any blood on the blade. He felt something was off but he put it off for now and focused on fighting.

While staying close to Lin, Kousuke continued his fight with the panthers. He knew these monsters were different from the others he encountered so far in the domain after defeating one. He split one in half and the corpse vanished without a trace.

He struck down another and confirmed that its body also disappeared.

The fight was quite one-sided. The panthers’ attacks were easily read and dodged, but Kousuke would consistently land his slashes and kicks.

「Just what’s going on exactly?」(Kousuke)

While he questions as to why these monsters were disappearing when killed, the last panther was cut down. Like the rest, this one disappeared into thin air as well.

The fight lasted around twenty minutes. The effective time of the barrier around Lin was thirty minutes so he had no time to relax.

Kousuke examined his surrounding once more before sheathing his sword.

The result of the fight, Kousuke was uninjured. It was thanks to the fact that Kousuke’s mind was finally getting used to his physical abilities. If it was four month ago, the fight would have taken longer and he would have probably been hit a few times.

「Seriously though, just what in the world was that? Were they gatekeepers or something similar? Did they come out because we’re close to the shrine?」(Kousuke)

In reality, his guess was wrong, but he still concluded that he was probably on the right track. His doubts about this would be unraveled one day in the future in a dungeon when he idly chats with someone. 【TL: Author, why you foreshadow weird stuff again =.=】

He dissolved the barrier around Lin, gathered his stuff and resumed his search. Kousuke’s expectation of finding the shrine within that day was not met. They ended up finding it the following day past noon.

「It really is tiny huh…」(Kousuke)

The building in front of the two was smaller than half of a convenience shop. It was built with ivory bricks and seemed like it was constantly maintained. Both the building and its surrounding was beautiful.

Kousuke tried to sense for nearby presences, wondering if the shrine was empty or not. He suddenly felt a presence inside coming closer and the front door flung open.

「Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you」(???)

The one who appeared was a man a bit past twenty in age. He looked normal with nothing particularly special. Still though, his brown hair and dark blue eyes would make 6 out of 10 people consider him as pretty handsome.

His presence was overwhelming though, no human could compare. Was it his charisma? Even if he was placed into a crowd of a 1,000, anyone could point out his exact location, that’s how overwhelming his presence was.

Kousuke wasn’t able to open his mouth in this man’s presence.

「Let’s not talk standing around here, come inside. I’ll at least prepare some tea」(???)

The man stated and disappeared into the shrine. Unlike the paralyzed Kousuke, Lin walked into the shrine with ease.

When the two disappeared, Kousuke finally snapped out of it and hurriedly entered the shrine.

The man and Lin were already seated, waiting for Kousuke. In the back of the room was a life-sized sculpture.

「Why were you just standing still outside earlier?」(???)

「Errr.. I couldn’t move」(Kousuke)

「Couldn’t move? Sorry, it’s my fault for not suppressing my aura. Is it fine now?」(???)

The pressure that was emitting from the man vanished and put Kousuke at ease.

「Seems like you calmed down, good. Come, have a seat」(???)

He beckoned Kousuke and had him seated in front of the tea cup.

Once Kousuke began drinking the tea, the man started speaking.

「It’s about your reason for coming here. The herb you need, you can gather it without worries. The herb “Italmik” grows in the nearby bushes of this shrine」(???)

「Haa…. Wait a minute, how do you know the name of the herb?! I haven’t even told Lin about it!」(Kousuke)

「I’ve been watching you see」(???)

「Watching me?」(Kousuke)

「Yup. Besides me, Mitalamu, Ruumana, and Seminruuz were also watching you」(???)

「Mitalamu? That sounds so familiar…….」(Kousuke) 【TL: Chapter 5~】

Kousuke went into deep thought trying to remember. He suddenly recalled it was the name of a G.o.d that appeared on his identification card.

「A G.o.d’s name? If that’s the case then are you perhaps also a G.o.d?」(Kousuke)

『That can’t be true, right?』Thought Kousuke. He thought G.o.ds wouldn’t show themselves so easily like this.

「That’s correct. I’m the one who governs pleasure and entertainment, Kohhawk」(Kohhawk)

Kohhawk ignored the fact that Kousuke was pointing his finger at him and nodded.【TL: I have a sister that would point at things with her middle finger when we were kids

Prev List Next