《The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary》


 Chapter 1: Stuck After Running Away

    <h4>Chapter 1: Stuck After Running Away</h4>


    There was a small rumor that a vige was destroyed.


    ¡°That¡¯s not an unusual thing to happen¡±, thought Loren, as he was drinking at a bar run by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    It was unfortunate for the people in the vige, but for a pioneered vige that was developed to create more farnd, it kind of made sense.


    It was a vige that was built onnd that people dared not to venture into.


    To whatever that thend was home to, humans were the invaders.


    If the conflict is between human beings, it would be an argument concerning right of residence. But since it is usually innds untouched by humans, conflict with the previous residents most likely cannot be resolved by talking. If the previous residents are not happy with the new ones, destruction is the only possible destination they will end up at.


    Loren then turned his slightly drunk eyes down towards the front desk of the Guild.


    There he saw a board that gave adventurers, people who did things that normal people would not do for a living, jobs in the form of quests.


    ¡°Man, there are more of them now¡±


    The board was filled up with pieces of papers advertising quests up to the point where you couldn¡¯t see the board itself. Loren heard the adventurers in front of it, trying to decide what quest to go on.


    ¡°The vige was south of Vesta. Well, it was close to the Forest of Chaos¡±


    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t that deep into it. Does a monster that could destroy a whole vige even live there?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was a herd of them. That would be a catastrophe for farmers¡±


    Although Loren was listening to their chatter, it wasn¡¯t the fact that the adventurers were loud and distracting or the reason behind the destruction of the vige that was the problem. The problem that he was facing was,


    ¡°I¡¯m broke¡­¡­¡±


    Loren was not originally an adventurer.


    He belonged in a mercenary group, and he was a mercenary that would fight in wars for his clients.


    He was there for as long as he could remember, and was there ever since, until recently the group was destroyed during a war. As a result, Loren was sitting in the back of the bar, with only a ss of alcohol topany him.


    As someone who used to be a mercenary, Loren had experienced numerous victories as well as losses.


    For a long time, the group was able to make it through the losses. But in the most recent battle that they participated in, their luck finally ran out. What looked like a won battle suddenly turned south, and Loren saw his group be split apart and many of hisrades being killed, but he managed to survive and escape.


    Because of all that happened to him, it was not surprising that his wallet was almost empty.


    The words ¡®mercenary¡¯ and ¡®saving¡¯ didn¡¯t go along with each other, and that was true for Loren. He did not have any money saved up, or even tried to. He even had to ditch most of his belongings at the battle site.


    The only thing Loren had was the leather armor he wore, his great sword, and a few silver coins in his pocket.


    That was all of Loren¡¯s possessions.


    It was better than nothing, but it was clear that if he could not find a job, he would be wandering in the streets soon enough. While fingering the metal tag around his neck, he tried to think of a way to make some money.


    The metal thing around his neck was his identification tag, which served as proof that you were an adventurer.


    The material used to make the tag reflected your adventurer rank, and Loren¡¯s tag was made of cheap copper.


    As your rank goes up, your tag is made from a better, rarer metal, but to Loren that was of little concern.


    What filled his head were ways to obtain a certain amount of money through quests that adventurers of his rank could take.


    But there was another problem.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one for me to go on a quest with¡­¡­¡±


    Hisrades were either killed, or separated.


    From the eyes of others, mercenaries were people who made a living from killing people, and were not viewed fondly.


    It was natural to only know people from your own mercenary group, and have no friends or acquaintances outside of the group.


    Loren was no exception, and being someone who escaped from the battlefield, there was no one he could trust.


    That was also the reason that he chose to be an adventurer.


    It was not hard to be an adventurer, with no background checks aside from criminal records.


    He was easily able to be an adventurer by paying the registration fee.


    But it was troublesome that he had norades to go on quests with him.


    In whatever you do, doing it alone was not a good sign.


    Whether the job may be ying monsters, gathering herbs or stones, or looking for lost objects or persons, doing it alone was too dangerous.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have the confidence in his skills and abilities to fight and defend himself, but it was because if something happened and he was alone, it is most likely that he will face death.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll clean the ditches.¡±


    It was not a job he was looking forward to doing.


    To Loren¡¯s surprise, there were many quests that seemed far from something that adventurers would do, such as cleaning ditches or going down into the sewers.


    But it was less dangerous than other quests, and the rewards were unexpectedly high.


    In order to survive and get food on the table, getting covered in mud and sewer waste was not a bad choice.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to be covered in mud and grime, but as a war veteran, if someone asked him to choose between battle trenches and sewers, he would choose the sewers. He was willing to turn a blind eye on smell and unfavorable working conditions if it meant earning money.


    Plus, ditches and sewers were within human living areas which made the job safer than most, even when alone.


    After deciding that it wouldn¡¯t be too bad, he was starting to get up to go to the board to look for a quest when he suddenly heard a voice,


    ¡°Hey you. You¡¯re looking for a quest, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren looked up and saw a young man with blond hair wearing a new set of leather armor and a sword by his side.


    The man sat down across from Loren without any permission, leaned over and continued talking.


    ¡°From what I can see, you¡¯re a swordsman, and alone as well. Seems like you want to ept a quest, but you don¡¯t have anyone to go with. If you¡¯re up for it, wanna join my party and help us on our quest?¡±


    ¡°If this were back when I was a mercenary, I would definitely refuse,¡± thought Loren as he observed the young man sitting in front of him.


    If you epted every job offer that came to you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to live long as a mercenary.


    Gathering information and performing background checks on the client, as well as the area of operation was the norm for Loren.


    But this was an exception.


    To put it simply, it was because he had no money.


    In society, people won¡¯t take you seriously without any money to back you up.


    The young man continued,


    ¡°My party has enough people to form a party, but we don¡¯t have enough people to be in the frontline. From what I can see, you¡¯re an experienced swordsman. You should join my party and join us on quests. You won¡¯t be disappointed!¡±


    Cleaning the sewers was safer, but if there was another way, he would dly take it. While the young man continued to convince Loren to join his party, Loren was trying to decide whether the hand that was held out to him would save him or lead him to destruction.


    ¡°What kind of quest did you ept?¡±


    Loren asked, thinking that the guy was looking for a frontline because he already had a quest in mind.


    He was nning to decline the offer if the guy said he didn¡¯t pick a quest yet, but the young man, thinking that he had Loren hooked, told him,


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty easy quest. I have a thief, magician, and a priest in my party, but there might be a lot of enemies this time. I¡¯m pretty worried about being the only frontline.¡±


    ¡°Tell me the details, because I might not be much of use. As you can see, I¡¯m copper rank,¡±


    said Loren, holding up the tag around his neck.


    ¡°I told you, it¡¯s an easy quest. We just need to hunt some goblins that appeared in the forest,¡±


    the young manughed, while Loren could do nothing but nod awkwardly.

 Chapter 2: Accepted the Invite

    <h4>Chapter 2: epted the Invite</h4>


    Loren knew in his head what goblins were.


    Goblins were ugly creatures. Their color ranged from green to dark green, and were the size of a child.


    They could be found almost anywhere and reproduced quickly.


    They were ferocious monsters but had low intelligence, and were not that strong either.


    But their high reproduction rates and strength in numbers were not to be underestimated.


    There was an undeniable fact that goblins could mate and reproduce with almost any living thing that has reproductive organs, and fully grow during the span of a few days.


    Although new adventurers hunt them day by day, they show no sign of going extinct.


    ¡°No wonder he says it¡¯s an easy quest,¡± thought Loren as he gazed at the rest of the swordsman-like young man¡¯s party members.


    The young man¡¯s name was Sarfe.


    He was quite new to the job of an adventurer himself, and dreamed of being a hero. While Sarfe was going on and on about his dreams, Loren couldn¡¯t understand what made Sarfe be this optimistic, despite being simr ages. As Sarfe went on, Loren decided not to pay much attention to him.


    Siting next to Sarfe was a girl with short brown hair dressed like a thief. She was looking at Sarfe, who was still going on about his dream to be a hero, with sparkling eyes and a small blush.


    Loren recalled that her name was Naren.


    She was Sarfe¡¯s childhood friend and left her vige along with Sarfe to be an adventurer. With nimble movements and skillful fingers, she was the party¡¯s thief.


    Although the ss name is thief, they are not criminals.


    The ss ¡®thief¡¯ as an adventurer ispletely different from the criminal ¡®thief¡¯, and as an adventurer, it is legal to introduce yourself as a ¡®thief¡¯.


    Their job is to locate and disable traps as well as pick and open locks. Loren had no idea as to why the ss was called ¡®thief¡¯, just like the criminal ¡®thief¡¯.


    ¡°I guess they couldn¡¯t think of a good name for the ss,¡± thought Loren as moved his gaze to the next person.


    Next to the thief was a female magician wearing a blue robe and a staff propped next to her, and was listening to Sarfe with a bored expression.


    Although she acted annoyed by Sarfe, Loren could see that she nced at Sarfe every time brushed her blond hair out of her eyes and let out a small sigh.


    It was obvious that she was only acting annoyed and was very intrigued by Sarfe.


    Her name was Oxy, and although she didn¡¯t know Sarfe as long as Naren, she met them the day Sarfe and Naren became adventurers, and formed a party together.


    She was around the same age as the two, but she graduated from a school for magicians, and her staff was proof of that.


    Sarfe told Loren that she was able to use 3 spells a day, but Loren had no idea how impressive that was because he didn¡¯t know any magicians during his days as a mercenary.


    Magicians were usually hired by aristocrats or royalty, and the ones who weren¡¯t were usually adventurers. Loren knew of no one who was a magician that was a mercenary.


    Since Sarfe told him so proudly, he decided that 3 spells a day must be an extraordinary feat, but wondered if a person who can only use 3 spells a day be useful at all.


    Since Loren didn¡¯t want the party to hate him, he decided not to say it out loud.


    Loren believed that in order to survive as a mercenary, there was a need to read between the lines and not create a bad atmosphere.


    Loren then looked at thest person.


    Sitting next to Oxy was a girl wearing a white colored priest¡¯s robe and her ck hair tied up in a ponytail.


    Her name was Lapis.


    As a priest she served the god of knowledge, and continually nced at Loren with apologetic eyes and a troubled smile.


    She was also invited by Sarfe to join the party, and she knew them longer than Loren but shorter than Oxy.


    She became a full-fledged priest not too long ago, but instead of working for the church, she became an adventurer in order to see what the world was like to gain experience.


    Priests prayed to their deity to perform divine arts, and Lapis told Loren in an embarrassed manner that her skill in divine arts was not that great, and she can only use divine arts twice a day.


    Loren didn¡¯t understand why she was acting embarrassed, but assumed it was because she couldn¡¯t use divine arts as frequently as other priests.


    Same with magicians, from Loren¡¯s knowledge, there were almost no priests that worked as mercenaries.


    They usually worked in the church, and the few that dide out of the church would not willingly work as a mercenary.


    Loren had never seen a divine art, but he had thought a number of times how having a priest that can use divine arts, which can heal injuries and poison, would be beneficial to the group.


    By this time, Loren thought that Sarfe would get bored of talking, but seeing that he was still at it, Loren interrupted him by saying,


    ¡°Can we talk about the quest now?¡±


    Loren sighed inside as he looked at Sarfe, who looked disappointed being stopped from talking, and the two girls gave Loren dirty looks as well.


    Although Loren was low on money, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he joined a difficult party to work with.


    One problem was that Loren just became an adventurer and had no experience at all, but the rest of the party did not have much more than he did.


    The other problem was that everyone else in the party except for Sarfe was female.


    The party was bnced ss-wise, but was unbnced gender-wise.


    In a mercenary group, there are usually no women.


    Loren heard from one of hisrades that it was because there were few women who became mercenaries in the first ce, and because in groups with women, there was a high chance that problems would ur in the group.


    It was a quite rude thing to say about women, but Loren had seen groups split up or straight up fall apart because of women, and thought it wasn¡¯t a story without any sort of evidence.


    If he put that into consideration, it was a party with high chance of problems urring within the party.


    But Loren convinced himself that he wasn¡¯t going to be with them for long, and faced Sarfe again.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that talking here isn¡¯t going to get us any money. Unlike you guys, I don¡¯t have much money to work with, so I want to talk about the job. Got a problem?¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re right. Now that we¡¯re introduced, let¡¯s get to the details of the job,¡± replied Sarfe. But a suddenint from Naren stopped Sarfe.


    ¡°Hey Sarfe, are we really taking this guy along? He used to be a mercenary. You really think it¡¯s ok to invite a guy who would do anything for money into our party?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a misunderstanding,¡± thought Loren, but he didn¡¯t speak up to deny the previousment.


    It was because there were in fact, mercenaries who did anything for money.


    But if one asked if that was most mercenaries, Loren would have say it was incorrect.


    Including the group that Loren was in, most mercenary groups chose what job to take and what not to take.


    Although it was true that not many mercenary groups did anything for money, it was also true that groups that did do anything for money brought bad reputation on mercenaries.


    Bad reputation was one thing that was very likely to be rumors and gossip.


    ¡°Naren you agreed to get another person to be the front line with me, remember?¡± said Sarfe.


    ¡°I did, but it can be someone else and not this guy, can¡¯t it?¡± replied Naren. But then Oxy said,


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We¡¯re a party with very little experience, and most adventurers wouldn¡¯t want to join us. But since he has battle experience, at least he will be useful to our party.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but still¡­¡­. Well, what do you think, Lapis?¡± said Naren, not ready to give up. Lapis looked at Naren, then at Loren, then cocked her head and told her,


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like a bad person to me.¡±


    ¡°Haaaaa, you¡¯re so na?ve. You say that because you don¡¯t know what mercenaries are like,¡± sighed Naren.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s true that I grew up in the church and I don¡¯t know what mercenaries are like, but I¡¯m confident in my ability to judge people,¡±


    ¡®I¡¯m not asking you guys to let me join the party,¡±


    Interrupted Loren,


    ¡°I¡¯m just asking you to bear with me just for this quest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with letting you in the party if it¡¯s fine with you,¡±


    said Sarfe.


    But Loren didn¡¯t answer him. He had no intention in staying in a party where he wasn¡¯t going to be liked by the members. He knew that there wasn¡¯t going to be any merit for him to stay in that sort of group.


    He had already made up his mind that once he earned enough money, he would leave them and search for a different party to join.


    ¡°The quest is from a vige and they want us to hunt goblins that appeared in the area. The vige takes around 3 days by foot.¡± continued Sarfe, but Naren said,


    ¡°It¡¯s the vige of Ain, right? If we¡¯re going there why did you pick a quest for hunting goblins and not a different kind of quest?¡±


    As Sarfe was scratching his head with a troubled expression, Oxy said,


    ¡°You mean exploring the recently discovered ruins? There¡¯s no way the Guild would let us take that sort of quest. It¡¯s obvious that they will ask more experienced adventurers take it.¡±


    ¡°But at this rate, we¡¯ll never be able to take good quests,¡±ined Naren.


    ¡°Come on Naren, we just need to be patient. As soon as we finish some quests like this one, we will have a good reputation, and then the Guild will let us take better quests.¡± Sarfe told her, and Naron didn¡¯t say anything more.


    ¡°What an unorganized party,¡± thought Loren, but he was d that they would finally be able to move on.


    ¡°So, do you have any idea how many goblins there are, or howrge the herd is?¡± asked Loren.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Apparently, some hunters from the vige saw them in the forest but ran straight back as soon as they did. But they¡¯re just goblins, there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± replied Sarfe in a carefree manner.


    Although Loren was worried about Sarfe¡¯s easy going manner, it was also true that goblins weren¡¯t that hard to deal with, so he decided not to say anything more.


    Sarfe continued,


    ¡°I¡¯d like it if we can depart tomorrow, if there¡¯s no problem with that.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmm, seems all right.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s okay if we each get ready for the trip and meet up tomorrow morning, in front of the east gate?¡±


    There were no objections to his suggestion.


    Loren then brought back his thoughts to his wallet.


    It had almost nothing left, but there was enough to buy rations tost for 6 days. It meant he was going to run out of money, but he was certain that they would be able to hunt things on the way for food.


    He then thought that maybe it would be fine if he sacrificed a meal or two in order to buy a nket to use. With these thoughts in mind, the group disbanded to get ready for the trip in the morning.

 Chapter 3: Departure and Disbelief

    <h4>Chapter 3: Departure and Disbelief</h4>


    The next morning, Loren showed up at the east gate. He had his supply of food in a small cloth bag, his great sword strapped around his back, and wore his battered leather armor.


    It was not much, but it couldn¡¯t be helped because he had to leave everything in the battle site and did not have any money to buy proper equipment.


    He seemed to be early, since he couldn¡¯t see Sarfe or anyone else from the party.


    So he decided to have a little chat with the guards until the rest of the party came.


    While talking with the guards, Loren finally found out the name of the city he was in, which was Kapha.


    Loren knew nothing about this city at all.


    He assumed that it was a city within some country, but since mercenaries weren¡¯t confined to one specific country, and since he barely escaped from the battlefield, there was no way Loren would¡¯ve known anything about Kapha.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good city. It¡¯s not as good as the capital but the food is good here and people are nice. Plus it¡¯s my hometown as well,¡± said the young guard.


    Loren couldn¡¯t really understand the meaning or significance of a hometown.


    For as long as Loren could remember, he was a mercenary, and kept on moving from battle to battle.


    For someone like Loren who was never able to settle in one ce, he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly envious of the guard, who looked like he believed from the bottom his heart that Kapha was a good city.


    But settling down meant quitting being a mercenary, which meant thinking of a different way to make a living.


    If one¡¯s group disbands, it could mean two things. Either join a different group, or quit being a mercenary and look for a different job.


    As Loren was thinking that being an adventurer in this city and settling here wouldn¡¯t be too bad, Sarfe and his party finally showed up.


    Everyone had full bags on their backs and looked better equippedpared to Loren, who had nothing but a small cloth bag.


    ¡°Are they your friends?¡±


    The guard¡¯s bright and easygoing manner suddenly turned slightly sour.


    Loren thought that maybe he had something against adventurers, but quickly dismissed the thought because that meant he wouldn¡¯t have been so nice to him.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I don¡¯t look like an adventurer,¡± thought Loren as he replied, ¡°More like business partners. I¡¯m just joining them for this quest.¡±


    ¡°Not trying to sound like a hater but you should leave that party as soon as you can. A guy that invites a bunch of women to his party is never a decent one.¡±


    Loren thought maybe he was just jealous, but he wasn¡¯t one to point that out.


    He let out an awkwardugh and started walking over to Sarfe and the girls, waving at the guard behind him.


    ¡°Did you wait long?¡±


    Loren shook his head.


    Although they had agreed to meet up in the morning, it wasn¡¯t as if they chose a specific time to meet up. He was also able to gain information from the guard while waiting.


    No time was wasted, so he didn¡¯t think that he needed toin at all.


    ¡°Well we¡¯re all here so let¡¯s get going. Walking all the way there is going to be a pain so let¡¯s borrow a carriage.¡±


    The members of the party agreed with Sarfe, but Loren stopped in his tracks.


    Since the vige was a 3-day¡¯s walk, he thought that they were going to walk there.


    However, if they were going to rent a carriage, he was going to have to help pay for it.


    After buying rations for the next few days and spending a night at the cheapest inn he could find, he didn¡¯t have enough money to rent a carriage.


    At this rate he would have to go on foot while everyone else rode the carriage.


    As he was debating to either borrow money or run at the same pace as the carriage, he felt some coins slide into his hand.


    Surprised, Loren look next to him, a ck-haired girl wearing the clothes of a priest was looking up at him, with a finger on her lips.


    The others were too busy looking for a carriage and did not notice the actions of Lapis, the priest.


    ¡°You¡¯re in a tough spot, right?¡±


    Before Loren could say anything, Lapis continued with a smile on her face.


    ¡°These are 10 copper coins. It should be enough to take you to the vige and back, so please use them.¡±


    Loren looked at the coins in his hand, then turned his gaze back to Lapis, giving her a puzzled look. Lapis stuck her tongue out and said to Loren,


    ¡°I¡¯m lending them to you so please use it.¡±


    It was good for Loren that he didn¡¯t have to say out loud that he didn¡¯t have any money, but lending money was not normal among mercenaries.


    Among mercenaries it was unwise to do so because it was a profession where no one knew if he was going to be alive the next day to return the money, which led to many arguments. Loren decided that maybe it was different for adventurers.


    ¡°If you owe me one here, you might help meter to return the favor, so it¡¯s sort of an investment as well.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand lending money for free, but basing an action on calctions and careful thought was something that he did.


    He decided to stop giving it much thought and dly ept her offer. He put the coins in his pocket and slightly bowed his head toward Lapis, expressing his thanks.


    Lapis smiled, telling him not to worry about it.


    As Lapis walked away from him, he heard the voices of Sarfe and the rest of the party getting close.


    ¡°We found a carriage. The ride to the vige is going to cost 5 copper coins.¡±


    It was exactly half of what Lapis had lent him.


    As Loren reached into his pocket and gave Sarfe the money, he was relieved that he didn¡¯t have to make a fool of himself.


    ¡°Can¡¯t thank you guys enough. Walking just wastes time and stamina.¡±


    The man taking them was a farmer from the vige who came to the city to buy supplies.


    He came to the town with furs and crops to sell, and bought food and tools and was about to go back. Since he sold most of the things he brought, there was a lot of space left in the carriage. He decided to take the 5 of them to make a bit of extra money.


    ¡°You¡¯re adventurers that are going toe to the vige to exterminate the goblins, right? Then I should take you back to the vige as fast I can.¡±


    Loren felt if that was the case, he could have given them a cheaper fee, but since Sarfe and his party was already thanking the man, he held back the urge to try to change the price.


    Although using a carriage is faster than walking, horses that pull carriages have more strength than speed, so they are not as fast as war horses.


    But it was twice as fast than going on foot, and the farmer said that if they left in the morning, they would spend a night on the road and reach the vige around noon the next day.


    Staying inside a carriage for a day and a half wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do but to Loren, who had simr experiences back when he was a mercenary, it wasn¡¯t the worst thing ever.


    He thought of striking conversation with Sarfe to try to get some understanding between them, but couldn¡¯t find an opening to because of Naron, the thief, and Oxy, the magician.


    Lapis was asleep the whole time and the farmer was busy driving the carriage, so in the end Loren put his head between his knees, closed his eyes, and just waited for time to pass.


    As the sun was setting and getting close to night time, the carriage stopped.


    ¡°Let¡¯s camp here for tonight.¡±


    Travelling the road during the night was usually not an option.


    The roads were quite safe because soldiers and adventurers exterminated monsters and thieves (the criminal kind) often, and as long as you stay on the road, you would not run into big problems. But still, there was a chance that you would run into monsters or thieves.


    There was higher chance of that kind of ident happening at night, so the only people who would do that are those in a hurry, those who hired strong guards, or fools who do not know of these risks.


    The farmer was not any of them, and Loren thought they would be staying in an inn.


    If they were not going to stay at an inn, it meant they were going to camp outside. When Loren thought about the situation carefully, he remembered that he didn¡¯t even have enough money to rent a room.


    The only money he had were the coins Lapis had lent to him in the morning, and 5 copper coins was barely enough to rent a stable stall, so he wouldn¡¯t have any left to get a ride back to the city.


    If that were to happen he would have to borrow more money, so he was kind of relieved they were camping outside.


    ¡°Ahhhh, I¡¯m so tired and my butt hurts!¡±


    ¡°Stopining. We have to finish setting up camp before it gets dark.¡±


    Naron and Oxy got out of the carriage talking in loud voices, while Sarfe and the farmer watched them with wry smiles on their faces.


    They were in the middle of a in, with no trees or abandoned structures where monsters or thieves could lurk, but Loren looked around the camp and scowled.


    In a situation where they had no idea what could be lurking near them, loud noises would bring attention to them, and with no cover at all, making a fire would mean someone could see them from miles away.


    He wished they would move to sunken terrain with more cover, but he had no knowledge of the surrounding terrain and didn¡¯t know if there was any ce like that nearby.


    All he could do was trust Sarfe and the farmer to know more about the surrounding area and do his best to be cautious of any sort of intrusion.


    He was already feeling frustrated, but Sarfe¡¯s next words gave the killing blow.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to keep watch tonight.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ just the two of us?¡±


    Including the farmer, there were six of them. If they took 3 watches in pairs of 2, it would be much easier on everyone. Loren thought that he had a special reasoning for wanting just the 2 of them to keep watch, but Sarfe¡¯s reply was surprising¡­ in apletely different way.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s tough without any sleep so it¡¯s gonna have to be the two of us.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re only going to have one person watch at a time?¡±


    To a former mercenary like Loren those words were unbelievable.


    Of course, the number of people avable was different, so Loren wasn¡¯t expecting anything fancy, but in his mercenary group it was normal to act in pairs, whether they were keeping watch or scouting.


    The only time they would act solo was when they were alone, or there was an absolute need to split up and act independently.


    ¡°You got a problem? The leader is telling you to do it so just shut up and do it!¡±


    He was about to exin to Sarfe the dangers of keeping watch alone, but Naron saw that he wanted to say something and interrupted him with a loud, rebuking tone.


    Oxy didn¡¯t say anything, but she must have been thinking the same thing, because she was giving Loren a cold look.


    Lapis didn¡¯t seem interested at all and looked sleepy even though she slept the whole time on the carriage. She was rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn. Loren decided that it was no use trying to convince them.


    ¡°Alright. You and me. Who¡¯s going to take watch first?¡±


    ¡°You can take first watch. I wanna sleep.¡±


    He wondered if it was ok for the leader of the party to act like this, but didn¡¯t say anything, as it was clear that even if he tried to argue no one was going to be on his side.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll wake you up halfway during the night.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    Sarfe waved his hand, signaling that the conversation was over. Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel a clear anxiety and let out a deep sigh.

 Chapter 4: Recovering from Shock

    <h4>Chapter 4: Recovering from Shock</h4>


    The premonition that Loren felt earlier soon became a reality.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly from the watch itself though.


    After parking the carriage on the side of the road, tying up the horses, and eating dinner made from provisions, everyone went to their tents to rest except for Loren, who sat next to the fire keeping watch.


    After a while, he started hearing voices leaking from one of the tents. He froze and it took him a second toprehend what he was hearing.


    The voices wereing from the tent that Sarfe was supposed to be sleeping in.


    Two obscene female voices came out of the tent that was shaking on its own.


    Loren wasn¡¯t the type of person who enjoyed eavesdropping, but he was easily able to guess what was going on inside that tent.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, you¡¯re in the middle of a field¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t have the stomach to go and say something, and all he could do is sit by the fire and tried to let the situation sink in.


    At the same time, he realized how awkward it would be to go and ask to change shifts.


    He couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that they would go on until morning, but another thing on his mind was that there was no water nearby.


    No one in their right mind would think about starting something indecent in this sort of ce. The thought of them using up their precious water supply to clean up crossed his mind.


    It was very likely that inside of Sarfe¡¯s tent was going to be smelly and moist.


    By morning the smell would mostly be gone, but it was going to remain at the time to change shifts. Loren didn¡¯t want to stick his head into that tent.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t he have waited for a different time?¡±


    Even worse, he could hear two female voices.


    It meant that out of the three of the girls in Sarfe¡¯s party, two of them were in that rtionship with him.


    Although he could make out two voices, he hadn¡¯t spent enough time with them to know exactly who they were.


    He was sure that the thief girl was one of them, and his drowsiness was kept away by thinking stupid thoughts like who the second girl was.


    Loren looked down into the fire, thinking that it wasn¡¯t all that bad.


    If someone were to ask if he could sleep, he would answer that he probably couldn¡¯t.


    Back when he was a mercenary, there would always be someone else keeping watch with him.


    Right now, there was no one.


    Sarfe and the girls didn¡¯t count.


    He hadn¡¯t spent enough time with them, and he was going to leave after finishing their current quest anyway.


    His heart was restless at the fact that it was the first time ever that he spent time alone with no friends by his side.


    He smiled bitterly as he recalled the night before.


    He spent it in arge room of a cheap inn with strangers, but couldn¡¯t get any deep, sound sleep. He repeatedly woke up until the sun started to rise.


    It led to him to go to the meeting early without being able to get rid of his fatigue.


    Loren threw a dry branch in the fire as he thought about his health.


    Sleep deprivation and weakening stamina.


    Both would eventually slow down his movements and decision making.


    It wasn¡¯t to a critical point, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that Loren¡¯s body required rest.


    However, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to rest.


    He had been avoiding the thoughts of what happened to hisrades in thest battle, and a frown appeared on Loren¡¯s face as the loneliness of keeping watch alone brought back those memories.


    If they were alive, there was a chance to meet them again, but the battle was so gruesome that the possibility was very small.


    ¡°Well, I can still hope that someone made it out just like I did¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡±


    Although he uttered those words out loud, he didn¡¯t expect anyone to be near to hear them. Surprised, he stood up and reached for his sword.


    ¡°I apologize if I startled you, I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡±


    The girl in front of him wearing the clothes of a priest, panicking and waving her hands in front of her was Lapis, who should¡¯ve been sleeping in her tent.


    Realizing that it was not an enemy, Loren stopped reaching for his weapon. But he didn¡¯t expect one of the party members, who were supposed to be asleep, to speak to him and gave Lapis a quizzical look, wondering why she did.


    ¡°Well ummmm¡­the tent next to me¡­you know¡­¡±


    Lapis guessed that Loren was silent because he wanted her to exin why she came out of her tent, and started exining with an awkward tone.


    As soon as Loren heard the first few words, he immediately understood what she was talking about and let down his guard.


    In other words, it meant Lapis wasn¡¯t taking part of what was happening inside that tent.


    Although Sarfe¡¯s tent was made with thick cloth that could keep out cold, it wasn¡¯t enough to keep noise from seeping out of it.


    Had she had slept until morning, she wouldn¡¯t have known about this, but to her luck, she woke up in the middle of the night.


    Although she was a priest that grew up in a secluded environment, she could easily guess what was going on inside that tent, and falling back to sleep listening to those voices was extremely difficult.


    ¡°Um, I can¡¯t go back to sleep anymore¡­and-¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get what you mean. Unfortunate¡­¡±


    Loren replied to Lapis with an exhausted tone and in return she gave him an awkward smile, then, for some reason, sat down next to him.


    ¡°Is it ok if I stay here with you until I get sleepy again¡­or¡­until they settle down?¡±


    As she was already sitting down, Loren just nodded his head, unable to say no.


    Since they were in the middle of a field, it wasn¡¯t as if there were other ces to settle down around them.


    It was convenient for him to have someone else with him since it was a way to keep the drowsiness away, and if she were to go somece else and something happened to her, it would be his responsibility for not keeping a good watch.


    ¡°Are they always like that? Being an adventurer isn¡¯t the safest thing to do, and I understand that not being sure you¡¯re going to survive the next day might take it to that direction, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°As much as I would like to say they aren¡¯t, this happens quite often, actually. Would it be too sarcastic to say that I¡¯m d that they are healthy?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t expecting that kind of reply from Lapis.


    As a mercenary, Loren never had the chance to have a personal conversation with a priest.


    As one who killed and fought battles for a living, a priest who served god was in apletely different world. Loren¡¯s image of a priest was an old man with a difficult expression, who you had to pay an enormous amount of money to hire.


    The priest girl next to him, who was sighing and spouting vulgar sarcasm, was way different than what Loren expected, and was surprised that priests like her existed.


    ¡°Is it too much to ask them to choose the ce and time to do those kinds of thing? Well, most gods¡¯ teachings say to give birth and multiply, so in that perspective, I guess they aren¡¯t doing the wrong thing though.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of gods, how much are there? What god are you serving again?¡±


    Digging into personal matters was a hated by mercenaries.


    Mercenaries all have a memory or two that they don¡¯t want others to know about, which is why Loren was careful not to do so.


    But it was still a long way from sunrise, and he got the feeling that Lapis, who seemed to be friendly and talkative, wouldn¡¯t mind him asking. Plus, it seemed that Lapis didn¡¯t want the conversation to stop either.


    ¡°I serve Kuhklu, the god of knowledge. Also, you should count gods by saying ¡®how many¡¯, not ¡®how much¡¯. I don¡¯t mind it, but some priests are picky about it so you should be careful.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the heads up. I¡¯ve been a mercenary my whole life so I don¡¯t know a lot about these kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°I forgot about that. Why did you choose to be an adventurer?¡±


    A small frown appeared on Loren¡¯s face, but he felt that it would be unfair of him to not answer her question when she had answered his. After a brief silence, Loren finally replied.


    ¡°The group I was with doesn¡¯t exist anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­I¡¯m sorry for asking about it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s something that happens all the time.¡±


    Although there are quite a few groups that im they¡¯re invincible, most of them don¡¯t live up to that expectation.


    Most mercenary groups have victories and losses, give and receive casualties, and expand or decrease in numbers.


    But sometimes an unlucky group would suffer arge casualty that it can¡¯t recover from.


    That time it was just that it was Loren¡¯s group that ended up with the short end of the stick.


    ¡°I wish I could¡¯ve found a different group to join, but I was pretty much broke arriving in the city, and strength was pretty much the only thing I had to work with to earn money.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­Loren, was it? You do look pretty strong.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ gaze fell on the great sword next to Loren.


    It was an extremely rugged sword that Loren had been using for a very long time.


    It didn¡¯t have any sort of decoration or ornament on it and its huge de was long enough to reach Loren¡¯s chest. The grip was built for holding the sword with two hands and had a cloth wrapped around it, and was very heavy, as its appearance suggested.


    It took Loren a few years to be able to wield it to his satisfaction, and with continuous repairing and reforging, he had used it until now.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the de as thick as my waist?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if she was implying that the de was thick or that her waist was thin, so he raised the sword with his left hand topare them.


    The materials used to make the sword, de, grip and all, was pure metal.


    Lapis¡¯ eyes widened, seeing Loren lifting such a heavy object easily with one hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re able to hold it with one hand¡­that¡¯s incredible.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s made to be held with both hands, but I¡¯ve trained with it enough to be able to use it with either hand.¡±


    Loren stood up and thrust the sword into the ground.


    ¡°Want topare?¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see.¡±


    Loren meant it as a joke, but Lapis, who didn¡¯t have much else to do, stood up and pressed her back against the de.


    ¡°What do you think? My waist is thinner, right?¡±


    Loren looked at the de, then at Lapis¡¯ waist.


    There wasn¡¯t any part of her waist that was visible past the de¡¯s width.


    It meant that like she said, Lapis¡¯ waist was indeed thinner that the de.


    When he turned his gaze slightly lower, he saw that her butt was peeking out of the edge. But he couldn¡¯t say that it was fat, because it was natural for girls her age.


    ¡®W¡­What do you think? I¡­I¡¯m thin, right? Uh, a¡­am I not?¡±


    Loren¡¯sck of an answer started to cause Lapis to panic.


    She must have interpreted Loren¡¯s silence as a sign of kindness, and started to feel uneasy.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re thin. My sword is way thicker.¡±


    ¡°Y¡­yes, of course. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t be.¡±


    Your butt isn¡¯t, though.


    Although the thought urred in his mind, he refrained from saying it out loud. Meanwhile Lapis puffed out her chest and went on with a relieved tone, trying to sound like she wasn¡¯t worried at all.

 Chapter 5: Recovery to Giving Up

    <h4>Chapter 5: Recovery to Giving Up</h4>


    The conversation with Lapis continued until morning.


    Although Loren thought of switching watch duty with Sarfe at one point, he despised the idea of putting his head into a tent where business was done. He concluded that it would be better if he just continued watch duty until morning.


    The business inside the tent ended quitete into the night, and Loren thought that Lapis would go back to her tent to sleep. He was surprised when she said she would apany him until morning.


    Although Loren wasn¡¯t going toin about having two people keeping watch, he was concerned that theck of sleep was going to affect Lapis during the day. But after she told him that back in the church there were times where she was not allowed to sleep and that staying up a night was no problem, he dly epted her offer.


    The two chatted endlessly until morning.


    Lapis didn¡¯t have much to offer, as she grew up in the church, but she tried her best to keep the conversation going by searching for things to talk about, and Loren appreciated her efforts.


    But when the conversation turned to Loren about when he was still a mercenary, there were parts where he was reluctant to talk about.


    He wondered why a priest that grew up in a church would want to listen to about his experiences as a mercenary, but he concluded that as a rookie adventurer, she wanted to gain as much knowledge as possible to help herself. As he was trying his best to answer what he could to her questions, morning came.


    ¡°Huh? It¡¯s morning already. What happened to my turn?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. What¡¯s past is past.¡±


    Perhaps the sun¡¯s rays reached the tent. Sarfe came out and asked Loren in a confused way, but Loren replied, hiding his irritation.


    As he saw Naron and Oxye out in a disordered appearance with no embarrassment at all, a sigh escaped his mouth before any kind ofint could.


    As he watched Sarfe scratching his head with an embarrassed expression, he made a firm decision to leave the party once the job was done and look for a different way to earn money.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving as soon as we eat. It¡¯s not much longer to the vige.¡±


    Loren facepalmed, irritated at the viger who didn¡¯t understand why he said that. Sarfe and his party answered in a lighthearted voice, seemingly unaware of the situation. Lapis let out a troubledugh.


    The rest of the trip was a peaceful one, with no encounters with enemies or problems at all.


    Apparently, it was true that every now and then soldiers and adventurers cleaned up monsters and thieves near the road.


    The vige they arrived at was a normal pioneered vige.


    Protected from outside harm by a simple, but strong fence was a bunch of houses made from logs.


    The fields were located outside the fence, but that couldn¡¯t be helped.


    The vige was built to create more farnd, so if they tried to expand the fence every time they made a new field, the task would be endless and would cost them more manpower as well.


    It was the minimum amount of defense possible, and couldn¡¯t protect the vigers from the dangers from outside.


    Living in such as vige required understanding that danger was always near, and it was way harder living in it than living inside a city.


    Right next to the vige was arge forest. Loren looked at it as he got off the carriage, thinking that it must be the forest where the goblins had appeared. As he started stretching and loosening his body, Sarfe got off the carriage and said,


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    It was right before noon, so going in the forest wasn¡¯t a problem.


    But Loren thought that it was normal to first greet the client, the vige chief, and go over the details of the job, but when he told that to Sarfe, Naron scowled at him.


    ¡°We just have to hunt down the goblins. Why should we go over the details?¡±


    ¡°To ask about the numbers and stuff. And I thought that it was normal to go greet the client¡­¡±


    ¡°We can just have the guy that took us here to tell the vige to tell the chief. How long are you going to make us take on such an easy job?¡±


    Loren believed that no matter how difficult, a job was a job.


    That was why Loren thought that they should greet the client, but he let out another sigh knowing that the party wouldn¡¯t ept his view.


    Even in mercenary groups, the leader greeting the client wasmon sense, but apparently that didn¡¯t apply to the line of workers called adventurers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell the chief, so you guys can go ahead and finish it as soon as possible.¡±


    Hearing the viger say that, Naron red at Loren.


    Loren gave up trying to convince them and Naron, seeing that Loren wasn¡¯t saying anything, snorted with a proud look on her face. Sarfe put his hand on her head and said to everyone in the party,


    ¡°Let¡¯s go finish this quickly so the vige could be safe and sound.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We don¡¯t need this sensitive mercenary to get this job done.¡±


    ¡°Naron, he¡¯s going to be our shield during battle. There¡¯s no way we¡¯re not taking him.¡±


    Loren fingered the grip of his sword, not amused at the fact that they thought of him as a meat shield.


    He didn¡¯t have any objections being the front line, but there was no way he would feel good about being treated like an object.


    ¡°Um¡­I¡¯ll make sure to heal you when you get hurt.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if she was trying to make him feel better, but as soon as she said that, Naron¡¯s bad tempered voice rang out.


    ¡°Healing him is a waste. Just save it for when Sarfe gets hurt.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­huh.¡±


    Naron¡¯s strong words overwhelmed Lapis¡¯, but Loren looked toward her and shook his head, telling her not to worry about it.


    Now that he thought about it, the only thing he had in his bag were the provisions that he bought. He didn¡¯t have enough money to buy other essentials such as medication, and if he were to be gravely injured, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it.


    His mood didn¡¯t get any better as he decided that when it came to the worst, he would just have to tear his clothes to use as bandages.


    Meanwhile, Sarfe and the others said goodbye to the viger and started into the forest.


    Loren knew that if he waste they would be mad at him again so he swiftly followed after them, not wanting anything else that would make his mood even worse.


    ¡°Okay for now, I¡¯ll stay in front and Naron will back me up. Oxy and Lapis stay behind us, and Loren take the rear.¡±


    Loren nodded in silence.


    It was a solid and reasonable formation, but uninteresting at the same time.


    It meant that Sarfe at least knew the basics of moving together as a party.


    While keeping watch at the rear, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that because they didn¡¯t gather any information on the goblins from the vige, it had them wandering around the forest aimlessly, making the search take longer.


    It was like trying to fish in a pond not knowing if there were fish in it or not.


    In this case, Loren and the party was the bait.


    Asking about specific points where fish can be caught meant a high probability of getting a catch, but putting bait on a hook and hurling it in randomly was relyingpletely on chance, and also very inconsistent.


    ¡°Hey look, Sarfe. Raspberries.¡±


    ¡°Raspberries, huh. I haven¡¯t eaten for a while now. Let¡¯s take some with us.¡±


    ¡°Um, everyone? Shouldn¡¯t we focus on finding the goblins first¡­¡±


    After a while, Loren couldn¡¯t help but want to leave.


    Without any information, they indeed had been wandering in the forest, with no hope ofpleting the quest. On top of that, Sarfe and the two girls showed interest in raspberries, of all things, and proceeded to pick them.


    Lapis, as flustered as she was, tried to stop them, but none of them seemed to listen to what she was saying.


    At this point Loren didn¡¯t even feel like trying to say anything, and even started faintly hoping that all the noise the three of them made would attract the goblins to their spot.


    ¡°Do you think this is fine?¡±


    After a while, Lapis gave up trying to talk to them and asked Loren with a defeated look on her face. But Loren couldn¡¯t find any words to give her an answer.


    It would be a big problem if mercenaries were to set aside the quest and start acting of their own ord, but since Loren didn¡¯t know if it was the same for adventurers. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could condemn them about anything, but he was sure that it was useless to even try to talk sense into them.


    ¡°They can do what they want to. I don¡¯t even care anymore.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t even try to hide his rough tone.


    ¡°Ah, you gave up, right?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you haven¡¯t given up yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very close to, though.¡±


    Seeing Lapis¡¯ shoulders drop as she replied, Loren felt slightly relieved.


    Loren thought that he must be extremely tired to be relieved by something on this level. He wanted to get the job done as soon as possible and head back, but to do that he needed Sarfe and the girls¡¯ help. Even if he were to give up and leave, he didn¡¯t have a way to pay for a ride back to the city or to pay Lapis back.


    Loren had no choice but to watch Naron pick raspberries with Sarfe following her here and there, and Oxy look for herbs.


    ¡°How are you so calm about this?¡±


    He asked Lapis, who was with him watching the other three, out of boredom. He was slightly surprised when Lapis answered with a re.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel too good being addressed like that.¡±


    Loren instantly understood that she was irritated with how he was calling her. He stopped for a moment and thought about ways to call her without offending her any further.


    ¡°Lapis-san?¡± *


    ¡°Just Lapis is fine. Why did you say it like a question?¡±


    ¡°I never had the opportunity to call someone of the opposite gender by her name.¡±


    The only women that Loren had spoken to were servers at the bar.


    Gathering food and supplies were usually done by others, so he had never spoken with people from other stores, either.


    Since they went from battle to battle, he didn¡¯t get close enough to any of them to call them by their names.


    ¡°Well you can call me Loren as well.¡±


    ¡°No, please let me call you Loren-san!¡± **


    Loren frowned, thinking Lapis didn¡¯t want to be that friendly. Lapis saw this and became flustered, and tried to exin what she meant.


    ¡°It¡¯s well, um. It¡¯s just that because of how I usually talk, it makes me say names like that. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to get too familiar with each other, and well¡­¡±


    ¡°You can call me however you want to.¡±


    Loren felt a slight relief again, seeing Lapis waving her hands and trying her best to exin what she meant. He then looked over to the rest of the party, who paid no attention to him and Lapis at all, and started praying for goblins to attack them.

 Chapter 6: Chase after Assault

    <h4>Chapter 6: Chase after Assault</h4>


    In a slightly listless atmosphere, Loren¡¯s eyes suddenly turned sharp.


    Lapis, slightly surprised, watched Loren as he started to reach for the great sword strapped to his back.


    ¡°Wait! I just heard something!¡±


    Naron¡¯s warning rang out a moment after Loren¡¯s sudden action, and everyone tensed up.


    Loren scanned the area, concluding that the others noticed the danger toote.


    They were within the forest, but he decided that it wasn¡¯t a problem because they were in a small clearing, with space to move around and see their surroundings.


    As soon as he used his left hand to pull the string strapping the cloth wrapping his sword, it fell off, revealing the de.


    He pulled out the sword in front of him with his right hand and put his left hand on the handle, right above his other hand, and switched his thought process for battle.


    Even for mercenaries, who were in battle very often, straining their senses for battle all the time would chip away at their minds.


    Loren had seen too many who broke their minds and hearts doing so, thus he made sure to switch back when he wasn¡¯t in battle.


    He didn¡¯t have time to enjoy the energy flowing through his body before he spotted a few shadows moving behind the trees.


    The shadows looked small and humanoid.


    Based on how deep into the forest they were currently in, and the speed of the moving shadows, he was sure that they were not children lost in the forest.


    ¡°What is it? Monsters?¡±


    Sarfe asked Naron, but his hand wasn¡¯t even on the grip of his sword.


    Naron, although she pricked up her ears, hadn¡¯t even grasped the direction of where the monsters wereing from.


    She kept looking around, pricking her ears and squinting, but she hadn¡¯t noticed that Loren already found the enemy and was tracking them.


    Loren, wondering if this party was going to be okay, was trying to decide if he should point out the enemy¡¯s location, but wasn¡¯t sure if he should take Naron¡¯s job. Before he could decide, the enemy made the first move.


    A few arrows flew at them, threading the space between the trees.


    They didn¡¯t have much speed to them, and some of them flew off into apletely different direction. But still a good amount of them were headed toward where Loren was.


    ¡°Ugh!?¡±


    Most of them missed their target and fell around them, but one of them grazed Oxy¡¯s shoulder, spraying a bit of blood.


    Sarfe and Naron shifted their gazes to Oxy at the sound of her pained voice.


    ¡°What are they doing!?¡±


    Loren cursed. The two should know how much of an advantage they could give an enemy if they looked away during battle.


    Not even facing the way the attack came from, but instead facing a cry from arade, was equivalent to begging the enemy to make the next move.


    Loren¡¯s eyes turned to the monsters that started to run out from between the trees.


    They were green and ugly, with shields made of wooden nks and short, rusty swords.


    Loren swung his sword at the goblins.


    The sword and the wooden shield shed.


    Loren¡¯s sword didn¡¯t cut through it, as his sword wasn¡¯t made to cut.


    But instead, with its weight and sheer force, it smashed through the shields and crushed the goblin¡¯s arm, then ripped its body into two bloody pieces of meat.


    Before the pieces could even hit the ground, Loren swung the sword again and hit the second goblin right on the head.


    A dull sound erupted, and another goblin lost its life, spraying around things that couldn¡¯t be made out if it was bone or flesh.


    ¡°Crap! These goblins!¡±


    Sarfe finally realized who the attackers were and pulled out his sword, while Naron pulled out her knife to protect Oxy, who had her hand on her wound.


    ¡°Defensive arts!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need them!¡±


    Loren answered Lapis wildly and kept swinging his sword.


    The third goblin instantly got crushed between the de and a tree.


    Loren reflected the second wave of arrows with the t of the de, then tracked the direction where they wereing from.


    He was able to find the goblins with bows, but was irritated at where they were standing.


    There were trees blocking the way so it was difficult for him to rush at them, and there wasn¡¯t enough space between the trees for him to freely swing his sword.


    He wished he had a knife or a shorter sword. He then nced at the ground and saw a small sword that belonged to one of the dead goblins. He picked it up and threw it at the archer goblins.


    The feeble sword flew across the clearing and hit one of them, but only seeded in giving a shallow cut.


    Loren picked up another one and prepared to throw it but the goblins let out a cry, surprised that


    Loren had a way to attack from a distance, and started to run away.


    ¡°We¡¯re not letting them get away! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Watching Sarfe giving out orders, Loren thought


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even do anything¡­¡±


    Naron and Oxy followed his orders but Loren gave his sword a swing, shaking off the blood stained on it, and stopped them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think chasing is a good idea.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Our job is the hunt the goblins. We finally found them, so we should chase them and make sure we destroy their nest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! A lowly mercenary like you shouldn¡¯t butt into the leader¡¯s decision. So just shut up and follow him!¡±


    Loren stopped and didn¡¯t even try to talk back to Naron.


    No matter how low intelligence the low rank monster called a goblin had, they weren¡¯t stupid enough to leave their nestpletely vulnerable.


    Their quest didn¡¯t say that they had to exterminate the nest.


    All they needed to do was walk around and hunt down a certain number of goblins and receive their reward, so Loren wanted to avoid danger such as going into the nest, but it seemed that the rest of the party wasn¡¯t going to listen to him.


    While he wasforting himself thinking that it wasn¡¯t the first time he was working under a useless leader, Lapis came up to him and started walking next to him.


    ¡°Your friends are way up ahead.¡±


    Loren told Lapis without thinking, revealing his irritation, but Lapis smiled, not affected by it at all.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. But I decided that this is the best ce to be.¡±


    He remembered that if he excluded himself, Lapis was the newest member of the party.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I have an ulterior motive or anything. Since priests and magicians usually fight with warriors to protect them, and since Sarfe and Oxy are together, I thought that it would be natural for me to be with you, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Is that how I should take it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please take it like that.¡±


    Seeing her replying with a smile, Loren didn¡¯t feel like pushing the conversation any further.


    There was no point in doing so either because what Lapis said was indeed true, and the only thing he could do is try to guess what she was trying to imply.


    ¡°Well, it seems she has a good personality of her own.¡±


    Thought Loren as he apanied Lapis to where Sarfe was headed.


    Tracking the goblins wasn¡¯t difficult.


    They weren¡¯t smart enough to cover their tracks, so it was easy for a thief like Naron to track them.


    But the tracks were visible even to Loren, so if she couldn¡¯t find them, she probably should be something other than a thief.


    In fact, blood spilled from the goblin that Loren had injured gave a such a clear sign, even an amateur could find them.


    ¡°Just asking.¡±


    Loren turned to Lapis, who was walking next to him.


    As one who had experienced many battles, it was easy for Loren to distance himself from people and talk in a voice where it would only reach the ears of whoever he was talking to.


    ¡°How strong are they? Especially our leader¡¯s skill on the sword.¡±


    Judging from Sarfe¡¯s reaction to the goblin attack, he would bebeled as a failure in Loren¡¯s mercenary group. He would either be sent to be retrained or to the very frontlines of battle for no reason.


    Loren didn¡¯t want to put someone like him as a leader for sure.


    Lapis replied without hesitation.


    ¡°Loren, you used to be a mercenary, right? Okay, let¡¯s see¡­Have you heard rumors of the mercenary called the <<de demon="">> ?¡±


    </de>


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that name before.¡±


    It was a name that was known among mercenaries.


    He was famous not only among mercenaries, but was well known swordsman in general. The <<de demon="">> was a legendary mercenary known to bring victory to his allies but death and destruction to his enemies. He was a being that no one wanted to meet in battle, both as an ally or an enemy.


    </de>


    It was because if he was an enemy it would mean death, and if he was an ally there was a risk he would take all the credit.


    Mercenaries got more offers the more they took part in battle. The existence called the <<de demon="">> was distanced from others for that reason.


    </de>


    Although there were mercenaries with titles here and there, the was considered the one of the strongest. It was believed among mercenaries that the only ones who could stand up to him was the <<swords of="" me="">> , who used both sword and magic, or another swordsman called the <<ying wind="">> .


    </ying></swords>


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s as strong as him?¡±


    ¡°Even if ten million Sarfe¡¯s got together, they wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him .¡±


    It was a confusing way topare, but Loren understood that she meant Sarfe wasn¡¯t strong at all.


    No matter how strong the <<de demon="">> is, he would run out of steam going against ten million enemies. But if that many number of people couldn¡¯t beat him, it meant that Sarfe was very weak.


    </de>


    ¡°You guys must be insane, trusting your lives to that kind of guy.¡±


    ¡°Loren, we¡¯re in the same shoes right now, you know?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re right. I have no money. I can¡¯t say that you¡¯re insane.¡±


    If Loren didn¡¯t have the problem of being broke, he probably wouldn¡¯t have chosen to be an adventurer.


    ¡°Being broke sucks. It¡¯s like I don¡¯t have a say in the decisions I make.¡±


    ¡°Well, how should I put it. My condolences?¡±


    Loren wondered why she said it like a question, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.


    Lapis stumbled, not expecting Loren to stop walking. She then saw Sarfe with his hand up as if he was signaling them to stop.


    ¡°Look, a cave. That must be their nest.¡±


    Sarfe must have meant to talk softly, but Loren facepalmed at how loud his voice still was.


    ¡°The trail of blood goes into it, and Naron is sure of it as well.¡±


    ¡°Are we going in? I¡¯d rather not.¡±


    The cave was barely wide enough to fit two people side by side, and there wasn¡¯t enough space for Loren to pull out his weapon and fight.


    But Naron appeared from a nearby brush and started to make fun of him for saying so.


    ¡°Then just go back. But you¡¯re not getting any of the rewards.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just goblins, so we should be fine. If you¡¯re worried about weapons, try this.¡±


    Sarfe then handed him a small sword that belonged to one of the goblins he had in.


    ¡°I brought this because I thought maybe we could find a use for it.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re notpletely thoughtless.¡±


    Thought Loren. He was actually a bit impressed at Sarfe, but not at the sword. It was made poorly and it was so blunt it couldn¡¯t even cut anything.


    But it was better than nothing, so Loren strapped his great sword onto his back and took the sword.


    ¡°Oxy, use a spell to give us some light and Naron, watch our surroundings. Looks like there¡¯s no problems. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Loren sighed again, wondering how many times he had sighed already and didn¡¯t even want to count, at the fact that they didn¡¯t even have a torch orntern with them.


    Of course, Loren didn¡¯t have them either, but that was only because he didn¡¯t have the money to purchase them.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have anyone keeping watch or hiding, and no traps either.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. There might be vigers in there. We should hurry and save them.¡±


    Oxy raised the staff she was holding.


    ¡°Behold, light. <<lighting>> .¡±


    </lighting>


    A magic light appeared at the tip of the staff.


    Loren didn¡¯t understand why they would use the spell already when they didn¡¯t even step into the cave yet, but hadpletely given up on them a while ago so he didn¡¯t even try to point it out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As soon as Oxy gave a nod, Sarfe started walking toward the entrance of the cave, with no way of knowing everything going on in Loren¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 7: Pursuit to Engage

    <h4>Chapter 7: Pursuit to Engage</h4>


    It was most likely a trap.


    That was the thought that kept going through his head.


    Although goblins had low intelligence, it was hard to believe they were stupid enough to not post anyone to keep watch at the entrance.


    Even mindless beasts, if they lived in packs, would make sure that some of them were guarding the entrance to their nests.


    But there were no signs of any goblins keeping watch.


    ¡°Lucky that there isn¡¯t anyone on watch. They must have been so scared they forgot to.¡±


    Loren started shutting out Sarfe.


    If he didn¡¯t, he knew his mind wouldn¡¯tst until the quest was over.


    But still, their conversation managed to reach his ears as static.


    ¡°The trail of blood is still here so they must have gone this way.¡±


    ¡°In the end they¡¯re just goblins. They were so hurt they didn¡¯t even think about setting watch.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your take on this Loren?


    Lapis asked Loren and looked up at him, quite interested in Loren¡¯s opinion. He was about to keep silent but then reconsidered, thinking that maybe talking to her will keep his mind off Sarfe and the others.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap for sure. No guards mean they¡¯re ready to ambush us.¡±


    ¡°Goblins have that kind of knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. I don¡¯t know much about goblins. But I do know that even monkeys set up watches. I don¡¯t think goblins would do less than monkeys.¡±


    ¡°The difference in intelligence between goblins and monkeys. That¡¯s kind of interesting.¡±


    Lapis put her hand on her chin started specting with a serious look on her face. Loren looked at her and felt a different kind of disbelief than with Sarfe and the others.


    Since she was a follower of the god of knowledge, Loren thought that her way of thinking couldn¡¯t be helped, but still, there was a time and ce for that, and right now was definitely not the time and ce.


    ¡°Are you saying that you think goblins are more intelligent than monkeys?¡±


    ¡°Well, of course they are.¡±


    Although he thought of it as a problem, he diligently answered her because it helped keep his mind off his problems.


    ¡°Of course, huh. I don¡¯t think so. Monkeys live in societies, they use tools, and they learn. How different can they be from humans?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t find anything to say and continued to chase after Sarfe and the others.


    He didn¡¯t have a logical answer like she had just now.


    He thought that goblins were smarter than monkeys because he felt that they were. He had no clear evidence.


    But if he said that out loud, it would sound like he was saying that there isn¡¯t much of a difference between humans, monkeys, and goblins.


    ¡°I guess it just means we shouldn¡¯t underestimate them?¡±


    Not being able toe up with a good argument, he concluded that Lapis may be right, and muttered under his breath.


    Lapis heard him and nodded, looking straight at his face.


    Meanwhile, Sarfe and the others were pulling further and further ahead.


    Since the only source of light was Oxy¡¯s magic, Loren made sure not to lose sight of them.


    He couldn¡¯t help but worry that they were being too careless going this fast.


    Loren was about to make a point when Sarfe suddenly stopped.


    The path was slightly curved, and Loren couldn¡¯t see what the three in front were seeing.


    As Loren started to suspect that something happened, Sarfe spoke up.


    ¡°There¡¯s a chamber up ahead, and there¡¯s light pouring out of it.¡±


    If that were true, it meant whatever is inside there could see Oxy¡¯s light as well, and there was no point in stopping here. However, Loren decided not to interrupt Sarfe.


    ¡°An ambush?¡±


    ¡°Kind of sucks that they have bows.¡±


    Naron and Oxy started a carefree conversation.


    Sarfe, who finally made up his mind, faced them and told them his decision.


    ¡°I¡¯ll charge in first and block the arrows. You guys follow me up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got guts to run face first into an ambush with arrows ready for you.¡±


    Thought Loren, looking at Sarfe with pure amazement.


    Even though the enemy were goblins, Loren thought that running into archers in this narrow cave with no space to dodge the arrows was suicide.


    ¡°Do you need the magic <


    > ?¡±


    Sarfe nodded when Oxy asked him, and she closed her eyes and proceeded to cast the spell.


    Loren found nothing to say, seeing that she was using one of her three spell usages on such a thoughtless charge. He felt Lapis tug at his sleeve.


    ¡°You seem dissatisfied.¡±


    Not wanting to show his true thoughts, he averted his eyes and answered her, who asked him in a teasing manner.


    ¡°Hmm, not sure.¡±


    ¡°If you were in charge, how would you handle this situation?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure why she wanted to know, but answered her, thinking of it as a change of pace.


    ¡°I¡¯d pile raw wood in front of the cave and set in on fire.¡±


    Loren believed that it was the simplest yet most certain mean of attacking enemies within a sealed space such as a cave.


    He wasn¡¯t sure howrge the cave system was, but the smoke and heat would eventually fill up inside. After that, most creatures inside would be dead soon enough.


    ¡°We¡¯d need oil for that.¡±


    It¡¯s not easy to burn raw wood.


    To do what Loren was thinking of, they would either need lots of oil or dry wood.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a flint or any oil so I would give up and leave.¡±


    Loren answered Lapis, realizing how sad it was to not have any money to buy supplies.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Lapis looked convinced and didn¡¯t say anything more. Instead, Sarfe called him.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have youe with me.¡±


    ¡°Do I not get any protective spells?¡±


    ¡°You have a big sword, so just use that as a shield.¡±


    Oxy said loudly with a frown on her face and Naron nodded her head, agreeing with what she said.


    ¡°Sorry, but we can¡¯t spare another spell for defense. Instead I¡¯ll make sure to cover you.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. Unfortunate for me, though.¡±


    What Loren had in his hand right now was the small sword one of the goblins used.


    Trying to deflect arrows with it was going to be very unreliable, and using his great sword as a shield would hinder his movements because of its massive size and weight.


    The thought that this wasn¡¯t the first time a helpless leader had given bad orders gave him a little bit offort. Loren gripped the sword tightly, and Sarfe took it that he was ready and shouted.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Loren followed him, not amused by the fact that the enemy must have heard him from a mile away.


    It was pretty much telling the goblins that they were going towards them. Soon enough, arrows started raining down on them.


    Sarfe, who was in front, tried to parry them but failed.


    But the protection magic reduced the speed of the arrows, and none of them were able pierce


    Sarfe¡¯s leather armor and dropped onto the floor.


    Loren was quite impressed by the magic and how useful it was while striking down an arrow that got past Sarfe.


    ¡°Damn, this is so dull.¡±


    The sword broke the arrow rather than cut through it, and the pieces dropped on the ground.


    He didn¡¯t have time to beining about the sharpness and was about to jump into the clearing where the goblins were waiting.


    Loren suddenly stopped in his tracks, while Sarfe suddenly fell down and rolled right into the awaiting goblins.


    ¡°Sarfe!¡±


    Naron, who was right behind Sarfe, rushed into the area followed by Oxy and Lapis.


    ¡°Hey, wait!¡±


    As the three of them rushed past him, he was barely able to get a hold of Lapis¡¯ cor and stopped her.


    Lapis let out a slight moan, but seeing Oxy sprawl onto the ground as well, she realized why Loren stopped her.


    ¡°A trap!?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a smart one in there somewhere!¡±


    There was a small dent in the floor that could barely fit a foot, well camouged in the rough ground.


    It was a simple trap, done by digging a small hole in the ground, but unfortunately Sarfe and Oxy didn¡¯t notice it and got caught on it.


    ¡°Sarfe! Get up!¡±


    There was no way the goblins would ignore such a defenseless opponent.


    Another barrage of arrows rained down.


    Although Naron deflected some of them, the rest got through and lodged into Sarfe¡¯s right shoulder and left thigh, as well as in Naron¡¯s right nk.


    ¡°Damn it! How dare you!¡±


    Oxy cursed and got ready to use a spell. Loren ignored her and scanned his eyes through the goblin ranks.


    Around ten archers.


    Many with small swords and clubs.


    In the deepest part he saw one that was a whole sizerger, holding a staff made from animal bones, and wearing a golden ne with a strange light emitting from it.


    ¡°Is that the head?¡±


    Based on the way it was dressed and its size, Loren guessed that it was.


    Still held by her cor, Lapis muttered


    ¡°Is that¡­a goblin mage?¡±


    ¡°A high rank monster. This is bad.¡±


    For goblins that had a high reproduction rate and expanded quickly, it was possible for a special one to be born.


    Or it could¡¯ve been born as a regr goblin, but through experience, change into something different.


    Those individuals were called high rank monsters and were known to be a few times more dangerous than normal goblins. Packs led by the high rank often became more dangerous as well.


    Goblin mages were rare even among the high ranks, as it meant that a goblin somehow gained magical knowledge, making it one of the most dangerous among them.


    Going against them without any preparation meant only disasters were waiting.


    Loren decided that they should retreat, but Sarfe and Naron, who were closest to the goblins, were under attack by arrows, and Oxy was already chanting a spell.


    ¡°Damn it¡­¡±


    Although he knew that giving a warning and helping the others was what he should do, he concluded that it was impossible to save all of them. He looked back at the path that they came from, but what he saw left him speechless.


    ¡°We got nked!?¡±


    He thought that it was a straight path to this area, but maybe because of the dim light or maybe because Loren didn¡¯t pay close enough attention, the path they came from was filled with goblins with a fewrger ones behind it, all of them rushing towards the area where Loren and the others were in.

 Chapter 8: Collapsing to Running Away

    <h4>Chapter 8: Copsing to Running Away</h4>


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m not getting out of this easily!¡±


    There was nowhere to run, being pincered in by the two groups.


    As Loren decided that the only way out was to cut through them, he heard Oxy finish chanting her spell.


    ¡°Scatter the sands, bring upon slumber! <>¡±


    Based on Oxy¡¯s movements and line of sight, Loren saw that she was using on the goblins in front and was irritated at her decision.


    He knew that she was trying to help Sarfe and Naron, but if they were to sessfully retreat, it was better to use it on the goblins behind them.


    But Oxy was too focused on them and didn¡¯t seem like she noticed the goblins behind them.


    Loren changed his mind and thought that they still had a chance if they could at least get through the goblins in front, and waited for Oxy¡¯s spell to take effect. But he narrowed his eyes, seeing a strange lighting from the goblin mage¡¯s ne.


    At the same time for an unknown reason, Lapis, who Loren was still holding her by the cor, became limp.


    As her knees buckled, Loren immediately let go of her and before her knees could hit the floor, he managed to catch her and lend her his shoulder.


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t have time to check what was wrong with Lapis, who looked dumbfounded, because he heard Oxy¡¯s panicked voice.


    ¡°What? How!?¡±


    Loren soon found out why.


    Although the spell had been used, there was no sign of any of the goblins going to sleep. The goblins then rushed at Sarfe and Naron at once.


    ¡°You bastards! Get away from me!¡±


    ¡°S¡­stop! Let go of me!¡±


    There was no way Sarfe could get up and fight with an injured shoulder and leg.


    Naron, who injured her nk, was unable to go against them either and they pushed her to the ground.


    ¡°Hey! Get away from her!¡±


    The goblins showed no mercy, bringing their weapons down on Sarfe.


    As dull swords chipped away at his flesh and the clubs struck bone after bone, Sarfe screamed in pain.


    Naron shrieked as the goblins started to rip her clothes off.


    Oxy became pale at the sight and before she could do anything, the goblins tackled her from behind and covered her, not even letting her scream.


    Loren knew that he couldn¡¯t save them.


    He then started to take steps forward.


    For a second,the thought of leaving Lapis here crossed his mind.


    Lapis couldn¡¯t move her limbs, much less grab onto Loren¡¯s shoulder, and was getting carried by Loren. To him, she was dead weight.


    If he left her, he would be able to move around quicker and the goblins would be focused on new prey, letting him run away with little to no problems.


    The only problem was dealing with the guiltter, but considering the pros, he thought it wasn¡¯t a bad choice.


    Lapis looked up at Loren, who was still trying to decide, and gave out a small sigh.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, just leave me.¡±


    It was apletely different tone than until now.


    Loren was more surprised that she told him to leave her here than the change in the way she talked.


    ¡°I¡¯m in the way, correct? They won¡¯t kill a woman that easily, but they will kill you for sure. Don¡¯t mind me and just go.¡±


    He sensed a feeling of defeat in her voice.


    But what struck his heart was that she was saying all this just for him.


    So what Loren did was silently grip the sword in his left hand tighter and put Lapis under his right arm.


    ¡°Hey?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you might bite your tongue.¡±


    After getting a better grip on her, he gritted his teeth and took a step forward, then suddenly started dashing toward the exit.


    All the screaming from behind him and weird moaning soundsing from Lapis didn¡¯t reach his ears anymore.


    He swung his left arm in a wide arc right at the base of a goblin¡¯s neck.


    The goblin¡¯s body tore into two pieces and Loren kicked them away, then bashed the forehead of another goblin who jumped at him.


    The de lodged into its head and broke off.


    Loren, as soon as he felt it break, hurled the rest of the sword at another goblin, then picked up a club and continued to speed up.


    He rushed past Sarfe, who was getting hacked to pieces in a pool of blood, and Naron, who was stripped naked and held down on the ground, and went straight toward the archers.


    A few arrows were fired at close range.


    No matter how bad they were at using bows, Loren was close enough that it was almost impossible to miss.


    But to the goblins¡¯ surprise, not even one of them managed to hit Loren, and before they could even act confused, they got a knee to the face and flew away.


    Right before the arrows wereunched, Loren immediately jumped to the side and as soon as the arrows flew past, he jumped and kicked off the wall, propelling himself towards the goblins andnded the attack.


    He didn¡¯t even bother looking at his work as continued running, at a speed that seemed impossible to reach while holding a person.


    He dashed toward the goblin mage, who was standing behind more archers.


    But the goblin mage wasn¡¯t ready to back down without a fight.


    It started muttering something and raised a finger and pointed it at Loren. A ball of fire appeared at the tip and started moving in Loren¡¯s direction.


    It was the beginner level magic spell , and it flew at him faster than the arrows.


    Loren couldn¡¯t dodge in time and it struck him on the left shoulder.


    Loren grimaced at the impact and the pain of fire burning his flesh, but it wasn¡¯t enough to slow him at all.


    The goblin mage, shocked that the spell didn¡¯t stop Loren, was readying another spell.


    ¡°Too slow!¡±


    Of course, Loren wasn¡¯t about to give it time to use another spell.


    Cutting off the pain in his left arm from his consciousness, he rammed into the goblin mage.


    He took a wide swing at it and the hit immediately crushed its head open.


    At the same time, he threw away the now broken club, and before the goblin mage could fall onto the ground, reached out and snatched the ne that emitted the strange light when Oxy used her spell.


    ¡°I wish you would just leave that.¡±


    Lapis muttered in a small voice, looking at the ne with the corner of her eye, but Loren ignored her and jumped into the tunnel in front of them.


    It was the other way they came from, but they didn¡¯t have a choice.


    There was a chance that the tunnel led to a smaller space, but there were side tunnels and Loren prayed that they could use them to dodge the goblins and escape.


    ¡°How are you running so well without any light?¡±


    Lapis asked him, sounding impressed.


    Her tone was a lot more rxed, butcked the politeness that Lapis¡¯ usual way of talking had and Loren wondered if she was putting on airs until now, but he didn¡¯t answer her and continued to run.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you can see in the dark?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re loud. I can¡¯t focus.¡±


    There was no way Loren could see where he was going in the dark tunnel.


    But back when he was a mercenary, he learned how to figure out his surroundings by using the reflections of sounds that he made.


    It was a technique mostly used during times where they couldn¡¯t use a light, such as during an ambush, and although it helped, it wasn¡¯t the most urate. If he lost focus there was a chance of tripping over uneven ground or crashing into a wall, so he didn¡¯t have any time to spare talking to Lapis.


    ¡°Getting carried around like a sack gets pretty boring.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that. It¡¯s a matter of life and death so please be quiet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but how about this.¡±


    As soon as Lapis said that a soft white light shined, illuminating their surroundings.


    Loren squinted and realized that the light wasing from his chest and guessed that Lapis had something to do with it. He slowed down slightly and looked down at the girl.


    ¡°Can you see now? I won¡¯t ask you to carry me like a princess, but can you at least carry me on your back?¡±


    Lapis asked him with her limbs still dangling.


    He could¡¯ve ignored her, but he felt an eerie tone from her voice and gently let her down from under her arm and proceeded to put her on his back.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s better. Now that that¡¯s out of the way, Loren, thank you for saving me back there.¡±


    As soon as she got on his back, she started talking politely again.


    Loren wondered what the change in her way of talking meant as he continued deeper into the tunnel, now illuminated by the light.


    ¡°But why did you decide to save me? You left everyone else to die back there.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t flinch at the fact that she said he left Sarfe and the rest to die.


    He knew that she was simply just asking him what she was thinking, so he answered her in a daunting manner.


    ¡°I just felt like it. You were lucky. I still owe you money. Just choose one. I¡¯m sure one of them is the answer.¡±


    ¡°Is it okay if I take it that Loren is a kind person?¡±


    ¡°If that were true I wouldn¡¯t have left the others.¡±


    He told Lapis with a wry smile and a teasing tone, but she didn¡¯t seem to be offended at all and quietly leaned onto his back.


    ¡°But you still saved me so I¡¯ll think of it as that.¡±


    ¡°Think of it as you want to then.¡±


    It didn¡¯t matter to Loren about how Lapis thought about him.


    When Loren told her to do as she liked, she told him she would with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 9: Escape to Confession

    <h4>Chapter 9: Escape to Confession</h4>


    ¡°Oh yeah, about what happened earlier.¡±


    Loren was jogging through the tunnel with Lapis on his back.


    The sword pressed onto Lapis¡¯ body must have been ufortable, as she squirmed around on Loren¡¯s back. But she still couldn¡¯t move her limbs to help herself.


    ¡°Earlier?¡±


    She neared her face toward Loren¡¯s shoulder.


    Naturally their bodies got closer, but the only thing Loren felt on his back was his sword that was lodged between the two of them.


    ¡°The way you talk changed. Is that how you talk naturally?¡±


    Lapis stopped squirming.


    Loren got the feeling that she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but he continued on, deciding that it was better to know as much as he could about her, especially because he was going to be with her for a while.


    ¡°Your body as well. Is there a reason why it stopped moving?¡±


    ¡°Do I¡­do you have to know why?¡±


    After hearing Lapis¡¯ reluctant voice, obvious that it was something she didn¡¯t want to talk about, Loren started to have second thoughts about digging deeper into this matter.


    It wasn¡¯t information that he needed, but there was always a chance that information that may not be needed contained something important. Judging from the situation that they were in, he wanted every piece of detail he could find.


    But at the same time, he didn¡¯t want to push too hard and ruin his rtionship with Lapis either.


    Since Sarfe and the others were gone, the only ally he had left right now was Lapis.


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you to, but it would be easier to think around it if you told me.¡±


    He made it so that Lapis would make the decision.


    He decided to tell her what was on his mind, then see how she would react.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­since you already saw everything, I guess I can tell you.¡±


    After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she whispered into his ear.


    While thinking that a woman whispering into his ear was something that ran down his spine, he focused on Lapis¡¯ voice, not slowing down and continuing to scan his surroundings.


    ¡°Loren, how much do you know about demon kind (demon kin?).¡± *


    Loren almost stopped in his tracks at Lapis¡¯ question, but remembered that they weren¡¯t in a situation to be stopping.


    He slowed down to a jog while trying to recall what he knew about demon kind.


    They generally didn¡¯t have much interactions with humans.


    In this world, there exists races other than humans such as demi-humans and beast kin who lived in their own societies along with humans.


    Demon kind was one of them but didn¡¯t have a good reputation among the other races.


    They had little to no interaction with humans, much less other races, and were generally thought of as the name of the race suggested.


    But in fact, there were only a handful that lived up to that reputation and it wasn¡¯t that they were impossible to interact with.


    Although they had higher physical abilities and higher affinity to magic, they weren¡¯t interested in other races, and their tendency to use anything however they could to benefit them was the root of their bad reputation.


    But people like that existed among humans as well and it all depended on the personality of the individual, so the mercenary that told him all of this warned Loren not to think ¡®just because they¡¯re demon kind¡¯.


    Most of them didn¡¯t believe in gods either, which made many churches dislike them as well.


    They looked almost the same as humans except for the color of their eyes, which were a deep purple color.


    Beings called demon lords popped up every now and then and brought fear upon the world, but they were just rulers of demon kind and rarely tried to control monsters and take over the world.


    Loren told Lapis all he could recall about demon kind.


    After he was done, Lapis nodded and said


    ¡°I¡¯m one of the demon kind.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±


    Based off Loren¡¯s knowledge, demon kind didn¡¯t believe in gods.


    Gods didn¡¯t share their powers with those who weren¡¯t believers, and if Lapis was indeed demon kind as she said, it would contradict the fact that she was a priest.


    Because Lapis was on his back, he saw her face more clearly and saw that her eyes were pitch ck just like her hair.


    Her physical characteristics were different to those of the demon kind as well.


    ¡°We definitely don¡¯t believe in the supreme god or the earth goddess and such, but the knowledge god has simr tastes as we do so¡­¡± **


    Although gods oversaw different things, ideals such as love and peace were a part of their teachings.


    But Lapis told Loren that the teachings of the knowledge god didn¡¯t include any of them, and that the only thing taught was to gain knowledge, then search for further knowledge.


    This teaching wasn¡¯t well known by demon kind, but there was a small number of followers among them.


    ¡°Since the Knowledge god considers magic a form of knowledge, priests of the Knowledge god can use magic as well as divine arts. However, the priests of other gods cannot use magic, only the divine arts their god bestows them.¡± ***


    This is why Loren was surprised when Lapis conjured light using a magic spell.


    Priests usually only used the divine arts of their god, and Loren never heard of a priest who used magic on top of that.


    ¡°Does that mean a human priest of the Knowledge god can use magic too?¡±


    If this was true, it meant that priests of the Knowledge god could fill two roles at the same time, and would be high in demand from both adventurers as well as mercenaries.


    Even if it were to be expensive, having one person fill the roles of two was too good of a deal.


    ¡°There may be some that can, but no one should be as good as I am. I¡¯m demon kind. It¡¯s only natural for me to have higher specs.¡±


    Lapis sounded slightly proud of herself.


    Loren thought that she wasn¡¯t wrong.


    He had no idea how much strength Lapis possessed, but if she had enough to cover one person¡¯s worth for both magic and divine arts at the same time, it wasn¡¯t something not to be proud of.


    ¡°So, why is a demon kind like you an adventurer? Don¡¯t you guys usually stay inside the mountain range in the middle of the continent?¡±


    The reason why demon kind didn¡¯t interact much with other races.


    Although their bad reputation and their personalities yed a big part, the biggest reason was where they lived.


    They were surrounded by a high stone mountain range in the center of the continent, and it was physically very difficult for people to go in, much less go out.


    There were many theories about why they lived in such a ce, and Loren didn¡¯t know too much about it, but the most known one was that they retreated into the mountains because of persecution against them.


    ¡°Actually, wee outside quite often.¡±


    Now Loren was certain that demon kind were way different than what he knew about.


    ¡°We just don¡¯t get caught. We look simr to humans, so if we are careful we look just like humans who are a bit more distinguished.¡±


    ¡°Is that so,¡± Loren thought.


    Loren believed that individuals that have over a certain amount of skill, whether that be swordsmanship or magic, had an auraing from them that told others what that individual was capable of.


    Although sometimes inurate, it would still give an idea of what that individual was.


    If the demon kind was as powerful as he had heard, he thought it would be hard not to notice them among humans.


    Lapis managed to sense Loren¡¯s confusion and continued to exin.


    ¡°People that have strength or skills that are obvious to the eye either don¡¯te to humannds, or theye out with restrictions.¡±


    ¡°Restrictions?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and that exins my situation as well.¡±


    She raised her right hand, which was around Loren¡¯s neck, slightly.


    Her movement was sluggish, and it seemed like she couldn¡¯t move how she wanted to.


    ¡°This is artificial.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Currently all four of my limbs as well as my eyes are artificial ones with some magical tampering on it. I can only move them by using my mana, and it uses quite a bit as well.¡±


    Loren then looked closely at Lapis¡¯ right hand, and even though Lapis had exined just now, he couldn¡¯t tell the difference between that and a real hand just by looking at it.


    ¡°Did you notice that Oxy¡¯s magic didn¡¯t work earlier?¡±


    Loren had noticed that.


    The spell she had used against the goblins had no effect, and that was one of the reasons that the party copsed.


    ¡°That was probably because the goblin mage activated something that had the effect <>. It¡¯s not a spell that goblins could use, so I¡¯m guessing that it had some sort of magic item.¡±


    Lapis exined that the spell <> diffused mana using mana itself, making it impossible to use any kind of magic within an area. It took a lot of mana and control to use, which made it very unlikely that the goblin used it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not something the mana capacity of a goblin can handle, so it probably used a storage-type magic item to use it.¡±


    ¡°You mean this?¡±


    Loren then showed her the ne that he ripped from the goblin mage¡¯s neck.


    Lapis looked at the golden ne for a while and eventually nodded.


    ¡°This is probably it. But what I find troubling is how a goblin got a hold of a magic item like this, with a spell that even humans have trouble using.¡±


    When Loren took the ne earlier, Lapis told him that she preferred that he leave that.


    It was most likely because she realized that it was the reason she couldn¡¯t move her limbs.


    However, Loren judged that it wasn¡¯t a spell that activated continuously, as Lapis was able to move her limbs little by little.


    Lapis said that it was a storage-type, so Loren guessed that as time passed, mana would be stored into the ne, so he decided to keep it in his pocket.


    ¡°My eyes managed to keep functioning, though.¡±


    ¡°I see. What about the way you talk?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­it¡¯s not that that way of talking is more natural. The way I¡¯m talking right now is natural as well. Actually, the way I talk right now is the natural me.¡±


    Lapis talked as if she were trying to make excuses.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡¯s natural for demon kind either. Well¡­how should I put it¡­It¡¯s like I switch consciousness during battle.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Since my arms and legs stopped working because of <> and it became a dangerous situation, my consciousness naturally switched, and I started talking like that.¡±


    Her exnation made sense to Loren.


    Loren himself changed his consciousness in and out of battle.


    He believed that the result of it going too far and changing the way a person talked or changing personality wasn¡¯t that weird of an exnation as well.


    ¡°I see. I got you.¡±


    ¡°I told you to leave me because at the time I believed that it was the most optimal decision. Thank you, Loren, for ignoring me and carrying me all the way here.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t see Lapis¡¯ face directly because she was on his back, so when he looked over his shoulder, his eyes met hers, and judging from her serious face, he knew that she meant that from the bottom of her heart.


    ¡°Although demon kind like me have quite the bad reputation, we aren¡¯t ones to forget a debt.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay. You can repay me however you want to. But that¡¯s only if we¡¯re able to get out of this cave.¡±


    Loren was jogging the whole time, but the tunnel continued into the distance.


    Although they passed crossroads and caverns, it felt as if the end of the tunnel would nevere, and Loren replied to Lapis bluntly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

 Chapter 10: A Different Destination

    <h4>Chapter 10: A Different Destination</h4>


    ¡°Still, don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something abnormal about this cave?¡±


    After staying silent on Loren¡¯s back for a while, Lapis suddenly spoke up.


    Loren, who was running with the help of the magic light Lapis had conjured, looked at her with a face asking her what she was trying to say, while trying not to get his feet caught in holes in the ground.


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯ve been running for quite a distance since we were attacked by goblins, but we haven¡¯t reached the end of the tunnel yet.¡±


    That was something Loren agreed with.


    Even though he had someone on his back, he had run nonstop for a long time, and covered a long distance as well.


    But the tunnel continued, not even changing shape.


    They passed a few chambers filled with items that the goblins gathered, but they passed thest one a while ago, and the tunnel they were in just kept going.


    ¡°I though these goblins lived in a natural cave, but this is too unnatural. It¡¯s definitely strange.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Who knows how long this is going to continue.¡±


    After reaching the end, Loren nned on going back and searching the side tunnels, but it didn¡¯t seem like the tunnel was going to end anytime soon.


    If it were a natural cave, the tunnel would¡¯ve gotten a lot narrower, but it continued on without changing size.


    Although the floor and walls looked natural, Loren started doubting it and began to think that the cave was artificial.


    ¡°You want to head back?¡±


    Loren started to get a sense of urgency going deeper and deeper down into the cave, but even if they were to head back, it meant going back to the ce where they separated from Sarfe and the others.


    He didn¡¯t want to think about what was going on in there, but what he was certain that the goblins were concentrated there.


    There was no way they could sneak past them, and it would mean that Loren would have to get through a horde of goblins with Lapis on his back.


    ¡°I hope there is an exit on the other side.¡±


    ¡°If there was, it would mean that Loren has tremendous luck.¡±


    Loren had trouble deciding whether luck was on his side or not.


    He was lucky that he managed to survive through all the battles in his mercenary days, without anysting injuries.


    But the group that he was a part of being destroyed was very unlucky for him, so he couldn¡¯t decide.


    ¡°In any case, don¡¯t expect much of it.¡±


    ¡°Mine isn¡¯t that good either.¡±


    For some reason Lapis joined in, and Loren turned to her with a puzzled look.


    ¡°Well, my parents took my arms and legs as well as my eyes when I came out of my country so.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­that¡¯s unfortunate.¡±


    Loren was surprised that she had parents, but when he thought about it, it made sense. Of course, demon kind had parents. There was no way they grew from trees or anything like that.


    But he had to agree that her own parents taking her limbs and eyes away was very unlucky, and started to think which of them had the worse luck.


    ¡°I became an adventurer, but my party were those kinds of people.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it. Looks like you¡¯re way more unfortunate than I am.¡±


    ¡°They had a few screws loose when it came to thinking and paying attention, so it was easy for me to hide my identity, though.¡±


    ¡°Stop. You don¡¯t have to say it.¡±


    Under the onught that Lapis brought, Loren had no choice but to admit that she was unluckier than he was.


    He thought that saying things like this without hesitation was why demon kind continued to have a bad reputation.


    ¡°On top of that, my parents hid my limbs and eyes somewhere in human territory. I can¡¯t go home until I find them, as well as gain experience in the human world.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying topete.¡±


    ¡°But even if I find them, how would I put them back onto my body?¡±


    ¡°Go back home and ask your parents.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand what happened between her and her parents that it ended up with getting her limbs and eyes taken away and hidden.


    He also couldn¡¯t understand how she could describe it as just ¡®unfortunate¡¯.


    ¡°Um, Loren?¡±


    While he was immersed in such thoughts, Lapis, the subject of those thoughts, brought Loren back to reality.


    Loren was wary that maybe she had something even worse up her sleeve, but when he looked at her, he saw that she was pointing in front of him and faced the direction she was pointing.


    After all this time with the tunnel continuing forever, Lapis saw some sort of light ahead of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a dead end, is it?¡±


    ¡°If it was there wouldn¡¯t be light shining.¡±


    ¡°But a light at the end? Does that mean there are more goblins there?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure. I don¡¯t sense any, though.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure how much he could depend on demon kind¡¯s senses.


    But they were known for their high strengths and capabilities, and Loren decided that their senses would be pretty urate. He slowed down from a jog to taking light footsteps, taking care not to make any noise.


    ¡°Get rid of the light.¡±


    Loren could see a bit, thanks to the lighting from the direction he was walking toward, and asked Lapis to extinguish the light she conjured using magic.


    As soon as Loren asked, Lapis extinguished the light. It became dark again, but they could see their surroundings vaguely thanks to the light pouring in.


    ¡°You can¡¯t stand on your own yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m such a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Lapis seemed embarrassed that she couldn¡¯t move yet, but Loren had asked her without expecting much, so he wasn¡¯t disappointed at all.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to apologize ahead of time. I might have to shake you off if it¡¯s an emergency.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m in the way when you reach for your weapon.¡±


    In the narrow tunnel, Loren couldn¡¯t use his weapon to its full potential.


    But he didn¡¯t have anything else to fight with, so he had no choice but to use his great sword in an emergency, and that would mean he had no choice but to shake Lapis off his back to draw it.


    To Lapis, who couldn¡¯t move any of her limbs, it would hurt quite a bit, so Loren decided to apologize to her now because he could see the possibility of it happening.


    ¡°It would be nice if I didn¡¯t have to draw it, though.¡±


    Loren continued to walk slowly toward the light shining through the cave.


    Although it took a while, they managed to reach the light pouring out with no problems.


    It was a dead end, but there was a crack in the wall, barelyrge enough to fit a child, and the light was pouring out from it.


    After examining it for a while, Loren found out that it wasn¡¯t connected to the outside and that it wasn¡¯trge enough for him or Lapis to pass through.


    ¡°I could probably pass through if I crawled, but I can¡¯t move my arms and legs well yet, and we don¡¯t know what¡¯s at the other end, so I don¡¯t really want to go alone¡­¡±


    Although Loren had useless thoughts, such as maybe her butt will get caught, but he agreed with many things she said, and decided against sending her ahead alone.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to break the wall and widen the crack.¡±


    Since there was no other way they could pass through, it was the only option they had.


    Loren didn¡¯t have any sort of tool with him to widen the crack, but he did have a great sword on his back.


    He hoped that, since the crack wasrge, the wall around it would be somewhat weak and easily crumble. He set Lapis down against a wall in a sitting position and drew his great sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bit loud. Keep watch for anything that notices us.¡±


    ¡°You can count on me.¡±


    After seeing Lapis nod, he held his sword upside down and struck the wall around the crack with the tip.


    Since his sword didn¡¯t have a proper de, it was like striking the wall with a b of metal, and slowly but surely the wall started to crumble.


    Even the sturdiest weapon, if not used the way it was meant to be used, would be greatly damaged.


    Loren decided that if he managed to get out of alive, he would have to take his sword to a smith or buy a new one. While he was working, he heard Lapis¡¯ voice.


    ¡°It seems like it¡¯ll take a while.¡±


    Great swords weren¡¯t meant to be used to dig holes.


    And even though the wall was somewhat brittle, it was stillpletely made of rock, and it didn¡¯t look like he was making much progress.


    Lapis¡¯ outlook was correct, and Loren kept on striking his sword on the wall, not wanting to waste any time replying.


    To their luck, no monsters were attracted to them by all the noise he was making.


    If some monster noticed them, Loren would have to fight it protecting Lapis at the same time, who couldn¡¯t move well, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight properly.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re lucky the wall isn¡¯t that hard.¡±


    The crack itself was fragile from the wind eroding it for many years, so Loren was able to make the crack bigger and bigger with the tip of his sword.


    He continued for a while, thinking how easy it would be if he could swing the entire sword at the wall.


    Eventually the crack becamerge enough for Loren to crawl through.


    Loren hit the de a few times to get the rubble off of it and strapped it onto his back.


    ¡°Now we can somehow get through.¡±


    ¡°Good work. Sorry to trouble you again, but it would help a lot if you could pull me across the wall.¡±


    Although quite a long time had passed, Lapis¡¯ limbs remained unmoving.


    The crack wasn¡¯trge enough to fit Loren with Lapis on his back, so the only way was to do as Lapis just said, for Loren to go in first and pull Lapis through.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to take some work.¡±


    ¡°I apologize.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s toote to back out, anyway.¡±


    Loren told Lapis, who was apologetic, not to worry about it, and got down on his knees in front of the crack, and proceeded to crawl out of the tunnel.

 Chapter 11: Infiltrating to Encountering

    <h4>Chapter 11: Infiltrating to Encountering</h4>


    It wasn¡¯t hard for Loren to crawl through the crack.


    It wasn¡¯t that high, so he had to crawl t on the ground and the great sword on his back was slightly in the way, but those weren¡¯t big problems to him.


    Getting Lapis, who still couldn¡¯t move much, was the tricky part.


    In a situation where the goblins might catch up to them if they took too much time, Loren was wondering what he should do. The next thing he knew, he saw Lapis start inching toward the crack, bending and wriggling her body like a worm.


    As soon as she got close enough, Loren reached out, grabbed her body, and pulled her the rest of the way.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re on the lucky side.¡±


    They were able to make it to the other side without any of their pursuers catching up, so that¡¯s how Loren evaluated the situation.


    He was also relieved that the ce they ended up in wasn¡¯t within the goblin¡¯s nest.


    And although they crawled on the floor to get through the crack, the only thing covering their clothes was dust and rubble.


    Lapis¡¯ clothes seemed to have it worse because of the color, but if this was still within the goblin¡¯s nest, her clothes would have been covered with stains and smells from things much worse than dirt.


    ¡°Thank you, Loren. You helped me so much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. More importantly, what do you make of this ce? I want your opinion.¡±


    Staying in a sitting position on the ground, Lapis looked at the scene in front of her.


    It wasn¡¯t blinding, but there was enough light that they could make out their surroundings clearly, unlike inside the tunnel.


    Arge space with a high ceiling.


    They could see everything because the walls and floor were emitting light, and it definitely did not look like the inside of a cave at all.


    Lapis, who still couldn¡¯t walk, pulled herself across the floor to a wall and put her face up so close that she almost touched the wall. After observing it for a moment, she pulled away and said in an impressed voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. This is mana material.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a building material seen in ces such as ruins of the ancient kingdom. The technique is unknown, but it¡¯s quite exceptional, because it takes mana from the atmosphere and converts it into light.¡±


    The Ancient Kingdom was something even Loren knew about.


    It referred to a kingdom that thrived in the distant past.


    It was an outstanding magic civilization and it was said that they had half of the world under their rule. Their citizens included humans, demi-humans, beast kin, as well as demon kind.


    Since magic was so intertwined into their culture, there was no doubt that it was magicians that held great power and high status.


    It meant that most of the ruins excavated in the present once belonged to magicians, and it was said that during the kingdom¡¯s peak of development, cities floated in the sky.


    However, although it was said to have been very technologically advanced, it suddenly disappeared and scattered all the different races, eventually forming thends that existed today.


    ¡°Speaking of ruins of the Ancient Kingdom¡­wouldn¡¯t finding one be worth a fortune?¡±


    Loren knew that it wasn¡¯t something that you can find every day.


    Some relics that were excavated were worth way more that Loren could ever imagine.


    ¡°I think the best you can do is try not to getpletely ravaged by the adventurer¡¯s guild and robbers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­quite the dream right there.¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, Loren, can you scrape off a part of this wall? It¡¯s not that strong, but it¡¯s a reliable source of light, and it¡¯s also valuable research material.¡±


    Loren had already broke part of the wall of the cave of the goblins¡¯ nest, so it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to break another one. He nodded at the crack they came through and said to Lapis, who was looking at him with eyes sparkling with expectation.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of them over there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true.¡±


    Loren picked up Lapis, who was trying to drag herself regardless of her clothes getting dirty, like how a cat would pick up her kit, and carried her to the crack in the wall.


    Lapis thanked him for the act, as it kept her clothes from getting dirtier, and started to choose parts of the building material and stuffing them in her pockets.


    ¡°You can keep doing what you¡¯re doing. But if this is ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, aren¡¯t we in a pretty bad situation?¡±


    Traps and guardians, as well as countless other methods of chasing away intruders, were part of the ruins most of the time.


    It was more dangerous for the important ruins, and if what Loren had heard about them were true, they were in in an unimaginable amount of danger.


    ¡°Maybe. Maybe not.¡±


    Lapis seemed to have finished stuffing her pockets and continued.


    ¡°Although you say ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, it goes from the best to the worst.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis as he reached under her arms and helped her onto her feet.


    She managed to stand up, but as soon as Loren rxed his arms, she started staggering and almost fell. Loren sighed as he saw that her limbs still remained unmoving.


    ¡°The dangerous ruins that Loren is thinking about do have its dangers, but there are also ruins that no one really cares about.¡±


    Loren, thinking it was dangerous to stay in one ce too long, put Lapis on his back again.


    Lapis, who quietly let Loren do his thing, continued while clinging onto his back.


    ¡°Out of all the ruins that have been found, the dullest one that I know of is an ancient restroom.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    ¡°Perfect air conditioning and lighting system with private stalls. Complete with a sewer system and great venttion. Of course, there are no traps or guardians. It would be weird if they did.¡±


    Loren thought that only someone who was crazy would ce traps or guardians in a restroom.


    He also thought that there wouldn¡¯t even be much to protect, but a thought that crossed his mind unknowingly made it to his lips.


    ¡®Well, there could be at least one to protect whoever¡¯s using it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an idea that I¡¯ve never thought of before¡­¡±


    ¡°Men are most distracted when they are using the toilet or sleeping with women you know?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a mercenary¡¯s way of thinking, but I don¡¯t think that the magicians of the Ancient Kingdom lived so close to danger.¡±


    The two scenarios that Loren presented usually resulted in getting stabbed in the back or getting sniped by arrows or magic, and was taught among mercenaries that those were the most dangerous times, but it seemed that Lapis didn¡¯t really understand.


    ¡°That is why not all ruins are dangerous. In fact, there are less dangerous ones than there are safer ones.¡±


    Now that he thought about it, the ruins that they were in were buildings used by civilians, so it did make sense that there wouldn¡¯t be any traps or guardians.


    If they were research facilities or held treasures, it would be a whole different story, but it also made sense thatpared to the whole kingdom, there would only be a handful of them.


    ¡°Then first we have to find out what kind of ruin this is.¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly.¡±


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s not a dangerous one.¡±


    After checking if Lapis was firmly settled on his back, Loren started walking slowly.


    It wasn¡¯t like he had any ce in mind.


    Although the area they came out to wasrge and had a high ceiling, Loren thought they were in some kind of room, but after observing his surroundings, he found out that they were in a middle of some sort of corridor.


    He thought that if he followed it, they would be bound to end up somewhere.


    It meant walking around carelessly in a ruin with possible dangers, but Loren thought it would be better than going back into a cave full of goblins.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put my guard up. Can I count on you to keep watch as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to detect traps or anything with magic, so I¡¯ll be counting on you if enemies pop up.¡±


    She gave the grasp of the great sword on Loren¡¯s back a light tap.


    In the hands of Loren, it was a weapon of great force because of its ridiculous weight, but at the same time it was a sword made of ordinary iron.


    It was effective for cutting and smashing things, but was useless against spiritual or magical things.


    It was more than enough in battle, but in a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, it seemed quiteckluster.


    ¡°If ites down to the worst, we may have to think about going through the goblins¡¯ nest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯d like to avoid.¡±


    Although Loren had in the goblin mage, there was no way to know if that was the only one.


    Plus, Lapis had seen a few goblins withrger bodies among the ones that nked them.


    She guessed that they were hobgoblins, another type of high ranked goblin. If one asked her if Loren could fight through them on his own,pis would have to tilt her head.


    Also with herself not being able to move at all, she understood that she waspletely dead weight to Loren.


    ¡°The best thing would be getting out of here without running into anything.¡±


    ¡°Based on my daily deeds, I don¡¯t think things will go too smooth for me.¡±


    ¡°Same here. I don¡¯t really believe in gods, so it wouldn¡¯t be right to pray to one either.¡±


    Loren let out a troubledugh as he thought that it was probably way worse for him than Lapis when it came to daily deeds.


    He suddenly stopped and reached over his right shoulder to his great sword.


    It was a movement that signaled he was about to draw his weapon, so Lapis tensed, bracing for when Loren would shake her off.


    Loren didn¡¯t go as far to draw his sword yet, and instead lowered his waist, readying himself to be able to move anytime.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°Quiet. Something¡¯sing.¡±


    The corridor in front of them turned into a corner.


    Although Lapis was clueless about it, Loren sensed somethinging towards them and stopped.


    If it were a street corner in a city it wouldn¡¯t be dangerous at all, but in an ancient ruin there was very low chance of it not being dangerous.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we run¡­?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be lucky if it lets us.¡±


    There was the choice of running back the way they came immediately.


    But Loren wanted to gather as much information as he could about the ruins.


    If he could see what wasing, he was bound to get some sort of information, so he decided he would choose to stay or run after he saw what wasing.


    Lapis, who was on his back, understood what he was trying to do.


    ¡°I can still use enough magic to keep it busy for a bit. Just tell me when.¡±


    As Lapis whispered into Loren¡¯s ear and he nodded back to her, whatever that wasing towards them was right around the corner.


    What came around the corner saw Loren, who had tensed his legs and was ready to make a move, and spoke up.


    ¡°There¡¯s a scary looking brother here with a sister on his back.¡± *


    ¡°What!? Why the heck is something like that in these ruins? Is it an illusion or something?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault they¡¯re there! If it was an illusion wouldn¡¯t it be showing us something better?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re humans, I think. They have heat, at least.¡±


    ¡°Kinds of a harsh ce to be lost in.¡±


    What came from across the corner was a group of armed individuals, most likely a group of adventurers.


    On their chests were silver identification tags.

 Chapter 12: Encounter to Assessing Current Situation

    <h4>Chapter 12: Encounter to Assessing Current Situation</h4>


    ¡°So, you guys were running from goblins and managed to find your way in here? Unfortunate for you, big guy.¡±


    The man dressed like a thiefughed out loud as Loren finished exining what happened to them, with Lapis still on his back.


    He looked older than Loren and had a stubble beard. Hebed his fingers through his short, brown, unkempt hair and continued tough loudly.


    ¡°Their party got wiped out but they survived, you know? I would say that that¡¯s the thing farthest from being unlucky.¡±


    The man who scolded the thief was a warrior as well as the leader of the party, and he introduced himself as Ritz.


    His equipment was orthodox for a warrior, with leather armor reinforced with iron tes as well as a buckler and a long sword. All of them seemed old, but they were well kept and he had the air of a veteran around him.


    The thief that Ritz scolded snorted and looked away, but the woman, dressed like a hunter with a bow in hand, pulled on his ear and swung his head back.


    ¡°Jack, bad attitude.¡±


    ¡°Ow, that hurts Nim! Stop pulling! What¡¯re you going to do if ites off!?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need ears if you¡¯re not going to listen.¡±


    The female hunter red at the thief named Jack.


    The woman, her blue eyes now half open, had stunning blonde hair and from between her hair were her ears, long and pointed like the des of short daggers.


    Although Loren had heard of them before, it was the first time meeting one in person, so his eyes automatically focused on her ears.


    ¡°Is this the first time you¡¯ve seen an elf?¡±


    The old man dressed like a magician noticed him staring, and asked him.


    He had his white hair pulled back and knotted, and carried a straight ck staff in hand, wore a gray robe, and introduced himself as Quartz.


    All four of them were silver rank adventurers.


    Compared to Loren, who just became a copper rank adventurer, they were two ranks above him, with the iron rank separating them.


    It wouldn¡¯t be wrong if he called them veterans.


    ¡°Ah, sorry about that. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve met one in person. That was impolite of me.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t mean to stare, but the others might¡¯ve found his gaze ufortable, so he started to apologize, but Quartz waved it off.


    ¡°I don¡¯t me you. She¡¯s quite the beauty, after all.¡±


    ¡°Quartz, if you want to keep your eyes, shut up.¡±


    The elf named Nim warned Quartz coldly, who was stillughing.


    Loren thought she was joking, but when she used her free hand to pull out a dagger from her belt, he took a step back, with a frightened expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be here much longer, but I don¡¯t want to lose my eyes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll forgive you with one of them.¡±


    ¡°Hey, stop messing around in front of them. You¡¯re making them feel awkward.¡±


    Ritz silenced Quartz, who was acting scared, and Nim, who looked quite serious, and turned to Loren.


    ¡°I¡¯d take you guys to the entrance if I could, but we¡¯re in the middle of a quest here. We don¡¯t have the time. We¡¯repeting with another party right now.¡±


    ¡°Expedition of the ruins near the Vige of Ain. Heard of it?¡±


    Hearing Nim¡¯s t toned voice, Loren recalled a conversation he had with Sarfe and the others.


    He remembered that Naron had talked about taking a better quest near Ain, and guessed that they were in the newly discovered ruins.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know how dangerous these ruins are, but unexplored ruins usually make good money so we epted the quest, but we got somepetition.¡±


    Jack spat, annoyed.


    Quartz continued where he left off.


    ¡°We¡¯re currentlypeting with the other party. The rewards of the quest will differ based on what kind of information we bring back, so we¡¯re in a hurry.¡±


    What they were trying to say was, they couldn¡¯t help.


    But Loren understood and agreed to what they said.


    Within mercenaries, people with a credible endeavor, who helped others for free, didn¡¯t exist.


    Loren thought that it would be the same for adventurers.


    If they were going to pay a price, depending on how tall the stack of coins would get, they might help, but Loren didn¡¯t have that sort of money.


    ¡°I know. I have no intention of getting in the way. If you can just point towards the exit, we¡¯ll take it from there.¡±


    Since he had Lapis on his back, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have them lead him to the exit.


    But he couldn¡¯t ask them to help no matter what because they had their own job toplete.


    It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have a chance at getting out.


    If Ritz could tell him the direction of the exit, he would have a general idea of where to head towards, and if he followed the paths that Ritz and his party came through, it would be quite safe because they would have had to cleared out traps and monsters on the way here.


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    Ritz responded hesitantly to Loren¡¯s words.


    Loren thought gloomily that maybe he was trying to make them pay for the information, but remembered that not many things were free in this world. If it came to that, he was ready to ask Lapis for some money.


    However, Ritz¡¯s words were something beyond what Loren expected to hear.


    ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t know either.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunate.¡±


    Loren unconsciously responded in that manner.


    In his mind, he was unsure of how Ritz and his party came all the way here, but didn¡¯t know the way back.


    If they were copper rank, he could guess that they didn¡¯t map the ruins as they came or justpletely forgot, but they were silver rank adventurers.


    Even Loren, who still wasn¡¯t too familiar with adventurers, was confused how they came to explore new ruins but don¡¯t know the way out.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not what you think. It¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t map as we came or just forgot.¡±


    What Loren was thinking must have been written on his gaze. Ritz nervously started to exin.


    Loren was ufortable at the fact that he looked at Ritz with such eyes, but it turns out that Ritz wasn¡¯t facing him directly, but more towards his shoulder.


    ¡°Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. It must have been in my eyes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can¡¯t move because you¡¯re scared, but that definitely wasn¡¯t the kind of gaze from a person being carried by someone else.¡±


    Lapis sensed the irony in his words, and retreated on Loren¡¯s back.


    Wondering what would happen if they knew what Lapis really was, Loren questioned Ritz.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the reason why you guys don¡¯t know the way back?¡±


    ¡°We fell down. It was a pitfall. Jack here failed to uncover a trap.¡±


    Ritz red at Jack, who was trying to hide behind Quartz, but Nim kicked him down.


    Loren felt sorry for Jack, as Nim started stomping him, but asked Ritz to continue.


    ¡°We were lucky there wasn¡¯t poison or spikes at the bottom, but we fell down a whole floor. It was too high to climb back up so we were looking for a way out¡­¡±


    Loren looked up at the ceiling.


    It was high enough for him to swing his great sword around with no problem. It was definitely too high for any of them to reach.


    ¡°If someone was still up there, we could¡¯ve pulled each other out, but all of us fell down together.¡±


    ¡°Jack, I won¡¯t forget younded on top of me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not much different than falling on the floor, anyway.¡±


    At Jack¡¯s words, Nim realized that everyone¡¯s gazes were focused on a certain part of her body, and readied her bow with a fearsome re.


    ¡°If you have anyst words, I¡¯ll listen.¡±


    Looking at that part, Loren could see what Jack was trying to say, but he forced himself with all his might not to show it on his face, because he didn¡¯t want to die yet.


    Lapis didn¡¯t seem to be able to do the same, as he felt her silently press her face onto his back.


    She must have not been able to keep in herughter, as Loren felt her shake slightly on his back.


    Lapis¡¯ on the other hand, wererge enough to be self-assertive, and even if hepared them modestly, Nim didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    ¡°In any case, Jack dies.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything wrong!¡±


    ¡°Well, there you have it.¡±


    Ritz turned to Loren, trying to face away from Nim, who started chasing Jack with her bow ready to fire, and said with an exhausted voice.


    ¡°As much as I would like to tell you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to get to the exit even if I did.¡±


    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Even silver adventurers were prone to get caught on traps sometimes.


    Rather than that, Loren was more surprised that none of them, even Nim, who Jack fell on top of, didn¡¯t seem have any injuries after such a fall.


    ¡°Some of us were hurt pretty badly, you know? But we made do with the potions that we brought. And that¡¯s where I¡¯d like to talk to you guys about something.¡±


    ¡°If you mean divine arts, I can use <<heal>> one more time.¡±


    </heal>


    Before Ritz could even start exining the details, Lapis raised her head from Loren¡¯s back and cut into the conversation.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what she was talking about and Ritz was surprised that Lapis saw right through him, but quickly calmed down.


    ¡°Once, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°I can guarantee that it works better than potions. If you can give me some time, I¡¯ll probably be able to use it once more.¡±


    Loren nced at Lapis, confused. Lapis realized what he was trying to say and whispered into his ear.


    ¡°They want me to go with them to make up for theirck of potions, probably.¡±


    The potions that adventurers carried around healed injuries when used, but they weren¡¯t that effective and the effects were not instant, either.


    Compared to that, <<heal>> had instant effects and had higher healing capabilities than potions.


    </heal>


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean they¡¯ll just get rid of me and then take you?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t move, so they¡¯ll probably need someone to carry me, right?¡±


    If they were going to use Lapis as a medicine box, they didn¡¯t need Loren.


    Although Loren started to feel danger, Lapis had thought this through already.


    ¡°If they use a person from their party to carry me, it would decrease their numbers in a fight. If Loren were to carry me and also protect himself to some extent, they would all be able to fight. Even if they were to leave us behind, it wouldn¡¯t leave as bad of an aftertaste, either.¡±


    ¡°Do I look that inhuman to you guys?¡±


    Though Loren and Lapis had tried their best to keep their voices down, their whole conversation was heard by Ritz, who asked them with a disappointed face.


    Loren and Lapis looked at each other and replied at the same time.


    ¡°Quite a bit?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t deny that I look pretty rough, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If anyone says take the girl and kill the guy, we kill him on the spot.¡±


    The rest of the party let out a nervousugh as Nim continued to say dangerous things.


    It seemed that this was the usual for this party, and Ritz gave Loren, who wasughing nervously, his suggestion.


    ¡°Sorry, but our conditions are having the youngdy use her divine arts on our orders. If you can ept this, I¡¯ll let you guys stick with us until we find a way out of these ruins. How does it sound?¡±


    ¡°We ept. Please take good care of us.¡±


    Before Loren could say anything, Lapis epted Ritz¡¯s suggestion.


    Ritz looked at Loren, asking if he was okay with her decision. But Loren thought that it was fair for Lapis to choose, as she was the subject of the conditions, and wasn¡¯t going to say otherwise.


    ¡°Well then, negotiations areplete. Guess we¡¯ll be taking care of each other until we get out.¡±


    Ritz then held out his left hand.


    Loren nced at Ritz¡¯s hand and with a smile on his face, trying to look likable, grabbed it with his left hand and shook.

 Chapter 13: Accompanying to Exploring

    <h4>Chapter 13: Apanying to Exploring</h4>


    Now their total number was six.


    If they counted people who could walk on their feet, it would be five, but in any case, the group started moving, led by Ritz and Jack.


    Quartz the magician was in the middle, and Nim the hunter, as well as Loren, still carrying Lapis, was in the back. But since Loren had his hands full, he was worried that the back line was weak.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, trust me.¡±


    Nim, who was walking beside Loren, patted Loren¡¯s shoulder to help him rx.


    The shoulder she lightly touched was covered with medicine and wrapped in bandages.


    Loren had left his shoulder, burnt from the goblin mage¡¯s magic, unattended because he was too focused on getting away from the goblins.


    Ritz saw the injury, and although they didn¡¯t have any potions, they helped disinfect the wound, put burn medicine, and wrap bandages around his shoulder.


    Although it was much better now, it still stung when touched.


    While he steeled his face, trying not to let the pain show, Lapis, who was on Loren¡¯s back, whispered into his ear.


    ¡°If it bes unbearable, please tell me.¡±


    Lapis was supposed to be able to use divine arts two times a day.


    But she told Ritz she had one use left.


    Mana used to cast magic and the power to use divine arts were totally different, so divine arts had nothing to do with Lapis trying to regain control of her limbs.


    She didn¡¯t tell Ritz about the extra use and decided to save it.


    Loren guessed it meant that she wanted to use thest one for his injuries because he had taken her with him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. They treated it, anyways.¡±


    To be honest, Loren wasn¡¯tfortable with lying when making deals with others.


    Although it depended on the opponent, Loren believed that when it came to making deals, both sides should be honest and straightforward with each other.


    But Loren decided that Lapis¡¯ choice wasn¡¯t the worst either, because he wasn¡¯t sure if he could trust Ritz and his partypletely.


    ¡°But still, this is one weird ruin.¡±


    Jack, who was walking up front, muttered while looking around their surroundings.


    Loren, who wanted more information, wasn¡¯t about to miss a thought from a veteran adventurer, so he pricked his ears to what Jack was saying.


    ¡°Since they said it was unexplored, you would expect enemies to be things that aren¡¯t living, like golems or undead, right?¡±


    Jack turned around slightly and nced at Loren.


    Loren had a vague feeling that Jack wanted him to respond, but he didn¡¯t have much experience to give Jack his opinion.


    His very first quest was exterminating goblins, and he¡¯d never stepped foot inside a ruin before, either.


    Loren was wondering how he should respond, but Jack, who apparently wasn¡¯t expecting an answer, continued.


    ¡°But nothing of the sort ising out in these ruins.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that there¡¯s no enemies? Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure how long these ruins had remained undiscovered, but if it was from the time of the Ancient Kingdom, it would be a few hundred years for sure.


    It wasn¡¯t an amount of time a person could survive, and without any contact from outside, as Jack had just said, it would make sense that only golems or undead could exist here.


    Since those weren¡¯ting out, Loren thought that there might not be any enemies, but apparently reality differed, as Jack showed a frown as he turned his head back ahead of them.


    ¡°About that. I¡¯m not sure why, but the only enemies we encountered so far are goblins.¡±


    ¡°Goblins in Ancient Kingdom ruins? Did they get in from outside?¡±


    Goblins were tough creatures.


    They would crawl into anywhere if it meant getting out of wind and rain, and would start reproducing there, and before long, would increase in numbers rapidly. They could live almost anywhere, and in worst cases, they would even live in sewer systems underrge cities.


    Of course, even if it was Ancient Kingdom ruins, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they started multiplying in it, and Loren thought maybe that was the case, but Jack shook his head, still facing ahead.


    ¡°Well. Apparently, the entrance to these ruins were sealed when it was found. It means that no one could¡¯vee in from the entrance. The guy that found it hired a few magicians and unsealed the entrance.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s still a chance there might be more cracks like the one we came through¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since we bumped into you guys, the chance that there are holes all over these ruins and the goblins came from those holes.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s still things that can¡¯t be exined just by that.¡±


    Quartz, who was listening to Jack and Loren¡¯s conversation, joined in.


    ¡°If the goblins came from outside and multiplied in here, it would mean there are no guardians in these ruins at all.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they died over the long period of time?¡±


    ¡°Then there would be some sort of remains of them. If they were all ghosts or undead, it would be a different story, but that itself would make these ruins quite the particr one.¡±


    Undead monsters don¡¯t make good guardians in general.


    Quartz exined that because undead were originally human, it was difficult to give them orders. What was usually done was either have arge number of them that could only follow simple orders, or the master of the ruins itself was an undead and had its own army.


    Quartz thought that it was hard to believe that they would disappear without a trace, and it would be weird that they didn¡¯t find any sort of trace of them if they did exist at one point.


    ¡°Personally, I¡¯d prefer the theory of the goblinsing in from outside.¡±


    Ritz spoke up.


    He had a reason for hoping the goblins came from outside.


    The goblins Ritz and the others had encountered were before they fell into the pit, which meant they were above the floor that they were in right now.


    If the crack Loren hade through was where the goblins came from as well, it meant that they found a way to climb up to the upper levels, and if they could climb up, they would also find a way out of there.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s possible that there are cracks everywhere and goblins came through all of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something I don¡¯t want to think about.¡±


    If that were true, it meant that there would be packs of goblins all over the ce.


    To silver ranks like Ritz, it may not seem like much, but to Loren, who just witnessed a whole party getting destroyed by them, it wasn¡¯t something he would like to encounter again.


    ¡°Oh, more goblins from the front.¡±


    In a straight corridor with nothing between them and the goblins, Ritz let out a warning.


    As soon as Loren heard him, he tried to let Lapis down but Nim stopped him.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Loren just watch behind us.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    He could check if there were any enemiesing from behind without using his arms.


    While Loren looked back to see if there were enemies, Nim quickly notched an arrow on her bow and without taking time to aim, she fired the arrow with ease.


    The arrow flew over the heads of their front line, and lodged in the eye of the goblin in front, instantly killing it.


    ¡°There¡¯s not many. Seven of them.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t need back up with magic, right?¡±


    ¡°Nah. It¡¯ll be over in a sh.¡±


    After nodding at Quartz, Ritz readied his sword and shield and rushed into the goblins.


    He bashed one with his shield, and with a swing of his sword, the head of another spun in the air.


    Ritz then quickly went to the goblin he had knocked down and cut its head off.


    Meanwhile another arrow from Nim struck another goblin, and before the goblins could even react, all seven of them were dead.


    ¡°That was pretty clean.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be proud of. We¡¯re silver rank, remember?¡±


    Loren, slightly impressed at the quick fight, called out to Ritz, but Ritz responded tly.


    While Loren thought that watching how Sarfe did things made him see simple battles way better than they actually were, Ritz continued.


    ¡°If four silver ranks had trouble with seven goblins, we wouldn¡¯t be able to go on for long.¡±


    Now that he mentioned it, Ritz and the others were indeed high ranked adventurers.


    Loren apologized honestly, thinking that he may have offended them.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all good. Should be a good learning opportunity for copper ranks like you.¡±


    At the same time, Ritz was going around the goblins corpses, which were decapitated or had arrows sticking out of them, and started cutting off an ear from each of them.


    While Loren was watching him, wondering what he was doing, Ritz finished cutting off seven ears and put them in a small sack, and then handed it to Loren.


    For a second Loren thought it was trash, but he decided that it meant something, and looked at Ritz, who averted his eyes and talked quickly.


    ¡°Your quest was exterminating goblins, right? You may have failed to get rid of the nest, but you¡¯ll still get rewarded for killing some. To us, it¡¯ll only be a bunch of change, but you guys need the money, right?¡±


    Loren made sure to take note that the ear was the proof of hunting for goblins. *


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know how much a goblin was worth, but giving them the proof of hunting meant the same thing as giving them money.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want it just toss it wherever. A goblin is only worth five copper coins, so there¡¯s no need for us to take it either.¡±


    ¡°You should take it.¡±


    Nim added.


    ¡°Unusual for Ritz to let go of money. We can tell other adventurers about this.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just trying to look out for my juniors.¡± **


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. It¡¯s going to rain spears tomorrow.¡±


    Nim, who had kept a straight face until now, looked very surprised, and Ritz, who apparently did something that was very unlike him, tossed the sack at Loren and started to argue with Nim.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep it. They¡¯re giving it to us, anyway.¡±


    Lapis rmended Loren, as he caught the sack without thinking and hung it from his waist.

 Chapter 14: Discovery During the Search

    <h4>Chapter 14: Discovery During the Search</h4>


    They didn¡¯t run into any problems while exploring.


    As Ritz said earlier, the only monsters they encountered were goblins, and they were quickly taken care by him and his party.


    The goblins¡¯ corpses wereying strewn along the ground, with one ear missing.


    Loren was worried that they would be undead, but there was no way for them to bury them inside the ruins, and if they were to burn them, the smoke would fill up the corridor.


    They had no choice but to leave them as is.


    ¡°Even if they do be undead, they¡¯re only goblins so it shouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal.¡±


    Although Ritz answered Loren¡¯s worries, Loren did not want to meet ghosts or undead goblins.


    Putting that aside, thanks to all the goblins that showed up, the sack on Loren¡¯s waist was now full.


    It wasn¡¯t much at first, but as the number of ears increased, the goblins¡¯ blood started seeping into the sack, and started giving off an awful stench.


    As much as Loren wanted to throw it away, he couldn¡¯t, because it was given to him by Ritz and his party.


    He couldn¡¯t handle it roughly either, because it could be traded in for money.


    Loren wondered if no one else was bothered by the smell, so he looked around, but no one seemed bothered by it except for Lapis.


    She was grimacing, and because she was trying not to breathe through her nose, Loren could hear her heavy breathing.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m getting aroused or anything.¡±


    ¡°I know. You don¡¯t have to tell me.¡±


    Even if she didn¡¯t say it, there was no way Lapis could be in the mood, anyway.


    Nim, who was watching the two of them with a smile, suddenly became serious and let out a warning so everyone could hear.


    ¡°Wait. Something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    Ritz and his party responded instantly.


    Ritz, the warrior, raised his shield, and Jack, the thief, scanned their surroundings.


    Quartz, the magician, raised his staff and looked around.


    ¡°Nim, what is it?¡±


    ¡°The smell of the air changed. I smell blood other than goblin¡¯s blood in the air.¡±


    At Nim¡¯s words, Loren sniffed but the only thing he could smell was the goblin¡¯s blooding from the sack, and couldn¡¯t smell what Nim was talking about.


    Loren was surprised that Nim was able to detect a different smell, despite being right next to him with goblin stench covering up all the other smells in the area.


    ¡°Blood smells like iron, but is there really a difference between the smell of human blood and goblin blood?¡±


    Lapis asked Loren with an unamused voice, but there was no way that Loren knew the answer to that.


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you guys to stop talking, but from here on out we should be careful. When ites to sight and hearing, Nim¡¯s is the sharpest.¡±


    ¡°Her figure is sharp too¡­Oww!?¡±


    Jack, who said one thing too many, received a kick on the back from Nim.


    Although Jack had therger body and looked stronger than Nim, she must have put in quite a bit of strength into that kick, as Jack fell face first onto the ground.


    ¡°Stop messing around¡­I just said we need to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s getting too serious here. If we don¡¯t rx it¡¯s not good for our mentalities.¡±


    Jackughed and rubbed his back as he stood up, looking around the area, while Ritz just looked at him, exasperated.


    ¡°From what I can see, there¡¯s nothing like what Nim said around here. Which means it¡¯s a bit ahead from here.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Ritz, who decided that it was a waste of time trying to deal with Jack, gave the order, frustrated that he wasn¡¯t apologetic at all,


    Although they would slow down, everyone agreed that it was better than bing like what Nim sensed, or fighting with whatever caused it without preparation.


    ¡°The youngdy can¡¯t move yet?¡±


    While moving slowly through the corridor, Ritz asked Loren.


    Loren looked behind at Lapis, who tried raising her arms up and down, and shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s going to take a bit more time.¡±


    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t able to stand? Your arms should be fine.¡±


    ¡°I know this is embarrassing, but my whole body seems to have frozen from all the fear and tension¡­¡±


    Ritz let out a bored expression at Lapis¡¯ excuses, but then said to Loren.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you found her, but wouldn¡¯t it be better for both of you if you took her back to her church?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something for her to decide. I can¡¯t really say anything about it.¡±


    Loren thought that they weren¡¯t close enough for him to say anything about what she should do, but didn¡¯t feel like exining that to Ritz.


    He knew that he didn¡¯t have a way with words, and there was a chance that he would say something that he didn¡¯t need to.


    Loren didn¡¯t have any thoughts about Lapis¡¯ true colors, but most people didn¡¯t think the same way he did, and he wasn¡¯t sure how Ritz and the others would react if they found out.


    So Loren decided that there was a need for them to keep it a secret, and if he was going to do that, he shouldn¡¯t talk much.


    ¡°Hey, look at that.¡±


    While Loren was thinking such thoughts, Jack, who was looking around, raised his voice.


    Loren stopped thinking and looked toward the direction Jack was pointing, and what caught his eyes was something on the ground a distance ahead of them.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure what it was at first.


    It was a distance where he could just make out that there was something on the ground, but maybe because her job was a hunter, or maybe because it was because she was an elf, Nim was able to make out what it was, and muttered under her breath, trying to keep something in.


    ¡°Armor¡­Bloody.¡±


    Even after finding out what it was, Ritz and the party didn¡¯t cease to be cautious.


    As much as they wanted to rush in and examine it, they were careful to look for traps or whatever left the bloody armor on the ground, and after taking a good amount of time to make sure there were no dangers, they walked closer to the thing lying on the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s armor all right. Leather armor. But this doesn¡¯t tell us anything.¡±


    Ritz went close and leaned over to look at it more closely, but soon gave up trying to gain any sort of information.


    As Nime said, it was leather armor covered in blood, but it in such a shape that they could barely recognize that it used to be armor, and there was nothing that let them know who¡¯s it was.


    ¡°One thing¡¯s for certain. The wearer is definitely dead.¡±


    Even Loren could tell that the amount of blood was from a fatal wound, and there was blood all over the floor as well.


    If all that blood was from one person, there was no way he would be alive.


    ¡°The only people who came other than us was the party we¡¯repeting against, but maybe they fell down here too?¡±


    ¡°Was there anyone who was wearing leather armor in their party?¡±


    At Quartz¡¯s words, Ritz and Jack both crossed their arms and started thinking deeply.


    Nim, who was standing next to Loren, who thought that they must have forgot who was in the other party, spoke up with a cold re at the men, who still couldn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°Ritz and Jack are too careless. Quartz is going senile.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not senile!¡±


    ¡°Then hurry up and remember. Who had leather armor in the other party?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡±


    Quartz let out a small groan, but it wasn¡¯t easy trying to recall something he had already forgotten.


    ¡°Just give up and ept the fact you¡¯re going senile.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not senile, I¡¯m not. I¡¯ll remember soon enough.¡±


    Quartz started gritting his teeth and tried to remember as hard as he could.


    Around him, Ritz and Jack were growling, not able to remember at all either. Nim ignored all of them and told Loren.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Me? Not your party?¡±


    ¡°We should let them think for a bit. They might remember eventually.¡±


    Nim, whopletely cut off the other three, gave the information to Loren, who was thinking if it was okay for her to do that to her party.


    ¡°If the armor was from someone in thepeting party, the person wearing it was a thief.¡±


    ¡°Looks like it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem. I want your opinion on the next thing.¡±


    Magicians usually didn¡¯t wear armor, but instead wore robes made of cloth, and priests wore equipment made of cloth as well, and sometimes wore chain mail under it.


    When it came to defense as well as being able to move quickly, it was usually equipment for thieves or warriors, but the leather armor didn¡¯t have any reinforcements to make it sturdier and was quite light.


    Based on this, Loren could tell that it belonged to a thief even without having seen the other party.


    But that wasn¡¯t what Nim was worried about.


    ¡°If we¡¯re to continue with the theory that it¡¯s one of the members from the other party. Their thief was a woman.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure what that signified, but Lapis, who was listening on his back, seemed to find something wrong.


    ¡°From what I saw, the only monsters that came out in these ruins are goblins.¡±


    ¡°What about that?¡±


    ¡°Goblins don¡¯t usually kill women. It¡¯s because they can use them for other things. But if the wearer of this armor was a woman, it means she was killed. That¡¯s what¡¯s strange.¡±


    Loren looked again at the remains of the armor on the ground.


    In its current state, it was hard to tell if it was armor made for a woman.


    But if it was like Nim said and the wearer was a woman, it was weird that she was killed on the spot, as Lapis just said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like something hit her and killed her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. But there¡¯s too much blood.¡±


    Loren agreed with Nim.


    Even if something like an arrow had killed her, it was hard to think that goblins¡¯ weapons could make a wound that caused so much bleeding.


    ¡°There¡¯s too much blood. It¡¯s likely that she was taken apart on the spot.¡±


    ¡°That would be unusual for goblins. If their prey was alive, they would prioritize their entertainment and take it to their nest.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess there might be something other than goblins here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what ites down to.¡±


    After being silent for a moment to collect her thoughts, Nim asked Loren.


    ¡°The crack where we met you two. Do you remember the way back?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It was mostly a straight tunnel, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Ritz.¡±


    Ritz stopped thinking and turned toward Nim.


    After waiting for him topletely turn his attention to them, Nim suggested to Ritz.


    ¡°Something¡¯s weird. We should go out and restart.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. I feel that something¡¯s wrong as well, but we don¡¯t know for sure if these remains are from the other party. We need a clear reason to retreat.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t look well if we say we came back because we found bloody armor. It¡¯s a different story if we found their identification tags, though.¡±


    Nim scanned the area with her eyes, but there was nothing of the sortying on the ground.


    ¡°We can be extra cautious, but retreating is out of the question. It¡¯ll affect our jobs in the future.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if that¡¯s what Ritz decides, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I know. We¡¯ll head back if we find things like tags.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Nim stopped being persistent as Ritz presented the conditions for retreat.


    Loren, who had no choice but to follow Ritz regardless of whether he agreed with his decision, stayed silent and nodded.

 Chapter 15: Speculation to Return

    <h4>Chapter 15: Spection to Return</h4>


    There is a saying that misfortunes nevere singly, but that didn¡¯t seem to happen to Loren this time.


    After a while passed since Loren and the others had found the remains of the armor, Lapis tapped Loren on his shoulder.


    Of course, she tapped the shoulder that wasn¡¯t injured, and Loren realized that she was able to move her limbs again.


    ¡°You alright now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Sorry about all the trouble.¡±


    Loren made sure to check with her before he softly let Lapis down from his back.


    Lapis stomped her feet a few times and stretched out her arms over her head, then nodded.


    ¡°Did you unfreeze, youngdy?¡±


    Ritz said to Lapis with a smile, without any sort of sarcasm in his voice, and Lapis didn¡¯t detect any either.


    ¡°Yes. Riding on Loren¡¯s back was sofortable, so I wanted to stay a bit longer, but I would be in the way, so.¡±


    ¡°Are you guys in that sort of rtionship, by any chance?¡±


    Loren was immediately about to say no, but Lapis covered his mouth with her left hand.


    Loren was surprised at her actions, but was even more surprised at what came out of Lapis¡¯ mouth.


    ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s something that can¡¯t be overlooked. You managed to catch quite the jewel there, brother.¡±


    Jack sounded very happy for some reason.


    As Jack was about to cheer them on, Nim calmlynded a kick from behind.


    ¡°If you want to draw attention, do it alone.¡±


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to get killed by you before monsters ever get the chance to¡­¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡±


    Quartz agreed with Jack, who was lying face first on the ground, groaning.


    Although it looked like Nim didn¡¯t go easy on him, it seemed like it didn¡¯t do much damage, as Jack quickly got up and stroked his back.


    ¡°This means that you can fight now, right?¡±


    Loren nodded at Ritz.


    It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t participate in fights until now, but it was awkward to do so, because he would have had to let down Lapis first.


    If it were an emergency, Loren was going to drop her, but he did feel some guilt to dropping a girl from his back.


    ¡°Then I count on you to keep watch behind us. Youngdy, you can support him.¡±


    ¡°You can count on us.¡±


    Now that they were a six-man party, Ritz and Jack were in the front line, and Nim and Quartz were in the middle.


    Now with Loren and Lapis in the back line, they continued on their way down the corridor.


    ¡°Loren, this is quite the rare experience we¡¯re having right now. We¡¯re helping investigate Ancient Kingdom ruins, and even better yet, it¡¯s an unexplored one. It¡¯s a job that copper ranks never get to do.¡±


    Just when he thought Lapis was finally able to walk by herself, she kept talking to him with a small voice, sounding very excited.


    The party that waspeting with Ritz¡¯s party.


    In a situation where a silver rank party may have suffered extreme losses and where there shouldn¡¯t be anything to be optimistic about, her happy expression and excited atmosphere didn¡¯t match.


    Loren thought that maybe this was one of the personalities of demon kind that other species hated, and nudged Lapis, who was looking around here and there next to him, with his elbow.


    ¡°You do realize the situation we¡¯re in, right?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis in the softest voice he could. Lapis looked back at him, puzzled for a second, then after a moment, suddenly clung onto Loren¡¯s left arm and said with a quiver in her voice.


    ¡°Loren, I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s way too forced.¡±


    To Loren¡¯s luck, Ritz and the others, who hadpletely left the back to the two of them, didn¡¯t notice them talking quietly. Loren wondered what to do with Lapis¡¯ excitement, but he couldn¡¯t think of a way to act in the situation they were currently in.


    It was a bother if she did a poor job of acting frightened, but her current state of looking excited and interested with no trace of being scared didn¡¯t seem right either.


    ¡°I got that you¡¯re intrigued and all, but keep it down a bit. Alright?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I guess.¡±


    Lapis looked like she wasn¡¯t convinced, but she let go of Loren¡¯s arm and nodded.


    ¡°By the way, what is the goal we are trying to aplish?¡±


    ¡°Investigating the ruins is the main objective, but we¡¯re also investigating what happened to the other party. Not sure what we should prioritize.¡±


    Lapis nodded at Nim¡¯s upright response, then continued.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I rmend that we return to the pit fall where everyone fell down.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear why, youngdy.¡±


    Ritz asked Lapis, who suddenly suggested, for an exnation.


    Lapis started to exin her suggestion to everyone like it was nothing.


    ¡°The pit fall that everyone fell through was most likely a trap for intruders.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it was.¡±


    Jack wondered why she was pointing out the obvious, but Lapis just continued.


    ¡°Since the trap wasn¡¯t set up to kill, it¡¯s likely that this whole floor was made for intruders who fell into the trap.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that they kept monsters loose in here and let them deal with the intruders. But why would they go through all the trouble?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but in any period and country, it didn¡¯t really matter how they treated intruders, so.¡±


    Everyone made an unpleasant face at her words.


    She was implying that they were making use of intruders that couldn¡¯t move anymore or killed by monsters for something else.


    They didn¡¯t know what exactly, but everyone guessed that it was something unpleasant.


    ¡°Putting all sentimental thoughts aside, there is no way there¡¯s anything important on this level. So if our objective is to investigate the ruins, staying here would be meaningless.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your reasoning for going back to the pit fall?¡±


    ¡°I think there is a maintenance hatch near it. Or some path to collect the people who fell here. Whatever it may be, it would lead back to the upper levels.¡±


    Ritz stopped and thought about Lapis¡¯ suggestion.


    ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot. Even more since we don¡¯t have any other thoughts.¡±


    Nim easily agreed with Lapis, but Jack seemed against it.


    ¡°Wait a second. There was nothing like that where we fell down.¡±


    ¡°Since the trap doesn¡¯t kill instantly, I believe that the pathway to the upper level is hidden somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t detect anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s you we¡¯re talking about, so¡­¡±


    Nim and Quartz both nodded at Ritz¡¯s words.


    Lapis seemed to understand that she shouldn¡¯t agree with them and let out a troubledugh, while Loren, who didn¡¯t want unnecessary trouble, kept a straight face and looked away from Jack.


    ¡°Damn it, I can¡¯t argue with that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Let¡¯s go back and search the ce where we fell.¡±


    Since the leader made the decision, everyone in the party reacted quickly.


    Although they were just going back the way they came, they were able to reach it without any problems thanks to Quartz, who had made sure to map the paths they took.


    ¡°Is there really a way to go back up?¡±


    The ce was right in the middle of the corridor, and other than it stretching in front and behind them, there was no sign of a hidden passageway Lapis had talked about.


    They could see the hatch of the pit fall on the ceiling, but it was already closed and the ceiling was too high for any of them to reach.


    ¡°As much as I would like to say to shut up and search, I really don¡¯t see anything like it.¡±


    ¡°I mean, we¡¯re silver adventurers. If there was a hidden passageway we would¡¯ve found it already¡­¡±


    The sound of something heavy and hard moving sounded as Jack was talking.


    Everyone braced for whatever wasing next.


    Loren looked up and saw the hatch open with a poleing down from it.


    Everyone, confused at what was happening, stared at Lapis, who had her hand on the wall.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    No one said anything, so Loren asked Lapis, who was standing next to the wall, on the behalf of everyone else.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to see because of the mana material, but there is a control panel here.¡±


    Loren looked closely at the part of the wall Lapis was pointing at.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that there was such a thing on the dimly glowing wall, but after staring at the wall for a while, he could make out pale lines etched onto it.


    Loren, who wasn¡¯t a magician, wasn¡¯t sure what kind of device it was, but apparently, those who were knowledgeable about these things realized that it was indeed what Lapis said it was.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this something you should¡¯ve noticed old man?¡±


    ¡°Idiot. A thief like you should be able to notice those sorts of mechanisms.¡±


    Jack and Quartz immediately started ming each other.


    Meanwhile,the pole continued to descend, and when it hit the floor, handles extended from either side of it.


    ¡°Man, it feels like we¡¯ve been walking around for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Lucky for Loren and I though. If you had returned to the upper floor, we wouldn¡¯t have run into you.¡±


    ¡°I guess you guys were lucky. But still, can we even climb this?¡±


    Thedder wasn¡¯t thick, and it wasn¡¯t wide either.


    It seemed sturdy enough for the girls to climb, but looked like it would break if a warrior with full armor like Ritz tried to climb it.


    ¡°It¡¯s from the Ancient Kingdom. I doubt that climbing it would break it.¡±


    Although that¡¯s what Lapis said, she wasn¡¯t that confident in her words.


    The ruins were quite old.


    No matter how technologically advanced the Ancient Kingdom was, there was no way it could stand against time, and it wouldn¡¯t be strange if it got weaker over time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    Jack was the first one to volunteer.


    ¡°When ites down to weight, Nim could go first as well, but I¡¯m the only one who could jump back down if there are monsters up there.¡±


    ¡°Good decision. Hurry up and go.¡± *


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that with a different nuance, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Jack made a pathetic face for a moment at Nim¡¯s words, which sounded like she wanted him to take responsibility for not being able to find thedder. But he grabbed onto thedder and started climbing up with light, swift movements, as expected of a thief.


    Jack reached the top in no time, grabbed the edges of the hole, and pulled himself up.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Coast is clear. Thedder¡¯s sturdy, too. Come up one at a time.¡±


    They could see Jack leaning over the hole, telling them toe up.


    The remaining members looked around at each other, trying to decide who should go next.

 Chapter 16: Climb to Escape

    <h4>Chapter 16: Climb to Escape</h4>


    ¡°Hey Lapis. Sorry to interrupt your good mood.¡±


    As he watched Ritz clumsily climb up thedder, he called Lapis, who was standing next to him with a big smile on her face, as calmly as he could.


    Lapis, who was in a good mood being able to explore Ancient Kingdom ruins, turned her smiling face toward Loren.


    ¡°Once we climb up there, wouldn¡¯t they tell us to go home?¡±


    Unlike Lapis, who was too excited at the rare opportunity, Loren was calm the whole time.


    Lapis froze at Loren¡¯s words.


    ¡°Ritz and the others know the way back because they fell down to this floor, right? If we go up, it means they know the way back from there.¡±


    All they had to do now was see if taking them further so they could use Lapis¡¯ divine arts once, was worth it.


    If Loren was in their shoes, it would be easier if he told them that they were lucky to get out and to go home, even it meant not being able to use divine arts.


    Loren thought that veteran adventurers woulde to a simr conclusion, but apparently Lapis hadn¡¯t thought that far ahead, as was still frozen on the spot.


    ¡°What should I do. This is unexpected.¡±


    ¡°I guess you have your moments as well.¡±


    ¡°I was too excited by the fact that I could explore the ruins¡­ But we really must go to the upper floor. There¡¯s really nothing down here.¡±


    Loren turned his gaze from Lapis, who looked troubled, to Ritz, who was still climbing thedder.


    To Loren, having Ritz tell him the way back and getting out of there wasn¡¯t a problem.


    To adventurers like Ritz and his party or to someone who acted out of intellectual curiosity like Lapis, the ruins might be a fun ce to be, but to Loren it was just a dangerous ce that he could care less about.


    But seeing Lapis this dispirited, he felt like he wanted to grant her wish despite the dangers he might have to face.


    ¡°Is there like, anything we have to offer?¡±


    ¡°Other than divine arts? That¡¯s a difficult question. If I told them I could use magic as well, I would look too suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Anything like knowledge or skills?¡±


    ¡°If I can find out what kind of ruin this is, I¡¯ll have a pretty good idea of what these ruins look like.¡±


    The information that Lapis just said was very useful, even to someone like Loren who didn¡¯t know anything about exploring ruins.


    He thought that it was more efficient if they had a basic idea of what the insides looked like than to walk around with no idea.


    ¡°That¡¯s impressive, but how would you know?¡±


    As Ritz barely managed to climb to the top, Quartz started to climb up, but because of his robe and his old age, he was even slower than Ritz.


    As Loren asked Lapis, he saw Nim¡¯s face be frustrated at how slow the two before her were, and at how long they were making her wait.


    ¡°Loren, do you know what the adventurer guild looks like inside?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but there¡¯s the floor with the front desk and a ce where you can eat, right? There¡¯s also the archives and the guild master¡¯s room¡­ Something like that?¡±


    Loren, who hadn¡¯t been an adventurer for long, didn¡¯t know too well about the building so he told her what he saw and heard about, and Lapis nodded.


    ¡°The details don¡¯t matter, but buildings like the adventurer¡¯s guild look like each other no matter where it is located. Apparently, it¡¯s so that employees could adapt faster whenever they move around to different locations, but the same thing can be said for ruins as well.¡±


    Loren saw Quartz, who was halfway up, miss a rung and fall back down.


    Since it was quite a long fall, Loren was worried that he may have hurt himself, but he immediately stood back up, rubbing his butt. But he let out a groan as Nim, who was even more frustrated now, kicked him down.


    Although Loren knew she wasn¡¯t being serious, and Quartz knew that as well, he couldn¡¯t help but see it as abuse, so he averted his eyes.


    ¡°People in the Ancient Kingdom built things functionally and efficiently, so most of the time buildings are built simrly.¡±


    ¡°Any exceptions?¡±


    ¡°There always exceptions. Apparently, that stayed the same from ancient times, and there are weirdly built ruins every now and then.¡±


    Lapis crossed her arms, annoyed.


    Although slightly unreliable, Loren thought that the fact that Lapis was a priest of the Knowledge god who used divine arts as well as being quite knowledgeable about ruins was good enough of a reason for Ritz to tell them they could stay.


    Loren concluded that if he told Ritz what Lapis just told him before Ritz tells them to go home, there was a high possibility that they could stay. As he decided that he would make the effort for Lapis, who still looked frustrated, Quartz gripped the edge of the hole and froze.


    ¡°This is bad!¡±


    As soon as he yelled, Jack jumped over Quartz and back down the hole.


    Ritz followed right after him, and shouted as he descended.


    ¡°Goblins!¡±


    As soon as Nim heard him, she readied her bow. At the same time Jacknded on the ground without a sound, and Ritznded as well with a dull sound.


    ¡°Quartz, jump down!¡±


    Quartz was almost at the top, and it was twice as high than when he fell earlier.


    Jack and Ritz could jump down thanks to their agility and sturdiness, but Quartz saw how high up he was and hesitated.


    Then came the problem, the horde of goblins.


    The goblins¡¯ daggers and clubs scraped his head and shoulders, and he lost his grip on the edge and started falling headfirst toward the ground.


    Lapis feared that he might fall on a poor ce and be badly injured, but by then Loren, who had been right beside her, was already on the move.


    Loren started climbing up thedder at an incredible speed for someone who had arge great sword on his back, and as soon as he caught Quartz, jumped down with no problem at all.


    ¡°S-sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have time for that right now! Run!¡±


    Quartz started to thank Loren as he gently put him down, but at Ritz¡¯s voice, Loren looked up to see what the problem was. As soon as he saw the goblins start dropping down the hole, he started to run.


    ¡°What is that!?¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to know! All I know is that there¡¯s a lot of them!¡±


    Nim and Lapis quickly understood the situation they were in and had already started.


    Ritz was running in front of everyone, but Loren decided that from a party¡¯s perspective, it was natural for the leader to be in front and choose where to go, and it wasn¡¯t that Ritz was quick to run away.


    Loren slowed down slightly to let Nim, Lapis, and Quartz ahead of him and got the rear. Loren asked Jack, who was running beside him, what had happened upstairs, but the only thing he got from Jack was a panicked shout.


    Loren looked back, wondering what had made a silver adventurer like Jack make such a sound, and a small moan escaped his lips when he saw what made Jack scream.


    What he saw was an avnche of goblins.


    He saw goblin after goblin drop down. Those whonded on the floor were crushed by the ones who came after, some of them broke their bones, and they acted as cushions for the goblins that cameter. It was a sight that would make anyone want to scream.


    Loren couldn¡¯t see an end to it, so he discarded the thought of fighting them and focused on running.


    Running while carrying disabledrades was something mercenaries did all the time, and Loren had done this many times before.


    Compared to sturdy mercenaries wearing full armor, an old man wearing a robe and a girl wearing priests¡¯ clothing was way less of a burden.


    Loren not slowing down even with the weight of his armor added to that, his strength and stamina was at a level where even Jack and Ritz were surprised by them.


    ¡°Sorry young one¡­I¡¯ll make sure to thank youter¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble again, Loren.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry about me and try to use your brains. We¡¯re going to get caught eventually.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure who had more stamina, humans or goblins, butpared to them, who all had armor and equipment, the goblins, who had weapons but were lighter in general, seemed to have the upper hand.


    Although they couldn¡¯t lose the goblins and the goblins couldn¡¯t catch up to them either, it was only a matter of time before they would be unable to move anymore.


    If the goblins caught them at that moment, their sheer numbers would crush all of them.


    Loren continued to run behind Ritz and the others, praying that the two he was carrying would think of a solution.

 Chapter 17: Recursion to Interception

    <h4>Chapter 17: Recursion to Interception</h4>


    ¡°st them in an area with Fire Ball.¡±


    ¡°Against that many? Same thing as pouring water on a hot stone. Don¡¯t rmend it.¡±


    ¡°Block them using Earth Wall.¡±


    ¡°Make a wallrge enough to block this entire corridor? I can do it but¡­against that many it¡¯ll only give us a moment to pull ahead.¡±


    After Loren told them to use their heads, Quartz and Lapis, under Loren¡¯s arms, were discussing ways to try to deal with the goblin horde.


    Although it seemed like a discussion, all they were doing was Lapis giving suggestions and Quartz saying it won¡¯t work, and to Loren it didn¡¯t look like they were getting anywhere.


    ¡°How about Fire Storm?¡±


    ¡°I can use it, but twice is my limit. Do you think that would do anything?¡±


    ¡°Most likely not.¡±


    Lapis nced behind her and replied weakly.


    There were so many goblins that Loren didn¡¯t even want to try and count them, and even he, who wasn¡¯t an expert in magic, could see that there were too many to get rid of using a spell once or twice.


    ¡°Mister Quartz, you must be quite the magician, being able to use Fire Storm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed at your deep knowledge in magic as well, Miss Lapis¡±


    Loren, irritated that the two startedplementing each other andughing, looked up at the ceiling.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind you guys being friendly and all. But if we don¡¯t think of something quick, we¡¯re all going to be goblin food.¡±


    ¡°No, I believe Nim and I would be seed beds.¡±


    Although Lapis gave an unexpected return to Loren¡¯s slight joke, Quartz returned an objection to it.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that. A woman from the other party most likely was killed and eaten.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the thought of being the mother of goblins, but being food for them sounds quite annoying as well.¡±


    Loren was slightly confused at her words, whichcked a sense of danger.


    It wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t care at all for the party, so Loren thought maybe there was a good reason for her not to feel any danger. He was about to interrogate her about it, but Nim¡¯s desperate voice caught his attention.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good. I¡¯m almost¡­¡±


    Out of the people running on their own legs, Nim, who most likely had the least amount of stamina, started to slow down.


    Despite Loren¡¯s stamina and strength, there was no way he could carry another person along with the two under his arms already.


    Even though his back was open, anyone could see that if he carried Nim on his back it would just make him tire faster.


    ¡°If I carry you on my back, it¡¯ll be less of a problem.¡±


    Unexpectedly, the one who said that was Jack.


    Loren was surprised that it wasn¡¯t Ritz, who was stronger that Jack, who said it but instead it was Jack that did. Nim¡¯s reaction to it surprised him even more.


    ¡°Sorry¡­I might have to count on you.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, this is really bad!¡±


    Jack must have sensed something from Nim¡¯s modest response and panicked, but it didn¡¯t help the situation at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s not much of a solution, but I do have an idea.¡±


    Loren decided that if no one gave an idea, even a slightly unreasonable one, they would be wiped out soon enough, so he ran up next to Ritz.


    Ritz turned his head towards Loren.


    ¡°Hey, do you remember the way back?¡±


    ¡°Not me¡­but Jack should remember.¡±


    Loren turned to Jack for confirmation, and saw Jack nod.


    ¡°Then can we go back to the hatch where the goblins came down from?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t use the route we came, but we¡¯ve been going through the same corridors for a while now, so it¡¯s possible.¡±


    Loren felt gloomy at the fact that they¡¯ve been going in circles a few times.


    It meant that they wasted time and stamina, but he knew it couldn¡¯t be helped because in their current situation, there wasn¡¯t time for them to make calm decisions or track where they were going.


    ¡°Then take us back to the hatch.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do there?¡±


    To Ritz and Jack, that hatch which rained down a lot of goblins was something they wanted to avoid, and couldn¡¯t see at all what Loren was trying to suggest.


    ¡°There¡¯s that many goblins that rained down from the upper floor. I¡¯m sure there aren¡¯t any more of theming down right now.¡±


    ¡°Why does that matter¡­¡±


    ¡°They were able toe down at once, but they won¡¯t be able to do that climbing up, right?¡±


    Goblins couldn¡¯t fly.


    That was something anyone knew, but since they couldn¡¯t, they would have to use thedder to get back to the upper floor.


    When they came down, they could ignore their casualties ande down many at a time, but if they were to climb thedder that Lapis had put down, only one or two of them could climb it at once.


    ¡°This way we wouldn¡¯t get crushed by their numbers.¡±


    ¡°B-but think about it. They aren¡¯t that dumb. They¡¯re not going to wait for us to climb thedder, right? If they reach us before we¡¯re all out that¡¯s the end.¡±


    Ritz pointed out an obvious problem with the n.


    Loren knew that based on how Ritz wasn¡¯t that good at climbingdders, they would be swarmed by the goblins before he even had a chance to climb.


    ¡°We can buy time with magic. Use Fire Storm to burn the front and Earth Wall to block the ones in the back.¡±


    If they tried to block all of them with a wall, it would break instantly from the goblins¡¯ momentum.


    So, Loren thought that they could burn the front and kill their momentum, then stop them with the wall.


    He didn¡¯t think that would be enough to stop them, but it would be enough to buy them some time.


    ¡°I see. You can count on me to do that.¡±


    After hearing Loren¡¯s n, Quartz bumped his fist on his chest, telling him that he could do it.


    But that wasn¡¯t enough to take Ritz¡¯s anxiousness from his face.


    ¡°But that¡¯s not a number that you could just stop at once.¡±


    ¡°We just have to climb up before the wall breaks. Even if we don¡¯t make it in time, it¡¯s my n. I¡¯ll take the rear.¡±


    ¡°You serious? You know that that¡¯s not a number one person can handle, right?¡±


    ¡°I just have to deal with the ones that get past the fire and the wall. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have to face too many at once. Just try to climb as fast as you can so that doesn¡¯t happen.¡±


    Loren gave Ritz a smile, and after thinking for a moment at his words, Ritz gave the order to Jack.


    ¡°Jack, take us back to the hatch.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Quartz, get ready to use the magic Loren talked about.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°When we get there, Jack, you go up first. Then help the others up. I¡¯m the leader of this party, I got the rear.¡±


    Ritz, reluctant about Loren taking the rear, announced that he would be thest one up, but Loren denied it with a shake of his head.


    ¡°With how slow you climb the goblins are going to be all over you. There¡¯s no way we can let you take the rear.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    ¡°With a bit of backup, I can scale thedder easily. I¡¯m the most suited for the job. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    While Ritz had been clumsy and slow when he climbed thedder earlier, Loren had dashed up thedder like it was nothing and caught Quartz.


    Ritz couldn¡¯t say anything more, because it was obvious with a nce who had the better chance of surviving.


    ¡°I may be new to the whole adventurer business, but I was a mercenary before this. I¡¯ve covered myrades¡¯ asses so much that I¡¯m bored of it. Leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Ritz bowed his head slightly, and Loren nodded, telling him not to worry about it. Then Jack let out a nervous shout.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to reach the hatch! You¡¯d better pray that it ran out of goblins to pour down!¡±


    If there were still goblinsing down from the hatch, they would be pincered in by them and the ones chasing them and there would be no chance of survival.


    But Loren thought that it wouldn¡¯t be realistic because it would mean that the ruins contained an unimaginable number of goblins in it.


    That thought led Loren to think that this was the best chance they had to get out, and Jack saw the hole in the ceiling and shouted.


    ¡°They¡¯re not dropping down anymore!¡±


    ¡°Nice! Looks like luck hasn¡¯t left us yet! Start climbing!¡±


    Jack, who was in front, jumped onto thedder and started climbing without even breaking momentum.


    Ritz, who reached it a momentter, readied his sword and shield and Nim ducked past him and followed Jack up thedder.


    ¡°Old man, the spells!¡±


    ¡°Swirl before my eyes, o scarlet mes, rage before me. << Fire Storm >>¡±


    At Loren¡¯s signal, Quartz started chanting his spell.


    A swirling pir of me erupted from the ground and reached all the way up to the ceiling, burning all the goblins in the front.


    The mes covered up the whole corridor and killed quite a bit of goblins in its wake, and screams and shrieks erupted from the goblin ranks.


    ¡°Stand fast, wall of dirt. << Earth Wall >>¡±


    The heating from the mes and the shrieks and burning smelling from the goblins.


    The wall burst up andpletely separated them from it.


    ¡°Now¡¯s our chance! Climb!¡±


    Lapis, who Loren freed from under his arm, ran to thedder and started climbing at a speed which matched Jack and Nim.


    Meanwhile Quartz, who had used two spells in a row, looked dizzy and was climbing at a slower pace than he had before.


    ¡°Come on, climb a bit faster will you¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush him. We don¡¯t want him to fall.¡±


    Loren stopped Ritz, who impatiently tried to rush Quarz.


    If he slipped and fell again, he would have to catch him again, and in case he couldn¡¯t, Quartz might receive injuries that could immobilize him.


    Putting that into consideration, it was easier if they made sure every one of them reached the top safely, even if it took some time.


    ¡°But the wall isn¡¯t going tost much longer.¡±


    They seeded in killing the goblins¡¯ momentum with the fire and the wall, but they were already onto breaking the wall that Quartz had set up.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I know the magic onlysted for a bit, but with the amount of mes, it should be burning hot in there.¡±


    In Loren¡¯s calctions, the fire would make the walls and the floor burning hot, making it difficult for the goblins to approach the wall.


    Since the goblins were barefooted, their feet would burn if the approached the burnt floor.


    But the goblins had already rushed up to the wall and started banging on it.


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely something wrong with them. Goblins shouldn¡¯t have the pride or guts to be so persistent in chasing their prey.¡±


    Ritz had his sword and shield raised, but he looked pale.


    The fact that these goblins were like nothing he had faced before made even a silver adventurer like him anxious.


    ¡°Think about thatter. Right now, just think about escaping. Here, your turn to climb.¡±


    Quartz, who was climbing for his life, just got pulled up by Nim and Jack.


    When Ritz saw that, he hesitated for a second, but immediately sheathed his sword and started climbing thedder.


    But his climbing speed was far from being fast.


    Loren hoped that he would reach the top before the wall crumbled, but fate seemed to sneer at his wish, as arge crack appeared in the wall while Ritz hadn¡¯t even made it to the middle.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to have to fight one.¡±


    Luckily, the corridor wasrge enough for him to use his great sword with no problem at all.


    Watching the crack widen and listening to the pounding behind it, Loren reached behind him with his right hand. He grabbed the handle of his sword, removed the cloth wrapped around it, and pulled it out.


    He gripped the sword with both hands, his left hand above his right, and prepared himself.


    The wall crumbled, as it were waiting for that stance, and as soon as the burnt up goblins saw him, they roared and rushed toward Loren.

 Chapter 18: Interception to Interception

    <h4>Chapter 18: Interception to Interception</h4>


    Although the goblins broke through the wall, it wasn¡¯t like the whole thing broke down.


    Only a portion of it broke where the goblins wereing out of, so the wall was still quite functional.


    Loren decided that it was still possible to buy some time. He stirred himself up and took a swift step forward and swept his great sword sideways, cutting two of the goblins in half.


    As he caught another one with a back swing, he realized something; the floor was too clean.


    After all the goblins that rained down from the hatch and got crushed earlier, there should have been quite a bit of goblin corpses around it.


    However, though there were bloodstains on the floor, he couldn¡¯t find any of the corpses.


    Loren, although not too familiar with monsters, had heard about goblins¡¯ eating habits.


    He knew that they would eat anything that they could find, but wondered if it was so bad that they would go as far as to eating the corpses of their own.


    But still, it was weird that there was no trace of anything left.


    Loren, thinking about how many weird things he has encountered this time around, continued to swing his sword with ease.


    The goblins¡¯ shields and weapons were meaningless against the weight and the force of the great sword it was being swung with.


    While crushing shields, snapping daggers, and rendering the defenseless goblins into hunks of meat, Loren, without even turning around, called up to Ritz.


    ¡°Are you up yet!?¡±


    ¡°S-sorry!¡±


    Loren nced up at Ritz¡¯s anxious voice and saw that he just above the half way point.


    He decided it was going to take a while, and with a feeling close to giving up, he kicked a goblin that tried to slide under him and stabbed it.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you guys pull him up!?¡±


    Ritz was still far from the top, but Loren asked without thinking.


    Meanwhile more of the wall crumbled before him, allowing more goblins to flood though.


    Loren knew he could still fend them off, so he calmly looked at the number of goblins and the speed which the wall was being broken, and resumed swinging his sword.


    He could feel the sensation of cutting flesh and crushing bones in his arms.


    Taking a step back so he wouldn¡¯t trip on the dead goblins, he heard the bad news from Lapis.


    ¡°Loren! More goblins have appeared up here as well! Jack and Nim are fighting them, but they¡¯re slowly increasing in number!¡±


    ¡°Goblins again!? Why do these ruins like goblins so much!?¡±


    Irritated, Loren took another swing, and another corpse rolled at his feet, staining the floor with its blood.


    ¡°Ritz! Are you there yet!¡±


    ¡°Wait just a bit more!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine but the guys up there aren¡¯t! If we take too long, we¡¯re going to be pincered from both sides!¡±


    ¡°I know! Damn it! I¡¯m so clumsy!¡±


    Loren focused on his own opponents, thinking Ritz and the others had to manage it themselves somehow.


    The number of goblinsing past the wall continued to increase, and Loren immediately realized that soon enough, even he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them all.


    He was keeping them away from thedder, but he started feeling impatient as the goblins started to surround him.


    Even in such a situation, a calm part of Loren¡¯s head caught strange movements from the goblins surrounding him.


    Although the goblins came toward him bloodthirsty, as soon as they saw their allies¡¯ dead bodies, they dropped their weapons and started gathering the corpses, ignoring Lorenpletely.


    Loren had no idea what caused them to do that, but thanks to this weird behavior, he faced less goblins than he had first expected.


    None of the information in his head exined their weird behavior, but he wasn¡¯t about to ask them about it.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know the reason, it was an opportunity.


    Not thinking about the logic behind it, if he killed a good number of goblins and spread the corpses around him, the goblins would retrieve them and leave, thinning their numbers.


    There was no way that he was not going to take advantage of that.


    The goblins that surrounded him were the ones that didn¡¯t pick up the corpses, so if he focused on those, the goblinsing after would have to retrieve their corpses, and the number of goblins that Loren would have to face would not increase by much.


    Loren couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the two types of goblins, but he tried to choose to kill the ones that didn¡¯t retrieve the corpses.


    Above him, Ritz finally made it to the top and Quartz and Lapis pulled him up.


    ¡°You need to hurry Ritz. Jack and Nim can¡¯t handle all of them.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up Mister Ritz. The goblins aren¡¯t our only foes.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You mean something other than goblins finally appeared?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Something that looks like a goblin.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking¡­Jack! Damn it! Jack!¡±


    Ritz suddenly shouted and tried to rush up thest few rungs, but misced his foot, and


    Quartz and Lapis barely caught him from falling.


    Loren was irritated at Ritz¡¯s clumsiness, but judging from their conversation, something had happened to Jack, and guessed that he needed to get up there as fast as he could.


    ¡°Man, why does so much shit¡­Keeping at me!¡±


    Loren, for the first time, changed the way he swung his great sword.


    Up till now, he had only used his arms, but this time he twisted his body while he swung his sword, using the strength in his whole body.


    He was already able to crush many goblins with a single swing, but this strike was sharper and faster than ever.


    The goblins that took the strike not only got cut into two pieces, but became nothing but a rain of blood and pieces of flesh, and those flew back and rained into the goblins out of the sword¡¯s reach.


    Loren, who massacred therge number of goblins around him, used that opening to jump onto thedder and climb up.


    He then swung his sword at thedder beneath him, making sure that the goblins couldn¡¯t chase him up, and finished climbing up thedder, setting foot on the upper floor with no help needed.


    He immediately readied his great sword and looked around at the situation, and saw


    Jack lying down with his back against the wall, blood dripping from his head.


    Ritz was using his sword and shield to protect Jack, while Nim was struggling against something that pushed her down onto the ground.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    No matter how Loren saw it, the things that were causing this situation were goblins.


    At least, they looked like goblins.


    Goblins were usually green and small like a child, but these were closer to ck and wererger than Ritz, who was quiterge himself.


    ¡°Loren, Nim is in trouble!¡±


    ¡°Hey old man, what about your magic!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯mpletely out! I can¡¯t even use elementary level spells for a while!¡±


    Quartz pointed to one of the goblin like monsters lying on the ground, smoke emitting from its body.


    Quartz was able to kill it with a spell, but now he was out of spells to use.


    ¡°Loren, you have to help Nim!¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren remembered he had things to take care of before assessing the situation. He ran up to the mock-goblin, with an arm that had a knife lodged into, it that was reaching for Nim¡¯s clothes.


    Before it could react, Loren kicked it square in the face.


    If it were a normal goblin, the kick would¡¯ve broke its neck and sent it flying, but the mock-goblin snapped its head right back and threatened him with a low growl.


    Loren ignored it and swung his great sword at the base of its neck.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!?¡±


    The sword that easily cut through numerous goblins got stopped by the mock-goblin¡¯s hard skin and muscle, not even reaching its bones.


    Blood dripped from the cut onto Nim, but the mock-goblin showed no signs of caring about the injury, raising its body to reach for Loren.


    Loren pushed down with his great sword to keep it from standing up.


    Nim, who was pushed down, managed to pull the knife out of the mock-goblin¡¯s arm, and while it was distracted by Loren, she stabbed it in the eye.


    The eye wasn¡¯t hard like its skin, and the knife sunk deep into it. The mock-goblin roared and snapped its head back, covering its injured eye with both hands.


    Nim used the opportunity to slip out from under it, while Loren pulled out his great sword, and with a fissured yell, swung it at its neck with all his might.


    Although the de got stopped by the skin and muscle earlier, Loren knew what to expect this time.


    The de ripped through its skin and muscle, reaching the bone and crushing it.


    Added with the cut he made before, the mock-goblin¡¯s head flew off, blood erupting from its neck.


    ¡°You okay Nim!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. But Jack and Ritz aren¡¯t.¡±


    Loren turned to Ritz at her words.


    He saw Ritz dodge the mock-goblin¡¯s grab, step close into it, and plunge his sword into its nk.


    Loren thought that it was over, but with a swift movement that seemed to disregard the de lodged in it, reached out and grabbed Ritz¡¯s head.


    ¡°You bastard! Let go!¡±


    Even regr goblins had quite a bit of strength, but if it wasrger than Ritz, Loren had no idea how strong it would be.


    He could imagine what would happen if something with so much strength grabbed his head.


    Ritz knew it as well, and he twisted his sword to try and get out of its grasp, but the mock-goblin¡¯s grip didn¡¯t waver, and Ritz¡¯s body started creaking as it slowly started to put pressure into its hands.


    ¡°D-damn it! My bones!¡±


    Ritz would¡¯ve been crushed by the mock-goblin, but Loren intervened before that could happen.


    While it was busy with Ritz, Loren charged at it from behind, and with his momentum and centrifugal force added to the strike, he knocked its head right off its shoulders.


    A moment after the head flew off and blood spewed from its neck, it dropped down onto its knees, dropped down, and fell straight into the wall.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°You saved me. I was about to be a rag doll.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. How¡¯s Jack?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­¡±


    Although he was still bleeding from his head, he was alive.


    When Loren asked what had happened, they gave their exnation.


    At first, there were regr goblins, but two of the mock-goblins appeared.


    They were able to kill one with Quartz¡¯s magic, but Nim¡¯s arrows had no effect on the second one, and she was pushed down onto the ground. Jack had tried to save her, but another one showed up and smacked him into the wall, and that¡¯s when Ritz entered the fray.


    ¡°Sorry Jack. It¡¯s my fault.¡±


    ¡°Hey, stop it, you¡¯re being disgusting. Modesty isn¡¯t your thing, so just tend to my wounds already.¡±


    Jack pointed at his head and Nim, who kept apologizing in a sad manner, with her ears drooping forward.


    Nim nodded and started to treat Jack¡¯s injury.


    Loren decided to leave them at that, and walked over to Lapis, who was squatted down, next to the two mock-goblins.


    ¡°Did you find something?¡±


    ¡°I can guess, but if my spections are right, it means we¡¯ve wandered into quite an unpleasant kind of ruin.¡±


    ¡°Unpleasant ruin?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t believe such words from Lapis, who was happy that she was able to explore these ruins earlier, and raised a quizzical voice, but Lapis didn¡¯t answer him.


    Instead, she walked up to Ritz and cleared her throat.


    ¡°Mister Ritz, I¡¯d like to make sure of something.¡±


    ¡°Do we have toe with you?¡±


    ¡°No, but it should be in line with exploring the ruins. But above all else, if we don¡¯t hurry and shut down these ruins, it¡¯s going to cause lots of trouble.¡±


    Lapis tilted her head slightly to the side, waiting for an answer. Ritz looked at Loren, asking for his opinion, but Loren shrugged, telling him not to ask him.

 Chapter 19: Withdrawal to Explanation

    <h4>Chapter 19: Withdrawal to Exnation</h4>


    ¡°In any case, let¡¯s move from this ce. If we stay, the next wave wille.¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ suggestion, Ritz looked at Jack¡¯s condition.


    Jack had suffered a blow to the head from the mock-goblin, and though Nim had treated it, he wasn¡¯t in a good condition. He shook his head to clear his mind, but it seemed ineffective.


    ¡°Should I use Divine Arts?¡±


    Lapis asked Jack, whose head was bandaged up and was chugging a potion, but he shook his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t need it. The potion is working. My head is still a bit dizzy though.¡±


    ¡°A blow to the head is quite dangerous, so I rmend seeing a doctor when we get back to the city.¡±


    ¡®Thanks for the warning. If we¡¯re able to get back safely, I¡¯ll do as you say.¡±


    ¡°Can you move?¡±


    Jack bit at Ritz, who seemed worried about him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. If you want me to move just give the order.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not good to push yourself.¡±


    When Nim, still looking discouraged, said that to Jack, who was trying to put up a bold front, he patted her on the shoulder, trying to reassure her.


    ¡°I just took a good one and went unconscious. Don¡¯t worry about it. I can move properly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one with the bigger problem. I¡¯m out of magic spells. I can¡¯t fight anymore.¡±


    Quartz spoke up apologetically, but no one med him for it.


    If Quartz hadn¡¯t used his magic to kill one of the mock-goblins, the situation would¡¯ve been way worse, and everyone thanked him for that, much less think of him as a burden.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped. In any case, let¡¯s hurry and move from here. More goblins mighte, and if those ck onese again, I don¡¯t think we could handle them.¡±


    As soon as Ritz spoke up, Nim lent Jack her shoulder and helped him up. Then the group started to walk away from that ce.


    Loren, who had instantly in the two mock-goblins that even silver adventurers had a hard time dealing with, and Lapis, who announced that she found out something about the ruins, led the group.


    ¡°What were they? Their skin and flesh were hard, but their bones were even harder. Were those a kind of high rank goblin?¡±


    Loren looked at his great sword¡¯s de as he asked Lapis.


    The de was able to cut down the two mock-goblins, but Loren found somerge nicks in the de.


    It wasn¡¯t as sharp as most swords and was used more like a blunt weapon, but the edges were close to crumbling.


    ¡°They were simr to hobgoblins, but I¡¯m sure that those were probably goblins that gotrger.¡±


    Lapis was walking forward with no hesitation at all.


    It was as if she knew where she was going, and although cautious, she was leading the group confidently.


    ¡°If that was a hobgoblin, there was no way they would¡¯ve survived such a blow from Loren and not die. That probably could¡¯ve made an ogre¡¯s head fly off, couldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Never fought one before, so I have no idea. What were those ck goblins?¡±


    ¡°Loren, have you noticed anything else?¡±


    Since Lapis asked him a question instead of answering his question, Loren decided to tell her about what he noticed while he was fighting.


    ¡°The goblins were retrieving other goblins¡¯ corpses. I don¡¯t think they were going to preserve them as food. The goblins here are definitely strange.¡±


    Lapis wasn¡¯t walking that quickly.


    They had no choice because of Jack and Quartz, but Loren was bing slightly paranoid about more goblins appearing out of nowhere. He realized that he was thinking about goblins again, and tilted his head.


    It was true that from the cave all the way to the ruins, the only monsters he had seen were goblins, but that didn¡¯t mean that the next thing that came out would be goblins as well.


    As Loren warned himself that biased thoughts will cloud his judgment and affect his reaction when the next problem urred, Lapis seemed to have read his mind and told him.


    ¡°The only monsters in these ruins are goblins. Probably.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Loren was confused that the monsters that appear in an Ancient Kingdom ruin would be limited to goblins.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wanted there to be a guardian of sorts like he had heard from stories, but the probability of it happening beingpletely zero wasn¡¯t too satisfying, either.


    ¡°Loren, have you heard of pharmaceutics and alchemy?¡±


    The question seemed unrted to what they were talking about until now.


    But if it was from Lapis, who was demon kind, Loren decided that she must have a reason for it and answered her question.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it. But I don¡¯t know anyone who practices them.¡±


    ¡°Knowing about it is enough. Then do you know about the test subjects people who practice them use?¡±


    For a second Loren was at a loss for words as he couldn¡¯t understand what Lapis was talking about, but immediately realized what kind of answer Lapis was looking for.


    ¡°You mean mice? The ones they use to test new medicine and stuff¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Then do you know why they use mice?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know the answer to this one.


    He didn¡¯t know anything about this kind of topic at all.


    ¡°Do you think a mercenary would know something like that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a useless piece of information, anyway. They use mice as test subjects because they have short sexual cycles, grow quickly, and produce many offspring at once. Do you know anything else that fits this description?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got a clue.¡±


    A creature that could mate with anything, grow up in no time, and increase in numbers rapidly.


    Loren said the name of the creatures that he had encountered enough for a lifetime during this quest with disbelief.


    ¡°Goblins?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right. They¡¯re easy to breed, economically stable, won¡¯t hurt one¡¯s conscience, and humanoid. Are there any other creatures that are more fit to use as test subjects? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Lapis exined with quite a bit of emphasis, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure what she was trying to emphasize, and just asked her about a word that caught his ears.


    ¡°Economically sound?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll eat anything they¡¯re given. Whether it be leftovers or corpses. Records from the Ancient Kingdom says that when they gave them trash from the city, the amount of trash decreased by 80%.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s pretty economically sound?¡±


    ¡°Plus, no matter how many goblins gathered together, they were nothing but dust to the Ancient Kingdom. It seems that while they were increasing their numbers, they selectively bred them at the same time, and made all sorts of different kinds of goblins.¡±


    When Lapis said different kind of goblins, Loren thought of the ck mock-goblin that he had faced earlier.


    If that wasn¡¯t a hobgoblin or any sort of high rank goblin, the kind of goblin that Lapis talked about seemed to be what the mock-goblin was.


    ¡°This is why there are quite a number of goblin farms inside Ancient Kingdom ruins, but this is something more terrible than that.¡±


    Judging by the conversation, Loren guessed that they were in a farm that people in the Ancient Kingdom used for breeding test subjects, but before he could mention anything, Lapis denied his spection.


    Wondering what was terrible about this ce, Loren waited for Lapis to continue.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t an ordinary farm.¡±


    As she said that, Lapis was about to reach the corner of the path.


    From the shadow of the corner, two goblins suddenly jumped out.


    Loren was about to raise his great sword, but Lapis grabbed their heads like she was picking flowers on the side of the road.


    Though it looked like she didn¡¯t put any strength in her arms, the goblins¡¯ heads turned 180 degrees with their bodies still facing forward.


    At the same time as Loren heard bones being broken, Lapis reached into her pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and a bottle filled with perfume, and sprayed the contents of the bottle onto the handkerchief.


    She wiped her hands, which touched the goblins¡¯ heads, and casually kicked in front of her two times.


    Lapis then walked past the dead goblin corpses, which flew back a few meters, not even bothering to take notice of them.


    Her movements seemed way too natural, and since it urred past the corner, Loren, who was walking next to her, was the only one who saw it.


    ¡°You¡­You¡¯re pretty strong, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    If she could pull something like that off, Loren wished she could¡¯ve done it earlier.


    But if the others saw that Lapis, who didn¡¯t look like she was trained at all being skilled in close quarterbat, there was the danger of her losing their trust and losing her credibility.


    Usually, priests couldn¡¯t snap a goblin¡¯s neck with their bare hands.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s me we¡¯re talking about, so. Back to the subject. This isn¡¯t an ordinary farm. It¡¯s definitely a farm, but it seems that they were conducting experiments of physical modification and improvement, and evolution at the same time.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, they were enhancing the strength of goblins as regr goblins. The goblins that chased us. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange that there were no high rank individuals in that horde?¡±


    High ranked monsters were indeed rare, but it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if there were at least one or two of them within that many number of goblins.


    Lapis was saying that it was strange that they didn¡¯t see any sort of high rank goblin at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because the goblins produced here are adjusted so they won¡¯t evolve into high rank individuals. They were trying to improve only goblins, so it wouldn¡¯t have any meaning if they became hobgoblins or goblin mages.¡±


    In experiments, the same species of the test subject are always used.


    That must have been why the researchers of the Ancient Kingdom adjusted the goblins, but Loren frowned at their bad tastes.


    Loren guessed that one part of the adjustments that they made was making the goblins chase intruders until they caught up.


    Then the goblins themselves would chase intruders away, so there was no need to put a separate protection system.


    ¡°They¡¯re okay with them growing bigger, though?¡±


    The mock-goblin that he had faced earlier was wayrger than an ordinary goblin.


    Loren still found it hard to convince himself that the mock-goblin was an ordinary goblin.


    ¡°Even though they¡¯re big, they¡¯re still goblins.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the goblins in here found the crack and entered the cave? Also, wasn¡¯t there was a goblin mage over there?¡±


    ¡°The adjustments are probably limited to inside the ruins. It must have evolved because it ran outside of it.¡±


    Lapis said it like he should¡¯ve found that out easily, but to Loren, there was no way he could know, nor did he want to.


    ¡°Anyways, this is that kind of facility. I believe that it was dormant, but I¡¯m not sure what restarted it. It could¡¯ve been someone who did it manually, or whoever unsealed the ruins itself was the key that did it.¡±


    ¡°What about them not using women as seed beds or collecting corpses?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for seed beds. There¡¯s probably equipment that breeds them, and baby goblins should be produced there. The corpses are probably being reused to make new ones. This is quite an eco-friendly facility, reusing their trash.¡±


    ¡°If we leave it like this, wouldn¡¯t it be a big problem?¡±


    This is what Lapis had said earlier.


    Loren tried to confirm, but her reply made him think maybe Lapis herself didn¡¯t seem to think it was that big of a problem.


    ¡°That big ck goblin is an improved goblin. It was made in this facility, but the problem lies within its actions.¡±


    ¡°Problem? What in the world would that be¡­¡±


    ¡°The goblins from this facility don¡¯t need seed beds. But the goblin that attacked Nim tried to rip off her clothes.¡±


    For a second Loren wasn¡¯t sure what Lapis was trying to say, but immediately guessed what Lapis meant and his face became slightly pale.


    ¡°Have you realized? There¡¯s no need to, but it assaults women. It means that it knows about assaulting women for reasons other than mating.¡±


    Animals generally mate in order to reproduce.


    This was the same for monsters, and although goblins quenched their sadism by assaulting women, the goal itself is to reproduce.


    There was only one existence that Loren knew of that did it for enjoyment.


    ¡°In conclusion, there were traces of human inside those goblins. Probably the people from the party that waspeting with Mister Ritz¡¯s party.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you can call that a goblin?¡±


    ¡°It definitely is a goblin. You don¡¯t call a goblin born from a human mother a half goblin, right? Even if there are traces of human in it, a goblin is a goblin.¡±


    Loren stopped trying to understand what she was talking about.


    It was because he decided that knowing that these ruins were built to produce goblins was currently up and running, and that some of them had the intelligence of a human, was enough, and everything else was unnecessary information.


    ¡°The reason I said that it was going to be a big problem, is because this facility physically enhances and improves goblins, and the fact that the goblins produced in this facility are obtaining human intelligence and learning abilities.¡±


    ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll produce an even stronger goblin from the experiences of the mock-goblins. After repeating that many times over¡­What do you think would happen if goblins became tougher than dragons, umted knowledge and experience, and gained abilities ording to its strength? That¡¯s why I said we need to make these ruins dormant again.¡±


    Lapis spoke of a future that Loren didn¡¯t want to think of, but she said it in such a rxed manner, it seemed like she thought it was someone else¡¯s problem.

 Chapter 20: From Searching Houses to Determining Actions

    <h4>Chapter 20: From Searching Houses to Determining Actions</h4>


    ¡°You said return it to its dormant state, but how?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought that far ahead. It¡¯s not like I know everything. There¡¯s many things that I don¡¯t know about.¡±


    To Loren, nothing rang a bell when it came to shutting down the ruins.


    He asked Lapis, but apparently there were things that even she didn¡¯t know about.


    Loren thought that it would be so much easier if Lapis, who seemed to know a lot about ruins, knew how to shut it down, but Lapis added with a huffy look.


    ¡°Every ruin is different, so there isn¡¯t a definite way to do it. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t done enough research.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s written all over your face Loren. That¡¯s not a good thing.¡±


    ¡°Then where are we headed right now?¡±


    Luckily for Loren, Ritz caught up to them and changed the subject.


    When Loren gave her a questioning look, Lapis looked slightly dissatisfied, but sighed and answered.


    ¡°I was thinking of searching the rooms of the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s citizens. I¡¯m sure there was a person in charge of this ce, and the manual for these ruins are most likely there as well.¡±


    ¡°There were people living here?¡±


    There was no detailed record of where the capital of the Ancient Kingdom was.


    Some said that it was at the bottom of the ocean, and others said it was flying up in the clouds, and the records of how it perished were nonexistent as well.


    If the records did exist, adventurers would swarm it, looking for lost knowledge and technology, but nothing of the sort had been found yet.


    Even if someone managed to find it, it wouldn¡¯t be in a ce that was close to any city or vige.


    Loren had traveled here from the vige of Ain for the quest, so he knew how far the goblin nest was from there.


    Loren was surprised that people actually used to live in this remote ce, but Lapis seemed to have an idea and started talking about it.


    ¡°They did have the magic <<teleport>>, but paying the high mana cost of using such a spell just for transportation between the city and the facility isn¡¯t ideal.¡±


    </teleport>


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It would be better to make living quarters inside the facility and make sure people can livefortably there.¡±


    ¡°Is that the way it is?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly how it is. There should be houses for the researchers and rted people in here. We should go and search their homes for a way to shut down the ruins. Also while we¡¯re at it, if we find anything of value, we take them for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t proudly announce that you¡¯re going to steal stuff.¡±


    Ritz, who was walking behind him, said to Lapis with a tone of exasperation, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to care. She tightened her fist and firmly dered.


    ¡°The owners have died hundreds of years ago. It¡¯s not stealing if they¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°But still. If these ruins were put on pause, wouldn¡¯t it mean the people in the Ancient Kingdom, did it? Then wouldn¡¯t they have already taken everything valuable?¡±


    Loren thought that if he were the one in charge, that¡¯s what he would¡¯ve done. Lapis suddenly looked disappointed and drooped her shoulders.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s probably true. And in that case, it¡¯s also possible that they took the manual for the ruins and it doesn¡¯t exist here.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, what are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    Loren looked behind him with a troubled face, as Lapis returned his question with the same question.


    He saw Ritz and the others, but they were in no shape for another battle.


    Ritz and Nim were still able to fight, but Jack¡¯s injury prevented him from being able to fight freely, and Quartz was out of spells.


    Loren himself wasn¡¯t in his best condition either.


    ¡°Man, my sword¡­¡±


    Along with the crumbling de from the fight with the mock-goblin, it seemed that there was damage done to the de itself as well, so his sword was slightly tilted.


    The goblin was indeed quite tough, but it was also because Loren hadn¡¯t repaired it well from thest battle he fought as a mercenary, and even though he regretted not taking it to get repaired, his regret didn¡¯t do anything for him now.


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll break after another two or three of those mock-goblins.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a problem. But¡­procuring another weapon isn¡¯t going to be easy.¡±


    ¡°If it breaks, I¡¯ll think of something then. Right now, we need information.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we need. Time to raid!¡±


    After firmly raising her voice, she opened the door in front of them.


    Jack made a shocked face as Lapis suddenly opened the door without even checking for traps, but Lapis walked in with no worries at all.


    Loren guessed that they reached the living quarters, and Lapis¡¯ actions were based on the calction that no one would put a trap on their own door, but he still thought that she was acting overly confident. When he walked in after Lapis, he saw her already searching for things.


    ¡°Is she okay?¡±


    Ritz, who came in a momentter, asked Loren, but all he could manage to do was shrug.


    It was indeed a question that Loren didn¡¯t know the answer to, but he didn¡¯t want to tell that to Ritz and make him ufortable.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually quite familiar with these kinds of ruins. Rest assured and leave everything to me.¡±


    The room looked like a private room, with a bed and bookshelf, but both had rotted over the long period of time.


    Lapis started flipping them over with no reserve at all, and though her actions looked like she was familiar with the ce, it also looked as if she was flipping over random things, so it was hard to tell if she actually knew what she was doing.


    ¡°She knows more than us for sure, so we should let her do her thing.¡±


    That was all Loren managed to tell Ritz as Lapis started to look more like a robber than a priest, pulling out shelves and flipping the bookshelf.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing useful at all.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ raid moved from room to room.


    She didn¡¯t find much of anything valuable, but still managed to find a few books and essories, as well as some coins.


    The books were written in the Ancient Kingdomnguage so Loren had no idea what they were about, but Lapis told him that they were all about the ruins, so if Ritz and his party took them back, it would end their expedition in a sess.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just take these and go back home?¡±


    Ritz¡¯s objective was to gather information on the ruins, not reverting it to the state it was in before.


    If they were done with their job, heading back and letting the country or guild handle this situation was indeed an option.


    Loren knew that if he was in their shoes, he would have asked the same thing.


    Even more so if the people in his party were injured and half of them unable to fight.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but¡­I hope you can get back safely.¡±


    Although Lapis replied in a light tone, the words were from a person who knew exactly the current state of Ritz¡¯s party.


    It would be fine if they were lucky enough to reach the exit without running into anything, but chances of that was slim, and if they ran into arge number of goblins or mock-goblins, there was no way there were going to survive.


    Ritz had to choose whether to take that risk, or even if it meant facing further dangers, stick with Loren, who could fight the mock-goblins head on, and Lapis, who could use Divine Arts.


    Both had their pros and cons. Loren knew that it waspletely up to Ritz, and decided not to say anything.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you guys came with us? It¡¯s not like these ruins are going to go out of control in the span of a few days. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we report this and let the higher ranks take care of this¡­?¡±


    ¡°When you say higher ranks, do you mean gold ranks and mystic* ranks? I wonder how long it¡¯s going to take for word to reach them?¡±


    Lapis was talking about adventurers who were a rank or two higher than Ritz and his party.


    The rank system started at copper, iron, silver, and above those were gold and mystic ranks. Adventurers who were above gold were said to have exceeded the limits of humans, and their strength was iparable to the ranks below. There weren¡¯t that many, and the number of gold ranks were in the hundreds, while the number of mystic* ranks were in the tens.


    The highest existing rank was the crimson** rank, but less than ten of them existed.


    Lapis was implying that there was no way to know how much time and money it would cost to ask those people to take on this quest.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you decide to go back. I pray that you can get out safely.¡±


    Ritz was at a loss for words, looking quite discouraged.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty ruthless.¡±


    Loren whispered to Lapis, and Lapis replied, also in a whisper.


    ¡°There wouldn¡¯t be anything beneficial for both groups if we force them to stay.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s already decided that I¡¯m going with you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s-¡­¡±


    Lapis, who was flipping through yet another book, suddenly went silent. She slowly stopped flipping through the book and looked up at Loren.


    ¡°You¡¯re not, going toe?¡±


    Lapis suddenly asked him, looking like a puppy about to be thrown away. Loren, wondering how serious she was being right now, answered without a pause.


    ¡°Toote for me to turn back now. I won¡¯t leave you on your own.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved. This is a bit too much for me to handle alone. Thank you.¡±


    Loren rubbed his nose and looked away from Lapis, who was smiling at him.


    He didn¡¯t have any experience of anyone thanking him back when he was a mercenary, and although Lapis¡¯ straightforward gratitude and happy expression didn¡¯t feel bad, it did make him feel a bit of embarrassment.


    ¡°I have some good news for you, Loren.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Although she said it was good news, Loren couldn¡¯t really take it seriously at this point.


    Without showing it on his face, hemented that ever since he epted Sarfe¡¯s invitation, nothing good has happened to him.


    Not noticing Loren¡¯s frustration at all, Lapis took out a book from the shelf and waved it proudly in front of Loren¡¯s eyes.


    It was definitely old, but somehow preserved very well, and although the color was faded from it and the corners were crumbling, he could make out the words on it.


    ¡°Even if you put that in my face, I have no idea what it says.¡±


    ¡°This is the manual we¡¯ve been looking for. It has the instructions for shutting down the ruins as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re able to read that, huh. Impressive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the Knowledge god, after all.¡±


    Loren, thinking that other priests of the Knowledge god probably wouldn¡¯t know how to read thenguage, stared at the book held up in front of him.


    Lapis opened up the ck leather cover and pointed at a part of a page to tell Loren where the instructions were, but of course he couldn¡¯t understand a word that was written on there.


    ¡°Are all priests of the Knowledge god this extensively knowledgeable?¡±


    ¡°There are some. Like me.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t miss Lapis¡¯ gaze slightly turning away from him.


    He guessed that saying that priests of the Knowledge god knew many things was just an excuse, and all the things she knew were things the demon kind knew about.


    ¡°So, what do we need to do?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a control room somewhere. We need to use the control panel to get it to shut down. Let¡¯s head over there immediately¡­ Have you made up your mind, Mister Ritz?¡±


    Ritz looked back at his party, then back at Lapis, and finally made up his mind.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go with you guys. I feel like we¡¯ll have a higher chance of surviving if we do.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s hurry to the control room. Once we get there, the job should be as good as done.¡±


    Lapis closed the manual and tucked it under her arm.


    As Ritz made his decision, the only thing left to do was act.


    For Loren, whose thoughts becamepletely pessimistic at this point, couldn¡¯t help but think that there was no way they would get to the control room without trouble, and tightened his face.

 Chapter 21: Moving to Defending

    <h4>Chapter 21: Moving to Defending</h4>


    ¡°The person who oversaw this ce must have been a nice person. There aren¡¯t any weird riddles that we need to solve or keys we need to find.¡±


    Lapis, while jogging toward what it seemed to be the control room, was evaluating the person who oversaw the facility.


    ¡°Mean people would make up riddles that would make you want to rip your heart out trying to figure out.¡±


    ¡°You serious?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t really get it, but he wondered what kind of ruins Lapis had explored before this one.


    He wanted to ask her, but had a feeling that she would start talking about something unspeakably terrifying, so he was scared to ask.


    ¡°I¡¯ve read it in a book.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you did.¡±


    Lapis somehow guessed what Loren was thinking, and gave a reply, but to Loren, it sounded like nothing but an excuse.


    He would believe her even if she said that she explored tens and twenties of ruins already. That is what his image of Lapis was at this point.


    ¡°I really did read it in a book, you know!?¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say that that¡¯s true, so hurry up and lead us to the control room!¡±


    Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t Loren that rushed Lapis, but it was Ritz, who was running right behind them.


    Although he chose to follow Loren and Lapis, it didn¡¯t change the fact that half his party couldn¡¯t fight and they didn¡¯t know when more goblins would appear.


    Loren thought that if it were just goblins, Ritz could handle them on his own, but the fight with the mock-goblin seemed to make him want to avoid goblins at all costs.


    ¡°Man, this quests sucks.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I don¡¯t understand that feeling.¡±


    Loren understood why Ritz couldn¡¯t help but curse.


    He didn¡¯t know much about exploring ancient ruins, but he didn¡¯t believe that there would be many of quests that would take them to ruins such as the one they were in right now.


    He thought that Ritz and his party were very unfortunate to have chosen this quest, but Lapis softly whispered to him.


    ¡°We¡¯ve wandered into these ruins, you know? We¡¯re way unluckier than they are.¡±


    ¡°Can you read minds or something?¡±


    ¡°Loren, you keep writing your thoughts all over your face. You should really be careful, okay?¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren reached up and rubbed his face.


    When he was a mercenary, he had never looked straight at a person¡¯s face to try and guess what that person was thinking.


    No one had said that to Loren until Lapis had just now.


    But since Lapis had urately guessed what he was thinking many times already, he decided that his emotions and thoughts must really be easily readable by looking at his expression.


    ¡°Inparison, I would say that the party that waspeting against Ritz¡¯s would be the unluckiest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Well, enough chatting for now. We¡¯ve arrived.¡±


    Lapis stopped in front of a pair ofrge doors.


    It didn¡¯t have keyholes or handles on it, so Loren wondered how Lapis was going to open them.


    Lapis walked up to them with the manual in hand, and with her other hand, swiftly traced a part of the doors.


    The parts where Lapis traced started glowing, and the doors opened forward without a sound.


    ¡°That¡¯s impressive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too early forpliments.¡±


    The room they walked into was quiterge.


    Lined up across the wall from the entrance, arge number of boxes were stacked together, with words in the Ancient Kingdomnguage etched onto them.


    It was a dreary room with nothing else inside it, but Loren looked at the walls on either side and saw another pair ofrge doors.


    ¡°This is the control panel. This can control the whole facility.¡±


    Lapis walked up to one of the boxes and touched the surface, then started hitting it.


    As soon as she started doing that, the words on the boxes started to change.


    But all Loren could tell was that they were changing, and had no idea how they were changing.


    ¡°You sure you can do this?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You can count on me. This is a piece of¡­¡±


    Lapis stopped talking.


    Loren looked at what Lapis was staring at and saw red words on the surface of the box.


    ¡°Uh, what?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°This is weird. It keeps kicking me out when I try to operate it. I was able to turn on the control panel and all I need to do is send the shutdown signal¡­¡±


    Lapis, looking unsatisfied at the result, tried again to gain control, but the red words popped up again.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what they meant, but he did know that Lapis failed to gain ess yet again.


    While Ritz and the others looked on with anxious looks, Lapis knitted her brow and read through the manual again and tilted her head.


    ¡°This is strange. I didn¡¯t mess up operating it.¡±


    ¡°If that isn¡¯t the problem, do you have any idea what might be?¡±


    ¡°If there was anything, I would¡¯ve fixed it already¡­I wonder what¡¯s wrong? Maybe the control panel itself became weird after all the time that passed? If that¡¯s the problem, there¡¯s no way to fix it.¡±


    As she said that, Lapis traced her fingers on the box once again.


    This time the whole surface shed red and ck words started flowing across the surface.


    The sudden change made Ritz and the others back off, and Loren, who was surprised as well, continued to watch over Lapis.


    Lapis put her hand on her chin and started thinking, and after a moment, pped her hands together.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is aboratory.¡±


    ¡°What about it? Anyways, what¡¯s with the red box and the words on them?¡±


    ¡°There are always researchers insideboratories.¡±


    ¡®That¡¯s¡­I guess there is.¡±


    ¡°Researchers are usually registered into theboratory¡¯s system.¡±


    ¡°So, what? What are you trying to say here?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand what Lapis was talking about and began to get irritated, but she took no notice of it and traced her finger on the box¡¯s surface once again.


    Meanwhile, the words that were flowing across the surface of the box sped up, and the light that was being emitted from the walls became a eerie shade of red as well.


    Then the three doors on each wall fully opened.


    ¡°H-hey. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Ritz asked Lapis nervously, but she replied without even looking up, with her hands still moving furiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ve failed the biometric authentication.¡±


    ¡°Biometric¡­What?¡±


    ¡°This control panel is only supposed to be operated by researchers registered into the system. Since someone that isn¡¯t registered, in this case that would be me, tried to operate it, it kicked me out.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Ritz and the others started panicking as they finally understood what was happening, but Lapis paid no attention to them and kept working.


    ¡°Since I failed to send the shutdownmand three times, it locked me out. I can¡¯t operate it.¡±


    ¡°Is that what the red and ck words are talking about?¡±


    Although Loren asked Lapis, a part of him knew that he was wrong.


    He felt himself bing more pessimistic by the second, but after all the bad things that he had experienced so far, he started to think it might be okay to have pessimistic thoughts.


    ¡°That¡¯s incorrect. The red words in the beginning were warnings, but these ck words aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then what does it say?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, the system recognized us as intruders.¡±


    Although Lapis said it like it was nothing, the reality that they were facing wasn¡¯t something that should¡¯ve been said so lightly. At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren smiled weakly, and the rest of them turned pale.


    However, during all that, Lapis continued to work.


    ¡°What are you doing!? This is really bad!¡±


    Ritz tried to grab Lapis, but Nim and Jack, who managed to stay calm, held him back.


    They did so, because they knewshing out at Lapis wouldn¡¯t do anything, but their worry and anxiousness could also be seen on their faces.


    ¡°The facility¡¯s defense mechanism just activated.¡±


    ¡°Can you be more specific?¡±


    It may have been obvious for some people, but Loren had no idea what was going to happen.


    After Loren had asked for an exnation, Lapis put her thoughts together and exined their current situation.


    ¡°The ruins have recognized us as foreign existences, and will eliminate us using goblins.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°I believe that all the goblins that are already produced will all rush towards this room, so for the time being, please keep them away.¡±


    Ritz and his party¡¯s faces were filled with despair.


    Loren grabbed the handle of his great sword and prepared for battle.


    If the mock-goblins came, it would be quite a hard fight, but there was a chance that they wouldn¡¯t show up.


    There were three entrances, but he didn¡¯t think that many of them would swarm in at once. As Loren thought that they would still have chance if only a few came at a time, he heard Lapis¡¯ voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to fool the system. Once I get in, it won¡¯t matter how many goblins are here.¡±


    ¡°I just have to buy you some time, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll be defenseless while operating this, so.¡±


    ¡°How do you even know how to do that anyway?¡±


    Although he felt hopeless, Ritz must have realized that fighting was the only choice they had right now. Ritz asked Lapis as he readied his sword and shield.


    ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the Knowledge god, after all!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that every time, you know that?¡±


    Loren snapped at her convenient excuse.


    A part of him was trying to warn Lapis that it won¡¯t work for everything, but the other part was trying to save the reputations of other priests of the Knowledge god that were out there.


    He also didn¡¯t want Ritz and the others to get a false image of them, either.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything that isn¡¯t true you know?¡±


    ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t, but¡­Never mind, just keep doing what you¡¯re doing.¡±


    As much as Loren wanted to defend the priests¡¯ reputations, he reminded Lapis that there were other things they had to do right now. Lapis nodded and went back to focusing on the control panel.

 Chapter 22: From Defending to Changing for the Worse

    <h4>Chapter 22: From Defending to Changing for the Worse</h4>


    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±


    Ritz¡¯s voice rang out throughout the room.


    The monsters that burst through the doors were regr goblins.


    Although there weren¡¯t as many as earlier, when they were being chased down the corridors, there were still quite many them.


    Plus, the ruins had recognized Loren and the others as intruders, so there was no way to know how many more goblins were on the way.


    ¡°Damn it, fighting is the only chance we¡¯ve got! Quartz, move closer to the youngdy! Nim, stay near them and support us with your arrows! Jack, can you move!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got this, god damn it!¡±


    Although he was injured, Jack¡¯s voice rang out loud and strong.


    Loren decided that he was fine and started swinging his great sword.


    The room wasrge enough for him to swing it about with no problem.


    The problem was that it wouldn¡¯t stay intact for much longer, but Loren decided not to think about it and jumped into the midst of the goblins, bashing the de against them.


    The great sword, which was more of a blunt weapon than a sharp de, caught a few goblins that jumped towards him, and while some of them split into two pieces and spraying blood everywhere, others got their bones crushed and fell limp onto the ground.


    Loren made sure to crush them with his foot, as they weren¡¯tpletely dead yet, and looked for his next prey. He then saw a ck mock-goblin enter the room from one of the other doorways.


    ¡°Crap! It¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°Leave that one to me.¡±


    The mock-goblin didn¡¯t have a weapon in its hands, and reached for Loren with its bare hands.


    Loren raised his great sword high over his head and charged towards it.


    He let out a yell and brought the sword down on the mock-goblin, which raised its left arm to try to block the strike. He cut right through its arm and the sword sunk deeply into its shoulder, all the way to its corbone.


    As ckened blood spewed out from the cut, Loren put his foot on the screaming mock-goblin and pulled his sword out. He used that momentum to raise it above his head again and swung it straight down onto its nk.


    Luckily, he didn¡¯t hit any bones, and with the force behind the strike, cut the mock-goblin¡¯s stomach open. As soon as the great sword passed through, its intestines started dropping out onto the floor.


    But the mock-goblin paid no attention to its injury and went straight for Loren, who had just finished the swing.


    Loren was surprised at its toughness, but as he returned a backswing, it caught the mock-goblin right on the neck, and it sank to the ground gurgling blood.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible¡­No matter how many times I see it.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve got time to talk, use it to kill more goblins.¡±


    Warning Ritz, who was staring at him nkly, Loren looked down at the de of his great sword.


    The great sword, which waspletely doused in the dark blood of the goblins, looked like it didn¡¯t take much damage, but to Loren, who was holding the de aloft, knew that it wouldn¡¯tst much longer.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡±


    He murmured to himself, as he swept his great sword across some goblins that neared him.


    If it were just the regr goblins, he could use the great sword for a bit longer with no problem, but therge mock-goblins, whom were way tougher, drained the de¡¯s durability much quicker.


    ¡°Lapis! How much longer is it going to take?¡±


    Loren had no idea what Lapis was doing, but she had said that once she did it, the goblins wouldn¡¯t be a problem anymore.


    The only thing he could do was pray that she would finish what she was doing, before his sword broke.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying my best, you know?¡±


    Quartz was standing near Lapis, and Nim was near him, nting arrow after arrow into the goblins.


    Every time she released an arrow, a goblin fell, but they kept oning, wave after wave through the doorways.


    ¡°My opponent is a system of the Ancient Kingdom ruins. There¡¯s no way it¡¯s going to fall that easily.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need that kind of talk! I want to know how much longer it¡¯s going to take!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll take more than a few minutes, but it won¡¯t take an hour.¡±


    Loren was irritated at her ambiguous reply.


    There was no way for him to tell time inside that room.


    In cities, there was usually a magic item inside a clock tower that told the time, but once you left the city, there was no way to check time.


    He knew there was no point in ming Lapis, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about the irritation that was building up.


    ¡°If only I had a magic spell left¡­¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be helped. It can¡¯t be helped, but I¡¯m also about to run out of arrows.¡±


    Nim tried tofort Quartz, who was regretting not being able to do anything, but her face became grim as she saw her supply of arrow slowly deplete.


    If she could retrieve some of the arrows from the goblin corpses it would be a bit better, but fights were happening all around her, so she couldn¡¯t find an opening to do so.


    ¡°There¡¯s no end to them! The bodies just keep piling up!¡±


    Silver adventurers like Jack and Ritz had no problem dealing with normal goblins, but the mock-goblins were a bit of a different story.


    Goblin corpses were strewn all over the floor, and they soon started seeing goblins collecting the corpses.


    ¡°They¡¯re not forgetting to retrieve the corpses, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re valuable materials and sources of information after all.¡±


    As Loren was taking care not to slip on the blood across the floor, he heard Lapis say something he couldn¡¯t ignore.


    He swept his great sword and cut through a group of goblins, then turned his head toward Lapis.


    ¡°What did you say just now?¡±


    ¡°Materials and source of information?¡±


    ¡°I understand material, but why source of information?¡±


    ¡°They should be using them as sources of information for enhancing goblins. The best way to get battle information and experience is through physical experience, after all.¡±


    Loren gulped and looked down at a goblin¡¯s corpse lying on the ground.


    Apparently, the ruins were collecting corpses like these, and using the experience from its brain to create new goblins.


    As Loren found out that killing the goblins meant that they were helping the ruins enhance the goblins, he nted his palm on his forehead.


    ¡°Then that means, the more we fight them¡­¡±


    ¡°The goblins get tougher and tougher. ording to the manual, it takes a while for the ruins to make the physical bodies, but installing the experience only takes a few seconds.¡±


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is¡­¡±


    Right when Loren was getting a bad feeling, a new wave of goblins rushed into the room.


    Ritz and Jack both looked tired, but immediately moved to fight them off.


    They soon realized that these goblins were slightly different than the ones from before.


    The goblins until now had swung their weapons aimlessly and couldn¡¯t properly use their shields, and weren¡¯t that hard to deal with.


    But the new goblins knew how to use their weapons as well as their shields, and were harder to fight.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? They got smarter!?¡±


    ¡°You good for nothing goblins!¡±


    Although they knew how to use their weapons, their fighting style wasn¡¯t that different from the ones before, and they still weren¡¯t a match for Ritz and jack.


    But theirrge numbers were still a threat, as both started being covered in small cuts and bruises.


    One of Nim¡¯s arrows was used to kill a goblin, but they soon started blocking her arrows with their shields and weapons.


    ¡°The chances of us surviving is going down as time carries on!¡±


    ¡°After they gather enough information from normal goblins, the start inputting them into the enhanced goblins.¡±


    Lapis was flipping through the manual with her right hand, while her left hand was still working on the control panel.


    If what the manual said was true, it meant that the experiences from the goblins they were fighting now were going to be used on the mock-goblins.


    They were a threat already, and Loren didn¡¯t want to think about how strong they would get once they learned how to fight.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t even at full power right now. If they start equipping themselves with weapons we¡¯re actually done for.¡±


    Before, the goblins didn¡¯t stand a chance against Loren¡¯s great sword, but the newer ones started to sh their weapons and shields against it.


    Of course, that meant there was more pressure put on the de, even though he wasn¡¯t facing the mock-goblins. There was already a very thin, but visible crack beginning to form on the de.


    Loren was worried at how much longer the great sword wouldst, as he kept feeling an unpleasant sensation while swinging it around.


    But the goblins didn¡¯t care about Loren¡¯s worries at all and kept charging at him. Slowly, Loren started getting small cuts here and there as well.


    ¡°The big one¡¯s here!¡±


    The bad news reached Loren¡¯s ears.


    He looked to the doorway that Ritz was pointing at and saw the mock-goblin, but this one was carrying a giant wooden club in its right fist.


    As soon as he saw that it was armed, he kicked off the floor and charged towards it.


    He acted immediately because he knew that Ritz and Jack couldn¡¯t handle this one, but the mock-goblin didn¡¯t even act surprised, and raised its club against Loren¡¯s great sword.


    After a loud ng erupted from the sh of iron against wood, Loren¡¯s strike was stopped.


    Not only that, Loren seemed to have lost in terms of strength and force, and he got pushed back a few steps, almost falling over.


    It immediately ran towards him, not missing a chance to retaliate, and brought down its club onto Loren.


    Loren brought his great sword up and barely caught the strike, using all his strength to stop it.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    He poured even more strength into his arms, trying to push it away, but its enhanced arms didn¡¯t move so easily. In the antagonized situation, the mock-goblin looked at Loren and seemed tough at him.


    ¡°You¡­You smiled just now, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know if it understood what he was saying.


    But as soon as he muttered those words, the mock-goblins smile seemed to widen.


    It was most likely a ridiculing smile.


    As soon as Loren had that thought, he felt something snap in the deepest corner of his mind.

 Chapter 23: Retaliation to Recalling

    <h4>Chapter 23: Retaliation to Recalling</h4>


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare look down on me!¡±


    If he was losing in terms of strength, there was no need to rely on his arms.


    Conjuring as much strength as he could, he nted a kick into the mock-goblin¡¯s stomach. He was feeling a burning sensation in his mind, like someone had shot a burning steel rod into his head.


    The kick withered the mock-goblin, pushing it off of Loren.


    But the smile didn¡¯t disappear from its face.


    It believed that the human that lost to it in terms of strength was putting up a useless struggle, and that it would eventually beat him.


    But Loren¡¯s next move made its smile stiffen.


    Loren immediately rushed at the goblin with more force and speed than before,pletely giving up on defense. Although it was stopped by the mock-goblin¡¯s club yet again, it widened its eyes at the impact that came through it.


    As the mock-goblin took a step back, Loren took another step forward and attacked it.


    The blow that Loren delivered, which was even faster than the one before, was again, stopped by the mock-goblin¡¯s club. But the club, which had blocked all three of Loren¡¯s attacks, couldn¡¯t take the sheer power of thest blow and snapped in half.


    The mock-goblin panicked and pushed goblins away from itself, as it tried to gain distance from Loren, but Loren continued to increase his speed.


    Loren didn¡¯t let the mock-goblin get out of his range, and the fourth strike that he released crushed all the goblins in his path, directly hitting the mock-goblin¡¯s arm.


    The sword cut right through the skin, flesh, and bones, sttering ckened blood everywhere.


    The mock-goblin let out a roar from the pain, but immediately got flung backwards again by a tackle from Loren.


    It couldn¡¯t regain its bnce, and all it could do was look at Loren¡¯s great sword sh from right to left.


    The next blow struck its right forearm, going straight across its body and out the other side.


    It had so much force behind it, that the mock-goblin¡¯s arm was still spinning in the air when the body crumbled onto the ground, blood spurting from the cut.


    But Loren¡¯s charge didn¡¯t stop there.


    Loren¡¯s arms continued to elerate every step he took, and his great sword was being swung so fast that a rumbling could be heard from the air around him.


    He didn¡¯t care if he was using the de or where he was aiming at. As he swung his great sword around him at an unbelievable speed, his attacks became a single whirlwind.


    Anything that the winds touched were cut down, gouged, and crushed into mere pieces and blown away.


    Ritz and Jack saw the fierceness of the attack and nervously decided to stop fighting, and took a step back to where Nim and Quartz were.


    They didn¡¯t want to risk getting caught in windstorm that was raging on.


    ¡°What in the world is that¡­¡±


    Jack muttered with a dumbfounded look on his face.


    That was how fierce and one-sided Loren¡¯s attacks, which looked like a storm, were.


    The goblins who tried to apporach him were immediately reduced to ck and red pieces and blown across the room.


    Some of them tried to run away, but they were pushed back by the goblins who came in from behind them, all of them falling prey to the raging wind.


    A few mock-goblins came as well, but even they were only able to take one or two blows from Loren before they ended up like the other goblins.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this just like the rumors? His body is as the wind, and after the wind passes through, nothing is left standing in its wake¡­¡±


    ¡°You talking about the mercenary << ying Wind >>? There¡¯s no way, right? Why would a title-bearing mercenary be a copper rank adventurer?¡±


    ¡°Come on! Do you think that there can be two or three different people that can pull this off!?¡±


    No one could give an answer to Jack.


    Rumors said that the mercenary << ying Wind >>, who was said to be able to fight toe-to-toe with the strongest mercenary, could turn the tide of battle just by taking part in it.


    Although he didn¡¯t use magic like << Swords of me >> and << de Demon >>, his skill on the sword was said to surpass both. In battle, his existence was considered the same as the god of death, and Ritz nor his party could believe that a renowned swordsman like him could be the lowest ranking adventurer.


    Putting aside whether Loren being << ying Wind >> was true or not, they couldn¡¯t deny the fact that he alone was turning the tide of this fight, and started getting hope that they would be able to survive.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think this is going to work out somehow?¡±


    ¡°Overly optimistic. Not good.¡±


    Nim said coldly to Quartz, whose voice was getting lighter.


    ¡°You saying that we shouldn¡¯t be hopeful!?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not good to leave it up to him. We have our pride as silver ranks.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    Jack scratched his head at Nim¡¯s assertion.


    Nim then pointed to Loren, who was still charging at the goblinsing towards them without even slowing down.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean not good?¡±


    Jack and Ritz had no idea what she meant.


    Nim was able to realize it thanks to elves¡¯ excellent sense of hearing.


    ¡°That great sword. It¡¯s about to break.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    What Nim pointed out was something Loren was already aware of.


    Although he continued to change goblins into mutted corpses, the sensation he was getting from the grip as well as the noises from the de told him that the great sword wasn¡¯t going tost much longer.


    Loren knew that ever since he was a mercenary, getting excited or receiving a serious injury during battle pulled a trigger inside him, and that made him able to disy strengths that he normally couldn¡¯t.


    He couldn¡¯t choose when he wanted to use it so it wasn¡¯t that easy to use, but Loren had been saved by this power more times than he could count.


    Of course, there was a downside to it, and the recoil usually left him powerless and exhausted, but he decided that he was fortunate that it had activated.


    Fortunate for Loren, but unfortunate for his great sword.


    Loren knew that it wasn¡¯t going tost as long as his body.


    He used the strength in his arms and the speed that he was swinging it around with to make up for the weakening de, but it seemed to be at its limit.


    As Loren cut off the head of a mock-goblin, not even sure how many he had killed up till now, it happened.


    As the mock-goblin¡¯s head hit the floor, a loud ng sounded from Loren¡¯s great sword, and the de broke off.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Loren cursed without thinking, but his broken sword didn¡¯t mean that he couldn¡¯t fight.


    The great sword¡¯s de was originally quite long, so he was still able to fight with the bottom half that was still intact.


    But a shorter de meant less damage, and although he could swing it faster, each blow did less.


    ¡°Hey, this is bad! His weapon broke! Are you done yet!?¡±


    Ritz, who watched as the wind flung the broken de at the wall, asked Lapis, who was still working on the control panel.


    She nced up as she heard the de crash into the wall, but immediately returned her eyes to the control panel in front of her.


    ¡°Hey, how is it?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t finish immediately even if you rush me.¡±


    ¡°I can see that! But your partner is going to be in trouble soon!¡±


    Along with Loren¡¯s damage, his reach got shorter as well.


    It meant engulfing less goblins in his attacks, and he couldn¡¯t keep it up for long.


    If there was no chance of the flow of goblins stopping, Lapis was their only hope.


    ¡°I know, I know! I put in themands for shuting down and stopping the goblins! But thest one¡­The end code isn¡¯t going through!¡±


    Lapis¡¯ voice got louder and rougher from her irritation.


    Ritz, who couldn¡¯t understand half the things she just said, softened his voice slightly and asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, the controls won¡¯t stop! If this would shut down, the othermands I put in would go into effect, and both the ruins and the goblins would stop and would start falling apart!¡±


    ¡°If it just needs to stop, can¡¯t we just destroy it?¡±


    ¡°Please do it if you can! This is something that survived for hundreds of years, and still works like it¡¯s supposed to! It will stop if you destroy it! Please try!¡±


    Ritz told Lapis to back off a bit, and swung his sword down onto the control panel.


    But he couldn¡¯t even make a scratch on it.


    His sword got deflected off the control panel.


    ¡°What the!?¡±


    ¡°There is a magic spell protecting the surface, it won¡¯t break with normal attacks! We need something like a cursed sword to break it!¡±


    Their conversation reached Loren¡¯s ears.


    He didn¡¯t understand the technical parts, but he understood that in order to do something about this situation, they needed Lapis to stop the control panel or something to destroy it.


    He also knew that Ritz had tried to destroy it, but a magic spell was protecting it and couldn¡¯t do it.


    After collecting all the information, he got an idea.


    He had no idea if it would work, but he didn¡¯t have anything to lose at this point.


    ¡°Lapis! Get away from there!¡±


    He swung his sword in a wide arc and forced a bunch of goblins off of him, and shouted at her direction.


    Without checking to see if Lapis did what he told her to, he plunged his hand into his pocket and found what he was looking for.


    It was something that activated when the user willed it, but to make sure that it would activate for sure, he had to say he wanted to use it out loud.


    Loren threw the object at the control panel and shouted at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°Activate!¡±


    The object flying through the air was a pendant that was emitting gold light.


    ¡°The << Mana Lost >> pendant!?¡±


    Lapis, who was hurrying away from the panel, saw what it was and started moving away even quicker.


    When the pendantnded on the panel, it released the charged-up mana it had gathered since the goblin mage had used it, and from Loren¡¯s shout, disabled the magic that was protecting it.


    ¡°Come on, break!¡±


    Loren raised the remains of his great sword above his head, and heaved it at the panel with all his remaining strength.


    It flew across the room and crashed straight into the panel.


    Even without the spell, the panel was quite hard, but it still couldn¡¯t handle Loren¡¯s full strength and force, and the sword sunk deep into it.


    ¡°W-whoa, that was dangerous¡­¡±


    Although some of the pendant¡¯s mana had recharged, it seemed that there wasn¡¯t too much, as the range of its magic didn¡¯t reach Lapis.


    Even so, Lapis was about toin that Loren could¡¯ve made her lose control of her limbs once again, when Loren suddenly copsed right in front of her eyes.


    ¡®Wha-!? Loren! Loren, are you okay!?¡±


    Ritz and his party watched Lapis panic and run towards Loren.


    Around them, the words on the control panel slowly disappeared, and all the goblins around them dropped down one by one, as if someone cut the strings of a puppet.

 Chapter 24: Waking to Promising

    <h4>Chapter 24: Waking to Promising</h4>


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯re awake. I¡¯m so d.¡±


    Loren woke up to Lapis peering into his face and something heavy pressing onto his stomach.


    He raised his right hand and pped it onto his forehead and pressed down.


    He felt a soft bed under him and a clean nket covering him.


    The heaviness he was feeling was Lapis sitting on top of him, and when Lapis moved her face right up to his, he flicked her forehead quite hard.


    ¡°Ow!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t recklessly sit on top of a guy.¡±


    Lapis leaned backwards, her hand on her forehead and tears in her eyes. She then gave


    Loren look full ofints and pointed around the room with her other hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to sit down other than here.¡±


    Loren, still lying down, turn his head to look around.


    It was an ordinary hospital room.


    Other than his bed, there was a table and a shelf, but no chairs.


    Strong sunlight and a gentle breeze wasing from the window, and the breeze was pping the curtains on it slightly.


    ¡°A hospital¡­?¡±


    Loren decided that he must be in a hospital, and Lapis nodded.


    ¡°Yes, this is a hospital. Do you want to hear what happened after you passed out?¡±


    Loren nodded without hesitation.


    He remembered up until he had moved to destroy the control panel, but he had no idea what happened after and how he was alive.


    ¡°What¡¯s thest thing you remember?¡±


    ¡°Up to when I threw my sword.¡±


    Loren lost consciousness before he could see if he was able to destroy the control panel.


    Since he wasn¡¯t in the ruins or in the afterlife, he knew that he must have seeded in destroying the control panel, and wanted to hear from someone who knew what happened after that.


    ¡°It looks like your consciousness and memory is fine. People who let their consciousness and power go out of control often have mental damage, but I¡¯m d that Loren¡¯s berserk seems to be a harmless one.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s good ones and bad ones?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Anyway, about the events after Loren threw Loren¡¯s great sword.¡±


    Thanks to the pendant and the broken great sword Loren had thrown at the control panel, it stopped functioningpletely.


    Due to it shutting down, themands for stopping the goblins and shutting down the ruins went through. The goblins stopped moving and the ruins stopped as well.


    ¡°No one¡¯s going to be able to restart those ruins ever again.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, because youpletely destroyed the control panel. It can¡¯t be fixed either because the pendant got rid of the magic circuits inside it as well.¡±


    Lapis believed that in the era that they were currently in, destroying those ruins were a good thing.


    It hadn¡¯t mattered to the Ancient Kingdom, but with the level of magic culture of current society, it wouldn¡¯t be able to hand such a ruin.


    Even if people tried to use it for military purposes, the only orders the goblins would take would be ones rted to the ruins, so all they would be able to do is let the goblins loose in an area and spread fear and confusion. If it was going to be used like that, it was better if no one could use it anymore.


    ¡°Ritz and his party were quite mad, though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. We made the ruins useless.¡±


    Although they meant it as a joke, it was a fact that they said some grudging things.


    Since they had messed up their quest, it wasn¡¯t surprising that they said a thing or two at them, but Ritz and his party didn¡¯t resent Loren at all.


    But Lapis decided that she didn¡¯t have to tell Loren that.


    Ritz and his party did indeed gather lots of information on the ruins, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore because the ruins were pretty much useless now.


    They weren¡¯t able to find treasure or anything else of great value, so the rewards for their quest didn¡¯t add up too much. Adding up the expenses they used to get ready for the expedition and treating their injured members, they were at a loss.


    But despite that, Loren still saved their lives, so they were all quite thankful to him.


    Even though Loren was misunderstanding how Ritz and his party felt about him, Lapis had no intention on correcting it since she was not the cause of the misunderstanding in the first ce.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be troubling if I make weird connections, so.¡±


    Lapis already knew what direction she was going to take this conversation. Although Ritz and his party were high ranking adventurers and were good people, getting friendly with them was slightly troublesome for her.


    That¡¯s why she was trying to make him think they didn¡¯t like him too much.


    ¡°Did you say something?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ murmur hadn¡¯t reached Loren¡¯s ears.


    Lapis decided that it was bad if something she let out carelessly and made Loren suspicious of her, so she forcefully continued the conversation.


    ¡°Although the expedition itself ended in a failure, they still did their work so they got a lot of the rewards, so I don¡¯t think you have to worry so much.¡±


    ¡°But I still did something pretty bad though.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s apologetic tone, Lapis decided that it wasn¡¯t good to keep talking about it, so she coughed and changed the subject.


    ¡°The guild is going to send an expedition team to the ruins and make sure it¡¯s sealed properly. It can¡¯t be used anymore so it shouldn¡¯t need sealing, but I guess you can¡¯t be too careful.¡±


    If an official expedition was going to be conducted, they would search around the area as well, and that meant the girls in Sarfe¡¯s party might be rescued.


    Lapis realized the possibility but didn¡¯t care at all.


    Whether they get rescued or not, she wasn¡¯t going to meet them ever again so it was a waste of time to think about them.


    ¡°Who carried me here? Where is this, anyway?¡±


    ¡°I did. I couldn¡¯t let Ritz and the others carry you. Also, this is the hospital in Kauffa. They did offer to help, but they had their own injured to take care of.¡±


    Loren and Lapis and Ritz¡¯s party did get together within the ruins, but were originally separate parties. Since it was the norm for parties to take care of their own members, it would¡¯ve been awkward if Lapis let them carry Loren.


    ¡°Looks like you helped me quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°No, no. Don¡¯t worry about it. Speaking of failed quests, the quest for exterminating goblins that we took was considered a failure. Three members of the party hasn¡¯te back and we weren¡¯t able to destroy the nest, and we don¡¯t have any proof of hunting, so.¡±


    The sack that contained the goblin ears was lost sometime during the fight.


    Loren had to focus on fighting for his life so he couldn¡¯t manage to keep track of it at the same time, and wondered where he dropped it.


    As a result, they didn¡¯t receive any sort of reward from the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    Loren sighed at his mistake.


    ¡°Sorry about that Lapis.¡±


    Although Loren had lost the sack, Lapis could¡¯ve harvested a lot from all the goblins that had stopped after the control panel broke.


    The ones they killed were collected by the goblins but there were still a lot of goblins left in there.


    But she didn¡¯t do that because everyone knew that they weren¡¯t out of danger just because the ruins shut down and Ritz suggested getting out of there as fast as they can.


    Because of that she couldn¡¯t collect anything afterwards.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Oh, and I¡¯ve already taken the carriage fee that it took to get back here from your wallet, but the treatment fees and the hospital fees that were added are a different story.¡±


    Loren felt gloomy after hearing those words and didn¡¯t want to get up anymore, so he rxed his body and kept lying down.


    The sole reason he epted the quest was because he had no money, but he lost the sack with the proof of hunting, and above that, he had other fees he had to pay.


    The carriage fee that Lapis took from his wallet was money she had lent him as well.


    When he heard Lapis say that she added the treatment fees and hospital fees, he looked at Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for them for you, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Lapis understood what Loren was thinking and answered.


    ¡°How long was I out?¡±


    ¡°Around three days. We took a daying back so you¡¯ve been here for two days, and the hospital bills will cost five silver coins.¡±


    Loren sighed as he learned that it was a cost that he couldn¡¯t pay, while Lapis smiled and moved her face closer to Loren¡¯s and whispered.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much. I¡¯m lending you the money, but I¡¯m not going to ask for any interest.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t pay it even if you did.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t remind you either. And you can pay in installments as well.¡±


    In fact, Lapis was the only one who had a profit from the quest, but she was keeping it a secret from Loren.


    It was because while she was looking for the manual for the ruins, she slipped things that looked valuable in her pockets.


    Even a thief like Jack couldn¡¯t notice her doing it, thus she was the only one who made it out with valuables in her hand.


    All the things she found were essories with magic spells on them, and decided that the person who oversaw the facility was a woman.


    Also, she guessed that the << Mana Lost >> pendant that the goblin mage had was from the control room. She spected that it took the pendant and left the ruins and eventually evolved into a goblin mage.


    There was no way for her to check if it was correct, though.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t the conditions a too good?¡±


    ¡°Instead, please stay with me for a while.¡±


    She fired herself up as she got to the main point.


    What Lapis was aiming for was Loren himself.


    Loren was quite experienced and trustworthy, and he didn¡¯t change his attitude towards her even when she told him that she was demon kind, which were hated by most people.


    A person like that was already hard to find.


    Not only that, Lapis left her home to learn about the world and she was disguised as a priest, but even though she was a powerful demon kind, there was a limit to what she could do alone.


    But if she partnered up with a swordsman, they would be able to work as a party, and when she would need to partner up with a random party, it would cause less trouble for her.


    That was how hard it was for a priestess to move on her own.


    People would keeping to her with ulterior motives, and even if she could get into a good party, they may not let her leave even if she wanted to.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad trade. What do you think?¡±


    Lapis wasn¡¯tfortable with using money to bound Loren with her, but she didn¡¯t want to lose him so she was willing to turn a blind eye.


    Even when she put herself in Loren¡¯s shoes, she could see the merits of moving with a priest.


    A swordsman would benefit a lot from a priest who could heal injuries instantly.


    ¡°W-what do you think?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t responding.


    Lapis was worried that she might have made him angry, so she asked him again nervously. He looked past Lapis and at the ceiling, exhausted, and replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m in no state to refuse.¡±


    ¡°So, does that mean you ept?¡±


    ¡°Promise me. It¡¯s until I pay off my debt.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be in your care Loren.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ face lit up brightly.


    As he watched her smile from beneath her wondering when she would get off him, he wondered how he was going to pay her back.


    But Loren had no idea.


    Beneath her bright smile, Lapis was thinking of ways she could increase Loren¡¯s debt so she could keep him at her side.


    This is how a broke mercenary started walking down the path of an adventurer.

 Chapter 25: Increasing Debt

    <h4>Chapter 25: Increasing Debt</h4>


    There was a rumor that a vige was destroyed.


    Loren, who was sitting in the bar inside the adventurer¡¯s guild with a drink in front of him, thought that he had heard something like that before.


    It wasn¡¯t an umon thing to happen, and was something that would reach your ears if you stayed at the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    Spreading farnd was something any country or noble constantly worried about.


    More farnd meant more harvest.


    More harvest meant more products to sell, which meant more tax money, and that meant more money flowing into their pockets.


    One or two viges disappearing didn¡¯t stop them from trying to make more of them.


    They may be frustrated, but would immediately stamp the paperwork to create another one, to get back the money they had lost.


    In the end, it was all about money, and no one could run from the clutches of money.


    Loren sighed as he thought about how he was one of those people, but heard a cheerful voice that seemed to chase away his gloomy thoughts.


    ¡°Huh? Loren, are you already having a drink?¡±


    A ck ponytail bouncing up and down.


    A white robe worn by priests, who served the gods.


    A girl, that eight, even nine out of ten people would look back and stare at if she passed them, opened the doors of the bar and found Loren, who was sitting in a corner, and called out to him.


    ¡°But Loren, do you have money to pay for it?¡±


    The priestess that served the Knowledge god, who walked up to Loren¡¯s table and talked to him, was Lapis.


    Loren frowned at her question, remembering that he didn¡¯t have any money.


    Loren used to be a mercenary, but the group he was a part of was destroyed not too long ago. He had managed to survive and reach the city he was in right now, and became an adventurer to make a living.


    On his first quest, not only did he lose the little money he had, as well as the great sword that he used since when he was a mercenary, he had let his power go berserk and was sent to the hospital from the recoil.


    He thought that it wouldn¡¯t take long for him to recover, because his injury wasn¡¯t that severe, but apparently it took quite a toll on his body and the doctor told him to stay put for two more days.


    The two days passed by quickly, and Loren was now out of the hospital, but he had made a promise to Lapis, that in exchange for her paying his hospital bills, he would have to partner up with her until he could pay off his debt.


    To start off, Lapis had paid his hospital fees, which costed five silver coins.


    Along with the ten copper coins she had lent him when paying for the carriage, the total was five silver coins and ten copper coins.


    However, because the doctor told him to stay put for another two days, his debt sprung up to ten silver coins and ten copper coins.


    ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯d want to drink some alcohol after all that time in the hospital.¡±


    Without waiting for Loren to respond, she called a passing waitress and gave her four copper coins, and ordered a ss for herself.


    ¡°I would like to pay for him as well.¡±


    The alcohol in Loren¡¯s cup was the cheapest one they had, but even that costed two copper coins.


    He had ordered alcohol by habit even though he had no money.


    He buried his head in his hands at the fact that his debt just increased again.


    Lapis took the ss that the waitress brought, held it with both hands, and started sipping it.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s not good to drink alcohol on an empty stomach, right? Especially when you just recovered. Let¡¯s order something to eat.¡±


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t have any money, right?¡±


    Loren immediately butted into his own words, asking himself why he had ordered alcohol, while Lapis took out a few copper coins from her pocket.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be paying of course.¡±


    ¡°My debt¡¯s just gettingrger andrger.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it so much. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to collect it from you every now and then. Plus, all you need to do is stay with me, so it¡¯s not that bad either. Miss waitress, I¡¯d like an egg sandwich with no mustard please. And a ham sandwich for him.¡±


    Lapis stopped a nearby waitress and told her order, giving her ten copper coins for the food.


    In the bar run by the adventurer¡¯s guild, everyone had to pay when they ordered.


    Since adventurers weren¡¯t the most trustworthy, if they took the money after they finished eating, they would try to leave without paying or would act like they already paid.


    Of course, there was almost no chance of getting away with it scot-free, but they did fight for a living, which could cause potential fights and injuries, and there were also adventurers whose jobs were thieves.


    However, there were still a handful that managed to get away with it, so the guild had made the rule that forced you pay first.


    Loren looked at the waitress, wondering why she gave him the alcohol even though he didn¡¯t pay, and she gave him a smile that seemed like she understood his situation.


    As he was feeling ufortable that he made her be considerate towards him, he asked Lapis what was on his mind.


    ¡°How much is a ham sandwich, anyway¡­¡±


    ¡°Five copper coins. It¡¯s the same price as the egg sandwich, you know?¡±


    Loren looked at Lapis, who was wondering if she should¡¯ve ordered an egg sandwich instead, and sighed deeply.


    ¡°My debt just keeps increasing.¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to have to find some work. But Loren, you lost your weapon, right? What are you going to do about that?¡±


    The great sword that Loren had used wasn¡¯t something that would be sold at an ordinary shop.


    It was as tall as him, including the grip, and its de was thicker than Lapis¡¯ waist. It was a big and heavy weapon that not many people could use, and there was no way something like that would be sold at any ordinary shop.


    Loren couldn¡¯t imagine how expensive it would be if he were to have one made as a special order.


    He missed his sword, but regretting about past events was going to get him nowhere.


    He looked towards the quest board, deciding that he needed some money first.


    ¡°A quest that I don¡¯t need a weapon to do, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t go clean sewers. You¡¯ll smell bad. Oh, I know a good deodorant that you could use. Do you want me to amodate some? If you agree to that, I don¡¯t mind you going in the sewers.¡±


    Loren looked at her like she was nning something fishy, but Lapis¡¯ eyes were dead serious as she responded.


    ¡°You said you¡¯ll stay with me, right? Of course, I wouldn¡¯t like it if Loren smelled like the sewers.¡±


    Loren could understand her point, so he reluctantly crossed out cleaning sewers from the list of quests he could do from his head.


    Lapis¡¯ idea of using deodorant after going into the sewers wasn¡¯t a bad one, but Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel that the rewards of the quest would only be a fraction of what it would cost.


    ¡°Is there any other quest that I can ept without a weapon?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡±


    As Lapis rested her cheek on her palm, the waitress came back with the food, and slipped the egg sandwich in front of her.


    Then she proceeded to put the ham sandwich in front of Loren.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first and then think about the difficult partster.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re talking about something that¡¯s difficult though¡­¡±


    Although Loren said that in a tired manner, the smell of the sandwiches tempted him to take one of them and pop the whole thing in his mouth.


    Loren had spent his time in the hospital for the past few days.


    He had to eat hospital food the whole time, and although it was good for his body, the taste wasn¡¯t.


    To Loren, who had lived off hospital food for four days, the taste of ham and mustard inside freshly baked bread tasted too good.


    ¡°Hey, look at that guy. He¡¯s a bum.¡±


    ¡°Man, he¡¯s only a copper rank but he¡¯s having a girl buy him food. Wish we could get some leftovers.¡±


    Loren heard the voices of two men drinking at a table that was near his.


    On their chests were iron ss identification tags.


    The adventurers, who were a higher rank than Loren, were watching what was going on between him and Lapis, and decided to interrupt them.


    He gave the situation a good thought, as he gulped down the sandwich and licked the mustard off his fingers.


    He guessed that his current position was something others could jeer at.


    But whether it could be overlooked or not was a whole different problem.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to just ignore them Loren?¡±


    Lapis was holding her egg sandwich with both hands and was nibbling the corner of it.


    She nced towards the adventurers, who wereughing and making fun of Loren, with the corner of her eye, but quickly lost interest and went back to eating her sandwich.


    ¡°Not sure if you know, but in these cases, if you let them look down on you, they¡¯ll keep on looking down on you.¡±


    ¡°Is that what all mercenaries think? I don¡¯t really get it, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯re worth your time.¡±


    She smacked her lips at the sandwich with thinly sliced boiled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, and continued.


    ¡°Because people like them will never get a girl to buy them food.¡±


    ¡°What!¡±


    ¡°The hell did you just say!¡±


    They immediately reacted to Lapis¡¯ venomous words and jumped up, kicking away their seats.


    Loren stood up and walked towards the two, only stopping to put his hand on Lapis¡¯ shoulder.


    Lapis wasn¡¯t even looking at them.


    ¡°Good job provoking them. I¡¯ll go kill them really quick.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill them, you know? It¡¯ll be a crime. But leaving them ny percent dead is okay, because it¡¯s an unspoken agreement between adventurers. Also, you can¡¯t take their belongings, okay? You¡¯ll be arrested for theft.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and if you break the things in the store, you¡¯ll have topensate for it. Well, I¡¯m going to pay for it so I don¡¯t mind if you break a few things.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a discouraging thought¡­¡±


    The adventurers outnumbered him two to one, and on his chest, was a copper identification tag.


    The two adventurers weren¡¯t afraid of Loren at all, seeing that he was a lower ranking adventurer.


    ¡°Is this guy stupid? We¡¯re iron rank, you know?¡±


    ¡°If you grovel on the ground and ask for forgiveness, we¡¯ll just take the girl and leave you alone. She¡¯s a priest, right? There¡¯re many ways we can use her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already had your fun with her, right? So why not let us¡­¡±


    Loren felt that he would want kill the guy if he heard him finish what he was saying, so he punched him in the face, making sure to hold back quite a bit.


    If Loren was a normal adventurer, the punch would have started the fight, but he was able to wield a heavy weapon that normal adventurers and mercenaries wouldn¡¯t even be able to hold up, and swing it around like it was nothing.


    Of course, being able to wield such a weapon, his strength wasn¡¯t something that could fit within ordinary limits, even if he did hold back.


    The adventurer, who was caught off guard, didn¡¯t evenst a second against the punch.


    He flew backwards, in a spiral spin, and crashed into the wall of the bar, along with a set of a table and a chair.


    ¡°Oh¡­The table and the chair are going to cost quite a bit.¡±


    Lapis was already standing next to Loren, who dropped his shoulders at not holding back enough.


    He remembered that there was one more adventurer, but when he looked down, he saw him sprawled on the ground with a big bump on his head and eyes rolled back, with a piece of a chair next to his head.


    ¡°Geez, how can they say such a thing to a young maiden.¡±


    Lapis said angrily as she tossed the rest of the chair on top of the unconscious adventurer.


    As Loren wondered if he should point out that a maiden wouldn¡¯t use a chair to knock an iron rank adventurer unconscious, he sighed when he saw Lapis hand money to the waitress, telling her it was for repairs.

 Chapter 26: Accepting Quest to Encountering

    <h4>Chapter 26: epting Quest to Encountering</h4>


    ¡°You chose quite the safe job, collecting herbs.¡±


    After the one-sided scrap at the bar, Loren went to the quest board, chose a quest at random, and walked out, wanting to avoid themotion.


    The quest that he picked was ¡°gathering herbs in a nearby forest¡±.


    Since there weren¡¯t any strong monsters living there, the difficulty was the lowest, and the guild bought the herbs at two copper coins apiece.


    It seemed like selling resources and ingredients rather than a quest, but to the guild, which had adventurers getting injured all year long, the more they could get their hands on the better. This is why this quest was always on the quest board.


    ¡°There¡¯s no monsters there so I don¡¯t need to have a weapon.¡±


    To Loren, who didn¡¯t have a weapon, this quest was perfect for him, but when he thought about how cheap the herbs were, he didn¡¯t feel like doing it.


    The amount of money he needed topensate for the chair, table, and the wall that broke when Loren punched the iron rank adventurer was four silver coins.


    The wall costed three silver coins and the table and chair costed one, so now Loren¡¯s total debt was fourteen silver coins and ten copper coins.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to need seven hundred and fifty herbs to pay off your debt.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say something so discouraging. There¡¯s no way there¡¯s that many of them in this forest.¡±


    The forest they were heading towards wasn¡¯t thatrge.


    That¡¯s why there weren¡¯t dangerous monsters, but there was no way such a small forest would have the number of herbs that Lapis pointed out.


    It took an hour to get to the forest.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure how it worked, but he did know that the day was split into twelve parts, and an hour was one out of the twelve. Inrge cities, the bell rang at every hour to tell the time.


    As soon as they reached the forest an hourter, Loren walked in and started looking for herbs.


    Herbs had helped Loren a lot back when he was a mercenary, so he knew a lot about them.


    They had slightly pointed leaves and was hard to mistake for a different nt.


    ¡°This is so dull.¡±


    Lapis, who was following Loren, stopped to pick a stalk.


    She raised it up in front of her eyes and stared at it. She then threw it into the sack she was carrying.


    ¡°Why are you collecting herbs too?¡±


    ¡°I need to earn some money too. I won¡¯t look good if I don¡¯t have any money to lend you when you need it.¡±


    Loren thought that she didn¡¯t need to do such a dull quest, as she seemed to have enough money already to lend him some, and drooped his head with a limp expression.


    He figured lending him money was the reason why Lapis, who had enough money for herself, was taking part in the quest.


    ¡°Anyways Loren, you¡¯re missing quite a lot of them.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­I¡¯m not good at these kinds of things.¡±


    Loren had found quite a bit and put them into his sack, but he couldn¡¯t help but overlook some.


    Lapis was gathering the herbs that Loren missed, but the sizes of their sacks were roughly the same, showing Loren how much he was overlooking.


    ¡°If there was a battle or two going on, repaying you would be so much easier.¡±


    Although Loren said that, if someone asked him if he wanted to go back to being a mercenary, he couldn¡¯t say yes without hesitation.


    He lived most of his life as a mercenary, but it wasn¡¯t like he enjoyed killing people for a living.


    He was sad that his group was destroyed, but now he started thinking of it as an opportunity to turn a clean te.


    ¡°Even if there was a battle, you don¡¯t have any equipment. Or do you want to try signing up as a soldier and get equipment that way?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯d rather not do.¡±


    In Loren¡¯s eyes, the equipment given to ordinary people gathered by the recruiting office or who were drafted was miserable things.


    Although the country readied funds to purchase good equipment for soldiers, but the money would pass through the hands of a few people, and therge sum of money would disappear.


    Even though the funds get smaller, the amount of equipment they need doesn¡¯t change.


    Of course, the leftover funds reflect the quality of the equipment, and the soldiers were given spears that snapped after one jab, leather armor that would crumble just by wearing it, and other things that seemed like a joke.


    This wasn¡¯t known among ordinary soldiers, but the member who oversaw the group¡¯s finances told Loren that this was why the soldiers they faced in battle were so weak.


    ¡°We¡¯re really not finding much.¡±


    After some time passed since they started gathering herbs, Loren and Lapis reached the far end of the forest.


    Which meant they managed to cross the whole forest while gathering herbs.


    Even after walking this distance, Loren¡¯s sack that contained the herbs that he gathered was only half full.


    The number of herbs that he managed to gather was around twenty.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. This quest is always open, so someone is alwaysing here to gather herbs.¡±


    The sack of herbs that Lapis had was the same size as Loren¡¯s.


    There was enough time until sundown, but considering the time it¡¯ll take them to get back to the city, they needed to start heading back now.


    Loren didn¡¯t want to risk sleeping outside without a weapon, and wanted to sleep in a bed if he could.


    ¡°I guess we should head back.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re at a slight loss, though.¡±


    Loren gave Lapis a nervous look, but Lapis continued with a cool face.


    ¡°The inn that the guild rmends costs thirty copper coins a night. Food would cost between five to seven copper coins. If you decide to have a drink, a ss costs two copper coins. In total, a day¡¯s living expenses range from forty-five to fifty-three copper coins.¡±


    Loren gloomily did the calctions and figured out that the money he would get from the herbs wasn¡¯t enough to cover all of that.


    He had to face the reality that if this continued, there was no way he was going to be able to pay Lapis back.


    ¡°I would like to suggest making up your mind about borrowing money from me to get some good equipment.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to start thinking about that. Wait, how are other copper rank adventurers living? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    Loren thought that maybe they were covered in debt as well, and Lapis answered as she tied her sack tightly.


    ¡°They¡¯re definitely head deep in debt. That¡¯s why they try to get quest where they get paid a lot. If they seed earn money, and if they fail they might die. The most solid route is raising your rank to iron and having a veteran party pick you up.¡±


    ¡°I guess this world is pretty rough¡­¡±


    Loren started thinking that maybe mercenaries were more fortunate in terms of money.


    There was no need to worry about money, and they even got small allowances.


    They would give their equipment to whoever was in charge of them, it woulde back before the next battle, all repaired and ready to go.


    ¡°I guess themander and the guys in ounting didn¡¯t have the easiest of times.¡±


    ¡°Although it differs from person to person, that¡¯s how everyone is living.¡±


    Even though she said with a teacher¡¯s tone, it wasn¡¯t going to increase the number of herbs in their sacks.


    On the way back, Loren wondered if he should get a weapon, even if it meant increasing his debt, and try a better quest. But he felt something around them and silently threw his sack at Lapis.


    ¡°Are you saying that I should carry your stuff?¡±


    ¡°No. Be quiet for a second.¡±


    Loren sped his fists and silenced Lapis, who was about toin.


    Lapis realized that Loren felt something, held her tongue, and hugged the sack that Loren had thrown her in her chest along with her own.


    ¡°This way. Something¡¯s here.¡±


    Loren picked up a scent of beasts within the green smell of the forest.


    He heard a low growl and stepped off the path in the direction which the sound came from.


    ¡°If something¡¯s there shouldn¡¯t we run?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I¡¯ve got a bad feeling.¡±


    Although Loren agreed that what Lapis said was reasonable, he followed his intuition and ran through the forest.


    The bad feeling Loren felt soon became a reality in front of their eyes.


    ¡°Loren! A young girl is lying unconscious!¡±


    They reached a small clearing, and lying in the middle was a young girl wearing a white dress, her blonde hair all over the ce.


    Lapis was focused on her, but Loren found the source of the scent of beasts hiding in the trees around them.


    ¡°Something¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°Forest wolves!¡±


    Lapis realized that they were surrounded as Loren warning rang out, and immediately said the name of the beasts.


    The wolves lived in forests and weren¡¯t thatrge, but they moved in packs and hunted in packs, which made them somewhat dangerous.


    Alone, they weren¡¯t that dangerous, but their danger level rose exponentially, and were the were the causes of death for a great number of adventurers in the forest.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to save her! You have no objections, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, but Loren you don¡¯t have a weapon!¡±


    ¡°This is enough to handle these dogs.¡±


    Loren swung his fist lightly and charged.


    The forest wolves saw Loren charge and some of them broke off the pack and rushed to intercept him.


    One of the wolves jumped from tree to tree and lunged at Loren, but got hammered straight in the face with a fist.


    It flew backwards, spinning, with a broken nose and teeth and crashed into a tree. While it died without a sound, another wolf got its neck crushed, thrown onto the ground, and its head crushed.


    Another wolf tried to bite onto Loren¡¯s boots but couldn¡¯t bite through the thick leather, was grabbed and swung straight into a tree, and its back broke.


    Thest one, which tried to slip past Loren and attack Lapis, got its tail grabbed at thest second. It tried to bite Loren but was swung around and got its neck snapped.


    All of this happened within a short moment and the forest wolves, which just lost four of their members, became wary of Loren.


    ¡°Can you eat them?¡±


    ¡°Their meat isn¡¯t meant for eating, but their pelts are worth some money. Loren, do you know how to skin animals? I don¡¯t know how.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a knife either, so I guess we¡¯ll have to give up on that.¡±


    Both came to gather herbs, and didn¡¯t have anything to help them carry four wolves.


    Although he regretted not being able to take the wolves, but he knew there was no other choice since they had no way of bringing them back. Loren left the corpses on the ground and took a step forward. The rest of the forest wolves understood that they didn¡¯t stand a chance and ran off.


    Loren wasn¡¯t one who liked chasing beasts that won¡¯t attack, and continued to brace himself for a while longer, making sure that they didn¡¯te back. After he saw that they weren¡¯ting back, he rxed and slowly walked back to the fallen girl.


    The girl looked like she was around ten years old.


    Loren thought maybe it was a trap, but couldn¡¯t think of anyone who would want to set a trap for him using a young girl as bait, and couldn¡¯t find anything of the sort nearby.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep guard, so can you check on her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    They were dealing with a young girl.


    Loren decided that Lapis, who was a girl as well, would be better suited to check on her. Lapis crouched next to the girl and checked her pulse, then checked her clothes and body.


    Loren, watching her at the corner of his eye, looked around him.


    Although the forest wolves backed off, there was still a chance that they would attack again.


    ¡°This girl sure is lucky.¡±


    The girl, lying on the ground, had dirt and fallen leaves stuck in her hair.


    Lapis seemed to feel sorry for her and started dusting off her face and body.


    ¡°Lucky? Even though she was about to get attacked by wolves?¡±


    ¡°Yes, because we found her before she could get eaten. Plus, while Loren was dealing with four of them, the others didn¡¯t attack her. If you don¡¯t call this luck, I don¡¯t know what you would call it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­Since there¡¯s people with bad luck, I guess there are people with good luck as well.¡±


    ¡°This world is made so well. By the way, do you have any idea of who the unlucky people are?¡±


    Lapis lifted the unconscious girl and smiled at Loren.


    Loren quickly averted his eyes from that smile.

 Chapter 27: Returning to Getting Stopped

    <h4>Chapter 27: Returning to Getting Stopped</h4>


    Although they didn¡¯t know who or what she was, there was no reason for them to stay in the forest tending to the young girl.


    Loren thought that someone who knew the girl might be in the area, so he left her with Lapis and looked around, but he couldn¡¯t find a trace of anyone. They couldn¡¯t just leave her in the forest alone, so they decided to take her back to the city.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to do this.¡±


    ¡°Then should we leave her?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s even worse.¡±


    Even though the girl was around ten years old, she was a bit too big for Lapis to carry, so Loren let her carry his sack of herbs and decided to carry the girl on his back.


    He was surprised at how light the unconscious girl was when he picked her up.


    ¡°She¡¯s light, right? It¡¯s not like she¡¯s thin. She¡¯s actually pretty healthy. She¡¯s probably from a wealthy family.¡±


    Lapis walked up next to Loren and touched the girl¡¯s foot.


    Although she was found in the forest, she was barefoot.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have much muscle, and the flesh on her hands and feet aren¡¯t hard. Either she didn¡¯t walk around much, or was taken care of very well.¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, she must be insane to be barefoot inside a forest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Usually your feet would get cut up really bad.¡±


    Even if you were careful, if you walked around barefoot you would get cuts and scrapes.


    But the girl¡¯s feet were smooth and clean with no cuts whatsoever.


    Loren was curious about her feet, but what was really on his mind was the white dress she was wearing.


    The dress was pure white, with no stains on it at all.


    If didn¡¯t make any sense if she had wandered in the forest.


    ¡°Well, I guess we can ask her when she wakes up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of worried that people would think we kidnapped her.¡±


    ¡°Well, two rough looking people are carrying around a helpless girl, so.¡±


    ¡°Can you not naturally include me like that?¡±


    They continued to talk the whole way back, and when they reached the city, Lapis suggested they take the girl to the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    They looked like they would be stopped at the gate, but the soldiers in Kauffa didn¡¯t stop people much.


    ¡°Apparently, they¡¯re prettyx about it, unless you obviously look like a criminal.¡±


    ¡°Well, even if they did mistake us for kidnappers, we don¡¯t really have a way to talk out of it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there are people who would attempt kidnapping with a priest in their party.¡±


    ¡°Priests are pretty amazing, huh.¡±


    ¡°Nothing beats priests when ites to social trustworthiness.¡±


    Although Lapis puffed out her chest and bragged, it wasn¡¯t like priests did amazing things, but instead their trust came from the fact that they served the gods.


    When they reached the guild, everyone¡¯s gazes were on Loren, who had two girls with him. But Loren stopped feeling the gazes soon enough and tilted his head.


    While he was thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be weird if adventurers like the ones in the morning showed up, Lapis reached the front desk and exined their situation, and came back with the receptionist.


    ¡°Is it correct that you found and rescued someone in the forest?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Here she is.¡±


    Loren turned around and showed her the girl.


    She stood and looked at the girl for a while, and seemed to have found something. She called over the other employees at the desk, and they ran towards them with a stretcher.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take her from here. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t keep her here on my back forever.¡±


    Loren gently let the girl down from his back andid her on the stretcher.


    As the employees stood up and picked up the stretcher, Loren saw their surprised faces.


    As he was thinking that they were surprised at how light the girl was as well, the receptionist called him over and asked him to follow her past the receptionists¡¯ desk.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, I didn¡¯t kidnap her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that a kidnapper wouldn¡¯t hand over the person he kidnapped to the adventurer¡¯s guild. It¡¯s nothing like that, but I¡¯d like to talk to you about something.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if it¡¯s the two of us, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, with the priestess please.¡±


    Loren felt that they weren¡¯t going to be questioned and looked towards Lapis for her opinion.


    She noticed Loren¡¯s gaze and nodded, so Loren decided that there was no problem and followed the receptionist into a drawing room.


    ¡°Let me get straight to the point. I¡¯d like to put a restriction on your actions.¡±


    The receptionist told them that as soon as they entered the room and sat down.


    It was so sudden that Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she was talking about, so instead Lapis started talking to her.


    ¡°What do you mean? Is there some sort of problem with us?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing like that. The guild is going to investigate the girl, and until we are finished, we don¡¯t want you to move around too much.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean that there¡¯s something with the girl?¡±


    ¡°Currently, there is nothing we can tell you about that.¡±


    As he watched Lapis and the employee talk, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think they were being quite unreasonable. But an authority wielding organization like the guild often did unreasonable things, so he wasn¡¯t angry.


    Thinking that it was nothingpared to what leaders of mercenary groups did, and Loren asked the employee something important the popped up in his mind.


    ¡°How long is it going tost, and how much are we going to be restricted.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the exact period, but I believe it¡¯s going to be a few days. For the restriction, we don¡¯t want you to leave the city, and if possible, stay at the inn that we tell you to.¡±


    ¡°That sounds pretty serious.¡±


    The restrictions were loose, but it was pretty much the same thing as being contained and arrested.


    It wasn¡¯t something he could just agree to.


    No matter how much authority the guild had, Loren wasn¡¯t going to do something that he didn¡¯t want to and showed his irritation. The employee tensed as she felt pressureing from him, but wasn¡¯t going to back off. She clenched her teeth and continued slowly, trying not to let her voice tremble.


    ¡°We¡¯ll ready rooms at the inn <<gokusaitei>>*, on the main street.¡±


    </gokusaitei>


    ¡°I don¡¯t know which one your talking about.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t familiar with this city.


    In fact, he wasn¡¯t familiar with any city due to moving around a lot when he was a mercenary, but he still didn¡¯t know anything about the city he was staying in.


    He didn¡¯t have a chance to gather information on the city, so even though the employee gave him the name of the inn, he had no idea what kind of ce it was.


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the best inns in the city. It¡¯s really fancy and expensive as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we will pay for the rooms and the food. And if you want to go and entertain yourselves, just put it on the guild¡¯s tab, and we will pay for that as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really gracious of you.¡±


    ¡°Are adventurers easily persuaded by this kind of thing?¡±


    The guild was going to pay for everything.


    Lapis acted very surprised, and Loren snorted.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It sounds too good to be true. Between mercenaries, it¡¯smon sense not to take jobs that pay really well.¡±


    If they said they would pay for rooms at an ordinary inn, Loren was nning on listening a bit longer, but saying that they would let them stay in a good inn as well as pay for their food and entertainment was just too suspicious.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more humane to act as if you didn¡¯t notice that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thest person I want to listen to talking about how to be human¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to firmly protest about how you¡¯re treating me.¡±


    Loren raised his hand and stopped Lapis, who was about to argue with a sullen expression, and asked another question to the employee, being careful not to raise his voice.


    ¡°Anyways, about the girl that we brought here. What is there to her.?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re going to investigate.¡±


    The employee didn¡¯t give him an exact answer, and from that Loren understood that he didn¡¯t turn the conversation the right way.


    Loren was thinking that being loyal to your job was indeed a virtue, but he didn¡¯t like the fact that they were keeping things from him. Lapis started to talk this time instead of him.


    ¡°You do realize that we¡¯re not satisfied with that answer, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Just tell us this then. What do you think the chances are that this will work against us?¡±


    Lapis looked straight at the employee, and she silently looked away from her, eyes wandering.


    Lapis didn¡¯t seem like she was going to go on and silently waited for the employee to answer.


    After thinking for a long time, the employee sighed, knowing that Loren and Lapis wouldn¡¯t ept the guild¡¯s suggestion at this rate. She looked at them and opened her mouth.


    ¡°I believe that there¡¯s very little chance of that. A few people in the guild have seen the girl before, but the only way we can make sure who she really is, is either when she wakes up or after a few days of investigation.¡±


    ¡°Loren, this means that the girl is from a faraway city, and high status as well.¡±


    The employee didn¡¯t even bother saying if Lapis was correct or not.


    Instead, she smiled at them, but it looked forced and unnatural, so Loren guessed that Lapis was right.


    ¡°I see. So until you find out who she really is and make sure we¡¯re unrted to her, you want us where you can see us.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t confirm.¡±


    ¡°Loren, I think it¡¯s fine to ept their offer. Once they find out that we had nothing to do with the girl being in the forest we¡¯re free to go. For the next few days we can live and have fun off of the guild¡¯s money.¡±


    The employee was at a loss of words at Lapis¡¯ easy going manner, her smile twitching.


    While hoping that the she wouldn¡¯t be too stressed out, Loren told her that he epted the guild¡¯s offer.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to prepare the rooms and the money, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange it immediately. A room for¡­ two is okay, right?¡±


    For some reason she looked like she wanted to get a blow in somehow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Hey, miss priestess, watch what you¡¯re saying. We¡¯ll be getting two separate rooms, of course. If you can¡¯t ept that, the none of this ever happened, got it?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words rang out clearly as he looked at both of them with a serious face.


    Although for different reasons, both Lapis and the employee sighed.

 Chapter 28: Gathering Information from the Previous Results

    <h4>Chapter 28: Gathering Information from the Previous Results</h4>


    As Lapis had said before, the inn that the guild prepared was indeed high quality.


    Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel ufortable spending someone else¡¯s money, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to mind at all and enjoyed all the inn had to offer until she was satisfied.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty bold, you know that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll miss out on a lot of stuff if you don¡¯t have fun when you can, you know?¡±


    As Loren was wondering if that was the case, their bliss time came to end.


    The adventurer¡¯s guild had contacted them that the girl they had rescued had regained consciousness.


    Two days had gone by since they had stayed at the inn.


    They were summoned to the adventurer¡¯s guild, so Loren pulled out Lapis, who didn¡¯t want to leave, and headed towards the guild¡¯s front desk.


    They were immediately passed inside.


    ¡°Thank you foring. I will now tell you the results.¡±


    Thedy that started talking as soon as they sat down was the employee that talked to them two days ago.


    Her lips were tightened, determined not to let the two of them say anything until she was done. Loren didn¡¯t know that she felt so bullied, and put his hand on the back of his head awkwardly.


    The employee didn¡¯t notice Loren¡¯s apology and continued with a serious expression, telling them exactly what she was told to tell them.


    ¡°There are no problems concerning the two of you, so we¡¯ll take off the restrictions we put on you. You¡¯re free to go now.¡±


    Loren was surprised at the anticlimactic conclusion, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem satisfied with what the employee told them.


    ¡°Is that it? Is there no exnation of the situation for us?¡±


    ¡°Do you need one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m not sure why you thought we didn¡¯t need one.¡±


    Lapis tilted her head, looking confused, and the employee went silent, with a difficult expression.


    Loren didn¡¯t want to poke his head into trouble, but since he had promised Lapis that he would stay with her, he couldn¡¯t just leave her and go on his own.


    ¡°The following information has been shared only to adventurers iron rank and above that the guild has chosen.¡±


    Loren guessed that since they were limiting information, there was something to the girl which made them act secretive.


    Even among mercenaries, there was information that only the leaders knew and normal mercenaries often didn¡¯t know or were required to act like they didn¡¯t know about it.


    Due to these experiences, Loren was satisfied with the employee¡¯s words, but Lapis wasn¡¯t one to back off without all the information she could get.


    ¡°But the ones who brought her here was us, right? I don¡¯t know what the situation is, but don¡¯t you think there should be some sort of exnation for us?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ beaming eyes met the employee¡¯s re.


    Loren thought he saw sparks erupting from between them and looked away at the ceiling.


    As the information was for iron rank and above, the employee had no reason to tell them anything and she probably wanted them to understand that and leave, but Lapis didn¡¯t want to miss a chance to get her hands on information that she shouldn¡¯t be able to get normally.


    Loren knew that this stalemate wouldst until one of them was too tired to go on, so he patted Lapis¡¯ back and drew her attention.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°Sorry but my partner is a priestess of the Knowledge god. If you try to keep things from her she can¡¯t help but try to find out what it is.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I¡¯ve heard that that¡¯s the case most of the time. But this is something that the guild has decided, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. You can¡¯t talk about it. I won¡¯t force you to.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Loren!?¡±


    Lapis, who thought Loren was going to wrap things up, raised her voice slightly, but Loren patted her on the head with a bit of strength in his hand.


    The strokes not only make her head shake, but caused her neck to sway as well, so Lapis couldn¡¯t help but go silent. Then Loren faced the employee and casually asked her.


    ¡°By the way, is the information already out? You can at least tell us this, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­yes, we have already selected adventurers and told them everything.¡±


    Since it wasn¡¯t rted directly to the information, she replied to his question.


    As soon as he heard her reply, Loren lowered his hand from Lapis¡¯ head and took her arm, then stood up. Although Loren had stopped patting her on the head, her head was still shaking inertly.


    ¡°I see. Then since we¡¯re innocent, we¡¯ll be taking our leave here. We¡¯ll check out of the rooms by the end of today as well.¡±


    ¡°That would be very helpful. Thank you so much for your cooperation, mister Loren.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been treated pretty well for the past few days. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    He used his free hand to wave back, dragging Lapis out with his other hand. After being dragged for a while, Lapis whispered to him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a n, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They¡¯ve got strict confidentiality so you wouldn¡¯t have gotten anywhere. If she did tell you, then that itself would be a whole different problem right there.¡±


    If the employees were people who would share information that they weren¡¯t supposed to with a slight push, then he couldn¡¯t trust the guild at all.


    From that perspective, the fact that the employee refused to tell them the information, even though Lapis was in a bad mood, raised Loren¡¯s view and evaluation of the guild.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Trying to force someone to talk is too bothersome. What we have to do is just find someone that can.¡±


    ¡°Do you have an idea of someone who would?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so help me find him. I know his name and what he looks like, so it won¡¯t take that long.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t know who Loren was trying to look for, but if it meant finding out what the guild was keeping from them, there was no reason for her to refuse. She pulled out her arm from Loren¡¯s grasp and put her arms around Loren¡¯s.


    ¡°Hey, seriously¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where we¡¯re going, so please escort me, Loren. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Loren knew that she wouldn¡¯t let go even if he told her to, so with Lapis still clinging to his arm, he walked about the bar and started talking to an adventurer.


    After talking to a few of them and going around a few stores, Loren and Lapis reached a bar located at the edge of the city.


    Loren heard that the person he was looking for was here, so he stepped in with Lapis still clinging to his arm and looked around.


    It waste in the evening and the sun was going down.


    The candles were turned on and there was some light shining inside, but there wasn¡¯t enough to light up the whole ce, so it was still quite dark, making it hard to see.


    Loren found who he was looking for sitting at a table in the corner, and walked over to him with Lapis.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long, so I guess long time no see isn¡¯t the most proper. You mind if I sit down?¡±


    When Loren said that, the man, who was sitting with a ss of ale and a te of sliced cheese, looked up towards him, surprised.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you guys. How¡¯d you know I was here?¡±


    ¡°I asked around.¡±


    ¡°The tip cost around thirty copper coins, but I¡¯ll see it as necessary expenses and pay for it. It¡¯s been a while, Mister Jack.¡±


    The person that Lapis bowed her head to as she sat across from him along with Loren was Jack, the silver rank thief they had met on their previous quest.


    When Loren and Lapis sat down, a waitress came to take their orders.


    Loren tried to dismiss her, but Jack had already put in two additional orders.


    ¡°Come on, let me buy you a drink. I owe you one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I did something that great though¡­I ruined your quest if anything, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. It¡¯s true that we didn¡¯t make as much, but that couldn¡¯t be helped in that kind of situation. We¡¯re lucky to have gotten out with our lives. It would be a lie if I said I didn¡¯t have anyints, but it¡¯s all in the past now. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I said don¡¯t worry about so it¡¯s fine. Anyway, you didn¡¯te all the way here to find me just to say that, right?¡±


    The waitress brought two cups of ale and ced it on the table.


    Jack pushed the cups in front of Loren, who was trying to decide how to start, and Lapis, who was sitting silently next to Loren.


    ¡°Drink up. We can talk afterwards.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t want to refuse what was given to him, so he took the cup and felt the refreshing sensation of carbonated liquid go down his throat.


    Next to him, Lapis picked up the cup with both hands and started sipping the drink.


    ¡°So, what brings you here?¡±


    As Jack pushed the te of cheese towards him, Loren told him the reason why they were looking for him.


    ¡°The thing is, we picked up a girl in a nearby forest two days ago,¡±


    ¡°Huh? You guys were behind that? They said that the quest was only for iron ranks and above. Is that what you want to talk about?¡±


    Loren nced at Lapis, who started reaching for the cheese as she continued to sip her drink, and Jack sat back in his seat, understanding what Loren was trying to say.


    ¡°I understand your situation, but I¡¯m a silver rank, you know? Do I look like I would just tell you everything you want?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. But I couldn¡¯t think of anyone else that might sell us the information we want.¡±


    Still sitting back, Jack crossed his arms and stared at Loren in the face for a while.


    Loren had no intention of saying anything until Jack said something, so he continued drinking his ale.


    ¡°Just saying. An adventurer who leaks information on a job is third rate. No one like that can be silver rank.¡±


    That was exactly what Loren thought.


    There was no way anyone would trust that kind of person, and Loren didn¡¯t think that someone like that would be able to be a high-ranking adventurer.


    Despite knowing that, he had still hoped that with the right price, Jack would leak them the information, but apparently Jack was a lot more bound to obligation than he thought.


    Loren decided that this wasn¡¯t going to work and was about to give up, but Jack leaned forward across the table and whispered.


    ¡°But then again, I owe you one for saving Nim. If you promise that you don¡¯t tell anyone that I told you this, my mouth might just slip.¡±


    Jack remembered that Loren had saved Nim, a female elf that they met along with Jack, from being assaulted by a goblin.


    That¡¯s why Jack told them that he¡¯ll bend the adventurer¡¯s code if they kept the fact that he was the one who told them a secret.


    ¡°I promise that we won¡¯t cause you any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Same for me.¡±


    As both Loren and Lapis agreed to his terms, Jack looked at both of their faces. He then told them that it was their choice whether to believe the information he told them was true or not, and started talking in a hushed voice.

 Chapter 29: Leaking Information to Recommending

    <h4>Chapter 29: Leaking Information to Rmending</h4>


    ¡°First of all, the girl that you brought back is Shayna Lonbaltear, from the city-state of Hanza.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know about anything Jack just said.


    When he looked at Lapis for more information, she immediately provided him with the information he needed.


    ¡°The city-state of Hanza is a small state centered around the city of Hanza, which is a three-day trip by carriage to the south of Kauffa. I have never heard of the name Shayna but the house of Lonbaltear is the head of the state.¡±


    ¡°You really know your stuff, huh?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe¡­You can praise me more, you know?¡±


    Loren ignored Lapis, who was puffing out her chest proudly, and asked Jack to continue. Jack decided to ignore Lapis as well and continued, looking straight at Loren.


    ¡°Shayna is the head of the state¡¯s only daughter. Her status isn¡¯t too surprisingly high, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can treat her crudely either.¡±


    Loren agreed that even though the state was small, the daughter of the person who was at the top wasn¡¯t someone they could treat roughly.


    But helping a small city-state didn¡¯t seem like something the guild would benefit from.


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel like the whole thing seemed strange, and asked something that was on his mind.


    ¡°I can¡¯t understand why we had restrictions put on us, when the only thing we did was bring her here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. They didn¡¯t want you telling people. Think about it. Ady from a high-status family was left in the woods all alone. People will gossip and spread rumors all over the ce.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure how that worked, but decided to agree with what Jack said.


    Nobles and royalty would often do things that would seem meaningless to themon folk.


    Loren believed that it was smarter not to question anything, because if he kept on questioning everything, the conversation would be at a standstill.


    ¡°Usually when you help a person, there¡¯s some amount of rewards that you would receive, but there are two reasons why you guys didn¡¯t receive anything. One, no one requested for the search. Two, they weren¡¯t able to confirm whether the girl is actually Shayna herself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been two days, but they still haven¡¯t been able to find out?¡±


    Jack shrugged at Lapis¡¯ exasperated tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. The guild says that she¡¯s most likely who she says she is, but the messenger they sent to Hanza hasn¡¯te back.¡±


    Loren thought that something was definitely strange.


    Loren and Lapis brought the girl two days ago, and even if the guild sent a messenger to Hanza right after, he would still be on the way to Hanza.


    As Loren was wondering why the guild would proim that the messenger wasn¡¯ting back, Lapis answered his question.


    ¡°It¡¯s not limited to the adventurer¡¯s guild, but messengers fromrge organizations carry a magic item that periodically sends a signal that indicates their location. It¡¯s most likely that the signals have disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s what the adventurer¡¯s guild would think. It¡¯s not something they want to prioritize, but they don¡¯t want to anger the state either. So, they call out to the iron rank adventurers and have a few parties apany the girl to the city. It means that a quest for taking her back to Hanza is out.¡±


    Jack then added that it wasn¡¯t something silver ranks would do, as he took a gulp of his drink.


    The girl was high status, but the state didn¡¯t have much of a rtionship with the guild.


    It meant that the rewards weren¡¯t going to be that good, but they would still have to be considerate of the person they were guarding.


    Even if it meant getting a connection to the city-state of Hanza, it wasn¡¯t a good quest for high ranked adventurers either way.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as top secret as I thought.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s still about a quest and usually, I wouldn¡¯t talk about it. The reason why the guild didn¡¯t tell you, is because this isn¡¯t something for copper ranks to worry about.¡±


    ¡°What should we do to butt our heads in it then?¡±


    As soon as Lapis said those words, Loren and Jack looked at each other.


    Jack was exasperated at Lapis and turned towards Loren, and Loren looked towards Jack, knowing that Lapis would say something like that.


    ¡°Is there a specific reason to why she wants to?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s probably because of curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it is. A well-kept girl from a noble family was left lying alone in the woods, three days away from her city. I can¡¯t help but want to know more.¡±


    Although Lapis emphasized the fact that it couldn¡¯t be helped, Loren had no idea what part of it made it that way.


    But there was one thing that he did know, and he told it to Lapis.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t bother with us, we¡¯re just copper ranks.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping there would be a loophole somewhere.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­¡±


    ¡°There is one, you know?¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Loren replied weakly to Jack.


    ¡°It¡¯s a special case, though. If you get rmended by a silver rank adventurer, a copper rank can get treated as an iron rank.¡±


    ¡°Even if that did happen, we didn¡¯t receive the quest itself.¡±


    ¡°But we did.¡±


    Loren narrowed his eyes and looked at Jack.


    Jack, while trying to figure out what was behind that re, continued his exnation.


    ¡°The quest came around to Ritz. If Ritz allowed it, you can squeeze in there with our rmendation.¡±


    ¡°That sounds wonderful. I¡¯d love it if you could¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s hand covered Lapis¡¯ mouth, preventing her from trying to ept the offer.


    Though Lapis was about toin, Loren silenced her with a look, and turned to Jack.


    Although Jack had brought it up, Loren understood that rmending someone was easier said than done.


    If the ones rmended failed or didn¡¯t live up to the expectation in any way, it meant that the reputation of the ones who rmended them would fall as well.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be a problem. Ritz would probably say the same thing.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you. You can decide if you want to take the quest or not, I¡¯m just saying it¡¯s possible to. But¡­¡±


    Jack stopped talking and gazed over Loren¡¯s body.


    Loren didn¡¯t understand what he was trying to say, so Jack told him apologetically.


    ¡°But you know, I¡¯d prefer it if you¡¯d get a weapon first.¡±


    Jack was there when Loren¡¯s weapon broke.


    That¡¯s why he knew that Loren didn¡¯t have one, and although he had faith in Loren¡¯s strength and skill, he was hesitant about rmending someone without a weapon.


    Loren then realized that if he couldn¡¯t secure one, he might not have to take part in this quest.


    He was about to say that he didn¡¯t have the money to buy a new weapon, but faltered as he saw Lapis staring at him with half-open eyes.


    ¡°Uh, but¡­this¡­is¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on Lapis. You know what kind of situation I¡¯m in, right¡­?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Jack. I¡¯ll do something about my equipment by tomorrow. Can you go ahead and give us the rmendation?¡±


    In the end, Loren lost to the pressure of Lapis¡¯ silence.


    ¡°Man, you¡¯ve got nothing on her. She¡¯s walking all over you.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, I don¡¯t need you to remind me.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s you we¡¯re talking about, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have something ready by tomorrow. I¡¯ll go talk to Ritz about this. Well, there¡¯s not going to be any silver ranks going on that quest, so you¡¯ll get in no problem with our rmendation.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, man. So¡­ Lapis.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Since the conversation was going the way she wanted it to, the pressure that Lapis was emitting just a moment ago had vanished without a trace. Loren willed his mind to say the words that he really didn¡¯t want to say.


    ¡°Lend me some money.¡±


    Increasing his debt wasn¡¯t good at all.


    But if he couldn¡¯t prepare equipment, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take better quests and would have to use his fists to fight instead.


    So, he decided to take this opportunity to borrow what money he could to buy equipment.


    ¡°Equipment? You¡¯re going to buy some?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll be causing trouble for Jack.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    Lapis started thinking for a while and then asked Jack a question.


    ¡°About the quest. What will the departure time be?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the details, but they have to make sure Shayna is healthy enough to move, so they said in three days at the earliest.¡±


    After Lapis heard Jack¡¯s reply, she started counting her fingers, seemed toe to a conclusion, then faced Loren.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren. I can lend you the money no problem, but is it possible that you can wait one day?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I¡¯m the one borrowing, so if you want me to wait, I¡¯ll wait.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s equipment, that means you want to buy a weapon like a greatsword, right? If that¡¯s the case, I feel like the money that I have right now isn¡¯t going to be enough, so I¡¯ll go get more money.¡±


    Loren¡¯s feelings darkened slightly, as he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get a weapon like the one he had before to have right away.


    It was hard to believe that a weapon of that size and weight would be sold at an ordinary store.


    He was nning on finding something simr, but that was going to be difficult as well, so he was going to have topromise.


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ve got things to do, so I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    She slowly and smoothly stood up, and quickly walked out of the bar.


    After watching her go, Loren decided to leave as well, but Jack stopped him as he was about to stand up, so he sat back down.


    ¡°You¡¯re not in a hurry, right? Join me for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind¡­¡±


    Even if he wanted to go look at some equipment, he wasn¡¯t sure how much Lapis was going to be able to lend him.


    He decided that he had some free time to spend with Jack, and took a gulp from his cup, but almost spewed it all over at Jack¡¯s next words.


    ¡°We¡¯ve both got it pretty rough, having fallen in love with odd girls.¡±


    ¡°¡­How did we get to this topic again?¡±


    It was so sudden that Loren couldn¡¯t put any emotion into hisment, while Jack was nodding like he understood how Loren felt.


    ¡°I know I know. I understand. I¡¯m getting walked all over by Nim as well, but I guess this is what the weakness called love brings us.¡±


    Loren, as he wiped the ale from his mouth, had already guessed their rtionship during the first time they were together, but it was kind of awkwarding from Jack¡¯s own lips.


    ¡°But you know, I¡¯m starting to think that getting sat on by that thin butt of hers isn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    ¡°Hey, if she hears that you¡¯ll be a beehive on the spot.¡±


    Conversations like these were bound to go around one way or another.


    He was giving a warning as well as some advice, but the alcohol had already worked up to Jack¡¯s head and didn¡¯t reach him.


    ¡°Her touchiness is also part of her charm.¡±


    ¡°You drunk¡­and you¡¯re talking fondly of the girl you love at the same time. What am I supposed to do about this¡­.¡±


    Loren decided that he was going to need more alcohol to deal with Jack¡¯s drunk behavior, hugging himself and squirming as he kept talking about Nim, and ordered another cup from a passing waitress.

 Chapter 30: Shopping after Morning Comes

    <h4>Chapter 30: Shopping after Morning Comes</h4>


    The next day.


    Loren opened his eyes and shook his head, ridding his head of alcohol and drowsiness.


    There were quite many bottles stacked on the table, and across from it was Jack,pletely knocked out with his cheek on the table.


    Loren tried to recall what happened the night before, and buried his face in his hands as he remembered Jack going on and on about how he was in love.


    The frightening thing was that Jack had kept talking about Nim, the elven hunter, until both of them went down from all the alcohol.


    Since Jack was the one buying the alcohol, Loren thought that it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to listen to him talk for a bit. But it started to be a pain after Jack kept on going through the night, and as the bottles piled up, Loren started to feel less and less.


    Although Loren had listened to Jack the whole time, he wasn¡¯t sure which one of them fell asleep first.


    When he woke up he found himself leaning back against his chair, and Jack was sleeping soundly in front of him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­you were here the whole night?¡±


    Loren turned his sleepy eyes towards the voice that came from the entrance of the bar and saw


    Lapis walked in, with the morning sunlight shining behind her.


    Lapis, who was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the day before, walked towards him. Exasperated, she tapped Jack on the shoulder to see if he was still asleep, and then walked next to Loren.


    ¡°Umm¡­Well, yeah.¡±


    ¡°After leavingst night, I remembered that we didn¡¯t get a new room at the inn.¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it. We had to check out of the inn that the guild let us stay in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already done it and moved our things as well. Loren, you don¡¯t have much so it wasn¡¯t hard at all.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words took a while for Loren, who drunk too much, to process, but he eventually grasped what she was saying and red at her.


    He could understand checking out, but if she wanted to move his things, she would have to step into his room.


    ¡°How did you get into my room?¡±


    ¡°They let me in pretty quickly once I told them that I was with you.¡±


    Loren wondered if it was fine to do that, but the inn was one of the best ones and was also one that the guild rmended.


    There would be times when customers couldn¡¯te to take their things, and it would be too much work to go through loads of procedures for them.


    He didn¡¯t know what the baseline was, but decided that there must be a way to get into your party member¡¯s room using their information and knowledge as a party. If that was the case,


    Lapis¡¯ actions weren¡¯t that unusual.


    ¡°I got us new rooms at a different inn as well, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡±


    ¡°I got the money ready too. As much as I would like to start shopping¡­what are you going to do about the payment here?¡±


    The number of bins stacked on Loren and Jack¡¯s table was quite high.


    They had eaten quite a bit of side dishes as well to go with all the alcohol, and it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how much money it costed.


    Loren was going to let Jack pay for everything, but since he was passed out, he couldn¡¯t just leave him here. When he was wondering what he should do, a helping hand reached out.


    ¡°Jack, here you are.¡±


    A woman walked in just like Lapis had a moment ago.


    Loren and Lapis remembered her thin figure, but while Loren was wondering if that was something he could say out loud, she suddenly kicked Jack, who was still asleep, straight on the back.


    A loud noise erupted, and Loren and Lapis thought that it would be enough to wake Jack up, but he didn¡¯t even respond to the kick and was still asleep.


    ¡°Nim, right? It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°Hey Lapis. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s been that long though.¡±


    ¡°Have youe looking for Jack?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been looking for this bastard.¡±


    ¡°Umm well. He was here because I wanted to ask him some stuff, so¡­¡±


    Loren was the one who came to Jack in the first ce.


    Jack was drinking even before he came, so Loren wasn¡¯t the reason that he drank all night, but he didn¡¯t want him to take all the me, so he started to talk, but faltered as Nim stared at him closely.


    ¡°Loren is a good boy. Lapis should follow your example.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m a bad girl?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you decide that. I¡¯ll tell Ritz that he tried to do something good for his juniors. I¡¯ll pay for all of this too.¡±


    Nim gave Loren a thumbs up as she said that, but it was hard to guess what she was thinking from her expression, and Loren stayed there wondering if it was okay for him to leave. Since he wouldn¡¯t leave, Nim made Loren stand up and pushed him out of the bar.


    ¡°Should we go apologizeter?¡±


    ¡°I think it should be fine. Rather than that Loren, am I such a bad girl?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me that¡­¡±


    For some reason, Lapis was worried about what Nim had said earlier.


    Loren refused to answer her question and started walking towards the shopping district, towards the shops where they were going to buy his equipment.


    Although there were many shops there, they weren¡¯t ones that ordinary people would go to.


    It consisted of shops that sold items and equipment for adventurers, and it existed in anyrge city.


    Lapis said that she had already researched and found a good ce to get his equipment, so he followed her to one of the stores.


    ¡°Most importantly, what we need is a weapon and some armor. You can¡¯t live as an adventurer without these.¡±


    The store that they went into sold weapons and armor.


    There were many weapons hung on the walls and the ce was filled with armors of different shapes, sizes, and materials. It was quite a thrilling sight.


    At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren pointed at the leather armor he was wearing, but she immediately shook her head.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been using that for too long. It¡¯s time to get new ones.¡±


    Loren wondered if it was actually that bad, but the armor that he had been using since his mercenary days was indeed ripped in a few ces.


    When he was a mercenary, one of the members would mend it for him, but he couldn¡¯t after he became alone because he had no idea how to.


    ¡°Loren¡¯s fighting style involves getting hit by your opponent quite a bit, so we should think about getting something harder than leather armor.¡±


    But Loren couldn¡¯t think of wearing something heavy like iron ted armor.


    It would just get in the way and he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight like he wanted to.


    Even so, leather armor with lots of reinforcement wasn¡¯t the best either.


    Keeping it in shape was too much work.


    That¡¯s why his mercenary group gave everyone leather armor, which is easy to replenish.


    ¡°I rmend these. I think this one would look really good on you.¡±


    What Lapis brought him was a long coat, not armor.


    Loren didn¡¯t understand why Lapis brought him a coat, but Lapis soon started exining why.


    ¡°It looks like an ordinary coat. But this is in fact a magic item. The cloth was woven with manyyers using silk from ck widows. This is a great find. Plus, it only costs five gold coins.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite an incredible on you¡¯ve found.¡±


    ¡°A coat that is enchanted with << Protection >> and << Auto Recovery >> would usually cost ten times this price. Your defense will increase just by wearing this on top of leather armor. We must definitely buy this one.¡±


    ¡°Ten times¡­Why don¡¯t you tell the owner?¡±


    If what Lapis said was true, the store would be at quite a loss.


    Forty-five gold coins was an incredible amount of money, and Loren felt bad about cheating the owner of all that money, but Lapis folded the coat up and pressed it onto Loren.


    ¡°It¡¯s the store¡¯s fault for not knowing, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    Loren looked towards the old man sitting at the counter in the back of the store.


    The old man was looking towards them, and although they weren¡¯t talking that loud, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that the old man knew what they were talking about, so Loren whispered to Lapis.


    ¡°I think he knows.¡±


    ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t. Even if he did notice, we just need to buy it before he changes the price. It has a price tag, after all.¡±


    The coat indeed had a tag that read five gold coins.


    It looked new, and Loren wondered if it was really okay, but Lapis walked around the store, looking for the next item.


    ¡°Huh? This is weird. I had my eyes on that¡­Owner, where did that one go? Don¡¯t tell me someone bought it?¡±


    ¡°Who the hell would buy something like that. It was too big to leave out here so I moved it to the back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you were able to move that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my line¡­¡¯cough¡¯ I had a few people move it inside.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then can you go get it?¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit. There¡¯s no way I can move that thing so easily.¡±


    After the brief conversation, Lapis and the owner walked into the back of the store.


    Loren, with the coat in his arms and feeling left behind, decided to walk around the store until the two came back.


    The store itself wasn¡¯t thatrge, but it had a good assortment of weapons and armor, and Loren had fun looking at all of them.


    Although Loren¡¯s wallet was empty and he had to resort to borrowing money to buy equipment, he thought that it might not be bad toe get a secondary weapon once he had enough money. As he noted to himself the location of this store, his eyes stopped at a shelf inside the store.


    Propped against it was a sword.


    Its scabbard glistened with gold and silver decorations, and its ck leather grip had gold and silver ornaments as well. Its straight de glistened in the dark interior of the store.


    Loren didn¡¯t use long swords a lot, but it¡¯s beautiful de made him want to pick it up. But as he was reaching for it, another hand swooped in from beside him and snatched it away.


    ¡°I had my eyes on this. It¡¯s not something that a muscle head like you could master.¡±


    Although the sudden insult surprised him, Loren made sure it didn¡¯t show on his face and turned his head towards the voice, and saw a young man standing there.


    He looked younger than Loren, had burning red hair, strong willed eyes, and although his clothes were one of normal people, he had an iron te hanging on his chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s not something a copper rank like you could buy in the first ce. Know your ce idiot.¡±


    Loren wondered why he had to be insulted by someone he had met for the first time, and younger than him at that, and stayed silent.


    He had a feeling that if he said anything the situation would get messy, and the sword only piqued his interest and he didn¡¯t really want to see it that much anyway.


    Since Loren didn¡¯t say anything, the young man must have thought that he had won, and took the sword to the counter.


    Right as he did that, the owner came out and sold him the sword, while Lapis came out dragging arge package.


    ¡°Did something happen Loren?¡±


    ¡°No, not much.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? The long sword that was here, it got sold. That was quite the weapon, but it¡¯s nothingpared to this one that I brou¨CI mean found, it¡¯s a few ranks lower for sure.¡±


    ¡°You know, your tongue¡¯s slipping is quite easy to make out. I don¡¯t feel bad so I¡¯m not going to stick into you too deep.¡±


    ¡°Sticking into me too deep, Loren you¡¯re such a perv.¡±


    Lapis let out a vulgar giggle.


    Loren brought his fist down onto Lapis¡¯ head and looked what was inside the package that she had brought.


    ¡°Now this is another¡­¡±


    The object that came out of the package.


    At a nce, a sigh of admiration escaped his lips.

 Chapter 31: Meeting after Increase

    <h4>Chapter 31: Meeting after Increase</h4>


    The quest from the guild was for taking Shayna Lonbaltear back to the city-state of Hanza.


    Back at the inn, as soon as Loren and Lapis got back from buying everything they needed, word came from Jack that there was a meeting the next day with the other adventurers they would be joining for quest at the guild.


    Loren¡¯s debt to Lapis had increased quite a bit.


    A new set of leather armor costed fifteen silver coins.


    The ck coat that Lapis had rmended him to buy costed five gold coins


    The weapon that Lapis found him costed fifteen gold coins.


    She also bought him stuff like medicine and daggers and such.


    They bought everything adventurers needed from armor and weapons, to tools for maintenance, rations, and a change of clothes.


    ¡°Along with the amount that you already owe as well as rounding down the cost, your debt is now twenty-three gold coins and eighty silver coins. You don¡¯t have to worry about the copper coins.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a small fortune right there.¡±


    ¡°Adventurer equipment itself is worth a small fortune, after all.¡±


    As soon as Lapis paid the frowning store owner, Loren had finally got everything to be able to work as an adventurer.


    Loren thought the meeting with the other participants was pretty sudden, but proceeded to cancel the room for two that Lapis had checked in and switch to two separate rooms. He left Lapis, who looked dissatisfied, and spent the night alone, and the next morning he met up with her and headed to the guild.


    As soon as they got there, Loren went to the counter and told them that they were rmended by Ritz for the quest.


    In the room that they were brought to, was a female employee that posted the quest as well as Shayna herself, wearing travelling clothes instead of the dress that they found her in.


    Around them were around twenty iron rank adventurers who decided to participate in the quest.


    If a handful of them were from one party, it meant that there were a few parties participating in the quest.


    Among the iron rank adventurers, Loren noticed the red-haired boy that he had met at the store the day before, who had snatched the sword in front of his eyes.


    At the same time, the boy noticed Loren as well, pointed at the copper tag on his chest, andined to the employee.


    ¡°Hey. Isn¡¯t this quest meant for adventurers who¡¯re iron rank and above?¡±


    ¡°Those two have been epted to join this quest by the rmendation of silver rank adventurers.¡±


    ¡°So they used connections.¡±


    On theughing boy¡¯s waist was the ck longsword he purchased the day before.


    His armor was well made as well, reinforced with steel ting.


    ¡°There is a rule by the guild that if rmended by a silver rank adventurer, a copper rank adventurer can be treated the same as an iron rank adventurer. There is no problem for the two of them to participate in this quest.¡±


    As the employee gave an exnation to all the adventurers who were staring at Loren and Lapis, trying to judge their worth, Loren smiled slightly at the fact that the employee didn¡¯t deny the fact that it was all about connections.


    But apparently the exnation irritated the boy even more, and he stuck his finger at the tag on Loren¡¯s chest.


    ¡°I already told you yesterday to know your ce, low rank. I don¡¯t know what kind of tricks you yed to get beneath a silver rank adventurer, but you¡¯d better not get in our way.¡±


    In fact, Lapis was a copper rank adventurer just like Loren.


    But she didn¡¯t look interested at all in what the boy was saying, but instead was just looking at how the situation was ying out with a troubled expression.


    Loren then reluctantly replied to the boy¡¯s words


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. We¡¯ll be on the edges and make sure not to get in your way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you even have the guts to talk back?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure what do say at the boy¡¯s further provocation, but the employee decided to butt in.


    ¡°Please leave it at that. You¡¯re all here to join the same quest.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in with them.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll take it that you want to get in the way ofpleting the quest and penalize you by the guild¡¯s standards.¡±


    That was enough to make the boy close his mouth, and after ring at Loren, he walked back towards where the rest of his party was.


    ¡°You two as well, please be aware that participating in quests with this manner is an exceptional case. Please try not to stir up any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that. I¡¯ll apologize so can you let us off the hook this time?¡±


    As Loren bowed his head and apologized, the employee didn¡¯t have anything else to say, so she turned back and scanned around the room at all the adventurers inside and said in a loud voice.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to thank all of you that decided to participate in this quest. This quest will be an official one from the guild itself. You must safely take Shayna Lonbaltear to the city-state of Hanza.¡±


    The blonde haired girl named Shayna looked scared at all the adventurers standing in front of her, but managed to bow her head when the employee mentioned her.


    ¡°Shayna is the daughter of the president. Please make sure not to be disrespectful. It will take three days to get to Hanza, and the guild will provide carriages for you to ride. We want you to guard her on the way there. The reward will be twelve silver coins per person.¡±


    To Loren, the amount that the employee showed seemed like quite a bit of money, but it was a three-day trip getting there and another three-day triping back.


    It meant two silver coins a day, and since it cost around fifty copper coins for an adult to live for one day, it wasn¡¯t that good of a reward either.


    ¡°Wait a second. Those copper ranks are getting the same amount?¡±


    The one who asked was a young man.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you lower the amount of rewards for those two?¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s just for this quest, they will be treated as if they are iron ranked adventurers. There will be no difference in the reward.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right? It¡¯s already difficult to have newbies on the same quest, but now you¡¯re saying that they¡¯re going to get paid the same as us? Hey, you guys say something too.¡±


    Loren cocked his head at the adventurer who was shouting at him with his forehead turning slightly purple with rage.


    ¡°Say something? What kind of thing do you want me to say?¡±


    ¡°Of course you should say that you only need half the amount and you¡¯ll share the rest with us iron ranks! Can you not even think of that with you own head!?¡±


    Loren stood in silence at the young adventurer who continued to walk towards him, shouting.


    He somewhat understood what the adventurer was trying to say, but if someone asked him if he would say what the adventurer wanted him to say, the answer was no, as he had no obligation to do so.


    But while Loren stood there trying to figure out a peaceful way to make the adventurer in front of him to shut up, Lapis spoke up from beside him.


    ¡°But if it¡¯s a rule that the guild itself has set up, there¡¯s no reason for us to give up half of the rewards, is there?¡±


    ¡°What did you just say, bitch? I dare you to say that to me one more time!¡±


    He changed his focus to Lapis and tried to grab her, but his attempt ended in failure.


    It was because Loren grabbed the young man¡¯s wrist of the arm reaching for Lapis.


    ¡°Hey you, you want to have a go¡­¡±


    Since anything was fine as long as you didn¡¯t kill your opponent, it was amon agreement among adventurers that if you didn¡¯t fight back, it was your loss.


    Loren remembered that as he looked at the young man trying to escape from his grasp with a smile. He then slowly started to strengthen his grip.


    ¡°What are you¡­Come on!¡±


    The adventurer had leather gloves on, but his face turned pale as ripping sounds erupted from where Loren was squeezing and he let out a cry of pain.


    Loren was one who used a hunk of iron as a weapon.


    In order to use a greatsword, you not only needed strong arms, but you needed a strong grip as well.


    Loren had the required strength, and was crushing the adventurer¡¯s wrist, glove, muscle, bone and all.


    ¡°Damn it¡­Let go, damn you!¡±


    No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn¡¯t escape Loren¡¯s grip.


    The sounding from his wrist started getting louder and louder, and it was obvious that it would be a fatal injury, so he gave up trying to escape. Instead, he reached for the dagger hanging from his waist with his free hand.


    As soon as he saw him move, Loren flicked his wrist, still holding onto the adventurer¡¯s wrist.


    That alone was enough to fling him into the wall, breaking it, and the adventurer fell unconscious as he dropped to the floor.


    It wasn¡¯t like the man was small.


    He was quite muscr and he had all his adventurer equipment on him as well.


    Loren¡¯s strength spoke for itself, as he could fling the adventurer away with ease.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t kill your opponent, right? So, anyone else have anything to say to me? If not, I¡¯d like if you could continue on with the details of the quest.¡±


    As Loren said that with a smile, a part of the adventurers looked away, while the rest looked at him, impressed.


    If they thought about it for a bit, they could see that Loren had arge package that was as tall as him on his back.


    Even if they didn¡¯t know what was inside it, it was obvious that it was his weapon, and they should be able to guess that Loren had the strength to wield it.


    They weren¡¯t stupid enough to fight someone who possessed way more physical strength than themselves.


    ¡°Moving on, the guild has already sent several messengers to Hanza. Of course, they were sent to inform them that we have the head¡¯s daughter under our care, but none of them has been able to reach Hanza.¡±


    That meant that there was some sort of danger on the way there.


    In addition to that, it was something that not even a single messenger sent from the guild was able to get past.


    It was up to each of them to guess how dangerous it is, but still, one of the adventurers raised his hand and asked the employee.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s going to be dangerous, yet that¡¯s it for the reward? That¡¯s way too low, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°At this point, we are not sure what the danger is exactly. We will provide medicine and equipment maintenance. Also, we will change the reward based on what you encounter during the quest.¡±


    A few of the adventurers¡¯ faces brightened at the sound of extra rewards, but others had scowls on their faces.


    It was because they understood that what the employee was saying was that if they wanted the extra rewards, they had to prove that the danger was indeed worth more money than they were offered.


    ¡°As I have already mentioned before, this is an official quest from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. You can decline the offer at this time, but if you do you will be penalized. Also, if this quest ends in sess, there will be a certain amount of benefits from the guild along with the reward.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, please take me to my hometown. I cannot promise anything right now, but I will make sure to inform my father of your kindness.¡±


    Shayna finally decided to open her mouth and bowed her head deeply.


    Loren knew that since he was there not only because of Lapis but because of the rmendation from Ritz as well, there was no backing off. While he scanned the room to see what the other adventurers¡¯ actions were, Lapis went to receive the contract for the quest and started looking through it.

 Chapter 32: Abnormality After Departure

    <h4>Chapter 32: Abnormality After Departure</h4>


    Loren had never done an escorting job before.


    He believed that hiring an escort was something rich people of people of high status usually did.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a fact, but his understanding was that those kinds of people would never hire mercenaries, who were violent and rough by nature most of the time.


    Because of that, he wasn¡¯t sure how escorting worked, and thought that Shayna would be put on a carriage and the rest of them would surround it. However, after seeing the three carriages, he realized that his assumption was incorrect.


    ¡°We get to ride in carriages too, huh.¡±


    ¡°If we walked we wouldn¡¯t be able to get there in three days.¡±


    The carriages weren¡¯t that big, and looked more like carts used to carry goods and baggage.


    In fact, Loren was astonished at the guild¡¯s ability to ready their means of transportation, as almost all the adventurers had epted the quest.


    The only reason that almost all the other parties joined the quest was because of the event where the young adventurer had a quarrel with Loren. After being defeated, his party declined the quest.


    Loren thought that there would be some retaliation from the members of the young adventurer¡¯s party. Although he didn¡¯t know what they thought of him on the inside, it seemed that they understood that anything was fine as long as no one died.


    ¡°Well, this is helpful.¡±


    To Loren, who carried around a gigantic weapon, not having to walk was a good thing.


    He did train and build his body to be able to handle the sheer weight of his weapon type, but not having to waste stamina was always a good thing.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re able to march around with that on your back.¡±


    ¡°I got used to it. That¡¯s all there is to it.¡±


    Loren climbed into the carriage as he said that, but here a problem urred.


    There were seats on both sides of the carriage but when Loren tried to sit down, the carriage tilted over to his side due to thebined weight of him and the weapon on his back, and took up most of the space.


    ¡°Only thing we can do here is have everyone else cram other side while Loren and I sit over here.¡±


    The guild nned on having each carriage carry eight people, so sixteen adventurers on two carriages.


    Along with the carriage with Shayna and seven adventurers to apany her, there were a total of twenty-three of them participating in the quest.


    So if Loren and Lapis took over one whole side of the carriage, it meant that six others were going to have to sit across from them.


    Although the weight bnced out, they would have to be cramped up.


    The atmosphere was already not good, as iron rank adventurers had to give up their seats to Loren and Lapis, who were a rank lower than them.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about this. I¡¯ve got no excuse.¡±


    Loren bowed and apologized sincerely, knowing for a fact that this was his fault.


    The other adventurers were taken aback at Loren¡¯s sincere apology, after a moment seemed satisfied by it, and one of the older adventurers of the group spoke up.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I owe you guys one.¡±


    It seemed that the situation was resolved, but soon enough another nuisance appeared.


    The red haired boy, who should¡¯ve been riding on the other carriage, jumped onto the carriage Loren was on.


    He must have guessed that this was going to happen and came over, and shouted at Loren, who was apologizing to the other adventurers.


    ¡°Hey low rank! Not only do you not know your ce, but you¡¯re causing trouble for the other adventurers? How much do you have to get in our way before your satisfied!?¡±


    Loren covered Lapis¡¯ eyes, which immediately charged with bloodthirstiness, with his palm, and even though the way he said it was a problem, what he said wasn¡¯t wrong and he had no excuse for it.


    The red haired boy seemed to know that as well, and opened his mouth to continue, but the older adventurer from before gave an angry shout.


    ¡°Shut up kid! This conversation is already over! Go back to your carriage right now!¡±


    While the red haired boy stood there with his mouth wide open, not being able to respond, the other members of his party hurried over and dragged him back to their carriage.


    While that was happening, Loren took the opportunity to observe the red haired boy¡¯s party.


    A woman with straight blonde hair wearing a magnificent full ted iron armor.


    A brown haired girl with freckles holding a curved wooden staff wearing a dark navy blue robe.


    A girl with blue, bob cut hairstyle wearing a white priest clothes and a crosier.


    The red haired boy¡¯s party consisted of the four of them.


    ¡°Is making a party with one guy and a lot of girls the trend right now?¡±


    Loren recalled that the party that he went goblin hunting with was like that as well, and Lapis, still blindfolded by Loren¡¯s palm, whispered back.


    ¡°The one that looks like a knight is La. The magician looking one is Ange. The priest¡¯s name is Roll, and if I remember correctly she serves the Water god.¡±


    ¡°How do you even know all this?¡±


    ¡°I saw the register at the guild. The red haired boy¡¯s name is us, by the way. They are currently up anding adventurers.¡±


    ¡°Up anding¡­from where?¡±


    If what Lapis said wasn¡¯t just some sarcasm, it meant that the red haired boy named us had a patron or something backing him up.


    ¡°For now it seems like the Adventurer¡¯s Guild itself. I didn¡¯t have enough time to investigate who sent him in, though.¡±


    Lapis said she would continue her investigationter.


    Loren couldn¡¯t decide what to be more surprised at. us, who had support behind his back, or Lapis, who just told him she would investigate the matter. In the end, he decided to stay silent.


    ¡°On a different note, the older adventurer right there is Broas, and is a veteran who has been doing this for twenty years.¡±


    ¡°Humph. You trying to say that even after twenty years I¡¯m still stuck as an iron rank?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Even out of the many iron ranks, only a handful of them manage to rise up to silver ranks. I¡¯m impressed that you possess the skill to not have suffered major injuries and continued being an adventurer for twenty years.¡±


    Loren was so surprised that Lapis had said something to another person that didn¡¯t contain any sort of poison that he lowered his hand that was covering her eyes.


    Lapis, who had recovered her vision, saw Loren¡¯s surprised expression, grabbed his cor and started demanding an exnation.


    The other adventurers looked at them and started to loosen up, while Broas crossed his arms and looked away.


    ¡°Hmm? Are you blushing?¡±


    ¡°Shut up¡­ Just go sit down already.¡±


    Broas gave a rough response to Lapis¡¯ teasing.


    Having a foul mouth wasn¡¯t umon among adventurers, and Loren decided that Broas was a way nicer person than he looked and bowed his head one more time.


    ¡°Thanks for the help.¡±


    ¡°You need to shut up as well. Just keep flirting with that thing next to you.¡±


    Broas waved his hand, signaling that the conversation was done, and Loren decided that pursuing the topic any further was impolite, so he stopped Lapis from saying anything else and whispered to her.


    ¡°Ritz and his party are quite amazing, huh.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re incredible enough to send in copper rank adventurers into an iron rank quest.¡±


    This meant that Loren and Lapis was there due to their influence.


    It was quite painful for Loren but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all by it.


    ¡°Making connections is a talent as well, you know?¡±


    ¡°I got it I got it. I got it so please calm down.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s cry of surrender, the carriages that carried the adventurers and the carriage that carried Shayna started moving.


    ¡°Hey. Doesn¡¯t it feel kind of weird?¡±


    Since the trip was going to take three days, it meant that they would have to spend at least two nights on the road.


    But the drivers that the guild had hired weren¡¯t trained to drive during the night, so they had to stop all the carriages in the evening and set up camp.


    Loren said that as he got off the carriage and nced at the carriage that Shayna was supposed to be riding on as it came to a stop behind them.


    The two carriages that carried the adventurers ran in front and behind the carriage that Shayna was on, and Loren noticed that the driver of the carriage behind them looked unwell.


    ¡°Hey, you alright?¡±


    As Loren approached the carriage, the driver was breathing heavily as he wiped sweat off of his forehead with a slightly pained expression.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°No¡­nothing out of the ordinary, but I¡¯m not feeling too well.¡±


    The drivers that the guild had hired were healthy looking young men, but the one that was driving the carriage that carried Shayna looked like he was sick and was sweating a lot.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s alright inside, right?¡±


    ¡°I-it should be fine¡­¡±


    Although the driver stuttered, it didn¡¯t look like he was trying to hide something, and Loren decided that he was really not feeling too well.


    ¡°Hey kid, what¡¯re you doing?¡±


    Loren pointed at the driver as Broas got off the carriage and walked towards him.


    ¡°The driver¡¯s condition doesn¡¯t look good.¡±


    ¡°What?¡­ Hey you guys! Before you set up tent, get spread some sheets or something on the ground!¡±


    Broas looked at the driver¡¯s face and turned and shouted to who looked like his party members, and helped the driver get off the carriage.


    As Loren was helping him, us got off from his carriage and walked over towards him.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing, low rank!¡±


    ¡°Lapis, can you go check inside the carriage? If I remember correctly this all the adventurers in this carriage should be women.¡±


    ¡°That should be correct. You can count on me.¡±


    Lapis climbed onto the carriage and poked her head inside.


    Meanwhile us, who had been ignored, started bite at Loren.


    ¡°Hey you! Answer me!¡±


    ¡°Sorry but I don¡¯t have time to deal with you right now.¡±


    ¡°What did you just say!?¡±


    As us started to get loud as Loren tried to shrug him off, he decided that he would have to make him shut up, one way or another. As Loren started to think of ways to do so, Lapis¡¯ voice caught his attention.


    ¡°This is bad Loren! Pleasee over!¡±


    ¡°Move. Don¡¯t get in my way.¡±


    Loren shoved us out of the way and walked towards Lapis, who looked panicked as she pulled her head out of the carriage.


    Lapis held the cloth that covered the entrance up so that he could see inside.


    The sight that Loren witnessed made him catch his breath.


    ¡°What the hell? What in the world happened?¡±


    Shayna, wearing traveler¡¯s clothes, was there.


    She was leaning against the wall of the carriage, soundly asleep.


    There was nothing wrong with her, but what happened around her was what surprised Loren.


    All seven female adventurers were there, but every single one of them was pale and covered In sweat, just like the driver.


    Some were barely conscious in their seats, while some weren¡¯t even in their seats, but lying down on the floor unconscious with their eyes rolled up.


    It was indeed an abnormal sight, and Loren called Broas, who was tending to the driver, in a loud voice.


    ¡°Broas! Can I get some help here?¡±


    ¡°Why are you being so loud¡­whoa, what¡¯s happening here?¡±


    Broas looked inside the carriage and said in a hollow voice.


    The other adventurers faltered when they saw what was happening as well.


    Loren decided that there wasn¡¯t any room to be considerate, climbed into the carriage, and started carrying the women out of there.

 Chapter 33: Giving Up at Camp

    <h4>Chapter 33: Giving Up at Camp</h4>


    ¡°Hmm? Umm? This is¡­¡±


    Lapis was groaning near the adventurers that were setting up camp.


    In front of her was the driver of Shayna¡¯s caravan and the adventurers that were riding on itid down onto arge nket. All of them were unconscious, but were grimacing.


    Lapis announced that as a priestess she had medical experience and was examining them, but judging from her expression and the soundsing from her mouth, Loren decided that the situation wasn¡¯t good.


    Judging by the weapon that Loren carried around, everyone believed that Loren was quite strong.


    Of course they had Loren move the patients out of the caravan.


    As he remembered that, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver slightly.


    The bodies of the female adventurers that he carried out were ice cold.


    Since he used to be a mercenary, he had experience dealing with corpses.


    He had felt many corpses, allies¡¯ and foes¡¯, and knew the coldness of a dead body.


    Even so, Loren was so surprised at how cold they were that he didn¡¯t even hear usining that he had his hands all over the girls¡¯ bodies.


    As he cautiously called out to Lapis, who was still examining the driver and adventurers, he worried that maybe they weren¡¯t even alive anymore.


    ¡°How are they?¡±


    ¡°Two of them are already dead.¡±


    Her answer was surprisingly concise.


    It was so brief that Loren thought that he had misheard her, but seeing the other adventurers turn towards her with shocked expressions, he was reaffirmed that he didn¡¯t mishear anything.


    ¡°Dead?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not sure what the cause of death is, but both of their breathing and hearts have stopped.¡±


    Lapis pointed to two of the female adventurers¡¯ bodies.


    Since they weren¡¯t moving and their eyes were closed, Loren couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the two and the rest of them, but thought that if Lapis said they were dead, they must be dead.


    ¡°Is it true that two of them are dead?¡±


    Broas, who was taking charge of setting up camp, heard what Lapis had said and walked over.


    Among the adventurers that were on the quest, he seemed to be the oldest, and seemed to be well acknowledged among them as well. No oneined when he took charge and gave out orders.


    The only one not being obedient andining was us, and Broas didn¡¯t want to make him follow orders, so us and his party were left alone to set up their own camp.


    If one showed knowledge that came from experience, Loren didn¡¯t mind following his orders, but thought that not everyone thought the same way, so he decided not to mention anything.


    ¡°Yes it¡¯s true. Do you want to check as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that just in case.¡±


    After replying Broas kneeled next to the adventurers that Lapis pointed out. He then proceeded to put his finger on their wrists and necks, and stood back up.


    ¡°They¡¯re dead all right. No mistaking that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are totally trulypletely dead.¡±


    Loren wondered if it was necessary to emphasize that part, but what she said next made him forget what he was thinking about.


    ¡°I rmend that we cremate the bodies right here.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Loren knew that Broas couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.


    Even Loren himself was quite surprised at Lapis¡¯ suggestion.


    Ways of burying the dead differed in different regions.


    But most of the time the dead were buried in the dirt, whether or not the body is put in a casket.


    It wasn¡¯t that cremation wasn¡¯t practiced, but in areas where it was done frequently there was usually a good reason for doing so in the past.


    ¡°Right here!?¡±


    Broas wasn¡¯t going to carry around the dead adventurers the whole trip.


    But it was obvious that he didn¡¯t think of cremating them either.


    Lapis continued as she saw the confusion.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to cremate them right now, I suggest we hurry back to Kauffa.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m notpletely sure but¡­those two are bing undead.¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ words,motion arose from around them.


    Bing undead meant someone or something that died bing a monster in the form of a zombie or ghoul for various reasons.


    There were several ways one could be undead, and some of the mostmon ways were magic spells, being cursed by a high rank undead monster, or when someone had a strong attachment to his current life.


    ¡°How is that happening?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, there¡¯s another priestess here so you can ask her to examine them, you know?¡±


    Priests were experts when it came to the undead, which were dead beings who lost their way.


    It was hard to believe that Lapis would make a mistake, but she said to check with a different priest if they doubted her.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get our priest¡­¡±


    ¡°us, anything that has to do with lost souls is the job of a priest. Please let me¡­¡±


    us was about toin about Lapis bringing up his party member, but the blue haired priestess stopped him.


    us still looked unsatisfied, but the priestess named Roll walked up and kneeled next to the female adventurers.


    ¡°My god the god of Water. Show us the path and bestow it upon us.¡±


    She cut her finger with something like a symbol on her chest, and Loren, watching her, muttered without thinking.


    ¡°She really looks like a priestess.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that I don¡¯t look like one?¡±


    Loren looked away as Lapis red at him with scornful eyes.


    He didn¡¯t mean to mutter that out loud, and if someone asked him if Lapis looked and acted like a priestess, he would have trouble giving an answer to that question.


    While they were doing that, Roll had finished examining the dead adventurers, stood up, and brushed off the dust off her knees.


    ¡°I see impurity from their bodies. They will indeed soon be undead.¡±


    ¡°Seriously¡­This is another bothersome situation we got here.¡±


    Although it couldn¡¯t be helped, they needed to exin to the dead adventurers¡¯ party members why they had to be cremated, and they also had to preserve their belongings and find a ce to cremate them.


    They also needed to gather things to fuel the fire.


    Broas sighed at the unexpected increase in workload, but knew that sighing wouldn¡¯t get them anywhere. He scratched his head and started working on what needed to be done.


    They couldn¡¯t do the cremation near the campsite.


    After exining the situation to the dead adventurers¡¯ party members, the bodies were taken far away from the campsite and cremated.


    Luckily, since the sun had gone down, they couldn¡¯t see the smoke rise up, but watching the fire light up its surrounding in a red light wasn¡¯t the best feeling, even for Loren.


    ¡°Things are getting quite strange.¡±


    Loren nodded at Lapis¡¯ words as she finished pitching her tent and putting her sleeping bag inside.


    Her gaze was pointed at Shayna, who was sitting down alone by a log.


    Although they didn¡¯t know what caused it, all the people who were in the same caravan copsed, and two even died.


    It was no surprise that everyone else were afraid of her.


    But the quest was getting her safely to Hanza, so they couldn¡¯t treat her roughly.


    So they decided to put Shayna¡¯s tent in the middle of the camp and have everyone else¡¯s tent around it, but it was obvious that they were just trying to distance themselves from her.


    Loren decided that this kind of treatment wasn¡¯t good for a ten-year-old girl, so he made up his mind, but before he could tell Lapis, she walked over and said to him.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay to do what you think is right.¡±


    ¡°You fine with that?¡±


    Loren confirmed with Lapis, even though she had just given him the go ahead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Is there a reason for me to stop you?¡±


    Lapis put her hand on Loren¡¯s forehead.


    As he felt a ticklish sensation when she moved it around like she was patting him on the head, Loren looked at her.


    ¡°All I¡¯m asking you is toe with me when I want to go do something, and let me apany you when you want to go do something. I have no intention of forcing you to do anything you know?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s another¡­¡±


    ¡°So go ahead, do what you want to do.¡±


    As Lapis saw him off with a smile on her face, Loren walked towards Shayna, who was sitting alone in the middle of the campsite, and called out to her.


    ¡°Hey, if you¡¯d like, you want toe eat with us?¡±


    The food that Shayna was given were tasteless rations.


    It was hard bread and dried meat that could be eaten without being cooked, but she hadn¡¯t touched it at all.


    Loren felt others stare at him as Shayna raised her head to the voice directed towards her, but continued.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste good when you eat alone, right?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well¡­I just don¡¯t feel like eating.¡±


    She must have thought that Loren was angry that she hadn¡¯t touched her food, and looked back at him with wary eyes.


    As Loren wondered if his face was that scary, he waved his hand, letting her know that he wasn¡¯t angry with her at all.


    ¡°You should eat at least a little bit because we¡¯ve got a whole day of travelling tomorrow you know?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­I understand, but wouldn¡¯t it be a bother¡­?¡±


    If given this sort of treatment so bluntly, even a ten-year-old girl would be able to guess what kind of situation she was put in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. My party member said she doesn¡¯t mind either.¡±


    ¡°A-alright. Then¡­I¡¯ll join you for a while.¡±


    Loren reached out to Shayna and beckoned her to follow him as she stood up.


    While some looked at them disgusted and others warmly, us said in a loud voice so everyone in the area could hear.


    ¡°As expected of copper ranks, you¡¯re so good at ttering your client. You¡¯re trying to get a good impression so that you would receive more rewards right? Or else you wouldn¡¯t try to get close to something like¡­¡±


    I need to shut him up.


    He didn¡¯t mind, but he decided that it wasn¡¯t something that Shayna should listen to, so he grabbed the log that she was sitting against with one hand and lifted it up.


    He was about to throw it in us¡¯ direction, but something flew past him before he could let it go.


    Loren froze and watched us be hit square in the face by the object and fall onto his back.


    As he slowly lowered the log, he saw that the object that flew past him was a piece of firewood.


    Then he also found out that it was Lapis who threw it with all her strength.


    Ange and Roll rushed to us¡¯ side.


    The knight named La red at Lapis but immediately looked away.


    ¡°Lapis, is it okay if I look over?¡±


    The knight¡¯s face was full of fear.


    Loren took one look and was able to identify it.


    Loren stood between Lapis and Shayna to block her view and asked Lapis, and she gave a cheerful reply.


    ¡°There¡¯s no problem at all. You cane over with Shayna.¡±


    Shayna couldn¡¯t see Lapis because Loren was in the way.


    As she looked up to Loren, confused, he patted her head to let her know that everything was all right, and decided that he would never ever try to guess what the knight saw behind his back.

 Chapter 34: Encounter After Departure

    <h4>Chapter 34: Encounter After Departure</h4>


    Another difficulty arose the next morning, just as they were about to depart.


    The adventurers that were riding with Shayna the day before refused to ride in the same caravan as her.


    Minus the two that died, the remaining five adventurers had all regained consciousness before morning and were able to move around on their own. But all of them exined that they weren¡¯t sure when and how they went unconscious, and absolutely refused to ride with Shayna for the second day.


    Everyone understood that it couldn¡¯t be helped that they felt that way.


    Two of them had already died just by riding in there.


    There was no guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t happen again, and it was natural to think that you might be the next victim.


    But that didn¡¯t mean it was okay to leave the client all alone in the caravan.


    Since the quest was to escort her safely, they were supposed to protect her immediately if something were to happen, so it was out of the question not to have anyone around her.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡±


    Broas grumbled but didn¡¯t look like he wanted to ride there himself.


    As Loren thought that it was an obvious way of thinking, Lapis spoke up like she just thought of it.


    ¡°Then what if we ride with her?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    Lapis pped her hands together as if it was a good idea.


    Loren was fine with it if Lapis didn¡¯t mind, but he still had some worries in the back of his mind.


    It seemed that Lapis understood what he was thinking, but she said to Loren enthusiastically.


    ¡°We were finest night.¡±


    The night before, Loren had invited Shayna over to their tents for dinner.


    He couldn¡¯t stand watching Shayna being alone, and also didn¡¯t like the idea of a ten-year-old girl sleeping alone, even if it was in the middle of camp, and after discussing it with Broas, moved their tents near Shayna¡¯s.


    Although Shayna said she didn¡¯t feel like eating and didn¡¯t eat much, it seemed like she was delighted by Loren¡¯s consideration, and was even more delighted when Loren and Lapis had moved closer to her tent. But the fact that she didn¡¯t feel like eating anything told Loren that she was quite strained mentally, so he did his best to continue to talk to her.


    Even after spending a whole night with her, there was no sign of him losing consciousness or feeling ill at all.


    That was why Lapis suggested that it would be okay for them to ride in the caravan, but Loren couldn¡¯t make up his mind.


    ¡°Are you saying that Shayna should stay inside a swaying caravan all alone?¡±


    ¡°Of¡­course not.¡±


    When she put it like that, Loren had to think again.


    Leaving a young girl like Shayna, who must be very anxious at this point, all alone in the caravan wasn¡¯t something Loren wanted to do, and wanted to avoid doing that at all costs if it could be avoided.


    He had learned how hard it was to be alone the hard way when his mercenary group disbanded.


    ¡°Then I think this is where you should speak up.¡±


    After Lapis told him that, he walked over to Broas and suggested that the two of them ride with Shayna.


    ¡°You guys okay with that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s nothing wrong with us even after spending a night near her. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a problem with Shayna herself.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re fine with it, then I guess we¡¯ll do that. In fact, it¡¯s quite helpful as well, since leaving the client alone isn¡¯t the best thing to do.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s settled then. But aren¡¯t the other caravans already quite full?¡±


    ¡°No one wants to ride in that one, so they¡¯ll have to endure being cramped. Rather than that, if anything happens, call me immediately, okay? It¡¯s going to be a lot more troublesome if something happens to you two.¡±


    Loren¡¯s suggestion was epted quite easily.


    It was mostly because no one else wanted to ride with Shayna.


    ¡°Ah, Onii-san¡­¡±


    As Loren and Lapis climbed up into the caravan, Shayna looked at them with a mixture of surprise and delight.


    Loren waved his hand as he climbed in, trying not to let her feel uneasy, but soon left her in Lapis¡¯ care, sat behind the driver, and started keeping watch over the driver and the inside of the caravan.


    Although the driver was feeling a lot better than the day before, he still didn¡¯t look too well and it would be a problem if he couldn¡¯t drive properly. Along with that, it was a good position to call for help if something happened, but to the others it looked like a male adventurer who was thinking he shouldn¡¯t sit close to a girl of high status, so no one said anything.


    Soon enough, they cleaned up camp and started on towards Hanza.


    ¡°Hey, we got to be careful from here on out!¡±


    There was a good reason for Broas to shout out to everyone.


    All the messengers that the guild had sent out to Hanza had disappeared on the second day.


    That meant there was a high chance that they would encounter it during that day, so it was obvious that everyone was on high alert.


    ¡°Is everything, going to be okay?¡±


    The tension and anxiousness seemed to have reached Shayna as well, so Lapis gave her a smile and told her.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine. We¡¯ve got an incredible mercenary on our side.¡±


    ¡°Is that supposed to be me?¡±


    ¡°Who else would there be, mister ying Wind?¡±


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but that¡¯s not me, you know?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ smile turned into a grin as she called him by that title, but Loren denied that it was his.


    Loren scratched his head and continued awkwardly as Lapis gave him a nk look.


    ¡°I get that a lot, though. But there¡¯s no way someone like me would have such an extravagant title.¡±


    ¡°So does that mean you haven¡¯t met ying Wind before?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. If I did I wouldn¡¯t be alive right now.¡±


    As Loren shrugged, Lapis pressed her finger against her chin and thought for a moment, then asked Loren with a searching gaze.


    ¡°By the way Loren, do people ever call you dense?¡±


    ¡°Quite often, why?¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re dense. I see.¡±


    Shayna watched Lapis with wonder as she nodded her head like Loren¡¯s reply solved everything.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure what Lapis had found out, but didn¡¯t dig any deeper into the matter. Instead, he focused his attention outside the caravan while listening to Lapis and Shayna¡¯s idle chatter.


    ¡°It¡¯s so peaceful, it¡¯s quite anticlimactic.¡±


    They had traveled for a while now and was almost noon when Lapis said that as she stifled a yawn.


    There were no attacks that they thought there would be, they were moving on track, and there was nothing wrong with Loren or Lapis, who were riding with Shayna the whole time.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re looking for a ce to take a break.¡±


    As he listened to the driver, Loren was surprised at how fast the time passed. But then he saw a few silhouettes on the road in front of them.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s in front.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re travelers?¡±


    Loren squinted to try to make out the silhouettes.


    Since Loren, who was riding the caravan in the middle, it was obvious that the people riding the caravan in front noticed them as well.


    There were slightly more than ten silhouettes standing in the middle of the road.


    They seemed to not have noticed the caravans, as they showed no movement to get out of the way. The caravan in front started to slow down.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    The caravan Loren was in started slowing down as well.


    Lapis asked Loren what the situation was, but Loren wasn¡¯t so sure himself, and eventually all three caravans came to a stop, wary of the people on the road.


    ¡°Hey, who are you guys and why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see that you¡¯re in the way?¡±


    A few of the adventurers got off and walked to the people on the road.


    Usually, people would run if they see multiple armed adventurers that were shouting, but the silhouettes on the road didn¡¯t even flinch.


    Loren left Shayna in Lapis¡¯ care, got out of the caravan, and walked towards Broas.


    ¡°Looks like something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    Broas put his hand on his forehead to block the sunlight and spoke to Loren. Loren nodded and squinted towards the same direction Broas was facing and tilted his head.


    ¡°I can see that, but what are they?¡±


    The figures in the road ahead of them looked like regr townsfolk.


    They weren¡¯t armed and were just standing there, so Loren thought maybe they weren¡¯t dangerous, but soon changed his mind.


    It was because they weren¡¯t inside a town or a city, nor close to one.


    But the figures in front were dressed like ordinary people living in towns.


    The way they were dressed didn¡¯t match up where they currently were, and that bumped Loren¡¯s level of caution towards them.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    It was right when Loren was about to tell Broas.


    A few of the figures noticed the adventurers nearing them turned around at an impossible speed, opened their mouths so wide it seemed like their jaws had unhinged, bent their fingers like talons, and started walking towards them at a slow pace.


    ¡°Broas!¡±


    ¡°The hell¡­Hey you guys, get back!¡±


    The adventurers that went to check on the figures saw their sudden reaction and knew something was wrong.


    They immediately drew back in order to avoid unnecessary battle.


    The figures chased after them towards Loren and the others.


    ¡°Whoa whoa, what¡¯s going on? Aren¡¯t they from a nearby town?¡±


    If they were monsters, the adventurers would¡¯ve drawn their weapons and attacked them.


    But although the figures that wereing towards them were weird, they were dressed just like ordinary townsfolk, and made them hesitate to draw their weapons.


    Meanwhile the priestess Roll, who just got off the caravan with the other adventurers, shouted and got everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Everyone, be careful! Those are undead!¡±


    ¡°What? Undead in broad daylight?¡±


    There were a few adventurers that shouted in surprise, but Loren calmly observed the undead monsters that wereing closer.


    He wasn¡¯t an expert on them, but it wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d seen them.


    Since many in battle died with regrets, there were times when the bodies weren¡¯t taken care of fast enough and became undead.


    Of course, things like ghosts never showed during the day, but kinds like zombies, which were undead monsters with physical bodies, sometimes wandered in the battlefield during the day.


    ¡°So does that mean those are zombies?¡±


    As Loren muttered out loud, a group of people rushed past him.


    It was a party that consisted of a red haired boy in the front, followed by a female knight and magician, and a priestess in the back.


    us and his party drew their weapons and rushed towards the nearing undead.


    ¡°Damn it those guys, they just went off¡­¡±


    Broas let out a disgusted sigh, but Loren thought that it wasn¡¯t an incorrect action to make.


    If it were just a few zombies, four iron rank adventurers should be enough to deal with them, and


    Loren realized that this was a good chance for him to see what us and his party could do, so he looked ahead with interest.

 Chapter 35: Discovery from Battle

    <h4>Chapter 35: Discovery from Battle</h4>


    ¡°us, don¡¯t step up too far up.¡±


    La¡¯s warning rang out but us ignored her, drew his sword, and continued to charge.


    The undead nced at the de, which was shining brightly reflecting the sun¡¯s rays, and took a step back. Seeing that, us smiled.


    ¡°Zombies are no match for me!¡±


    Since the undead had physical bodies and were able to move under the sunlight, us guessed that they were zombies.


    Zombies, which were one of the lowest rank undead monsters, were able to increase their numbers by biting and killing their prey, but in terms of strength copper rank adventurers could beat them easily.


    For iron ranks, even if the zombies¡¯ numbers were a few timesrger than the party¡¯s, they could exterminate them easily.


    But that didn¡¯t matter to us.


    He was an up-anding adventurer, and expected of great things.


    And for a particr reason, he needed to show everyone how skilled he was.


    That¡¯s why he decided to take the lead while the other adventurers hesitated.


    The girls in his party understood that, so they followed after him with noints.


    ¡°Go back to being dead!¡±


    The de shed and struck the neck of the zombie in the front.


    Since they were already slow moving, there was no way it could dodge the attack, so the de ripped through its flesh.


    But us frowned at the feeling that reached his hand.


    If they were zombies, their flesh should be brittle from the injuries and rotting.


    But the zombie that he had just cut down looked no different from when it was alive, and he couldn¡¯t see any traces of wounds or rotting.


    He had also swung the sword with enough strength to cut a man¡¯s head off cleanly, us had felt resistance and wasn¡¯t able to cut through.


    ¡°You!¡±


    But us was an iron rank adventurer.


    As soon as he felt resistance he put in more strength and forced the de through and kicked away the now headless body.


    ¡°They¡¯re hard!¡±


    Next to him, La swung her sword at a zombie¡¯s shoulder, but it was stopped at the corbone. She swept its feet from under it as it started reaching for her, pulled her sword out of its shoulder, and brought it down on its neck, twisting the de to wrench its neck off.


    ¡°These aren¡¯t zombies!¡±


    At La¡¯s warning, Roll folded her hands in front of her chest and mumbled a prayer, then gasped as she opened her eyes.


    ¡°Everyone, they aren¡¯t zombies. They are revenants!¡±


    Everyone tensed at Roll¡¯s warning.


    Revenants were ¡®those who returned¡¯, and were a type of undead.


    They urred almost the same way as zombies. Someone dying with strong attachments to the living world, made by a high ranking undead being, or magic.


    The difference between them and zombies was that although zombies have quite a bit of strength, it was still about the same as the body before it died, while revenants were way stronger than the body was before it died and had some intelligence.


    They were stronger than zombies, and was hard for copper ranks to face head on, and if there were enough of them, they could overpower iron ranks as well.


    ¡°Do they need reinforcements?¡±


    Broas reached for his weapon.


    After ncing at Broas and saw that his weapons were twin battle axes, and turned his attention back to us.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    us¡¯ fighting was incredible enough for Loren to give him that good of an evaluation.


    Even after finding out that their enemies were revenants, us didn¡¯t flinch and continued to swing his sword at them.


    Each stroke of the de reduced a revenant to pieces, and after looking at them go, Broas lowered his hands from his weapons.


    ¡°I guess he wasn¡¯t all talk after all.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Loren nodded at Broas¡¯ words.


    Setting aside whether he liked us or not, the skill and strength that he possessed was indeed impressive.


    ¡°You just going to be an indifferent spectator?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know yet. We¡¯ll see.¡±


    Loren replied to Broas like that, but knew that he was correct about one thing.


    Loren was certain that the reason why us kept butting into him was because he was participating in the quest using connections.


    Loren was sure that us didn¡¯t like the fact someone without the necessary skill had managed to snag a job that wasn¡¯t meant for them. So Loren was curious whether or not us himself had the ordingly skillful and strong.


    But only half of his attention was focused on the fight. The other half was focused around them. It was odd that ten to twenty undead would suddenly appear on the road.


    He thought that the cause of it was lurking somewhere in the area.


    There was also a possibility that whatever generated the undead was using the revenants as bait and could ambush them from somewhere.


    Undead had low intelligence in general, but high rank beings that could create undead were often as intelligent or even more intelligent that humans.


    One of the famous ones were vampires, and even Loren knew about them.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m worrying too much.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Just talking to myself. Anyways, it looks like it¡¯s going to be over soon.¡±


    As Loren pointed out, the number of revenants that were fighting us and his party were going down steadily.


    Not only us, but the knight named La was quite skilled with the sword as well, and every time the de shed a revenant fell, and when the priestess Roll hit them with her mace, the moving undead became the dead.


    The only one that didn¡¯t have a turn was the magician Ange, but that was something that couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Along with the fact that there was no need for her to assist her party members with magic, since they were all skilled, there was a limit to how many spells magicians could use.


    Calmly assessing the situation and knowing how to not use spells when it is not necessary was also a talent.


    ¡°This is it!¡±


    It happened when us took a step towards thest remaining revenant.


    As he kicked the ground, his feet and the longsword in his hand gave off a phosphorescent glow.


    ¡°What the hell is that!?¡±


    As Broas yelled in surprise and Loren¡¯s eyes slightly widened, us¡¯ strike that was faster than any of them before dug into the revenant¡¯s shoulder and cut it all the way down to its waist with no resistance at all.


    ¡°us!? You idiot!¡±


    ¡°us¡­¡±


    ¡°Looks like he got carried away.¡±


    us gave Loren a smug look but was soon being scolded by the girls in his party.


    ¡°How many times have I told you not to show that for no reason!¡±


    ¡°B-bute on. It¡¯s not that big of a deal¡­¡±


    ¡°us, we don¡¯t know who might be watching. We told you so many times to restrain yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°We could¡¯ve won easily even if you didn¡¯t use that. You¡¯re such an idiot.¡±


    ¡°Ange, I was just¡­¡±


    Apparently the cold words of the magician dealt the most damage, and us faltered as he was trying to make an excuse.


    Meanwhile, Broas stood frozen with his mouth wide open, still not able to believe what he just saw.


    ¡°What was that just now? He disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Your eyes couldn¡¯t follow him, huh. Must suck to be old.¡±


    ¡°Piss off! Are you saying you could see him?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah.¡±


    Although that¡¯s what he said, if he had been up against us without knowing about that move, it was hard to say if he would be able to respond to it.


    That¡¯s how much faster us¡¯ movements had increased.


    The sharpness of the sword he wielded was impressive as well.


    It cut the hard body of a revenant into two with one strike.


    It wasn¡¯t like Loren couldn¡¯t do the same himself, but that was with the weapon he had. An ordinary longsword would be dull before going halfway through it or even break.


    ¡°What in the world was that?¡±


    ¡°About that.¡±


    Lapis joined in on their conversation.


    Broas jumped in surprise at the voice behind him that crept up without him noticing, but Loren stood there unfazed and looked at Lapis suspiciously.


    ¡°You know what it is?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m not a priestess of the Knowledge god for nothing, you know.¡±


    Lapis puffed out her chest but Loren silently urged her to move on.


    She let out a small sigh, looking unamused, but started to exin us¡¯ movements.


    ¡°That was probably <<boost>>.¡±


    </boost>


    ¡°Magic?¡±


    Loren took a guess judging by its name, but Lapis shook her head.


    ¡°No. There is a spell that has a simr effect called <>. <> is a spell that amplifies the power of the person it¡¯s casted on, but <<boost>> isn¡¯t limited to the person himself, but it¡¯s a ¡®Gift¡¯ that can also amplify the abilities of the user¡¯s belongings as well.¡±


    </boost></assist></assist>


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty convenient.¡±


    If what Lapis said was true, us could amplify the ability of not only his weapons and armor, but amplify the effectiveness of all his belongings and items as well.


    Both Loren and Broas could understand how beneficial that was.


    ¡°It¡¯s not something you could see every day. Most of the time, only people who have the potential to be heroes or braves can use that.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure what the difference between a hero and a brave was, but was certain that they were existences leagues above others. He sighed as he couldn¡¯t help but think that it was a bother that someone like us, who was something close to them, hated him.


    ¡°I guess¡­it could be a talent to get conceited about.¡±


    Loren wondered why someone with such talents would be an adventurer, but stopped thinking about it as he decided that no matter what was going on with us, he was unrted to it.


    ¡°Right now he has the support of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but it seems like it¡¯s safe to say that he has the support of some country as well.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care. Has nothing to do with me anyway. Probably won¡¯t see them again after this job is done.¡±


    Loren started walking forward as he said that.


    Lapis followed him as he walked towards us, who he had just said he had nothing to do with.


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much, but for now¡­¡±


    Instead of us and the girls, who were still making a fuss, Loren turned towards the dead bodies lying all around them.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to bury them. We can¡¯t just leave them in the open.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Lapis nodded at the words that Loren had muttered.

 Chapter 36: Attacked Again During Advance

    <h4>Chapter 36: Attacked Again During Advance</h4>


    After burying the revenants, they continued down the road.


    The encounter with the undead gave some of them thoughts of going back to Kauffa, but since they epted the quest knowing that there would be some sort of danger on the way, going back wasn¡¯t an option.


    While preparing to bury the bodies, Loren checked their belongings, but none of them had anything peculiar, and the only things they had were wallets and jewelry, nothing to let him know who they were or where they came from.


    But on the other hand, that itself told him that they weremon folk from a nearby city.


    They loaded the belongings into the caravans just in case.


    If they had any rtives they needed to give them back to them, and even if they didn¡¯t it would serve as proof that they had defeated undead monsters. But still, carrying the belongings of the dead wasn¡¯t the happiest thing, and the party¡¯s morale sunk slightly.


    us and his party, who had defeated the group of revenants by themselves, was now acknowledged and had a high evaluation among the adventurers. But Loren continued to ignore him, as he kept on sending smug looks his way.


    After a while, an incident that lowered the morale of the party even further happened.


    The driver of the caravan Loren and Lapis were on had died.


    Loren noticed that the caravan was moving unnaturally, even though they weren¡¯t getting attacked, and went over to the driver¡¯s seat. When he tapped the driver¡¯s shoulder, the driver suddenly fell off the caravan.


    He panicked and grabbed the reins and stopped the caravan, but the driver was already dead.


    The cause of his death was unknown.


    Lapis immediately examined him, but all the injuries on the body were scratches and bruises from falling down from the caravan, and couldn¡¯t find anything that could¡¯ve been the cause of his death.


    On top of that, the body was already halfway undead, so they had to cremate it on the spot.


    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡±


    Sitting next to Loren was Lapis, who was driving the caravan.


    Apparently priests of the Knowledge god knew how to drive as well, and Loren thought that if the Knowledge god was such a handyman, maybe more people should start following him.


    ¡°I wish I knew.¡±


    On Lapis¡¯ other side, Shayna sat leaning onto Lapis, sleeping soundly.


    She looked like she was sleeping peacefully, but Loren frowned slightly as he wondered what she was thinking inside about their current situation.


    She hadn¡¯t eaten much since the day before.


    She looked fine, so it seemed that she still had some strength in her, but not eating anything worried Loren.


    Food was important no matter what you did.


    Since she wasn¡¯t eating, Loren decided that she was must be stressed out mentally. As he continued to be alert on their surroundings, Lapis muttered to him.


    ¡°It seems like there are a few in that direction.¡±


    She said it so suddenly that Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying, and after a moment realized what she had meant and looked towards the direction she was facing.


    He saw arge in, but couldn¡¯t find anything of the sort Lapis had talked about.


    He was relieved and thought that he must be worrying too much, but Lapis gave an additional blow.


    ¡°They can¡¯t be seen by human eyes.¡±


    Loren then remembered.


    Although it couldn¡¯t be noticed just by looking at them, Lapis¡¯ eyes were artificial.


    Her limbs were prosthetics as well, and they were being used to hide the fact that Lapis was a demon.


    Loren found that out during his very first quest as an adventurer, and also learned that Lapis¡¯ goal was to gain experience as well as search for her lost limbs and eyes.


    Leaving that aside, since her eyes were artificial, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was some sort of special function built into them.


    ¡°There are some over there as well. Around twenty of them.¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with this area?¡±


    Lapis tilted her head at Loren, who had given up trying to search the area and muttered with a lowered voice.


    As the caravan was going slightly off track, Lapis fixed the pathing and whispered in a hushed voice.


    They were both trying to be considerate of Shayna, who was still sleeping.


    ¡°There are a bunch of undead roaming in broad daylight. That means there is a source somewhere.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty depressing thought when it¡¯s going to be night time soon enough.¡±


    Undead were more active during the night than during the day.


    They could see quite a few of them right now during the day, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel mncholic as he thought about how many there would be once the sun set.


    ¡°In the case of an emergency, let¡¯s take Shayna and run away. It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll definitely be able to reach Hanza.¡±


    ¡°Am I the only one that feels that there are more undead the closer we get to Hanza?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. That¡¯s such an unpleasant thing to say.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not something to beughing about, geez¡­¡±


    Loren sighed, but their worries soon started to be a reality as night came.


    As they were trying to find a ce to spend the second night, many different kinds of undead became active and started attacking them.


    ¡°Damn it! What is this!? There¡¯s no end to them!¡±


    Broas yelled, blood and flesh flying around him as he swung his axes. Around him were arge number of zombies, with their muscle and intestines showing beneath their rotting flesh.


    If it were a few or even a decent sized group of them, they could¡¯ve dealt with them without any problems, but against a seemingly unending number of undead, even iron rank adventurers had a difficult time.


    The adventurers would get tired and eventually be unable to move, but to the undead, such things didn¡¯t exist.


    That meant no matter how much they were cut or pummeled, as long as a part of them could move, they would continue to attack.


    To add on to that, there were revenants mixed in with the zombies every now and then.


    Since they were higher ranking monsters than zombies, they were stronger and moved more smoothly than them, and didn¡¯t feel fatigue as well.


    They joined the zombies, which were surrounding the adventurers, and started attacking as well.


    ¡°S-stop! Get away from me!¡±


    ¡°Ow, it hurts, it hurts! Stop biting! Stop eating me!¡±


    The female adventurers that had been riding with Shayna and lost consciousness the first day were far from beingpletely healed, and tired faster than the others. The zombies knocked them down and started biting off the flesh that wasn¡¯t protected by their armor or clothes.


    The other adventurers tried to help them, but the revenants attacked them as if they were waiting for them to turn away, knocked them down, and started biting at their throats.


    ¡°O-onii-san¡­¡±


    Of course Loren, Lapis, and Shayna were in the middle of it as well.


    With Lapis standing near him and Shayna clinging onto his waist, Loren reached back towards his weapon, grabbed it, and muttered.


    ¡°I get to try it out on rotting flesh, huh¡­Unfortunate.¡±


    ¡°Do you have time to beining?¡±


    ¡°Not much, apparently.¡±


    As he spoke, he took off the cloth around his weapon and pulled it outpletely and took a wide swing.


    As the giant de ran through in a sideways arc, zombies and revenant alike were cut down or crushed, and flesh and blood rained down in its wake.


    Loren¡¯s attack didn¡¯t end there, and when he swung it in a return arc, more zombies flew away, reduced to chunks of meat.


    ¡°Whoa, how are you even able to swing that around?¡±


    As the weapon stopped in front of Broas¡¯ surprised eyes, its ck de was noticeable even in the dark of night.


    There were patterns engraved in gold on the de, but what was the most surprising was its size.


    It was longer and thicker than the great sword that Loren used before, as well as slightly wider, and the grip was slightly shorter because of that. But after swinging it around a few times, Loren decided that there was no problem and he could use it just fine.


    A long, thin strip of leather was wrapped around the grip to stop his grip from slipping, and the leather itself was pitch ck as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s called getting used to it. Anyways, what do we do about this?¡±


    Loren swung the sword around one more time with his hand and set it on his shoulder and patted Shayna, who was still clinging onto his waist, with his other hand to try tofort her. He then asked Broas, who was able to run towards them thanks to the number of undead being reduced.


    The number of undead attacking the camp didn¡¯t seem to falter no matter how many they killed.


    In fact, it seemed like they were increasing in number as time went on.


    Although the question of where all of them wereing from lingered, there was no time to be thinking about that, but instead if they didn¡¯t figure out a way to escape this situation, it was obvious that they would be overrun sooner orter.


    ¡°Why are there so many of them?¡±


    As Loren took another swing with his great sword and mowed down a few of the undead, Lapis, who was dancing around dodging the zombies¡¯ grasps, answered.


    ¡°It must be because we are the only living beings in the area. To the undead, living beings are like bonfires. They swarm to it like moths to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good sign. Broas, moving forward or heading back, which do you think is better?¡±


    Loren asked Broas which was the better decision, getting past the undead and continue on to Hanza is better or if going back to Kauffa.


    At that point, almost all of the adventurers were wiped out, and it was difficult to continue on with the quest. Broas groaned at the two options he was given.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the leader of everyone here, you know.¡±


    ¡°Even so. I won¡¯tin after.¡±


    Broas should¡¯ve been in a party, but Loren didn¡¯t see anyone of the sort with him.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if they got separated or they fell prey to the undead, but he decided that the opinion of a veteran like Broas was the most reliable in this situation.


    ¡°Then we should head towards Hanza. It¡¯s not about the quest anymore. There might be less undead towards Kauffa, but it¡¯s better if we go to Hanza even if there are more undead because it¡¯s way closer. There¡¯s no way it¡¯ll be overrun.¡±


    ¡°You got a better idea Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t think of any.¡±


    ¡°Are you fine with that Shayna?¡±


    Loren asked the girl still clinging to his waist, and she nodded.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. Is there a caravan that we can still use?¡±


    For some reason, undead such as zombies or revenants didn¡¯t attack living things other than humans.


    They only attacked those that were simr to them, and didn¡¯t attack animals such as horses.


    So all the horses were okay, but two out of the three caravans were being dragged around by the panicking horses.


    Thest one was the one Loren was riding, and it escaped damage because they released their horse from the caravan and tied it onto a post.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the undead in the area. Broas, you go connect the horse to the caravan. Lapis, put Shayna in there so that we could depart at any time.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°I got you! Dammit, none of my party¡¯s alive!¡±


    Broas cried as he got to work.


    Lapis took the Shayna from Loren¡¯s waist, ran to the caravan, and put her inside.


    While they were working, Loren took the great sword from his shoulder and swung it once again, using brute force to drive back the undead that were nearing them.


    ¡°Those who are still alive get over here! We¡¯re going to force our way through to Hanza!¡±


    Although he had no intention of helping anyone else, he didn¡¯t want to leave anyone behind so he called out, but no one responded to his voice.


    Loren thought gloomily that they must be the only ones alive, but then he saw undead being cut down in a lineing straight towards them.


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe that out of everyone, you¡¯re the one that¡¯s alive, low rank.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my line.¡±


    The ones who came were us, who was cursing as he came close, and his party members.


    Although they were covered in blood and dirt, the fact that they were still alive told him how skilled they were. But to Loren, they weren¡¯t really ones that he would wee with open arms.


    ¡°Going to the city of Hanza? What are the odds?¡±


    ¡°Very low. If you don¡¯t like it go to someone else.¡±


    us scowled as Loren spat at him, but there was no one else alive in the area, and every one of them knew there was no time to be thinking about another way.


    ¡°us, this isn¡¯t the time to be arguing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right us. We need to work together to get out of this.¡±


    At La and Roll¡¯s argument, us grudgingly followed Loren to the caravan.


    No matter what he thought of them, Loren had no intention of kicking anyone who was still alive out, so he pointed to the caravan with his head, telling them to hurry up and get in.


    us returned a re as they proceeded to walk towards it.


    As Loren thought maybe they should¡¯ve left them behind, something behind the magician girl from us¡¯ party, who was thest one in line, caught his eye. When he saw what it was, he reflexively shouted in a loud voice.


    ¡°Duck!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if the magician named Ange realized his warning was meant for her.


    She looked at him with a bewildered expression and let out a small voice.


    Immediately after, something caught her with a sideways swipe, snatched her up, and held her high above the ground.

 Chapter 37: Rescuing to Sprinting

    <h4>Chapter 37: Rescuing to Sprinting</h4>


    ¡°That¡¯s a¡­¡±


    Lapis gazed at Ange, who was carried high up in the air, and said the name of the thing that did so without a trace of urgency in her voice.


    ¡°Dragon zombie¡­No, it looks like it¡¯s a bone dragon.¡±


    What had popped up from under the ground and snatched Ange, who was running in the back, in its jaws and carried her up into the air was a dragon made of pale white human bones.


    Loren and the others now felt the ground rumble and tensed up as they watched the dragon dragged its giant body out of the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s so big!¡±


    ¡°Of course it is, it¡¯s a dragon.¡±


    Lapis leisurely responded to Loren¡¯s cry.


    Although it was an undead monster made of bones, it had an appearance that was fit to be called a dragon.


    Broas paled at the sight and fled inside the caravan, meanwhile us and his party seemed to have forgotten about Ange for a moment and stared at it.


    Ange yelled from above their heads.


    ¡°La! Don¡¯t worry about me! Take us and go!¡±


    ¡°Ange! There¡¯s no way¡­I¡¯ming to save you!¡±


    La and Roll held us back as he yelled back and tried to run back with his weapon in hand.


    ¡°Let go! I have to save her!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd! There¡¯s no way we can go up against that monster!¡±


    ¡°us, please value your life!¡±


    ¡°Are you saying we should leave her behind!? There¡¯s no way I can do that!¡±


    ¡°What should we do Loren?¡±


    Loren smiled weakly at Lapis, who asked him looking like she wanted to leave everyone behind.


    Ever since he met us in the equipment store, he had been looking down on him, and if Loren thought that leaving him here wasn¡¯t the worst choice ever.


    He scratched his head.


    ¡°As someone who knows how hard it is to lose something, it¡¯s hard for me to just leave.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t dislike that kind of thing you know?¡±


    As Lapis giggled at his words, Loren felt a bit sorry that he was having her help him deal with something dangerous, but made sure to remind her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t defeat it, okay? I¡¯m just an ordinary mercenary after all.¡±


    ¡°At the count of three, I¡¯ll use something that will capture its attention. Do something while it¡¯s distracted.¡±


    ¡°I thought the only divine arts you could use is <<healing>>?¡±


    </healing>


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you one that I just learned, warm and fresh.¡±


    Loren nodded at Lapis, who thumped her chest, then ran towards the bone dragon without hesitation.


    At the count of one, he rushed past us, who was still crying out. At the count of two, the dragon noticed Loren and faced its empty eyes towards him, with Ange still in its mouth.


    Ange cried in pain as the dragon mped her a bit stronger than before.


    They didn¡¯t eat living things, but they enjoyed negative emotions from them such as resentment, pain, and sorrow.


    That was why the dragon didn¡¯t kill her immediately, and instead slowly started to sink its teeth into her.


    As he counted three, he saw Ange spit out blood and wondered if he could save her before she died.


    ¡°Under the name of god, shine <<holy light="">>!¡±


    </holy>


    As the count hit three, Lapis used her trump card.


    The blinding light didn¡¯t only burn away the darkness of the night, but burned away the smell of undead as well and burst in front of the dragon¡¯s nose.


    It prated its eyes and burned the surface of the bones, but didn¡¯t harm Ange at all.


    Lapis told Loren about this beforehand so he had covered his eyes when the light erupted. He ran under the dragon and swung his great sword with all his might.


    He heard the annoying sound of metal grinding against bone, and the ce where he struck crumbled to pieces, and the dragon lost its bnce.


    He ran up the side of the dragon, which was falling down on its other side, jumped off, and brought his sword down on the back of its head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to prey on someone like her! Spit her out!¡±


    He wasn¡¯t able to cut the dragon¡¯s head off, but the impact made it open its mouth and drop Ange¡¯s body.


    Loren caught Ange as he was dropping and as soon as hended, he started running away from it.


    ¡°Lapis! Start the caravan!¡±


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯m leaving anyone who doesn¡¯t get in!¡±


    As Lapis shouted and whipped the horse, us and his party, who were looking at the chain of events, stunned, hurried into the caravan.


    As soon as Loren dove into it, the horse started galloping.


    They could see the dragon chasing them with its regenerated leg, roaring with anger.


    ¡°Good thing the guy is made up of bones and doesn¡¯t have any wings.¡±


    Loren looked back at the chasing dragon as he put Ange down and muttered.


    Ordinary dragons had a film of skin on their wings that caught the wind, but even though the bone dragon had wings, there was nothing covering them.


    Lapis, who was driving the caravan, said to Loren, who was thinking that if it could fly they would not be able to outrun it.


    ¡°Dragons use magic to fly so their wings don¡¯t matter, you know?¡±


    ¡°Wait, so that thing can fly?¡±


    ¡°Most undead aren¡¯t intelligent enough to use magic. So I¡¯m pretty sure that can¡¯t fly.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    As Loren began to get his hopes up that they could escape it, Lapis pointed out the cold reality.


    ¡°But there¡¯s too much of a difference between that and the horse. It¡¯ll catch up to us in no time.¡±


    If it caught up to them, they would have no choice but to fight it.


    Loren started thinking if it was possible to defeat it with the people that were there in the caravan.


    At his feet, Ange coughed up a bit more blood because of the violent shaking of the caravan.


    ¡°Ange isn¡¯t looking good. Can¡¯t you drive softer!?¡±


    us started to talk, his face very pale, but Broas immediately grabbed his cor and yelled at him.


    ¡°You idiot! If we slow down even a bit, it¡¯ll catch up to us!¡±


    ¡°But! But at this rate Ange isn¡¯t going to make it!¡±


    From what Loren could see, even though the dragon didn¡¯t kill her so that it could feed off of her negative emotions, the wounds that it inflicted were quite fatal.


    Since she was coughing up blood, it was most likely that some of her organs were damaged, and all the shaking wasn¡¯t helping at all.


    Butpared to the bone dragon chasing them, the speed of the horse wasn¡¯t exactly what he could call fast, and if they slowed down even a little, it would catch up immediately.


    ¡°Are you telling Ange to die!?¡±


    ¡°If we get caught by that pile of bones, we¡¯re all going to die!¡±


    Loren sighed as he found out that Broas didn¡¯t think that even with all of them fighting, they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the bone dragon.


    Dragons were indeed terrifying creatures.


    Loren knew for a fact that the only reason he was able to retrieve Ange from the bone dragon¡¯s jaws was because it didn¡¯t think of Loren and the others as a threat and was letting its guard down.


    ¡°Hey priestess. Your name is Roll, right?¡±


    Loren called the blue haired girl dressed like a priest, who was clinging onto the caravan trying not to get flung off.


    She was in a crawling position on the floor, but managed to nod in Loren¡¯s direction.


    ¡°You can use divine arts, right? I don¡¯t care if you use them up to your limit, so go ahead and heal her.¡±


    ¡°Hey, are you sure? If we end up having to fight that dragon, we¡¯d need a priest¡¯s divine arts, or else¡­¡±


    Loren calmly replied.


    ¡°If we end up fighting it we already lost at that point. Using them now orter makes no difference.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    us looked at him with a surprised expression.


    Even if it was as Loren said, if they end up fighting they would lose for sure, it was normal to think like Broas, having divine arts be avable to heal during the fight, so us didn¡¯t expect Loren to say he didn¡¯t care if they used all the charges.


    In fact, since Roll was in us¡¯ party, he could have told her to use her divine arts to heal Ange.


    But even so, he had no intention of letting Roll use her divine arts because it could be some of their lifelinester on.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let my priestess use hers though. If she dies even after the healing, you¡¯ll have to give up.¡±


    After saying that, Loren carefully walked up to the driver¡¯s seat to check up on Lapis.


    There was no source of light to help them see except for the moonlight, and even so it was pitch dark.


    Even though it was almost impossible to see anything and the road was really bad, Lapis kept the caravan going at full speed in the dark.


    Loren felt afraid not being able to see ahead of them moving at this speed, but Lapis didn¡¯t look scared at all, but instead looked ahead with a serious expression.


    ¡°Can you see where we¡¯re going?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis as he remembered that her eyes were prosthetics, and Lapis nced at him.


    ¡°Of course. I can see everything clearly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be awkward to exin to the others. They haven¡¯t noticed yet, but they¡¯re going to think it¡¯s weird when they do.¡±


    ¡°Just tell them I have really good night vision. If that doesn¡¯t work, tell them it¡¯s all intuition.¡±


    Although no one noticed yet because of they were focused on the dragon chasing them, Lapis being able to drive a caravan in pitch darkness without any hesitation was too unnatural.


    It wasn¡¯t something anyone could do, and while Loren was thinking of ways to exin it when they do finally notice, Lapis gave him very halfhearted suggestions.


    ¡°I hope they¡¯ll believe it.¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, could you fetch me the red-haired boy from the back?¡±


    Loren faltered at Lapis¡¯ sudden request, not knowing what she was trying to do.


    ¡°Red hair¡­you mean us, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s us or just an idiot, but the red-haired one.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t understand what she wanted to do, but since she was asking for someone specifically, he decided that it must be something important. He went back inside the caravan and grabbed us, who was watching over Ange as Roll used her divine arts to heal her, by the back of his cor.


    ¡°W-what are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°What do I do with this?¡±


    Loren walked back to Lapis with us struggling in his hand and raised him in front of Lapis and asked. Lapis let go of the reins with one of her hands and extended it out to Loren.


    ¡°Please hand him over.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Loren held us up to Lapis, still holding him by the back of his cor. Lapis then grabbed him by the front of his cor, and suddenly threw him towards the horse that was pulling the caravan.


    ¡°Whoa!?¡±


    us yelled in surprise as he flew in the air,nded face down on the horse¡¯s rear half, and held on for his dear life.


    If he fell, he would either be trampled by the horse or run over by the caravan, and even if he did dodge those, he would be prey for the bone dragon.


    ¡°W-what is wrong with you!?¡±


    ¡°Stay there and use <<boost>> on the horse!¡±


    </boost>


    Lapis swung the whip as she yelled at him.


    It should¡¯ve hit the horse, but instead it hit us, who was hanging on to its rear, and he let out a cry of pain.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to get caught at this rate! If we don¡¯t want to get caught you need to use <<boost>> on the horse and speed it up. Hurry!¡±


    </boost>


    ¡°I¡¯ve never used it on something living before¡­¡±


    ¡°You were boasting about it so much earlier, so just use it!¡±


    As Lapis swung the whip again, and us let out another cry and a pale light began to emit from his hands.


    The light disappeared into the horse, and Loren felt the horse suddenly go faster. The shaking increased as well, so Loren grabbed a rope to keep himself steady.


    ¡°See, you can do it if you try! Now do it stronger! You don¡¯t have time to fall asleep! We need to keep this up until morning!¡±


    ¡°Is it going to help when morninges?¡±


    ¡°Bone dragons are weak to sunlight even amongst other undead monsters. It should stop chasing us once morninges. Come on! The light is bing weak again!¡±


    us¡¯ painful cries rang out in the peace of night as Lapis swung the whip over and over.


    ¡°Well¡­He won¡¯t die, I guess.¡±


    Loren thought what a pitiful sight it was, but there was no way he was going to stop Lapis from what she was doing. He urged Shayna, who was about to poke her head outside to see what¡¯s going on, back into the caravan, sat down, and closed his eyes, trying to shut out the image of the bone dragon and us getting whipped out of his mind.

 Chapter 38: Arrival After Sunrise

    <h4>Chapter 38: Arrival After Sunrise</h4>


    Loren opened his eyes.


    The caravan was still shaking, but it wasn¡¯t as disastrous as it was before.


    Sunlight was pouring in from a crack in the hood, and Shayna was asleep leaning onto him with an innocent sleeping face.


    Still sitting down, he looked around the caravan and saw that nothing had been destroyed.


    Before he closed his eyes, Ange wasid down in front of La and Roll, but when he looked over to them, Broas wasid down beside her as well, and the two girls were ring at him.


    ¡°You seem so carefree.¡±


    Roll sounded angry as well, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand why they were angry at him, because there was nothing else he could do in that situation and didn¡¯t feel that he needed to stay up until morning.


    They could¡¯ve gotten caught by the bone dragon, but in that case it would¡¯ve been either going down fighting or getting killed while asleep. Loren preferred dying in peacefully in his sleep than dying while fighting.


    ¡°It looks like we outran it. But what¡¯s wrong with Broas?¡±


    Although Ange was still coughing with the smell of blooding from inside her mouth, she looked a lot better than the night before. But Broas¡¯ face was pale, his breathing was shallow, and looked like he could die anytime.


    Loren looked at La if there was an attack from something else than the bone dragon, but the knight just shook her head.


    ¡°We have no idea. He became like this after a while. He¡¯s been getting worse ever since.¡±


    ¡°Have you tried healing him?¡±


    ¡°Roll used divine arts after resting for a while but it had no effect.¡±


    Loren pulled away Shayna from his body, being careful not to wake her up,id her down on the floor, walked over to Broas and looked at his face more carefully.


    Broas¡¯ face was noticeably blue and wet with sweat, and his eyes didn¡¯t have any focus.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s an illness, but¡­this isn¡¯t good.¡±


    Loren had no medical experience, but he could tell that Broas was in a bad shape just by looking at him.


    He easily guessed that a wrong move could cost him his life.


    ¡°Ange¡¯s condition is getting worse as well. We¡¯ve used <<healing>> two times already, but there were too many deep wounds, the best we could do is keep her alive.¡±


    </healing>


    Although La told that to him, there was nothing he could do right now.


    Loren silently turned away from them and poked his head out to the driver¡¯s seat, thinking that the only thing they could do was pray that they will get better.


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯re awake. It¡¯s a pretty good morning.¡±


    Lapis, who must have been holding the reins throughout the whole night, gave him a smile with no trace of fatigue at all.


    He looked up, and the sky was a clear blue with the rising sun¡¯s rays shining down on them as if the whole incident fromst night didn¡¯t even happen.


    Either the horse was a tough one or it was all thanks to us¡¯ power, it managed to gallop at full speed throughout the night, and was still pulling the caravan with ease at afortable pace.


    On its rear half, us, who had been whipped countless times, was still clinging onto it with his eyes rolled up.


    Although it was so that they could run away from the bone dragon, cold sweat ran down his forehead as he imagined how much us had been whipped during the night, and hoped that the experience didn¡¯t open up any new doors.


    ¡°How long till we reach Hanza?¡±


    Right now, that was more important than us¡¯ future. Lapis thought for a moment and replied nkly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not even sure if we¡¯re going in the right direction.¡±


    Loren was rmed for a moment at Lapis¡¯ confession, but guessed that it was something that couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Even though an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t even have been able to drive the caravan, Lapis had driven it the whole night at an impossible speed.


    He couldn¡¯t me her if she went down a wrong road or two.


    ¡°It was a single path, though.¡±


    ¡°In that case I guess it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look too good back there though.¡±


    Loren shrugged as Lapis turned her head behind her.


    ¡°The front doesn¡¯t look good either you know?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fine. After a while he starting saying things like ¡®Noo¡¯ and ¡®More¡¯.¡±


    At those words Loren looked at Lapis like she was a monster.


    Lapis looked at his expression and gave him a sly smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m joking. But don¡¯t you think getting whipped by a beautiful girl is a reward?¡±


    Loren felt disgusted at the question.


    He knew that such preferences existed in the world, and although he didn¡¯t know anyone that would enjoy that kind of thing, if someone asked him if he could get used to it or understand it, the answer would definitely be no.


    ¡°I¡¯m not into that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved. I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do if you had answered yes.¡±


    Loren gave her a troubled face, since he had no idea if she actually meant what she said, but it soon turned into one of confusion as she held out the reins in front of him.


    ¡°Loren, can you at least drive it in a straight line?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then can I count on you? I¡¯ve been up all night and I¡¯m almost at my limit.¡±


    When he thought about it, while he was sleeping, Lapis had been driving the caravan the whole time they were being chased by the bone dragon.


    Since he knew nothing good came out of sleep deprivation, he was fine with driving the caravan for a while, so he sat on the driver¡¯s seat and took the reins from Lapis.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to sleep you should go inside.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t think the driver¡¯s seat was well suited for sleeping.


    Although there was one that was injured and another that was sick, Loren thought thatying on the floor would be better, but Lapis shook her head and declined.


    ¡°No no, just lend me your shoulder. I like this better.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t even wait for Loren to respond as she rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep almost immediately.


    Loren was surprised at how quickly she fell asleep, but guessed that running away all night brought a lot of anxiousness and fatigue, and focused on keeping the caravan on the road, being careful not to move his body as much as he could.


    ¡°It would be really helpful if I knew where we are¡­¡±


    He guessed that they were heading towards Hanza, but since he wasn¡¯t certain that they were going the right way, it made him worry.


    As he thought how nice it would be to know they were going the right way, something tugged at his back.


    When he looked back, he saw Shayna pulling at the cloth that was wrapped around his great sword to get his attention. He turned back as far as he could without losing control of the reins.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Onii-san¡­everyone else in the back¡­¡±


    At Shayna¡¯s worried tone, Loren looked past her and saw La and Roll copsed on the floor.


    He wondered why bad things kept getting worse, but even if he were to stop the caravan, there was no way for him to know what was going on.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening¡­are we getting cursed or something?¡±


    ¡°What should we do Onii-san?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Onii-san, call me Loren. There¡¯s nothing we can do right now. There¡¯s no way for us to treat them right now. We¡¯re going to have to get to a city first.¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯re getting close to Hanza, Loren Onii-san.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    Shayna nodded and pointed at the forest and ins around them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve walked around outside of Hanza a lot for my father¡¯s job. I remember this view so I think we should see the city in a little bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the best news I¡¯ve heard in a while. Is our luck turning back?¡±


    Since Shayna was from the area, what she said was very reliable.


    If they could reach Hanza, there would be medical supplies as well as doctors, and there would be a higher chance saving the four in the back.


    Loren saw the walls of the city shortly after Shayna told him that they were getting close.


    Since it was the center of the city-state Hanza, the walls surrounding the city were tall and thick.


    On one of the sides was arge gate, and whoever wanted to get into the city had to pass through there.


    He was worried that the guards wouldn¡¯t let them in since they were carrying one wounded and three unconscious members, but they should be able to call a doctor for them, and if he told them they brought the president¡¯s daughter, they shouldn¡¯t be able to treat them roughly. As he was thinking that, Lapis, who had been asleep leaning onto his shoulder, woke up and gave him a warning.


    ¡°Be careful Loren. Something isn¡¯t right.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she was talking about.


    As they got closer to the gate, where usually there would be a line of people trying to get in, he couldn¡¯t see anyone there.


    But if there were lots of undead roaming around, of course people wouldn¡¯t want to travel, so it didn¡¯t seem like an unnatural sight to him.


    But then he realized that there were no guards at the gate either.


    Even if the number of peopleing to the city decreased, it was hard to imagine that they had abandoned post.


    As Loren realized that this was what Lapis was talking about, she softly took the reins from Loren¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Please be ready to fight whenever.¡±


    ¡°Alright. But¡­the whole city?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. If the gates were closed I would¡¯ve guessed they barricaded themselves inside, but the gates are wide open.¡±


    It was unnatural that the gates were left open even though no one was there.


    It pretty much told them that something had happened.


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing other than going in. Even if no one¡¯s inside there might still be supplies, or they might have moved the barricade inside the city.¡±


    Either way, their goal was to take Shayna back to Hanza, so they had no choice but to go inside.


    Plus, Ange had to be treated as soon as she could or she could die, and they couldn¡¯t ignore the chance that Broas, La, and Roll, who had copsed for an unknown reason, could be like the female adventurers that died the first day.


    ¡°I guess luck isn¡¯t on our side after all.¡±


    Even so, they didn¡¯t have the option of turning back.


    With their luck, Loren had the feeling that even if they did, they would again encounter the bone dragon that they tried so hard to run away from.


    ¡°It¡¯ll work out somehow. Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    In contrast to Loren¡¯s heavy thoughts, Lapis didn¡¯t seem to think of the situation heavy at all, and sped up the horse slightly and started heading towards the entrance.


    Loren had no way of stopping her, and could only watch as the entrance grewrger andrger.

 Chapter 39: Exploring After Taking a Break

    <h4>Chapter 39: Exploring After Taking a Break</h4>


    Usually there would be travelers and merchants.


    The gatekeepers who would stop and inspect them before letting them in.


    It was the first time Loren had gone through a gate with no one there at all, and the eeriness he felt was something he never felt before on the battlefield.


    Lapis, who was sitting next to him, was looking around the area in a rxed manner. Every now and then she would whip the horse but instead hit us, and watching him twitch spurred the eeriness Loren was feeling even more.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we let that down?¡±


    Putting aside the eeriness, us, who was unconscious on top of the horse, in a sense was an injured person as well.


    That meant Lapis was the one who injured him, but Loren decided to ignore that and gave the suggestion, but Lapis bluntly made a disgusted face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to touch that thing you know?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to if I could either.¡±


    us was hanging onto the rear end of the horse, and for the horse, having something twitching on its back wouldn¡¯t be the best feeling, but Loren didn¡¯t feel like stopping the caravan and getting him down.


    That was how disgusting a person twitching while having his eyes rolled back into his head was.


    ¡°Still, there really isn¡¯t anyone in here.¡±


    They passed through the gate and into the city, and now the caravan was strolling down the main street, but there was no one there, and it waspletely silent.


    It was like a ghost town, but it wasn¡¯t roughed up at all but instead everything looked in order.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s been attacked by undead either.¡±


    If that was the case, there should be traces of it, but as far as Loren could see there were no signs of the citizens fighting anything in the streets.


    He couldn¡¯t see any broken windows or buildings, or even bloodstains anywhere.


    ¡°I never thought a clean city with no one in it would be so eerie.¡±


    ¡°Walking through an empty city with you. Doesn¡¯t it sound very romantic?¡±


    Compared to Loren, who was cautiously looking around with narrowed eyes, Lapis, who was holding the reins, said that with a smile on her face.


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand her sensibility, but decided that there was no need to point that out and hurt her feelings, and end up adding coldness to the eeriness he was feeling.


    ¡°Before we do anything, we should search for a hospital. You haven¡¯t forgotten we have four people dying back there, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Shayna, do you know where we could find a hospital?¡±


    Asking a resident about the city was the quickest way to find out.


    At Lapis¡¯ question, Shayna poked her head out of the caravan, took a look around, and pointed in a direction.


    ¡°I think there was one over there.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go in that direction.¡±


    Lapis turned the horse towards the direction Shayna pointed out.


    The caravan rolled down the ordinary looking street, minus the fact that no one was there.


    The hospital Shayna had pointed to that they arrived at a whileter looked like a clinic run by an individual.


    There were hospitals that were run by the state itself, but the only hospital Shayna knew of was the one they were currently at.


    ¡°My father said that there was a really good doctor and brought me here.¡±


    ¡°Is it mistaken to think that that sounds kind of strange?¡±


    A city doctor being more skilled than doctors in hospitals run by the state wasn¡¯t the most unusual, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure about the president of the state bringing his daughter to a clinic instead of a state-run hospital.


    ¡°In our current situation, I believe this is actually the better choice.¡±


    Lapis said as she looked at Shayna, who was clinging onto Loren¡¯s waist, while she parked the caravan near the clinic and untied the horse from it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go near arge facility while we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with the city.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Nothing in particr. Rather than that, can you carry everyone out of the caravan? Come one, you should help too.¡±


    Lapis called us, who had been lowered down from the horse.


    Although he had taken many blows to the back, he was still in way better shape than the others.


    He regained consciousness as soon as he got off and sunk to the ground as if all the strength was sapped out of him.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you let me rest for a bit? It¡¯s pretty much thanks to me we got away from that dragon.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten that Loren was the one who saved Ange from the dragon, right?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    As Loren was exasperated that us barely remembered after being told so, us stood up and faced him, with his gaze pointed downwards, muttered in a voice that Loren could barely make out.


    ¡°U-umm, well¡­Thanks¡­for saving Ange¡­¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t saved her just yet. If you have time to be saying that, use it to carry everyone inside instead.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Loren smiled at us, who looked crest-fallen but replied to him honestly.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, you were whipped by my priest the whole night¡­Did it open any kind of new doors inside of you?¡±


    ¡°Wha!? No way!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking it¡¯s not too bad or anything right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m normal!¡±


    ¡°¡­So you understand that awakening to that kind of thing is abnormal.¡±


    us was red and looked like he wanted to say something, but thought for a moment, ring at Loren, and eventually said nothing as he turned away from Loren and started walking towards the caravan to help carry the others out.


    Lapis whispered teasingly to Loren, who was watching us walk away.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to provoke him to get him back to his usual self you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. I was just teasing him.¡±


    After brushing her away with a wave of his hand, Loren walked over to the caravan as well to carry the others out.


    He decided to carry Broas and leave the other three to us.


    He wasn¡¯t trying to let us do all the work, but it was because the other three were all girls as well as members of us¡¯ party, so he was just trying to be considerate.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how us interpreted it, but instead started unloading what little they were able to take from the camp.


    They couldn¡¯t take what was already unloaded, but they were able to bring with them what they had decided wasn¡¯t needed for setting up camp and left inside the caravan. Inside were food and some medical supplies.


    This was barely enough for first aid, and Loren was worried that it wasn¡¯t nearly enough to treat the three who were unconscious and one who was greatly injured, but Lapis soon found something better.


    ¡°As expected of a medical facility, even if it¡¯s personally run. There¡¯s so much medicine left.¡±


    There was also a hospital ward with beds, and as Loren and us moved Broas and the girls in there, Lapis and Shayna came in with armfuls of medicine.


    They had been searching the clinic while Loren and us were carrying the wounded.


    ¡°If we have this much I think I¡¯ll be able to handle most things.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Then can you get on to it quickly? I won¡¯t be able to sleep well if they end up dying after we managed to get them all the way here.¡±


    Loren had no experience or knowledge in medicine.


    When he asked us, he replied that he did not have any either and told him it was Ange was the one that had that kind of knowledge, but right now she was the one who needed treatment.


    ¡°I understand. I have a lot to do so Loren can you take Shayna and stay outside?¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me to go out too!? They¡¯re my party members you know!?¡±


    usined at Lapis¡¯ suggestion as expected, but Lapis gave him a despising look, and he stammered at its intensity.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to start treating them, so I¡¯ll have to loosen as well as take off their clothes¡­Are you saying you want to watch me do that?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, well, no¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also be taking Broas¡¯ clothes off as well, and I believe that wanting to watch the bare body of a middle-aged man is quite a high-level taste.¡±


    ¡°I never said I have that sort of taste!¡±


    Lapis silently pointed at Ange and the girls as us shouted out, his facepletely red, and he immediately covered his mouth. Lapis then pointed towards the door, telling him to get out.


    This time he followed her instructions and left the room, and as Loren was about to follow him Lapis called him back.


    ¡°Loren, can you let us handle keeping watch around the perimeter, and can you take Shayna and explore the area around us?¡±


    ¡°Me? With Shayna?¡±


    While Loren stood there questioning the pairing, Lapis continued.


    ¡°I feel like us wouldn¡¯t be able to find much, and I don¡¯t want to entrust Shayna to him.¡±


    ¡°Is it a bother if I leave her?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t against exploring the area, but taking Shayna was a whole different story.


    There was no telling what they would encounter out there, and Loren didn¡¯t want to put a young girl in danger, so he couldn¡¯t understand Lapis¡¯ suggestion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned this before, but to treat them I¡¯ll have to take off their clothes. The girls wouldn¡¯t be too bad, but I think that Broas¡¯ naked body would be too much of a bad influence on her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to strip him naked?¡±


    Loren thought that going that far wouldn¡¯t be necessary, but since Lapis knew what she was doing, he guessed that it was necessary. Showing Shayna something like that would not be a good thing.


    ¡°A walk around the area should be fine. Shayna is from this city, so she should know her way around as well.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    If she was a princess of sort, Loren thought she wouldn¡¯t know too much about the city itself, but up until this point, it seemed like she knew some things about it.


    ¡°Can you do that for me?¡±


    Unlike when dealing with us, Lapis¡¯ face was serious, and since she had a proper reason behind it, Loren didn¡¯t feel like setting up an argument, so he nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m bringing her back as soon as I think it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Since she had asked him to do it, the only thing he could do is start acting.


    Even though she exined logic after logic, Loren still wasn¡¯tfortable with the idea, but took Shayna, told us to keep watch, and slowly walked out the building.

 Chapter 40: Exploring to Camping

    <h4>Chapter 40: Exploring to Camping</h4>


    The clinic that Loren and the others ran into was in the middle of the shopping district, so there were a lot of different stores in the area.


    After leaving us to guard the clinic, he took Shayna and after walking around slowly for a while, he started going into the stores and examining its products.


    ¡°The vegetables are wilted, but they aren¡¯t rotten. There¡¯s no trace of any fighting anywhere. There¡¯s some houses with their meals left unfinished and a bit messy, but no traces of an attack.¡±


    ¡°I wonder where everyone went?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t find the words to answer Shayna¡¯s question.


    In fact, he himself wanted to ask the same question, and wished someone could pop up and exin what happened, but there was no way that things would be so convenient.


    ¡°This ce looks too alive to have been abandoned by a group of people. Most of their things are still here, including their valuables.¡±


    In the stores and houses that they went into, all the money and valuables were left there untouched.


    A mercenary would have looted them with no hesitation, but Loren didn¡¯t touch any of the things he found.


    Loren had looted enemy bodies on the battlefield before, but this wasn¡¯t a battlefield, and the owners weren¡¯t enemy soldiers.


    In addition to that, taking things from people who disappeared for an unknown reason didn¡¯t appeal to him at all.


    ¡°Shayna, do you know what the poption of this city is?


    ¡°Poption?¡±


    Shayna asked him with a nk look on her face. Loren waved, telling her not to worry about it.


    It looked like even though she knew about the city and the area around it by following her father around, she didn¡¯t know about things like the poption.


    ¡°Judging from the size of the city, I guess it would be around thirty to fifty thousand? No one would believe that this many people disappeared like smoke even if I reported it.¡±


    Whether they were able to return Shayna to her parents or not, once they returned to Kauffa, they had the responsibility to go to the adventurer¡¯s guild and report the deaths of the others who had joined them, as well as what happened to the city of Hanza.


    But Loren sighed heavily as he guessed that even if he reported exactly as what happened and what he saw, the guild wouldn¡¯t believe him.


    Loren knew for a fact that it was true because he was seeing it with his own eyes, but to someone who did not would scoff after listening to a report saying that the poption of a whole city-state had disappeared.


    That was how unreal the situation was.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way a person could just disappear without a trace. If I could find traces of blood or dead bodies, then it would be a whole different story though.¡±


    ¡°Onii-san¡­¡±


    Loren heard Shayna, who was walking beside him while holding onto the coat he was wearing, let out a worried cry, and became embarrassed that he had been talking out loud the whole time.


    Saying things like if he could find a dead body in front of a girl who was from this city was being very inconsiderate.


    ¡°Sorry, I was irritated.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m fine. But¡­I really wonder where father and everyone else went?¡±


    Assuming that Shayna¡¯s parents were okay and still in the city, Loren guessed that they would be in the central area.


    There were quite a few reasons to why he thought so, but the main reason was that most of the time, but those with authority usually built their mansions or castles in the center of the city.


    Getting there wouldn¡¯t be hard.


    They just had to go all the way down the main street.


    Although Hanza had high walls, it seemed that it wasn¡¯t designed for street fights, as there was onerge street that went straight to the center of the city.


    Loren wondered if it was okay to build the capital city like that, even though it was a small city-state, but in the end it wasn¡¯t really his problem to worry about.


    ¡°I wish I could go search the president¡¯s home as soon as possible.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if there were survivors left in the city, but since it was so quiet inside, Loren guessed that it was most likely that they would be inside the president¡¯s home in the center of the city.


    That was why he wanted to check to see if there were any survivors, and if there were, take them and say goodbye to this spooky city, but four out of the seven of them were in no shape to move, and figuring everything out among the remaining three was too dangerous.


    ¡°It¡¯s best if we wait for the four of them to recover before we start moving, but do we really have that much time on our hands?¡±


    Whatever may be the reason for the city to be like this, if there was something or someone that willed this to happen, it was close enough to say that they did not have much time at all.


    Loren¡¯s thoughts caused him to be unfocused on his surroundings, and noticed it a heartbeatter than Shayna.


    ¡°Onii-san, someone¡¯s there.¡±


    It was after they had searched inside a number of houses.


    They could not find anything so they were on the way to another house when Shayna strongly tugged on his clothes.


    As he came back to reality at her words, Loren saw a woman looking at them from behind the corner of a nearby building, and called out to her.


    ¡°Wait! We aren¡¯t suspicious people.¡±


    The thought that he was already a pretty suspicious character due to the fact that he intruded other people¡¯s homes and stores crossed his mind. But although the woman trembled for a moment, she didn¡¯t run away and instead just stood there, continuing to watch them.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not someone suspicious. I¡¯m and adventurer that came here on a quest, but saw the state of the city and I¡¯m trying to figure out what happened¡­¡±


    ¡°Are¡­you here to help?¡±


    The woman that nervously asked him looked around twenty.


    She had dark brown hair, with no other outstanding characteristic whatsoever.


    ¡°Not exactly, but are you a resident of this city?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My name is Shutel.¡±


    ¡°What happened to this city? Where did everyone go? Why are you still here?¡±


    Loren asked question after question to the woman named Shutel.


    Her eyes widened at all the sudden questions, but after a moment quietly shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. A few days earlier the people around me suddenly started going crazy¡­I was scared so I hid in my basement, and I just came out because I ran out of food.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any family?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not married, and my parents have already passed away.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone else besides you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±


    Loren thought that he would finally know what happened, but Shutel didn¡¯t give any useful information at all.


    If she lived alone it couldn¡¯t be helped, but Loren couldn¡¯t hide the disappointment on his face.


    ¡°Umm, aren¡¯t you the president¡¯s daughter?¡±


    Shutel noticed Shayna standing next to Loren, who was trying to decide what to do, and she nodded at her question.


    ¡°Then I would suggest going to the president¡¯s mansion¡­Many of the city¡¯s soldiers are stationed there, and there are fences all around so I believe that they would be safe.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s our only option.¡±


    The problem was the four injured, but Loren guessed that once Lapis treated them, they would be recovered enough to ride the caravan.


    He decided that they should get to the mansion as soon as possible and group with the survivors, so he started turning back to discuss it with Lapis.


    ¡°What¡¯re you going to do?¡±


    ¡°P-please take me with you! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to make it to the mansion by myself.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t see anything that blocked the main street.


    So he thought that she would be able to get there safely, but if there was something hiding in the area waiting for someone to pass by, and if that someone happened to be a woman, it would indeed be hard for her to run away.


    ¡°Alright, I guess you can. Follow me.¡±


    Although he wasn¡¯t able to identify the enemy, Loren decided that finding a survivor made some progress, and headed back to the clinic where Lapis was waiting.


    When they reached it, us, who was guarding the clinic as he was told to, was about to reach for his sword at the sight of a woman he never saw before. But after Loren exined that she was a survivor, he went back to keeping guard.


    Since us at least did what he was told to do, Loren guessed that his pride and bad mouth came from the environment that he grew up in wasn¡¯t the best one, and decided he was somewhat likeable. They were about to go inside the clinic to head to the room Broas and the girls were being treated, but they bumped into Lapis before they reached it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve finished treating them but you shouldn¡¯t enter for a while.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t let them enter the clinic.


    Although Loren thought it was a bit weird, but he went on to tell Lapis about Shutel and his spections about how the survivors were most likely at the president¡¯s mansion in the center of the city. He also told her about the results of his exploration, how he couldn¡¯t find any enemies or any other survivor other than Shutel.


    ¡°The sun¡¯s still high up, so right now would be the best time to move. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­but¡­¡±


    Lapis crossed her arms and thought about Loren¡¯s suggestion, but then started telling him about the conditions of the four people in the clinic.


    ¡°The three with the unknown illness are fine. They will recover after some more rest. The problem is Ange. She lost too much blood from her injuries, and her organs are badly damaged as well, so I can¡¯t rmend moving her at all.¡±


    ¡°How long until we can?¡±


    ¡°She needs to rest for the rest of the day at least. Once Roll recovers, her divine arts should be avable as well, so we should be able to move her tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°identally killing her would leave a bad aftertaste, I guess.¡±


    But if they chose not to move, it meant that they would have to spend the night not knowing what exactly was out there.


    At this point, there was no way to know for sure how dangerous that would be.


    ¡°There¡¯s the option of leaving us here to guard them while we go on our own.¡±


    ¡°Loren, that¡¯s a pretty cold as well as ruthless thought right there.¡±


    Loren let out a troubledugh at Lapis¡¯ calm response.


    If spending the night here was indeed dangerous, Loren knew that leaving us and the four injured was the same thing as leaving them to die.


    Even for Loren and Lapis, it meant they had to guard Shayna and Shutel by themselves, and would increase the risk of danger for themselves as well.


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°We stay here for tonight. We go after everyone recovers.¡±


    Right now, the only ones who could fight were Loren, Lapis, and us.


    Loren decided that the three of them sticking together was a lot safer than splitting up and increased their chances of survival.


    ¡°I understand. Then we¡¯ll have to set up camp.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case I¡¯ll help.¡±


    Lapis stopped Shutel with a raise of her hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll have you and Shayna stay put in different rooms.¡±


    ¡°But¡­at least let me take care of Shayna.¡±


    Shutel tried to argue, but Lapis bluntly refused.


    ¡°If you wish to stay with us, you¡¯ll do as we say. If you cannot, we cannot take you with us.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    Shutel was confused at the sudden change in Lapis¡¯ way of speaking.


    Loren softly nudged Lapis¡¯ side with his elbow, drawing her attention.


    ¡®I¡¯m sorry. the way I speak norm¡­I mean the way I spoke during my days of training as a priest slipped out¡­But we¡¯ll have you do as we say. Is that clear?¡±


    Lapis seemed toe to her senses at Loren¡¯s nudge, cleared her throat, and said to Shutel once more.


    Shutel was still confused, but realized that Lapis wasn¡¯t going to change her mind so she nodded her head reluctantly.

 Chapter 41: Starting Preparations

    <h4>Chapter 41: Starting Preparations</h4>


    As the sun was setting, Loren was starting a fire in a furnace he found in a nearby cksmith¡¯s shop.


    It was shaped like a pot, and although it was quiterge, it wasn¡¯t too hard for him to carry it back to the clinic. After he put coal inside, he pulled the lever on it, and hot mes shot out of the opening.


    There was a spell that controlled the mes inside, so it was possible to control the intensity of the fire.


    It was a magic tool that used the mana of the user through holding down the lever, and Lapis told him that it was quite an expensive tool, but Loren didn¡¯t care about its price if it could do its job.


    But it was indeed very useful, and Loren was thinking of taking it with him, as its fire controlling feature would make it a better version of a bonfire.


    Anyways, when the fire started going, he held the crucible he found at the shop with a pair of tongs, put in the ingredients he found from nearby buildings, and held it over the furnace.


    Since what he was doing would emit a lot of heat, if he wasn¡¯t careful, it could start a fire, so he was doing this outside of the clinic, sitting on a chair.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Lapis asked him while he was working.


    Her curious gaze was focused on his hands, but Loren didn¡¯t respond, but instead silently focused on his work.


    The ingredients inside the crucible wouldn¡¯t be anything just by roasting it over a fire.


    He gripped the lever and pulled it up and down, letting air inside the furnace. The coals inside started burning furiously, and after increasing the fire using the magic spell, the fire became hot enough to start melting the ingredients inside the crucible.


    ¡°Loren, getting ignored is kind of sad, you know?¡±


    Loren replied to Lapis, who was looking frustrated, without letting his eyes off his work.


    ¡°What does it look like I¡¯m doing? I¡¯m trying to be a cksmith here.¡±


    ¡°Huh, what are you trying to make?¡±


    The city was silent during the day, but there was no telling what coulde out at night.


    Since there were undead popping up around the city, there was a high probability that something else like them might be around as well, so currently us was destroying nearby buildings and making a barricade around the clinic with the rubble.


    The reason us was chosen for the job was mostly due to the power of his Gift, but Loren suspected that this was Lapis¡¯ n. In the case this became a problemter, all the responsibility would fall upon us.


    ¡°It looks like our opponents are mostly undead, so you would need an appropriate weapon.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying the great sword isn¡¯t going to be enough?¡±


    Loren looked over at the great sword sitting next to him. Loren guessed that this great sword, pitch ck from its grip all the way down to the end of the scabbard, wasn¡¯t an ordinary great sword, but currently it was nothing but a ck sword.


    Well, judging from its enormous size and weight, most might not agree that the sword was normal at all, but from the viewpoint that it didn¡¯t have any special features to it, it was in fact, normal.


    ¡°I want to take it easy if I can.¡±


    Loren never thought of swinging around such a heavy weapon as difficult but doing so continuously will eventually tire him down.


    So after thinking for a while, Loren reached a conclusion to make the things he needed in order to make things easier, which led him to what he was currently doing.


    ¡°I see. So, what are you making?¡±


    ¡°The ssic type of weapon when ites to dealing with undead is silver, right?¡±


    Near Loren was a cast for making thin tes.


    Loren poured the contents of the crucible into the cast and after it became about the length of his palm, he hit it out of the cast, and picked it up with the tongs. He then set it onto the anvil he brought from the shop and hammered it to sharpen the edges, then cooled it off in the barrel of water at his feet.


    A loud sizzling sound urred along with the steam, and Loren turned and poured in more ingredients into the crucible and started melting it again.


    ¡°Silver weapons? But where did you find all that silver?¡±


    Lapis rolled up her sleeves and took out the thing that Loren dropped into the barrel of water.


    The de-like object was in no way a masterpiece, but when she rubbed the ck surface with her finger, a silver shine appeared from underneath.


    ¡°Well¡­it was something that needed to be done¡­¡±


    As Loren gave her a vague answer, Lapis turned her gaze to the bag behind Loren, which seemed to have the ingredients, and opened it.


    Inside were silver coins.


    Different nations used a different amount of silver for the coins, and often were mixed with other metals if there weren¡¯t enough silver, but it was indeed something that could be used as silver ingredients.


    There was some jewelry in there too, but most of the things inside were silver coins. Lapis looked up and said to Loren with a serious look on her face.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t destroying currency supposed to be a crime?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, was it?¡±


    Even as Loren yed dumb, his hands continued to move.


    Crimes only be crimes when there is someone to regte it, but in Hanza there was nothing of the sort, and nothing was stopping Loren from what he was doing.


    ¡°Anyways, where¡¯s Shayna and Shutel?¡±


    ¡°I locked them up in different rooms.¡±


    Locking them up didn¡¯t seem like the most peaceful thing to do, so Loren guessed that she just meant that she locked the door, but Lapis then added.


    ¡°I barricaded their doors with chairs and tables, so they can¡¯te out even if they wanted to.¡±


    ¡°You actually confined them.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so rude. Not being able to get outside means nothing can go inside. I nailed the windows down too, so it should be perfect.¡±


    Loren returned his gaze back down to his hands and asked Lapis in a low, quiet voice.


    ¡°So, what did you notice?¡±


    ¡°Your question is so vague, I¡¯m not sure how to respond.¡±


    Loren sighed at Lapis¡¯ calm response.


    As Lapis cocked her head at his behavior, Loren then purposely said to her in aining manner.


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell me, either, huh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. Your question was, in fact, vague, so I¡¯m not sure what to tell you.¡±


    ¡°About these series of events. You¡¯ve noticed quite a bit already, right?¡±


    ¡°For example, why we found Shayna in the forest? Why the forest wolves didn¡¯t attack her? The mysterious illness that Broas and the others have? The fact that we found a survivor at this timing?¡±


    Loren gave Lapis, who rolled the questions off her tongue, a sharp re.


    If Lapis had an exnation for everything she just said, Loren believed that it wasn¡¯t too far off to say that most of the mysteries behind this whole thing was uncovered.


    The problem was whether Lapis was willing to exin it or not.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if you got your hopes up, but the only thing I know right now is that Shayna is very suspicious, Broas and the others¡¯ conditions are due to energy drain, and that Shutel is nothing but suspicious.¡±


    He thought she would withhold for a bit longer, but Lapis unexpectedly gave him the information just like that.


    That surprised him, but what was more surprising was the word ¡®energy drain¡¯.


    He just had the knowledge about it, but energy drain was a special ability of high rank undead, and it absorbed life energy and mana from the living. Those who died from it couldn¡¯t rest peacefully, but instead wandered as undead.


    ¡°Are you saying that Shayna is the cause?¡±


    ¡°If you see what happened to the people who rode with her, that¡¯s what you would think, right? But from what I can see, Shayna is human. Apletely normal one, in fact.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I can¡¯t figure out. There is the possibility that a high rank undead monster is following us, but it¡¯s highly unlikely.¡±


    Some famous high rank undead were vampires, who suck blood, or liches, which high ss magicians sometimes turned into, but if something like that were following them, it would be stranger not to notice them.


    That¡¯s the kind of existence they were.


    ¡°In any case, I¡¯m acting on the assumption that Shayna is suspicious. That¡¯s why I tried to keep her away from Broas and the others, and I¡¯m not letting anyone near them. I performed a ritual for warding off evil in the room as well.¡±


    ¡°You?¡±


    Loren was surprised yet again.


    Warding off evil was indeed for warding off bad things, but although she was hiding it, Lapis herself was a demon.


    As Loren thought a demon warding off evil seemed like a bad joke, Lapis said to him, looking slightly offended.


    ¡°We¡¯re a race that are skilled in using evil and magic. Of course, we have ways to deal with them.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°This technique can be casted on the body as well.¡±


    As Lapis said that proudly, Loren raised his hand to his forehead, not understanding what she meant, but then remembered what happened at the camp and looked at Lapis.


    It was when Loren said he wanted to invite Shayna, since all the other adventurers were afraid of her.


    Lapis had told him to do as he wanted, as she put her hand on his forehead like she was patting him on the head.


    ¡°You¡­The reason I didn¡¯t fall unconscious.¡±


    ¡°By the way, the reason why I¡¯m fine is because the same spell is incorporated into my prosthetics. For us¡­I guess it just shows that he has the potential to be a hero>¡±


    Lapis was very skeptical when it came to us, but instead of trying to figure out what was going on with him, Loren wanted to figure out what was going on until now.


    ¡°What about Shutel?¡±


    ¡°A lone survivor at this point of time in the city. She¡¯s basically announcing to the whole world that she¡¯s suspicious. Well, is she really a survivor?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why you put them in separate rooms, right?¡±


    Putting aside the reasoning and situation, Loren¡¯s goal was to take Shayna back to her parents.


    But putting her near someone that they knew was suspicious, without any protection, could only look like Lapis was using her as bait.


    But to Loren, using a young girl like that wasn¡¯t something he could overlook.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it, Loren. Leave this kind of dirty work to me. I¡¯m a demon, after all.¡±


    She must¡¯ve said is since us wasn¡¯t around, but after hearing that, Loren stopped what he was doing.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that. Whatever you are, right now you¡¯re my partner, right?¡±


    For a second after being told that, Lapis had a nk expression, looking like she didn¡¯t understand what Loren had just said to her. After a moment, she avoided his gaze and slowly turned her back to him.


    ¡°W-well, you know. Umm, I guess I¡¯m your partner. Well, more like your client. Or you debtor.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care whichever you are. Don¡¯t keep things to yourself and talk to me.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s aggressive and blunt words, Lapis looked back at him with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Yes, I¡¯ll do that a bit more.¡±


    As Loren sighed, wishing she would¡¯ve just done that from the start, Lapis looked again at the bucket at his feet, which was now filled with quite a few silver tes.


    ¡°So, how are you going to use these?¡±


    ¡°Going to use them as throwing knives. It should be enough for zombies and revenants.¡±


    As soon as Loren replied, a roar from far away echoed throughout the night.


    It seemed to have reached the ears of us, who was making barricades, as he came running back to the clinic.


    Looking at him, Loren guessed that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to sleep at all tonight as he drew the great sword closer to him.

 Chapter 42: Appearance after Defending

    <h4>Chapter 42: Appearance after Defending</h4>


    Where did they alle from?


    Loren couldn¡¯t find out the answer to that question, but he could specte.


    They were probably in a facility underneath the city.


    Somece people wouldn¡¯t go near.


    Loren guessed that they were gathered in the sewers that ran underneath the city.


    Zombies and revenants did have some resistance to the sunlight but having resistance didn¡¯t mean that undead didn¡¯t hate the sunlight.


    More so if they were monsters like ghosts or wraiths, which couldn¡¯t exist under the sunlight at all. So, it made sense that they were in a ce where the sunlight would never reach.


    Loren thought maybe that ce was the sewers.


    No matter how thoroughly he would explore the surrounding area, he wouldn¡¯t think about searching the sewers or the drains.


    To put it simply, it was dark and stinky down there.


    But undead don¡¯t care about things like that.


    Unlike when they were alive, undead were indifferent about those kinds of stimuli.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this.¡±


    The groaning and moaning that echoed throughout the city got louder as soon as the sun set, and now they could hear iting from everywhere.


    Loren and the others managed to set up a barricade made of rubble around the clinic and made bonfires to light their surroundings.


    If their opponents were living humans, turning off all the lights and staying low would¡¯ve been a good countermeasure, but that kind of strategy had no effect on the undead.


    They were drawn to the presence and warmth of the living.


    The light and heating from the bonfires might catch their attention.


    But even if they put that into consideration, to Loren, securing vision was the highest priority.


    Because around them was already under the rule of darkness, and darkness always sided with the dead.


    ¡°This got pretty messy, but are you ready?¡±


    us, with his long sword in hand, nodded silently to Loren, who had his great sword on top of his shoulder.


    Loren thought he looked quite nervous, but it wasn¡¯t surprising.


    He had no idea how much undead were inside the city, but it was probably way past the hundreds or thousands, and they were right in the middle of them. It was impressive that he even had the will to fight in this situation.


    ¡°If we die, the injured inside the clinic will die as well. Keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°I know. You don¡¯t have to remind me.¡±


    After he replied, a pale light wrapped around his arms and legs.


    The light spread onto his armor and weapon as well, and eventually his whole body shone under the dark of the night.


    ¡°Convenient. I¡¯m jealous.¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    Lapis butted in.


    She applied the anti-evil ritual on the whole clinic and made it somewhat harder for undead to break inside.


    Loren thought that she could¡¯ve done that for all the adventurers who were a part of this quest. But when he asked her, the only thing she said was that it was too much work.


    ¡°us¡¯ ability is indeed effective, but to the undead he will look bright and shining. Their focus would be on him.¡±


    The undead attack the living due to resentment and jealousy towards them, but another reason is that they are attracted to vigor and mana.


    Lapis exined that the power of us¡¯ Gift was converted from his life energy, so it was very attractive to the undead.


    ¡°Bring it on. I¡¯ll send all of them back to the underworld. I won¡¯t let themy a finger on my friends.¡±


    ¡°Well, not all of them became like that because they wished to be, I guess.¡±


    As he said that, Loren took out one of the silver knives he had made earlier and suddenly raised it about his head and threw it.


    The silver de twirled in the air and lodged deeply into a zombie¡¯s chest and it fell and stopped moving.


    Now that Loren knew there was indeed undead lurking around, a thought suddenly urred, so he asked Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯reing up from the sewers, but they won¡¯t pop up from one of the toilets inside the clinic, right?¡±


    ¡°It should be fine. I made sure to block off those doors very carefully.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the cleanest thing to say, but the undead had no consideration for cleanliness.


    There was a possibility that they coulde up from the toilet.


    Lapis seemed to have already thought of that and made sure that nothing could enter nor exit the restrooms.


    ¡°Even if Broas and the other wake up, they can¡¯t use the restroom, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll have to keep it in somehow¡­Since I nailed the doors shut so that it wouldn¡¯t open.¡±


    If one of the people inside woke up and went to the restroom without knowing about their situation, there was a possibility that everything could¡¯ve crumbled from the inside, so Lapis made sure to get rid of that possibility.


    ¡°Getting attacked from behind is never pleasant, after all.¡±


    Loren muttered and threw another silver knife.


    This time it prated ghosts that appeared to ooze out of the wall, and they disappeared with a screech.


    Ghosts cannot be killed by ordinary weapons, but if it was possible with a weapon made of silver, since silver was said to exorcise evil.


    Since they had no tangible body, instead of having to use one knife for each one like the zombies, the knife was able to pass through multiple ghosts, killing them at once.


    ¡°O wandering ones, return to where you belong. ¡®Turn Undead¡¯¡±


    When Lapis raised a symbol of the Knowledge God and chanted scriptures, more ghosts that were about toe out faded into a white mist without a sound.


    ¡®Turn Undead¡¯ was an ability that priests had and was different from Divine Arts*. Although it costed a small amount of the priest¡¯s stamina and mental energy, there was no limit on using it.


    The effectiveness differed based on the amount of faith the priest had, but apparently Lapis was a devout follower, as not only the ghosts but the zombies returned to normal corpses as well.


    ¡°They aren¡¯ting in as I thought they would.¡±


    Loren muttered as he killed two more zombies with his knives.


    He expected an avnche of zombies to attack them just like the goblins back in the Ancient Kingdom ruins, but although the numbers were great, they were surrounding the clinic and slowly closing in, and he saw a bunch of them on the streets as well, but the situation wasn¡¯t as dire as he thought it would be.


    ¡°That¡¯s not quite true. Look over there.¡±


    Loren looked towards where Lapis was pointing and saw us.


    There were hordes upon hordes of undead surrounding him, but fortunately he was killing multiple zombies with each swing.


    ¡°They are all focused over there.¡±


    ¡°I guess he does stand out. I¡¯m going to go help him a bit.¡±


    As he said that, another silver knife flew and killed another few undead, but more of filled their ranks, crushing the bodies underneath their feet.


    ¡°How many of those did you make?¡±


    ¡°Around thirty. I ran out of materials, rather than time.¡±


    There was no use having any left over.


    They weren¡¯t good quality, and if some were left over, it could lead to some troubling situations, so Loren kept throwing them without hesitation, determined to use them all up.


    ¡°Wh!? Wait! It just grazed me!?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. They aren¡¯t bnced well so my aim is off.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to help me, why don¡¯t you swing that sword of yours instead of throwing those?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m but an ordinary mercenary¡­¡±


    Loren grudgingly got into stance with the ck great sword at his waist. He then stepped forward and released a scooping swipe into the undead surrounding us.


    Seeing the amount of force and momentum, us was about to say something, but there was no way he could cancel such a heavy blow.


    Of course, there was no way Loren would make the mistake of hitting us, and the strike met a part of the ring of undead surrounding us, and a few zombies erupted into spurts of blood and were reduced into pieces of meat.


    ¡°Is it too selfish of me to ask you to think a little before you attack?¡±


    us said in a shaky voice, as he had turned his back to Loren¡¯s strike at the spur of the moment.


    Loren¡¯s strike had indeed seeded in killing many zombies at once, but of course the blood and flesh that flew about had sshed inside as well as outside the ring of zombies.


    If that were to happen it would ssh onto us, who was in the center, so although he didn¡¯t take everything to the face, he still got covered in blood and pink debris from head to toe.


    ¡°Oh, sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­it¡¯s smelly and sticky¡­¡±


    usined but didn¡¯t stop moving.


    Since his sword was affected by his Gift ¡®Boost¡¯, the long sword didn¡¯t break or bend even when used in a way that would ruin a normal sword, and its sharpness stayed the same as well.


    The zombies trying to attack the clinic were all attracted to where us was like moths to mes. The only thing Loren and Lapis had to do was take care of the undead that weren¡¯t heading towards us, which wasn¡¯t hard at all.


    ¡°Looking at him fight again, he¡¯s prettypetent.¡±


    ¡°Well, those with Gifts can be really capable depending on how they are used.¡±


    ¡°Stop admiring and help¡­piss off!¡±


    He tried toin, but no matter how many of them he cut down, the horde kepting, so he couldn¡¯t talk even if he wanted to.


    Of course, Loren wasn¡¯t just standing there watching. He was moving the corpses out to the side so that it wouldn¡¯t get in the way and killing wandering ones with his great sword.


    ¡°In the battlefield, there¡¯s always a few that trip on the enemy¡¯s corpses. It¡¯s important to keep your feet clear, you know?¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s a good piece of information to know.¡±


    ¡°You guys!¡±


    As Loren moved the corpses to the side and talking about knowledge on the battlefield, Lapis was nodding and started taking notes.


    us couldn¡¯t stand it, so he cut down the zombies around him with brute force and was about say something with the little time he bought.


    It was at that moment.


    Along with arge exploding sound, a corner of the clinic got sted away from the inside.


    As us froze with surprise, the undead that were attacking him were dealt with Lapis¡¯ ¡®Turn Undead¡¯ and Loren¡¯s great sword, but Lapis¡¯ eyes were already focused on the crumbled corner of the clinic rather than the undead.


    ¡°W-what was that!?¡±


    With us panicking behind them, Loren and Lapis¡¯ eyes were on the silhouette, who was most likely responsible for the destruction, that came out carrying an unconscious Shayna.

 Chapter 43: Conversation and Pursuit

    <h4>Chapter 43: Conversation and Pursuit</h4>


    ¡°Hey Lapis. What happened to the anti-evil ritual?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just for warding off evil. It doesn¡¯t make the building stronger or anything like that.¡±


    Loren looked at the part of the clinic that was blown away and asked Lapis in a scornful manner, but she replied in a t tone.


    The ritual that Lapis performed was imprable against the undead from outside, but that was just for keeping the undead away, and didn¡¯t affect the building itself at all.


    ¡°Also, it keeps things froming it, but it doesn¡¯t have any effect on something that is trying to get out.¡±


    ¡°Not as useful as I thought it would be.¡±


    ¡°The same thing has been protecting you this whole time, you know?¡±


    As Lapis replied to Loren¡¯s disappointment with a scornful gaze, Loren immediately looked away and yed dumb.


    us shouted loudly at their exchange, continuing to mow down zombies after zombies that continued to flock towards him.


    ¡°The clinic¡¯s defenses have been breached, you know? Panic a bit, will you guys!?¡±


    ¡°Even if you say that¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s gaze was still focused on the rubble of the demolished part of the clinic.


    His eyes were glued onto the shadow that stood above it all.


    ¡°Seeing something like that just takes it around and doesn¡¯t even make me want panic.¡±


    The figure that Loren mentioned was indeed humanoid but disyed a form that was far from a human.


    It definitely looked like a person.


    The figure wearing normal women¡¯s clothing looked like someone that you wouldn¡¯t even take a second nce if you walked past her on the street.


    But therge difference was the yellowish mist that was being emitted from her entire body into her surroundings.


    The figure wearing the mist that sent a chill down the spine and gave off a bad vibe just by looking at it, had an unconscious Shayna in her arms and stared at Loren with eyes the same shade of yellow as the mist.


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed quite a bit, haven¡¯t you Shutel?¡±


    At Loren¡¯s call, the figure, whose brown hair floating around her, bent her lips into a smile.


    ¡°I knew you were suspicious, but I didn¡¯t think you had quit being human.¡±


    He didn¡¯t have any evidence, but the ufortable vibe that he got just by looking at her and the eerie yellow mist around her, made it seem obvious that Shutel wasn¡¯t anything close to a human being.


    That was exactly why Shutel slowly walked down from the rubble and onto the street, right in the middle of all the zombies.


    If she were a normal human, the zombies would¡¯ve flocked to her and started tearing at her flesh, but they just stood where they were, paying no attention to her.


    ¡°What are you going to do with Shayna?¡±


    When Lapis threw a question at her as Shutel turned her back towards them and started to walk away, Shutel stopped and answered without even looking back.


    ¡°It is none of your concern. This girl is the one that he has put his hands on, and has granted the treasure upon her body. He has passed on, but I have the responsibility toplete what he had started.¡±


    ¡°She actually spoke.¡±


    Although zombies used to be human, they were unable to speak human tongue.


    Even revenants, which were known to have some intelligence, did spout things that sounded like words, but it is known that they couldn¡¯t have a meaningful conversation at all.


    Loren didn¡¯t actually know all this, but since he had believed that undead were unable to talk with humans, he couldn¡¯t hide his surprise because he thought that Shutel was some sort of undead, due to the fact that the zombies didn¡¯t attack her.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably a Wight. They¡¯re undead that are a bit smarter than revenants.¡±


    ¡°So undead have different names based on how smart they are¡­¡±


    ¡°no, not exactly¡­¡±


    Suddenly the yellow mist erupted from Shutel¡¯s body and covered the area, interrupting Lapis.


    Loren tensed as he expected it to block their sight, but it was far from a smokescreen, something more atrocious than that.


    ¡°Wights are users of powerful energy drains. If the yellow mist touches you it steals your mana and life energy.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any business with you lot. Be prey for the zombies, is what I would like to say, but¡­¡±


    Shutel finally turned towards Loren and Lapis, with a quizzical look.


    ¡°An ordinary human would immediately be unable to move a finger, but why are you two not affected?¡±


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s because we have means to deal with it.¡±


    Lapis said proudly, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure if there was much meaning at all taking such an attitude against an undead.


    Shutel continued to look at Loren and Lapis, but after a while she turned around once again.


    ¡°Whatever. In any case, you wouldn¡¯tst long dealing with all these zombies and revenants, anyway. Even if you did, once Iplete what he started, there¡¯s no way the living could resist it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait!¡±


    Loren tried to stop Shutel from leaving, but at that moment the zombies stood in his way, blocking her from view.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t looking too good.¡±


    Even though Shutel left, the yellow mist did not disappear, and was still surrounding the area.


    As she looked at it, her words contained a bit of panic inside them.


    ¡°us and I are fine. I won¡¯t sumb to an energy drain of this degree, and us has the protection of his Gift.¡±


    ¡°Am I the problem, by chance?¡±


    ¡°The evil warding ritual does increase your resistance, but if you continue to be within the range of this energy drain, either your resistance will fail or the ritual will lose its power.¡±


    What Lapis had provided Loren wasn¡¯t something thatpletely mitigated the effects of an energy drain, but only raised his resistance so that he would withstand the effects.


    That in addition to Loren¡¯s natural resistance, was why nothing happened to him until now.


    But while he was within the mist that Shutel had emitted, which had the energy drain effect, he was constantly being exposed to the effects of the energy drain, so Lapis was saying that eventually his resistance would sumb to it or the ritual would lose effect.


    He had to escape to a ce outside the effects of the energy drain before that happened, but if he did that he wouldn¡¯t be able to chase after Shutel, the source of it all.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to take it as ites. Can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Not going after her isn¡¯t an option, I see.¡±


    From what Shutel had said, her top priority was getting her hands on Shayna, and didn¡¯t seem to want to chase them down or anything.


    Although they would have to get through the ring of zombies, backing off would be much easier than chasing after Shutel, but Loren didn¡¯t choose that option.


    ¡°Shutel said something aboutpleting his work or something like that. I don¡¯t know what that means exactly, but if something that humans can¡¯t ovee happens, it¡¯ll be really troublesome if we don¡¯t stop it.¡±


    ¡°I feel like some nation will do something about it once it starts getting out of hand, but stopping it before it happens can¡¯t hurt, I guess.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been expecting something like this to happen anyway, am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°I expected Shutel to make a move, and I did feel a weird indication, but I didn¡¯t expect her to be a wight.


    She apparently let Shutel in because she knew Shutel would make a move, and that would give a signpost to the key to this whole incident, but even Lapis didn¡¯t know that Shutel herself would be an undead.


    ¡°Higher the rank of the undead, the better they are at masking their presence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty annoying.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m fine with chasing her, but what should we do with the clinic?¡±


    If Loren and Lapis chased after Shutel, the defenses of the clinic would decrease drastically.


    There were still many undead around the area, and exterminating them before chasing would take too long, and by the time they finished, it would most likely be that Shutel would be done with what she was nning to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got this.¡±


    While Loren was wondering what they should do, us made the deration.


    ¡°The protection on the clinic still works, right? And the undead that get close are all attracted to me. If I keep killing the zombies at the hole, The building should be fine.¡±


    ¡°That might be true, but that means you¡¯ll be on your own until dawn.¡±


    Once the sun rose, there was a high possibility that the light-hating undead will go back to wherever they were hiding during the day, but there was still a long way until sunrise.


    During that time, if us had to continually deal with the undead all by himself, the undead would infiltrate the clinic through the hole that Shutel had made.


    Once that happens, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what would happen to the people inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s for my friends. Leave it to me. Is what I would like to say, but this is going to be pretty hard, even for me. So it would be helpful if you guys¡­ the two of you could defeat the wight ande back as soon as possible.¡±


    When they heard those words, Loren and Lapis nced at each other and said to us in harmony.


    ¡°¡®That way of talking is pretty disgusting''¡±


    ¡°I-I can be sorry for things, okay!? I owe you one for saving Ange as well.¡±


    The second half got quieter and was hard to make out, but us immediately recovered and looked back at Loren and Lapis, and said clearly.


    ¡°So leave this to me, please.¡±


    ¡°Well, since it looks like you¡¯ve made up your mind, I guess we could leave it to you.¡±


    If it was us when Loren first met him, he would¡¯ve scoffed and would¡¯ve told him not to be so full of himself, but to Loren it seemed he could trust the us he was seeing right now.


    That¡¯s why when Loren replied to him like that, he thumped his chest with his fist and undertook it.


    ¡°I promise that I¡¯ll protect this ce until you two get back.¡±


    ¡°Buy me a drink when it¡¯s all over.¡±


    ¡°¡­Shouldn¡¯t that be I¡¯ll buy you a drink when it¡¯s all over?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the money to even if I wanted to. I¡¯ve be an adventurer because I was a broke mercenary, after all.¡±


    As Loren said something quite pathetic, Lapis grabbed his hand and started pulling on it.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got no time to lose. I¡¯ll track Shutel so let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Alright us, you¡¯d better not die.¡±


    As Loren said that to motivate him, us held up his longsword and replied.


    ¡°Unfortunately, until I have a household with Ange, have a lot of children, a lot of grandchildren, and have them see me off, I won¡¯t feel like dying.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty luxurious dream you¡¯ve got there¡­¡±


    ¡°Roll and La will be my concubines.¡±


    us said somethingpletely unexpected with shining eyes.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better if we have him die here?¡±


    Loren was being quite serious as he asked Lapis, but she didn¡¯t answer. Instead, after sending an ice cold re resembling a blizzard in the farnds of the north, she started running after Shutel, still holding onto Loren¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 44: Moving On and Using Magic

    <h4>Chapter 44: Moving On and Using Magic</h4>


    Loren and Lapis ran through the dark city.


    It was bright around the clinic because they made sure to secure vision, but since they were getting far away from it, the only source of light they had were the moon and stars.


    While they were running at almost full speed, they exterminated zombies that popped up asionally.


    ¡°My eyes are infused with mana so they¡¯re fine, but¡±


    Lapis said while running ahead of Loren, in a slightly impressed manner.


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed since before that you can see in the dark quite well.¡±


    Loren had carried Lapis on his back and ran through a pitch-dark tunnel in one of the earlier jobs they were on.


    ¡°Things like these are all about getting used to.¡±


    Loren¡¯s opinion was that anything can happen on a battlefield.


    Ambushes and night raids weremon, so seeing in the dark was something you needed to survive, and Loren wasn¡¯t an exception, so since he was young, he had trained himself to be able to move around in the dark.


    ¡°But the problem is that undead have nothing that indicates where they are. It¡¯s so hard to sense them.¡±


    ¡°Well, your senses are unbelievable, since you¡¯re still able to cut them down.¡±


    Unlike people, undead aren¡¯t alive.


    That is why it is very difficult to sense them.


    Loren was very anxious because things almost undetectable kept suddenly jumping at him.


    Although he could see them when they moved, and the fact that they were slow was helping him defeat them, it was a situation where he could be dealt a fatal blow any time, so he couldn¡¯t let his guard down.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep this up, dammit.¡±


    Loren cursed as he swung his great sword again and sliced a zombie that flew at him into half.


    He heard something stter onto the street, but it was too dark to see what flew how much, and Loren was a bit thankful that it was night time, as he didn¡¯t have to see the unpleasant objects and colors.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you conjure light using magic?¡±


    ¡°Running around with a light in a lightless city like this will basically be shouting out our location.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to care about that?¡±


    Loren felt that there were no living humans in the city.


    If there were, there was no way it would be overflowing with undead.


    The feeling that they were being focused onto him and Lapis was one reason.


    If there were other survivors, the undead should be going to them as well.


    ¡°At least Shutel would care, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    If the only undead were zombies and revenants, Lapis wouldn¡¯t have cared too much about showing off their location.


    But their opponent was a wight, which has the same amount of intelligence as a human.


    In addition to that, the wight was the cause, or in a position that led to the situation they were currently in.


    ¡°Having more zombies sent over is going to be annoying, but it¡¯s going to be a problem if she sends over something like a bone dragon.¡±


    ¡°If that happens the only course of action is to run as fast as we can.¡±


    ¡°Leaving Shayna behind?¡±


    Loren was stuck on an answer.


    If he thought like a mercenary, the only option was to leave Shayna and retreat.


    But when he asked himself if he could do that, he couldn¡¯t find an answer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll worry about that once that timees.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re trying to change the subject, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren tried to fool her, but when Lapis pointed it out he frowned slightly.


    But Lapis didn¡¯t seem like she was going to go any further with it and closed her mouth, seeming to wait for Loren to say something.


    It cut their conversation, so Loren continued what they were talking about earlier.


    ¡°This whole situation, do you think it will be resolved if we defeat Shutel?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    The response to his question was very simple yet very cruel.


    As Loren took a sharp breath without realizing, Lapis started exining like it was nothing.


    ¡°There is probably a culprit behind this whole disturbance. And it¡¯s not Shutel herself, but the being she was talking about. I¡¯m not sure what he did, but he did something to Shayna and failed, then left this ce.¡±


    ¡°Looks like it.¡±


    ¡°And this mass outbreak of undead. It is probably all his doing but he isn¡¯t here anymore, so even if we defeat Shutel, the undead will still remain the way they are.¡±


    Lapis said it easily, but the contents were showing an unbelievable reality.


    It was unknown at that point how much of city state¡¯s poption became undead, but if the whole poption of its capital city became undead, the numbers would definitely be over ten thousand.


    If that many undead were let loose without any sort of control, it was already past the control of a few individuals, and it was a situation where the government or the army would have to make a move.


    ¡°Loren, two from the right.¡±


    Loren unconsciously almost stopped thinking, but Lapis gave him a warning against the zombies that popped up, and he was able to cut down both of them with a single swing of his great sword.


    ¡°That¡¯s not funny at all.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. In fact, my prediction is only an assumption based on if the casualties are kept at a minimum.¡±


    Loren looked at Lapis, wondering if there was anything more, but she took no notice of his gaze, and shrugged her head as she ran.


    ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about the treasure that was given to Shayna. A wight alone is quite bothersome, but if something greater than that decides to show up, these zombies and revenants will look cutepared to it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think these guys look cute at all, though.¡±


    Loren cut down another zombie as he said that.


    As he heard liquid sttering onto the dark alley, Loren gave his great sword a light swing, worried that the same thing was all over the de.


    ¡°damn, there¡¯s so many undead, it¡¯s kind of depressing.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re lucky it¡¯s night time. If it was during the day it would be quite a mess.¡±


    Undead rarely came out during the day.


    And night time was when undead could disy their full potential.


    If that is the case you usually wouldn¡¯t say that you were d that it was night, but Lapis was thankful that it was night time.


    She thought that because since the undead in the city haven¡¯t been that state for a long time yet, most of them weren¡¯t much different from when they were alive.


    Lapis didn¡¯t care much because she was a demon, but the zombies that Loren were killing included young children, and if it was during the day, when he could see his opponents, depressing might have not cut it.


    ¡°Loren, now that I think about it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up? I don¡¯t have a good feeling about what you¡¯re about to say, but go ahead.¡±


    Loren replied to Lapis, not expecting much, as he continued to cut down the zombies that attacked him sporadically,


    The undead should be focused on us, who was in an area lit up with bonfires as well as using the power of his Gift constantly, but there were still quite a few undead attacking them in the dark streets. As they neared the center of the city, the number of zombies and revenants increased, which made Loren focus more and more on them.


    ¡°The only ones alive for sure in this city is us and us, right?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t approve that you¡¯re aren¡¯t including Broas and the girls.¡±


    He knew that she didn¡¯t include them because it wasn¡¯t certain whether they would survive or not, but Loren wished that Broas and the girls from us¡¯s party would survive, and so he rebuked Lapis, who naturally didn¡¯t include them.


    ¡°Let me rephrase. The only ones that are currently conscious and are aware of this situation is us and us, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t count our opponent and Shayna.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that there aren¡¯t any witnesses in this situation?¡±


    Loren experienced an even worse feeling at the word witness.


    But the only things that were around the area were undead, and indeed the only living beings were him and Lapis, and us was trying very hard to be alive, but they were already very far away from him, and weren¡¯t within his view.


    In the case of Broas and the girls, it was unknown whether or not they regained consciousness, so Lapis was right when she said no witnesses.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem if I went slightly serious.¡±


    Loren thought for a moment as Lapis asked for his opinion.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t stop killing the undead that continued to pop up, but he thought about it the best he could while doing so, and after killing a few more undead, he finally got to a conclusion.


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t really think you should. Doesn¡¯t seem like anything good will happen.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, right?¡±


    In the dark of the night, when it was almost impossible to see anything, Loren and Lapis crossed eyes.


    In that moment, Loren seemed to realize that it was impossible to talk her out of it, but a feeling that he shouldn¡¯t give up drove him to continue the argument.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t. My sword is enough to kill the undead for now, anyway. I don¡¯t think you need to force yourself to use your powers. It¡¯s a different story if something like a bone dragon appears, though.¡±


    As soon as Loren said that, a violent tremor ran beneath his feet.


    As he tried to keep his footing on top of the shaking ground in disbelief, Lapis said to him in a very happy voice.


    ¡°You said that it¡¯s okay if a bone dragones out, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­I shouldn¡¯t have said that¡­¡±


    Loren was recalling a saying that included the phrase ¡®speak of the devil¡¯.


    It was a saying which meant that words whiche out of the mouth could sometimes summon the whatever the words were subject to, but even though Loren wished he didn¡¯t say anything, it was toote.


    The increasing tremors started to put cracks in the street and buildings around them were copsing, the dragon made of bones that chased Loren and his group on the way here broke through the ground with a ear piercing roar.


    ¡°If you do not let me use my full power every now and then, I may start losing my touch.¡±


    Instead of her usual gentle expression, Lapis¡¯ eyes turned sharp with aggressiveness.


    Lapis, whose way of talking changed as well, stood face to face with the bone dragon trying to climb up onto the ground, and raised her right palm towards it.


    ¡°Pass the river of sorrow and arrive at its abyss. If you desire to knock on the gates to heaven, may your sins be judged by crimson. >¡±


    The color of crimson filled Loren¡¯s sight.


    He couldn¡¯t see anything else.


    There wasn¡¯t a roar or scream, nor sounds of crumbling or burning.


    Everything just disappeared into the crimson brilliance.


    ¡°What¡­. the hell?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like Loren hadn¡¯t seen magic before.


    But he couldn¡¯t believe that the thing that just unfolded before his eyes was the same kind of magic that he had seen until now.


    ¡°Make sure to stay behind me, alright?¡±


    Lapis said to a speechless Loren in an awfully gentle tone.


    ¡°If you do not, you would die in a way that even your ashes would not remain.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words were like a whisper.


    At the same time, the crimson brilliance that filled his sight disappeared.


    It disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, making Loren doubt that there was ever a great fire in front of his eyes.


    But the damage that it did was right in front of him.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±


    Everything had disappeared.


    The stone blocks that made the street, the buildings around it, the bone dragon wing its way up, and the undead that started to gather in the area.


    All of it was gone, and the sight that came into his eyes was just exposed, hollow earth.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how much of the area became like that, but a quiterge area of the city disappeared in a blink of an eye.


    ¡°I guess my control was a bit poor¡­But I¡¯m satisfied that I could use magic at full st.¡±


    ¡°What was that just now¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a fire type extreme magic¡­but as I had thought, it was hard to control with these prosthetic limbs and eyes. If I had my eyes at least, I could¡¯ve increased the range on it.¡±


    Lapis was saying that she had held back on the range, but after seeing the spellpletely incinerate the bone dragon along with the undead around it, as well as the buildings in the area, Loren had nothing to say about herment.


    ¡°What¡¯ll happen if you¡¯re at perfect condition? Actually, do you even need me?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s just a bad joke Loren. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to use this kind of magic during battle. It¡¯s shy and has great firepower, but that¡¯s all there is too it. There¡¯s no way I don¡¯t need you Loren.¡±


    Lapis told him as she stepped into the bare earth that the spell had hollowed out.


    As Loren followed her, he was worried that the ground would be burning hot, but the only thing he felt was dirt, and nothing like burning soil.


    As Loren wondered what the logic behind it was, Lapis continued.


    ¡°Plus, I¡¯m a priestess, so it would be bad if people find out I could use magic. I wouldn¡¯t usually do this kind of thing.¡±


    Lapis stretched her arms, saying that it was a good stress relief.


    As Loren followed Lapis towards the center of the city across the earth, he realized that she didn¡¯t answer anything about what would happen if she was in perfect condition. He didn¡¯t feel like pushing for an answer and swore to himself that he would try to stop Lapis whenever she says she wants to use magic.

 Chapter 45: Arrival and Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 45: Arrival and Appearance</h4>


    Arge area of the city had burned and disappeared due to Lapis¡¯ magic spell.


    But apparently the effective range of the spell was longer than it was wide, and the damage reached close to the president¡¯s mansion.


    While Loren felt a cold shudder inside looking at the great deal of damage that was done, Lapis walking along the traces of her spell in a carefree manner, conjured a magic light on the tip of her finger and secured vision around them.


    ¡°Why now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve used a gigantic magic spell. They know our location, so it doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡±


    Lapis said it like it was nothing.


    Loren was confused at her words, and asked her the question that of course, had to be asked.


    ¡°Then why did you use such a spell?¡±


    ¡°¡­Hehe¡±


    After a moment of hesitation, Lapis stuck her tongue out and gave Loren a deceiving smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Hehe¡¯ me¡±


    ¡°No, but I needed to use a spell like that to defeat a bone dragon. I used it because I needed to.¡±


    Lapis switched to a serious expression and started exining, Loren continued to look at her with a skeptical gaze and pressed on.


    ¡°In reality?¡±


    ¡°I think a weaker spell like > would¡¯ve been fine.¡±


    Surprisingly, Lapis inly admitted that she chose the wrong spell.


    The current situation was because Lapis, who was holding back the whole time, let loose all her pent-up feelings in the form of one of her shiest magic spells. But since she had admitted it so inly, Loren thought that it was stupid to me her any further and decided to change the subject.


    ¡°The spell you just used. It¡¯s unrted to the number of times you could use Divine Arts, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not rted at all. They¡¯repletely different. I can still use Divine Arts three times.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you could use it two times before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve grown a bit since then.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know what growth was for a priest, but if the number of times she could use Divine Arts increased, it was something to be happy about, and the progress itself wasn¡¯t something to be worried about.


    ¡°Time to go, I guess¡­¡±


    Lapis smiled as Loren decided to think of it as he could get injured an additional time now and suggested that they move ahead.


    ¡°That¡¯s the most constructive action.¡±


    Undead shouldn¡¯t have emotions such as fear.


    But maybe there was a chance that Lapis¡¯ magic had struck fear among them.


    That was how smoothly they reached the president¡¯s mansion, without running into any undead.


    Loren thought that a leader of a nation would be living in a castle of some sort, but the mansion that they reached had quite a fine structure but was far from being a castle.


    It was surrounded by a moat, with a somewhat tall wall on the other side, and past it was the mansion, so to Loren it looked like a fortress.


    On a normal day there would be soldiers stationed on the bridge to protect it, but currently there was no one to be seen.


    Loren and Lapis crossed the empty bridge, went through the gates, and stopped in front of a space that seemed like a yard that led to the mansion.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite reckless to havee all the way here.¡±


    In the middle of the yard was a stand that looked like a stone altar.


    On top of it was Shayna, who wasn¡¯t moving at all, wearing a white dress that looked like the one she was wearing when Loren and Lapis first found her in the forest. In front of it was Shutel, who was now wearing a ck robe.


    Around it was bonfires, giving off enough light to see across the whole yard.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got bad taste. What are you up to?¡±


    A girlid on top of an altar.


    It looked like an evil ritual for worshiping some evil deity, and Loren raised his sword and red at Shutel.


    ¡°This is all for aplishing the work that my master has left.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell is that master you¡¯re talking about? What are you trying to do to a young girl, you pervert?¡±


    The corner of Shutel¡¯s lips twitched. At the same time Lapis, who was watching the situation beside Loren, burst up in a smallugh.


    Watching Lapis¡¯ cover her mouth with her hand and trembling from trying to keep theughter in, Loren continued to insult Shutel.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the words of a pervert. You¡¯re so called master must be more perverted you are. Perverts like you should rot in hell, since you¡¯re undead anyway.¡±


    ¡°W-what!? You uneducated savage!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯tpletely deny uneducated and savage, but I know not to put my hands on a young girl like that. You can¡¯t even do that, you pervert.¡±


    ¡°Age doesn¡¯t matter! This girl had the aptitude!¡±


    Blood did not flow in the veins of the undead.


    That was why Shutel¡¯s face stayed the same color, but her face twisted with anger, and red at Loren with hatred.


    As Loren looked back with a re of his own, Lapis interrupted.


    ¡°Aptitude for what? I¡¯m slightly interested. What is the treasure that was bestowed to her?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way people like you would understand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the knowledge God. If it is indeed something amazing, I would love to learn it.¡±


    Lapis asked her as she put her hand on Loren¡¯s chest, telling him to wait.


    Shutel opened her mouth and looked like she was about to refuse, but Lapis interrupted her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to say that you can¡¯t, right? You¡¯re trying toplete the work of your great master. If you can¡¯t even exin it to others in a way they could understand, it would mean that you don¡¯t understand it yourself, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°You could at least exin it, regardless of whether or not we could understand what it is, right?¡±


    Lapis asked in a challenging manner, but Shutel sneered at her.


    ¡°Trying to buy time, eh? Whatever. The preparations areplete, and you won¡¯t be able to run anyway. If you wish to know, I will tell you. What the great work of my master is.¡±


    Loren wanted to cut her down immediately, but the arm that Lapis had in front of his chest was holding him back with unexpected strength, despite how it looked.


    Guessing that Lapis had something in mind, all he could do was listen to Shutel.


    ¡°The aptitude that this girl had. It was for the treasure my master possessed. An aptitude for the jewel of conquering death.¡±


    Loren nced at Lapis, but she just turned her gaze towards him and shook her head.


    The jewel that Shutel spoke of was something that even Lapis, who seemed like she knew everything, hadn¡¯t heard of.


    ¡°It is the product of my master¡¯s research. It sucks people¡¯s lives and bestows the power to ovee death.¡±


    Loren was exasperated at Shutel, who started exining everything, but it seemed to have piqued Lapis¡¯ interest, as she started focusing on what Shutel was saying.


    ¡°My master gave me the power as well, but since I had no aptitude for it, I was only able to ovee death halfway.¡±


    The tone of her voice got lower.


    It seemed like she was disheartened that she wasn¡¯t able to meet her master¡¯s expectations, but although wights didn¡¯t die easily they weren¡¯t impossible to kill.


    As Loren thought maybe the experiment was a failure, Shutel¡¯s voice got louder and higher again.


    ¡°But my master¡¯s research finally showed results in thisnd! When my master found this girl, he was certain that she had the aptitude and that she would bringplete results, and gave her the jewel!¡±


    ¡°So it looks like someone from somewhere who was researching immortality used a magic tool that he developed to create a culmination of his research, but none of his subjects had the aptitude so he continuously got iplete results, but he found Shayna, who had the aptitude, so he did stuff.¡±


    ¡°I could understand that much even without you summarizing it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­Umm Shutel, there¡¯s one thing that doesn¡¯t make sense yet, but it seems like the story ends when he found Shayna.¡±


    Shutel¡¯s face clouded at Lapis¡¯ words.


    ¡°My master was mortal. There was one miscalction.¡±


    ¡°Judging from the fact that there were iplete works, I don¡¯t think there was only one miscalction.¡±


    ¡°Loren, be quiet¡­what was that miscalction?¡±


    Lapis asked after silencing Loren.


    Lapis did so because if his words made Shutel mad and she stopped talking, it would be unbearable, but it seemed like his words didn¡¯t reach her ears.


    ¡°It was that a child¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t able to keep its sanity against the power of death flowing into it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The jewel probably sucks the life of others and change them into undead¡­having something like that poured into her, do you think a child¡¯s mind could bear all of it?¡±


    Having something alien poured into your body.


    On top of that, the feeling of that something changing yourself into something that isn¡¯t living.


    Even though he didn¡¯t understand what it felt like, he concluded that it was extremely disgusting, and it wasn¡¯t something that was bearable, even if you weren¡¯t a child.


    ¡°She rejected it.¡±


    ¡°Correct. This girl, amid her pain, used the spell > and disappeared from thisnd.¡±


    ¡°Shayna used >? Ah¡­I see. So, she was halfway from bing one.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind exining, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Shayna was about to be undead by the power of the jewel, but then showed signs of rejection and used the power of the undead she was about to be to cast a spell and fled from this ce. She didn¡¯t set coordinates of her destination, so it was a so-called >. I understand most of it now.¡±


    ¡°You said Shayna was human, right?¡±


    Lapis did in fact, say that Shayna was human.


    Lapis gave Loren an apologetic look.


    ¡°She almost became one, so she¡¯s not one yet. So currently Shayna is still human. The adventurers inside the caravans getting ill and dying was due to the jewel that she was carrying.¡±


    A jewel that sucked the life out of people.


    Shayna was sucking the life out of the people around her unaware.


    ¡°By any chance¡­the power that was poured into Shayna¡­was the people of Hanza¡­How many lives did the jewel suck up?¡±


    ¡°For a great achievement, sacrificed must be made. The more the better.¡±


    ¡°This is the worst¡­¡±


    Without thinking, Lapis covered her face with the palm of her hand.


    Lapis started exining it indifferently to Loren, who was looking back and forth between her and Shutel, confused.


    ¡°Most likely, the jewel has turned the people of Hanza, the whole city-state, into low rank undead. Shayna, who has been given the power, based on the amount and the spell she used during the rejection, she will turn into a high rank undead.¡±


    ¡°Any way to stop it?¡±


    ¡°At this point, none. Shutel said it earlier. The preparations are done.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. The preparations are done, and in this moment, my master¡¯s work will beplete!¡±


    As Shutel raised her arms high towards the sky, on the altar in front of her, a bright, white light erupted from Shayna¡¯s chest.


    Although it was light, there was no heat emitted from it, but instead it started emitting a chill so cold that even Loren started to shiver.


    ¡°Like, isn¡¯t this really bad?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. Honestly speaking, this is very bad.¡±


    There was a bitterness in Lapis¡¯ voice.


    She lowered the arm that was holding Loren back, closed her fist, and red at Shutel, who wasughing loudly.


    ¡°You definitely won¡¯t die a decent death, you know.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t die. Not until I deliver this result to my master! You should celebrate as well. Then bow down before my master and offer him your lives!¡±


    The light pouring out from Shayna became even brighter.


    Amid the blinding light, Loren covered his eyes with his arm and Lapis, perhaps due to the fact that her eyes were prosthetics, continued ring at Shutel, who was on the opposite side of Shayna and the light, without protecting them.


    Shutel raised her voice to the two of them.


    ¡°This time for sure, spawn from the power of the jewel and the soul of the girl! The one who conquered death! >!¡±


    In that moment, the presence that filled the space sent a nasty chill down Loren¡¯s spine, one that felt like a nail made of ice being hammered into his heart.

 Chapter 46: Starting Battle

    <h4>Chapter 46: Starting Battle</h4>


    Shayna¡¯s body floated above the altar, with the hem of her dress swaying.


    Her shining golden hair that was full of youth earlier before, lost its glow and was now looked cold andckluster.


    Her half-opened eyes were vacant and unfocused, and from her small, weakly open mouth sounded an unpleasant moaning that would make one plug his or her ears.


    White mist continued to seep out of her pale, sickly looking skin, and it flowed along Shayna¡¯s body and onto the altar, then to the ground.


    The object on her chest that had been releasing a blinding light was now emitting a faint, hazy glow, which gave Loren a bubbly sensation on his skin.


    ¡°Ahh¡­this, this is the work of my master¡­unmistakably, the true king of the dead¡­¡±


    Shutel¡¯s voice quivered, most likely due to her joy.


    Since she was already undead, she couldn¡¯t feel what Loren, who was still living, was feeling from Shayna.


    ¡°This is the worst. Yes, definitely the worst.¡±


    As Lapis took a step back, like she was getting pushed back by Shayna¡¯s presence, grinding her teeth, Shutel announced triumphantly with her voice still quivering from her joy.


    ¡°This is the end! The time hase, when everything will bow down to the great works of my master!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like a single > is going to end the world¡­Well, if something like this is mass produced, maybe that might happen, but there is a w in your thinking.¡±


    Shayna, who was now a No Life King, didn¡¯t look like she was going to start moving anytime soon.


    Lapis raised a finger and pointed it at Shutel while standing a few steps behind Loren, who had his great sword raised and facing Shayna despite being assaulted by a chill that sent shivers down his spine.


    ¡°w? What are you even¡­?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s!¡±


    Lapis lowered her finger as she raised her voice and interrupted Shutel.


    As Shutel stopped talking unthinkingly at Lapis¡¯ loud voice, Lapis took the opening to point out the fact to her.


    ¡°The existence that appeared here is definitely a >. But about this >. Is this a being that is controble in any way?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Looking at Shutel, who responded with confusion, Lapis became certain of one fact.


    But it was a useless fact for them, and at the same time a very crucial problem for Shutel.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that you summoned a > in an uncontroble state.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­No, but the > should only target living beings like you! I¡¯m already undead so¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh ok. I got it. You¡¯re a braindead idiot!¡±


    Shutel¡¯s face turned nk at Lapis¡¯ sudden cursing, even forgetting to get mad.


    Lapis then followed up in an even louder voice and pointed at Shayna.


    ¡°That over there is a >! It is the highest ranking undead that drags everything in this world into death and reigns over it as its king! There¡¯s no way an undead with free will like you will be allowed to exist!¡±


    ¡°Whahh!?¡±


    In dismay, Shutel took two, three steps back from the No Life King floating next to her and nced up at Shayna.


    Coincidently, her gaze met the hollow eyes of Shayna.


    ¡°Eeek!?¡±


    Shutel let out a small cry.


    She was an undead so she shouldn¡¯t feel any fear, but her body was tense with definite fear and while she was frozen in ce, Shayna slowly raised her hand towards her.


    ¡°Stop! I¡¯m¡­¡±


    She didn¡¯t get the chance to finish her sentence.


    As soon as Shayna¡¯s attention focused on Shutel, something that looked like white mes erupted from Shutel¡¯s feet and then engulfed her body.


    When the mes disappeared, Shutel had a nk expression that was void of any will at all.


    She was bowing down, as if she were a subject bowing before the authority of a king, and from her mouth was a growl that sounded nothing like words. The yellow fog around her body disappeared, and she stopped emitting it as well.


    ¡°Unbelievable. She drained the wight¡¯s power and turned it into an ordinary zombie.¡±


    ¡°What can we even do about that thing¡­wait, does that mean I have to kill Shayna?¡±


    Loren understood that his opponent was the highest ranking undead >.


    But it still looked like Shayna, and when he asked himself if he could raise his sword against it, he was at a loss of words.


    ¡°If you could cut it down, I would like for you to do it, but our opponent is a > you know? It has multipleyers of magic and physical defenses and has a constant energy drain field around its body. If you can manage to kill it¡­uh, wait, umm?¡±


    Lapis stopped talking and started thinking, but before she could finish, the zombie that was Shutel sensed them and climbed over the altar towards them.


    In the situation that an enemy came towards them and was trying to grab onto them, Loren swung his great sword and cut it into two, ntwise from its shoulder.


    ¡°crap! It faced this way!¡±


    His action caught the attention of Shayna and her hollow gaze was now facing Loren, and raised her palm, as she did with Shutel moments before.


    Loren guessed that if he got hit with the white mes, he would turn into a zombie as well, so he quickly dashed towards the side to dodge what wasing.


    At the same time Lapis darted in the opposite direction of Loren to try to throw off Shayna¡¯s aim.


    ¡°>¡±


    White mes burst from the ground that Loren stood on a heartbeat before.


    Seeing that the mes disappeared without catching Loren, Shayna, still above the altar, slowly turned and started chasing after Loren with her gaze.


    Loren understood that as soon as he stopped the mes woulde for him again, so he continued to run, stepping to the left and right, trying not to run in a straight line. Shayna seemed have found out Loren¡¯s motive, as she moved her lips to form a different word.


    ¡°>¡±


    She lightly waved her hand and mes erupted from it, flying towards Loren in the shape of a fan.


    Loren dodged it by leaping backwards in a hurry, but by doing so he lost all the distance he had slowly been gaining on her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t get close! Being able to cut her down or not isn¡¯t even the problem here!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any knives left!?¡±


    ¡°I used them all up on the zombies!¡±


    ¡°Nuuu¡­Lost ones, return to where you belong. >¡±


    Lapis groaned and then used an exorcism spell. Shayna¡¯s body glowed for a moment, but immediately disappeared, and it didn¡¯t look like she took any damage at all. She didn¡¯t even try to face Lapis, but instead was focused on Loren, who was zig zagging his way towards her.


    ¡°Of course, it would get resisted¡­It didn¡¯t even tickle her.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t have enough faith!?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s a priest who could exorcise a >, bring one here right now!¡±


    As soon as Lapis shouted, she dove away, and white mes erupted where she had stood.


    Shayna wasn¡¯t looking at Lapis, but she knew she was there.


    She tried to attack Lapis when she was caught off guard, so she pulled a feint, looking at Loren while attacking her, but Lapis wasn¡¯t an ordinary being either.


    ¡°Stones of red, strike the enemy >¡±


    The spell that Lapis used while dodging shot four bullets made of fire from her fingers, and all of them hit Shayna in the face.


    It was an attack that would¡¯ve seriously injured a person, but when the mes cleared, Lapis saw that it didn¡¯t even leave a burn on Shayna¡¯s face and growled.


    ¡°I guess an elementary ss spell won¡¯t even leave a mark.¡±


    As Lapis muttered under her breath, Shayna looked away from Loren and faced her, finally acknowledging that she was an obstacle.


    As Shayna slowly raised her palm towards Lapis, Lapis stood still and looked straight back at her with a sly smile.


    ¡°Are you sure? That it¡¯s okay to look away from him?¡±


    The moment that her attention moved away from him.


    There was no way Loren would miss such an opportunity.


    Shayna was in the middle ofunching an attack on Lapis as well, so he dashed straight towards her, knowing that this was his only chance to close in.


    ¡°You can hate me for this!¡±


    Loren brought his great sword down from over his head, straight onto Shayna¡¯s forehead, but the de couldn¡¯t capture her.


    It was because Shayna sensed Loren¡¯s attack and leaped down from the altar, whilst casting > at Lapis. Loren¡¯s attack caught the hem of her dress and crashed down onto the altar, destroying it.


    ¡°Lapis!¡±


    Loren continued with a scooping stroke from under, but Shayna dodged it again.


    But Loren was determined to stick close to her and went in for another strike, but he saw Lapis being engulfed in white mes, and shouted in surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine! One hit won¡¯t do anything to me.¡±


    When the mes died, although she was breathing heavily, Lapis wasn¡¯t turned into an undead.


    It was an attack that even a wight sumbed to, but if she was able to withstand it, didn¡¯t that mean Lapis was tougher than a wight? The thought crossed through Loren¡¯s mind for a moment, but his body was still moving to keep within attacking range of Shayna,unching strike after strike with his great sword.


    ¡°Loren be careful! What she¡¯s using isn¡¯t magic so there¡¯s no need for her to chant spells! The attacks wille suddenly!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that impossible to be careful of?¡±


    Currently Shayna was raising her palm before she attacked, but ording to Lapis that wasn¡¯t a necessary action, so if she stopped doing that, there was no way for Loren to know that an attack wasing.


    Rather than that, Loren thought bitterly.


    It was hard to believe that Shayna had battle experience, but Loren was astonished at the fact that she evaded all his blows.


    He guessed that since she was a > her physical abilities would be considerable, but her dodging his every attack whilst floating made it feel like he was fighting against smoke or a heat haze, and although he was keeping her down, Loren felt panic slowly rising inside.


    ¡°Loren! Aim here!¡±


    Lapis¡¯ voice reached his ears.


    While continuing his attack, Loren faced Lapis and saw that she was pointing at her chest.


    ¡°The ce where it¡¯s glowing! Normal > don¡¯t have anything like that! I¡¯m not sure what will happen, but it¡¯s worth a shot!¡±


    It was where the > had been.


    Although it was feeble, there was a lighting from Shayna¡¯s chest, and Loren wondered whether he should do as Lapis said, but when the No Life King heard what Lapis said, it reflexively covered its chest with its hand. Seeing that, Loren decided what to do.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen a regr > before¡­? Well, seems that Lapis is right and aiming for it is worth a shot.¡±


    Of course, there was no response from the No Life King.


    Instead, still covering the glowing part with its arm, faced Loren with its hollow gaze and let out a sharp screech.


    It was loud enough to make Loren want to cover his ears, but if he did it would mean that he would have to stop attacking and would give the No Life King an opening to recover.


    Loren decided that he should endure it and keep attacking, but then he felt a strange sensation in his arms and legs, making them heavy and sluggish, slowing him down and slowing his attacks as well.


    ¡°Loren! The > strengthened its energy drain! If we don¡¯t hurry it will ovee the protection that I cast on you!¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re running out of time¡­¡±


    He had to strike the chest of an opponent that he couldn¡¯t evennd a single blow on until now, so Loren didn¡¯t have time to consider his options.


    He decided that he didn¡¯t care if he cked outter, and he heard a click in the corner of his mind, like a piece fitting into ce.

 Chapter 47: Wrapping Up and Losing Consciousness

    <h4>Chapter 47: Wrapping Up and Losing Consciousness</h4>


    Loren shot off at a speed that was iparable to the speed that he had been moving until now.


    The fire that the No Life King shot out didn¡¯t even graze him and burned empty space that no one was standing on.


    Loren then plunged within reach and struck a sideways blow, and the No Life King¡¯s barrier tried to block it, but was cracked open.


    It didn¡¯t let out a sound or show any signs of surprise, but it dodged Loren¡¯s attack by moving back, while giving off an air of dismay. It then proceeded to attack Loren again, but lost sight of him.


    ¡°This way.¡±


    The No Life King turned around to the sound of Loren¡¯s voice behind it, to see the tip of his great sword flying towards its chest.


    It reconstructed its force field and tried to block the de, but before its eyes, some sort of design on the surface of the ck de emitted a suspicious light and easily cut through the reconstructed force field, and grazed its chest.


    It immediately used > and tried to burn Loren, who should¡¯ve been in front of it, but seeing that his blow didn¡¯t fully reach the No Life King, Loren immediately pulled back with the same speed. By the time the mes shot out of the No Life King¡¯s palm, Loren was already out of its range.


    His speed was unbelievable for someone who was wielding such a heavy weapon like a great sword, and thinking that it wasn¡¯t going to able to catch him in an attack, the No Life King roared.


    The roar, which if a living being heard, would have the life sucked out of them, wasn¡¯t enough to stop Loren.


    Not waiting for the fan of mes to die, Loren raised his great sword and rushed forward. The mes parted before the de of his sword, as if letting him through.


    The No Life King froze at the unbelievable phenomenon, and as soon as it did it was met by a series of strikes like a raging wind, and for the first time, it was forced to focus on dodging and defending itself.


    The force field and the great sword met each other again and again, making an irritating sound ring through the air, and in the midst of parrying the unending attacks, it was desperately searching for a breakthrough.


    The fact that Shayna, who became the host for the No Life King, didn¡¯t have any sort of battle experience was working in Loren¡¯s favor.


    Not being able to make a breakthrough for this situation that it never experienced before, the No Life King was being exposed to Loren¡¯s attacks and was being forced back little by little.


    The mes that it shot out in desperation was swept away by the raging shes, and didn¡¯t even singe Loren¡¯s hair.


    But unlike the No Life King, Loren was but a human, so he eventually started tiring, and his continuous attacks stopped as well.


    As his attacks started to slow down, the No Life King frowned as noticed that Loren was getting exhausted and was unable to continue his attacks as he wanted to.


    But Loren still desperately tried to hold on, but eventually his attacks stopped, and he plunged his great sword into the ground, leaning onto it like a staff.


    ¡°damn it¡­¡±


    As the No Life King shot an empowered > in his direction, he faced the t of the de towards the and hid behind it to try to catch his breath.


    Although the great sword became somewhat of a shield against the fan-shaped mes, the mes still engulfed the area around Loren, and the heat and theck of oxygen would eventually stop him from movingpletely. The No Life King was sure of its victory.


    But the future that it predicted didn¡¯te to pass.


    ¡°Take this!¡±


    Loren¡¯s voice came from above the No Life King¡¯s head.


    It was unknown to anyone how relevant the motion was, but when the No Life King looked up, it was met by the sole of Loren¡¯s boot crashing into its chest, making its small body lose bnce and stagger back.


    It swung its arms around, not knowing what just happened, trying to get Loren away from it. But since Shayna was still a child, no matter how much it swung its arms, Loren had the superior reach and physical strength.


    Before the No Life King could even think of reconstructing a force field, Loren¡¯s right fist, with the momentum of his whole body behind it, was driven into its chest, where Loren¡¯s foot had caught before, along with a blunt sound. As it received the full force of the blow, it got knocked onto its back and slid quite a distance across the ground, raising clouds of dust.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty reckless. Engaging in hand-to-hand battle against a No Life King? Unbelievable.¡±


    Lapis, who was watching from the side, saw everything from start to finish.


    Loren making it seem like he was tiring was all an act, and he hid behind his sword with strength left over. When the No Life King used its mes, thinking it had won, he used his great sword as footing and jumped up,unching a kick at it.


    He immediately followed up with a punch to its chest to make sure and was able to apply damage since it couldn¡¯t block it.


    ¡°That¡¯s not enough take you down, is it?¡±


    He took a step back, reached behind him with his left hand, grabbed the handle of his great sword that was still in the ground, and pulled it out with just one arm.


    Instead of taking a stance, he used the momentum and centrifugal force to mow down the upper body of the No Life King, which was trying to get up.


    The de of the great sword caught the glowing part of its chest and gave it a shallow cut. Along with the two blows Loren hadnded before, a dry cracking noise sounded. The next moment, it shattered into small pieces and it scattered around the feet of the No Life King, which was trying to get up.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    As a small light returned to the hollow eyes of the No Life King, a small voice escaped from its lips.


    Upon hearing it, Loren immediately stopped his next attack. At that moment he was attacked by fatigue and fell to one knee but managed to plunge his great sword into the ground and use it to support himself.


    ¡°damn, the recoil¡­but¡­¡±


    He could barely move his body.


    This always happened, but normally by this point he would¡¯ve easily gone unconscious, and although he was feeling a quite foggy, he was still conscious and could still see the No Life King in front of him.


    Loren himself knew very well that it wasn¡¯t that he got used to it.


    If it was something that he could get used to, he should¡¯ve gotten used to it a long time ago. Then why was he able to keep conscious? As he wondered that, his gaze naturally went to the great sword he was using to support himself.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­right?¡±


    If there was anything that changed since thest time, that was about it.


    But if the great sword was indeed the cause, the sword he held would be what was known as a demonic sword, and its rarity was immeasurable.


    Of course, there was no way it would be sold at a store, and even if it did, its price would be two or three digits longer than the price he got it for.


    As the thought went through his head, he was about to look at Lapis, but he heard something drop to the ground near him and his eyes turned to it.


    ¡°O¡­nii¡­san¡­¡±


    On the ground was Shayna¡¯s left arm.


    From the section where it ripped off the shoulder, he saw that the arm was filled with some white substance, with no trace of any flesh or blood.


    Shayna stared curiously at her left shoulder and tried to stand, but this time her right leg ripped off and caused her to drop down again.


    ¡°What the hell¡¯s happening¡­¡±


    ¡°Her body is breaking down. Turning a human into a No Life King is an absurd spell in the first ce. The jewel was probably what was keeping her together, but since it broke it can¡¯t maintain her body anymore.¡±


    As Lapis walked over, she observed what was happening to Shayna and presented her spection.


    Shayna¡¯s left arm, although it kept its shape for a while longer, eventually copsed like it was made of ashes, and the white dust scattered off in the wind.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we do anything about this?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s an illegal spell called >¡­. but on top of making a spell that you cast onto yourself into something you could use on others, it has been modified to be able to be high ranked undead like a No Life King. It¡¯s just absurd in so many ces. And the victim is paying the cost. There¡¯s nothing¡­that we can do.¡±


    Even while Lapis was talking, Shayna¡¯s body was copsing.


    The white dust that dropped to the ground didn¡¯t stay, and Shayna, who was watching it with an expressionless face, locked eyes with Loren, who was watching her, unable to move, and asked him in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°Onii¡­san. Am I¡­going to die?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, apparently so.¡±


    He didn¡¯t feel like lying or be ambiguous, and simply told her the truth.


    ¡°I see¡­But if it means¡­I¡¯m not causing anyone trouble¡­I¡¯m d.¡±


    Although the jewel confined her in to be the No Life King, part of her consciousness was still there.


    She had a grasp of what kind of damage and casualties she would bring about if she continued to be the No Life King.


    That was why Shayna was able to say that she was d that she was defeated before she hurt anyone else.


    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you¡­Onii-san.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. I didn¡¯t do anything. All I did was cut you down.¡±


    Putting aside whether it was a saving grace for Shayna, Loren cut her down because there was a need to do so.


    But looking at it from the viewpoint of their original goal, it meant that they failed. In this situation, Loren didn¡¯t want to hear Shayna thank him, and preemptively tried to stop her, but Shayna still opened her mouth.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°¡­Dammit.¡±


    She seemed to have pushed herself to say that, as the copsing sped up, and Loren, scolding his unmoving feet, inched towards her.


    He wanted to at least hold her hand before herst, and seeing that, Shayna raised her copsing right hand slowly towards him.


    ¡°Huh? W-wait!?¡±


    Lapis was about to say something, but Loren didn¡¯t stop and kept going forward to hold Shayna¡¯s hand, and eventually seeded in getting ahold of it.


    But even that onlysted a moment, as the hand that he felt in his crumbled into white dust.


    ¡°Onii-san, you¡¯re a good person¡­¡±


    Shayna, with her crumbling face, managed to smile and whisper onest thing to Loren, who couldn¡¯t do anything except grip the white dust in his hand.


    ¡°But I think you¡¯re a bit careless.¡±


    Shayna¡¯s voice suddenly became clearer.


    Surprised, Loren couldn¡¯t think of a reason why, but felt his consciousness fade away rapidly.


    He couldn¡¯t even ask Lapis what happened or keep his body up. He slowly sank to the ground, and at the same time his body fell sideways, Shayna crumbled awaypletely into white dust that seemed to cover Loren.


    ¡°Loren? Loren!?¡±


    Although he didn¡¯t know why, Loren knew for sure that this time he won¡¯t even be able to move a finger, and hepletely let go of his consciousness, listening to Lapis call his name.

 Chapter 48: Resting After Waking

    <h4>Chapter 48: Resting After Waking</h4>


    ¡°Of course this is where I end up.¡±


    Loren was lying on top of a hospital bed, listening to Lapis, who seemed to be in a bad mood. He silently looked up at the ceiling, trying not to look at her.


    The location was the city of Kauffa.


    Loren was lying in a room in one of the few hospitals in the city.


    ¡°Do you know how hard it was for me after that? You¡¯re way too heavy for me to carry with these thin arms of mine. Plus, you¡¯re way taller than me, you know? Your feet were dragging even when I carried you on my back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my boots have cuts and scrapes all over. I might have to get a new pair.¡±


    His expenses would increase, but a pair of boots wasn¡¯t that expensive.


    While he was thinking about the cost of the boots and asking Chuck, who seemed like he would know much about this kind of thing, if he knew a ce to get a cheap pair, Lapis¡¯ scolding continued.


    ¡°You were heavy enough, but I had to drag your great sword as well, you know? I believe that it would be fair for you to make up for this service, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Loren¡¯s great sword was something a normal warrior would have trouble holding with both hands, but Lapis said that she was able to drag it, so he was able to get a general idea of how strong she was.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thatter. Anyways, hey Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±


    Lapis had beenining the whole time, but when Loren spoke in a tired voice, she stopped doing so and answered him.


    Maybe she wasn¡¯t that mad, and she just wanted toin.


    Or maybe she was just fast and clear when switching over.


    Loren had no idea, but he asked Lapis the one thing he had to know.


    ¡°What happened after that?¡±


    Shayna, who had be a No Life King.


    Loren had shattered the jewel on its chest and defeated it.


    Apparently normal No Life Kings didn¡¯t have weaknesses like that, so Loren knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat other ones in the same fashion, but anyways, he was able to defeat it and while it was disappearing, Shayna¡¯s consciousness returned.


    He remembered up to the point where he reached out to her tofort her and took her hand.


    At that moment he felt that Shayna had whispered a few things to him, but he cked out right after so he couldn¡¯t recall what they were, and so he decided that he needed to check with Lapis what happened after.


    ¡°The thing is, I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Lapis pulled up a chair next to the hospital bed and sat down.


    ¡°Loren, you went up to it as its body was crumbling, but that was really careless, you know? A > doesn¡¯t exactly die even after its body disappears.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Do you know that every living thing has two different bodies, Material and Astral?¡±


    Loren immediately shook his head.


    ¡°Material is the physical body. Astral can be considered as the spiritual body. The two of these merging together makes up the existence of a living being. This can be slightly confusing, but even if you damaged the material side, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that you damaged the astral side.¡±


    Lapis peered into Loren¡¯s face, wondering if he understood.


    The exnation that Lapis gave was simple enough for Loren to understand, and he nodded for her to continue.


    ¡°There are only a few beings that are aware of both of them. The logic behind growing back missing limbs by using high rank Divine Arts is in this area, but I won¡¯t go into that. So, unless both of these bodies are destroyed, they won¡¯t truly die.¡±


    Lapis then said that for beings that are not aware of the two types of bodies, the death of the material body is the definition of death.


    In that case, since the astral body is still alive, it is possible to revive them with the highest ranking Divine Arts, >.


    But even the astral body will weaken and eventually die if its material body isn¡¯t alive, so there is a time limit for reviving people.


    ¡°What is the difference between that and a ghost?¡±


    ¡°A ghost is an astral that has been rooted to this world, although it is but a shadow of its former self. Since it is but a shadow, it is impossible to resurrect it. Although it seems that necromancers are still researching this.¡±


    ¡°I got what you¡¯re saying. But if the material dies, the astral will die as well, right?¡±


    ¡°But the thing is, if the being is aware of the two, even if the material is destroyed, it can live on for a while in its astral state. A > is one of those few beings.¡±


    So what Lapis was trying to say was that although Shayna¡¯s body started to crumble from the recoil of the jewel, but that was just the material body, and was unsure of whether or not it was the same for the astral body.


    If the astral side was untouched, it was impossible to say that the No Life King had truly died, so Lapis was angry that Loren was too thoughtless.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t need that kind of information when you¡¯re a mercenary. I¡¯ll admit that I was careless, though.¡±


    ¡°Yes, indeed. But in any case, the disappeared, and you only lost consciousness, so it seems that the recoil was powerful enough to destroy the astral body as well.¡±


    Lapis voice had a bit of relief mixed in it.


    That meant that although she was angry about Loren¡¯s actions, she was worried about him, and Loren coughed, starting to feel slightly embarrassed.


    But then something caught the corner of his eye.


    The only thing in front of his eyes was the ceiling, but at the corner he saw a small girl with wings wearing a dress. She was floating there, without needing to p her wings.


    The girl, who was hovering in his sight ever since he regained consciousness, looked very simr to Shayna, and it seemed like Lapis couldn¡¯t see her at all.


    ¡°Falling unconscious¡­was that really all that happened?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis, worried that he hit his head really hard and something was wrong with his mind.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t mention anything about seeing a girl in the corner of his eye because he didn¡¯t want anyone to think that he had gone insane or something.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone through a few examinations just in case, but you¡¯re quite healthy. But this time you were a lot more weakened thanst time. You were one step away from dying, to be exact.¡±


    Lapis, who had taken Loren back to the clinic in Hanza, was flustered at Loren¡¯s condition and made us, who was already exhausted from defending the ce, go get the four who were sleeping in the clinic and throw them in the caravan along with Loren. She then fastened him onto the horse and forced them toe all the way back to Kauffa.


    Thanks to their efforts, they were all able to survive, but us, who was being worked overtime using > nonstop, passed outpletely and was currently confined to a bed with Ange and the other girls, now recovered, to look after him.


    He wasn¡¯t a bad person if he was just slightly more honest, so Loren hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be traumatized by this incident, but there was no way of him knowing.


    Of course, if he didn¡¯t work so hard, Loren might have died, so he was thankful.


    He decided that he should go meet him when he recovered, but then recalled what Lapis had said about his condition, and muttered quietly.


    ¡°The medical expenses were quite a bit, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been hospitalized for seven days, Loren. If you only count the hospital charges it would be about seventeen silver coins¡­but this time, there is an expense for something else.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°As I mentioned before, you were one step away from dying. It was a race against time, and your condition was so bad that normal treatments wouldn¡¯t have saved you in time.¡±


    As Lapis crossed her arms, wondering how he could be so weakened even though he wasn¡¯t even injured, Loren sighed, knowing what direction this conversation was going.


    So basically he was almost dead and normal treatments wouldn¡¯t have worked, so in order to save him they did something that wasn¡¯t normal treatment.


    And because it wasn¡¯t a normal treatment, it cost extra. Loren could already see the conversation going in that direction, so he just asked Lapis.


    ¡°How much did it cost?¡±


    ¡°We used elixirs, which are one gold coin per bottle, and we used five of them.¡±


    ¡°You know you could¡¯ve just let me die, right?¡±


    Five gold coins was a lot of money.


    But if it was for an elixir, which was the highest quality healing medicine, it made sense.


    But it was an amount that would make someone want to die again, so Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should be happy he didn¡¯t die, or if he should be sad that he didn¡¯t die peacefully.


    ¡®Onii-san. It might sound awkwarding from me, but if you¡¯re living, good things are bound to happen.¡¯


    Loren looked at Lapis in surprise as he heard Shayna¡¯s voice, but it seemed that the voice didn¡¯t reach Lapis, and she gave him a nk look when their eyes met.


    ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Onii-san. I doo feel sorry, but when I touched your hand, I thought ¡®I don¡¯t want to die¡¯, and so this happened.¡¯


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    Lapis continued to look at him with a nk face as he unknowingly muttered out loud, confused.


    The girl floating in his sight frantically waved her arms.


    ¡®Onii-san. You can talk to me even if you don¡¯t say it out loud. I¡¯m an astral body that¡¯s living in your material body, after all.¡¯


    {What about my privacy then?)


    As he replied with a sullen thought in his mind, the girl drooped, disheartened.


    ¡®I¡¯ll stay away from the deepest parts as much as I can. But¡­if it¡¯s going to cause you too much trouble, I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡¯


    (What will happen if you do?)


    ¡®I don¡¯t have a material body and can¡¯t reconstruct one, so I¡¯ll eventually disappear.¡¯


    (I can¡¯t tell you to leave after hearing that¡­)


    Loren didn¡¯t feel like he could be so cold hearted as to make someone who knows she¡¯s going to die, to leave.


    The thought that he had a girl living inside his mind gave him a heavy feeling, but he forcefully convinced himself that it could be solved over time and that there was no reason to be hasty.


    ¡°Umm¡­Loren? Is there something wrong? Are you not feeling well?¡±


    Since Loren stopped talking, Lapis, who was thinking maybe there was something wrong, asked him in a reserved voice. After replying that nothing was wrong, he said with resignation in his voice.


    ¡°It means that you paid the expenses in my stead, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Umm¡­I¡¯ll go ahead and add it to your debt. Along with the hospital charges and medicine and other things, it will be six gold coins and twenty silver coins.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s right at thirty gold coins, huh¡­my debt¡¯s just gettingrger andrger.¡±


    ¡°The quest is considered a failure, but we will still get some hazard pay. They wouldn¡¯t believe that a No Life King appeared, but we will get rewards for the zombies and revenants.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be an uproar? It was a city-state, but still, a whole nation perished.¡±


    No one actually said that, but based on Lapis¡¯ spection and Shutel¡¯s attitude, it was likely that Hanza was no more, and thinking about the effect it would have on the nations around it was enough to hurt anyone¡¯s head.


    But Lapis¡¯ response to his words was aplicated one.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Well, the thing is¡­the herd of undead that was around Hanza disappearedpletely.¡±


    For some reason, the winged girl in the corner of his sight puffed out her chest.


    She looked like a fairy, but she was the astral body of the highest ranking undead, a No Life King.


    When he guessed that on the way back, she somehow took care of all the undead that were in the area, Shayna nodded, saying that he was right.


    ¡°Well in any case, the threat is gone, so I guess its fine.¡±


    ¡°But because of that they wouldn¡¯t believe that a bone dragon appeared.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. It just means that it¡¯ll take longer for me to repay my debt.¡±


    ¡°For that matter, I don¡¯t really care whichever.¡±


    At her words, Loren came to the realization that he was starting to not care about it either. While looking at Shayna fall on her face for some reason, he decided to rest and closed his eyes.

 Chapter 49: Hearing about Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 49: Hearing about Destruction</h4>


    A rumor was going around, that a city had been destroyed.


    ¡®They¡¯re probably talking about Hanza, right?¡¯


    As the winged girl floating in the corner of his sight pointed out, Loren, sitting alone in the Adventurers Guild¡¯s bar, was staring at the cup of cheap alcohol in his hand.


    A vige being destroyed wasn¡¯t that umon, but a whole city falling was bound to be a ruckus.


    Unlike viges, which popped up and disappeared all the time, a city was there for a long time and was more advanced, as well as have a name for itself. If something like that were to be destroyed, there would be many casualties of people and assets.


    On top of that, Loren wasn¡¯tpletely unrted when it came to the city of Hanza, and during hisst quest, it was destroyed by a certain someone.


    There wasn¡¯t a public announcement, and it was under investigation from neighboring nations, but the city of Hanza and the viges around it were destroyedpletely. Although it was on a small scale, a city-state had been destroyed, and the other city-states in the region red at the remainingnd.


    All of them saw it as an opportunity to expand their territory, but Hanza shared borders with several of them. People at the guild were betting on which one would attempt to seize it first.


    Of course, if they do it poorly, they will receive thebel of an aggressor nation, and for now, none of the nations were too keen on getting their hands on thend, where the citizens all disappeared for an unknown reason, at a moment¡¯s notice. Apparently, the race to investigate and check out the emptynd had developed to where bloodshed had started, but that was something Loren wasn¡¯t aware of.


    ¡®Liquor tastes pretty weird. This is the first time I¡¯ve had any.¡¯


    The girl who was curiously looking inside the cup in Loren¡¯s hand was the daughter of the president of Hanza, who Loren was supposed to take back to the city.


    The girl named Shayna, during the quest that Loren was on, was turned into the highest ranking undead, a >, by whoever it was that destroyed the nation, and was defeated by Loren.


    Of course, no matter how experienced of a mercenary Loren was, there was no way he could defeat a > on his own, and there were different reasons why he was able to, but anyways, this girl who had been defeated by Loren, cut off her spirit from her body and escaped death by possessing Loren¡¯s body, and has been doing so until the present.


    ¡°You can taste it?¡±


    Shayna raised a finger to her lips when Loren unthinkingly muttered out loud.


    Loren was the only one who could see the girl.


    At first, Loren thought she was a ghost floating around, but when he asked her, she said that she was just information reflected on his eyes, and it wasn¡¯t that her spirit was right there in front of him.


    When he asked her why, she said that if she let her spirit out, people who could see spirits could see her, and her existence would be exposed.


    Shayna¡¯s spirit currently existed within Loren¡¯s spirit, and when looked at from the outside, although they might feel something strange, Loren¡¯s spirit acted as a cloak and made hers hard to find.


    Loren did have someints about how his body was being used, but it didn¡¯t seem like there was anything weird happening to him, and there was no way he could tell Shayna to leave, since if she did, she would diepletely, so he decided not to think about it.


    ¡®Our senses are linked, so I can sense what you¡¯re sensing up to a degree.¡¯


    At her response, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that there would be a problem or two that would emerge from that.


    It felt like it would be fine if he could discuss with his partner, who seemed to know everything, but although his partner was supposed to be a woman who was going by as a priestess, if he tried to tell her that he was sharing his body with an undead, he knew for a fact that it wouldn¡¯t bring anything good for him.


    ¡°A normal priest would try to exorcise¡­but I can¡¯t help but think she¡¯ll treat me like a guinea pig¡­¡±


    Loren knew she wouldn¡¯t do anything that might kill him, since they were in fact partners, but it also meant that as long as he didn¡¯t die, she could do anything she wanted with him.


    Loren decided that while there was nothing wrong, he would keep quiet about it, but when he thought about the fact that there was the spirit of a young girl inside him, an inexplicable feeling washed over him. A slight creepiness, an ufortable feeling.


    No need to worry. I usually have the sense sharing turned off, and I sleep early and wake upte.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure how to express her current state, but he did think it was kind of strange for an existence that became an undead say that she slept early.


    ¡®I¡¯m also happy that you talk to me¡­but I think it is better if you don¡¯t talk out loud. People would look at you funny.¡¯


    Now that she mentioned it, Loren looked around slightly, and although there was quite a bit of people in the guild that day, he couldn¡¯t find anyone that was looking at him or making notice of him.


    It was unknown to him, but when he was there at the bar before, some adventurers had called him a freeloader.


    That time Loren had beat one of them up pretty bad, and Lapis, who was treated like his wallet, had injured the other one pretty bad as well.


    That incident had spread around quite a bit through the bar¡¯s waitresses, so unless the person hadn¡¯t heard about it, no one wanted to mess with him.


    Of course, if they saw the size of the great sword he had beside him and had sense to their mind, they would realize the strength and skill Loren must possess to be able to use it, and would keep from messing him with him, but there are always exceptions.


    ¡°Huh? Loren? Starting the morning with a drink again?¡±


    The person that called out to Loren was a girl wearing the clothes of a priestess, with her ck hair tied up in a ponytail swaying behind her.


    The girl, whose looks would make eight, nine people out of ten look back at her if they walked past her, walked up to Loren¡¯s table with light footsteps and eyes sparkling with curiosity about pretty much anything, and without asking for permission, naturally sat down in the seat in front of him.


    ¡°Drinking without any food to go with it isn¡¯t good, you know? Ah, excuse me, could I have a cup of the same thing he¡¯s having?¡±


    The girl that stopped a waitress and started ordering things right after she sat down was Lapis, who had been working with Loren from a little while back.


    She was a priestess of the Knowledge God, and was the lender of his debt, but in fact she was demon kin, who were the ck sheep of the world, and was currently was living far away from thend of demon kin.


    ¡°Is it okay for priests to drink first thing in the day?¡±


    ¡°Nowhere in the precepts of the Knowledge God does it say that you can¡¯t drink.¡±


    She said with a cool face as she took the ss that the waitress brought her.


    As Loren raised his ss to his lips, thinking that she could¡¯ve ordered something better, since she had the money to do so, Lapis held the ss that was handed to her with both hands, asked him wonderingly.


    ¡°By the way Loren, did you pay for that?¡±


    ¡°I paid before I got it. Got the hazard pay fromst job, after all.¡±


    Thest job itself was the incident where Hanza was destroyed and Shayna became an undead.


    For the job itself, Shayna was considered dead, the city was destroyed, so it was far from being a sess, so it was considered a failure, and although it wasn¡¯t because Loren fought a >, it was the cause of him weakening and getting hospitalized.


    The job had him at a deficit, but he still received subjugation rewards for the zombies and revenants he defeated along the way, and although it wasn¡¯t even close to being enough to pay back his debt, he did have some money on him.


    He used that money to pay for his drink, but as soon as he said that he did, Lapis gazed at him with disbelief, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Loren¡­actually paid!?¡±


    ¡°Hey, why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°But¡­It¡¯s Loren we¡¯re talking about you know?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act all surprised like that. Shouldn¡¯t you be telling me to pay my debt instead of using it on drinks?¡±


    ¡°I told you I won¡¯t extort.¡±


    That was indeed one of the conditions for Loren to borrow money from her.


    But if she actually wasn¡¯t going to do so, it kind of thinned the feeling of reality that he had borrowed money from her.


    In addition to that, Lapis wasn¡¯t going to put interest on it, either.


    Loren thought that if she wanted to make his debtrger, she should put interest on it, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to be concerned about that at all.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to make money off of you, anyway.¡±


    Lapis said as she took sips of liquor from her ss, but if that were true, Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she wanted to aplish by lending him all that money.


    ¡°Thirty gold coins isn¡¯t an amount that you could return easily, either.¡±


    Several adventurers sitting near them spewed the drinks in their mouths or choked on their food and started coughing when they heard the amount that rolled off Lapis tongue.


    Loren spun the ss in his hand lightly, knowing it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    The amount that Lapis just mentioned was the total that he had borrowed from Lapis, but if you think about it normally, it was an unbelievable amount.


    Three gold coins was enough for a family of four to live well for a year.


    This meant that Loren borrowed the ten years¡¯ worth of living expenses for a family of four.


    ¡°I guess adventurers don¡¯t make that much, huh.¡±


    If they were surprised, Loren guessed that it meant thirty gold coins was a lot of money.


    But when Loren was in the battlefield back when he was a mercenary, among the generals and well-known mercenaries, quite a few them had magic weapons and armor that costed hundreds of gold coins.


    It wasn¡¯t once or twice Loren had thought that if they died in battle, he could take those for himself.


    It meant that generals and mercenaries could make that much and have connections that let them get their hands on such equipment, and Loren decided thatpared to that, a debt of thirty gold coins wasn¡¯t too bad.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that adventurers don¡¯t make a lot, its that they don¡¯t know how to make profit.¡±


    Lapis said that with a cool face, but for thest quest, Lapis had the same treatment as Loren did, and would be at quite a deficit.


    But since she said that with such confidence, his curiosity got the best of him, so he asked her.


    ¡°So, you mean that you made profit out of thest job?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    Lapis answered like it wasn¡¯t a surprise, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she did and where she went to be able to brag so confidently about making profit.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get that much for defeating the zombies, right?¡±


    ¡°It was only a little bit.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t spend much for preparations so that was enough to be profit?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    Lapis leaned forward onto the table and lowered her voice.


    When Loren followed her and leaned forward onto the table as well, Lapis covered her mouth with her hand and whispered.


    ¡°I picked up quite a few things¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a second.¡±


    ¡°Even if you tell me to return them, there¡¯s no one for me to return them to.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    She had a point.


    The whole nation had perished, so as Lapis said, even if she took something from there, there was no one to give it back to.


    ¡°It¡¯s not arge amount. I was too focused on carrying you. I just took some stuff from the clinic and the shops around it. Oh, and I also brought the simple furnace that you made, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem¡­I guess it¡¯s fine.¡±


    There were no people in Hanza, and there wasn¡¯t a government either, so it was basically awless area.


    People that go there would of course, take whatever they could find, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that it was better for the stuff to be in Lapis¡¯ hands than people like that.


    That was why he stopped pursuing the matter, but he decided that he should still say something, so he dered.


    ¡°This time it¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t make it a habit.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll be careful about that.¡±


    Lapis nodded obediently, but how much that meant would be unknown until the time came, so Loren gulped the rest of the liquor in his ss while ncing at Shayna, who had a troubled smile on her face.

 Chapter 50: Accepting the Job

    <h4>Chapter 50: epting the Job</h4>


    ¡°By the way Loren, I forgot to mention something important.¡±


    Loren moved away from Lapis, who was still leaned towards him, telling him that she wasn¡¯t done talking, and ordered another drink from a passing waitress.


    She gave him an awkward expression when he put the coins that paid for it in her hand, but immediately switched to a customer service smile and walked away across the counter.


    Loren was shocked at the fact that even the waitresses might be thinking that it was weird for him to pay, but Lapis reached over, grabbed his shoulder, and forced him to turn and face her, not giving him a chance to be upset.


    ¡°Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. What did you forget?¡±


    ¡°As you may know, I have a mission.¡±


    Lapis sat back down in her chair, satisfied that Loren faced back towards her, but Loren had no idea what she was talking about, and cocked his head with a suspicious look.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°My arms and legs and eyes.¡±


    When she said that, Loren remembered that her limbs and eyes were prosthetics, but cocked his head again, wondering if it was as extravagant to say that it was her mission.


    ¡°Other than my mission to gain experience in this world and be a great person, I had a mission to recover my body parts.¡±


    ¡°You were searching for them?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­but sometimes I think maybe it¡¯s fine even if I don¡¯t.¡±


    Shayna tripped when Lapis said so nonchntly.


    Loren worried that if this was enough to make her trip, she would hurt her knees or her waist, but then remembered she was astral and there was no need to worry about that.


    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m looking for parts of me.¡±


    ¡®Umm, what exactly is Lapis?¡¯


    Shayna asked Loren, who was looking at Lapis, who was emphasizing what she said by raising her fist.


    Loren thought about how to exin it to her but guessed that since the girl in front of him was in fact a No Life King, and even if she found about Lapis¡¯ identity, she wouldn¡¯t go around telling people, so he silently told her what Lapis was.


    ¡®Demon kin, I see. It makes sense. After bing what I am right now, I can see that she isn¡¯t human, but she wasn¡¯t anything I¡¯ve seen before, so it makes sense that she¡¯s demon kin.¡¯


    Loren was impressed that she found out so much by herself.


    Shayna gave him a proud look, then pointed at the great sword next to him.


    ¡®That¡¯s not an ordinary great sword, either. I¡¯ll have to observe it more to know details, but it seems to be able to easily break through the defensive barriers of a No Life King, as well as heal you.¡¯


    Loren looked down at the great sword, thinking if what Shayna just said was true.


    When he fought the Shayna before, his attacks reached her without any problem.


    This was against a No Life King, which had strong defenses against both physical and magical attacks.


    Loren had figured that the curiosity-filled demon in front of him had something to do with it, but when he thought that it was something Lapis had readied for him, he also thought that if it was from Lapis, it wasn¡¯t strange for it to have such abilities.


    Loren then unexpectedly felt soft hands on his cheeks, and his head was forced in the direction of Lapis.


    ¡°Loren? Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°My bad, I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    Loren decided that being honest was better than telling her that he was listening, then have it backfire on him. Lapis let out a discontented growl, but immediately released him, put her hands on the table, leaned over close to his face, and said with a stronger tone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, okay? I¡¯ve located a ce where a part of me might be.¡±


    ¡°Which means that our next job has something to do with that ce, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    Lapis showed him a quest form that she must have gotten from the quest board with a beaming smile.


    She rotated the form towards Loren, and after looking through it, Loren stared at Lapis¡¯ face.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit embarrassing if you look at me like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. You sure this is really a quest meant for adventurers?


    The exnation on the form was indeed something that would make Loren stare at Lapis suspiciously.


    Seeing Lapis smile and nod, as if to say of course, he went over the form again to reconfirm what he had just read.


    This is what it said.


    ¡®By Volf Adventurer Training School


    This year¡¯s graduate practical training will bebat training in the school¡¯s underground dungeon. We have put out this quest because we want adventurers to apany them. The reward is thirty silver coins per person. We request that you apany this year¡¯s graduates into the dungeon. At the same time, escort them when needed.¡¯


    ¡°Adventurers are trained?¡±


    Loren looked around at the adventurers sitting near him, finding that hard to believe.


    Not that he was any better but seeing them drinking and babbling first thing in the morning, it was hard to believe that they were trained.


    Loren himself wasn¡¯t trained, and yet he called himself an adventurer.


    At Loren¡¯s question, Lapis replied slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.


    ¡°On paper, that¡¯s their goal¡­but if I remember correctly, they¡¯re an institution that take talented children of aristocrats and citizens and raise them into future heroes and braves.¡±


    ¡°Like us?¡±


    Loren recalled the red headed young man that he met during the quest to Hanza.


    us had a Gift, abilities that only those with the aptitude for being a hero or a brave, was rumored to have the backup of the adventurers¡¯ guild or some nation, and to Loren, the image of a trained adventurer fit him perfectly.


    ¡°Yes, us probably graduated from such an institution.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not really on board with this job.¡±


    To put it simply, it was an institution that raised people like us, and it meant that there might be many with simr personalities as him.


    Loren didn¡¯t mind being looked down upon too much, but if someone asked him if he was fine with going where a lot of those kind of people were, he would have to say no.


    ¡°So, what does this final exam and what you¡¯re looking have inmon in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°So, this Volf Adventurer Training School has arge dungeon underneath it.¡±


    Lapis told Loren that there were quite a few dungeons around the world and building an adventure training school on top of it was quitemon.


    The various tools and resources found in the dungeons was what brought people to it, then people start businesses off it, the businesses then bring even more people, and the area will continue to develop.


    The reason for building a school on top of a dungeon was by doing so, teachers with abilities above a certain level would gather, and talented youngsters would gather and be taught under their guidance.


    These talents would be the force against the dungeon if anything were to happen, and the school itself was expected to be a lid for the dungeon entrance.


    ¡°Usually only the shallow floors are open to students, but for this particr training, the whole thing is opened.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s school property, right? Isn¡¯t it okay to just go in there as adventurers?¡±


    ¡°If it was a different dungeon, yes.¡±


    Lapis frowned as she continued.


    ¡°The dungeon under Volf Adventurer Training School is a bit of an exception. The school¡¯s executive rights to the dungeon has been recognized, so outsiders can¡¯t step in.¡±


    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t understand the merits of having exclusive use of a dungeon.


    The resources inside of it was traded on the market expensively, but not allowing people to go in would bringints from adventurers, and it didn¡¯t seem like the students and teachers there would be able to make a lot of money from exploring it.


    ¡°There are many spections. Its difficulty is lowpared to its size, there lies resources that they want to themselves, something is sealed underneath, there might be troubles that ur if they let people who don¡¯t understand the situation step inside.¡±


    Lapis believed that all of them were just rumors, and the only fact was that the Volf Adventurer Training School had exclusive rights to the dungeon underneath it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that interested, but what you¡¯re looking for is down in that dungeon, right?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a high probability, I believe.¡±


    Only for that part did Lapis nod with a serious look on her face, and Loren let out a long, thin sigh.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like we have any other jobs to do. Let¡¯s go with that one.¡±


    ¡°As expected of Loren, you make it so much easier. I¡¯ll go sign up the two of us. Leave the transportation and preparation to me.¡±


    As soon as she got Loren¡¯s approval, Lapis snatched up the quest form and started walking over to the guild area with delighted steps.


    As Loren saw her off, a waitress brought the ss of cheap liquor he had ordered, and when he received it, although it didn¡¯t even taste good, he took arge mouthful.


    ¡®Onii-san. Isn¡¯t your weapon a bit toorge for exploring dungeons?¡¯


    The great sword that Loren had used before was quiterge as well, but the pitch-ck great sword he was currently using was even longer than that.


    It wasn¡¯t made for skirmishes in tight spots, and it hadn¡¯t been long since he started using it, so he couldn¡¯t use it at the level that he used his old great sword, which he had been able to use like a part of his body.


    Therefore, when it came to going into tight spaces like dungeons, he might not be able to use it sufficiently enough.


    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s a bit wide enough, I can still use it pretty well.¡±


    If the job description was correct, the main job was to apany the school¡¯s students, not fight something.


    In the case of an emergency they would have to fight to keep the students from dying, but Loren was being optimistic, thinking that if wasn¡¯t, there was no need to fight at all.


    ¡®I think it would be better to have some sort of spare weapon.¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­my debt would increase even more.¡±


    Although he knew Lapis wouldn¡¯te to collect it herself, having his debt increase wasn¡¯t something he felt good about.


    He would need a good amount of silver coins, even for just an ordinary weapon.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not careful, I might be forced to buy something weird¡­I guess I¡¯ll ready a dagger somehow.¡±


    The hazard pay that he received should be enough for that much at least, and even if he couldn¡¯t he could buy scrap iron and use the little furnace that Lapis had brought back from Hanza and make one.


    Even if he were to do so, he would have to do it in secret, or Lapis might get upset that he didn¡¯t rely on her, and Loren swirled his ss of cheap liquor, thinking about how troublesome it was.

 Chapter 51: Reunion After Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 51: Reunion After Arrival</h4>


    ¡°So, why are you here?¡±


    When Loren asked the red headed man in a not-so-friendly voice, the man flinched, but managed to answer him in a clear voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about me taking a job for my alma mater?¡±


    In front of Loren, who was surprised at how small the world was, sat us, who he had worked together with on hisst job.


    Since copper ranks like him and Lapis was able to go on the same question as iron ranks like us and his party, it meant that the quest had no rank limitations.


    Sitting next to us was the magician named Ange, the knight named La, and the priestess named Roll.


    After Loren and Lapis had decided to take the job at the adventurer training school, Lapis had gone and registered them and prepared. The next day, when they boarded the carriage that the guild provided, they met us and his party inside.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you hospitalized?¡±


    ¡°I was. Since that priestess of yours treated me like a dog.¡±


    Even though us put it like that, all Lapis did was smile, and didn¡¯t react to it.


    ¡°It was just mental damage and bruises from being whipped so I was able to get out after they healed. We decided on this job since we agreed on taking a simple job after what happened during thest one.¡±


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is that this job is easy?¡±


    ¡°If nothing happens, yeah. All you need to do is follow the students. Easy, right?¡±


    Something about us¡¯ words nagged at him, but it did sound like an easy job.


    In any case, Loren¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to follow the students and earn money, but it was to go inside the dungeon and search for Lapis¡¯ body part, which meant he had to think of ways to either do so without them noticing, or luring them towards where he wanted to go, making his job far from being easy.


    ¡°Most of the students who take this exam are pretty capable. The only monsters you meet in the early floors are low rank ones like goblins and cobolts. It¡¯s more difficult for a problem to happen than them failing the exam.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t underestimate goblins. You should be wary of them.¡±


    us stirred slightly at Loren¡¯s quiet mutter.


    Goblins were monsters that even vigers who were slightly strong could defeat, and it wasn¡¯t clear what to be wary about.


    But he felt the weight of Loren¡¯s words, and knew he couldn¡¯t ignore them.


    ¡°This is an honest warning. Remember it.¡±


    ¡°I-I see. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    For a second, us thought Loren was joking, but judging from his voice and expression, he understood that Loren was indeed giving him a warning and decided to receive it honestly.


    ¡°Anyways, one of yours has been ncing at me the whole time. Does she want something from me?¡±


    Loren had noticed the gaze of Ange moving between him and outside the carriage ever since the conversation between him and us started.


    Ange seemed to think that she hadn¡¯t been noticed, but to Loren, it was so obvious, he wondered if she really thought he hadn¡¯t noticed. Getting looks wasn¡¯t the mostfortable, so he decided to ask.


    ¡°Oh, Angee on, Ange.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I heard that you were the one who saved me during thest job.¡±


    When they were moving together during thest quest, an attack from a bone dragon had left Ange with critical injuries.


    During that attack, Loren had saved her from the dragon¡¯s jaws.


    Ange had learned this not long ago from the rest of her party and had been stealing nces at Loren because of that.


    ¡°I guess something like that might¡¯ve happened.¡±


    ¡°Please let me thank you, Loren. If you didn¡¯t save me there, I would¡¯ve died back there.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about taking away your boyfriend¡¯s highlight there. He¡¯ll definitely save you next time.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t say that out of sarcasm, but because he realized during thest quest that us had feelings for Ange, and the next time the situation urred, us would do so.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll look forward to that.¡±


    ¡°Something like that not happening again is the best, though.¡±


    Although a hero arriving in the moment of need sounded good, Loren believed that not getting into such situation in the first ce was important.


    ¡°Ange, I¡¯ll try my best to meet your expectations.¡±


    ¡°us¡­¡±


    Loren looked away as they locked hands and stared into each other¡¯s eyes.


    The carriage that the guild had readied wasn¡¯t thatrge, and the only parties that epted the quest was Loren¡¯s and us¡¯, so they were the only ones in there.


    And currently there was a pair of a young man and a young woman looking at each other, holding hands, and whispering sweet things to each other.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped that Loren felt ufortable, so he looked around the carriage, holding back the urge to jump out, and saw La and Roll in bad moods, ring at the two, who were in their own little world. Meanwhile Lapis¡¯ empty eyes wandered all over the ce, with a face like she had reached enlightenment.


    Loren wished they would hurry up and arrive at their destination, but physical distance wasn¡¯t something that would grow shorter by wishing or praying for it to do so.


    From the description given when they left Kauffa, even though they left early in the morning, they wouldn¡¯t reach the city which the Volf Adventurer Training School was located until in the evening.


    Loren concluded that he should just go to sleep.


    Someone in his former mercenary group had said, most things pass while you¡¯re asleep, and when he heard those words, he thought that it was just the words of azy person, but in his current situation, those words seemed like gold to him.


    ¡°Lapis, I¡¯m going to go to sleep. Wake me upter.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Loren. Sweet dreams.¡±


    Loren faced out the window and closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him, listening to Lapis¡¯, who sounded like she was keeping something bottled up in order to make herself sound calm.


    How much time had passed since then?


    Loren woke up to a light shaking.


    He shook his head to get the rest of the sleep out and raised his body from leaning against the wall of the carriage and then realized that Lapis was shaking his shoulder.


    ¡°The driver says that we¡¯ll arrive at the city soon.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks for waking me.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    When Loren looked away from Lapis and into the carriage, Loren was surprised at the sight before his eyes.


    us and the girls, who had been sitting in front of him, were all fast asleep, snoring with their mouths wide open.


    He wouldn¡¯t have thought much of it if it was just one or two of them, but seeing that it was all four of them, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel there was something artificial about it and red at Lapis.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°They built out such a pink atmosphere, I used > without thinking.¡±


    Loren realized he made a mistake.


    Because he had escaped into sleep first, there was no one to stop Lapis¡¯ acts.


    If Loren was awake, he could¡¯ve stopped Lapis from using magic, but with extreme stress piling up and no one to stop her, she had taken hard measures.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is a bit too rough?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I used the spell secretly, so they shouldn¡¯t remember it.¡±


    Although Lapis said it with confidence, Loren couldn¡¯t fully trust her.


    A priestess being able to use magic was already abnormal, but to use that magic on people that weren¡¯t even enemies was, thinking frommon sense, wasn¡¯t something tolerable.


    While Loren worried that if one of them somehow noticed, it could bring about a critical result, Shayna made arge circle with her arms.


    ¡®It¡¯s okay, Onii-san. The red-headed person and the others fell asleep without noticing anything.¡¯


    When he asked her how she knew, after he went to sleep, she apparently pulled her astral body away from his and examined what was happening outside, and that was when Lapis used her spell against us.


    ¡®I only went out for a bit, so Lapis didn¡¯t see me.¡¯


    He wasn¡¯t sure if Lapis could see Shayna in her astral form, but it was easier to set up measures if he assumed that she could.


    Shayna nodded solemnly when he thought they could never be too careful.


    ¡°Is something wrong, Loren?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just getting a slight headache from this situation.¡±


    ¡°I see, take care. Anyways, that¡¯s our destination.


    A long time had passed during his sleep, with the sun¡¯s rays slowly turning redder and redder, and from the window, Loren could see arge city in the distance.


    Kauffa was quite the size when you looked at it from the outside, but this city was evenrger, and Lapis told him that it was called Montelgal, and that it was a trading city.


    It wasn¡¯t that it had a local specialty or anything of the sort, but the resources and tools the adventurer training school distributed to the stores was what stimted business across the city.


    ¡°On top of that, children of aristocrats who enroll in the school as well as their rtivese and go frequently, so merchants who target them gather as well, so there¡¯s a lot of activity.¡±


    ¡°Not a kind of ce I¡¯m familiar with.¡±


    It wasmon for normal residents to distance themselves from mercenaries.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, because it was a job that made a living off a detestable action called war.


    The mercenary group Loren was in was quite disciplinedpared to most, but they weren¡¯t everyone, and sometimes there were people who didn¡¯t look any different from bandits.


    That was why they weren¡¯t wee in lively ces with normal people, so they naturally grouped with their own.


    Lapis took a sharp breath as she guessed those situations from Loren¡¯s casual remark, but immediately replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re an adventurer now, so now it¡¯ll be a ce that you¡¯ll be familiar with.¡±


    ¡°Could be.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it will. Oh, when we arrive, we¡¯re going to go straight to the adventurer¡¯s guild, so getting a room will be after that.¡±


    She knew how tired both were, so Loren asked her.


    ¡°It can¡¯t wait until after we get rooms?¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s already thiste, if we go to the inn first, the reception will close. We need to report that we arrived safely, and that we are the ones who epted the job.¡±


    ¡°Would there still be rooms left?¡±


    Loren guessed that since it was a lively city, rooms would be quick to fill up.


    When he was a mercenary, it wasmon for them to race for rooms at inns that epted mercenaries, and those who lost had to camp outside the city.


    ¡°It should be fine, but in the worst case, we can get the guild to show us alternatives. It¡¯s a guild in arge city like this, so they should have a few ces.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we wake us and the girls?¡±


    They were on the same quest as them.


    It hadn¡¯t been long since they met, but Loren believed that us the girls weren¡¯t bad people and didn¡¯t want them to oversleep.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wake them up when we get a bit closer. If they start ying up again, my killing intent will start surging up again.¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    Loren agreed to Lapis¡¯ excuse, knowing that they didn¡¯t mean harm, but it wasn¡¯t tolerable for those who were watching, either.

 Chapter 52: Encounter After Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 52: Encounter After Arrival</h4>


    Although the carriage was stopped at the city entrance, it was sent into the city without much of a search.


    The other travelers were searched thoroughly, and when Loren traveled to different cities when he was a mercenary, they would be searched and examined very strictly and took a very long time before they could enter, but they were let in so easily it was quite anticlimactic.


    ording to Lapis, the carriage itself was prepared by the adventurer¡¯s guild, and the driver was a guild staff as well, so it pretty much meant that the guild vouched for them, so they were able to enter without harsh examination.


    Although one may think that if you disguised your carriage as the guild¡¯s or steal one you could enter and leave any city you want to, but Lapis exined that there were passwords and keys that linked the carriage to the driver, so if one of them were wrong, the carriage would not be considered one of the guild¡¯s.


    Also, there was a heavy regtion that anyone caught disguising his carriage as the guild¡¯s or using it illegally would receive the maximum penalty, regardless of who it is.


    In any case, after they safely entered the city and were swayed by the carriage a while longer, they reached the city¡¯s adventurer¡¯s guild.


    After thanking the driver and getting off the carriage, they realized that they forgot to wake up us and the girls, but they told themselves that they would wake up on their own, or the driver would wake them up, and went to take care of their work.


    Their actual job was to be at the school, so all they had to do right now was report to the guild that they arrived, and hand them the certificate they had received when they epted the quest back in Kauffa, so they were done in no time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask one of the staffs about rooms, and let¡¯s take a good night¡¯s rest.¡±


    It was already dark outside, and the school was already closed, so if they were to go there the next day, all they had to do was rent rooms and rest.


    Lapis wasn¡¯t one that liked to go to noisy ces, and although Loren had been taken to the entertainment district by his fellow mercenaries when they visited cities like this, currently there was no one to invite him, and he didn¡¯t know the city well anyway, and if he wanted to drink he could do so at the guild, so there was no reason for him to go out.


    ¡°For tomorrow, is it fine to go to the school after breakfast and meet our client, the principal, for instructions?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine with me, but is it okay for us to be soid back?¡±


    ¡°I heard that they choose teams to enter after the apaniment arrives, so they don¡¯t enter the dungeon all at once.¡±


    ¡°That¡­could be troublesome.¡±


    Hearing Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis gave him a curious look and asked him a question.


    ¡°What¡¯s troublesome?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s going to be a few teams that enter the dungeon, right? If all of them go in at once, I don¡¯t know howrge the dungeon is, but they would know that a few allies would be in there with them.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so if only one team enters, they would be in there alone and unaided, so the difficulty could increase.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Well, for your own goals, would it be more convenient if only a few of them go in the dungeon?¡±


    Even though the job was to apany the testing group that entered the dungeon, they also had to search for Lapis¡¯ body part, and they would have to move around the dungeon without anyone else noticing.


    Loren thought that if there were other groups near them, it meant a higher chance of Lapis getting seen while moving on her own and wouldn¡¯t be favorable for Lapis.


    ¡°Well in that case, there¡¯s other ways of doing things.¡±


    ¡°Give me an example, just for reference.¡±


    Loren asked her, knowing that she would give him a good-for-nothing answer, and Lapis answered him in a matter-of-fact way.


    ¡°Disable all of them¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, got it. Only a few of them going in would be more favorable to me than you.¡±


    The thought of rendering students unable to move, even if it was for the sake of Lapis, made Loren¡¯s heart ache.


    Loren was willing to help her if she was going to try to be secretive, but when the thought of ¡®when ites to disabling students¡¯ crossed his mind, he realized that he was assuming that she would make him do it somehow, so he shook his head to chase those thoughts out of his head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯ll take care of it easily in secret, without them even realizing it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t. They¡¯re students taking an exam, you know? How are you going to take responsibility if they fail?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always next year.¡±


    ¡°You know I won¡¯t help you with that, right?¡±


    ¡°I bet you won¡¯t.¡±


    Lapis stated without any disappointment.


    As Loren thought that if she did attempt to do so, he would have to stop her, Lapis gave him a nonchnt smile and waved her hands in front of her chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m just joking, okay? I¡¯ll fine some other way when the timees.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re jokes make my blood run cold, you know that¡­?¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s warm it up with some drinks and food, shall we?¡±


    Lapis invited Loren to the guild¡¯s bar, saying that it was a good time to get dinner.


    Unlike the guild in Kauffa, the staff in this guild had no way of knowing about Loren¡¯s situation.


    At Kauffa¡¯s guild, the waitresses would take Loren¡¯s order even if he didn¡¯t have any money because they knew that Lapis woulde afterwards and pay for it, but it didn¡¯t work that way at other ces, so Loren¡¯s only options was to find some way to pay for food with the money he had or eat with her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to say that you want to eat all alone, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    Meals eaten alone didn¡¯t taste that good.


    Loren possessed enough sentiment to feel that.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s eat together. It seems that we don¡¯t have to worry about rooms, either.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°This guild runs an inn in the floors above. I went ahead and rented two rooms, so we don¡¯t have to worry about sleeping outside.¡±


    Loren was familiar with bars running inns in the same building, but he didn¡¯t expect the adventurer¡¯s guild to run both a bar and an inn.


    One would think, how many things the guild was dealing in, but both bars and inns were facilities that adventurers needed and thinking about how some guilds ran weapon and equipment shops as well, it wasn¡¯t that surprising.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know how long we would be in the dungeon until we hear the details tomorrow. We might have to live off rations for a while, so let¡¯s treat ourselves to some good food.¡±


    Even Lapis couldn¡¯t get her hands on details such as how long the exam was going to be, but when adventurers went to explore dungeons, they would be in there for days, even weeks sometimes.


    It was almost impossible to find food or water inside dungeons, and the food and water they bring with them had to bepact as possible, so they would end up eating rations the whole time.


    This time they were going in with students, so Lapis guessed that it wouldn¡¯t be that long, but also guessed that the school might limit food to rations to let the students get used to it.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think there is a need for us to do the same as them but eating good food right next to students eating rations doesn¡¯t feel too good either, though.¡±


    ¡°I agree with you on that one.¡±


    Loren sat down at the corner of the bar, but he pushed the menu towards Lapis without even looking through it.


    Lapis, who was looking through the menu, trying to decide what to order, saw the menu that Loren pushed towards her and gave him a puzzled look.


    ¡°Order mine too. You¡¯re paying anyway.¡±


    ¡°You can order what you want, you know?¡±


    Lapis said so, without denying the fact that she was paying, but Loren shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯ve eaten at bars often when I was a mercenary, and the only thing we¡¯ve said when ordering was ¡®give us meat and alcohol¡¯, and we would get our food. I don¡¯t know what I should order.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting¡­What did you do say in Kauffa?¡±


    ¡°The waitress gave me rmendations.¡±


    Since Loren was at the guild¡¯s bar very often, he became acquaintances with the waitresses that worked there.


    At first, Loren asked them to give him food and drinks, but after getting friendly with each other, they started giving him rmendations and told him which dishes were good and to try them at least once.


    Loren was thankful for the information, as he didn¡¯t really care about food, but it was the first time he¡¯d been in this guild¡¯s bar and didn¡¯t know any of the waitresses.


    He guessed that he would just have to order food and alcohol, but since he was with Lapis, he decided to leave everything up to her.


    ¡°You should show some interest in this kind of thing too, you know?¡±


    ¡°On the battlefield, if you have food, that¡¯s more than you could ask for. You¡¯re lucky if it tastes good, but as long as it filled your stomach it¡¯s fine if it doesn¡¯t, right?¡±


    Not having any food wasn¡¯t umon, so it was quantity over quality.


    It wasn¡¯t once or twice that eating wasn¡¯t something to enjoy, but instead it was an action to keep you from starving.


    After going through such experiences repeatedly, you would stop caring what went in your mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty dull, but then again, it was when you were a mercenary.¡±


    While muttering under her breath, that she just needed to slowly reform him, Lapis started thinking about what to order for Loren.


    Leaving that to her, Loren looked around the bar.


    The atmosphere wasn¡¯t much different that the bar in Kauffa.


    A fun atmosphere that was sometimes noisy, sometimes unruly, and a bit dirty.


    As Loren thought that the atmosphere shouldn¡¯t be too different because it was used in the same way, he narrowed his eyes at a group that was out of ce.


    It was a very young group.


    The group seemed unbnced, with three men and one woman, but they seemed quite friendly with each other, and were talking too each other in hushed voices, ncing around the bar with curiosity. In front of them was a simple meal and cups, they didn¡¯t look like they contained alcohol.


    He started observing them, thinking that it was rare for adventurers toe to a bar and not drink alcohol, but his sight immediately blocked by a group of rough-looking adventurers.


    One of the adventures from the group began to bother the lively looking girl with short ck hair.


    Herpanions, the three young men, stood up to stop him, but the rest of his group blocked them and couldn¡¯t help her.


    After confirming that the girl looked ufortable and herpanions were getting blocked by the other adventurers, Loren stood up from his seat, not saying anything to Lapis, who was still looking at the menu.


    Bothering waitresses and employees wasmon among mercenaries as well, and it wasughed off if it didn¡¯t go too far, but if a mercenary did that to a customer, as he was, he couldn¡¯tin if he got beaten up by the rest of his group.


    To Loren, who had been taught that by his formerpanions, couldn¡¯t ignore what was happening in front of his eyes.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    Lapis stopped Loren, who had started to move towards the quarrel, without looking away from the menu, and told him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind you doing it, but don¡¯t kill them, okay? You don¡¯t want to go to prison before we even start the job, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know. I¡¯ll go easy on them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s disturbing other customers, so go shut them up quickly.¡±


    Lapis told Loren that she would order the food in the meanwhile, not worried about him at all, and Loren told her to leave it to him, and continued walking over to the quarrel that was still going on.

 Chapter 53: A Warning After the Interruption

    <h4>Chapter 53: A Warning After the Interruption</h4>


    Loren, walking over to where the dispute was taking ce after receiving Lapis¡¯ unmotivated sendoff, was surprised when he saw the group who seemed to be the victims.


    He knew that they were young, since he had seen them from afar, but when he got closer, he saw that they were still at an age that could be considered children.


    To Loren, they looked around fourteen or fifteen, which was still considered as children.


    It depended on the region, but most ces considered sixteen to be the start of adulthood.


    The group of adventurers that were bothering them were a lot older than them.


    One of the adventurers, who was a few years older than Loren, grabbed the hand of the girl and tried to pull her away.


    The girl getting pulled away had short ck hair and looked lively, but her face was colored with surprise and confusion. The three boys that were trying to stop it from happening yet being cut off by the other adventurers was a well-built boy with a blonde crew cut, a frivolous looking boy with slightly long brown hair, and a short, timid looking boy, also with brown hair that was in a bowl cut, wearing clothes like those of a priest.


    While Loren looked around at them, both the kids and the adventurers froze, looking dumbfounded, as they saw him walking towards them.


    ¡°W-who are you supposed to be?¡±


    The adventurer grabbing the girl¡¯s arm asked him who he was.


    Loren didn¡¯t answer him, but instead observed the face of the girl who had her arm held for a while.


    After a moment, as the girl looked back at him, wondering what he was about, Loren asked her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not ying with each other, right?¡±


    ¡°N-no! They suddenly told me to drink with them¡­¡±


    ¡°Ha! We saw some kids wandering around in the bar thiste, so we just said that we¡¯ll show you how to y!¡±


    The girl tried to shake him off, but she wasn¡¯t a match for him, and the adventurer still had a tight grip on her.


    After confirming the situation, he asked the three boys that were being held back by the adventurers.


    ¡°You guys need help?¡±


    ¡®P-please help!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! We don¡¯t need help!¡±


    ¡°Cloud!¡±


    The one that asked for help was the well-build boy with the blonde crew cut.


    The one who made the bullish remark was the frivolous looking boy, and the one that stopped him was the one with the bowl cut.


    The boy with the crew cut had a better physique than the other two, but since he was the first one to ask for help, Loren guessed that he was either timid or he was that desperate, and both weren¡¯t good tendencies.


    But since he walked over to help them, he decided that their personalities weren¡¯t of importance.


    ¡°The hell, are you? You trying to poke your nose into our business? No one called you, so back off!¡±


    The adventurer holding the girl¡¯s arm started ranting, but Loren paid no attention and grabbed his wrist.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s smart for kids to be in a bar, you know?¡±


    An ominous noise sounded from where Loren was grabbing the adventurer¡¯s wrist.


    The adventurer was forced to realize what the sound was before he could even start to wonder what it was.


    It was the sound of his flesh and bones screaming.


    While his bones were creaking, his flesh was being crushed, blood cirction stopping, and his fingers bing numb, Loren looked into his eyes and continued, without even batting an eye.


    ¡°Bothering kids isn¡¯t something adults should do.¡±


    ¡°G¡­Gah!? Y-you! Let go! Let go!¡±


    The adventurer let go of the girl, but the pressure from Loren¡¯s hand that threatened to crush his wrist didn¡¯t lighten.


    He tried to shake Loren off, but he couldn¡¯t move his hand at all, as if it was fixed in the air, and all he could do was watch as it was getting crushed inside Loren¡¯s grip. He couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and called out to hispanions, who were still holding the boys back, for help.


    ¡°Hey! Let go of them! Help me with this guy! My wrist is going to get crushed!¡±


    Seeing theirpanion wailing, the others realized the abnormality of the situation and surrounded Loren, but Loren paid no attention, and continued to slowly crush the wrist in his hand.


    ¡°Stop! Let go!¡±


    The adventurer screamed as he saw blood drip out through Loren¡¯s fingers.


    It was proof that his wrist wasn¡¯t broken but was the crushed to the point where the bone shards were ripping through his flesh and skin, and he realized that soon enough, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use his wrist ever again.


    ¡°Let him go!¡±


    One of the other adventurers pulled out a short de without thinking.


    Although it was a bar, it was run by the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    The adventurer knew that he would be punished for using a weapon, but he waspletely swallowed up by Loren¡¯s presence, and couldn¡¯t make calm decisions anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let him go if you guys back off. So, what do you guys say?¡±


    Even with the white de glistening in the dim light of the bar, Loren didn¡¯t flinch and didn¡¯t let go either.


    All that changed was his gaze towards the adventurer who pulled out the de.


    Until now, no matter how bad their attitudes were, he looked at them as people, but suddenly his gaze was one that was looking at an object.


    Since Loren was looking at them, the adventurers found that out whether they liked it or not.


    Because they found out, they realized that they had done something irreparable the moment they drew their des.


    If they backed off as Loren said right now, they would bebeled as cowards who ran away even after drawing their weapons.


    But if they attacked Loren, the oue waiting for them would be worse than one crushed wrist.


    ¡°Any longer, and he won¡¯t be able to use his arm again.¡±


    During that time, Loren¡¯s fingers had continued to dig into the arm further and further.


    The bones were alreadypletely crushed, and the bleeding had been going on for quite a while as well, but it was still at a point where if the adventurers took him to a high-ranking priest and made arge donation and received a high ss healing Divine Art, he could recover.


    That was why Loren confronted them with a choice.


    Continue like this and face irreparable results, or risk their reputation falling slightly and back off.


    Both didn¡¯t let them off scot free, but Loren decided to at least give them a choice, and soon enough the adventurer that drew his de put it away and raised his other arm towards Loren.


    ¡°Alright¡­we¡¯ll back off. So please let him go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not lying, right?¡±


    ¡°If we lie here, we¡¯ll be at a point we can¡¯t get back from. We¡¯ll back off, so let him go! He¡¯s already foaming!¡±


    When Loren looked back at the adventurer whose wrist he was holding, he saw that he was already unconscious, and was foaming at the mouth.


    It seemed that the pain and the shock of seeing his bone ripping through his flesh and skin was too much for him to handle.


    When he let the adventurer go, his limp body crashed down on the floor, and hispanions picked his body up in a hurry.


    ¡°Going to say, ¡®remember this?¡¯ or something like that?¡±


    Loren asked the adventurers as they recovered theirpanion¡¯s body and were about to leave, but the adventurer that drew his weapon shook his head.


    ¡°We¡¯d rather you forget our faces. If someone like you remembers us, we can¡¯t even hit on girls carelessly.¡±


    Loren was impressed that with the way they made sure they sowed no seeds of future trouble when they decided to back off, they lived up to their names as adventurers.


    If he were against atrocious mercenaries or some thugs, they would be foolish and say lines like what Loren had said and he would remember their faces, but Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel the decisiveness in the adventurers¡¯ attitude of cutting ties with any sort of trouble.


    ¡°You should choose your opponent wisely.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    The tags swaying on the chests of the retreating adventurers were copper.


    After seeing that they weren¡¯t even iron ranks, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit sorry for what he did.


    Most adventurers were iron or copper ranks, and their numbers were many.


    Even within the same rank, they ran the gamut, and Loren wondered around where they would be, but they quickly vanished from his sight.


    While he decided that judging from their skill there wouldn¡¯t be any retaliation against himter, the girl that he helped nervously called out to him.


    ¡°Umm¡­Thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You guys just caught my attention a bit.¡±


    Loren¡¯s decision to help them was based on his own agenda.


    Loren waved his hand at the girl, as he wasn¡¯t looking for any thanks.


    ¡°But you saved me!¡±


    ¡°d that you¡¯re safe, is what I¡¯d like to say. But you guys are still kids, right? If you hang out at ces like this, you¡¯ll get hit on by some weird people, you know?¡±


    He could¡¯ve also said that it was because they seemed open and easy to hit on, or that they seemed easy to y around with.


    On top of that, Loren couldn¡¯t help but give them a warning regardless if it was none of his business because they still looked like children.


    ¡°We¡¯re sorr-¡±


    ¡°Hey old man! Who do you think you are to scold¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop it Cloud. He helped us, remember?¡±


    ¡°Come on, Al! There¡¯s no reason for us to get¡­¡±


    ¡°I said stop it.¡±


    Out of the three boys that were walking over, thanks to the adventurers holding them back running away, the frivolous looking one started turning on him, while the one with the bowl cut was stopping him as best as he could.


    If they were a bit older.


    If they were, for example, us¡¯ age, he would¡¯ve felt like educating them a bit further, but they were younger than us, at an age that Loren considered as children.


    He turned around, ignoring them since educating them wasn¡¯t his job, but the well-built boy with the blonde crew cut jumped in front of him.


    ¡°My name is Ain, the leader of this party. Please let us thank you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need thanks. It¡¯s something I did on my own. None the less, you should choose where to chatter wisely. Especially if you can¡¯t deal with things with your own strength.¡±


    ¡°W-we¡¯re sorry. We wanted to take a peek at the bar¡¯s atmosphere as a change of pace.¡±


    It seemed like they had some circumstance, but that wasn¡¯t something for Loren to know.


    He pushed past Ain, who was about to say something more, and walked back to the table where Lapis was waiting without looking back.


    ¡°Wee back, Loren. You didn¡¯t break anything this time.¡±


    Loren let out a nervousugh at the words Lapis said to him as soon as he got back.


    If he punched or kicked, he would¡¯ve broken this and that, as Lapis was expecting, but Loren knew that as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll dry up in no time if I keep paying fines orpensation every time something happens.¡±


    ¡°No doubt.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m still surprised that the ones being picked on were a party as well.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? If that¡¯s the case¡­fate might bring us to them again soon enough.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see. I¡¯m not that confident on this, so I guess we¡¯ll have to look forward to it.¡±


    Loren looked at Lapis, who was still flipping through the menu, not being able to choose what to order, and sighed, thinking about how what she mentioned wasn¡¯t something that they would want to look forward to.

 Chapter 54: Confusion after Being Surrounded

    <h4>Chapter 54: Confusion after Being Surrounded</h4>


    The next day, Loren went with Lapis to their client, Volf Adventurer Training School.


    The retaliation fromst night¡¯s adventurers ended as a worry, so he was able to spend the night at the inn peacefully, getting more than enough sleep and rest.


    This was the first time he¡¯d ever seen a school and entered school grounds.


    He knew that it was a ce to educate children with knowledge, culture, and experience, but Loren had been taken care of by a mercenary group ever since he remembered, so he had never gone to school before.


    Most mercenaries had never gone to schools before, and many of them couldn¡¯t do calctions, and couldn¡¯t read or write either.


    In Loren¡¯s case, he learned how to calcte, as well as read and write, from his group¡¯s clerk because it would be inconvenient when dealing with job contracts, so he could do so at a general level.


    ¡°From what you¡¯ve told me, it seemed like it was a very capable group.¡±


    Lapis sounded very impressed as they passed through the school¡¯s gates.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a mercenary group that made sure to educate their members like that.¡±


    ¡°You sure? It was the norm for us. Of course, there were some who didn¡¯t want to since we were a bunch that became mercenaries, but almost everyone could read and could at least write their names.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite absurd, you know? If you go to a nearby vige and ask the residents to write their names, most of them can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Well, vigers don¡¯t sign contracts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly the problem¡­¡±


    Environments where children could get proper education wasn¡¯tmon.


    Lapis knew that in some nations, only people high sses could do so.


    But hearing that a mere mercenary group would give such education to the whole organization, Lapis thought that it was more abnormal than special.


    ¡°Either the leader was an outstanding person, or he was just crazy¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey Lapis. What do you think that is?¡±


    Loren¡¯s weirdly tired voice pulled Lapis, who was muttering to herself while immersed in her thoughts, to reality, and she looked towards where Loren was pointing.


    Shrill voices sounded from a crowd at the end of her sight.


    A thick wall of young girls was surrounding something.


    Loren and Lapis couldn¡¯t see from outside what was in the middle, but the voltage of the cheering and screaming from the girls were almost at their peak, so it seemed like there was something incredible in there.


    ¡°This is a school, right?¡±


    ¡°It should be. It might be break time or study hall or something.¡±


    Lapis knew that if it was ss time, there was no reason for such a crowd form, but it was currently still early morning, and was hard to think that it was already break time.


    Then she scanned the area, thinking that it would be a good time for teachers toe and break it up, and confirmed that there were a few of them in the area. But for some reason all of them had resigned looks on their faces and were watching the girls from afar, and none of them went over to them.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. In any case, it¡¯s got nothing to do with us.¡±


    As Loren said that, immediately losing interest since the crowd just caught his eye and no more, there was movement within the crowd.


    Lapis sensed that whatever was in the middle started to try to break through but seeing that the shrills increased in volume every time that the thing pushed through the crowd, whatever that was being surrounded was something that gave them joy just by touching them.


    ¡°Something¡¯sing out.¡±


    ¡°Is that some sort of egg?¡±


    As soon as Loren said that, a red headed man dressed in something that looked like a suit toned in navy blue managed to break free from the crowd and showed himself.


    The man¡¯s face, which looked a few years younger than Loren¡¯s, was familiar to both Loren and Lapis, but because of where he came out of, they couldn¡¯t help but stare at him with confused gazes.


    ¡°Good thing you guys are here. You¡¯re on your way to talk about the job, right? Let me go with you.¡±


    ¡°us? I won¡¯t ask you why you¡¯re here because I know you¡¯re taking the same job, but what were you doing?¡±


    The man who looked quite tired from getting through the crowd was none other than us, who was dressed up slightly.


    Behind him were a countless number of girls staring at us¡¯ back with gazes of envy and adoration, but us paid no attention and started talking to Loren.


    ¡°Well, I told you this is my alma mater, right? I kind of dressed since this is the first time I¡¯ve been here in a while¡­but I got surrounded by the students.¡±


    ¡°Those students are still waiting behind you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, this is troubling. Hey girls, you still have sses, right? I need to go to the principal to talk about a job.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to be an inspector for the dungeon exploration exam!?¡±


    They could see the crowd getting excited when one of the girls asked us.


    After stopping the girls, who were starting to move to surround him again, with his hand, us answered the girl¡¯s question with a troubled smile.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m here to take the job as an adventurer.¡±


    ¡°us for this year¡¯s exam!?¡±


    As the rustling got louder, us backed off slowly as the girls tried to close their gap and told them in a smooth voice, as if trying to appease them.


    ¡°I guess so¡­I need to go talk with the principal about that. So¡­w-wait, Loren! Why are you trying to leave me behind!?¡±


    Loren and Lapis, who didn¡¯t want to deal with it, were walking away, but turned back, annoyed, when us called out.


    While the hostile gazes of the girls turned towards Loren, us hurriedly ran over to Loren and for some reason gave him a resentful look.


    ¡°We¡¯ve epted the same job. You can go with me, you know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re busy, right? We could¡¯ve gone and taken care of it while you deal with your cute juniors¡­Where are the usual three at?¡±


    ¡°I told them I¡¯m going toe to the school to get the job exnation, but they told me to go alone¡­The three of them graduated here as well, but for some reason they don¡¯t likeing here with me.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t surprised, as he nced at the girls behind us, who were still looking at him with hostility.


    It seemed that us was very popr among the students, and it wasn¡¯t surprising that any girls that were with us would be met with hostility.


    Loren could understand why Ange and the other girls didn¡¯t want toe, since they would have to deal with a horde of girls that were giving even him harsh looks, even though he was the same gender as us.


    ¡°I¡¯m a graduate so I can show you around. So please let me go with you. I can¡¯t escape even if I tried.¡±


    He said to Loren in a small voice, but since it was so small, he had to get closer to Loren to say it.


    It was a troublesome case for Loren, but when he thought about it, a portion of the students were attending the school because they were talented, but many of them were from a high ss.


    He didn¡¯t know what kind of repercussions he could faceter if he treated them harshly, and if us was thinking the same thing, he could understand why us wasn¡¯t being so hard on them. Understanding us¡¯ predicament, Loren decided that leaving him here was pitiful.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, I guess¡­Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    When he grabbed us¡¯ shoulder and pulled him towards the direction they were going, the girls that surrounded us cried out at the slight rough treatment.


    ¡°What are you doing to us!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch us with those dirty hands of yours!¡±


    ¡°Where are you taking him? We¡¯re not done talking with him!¡±


    us went pale at the things they yelled at Loren.


    To us, who knew what kind of person Loren was, knew that insulting him was a very dangerous thing to do.


    It wasn¡¯t surprising that he went pale because he was the cause of those insults.


    He panicked and tried to stop the girls, but before he could do so, Loren stepped forward facing the girls, who went silent for a moment at the atmosphere that Loren was radiating, and said in voice that wasn¡¯t loud, but could still be heard clearly.


    ¡°Shut up. You want to get messed up?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t as if he had his hand on the great sword on his back.


    But the girls went pale all at once when they heard Loren¡¯s voice, filled with killing intent.


    Not only that, the girls that were closer to Loren started foaming at the mouth and dropped unconscious.


    On top of that, regardless of whether they were conscious or not, students who wet their pants or skirts started popping up, thus bing even more chaotic.


    While screams, wails, and howls flew around, Loren was shocked at the situation that he had caused.


    He thought they would shrink away at the most at his coercion, and didn¡¯t expect them to foam and faint, or even incontinence.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they a bit too fragile?¡±


    ¡°No, that made my own blood run cold too.¡±


    As us said that with a pale face, Lapis, who was standing near them, stared at Loren with intrigued face.


    Her expression looked more like one of suspicion after witnessing something mysterious, rather than being surprised at Loren¡¯s coercion.


    As Loren wondered if she felt something, Shayna popped out from the side and giggled.


    ¡®I think mixing a bit of a No Life King¡¯s vibe with Onii-san¡¯s killing intent was the problem.¡¯


    When Loren sighed at what she¡¯d done, Shayna flew around in his sight, as if she couldn¡¯t hold back her anger.


    ¡®They called Onii-san¡¯s hand dirty, you know!?¡¯


    Shayna said angrily how it was unforgivable, and Loren wasn¡¯t sure how to respond.


    He did feel a slight happiness that she had gotten angry for him, but the resulting chaotic situation seemed a bit too much.


    When he told Shayna that he was happy, but to tone it down next time, although she looked like she wasn¡¯t satisfied, she nodded and blinked out his sight.


    ¡°I felt an odd presence just now.¡±


    Lapis told him, still staring in Loren¡¯s direction.


    Although Shayna only used a slight amount of her power for a fraction of a second, Lapis had felt it, so Loren, astonished at her senses, yed dumb.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    ¡°Really? Was I imagining it¡­no, maybe Loren is just a very scary person? Scary enough to make such a horrible scene?¡±


    ¡°The students here are probably too fragile. I¡¯ve been in battle and I¡¯vee back from battlefield, remember? It must have been too much for kids that haven¡¯t experienced real battle.¡±


    As Loren decided to go with that exnation, Lapis, although she looked like she wasn¡¯t convinced, couldn¡¯t think of any other exnation, so she stopped investigating.


    ¡°Is that so? Anyways, let¡¯s get back to work.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to the principal¡¯s office, right? I¡¯ll take you there, follow me.¡±


    As us took the lead, Loren and Lapis started talking in low voices.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t his attitude be way to goodpared to the first time we met him?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he holds everything inside. He¡¯s waiting to stab us from behind when our guards are down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you said I reformed, but¡­whatever¡­¡±


    Since us, who was a graduate, was guiding them, there was no worry about them getting lost in school grounds.


    With us, whose shoulders drooped but didn¡¯t stop leading them, in the lead, Loren and Lapis left the havoc behind them.

 Chapter 55: Selecting After Moving

    <h4>Chapter 55: Selecting After Moving</h4>


    ¡°Volf Adventurer Training School was built in honor of the achievements of an adventurer from about three hundred years ago, named Volf.¡±


    us was giving exnations that no one asked for as he lead Loren and Lapis down the hall.


    Lapis was listening quietly, thinking of it as more knowledge, but Loren couldn¡¯t feel interested even if he was told the name of an adventurer from hundreds of years ago.


    Most mercenaries¡¯ thought processes were impulsive or simple, and few of them thought in long terms.


    Loren had some of those tendencies as well.


    The member that was in charge of his education constantly told him to fix it, so he reformed some of them, but this bad habit tended to show itself when he couldn¡¯t seem to find any interest in the subject.


    While thinking that his financial situation was one of those, us¡¯ exnation continued.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to exin anything about Volf, right? He has an innumerable amount of achievements, and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that most students here set him as their goal.¡±


    ¡°What are some of his achievements? Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know too much aboutmon information because of priestess training and such.¡±


    Although Lapis asked that, Loren guessed that it was a lie.


    In the first ce, Lapis was one of the demon kin, who lived in one part of the continent, and it was suspicious if she even trained to be a priestess.


    It was also very unlikely that Lapis wouldn¡¯t investigate information beforehand.


    Since she knew that their destination was Volf Adventurer Training School, it would definitely be strange if she hadn¡¯t done any research.


    Then came the question of why she was making us exin, so he asked Lapis why in a whisper.


    ¡°It¡¯s like checking to see if I¡¯m right.¡±


    She wasparing the information that she had to us¡¯ information.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. I¡¯m not sure if they are true or not, but there are countless stories of him ying dragons, and countless discoveries or ruins. There is even a story about defeating and sealing an evil God.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t people think that they¡¯re fake?¡±


    Lapis asked him in a chilling manner.


    If it was the us from before, he would have been angry that she had called the deeds of an adventurer that he admired fake, but it seemed that he was indeed reformed, as he just let out a troubledugh instead ofshing out.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that it sounds unbelievable just by hearing stories. But there is evidence that support a number of them. That evidence is the dungeon spreading under the Volf Adventurer Training School.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    If the subject was about the destination of their job, Loren was interested.


    us was surprised at Loren¡¯s sudden interruption since he had been silent the whole time, but he immediately showed a soft smile and continued his exnation.


    ¡°The dungeon under the school is said to have been created by Volf.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like he dug it, right?¡±


    Loren felt that itself would be quite a feat, but an adventurer¡¯s achievement being that he dug a dungeon didn¡¯t sound cool at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s said that he put the existing dungeon under his control.¡±


    ¡°You can do that with dungeons?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also said that he solved the mechanics of the dungeon core, but there¡¯s no record of that. But if you look at the dungeon, it would make you think that it might be true.¡±


    ording to us, there was a distinction in difficulty for each floor.


    It was structured as a training ground for dungeon exploration, and it was said that Volf made it that way for the adventurers forter generations.


    Earlier floors having little danger and the danger level increasing for deeper floors was the same for other dungeons, and Lapis said maybe this dungeon wasn¡¯t special, us answered.


    ¡°This dungeon has ten floors, but you can only go to the ninth floor. You need the principal¡¯s permission to go into the tenth floor.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that that¡¯s where the evidence of Volf¡¯s achievements are?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I¡¯ve only been there once before I graduated, though. If the students can make it to the ninth floor during this exam, they could go to the tenth floor as a reward.¡±


    us exined that they would get permission before the exam began.


    That was a good piece of information to Loren.


    The reason that they epted the job was because a part of Lapis¡¯ body might be located in the dungeon, and from us¡¯ exnation, he guessed that there was a high chance of it being in the tenth floor.


    Then it seemed like their goal would easily be achieved if they followed the students into the tenth floor after then managed to make it to the ninth floor.


    On top of that, he now found out why this dungeon wasn¡¯t open to the public.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of protection there was, but it seemed like there was a mechanism that prevented outsiders to break into the tenth floor and steal those evidences of Volf¡¯s achievements.


    ¡°By the way, the exam will continue until the students give up, so you should be prepared for being down there for a while. The longest I know of is one month.¡±


    ¡°So you would have to stick with them the whole time. It¡¯s not much of a profitable job, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why graduates are mostly the ones that take this job, but why did you guys decide on this job?¡±


    Loren wondered how he should answer us¡¯ question.


    He couldn¡¯t straight up say that they had business with the dungeon.


    ¡°We were interested. Both Loren and I aren¡¯t proper adventurers, so we were interested in what kind of ce a training school was.¡±


    Unlike Loren, Lapis was able to answer the question immediately.


    At her answer, which was so smooth it seemed scripted, us looked convinced, while Loren away to hide his exasperation at Lapis¡¯ reaction, which seemed prepared beforehand.


    They finally reached the principal¡¯s office.


    The job was from the school, but their client was none other than the principal.


    So of course they would go meet him, and when they arrived, us opened the door to the office.


    ¡°Wee! I¡¯m the principal of Volf Adventurer Training School, Volf the Tenth!!¡±


    us stiffened at the sudden loud sound that came from across the doorway, while Loren covered his ears and Lapis swiftly hid behind him.


    Loren saw us¡¯ knees shake from taking the full brunt of the sound, while he and Lapis were able to react him time, with a chill going down his back, but the chill got even worse after he saw the person who was supposed to be the principal.


    Across from them was a man like a small mountain.


    He was wearing formal clothing that matched his title of principal, his scale was way different than ordinary people.


    Loren was on the tall side as well, but the man sitting down at the desk across the room was so big that his line of sight didn¡¯t differ from Loren¡¯s even though he was sitting down.


    ¡°What are you standing there for! Hurry up and get inside!¡±


    Looking at the walls shake with his ears still covered, Loren pushed us, who was frozen in ce, with his elbow, while wondering if it was really necessary to shout like that.


    us slowly stepped into the principal¡¯s office, with a stretched smile on his face.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s been a while, principal. You look well, as usual.¡±


    ¡°d to see you¡¯re in good health as well!¡±


    His voice was still loud, as expected.


    Loren flinched at the voice, which he could still hear clearly even though he was covering his ears.


    Lapis, who was still hiding behind his back, had her hands on her head, trying to endure the loud sound.


    ¡°H-hey principal. Could you lower your voice a little bit please?¡±


    ¡°Shut up us! Do you think I haven¡¯t heard of your deeds after you graduated this school!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about those cases¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? You are? It does seem that you¡¯re a bit different than from what I¡¯ve been hearing about you.¡±


    The tone of his voice dropped slightly.


    It was still loud, but it was bearable without having to cover his ears, so Loren put his hands down and Lapis popped her head out from behind his back.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had a change of heart, us. Looks like you¡¯ve learned some humility.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for worrying you.¡±


    The principal snorted as us bowed his head.


    ¡°If you were still the same as I¡¯ve been hearing, I was going to teach you a lesson or two before the job, but it doesn¡¯t seem like I need to anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been blessed with the opportunity already.¡±


    ¡°You were lucky.¡±


    us and the principal were having a conversation that Loren didn¡¯t understand, but it seemed that they came to a settlement.


    Anticipating that, Loren called out to the principal, who was looking at us with a satisfied smile, while shifting into a position that he could run away at any time.


    ¡°Hey, is it alright if we talk about the job now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. I heard that one of my former students was causing trouble, so I thought there was a need to give him a warning, but I didn¡¯t need to.¡±


    ¡°Happy to hear that, but don¡¯t get your voice up again.¡±


    After hearing Loren¡¯s words, which he said thinking that the principal might be the one who needed a warning, the principal looked at Lapis, whose head was peeking out from behind Loren¡¯s back, and looked back at us.


    ¡°Seems like this year we¡¯ve got people who are quite skilled. us, are they the cause of your reform?¡±


    us looked down in embarrassment as the principal red at him again.


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to say, but yes they are.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Hey big guy, it seems that I need to thank you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I lose to you in size, but I don¡¯t care much about being thanked, so can we talk about the job?¡±


    At Loren¡¯s urge, the principal put two stacks of paper on top of his desk.


    Although the papers were normal sized ones, Loren thought it interesting that they looked like little bits of paper in the hands of the principal, then walked up to the desk and took one of the stacks.


    ¡°This is the roster for the students that will take the exam next. There will be two groups, one with us¡¯ party, and the other with yours. You will enter the dungeon with them.¡±


    ¡°My name is Loren. The one behind me is Lapis. It¡¯s the pair of us that received the job.¡±


    From behind Loren, Lapis softly slid the document that they had received from the adventurer¡¯s guild in Kauffa in front of the principal.


    After going through it, confirming that there were no mistakes, he put it in one of his drawers.


    This meant that it was epted, and it would be returned to them with the principal¡¯s stamp after the job was done.


    ¡°The job description is apanying the testers. assisting them is not allowed in general, but if they ask you for advice, you can do so. Everything that happens down there is their own responsibility, and even if they lose their lives, the responsibility won¡¯t fall on you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind rescuing them, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. But if that happens,e straight back up. The testers will have to make maps as they go, but I will provide a map of the dungeon for you beforehand.¡±


    Since the exam was already done many times before, they were able to make a close-toplete map, and in the case of an emergency, they were to use it to return to the surface.


    If the testers received help from the proctors, it was impossible to measure their skills.


    Which meant that the exam would end when it is deemed that they need assistance.


    ¡°The exam is over once they get past the fifth floor, but it is fine to go as far as they can. Of course, the number of floors they get past ties in directly with their evaluation. To put it backwards, the exam won¡¯t end until they get past the fifth floor. If they give up, that¡¯s where the exam ends. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°I heard from us that if we reach the ninth floor, you¡¯ll allow us to enter the tenth floor. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°It is indeed. You¡¯ll reach the stairs to the tenth floor if you defeat the keeper on the ninth floor, to be exact. The ce is usually sealed, but I¡¯ll give the pass to the students.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of shabby to be called a reward?¡±


    ¡°If you could take something, that is allowed as well.¡±


    The words of the principal, who said it with a grin, was unexpected to Loren.


    He thought so because permission to take something from where things rted to the adventurer Volf was an exceptional reward.


    ¡°The same goes for the proctors. If you could take something, I dare you to try. But I won¡¯t take responsibility for anything that happens, so keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so there¡¯s some good-for-nothing trap or guardian, I¡¯m guessing.¡±


    The principal¡¯s attitude told Loren that there was something down there that would prevent people from doing so, and it wasn¡¯t something that students or low rank adventurers could face off against.


    It must be that when encountered, if you didn¡¯t take anything it would let you through, but if you did you would have to defeat it or get past it to leave the dungeon.


    ¡°So, out of the two parties, who will be in charge of which?¡±


    Loren looked at us, but he told Loren to pick first.


    Since us was a graduate, he must have the confidence to do fine with any party he ended up with.


    After thinking so, Loren looked back and forth between the stacks of papers with the information of the parties on them, and then took one of them in his hand.


    ¡°Let us be in charge of this party.¡±


    ¡°Very well. But¡­any basis behind your decision?¡±


    When the principal asked Loren, he answered with his eyes scanning the surface of the papers.


    ¡°I guess this is what you would call fate.¡±


    Lapis, who was still hiding behind Loren¡¯s back, peeked over his shoulder and took a look at the papers in Loren¡¯s hand.


    Lapis saw that the party leader was Ain, and the descriptions of the other party members, and realized that it was the party that Loren had helped the night before at the bar, and knew that was why Loren chose them.

 Chapter 56: Introduction to Departure

    <h4>Chapter 56: Introduction to Departure</h4>


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to introduce themselves.


    Mostly because it wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯ve met each other.


    Loren knew they were quite young when he met them at the bar, but when he looked at them in daylight, he couldn¡¯t help but feel conflicted when he saw the hint of youth in their faces.


    ¡°Loren, you do look a bit old for your age, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yes I know, so you don¡¯t have to remind me.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know his exact age.


    If he counted from his earliest memories, he should be slightly over twenty, but he didn¡¯t know the exact number.


    No one around him really cared, and he didn¡¯t care about it either, since it wasn¡¯t necessary information for a mercenary.


    The fact that it was a profession which didn¡¯t guarantee that you would live to an age which you would worry about getting old was a factor, but looking at the young students, he couldn¡¯t help but feel old.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Loren. You¡¯re still young.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better. Anyways, how old are you, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Loren. I didn¡¯t know you had such a roundabout death wish.¡±


    ¡°Ohe on¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I¡¯m just as old how I look.¡±


    Apparently, looking young but having lived for a very long time, which was the case for many demon kin, didn¡¯t apply to Lapis.


    But this wasing from her own mouth, so he didn¡¯t know if it was true or not.


    ¡°Hey, the two of you. Thanks for being our proctors.¡±


    The one that came up to them and greeted them was Ain, the leader of the party that Loren and Lapis¡¯ oversaw.


    Although he was still a boy, he was well built, wearing a hauberk and was carrying a long sword and a round shield, which was standard equipment for a warrior in the front line.


    His blonde crew cut gave him a rough impression as well.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need a proctor though.¡±


    The one who muttered that was the smaller boy named Cloud.


    He was wearing leather armor like the one Loren was wearing, but had fewer parts and only covered his chest, and he had an estoc hanging at his side.


    Loren guessed that he was a swordsman who relied on speed during fights.


    ¡°Stop it Cloud. He¡¯s an adventurer. He¡¯s going to be scary if you make him mad.¡±


    The one who whined was the boy with the bowl cut named Al.


    He was wearing priest¡¯s clothes with simr design to Lapis¡¯ and had a mace with him.


    When Loren asked, Al had said he was a priest in training to the Supreme God, but his weak and timid nature did not make it seem like he was.


    ¡°Thanks a lot forst night! You really saved me there!¡±


    The one who called out to him in a lively voice was Feim, wearing a robe and holding a wooden staff, like an orthodox magician.


    She was a magician, as her appearance was, and told them that she could use one spell per day.


    ¡°Do you think they could make it to the ninth floor?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis quietly after they were introduced, and Ain and hispanions were getting ready to enter the dungeon.


    Loren and Lapis¡¯ had already brought their what they needed into the school along with their equipment. Lapis¡¯ belongings were in a backpack on her back, but Loren didn¡¯t have one since he had his great sword strapped on his back.


    I stead, he had a pouch hanging from his left arm, and he also had a knife hanging on his left waist, that he had purchased for this job.


    ¡°Loren, you can use knives too?¡±


    Lapis moved the conversation into apletely different direction.


    ¡°Yeah, somewhat. I used them to slit enemies¡¯ throats on the battlefield.¡±


    He drew the knife as he said that, but although it was shaped like a knife, it was way longer than what a knife should be, and the thickness of the de was like that of an axe or a hoe.


    ¡°That looks more like a short de than a knife. I¡¯m surprised the shop had something like that.¡±


    ¡°This was the only knife at the shop in Kauffa. Its durability is top notch, but no one was buying it since it was so bulky, so the owner sold it to me for ten silver coins.¡±


    ¡°I could¡¯ve readied one if you¡¯d told me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a spare weapon anyway. It¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s sharp and durable.


    Lapis snorted in discontent at Loren¡¯s response.


    On the books, the equipment and the great sword on Loren¡¯s back was all bought at the weapon shop in Kauffa, but behind the scenes, Lapis seemed to have brought it all and sold them to Loren through the shop. She didn¡¯t say so herself, but it was quite obvious at this point.


    His debt to Lapis had grown to thirty gold coins, which was a small fortune, but he knew that the equipment wasn¡¯t something that could be bought with that amount.


    If he asked Lapis to get him a spare weapon, she was sure to bring him something expensive, and although it would be a good deal whenpared its actual worth, but Loren didn¡¯t have the capacity to be increasing his debt again by several gold coins.


    ¡°So, how are they?¡±


    ¡°Their skill levels? It might be a bit tough.¡±


    As she looked at Ain and his party packing their things, the evaluation that she gave them was a quite a rough one.


    ¡°They could probably manage to get to the fifth floor, but any further might be hard.¡±


    On the map that the principal gave them were detailed descriptions of locations of traps and monsters that spawned on each floor.


    Lapis used that information to calcte the difficulty of each floor.


    ¡°That¡¯s only if assuming the monsters in this dungeon are the same as normal monsters.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis, feeling confused.


    Since he used to be a mercenary, he had never been inside a dungeon, and he didn¡¯t know about the differences of normal monsters and ones that spawned in dungeons.


    ¡°To put it simply, monsters which bodies are left behind when they die are normal and monsters which are sucked back into the dungeon, leaving a part of their bodies, are ones that are spawned by the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°They are different in power?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It depends on things like the size of the dungeon.¡±


    Lapis said he shouldn¡¯t underestimate them just because they look the same.


    But the dungeon they were entering was one that was used for training students, so Lapis guessed the monsters were either the same or weaker than normal ones.


    ¡°When ites to the worst, we¡¯ll just have to have them get wiped out¡­¡±


    Lapis started muttering things that were surprisingly dark.


    Loren immediately responded.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to stop by the bottom floor before we go up to report? I won¡¯t help you, you know?¡±


    ¡°This is where you should stop me. Why are you nning to just watch me do it?¡±


    Loren looked away at her response.


    The two of them were casually talking about things that would be problematic if Ain and his party overheard them.


    ¡°Now that I think of it, if your body part is in the tenth floor, how did it get there in the first ce? There¡¯s stuff that an adventurer from three hundred years ago collected, right?¡±


    The thought urred that Lapis was a demon kin that walked the continent from that time, but if he were to believe what Lapis had told him, she wasn¡¯t alive that long ago.


    When Loren told her that a part of her being down there didn¡¯t make sense, Lapis thought to herself for a moment and answered him, choosing her words carefully.


    ¡°It¡¯s most likely that¡­my parents sneaked inside. Either there is a side entrance somewhere, or it wasn¡¯t even remotely difficult for my parents to infiltrate it¡­¡±


    She said it like it was easy, but this dungeon was property of the school¡¯s, and the entrance was heavily guarded, to the point where there were no stories of anyone being able to infiltrate it.


    But if Lapis¡¯ parents, who were demon kin as well, were able to walk in and out easily, it meant that the security was mostly meant for humans.


    ¡°What in the world are your parents?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to meet them next time? I¡¯ll invite you if you want.¡±


    Lapis smiled as she said that, but when Loren saw it, he felt that there was some other meaning included as well, but he decided that he should be honest.


    ¡°Not really¡­Anyways, what made you believe that a part of your body is here?¡±


    Lapis looked disappointed when Loren said he didn¡¯t want to go, but at Loren¡¯s question, she suddenly took Loren¡¯s right hand.


    Loren was slightly surprised when Lapis grabbed his hand, but Lapis paid no attention and asked him, still holding onto his hand.


    ¡°Loren, do you know that your right hand is here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course. It¡¯s my right hand. It would be weird if I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same thing. It¡¯s a part of my body, so I have a vague feeling of where it is.¡±


    Although she exined that knowing your right hand is there and knowing that a part of your body that has been ripped off is in a certain area is the same feeling, Loren couldn¡¯t really understand it.


    But Loren thought that it was something that he couldn¡¯t understand no matter how long he thought about it, so he decided not to ask Lapis about it any further.


    ¡°Lets say that we rely on that feeling, the problem would be how do we get all the way down there.¡±


    ¡°The final measure would be immobilizing the four of them with > or something, and then go down and¡­¡±


    ¡°You guys ready?¡±


    As soon as Lapis started scheming again, Loren confirmed with Ain since they seemed to be finished packing.


    While Lapis stopped talking, Ain started cheering his party up as they picked up their bags.


    ¡°The passing mark is the fifth floor, but our goal is the tenth floor.¡±


    ¡°We can do it. No problem.¡±


    ¡°Can we really do it¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, we can! We trained and studied hard for this.¡±


    What Ain had said caught Loren¡¯s attention.


    From Lapis¡¯ eyes, they weren¡¯t skilled enough to reach the bottom floor, but apparently their goal was to reach it.


    If that was the case, if they could manage to achieve their goal, Lapis¡¯ goal would be achieved as well, without having to resort to more violent methods, and that would be better.


    ¡°If only advice would be enough for them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should get faint hopes up.¡±


    Loren thought that it would be a lot easier if they could help them directly, but the students were the main actors for this job, and Loren and Lapis were the side characters.


    ¡°Let¡¯s help them without them knowing and keep them going forward.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Hey, the two of you, let¡¯s go.¡±


    At Ain¡¯s call, Loren and Lapis and the students walked towards the entrance of the dungeon.


    The entrance was inside the school building.


    It was to keep anyone other than the students from entering, but they would have had to consider the worst case scenario, someone sneaking inside the school, so Loren walked while looking around, searching for traps.

 Chapter 57: Departure after Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 57: Departure after Encounter</h4>


    The image that Loren got when he thought of a dungeon entrance was quite a showy one.


    But the entrance of the dungeon he was about to enter was a simple one that was way different from what Loren was imagining, being stairs that extended below from one of the rooms of the school.


    Loren felt anticlimactic, but he braced himself again, as he told himself that the entrance had nothing to do with the difficulty of the dungeon itself.


    Loren and his group ran into us and his group at the room leading to the dungeon.


    Loren saw Ange behind the group of students lead by us, which was made up of four girls for some reason, but seeing her sour face, heughed a bit as it was clear that she wasn¡¯t happy about the situation us was put in.


    ¡°You guys going down too?¡±


    Loren nodded, but he cocked his head as the group of girls us was leading directed gazes of hostility at him.


    He wondered if it was that unpleasant for them to see him be friendly with us, who seemed to be popr and liked by everyone in the school. He then recalled the documents that the principal had handed him concerning the examinees.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t your members a bit different?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t remember the details of the other group, but he did remember that it wasn¡¯t a party full of girls.


    On top of that, all the girls were dressed as swordsman, and he was sure that the structure wasn¡¯t so deviated.


    ¡°We heard that Master us was going to be proctoring, so we had the group switch with us.¡±


    The one who answered was one of the girls standing behind us.


    The strong willed looking girl with blond pigtails in vertical spirals, speaking for all the girls, spoke to Loren without any fear and with her chest puffed out.


    ¡°It would be foolish to lose the chance to have Master us, who was called a prodigy during his time as a student, to proctor us.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±


    Loren asked us, not even trying to hide air of ¡®I wasn¡¯t asking you¡¯, and us answered him with a slightly stretched smile.


    ¡°Parme Pentatonic. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not interested, but she¡¯s atesse from a certain nation.¡±


    ¡°Be thankful, adventurer. I¡¯m not someone you would normally be able to speak to.¡±


    Even though she said that as she looked down on him, Loren didn¡¯t even look at her and asked us again.


    ¡°Are sses and ranks in effect in the school?¡±


    ¡°Officially students are treated as students, regardless of ss¡­but it¡¯s true that talented students and students born of high ss assert authority sometimes¡­sorry.¡±


    ¡°Why are you the one that¡¯s apologizing?¡±


    Loren sighed as us¡¯ voice became smaller and smaller.


    He guessed that us was embarrassed at the things that he¡¯s done until now, but as one that was watching him correcting his ways and attitude, he felt that us didn¡¯t have to act so ashamed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! There¡¯s no reason for Master us to apologize to someone like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey you, how about you be quiet for a bit. Especially if you like me.¡±


    us stopped Parme calmly, with a shadow cast over his face.


    Loren didn¡¯t really care how much the girl went at him, but not having to deal with it didn¡¯t hurt either.


    Losing interest in the girls, Loren turned his attention to Ange, who was standing behind them with a sour face.


    ¡°That¡¯s a scary face you¡¯re making there.¡±


    ¡°You understand how I feel, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a good guess. But if you¡¯re like that, wouldn¡¯t it worry us and not look good to the students?¡±


    Ange might not have cared about the students, but when Loren pointed out the possibility that she could be worrying us, her expression went slightly back to normal.


    ncing at some of the wrinkles still left on her forehead, Loren looked around her.


    ¡°What happened to the other two?¡±


    ¡°Boycott. This time it¡¯s just me and us.¡±


    Loren remembered that there wasn¡¯t a limit on how many could take the job at once.


    It seemed that La and Roll decided that they didn¡¯t want to deal with this atmosphere and refused toe.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you refuse toe as well?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that I should let throw us into a crowd of girls all by himself?¡±


    Loren tried to step away from Ange, slightly ovee by her sudden threatening look, but Ange kept closing the gap.


    ¡°Listen. It¡¯s true that us is good looking and is quite skilled. And thanks to you, he¡¯s lost his arrogance and his personality became rounder. But still. His quickness when ites to making moves on girls hasn¡¯t changed at all!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember fixing that part of him, either.¡±


    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t remember, but it was that he didn¡¯t know about it.


    Seeing that the rest of us¡¯ party were women and all of them had feelings for him, Loren guessed that he was somewhat fast at making moves, but regardless, it didn¡¯t really harm Loren in any way.


    ¡°If I let us go into a dungeon with no one to keep an eye on him. By the time theye back, all of them will have hearts floating over their heads!¡±


    ¡°Uhh, okay.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s careless, in a few months he¡¯ll have girls flocking all over him, telling him ¡®this is your child, acknowledge it¡¯!¡±


    Loren thought that was saying too much, but when he nced at us, he was looking away with a pale face.


    Hearing Ange say that, some of the girls around him had their eyes wide open with surprise, but some of them were blushing with happy looks on their faces.


    ¡°I have to stay with him to prevent that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a disaster you have to deal with. Good luck.¡±


    After giving Ange a half-hearted voice of encouragement, Loren walked up to us again, put his hand on his shoulder, and pulled him closer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it, alright?¡±


    ¡°Ahahahaha¡­Thanks for the warning, I guess.¡±


    Seeing usugh weakly, Loren got the feeling that he was already beyond saving.


    If crime of passion was the reason behind his group getting wiped out, he could face an extreme loss of face, and Loren could only pray that he wouldn¡¯te back to hear such stories.


    ¡°So, who¡¯s going first?¡±


    Seeing that Loren was finished talking, Lapis asked to everyone in the room.


    The stairs into the dungeon was in the corner of the room, but it wasn¡¯t wide enough for all of them to go down at once, and since there were two groups, one had to go before the other.


    Loren didn¡¯t think one was more advantageous than the other, but decided that it was better for the students to talk it out among themselves.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let you go first. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. Don¡¯t decide it on your own.¡±


    Parme, who was looking down on them to thest, and Ain, who was talking head on.


    The conversation between party leaders started out quite heated, but their main point was to make the other party go first.


    As Loren wondered what made them so desperate to make the other go first, Lapis whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Both parties don¡¯t have a thief.¡±


    Loren realized now that she mentioned it.


    Ain¡¯s party consisted of two warriors, a magician, and a priest.


    Parme¡¯s party were all swordsmen, so there wasn¡¯t a thief in sight.


    The school was one that trained adventurers, so they would be training thieves as well, but it was strange that either parties didn¡¯t have one.


    The usefulness of a thief went without saying when exploring dungeons.


    Various traps set here and there or hidden doors.


    Opening locks on doors and chests all required the skill set of a thief, so not having one was very strange indeed.


    ¡°The aristocrat girls don¡¯t have one most likely because they look down on the job and didn¡¯t invite one to join them.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t surprising that aristocrats would look down on such jobs.


    There was also no way they would go out of their way to learn the skills of one.


    Even so, going down into a dungeon without having one seemed dangerous even to Loren, who had no experience exploring dungeons.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t need one if they are going to ignore chests, and it is possible to detect traps if you look carefully enough or poke the ground in front of you with a stick.¡±


    Lapis pointed to one of the girls, who had a long stick as tall as she was along with her weapon.


    Lapis guessed that she had the role of hitting the floor and walls to check for traps.


    ¡°On the other hand, Ain and his party probably didn¡¯t have anyone to learn the skills. They seem like a group of close friends anyway.¡±


    ¡°Then couldn¡¯t they have added a thief into their party? There isn¡¯t a limit for how many can be in a party.¡±


    It wasmon for a party to have four or five members.


    This piece of knowledge was based on the experiences of many adventurers, where any lower than that would make it harder to detect and deal with dangers, and any more would slow the group down.


    Of course, if you were to ignore efficiency, you could pair up with someone else or invite however many people you wanted to.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that they weren¡¯t acquainted with anyone who¡¯s a thief. The four of them look like they¡¯re a closedmunity, in any case.¡±


    Lapis said that because they were a party that consisted of close friends, they couldn¡¯t invite anyone from outside their group even though they knew they needed a thief.


    Although on a different scale, simr situations happened among mercenaries as well.


    When the number of members decreased for whatever reason and they try to increase members by letting some in from other ces, many of them don¡¯t want to do so.


    Because of this, they try to fill the holes left open by themselves instead of recruiting more people.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same thing as vigers not liking outsiders.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty blunt way to put it¡­¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why both of them want the opposing party to go first and test the waters.¡±


    Loren let out a nervousugh as Lapis rounded the conversation up, and the argument between Ain and Parme seemed to have reached a conclusion.


    When Loren looked at them, he saw Parme red with frustration and Ain with a proud look on his face.


    ¡°Alright, you guys first.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better remember this,moner. You¡¯ll pay a high price for this.¡±


    Parme grinded her teeth but didn¡¯t seem to argue with what was decided. She gathered the other girls and with us, who was continuing to bow his head, and Ange, who was still in a bad mood, and went down the stairs into the dungeon.


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t letting the other go first only matter if you were going the same way?¡±


    If they took different paths, going first orst wouldn¡¯t matter.


    Lapis answered Loren¡¯s question without even trying to hide her exasperation.


    ¡°If they use the method taught by the school, they would take the same road.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean.¡±


    ¡°I took a peek at the school¡¯s curriculum before we came¡­and it seems that when ites to exploring dungeons, they teach the students to put their left hands on the outer wall and stay next to that wall.¡±


    ¡°I heard that method doesn¡¯t work if the exit to the dungeon is in the middle of the maze.¡±


    If you were trying to exit the dungeon by following the outer wall, the exit had to be somewhere on the outer wall.


    ¡°In that case they make used of the map they drew on the first round and start over.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you would need a lot of patience.¡±


    Loren stifled a yawn as he watched Ain and his party getting ready to draw a map and discussing when to enter, thinking that exploring dungeons wasn¡¯t something mercenaries, who were mostly short tempered, would do.

 Chapter 58: Rushing in and Exploring

    <h4>Chapter 58: Rushing in and Exploring</h4>


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head in.¡±


    Ain suggested after a while had passed since Parme and her party had descended the stairs.


    It seemed that along with letting Parme go first and letting her clear the way, he also had the thought of not going in right after her.


    Both weren¡¯t the coolest, but this time Loren was a proctor, so he knew that he had no say in what Ain decided.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the most respectable action.¡±


    But next to Loren was a priestess that didn¡¯t care about their position.


    The students gave her hostile looks as she said what Loren, who was walking beside Lapis without a sign of being intimidated, didn¡¯t even say out loud without hesitation, and herints flowed towards him.


    ¡°In the first ce, the ulterior motive of letting women walk in front and ensuring your own safety isn¡¯t good. If I were the examiner, I would deduct a lot of points.¡±


    ¡°Adventurers aren¡¯t knights, after all. Maybe they¡¯re taught to do whatever they can to survive.¡±


    That was something rtable to mercenaries as well.


    In general, the battlefield was epted to be a ce where the ones who survived were in the right. Actions based on the manners and courtesies of knights were apuded, but if you died doing so you would end up beingughingstock.


    ¡°Just saying Lapis¡­you would use whatever and whoever you could to get your hands on unknown knowledge, won¡¯t you?¡±


    When Loren pointed that out, Lapis stared at Loren and crossed her arms.


    ¡°Hm? Maybe they¡¯re quite capable.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting worried if I should keep being in a party with you.¡±


    As Loren looked at Lapis with a stretched smile, after a while Lapisughed and told him that she was joking, but Loren decided that he would be happier off not wondering if she was really joking or if she was being serious.


    ¡°Also, it¡¯ll probably fall short of their spections.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    Lapis asked him, but at the same time they reached the bottom of the stairs and Ain, who was in front, opened the door to the dungeon.


    The passageway on the other side was dark, and Loren saw that the passage split into two corridors a short way down.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark. Feim, light the torch.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Feim used a flint to light thentern that she was holding.


    Ain the others gave a sigh of relief as the light shone across the walls.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Ain and Cloud stood in front, and Al and Feim followed behind them.


    The corridor was wide enough to fit two of them side by side, and the ceiling was high enough that the light from Feim¡¯sntern didn¡¯t reach it.


    Seeing how high it was, Loren judged that there was more than enough space for him to swing the great sword on his back.


    ¡°The ceiling is pretty high.¡±


    Loren nodded to Lapis, who was looking up.


    ¡°There¡¯s enough room for me to swing my great sword.¡±


    ¡°Loren, how can you see all the way up there?¡±


    Loren realized as she pointed it out.


    The light from Feim¡¯sntern didn¡¯t reach the ceiling.


    That meant the ceiling was still covered in darkness, and there was no way Loren should be able to see it, but when he looked up again, he could see the stone ceiling very clearly.


    ¡°¡­I told you before that I have good night vision. This amount of light is enough for me to see it faintly.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Lapis seemed to have lost interest at Loren¡¯s response and didn¡¯t poke any further, but inside, Loren was freaking out.


    When he called out to Shayna, who was inside him, she answered immediately.


    ¡®Eyes of the undead can see through the darkness.¡¯


    Loren thought that Shayna could sense what he was feeling, but apparently Shayna could restore her own senses into his organs as well.


    To the undead, darkness was always near them, and were able to perceive things in the dark.


    The eyes of Shayna, most likely because she was the highest ranking undead entity, a no life king, seemed to see through darkness itself, and by synchronizing her sight with Loren¡¯s eyes resulted in him being able to see where thentern¡¯s light didn¡¯t reach.


    He thought that maybe Shayna could¡¯ve told him beforehand, but he thanked her, knowing that she did it for him.


    While he was talking to Shayna, the group had continued down the corridor and reached the first crossroad.


    If they were following the school¡¯s teachings, they would go to the left, and without even discussing it, Ain and his party started down the left corridor.


    ¡°I think that us and his group went right.¡±


    Lapis cocked her head as Loren whispered to her.


    Based on the school¡¯s curriculum that she peeked at, going to the left, as their group had done, was the standard, but Loren denied it.


    ¡°Parme and her group went first, but don¡¯t you think they wouldn¡¯t put up with clearing the way for Ain and his party?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of understandable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I think they probably went right. They would get the same results if they put their right hands on the wall anyway.¡±


    This method of conquering the dungeon worked as long as you followed the outer wall, so it didn¡¯t matter which side the wall was on.


    If you integrated the rest of the method properly, all you needed to do was pick a wall and follow it.


    Then if the other group guessed that their group would follow the manual, they would have chosen to go down the right path since they didn¡¯t want to clear the way.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to tell them that?¡±


    The actions of Ain and his party was based on the thought that Parme and her group would make sure it was safe, but if Loren was correct and they weren¡¯t following them, the direction they were going in was still dangerous.


    If Loren warned them that Parme and her party weren¡¯t moving in front of them, Ain and the others would be more alert, but Loren didn¡¯t feel like telling them.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t asked me. My job is to be a proctor, so my position is being able to give them advice if they ask for it.¡±


    Loren thought that there wouldn¡¯t be anything that would be life threatening since they weren¡¯t far from the entrance and they were still in a shallow floor.


    The chances of something rming happening was slim even if they didn¡¯t realize Parme¡¯s group wasn¡¯t in front of them, and even if something did happen, Loren was told by the principal that the students were responsible for heading back, so Loren didn¡¯t feel any responsibility.


    ¡°And if they ask for help in such a shallow floor, it would be impossible for them to reach the bottom floor.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡±


    Lapis agreed with Loren¡¯s words and shifted her eyes to the two in front.


    Although they had the tip of their weapons touching the walls and floor, they were moving quite fast under the assumption that they were taking the same path Parme¡¯s group did.


    The priest and magician followed behind them.


    Loren thought it was a formation that was vulnerable to sudden attacks from behind, but when he thought about it, the ones at the back was him and Lapis, so if anything came up from behind, they were the ones who would have to deal with it.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we acting as pretty good shields?¡±


    Even if the monsters were produced by the dungeon, Loren doubted that they would be smart enough to recognize students from proctors.


    ¡°Maybe making use of your proctors well is also part of the exam.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t willing be used if I didn¡¯t get warned beforehand.¡±


    ¡°From the looks of that principal, I can¡¯t deny the possibility that he just forgot to tell us.¡±


    Loren recalled the giant he saw in the principal¡¯s office.


    He indeed looked like he didn¡¯t care about details.


    Judging from his name, he most likely had the blood of the ancient adventurer in his veins, but if you were to ask if the child of a hero is a hero, many times that wasn¡¯t the case, and even if he possessed the power to be a hero, there was a possibility that he was a failure as an educator.


    ¡°It¡¯s all part of the reward so we can¡¯t reallyin.¡±


    ¡°The reward seems pretty cheap then, no?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s closer to volunteer work, I guess.¡±


    The two of them were having hushed conversations as such while they were walking, but there was a reason behind it.


    They were very bored.


    They were moving along quite fast, but Ain and Cloud were still on the lookout for traps and enemies, meanwhile Ain and Feim were ready to use magic or divine arts at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Although all of them were on alert, no enemies were appearing.


    They didn¡¯t encounter any monsters on the path that Ain was taking them, as if Loren¡¯s guess was wrong and Parme¡¯s party came this way already and took care of everything.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s because we¡¯re on a shallow floor.¡±


    ¡°Nothinging out is kind of creepy.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    Monsters no popping up meant that they had a lot of free time, but it also meant that they weren¡¯t in danger, and Loren thought that was a good thing.


    But Lapis denied his thinking.


    ¡°As long as this is a dungeon, even if it is on a shallow floor, there should be points where monsters spring from.¡±


    And if there were points where monsters appeared, no matter howrge the dungeon is, the chances of noting across them were slim.


    But the group hadn¡¯t even seen a glimpse of a monster yet.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that we¡¯re lucky?¡±


    The one who joined their conversation was Feim, who was still holding thentern.


    The other three were too busy being on guard to join their conversation, but since all Feim was doing was holding thentern, so she had the time to be able to do so.


    ¡°I hope we¡¯ll be able to put it off as luck.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so pessimistic. You¡¯ll start looking old like the guy next to you, you know?¡±


    All Loren could do was scratch his head at the unexpected attack, while Lapis covered her mouth with her hand and turned her back to Loren, her shoulders shaking uncontrobly.


    Loren knew that she wasughing, but he was aware of the fact, so he couldn¡¯t reallyin.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay mister, I like people who look older.¡±


    ¡°Pfff!?¡±


    Lapis spurted for a different reason than before at Feim¡¯s unexpected words and started coughing.


    Loren continued to scratch his head, not sure how to respond to her words.


    It did seem like she wasplimenting him, but she still mentioned that he looked old so he couldn¡¯t find anything to say, since he wasn¡¯t sure if he should be mad or thankful.


    ¡®Onii-san, is this person an enemy¡­?¡¯


    While soothing Shayna, whose voice rang out in his head with a freezing feel to it, Loren started worrying if he could finish the job safely, as it seemed that the dungeon wasn¡¯t the only thing that posed a threat to him.

 Chapter 59: Considering During Battle

    <h4>Chapter 59: Considering During Battle</h4>


    Loren and his group finally ran into monsters after they climbed down to the second floor.


    In the end, they found the stairs to the second floor before they encountered any monsters, but they ran into four goblins in a small room that they stepped in a short distance from the stairs.


    Ain and his party immediately prepared to fight them.


    Their speed was one of those who had trained quite a bit, and Loren, who didn¡¯t expect much of them, thought it would be okay to give them a passing grade.


    He then looked towards the goblins in front of them.


    They were monsters that had given him a hard time in an ancient ruin that spawned them endlessly, but if they didn¡¯t have the numbers, they were normal and weak in general.


    But Loren¡¯s brows furrowed at the goblins that they encountered since seemed even weaker than the ones he imagined were weak.


    If he didn¡¯t learn that the strength of the monsters depended on things like the scale of the dungeon, he would¡¯ve thought that the goblins were struck with some illness, since their hands were trembling, trying to hold up their shabby daggers and shields.


    As Loren decided that it wouldn¡¯t even be a match against these monsters, Ain and Cloud, who were the frontline, raised their weapons and yelled.


    But there was one that attacked before they even moved.


    It was the magician, Feim.


    Of course, Loren would¡¯ve felt disgusted if she used the one spell she could use in this situation, but Feim didn¡¯t use a spell neither the staff in her left hand. But instead she hung thentern on her staff and pulled out a dart from her robe pocket with her right hand.


    The dart that shot out from her hand sunk itself into the shoulders of one of the goblins.


    But the dart¡¯s needle wasn¡¯t that long.


    A goblin¡¯s skin was quite thick and had the defensive capabilities of leather armor, so Loren didn¡¯t think that a dart that barely prated it would even make it flinch.


    But in contrary to his expectation, the goblin that got hit by the dart dropped its weapons and started rolling on the floor, clutching the area where the dart hit it.


    ¡®Yes! It¡¯s working!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty nasty. The needle was dipped in poison.¡±


    Lapis watched Feim, who raised her fist, with half opened eyes.


    Loren wondered whose thoughts were more nasty. Feim¡¯s, who had thought of using poison, or Lapis, who immediately saw through the poison, but his thoughts were blown away by the sound of sword hitting against sword.


    When he looked over, he saw that Ain and Cloud had started fighting the goblins, and Ain had taken on two of them since he had a shield, and Cloud was handling thest one.


    Ain¡¯s fighting style was very passive.


    He used both this sword and his shield defensively, and didn¡¯t seem like he was trying to deal damage to his opponents.


    But from the perspective of keeping the aggro of the two goblins, he was doing his job as the front line.


    Cloud was using his speed to apply blow after blow.


    Estocs specialized in thrusting and stabbing, so they weren¡¯t meant for swinging and shing with other weapons.


    That was why you would try to get under your opponent¡¯s guard and be constantly attacking, but in this case, the goblin was so weak it could not keep up with Cloud¡¯s movements.


    But even so, it tried to block Cloud¡¯s attacks with its shield and dagger, then put in a counter, but Cloud didn¡¯t go far in, but instead attacked then retreated immediately so the goblin¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t reach him.


    But to Loren, Cloud¡¯s way of fighting, continually dealing small cuts to a weakened goblin, just looked like he was ying with it, and wasn¡¯t the most pleasant thing to watch.


    ¡°Al! Now¡¯s your chance! I¡¯ll hold it down so hit it!¡±


    ¡°Ehhhh! It¡¯s still moving though!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you have to make sure it doesn¡¯t move anymore!¡±


    Holding his mace with both hands, Al slowly walked closer to the goblin that Feim had immobilized, while Feim put her foot on the goblin¡¯s back to keep it from moving.


    ¡°Hurry up! The poison isn¡¯t that strong!¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­Okay¡­¡±


    Al swung the mace in his hands with tears in his eyes.


    The goblin that Feim was pinning down squirmed and struggled to escape, but Feim stomped down with more force, not letting it go.


    ¡°Take this!¡±


    With a yell that sounded a bit disheartened, the mace was swung down, aimed at the goblin¡¯s head, but it missed and hit its back around the scap with a blunt sound, and the goblin cried out in pain.


    ¡°Haaa!¡±


    The next blow hit the goblin¡¯s arm that it raised to cover its head and it bent in a weird direction.


    As the goblin¡¯s cries got even louder, Al wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at his mace, confused.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it hitting?¡±


    ¡°Well, of course it wouldn¡¯t hit since you¡¯re closing your eyes as you swing it down¡­¡±


    Loren unthinkingly said so out loud.


    As a proctor, he wasn¡¯t supposed to help them unless they asked for it, but he felt that Al might hit Feim this kept going on. Even if it didn¡¯t happen, he felt sorry for the goblin, not being able to be released from its misery.


    ¡°But if I swing down with my eyes open, I¡¯ll see things that I don¡¯t want to when it hits¡­¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t. Why did you even be an adventurer? Honestly¡­¡±


    As Loren started yelling, Lapis wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind so he couldn¡¯t grab Al.


    Al, who was looking at Loren in confusion, remembered that the goblin was still alive, and swung his mace down again.


    ¡°Lapis, why¡¯d you stop me?¡±


    ¡°I understand how you feel, but you¡¯ve got to keep it in. It¡¯s beyond the job of a proctor, and this exam is most likely meant to teach them these things.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t know it would be this bad as well. They say it¡¯s the exam for graduating, but there must be a wide range for quality among the graduates.¡±


    Aining look appeared on Loren¡¯s face for a while, but he eventually clicked his tongue and patted Lapis, who was still hugging him, on the head.


    He meant that it was okay for her to let go now, but Lapis didn¡¯t let go of his waist.


    ¡°Hey, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Loren, your waist is a lot thinner than I thought.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s still thicker than yours. Anyways, so this dungeon is school property because of that too?¡±


    When Loren asked, Lapis let go of his waist with a questioning look on her face.


    ¡°The dungeon spawned the goblins, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, since there isn¡¯t anything that would let monsters in from the outside.¡±


    ¡°So that means those weak looking goblins were spawned by the dungeon for the sake of the exam, right?¡±


    At Loren¡¯s words, Lapis turned towards Ain and the other students.


    Ain, who still wasn¡¯t going on the offensive, was still dealing with two goblins, and Cloud was still giving light cuts to the goblin he was against as well.


    The goblin that Al and Feim were trying to kill was still struggling under Feim¡¯s foot due to Al¡¯s uracy being so bad, and Feim was trying to stick another dart into its back.


    ¡°Loren, it¡¯s true that the strength of the monsters change depending on the scale of the dungeon, but dungeons don¡¯t spawn weakened monsters on purpose, you know?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Think about it. If you were to spawn weakened monsters, why not just spawn ordinary monsters that are just that weak. Why would you go through the trouble of spawning them in a weakened state?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me something I can¡¯t answer.¡±


    Loren gave up, knowing that there was no way he would know something Lapis didn¡¯t.


    Lapis folded her arms in front of her chest and frowned at Ain and the others, who were still fighting.


    ¡°Since you say that the monsters are weakened, they must be weakened. Then the problem is what is causing it.¡±


    Just in case, Loren turned his focus to Shayna and asked her if it was her doing.


    He thought maybe her energy drain weakened the goblins, but Shayna told him it wasn¡¯t her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe the dungeon would do something inefficient like spawning monsters in a weakened state. Then there would be two possibilities.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the first one?¡±


    ¡°They were somehow weakened after they were spawned.¡±


    ¡°Second one?¡±


    ¡°The possibility that the spawn system is malfunctioning.¡±


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t know which one the cause is?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not enough information.¡±


    Loren sighed, because either way, it meant that there was something going on in the dungeon.


    He¡¯d rather have had another one of Shayna¡¯s pranks as the cause, than have troublee his way, but that wasn¡¯t a possibility anymore since he had already asked her.


    ¡°I only smell trouble¡­¡±


    ¡°I would want to head back as well if it wasn¡¯t for a part of my body being down here¡­but then that would mean that on top of failing the job, we would have to pay a penalty, so that¡¯s a problem as well.¡±


    ¡°Just out of curiosity, how much would the penalty be?¡±


    ¡°Five times the reward. Can you pay that Loren?¡±


    ¡°You know what my wallet is like right now, right?¡±


    Of course, there was no way Loren could pay the penalty with what he had in his wallet.


    He didn¡¯t know what disasters would await him if he failed to pay the penalty, but he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be something to look forward to.


    ¡°I won¡¯t me you if you decide to leave on your own, you know?¡±


    Loren guessed that Lapis would be able to pay the penalty without difficulty.


    Lapis gave him a troubledugh, as if that were true.


    ¡°Yeah, right. We epted this job because I wanted to in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡±


    After a countless number of attempts, Al¡¯s mace finally hit the goblin¡¯s head.


    The goblin stopped moving, as the blow finally killed it.


    Monsters spawned by the dungeon would be absorbed by it, leaving behind a part of its body as material, but nothing was left behind when the goblin disappeared.


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    ¡°Interesting. I guess there are times when they don¡¯t leave behind materials.¡±


    Al looked around, while Feim seemed interested at the unexpected result.


    Behind them, Cloud finally killed the goblin he was fighting and ran towards Ain, who was still holding off two of them.


    The goblin that Cloud killed sank into the ground and disappeared, but nothing was left behind yet again.

 Chapter 60: Talking While Walking

    <h4>Chapter 60: Talking While Walking</h4>


    After the fruitless battle with the goblins, Loren and the group found the stairs to the third floor without encountering any monsters again.


    The fact that they weren¡¯t encountering any monsters at all made it obvious that there was something weird was happening, so Loren thought Ain and his party would feel uneasy, but they were far from being uneasy. In fact, they were rejoicing at the fact that they didn¡¯t encounter any more monsters.


    ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll reach the fifth floor in no time.¡±


    The other students nodded happily at Ain¡¯s words, but in Loren¡¯s eyes, if they were to be adventurers at their current level, the possibility of all of them surviving for a year was equivalent to him suddenly being able to use magic tomorrow.


    He seemed to have been misled by the fact that they were examinees, realizing that those who took exams weren¡¯t always ones who had the ability to pass.


    ¡°Seems like they would have a short run.¡±


    Lapis muttered indifferently, as if she was thinking the same thing, and all Loren could do was nod.


    ¡°By the way Loren, have you noticed?¡±


    ¡°That there¡¯s no sign of blonde pigtails and her party?¡±


    Lapis pouted slightly at Loren¡¯s response.


    Loren guessed that she expected him not to know and ask her, and start the conversation from there, but Loren couldn¡¯t pull off feats such as feigning ignorance and asking back, when the answer was clear as day to him.


    On their minds was the party that entered before them, led by Parme with us proctoring them.


    ording to the map given to them by the principal, there should only be one set of stairs that led to the levels below, and since they were moving so smoothly, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they had caught up to them by now.


    But there was no sign of them at all, which raised Loren¡¯s concern.


    ¡°Their skill levels are higher, and they have morebat experience, so they must be moving a lot faster than us.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like we passed them either.¡±


    Ain and his party took quite a while to defeat the weakened goblins.


    It was unlikely that they had overtook Parme¡¯s party.


    ¡°Maybe they already made it down to the fifth floor.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Lapis growled as she spread out the map and checked their pathing, making sure the students couldn¡¯t see it.


    ¡°It depends on how skilled the other party is. If they are like ours, they shouldn¡¯t be able to get past the fourth floor.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Parme¡¯s party, they are near the top when ites to swordsmanship alone.¡±


    Feim interrupted Lapis¡¯ muttering.


    Ain and the rest of the party were ahead of them, but she had slowed down to where they were.


    Lapis¡¯ mood worsened as Feim came over, but Loren covered Lapis¡¯ face with his palm, as her expression started bing stern, and decided to ask her a few things.


    If it wasn¡¯t rted to exploring the dungeon, it didn¡¯t count as advice or warnings, so it was a move based on the calction that it didn¡¯t stray from the limits of a proctor.


    ¡°Is that blonde pigtail called Parme that strong?¡±


    ¡°Of course. The girls in her party are all swordsmen that are in the top ten for this year¡¯s exam.¡±


    ¡°What is this difference in level between the two groups?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, you think so too?¡±


    Feimughed, but it wasn¡¯t aughing matter for Loren.


    And if what Feim said was true, it meant that Parme¡¯s group was already at the fifth floor or even further.


    ¡°We¡¯re not nobles and we¡¯re not talented either. We¡¯re just a group of ordinary people.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I thought the training school was meant for raising talented people.¡±


    Loren turned towards Lapis, since she was the one who said so, and Lapis nodded, telling his she wasn¡¯t lying.


    ¡°That¡¯s the basis. But you know, even if you¡¯re talented, there are people with greater talents than others.¡±


    Loren knew that was true.


    A wide range would exist, and on one side of the spectrum would be those with incredible talent, while ones who were just barely more talented than most would be on the other.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine for the people at the top, since they could work hard together, but for people in the middle and below, we feel inferior when we see those people who are called prodigies.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m beginning to get what you¡¯re saying¡­¡±


    From what she had just said, although the school slogan was to raise talented individuals, but it seemed that they were epting those that weren¡¯t talented at all.


    Loren started wondering why they would do that, but Lapis gave the answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s because some people find relief when they see and know that there are people below them. It may be effective, but it¡¯s quite a worthless thing they¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s not all that bad. We¡¯re taught how to fight and given education properly, after all.¡±


    Loren wondered if us knew about this, but he concluded that he most likely didn¡¯t.


    It was because if he did know, he wouldn¡¯t have let Loren in charge of a dropout level group.


    ¡°We get support funds from the nation as well.¡±


    ¡°Judging from that, the school¡¯s probably receiving some sorts of funds as well.¡±


    They were having to enroll the ordinary along with the talented, just so they could raise extraordinary individuals.


    When considering the flow of money going into the school from the nation as tips or rewards, the principal could surprisingly be categorized as a corrupt individual.


    That¡¯s what Loren concluded, but Feim¡¯s words rejected it.


    ¡°It¡¯s likely that the school is receiving funds, but I doubt that the principal knows about it.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that? Isn¡¯t he the one in charge?¡±


    ¡°There are other people in charge of the school¡¯s finances. You know that the principal is the descendant of the adventurer this school was named after, right?¡±


    Loren already guessed that from the principal¡¯s name, and then realized.


    ¡°He¡¯s just letting them use his name.¡±


    ¡°Even he¡¯s being hired, to be exact.¡±


    Lapis added.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if the principal knew about this, but he knew that if he did know, he wouldn¡¯t agree to do so.


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure what the principal thinks about us, but we¡¯re not expected to pass this exam in the first ce.¡±


    Feim drew a conclusion to the conversation, but to Loren it seemed like a very dangerous matter.


    Under ordinary circumstances, Feim and the rest of the students wouldn¡¯t be able to pass this exam, be branded as failures, and would be forced to continue being students or go find a different way to make a living.


    But the current dungeon wasn¡¯t spawning monsters at all for some unknown reason.


    They were still only on the third floor, but Loren guessed that it would be simr enough on the fourth and fifth floors.


    If this went on, it would mean Ain and his party passing the exam even though they weren¡¯t skilled enough and would be sent out as full-fledged adventurers.


    This wasn¡¯t good for Ain and his group, and it wasn¡¯t good for whoever would be their client.


    ¡°I have a question.¡±


    Lapis raised her hand.


    ¡°Is the priest named Al the same?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°He told us that he was a priest of the Supreme God. Unlike the other Gods, not anyone can be priests of the Supreme God.¡±


    It was the strongest God of them all and was considered a being above all the other Gods, and in order to be a priest, you needed social standing as well as skill and ability.


    Since Lapis knew that, she couldn¡¯t understand how a priest of the Supreme God was with Feim and the others, who knew they were drop out level.


    ¡°Al is a bit different. His name is Alford Veronica, and is the second son of a noble.¡±


    If he was a noble as well as a priest of the Supreme God, Loren wondered if he had the social status and ability.


    His skill with his mace was disastrous, as he saw when he failed to kill the goblin multiple times, but if his skill as a priest was high, it was something that could be overlooked.


    ¡°Al didn¡¯t only be friends with a bunch of ordinarymoners like us, but he¡¯s someone we could rely on to help us with his knowledge and divine arts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s someone reliable?¡±


    The attitude that Al had shown Loren a short while before didn¡¯t make it seem like he would be reliable at all and he couldn¡¯t believe it, but he was stunned to see that Feim was being serious.


    ¡°Well, he is a bit timid and can¡¯t use his weapon at all.¡±


    ¡°I can hear you¡­¡±


    Al said with augh as he walked in front of them, but Feim didn¡¯t pay any attention and continued.


    ¡°But he¡¯s still reliable, you know? We only made up our minds to take the exam because Al encouraged us that we would be able to get to the fifth floor, and if we could get past it, the tenth floor isn¡¯t a dream.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve watched you guys listen during ss and train hard. Of course, we might not be able to do things well, but if we work together, we¡¯ll definitely be able to do it.¡±


    As Al said that in a timid voice, the others nodded.


    At the sight of students that were considered dropouts trying their best to pass the exam, Loren asked Lapis, who was standing next to him with a bored look on her face.


    ¡°You think that¡¯s a likely story?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. One of them could awaken to new powers. One of them could have skills like Loren¡¯s berserk. Hard for me to say.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always the possibility of our expectations being wrong, right?¡±


    ¡°Being hopeful isn¡¯t a bad thing. Maybe.¡±


    Lapis managed to squeeze words out that wasn¡¯t even on her mind.


    Loren thought that there was no need to say it like that, but if their current situation continued, the party would pass the exam, regardless of their skill level.


    They were just walking without running into any obstacles, after all.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s the stairs to the next floor!¡±


    The other three ran forward at Ain¡¯s voice.


    As Loren watched their backs, he wondered if he should be worried at the fact that they got through the third floor without encountering any monsters, which hinted that something was wrong with the dungeon, or if he should worry about the children in front of him, who were moving ahead without realizing.

 Chapter 61: Arriving After Minding Their Business

    <h4>Chapter 61: Arriving After Minding Their Business</h4>


    Loren¡¯s worries became a reality.


    They had found the stairs to the fourth and fifth floor without encountering any monsters, the reason still unknown.


    ¡°This is crazy.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t surprising that those words escaped Loren¡¯s mouth.


    After all, the exam was about exploring the dungeon, but it had only taken them half a day, ording to Loren¡¯s senses, to reach the fifth floor, which was the passing line.


    It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if it would take much longer, and the speed that they were going through was unnatural.


    But that was something that couldn¡¯t be helped.


    After all, they didn¡¯t encounter any monsters, and on top of that Ain¡¯s party didn¡¯te across any traps either.


    That meant they had been able to walk all the way down to the fifth floor, which of course wouldn¡¯t take them long at all.


    Loren then asked Lapis, who was holding the map.


    ¡°Hey¡­are these guys lost?¡±


    ¡°Good point you¡¯ve realized there Loren.¡±


    Lapis had been looking at the map, making sure that it wasn¡¯t visible to Ain and the others, and made a remark as if she was a detective talking to her assistant.


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with them. They sometimes go in roundabout routes, but most of them had been the shortest routes possible. It¡¯s as if they know which path to take.


    After being told that, Loren looked at the party in front of them.


    The one that was drawing their map was the magician Feim.


    But the one who was deciding where the group went was Ain, who was the leader of the party, and he sometimes discussed it with Al.


    ¡°This map marks the locations of traps as well¡­and they should have been caught by a few of them already.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t activate?¡±


    There were only two reasons for the traps not activating that Loren could think of.


    The first was the trap not activating.


    The other was someone disabling the trap before Ain and his party had reached it.


    If it was the first one, it meant that there was something wrong with the dungeon, and if it was the second one it was most likely Parme¡¯s party that did so, but if it wasn¡¯t, they would have to put into consideration a third party.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like we need to worry about the light one.¡±


    ¡°I agree. He doesn¡¯t seem like the type to scheme things.¡±


    The remaining three were all suspicious.


    They couldn¡¯t tell if they were scheming something or cheating yet at this point, but one of them possibly possessed information regarding the map of the dungeon that only the proctors were supposed to have.


    ¡°Is the exam finished once you reach the fifth floor?¡±


    ¡°No, it officially ends once you find the stairs to the sixth floor. Choosing to go on further is up to the examinees.¡±


    ¡°I see. Hey you guys.¡±


    Loren called out to Ain and the others.


    His action wasn¡¯t something to be proud of as a proctor, but to Loren it was something that had to be done, and he was going to have Lapis turn a blind eye as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Ain suspiciously replied.


    He was well built, and his crew cut gave him a rugged impression, but his fighting style showed that he wasn¡¯t aggressive, and Loren guessed that he had more of a defensive way of thinking and acting.


    Loren started making his point.


    ¡°The exam ends once you find the stairs to the sixth floor, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. Basically.¡±


    ¡°Then can you guys withdraw from the exam here?¡±


    Ain became speechless with surprise on his face at Loren¡¯s sudden proposal, but in his stead, Cloud walked closer to Loren and butted in.


    ¡°Hey, what the hell are you¡­¡±


    ¡°You guys started realizing it too, haven¡¯t you? It¡¯s an exam but you only ran into monsters once. It¡¯s also weird that you haven¡¯t been caught by a trap either.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s words, Cloud lost his momentum, and Ain looked away from him.


    It seemed that although they thought that it didn¡¯t hurt to have an easy exam, they had realized that something was wrong, and were wondering if passing the exam like this would mean anything to them.


    If so, Loren thought he could still expect something from them, but Al suddenly joined in.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. This exam was prepared by the school. If there was some trouble, the school would have cancelled the exam before it even started.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s right! It¡¯s not cancelled, so there¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about!¡±


    Cloud found his momentum again and started shouting again, and Loren scratched his head.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about embarrassment. There are troubles you could find before, and there are some that you can¡¯t. Don¡¯t you think that the dungeon malfunctioning during the exam is unnatural?¡±


    ¡°It could¡¯ve been adjusted like this!¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand why anyone would lower the difficulty of the dungeon for an exam.


    The school might be able to do so, since it managed the dungeon, but if the school was doing so, they would be a corpse maker, not a training school.


    ¡°It¡¯s an exam for students who are going to be adventurers. Why would they want to lower the difficulty?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    Cloud was at a loss for words, but a helping hand was offered to him.


    ¡°It might be the school trying to help students gain confidence by clearing the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s right! That¡¯s another possibility¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that possibility exists. Then the teachers of this school are God forsaken idiots, you know?¡±


    Helping someone seed at something was indeed a method to boost confidence.


    Loren knew that, and he had seen it been done many times when he was a mercenary.


    The experienced mercenaries would n it to give the new recruits confidence and courage, but he remembered that it was quite a difficult thing.


    Because it didn¡¯t have any meaning if the new recruits found out about it.


    Not letting them find out about it, as well as making sure that the n worked, was what made it so difficult, and it wasn¡¯t something that could be done by lukewarm adjustments. Like their current situation, if the students knew that the difficulty was lowered, it didn¡¯t have any meaning whatsoever.


    ¡°Then what to do you want us to do!?¡±


    ¡°I told you. How about heading back to the school and reporting it to the principal and the teachers. You might have to redo the exam, but it should be better than passing it like this.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! You¡¯re telling us to fail it, aftering all this way!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking, I¡¯m being serious. And if you want to talk about passing or failing, in my eyes you guys are a bunch of failures. Even if you be adventurers, you¡¯ll be lying under the dirt within a year.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s just your opinion, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Al stepped in yet again as Cloud couldn¡¯t find anything to say.


    ¡°Only the Gods know the future. As someone that isn¡¯t even close to being a God, I don¡¯t think you could see what our futures are.¡±


    ¡°I think I could make a prediction, can¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Predictions could be wrong, can¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Do you think it would be wrong?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone here asked you for advice, am I wrong?¡±


    Since the examinee pointed out that he was going outside the boundaries of a proctor, there was nothing more Loren could say.


    If things went wrong, they could report that he got in the way of the exam, and he could get penalized.


    Loren had tried to look out for them, giving them advice even though they didn¡¯t ask for it, but he wasn¡¯t willing to take it that far, and although Feim had a trouble look on her face, Cloud and Ain seemed to agree with Al, so he decided that there was nothing more he could do.


    ¡°Alright, my bad. I tend to stick my neck into other people¡¯s business.¡±


    As Loren showed signs of backing off, the party went back to moving forward with Ain looking worried, Cloud with a grim look, and Al immediately losing interest in Loren.


    As Loren slowly walked after them, Lapis walked up and said to him.


    ¡°Good try Loren.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that. It¡¯s my fault if our job evaluation goes down.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m getting a vague feeling that this job will end in failure again anyway.¡±


    Loren¡¯s face darkened at the words, failure again.


    Loren¡¯s sess rate after he became an adventurer was very low, in fact, the only job he seeded in was picking herbs, and he had failed everything after that.


    If he failed one again, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make any money, his reputation would keep going down, and the rumor that he was leeching off Lapis would gain authenticity.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be worrying about others right now.¡±


    Loren let out a mockingugh, while Shayna said words of encouragement in his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Loren¡¯s fault that the jobs are ending in failures though.¡±


    ¡°That might be true, but results are everything, after all. There¡¯s no excuse as long as it¡¯s considered a failure.¡±


    As Lapis saw Loren droop his shoulders, she wondered if he was the one who needed a boost in confidence by sess, but for some reason whenever Loren took a job, even ones that seemed easy brought upon situations that made them be exponentially difficult.


    If they epted an easy quest, he would notice what she was trying to do, and if by any chance, that job became difficult and ended in failure, it would end up with Loren losing confidence even further.


    Lapis nced at Loren, who was walking next to her, and continued thinking.


    She guessed that maybe instead of trying to get an easy job, pick a random one, and if it ended in failure, she would find a reason to convince him that it wasn¡¯t his fault, andfort him that way.


    ¡°I think your reputation at the guild is rising, though. I write up reports every time, and they are always surprised that we manage to survive.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better¡­It¡¯s either being stubborn about living or having bad luck.¡±


    ¡°If I say that those count as skill, the children would say that not encountering monsters count as luck, won¡¯t they.¡±


    ¡°If this crappy luck of choosing jobs that end in failure is skill as well, then I¡¯m¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s stop this Loren. This is going to be an endless loop of negative thoughts.¡±


    Lapis stopped Loren from thinking any further with a straight face but filled with panic inside.


    She thought he would start thinking positively if she talked about positive things, but she didn¡¯t expect his mind to go towards the opposite vector.


    Once his thoughts went in that direction, anything she said would be taken negatively, and would be difficult to follow up.


    ¡°Anyways, about our current problem. Do you think they would head back after finding the stairs to the sixth floor?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not. They said something about going down all the way, too.¡±


    ¡°Then do you think the sixth floor will not have any monsters as well, like the past few floors?¡±


    That was a question Loren couldn¡¯t answer.


    From what he had seen from the floors above, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the floors below would be the same, but there was one thing that caught his mind.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but there¡¯s probably a reason why the passing line is the fifth floor, and they don¡¯t require going down any further.¡±


    ¡°Yes, oh. We¡¯re almost at the stairs leading down. Let¡¯s see what their reactions are.¡±


    Loren thought that was a quite spiteful way of looking at things.


    Ain the others let out a resounding shout of joy as they found the stairs that lead down to the sixth floor.

 Chapter 62: Continuing After Pa.s.sing

    <h4>Chapter 62: Continuing After Passing</h4>


    ¡°This means we passed the exam, right?¡±


    Feim said while peeking down the stairs leading down to the next floor.


    ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re going to go for the deepest floor.¡±


    As Ain nodded and dered so, Cloud nodded as well.


    Al had a satisfied smile on his face, and Feim looked back towards Loren and Lapis with a slightly worried face.


    ¡°No reason to look over here. We¡¯ve got nothing to say.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re only proctors, after all.¡±


    Loren answered with dissatisfaction on his face, while Lapis answered with a smile on her face, but with her voice filled with sarcasm.


    After ncing at the two of them with hostility in his eyes, Ain looked back towards his party members and said to them with fresh resolve.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re going to reach the bottom floor and take Volf¡¯s fortune and show the whole school that we¡¯re this capable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah then all those noble brats will be so frustrated.¡±


    ¡°We can do it. Even if we can¡¯t do it alone, if we work together, we definitely can.¡±


    As they huddled and got ready, Loren watched them in silence, dissatisfaction still covering his face.


    He really wanted to tell them to head back, but when he calmed down and thought about it, Loren and Lapis had business on the bottom floor as well, and in order to get into the tenth floor, they needed the permit that was given to the students.


    Putting that into consideration, although telling the students to go back was appropriate suggestion, having them go on was better for their own business.


    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±


    Lapis interrupted Ain and his party¡¯s conversation.


    Since Lapis was the one that called him, not Loren, Ain gave her a questioning look, but Lapis didn¡¯t take any notice and asked what she wanted to.


    ¡°About the permit to the bottom floor. May I ask what it is and who has it?¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±


    As expected, the one who started was Cloud.


    But he was a lot quieter than when heshed out as Loren.


    Lapis was a neat and clean priestess when she didn¡¯t say anything, and even when she did, as long as she didn¡¯t expose her wickedness, so to say, she was affable, and on top of that, she was quite beautiful.


    It seemed that Cloud couldn¡¯tsh out at her in the same manner as he did to Loren.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it will be more dangerous from here on, so I want to gather as much information that could be useful in the case of an emergency.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I have it.¡±


    Ain answered Lapis¡¯ question.


    Ain took out a silver ne from underneath his breastte, and on the chain was a silver ring.


    ¡°May I take a look?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    After asking for permission, Lapis defenselessly walked up to Ain, took the chain around his neck, and took a careful look at the ring on her palm.


    The chain was still around Ain¡¯s neck, so Lapis¡¯ body was very close to his, and as Loren saw Ain¡¯s face get flushed, he couldn¡¯t help but get a bored feeling.


    ¡°I see, this is the key. Thank you.¡±


    After examining the ring for a while, Lapis pressed the ring and the chain onto Ain¡¯s chest and thanked him with bow and a smile on her face.


    This made Ain¡¯s face even redder, but Lapis immediately walked back to Loren without taking any notice.


    ¡°T-that was good enough? Then let¡¯s go down to the sixth floor now.¡±


    Ain managed to dere so, with his face still flushed and voice slightly flustered.


    No one disagreed, and the group, led by Ain and Cloud, were met by a totally different sight than what they had seen in the previous floors.


    ¡°What¡­is this?¡±


    No one in Feim¡¯s party could answer her question, while Loren and Lapis were speechless at what they were seeing.


    At the bottom of the stairs was a stone corridor, like the previous floors.


    But the difference was that there were transparent, but at the same time clouded, mucus scattered everywhere.


    On top of that, the mucus was squirming its body and slowly moving along the floor and walls of the corridor.


    ¡°This is pretty disgusting.


    Behind Ain and the others, who were standing there speechless, Loren couldn¡¯t hide his disgust as he looked around at what the light from thentern was shining on.


    Lapis, who was looking around curiously at the sight, squatted down beside the nearest blob of mucus and stared at it for a while, then stood up and told them the identity of the mucus.


    ¡°These are slimes.¡±


    ¡°Slimes? You mean slimes as in those kinds of slimes?¡±


    Even Loren, who had grown up on the battlefield, heard about slimes before.


    Of course, he had seen some, since they sometimes popped up after battles had ended.


    They were indefinite blobs of liquid and were categorized as simple and inferior monsters with no will or emotion at all.


    They possessed different elements sometimes, based on the environment they live in, but they were slow with low defenses, and could be easily killed by destroying their cores with something as simple as a stick.


    ¡°I think these are probably slimes.¡±


    ¡°Oh man¡­we¡¯vee to a bad ce.¡±


    The students¡¯ gazes focused on Loren when he muttered that.


    Feim gave him a puzzled look, while the other three looked at him as if he was stupid.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a bunch of slimes. What are you so scared for?¡±


    Cloud crushed one under his boots as he said that.


    It was easily crushed since it was mostly liquid, and it spread across the floor weakly as its core was destroyed.


    ¡°What I¡¯m scared of is none of your business.¡±


    ¡®Ha! If you¡¯re scared of monsters like these, you must not be much in the first ce.¡±


    Cloud continued to make fun of him, but Loren ignored him.


    ¡°Lapis, do you have a torch?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    Loren pulled out hisrge knife hanging from his waist with his right hand and held the torch Lapis had handed him in his left.


    Lapis lighted the torch with a flint, and Loren raised it high over his head.


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. Let¡¯s go. We haven¡¯t met Parme¡¯s party yet, so they should still be ahead of us.


    Nodding at Ain¡¯s decision to move one, Cloud moved next to him at the front and started walking ahead.


    Walking behind Feim and Al, Lapis said to Loren, sounding slightly impressed.


    ¡°Loren, you know how scary slimes can be.¡±


    ¡°These guys are dangerous. They don¡¯t have any unnecessary thoughts or emotions, after all. That makes them able to urately respond to prey. It¡¯s true they¡¯re slow and can be killed easily¡­but if the conditions are met, they could even take down experienced mercenaries.¡±


    ¡°Any experience?¡±


    ¡°In a battlefield before.¡±


    Loren said with a grim look on his face.


    Loren went silent for a moment, recalling that time, and started telling her the story.


    ¡°It was a terrible battle. Well there aren¡¯t any battles that aren¡¯t terrible. Anyways, I¡¯m not sure who was ying around, but there was a lot of magic used, and lots of allied and enemy soldiers died, so after the battle there were way too many bodies to clean up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ording to one research, slimes are creatures that appear in ces where mana is built up or disturbed, so I guess a slime spawned there.¡±


    Lapis told Loren that if enough magic was used in situations such as battles, the mana in the area bes disturbed momentarily.


    And when water, blood, and corpses are added to that disturbance, slimes are born.


    Loren had experienced such a battle, but in general, slimes were creatures that ate anything they found that could be consumed.


    ¡°There were so many bodies, we decided to let it eat some of them.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­I can already see how it ended.¡±


    ¡°We knew it would grow bigger as it ate, but we didn¡¯t expect it to multiply.¡±


    Regardless of how it spawned, slimes were living creatures.


    Of course, they would grow when they ate, but slimes proliferated by splitting into two after they had gottenrge enough.


    The slimes, which had an abundant supply of bodies to consume, grew rapidly and multiplied, and continued that cycle.


    ¡°In the end, there were so many slimes, they became like a giant tidal wave in the battlefield.¡±


    Loren muttered about how much of a nightmare that was.


    The slimes ate everything they could, including water and dirt along with the bodies, and multiplied in number and size, then started consuming everyone in the area, allies and enemies alike, and that was the horror that Loren had experienced.


    ¡°A giant wave full of melting bodies mixed with a lot of other things¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need an exnation. What will you do if I start imagining it?¡±


    ¡°I still have nightmares about it sometimes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making me lose my appetite¡­Well, at this rate, today¡¯s dinner will be disgusting rations¡­¡±


    Since she rejected an exnation with such a disgusted face, Loren didn¡¯t need to force one.


    But when he looked around, hoping that the students would now feel some of the feelings of dangers that he was feeling, but they just had disgusted expressions on their faces and didn¡¯t seem to feel any sense of danger at all.


    Seeing that, Loren decided that it was hopeless, but then Lapis snuggled up next to him a lot closer than she needed to.


    ¡°Lapis?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing special, but I just thought that this is probably the safest ce right now.¡±


    Loren could understand some of what Lapis meant by that, so he didn¡¯t say anything and continued walking.


    To those who didn¡¯t understand the situation, it seemed like they were just flirting with each other, as Ain immediately looked away, while Cloud clicked his tongue and red at Loren.


    Al immediately lost interest in them and turned around, but Feim was looking at Lapis, who was hugging Loren from the side.


    ¡°Are you two in that sort of rtionship?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, that sort?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­¡±


    ¡°Feim, there may be a little bit of what you are expecting, but this is different from that.¡±


    Feim turned red as Lapis interrupted her question in a t voice.


    ¡°If you understand our current situation, you would understand that this is the safest position¡­but I guess it¡¯s a bit difficult for you to that.¡±


    ¡°Safe?¡±


    Since Lapis had used the word safe, it meant that they were currently in danger.


    But Feim seemed like she didn¡¯t feel the amount of danger that Lapis was currently sensing.


    ¡°Feim! Don¡¯t mind them. Hurry up, we can¡¯t move on because you¡¯re the one with thentern!¡±


    Feim was still wondering about Lapis¡¯ words but chased after the others when Cloud called her.


    ¡°Man, it¡¯s full of slimes. What do we do about this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot of work, but let¡¯s crush them one by one. It won¡¯t hurt to lessen every possibility of danger.¡±


    Agreeing to Ain¡¯s suggestion, Cloud and Al started stomping and hitting the slimes on the floor and walls one by one.


    Ain also started running his sword through the slimes¡¯ cores, so their progress slowed down.


    ¡°They won¡¯tst two seconds if something attacked us right now.¡±


    Lapis, who was still clinging onto Loren, said it like it was someone else¡¯s problem, but Loren¡¯s eyes followed Ain and his party.


    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s something that would attack with all these slimes around?¡±


    ¡°I wish there would be.¡±


    Lapis lowered her tone and hung her head.


    Slimes were creatures that consumed anything that they could.


    In a situation where so many slimes existed, Lapis couldn¡¯t imagine something other than slimes being there.


    ¡°Hey! I found something!¡±


    Lapis¡¯ thoughts disappeared as she heard Cloud¡¯s loud voice.

 Chapter 63: Unable to Decide After Being Attacked

    <h4>Chapter 63: Unable to Decide After Being Attacked</h4>


    Something was lying on the floor down the corridor, where the light from thentern didn¡¯t reach.


    Miraculously, there were no slimes in that area.


    It had leather armor around it with long brown hair sprawled all over, and to Loren, it looked like a person.


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the girls from Parme¡¯s party.¡±


    Cloud, who had slowly walked up towards it, quickened his steps as he saw what it was.


    It wasn¡¯t certain if the girl was conscious or not, but she didn¡¯t react to the footsteps nearing her and continued lying face down on the ground.


    ¡°H-hey?¡±


    Cloud called out with fear in his voice, but the girl still didn¡¯t move.


    Cloud turned back to hispanions, but none of them had an answer.


    ¡°Is she¡­alive?¡±


    There was no way for them to know how long the girl had been lying there.


    But with so many slimes in the area, it would be weird if she had fallen unconscious somehow and managed to be okay.


    Then it would be normal to assume that she was dead, but Ain and Cloud couldn¡¯t tell if the girl lying before them was dead or alive.


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Um, let¡¯s see.¡±


    Ain, who didn¡¯t know how to deal with this, poked the girl with the tip of his sword.


    The girl didn¡¯t react to it.


    As Ain and his party looked at each other, deciding that she was indeed dead, the girl¡¯s body suddenly started twitching.


    As Ain and Cloud took a few steps back, the girl¡¯s twitching body somehow rolled face up.


    ¡°Ahh!?¡±


    One of two let out a cry of surprise.


    In any case, they had seen the girl¡¯s face.


    What they saw was a mask-like face, like a bad craftsman had made it.


    Her eyes were half open, but instead of her eyeballs, they could only see ck voids under her eyelids.


    Her mouth was open as well, but they couldn¡¯t see her teeth or tongue.


    Since she had a pretty face, the hollow holes that her eyes and mouth had be gave a strange air about her, and even after she rolled face up, her body was still twitching and didn¡¯t show any signs of stopping.


    ¡°W-what is this!?¡±


    Cloudshed out in disgust.


    As if responding to Cloud¡¯s voice, something started gushing out of the girl¡¯s eyes, nose, and mouth.


    ¡°Is this a slime?¡±


    Ain said in a shaky voice as he saw what hade out of the girl¡¯s body.


    It was indeed as a slime, as Ain had said.


    It seemed to have attacked the girl in some way and killed her, then invaded her body through any ces it could find and trampled through her insides.


    ¡°Then that means¡­¡±


    Cloud paled as he realized that the body in front of him was nothing but skin.


    It meant that nothing that should be inside a body was left inside, and that was inside was the slime.


    Although it wasn¡¯t reading Cloud¡¯s mental state, the girl¡¯s body erupted from the inside and sttered.


    The slime that had eaten her insides had jumped out from inside.


    Its body, which was usually transparent, was bright red, as if it hadn¡¯t been long since it ate all the girl¡¯s flesh and blood, and inside its translucent body, they could see the parts that hadn¡¯t been digested yet floating around.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Cloud¡¯s reaction slowed at the sight before him.


    There was no way a slime would look past an opportunity that its prey stopped moving.


    ¡°Cloud, watch out!¡±


    Ain¡¯s response was quicker since he didn¡¯t everything that Cloud saw.


    He blocked the slime¡¯s body with his shield and pushed Cloud back, but the slime started to reach for Ain¡¯s body, along with the shield.


    ¡°You!¡±


    Ain tried to shake the slime off by swinging his shield, but there was no way it was going to fly off so easily.


    He was so focused on his shield, he didn¡¯t see the rest of the slime that were in the girl¡¯s body crawling and reaching towards him.


    By the time he realized, one of them caught his right foot and the one on his shield started reaching for his hand, and he fell into utter fear.


    ¡°H-help me!¡±


    ¡®Ain! damn it! Let go of him!¡±


    Cloud got back to his senses as he heard Ain¡¯s call for help, and he thrusted his estoc into the slime that was grabbing Ain¡¯s foot, but to a slime that could only be killed if its core was destroyed, a thrusting weapon such as an estoc wasn¡¯t effective at all.


    The slime, unfazed at the strikes, covered up to Ain¡¯s ankle, and his boot started to change color as it started dissolving.


    ¡°Ow!? damn it! My hand is burning!?¡±


    In the case of the girl, they killed her somehow and then proceeded to enter her body and ate it away from the inside, but this time, since Ain was struggling or since it grabbed onto a bad location, it started eating away at Ain before killing him.


    Ain¡¯s hand and the part of his arm that the slime was covering started melting and inming and started turning red and ck, as if acid had been poured on there, and Ain screamed as he tried to peel it off.


    ¡°Al! Do something!¡±


    ¡°Do what¡­¡±


    Cloud¡¯s estoc didn¡¯t even make the slime flinch, and there was no way he could grab it bare handed, so he asked Al for help, but he didn¡¯t have a way to peel the slime off either.


    ¡°Um, the way to deal with slimes is¡­¡±


    While Ain and the others were shouting about, Feim was reaching all over her robe, trying to look for something to deal with the situation.


    Her gaze repeatedly went towards Loren, and Loren was aware of it, but he didn¡¯t say anything since she didn¡¯t ask him anything, so he silently watched Ain, with Cloud and Al pacing around him, but after a while he sighed, looked at Feim, and pointed to the torch that he was holding over his head.


    Feim pondered about what that meant, but eventually she seemed to have thought of something, as she took a small bottle out of her robe, ran past Ain and the others, and poured the thick contents onto the dead girl¡¯s body as well as here and there in the area.


    ¡°Ain! Hold your breath!¡±


    After shouting a warning, Feim smashed thentern next to the body.


    The pieces of thentern flew about, and the fire that was burning inside it spread onto the body and turned into arge me.


    ¡°Feim!? What are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°We learned in ss that the only way to get rid of slimes wrapped around a body is to burn them!¡±


    Burning slimes was known as one of the most effective methods against them.


    Sometimes it wasn¡¯t depending on the species, but most slimes hated fire since most of their bodies were made up of water.


    What Feim had poured over the body was oil.


    It was oil used fornterns, which were made to burn especially well.


    The fire that started spreading had started burning the slime that was wrapped around him.


    As ck smoke started rising and emitting a bad smell, the slime either seemed to realize that it was burning or seemed to feel the pain, as it started retreating from Ain¡¯s body.


    But Ain wasn¡¯t getting out unscathed either, since he was so close to the mes and the heat.


    He had turned his face away from the smoke and smell from the burning slime, but he started getting burns on his body.


    But after waiting for an opportunity for the slime to weaken its grip, Ain had managed to peel them off his arm and leg, and rolled out of the spot, coughing and taking care to shield his burned arm.


    ¡°You okay Ain!?¡±


    ¡°damn it! That was horrible!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to treat you with medicine and bandages because I still want to save up my healing divine arts.¡±


    Ain was saved from falling prey to the slime, but he wasn¡¯t in a good shape.


    There were holes in his boots, and his left arm, which he held his shield with, was swelled up and had burns all over it.


    And due to the mes, he had light burns on his face and neck, and Al started putting medicine and bandages on them.


    ¡°How would you rate how they did in that situation Loren?¡±


    Lapis had been watching the whole thing in silence, and asked Loren, still clinging onto his waist.


    Loren thought for a moment, keeping his torch above his head, and answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that experienced as an adventurer, so.¡±


    ¡°How about as a mercenary?¡±


    ¡°I guess it was okay? Especially throwing the fire without hesitating.¡±


    Slimes were quite tough against physical attacks.


    Even if a part of their bodies were crushed, cut, or ripped, they wouldn¡¯t flinch since they didn¡¯t feel pain.


    If you didn¡¯t have a way to urately destroy the core, it wasmon for the situation to be like what Ain and Cloud had shown.


    To prevent that from happening, you would need a way to exterminate it quickly, and one of them was to kill it with fire.


    If you had a magician that could use plenty of spells, depending on magic was a way, but if you had a magician that could only use a few spells like in the mercenarypany that Loren was a part of, or if you were in a situation where no magicians were there, burning slimes were usually the only option they had.


    And in if you or one of yourpanions were caught by one, the only way to pull it off was to burn them along with the slime.


    Even if you tried to crush the core, you could end up hurting whoever was being attacked, and the slime would find a way inside the body through the injuries.


    One of the reasons that Loren was holding a knife and was holding a torch above his head was so that if a slime attached itself onto him, he could immediately crush its core with the knife, or if he couldn¡¯t, use the torch to burn it along with his body.


    Loren knew that the great sword on his back wouldn¡¯t do anything against slimes.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we give up and head back?¡±


    Loren suggested so, seeing Ain¡¯s condition, with all the medicine and bandages on his body, but he backed off as Ain shook his head and Cloud red at him.


    ¡°We told you, we¡¯re going to the bottom floor!¡±


    ¡°I heard that, but what about your light? You have an extrantern?¡±


    When Loren said that, Cloud looked at the burning girl¡¯s body and the slime and looking at the fragments of theirntern scattered about, realized that they had lost their source of light.


    Loren thought that breaking thentern to light the fire was quite a violent method, but he knew that there wasn¡¯t much time for Feim to open up thentern and transfer the kindling, so he didn¡¯t think that she should be med for throwing it on the floor, but Cloud seemed to have a different thought.


    ¡°Hey, what are we going to do? We still have a long way to go!?¡±


    As Cloud drew closer to Feim with a grim face, she looked around at the others with an awkward look on her face.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any sparenterns?¡±


    ¡°I have one. It¡¯s okay Cloud, we¡¯re fine.¡±


    Al took some fire from the mes erupting from the girl¡¯s body along with a bad stench and lit the spare that he had brought.


    The party seemed relieved as they regained their source of light, but then their attention went to the burning body.


    ¡°One of them dropped out here.¡±


    ¡°The problem is whether they headed back or kept going¡­Judging from Parme¡¯s personality, I think they probably moved ahead.¡±


    ¡°us is with them, but then again, he¡¯s only a proctor. If he didn¡¯t say anything, I¡¯m sure Parme would¡¯ve continued ahead.¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    At Cloud¡¯s question, Ain thought for a moment while rubbing his injured arm, and eventually dered strongly.


    ¡°We go forward. We can¡¯t go back only this much.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s all hold oil and kindling for the slimes. And even if we see Parme¡¯s group or us, don¡¯t go near them.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a good one burning right now, so let¡¯s get the fire from there.¡±


    The slime that had attacked them was being burned along with the body, was writhing on the floor with its movements getting slower and slower.


    Ain and the party decided that it was okay to leave it like that and started getting fire from the mes burning its body.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold thentern this time. If this one breaks, we¡¯re done for, so keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Burn it if you think you¡¯re in danger. Got it. Ain, if it hurts, I¡¯ll lend a shoulder?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Ain decided to throw away his shield, since it had been dissolved here and there by the slime, and had been burnt by the mes on top of that.


    They would¡¯ve taken equipment from the dead girl¡¯s body, but Feim had already burned everything, leaving nothing useful for them to take.


    ¡°Feim, mark this area on the map, just in case. Other slimes will probably eat everything after the fire dies, but we still have to report it when we get back to the surface.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The party started moving forward at Ain¡¯s call.


    As Loren started following them, he realized that Lapis, who was still clinging onto him, was pulling his sleeve, so he looked towards her.


    ¡°Loren, I¡¯ll leave finding the opportunity to you.¡±


    ¡°Opportunity? What opportunity?¡±


    ¡°This and that. Breaking away from this party, for example.¡±


    Lapis suggested abandoning the job without any hesitation and looked at the backs of Ain and the others who were walking ahead of them.


    ¡°You¡¯re not nning on dying with them, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah¡­but without them we won¡¯t be able to get to our destination, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll work out. Just leave it to me, Loren.¡±


    Lapis said with confidence.


    Lapis had said there was a way, so she certainly had something up her sleeve, but using that meant that they would be leave Ain and his party and going off on their own.


    Loren sighed at the fact that Lapis had given him the responsibility of finding the opportunity, and started thinking.

 Chapter 64: Sudden Changes After Continuing

    <h4>Chapter 64: Sudden Changes After Continuing</h4>


    While Loren¡¯s thoughts were elsewhere, Ain and his party continued ahead.


    They crushed or burned every slime that was in their way, since one had ambushed them and injured Ain, so their pace was slower than before, but they were still moving forward.


    But their situation was getting worse.


    Ain still had enough strength left to walk on his own, but since he had burns on his arm and left his shield behind, he wasn¡¯t able to fight to his content.


    And for Cloud, who was lending Ain his shoulder, it was already proven that his estoc wasn¡¯t effective at all against slimes, so he couldn¡¯t y his role as a front line properly.


    But Al and Feim were able to drive away the slimes, so they could still manage to continue.


    But even that was due to them having oil and fire, and even if they managed to keep the mes, they didn¡¯t have an unlimited supply of oil.


    The oil was fuel for thentern as well and they had to leave some for the way back, so they had to use it sparingly.


    ¡°This is going downhill.¡±


    Lapis muttered while clinging onto Loren¡¯s back.


    Cloud and Ain gave them harsh looks, thinking that they were flirting with each other without considering time and ce, but Loren was sensing something wrong with Lapis, as she didn¡¯t let go at all.


    At first Lapis continued to dodge his questions, but when Loren kept on asking, she finally told him what was going on.


    She told him that her limbs, which were prosthetics, weren¡¯t moving properly.


    After she exined that she was clinging onto his body to hide it, Loren immediately decided to carry her on his back.


    Loren had experienced a situation where Lapis couldn¡¯t move her limbs before.


    She couldn¡¯t move them because a spell that dissipated mana was used, and since her prosthetics ran on mana, they malfunctioned temporarily, and she couldn¡¯t move.


    So, Loren thought that the same thing was happening, but Lapis shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that there isn¡¯t any mana. It¡¯s more like it¡¯s not transmitting properly¡­¡±


    Looking at Lapis not giving him a clear answer, Loren guessed that she wasn¡¯t fully aware of what was going on.


    ¡°I can move them if I try really hard, so drop me in the case of an emergency.¡±


    Although Lapis whispered that to Loren, there was a reason why he didn¡¯t want to carry her on his back.


    It was because they had no idea where the slimes could attack from.


    Slimes were made of mucus so they could climb almost anywhere and crawl into the smallest of cracks.


    Whether it be in the trees or inside stone walls, they climbed and crawled into any ce they could and attacked their prey.


    He had only been against slimes in the battlefield, but he had seen mercenaries and soldiers being killed by slimes that fell from trees, jumped out of openings in baggage, or jumped out from within piles of bodies.


    If such slimes existed in a dungeon.


    Loren understood that it was a ce that was full of ces to hide and ambush.


    Hanging on the ceiling and dropping on the heads of prey that passed below, oozing and reaching out of cracks in the walls, and since there were cracks on the floor as well, there was no telling where they could attack from.


    In this situation, carrying Lapis on his back, which was his biggest blind spot, meant that it increased the danger for both, so it made him even more anxious.


    On top of that, the students that he was proctoring would keep on looking at him, thinking that they were flirting.


    It was a situation which anyone would flinch at, and it wasn¡¯t a good atmosphere.


    ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we head back?¡±


    ¡°Shut up you perverted bastard.¡±


    They continued searching for a while, and whether they were lucky or unlucky, a short while after they found the dead girl¡¯s body, they came across the stairs to the seventh floor.


    Ain and the others were happy at first, but what awaited them at the bottom of the stairs was a denser poption of slimes than the floor above.


    ¡°Is the sixth floor and below breeding grounds for slimes, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡±


    Feim answered Loren, who sounded fed up as he saw the innumerable slimes on the walls and floor, with surprise in her voice.


    ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t this bad? Even if we reach the bottom, will we have enough oil to get back to the surface?¡±


    Cloud startedining, but Al pointed to his bag and answered.


    ¡°There¡¯s still enough oil in my bag. It¡¯s okay, it should be enough for the way back.¡±


    ¡°Why do you have so much oil?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon. I thought we would get lost. So, I brought a lot more oil than we would normally need. Good thing I did.¡±


    ¡°But if this goes on, wouldn¡¯t it be impossible to go forward?¡±


    Al answered Ain¡¯s justified question with confidence.


    ¡°Parme and her group will probably have gotten rid of a bit already, and there¡¯s no reason for us to deal with every single one of them.¡±


    ¡°They could¡¯ve headed back after that girl died¡­¡±


    ¡°Then they should have bumped into us. We didn¡¯t meet them, so it means that they are still ahead of us.¡±


    Ain and Cloud couldn¡¯t find any words of refute, so they looked at each other, nodded, and started moving.


    Feim looked at the three of them with worry, but still chased after them, while Loren watched their backs for a while before he started slowly walking after them.


    ¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t rted to your body part, right?¡±


    As he asked Lapis while walking after Ain and the others, Lapis shuddered on top of his back.


    He turned, thinking that something had urred to her, but when their eyes met, Lapis shook her head over and over.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what part of my body is here, but no matter what it is, it won¡¯t cause situation a situation like this. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not that suspicious of you, anyways. But this isn¡¯t normal at all, is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. assuming the floors below are in a simr state, I¡¯ve never heard of slimes covering half a dungeon.¡±


    After saying that, she went silent for a moment, and opened her mouth again.


    ¡°Something I¡¯ve never heard of before. This is very interesting.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a greedy schr here. We¡¯re not sure if we can even make it out alive.¡±


    Ain and his party were the ones currently taking care of the slimes, but if Loren and Lapis had to head back by themselves for some reason, Loren was the one who was going to have to deal with them.


    Lapis had extra torches in her bag, but when it came to chasing slimes off on the way to the surface, it would be exceedingly difficult the lower they went.


    ¡°Even I¡¯m not such a girl that prioritizes her hobbies to satisfy her curiosity in this situation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be fine if it were true.¡±


    Surprisingly, Lapis had a dangerous air about her that she would enjoy her hobbies to the point of ruining herself.


    Loren felt so and let out a weakugh as he realized that if something were to happen, he considered the options of knocking Lapis out unconscious and drag her across the floor if he had to but left out the option of abandoning her.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    As he answered Lapis and continued walking, Shayna appeared in his sight, batting her wings.


    ¡®It¡¯s okay Onii-san. I¡¯ll use my power as a No Life King to its full potential to get you and Onee-san to the surface if I have to!¡¯


    As Shayna dered with her fists in front of her chest, Loren told her that he was looking forward to it, and then realized that due to him thinking, he was quite behind and started to walk faster, but then stopped abruptly.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    Lapis, suspicious at Loren¡¯s sudden stop, called out but Loren didn¡¯t say anything and looked down at his feet.


    Loren felt slight tremors under his feet.


    Although it was very slight, but if he could feel it across a stone floor, it meant that something was happening in the corridor ahead, and when he looked up, he saw something that he wished that he hadn¡¯t.


    It was the sight of Ain and the others running back as fast as they could.


    They were running with all their might, without any regards to the slimes that they were crushing under their feet.


    As for what they were running from, Loren saw arge wall of slimes that filled the whole corridor, gushing towards them like a flood.


    Loren¡¯s face stiffened, and he immediately turned around and started running back the way he came.


    ¡°Hey proctor! Why are you running away!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    ¡°Then at least run after we run past you!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t afford to do that!¡±


    There was nothing Loren could do against a wall of slime that filled the corridor barreling towards him.


    All he could do was run, praying that it didn¡¯t catch up to him.


    Even if he tried to burn them with his torch, against that, he could only imagine himself getting crushed by sheer number.


    ¡°Where the hell did theye from!?¡±


    When Loren shouted, Cloud shouted back.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know! They just came from the other side of the corridor!¡±


    ¡°Move your legs if you have the strength to move your mouths! We¡¯ll get caught!¡±


    ¡°Guys! This way!¡±


    After Feim¡¯s cry, Al shouted out, and Loren sensed that they weren¡¯t behind him anymore.


    When he looked back, all he saw was a semi-transparent wall of slime, and didn¡¯t see a trace of the students that were running behind him.


    ¡°Did they get swallowed!?¡±


    ¡°No, I think they ran into a side road.¡±


    Since Loren was carrying her, Lapis was able to see everything, and told him all that happened.


    Apparently, Ain and the others had ran into a branching corridor to wait for the wall of slime to pass.


    ¡°Would you call this getting separated or losing sight of them!?¡±


    ¡°Does it really matter?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it does! Depending on if it¡¯s them getting separated on their own or if it¡¯s me losing sight of them, it would affect the sess of the job!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about that in this situation¡­?¡±


    ¡°I mean, if I ran after then ran past, we would¡¯ve gotten caught¡­¡±


    Even as he spoke, Loren¡¯s speed didn¡¯t falter.


    On top of Loren, who was running at a distance from the wave of slimes, Lapis looked back at the wall of slime crashing towards them and said with a sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can worry about that once we get out of this situation, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    Loren felt that she had a point, so he shelved the problem and continued running through the corridor with all his might, at a speed that seemed impossible to reach for someone with a great sword and a person on his back, without tripping on the slimes beneath his feet.

 Chapter 65: Meeting Again After Running

    <h4>Chapter 65: Meeting Again After Running</h4>


    Slimes were slow.


    That couldn¡¯t be said in general, considering the wall of slimes that was closing in on Loren from behind, but normal slimes were indeed sluggish.


    That was why Loren guessed that maybe instead of dealing with every single slime that they came across, running through at a pace they wouldn¡¯t get caught would be the correct way to explore a slime infested dungeon.


    That was how fast Loren was running after they separated from Ain and his party.


    Of course, the wall of slimes didn¡¯t let him run slower, but Loren slipped past slimes that reached for his feet, dodged ones that dropped from above, and dashed through the dungeon using only the light from his torch as his guide.


    ¡°Loren, do you have a destination in mind?¡±


    Lapis asked Loren as she turned back every now and then, checking the distance between them and the slimes, and Loren answered her without dropping speed.


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I knew that¡­¡±


    The map that they had received didn¡¯t help at all.


    Loren was running through the corridors so fast that they couldn¡¯t pinpoint where their current location was.


    Since they lost their location, and with nothing but stone walls and floors everywhere, there was nothing to distinguish them and no signs of anything they could use to find it.


    On top of that, they couldn¡¯t even use the method of putting your hand on the wall.


    The method only worked for the outer wall, but they didn¡¯t know which wall was the outer one.


    To put it simply, they were lost.


    ¡°What do you think happened to them?¡±


    At first Lapis didn¡¯t know what Loren was talking about, but then realized that he was talking about Ain and the others and sighed.


    ¡°Hey stop that. You¡¯re tickling my neck.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. I don¡¯t care at all. They won¡¯t be of any help in this situation anyway.¡±


    Just because they went off in a side corridor didn¡¯t mean that they were safe.


    A portion of the slimes could have gone after them, or they could¡¯ve run into another pack of them.


    But regardless of whether they survived or not, it didn¡¯t change Loren and Lapis¡¯ current situation.


    ¡°Rather than that Loren, you¡¯ve been running for quite a while now, but are you okay?¡±


    His bag and equipment, including his great sword.


    On top of that, Loren was running with Lapis on his back as well.


    Lapis knew that constantly running with such weight on his back would be sapping his strength.


    She became worried about him, but Loren didn¡¯t seem to slow down at all.


    ¡°The battlefield is a harsh ce.¡±


    Wet sounds erupted from under Loren¡¯s feet since he was crushing slimes under his feet.


    If he slowed down, he would get caught by the slimes, but if he ran too fast, he could slip and crash onto the ground along with Lapis.


    Loren¡¯s skillfulness on his movements and body bnce, making him not got too fast nor too slow, made it seem like every mercenary could do so.


    ¡°It¡¯s said that the ones who run out of steam die first. That¡¯s why the first thing we were trained on was to continue running. We had to wear equipment and hold bags, and sometimes even other members. Your weight is nothingpared to them.¡±


    ¡°About that Loren.¡±


    Lapis tried to change subject, but her words were cut off by a sudden floating sensation.


    When Lapis looked around, wondering what happened, her blood ran cold when she saw that Loren had ran right into a hole in the middle of the corridor.


    Running into traps usually meant death, but Loren easilynded at the bottom and continued running.


    Instead of being a trap of instant death, apparently it was just a hole that forced victims to a lower level.


    Lapis was relieved when she realized that, but her expression hardened again as she realized that they had jumped down to the eighth floor.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    When Loren, who stayed calm, either not realizing they were on the next floor or didn¡¯t care, asked Lapis, she remembered what she was going to say and started to talk, but saw the numerous slimesing down the hole like a waterfall and tapped Loren¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°They¡¯reing Loren!¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t stop chasing just because the floor changed, huh¡­¡±


    As Loren muttered bitterly as he sped up, Lapis leaned forward, put her lips right next to Loren¡¯s ear, and told him what she had meant to tell him earlier.


    ¡°It¡¯s about my arms and legs not moving.¡±


    ¡°Out of mana?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s enough mana in the area. Way more than enough, actually.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ limbs, which ran on mana, weren¡¯t moving, but she said that there was enough mana around them.


    Nothing came to Loren¡¯s mind, since he wasn¡¯t a priest or a magician, but he did understand that it was strange.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Would you understand if I told you that they aren¡¯t functioning properly because the mana around us is too thick?¡±


    He didn¡¯tpletely understand, but he did get what she was trying to say.


    Anything could be harmful when it was too abundant, and it seemed that in their current situation, it was mana.


    ¡°Do you know the cause?¡±


    ¡°No. But if you can buy me some time, I could possibly adjust them.¡±


    ¡°Time, huh.¡±


    Loren nced back.


    The wave of slimes that was chasing after them even after dropping down, was stilling after them without slowing down.


    Buying enough time for Lapis depended on how much longer Loren could run.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one else, so if I could get my arms and legs moving, I could burn away the slimes with magic¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait Lapis.¡±


    Loren interrupted Lapis.


    As Lapis wondered what happened, she saw someone pop out of a side corridor, and understood why Loren stopped her.


    ¡°us!?¡±


    The person that popped up from a side corridor and started running beside Loren was us, holding Ange in his arms.


    Lapis realized that she was interrupted because it would¡¯ve been bad if she had been overheard by them. She then looked back and saw that the number of slimes had increased and understood the circumstance that us and Ange had been put under.


    ¡°You two have been chased as well!?¡±


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s you guys! What a coincidence!¡±


    ¡°Not a good one, I can tell you that.¡±


    Apparently, us and Ange were being chased just as Loren and Lapis had.


    It seemed that when they reached the big corridor, they saw another wall of slimesing towards them and started running in the same direction as Loren.


    The wall of slimes had sped up due to merging with the slimes that had been chasing us.


    ¡°What happened to the students?¡±


    ¡°We got separated while running away from that. One of them got engulfed by a slime head first, and I couldn¡¯t save her.¡±


    ¡°I came across her a little while ago. Her body was filled with slime, and one of the students in my group got injured from it. Burn it next time and don¡¯t leave behind trouble for me.¡±


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t afford to!¡±


    As he saw Ange, who was stiff in us¡¯ arms, nod at him, he realized that us really couldn¡¯t afford to.


    If there were too many slimes that dropped onto the poor girl¡¯s head, they might¡¯ve had to run and not been able to burn her body.


    But leaving trouble for other examinees was still out of the question.


    ¡°Anyways us. Do you know where we are?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m too busy running. On top of that, I¡¯m carrying Ange, so do you think I could run while checking the map?¡±


    ¡°Not much of a difference as us, huh.¡±


    Loren had guessed as much, but he was slightly disappointed when he heard the wordse out of us¡¯ mouth.


    But since there was the possibility of us being disappointed in the same fashion, Loren decided that the feeling was mutual.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t have a destination in mind either?¡±


    ¡°Same for you, right!?¡±


    ¡°Unlucky¡­How are we going to lose that thing?¡±


    The wall of slime chasing after them kept at a distance, noting closer nor falling farther away.


    Loren thought that having Lapis burn it away with her magic after regaining control of her limbs, but now that they had grouped up with us and Ange, they couldn¡¯t do anything reckless.


    ¡°The floors weren¡¯t like this when I took the exam!¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡±


    ¡°How would I know!?¡±


    ¡°We should get to the ninth floor.¡±


    Ange joined the conversation from in us¡¯ arms.


    Ange, who had her arms around us¡¯ neck on top of being carried by him, said with a flushed face.


    ¡°If we can get to the keeper on the ninth floor, that¡¯s a safe area where dungeon monsters won¡¯te into.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so Ange, we don¡¯t have the key to get in there. Only the examinees have the key, so even if we made it, we would be stuck there surrounded by slimes.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be the same even if we made it to the tenth floor?¡±


    As Loren butted in, us, who had experienced the exam, told him.


    ¡°The tenth floor is where Volf¡¯s fortune is stored, but there¡¯s a transport gate to the surface there.¡±


    ¡°Then won¡¯t you be able to take anything you want once you reach it?¡±


    All you would have to do is take as much treasure as you could and jump into the gate.


    Loren thought that would be possible, even with a guardian around, but us said otherwise.


    ¡°But the guardian is in front of the gate, and the gate isn¡¯t open. If you don¡¯t take anything, the gate with activate, but if you try to take something, you can¡¯t use it until you defeat the guardian.¡±


    ¡°You would have to get to the tenth floor in the first ce for either to happen, though.¡±


    As Ange finished the exnation, this time Lapis, who was on Loren¡¯s back, continued the conversation.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ve got an idea so let¡¯s head to the tenth floor.¡±


    ¡°An Idea?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say right now. Only that there¡¯s a chance for us to be saved. So, let¡¯s look for the keeper on the ninth floor, and ess the tenth floor.¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ proposal, us and Ange looked at each other for a moment and immediately nodded.


    They concluded that if they didn¡¯t have a better idea, they should stick to Lapis¡¯.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s think about our current location and how to get to our destination.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ve been down here quite a bit, so I¡¯ll know in time.¡±


    ¡°I think we should focus on getting away from that before we think about anything else, though.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s words, the other three looked behind and saw the semi-transparent wall, sighed, and while Loren and us sped up, Lapis and Ange clung onto their partners, trying not to get in their way.

 Chapter 66: Saving After Grasping the Situation

    <h4>Chapter 66: Saving After Grasping the Situation</h4>


    Doing something about the slimes that were chasing them was top priority for Loren and us.


    Even if they were trained or had the power of a Gift, Loren and us were only human, and couldn¡¯t escape the boundaries of fatigue.


    Even if they could move for long periods of time, it didn¡¯tst forever, and they knew that they would eventually tire and get swallowed by the slimes chasing them.


    ¡°us. Go hack at it for a bit. I¡¯ll carry Ange in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°You want me to go in there and kill myself!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I believe in you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust that unfound trust of yours!¡±


    Loren thought maybe he could do it, but seeing how us declined, it seemed that his > ability wasn¡¯t as convenient to be able to upset overwhelming quantity.


    ¡°Not as useful as I thought.¡±


    ¡°The thought of trying to do something about that with just a sword is ridiculous!¡±


    Loren thought that shouting would just make him tire faster and shorten the time for the slimes to catch up, but he did acknowledge the fact that he was the one that made him do so, so he decided not to say anything.


    They continued running, but after turning a few corners and running through straight corridors, they realized that the pressure that they couldn¡¯t feel the pressure from behind them anymore.


    Slowing down slightly, they looked back and saw that the overwhelming number of slimes had disappeared.


    ¡°Are we saved¡­?¡±


    ¡°What? How? I mean, we should be happy if we¡¯re okay, but¡­¡±


    The fact that they were saved all too soon and so suddenly without notice, made us suspicious that something worse mighte their way, and started looking around.


    As Loren braced himself for whatever woulde next, not understanding their situation, Shayna appeared in front of him.


    ¡®It¡¯s okay Onii-san. I took care of the slimes.¡¯


    Shayna said proudly, wanting to be praised.


    Not sure what to do except to appreciate her efforts in his mind, and when Loren asked her for an exnation, apparently Shayna had used her powers as a No Life King to save them from the wave of slimes.


    ¡®I used energy drain on the slimes and weakened them to death.¡¯


    Slimes were very inferior and simple creatures.


    Of course, if many of them group, they became threats that even Loren and us couldn¡¯t deal with, and they had just experienced it, but individually, they weren¡¯t strong at all.


    Shayna had drained the life out of each one of them little by little, so that Lapis wouldn¡¯t notice, and wiped them out.


    The effects didn¡¯t show immediately since there were too many of them, so even if a bunch of them had died it didn¡¯t make much of a difference, and because she couldn¡¯t strengthen the powers due to Lapis¡¯ high senses.


    ¡®I can¡¯t do this too often. Onee-san almost noticed.¡¯


    If Lapis found out that the astral body of a No Life King was residing within his own, both Loren and Shayna had no idea what sort of actions she would take.


    They had a feeling she would try to purge the No Life King as a duty of a priest, or she might follow her curiosity and start to view Loren as a target of observation.


    Or it might be somethingpletely different, but in any case, the one thing they did know was that it wouldn¡¯t be anything good, so both Loren and Shayna were being careful not to let her notice and didn¡¯t want her to find out.


    After reminding her to be careful, Loren opened his mouth, trying to convince the others otherwise.


    ¡°Maybe it found other prey somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the students? We need to go help¡­¡±


    ¡°You trying to catch the attentions of the slimes again by moving around recklessly?¡±


    Loren stopped us, who set Ange down and started to wander off, and although he had a worried look on his face, he knew that Loren was right and stopped trying to go off.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°First of all is our current location. You can find it out with some time and walking, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s start with that.¡±


    us and Ange were given a map since they were proctors as well.


    Loren followed as us spread out his map and started walking.


    Ange didn¡¯t have a problem with her body so she could walk on her own since the threat of the slimes had passed.


    But Lapis¡¯ limbs, which were prosthetics, were still unmoving so she was still gripping onto Loren¡¯s back, but there was no way they could tell us and Ange that.


    ¡°Did your priestess get injured?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just here because I want to.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ response to us was unfriendly.


    It might¡¯ve been a reaction to us being careless around women, and while Loren smiled, thinking that this is what meant to be unapproachable, but Ange frowned and red at him.


    As they followed us, who smiled nervously and sped up to escape from Ange¡¯s re, a momentter he pointed at a spot on the map.


    ¡°We¡¯re right here.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t help but doubt him at the quick identification of their current location.


    He didn¡¯t really think that us would be able to find it.


    But when they started moving, the corridors matched what was on the map, which meant that us indeed knew where they were, and Loren looked at him in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I¡¯ve been down here many times back when I was a student.¡±


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever felt d that you¡¯re with me.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t reallyplimenting me, are you.¡±


    When Loren told us that there hadn¡¯t been anything topliment him about, he seemed to know that, as he shrugged in silence.


    In any case, since they knew their location, they didn¡¯t have to fear getting lost, since the location of the stairs were shown on the map.


    Loren and us were indeed worried about the students, but if they tried to go look for them it would ce themselves in danger, so they aimed for the stairs to the tenth floor, deciding that they should return to the surface and exin the situation to the principal first.


    us suddenly stopped, put his hand to his ear, and started listening carefully.


    As Ange asked us what he was doing, Loren and Lapis heard what us seemed to have heard.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a person¡¯s voice¡­but we¡¯re the only ones down here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so that means its most likely one of the students. So¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to go check, aren¡¯t you? Go ahead, but keep your eyes on the map, alright?¡±


    us was a good person in general.


    That was why dishonesty angered him and he couldn¡¯t be cold to those who were attached to him.


    But then again, if he kept putting his hands on whoever became attached to him, he was nothing but an unprincipled bastard, but if Ange could do something about that part of him, Loren had started to believe that he could be quite a decent person.


    In this situation, Loren wanted to get out of the dungeon as soon as possible, but he knew that since us heard someone that could be one of the students, he couldn¡¯t just leave.


    ¡°Thanks. My hands are pretty full just trying to protect Ange.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m busy enough with Lapis alone, so don¡¯t expect much.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t we be able to manage one or two more if we work together?¡±


    ¡°You do realize that you¡¯re basically saying that you¡¯re willing to leave behind five, six of the students out of seven, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    us started pondering Loren¡¯s words, but Loren was already thinking that leaving some of them behind couldn¡¯t be helped.


    He would help if he could, but helping others was meaningless if it meant posing danger to himself.


    ¡°How about you worry about itter and go check on the voice¡­¡±


    Pinpointing the location of a sound within a dungeon was a difficult thing to do.


    On top of being unsure of which direction the sound wasing from due to echoing off the walls, the corridors themselves reflected the aspect of a dungeon, where even if you heard a sound, it could being from the other side of the wall.


    But as they moved relying on the cries they heard intermittently, they managed to reach the location where the sounds originated.


    There, Loren and the group saw Parme on the verge of tears, stuck inside a transparent wall all the way under her arms.


    Her blonde roll pigtails were messy, and tentacles that had spouted from the transparent wall were trying to pull herpletely in.


    Parme tried to resist but since she had nothing to hold onto, her struggles were in vain and she was slowly getting pulled into the wall.


    ¡°Parme!¡±


    When us called out, Parme¡¯s face, covered in tears, brightened for a moment but she immediately shook her head and stopped him froming closer.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t Master us! Just leave me and save yourself!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beyond saving. Once I¡¯m swallowed, there¡¯s no way to escape. The parts that are already swallowed are being eaten away at¡­If you will show me mercy, please burn these slimes along with myself!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    In the case that it was apparent that the victim couldn¡¯t be saved, burning them along with the slimes could be considered as an act of mercy.


    Feeling yourself slowly melt away and eventually suffocating to death was a harsh way to die, and Parme didn¡¯t want to die that way, but us didn¡¯t have the determination to burn her while she was still conscious.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t, please walk away. I don¡¯t want to show myself getting eaten by these slimes.¡±


    Parme said so because she knew she would cry and wail and plead for her life disgracefully, but with us¡¯ personality, he couldn¡¯t choose the option of leaving her.


    When he walked up to try to pull her out, more tentacles emerged from the wall and started reaching for him.


    ¡°damn¡­I can¡¯t even get close¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey us, watch Lapis for a minute.¡±


    Deciding that she could at least stand in ce, he lowered her down and gave her the torch he was holding, and tapped us¡¯ shoulder, telling him to stand back. He then walked towards where Parme was stuck.


    Of course, the tentacles reached for him as they did for us, but Loren didn¡¯t even try to dodge them and let them wrap around him. He slowly reached over Parme, who was watching him dumbfounded, and grabbed the base of her neck.


    ¡°What? Excuse me¡­?¡±


    ¡°One, two¡­!¡±


    Along with a shout, Loren mustered up the strength in his arms and forcefully pulled Parme¡¯s body out from the wall.


    Some ripping noise reached his ears in that moment, but he paid no attention to it and threw her behind him, towards the others, then calmly ripped the tentacles that were wrapped around his body, and leisurely walked back towards them.


    ¡°I knew you were strong since you used that great sword but¡­incredible.¡±


    ¡°Anyone can do this if they train long enough.¡±


    As us shook his head rapidly, telling him there was no way, Loren wondered if it really wasn¡¯t.


    As us started rejoicing that they had saved one of the students, Parme, who had been thrown on the ground, let out a sharp scream.


    When Loren and us looked towards her, wondering what was wrong, they saw Parme on the floor, her face bright red with tears in her eyes, and covering her chest with her arms.


    She was almostpletely naked.


    The two of them looked back towards the wall where Parme had been captured, saw her ripped up clothing and undergarments floating inside, and understood the situation.


    ¡°So that was the ripping noise I heard before.¡±


    ¡°It was already melting, so it wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    As they finished up their conversation, they looked towards the girls, as if they were looking for agreement, but as soon as Loren turned, a lit torch flew towards him.


    Ange¡¯s staff was thrown towards us and hit him straight in the face, causing him to bend over in pain, while Loren managed to catch the torch, turned away from the girls, and started burning the wall of slimes.

 Chapter 67: Reorganizing and Heading for the Bottom Floor

    <h4>Chapter 67: Reorganizing and Heading for the Bottom Floor</h4>


    Parme, who had been rescued, covered her face and sobbed for a while, but with Lapis and Angeforting her, she slowly started to calm down.


    In the meantime, us looked up again to check on her, but he was silenced by Ange¡¯s iron fist, while Loren was busying himself burning any slimes that got close.


    When Parme finally calmed down, Ange took out a thin nket out of her bag and covered her, while Lapis checked on her injuries.


    Since she had said earlier that she was already being eaten, Lapis had expected harsh injuries, but although the injuries weren¡¯t light enough to take easily, they weren¡¯t too serious either.


    ¡°The injuries aren¡¯t bad, but the state and the range is the problem. Loren, can I use >?¡±


    Lapis judged that if left alone, it would leave behind scars for sure.


    As she asked Loren, thinking that a girl of her age with such scars all over her body was too pitiful, Loren simply nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine so go ahead and heal her.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    Lapis prepared to use her healing divine arts as soon as Loren approved.


    A priest¡¯s healing divine arts was a lifeline not only within the dungeon, but to adventurers in general.


    us was confused at Loren¡¯s decision to use one of the limited usages on Parme.


    ¡°Well, it is a bad move considering our situation.¡±


    Parme had lost all her equipment and was more of a burden than anything.


    So Loren knew that using divine arts on injuries that wasn¡¯t a threat to her life would be confusing to anyone.


    ¡°She¡¯s training to be an adventurer. She should be prepared to have scars on her body.¡±


    ¡°Could be. But it¡¯s fine, I guess.¡±


    As Loren patted us on the shoulder, telling him not to think of it too hard, he stopped arguing.


    Next to them, Lapis was about to use > on Parme.


    ¡°God of Knowledge, please heal her using the method you could find within that stupidlyrge amount of knowledge you possess.¡±


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t the words of prayer, are they!?¡±


    ¡°Prayer isn¡¯t bound to specific forms.¡±


    When Lapis touched Parme¡¯s body along with a usible exnation, the divine arts quickly disyed its effects, as the injuries from the slimes started healing.


    ¡°Is it just me, or is the healing working really well somehow?¡±


    ¡°Those who believe will be saved.¡±


    Seeing Parme¡¯s injuries disappear and returning to healthy looking skin, Ange asked Lapis with swear running down her cheek, as if she were seeing something perplexing, but Lapis responded in a solemn tone.


    ¡°So how is it, actually?¡±


    ¡°No idea. Don¡¯t ask me.¡±


    Although us asked him, Loren had no way to answer.


    He guessed that the basic specs of being a demon could have had something to do with the effectiveness of the divine arts, but for some reason he couldn¡¯t look past the fact that the prayer might have had something to do with it as well.


    ¡°In any case, blonde rolls can move now so let¡¯s get moving. Nothing good wille out of staying here for too long.¡±


    ¡°I apologize¡­for the inconvenience.¡±


    Parme hung her head, the attitude she had shown before entering the dungeon was nowhere to be seen.


    Feeling that being ashamed the whole time wasn¡¯t good for the atmosphere, Loren tried poking some fun at her as a joke.


    ¡°But are we going to pull her around with only a nket around her?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll ept it.¡±


    Loren had said it expecting her toin, but to his surprise, she had easilyplied.


    As Parme¡¯s face turned bright red, Loren became troubled as he didn¡¯t know what to do but help came from Lapis.


    ¡°Ange and I could at least lend you underwear.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an emergency, so we¡¯ll go with the size that fits better.¡±


    Adventurers tried their best to pack as little as they could.


    It was obvious since they would have to be moving constantly, so whenever they went exploring or on subjugation, they only took the absolute minimum of what they needed.


    Even to them, extra underwear was essential, so Lapis and Ange carried around a few changes with them.


    Some might wonder why they would do so in the limited space in their bags, but the jobs of adventurers often got them injured as well as dirty.


    From experience, adventurers knew that wearing dirty or contaminated clothes would worsen their injuries or cause illnesses.


    Rarely did they have any room to take extra clothes, but always having extra underwear or underclothes, which constantly touched the skin, was themon understanding.


    ¡°I brought an extra pair of boots, so I¡¯ll lend you those.¡±


    Magicians could often take more things since they didn¡¯t have heavy equipment to worry about.


    Ange seemed to be so and brought an extra pair of boots, in case the pair she was wearing got ruined by a trap.


    ¡°For the top¡­mine is too big. Ange, yours seems like a perfect fit.¡±


    ¡°Grrr¡­¡±


    ¡°The bottom¡­Hmm? Yours slips off, huh. I guess I¡¯ll lend mine then.¡±


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±


    ¡°For clothes¡­Loren, lend her one of your shirts.¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    With the difference in height between Loren and Parme, his shirt reached down and easily covered her all the way down to the middle of her thighs.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to thank everyone¡­I¡¯ll repay this debt someday¡­¡±


    ¡°Worry about that if we manage to get back to the surface. It¡¯s not certain we can get out of here yet.¡±


    Stopping Parme from bowing her head, Loren told her in a matter of fact way, not letting any emotion into his words.


    If he somehow gave her some measure of hope, and that hope was to be crushed, the emotional drop would be a hard one.


    So that was why he couldn¡¯t let her feel saved in a situation where they had no idea what would happen.


    ¡°Parme, do you know what happened to the other members of your party?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master us. My hands were full just trying to run away, and before I realized, I was caught inside the slimes¡­so I don¡¯t know what happened to them.¡±


    When Parme told us that she didn¡¯t know, although he looked disappointed for a moment, he immediately regained hisposure and patted her on the head to try tofort her.


    ¡°Master us¡­¡±


    As Parme¡¯s cheeks turned red, Ange started coughing very loudly.


    As Loren was watching the three of them, Lapis spread her map of the dungeon and walked up next to him.


    ¡°Do you long for things like that?¡±


    ¡°Not even a bit. Doesn¡¯t suit me, and I don¡¯t want anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you. By the way, are we going to go to the keeper on the ninth floor like this?¡±


    Parme joining them could be taken as an ident, but it just meant that they had another person they needed to protect, so Loren decided that it wouldn¡¯t have too much of an impact on them.


    But in fact, they had to hurry harder than before to defeat the guardian on the tenth floor, so they could send Parme back to the surface.


    ¡°us and Ange, the two of you go ahead and protect Parme. Lapis and I¡¯ll take care of the enemies.¡±


    ¡°But¡­No, you¡¯re right. Got it, leave her to us.¡±


    The first had to do something about the keeper guarding the exit of the ninth floor, and us was about to argue when Loren said that the two of them will take care of it, but he quietly obeyed him, as if he had thought of something.


    Impressed at how quick us now was to understand, Loren lead us and the others down the corridor with Lapis, who regained control of her limbs, walking next to him.


    ¡°So, this is where the keeper is¡­¡±


    A short time after they had rescued Parme.


    The only monsters they encountered on the way were slimes, and by either burning or slipping pass them, the group managed to reach the area on the ninth floor where the keeper resided, but what awaited them wasn¡¯t a keeper blocking their way, but an unmoving stone doll with its hands and knees on the ground.


    The doll, which would¡¯ve been taller than Loren if it stood up, wasn¡¯t damaged at all, but for some reason it didn¡¯t show any signs of moving.


    ¡°Is this the so-called keeper?¡±


    When Loren asked us, who knew more about the dungeon than he did, he nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s a stone golem that the school made. But to see that it stopped functioning¡­¡±


    ¡°This is supposed to be strong, right?¡±


    When Loren asked for confirmation, both us, who was knowledgeable of the dungeon, and Lapis, who was knowledgeable in general, nodded at the same time.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as strong as metal type golems, but stone golems are still powerful. But to be able to cause a breakdown like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Lucky for us, but the problem is who did it.¡±


    They now didn¡¯t have to fight it to enter the tenth floor, but the problem was who or what was it that broke the golem.


    After all, it was hard to think that whoever did it would be satisfied by doing this, which meant there was a high possibility that the being would already be in the tenth floor, which they were about to enter.


    If that was the case, they would most likely face whoever it was down there.


    ¡°There¡¯s no damage on the golem¡¯s surface. If I remember correctly, it had an auto repair ability, but if it took enough damage to cause a breakdown, it repaired itself to fast.


    us said as he examined the golem.


    ¡°Then how did this guy stop like this?¡±


    ¡°For a fair method, Isn¡¯t there a divine art that could deal damage without inflicting wounds?¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about >? That¡¯s one of the few attacking divine arts.¡±


    us knew that if the golem was defeated by magic, there should be signs of burns or damage, but there wasn¡¯t so he thought of the possibility of divine arts.


    Against his thought, Lapis immediately shook her head, denying the possibility.


    ¡°> is indeed a divine art that inflicts just the impact to an opponent and barely leaves any wounds, it is but a beginner level divine art, so its power isn¡¯t much. Do you think it would be enough to defeat a stone golem?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°The only people who might be able to do that would be a very high-ranking priest. Then what would such a priest be doing here? And why would he defeat the keeper?¡±


    ¡°No idea about that one.¡±


    There was too little information to make a judgment.


    As Loren easily gave up, Lapis asked us.


    ¡°What other methods would there be if they weren¡¯t fair?¡±


    ¡°I hope I¡¯m wrong, but there¡¯s a password that acts as a deactivation key for the golem and it changes every month¡­and of course the teachers know what it is. If you pay them enough, you might be able to get them to tell you what it is.¡±


    That was an obvious act of misconduct.


    Which was why us hoped he was wrong, but with the sight in front of him, he had to put it into consideration.


    ¡°Either way, we need to go down.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry up and go. All of you, don¡¯t be surprised no matter whates out.¡±


    On the other side of the unmoving golem, was a single door.


    Judging from where it was, Loren guessed that it was the entrance to the tenth floor and signaled Lapis, who was standing next to him, and when she saw it, she walked up and turned the knob. After confirming that it didn¡¯t open by pushing and pulling on it, she put her palm on the door and started muttering something.

 Chapter 68: Reunion at the Bottom Floor

    <h4>Chapter 68: Reunion at the Bottom Floor</h4>


    The door to the bottom floor easily opened after Lapis put her hand on it and muttered a few words.


    It happened so quickly that Loren wondered if there was actually a seal.


    ¡°What did you just do?¡±


    To us, what Lapis had just done was unbelievable, as his eyes became wide open with surprise, in contrast to Loren.


    Seeing his reaction, Loren understood that the door had been sealed properly, but when he thought about it, whatever Lapis had just done wasn¡¯t something that could be done ordinarily and realized that it shouldn¡¯t have been shown to the other. So, he panicked and looked towards Lapis, wondering how she would react, but she answered like it was nothing.


    ¡°I tried copying the wavelength of the mana used to undo the seal. I examined the key, after all. It¡¯s quite simple.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    Since us was a swordsman, he was about to stand down with Lapis¡¯ exnation, but this time Ange, who was a magician, let out a confused voice.


    On the front among the members there, Ange was supposed to be the expert on mana, so Loren was rmed that her confused response would cause more suspicion towards Lapis, but Lapis easily responded to this as well.


    ¡°A thief that came to confess at the temple I was training at secretly taught me this technique when I told her I was going to be an adventurer. You shouldn¡¯t think that a thief can¡¯t touch something just because you sealed something with mana.¡±


    As she told Ange that it was a technique of a thief, she stopped looking suspiciously at her for now.


    Since it was outside of her expertise, she couldn¡¯t say if what Lapis said was true or not and decided that there was no reason to be suspicious of it.


    ¡°Is that story true?¡±


    Seeing that the conversation was now done, Loren quietly asked Lapis, and she answered him in a hushed voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that a handful of thieves know the technique of picking locks using mana. But the source of the technique is us.¡±


    In this case, us didn¡¯t mean priests of the Knowledge God.


    Loren understood that since Lapis was a demon, the technique sourced from them.


    Loren wondered why they decided to develop and spread the technique to thieves, even though it was only a handful of them, and was worried that when us or Ange had the opportunity to travel with priests of the Knowledge God in the future, the level of skill and techniques they would expect from that priest would be very high.


    ¡°Okay, the door is open. It¡¯s a waste of time just standing here and chatting, so let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡±


    As Lapis insisted that there was nothing more to talk about, the group started going down the stairs on the other side of the open door.


    The stairs leading to the tenth floor was longerpared to the ones for the upper floors, but other than that, it was almost the same, and the group reached the tenth floor.


    They immediately realized why the stairs were longer than the others.


    The bottom floor wasn¡¯t a dungeon like the floors above, but instead it was just a wide space.


    In ces across this wide space were showcases packed with many kinds of items and tools.


    The ceiling was high and had light sources installed so it was possible to see across the whole floor, and Parme let out a voice full of admiration as she put her torch against the wall.


    ¡°This is Volf¡¯s legacy¡­¡±


    The things that were more valuable were stored inside the showcases, but everything else was stored adequately, with some were just piled up next to the walls.


    But even those radiated its own mana, while the gold, silver, and jewels were shining brightly, and one look told them that it was worth a fortune.


    ¡°Thest time I¡¯ve been here was before graduating, but it¡¯s quite a sight, no matter how many times I see it.¡±


    us looked around with slight nostalgia.


    From what Loren had heard, us was quite the honor student and had been here before, so he asked him out of slight curiosity.


    ¡°Hey us, were you able to take something from here?¡±


    ¡°No, I returned to the surface without taking anything to avoid fighting the guardian. I didn¡¯t want to put mypanions in danger.¡±


    When us looked Ange with a smile, she looked back at him with flushed cheeks and a spaced-out expression, while Loren and Lapis overtly sighed and looked away.


    Meanwhile Parme looked at the two of them enviously.


    ¡°Alright, anyways.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who asked.¡±


    ¡°Anyways! Where would the preceding visitors be?¡±


    The tenth floor was vast.


    And due to the showcases, there were ces they couldn¡¯t see, and wouldn¡¯t be surprising if someone or something would be lurking there.


    On top of that, because of the items radiating mana all around the ce, it was hard to sense others that might be there, so Loren felt that it wasn¡¯t a situation where they could let down their guards.


    ¡°I was expecting there to be an ambush or two.¡±


    Since the keeper on the ninth floor was deactivated, it was almost certain that whoever did it was on the same floor.


    And that someone was most likely someone participating in the exam, with a high possibility of fraud.


    So, Lapis had expected that person to consider that they would being behind him and ready something to hold them back or even set an ambush, but it seemed that her prediction was wrong, as they didn¡¯t meet anything of the sort.


    ¡°Nothing happening doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so na?ve, us.¡±


    As Lapis said with a sigh, us looked at her, not sure what he said wrong.


    ¡°Nothing here means that the person has already finished what he came here for, you know? It means that he finished it before we even got a chance to find out what it was.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°On top of that, if it was one of the students, he would know that we would find out that he attempted fraud, so even if we return to the surface, he would already be running away. Well¡­as proctors, it wouldn¡¯t affect our job results even if he gets away.¡±


    Reporting the facts and letting the school decide what happens after could count as doing their jobs as proctors.


    Then it was easier if no one was there on the bottom floor and nothing happened.


    ¡°Lapis, you didn¡¯t forget why we came here, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m looking for it right now.¡±


    In the same way Loren and the others were scanning the area, Lapis was doing the same, except she was actually looking for the part of her body, which was what she and Loren hade here for.


    But still, whether it be one of her arms or legs or eyes, if the actual thing was just sitting around there somewhere, she would have to exin it to us and the others somehow, so she was trying to think of a good exnation.


    As Lapis decided that in the worst case, she would have to put them to sleep, one of the showcases in the corner caught her eye.


    Although all the expensive looking items were stored inside the showcase, on top of that particr one was a transparent jewel.


    Lapis walked over to it and reached for the jewel on top of the showcase, which was on the same height as her eyes, took it, raised it above her head, and peered in to it with one eye.


    ¡°Umm Lapis? Sorry to bother you¡­but I don¡¯t think we have time for that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Lapis obeyed us and put the jewel back on top of the showcase.


    But Loren managed to see her only pretend to do so and drop the jewel into her sleeve.


    ¡°Is that it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m d it¡¯s easy to carry around.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Looks like my left arm. Not bad, but not good either, I suppose.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know the principle behind how Lapis¡¯ left arm was processed into the transparent jewel that she had snuck into her sleeve.


    And he didn¡¯t know how the jewel will go back to being her arm, but seeing that she wasn¡¯t distraught or worried, he guessed that there wasn¡¯t a problem.


    ¡°But if you take that, wouldn¡¯t the guardian wake up¡­?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t part of Volf¡¯s fortune so it should be fine.¡±


    Lapis told him that if the guardian was for those who tried to take part of Volf¡¯s fortune, it shouldn¡¯t react to them, since her arm wasn¡¯t part of it.


    Thinking that they could escape without having to worry about involving us and the others in danger, started looking around for the exit, deciding that they should leave as soon as they could.


    But then he realized that he couldn¡¯t even find the entrance that they came through.


    ¡°The entrance vanished?¡±


    ¡°I-it closed up as soon as we set foot inside this floor!¡±


    When Parme, who seemed to have seen it happen, said so, they all nced at each other.


    Now that they thought about it, if one could go back up the way he came, he wouldn¡¯t have to face the guardian, and although it would take longer, they could take whatever they want to.


    They then realized that the entrance got blocked off in order to stop anyone from doing so and would have to go through the guardian.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, it was that sort of system.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget something so important.¡±


    As us said with augh, Loren hit him in the chest with the back of his hand, and started looking for the exit, ignoring us, who sank to the floor clutching his chest, while Ange and Parme rushed over to help him up.


    After a while, Loren saw where the rows of showcases ended.


    On the other side was a slightly vast empty area, and on the wall across it, was a door.


    Seeing that there was nothing else like it, he guessed that this was where the guardians were as well as the exit to the surface, and called the others over to head over there, when he saw four shadows standing in front of the door.


    As he was about to call out to them, he heard something cutting through the air, flying towards him.


    He immediately drew the great sword on his back and used it as a shield, and immediately after, he heard something hard hit the t of the de.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡±


    The sound caught the attention of us, and while watching him run over with his sword drawn, Loren rested his great sword on his shoulder, and bent over to pick up what had bounced off it.


    ¡°A dart, huh.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve reached here faster than I thought.¡±


    The one who called out was the priest Al, who was part of Ain¡¯s party, who they separated from when running from the wave of slimes.


    But the one who attacked was Feim, who was standing next to him with a smile on her face.


    ¡°If you would¡¯ve gave up and one back, it would¡¯ve saved us so much trouble.¡±


    ¡°How should I take the fact that you attacked me?¡±


    The tip of the dart glistened.


    It was most likely poison, and Loren was sure that throwing it at him wasn¡¯t an ident.


    ¡°That¡¯s a warning not to get in our way until we reach our goal, of course.¡±


    On both sides of Al, who said that, was Ain and Cloud, with their weapons drawn.


    For a moment, Loren thought that they were all in in together, but Ain and Cloud¡¯s faces were expressionless, and their eyes were unfocused.


    ¡°Hey, those two¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I used > on them to make them my pawns.¡±


    Feim answered instead of Al.


    In her hand was a crushed piece of paper instead of a dart, and she then threw it towards Loren with a shout.


    ¡°>¡±


    The piece of paper that was thrown started glowing, and instead of disappearing it shot bullets made of fire.


    As Loren cut through them with his great sword, Lapis shouted a warning.


    ¡°Be careful! They are supplementing their use of magic with scrolls!¡±


    ¡°What are they thinking?¡±


    Due to the special method of making them, scrolls that contained magic could be used not only by magicians, but by those with other jobs as well.


    Using them caused the effect of the magic written on the scrolls, but not many were distributed in the market and were also very expensive, so they weren¡¯t used very often.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing what needs to be done to achieve my goals, of course.¡±


    The smile on Al¡¯s face wasn¡¯t the same as the timid looking priest that they had traveled with.

 Chapter 69: Recommending After Listening

    <h4>Chapter 69: Rmending After Listening</h4>


    ¡°You have some time to tell us about it?¡±


    Al cocked his head at Loren¡¯s question.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I haven¡¯t achieved my goal yet, and¡­¡±


    Al¡¯s gaze turned away from Loren.


    us was slowly inching towards Al, but he stopped as he turned towards him.


    ¡°The prodigy of our school is here as well, so wouldn¡¯t it be a disadvantage to me if I spend too much time talking?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you at least give us a reason why? We¡¯re supposed to be your proctors.¡±


    While saying that, Loren was wondering if he could close the gap between him and Al and cut him down before he could make a move.


    But the answer to that thought was a no.


    On top of Feim keeping them in check by dangling another scroll from her fingers, Ain and Cloud, who were hypnotized, were standing in a position where it was impossible for him or us to make a move on Al.


    ¡°Even if we go back up, we can¡¯t say that we don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re going to be able to return to the surface? Well, whatever.¡±


    Al sighed at Loren¡¯s words, but it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to do something against them without exining anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Although I may be the second born of a noble household, don¡¯t you think that I won¡¯t be able to seed even if I became an adventurer?¡±


    ¡°I think that would depend on your attitude.


    Loren didn¡¯t think one had to be reborn to be sessful as an adventurer.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t deny that talent would y a big part in it, but he couldn¡¯t agree to the idea that Al couldn¡¯t seed because he was the second born of a noble house.


    ¡°It would¡¯ve been different if I was talented like us.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say that people think in different ways, so go on.¡±


    ¡°Luckily, I had enough knowledge to be a priest, and was able to smuggle many different documents when I left my home.¡±


    When Al studied those documents, looking for information that could benefit him, he found one that had information on the Volf Adventurer Training School, which he was going to enroll in.


    ¡°How much do you know about Volf¡¯s achievements?¡±


    ¡°Just a little.¡±


    Loren forgot most of the things us told him right after he arrived at the school.


    It was mostly because he wasn¡¯t interested since it was all useless information to him, but as Al continued his exnation, he wished that he paid better attention.


    ¡°Volf achieved many things, but what piqued my interest was the story that he sealed an evil God and put it here.¡±


    ¡°An evil God?¡±


    Loren¡¯s brow furrowed at the shady word that popped up, but he had a vague feeling that us had said something like that and tried to recall it.


    ¡°I think us mentioned it along with ying dragons and ancient ruins.¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t listening to my exnations, were you¡­¡±


    us sighed, but Loren didn¡¯t feel the need to follow up, and prompted for Al to continue.


    ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the Supreme God¡­But what if I were to revive an evil God and be its priest?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°It means that I could be that God¡¯s high priest.¡±


    Al dered proudly.


    Loren looked away from Al, who was standing there pleased with himself, not sure how to respond, and turned towards Lapis and the others who were behind him, looking for help.


    Loren understood up to thinking of a different method, since if Al continued to serve one of the most well-known Gods, he would be one priest among many.


    But reviving an evil God that no one worshipped and be its high priest seemed like a good and bad idea at the same time, so he didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Hey Lapis. Can you switch with me?¡±


    ¡°No way Loren. From that conversation, anyone could see that there¡¯s no use talking to him. Please don¡¯t push trouble towards me.¡±


    Lapis made a very unpleasant face, so Loren had to give up on leaving the situation in her hands.


    Even Lapis, who was willing to hardships for knowledge, didn¡¯t seem to want to deal with Al at this point, and it was in that she was going to let Loren finish out the deal.


    ¡°Ahh¡­I want to check, just in case.¡±


    Scratching his head, Loren shifted his gaze away from Al to Feim, who had a nervous looking smile on her face.


    ¡°Why are you over there?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t have talent as a magician. Even if I graduate and be an adventurer, I¡¯ll just end up with random adventurers who tell me what to do and work all day, you know? So, I thought maybe it would be worth to bet on Al, who¡¯s trying to make a name for himself right now.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s talking about an evil God¡­but you¡¯re not being threatened?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­But he said he¡¯ll give me money, and it seems that the evil God sealed in here isn¡¯t seen as an enemy by the other Gods.¡±


    Feim said that if it was a powerful being that could be a threat to the other Gods, there would be records or legends about it in every church.


    But there was no church that told of such a being sealed under the training school.


    ¡°So, I thought that there wouldn¡¯t be a big deal.¡±


    ¡°If the evil God isn¡¯t a big deal, there wouldn¡¯t be much gooding out of serving it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you might be right.¡±


    Loren and the others watched with bored expressions as Feim¡¯s response seemed like she had just realized it, while for some reason Al had a proud look on his face and informed Loren, who didn¡¯t want to deal with them anymore.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already found its body.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    An evil God being sealed there was already a fishy story, so even if Al said that they found the body, you didn¡¯t have to be Loren to think that he was lying.


    But Al confidently pulled out an item from the pocket of his robes.


    It was a box about the size of his palm.


    It hadplex patterns on its surface, which had a metallic glint to it, and Al raised it above his head to show Loren and the others.


    ¡°This is the body of the evil God that Volf sealed.¡±


    ¡°Looks pretty cheap.¡±


    The designs were indeedplex, but there weren¡¯t any ornaments or gold or silver colors on it either.


    The box itself had a metallic glint, but Loren guessed that it was probably iron, not noble metal.


    It looked like something that a local cksmith could make after paying a few silver coins, but ording to Al it was where the evil God was sealed.


    Loren, wondering how serious Al was, decided that he should be cautious just in case, and brought his great sword under his arm.


    ¡°assuming that the box is what he says it is¡­¡±


    Lapis called out, as if she had realized something.


    As Loren stood in front of her, hoping that she would just switch with him, she said something unbelievable.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the reason behind the dungeon not spawning normal monsters and being overrun by slimes?¡±


    ¡°As expected of a priestess of the Knowledge God. You¡¯re probably correct.¡±


    Loren had a feeling the expectations of priests of the Knowledge God just got higher, but that wasn¡¯t important.


    Rather than that, what Lapis had said shocked everyone else.


    ¡°Lapis, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Slimes are creatures that appear when the mana in an area is too thick or disturbed, so if a being that¡¯s called an evil God is about to awaken, those things could happen, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°T-then the current dungeon is¡­¡±


    Lapis nodded at Ange¡¯s words of panic.


    ¡°The so-called evil God inside that box that¡¯s about to revive is the cause. The appearance of all the slimes, as well as the dungeon malfunctioning is all because of that.¡±


    The dungeon was usually managed by the school, and the bottom floor was sealed off so no one could enter.


    Then it was hard to believe that Al could¡¯ve timed everything so perfectly in order to revive the evil God.


    us was about to point that out, but Lapis said the answer before the words came out of his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s coincidence. Well, if something like an evil God¡¯s guidance existed, you could say that it was meant to be.¡±


    ¡°It was the guidance of the evil God.¡±


    ¡°I guess it was meant to be then.¡±


    Al asserted, and Lapis acknowledged.


    As the rest of them looked at them, not sure if they should be surprised or exasperated, Lapis continued her exnation.


    ¡°In other words, the future high priest over there plotting to revive the evil God, and the evil God was about to awaken, would typically be called coincidence, but could be called a necessity if you put the evil God¡¯s guidance into consideration.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that they aren¡¯t rted?¡±


    As Loren asked for confirmation, Lapis nodded honestly.


    ¡°The evil God started to awaken when I started plotting to revive it. What else would you say other than it was meant to be!?¡±


    Al seemed to want it to be a necessity, but to Loren and the others it was nothing but a bad coincidence.


    But because of it, at least one of the students was dead, so they weren¡¯t going to let it pass as a joke, but when they considered if that was enough to kill Al and Feim, the answer was a no.


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­I think the correct thing to do would be capturing them and handing them over to the school.¡±


    us answered Loren¡¯s question without confidence.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get it over with.¡±


    ¡°How can a bunch of adventurers possibly manage to capture me?¡±


    As Loren stepped forward to apprehend Al, Ain and Cloud stepped in his way, brandishing their weapons.


    Behind him was Feim, who was getting ready to throw another scroll, so they had to deal with these obstacles somehow to get to Al.


    ¡°If I could just awaken the evil God¡­¡±


    Al was thinking that he had nothing to be afraid of if he could awaken the evil God while Ain and Cloud were keeping Loren and the others busy.


    The only way they would know if that was correct or mistaken was if the seal was undone, but there was one thing that Al was mistaken about.


    The documents that Al had taken did not mention anything about how to undo the seal, but since it was so loose that the mana from it was affecting the dungeon, he decided that it would be undone with a final push. As he prepared himself to feed his mana into it, two blunt sounds echoed across the floor.


    As Al turned towards the sound, wondering what had happened, gulped as he saw Ain and Cloud, who he sent to keep Loren busy, spin around and fall to the ground.


    Loren, who raised the tip of his great sword in front of Feim¡¯s nose as she was trying to activate her scroll, narrowed his eyes and said in a small but cold voice.


    ¡°Give up. Or I¡¯ll cut you to pieces.¡±


    Al thought that it was just an empty threat, but the killing intent behind Loren¡¯s words were real, and he could only watch with wide eyes, as Feim drop the scroll in her hand and sink to the ground, while forgetting to even breath.


    As the box dropped from Al¡¯s strengthless hands and dropped to the floor with a sharp sound, Al dropped to the floor like Feim, not being able to stand the pressure behind Loren¡¯s words.

 Chapter 70: Being Summoned After Revival

    <h4>Chapter 70: Being Summoned After Revival</h4>


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s all settled now?¡±


    Seeing that Al and Feim had no will to fight anymore, us asked Loren, but Loren didn¡¯t say anything and just shrugged.


    He was able to subdue them with only coercion, but he felt that it was mostly due to Shayna, who was puffing out her chest proudly in the corner of his eye.


    It was hard to think that they, as future adventurers, even though they were currently students, would lose the will to fight at one nce.


    ¡°Tie them up with rope or something for now. It¡¯ll be troublesome if they start acting up again.¡±


    ¡°You mean all of them, right?¡±


    us sent a pitiful nce towards Ain and Cloud, who were on the floor.


    The two were in a bad state, as they seemed unrted to this matter, but they were used by Ain and ended up being knocked out by Loren.


    us wondered if they really needed to tie them up, but since they weren¡¯t sure if they were still under the influence of > or not, there was a need to neutralize them.


    us knew that, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for them.


    ¡°All of them. Unfortunate for them, but let¡¯s just put it as mismanagement of theirpanions.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    us nodded and started tying Feim and Al with the rope that Ange had brought out of her bag.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡±


    Lapis, looking at the process, asked Loren.


    ¡°Well¡­I guess we go back to the surface using the transport gate, right?¡±


    ¡°What should we do about that?¡±


    Loren turned to where Lapis was pointed, and his face hardened as he saw what was there.


    In his sight was the box that Al had dropped, which supposedly sealed an evil God inside.


    The box, which had been an ordinary metal box when Al had been holding it, was lying on the floor, but some of the designs on its surface started emitting an eerie purple light.


    ¡°Oh,e on¡­Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°For some reason, I agree with what you¡¯re thinking.¡±


    It was already proved that the abnormality of the dungeon, which was supposedly caused by the near revival of the evil God, and what Al had been nning were unrted.


    In that case, Al already being apprehended, with no more will to fight, was a separate problem than the evil God¡¯s revival.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s going to revive right now!?¡±


    ¡°Such bad timing.¡±


    Loren started to panic, but on the other hand, Lapis was very calm.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t because she had a way to deal with what was happening before them.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s going to happen!?¡±


    As Parme, who had been watching everything quietly, cried out in dismay, the box on the floor slowly started glowing brighter and started emitting shes of purple light, and anyone could see that it wasn¡¯t normal.


    ¡°Ah, the evil God is reviving to save me in my time of trouble!¡±


    ¡°us, smack him and shut him up, will you?¡±


    When Loren told him, seeing Al crying out, bing all emotional and wiggling on the ground like a worm, us sighed and struck him on the back of the head.


    Al lost focus for a second, but he quickly recovered and pushed us away, and started crawling towards the box, glowing with intense light.


    ¡°Now, lend me your power!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and stay asleep.¡±


    Loren said with a frown and dropped his heel onto the back of Al¡¯s head.


    Along with a very blunt sound, the blow seemed to have knocked him out, as Al¡¯s body gave onest shudder before he stopped moving.


    Everyone else thought he was dead, but Loren didn¡¯t seem like he cared, as he kicked him back and turned to the box.


    ¡°What do we do about this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much we can do at this point.¡±


    As Lapis said in a give up tone, Loren thought for a moment and said to her like the thought just popped up in his head.


    ¡°How about we pretend we didn¡¯t see anything and return to the surface?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit toote for that.¡±


    us and the others gave a bored look at Loren¡¯s heartless proposal.


    Lapis said out loud as she continued looking at the box with a great deal of interest.


    ¡°I think something ising out.¡±


    ¡°I was afraid it would be something like that.¡±


    Nothing had gone right for Loren ever since he quit being a mercenary.


    He had started acknowledging his bad luck, so he already had a vague feeling that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to just walk away from it like throwing away rotten food.


    ¡°It¡¯sing. Brace yourselves, everyone.¡±


    If they were to trust what they had been hearing about what was in the box, it meant that whatever wasing out was an evil God.


    If they witnessed something like that manifest in the current world, who knew what else could happen.


    As they prepared themselves at Lapis¡¯ warning, the box on the floor started emitting the brightest light yet.


    Loren kept his eyes on the box, and within the blinding light, he saw the shape of the box crumble and increase in area, reshaping itself.


    Eventually the light died, and a young-looking man stood in front of them.


    He had sleepy eyes and unkempt hair.


    His clothes were ordinary ones you could find anywhere, but what caught Loren¡¯s attention was his sleepy eyes.


    His eyes were purple.


    ¡°Whew. Where is this ce?¡±


    As the sleepy looking man turned towards Loren and Lapis, scratching his head, Loren raised his great sword and nced at Lapis.


    Lapis caught Loren glimpsing at her, realized what he was wondering, and shook her head.


    Only demons had purple eyes.


    Loren believed that a demon hade out instead of an evil God and wasn¡¯t sure if he should be relieved that it wasn¡¯t an evil God, or if he should be worried that he may have to confront a demon.


    He looked at Lapis, wondering if it was someone she knew, but from her response, it didn¡¯t seem like it was.


    ¡°No answer, huh¡­Whatever, I guess I¡¯ll start off with finding somece to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The man, who stifled a yawn, lost interest in them and started to turn away when Loren called out to him.


    The man opened his mouth to answer his question, but after opening and closing it repeatedly, he eventually sat down.


    ¡°Too much work to answer.¡±


    ¡°Are you the evil God that the adventurer named Volf sealed?¡±


    Loren decided that since there was a story, his question wouldn¡¯t be too far off from the truth, and the manid down onto his side and answered him, not even bothering to look at him.


    ¡°Yeah. I remember people calling me the evil God of sloth. There were so many people trying to kill me back then, it was troubling.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re an evil God?¡±


    ¡°Does that really matter? All I want to do is be asleep.¡±


    The man rolled over towards Loren and continued.


    ¡°I remember the guy named Volf. I let him seal me because he said that I could sleep all I want to. I wonder why I was able to break out?¡±


    ¡°The seal most likely deteriorated over the years.¡±


    Lapis said quietly.


    ¡°There is no such thing as a seal thatsts forever, after all. If hundreds of years passed, the chains would loosen.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that much time has passed, huh. Then I guess Volf is already dead.¡±


    The man pulled himself up and sat crossed legged.


    ¡°Then I guess that means a lot of things have changed outside. Looking around sounds fun. Even though it sounds like a lot of work.¡±


    ¡°Is there the option of being sealed again?¡±


    Loren asked out of desperation, but the man shook his head.


    ¡°At first I thought it would be fine to be sealed again and continue sleeping. But it¡¯s quite ufortable inside. I¡¯d rather sleep on a soft bed if I could.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way we could let an evil God out of here!¡±


    us raised his sword and shouted.


    Next to him, Ange pointed her staff towards the man and prepared to cast a spell.


    After looking at the two of them, annoyed, the man turned his gaze towards Loren, who was still not sure what he should do, and Lapis.


    ¡°What about you two?¡±


    ¡°Difficult question. I would prefer if you would behave.¡±


    ¡°What if I said I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahh whatever. Listening to your answer is too much trouble.¡±


    Loren thought it was selfish of him, since he was the one who asked, but the man didn¡¯t seem to care, as he put a finger on the floor and started writing something.


    us moved before even considering what the man¡¯s actions were.


    He used > to close the gap between them in an instant and swung his sword at the man¡¯s neck before he could even react.


    Everyone thought that the man¡¯s head would fly off with blood flying everywhere.


    But reality betrayed their expectations, as although us¡¯ blow met the man¡¯s neck, his de moved no more.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Your skills aren¡¯t bad, but your weapon is. You probably won¡¯t even be able to cut my nails with something as blunt as that.¡±


    us jumped back, shocked that his blow hadn¡¯t even made a scratch.


    The man didn¡¯t seem to care about following, as he continued to write on the floor, and retreated his finger when he was done.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave something to keep you guys busy, just in case, so have fun. If fate allows, I¡¯ll see you¡­that might be too troublesome, actually¡­¡±


    After saying that, the man¡¯s body started sinking into the floor.


    Apparently, he was thinking of retreating as he summoned something, but Loren couldn¡¯t follow, as the words that the man had written started glowing.


    ¡°Putting meeting again aside, how about you name yourself?¡±


    Loren asked the man, knowing there was no way to stop him, and as he continued sinking deeper into the floor, he looked at Loren with sleepy eyes, and said onest thing before he sankpletely.


    ¡°Evil God of sloth, Dauna Slotharcadia. I have a feeling we¡¯ll see each other again.¡±


    After thosest words, he sank throughpletely.


    At the same time, a pitch-ck, unstructured lump appeared from underneath, as if it traded ces with the man.


    ¡°Another slime!?¡±


    As he cried out, wanting a break from slimes, the giant ck slime that had been summon started moving towards them.

 Chapter 71: Exterminating After Retreat

    <h4>Chapter 71: Exterminating After Retreat</h4>


    As the slime came closer and closer, Loren and the others stepped back farther and farther.


    Meanwhile Feim, who had been conscious the whole time, was still tied up together with Al and the other students, who were unconscious.


    Loren and the others were pulling Ain and Cloud, who had been knocked out, away from the slime as they retreated, but the slime ignored all the showcases and the items littered around it and continued to chase after them.


    ¡°Do we burn it?¡±


    Loren suggested a method that was very effective against slimes, but us disagreed.


    ¡°Fire is no good in here. It would burn the cases and items around it. I won¡¯t stop you if you¡¯re willing to pay for the damage.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let my debt get any bigger.¡±


    Although some of the items were protected, but there were things such as documents and paintings that were stacked up without any protection as well.


    If they were to use fire, there was no telling how much damage it would cause.


    Of course, the bill would be sent to Loren and Lapis would be the one who would pay it, so Loren¡¯s debt would skyrocket.


    ¡°Loren let¡¯s burn it. I¡¯d love to be the one to do it.¡±


    ¡°Lapis¡­¡±


    Lapis¡¯ eyes sparkled at the idea of Loren¡¯s debt increasing.


    As she started pulling at his sleeve, excited that she could increase his debt without any effort, Loren sighed at softly pushed Lapis towards the slime.


    Lapis, who was now unintentionally right in front of the slime, panicked and hid behind Loren¡¯s back.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll burn it so go get tangled in there!¡±


    ¡°No way! Who would benefit from me being covered in tentacles and slimes¡­Would you, Loren?¡±


    She dropped her voice and asked hesitantly, with a meek face, and when a question mark appeared on Loren¡¯s face, she raised her fists in front of her chest with a determined look on her face.


    ¡°If Loren, who¡¯s always getting the short end of the stick, will benefit from it, I, Lapis, will dly go and be covered with tentacles and slimes. Here I go!¡±


    Loren grabbed Lapis¡¯ cor and threw her behind him as she started walking up to the slime and cut down the tentacles that were reaching for her.


    ¡°I¡¯m jealous that you two are so close, but are we going to keep on retreating like this?¡±


    us didn¡¯t have his weapon drawn.


    He couldn¡¯t because he was pulling Al and the others with all his might so they wouldn¡¯t get caught by the slime.


    Ange and Parme were helping, but they could only carry one between the two of them, so us was dealing with three of them on his own.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we run past this thing once we reach the entrance?¡±


    Although it was a giant slime, it wasn¡¯t wide enough to fill up wall to wall, so there was space around it.


    Loren thought it would be possible to run past it, dodging its tentacles, but us shook his head and said in a bitter voice.


    ¡°While carrying them?¡±


    Al and the others, all tied up, were quite heavy.


    Loren and us could carry one of them each and run, but there were four of them, and if Loren were to carry two of them, he would be considerably slower, and it would increase the risk of getting caught by the slime.


    And even if they were to let the girls carry them, even one would be hard, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge the slime, much less run.


    ¡°Fighting wouldn¡¯t really work either.¡±


    Loren cut through more tentacles that reached forward.


    Although they were cut, the tentacles were almost liquid, so even if they were sttered everywhere, they were absorbed by the main body and nothing changed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no end.¡±


    ¡°Ange, can you do something with your magic?¡±


    Ange, who was pulling Ain¡¯s body, shook her head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about a slime thatrge with my magic!¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡±


    They were able to keep a distance between them and the slime while discussing what to do since it was slow, but they couldn¡¯t do so anymore.


    The slime suddenly sped up.


    Loren thought that it got irritated that it couldn¡¯t reach its prey, but it was a slime, which shouldn¡¯t have any emotions, so he couldn¡¯t understand why it suddenly sped up.


    The slime barreled towards them.


    Surprised at its sudden change in speed, Parme slipped and fell on top of Cloud, who she had been dragging.


    As the slime attacked, not missing the opportunity, Loren threw Al, who he had been carrying, grabbed Parme¡¯s hand, and pulled her back with all his strength.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    Parme sank right into Loren¡¯s arms, letting out a cute scream that didn¡¯t fit her personality, but there was no way for Cloud to escape.


    His body was immediately pounced on by the slime and was swallowed whole.


    ¡°Ahh¡­I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it! It was an ident, got it!? Go help Ange if you¡¯ve got time to think.¡¯


    As Parme was stunned in his arms, as she heared noises that sounded like bones breaking from inside the slime¡¯s body, Loren pped her on the cheek and pointed towards Ange.


    Loren muttered under his breath as he watched her stagger towards Ange in bewilderment.


    ¡°Should we just feed these guys to it and run while it¡¯s busy with them?¡±


    ¡°I can agree to that.¡±


    As Lapis started kicking Al¡¯s body forward violently, Feim, who was being carried by Ange, started struggling, so Ange and Parme had to hold her down.


    ¡°Well, we have to have the culprits so we can exin to school¡­¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t one of them be sufficient?¡±


    ¡°Cloud¡¯s death was an ident, but Ain was just being used.¡±


    ¡°Then how about handing over Feim as the culprit and leaving this one?¡±


    When Loren pointed at Al, who was still being kicked forward by Lapis, us went silent with an awkward expression.


    Even though the revival of the evil God was just a coincidence, us didn¡¯t seem to want to show Al much mercy since he had plotted it in the first ce.


    But he didn¡¯t seem to think that it was enough to feed him to the slime, so all he could do is keep his silence.


    ¡°I agree with leaving all of them behind!¡±


    Ange, who was carrying the struggling Feim with Parme¡¯s help, agreed with Loren.


    It seemed that it was because it was just too much work, rather than really wanting to leave them, so she was leaning towards dropping the extra weight and making sure to save themselves.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave them! We can just let Parme do the testimony.¡±


    ¡°I-Of course I¡¯m nning to testify¡­¡±


    Parme, flustered that she was suddenly mentioned, agreed, and when Ange looked at us, he turned towards Loren with an uneasy air around him.


    ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll go with leaving them when ites to the worst¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren!¡±


    Right as Loren made the heartless decision, Lapis let out a warning.


    The slime, which had been consuming its prey, suddenly stopped and started chasing after Loren again, faster than before.


    The slime seemed to have sped up since it wanted more after it finally tasted its first prey, and Loren, who was closest to it, was a second too slow to respond.


    ¡°damn it!¡±


    Loren cursed and lifted his great sword in front of him like a shield and was pounced on by the slime while in that position.


    Loren, as he was taken in by the slime all the way to his shoulders, moved his great sword around and tried to peel it off him.


    ¡°Loren!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me! Run past it while you can!¡±


    The ck blob that tried to swallow him slowly stole his ability to move due to its viscosity.


    As he still struggled, Loren stopped Lapis, who was about to run towards him to help, and yelled at them to escape while he kept it busy.


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°Just go! I can handle this on¡­¡±


    The slime covered his head before he could finish.


    Although he was able to take a deep breath before it did, he knew that he would end up like Cloud if he couldn¡¯t do something before suffocating, so he started swinging his great sword around.


    If he could destroy the slime¡¯s core, the slime should die, and he would be free.


    The problem was that he couldn¡¯t see it since the slime was pitch ck, and that even if he managed to find it, he might not be able to crush it since he couldn¡¯t move his arms like he wanted to, but he knew that acting was more important than thinking, so he continued swinging his sword recklessly.


    ¡®Onii-san! I¡¯ll help!¡¯


    Loren frowned as he heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind.


    (Lapis will notice!)


    ¡®But if I don¡¯t help, Onii-san will die! We can worry about thatter!¡±


    The slime¡¯s grip on him tightened as time went on, and Loren¡¯s movements were getting slower since he was trying to move while holding his breath.


    If he couldn¡¯t do something, he soon wouldn¡¯t be able to move a finger, and would either be crushed or suffocate to death.


    (I guess I don¡¯t have a choice! Do it!)


    ¡®Here it goes! Energy drain, full power!¡¯


    With Loren¡¯s permission, Shayna deployed her ability without restraint.


    The energy drain, powerful enough to kill normal slimes in an instant, started eating away at the ck slime from inside, but as expected of a slime summoned by an evil God, its grip on Loren showed no signs of weakening.


    But at the same time, Shayna channeled the life energy siphoned from the slime into Loren¡¯s body.


    Loren, who was almost out of air, converted the life energy into strength and started swinging his great sword again.


    (Don¡¯t screw with me! No way I¡¯m going to be eaten by a slime!)


    Something clicked in the corner of his mind.


    Although he was suffocating, with his newfound strength, Loren¡¯s arms started moving at a speed iparable to the speed he was moving before.


    Even with close to no air, relying on just the strength Shayna was giving him, the great sword started elerating, overpowering the slime as it started ripping through it, the pieces starting to fly around sttering all around, and somehow managed to find the core.


    As he felt the sensation of his sword hitting something, Loren put more strength into his arms and pushed. Eventually the core split in half, and his sword struck the floor.


    At the same time, the coreless slime couldn¡¯t keep itself from dying, losing its viscosity, and as it spread across the floor like in liquid, Loren managed to take a deep breath toe back to life, before falling to his knees, and dropping to the floor with a ssh.

 Chapter 72: Worried After Waking

    <h4>Chapter 72: Worried After Waking</h4>


    ¡°I think we should do something about ending up in the hospital every time Loren, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    As Lapis told him as she sat down next to a hospital bed, peeling a fruit with a knife, Loren let out a growl,ining that is wasn¡¯t like he wanted to be sent to the hospital, as he sat up.


    They were in the hospital in Kauffa, and it was a ce that he became familiar with ever since he became an adventurer.


    Loren wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if had waken up in the hospital where the training school was at, but he was bewildered when he woke up to find out that he was at the hospital in Kauffa.


    ¡°I left us and Ange back at the school. They have to report what happened during the exam, after all.¡±


    The transport gate on the floor where Volf¡¯s legacy was stored was set to transport the user to a room within the school, but Lapis exined that she had messed with the settings to be able to transport people to other locations.


    Telling us, Ange, and Parme that she had to take Loren, who was unconscious, to a hospital, she sent the three of them to the surface, while she took him and jumped to the city of Kauffa.


    ¡°You were in very bad shape. You were covered in slime and unconscious, while your arms and legs were shaking, just like a newborn fawn.¡±


    ¡°How did you exin to us and the others about being able to mess with the transport gate settings?¡±


    ¡°I told them it was because I¡¯m a priestess of the Knowledge God.¡±


    Thinking that the expected quality of priests of the Knowledge God just got even higher, Loren decided not to think about it, and tried to imagine what he was like based on Lapis¡¯ description, but immediately stopped.


    When he thought about it, it probably wasn¡¯t the prettiest thing to imagine, and imagining a man covered in slime, even if it were himself, wasn¡¯t the best thing to do.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s my condition?¡±


    Loren knew that he had been close to death every time he had been taken to the hospital.


    He had a feeling that this time was no exception as he asked Lapis but cocked her head with a frown.


    ¡°Strangely, it wasn¡¯t too bad this time.¡±


    Lapis put the fruit she was peeling onto a te that was on top of a stool next to her, wiped the juice from her hands with a cloth, and picked up a piece of paper that was spread on top of it.


    ¡°Your injuries this time is a dislocated shoulder and damage on the tendons of every joint. On top of that, a few pulled muscles and internal bleeding here and there.¡±


    Loren was aware of the symptoms she listed.


    Usually after the sensation of something fitting into the corner of his mind, he would fall into a strengthless state, but this time it seemed that Shayna hadpensated what he had spent by channeling the energy drained from the ck slime using her energy drain.


    But on the other hand, the energy was too much for Loren¡¯s body to handle so as a result, it was damaged as if he had severely overworked it, especially around his arms.


    ¡°It will take a few days for it to healpletely.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too fast?¡±


    From what he had heard, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising if it took twice as much as Lapis had said, but Lapis puffed out her chest and told him.


    ¡°You have an excellent divine arts user right here, after all.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that. I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°But to put it the other way, it means that you¡¯ve suffered injuries that¡¯s going to take a few days to heal, even with a divine arts user like me. You understand that¡¯s quite severe, right?¡±


    Loren honestly nodded at Lapis¡¯ re.


    He did think that his injuries were a lot lighter than he had expected, but he understood that his injuries were still quite severe.


    On top of the, he couldn¡¯t move his body like he wanted to, so he had no way to tell her wrong.


    ¡°So, how long was I out?¡±


    ¡°About three whole days. us and the girls finished the reports and are already back.¡±


    She said that she went to ask them about how everything ended just a while ago, as she reached for a different piece of paper on the stool.


    ¡°Al, who was the prime culprit, was sent back to his parents, and seems like he was sent straight to a monastery. He probably won¡¯t be able toe out under the sun his whole life.¡±


    Lapis exined that in aristocratic society, monasteries were used to send off those who couldn¡¯t be shown in public.


    There was no way for outside people to know if they were actually sent to monasteries or if they were sent to somece darker, but apparently those who were never walked under the sun again.


    ¡°On the books, Feim has dropped out of the school, but in fact she was expelled. I¡¯m not sure where she is now. She isn¡¯t a noble so she wouldn¡¯t be sent to a convent, so she there¡¯s a chance she actually became an adventurer.¡±


    There was no need for a license to be an adventurer.


    With her lightness, Loren thought it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she became one.


    But what would happen after was beyond his imagination, and she wasn¡¯t someone that Loren wanted to meet again.


    ¡°Cloud¡­is treated as killed during the exam. His body¡­since it was swallowed by the slime, and because of what Loren did¡­what was left of it was gathered and buried. Ain is treated as retired from exam, and what to do now is up to him.¡±


    Putting Al aside, since Ain was very close to the other two, Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he could deal with the fact that one of them betrayed for money and the other got swallowed by a slime and died.


    It would be quite a shock anding back from it waspletely on his will, so all Loren could do was pray that he could find rest.


    ¡°Parme failed the exam and will have to take it again. All I could say that it was unfortunate that her whole party was wiped out, and it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°One of them died. We saw her. They probably won¡¯t be able to retrieve her body. The other two are missing. The school has sent down search parties, but chances of their survival are very slim.¡±


    Three nameless students had died in the dungeon, but apparently it wasn¡¯t that unusual to the school.


    It was unfortunate that they got caught in the appearance of the slimes due to the revival of an evil God, but adventurers losing their lives due to unlucky circumstances wasn¡¯t an unusual thing.


    ¡°us brought a message from Parme. It says, ¡®I will make sure to repay you. If you ever travel close to my home, pleasee pay a visit¡¯. You¡¯re so lucky Loren. It¡¯s an invitation from a pretty girl, you know?¡±


    Lapis joked around, trying to lighten the mood, but Loren murmured under his breath.


    ¡°Blonde rolls aren¡¯t my type.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s unfortunate for her. Then do ck hair ponytails suit your tastes?¡±


    Loren frowned silently as Lapis asked him, pointing at her own hair.


    If he said it did, it would be somewhat strange, and if he said no, it would get awkward.


    No matter which he chose, it wouldn¡¯t be the best answer in the situation, so he could only give her silence.


    ¡°No response is a little bit sad too, though.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t really look sad at all, but Loren changed the subject.


    ¡°What happened to the job?¡±


    Their job was being exam proctors.


    He knew that they didn¡¯t fail, but if one were to ask if it was a sess, Loren couldn¡¯t really say so either.


    The exam itself had be messed up, but they weren¡¯t the ones who caused it.


    They were unrted and not responsible for the student named Al trying to seize Volf¡¯s fortune, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure if they did proper jobs as proctors.


    ¡°The school considered the job a sess. us said that the principal promised they would.¡±


    Lapis threw the paper back onto the stool, took the te with the fruit on top of it, and cut the fruit into six pieces.


    After taking one and giving the rest to Loren, she threw it into her mouth and started chewing delightfully.


    ¡°It would¡¯ve been something to protest about if it was considered a failure. Most of the things that happened weren¡¯t even because of us.¡±


    As Lapis said after she swallowed, Loren asked her another thing, while looking at the te of fruit in his hands.


    ¡°What about the revived evil God?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already been reported to the principal and the adventurer¡¯s guild. All the questioning tired me out.¡±


    There were no documents or legends about the evil God of sloth, and even the principal who was a descendant of Volf, didn¡¯t hear anything from his predecessors.


    The box that it was sealed was within the records of all the items in the floor, but it was recorded that it was an unknown object and was treated obscurely.


    ¡°Thinking about him is a waste of time. No one knows where he went. He called himself an evil God, so there¡¯s no way he left any tracks, either.¡±


    ¡°Was he¡­demon kind?¡±


    The eyes of the revived evil God were purple.


    In this world, the only ones with purple eyes were demons.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°His features were indeed so, but he is a being that was sealed hundreds of years ago. It¡¯s hard to tell if he¡¯s a demon just by the color of his eyes. If I go home, maybe I could find some records about him¡­¡±


    Keeping in the urge to ask what kind of home she came from, Loren asked her another thing.


    ¡°What about your arm?¡±


    ¡°This?¡±


    Lapis swung her left arm.


    It didn¡¯t look any different, but Lapis looked at it with a satisfied smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally flesh and bone. Only this arm, though.¡±


    ¡°Congrattion, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I hope we can keep this up and get my whole body back.¡±


    After saying that, Lapis¡¯ expression suddenly turned into a serious one, surprising Loren, and put her arms on the bed, putting his face closer to his.


    ¡°So Loren, do you have anything to say to me?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t think straight as she looked right at him from such a close distance, and almost opened his mouth, but he willed himself to calm down and close it.


    It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t know what she wanted him to tell her.


    He had let Shayna, who was inside him, use her powers as a No Life King to its fullest to survive the slime¡¯s attack.


    There was no way Lapis wouldn¡¯t notice it, but Loren wanted more time before talking about it.


    But her expression was too serious to not say anything, so after thinking as fast as he could, the one answer he arrived at reached his lips.


    ¡°Sorry for making you carry me all the way to the hospital every time, Lapis. Thank you.¡±


    When Loren said that with a meek expression on his face, although her face reddened at his unexpected reply, Lapis still puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°Is that not what you were looking for?¡±


    Loren yed dumb, knowing that it wasn¡¯t the answer Lapis wanted, but after a long sigh, she pulled away from Loren, scratching her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be satisfied with that for now.¡±


    As he knew she meant she will wait until he was ready to talk about it, Loren nodded back at her.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Even if she knew, she would y dumb until he told her.


    Loren slowly closed his eyes, grateful for Lapis¡¯ kindness.


    He still needed a few days to recoverpletely and needed to recover his lost strength, and he started feeling tired and sleepy from talking too long.


    ¡°Rest well for now. Let¡¯s go find another job once you¡¯re feeling well.¡±


    He felt Lapis stand up.


    She seemed to have guessed that Loren was falling asleep, as his eyes closed, and decided to leave the room.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll take the hospital bills and payment for my divine arts from your rewards, okay?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯ll be much left.¡±


    As Loren sighed, guessing that her payment would be more expensive than the hospital bills, he felt Lapis let out a small giggle.


    ¡°I hope we will seed on our next job and make some money.¡±


    She then said good night, and Loren felt her presence disappear from the room.


    As his eyes continued to remain closed, Loren felt worried if such a job will evere his way, but he yielded himself to his drowsiness and started falling into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 73: Hearing a Story Without Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 73: Hearing a Story Without Destruction</h4>


    There wasn¡¯t a rumor about a school that shut down going around.


    The job that he had epted for it via the adventurer¡¯s guild, was supposed to have given significant human as well as material casualties, but apparently it wasn¡¯t enough to shake the school¡¯s foundation.


    Either that, or that muscle head of a principal was actually quite good at his job, thought Loren as he was in the guild¡¯s bar with us, who was buying him a drink.


    As for why, ever since Loren became an adventurer he had been with him quite a bit, and from his standpoint, Loren had helped him many times and was very thankful and it seemed like he felt that he owed him a lot, so he had called him saying that he wanted to buy him a drink.


    At first Loren wasn¡¯t interested, but as us continued to ask him, he decided that us would leave him alone if he let him, so today was the day that they had decided to meet up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about drinking from the middle of the day, though.¡±


    It was something he had been doing since he became an adventurer but having someone buy him a drink was a different story, he thought as he swirled the cup in his hand.


    The drink inside was something a lot more expensive than what he usually drank, and he felt a bit bad.


    Sitting in front was us, with a te of sausages in front of him and drinking the same thing as Loren, looked at him with surprise.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that face?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were one to worry about something like that.¡±


    Loren wondered if he looked like such a rough person.


    He had never seen someone drink before working, at least, back when he was a mercenary.


    Most of them didn¡¯t because they knew it would cost them their lives.


    But of course, there were exceptions so there were some who drank regardless, but those were exceptions of exceptions, so they weren¡¯t relevant.


    ¡°Adventurers have some time on their hands when they aren¡¯t on jobs, so it must be different from being a mercenary.¡±


    us said with a small smile when Loren told him about the times when he was a mercenary.


    The smile along with his good looks was enough to convince Loren why women couldn¡¯t resist him, but since he was the same gender, all he could do was snort.


    ¡°I think that smacking your lips on expensive drinks when the sun is high isn¡¯t too bad every now and then.¡±


    Loren dropped his gaze down to the purple liquid swirling inside his cup.


    The cheap drinks that Loren usually drank was mostly made from grains, but what was in his hand was made from fermented grapes.


    The cheap alcohol that the bar served was stored inrge barrels and was poured from it, but what they were having was inside a bottle, which he guessed raised the price even more.


    ¡°It¡¯s wine from Vargenburg. They say that this year¡¯s batch is exceptional.¡±


    ¡°Vargenburg? Where¡¯s that?¡±


    us froze for a second at Loren¡¯s question.


    After a moment he gave Loren an unbelievable gaze, but Loren red back, since he didn¡¯t like it when guys stared at him like that, and he didn¡¯t like the way us was looking at him.


    us saw Loren ring back and waved his hands in a panic, afraid that he had worsened his mood.


    ¡°Wait a second. You know the name of this city, right?¡±


    ¡°Kauffa, right?¡±


    ¡°Kauffa is a city of a nation on the southwestern part of the continent called the Kingdom of Vargenburg, but have you not heard it before?¡±


    All Loren thought was, ¡°Oh, okay¡±.


    He did think he was a bit too unconcerned, but back in his mercenary days, information such as the name of the nation and what the locals called ce where the battlefield was going to be was only needed by the leader or the executives.


    To mercenaries, who didn¡¯t belong to any one nation, they first thought about who their enemies were and how to defeat them rather than the name of the nation or thend, and that was still the same for Loren.


    ¡°If you start getting more known as an adventurer, you¡¯ll get job offers from the nation as well as nobles so you should really gather some information.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m barely making enough to feed myself, so I don¡¯t think such a day will being anytime soon.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say the it won¡¯t evere, but if such a day were toe, it would be far into the future.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that long with your skill with your sword.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just my arm strength. Anyone could do what I can if they could swing this around.¡±


    As Loren patted the ck great sword next to him, us let out a weakugh with an awkward smile on his face.


    Anyone could tell that Loren¡¯s main weapon, his great sword, was exceedingly heavy just by looking at its gigantic size.


    us couldn¡¯t think of anyone other than Loren who could swing such a weapon around.


    It was heavy enough that if someone asked him if he could use it like Loren could, he would immediately say no.


    ¡°I did learn normal swordsmanship¡­but it didn¡¯t really sink in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see it once.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not much. Even my leader told me I wasn¡¯t cut out for it and gave up trying to teach me.¡±


    Loren felt an indescribable emotion when the word ¡®leader¡¯ left his lips.


    When he was still a mercenary fighting under his leader, he had never imagined that he would experience his group being destroyed, being separated from hispanions, and bing an adventurer in an unknown ce.


    But in reality he was an adventurer in the city of Kauffa, located within the Kingdom of Vargenburg, with no idea where hispanions were or how many of them managed to survive.


    On top of that, he had a demon priestess that served the Knowledge god that stood as hispanion, so he had no idea what other kinds of people he would meet.


    ¡°Any news about your mercenarypanions since then?¡±


    ¡°No idea. Not going to search, either. I won¡¯t find much even if I try, anyway. Unlike citizens, mercenaries like us have no information regarding our identities and backgrounds. It¡¯ll be a waste of time.¡±


    It sounded good when put has being a rootless wanderer, but mercenaries were existences without guaranteed identity or status.


    The only thing that sort of did was the group itself, but if it disbanded, like Loren¡¯s did, even that disappeared.


    ¡°Well, fortune¡¯s already given me so many strange meetings. Maybe I¡¯ll run into them one day.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully you do.¡±


    ¡°Well, even if I did, I don¡¯t intend on going back to being a mercenary. I don¡¯t feel like making a living off lives at this point. I made some promises as well.¡±


    ¡°Okay, enough of the annoying talk. Who would want to watch two men facing each other in the corner of a bar, drinking during the middle of the day?¡±


    A girl with ck hair pulled up into a ponytail, wearing priest¡¯s clothes, interrupted their conversation and sat down next to Loren.


    As she sat down, with an annoyed look on her pretty face, she pointed at Loren¡¯s cup and ordered the same thing to a passing waitress.


    ¡°Lapis, did you find any good jobs?¡±


    When Loren asked the girl sitting next to him, Lapis shrugged.


    She had caught wind that us was going to buy Loren a drink, came with him, and while the two of them were drinking, she went to the receptionist to see if there were any good jobs, but from her response it seemed that the results weren¡¯t satisfying.


    ¡°There weren¡¯t any that came to me. Well, there are those kinds of days, I guess.¡±


    When the waitress returned with a tray with a cup on it, Lapis took it, thanked her, and gulped down half of the contents.


    Wine tasted nice and was easier to drink than other alcohol, but it was still alcohol, so Loren was worried that Lapis would get drunk quickly, but since she was no ordinary girl, but instead was demon kind, which had powerful abilities, so he guessed that she would be fine and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°I can pay for yours as well, you know?¡±


    us said to her since he had seen her pay when she ordered, but Lapis wiped her lips with the back of her hand, put her cup on the table, and snorted.


    ¡°I would dly ept if Loren were buying, but I¡¯ll never ept anything from you.¡±


    ¡°No way I could buy you anything¡­¡±


    Strangely, Loren didn¡¯t end up in the red after thest job.


    But even though he had some money on him, his wallet was still very light.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a metaphor. I don¡¯t want anything from someone who leads a harem party, with a bunch of mistresses on top of a wife.¡±


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m quite hated.¡±


    ¡°I hate snakes, but they¡¯re still better than you.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ view of us was very low.


    But it was something Loren could understand, so he didn¡¯t say anything and watched Lapis me us.


    us¡¯ personality seemed to have gotten a lot softer since Loren had met him, but it didn¡¯t seem like his quickness toy a hand on women didn¡¯t change, and it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to change it either.


    But he thought that it was a problem for us and those around him, and didn¡¯t concern him at all, so he decided not to worry about it.


    But of course, he knew that us¡¯ personality was one of an enemy towards women, so he didn¡¯t feel like stopping Lapis insulting him.


    ¡°I¡¯m only here since I followed Loren, so don¡¯t mind me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­well, okay.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do acknowledge your <<boost>> ability, so I¡¯ll be sure to make use of it when something happens.¡±


    </boost>


    ¡°A-ahahaha¡­¡±


    In a previous job, us had been tied to the back of a horse and was forced to use <<boost>> to increase the limits of the horse in order to escape from an enemy, and Lapis had whipped us through the whole night to do so.


    </boost>


    us seemed to have recalled that experience, as he averted his eyes with a stretched smile, and Lapis turned towards Loren, who was drinking silently.


    ¡°There weren¡¯t any good jobs, but if we don¡¯t work, you¡¯ll be wandering on the streets.¡±


    ¡°Borrowing money from you again is painful, too.¡±


    The promise that Loren had made with Lapis.


    He would continue being with Lapis until he had paid back his debt to her.


    The conditions weren¡¯t bad, as Lapis had said she wouldn¡¯t forcefully collect and he could pay whenever he could, but it was already at an enormous amount, over thirty gold coins, so he didn¡¯t want to increase it any further if he could.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind but continuing to lend will cause you to be concerned, and I believe that work is precious, after all.¡±


    ¡°But there wasn¡¯t a good job, right?¡±


    If they forcefully epted a bad job, it wouldn¡¯t end well.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t, all the jobs that Loren went on and the jobs that Lapis brought, which were supposed to be for copper rank adventurers like them, increased in difficulty one way or another.


    If force was added on top of that, Loren wasn¡¯t sure what sort of dangers would await them, but apparently Lapis was thinking of somethingpletely different.


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t a job, but I¡¯ve thought of something nice.¡±


    Her eyes sparkled, excited to tell him, but on the other hand, a shadow crossed over Loren¡¯s face.


    Loren was worried that whatever it was, it wasn¡¯t going to end well, but he gave up, knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to change her mind, so he gulped down the rest of his drink and prepared himself.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 74: Deciding After Listening

    <h4>Chapter 74: Deciding After Listening</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about why the jobs always go wrong. Why Loren fails them, even though you have more than enough skill.¡±


    Loren swallowed the urge to say that since they were a party, his failures was her failures as well.


    There was no way Lapis didn¡¯t know that.


    If she put it that way even thought she knew, it meant that she was doing it on purpose.


    Loren didn¡¯t respond and gazed back at Lapis, knowing that she was trying to tease him, and eventually Lapis beaming face started to cloud, and eventually turned into one of disappointment.


    ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t think failing a job is the responsibility of a single party member alone¡­¡±


    When us tried to interrupt, looking back and forth between Loren, who didn¡¯t respond, and Lapis, whose expression became darker and darker, Lapis red like him like a guard dog ring at a stranger.


    ¡°I know that. I¡¯m not looking for a response from you. I¡¯m so disappointed.¡±


    Lapis said angrily, but it didn¡¯t look like she was as angered as she talked, so when Loren nudged her to go on, she changed her expression and started talking about what she had realized like it was something good.


    ¡°We fail because we ept the job.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t ept a job, we can¡¯t fail.¡±


    ¡°Are you drunk already?¡±


    Loren responded coldly at Lapis, who had a proud look on her face.


    Part of what she had said made sense.


    Sess and failure came with the job.


    Then if they didn¡¯t go on a job, there wouldn¡¯t be any evaluation, therefore they couldn¡¯t fail.


    It was a legitimate thought.


    Other than the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be able to work as a result.


    Adventurers received jobs from the adventurer¡¯s guild and made a living off the rewards.


    If an adventurer were to do as Lapis just suggested and not take jobs, they wouldn¡¯t have any ie and go broke.


    Although, Loren had been failing job after job, so he hadn¡¯t been able to receive enough rewards, so it was hard to say he was making a living.


    Loren¡¯s mood got darker as he reached that thought.


    ¡°Um, what part of that is a good thought? The only thing I¡¯m hearing is stop being an adventurer.¡±


    In his dark mood, Loren didn¡¯t even feel like asking, but us asked Lapis in his ce.


    Lapis realized that she had tread into dangerous waters as she saw Loren¡¯s mood, so instead of biting at us like she had done before, she answered his question.


    ¡°To put it simply, we should do jobs that aren¡¯t in the form of a quest.¡±


    Loren wondered what she was even saying at this point, but in front of him, us pped his hands together, like he had understood what Lapis was trying to say.


    He realized that he was the only one that didn¡¯t get the direction the conversation was going, so he asked for an exnation, not caring if it was the stuck-up priestess or the nodding swordsman.


    ¡°So what Lapis is trying to suggest is going hunting to receive extermination rewards, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what this womanizer just said.¡±


    us asked for confirmation, and Lapis nodded with an insult.


    Ignoring us, who sighed, Lapis started exining to Loren in detail.


    Strictly speaking, it wasn¡¯t a quest.


    Although it wasn¡¯t a job that was specifically requested by anyone, the adventurer¡¯s guild had a different set of job that consisted of adventurers exterminating monsters and bringing in parts of them as proof of extermination and getting paid for it.


    This was paid during normal quests as well, so there were many like Loren who thought they were a set, but in fact they werepletely unrted to quests so the guild would take the parts and pay the rewards regardless of where they were collected from.


    This was because exterminating monsters contributed to making the area safer, and by paying for adventurers to do so, the guild could say that they were trying to make ces safer and it would give them a better image.


    On top of that, some guilds would receive money from the nation it was in for its efforts, and since materials from monsters were usually brought to it, they could sell those for profit as well.


    The nations would have safer areas for a low cost, while citizens would have to worry less about monsters, adventurers could get paid even without epting quests, and the guild would gain both money and reputation, which became a positive system for everyone.


    ¡°So, I would like to suggest following the highway to the north from here and exterminating some monsters in that area.¡±


    If they took the highway to the north, the chances of encountering monsters declined drastically.


    That was why Lapis had suggested travelling a distance away from the highway yet following its path.


    And they would be travelling for quite a few days, so they would need to buy food and items tost them the whole trip.


    Loren thought that if he couldn¡¯t defeat enough monsters topensate for the costs, he would be in the red, which wouldn¡¯t be any different from failing a quest.


    When he told that to Lapis, she had an answer even for that.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of hunting near the <<ck forest="">> which is north of here, and it¡¯s a ce that¡¯s abundant in monsters, but even if it ends in an empty swing, if we report the route that we used to the guild, we could receive money for that.¡±


    </ck>


    Not encountering monsters proved that the route was rtively safe.


    Lapis exined that safe routes had value in themselves.


    Lapis avoided answering a value to whom, and Loren decided that there must be or might not be people who couldn¡¯t use the highway due to circumstances.


    ¡°Either way, I think that we would be able to make a bit of money.¡±


    ¡°As long as we don¡¯t lose the monster parts, yeah.¡±


    Lapis and us bothughed nervously as Loren continued to take the conversation in a bad direction.


    Many times, people would say, always expect the worst, but in Loren¡¯s case, it seemed that he tended to think about things in a bad direction and took it a bit too far.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be that dangerous since we¡¯ll be wandering near the highway, so I think it would be fine.¡±


    ¡°The guild will evaluate it as contribution to the guild even though it isn¡¯t a quest, so I think it¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°To be clear, I don¡¯t want you and your party toe, okay? This is a job between me and Loren.¡±


    ¡°I know. Of course, I¡¯ll hold back from getting in between the two of you.¡±


    As Lapis snarled with her gaze and her tone, not wanting us and his party full of girls toe with them, us backed off easily.


    ¡°We¡¯re not short on money, after all. The two of you should have a good time together on the trip to the ck Forest.¡±


    ¡°What kind of ce is the ck Forest?¡±


    Lapis reddened at the words, have a good time together.


    Loren asked us, trying not to look at her, us looked up, trying to recall what he knew, and started talking about the ck Forest.


    ¡°It¡¯s two days north of Kauffa by foot, and it¡¯s arge forest. The overgrowth is quite thick, and it gets darker the farther in you go, which is where it got its name from, the ck Forest. There are many monsters living in there, and there are species of fairies, elves being one of the most prominent, living there as well.


    ¡°Elves, huh.¡±


    When us mentioned elves, the first thing he thought of was a woman named Nim, who was a member of a silver rank party that he had traveled with before.


    She was great with a bow and had a slender body, along with all the other characteristics of elves, but most people knew elves as a species with beautiful looks, pointed ears, thin body structure, lived in viges within forests far away from humans, and had their own unique culture.


    They were a closed society, and only a handful of them left to live with humans or be adventurers like Nim.


    ¡°If you¡¯re nning toy hands on them you should reconsider. They¡¯re not citizens of the kingdom so ourws don¡¯t apply to them, but apparently, they govern the forest with their ownws. If you get caught there¡¯s no telling what would happen to you. Even if they¡¯re beautiful, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not you, you know that?¡±


    us felt down again at Loren¡¯s immediate cutting response, and Loren knew thatying hands on elves was something only fools or the reckless would do, and he wasn¡¯t either.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ignore this indiscriminate yboy. So, Loren, about this suggestion. It¡¯s not bad, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    Loren started thinking.


    If a person repeated failure after failure, he would get frustrated by it and would need to get a breath of fresh air every now and then.


    Looking at Lapis¡¯ suggestion from that stance, he thought of the two of them spending a few days together travelling didn¡¯t seem that bad.


    Thest job, although it was quite rough, ended in sess, so he felt like he didn¡¯t need to force himself to get a change of pace, but he decided to ignore or feign ignorance in order to not waste Lapis¡¯ efforts.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go with that this time.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. We need to go buy food and supplies.¡±


    Loren left Lapis to decide what they needed.


    It could be considered as making her do al the work, but the biggest reason for his decision was that since he didn¡¯t have much money, he would have to rely on her wallet.


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll leave the selection to you.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll at least carry the stuff, right?¡±


    Loren nodded immediately.


    Even if he couldn¡¯t offer money, if he didn¡¯t offer physicalbor as well, it would look like Lapis was actually taking care of him.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get to searching. It¡¯s best to start acting immediately when ites to these things.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to walk with alcohol in my system¡­well, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Loren stood up, epting Lapis¡¯ invitation, hitting his slightly dizzy head, and called out to us, who was still feeling down.


    ¡°Now that it¡¯s been decided, I¡¯ll see you around.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah. Take care.¡±


    us raised his head and saw Loren off after he had said goodbye.


    Seeing Lapis pull him out into the city, us could only think of them as a guy and girl with a good rtionship.


    He couldn¡¯t help but admire them as he drank the rest of what was in his cup, and started thinking about which party member he should go tofort him, thoughts which would lower the temperature of Lapis gaze to freezing if she heard them.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 75: Discovering on the Way

    <h4>Chapter 75: Discovering on the Way</h4>


    Loren and Lapis bought all the food and supplies they needed and departed Kauffa the next day.


    Since it was going to be a round trip taking a few days, they bought quite a bit of things, which cost quite a bit, but on top of that, Lapis had rented a donkey to carry their luggage.


    In these cases, many adventurers would rent carriages or animals, or hire porters via the guild, who were people who specialized in transporting things.


    Many, meant that there were some who didn¡¯t opt for either, and in that case, it meant they had enough party members to distribute and carry the luggage among themselves, but Lapis didn¡¯t have any intentions of letting anyone else into their party or hiring a porter.


    ¡°We¡¯re going on aid back trip, so might as well let it be between just the two of us.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know if her decision was correct or mistaken.


    But he did think that if Lapis wanted to do so, he should respect her decision, so he didn¡¯t put a word in and took the donkey¡¯s bridle.


    Once he got his backpack and put the rest of the luggage on the donkey¡¯s back, they were set to go.


    They continued north after leaving the gates of the city, slowly walked next to the highway with no signs of rushing.


    ¡°If something happens, just let go of the donkey. It¡¯s trained to return to Kauffa on its own.¡±


    If they were to suddenly encounter something, they wouldn¡¯t be able to protect it.


    But Lapis told Loren in advance, since she knew he would start worrying that if the donkey somehow died, they would have topensate for it.


    ¡°It¡¯s notpletely certain that it would make it back, but it would still be better than letting it die standing still.¡±


    ¡°Did you not rent a horse because its more expensive?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Horses are very expensive.¡±


    Horses, which were used by the army as well, were hard to acquire, and were very expensive as well.


    It wasn¡¯t like Lapis couldn¡¯t rent one, but she gave up on the idea due to the cost.


    ¡°Horses are better when ites to speed and stamina, though.¡±


    ¡°When you put it like that, I guess the guild is pretty incredible.¡±


    On a previous job, the guild had easily readied horses and caravans, along with drivers.


    He didn¡¯t think of it much back then, but since they tried renting one and found out the cost, it showed him just how much power the guild possessed.


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s a two-day trip one way, so does that mean we¡¯re going to be camping tonight?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t help but wonder about a guy and a girl camping together, but he had already guessed from his short adventurer career that adventurers weren¡¯t ones to worry about things like that.


    Like us¡¯ party, some parties with one guy and multiple girls camped together like it wasn¡¯t a big deal, and sometimes even slept in the same tent.


    Among the many opinions, such as not being able to carry enough tents due to there already being plenty of other things to carry, driving the guy back when he tries to make a move, or just going with it if the guy tries to do so, Loren wondered which one Lapis would have.


    ¡°Hmm? Loren you wanted to camp with me? If you would¡¯ve told me earlier, I would¡¯ve brought one tent and one sleeping bag.¡±


    Looking away from Lapis, who had a satisfied smile on her face, Loren looked at the donkey¡¯s back.


    There were tents and sleeping bags for two people, so unless something happened, it wouldn¡¯t be a situation that Lapis had just said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die yet.¡±


    When Loren said so keenly, returning his gaze back towards Lapis, she puffed out her cheeks inint and elbowed his ribs.


    ¡°Why did it suddenly go from camping to a matter of life and death?¡±


    ¡°I mean,e on. You¡¯d wrench off the head of anyone who would try to put their hands on you, right?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ arms were thin and didn¡¯t look built, but Loren knew that there was unimaginable strength hidden within.


    In order to suppress her powers as a demon, Lapis¡¯ parents had taken her limbs and eyes, so currently they were prosthetics.


    The prosthetics, which were made using demon technology, functioned as expected of objects that were made by them.


    After all, Loren had seen Lapis strangle goblins to death with her bare hands, and knew that wasn¡¯t something ordinary women could do.


    It could be seen that the strength came from her arms being artificial, but seeing how she was particr about finding her actual limbs, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that they were more powerful than the ones that were made.


    In the previous job, Lapis had recovered her left arm.


    It could be said that Loren had a good reason to be afraid.


    ¡°That depends on the time and the person. Stop saying it like I wrench people¡¯s heads off anyone and everyone.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s me?¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s too much of a straight way of asking, isn¡¯t it? Even I¡­need time to prepare¡­this and that¡­¡±


    Lapis reddened and started rubbing her fingers together.


    As Loren felt he had learned something new, that although Lapis teased him a lot, if he gave her a straight response, she would start acting like this, he pushed her back, as she started muttering things in a small voice that he could barely hear, and urged her to start walking again.


    ¡°There¡¯s a post town on the way, so we¡¯ll get rooms there.¡±


    It took a long while for Lapis toe out of her maze of delusions and unknown thoughts.


    Lapis said that the highway they were following north was maintained well, and there would be a post town after around a day¡¯s worth of walking.


    Of course, there was such a town near the ck Forest, and she was nning to make it their base of operations and hunt around it.


    ¡°If we have to, it can¡¯t be helped, but I¡¯d rather not camp outside if I don¡¯t have to. I prefer sleeping on beds.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care. Sleeping on the floor huddled together ismon in my former line of work.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you would be covered in dirt and sweat when you wake up¡­¡±


    Lapis sounded disgusted, but Loren had woken up like that many times, so he just shrugged.


    There was no use telling her that on the battlefield you were lucky if you could get any amount of sleep, and sleepingying down was sometimes a luxury.


    And even if you were covered in dirt and sweat, you would rarely get a chance to wash it off, and sometimes you would be covered in blood along with the sweat and dirt, but still being able to sleep when you can no matter the circumstance was the job called a mercenary.


    ¡°Humans are strange. They call themselves civilized, but they¡¯re fine with going to bed without cleaning themselves up, and their homes don¡¯t have baths. What part of them are civilized?¡±


    ¡°Baths?¡±


    Loren knew of baths.


    It was the name of a facility where hot water was put inside arge tub and people would go inside it, but Loren had never experienced it.


    Gathering arge amount of water was hard enough, but heating it all up would cost even more time, and he would be paying arge sum of money just to wash off the dirt and grime off his body, and seemed very inefficient.


    And although that was the only thing you could do, it required arge amount of space, so you wouldn¡¯t find one in a normal inn, and Loren had only heard about such things being within castles of royalty and mansions of high ss nobles.


    He had also heard that in some regions hot water sprang from underground, and in those ces, they used that water to make businesses that provided baths, but he had never been to those regions before.


    ¡°Most demons have baths in their homes. They¡¯re so nice, but I¡¯m confused at why it isn¡¯t as widespread among humans.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to clean your body, you could just dump water on yourself and wipe with a cloth.¡±


    That¡¯s what people usually did.


    Sometimes they would heat the water if it was too cold to use in water, but even if they did, a pail of water would suffice, and wouldn¡¯t need enough to dip your whole body in.


    ¡°Baths aren¡¯t about their function, it appeals to your mind and emotions. You¡¯ll get it when you try.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I guess?¡±


    Loren gave a lukewarm response at Lapis¡¯ emphasis, but was thinking that the day where he would try a bath would nevere.


    ¡°Next time when we look for a job, let¡¯s go somewhere that has baths. I need you to know about the greatness of baths.¡±


    ¡°Even if you rmend it so eagerly¡­¡±


    They slowly walked along the highway with such conversations, sometimes near it, sometimes far off, but time continued to pass without encountering any monsters.


    Lapis told Loren that it was because quite a few adventurers thought of the same thing and did what they were currently doing quite often, so the areas around the highway were rtively safe.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you know? Travelers could use the highway without having to worry about monster attacks.¡±


    ¡°Feels like our pockets are still going to be pretty empty, though.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t make a lot, but it¡¯ll be fine since we won¡¯t be in the red, won¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis said so, but things started getting strange when the sun started to set and the sky started turning red, and night was about to fall.


    From the amount of time and distance they had traveled, Lapis said that they should be arriving at the post town, but when she squinted in the direction they were travelling, she saw it.


    ¡°Huh? Something¡­seems wrong.¡±


    Loren already saw what she was pointing out.


    In front of them, where the highway led up to.


    There was an area with no hills or trees, but even though everywhere around it was getting darker, that ce was still glowing red, as if the setting sun¡¯s rays was still shining on it.


    And from that ce, Loren could see numerous pirs of smoke rising into the sky, and if the highway was going in that direction, it meant that something was happening at their destination.


    ¡°It¡¯s burning, alright.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s burning, after all.¡±


    Seeing the red among the rest of the sky changing from blue to red to the ck of night, Loren and Lapis realized that something was burning.


    ¡°Is there a vige or a city around here other than the post town?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of.¡±


    Loren guessed that since she had said no, there wasn¡¯t anything else in the area.


    If that were true, what was burning was the post town they were heading to, and only smelled trouble.


    ¡°Sleeping on a bed tonight might be difficult.¡±


    ¡°I guess life doesn¡¯t always go the way you want it to.¡±


    Seeing Lapis disappointed, Loren wondered if it was such a big deal.


    But standing there would get them nowhere, and they decided they couldn¡¯t turn back, regardless of whether there would be trouble or not, so they reluctantly started trudging towards the red light in the distance.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 76: Waiting and Seeing, Then Choosing

    <h4>Chapter 76: Waiting and Seeing, Then Choosing</h4>


    When the two of them reached the town, all that was waiting for them was me and soot.


    The small town was destroyed and burned down, with red mes roaring everywhere.


    The ck smoke emitted from the mes rose up into the sky, and a burning smell filled the area, along with the sick smell of burning bodies that could be seen among the rubble.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    There was a body lying next to Lapis¡¯ feet as well.


    It was the body of a middle-aged man, most likely a resident, and his face was one of terror.


    Loren crouched next to the body and frowned as he saw a single cut, from its shoulder down its back.


    ¡°A strike from behind. Do you think a monster did this?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t find any traces of w or teeth marks of a beast type monster.


    Then maybe a monster that wielded a weapon.


    When Loren asked Lapis if it could be the work of goblins or orcs, Lapis looked at the condition of the body and shook her head.


    ¡°The cut is too deep to be a goblin, and too shallow to be an orc. Either way, they wouldn¡¯t just leave the bodies here like this.¡±


    Both goblins and orcs were omnivorous and ate humans as well.


    It was hard to believe that they would just leave bodies that weren¡¯t even burnt without eating them even a little bit.


    ¡°Then I guess humans did this.¡±


    ¡°Most likely. They made quite a mess.¡±


    Lapis sighed as she saw a burning house copse in the distance.


    The humans that had raided the town seemed to have destroyed everything thoroughly.


    They looted everything they could, destroyed everything they could, and set the town on fire after they were done.


    ¡°Survivors?¡±


    ¡°If there are, they¡¯d have quite the luck. They should give us a little bit.¡±


    Lapis joked, but her expression was serious.


    Loren thought anyone would be the same, but he had a different problem to worry about.


    ¡°Our beds just disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Your boldness to think of that in this situation is reassuring.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like the first time I¡¯ve seen something like this, so.¡±


    Seeing raided towns and viges weren¡¯t rare when being a mercenary.


    Loren himself, or the group he was with rather, had never done things like that before, but he had seen mercenaries hired by their client¡¯s enemies do so before, as well as the remains.


    It didn¡¯t mean that he was used to seeing it or not feeling anything when he did, but he experienced it enough to know that nothing came out of panicking or getting angry.


    ¡°A fire this big is going to be a pain to extinguish.¡±


    ¡°Why do they do this to people of the same race?¡±


    Loren scratched his head at Lapis¡¯ question.


    He didn¡¯t have an answer for it.


    He could just say that there was a town and then there were bandits, but he knew that Lapis wasn¡¯t looking for such an answer.


    ¡°My bad. I can¡¯t answer that.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Loren. I didn¡¯t mean to trouble you.¡±


    Lapis said in a hurry as Loren managed to squeeze those words out.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that we demons have a strong bond with each other because we¡¯re a race that¡¯s hated by others. Of course, we fight each other because of shing interests and rivalries and such, but this is different. I was just wondering why.¡±


    Thinking of demon kind gave him an image of a brutal society, but it seemed that he was wrong.


    Humans were easily doing things that even demons couldn¡¯t understand, so Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that maybe humans were a cruder and more vulgar species.


    ¡°Well, we demons are ones to do things even more thoroughly so that this would seem like child¡¯s y, though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s sort of relieving.¡±


    ¡°Their way of starting the fire wasn¡¯t good enough. There¡¯s going to be remains at this rate.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Shut up for a little bit.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words spoiled everything, but for some reason Loren felt relieved.


    Now his value of human beings as a peace loving, logical race didn¡¯t crumble.


    ¡°So, what should we do now?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. We could start with searching for survivors I guess.¡±


    ¡°And after that we look for valuables, got it. As expected of you Loren. Let¡¯s get to it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be a beautiful and pure looking priestess if you just shut your mouth¡­¡±


    When Loren said beautiful and pure, Lapis put her hands on her cheeks, which turned so red it was noticeable among the glow of the fire.


    Watching her turn her back to him and start muttering something under her breath, Loren sighed, thinking that they didn¡¯t have time to be talking like this, as looked for a tree far away from the fire to tie the donkey to.


    ¡°They really went through everything thoroughly. They might actually deserve some recognition for this.¡±


    The two of them searched the burning town, but the town had been raided so thoroughly that even Lapis was slightly impressed.


    First, there were no survivors.


    There may have been some who had been able to escape the town, but for within the city, not a single living resident could be found.


    All of them, from young to old, male and female, were killed.


    On top of that, there were nothing of any value left behind either.


    Anything that was of any worth, from money to furniture to essories to food, was all taken, and although he knew it wasn¡¯t a good thing, he couldn¡¯t help but be impressed at the clean plunder.


    ¡°They¡¯re really skilled. They aren¡¯t ones that became bandits a yesterday or the day before.¡±


    ¡°Some experts?¡±


    ¡°These sorts of experts should just die.¡±


    It meant that the only things that were left in the town were the buildings and bodies.


    ¡°It¡¯s a post town. Didn¡¯t they have any soldiers?¡±


    ¡°Seems like they did. They were all burnt to a crisp over there though.¡±


    Lapis was pointing towards the center of the town, and at the clearing, she had found the bodies of armed soldiers, piled up and burning.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t arge town, it was important to travelers, so it seemed that there were a few dozen soldiers posted there, but all of them had been killed.


    ¡°Were there some really skilled bandits? The might¡¯ve not been elites, but they¡¯re soldiers, right? But they still got wiped out by bandits. Maybe they were new soldiers?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. They¡¯re all burnt, so.¡±


    If the band of bandits were a veryrge one, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising to have heard some rumors about it, but Loren hadn¡¯t heard anything of the sort back at Kauffa.


    ¡°I hope not, but ex-mercenaries? The battle that destroyed my group. A lot of other groups met the same fate.¡±


    The battle that destroyed the mercenary group Loren was a part of, which marked the start of his life as an adventurer, had many groups that were participating in it.


    Loren¡¯s side had lost as a result, but both sides suffered great losses, so Loren guessed that there many of them disbanded as well.


    Such mercenaries bing bandits wasn¡¯t umon, but almost never became such arge organization like the one that had raided the town.


    Because if they were sorge, there was no reason to call themselves bandits when they could just be a new group of mercenaries.


    ¡°Some group became bandits¡­and becamerger as it consumed stray mercenaries, seems likely.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t go back to being mercenaries, now that they¡¯ve sunk their hands into crime. That¡¯s not a happy story.¡±


    No matter howrge the organization became, if the core was made up of criminals, it would stay criminal.


    So, Loren¡¯s guess was that while they continued their criminal acts, they continued to consume others that were in a simr predicament and grew like a snowball.


    As a former mercenary, Loren hoped he was wrong, but from the skilled method of raiding, with the way they plundered and killed, he guessed that there was a very high chance that he was right.


    ¡°By the time a strike force is sent out, there¡¯s no telling how many viges and towns would end up the same way.¡±


    If the organization was sorge, there was no way the soldiers stationed at the viges and towns stood a chance.


    The nation would eventually find out about it and send a strike force to destroy it, but Loren couldn¡¯t guess how much damage would be done before that happened.


    ¡°That¡¯s troubling. Should we destroy them?¡±


    Lapis asked Loren after hearing his words, but Loren looked at her and blinked for a moment, not understanding the meaning behind her words.


    After a while he understood what she had said and replied with a nervousugh.


    ¡°Our opponent is a group with at least two hundred people you know? And if my guess is correct, they¡¯re battle ustomed mercenaries. They aren¡¯t people we can deal with just the two of us.¡±


    ¡°Then will you watch the damage spread until the nation starts moving?¡±


    When she said she didn¡¯t mind doing that either, Loren couldn¡¯t give her an answer.


    Loren didn¡¯t have a desire to be a hero.


    He may have had a chivalrous spirit that didn¡¯t let him ignore someone in need, and it shouldn¡¯t have been anything more than that.


    But his personality didn¡¯t let him ignore damage that he knew was going to spread, but it wasn¡¯t as optimistic to let him walk towards possible death.


    ¡°The best course of action would be taking another day to return to Kauffa and alert the soldiers¡­but how long would it take for the nation to start moving after that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­well, yeah. But still, does that mean we can do anything¡­?¡±


    ¡°Can we really not do anything? Loren and I¡­with the amount of power between us, can we really not do anything about this situation?¡±


    ¡®Onii-san! I¡¯m here with you, so it¡¯s okay even if you die! You can be an undead!¡¯


    As Shayna appeared in the corner of his eyes, Loren silently declined her offer with augh, looked up, and started thinking.


    Getting his ass kicked like this wasn¡¯t fun indeed.


    He wasn¡¯t exactly the victim, but the residents wouldn¡¯t be able to rest peacefully, and would be wanting him, who discovered the destroyed town, to do one thing.


    ¡°Revenge¡­huh¡­¡±


    There was no reason to wipe them out.


    If they dealt enough damage, they would slow down, and if it went well, they would scatter.


    Then it would be easier for the soldiers to deal with them, and the damage would lessen.


    ¡°Alright. I won¡¯t be able to sleep well until I thank whoever took our nice beds, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Then speed is key Loren. The bandits¡¯ guards would be down since they just seeded a raid.¡±


    Looking at the burning town, a wicked smile appeared on Lapis¡¯ face from within the darkness.


    Loren smiled back, with a fresh recognition that Lapis was indeed demon kind.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 77: Attacking After Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 77: Attacking After Discovery</h4>


    They found the bandits¡¯ camp unexpectedly easily.


    It was because they didn¡¯t try to hide themselves in the first ce.


    When he thought about it, a band of two hundred or so ex mercenaries who became bandits already sounded like a threat, but its power could be equal to an army, so Loren guessed they thought that nothing other than a gigantic army would be a threat to them.


    ¡°I was the one who suspected this, but this is quite a sight.¡±


    An area that they arrived at after a minute of walking from the remains of the town.


    In the middle of a clear, t area, men who seemed to be bandits, were camping there with bonfires lit, and as Loren had just said, it wasn¡¯t a group that could be touched with halfhearted determination.


    ¡°They do as they want, but I guess they aren¡¯t thoughtless either.¡±


    Lapis said in an annoying voice as they peeked out from a small depression in the ground a distance away from the camp, where its lights wouldn¡¯t find them.


    Since they had enough power to win against almost any opponent head on, what they needed to be careful against was ambushes, and staying in the middle of clearnd was the best way to do so rather than stay in a ce that shielded their view.


    Loren didn¡¯t know if they chose the ce with that thought in mind, but Lapis said that moving based on the assumption that they did posed less danger.


    ¡°It would be better to assume that they are somewhat smart, rather than assuming they are idiots.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but can we even move in on that?¡±


    If they tried to get near from their current location, they would immediately be spotted by the bandits on watch.


    Even if they were to form a n, the surrounding was just tnd, with nothing that they could use to their advantage.


    Loren had indeed been a skilled and experienced mercenary, and although he somewhat thought so himself, he wasn¡¯t as arrogant as to think that he could march against a hundred, two hundred enemies ande back out alive.


    ¡°We can¡¯t use the ssic fire or water attacks. We can¡¯t set a traprge enough for those numbers either.¡±


    ¡°Loren you seem to know a lot about those kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve attacked and been attacked like that, so. But this time both ways won¡¯t work.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t anything around them they could set fire on, nor rivers or swamps to draw water from.


    t ins didn¡¯t benefit attacking nor defending, but that was the same for the enemy as well.


    If the gap in power was hopelesslyrge, there was no way to fill it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. I could use arge-scale magic and force fully annihte them.¡±


    ¡°You could use such a spell?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think I am? Even though I don¡¯t have my limbs and eyes, I¡¯m still a powerful demon. And currently I¡¯ve retrieved my left arm.¡±


    Lapis said as she twirled her left hand, but Loren couldn¡¯t really believe her.


    He knew that powerful magicians could use spells that could turn the tides of a battle, but a spell that could annihte two hundred enemies seemed like something from a fairy tale.


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯ll be a price, so I¡¯d like to avoid using them if I could. So, could I ask you something Loren?¡±


    Since they were huddled together in a small depression, Lapis could stare into Loren¡¯s eyes from a close distance.


    Loren could see her looking at him in the dark of the night, with the light from the camp barely reaching them, because of Shayna, who was inside him, but her straight gaze made him think that she saw right through him.


    ¡°I would like you to present every single card we could use, but what do you think?¡±


    Inside Loren, or inside his astral rather, which was his spiritual body, was a girl named Shayna that had been turned into the highest ranking undead called a No Life King in a previous job, but Loren hadn¡¯t exined that to Lapis yet.


    He had been saved by her powers many times already, so it was safe to assume that Lapis knew about it, but she was ying dumb until Loren decided to tell her himself.


    Loren guessed that since she was currently asking for an exnation, she was either relying on its powers, or there was no other option.


    ¡°I know you can¡¯t help but be wary of me. I understand that I¡¯m a person that you can¡¯t be wary enough of. It¡¯s kind of sad, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­well¡­you know¡­¡±


    As her face really clouded in sadness, Loren felt guilty about hiding things from her.


    ¡°But from our current situation, I would like you to give me information, but how do you feel?¡±


    ¡®Onii-san, shouldn¡¯t we just be honest and tell her? It¡¯s a bit painful to leave Onee-san an outcast like this.¡¯


    It seemed that Shayna felt the same way as Loren did.


    As Shayna sent her thought to him, he thought that this would be the best timing to tell Lapis, so he decided to do so.


    ¡°About Shayna, who we couldn¡¯t save on our previous job.¡±


    ¡°I see. Would it be safe to assume that you¡¯re ready to tell me?¡±


    Lapis interrupted Loren, who had started to talk, and Loren nodded, surprised at her question, confirming that she was correct.


    ¡°Then let me guess. Shayna¡¯s astral is living inside Loren¡¯s astral. It¡¯s impossible to tell since she usually uses your astral as a cloak, but if she excites her astral, she can use a part of her powers as a No Life King, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°You already know everything.¡±


    Loren sighed that she already knew everything, but Lapis told him with a serious look on her face.


    ¡°Guessing the truth and asking for confirmation are two different things.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t see Shayna?¡±


    Lapis shook her head at Loren¡¯s question.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. Feeling a strange presence and feeling that it was simr to the No Life King that I¡¯ve seen before raised my suspicions. Seeing the powers activate turned it into conviction.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still pretty incredible.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. And now, we can finally set up a n.¡±


    Lapis smiled and put her hand on Loren¡¯s shoulder as she said so.


    Loren didn¡¯t understand what she meant by that, but then Lapis told him casually.


    ¡°So, Loren, please go attack the camp.¡±


    [2]


    ¡°Hey¡­are you trying to kill me here?¡±


    Lapis said it like it was nothing but cutting in alone into more than two hundred enemies was a foolish act, which wouldn¡¯t work whether it was an ambush, or it was head on, that he wouldn¡¯t return from alive.


    Since she just told him to do that, Loren started wondering if he did something to get on her bad side.


    ¡°I¡¯ll support you, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°But¡­that would kill me as well¡­wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Killing the first few bandits is the key.¡±


    Loren understood from the way she talked that she wasn¡¯t joking and wasn¡¯t trying to get him killed, but he still couldn¡¯t see a win condition.


    On the other hand, Lapis seemed to know that they had a good chance of seeding.


    ¡°If it were just the two of us, I wouldn¡¯t use this sort of n, but with Shayna it¡¯s a whole different story. I think that we have a good chance of winning.¡±


    ¡°Seriously¡­?¡±


    They were against a number that was impossible to go against between the two of them, but Lapis dered that going in alone gave them the highest chance of victory.


    Logically thinking, Loren couldn¡¯t agree, but with Lapis saying so with such confidence and himself not having a better idea, he knew he couldn¡¯t change her mind, so his only options were to go with her n or fall back.


    ¡°Seems like an impossible n. But I can trust you, right?¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me Loren. I don¡¯t intend to let you go here, nor let those bandits do what they want.¡±


    As Lapis put her fist on her chest and told him not to worry, Loren couldn¡¯t find any traces of lies or hesitation in her words or her expression.


    So, Loren decided to believe her and lowered the great sword from his back and held it in his hands.


    ¡°Loren, I can¡¯t speak with Shayna. Can she hear my words through you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She said she could link her senses to mine.¡±


    ¡°Then please listen Shayna. What I want you to do, is to make allies. Can you do it? Please tell me if you can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡®Hmm¡­I understand. Please tell Onee-san that I could do it.¡¯


    ¡°Seems like she could.¡±


    Lapis nodded and turned towards the bandits¡¯ camp.


    Nothing seemed to have changed.


    It didn¡¯t seem that they noticed where they were, and were still making rounds, keeping watch.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin. Let¡¯s show those bandits, who raided the town and ruined our dinner and beds, hell¡±


    Lapis seemed to have said it very seriously, but Loren, who was about to run in, tripped when he heard it.


    As she looked at him with a confused gaze, Loren said with a nervousugh.


    ¡°¡­Didn¡¯t your motivation just turn really stingy?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean Loren? It¡¯smonly said that a grudge over food is terrifying. And this time we have a grudge over beds as well. We have to make sure that they go dance with the devil in hell.¡±


    ¡°What happened to getting revenge for the residents of the town?¡±


    At Loren¡¯s question, Lapis gave a look like she had just remembered it, and an evil smile appeared on her face.


    ¡°If we put that into consideration, we can¡¯t even give them time to repent.¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m starting to feel sorry a bit sorry for them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an unfavorable trend Loren. In times like these, you need to send them to the afterlife mercilessly, cold-heartedly, and cruelly.¡±


    ¡°Did you need to mention cruelly?¡±


    Loren shuddered as he wondered what ¡®cruelty¡¯ was for demon kind.


    Lapis replied without changing her expression or the air around her.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that the results are going to be cruel, right?¡±


    ¡°What am I going to be doing¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing different than usual. Fight the enemy and cut them down. Just that.¡±


    Loren guessed if that was the case, it wasn¡¯t different than what he always did.


    Next to him, Lapis started preparing spells or divine arts to assist him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the timing to you. I¡¯ll assist you as I see fit.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    Arge body and a giant sword.


    With movements unexpected from someone wielding both of those, Loren flew out into the night out of the depression they were hiding in.


    Not long after he did, he was spotted by the bandits on watch, and those with bows gathered to take him out.


    If he kept going like this, wouldn¡¯t he be running through a rain of arrows.


    The thought crossed Loren¡¯s mind, but when the archers raised their bows, a bright light exploded through the night from behind him and dyed the area in white.


    He wasn¡¯t affected since he had his back to it, but the archers, who were looking towards him, were blinded by the sudden bright light, more so because they had been looking into the dark for a long time.


    ¡®Onii-san! Go, go!¡¯


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice!¡±


    It was a small opening, but it was more than enough for Loren.


    He used that time to dash in and close the distance to the enemy camp and used the momentum he built to charge into a corner of the campsite.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 78: Concluding After Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 78: Concluding After Ambush</h4>


    Loren never hesitated once he put his mind to doing something.


    But he never attacked over two hundred enemies alone before when he was a mercenary.


    It wasn¡¯t that he believed Lapis, who said it would be fine.


    He acted because he knew the enemy wasn¡¯t ready for battle and was either excited about the sess of the raid or about to go to sleep and thought that he could manage to cut down a few of them.


    Of course, he had no idea what would happen after the first few, and if there wasn¡¯t a n, he would soon be surrounded and killed, but he guessed that things would be fine.


    Letting things develop as they go wasn¡¯t a very good way to do things, but for jobs such as mercenaries, they often found themselves in such situations, and only those who could do something about it could live longer.


    ¡°W-who are¡­Gahh!?¡±


    Loren, who closed the distance between him and the enemy with Lapis¡¯ light behind him, swung his great sword in the direction of the voice.


    The under swing, with the force of momentum behind its weight, caught the body of the enemy, who was shielding his eyes from the blinding light, ate into it diagonally, and went through the other side without any resistance.


    With the sound of wet fibers snapping and bones cracking ringing out, the upper body of the bandit that Loren cut through spun into the air, while the lower body fell and spurted blood and flesh everywhere.


    After counting one, Loren continued without breaking momentum.


    Because the first one died without even being able to scream, he managed to leap towards one of the archers, who had no idea what was going on, and swung his great sword to the right and then to the left, hoping it would hit something.


    As one got caught from under his jaw and fell on his back, screaming as his face was split in half and another got caught on the shoulder and got his arm ripped off, the light Lapis had conjured had faded and the area returned to darkness, with only the light from the bonfires left.


    Among the bandits who lost their sight, some swinging their weapons around blindly and others shooting their bows without aiming, Loren continued to find ones who were injured and kill them.


    ¡°Attack! Attack!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Who the hell!?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ light and the screams of the bandits that Loren injured alerted the whole camp of an attack.


    Of course, that was to be expected, so Loren calmly counted the bodies rolling around on the ground and turned his focus to Shayna, who was inside him.


    ¡°That¡¯s a few of them!¡±


    ¡®Leave it to me. <<create undead="">>¡±


    </create>


    The No Life King inside Loren activated her powers.


    A ck mist, so ck that it was noticeable even in the darkness, erupted from the ground and covered the area around the dead bodies.


    As Loren looked on, wondering what she was doing, as the bodies were nothing but pieces of flesh, the ck mist covered the bodies, and with crunching soundsing from within, they started to gather them into a single lump.


    Maybe she couldn¡¯t make useful undead with bodies that were destroyed into pieces.


    But that thought was overturned by the ck mist that gathered the bodies into onerge piece.


    ¡®Onii-san, I can¡¯t make much since there aren¡¯t enough bodies, but is that okay?¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind so hurry!¡±


    Since Loren was just a single person that attacked a whole camp, there was only so much panic he could cause, and he was starting to panic as he continued to cut down bandits around him.


    ¡®Come to me! Undead Knight!¡¯


    What emerged from the ck mist was something¡¯s thick left arm.


    Although it looked like a human¡¯s arm, it was a few times thicker than one, and spread fear among those who saw it, as it was shriveled up like a mummy¡¯s arm.


    What emerged next was the head, a giant skull.


    Its body was one of giant human well, with shriveled skin hanging on bone, with a rusted breastte equipped onto it.


    It¡¯s lower body and legs then emerged, along with a rusted waist pads and armored boots, andstly, emerged its right arm, wielding a halberd with red rust covering it.


    Loren had quite therge body, but even he had to look up at the thing that emerged from the mist, which was an undead that Shayna had summoned called an undead knight.


    While the bandits froze at the pressure from the giant halberd, the summoned undead knight roared into the night sky, and suddenly swept it across sideways.


    The rusted de didn¡¯t seem like it could cut through much, but the strength and speed behind the swing tore through the bandits that were in its path, and the bodies flew into the air.


    It was done very casually, as if it were cutting grass, but several bandits losing their lives every time the halberd was swung was aplete nightmare, as even Loren couldn¡¯t help but stop attacking and stare at the sight.


    ¡°That¡¯s not much?¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s not much at all. Onii-san could defeat it, you know?¡¯


    ¡°I¡¯d like to avoid fighting that if I could¡­¡±


    The bandits started retaliating, as the undead knight swung its halberd around with brute force, not caring to dodge or defend itself.


    Arrows were shot from a distance, and those with heavy equipment swung their weapons onto its body.


    The attacks weren¡¯tpletely meaningless, as the arrows pierced it and the weapons cut into its body and created cuts, but the undead knight showed no sign of caring, as it continued to swing its halberd around with unchanging momentum.


    Undead didn¡¯t feel pain or fatigue in the first ce.


    They were beings that continued disying the same performance until they were destroyed or exorcised.


    ¡°Can I beat it¡­?¡±


    ¡®Of course, Onii-san is strong, after all. But I can summon more than one undead knight, so it could be dangerous for you if there are a lot of them at once.¡¯


    The ck mist gathered the bodies of the bandits that the undead knight had killed, and a second undead knight rose from it, as if agreeing with Shayna¡¯s words.


    ¡°I can¡¯t deal with that.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t counted properly, so he wasn¡¯t sure how many of the bandits he had killed but seeing that it wasn¡¯t on par with the speed that the undead knights were killing them, he put his great sword on his shoulder.


    With a second undead knight joining the fray, the speed at which the bandits were being killed became twice as fast.


    If the speed that they were dying doubled, it meant that the amount of bodies was increasing twice as fast as well, so the third and fourth undead knight were created not long after the second one had been.


    ¡°What are these things!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Our attacks aren¡¯t doing anything!¡±


    ¡°Run! Dying against monsters like these is just stupid!¡±


    By the time the fourth undead knight started its killing, the banditspletely lost their will to fight.


    It wasn¡¯t as if their attacks weren¡¯t hitting, but seeing that they couldn¡¯t defeat these giant undead, fear flowed throughout the bandits, and seeing that they started scattering and running away, Shayna created a different kind of undead.


    ¡®Zombie Dogs, go!¡¯


    It seemed to take a lot less bodiespared to the undead knights.


    At Shayna¡¯s call, countless numbers of undead dogs with rotting bodies jumped out from the ck mist andunched themselves at the fleeing bandits from behind or jumped in front of them, blocking their escape.


    ¡°What the hell are these guys!? Where¡¯d theye from!?¡±


    The zombie dogs, since they were easier to summon than undead knights, were being cut in half or crushed by the bandits¡¯ attacks.


    But there was more of them being summoned than the amount that were being defeated, a ghastly sight spread out in front of Loren¡¯s eyes, as the bandits started bing overwhelmed, with the dogs ripping their throats, as well as ripping their stomachs open and started tearing through the intestines.


    ¡®None of you will escape! All there will be is annihtion! A massacre! Be food for the dogs while regretting you were ever born!¡¯


    Loren looked up into the sky with a pale face, muttering under his breath as he heard Shayna¡¯s loudughter ringing in his head.


    ¡°Scary¡­So scary¡­Today¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever thought you were scary. Someone, please tell me how she created dogs out of humans¡­¡±


    ¡®I wonder why? It¡¯s not that Onii-san. I¡¯m just feeling a bit excited right now. I¡¯m not a scary girl. I promise!¡¯


    Shayna told Loren in a hurry when she heard his vacant words.


    Thinking that it might be toote, Loren looked around at the gruesome picture of hell around him, with bonfires being knocked down, the tents on fire, undead knights turning humans into lumps of meat on one side, and zombie dogs tearing into screaming bandits on the other.


    All he did was kill around a dozen bandits, and after that things just kept on getting bigger.


    On top of that, their n was to scatter them into smaller groups so they would be easier to deal with, but currently, out of the close to two hundred bandits, most of them fell prey to the halberds or the dogs, and it was hard to tell if any of them were lucky enough to have escaped.


    ¡°What is this? How did this happen?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a n limited to night time, only applicable to those outside thew, after all.¡±


    As Loren turned towards Lapis, who had walked up next to him unnoticed, with frightened eyes, she looked at him with a slightly offended face and said with an annoyed voice.


    ¡°You¡¯re mean, looking at a person like she¡¯s some ghost or something.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be seeing anything but ghosts in a situation like this.¡±


    To Loren, the time since the ambush started to the time everything was destroyed was an instant.


    Therge scale group of bandits that seemed impossible to deal with without an army just a little while ago was nowhere to be seen, with the bandits running around blindly, being cut down, dragged onto the ground and being bitten all over, screaming, and calling for help as they died.


    ¡°They reaped what they sowed. There¡¯s no room for sympathy.¡±


    ¡°I want to feel a little bit of sympathy for them¡­¡±


    What the bandits did wasn¡¯t something that could be epted.


    If they were caught and judged under thew, Loren would¡¯ve thought that they reaped what they sowed and felt no sympathy towards them.


    But when he wondered if what they did was enough to be attacked by undead and be their prey, he couldn¡¯tpletely say so.


    ¡°Be reborn as good kids in the next life, okay? So, Loren, once this settles down and you release the undead, a fun time of looting will await us.¡±


    ¡°I think the evil inside your stomach will put on a good match against them.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? What part of my smooth, white stomach is evil¡­Loren? Don¡¯t turn your back on me and look, see?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t lift up your clothes in a ce like this! Stop pressing it against me! Let me go!¡±


    Although cries of help and death cries continued to ring out around them, the two of them ignored them all and started messing around with each other, as Lapis tried to take hold of Loren¡¯s head, and Loren tried to escape her clutches.


    Although she wasn¡¯t out of the loop, Shayna realized that she was forgotten at the moment, so after ordering the undead to continue to search and destroy, she went back inside Loren¡¯s astral to rest until they remembered her.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 79: Discovering During Search

    <h4>Chapter 79: Discovering During Search</h4>


    ¡°It¡¯s time to have some fun searching through the tents.¡±


    Lapis dered cheerfully with a smile on her face, but on the other hand, Loren was looking around at the campsite with a bored look on his face.


    It was still dark since it was still nighttime, but the bandits, trying to run away from the undead that Shayna had summoned, knocked over all the bonfires and caused the fire to spread, so the campsite was quite bright.


    The light from the mes exposed the horrifying state of the campsite.


    However, surprisingly there weren¡¯t many bodies.


    It was due to most of them bing materials for the undead Shayna had summoned, or had been consumed by those undead, so although all the blood sttered everywhere was still there, it could be said that the aftermath didn¡¯t look too bad considering what had happened.


    As for the undead, the undead knights were patrolling around the campsite, while the zombie dogs were running around searching for survivors and making sure that no one that that had seen or will see this horrific scene will live to see the sunrise.


    ¡°What are we going to do about this¡­¡±


    The number of undead grew enough that they could easily surround a vige or a town and destroy it.


    Loren understood that it was needed to take on hundreds of bandits, but now it was as if an army of undead had reced them, and in terms of threat, it became greater than before.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the n to do some damage and let them scatter out?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of impressed that we¡¯re a lot more capable than I thought.¡±


    ¡®Don¡¯t worry Onii-san.¡¯


    Shayna¡¯s voice sounded in Loren¡¯s head.


    Her voice, which couldn¡¯t be heard by Lapis, was a cheerful one, as she tried to clear his worries as much as she could.


    ¡®The ones that I made will disappear once morninges.¡¯


    Shayna exined that since they were summoned to close the gap in numbers, they weren¡¯t made properly, so they would return to dust after some time had passed.


    And so there was no need to worry about a pack of undead monsters attacking a city.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure they¡¯re going to disappear, right¡­¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯tpletely believe that the horde of undead that killed all the bandits would disappear when the sun came up, but there was no way he could deal with them all on his own either.


    ¡°Well, them disappearing will give us a whole new problem though.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What problem?¡±


    When Lapis responded to his muttering, Loren told her something new that started to worry him.


    ¡°Shayna says these undead will disappear when morninges. If that happens, even if we exin what happened here, no one will believe us.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What are you talking about?¡±


    With all the blood sttered everywhere, it was obvious that many people were killed, but Loren thought that without the undead, it would be impossible to exin who had done it in what fashion.


    He thought so because he thought they should report to the adventurer¡¯s guild that they destroyed arge group of bandits, but upon hearing that, Lapis¡¯ looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about.


    ¡°Don¡¯t we have to report this to the guild or to the nation? This many people died, and a post town was destroyed as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. I wonder what happened?¡±


    As Lapis¡¯ yed dumb, Loren was about to ask what she was saying, but closed his mouth as he realized what she was thinking.


    As Loren continued to stare at Lapis, wondering if she was actually going to do it that way, but she shook her head with a confused look on her face, and folded her hands in front of her chest.


    ¡°This is a disaster. It¡¯s certain that many lives were lost here, but we¡¯re not sure how it happened. As much as we¡¯d like to figure out what happened, we¡¯re in a hurry. Let¡¯s take only the things that the dead don¡¯t need and leave the investigating to others.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to y it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about Loren.¡±


    ¡®Onii-san, what is Onee-san talking about?¡¯


    While continuing to frown at Lapis, Loren exined to Shayna what she meant.


    It seemed that Lapis was nning on acting like she had nothing to do with the past event.


    She nned on acting like she didn¡¯t know anything about why the post town was attacked, why there was arge-scale campsite near it, and that it had beenpletely destroyed by undead.


    ¡®Will that work?¡¯


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any witnesses or evidence, so¡­¡±


    The bandits had wiped out all the people in the post town, and most of the bodies were probably burnt down to ashes along with the rest of the town.


    And the bandits that did it were killed by undead, and were either used as material for more undead, or sank into their stomachs.


    ¡®That¡¯s true. There aren¡¯t any witnesses!¡¯


    ¡°So, if we keep our mouths closed, the truth will be buried forever¡­or you want to shut my mouth just to be sure?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say scary things like that Loren. We should hurry and search for things we could take and get out of here.¡±


    Lapis was the one who was saying scary things.


    But she did have a point, so Loren sighed and walked towards Lapis, who was waving at him to follow her.


    The bandits¡¯ campsite wasn¡¯t far off from the town they had attacked.


    A post town was a ce that adventurers and travelers stopped by to find a ce to spend the night, so anyone could be travelling towards there.


    What would a traveler do if he saw the burning town?


    It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if he went back the way he came, but if it were a somewhat experienced adventurer or if that person decided to gather some information before he headed back, the bandits¡¯ campsite would be found in no time.


    If that happened, there was a risk of them getting spotted and being asked for an exnation.


    If that happened, they were the ones that would be in a tight spot.


    It was because there was no way they could be honest and say that they used the power of a No Life King to summon undead and killed all the bandits.


    If they did, an extermination quest could pop up at the guild with their names as the targets.


    As Loren thought that Lapis was putting such things into consideration, but she said somethingpletely different.


    ¡°If other people find this ce, there¡¯ll be less things for us to take!¡±


    ¡°You look way more like a bandit to me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean!? I¡¯m just suggesting that we collect some useful things from the campsite that people disappeared for some mysterious reason.¡±


    Loren wondered if a person could be more shameless, but he did agree that someoneing and taking what could be theirs wasn¡¯t a fun thing.


    It used to be the property of someone he didn¡¯t know, but on top of not knowing whose it is anymore since it had been in the hand of the bandits, the people of the town were mostly dead, so there was no way to return it to them either.


    So, he couldn¡¯t help but think that using it for their good wasn¡¯t a bad thought.


    ¡°Food and clothes will be bulky so let¡¯s leave those. I¡¯m not sure if you need one, but you can¡¯t take a young woman back even if you find one, okay?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Our targets are precious metals and jewels and such. Coins are good too, but not the copper ones.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the kind of words thate from a bandit, you know that?¡±


    Loren and Lapis started kicking down tents and going through the luggage in them.


    To run an organization, even if it were a group of bandits, you would need food, clothes, and other goods, but all of them were stolen items.


    They might¡¯ve been essentials for bandits, but they weren¡¯t important enough for Loren and Lapis in their current situation.


    ¡°If they only raided viges and post towns, the chances of finding metals would be slim.¡±


    Precious metals and essories, which would be worth a lot when sold, were things that bandits would definitely put their hands on, but to vigers and residents of small towns, they didn¡¯t have a need for things like those since it wasn¡¯t going to feed them in any way, so they rarely had them.


    Which was why Loren guessed that they wouldn¡¯t find them, and as if it were saying that Loren was correct, they couldn¡¯t many of them from the tents that Lapis went through.


    It was to be expected, since it was things that were stolen from vigers and residents in small towns that didn¡¯t have the time to dress up, but Lapis couldn¡¯t hide her disappointment.


    ¡°Do you think there would be any coins?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a little.¡±


    Loren guessed that there was a slim chance for that as well.


    The money used in viges were silver at the most, and gold coins were rare.


    Jewels were useless as well.


    Silver coins were mainly used in post towns as well, and there usually wasn¡¯t a businessrge enough to use gold coins.


    Based on that, they would most likely find food and misceneous items, mainly copper coins, and possibly kidnapped people.


    For people, it would be troubling if they found any, but Loren guessed that they wouldn¡¯t.


    The ones who destroyed the camp were undead, after all.


    The undead that Shayna summoned recognized Loren and Lapis, so they weren¡¯t attacked, but for others, Loren didn¡¯t think that they were smart enough to tell the difference between bandits and victims.


    ¡°Wow. This is full of copper coins Loren. This many would be hard to carry around, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis seemed to have found what she was looking for, but it seemed that Loren guessed right.


    As Loren thought that there was no way she would load therge amount of copper coins and take them back, he heard Lapis¡¯ surprised voice reach his ears.


    ¡°Loren! Come look at this!¡±


    ¡°What is it? There¡¯s no way there¡¯ll be something to be so surprised about.¡±


    He walked towards Lapis, who had flipped over a few more tents and was going through the things in them, but he froze when he saw what she was pointing at.


    It was arge box.


    It looked like one that clothes would be put in, but when Lapis opened it, he saw that what was in side wasn¡¯t close to something like clothes.


    There were indeed some clothes inside, but there was someone lying unconsciously in the middle of the clothes.


    Smooth blonde hair reaching down to the shoulders.


    Pale white skin with simple green clothes.


    A small child that looked around ten years old.


    With a face that made it hard to tell if the child was a boy or a girl, it wasn¡¯t surprising that the bandits kidnapped the child.


    But Loren was surprised to see that the child¡¯s ears were long and pointed, like the female archer from the silver rank party that he knew.


    ¡°An elf?¡±


    ¡°Looks like it. This smells like trouble again.¡±


    They couldn¡¯t close the box and pretend they didn¡¯t see anything, but if they took the child with them, they had a feeling they would be sucked into another troublesome situation.


    As Loren looked up at the sky, wondering why this child had to be here, Lapis looked at him with a troubledugh, wondering what they should do.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 80: Awakening After Withdrawal

    <h4>Chapter 80: Awakening After Withdrawal</h4>


    In the end, all they managed to take from the campsite was a small bag filled with silver coins and cheap looking essories.


    That and a few bottles of expensive looking alcohol and some food.


    Lapisined that the rewards didn¡¯t match the hardship they went through, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure what kind of hardships she was talking about.


    If they were to talk about hardships, Loren thought that it would happen more often as time went on.


    The elf child that wasid on top of the donkey caused him to have the thought.


    Although it looked like a child, Loren thought that there was no telling how old it actually was, but Lapis exined that elves aged at the same pace as humans up to a certain age, and from that point changes to their appearances stopped showing, and although they were a race that lived for a long time with young appearances, it was okay to think they looked like their age until they reached adulthood.


    As well as no matter how young and beautiful an elf looked, she could be over ten times your age, so he should be careful when trying to put his hands on one.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if such a time woulde, but he decided to keep that in mind.


    ¡°But then again, why was this child stuffed in a box inside the campsite?¡±


    As Loren asked as he took the reins of the donkey, Lapis didn¡¯t answer.


    It seemed that there were things that even a priestess of the Knowledge god didn¡¯t know.


    It was hard to tell if the child was a boy or a girl from the way it looked, but Lapis easily took care of that.


    The method she used was grabbing Loren¡¯s wrist and shoving his hand onto the elf¡¯s crotch.


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°You f¡­he¡¯s a boy.¡±


    Lapis asked him with a cool face, while Loren stopped himself from cursing at her and her nasty method and told her the result based on the sensation on his palm.


    ¡°Oh, a boy. Why would the bandits kidnap an elf boy¡­Well, there are people with those kinds of tastes, so I guess it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was demand and supply for that.¡±


    ¡°Why did you have to suddenly do that? It just felt awkward since he¡¯s a boy, but what were you going to do if he was a girl?¡±


    No matter how pretty his face was and looked like a child, feeling what was down there was still unpleasant, and Loren frowned, but if the child was a girl, that would¡¯ve been even worse.


    He shivered at the thought of his hand touching between the legs of a young girl.


    ¡°Then we could just say that you were lucky.¡±


    ¡°Lucky my ass you wicked demon!¡±


    Loren thought that she could¡¯ve done it herself, but then that meant a pretty girl would be reaching between the legs of a young girl, or a young boy, and felt that it would be a totally different dangerous situation.


    As he gave up, deciding that it was fine since the victims were him and an unconscious person, Shayna couldn¡¯t help but think that Onii-san was slowly bing influenced by Onee-san¡¯s actions, but she knew not to say such a thing to Loren.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do with him?¡±


    They started moving before the sun rose.


    Lapis knew that there was a high chance of them being spotted if they stayed at the campsite for too long, and Loren agreed.


    If they were spotted and questioned, Loren knew that he would feel too much guilt to hide the truthpletely.


    Lapis would be able to y dumb and lie her way out, but unfortunately Loren wasn¡¯t good with words.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t considered leaving him behind.¡±


    Even after they left, the summoned undead were still wandering around within the campsite.


    If Shayna was right, they would return to dust once the sun came up, but if they left the boy there, the undead would¡¯ve found and eaten him.


    Loren guessed that Lapis didn¡¯t go with that since she had something in mind, but her response wasn¡¯t very clear.


    ¡°It was just a feeling, I guess. The fact that we met an elf on the way to a forest with a vige of elves kind of bothered me.¡±


    ¡°Like superstition?¡±


    ¡°Something like that maybe?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like elves would curse you if you killed one of them, right?¡±


    ¡°Even if that were true, the ones that would be cursed is the undead.¡±


    Lapis put Loren in a darker mood with her harsh words, but she continued exining why she didn¡¯t leave the elf boy behind.


    ¡°But no matter the circumstances, it¡¯s hard to think that he was there of his own will in that situation. Then it would mean that he was most likely kidnapped. I¡¯m sure that his family is very worried right now.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got some kindness in there, after all.¡±


    Even if part of her thoughts was taking the child back to the elves so they wouldn¡¯t be treated poorly, what would happen there wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing.


    Loren was relieved that the conversation didn¡¯t go in the direction of using the child to lure out some of the elves, capture them, and do whatever.


    He wasn¡¯t sure why the bandits kidnapped the child, but since they had brought him all the way here, they must have been nning to sell him.


    As Loren thought that since elves were sold at a high price because of their looks, he thought that Lapis could¡¯ve said that a more grown elf could be sold at a higher price, she looked at him with a harsh re.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you were thinking of something horrible, from the looks of it.¡±


    ¡°Put your hand on your chest and think about it carefully.¡±


    ¡°Even I wouldn¡¯t think of something like making the boy tell us where his vige is and infiltrate it making it look like we helped one of their children and take over it from the inside, you know!?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re literally thinking about it right now¡­¡±


    As Loren sighed as it was even worse than what he had imagined, Lapisughed and waved at him as if she were joking.


    They walked along the highway as they had such conversations, but the sun was high in the sky by the time the boy woke up.


    The first thing he did as he woke up from the donkey¡¯s swaying back and rubbed his eyes was scream.


    ¡°Hm? Hey, did you just hear someone scream?¡±


    In front of Loren were a few dead ogres sprawled on the ground.


    Loren and Lapis¡¯ original goal was to defeat monsters and take the materials back to Kauffa and receive extermination rewards, but they ran intorge man-eating monsters called ogres a short while before the boy woke.


    They were a few times stronger than humans, and although theycked skill, shields and armor sometimes couldn¡¯t stand a blow from them.


    For ordinary copper rank adventurers, a few of them would mean that they would most likely be wiped out, and they were monsters even iron ranks would have trouble with if enough of them were there.


    There were about ten of them.


    They weren¡¯t something copper ranks could even imagine dealing with, but Loren and Lapis defeated all of them without much trouble, with just the two of them.


    The elf boy woke up to the two of them cutting off parts for proof of extermination as well as ones that could be used as materials.


    ¡°Huh? Did some traveler see us?¡±


    Lapis, who was gouging off the ogres¡¯ fangs and horns, raised her head up at Loren¡¯s voice with blood dripping from her hands.


    There were a few bodies of ogres lying around, covered in blood and with their horns and fangs missing, and the elf boy, seeing all this, screamed and fell off the donkey¡¯s back and tried to crawl away.


    ¡°Hey hey, where are you going?¡±


    Lapis rushed over to the crawling boy and put her foot on his back.


    She didn¡¯t mean to be mean to the boy, but she had to since her hands were covered in blood from taking the ogres apart.


    But when looked at from the side, it was a girl covered in blood stomping on a crying and screaming elf boy, not letting him escape.


    It was so ghastly that Loren couldn¡¯t help but stop what he was doing and give a hand to the elf boy to help him up, but his hands were covered in blood as well, so the boy started screaming louder than before.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty loud, you know?¡±


    As Loren looked around, not sure what to do, Lapis calmly started putting strength into her foot.


    Although it was a very small amount, it was enough to make the elf boy moan, and he tried to escape from under her, but he couldn¡¯t get anywhere, so after a while he gave up and stopped struggling.


    ¡°Loren, could you go wash your hands and look after him? I¡¯ll go finish taking the ogres apart.¡±


    Loren went and washed the blood and fat off his hands with water from a wineskin that they had readied earlier, dried them, and picked up the elf boy from under Lapis¡¯ foot and set him back on top of the donkey.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so scared. We¡¯re the ones who saved you, you know. You remember who kidnapped you and how they treated you, right?¡±


    After he said so, Loren started wondering if the boy could understand him.


    The elf named Nim that he knew of had learned human tongue and couldmunicate with him, but he remembered hearing about how among the elves that didn¡¯t go near humans had their ownnguage and couldn¡¯tmunicate with them either.


    As Loren wondered which one the boy would be, the elf boy that had first looked at him with fear started remembering the situation he was in and what had happened before he lost consciousness, and Loren let out a sigh of relief as he saw the fear on his face start to disappear.


    ¡°You¡­saved me?¡±


    Loren wondered how he should answer him.


    If he said no, it was obvious that the boy would start being afraid again.


    But even if he said yes, with no idea what Lapis would do after, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was the right answer to give either, so when he nced at Lapis, who was still taking the ogres apart, noticed his gaze and nodded without looking up or stopping her hands.


    It seemed that she was leaving this one up to him.


    Assuming so, Loren replied slowly to the boy, who started showing uneasiness at theck of an answer.


    ¡°Yeah, we saved you. We saved you from the bandits that kidnapped you. I¡¯m Loren, and the priestess over there is Lapis. We¡¯re headed the ck Forest, but are you an elf from there?¡±


    As Loren asked, he thought that it would be troublesome if the boy said no, but the elf boy nodded.


    ¡°The forest that I live in is called that by humans. I learned it from the merchants thate to my vige.¡±


    It seemed that the vige that the boy was from had some amount of interaction with humans, so he couldmunicate with Loren with no problems.


    Thinking that this was good news, he felt that although Lapis was working on the ogres, her ears were focused on them, so he continued talking to the boy to gather information they might need.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 Chapter 81: Gaining Information from Assessment

    <h4>Chapter 81: Gaining Information from Assessment</h4>


    The elf boy¡¯s name was Feuille.


    Loren had spent around half a day gaining needed information from him.


    Finding out his name was already hard, but since Feuille was young, his speech became garbled sometimes and couldn¡¯t remember things here and there, which made the information that Loren got be quite vague.


    But since Lapis, who had been listening to their conversation, organized all the information, so by the time Feuille became tired of talking and fell asleep on the back of the donkey, they had most of the information they needed.


    ording to it, Feuille was from one of the viges of elves living in the ck Forest and was ten years old.


    While helping gathering fruit and herbs in the forest with his friends, they had identally gone too close to the outskirts of the forest, and unfortunately ran into bad looking men.


    The men had tried to capture them and take them, but theycked finesse, killing half the children and letting the rest escape.


    The only one who was caught had been Feuille, who had tripped and fell.


    After tying his arms and legs, the men carried him for around a day and into the campsite, and was thrown in the box that Loren and Lapis found him in.


    He was scared at what was going to happen to him, but after crying himself to sleep, he didn¡¯t remember seeing anything.


    Loren couldn¡¯t tell if his luck was good or bad, but since he hadn¡¯t been found by the undead because he was unconscious inside the box, his life had been spared, so Loren guessed that his luck wasn¡¯t bad.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t really any interesting information.¡±


    Lapis said as she looked at Feuille, who was sleeping with his arms around the donkey¡¯s neck, but to the victim himself, it was a matter of life and death, so Loren thought interesting or not wasn¡¯t relevant.


    But he couldn¡¯t help but feel that entering the forest with Feuille was dangerous, but when he told Lapis, she gave him a confused look.


    ¡°Why would you think we would be in danger?¡±


    ¡°They could think that we¡¯re with the ones who killed and kidnapped their children.¡±


    ¡°People who kidnapped a child wouldn¡¯te back to return him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    Lapis was right if it were thought about calmly, but there was always the chance of a misunderstanding, so if the elves caught wind of humans having custody of one of their missing children, Loren thought that they could believe they were the ones who did it.


    ¡°It¡¯s elves, you know?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    Lapis understood that even if they weren¡¯t suspected, the elves could imagine that they were they brought back their child for things such as doing something to the vige or looking for some rewards orpensation, and for some reason, bringing the child back out of kindness wasn¡¯t an option.


    ¡°There are lots of weird ones among elves, after all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d want a demon saying that about them.¡±


    Lapis was offended at Loren¡¯s poking remark, but she didn¡¯t counter, since it wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t have a clue about what he was talking about.


    As they continued like that, they had reached the city that was closest to the ck Forest by the end of the day.


    ¡°We really didn¡¯t have enough information. I didn¡¯t expect there to be a branch office for the adventurers¡¯ guild in this city.¡±


    Before they went to get rooms for the night, they went to the branch office they found by chance and gave them the extermination parts and materials from the monsters they had encountered.


    When Feuille had woken up, Loren and Lapis had been taking apart ten ogres, but they had defeated quite a bit of monsters before that.


    They had quite a bit, so they decided to take care of them before they entered the forest.


    ¡°You bnce it here too?¡±


    As Loren put the bags, which were bloody and looked unsettling, on the front desk, the girl standing behind it took them without breaking her smile and shook her head.


    ¡°All we do here is take and assess. We issue certificates, so please go to one of the base guilds and receive your money.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    It was slightly troublesome and was unsure if the guild would give them the money when they returned, but it was helpful that they didn¡¯t have to carry around everything the whole trip.


    On top of that, this branch had a bar along with it, like the guild in Kauffa, so Loren pointed at Feuille, who was walking and looking around the ce, and told Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of things here, so go get him something to eat. He probably hasn¡¯t eaten anything in a while.¡±


    Being kidnapped, tied up, and thrown into a box, it was hard to think that he had been treated decently.


    To a young child, missing one or two meals was quite harsh, so as Loren asked Lapis, worrying about Feuille, she nodded and took him towards the bar.


    Although it was called a bar, it was closer to a restaurant, so as he saw them off, he hoped there were things that even a child like Feuille could eat, and when he turned around back to the girl at the desk, he saw that she was looking at them as well with interest.


    ¡°Did you see anything new?¡±


    As Loren asked her to put up a lighthearted conversation, the girl realized that she was staring at thepanions of one of her customers and nodded her head in embarrassment.


    Loren wondered if they didn¡¯t see many elves in the area but thought that would be weird since the city was right next to the ck Forest, and there were elves inside that interacted with humans.


    ¡°My partner? With her youth and looks, she could probably be anything she wants, instead of being a priestess, in my opinion.¡±


    Loren casually pointed out something that was most likely not what attracted the girl¡¯s attention, and as he thought, she shook her head this time.


    ¡°Your partner is indeed very pretty¡­but pardon my rudeness. You had an elf child with you¡­so I couldn¡¯t help but look.¡±


    As she bowed her head as she apologized, Loren waved his hand telling her not to worry about it and wondered why what he thought was wrong earlier was in fact right, so he continued the conversation.


    ¡°This city is right next to the ck Forest, right? Don¡¯t you see elves often?¡±


    ¡°Yes, until a little while before.¡±


    Loren felt disturbed when he heard the words, ¡®little while before¡¯.


    It meant that it wasn¡¯t rare to see elves in the city.


    But they had stopped seeing them for a while now.


    ¡°Every now and then elves woulde out of the forest to sell things they gathered in the forest and woodwork.¡±


    ¡°And they stoppeding since a little while ago?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all. The people who did business with them got worried that they didn¡¯t show, so a few of them hired a few guards and went into the forest, but¡­¡±


    The girl the put her hand to her mouth and beckoned Loren to get close.


    Loren leaned over the counter, guessing that it wasn¡¯t something to say out loud, and the girl told him in a small voice.


    ¡°No one hase back. It¡¯s only been two, three days, and the ck Forest is quite arge forest so they might still be investigating.¡±


    The girl¡¯s hands hadn¡¯t stopped working through the whole conversation.


    She counted the number of extermination parts, sorted the materials, and recorded the amount and values onto the document in front of her.


    ¡°If they don¡¯te back soon, we¡¯ll have to put up a search quest for them, but we¡¯re a small branch office and don¡¯t have much money to spare, so we are considering asking nearby branches for a decision.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a worrisome story.¡±


    ¡°I agree. There aren¡¯t any reliable adventurers here, either. We¡¯re small, so not a lot of theme here. It¡¯ll be helpful if a kind adventurer somewhere goes to see what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Loren gave a troubledugh as the girl nced at him.


    Putting Feuille aside, although Loren and Lapis were a party just by themselves, they had brought in ten ogre¡¯s worth of materials, so it was obvious that they were quite strong and skilled.


    Although they were copper rank, it wasn¡¯t a feat that normal copper rank adventurers could pull off.


    The girl might¡¯ve been hoping that skilled adventurers would go to the ck Forest and see what¡¯s going on, but to Loren, he didn¡¯t care about his personal evaluation, but he didn¡¯t want to work for free.


    ¡°Won¡¯t someone go if a quest is put out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to know how much the rewards should be until the situation is clear, so.¡±


    ¡°An investigation for an investigation quest. Well, I might be interested in taking it if I¡¯m feeling like it and it¡¯s worth enough money, but I do have a partner. It¡¯s not something I could decide on my own.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Okay, the assessment is done. This would be the certificate.¡±


    The girl changed the subject, as if she had just tried asking, recorded the results, signed that there were no mistakes, and handed the document to Loren.


    As he thanked her, took it, and started heading towards where Lapis was, the girl said in a small voice behind him.


    ¡°If you decide to take it, I¡¯ll make sure you get some extra, you know?¡±


    When Loren turned over his shoulder, the girl smiled and pointed towards the quest board.


    Loren could see that there wasn¡¯t a quest on there like what the girl had mentioned, but it seemed that it would be put on there soon enough.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care if that happens.¡±


    After saying so, he walked over to where Lapis and Feuille were sitting. He saw Feuille devouring stew, bread, and sd, and Lapis, who was looking at Loren with a smile.


    ¡°Wee back Loren. How was it?¡±


    Loren gave her the certificate he had received, knowing that it wasn¡¯t what Lapis was asking about.


    Not saying anything, Lapis took it and looked through what was written on there and put it in her pocket.


    ¡°So, what else?¡±


    Lapis asked Loren, wanting something else, so he pulled a chair and sat down, and started telling her what the receptionist girl had told him.


    Previous


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Hey guys Kaoto here.


    Oh man the days off were such a st!


    I got to do quite a bit of things that I kept on hold, and it was a lot of fun.


    Then I realize that I have regr work schedule from this week¡­


    Well, since I¡¯m done with this chapter and it should be posted within the next three minutes, I guess I¡¯ll y a bit of God Eater 3 to get ready for the nextrge update, watch a movie, and go to sleep early.


    Yeah, that sounds good.

 Chapter 82: Resting at the Inn

    <h4>Chapter 82: Resting at the Inn</h4>


    In the end they decided to get rooms and rest, but when they got there, Loren wasn¡¯t sure what to do with Feuille.


    He had been thinking about getting three rooms since there were three of them, even if it cost more, but then he started wondering about leaving Feuille in a room all by himself.


    Although he was an elf, he was only ten years old.


    Thinking that it wasn¡¯t good to leave a young child alone, he was about to have him stay in the same room, when he suddenly started feeling piercing res on his back, causing him to turn behind him.


    They were in the first floor of the inn, which like most inns, was where they served customers their meals, and it seemed like most of the res were from the customers sitting down there behind him.


    He could tell that they weren¡¯t filled with things like bloodlust or opposition, but he couldn¡¯t immediately understand what was behind them.


    And it seemed that for some reason, the ones from the women seemed especially cold, and as Loren rubbed the back of his neck, Lapis whispered to him.


    ¡°This is just a feeling¡­but I think everyone thinks that Feuille is a girl.¡±


    When told that, Loren looked down at Feuille, who was looking up at him.


    Elves were known to be beautiful, but Feuille especially looked like he could be either, so it was very difficult to know just by looking at him, and if he didn¡¯t talk, he could easily be thought of as a girl.


    Realizing toote that it couldn¡¯t be helped if he was seen as someone who was trying to take a young girl into his room, Loren thought of putting Feuille in Lapis¡¯ room, but Lapis frowned at the suggestion.


    ¡°Regardless of how he looks, Feuille is a boy.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Are you telling an unmarried girl of age to spend a night with a man!?¡±


    ¡°¡­Umm, yes.¡±


    Ignoring Lapis, who wasining about the moment of silence before his response, Loren scratched his head, wondering what to do.


    If everyone looked at him coldly if he tried to take Feuille and didn¡¯t like it if he tried to make her take him, there was only one option left.


    ¡°How about all three of us staying arge room?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you guys were a family?¡±


    The one who asked was the owner of the inn.


    When the middle-aged man mentioned it, Loren thought about theposition of his currentpanions, but putting himself who was human, Lapis who was demon kind, and Feuille who was an elf as a family, seemed too chaotic.


    ¡°We¡¯re not actually a family, but a lot of things happened. I¡¯ll appreciate it if you don¡¯t pry further.¡±


    ¡°Three silver coins a night for arge room for five, including two meals. Extra towels and warm water are extra charge, alright?¡±


    The owner was trying to be sensible since they weren¡¯t a family, but to Loren it was additional mental damage, and even with a tired look on his face, he slid three silver coins on the counter.


    Although he didn¡¯t have much money, he had a few silver coins in his wallet.


    He felt that if he let Lapis pay, it would worsen his image with the people behind him, so he immediately paid before Lapis could.


    Seeing the money, the owner gave him a key and told him where the room was.


    Frowning at the painful spending, Loren went up to the second floor with Lapis and Feuille and entered the room for five. After putting his equipment and bags down and sitting down on the bed to take a breath, he saw that Feuille was staring at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    When he said to Feuille, who was standing in front of the doorway, he asked him with a worried look on his face.


    ¡°Umm¡­What¡¯s going to happen to me?¡±


    It did seem that he was being a little vague, but Loren looked at Lapis, wondering how to answer him.


    Lapis, who had put down her things as well and was sitting on a different bed than Loren, noticed Loren¡¯s gaze and put her index finger on her chin, her gaze wandering about around the ceiling, and answered.


    ¡°If we think about it in an orthodox way, we would have hime with us to the ck Forest and take him back to his vige would be one option.¡±


    ¡°If you think about it normally, yeah, but what do you mean by orthodox? Is there an option that isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°¡­Do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°No, so keep it to yourself.¡±


    Knowing that it wouldn¡¯t be anything good, Loren shut up Lapis and turned towards Feuille, who was still standing in front of the door.


    ¡°If you have a way to contact your friends or family, do it. If not, take us to your vige. The forest isn¡¯t a ce where a child like you could wander around alone, right?¡±


    Feuille looked confused when Loren asked him to take them to his vige, but Loren meant that they would protect him until they reached it, and as Lapis let out a nervousugh, Loren red at her.


    Looking at his reaction, Loren thought that the elves must have a lot of trouble with insolent people going after them for their looks.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we have business with your vige. We¡¯re just going to take you there.¡±


    ¡°Will you really? I don¡¯t have any money to pay you¡­¡±


    Feuille knew that Loren and Lapis was adventurers since they stopped by the guild.


    So, he assumed that since they were people who took quests and were paid for it, they were going to ask for money to take him to his vige.


    Loren sighed, knowing what Feuille was thinking.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to take money, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°T-then you¡¯re going to take it from my parents¡­?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t stop himself from thinking, ¡®I see¡¯.


    Taking money from Feuille, who was a child, wasn¡¯t the proudest thing to do, but taking a lost child home and receiving gratuity didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea.


    But Loren shook his head and chased the thought out of his mind.


    ¡°We don¡¯t do jobs that deliver lost children home and take money for it.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°Finding you must¡¯ve been something more than chance, so might as well see it through. We¡¯ll take you home and won¡¯t ask for money, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Why would you go that far¡­?¡±


    Since Feuille looked surprised and didn¡¯t seem to believe him, Loren wondered how he could convince him, but then realized that there was no need to.


    If he epted their offer, that was fine, but even if he didn¡¯t, that wouldn¡¯t trouble them either.


    Even if they parted ways with him at the edge of the forest, it wouldn¡¯t hurt them at all.


    It would in fact be easier for them if they did, but he was reluctant letting a powerless child walk all alone inside a forest, since it seemed like something that could keep him from sleeping at night.


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason. If anything, it would be¡­¡±


    ¡°That this person is very soft-hearted inside.¡±


    Lapis interrupted Loren.


    Loren was about to argue that he wasn¡¯t soft-hearted, but what he was doing right now indeed looked like he was, so when Lapis looked at him, asking if she was wrong, he couldn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°So how about going along with his suggestion, and after you get home safely, if you want to pay him back somehow, then I think you could give him something in return.¡±


    ¡°R-really?¡±


    Feuille looked relieved at Lapis¡¯ kind words and moved from where he was standing and sat down at an empty bed.


    It was supposed to be a room for five, but there were only three beds, so Loren, confused, looked around and saw two long sofas, and guessed that they were meant to be used as beds as well.


    As Loren thought that they were fortunate to have enough beds to use between the three of them, Lapis said to him as if she had just remembered something.


    ¡°So, Loren, all we do know is eat and sleep, and enter the ck Forest tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°This inn. The owner said that extra hot water and towels were extra charge, right? You see, I¡¯d like to clean myself before I go to bed¡­¡±


    Loren recalled what the owner had said while Lapisined at the bad service.


    ¡°I mean, he said extra, right? Water and towels should be included in the room charge.¡±


    As Loren said so, knowing that his memory wasn¡¯t wrong, Lapis asked him another thing with a confused look.


    ¡°Then would ordering extra water and towels mean that they won¡¯t give us enough to use?¡±


    Loren thought that wasn¡¯t true.


    No matter how cheap the inn, they would provide enough hot water to clean one¡¯s body, and since they were renting a room for five, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to order enough water and towels for five people, and it was hard to imagine that wouldn¡¯t be sufficient for the three of them.


    If there were a problem, it would be that Loren and Feuille would have to step outside while Lapis was washing herself, but that wasn¡¯t much of a problem either.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with one person¡¯s worth of water and towels, and Feuille probably won¡¯t use much either, so you can use the rest, you know?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, but¡­then what was the owner talking about when he mentioned extra?¡±


    ¡°No idea. Maybe some customers use a lot of water and towels? Or some of them spare no expenses?¡±


    Although Loren didn¡¯t say out loud, he understood that the owner had mention extras because he was being sensible about a whole different thing.


    It was because hispanions were a girl named Lapis, and a boy named Feuille who looked like a girl.


    Loren had thought that since she was Lapis, she would catch onto it, but apparently it wasn¡¯t understood to demons.


    Loren guessed that since they were used to taking baths, even if they were in a situation where they needed extra water and towels, they would just wash themselves in the bath.


    ¡®Onii-san, could you exin what he meant to Shayna?¡¯


    At the voice that rang in the back of his head, he almost told her that it was ten years too early for her to know, but the voice belonged to a consciousness within his astral, who was also a No Life King, and undead of the highest rank.


    She wouldn¡¯t be an adult after a mere ten years, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he should say it was too early for a child to know, or if he should say he¡¯ll exin when she bes an adult.


    ¡®Onii-san? Did Shayna ask something bad?¡¯


    Seeing Loren¡¯s reaction, Shayna started worrying that she had done something wrong, but Loren, who regained hisposure when he heard her voice, dodged the question by saying he¡¯ll exin when he felt like it, andid down on his bed.


    Previous


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Hey guys Kaoto here.


    Ahh dang it my phone broke¡­


    I was nning on upgrading soon, but not this soon.


    Was thinking in like two or three months when I saved up enough.


    Oh man I don¡¯t want to spend extra money that I didn¡¯t n on using, but I don¡¯t want to downgrade either.


    This¡­is a tough decision.


    In any case, it seems that Loren just unlocked some new titles for himself.


    Will he live up to them?


    We¡¯ll see.

 Chapter 83: Sensing After Camping

    <h4>Chapter 83: Sensing After Camping</h4>


    The three started towards the ck Forest the next day.


    When Loren returned the room key, the owner looked like he wanted to say something, but Loren gave him a re with just enough pressure in it to keep his mouth shut.


    Loren didn¡¯t care much about what was said to him, but he didn¡¯t want to hear something that would lower others¡¯ impression of him either.


    He guessed the owner was confused why he didn¡¯t order extra water and towels, but he wished he would understand that even if a man and a woman stayed in the same room, they wouldn¡¯t always need to order any.


    ¡°Let¡¯s restock on supplies and start heading towards the forest.¡±


    Said Lapis, who had no way to know what was going on in Loren¡¯s head.


    They couldn¡¯t take the donkey they rented, so they left it at the guild branch and went to get more supplies.


    ¡°Ahh damn it¡­¡±


    The expenses needed for the job was split between Loren and Lapis.


    But still, the things that Loren couldn¡¯t pay for with the money he had was all paid by Lapis, so it could only look like he was being taken care of by her.


    There was no way others would know that he was going to pay her back, so even at the store, people around him looked at him coldly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think your debt got higher at all.¡±


    They were only buying some more rations and medicine as well as a burner and oil, and although the amount needed increased due to Feuille being with them it wasn¡¯t that much.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put Feuille¡¯s on your expense tab, okay?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    If he told her, Lapis would¡¯ve split it, but since he was the one who offered to take Feuille home, he didn¡¯t feel like letting her pay for half of it, so he didn¡¯t and just nodded.


    Although Lapis showed a look ofint for a second, her expression immediately returned to normal, and she started wrapping up the things they bought and paid for it.


    ¡°Umm¡­I¡¯ll pay for everything you bought for me when we get to the vige¡­¡±


    Loren interrupted Feuille by putting his hand on his head and patting him with an awkward smile on his face.


    But with Loren¡¯srge hand and Feuille¡¯s small head, to Loren he was patting on the head, but to Feuille it was being spund around in ce, so as he stumbled around, he managed to catch hold of a shelf and not fall.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Just focus on getting to your vige for now. We don¡¯t know where it is, so you¡¯ll have to take us there, alright?¡±


    ¡°O-okay.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t thought this through, either. We¡¯re nning on hunting monsters in the forest, so it¡¯ll be great to have an elf who¡¯s familiar with the forest helping us out.¡±


    At Feuille¡¯s worried look, Loren told him the way he could help that he had thought about the while night.


    Loren didn¡¯t mind him thinking that they were helping him out of kindness, but he also knew that not asking for something in return could cause him to doubt and be suspicious of them.


    People tended to not trust in those kinds of things.


    To put Feuille at ease, Loren decided to tell him that they were looking for something in return.


    But if he was too greedy, he could give a bad impression to Feuille¡¯s parents as well as those in the vige.


    And so, Loren decided on getting information about the ck Forest through an elf who was familiar with it.


    This way he wasn¡¯t being greedy and wouldn¡¯t hurt the elves in the vige either.


    Even if they didn¡¯t get much information, it was fine since they never nned on having an elf with them in the first ce, so if they did get some useful information, that was a bonus.


    ¡°So, don¡¯t think about it too hard and let us take care of you, alright?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    As Feuille thanked him and Loren took his hand from his head with a smile, Lapis, who had finished shopping, tugged his sleeve.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you could direct that kindness towards me sometimes?¡±


    ¡°I believe I¡¯m pretty lenient about your actions, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    At Loren¡¯s words, asking if he should be even kinder than he was, Lapis ran off, thinking that he might do the opposite.


    As they finished buying everything they needed and ate lunch, they started walking towards the ck Forest.


    The forest was half a day away.


    It was veryrge and got its name from the fact that the deeper you go, the darker it became from the canopy blocking the sunlight, but there were several races, including elves, that lived there in small viges.


    ¡°There¡¯s creatures from goblins and orcs to races like us elves as well as fairies.¡±


    On the road, Feuille talked as best he could, trying to tell Loren and Lapis¡¯ all he knew about the forest.


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between elves and fairies?¡±


    ¡°Fairies are small and have wings, while elves are big and don¡¯t have wings. It¡¯s said that we used to be the same as race.¡±


    ¡®I must look like a fairy.¡¯


    In the corner of Loren¡¯s eye, Shayna fluttered the wings on her back.


    As Loren looked at the girl that only he could see, thinking if it were so, Lapis gave an added exnation.


    It was said that fairies and elves used to be beings that only had astral bodies called spirits.


    Among those that somehow got physical bodies, the ones who received human like bodies became elves, while the ones who retained their forms as spirits became fairies.


    Both races liked natural environments such as forests, hated metals like iron and copper, were quite proud, and tended to look down on humans.


    The elf archer he had met before didn¡¯t have an air of pride about her and didn¡¯t look down on others, but maybe she changed after spending so much time with humans.


    Since they departed the city past noon, they reached the border of the forest by the time the sun set.


    Loren thought they were going to enter, but Lapis suggested setting up camp for the night and enter the forest tomorrow.


    Lapis said that it was dangerous to enter the forest, which was already dark inside, during the night, and it wasn¡¯t a smart thing to do, and Loren as well as Feuille agreed to it.


    ¡°The forest gets dark if you go deep into it, but my vige is located where the sunlight still reaches inside, so it¡¯s definitely better to go in during the day.¡±


    ¡°Do you know the way to your vige?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­I think it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    To Loren and Lapis, all the trees looked the same, and couldn¡¯t imagine there being any paths.


    But it seemed that Feuille saw something differently than them, as he nodded after looking at the forest for a while, and Loren was relieved that it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to take him back home.


    ¡°Well, whatever the case, let¡¯s camp for now and worry about everything tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Is it fine to camp so close to the forest?¡±


    Close or far from the forest didn¡¯t seem any different since it was ins everywhere, but if something were to pop up, it was most likely going to be from the forest.


    Loren thought it would be better to camp farther away, but Lapis looked between the forest and the ins.


    ¡°I think it would be easier to get wood for the fire and shield ourselves from the wind if we are closer to the forest. We¡¯ll be windswept the whole night if we camp away from the forest, you know?¡±


    They didn¡¯t bring any firewood since they were going to a forest.


    Adventurers didn¡¯t buy things that they could procure at their destination.


    On top of that, the wind that blew during the night in the ins were quite cold, so it was impossible to block all of it, even inside a tent.


    Which is why Lapis suggested that they use the trees as a shield against the wind, and at the same time make it easier for them to gather firewood.


    ¡°What do you think Feuille?¡±


    Thinking this was a time to use the knowledge of an elf, Loren turned to him, and Feuille looked towards the forest and perked his ears, then turned back to Loren.


    ¡°I think it should be fine. There¡¯s no sign of dangerous animals for now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s do it.¡±


    Once they decided on a course, all that was left to do was act.


    Putting down his backpack, Loren too out arge tent and skillfully set it up, made a hole where they were going to make into a cooking stove, and piled up stones they picked up around the area.


    After doing so, this time went slightly inside the forest where the foliage was dense and was hard to see, dug a deep hole, and hung antern on one of the branches to gain sight.


    While Loren was doing that, Lapis and Feuille gathered firewood from the forest and piled them up on the stove that Loren readied.


    ¡°This should do it for one night.¡±


    He lit thentern and the stove, and the camp wasplete.


    They didn¡¯t bring any cookware to keep their bags light, so they couldn¡¯t cook anything even with a stove, but they could at least boil water and warm the hard bread and dried meat, so Loren guessed that it was enough.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going in from morning, we should hurry and go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°What should we do about keep watch?¡±


    ¡°Rotate between you and me, I guess. Half the night each.¡±


    ¡°Umm, what about me¡­¡±


    ¡°Go to sleep. Sleeping is a child¡¯s job, too.¡±


    Feuille seemed to want to help, ufortable that he was the only one not doing anything, but Loren declined.


    It was hard to imagine that a child like him could keep watch, and he would be moving with them the next day, so he wanted to let him sleep until morning, but Feuille frowned, thinking that Loren thought he was useless.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be counting on your memory tomorrow in the forest. I¡¯m just saying I want you to be well rested.¡±


    As he stroked his head again, a smile returned to Feuille¡¯s face.


    As Loren thought that a child¡¯s gloomy face made the whole air gloomy, Lapis started rubbing her head against him for some reason.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Loren, if you could stroke my head too.¡±


    ¡°¡­Think of your age.¡±


    ¡°I feel like Feuille is getting better treatment!¡±


    It should¡¯ve been fine to leave her alone, but since she said it like that, being the soft-hearted person that he was, Loren didn¡¯t want her to get in a bad mood.


    When he put his hand on Lapis¡¯ head, which was tilted towards him, and started stroking it gently, Lapis narrowed her eyes infort, and after a while, she pulled away, satisfied, and raised her fists in front of her chest.


    ¡°Now I can fight another day!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    Although Loren didn¡¯t understand what she meant, if she was happy, he was fine with it, but then his face stiffened.


    By the time he reached for the great sword on his back, Lapis, who had a soft andfortable look on her face, was on alert as well, and a momentter, Feuille looked towards the forest with his ears twitching.


    ¡°Huh? This is¡­¡±


    ¡°I guess we should¡¯ve set up camp farther away from the forest, huh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hindsight. Definitely hindsight.¡±


    Lapis argued with Loren.


    There wasn¡¯t any nervousness in their words, but all of them could hear footsteps from within the forest headed towards them.

 Chapter 84: Causing an Accident after Attack

    <h4>Chapter 84: Causing an ident after Attack</h4>


    ¡°Seems like there¡¯s a lot of them. Any idea what they are?¡±


    Loren drew his giant heavy pitch ck great sword.


    Lapis braced herself as she put Feuille behind her, while Feuille tried his best to hear the footsteps and identify them.


    ¡°From the footsteps, I think they are forest wolves.¡±


    ¡°Oh, those.¡±


    Loren had heard of them before.


    They were wolves that lived and hunted in packs inside forests and were somewhat dangerous and were responsible for a lot of the deaths of new adventurers that went on easy jobs in the forest.


    As soon as Feuille identified them, they howled and started running towards the camp and jumped at them.


    When Loren swung his great sword across, it went straight through the wolf in front, from its brows to its tail, and I fell onto the ground in two pieces.


    A return swing caught the body of another wolf that pounced to bite him, and sttered blood and intestines on the ground.


    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±


    Although he had killed two if the wolves in the blink of an eye, a third one immediately attacked him, and as he kicked it away since he didn¡¯t have time to swing his great sword, he looked around and couldn¡¯t help but mutter at what he saw.


    Forest wolves usually moved in packs, so Loren had expected that there would be quite a few of them.


    But the number of wolves that surrounded the camp while he was dealing with three of them was way more than he had expected.


    ¡°Maybe a few packs gathered together?¡±


    Shielding Feuille behind her back, Lapis raised her right palm towards the wolves that surrounded them.


    Reacting to her movement, one of the wolves jumped at her to tear off her hand, but in the next moment its head turned behind it along with a blunt sound.


    Not minding their fallenrade, the other wolves started pouncing on her as well, but while another one got its head spun backwards, another was twisted so hard its lower body was facing upside down with its hind legs facing upwards, and one by one, the wolves started dropping dead like flies.


    ¡°Huh? What!?¡±


    As Feuille looked at Lapis in bewilderment, not able to believe that was the work of the priestess that was protecting him, Lapis shook her right hand, which did all the work, and looked at the rest of the forest wolves, who didn¡¯t seem like they were going on back off.


    ¡°This is strange. Were they supposed to be this brave?¡±


    Lapis tilted her head in confusion as she snapped off the head of another wolf that tried to attack her.


    Forest wolves weren¡¯t that brave as individuals, which was why they moved in packs, but they weren¡¯t cowards either.


    But they also had the intelligence to know that they should back off after seeing a few of them being killed so easily.


    But the wolves that surrounded them didn¡¯t run, but instead kept attacking even though they could see others being mowed down and twisted apart.


    ¡°What are these guys?¡±


    ¡°No idea. Maybe they want us for dinner very badly?¡±


    As she joked, Lapis¡¯ right hand stabbed another wolf that was aiming for her throat right in its jaw.


    Feuille¡¯s face stiffened as he watched her m the wolf onto the ground and crushing its head with her heel.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t something I want to show a child, but it can¡¯t be helped, right?¡±


    ¡°You can just put him inside the tent!¡±


    The de of the great sword swung with just his right hand turned a few wolves that were jumping towards Loren into lumps of flesh in midair.


    One that was caught in his left hand by its throat thrashed around to escape, but its limbs went limp as it¡¯s respiratory tract and spine was crushed.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more worrisome if he¡¯s somewhere we can¡¯t see him?¡±


    ¡°I can rte¡­I guess.¡±


    Dropping the wolf which he crushed the neck of, he gripped his great sword with both hands again and acknowledged Lapis¡¯ excuse.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind theming at us if we could eat them, but it¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t.¡±


    When he had asked Lapis about it some time ago, she had said their meat wasn¡¯t that good to eat.


    The number of bodies increased every time he swung his great sword left and right with blood flying all around, but if they couldn¡¯t make use of them, they were nothing more than trash.


    ¡°Looks like we might have to relocate the camp.¡±


    With all the bodies lying there, the stench of blood started flowing throughout the area.


    On top of that, from the bodies that Loren had cut open with his sword, came the stench of their intestines as well.


    As Loren said so, thinking that even if they managed to drive the wolves away, it wouldn¡¯t be a ce he would want to sleep in, Lapis said in an annoyed voice.


    ¡°Moving again? I don¡¯t really want to.¡±


    ¡°So, you say. But do you really want to sleep with all this?¡±


    That would keep her from arguing.


    That¡¯s what Loren thought, but Lapis seemed to have thought of something, as she caught Feuille, who was holding onto her from behind, by the base of his neck, and threw him into the tent and closed it.


    As Loren watched her as he continued cutting down wolves, wondering what she was about to do, Lapis raised her left arm.


    ¡°Whoa whoa. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡­¡±


    ¡°Swirl before my eyes, rage about, O crimson mes <<fire storm="">>¡±


    </fire>


    Before Loren could even try to stop her, the spell created a strong vortex of mes.


    But it wasn¡¯t just one.


    Four storms made of fire appeared around the camp and engulfed the wolves surrounding them, burning high up into the night sky.


    ¡°Hehehe, what do you think about this mastery of magic. It¡¯s more powerful than before because of the amount of mana that I don¡¯t need to use for left arm anymore!¡±


    Lapis said proudly, but Loren silently raised his fist and dropped it into her head quite strongly.


    As Lapis crouched with her hands covering the top of her head with a moan, the four vortexes of mes disappeared as they were released from her control.


    ¡°What are you doing¡­?¡±


    ¡°You know¡­What were you going to do if someone saw you!?¡±


    ¡°A mysterious sage appeared from the forest to save us!¡±


    ¡°You want another one?¡±


    When Loren waved his fist in front of Lapis¡¯ eyes, she put her palm against it as she shook her head with a slightly pale face.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t. It¡¯ll sink right in.¡±


    ¡°Geez¡­Well at least that should¡¯ve made them run off¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Loren raised his right hand as if to protect his neck.


    The next moment, a forest wolf that suddenly jumped towards him bit him on the arm.


    ¡°Loren!?¡±


    ¡°These guys¡­¡±


    Listening to Lapis¡¯ cry of surprise, Loren couldn¡¯t believe what was going on before his eyes.


    Many of the forest wolves that surrounded the camp were turned to ashes by Lapis¡¯ magic, and the rest should have retreated.


    But the wolves didn¡¯t run away, and instead, waited for the fire to die down, and attacked Loren when he let his guard down.


    The wolf growled and tried to sink its fangs deeper into Loren¡¯s arm, but its upper and lower jaws were grabbed by Lapis.


    By the next second, disregarding its jaw strengthpletely, Lapis peeled the wolf from Loren¡¯s arm and tore it in half.


    ¡°Are you okay Loren!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. But what the hell is wrong with them?¡±


    Not fearing the fire and continuing to attack their prey despite seeing so many of theirrades die, could only be described as insanity.


    From the actions of the forest wolves, which seemed to ignore their survival instincts, Loren could even feel something bloodcurdling from them.


    ¡°Do we look that delicious?¡±


    ¡°You look hard and not that delicious so it¡¯s probably either me or Feuille.¡±


    An awkward look appeared on Loren¡¯s face when he heard that.


    There was nothing happy about being told that he looked good to eat, but hearing that he wasn¡¯t, right in his face, wasn¡¯t a good feeling either.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think my guts are as bitter as a demon¡¯s, though.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to say that mine are!?¡±


    ¡°By elimination, Feuille is the one who looks good.¡±


    ¡°I would look delicious too, right!? I¡¯m just as good as Feuille! My skin and flesh are youthful and look so ripe for the picking!¡±


    Lapis said things that could be misunderstood by others if they were listening in a loud voice, but Loren looked towards the forest wolves, which were still surrounding the camp, even though their numbers decreased drastically.


    They treaded the burnt ground, with the leftover heat burning their paws, but they didn¡¯t look like they gave up on attacking them.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to kill them all, huh¡­¡±


    Loren haven¡¯t heard of animals that continued fighting until the whole herd was wiped out.


    But he could imagine the pack of forest wolves in front of him attacking them until thest one died, and a shiver ran down his spine.


    This definitely wasn¡¯t something normal.


    ¡°If you get pressured, your legs could get swept from under you, you know?¡±


    Lapis warned Loren in a callous voice, as if she had sensed something from his words.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you want to be their food, though.¡±


    ¡°Screw that.¡±


    One of the forest wolves sank to the ground before it even reached them, killed by the heat from the ground.


    Although they saw theirrade wasn¡¯t moving anymore, they others didn¡¯t stoping forward.


    With the stench of burning skin, fur, and flesh reaching his nose, Loren gripped his great sword again, but confusion could be seen on his face.


    ¡°We¡¯ll think about the causeter. We have to get through this first.¡±


    ¡°I know that. I know, but¡­¡±


    Two of the wolves jumped towards them.


    Loren swept his great sword through their stomachs, and the bodies dropped to the ground.


    One of them died instantly, but the other didn¡¯t, and even with its insides spilling out of its wound, it crawled towards Loren and tried to bite his foot, but Loren crushed its head.


    ¡°This is disgusting.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is quite¡­unnatural.¡±


    In the end, the forest wolves that attacked them didn¡¯t retreat until thest one of them died.

 Chapter 85: Rushing into Abnormality

    <h4>Chapter 85: Rushing into Abnormality</h4>


    The next morning, Loren and Lapis cleaned up the camp and were finally ready to head into the ck Forest.


    Loren gathered the bodies of the forest wolves that attacked them into onerge pile, and Lapis used the magic <<fire storm="">> to turn everything to ashes.


    </fire>


    They had gathered as much of the sttered pieces of flesh and wiped the blood and burned those as well, but the rusty iron smell of blood and intestines still drifted in the air, so the two of them weren¡¯t able to spend a good night.


    They had considered moving, but after the attack, both didn¡¯t have the will to take everything down and set it up again, so they decided to put up with it and stay there.


    ¡°Are you two alright?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t surprising that Feuille was worried about them.


    Although Loren and Lapis had taken turns keeping watch, when it was their turn to sleep, they couldn¡¯t sleep at all due to the smell.


    Not sleeping for one night wasn¡¯t a problem for both, but theck of sleep still showed on their faces.


    For Feuille, after he had been thrown into the tent, burrowed into a sleeping bag to wait the attack out, but he fell asleep in there until morning, so he had gotten enough sleep.


    ¡°It¡¯ll probably work out somehow.¡±


    ¡°After we reach Feuille¡¯s vige, I¡¯d like to borrow a bed.¡±


    Even if it didn¡¯t affect their actions, it didn¡¯t mean that the bad mood fromck of sleep went away as well, so as Lapis said so with a sullen look, Feuilled nodded quickly.


    ¡°Please rest as much as you want. I¡¯m sure everyone will wee you.¡±


    ¡°I hope so. I guess that¡¯ll be something to look forward to.¡±


    To be honest, Loren wanted to turn around and head back.


    That was how creepyst night¡¯s attack was.


    He could say that the attack itself was because they camped near the forest wolves¡¯ habitat.


    But the way they attacked, ignoring the survival instinct that animals and beasts should have, indicated that there was something wrong with the forest, and along with the stories of elves not showing up in the city anymore and the people who went to investigate noting back, he couldn¡¯t help but see the ck Forest in a creepier way.


    ¡°How long would it take to get to your vige Feuille?¡±


    Lapis, who was walking behind Loren, who slowly stepped into the forest with caution, asked Feuille, who was walking beside her.


    Feuille looked at the situation around him and said after thinking for a while.


    ¡°I think it would take around two hours to get there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite far.¡±


    Elves were also familiar with how to walk in the forest.


    Although how to move efficiently and choosing easy paths within the forest wasmon knowledge for them, it wasn¡¯t so for humans, and if one were to ask if humans could walk the same paths as elves, the answer was a no.


    Elves could easily go through ces that were blocked by undergrowth and vines, as well as paths that would cause humans to trip.


    Lapis whispered to Loren that it was why they shouldn¡¯t take an elf¡¯s sense of travel time in the forest as it is.


    Without even nodding, Loren, who was stepping through shrubbery to make a path, suddenly swept his hand through the air.


    As Lapis braced herself and Feuille looked at him with a surprised face, Loren pulled what he had snatched in midair up to his eyes, and wrapped around his right hand was a snake, which had its neck gripped tightly by him.


    The snake which wrapped itself almost up to Loren¡¯s elbow, seemed to have jumped down from the tree above to bite one of them, but it wasn¡¯trge enough to eat any of them.


    But the snake still opened and closed its mouth and twisted its body to somehow try to bite Loren¡¯s hand.


    ¡°This smells bad Lapis. Careful.¡±


    After saying a warning, Loren crushed the snake¡¯s neck in a heartbeat.


    After seeing it losing its strength and dangling from his arm, he threw the body into a thicket.


    As soon as itnded inside, the thicket started moving, and a ripping sound started sounding from inside, which soon became a gnawing sound, and Feuille went pale.


    ¡°What kind of hellish ce is this?¡±


    Lapis said in a tired voice, knowing immediately that something was ripping apart and eating the snake¡¯s body.


    They quickly moved along, as they didn¡¯t want to know what was inside the thicket eating the snake.


    ¡°How do you elves live in such a dangerous ce?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not usually like this¡­¡±


    A mouse that scurried beneath their feet caught some sort of insect and started nibbling on it.


    The mouse was suddenly pierced by a vine that attacked it from above, losing its life, and the vine started sucking its body fluids with great speed.


    When they looked up, there were a few bodies of some animals hanging from pointed branches, and an animal that looked like a monkey was eating them single mindedly.


    As Loren wondered if there was a bird that did something like that, a giant bird came up from behind the monkey-like animal, snatched it in its ws, and flew off into the sky.


    ¡°Hey, what kind of ce did wee to? Is the ck Forest supposed to be this bloody?¡±


    A different monkey that looked like the one that the bird carried off attacked them from above.


    As Loren saw it and punched it away, making a fist sized dent in its face, it flew through the trees, crashing into branches, and when itnded, rustling sounds and sounds of it shrieking rang out, as if something had attacked it, causing Feuille to jump.


    ¡°What was it?¡±


    ¡°I believe it was a forest ape¡­but it¡¯s strange. They are indeed omnivores, but they usually eat fruits and nuts, and rarely attack other animals¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m don¡¯t know, but I guess there are days where it wants to eat meat.¡±


    Even as he said so, Loren knew that it wasn¡¯t something like that.¡±


    But he couldn¡¯t help but feel that if they didn¡¯t joke around and lighten the mood, they wouldn¡¯t be able to go any farther.


    ¡°Lapis, anything you know or found out?¡±


    Loren decided that this was a time to rely on the priestess of the Knowledge god and asked her, but Lapis was looking in the direction the forest ape flew off with a difficult look on her face.


    As Loren guessed that she saw something that they couldn¡¯t, Lapis shook her head and said quietly.


    ¡°I thought they might¡¯ve be atrocious, but it doesn¡¯t seem right. Their actions are too trackless for someone to be controlling them either.¡±


    As soon as she said that, something wrapped around Feuille¡¯s body.


    He started getting pulled upwards by it before he could even scream, but Loren, who was right beside him, held onto his body with his right hand, and when he ripped what was wrapped around his body with his left hand, a cry rang out from above a nearby tree.


    When he looked up, there was a giant frog over a meter long, hanging upside down from a tree.


    What raised Feuille up seemed to be its tongue, and although the frog was indeedrge, it was slightly too small to swallow Feuille whole. Loren kicked the tree, shaking it, and when the frog dropped down, he crushed its head with his foot.


    ¡°This is ridiculous.¡±


    Small bugs immediately swarmed the dead frog¡¯s body.


    Disgusted at seeing it immediately being taken apart and eaten, Loren pulled the tongue off Feuille, who on the brink of fainting, and lightly hit him on the back.


    ¡°Ugh!?¡±


    ¡°Things will keep oning if you stand still. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening, but if we don¡¯t hurry and reach your vige, it¡¯ll get more troublesome.¡±


    ¡°G-got it.¡±


    Btedly realizing that he almost got eaten, Feuille¡¯s body shook from fear, but seemed to understand that if he stopped something else coulde for him, as he nodded and started walking again.


    ¡°Loren, I don¡¯t think it would be safe to go on like this without any countermeasures.¡±


    They started walking through the shrubbery in the direction Feuille was pointing, but Lapis immediately said to Loren.


    ¡°If some sort of bugs attacks us, there would be nothing my divine arts and your sword can do about them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    No matter how skilled Loren was with the great sword, there was nothing he could do against a swarm of bugs.


    There weren¡¯t any signs of something like that attacking them now, but with the current state of the forest, it was only a matter of time for bugs to see them as prey and attack them.


    ¡°But what could we do about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to borrow Shayna¡¯s power.¡±


    ¡®Me?¡¯


    At Lapis¡¯ words, Shayna appeared within Loren¡¯s sight.


    Lapis and Feuille couldn¡¯t see her, but Lapis continued to talk to Loren.


    ¡°I think it would be good to have her unfold her energy drain lightly and use it as a shield. That would kill small bugs and animals with little life energy, and slightlyrger animals will run off.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t the bugs and small animals be zombies?¡±


    ¡°We can only ask Shayna to adjust her powers.¡±


    As Lapis continued, telling him that she wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible or not, Loren asked Shayna if she could do it.


    Shayna thought for a moment, but eventually put her fist on her chest.


    ¡®I¡¯ll try. Leave it to me Onii-san.¡¯


    As soon as Shayna said that, the shrubbery in front of them started turning from green to brown.


    Bugs around it started dropping to the ground as well, and small animals that came to eat them soon flipped onto their backs and stopped moving.


    ¡®I have my power expanded thinly, loosely, and widely.¡¯


    ¡°I guess we won¡¯t need insect repent in the summer.¡±


    On the ground, which was easier to see among the shriveled grass, were only bugs and small animals.


    Larger animals ran away from Shayna¡¯s power that started sucking up their life force, and there didn¡¯t seem to be any changes in the trees above, which most likely had more life on it.


    ¡°It¡¯s easier to walk as well.¡±


    The shrubbery wilted so there was nothing in the way of their feet.


    The trees were still a nuisance, but there were still far away enough from each other to walk between them, so their travelling speed became significantly faster.


    ¡°Huh? What? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Feuille had already been confused at what was going on with the forest, but this time, his mind couldn¡¯t keep up with the fact that the grass started wilting for no reason.


    He looked towards Loren and Lapis, who seemed to know what was going on, but they couldn¡¯t tell him what was going on, so Lapis looked away, while Loren gave a troubledugh.


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret. Adventurers always have a few cards up their sleeves. Remember that.¡±


    Thinking that there wouldn¡¯t be any other adventurers with a card like his, Loren encouraged Feuille, who looked like he understood and didn¡¯t at the same time, to move forward, and they continued deeper into the forest.

 Chapter 86: Encounter after Discovering

    <h4>Chapter 86: Encounter after Discovering</h4>


    Although Feuille had told them that his vige was two hours away, it seemed that it was indeed in elven standards, as around double that time had passed until they arrived at something like a vige.


    The way there wasn¡¯t an easy one, where they continued to see things fight each other, with the winner eating the loser. As they continued to see such bloody sights, Feuille¡¯s face had gone from blue to pure white, while Loren and Lapis had disgusted looks on their faces.


    ¡°These animals keep attacking us too. Who knows what would¡¯ve happened if Shayna wasn¡¯t with us.¡±


    If Shayna hadn¡¯t been using her energy drain around them, they might¡¯ve been attacked by many more things.


    If some of them were bugs, both Loren and Lapis had no way of dealing with them, so they might¡¯ve had to retreat.


    If they were unlucky, they would¡¯ve fell right then and there.


    ¡®Onii-san, I can keep going so leave it to me.¡¯


    Shayna, who was floating in the corner of Loren¡¯s sight, said as she puffed out her chest, but Loren was very thankful to her.


    ¡°So, is that the vige you live in Feuille?¡±


    Across the trees and shrubbery was an open space.


    There were fences as tall as a person, and on the other side was a few buildings made of logs.


    They were still in the undergrowth so it was slightly dark, but they could see sunlight pouring in on that spot.


    ¡°Yes! This is my¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. This is, huh¡­¡±


    Feuille started to answer in a light hearted voice, but stopped when he heard Loren mutter over him, and looked up at him, looking towards the vige from the shadow of a tree.


    Not having the time to notice Feuille¡¯s reaction, Loren, who was looking over at the vige, asked Lapis, who was looking at the vige as well, in a small voice.


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°The question is so vague I can¡¯t specify an answer.¡±


    Hearing Lapis¡¯ response, Loren gave her a hard look.


    Noticing it, Lapis shrugged.


    ¡°What do you mean by how it is?¡±


    ¡°How the vige looks. What do you think about it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too quiet and I don¡¯t see anyone.¡±


    Hearing her words, Feuille looked back at his vige.


    Usually there would be armed adults at the entrance, as well as adults that patrolled the fence, and on the other side would be children and their parents.


    But right now, he couldn¡¯t see a trace of anyone.


    Worry started to build up inside, as he thought maybe something had happened to the vige, and he wanted to run in there as fast as he could, but both Loren and Lapis continued to stay within the shadows and didn¡¯t show any signs of moving out.


    ¡°Umm¡­Loren? Lapis?¡±


    ¡°I know what you want to say. I know that, but¡­¡±


    As Feuille tried to ask them until when they were going to be hiding there, Loren answered him, scratching his head.


    Feuille¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, as he felt a refusal to go any closer if he could in his words.


    ¡°This is obviously strange. It¡¯s still the middle of the day, but we can¡¯t see anyone. It¡¯s like screaming that something happened.¡±


    ¡°I agree¡­Loren! Above you!¡±


    Lapis, who agreed with Loren¡¯s muttering, suddenly let out a cry of warning, as if she had seen something.


    Loren, immediately reacting by swinging the great sword he had been holding in his right hand, drawn, but when he discerned the thing that was the cause of Lapis¡¯ warning, he released his left hand from the grip of the sword and blocked his face.


    From above his covered head, the thing that attacked bit into his arm, and at the same time, wrapped its arms and legs onto Loren¡¯s body.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right¡­¡±


    Taking a good look at what bit him, Loren couldn¡¯t help but let out a mutter of disbelief.


    What had attacked him from above silently, without him noticing until Lapis had warned him of it, was an elf with disheveled hair.


    The elf which bared its teeth and was biting onto his arm was male, and from its physique, he could see that it was still a boy.


    The elf boy breathed heavily, let out a growl like a beast, and started putting more strength into his jaws, trying to bite off Loren¡¯s flesh, but his bites were shallow, as his teeth couldn¡¯t get through Loren¡¯s well-built muscles.


    But blood still flowed from the ces where his teeth tore through his skin.


    ¡°Did elves eat people?¡±


    Being hesitant about punching or crushing the elf boy away as he did with the forest wolves in front of Feuille, Loren stuck his great sword into the ground, and started peeling him from his left arm.


    But although Loren should¡¯ve been stronger, the elf boy was a lot stronger than he expected, and wasn¡¯t able to peel him off, and both struggled to do what they were doing.


    ¡°For crying out loud. What are you doing to Loren?¡±


    Lapis grabbed the cor of the boy with her right hand and pulled.


    She thought it would get him off, but even though she pulled with enough strength to rip his clothes, she couldn¡¯t peel the elf boy off Loren.


    Lapis, holding the piece of ripped clothing with an annoyed look on her face, grabbed the boy¡¯s neck from behind and forcefully pulled him off.


    On top of that, to keep him from biting her or Loren again, she threw him towards the vige with quite a bit of strength, and the boy flew in an arc andnded on the ground.


    Even afternding, the momentum sent him rolling.


    ¡°Loren, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, but¡­¡±


    The ce where he was bit had teeth marks on it, and he was bleeding from a few ces.


    The injury wasn¡¯t a big deal, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel an eeriness from it.


    Loren was afraid that something bad had entered his body from the wound and he would be like the elf boy, but the wound immediately stopped bleeding and the teeth marks disappeared.


    ¡®Leave the treatment to me Onii-san. No matter what happens, Shayna will do something about it.¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s very reliable of you¡­¡±


    ¡°Does your body feel any different?¡±


    As Lapis looked at him with a worried look, Loren took a moment to check himself, and shook his head slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. The problem is that.¡±


    The elf boy that Lapis had thrown hit the fence, which stopped its rolling.


    He didn¡¯t feel like being merciful to someone who had suddenly bit him, but he didn¡¯t feel like killing an elf in front of Feuille, who was looking with his eyes wide open, not being able toprehend what was going on.


    Pulling out the great sword that he stuck into the ground, Loren emerged from the tree he was hiding behind and started walking towards the vige, hoping that the impact from Lapis¡¯ throw had got the boy back to his senses.


    He looked down at the elf boy, who was groaning from being thrown.


    ¡°Be careful Loren.¡±


    ¡°Well, with how he was thrown, I doubt he¡¯ll be able to stand for a while.¡±


    From what he had seen, even a human would need quite a bit of time to recover from being thrown like the boy had been.


    Since elves were thinner and more delicate than humans, they were less resistant to physical damage, so Loren guessed that there was a possibility that the boy could be injured so bad that he couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Hey, have youe to your senses?¡±


    All that came back was a low, meaningless growl.


    As Loren started to think it was hopeless, the growl suddenly got louder.


    As Loren backed off, bracing himself, the elf boy¡¯s growling slowly turned into screams, his body started convulsing, and he started scratching his chest and stomach.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s some sort of disease?¡±


    While Lapis was saying, looking at the situation from behind Loren.


    Feuille cried out and tried to run to the elf writhing in agony, but Loren held him back by grabbing the base of his neck.


    ¡°Sarion! It¡¯s me! Feuille! Don¡¯t you recognize me!?¡±


    As Feuille desperately called out to the boy writhing on the ground, even as he was being held back, a small light of sanity returned to his eyes.


    Right when Loren thought ¡®could it be¡¯, The boy named Sarion let out a gurgled scream that he hadn¡¯t let out before and threw up arge amount of blood from his mouth.


    When Loren looked at him closely, he saw that there was blood oozing here and there on his clothes, and it was slowly dying his clothes in red.


    ¡°Wounds?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something that simple.¡±


    Lapis pointed to a part of the boy¡¯s clothes dyed in blood.


    When he looked closely, he could see something wriggling under the clothes, and seeing that every time it moved, the boy¡¯s screams became louder, he backed away from the boy named Sarion, still holding Feuille by his neck.


    ¡°Sarion! Get a hold of yourself Sarion!¡±


    The boy stretched his arm out towards Feuille¡¯s voice.


    The boy who reached out knowing that it wasn¡¯t going to reach, as if asking for help, dropped his hand to the ground as if someone had cut the strings of a puppet, and the screams stopped as well.


    ¡°What did this to him¡­¡±


    Leaving Feuille, who was stunned in shock, with Lapis, Loren walked up to Sarion¡¯s dead body.


    The boy was already dead, but there were several lumps under his clothes in several ces, squirming.


    He couldn¡¯t decide whether investigating what was under there would help them avoid ending up like the boy, and he knew it was going to be a disgusting sight, but he eventually made up his mind and turned over the clothes where a lump was.


    ¡°Ugh!?¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be helped that Loren let out a cry of disgust.


    Beneath the clothes was a small being with a single pair of wings on its back, single-mindedly biting into the boy¡¯s body, tearing his flesh, and eating it.

 Chapter 87: Investigation after Predation

    <h4>Chapter 87: Investigation after Predation</h4>


    At a nce, it looked simr to Shayna.


    A palm sized girl with shoulder length xen hair, a white dress, and a pair of transparent wings on its back.


    But the definitive difference was that everything was covered in blood, and its somewhat cute looking face made it seem even stranger.


    ¡°What the hell¡­¡±


    The girl¡¯s head rose at Loren¡¯s voice.


    The girl who had been biting into the dead elf¡¯s body stared at Loren¡¯s face, and as Loren started wondering if he should fake a smile, the girl opened its bloody mouth wide and suddenly pounced towards Loren.


    Unintentionally, without thinking, Loren moved his body backwards and knocked the small girl down with his hand.


    With the full strength of Loren¡¯s arm, which allowed him to swing around his great sword skillfully, there was no way a being the size of a palm would stand a chance.


    A small dense sound and the feeling of something small hitting his hand.


    The thing that jumped towards Loren was mmed onto the ground face first, sttered something red around it, and stopped moving.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­a fairy.¡±


    Feuille pointed at it with a trembling voice.


    ¡°But why¡­This hasn¡¯t happened before¡­¡±


    As Feuille muttered, confused at what he was seeing, but Loren didn¡¯t know what was happening either.


    As he bent down to pick up the fairy that he had knocked down, thinking that they needed more information, he realized that the body of the elf boy, which the fairy had been eating, was still twitching.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­¡±


    As if waiting for Loren to say that, lumps started forming all over the boy¡¯s body.


    Loren immediately understood what was happening and shouted to Lapis and Feuille.


    ¡°Get back! There¡¯s more of them inside!¡±


    What showed up from the body, ripping through skin and clothes, were small beings the size of a palm.


    There all looked different and had different hairstyles, some looking like girls while some looked like boys, but all of them wore simple clothing, and were ckish red, as if they had been bathing in blood.


    Although the question of how all of them were inside the poor elf boy¡¯s body urred in his mind, Loren had a bigger problem to take care of.


    As if they were tired of the taste of elf, the small beings pped their wings and started attacking Loren, who was the nearest.


    If it were a normal monster, Loren wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to drive it back with his great sword.


    But the innumerable amount of fairies flying at him were too small to use his sword against.


    He could¡¯ve killed a few of them using the atmospheric turbulence created by the de and mass of the sword, but there was way too many of them.


    He considered dropping his great sword and batting them down with his hands, but it didn¡¯t seem like he could do that in time, and the time that he spent thinking shortened the time for retaliation even further.


    By the time he thought it was bad, the fairies with open mouths and bloodshot eyes were almost at his face.


    Bracing himself for a few ces being torn off and eaten, Loren raised his arm and gritted his teeth, but the pain he had expected didn¡¯t follow, and instead, all he felt was a few light impacts on his arm.


    During battle, closing your eyes was the same as suicide.


    Because Loren had been taught that, he was able to keep his eyes open, and from across his arm, he could see things dropping to the floor, and when he lowered his arm, the sight of the fairies dropping to the ground like bugs being hit with repent.


    ¡®Onii-san, please praise Shayna.¡¯


    Hearing Shayna¡¯s voice filled with joy from being able to take care of the situation, Loren had a good idea of what happened.


    It seemed that Shayna, seeing that it was impossible to stop the fairies physically, strengthened the energy drain she had been using as insect repent, and took the lives of the fairies.


    Being so small, fairies had a smaller life force than humans.


    Shayna seemed to have acted off the calction that although there were many of them, the energy drain would do its job, and as she had expected, the power had protected Loren¡¯s body from them.


    (Thanks, you saved me there.)


    Even if he got attacked, he didn¡¯t think that he would be like the elf boy, but he knew that he would¡¯ve been quite injured.


    Which is why he thanked Shayna in his mind, then started investigating the dead fairies around him.


    But as if Shayna couldn¡¯t adjust her strength at the sudden attack, the fairies on the ground were all shriveled up like mummies.


    Picking up one of them, Loren started examining its wrinkled body.


    ¡°Fairies aren¡¯t a race to do such bloody things¡­but why did these?¡±


    ¡°No idea. The only thing I know for sure is that things that don¡¯t do this are doing it.¡±


    ¡°So why no one¡¯s in the vige¡­It can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    After saying so, Feuille looked towards the vige, terrified at what he had just imagined.


    They had caused quite a ruckus, but there was no sign of anyoneing out of the vige to see what was going on.


    ¡°In any case, it doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯ll be undead.¡±


    After examining the dead fairy, Loren handed it to Lapis, who was walking towards him.


    Although handing over a dead body was quite an abnormal thing to do, Lapis took the body, not seeming to care, took off its clothes and started examining it front and back.


    ¡°No signs of drugs¡­parasites, and magic. Other than the fact that it¡¯s shriveled up, it looks normal.¡±


    ¡°You just took of its clothes without a second thought, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It was a boy.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you that.¡±


    Unhappy that Loren¡¯s attitude towards her turned cold, she threw the body behind her back.


    It arced across the trees, and as soon as itnded, they could hear something fighting, and realizing that something was fighting over it, Feuille went pale.


    ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ll put a spell of protection over Feuille.¡±


    Lapis put her hands on Feuille¡¯s shoulder as he stood in ce, frozen.


    ¡°Go ahead. Something biting me from the side gives me shivers.¡±


    ¡°Loren¡­should be fine, I think? You have that as well.¡±


    Lapis pointed towards the great sword that Loren held.


    When Loren raised it up, wondering what the matter with it was, Lapis touched its de and said proudly.


    ¡°This had a mechanism that protects its wielder. It won¡¯t let any bad things such as curses near you.¡±


    ¡°How do you know the functions of this when you randomly found it in the weapon shop?¡±


    In fact, the weapon was something Lapis had procured from somewhere for Loren, who had lost his weapon during a job, and had schemed with the weapon shop owner to sell to him.


    Of course, Loren hadn¡¯t bothered confirming with Lapis, and Lapis hadn¡¯t said a thing about it to Loren, but Loren knew it was something like that when he bought it.


    ¡°I¡¯m a priestess of the Knowledge god, after all.¡±


    ¡°Stop being so unreasonable to other priests of the Knowledge god.¡±


    Loren started feeling even sorrier for the priests of the Knowledge god other than Lapis.


    Although the only ones there were him and Feuille, it was a problem if Feuille got an inted image of them.


    ¡°Enough about that. How about we go inside the vige? We need to investigate, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really not, but I guess we should.¡±


    There was a chance there could be survivors.


    Even if there weren¡¯t, Loren guessed they could find clues to what happened, and started walking towards the vige with his great sword in hand.


    Lapis, with Feuille in tow, followed him.


    They entered from a torn part of the fence surrounding the area, the sight that waited for them was a terrible one that he couldn¡¯t imagine seeing for Feuille, but for Loren and Lapis, it was what they had expected to see.


    The attack seemed to have been a sudden one.


    Within the houses they entered, although they were ransacked, they found signs of preparing food, and in some houses they saw remains of meals on the table.


    Although, all of them were devoured by something.


    They found a few bodies as well.


    They couldn¡¯t tell if they tried to fight or run away, but there were bodies of dead elves leaning against the side of the road or against walls everywhere.


    Those were destroyed horribly by something as well, and was impossible to tell how the cause of death.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it was just the fairies.¡±


    Lapis muttered as she looked at the destroyed wall of the building, and a dead body that was leaning onto the remains.


    ¡°There are buildings with destroyed walls all over the ce, so it seems like it was attacked by medium sized torge monsters as well.¡±


    ¡°Searching for the culprit won¡¯t mean anything in this forest, I guess.¡±


    Loren shook his head at therge number of possibilities.


    Even if they did identify who did it, it didn¡¯t seem to matter to them in their current situation.


    After all, the vige had already been destroyed, and there were no signs of survivors.


    ¡°There were traces of attempts to hide children as well.¡±


    There were bodies of dead children in basements andrge chests.


    The parents must have put them in there, praying that they would survive the attack, but it seemed that they couldn¡¯t escape the clutches of the attackers, and none of the prayers were answered.


    ¡°No, there was the child from before.¡±


    ¡°You mean that he had managed to survive until today¡­I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    Lapis closed her eyes and folded her hands, and said a short prayer.


    Seeing her, Loren thought for a moment that she looked like a priestess, but when he thought about it, her job was a priestess, and thinking that she looked like one was kind of rude.


    ¡°What do you think¡­happened to everyone in the vige?¡±


    Feuille, who had seen the horrible state of the vige, being pulled around by Loren and Lapis, asked them in a hollow voice.


    It was possible to imagine based on what the vige looked like, but Loren, not having a definitive answer, looked towards Lapis, as if asking her what they should tell him.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s not fair that you turn things like this to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but still.¡±


    When it came to words, Loren couldn¡¯t evenpete against Lapis.


    He could¡¯ve just told Feuille what he thought, but if he did that, there was no way to tell if he could endure the shock.


    ¡°Well, my guess is probably a bit different than yours though.¡±


    After letting out a sigh, Lapis turned towards Feuille, who was looking towards them with clinging eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many people lived here, but I think that there are too few bodies for the scale of the vige.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s always the line of the bodies being eatenpletely, but it¡¯s unnatural to think that no one was able to escape an uncoordinated attack.¡±


    A small light returned to Feuille¡¯s eyes.


    When Loren heard those words, he was convinced that she might be right.


    Putting aside what attacked the vige, what most of those who won¡¯t fight would do was either run or hide.


    Then it wouldn¡¯t be strange for there to be residents that chose to run, and it was hard to say that none were able to escape.


    ¡°If it were as well nned and coordinated as the attack on the post town, it would be a different story¡­So Feuille, do you have any idea of a ce where the people of the vige would run away too?¡±


    There could be survivors.


    Being presented with such a possibility, Feuille told Loren and Lapis the only ce he knew of that could be used as refuge.

 Chapter 88: Running after Investigating

    <h4>Chapter 88: Running after Investigating</h4>


    ¡°Hidden vige of fairies?¡±


    Loren repeated what Feuille had said.


    Feuille, looking up at Loren, nodded.


    It sounded suspicious, but putting the name aside for now, Loren asked Feuille for an exnation.


    ¡°You know that fairies live in this forest, right? But there¡¯s a vige of high-ss fairies among them.¡±


    ¡°Why would you run there?¡±


    Loren had heard that elves and fairies were in a close position to each other as races.


    Although their sizes were different, it was aid that they shared the same ancestors.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what kind of paths they each took to be so different, but because both races acknowledged the fact that they were once one, they tended to build viges and live in simr ces.


    ¡°The chief of the fairies lives there. Since we elves and fairies were once the same race, it was decided that we run to his vige in an emergency.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°So how do we get there?¡±


    Lapis asked, thinking that since it was a hidden vige, getting there wouldn¡¯t be simple.


    But at her question, Feuille cocked his head with a troubled look on his face.


    Loren sighed, seeing that although he knew about it, he had never been there before.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to search the vige again.¡±


    ¡°I believe we¡¯ve gone through it quite thoroughly though.¡±


    Although all they did was examine what happened, they had gone through most of the vige.


    The vige wasn¡¯t thatrge either, so Lapis found it hard to believe that they had missed something, but she considered the possibility of finding something new, since they were looking for something else.


    At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren asked Feuille one more time, trying to raise the chances of them finding something.


    ¡°Feuille, can you think of anything that could help us?


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    Understanding that all they had to work with was his memory, Feuille tried hard to recall something that could be of use to them, but it didn¡¯t seem like he could do so on the spot.


    Even as they stood there, time went on.


    Thinking that they wouldn¡¯t find anything if they didn¡¯t start moving, Loren called out to Lapis, who was watching Feuille.


    ¡°How about we start looking through the vige again, and Feuille can keep thinking while we do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. We might find something useful, so let¡¯s start searching.¡±


    When she said the word useful, Loren, knowing about her habits, couldn¡¯t help but feel worried, but he forced himself to ignore it and turned to Feuille, who was still thinking.


    ¡°Alright, you stay here. We¡¯ll go look through the ce again. Shout if something happens, alright?¡±


    ¡°O-okay.¡±


    After hearing him respond, Loren and Lapis started investigating the vige again.


    But it wasn¡¯t a favorable thing for Loren, as it meant that he would have to go through the remains of the attack again, but he started searching here and there, grimacing as he did so.


    After all, the remains of the attack were still fresh.


    Although he was used to seeing dead bodies and blood, the process of flipping them over and putting his face close to them was quite depressing, so Loren tried not to think of it as much and silently continued what he was doing.


    ¡°Elves aren¡¯t really fashionable and don¡¯t have much jewelry and such. They are a race that says, ¡®We¡¯re already look beautiful, so we don¡¯t need to dress up¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That sounds really biased¡­Hey, you want to tell me why you¡¯re talking about jewelry?¡±


    When Lapis said in a bored voice as she flipped over a shelf, Loren asked her in a threatening voice, but whether it be that she didn¡¯t hear him, or acted like she didn¡¯t hear him, she continued to bber on.


    ¡°They are a race that lives off the forest, so they don¡¯t have many things like money and such¡­which makes it quite boring.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. What are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°Information regarding the hidden vige of fairies, right? Am I wrong?¡±


    Lapis gave him a questioning look, and although he didn¡¯t feel satisfied with her answer, she wasn¡¯t wrong, so he continued what he was doing.


    ¡°They traded with a human city, so there should be money used to pay them¡­I wonder where they¡¯re at?¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait. You¡¯ve been talking about things that are unrted, you know that?¡±


    Loren put his hand on Lapis¡¯ shoulder and turned her towards him, but Lapis, who had been forced to turn, red at him with a huffy look.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for what we need, you know? Hints about the hidden vige, right? What¡¯s worrying you so much, Loren?¡±


    She said it so boldly, the thought that he might have been mishearing things crossed Loren¡¯s mind, and he let go of her shoulder.


    As he apologized to her as she fixed her clothes, and was about to return to investigating, Loren turned around and grabbed her shoulder again when he heard her next words.


    ¡°Oh look, a stack of silver coins.¡±


    ¡°Woah, woah, wait a second. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to steal money and jewelry.¡±


    When Loren but in as Lapis pulled out a stack of silver coins wrapped in leather from out of the shelf, Lapis hugged it by her chest and said with a serious face.


    ¡°Dead people don¡¯t use money, and don¡¯t dress up either, you know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡±


    ¡°Even if we leave it, it would rot away here, or it¡¯ll fill up the wallet of whoever finds their way in here. Then wouldn¡¯t it be better if it filled up our wallets instead?¡±


    ¡°¡­I won¡¯t stop you taking them. But if there are survivors give it back, alright?¡±


    If the owner wasn¡¯t here anymore, as Lapis mentioned, he was most likely dead, so Loren guessed that it would be fine to make what they found theirs.


    But if the residents were hiding at the hidden vige, the coins that Lapis was holding onto should be returned to them and wasn¡¯t something Lapis could take.


    ¡°Loren, my motivation to look for information is leaving me¡­¡±


    If there were residents that survived and escaped to the hidden vige that Feuille had mentioned, they had the right to inherit what was left.


    Even if what they found wasn¡¯t rightfully their property.


    It was normal to think that if the owner wasn¡¯t alive, the rights to everything that was left in the vige.


    Looking for the hidden vige meant looking for possible survivors, and that meant giving back everything they had found, and realizing that, Lapis seemed to have lost motivation.


    ¡°Lapis, be serious, okay? If we¡¯re not careful, we might not be able to leave this ce alive.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ response sounded carefree.


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should feel relieved that she responded as usual or scold her that she wasn¡¯t being cautious enough.


    Thinking that since Lapis seemed to be powerful even among demon kind, she might not consider their current situation as dangerous, both being relieved or scolding her didn¡¯t seem like the right thing to do, so without concluding, Loren was about to go back to his work, but Lapis tapped his back.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Loren, I forgot something important.¡±


    Slightly taken aback at her serious tone, Loren nodded, and Lapis continued.


    ¡°This vige was attacked at least once, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well. We can see that.¡±


    ¡°Where do you think whatever that attacked the vige went?¡±


    Loren started thinking.


    If it were in the vige, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter.


    They were able to enter and investigate because it wasn¡¯t here, but when asked where it went.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    If it went far away, it was fine.


    But if it remembered that it found arge amount of prey here, Loren realized that it wouldn¡¯t have gone too far.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many times the vige was attacked, but¡­it should remember that there was prey here, whatever attacked.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­I guess.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t theye back?¡±


    A dark shadow covered Loren¡¯s mind at Lapis¡¯ words.


    It was possible that because they weren¡¯t acting normal, and were acting berserk, their movements and actions became simple.


    Coming back to where prey was found was something animals did all the time, and it wasn¡¯t surprising if whatever attacked the vige would do so as well.


    ¡°On top of that, we entered the vige in broad daylight, right?¡±


    ¡°Lapis let¡¯s go get Feuille.¡±


    Loren was already moving before Lapis even finished talking.


    Lapis followed behind, as if she knew that Loren would start moving.


    If something had seen them enter the vige, as Lapis had feared, and if that something was connected to what attacked the vige.


    The information that new prey had entered the area would already be in its ears, and if it was, Loren could only think of one thing it would do.


    ¡°Crap! This ce is still dangerous!¡±


    ¡°I think we realized that a bit toote!¡±


    They heard Feuille shout in the distance.


    Loren thought they should have left the ce as soon as they confirmed that it was destroyed, but it was already toote.


    ¡°Loren! The dead elves!¡±


    When he turned towards Lapis¡¯ voice, there were small winged beings that started popping out of the bodies with ripping sounds.


    Seeing that they were all fairies, he cursed and continued running towards where they left Feuille, wondering how this was all happening.


    ¡°Fairies aren¡¯t born from eggs, so they couldn¡¯t haveid any¡­Then why are fairies emerging from the elves¡¯ bodies? Because they¡¯re close races? But then what¡¯s triggering it?¡±


    Lapis was muttering something about the unbelievable sight was happening around them, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand a thing she was saying.


    But getting Feuille was top priority, so as he continued running, slipping through a few buildings, he saw Feuille running for his life towards him.


    ¡°Loren! The fairies are back¡­¡±


    ¡°I know! Grab on, we¡¯re going to get out of here!¡±


    As Loren slid to a stop, raising a dust cloud, grabbed Feuille¡¯s hand, pulled on it, put him under his arm, and started running back towards Lapis.


    ¡°Umm¡­Oh, they¡¯re already here.¡±


    Although Lapis didn¡¯t follow why Loren suddenly turned back towards her, she saw the swarm of fairies that were chasing Feuille, turned around with a sigh, and started chasing after Loren, with the fluttering of wings chasing behind them.

 Chapter 89: Meeting after Running

    <h4>Chapter 89: Meeting after Running</h4>


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that this isn¡¯t a good situation. What do you think?¡±


    Lapis asked him as they ran through the forest, but Loren had too much on his te to answer her.


    He was running through a ce that was hard to run in and had a child under his arm.


    Although it was easier than running while carrying Lapis on his back, but because the fairies chasing after them were so fast, he was having to run at full speed, and he was so tired that if he lost focus even for a second, his feet might stop moving.


    ¡°Can¡¯t Shayna drive them away?¡±


    ¡®I¡¯ve been working on it¡­¡¯


    Of course, Shayna¡¯s voice didn¡¯t reach Lapis¡¯ ears.


    Only Loren could hear her.


    Hearing her, Loren moved his eyes and looked around, and saw there were fairies here and there falling to the ground, but it didn¡¯t seem to have much effect because of their sheer numbers.


    ¡°If we stop, we¡¯ll end up being eaten. What do we do!?¡±


    ¡°Burn them?¡±


    ¡°Do you prefer being burned to death than eaten to death?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ magic was powerful.


    It wasn¡¯t something they would want to use in front of Feuille, but in the crisis they were in, Loren knew that they couldn¡¯t afford to be picky.


    But they were currently running within a forest, and if Lapis were to use the magic she used at the campsite before they entered the forest, it would burn everything around them as well as the fairies, and there was no telling how big of a fire it would be.


    If that happened, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape scot free either.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you use spells other that aren¡¯t fire attribute?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that good at them¡­because they aren¡¯t that cool.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t choose magic based on how they look!¡±


    Although he said that, he couldn¡¯t tell her to use something she couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°We¡¯ll eventually be caught!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re smaller and can navigate through the forest better than us, after all.¡±


    Since Loren had arge body, he had to be careful about choosing the spaces between the trees he could fit through, but the fairies that were chasing them could get past almost every opening, so they were chasing after them in almost a straight line.


    ¡°Do fairies ever get tired!?¡±


    ¡°They do, but I have a feeling that even if they do, that won¡¯t stop them.¡±


    When Loren nced back, what he saw were fairies with bloodshot eyes and blood covered mouths, gnashing their teeth and fluttering their wings.


    The sight was even scarier because of their cute looking faces, so Loren turned back, afraid that if he looked at them too long, they would appear in his nightmares.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like we could talk to them either.


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    Although she didn¡¯t sound worried at all, Loren could see a hint of uneasiness on her face, so instead of saying anything, he got a better grip on Feuille and focused on running.


    If he was told to charge into the fairies, swinging his great sword, although he would get quite injured, he could do so, but if he was told to think of a way to drive them back or find somece to hide, he didn¡¯t think he could think of any.


    So, Loren decided that all he could do was keep running while hoping that Lapis could think of something.


    After a while Lapis asked Feuille, who was hanging limp under Loren¡¯s arm, a question.


    ¡°Is there ake or a swamp that¡¯s somewhat deep in the area?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one that way.¡±


    Feuille pointed in a direction.


    Confirming the direction in which he was pointing at, Lapis tapped Loren on the shoulder, somehow leaned into him while running at top speed, and yelled into his ear loud enough so he could hear her over the pping of wings.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go that way!¡±


    ¡°That way is¡­¡±


    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s ake or a swamp, but there¡¯s water! You know what to do, right?¡±


    After thinking for a moment, Loren realized Lapis¡¯ intentions.


    It was possible that they could wait out the swarm of fairies that were chasing them.


    ¡°Same as bees, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Now all we have to do is hope that the water is as clean as possible!¡±


    Among the things one could do when being chased by bees that sting, jumping into water is one of them.


    Creatures like bees won¡¯t follow under the water because their wings would get wet.


    Although she wasn¡¯t sure if the fairies were the same, Lapis guessed that there was a high chance that they won¡¯t follow them anymore.


    But on top of needing a deep source of water, they had to be inside it from head to toe.


    If the water was somewhat clean, it would be endurable, but if it was green or mixed with rotten mud, they could be hesitant, even though their lives depended on it.


    ¡°Feuille! Is it ake or a swamp!?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, umm?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a swamp, hurry up and tell us! We need to be prepared if it is!¡±


    Loren could even jump into a sewer if it meant saving his life, but he still wanted some time to prepare mentally.


    That was why he wanted to confirm beforehand with Feuille, but because of the sudden questions as well as bouncing up and down, his mind was muddled and couldn¡¯t give a proper reply.


    During that time, the trees cleared up and they could see the water they were aiming for.


    ¡°Loren, it¡¯s ake!¡±


    The color of the water wasn¡¯t brown or green.


    Instead, the water looked clear and blue.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s not a problem then! We¡¯re jumping in! Hold your breath!¡±


    ¡°Just like that!? Loren!? Oh my¡­<<water breathing="">>!¡±


    </water>


    Chasing in after Loren, Lapis used something that he wasn¡¯t sure if it was magic or divine arts.


    Loren¡¯s body sunk down into the water regardless of whether it took effect or not.


    The water was so clear that he could see quite far off.


    Loren had been worried that because of the state of the forest, inside theke would be the same way, so even if they were able to escape the fairies, this time they would have to run from creatures underwater.


    But clear water wasn¡¯t a suitable for many creatures to live in.


    If it was this clear, it was possible to see if anything wasing towards them, so Loren guessed that it would be fine and looked up, and a shiver ran down his back as he saw the fairies flying above the water.


    If it were bees, they would swarm above the water for a while, and eventually give up and fly away, but the fairies showed no signs of going away, and were waiting for them toe back up.


    As he held his breath, Loren decided that they were in a bad spot.


    As he was afraid that they would have to choose between drowning and having their faces torn apart, Lapis pulled on his clothes.


    When he turned towards her, she opened her mouth wide and took a deep breath.


    Water should¡¯ve rushed into her lungs and pushed out all the air, but Lapis took breath after breath like nothing happened, and nudged Loren to do so as well.


    ¡®Onii-san, what Onee-san used was a spell that allows you to breathe underwater. It¡¯s okay so let go of your breath and try breathing.¡¯


    Loren hesitated, even seeing Lapis doing so, but with Shayna urging him on as well, he opened his mouth and tried breathing in the water.


    But the water didn¡¯t gush in, as if stopped by an invisible wall, and instead, he felt cold air flow into his lungs.


    When he turned to Feuille, who he was carrying, was in the middle of trying it out himself as well, he was relieved to see that he was doing fine as well.


    As he did so, Lapis grabbed his hand and started pulling him.


    With their difference in size, even though it was underwater, Lapis couldn¡¯t move Loren at all, but since they couldn¡¯t talk, Shayna exined what she was trying to say.


    ¡®Onii-san, the effect of the spell isn¡¯t permanent. If we don¡¯t escape to a ce we can surface, you¡¯ll still die, you know?¡¯


    Although it seemed like they escaped drowning, they weren¡¯t safe yet.


    So, as he let Lapis pull him along, Loren looked for somewhere they could escape the fairies flying overhead.


    But no matter how far they traveled, the shadow above showed no signs of going away.


    Theke didn¡¯t look thatrge, but if there were enough fairies on the surface to cover the wholeke, that was a ridiculous amount of them.


    As Loren wondered what they could do as he looked upwards at the shadow, he eventually gave up and looked back down, and cocked his head as he saw Lapis trying to chase something away.


    As he got closer, thinking that there was no way there could be ones that could dive underwater, his widened as he saw that it was indeed a fairy.


    11


    ¡°W-wait, wait a second! Please listen to me!¡±


    The fairy that kepting back even as Lapis continued to p away seemed to be a girl.


    At the clear voice that rang out within the water, Loren stopped trying to run away, and Lapis stopped trying to hit her.


    Seeing that the two of them stopped, the fairy that was going around Lapis stopped in front of her.


    ¡°Mister and miss human, are you two still normal? Have you been running from that? If so, how about I help you out here, and then you can help us?¡±


    All the fairies they had met until then had just tried to bite them, not try to talk to them.


    Loren was confused at the appearance of the fairy that could breathe underwater, as well as talk.


    ¡°I¡¯ll guide you, so could you at least hear me out?¡±


    The fairy girl, with her chestnut hair swaying in the water, tried to lead them somewhere, pping her wings.


    Knowing that she was their best chance at getting out of the situation, Loren and Lapis started walking through the water after her.

 Chapter 90: Requested after Guidance

    <h4>Chapter 90: Requested after Guidance</h4>


    The sane fairy girl that suddenly appeared.


    Their situation became better now that the fairy was taking them to safety, but it was only because they had no other option, so they continued to follow behind her.


    Above them was the shadow of the swarm of fairies who seemed to have lost their sanity, waiting for them to surface, and along with a mysterious and unreal feeling at the fact he was breathing as he was moving underwater, they reached a small hole on the bottom of theke.


    After a while since they entered the hole, which was barelyrge enough for a person to crawl through, they hit a wall, and the hole stretched upward.


    But that was barelyrge enough for a single person to go through as well, and although Lapis and Feuille had no problem, Loren, who had a wide build as well as a great sword on his back, couldn¡¯t go through, so he had Lapis pull his sword from above, and he managed to get through after.


    Managing to get through, Loren put his hands on the edge of the hole and pulled himself out from the water.


    When he looked around, shaking off the water, he saw that they were in some sort of cave, with a soft, white light illuminating the area.


    ¡°Ugh¡­I¡¯m soaking.¡±


    When he turned towards the voice, he saw Lapis, soaking wet, sitting on the floor, squeezing the water out of her clothes.


    Loren and Feuille were wearing light clothing, so it wasn¡¯t much of a deal, but although the priest¡¯s clothing that Lapis was wearing was simplified to be easy to move in, it used way more clothpared to Loren¡¯s clothes, and with all of itpletely wet, it was heavy and ufortable.


    ¡°It¡¯s because Loren suddenly jumped in¡­¡±


    ¡°I mean, what else should I have done?¡±


    ¡°I only got <<water breathing="" off="">>. I had other spells that could keep us from getting wet and protecting us from water pressure, you know?¡±


    </water>


    Although Lapis gave him a reproachful look, Loren doubted that she would¡¯ve been able to get everything done in time.


    Although he thought so, he knew that if he said it out loud, it would worsen Lapis¡¯ mood even further, so he decided to stay silent.


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to take everything off¡­I can¡¯t move in this¡­¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Lapis seemed to know that it was pointless to me Loren, as after she had cursed lightly at him once more, she started squeezing and pounding on her clothes to try to make it feel less ufortable, but she eventually gave up, and started taking off her clothes, grimacing at the feeling of wet clothing peeling off her skin.


    Loren wondered if it was okay to start taking off her clothes without hesitation in front of a man, but wearing wet clothes was indeed ufortable, so it was hard for him to tell her to keep them on.


    If possible, Loren wanted to take off his clothes and dry them next to a fire, but while he was wondering if they could find something to burn in the cave and if there was a ce they could start a fire, something flew in front of his face.


    ¡°Can we talk?¡±


    It was the fairy that had led them there.


    As if she had used magic that Lapis had mentioned beforehand, her dress and wings didn¡¯t have a single drop of water on them.


    ¡°Can you understand me mister human?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can hear and understand you.¡±


    Whatever the case, she was the one who saved them.


    As Loren responded, thinking that he should be polite, the fairy smiled and perched on his shoulder.


    ¡°So, for introductions, I¡¯m Corne of the fairy race. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°She talks pretty slowly.¡±


    When Lapismented on the fairy that introduced herself, Loren turned his head towards her, but immediately looked away.


    It seemed that Lapis had been steadily taking off her clothes, and when Loren turned towards her, she had taken off everything except for her underwear, and was folding them and stacking them up next to her.


    Which meant that her chest and stomach was in in view, and although Loren didn¡¯t mean to look, the image was burned into his eyes.


    12


    ¡°Hm? Loren, your face is all red.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Cover yourself up a bit, will you?¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so¡­Loren¡¯s the only one who¡¯s looking.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem.¡±


    When Loren curtly, trying to hide his red face, Lapis stared at him, not understanding what he meant, and after a while, a wide grin appeared on her face.


    ¡°Loren? Are you embarrassed, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Lapis, I hate to break it to you like this. But I can¡¯t like a girl with no sense of shame.¡±


    When Loren decided to give her a warning before she started teasing him again, Lapis immediately picked up her clothes and tried to cover her chest.


    But she didn¡¯t seem to want to put wet clothes on her skin again, and after pushing and pulling her clothes from herself for a while, she looked up at Loren with a troubled face.


    ¡°Umm, Corne, right? As you can see, we¡¯re wet rats here. We¡¯d like to dry ourselves, so is there anything you could do?¡±


    ¡°Then follow me. Our home is just up ahead.¡±


    epting Loren¡¯s request, the fairy named Corne floated up from Loren¡¯s shoulder and started slowly flying deeper into the cave, waving for them to follow.


    Loren, calling Lapis, who was half naked, and Feuille, who was sitting on the floor, decided to follow after Corne.


    ¡°How is this ce like this?¡±


    Temporarily holding her wet clothes in her arms, Lapis looked around and asked Corne.


    But Corne cocked her head, not understanding what she meant.


    ¡°From what I can see, this ce is an underground cave.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. This is below the ce you call the ck Forest.¡±


    ¡°Why is it so bright?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because of the glowing moss growing on the rocks. I don¡¯t know why they glow, though.¡±


    At Corne¡¯s exnation, Loren put his face close to one of the rocks.


    There was indeed a thinyer of moss growing on it and could see that the light being emitted from them was illuminating the whole cave.


    ¡°It¡¯s the type of moss that could be found in nature type dungeons. It can be found in many ces, so it¡¯s not that rare.¡±


    Lapis told Loren, who was examining the walls.


    ¡°Is it different from the walls from the Ancient Kingdom ruins we saw before?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t the same thing just because it glows Loren.¡±


    Previously, when they had investigated an Ancient Kingdom ruin that was made for breeding goblins, they had seen that the building material for the walls, and remembering that, Loren asked Lapis, but she said he was wrong.


    ¡°The ones in the ruins are on a different level, from its rarity and light quantity to its price.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, how about looking at the wallster and keeping up? You¡¯ll catch a cold, you know?¡±


    As Corne called them, worried, they stopped what they were doing and hurried after her.


    After walking a while, the cave opened into arge dome like space.


    On the ground were stone buildings that weren¡¯t taller than his waist, and Loren thought for a second that it was like a replica of a small city, but a look at the small winged beings moving to and from the buildings told him it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Big people came.¡±


    ¡°They came.¡±


    Responding to Corne¡¯s voice, fairies that looked like boys and girls flew up slowly towards them and started flying around them.


    Even though he knew they wouldn¡¯t attack them, because of his first encounter with them, he found himself reaching for his great sword, but Lapis stopped his hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. They¡¯re not enemies.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, my bad. My hand moved without thinking.¡±


    ¡°I know how you feel, though.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t forget them being chased as well.


    The swarm of fairies was something even Lapis thought was scary, as she knew it couldn¡¯t be helped that Loren was anxious.


    ¡°Everyone, you can dry your clothes here.¡±


    Corne pointed towards a hole in the wall of the dome.


    When Loren walked near it, he saw that it was way to small for a person to go through, but apparently it was connected deeper underground, and there was warm air flowing out of it.


    ¡°I was wondering why it wasn¡¯t cold even though it was underground. This is how they control the temperature.¡±


    ¡°You could dry your clothes near this hole. It¡¯s dry and warm, so it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take her offer. If we leave our clothes here, it would dry quite quickly, and this ce seems the warmest as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like you to listen to our story while your clothes dry.¡±


    ¡°You said you wanted help, right?¡±


    Watching Lapis hanging her clothes on the edge of the hole where the warm air was blowing from, Loren said to Corne, who was fluttering in ce, Corne winced and nodded her head.


    ¡°Tell me about it. You¡¯ve saved us, so we¡¯ll do our best to solve it if we could.¡±


    Loren told Corne, looking at Lapis finish hanging her clothes and taking off Feuille¡¯s clothes to hang them as well, and with a serious look on her face, Corne flew around in front of his face, raised her fists in front of her, and in her expansive way of talking, told Loren.


    ¡°I want you to kill our chief.¡±

 Chapter 91: Planning from the Situation

    <h4>Chapter 91: nning from the Situation</h4>


    ¡°A power struggle or something?¡±


    Loren asked her, as that was the only reason he could think of that someone in a lower position would want to kill someone in a higher position, but he knew that he was wrong even as the words came out of his mouth.


    Loren didn¡¯t know much about the fairy race in the first ce.


    Based on the way they spoke Loren couldn¡¯t imagine them having something like a power struggle.


    In fact, Corne looked confused and didn¡¯t understand what she had been asked, so Loren apologized and asked her to continue.


    ¡°So, I want you to kill our chief.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a thing to ask, you know? What happened?¡±


    ¡°So our chief, he became crazy.¡±


    Turning to put the sight of Lapis trying to take of Feuille¡¯s wet clothes, while Feuille resisted and the two starting to grapple with each other, Loren asked Corne, who sat down on a rock with her shoulders drooped, to exin further.


    ording to her, the chief of the fairies started bing crazy from a little while ago.


    Fairies were a whimsical race that liked to pull pranks and tended to be very curious, so the often yed tricks on the elves that lived in the forest, as well as humans that entered it.


    It seemed to have started when the pranks started deviating from the boundaries of pranks.


    ¡°Until then, they were all just silly pranks.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°For example, switching the salt that an elf was using to sugar, pouring muddy water on top of a human that was walking in the forest. Just things like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty annoying, but¡­keep going.¡±


    ¡°We were just pulling pranks like that, but one day, the chief suddenly told us to raid the food storage in the elf vige.¡±


    The elves would starve if they lost their food.


    They would ask other viges for help, so they wouldn¡¯t starve to death, but the damage would be great.


    Even if the forest was plentiful, many of the elves would have to work extra hard to fill it up, so many fairies tried to repel it.


    But the chief and the fairies around him forced it through, and stole all the food in one of the viges.


    ¡°We asked the chief to return all the food. But not only did the chief didn¡¯t listen, he ate all the stolen food.¡±


    ¡°All of it!? That¡¯s incredible. It should¡¯ve been quite the amount of food.¡±


    But that wasn¡¯t all.


    The chief and the fairies around him, having tasted the feeling of taking food from the elves, started reaching out to other viges as well.


    ¡°The elves got angry for sure, right?¡±


    When he nced at Feuille, he had been stripped down to his underwear by Lapis.


    While Lapis was humming as she hung his wet clothes, Feuille was hugging himself with a red face, but when he noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, he shook his head.


    Seeing that Feuille didn¡¯t know anything about it, Loren turned his focus back to Corne.


    ¡°The elves did get angry.¡±


    Although her expansive way of talking stayed the same, sadness mixed into her voice.


    Loren thought it was because they had angered the elves, but what Corne said next waspletely different.


    ¡°The elves came to protest, and we all thought the chief would apologize.¡±


    They thought, which meant that it didn¡¯t go that way.


    Although apologizing might not cut it for the excessive act, Loren couldn¡¯t think of another way that could end things peacefully.


    Since it didn¡¯t go that way, it meant the situation worsened.


    It wasn¡¯t like she was reading Loren¡¯s mind, but Corne slightly tucked her chin, looked down, and the words spilled from her mouth.


    ¡°The chief killed all the elves that came to protest.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something you should be saying so calmly.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t help butting in.


    The one who ordered to steal the other¡¯s food, ate all of it, and was the one who caused all the damage, killed the ones who came to protest just because they came to protest. If this happened among humans, it would be war.


    What was unfortunate for the elves was that instead of acting as a whole race, they acted as separate viges.


    And whenparing magic skills, fairies had the upper hand in both skill and mana, and the elves were against the chief, which was the most powerful among the fairies.


    ¡°Of course, us fairies sufferedrge casualties as well.¡±


    That was a sad thing for Corne, but she also thought that would be enough to stop the chief.


    If their numbers decreased, even if the chief was a powerful magic user, it would be harder to force the elves away.


    But the chief replenished their fighting power in an unbelievable way, and started reaching towards the other elf viges as well.


    ¡°Did he prey on the elves or something?¡±


    Lapis suddenly interrupted.


    At her words, Feuille¡¯s face stiffened and Corne looked down with a sad look.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    When Loren asked Lapis, who seemed to know what was going on, Lapis started exining.


    ¡°Elves and fairies are close races, but as a species, fairies are slightly higher in ss. So if a fairy meddles with an elf¡¯s body, if it goes well, it could create more fairies from it.¡±


    Although Lapis said something horrible like it was nothing, she didn¡¯t forget to add, ¡®It doesn¡¯t usually happen, though¡¯.


    ¡°But this exins the elves being eaten out from the inside and the fairiesing out of the dead elves¡¯ bodies. The chief had been continually using his powers, and eventually became able to spread it so far that it influenced the whole forest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what happened.¡±


    Corne confirmed what Lapis had said.


    It meant that the chief was the cause behind the abnormalities in the ck Forest, and it wouldn¡¯t stop unless the cause was taken out.


    ¡°We can¡¯t let the chief alone any longer. It would cause us fairies who live in this forest to be persecuted, and the elves would be hunted down to extinction.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you want us to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not like we want him to die.¡±


    But it was also true that there seemed to be no other way.


    In any case, it was very unlikely that the chief, who didn¡¯t listen to his fellow fairies, would listen to a human like Loren.


    And since he had also killed all the elves that came to him, it was hard to think he would go easy on them, and it would most likely be a battle the moment they met.


    ¡°But what made him crazy? He wasn¡¯t always like that, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­but we don¡¯t know either.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea? Like he ate something different or he put something on weird.¡±


    Corne¡¯s brows furrowed as she started thinking.


    In the meantime, Loren lightly hit away Lapis¡¯ hands, which silently reached out to him, as if trying to take his clothes, took off his coat, and handed it to Lapis to hang to dry.


    ¡°Umm. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s what caused it.¡±


    ¡°Anything is fine. We need all the information we could get.¡±


    Corne nodded at Lapis¡¯ words and started talking about what she had recalled.


    ¡°Actually, we fairies like things that are shiny and pretty.¡±


    The first thing that came to Loren¡¯s mind was a crow.


    The bird, which had a tendency to collect shiny things, took anything it could find to its nest, but sometimes it was things like coins or gems, but apparently fairies had simr tendencies.


    ¡°Most of the things that are collected are taken to the chief, and then he gives them out or decorates the vige with them. But a little while ago, some fairies brought in something weird.¡±


    ¡°Something weird?¡±


    Loren wondered why they would even think of collecting something they knew was weird, but apparently that logic didn¡¯t apply to fairies.


    Corne then stood up, spread out her arms to the fullest, and told Loren.


    ¡°It was a shiny metal box about this big, and had a design on it that we¡¯ve never seen before.¡±


    ¡°Alright, wait a second.¡±


    She had spread her arms out to the fullest, which meant it was about asrge as her.


    And Corne was the size of Loren¡¯s palm.


    Which meant that the metal box was possibly around the size of his palm.


    So it made Loren think that her description of the box seemed simr to another box that Loren had seen before in a different ce.


    ¡°Hey Lapis. I think I¡¯ve seen a box like that recently¡­¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence Loren. I was thinking the same thing.¡±


    The previous job they were on.


    At the end of the dungeon during the exam that students took at the adventurer training school, they had seen one of Volf¡¯s fortune, which sealed the evil god of sloth inside it.


    It was exactly like what Corne had descried, a metal box withplicated designs on the surface.


    ¡°Am I the only one who wants to think it¡¯s a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to think that too¡­but I can¡¯t think of anything else.¡±


    If it was indeed what Loren and Lapis were guessing it was.


    Loren could feel his mood sinking.


    Thest time, their opponent retreated on his own.


    It could be that it was because it just revived, but the evil god was also quitezy, living up to his namesake of sloth, and although there were some casualties, Loren believed that it was very little considering that they were against someone who called himself an evil god.


    But on top of not knowing what kind of evil god they would be against this time, judging from how much the fair chief had changed, it seemed that it had quite a bit of influence already, and the chances of it backing off easily was very slim.


    ¡°But still, we can¡¯t just walk away after hearing all this.¡±


    ¡°¡­I have a feeling your kindness will be what takes your life Loren.¡±


    The best thing they could do was find a way to the surface and leave the ck Forest as if nothing had happened.


    But Loren wasn¡¯t someone who could just leave after hearing the details and circumstances.


    ¡°We owe her one since she saved us. We could at least think of some way to deal with the chief, right?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like not doing anything is an option, so I guess we could. Umm, Corne, was it? Please answer the questions that I¡¯m going to ask you. Then we¡¯ll try thinking of something.¡±


    ¡°O-okay.¡±


    After a sigh, Lapis started asking Corne questions in quick session.


    Watching her do so, he waited for his coat to dry, thinking that it would be a good sight only if she wasn¡¯t half naked.

 Chapter 92: Accepting after Questioning

    <h4>Chapter 92: epting after Questioning</h4>


    Lapis¡¯ interrogationsted until Loren¡¯s coat waspletely dry.


    By then Lapis¡¯ and Feuille¡¯s clothes had dried as well, and while Feuille had put them on as soon as they dried, Lapis put her clothes on with a difficult face after she had finished questioning Corne.


    ¡°How was it?¡±


    When Loren, who had been waiting for her to finish, asked her, she shook her head, as if giving up, and finally opened her mouth.


    ¡°First, this ce seems to be the hidden vige of fairies.¡±


    Loren had guessed this ce was so since Corne had mentioned the fairy chief, but it seemed like he wasn¡¯t wrong.


    They had been looking for clues to find it, but it seemed like they had managed to directly find their way there.


    That was good news, but it was bad news at the same time.


    It was about the residents of Feuille¡¯s vige.


    They were looking for the way to the hidden vige because they thought maybe the residents fled there.


    But they couldn¡¯t see any elves in the area, and there was no way they could be inside the small buildings the fairies lived in.


    Which meant that the elves hadn¡¯t fled to this ce.


    ¡°I asked her just in case, but she said there weren¡¯t any elves that came here.¡±


    ¡°Is there somece simr to this?¡±


    ¡°Not any that Corne knows of.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like all hope was lost.


    The elves fleeing to the hidden vige was just Feuille¡¯s guess, and they had no idea what they actually did.


    There could be some that fled to other viges.


    But there was no way to know for sure, and the only thing they did know was that Feuille was the only elf currently there.


    ¡°Everyone¡­¡±


    Feuille was shocked at the fact that he could be the only one who survived, but neither Loren nor Lapis could find any words to say to him.


    ¡°Being kidnapped by bandits, but surviving because of that is quite the luck, right?¡±


    ¡°Loren, that¡¯s not something you should say out loud, even if you think it.¡±


    Loren and Lapis said to each other in hushed voices.


    Half of them was a mercenary that experienced apanion that was doing fine the previous day be a cold body the next day, and the other half was a demon that didn¡¯t really care about anything other than her interests.


    But it wasn¡¯t like they couldn¡¯t sense the mood, but although they didn¡¯t say anything careless that could make Feuille feel worse, they didn¡¯t really understand how shocked he was, so they couldn¡¯t think of anything to say to him.


    ¡°Umm, on a different note, the chief seems to have locked himself in the deeper part of the vige behind a blockade, and if we want to kill him, we have to start by breaking past it.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t Corne and the fairies break it?¡±


    Loren thought that the fairies, with their magic skills, could unlock a blockade or two by themselves.


    ¡°It seems they could do something about it if they try very hard.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°It means that even if they could get past the blockade, they won¡¯t have enough power to defeat the chief.¡±


    Even if the fairies broke through the blockade to fight the chief, if they didn¡¯t have any mana left, they couldn¡¯t face him.


    That was why although Corne wanted to defeat the chief, she was having trouble doing so.


    Even with the current total current strength they possessed, they couldn¡¯t defeat him, which was why they decided to resort to asking outsiders like Loren for help.


    ¡°Is Corne in somewhat of a high position here?¡±


    ¡°High enough to be in charge of everyone, it seems.¡±


    Corne¡¯s suggestion was to have all the fairies in the vige break the blockade that was closing the path, then have Loren and Lapis go to where the chief was and kill him.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine if I¡¯m misunderstanding. But you said you could break past the blockade if all the fairies helped. That means that the chief is stronger than all of youbined, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Needing the powers of all the fairiesbined to get past the blockade the chief set up meant that the strength of the whole fairy vige barely bnced out the strength of the chief.


    It was perceivable how strong the chief was, and wasn¡¯t hard to guess how much of a pain he would be to deal with.


    ¡°Can the two of us defeat him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll work out if we don¡¯t mind others.¡±


    To Loren¡¯s worried words, Lapis¡¯ response was strong.


    Because they were worried about someone seeing them, Lapis hesitated using her powers, and Shayna, who was within Loren, couldn¡¯t use her powers to the fullest.


    But if that were gone and they could use their powers without any limits, both Lapis and Shayna were powerful beings, and would be able to stand their own against the chief.


    ¡°Well, even if there were people looking, we could probably talk our way out.¡±


    ¡®Onii-san, Shayna will secretly help too!¡¯


    Even if they didn¡¯t go all in, between the strengths of the demon Lapis and no life king Shayna, Loren thought they could go even with the chief.


    Either one of them could destroy a whole nation if they wanted to.


    Since all he could do was swing his great sword, Loren was thinking he would be able to be an annoyance at most, but Lapis and Shayna were thinking that putting Loren in front and supporting him would work out.


    ¡°So are we fine with epting her request?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve talked about the rewards already as well.¡±


    Loren thought that Lapis had just been questioning Corne, but it seemed that she had made her request into a job, and even talked about payment.


    As Loren was impressed at how quick she was with it, Lapis started talking about the payment details.


    ¡°Although I said we decided on the payment, it won¡¯t be anything fancy. After all, fairies are a race that don¡¯t have many metal items, just like elves.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t look like they¡¯d eat much either, so there wouldn¡¯t be much to give us either.¡±


    ¡°If you think about it that way, the fact that the chief ate all the food from the elf vige is quite terrifying. Maybe they have stomachs made of iron and very strong stomach acids?¡±


    ¡°No idea. So what condition did you agree on?¡±


    Fairies had less contact with humans than elves did.


    He couldn¡¯t think they had money stored anywhere in the vige, and asked Lapis.


    ¡°She promised that if we manage to kill the chief, we could choose one thing what they have, and take it.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ conditions bet on there being something of value among the things that the fairies had gathered.


    Even if there wasn¡¯t anything that would be expensive, if they could find a gem, that would still be worth quite a bit.


    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t get lucky, I¡¯m looking forward to finding something that would give us some profit.¡±


    ¡°That seems reasonable enough.¡±


    There was also the option of asking for more, since the fairies were desperate for help, but Loren thought that taking advantage of them wouldn¡¯t feel good when they received their payment.


    So he thought that the condition that Lapis had chosen, which allowed them to take the job in a good mood and keep them from being in the red, seemed just right.


    ¡°We leave Feuille here. No objections, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    Feuille raised his head when they said that, but neither Loren nor Lapis was going to take him to the chief.


    There was a possibility that the fairy chief had killed everyone in his vige.


    Then it meant that it could be a chance for Feuille to avenge them, and he did indeed want to strike a blow.


    But even knowing so, the reason why Loren and Lapis wasn¡¯t going to take him was because of what Corne had said earlier, that the chief created new fairies out of the dead bodies of elves.


    ¡°If we take you, we need to protect you. And in the case that the chief makes fairies out of your body, we¡¯ll be attacked from both front and behind.¡±


    So when Loren asked Feuille to keep his feeling in, he looked like he wanted toin, but he silently looked towards the ground.


    Seeing it as he understood his reasoning, Loren told Corne, who was floating around and wondering when their conversation will end, that they would ept her request.


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that we¡¯ll be able to do something, though.¡±


    ¡°That would be wishing for too much. We¡¯re thankful that you are willing to help us.¡±


    Corne flew around Loren happily.


    Loren decided not to follow her with his eyes, since he would get dizzy if he tried, and asked Corne, who was still flying around him.


    ¡°We can count on you guys to break the blockade, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll be as much help as we could.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re fine with the request being defeating the chief? Killing him?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes, please do so.¡±


    There was a small moment of silence before the words came out of Corne¡¯s mouth.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what kind of thoughts and feelings went through her mind in that short moment, but since she managed to give him a definite answer, he gave her a firm nod.

 Chapter 93: Beginning Battle

    <h4>Chapter 93: Beginning Battle</h4>


    ¡°The n is simple. The corridor that connects to the ce the chief is in. Corne and the fairies will break the blockade that¡¯s in the way. Then we will go through it and make contact with the chief, defeat him, and the job¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°You said it so easily¡­Well, that¡¯s pretty much it though, I guess.¡±


    Loren and Lapis had reached the entrance to the corridor that lead to where the chief was, led there by Corne.


    Of course, they had left Feuille in the care of the other fairies, so he wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°Alright. You¡¯d better not let Feuille in. If he manages to get in, we¡¯ll leave the chief and just run for it.¡±


    When Loren made sure to remind them, Corne put her fist on her chest and said with confidence.


    ¡°Leave it to me. In the worst case, I¡¯ll use the spell <


    > to stop him.¡±


    ¡°You can be pretty violent if you want to, huh¡­¡±


    The spell that Corne had mentioned wasn¡¯t something that would be used to stop someone.


    It was a spell that could turn a living thing into stone, and if It wasn¡¯t dispelled, the victim would be a stone statue forever, and was an offensive spell.


    If Corne, who was a more powerful magic user than elves, and in a high position among the fairies on top of that, used such a spell on Feuille, there was no way he would be okay.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know, but don¡¯t kill him, alright?¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡±


    Corne said lightly, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure how much he could trust a fairy¡¯s words, so he was still worried.


    ¡°Putting that aside, are you fully prepared Loren?¡±


    Loren looked down at himself.


    There was nothing special he needed to prepare.


    The clothes that he always wore, boots, and leather armor.


    The ck coat that he put on over all of it, and his ck great sword in his hand.


    This was all of Loren¡¯s current equipment.


    He had some other stuff that he brought with him, but they were either still wet or didn¡¯t help him during battle, so he left them behind with Feuille.


    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±


    ¡°I see. Corne, if you could please.¡±


    ¡°I got it. Here it goes.¡±


    On hermand, the powers of all the casters in the vige amassed to her. Apparently.


    Loren did feel some in the air, but there wasn¡¯t any shing lights or explosions, so he couldn¡¯t feel how much had been gathered.


    ¡®That¡¯s pretty much what magic is Onii-san. Feeling pressure even though it¡¯s not an offensive spell is already quite incredible though.¡¯


    Shayna exined to him, but it still didn¡¯t ring a bell to Loren, so Shayna sighed and started syncing her sight with his.


    When she did so, although he couldn¡¯t see anything until then, he started seeing a distortion around Corne, who was concentrating with all her might.


    The distortion reached up to a height that even Loren had to look up at it, and judging from her size, he was able to see and understand that something powerful was gathering around her.


    ¡®That¡¯s the amassed mana.¡¯


    ¡°I see now. This is convenient.¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s the eyes and sight of a no life king though, so I can¡¯t link it for long. It could things that could make you slowly lose your mind.¡¯


    After saying so, Shayna cut the link and Loren¡¯s sight became normal again.


    ¡°Okay then, here it goes!¡±


    Something erupted from Corne¡¯s body.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what it was, but he understood that she had unleashed whatever had been distorting the space around her that he had just seen thanks to Shayna.


    It flew into the corridor in front of them, and after a while, air with a foul stench started seeping out from the other side, causing Loren and Lapis to cover their noses with their arms.


    ¡°The blockade is broken.¡±


    Corne, who had been fluttering around earlier but was now barely able to move, told them.


    ¡°What the hell is this smell?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s most likelying from where the chief is, but¡­I really don¡¯t want to go near where this ising from.¡±


    ¡°W-wait! That will be troubling.¡±


    At Corne¡¯s worried words, Lapisughed told her she was joking.


    ¡°Okay Loren, after you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­I¡¯m the front line, so I guess I should go first¡­¡±


    Since there was no telling what as waiting for them at the end of the corridor, so there wasn¡¯t the option of letting a priestess go ahead of him but being asked to go ahead didn¡¯t feel good either.


    But Loren steeled himself, knowing that nothing would happen if he didn¡¯t act, and stepped into the corridor with Lapis following behind him.


    There was glowing moss on the rocks and walls here as well, so they could see without a problem, but with each step they took, the stench got stronger and stronger.


    As Loren started thinking about wanting to turn back because of the smell, the corridor ended, and they arrived in an open area.


    ¡°Is this where the chief is at?¡±


    Loren grimaced at the stench that filled the ce as he looked around.


    He thought he would find out what the stench was from since he was nearing the origin, but although they should be very close, he couldn¡¯t figure out what it was.


    Before, he and his fellow mercenaries had been ordered to go on consecutive battles and hadn¡¯t been able to wash themselves for a while, and what he smelled now was like what he smelled from everyone then.


    ¡°The smell of sweat and dirt and¡­rotting food is all mixed together.¡±


    Lapis identified the smell while covering her mouth and nose with her hand, but it didn¡¯t seem like they would find out if Lapis was right or if it was something elsepletely unless they investigated.


    But they didn¡¯t have the time to do so.


    It was Lapis who first noticed it, as expected.


    It was in the deepest part of the open area they entered, right by the back wall.


    At first Lapis couldn¡¯t understand what it was.


    But after a while, she realized it might be something that someone had be, she pulled on Loren¡¯s sleeve as he had a disgusted look on his face.


    ¡°Loren, that¡­is that what I think it is?¡±


    When Loren looked towards where Lapis was pointing, he was at a loss for words at what he saw.


    There was a skin colored mountain.


    They were in a spacious area with a ceiling that was quite high, but what in the world was the giant thing that almost reached it.


    ¡°Umm? This isn¡¯t¡­No way¡­¡±


    A skin colored blob that was wet with something that was most likely sweat.


    The blob seemed to be separated into parts by something like wrinkles but seeing that thergest out of them was expanding and withering, they could see that it was a living thing.


    But to the question of what kind of living thing it was, Loren didn¡¯t have an answer.


    The thing that looked so abnormal was taking root alongside the wall.


    ¡°It seems like that¡¯s the source of the smell.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t feel like touching the thing that glistened in a slimy fashion and looked like someone had poured oil in it, so he walked near it with a disgusted face and poked it with his foot.


    Lapis panicked and tried to stop him, but it was already toote, and the giant thing¡¯s attention turned to Loren.


    ¡°Who¡­are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°It spoke!?¡±


    Although he wasn¡¯t sure where it was speaking from, he heard it speak, and it spoke responding to Loren¡¯s action.


    Loren slowly back off from the giant blob that talked, even though it was talking in broken phrases, and asked Lapis, who was backing off as well.


    ¡°Lapis, what the hell is that¡­¡±


    ¡°We came here to find the fairy chief, so you have an idea of what we just encountered, right?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have a vague idea of what it was.


    But checking what he¡¯d been told against the blob in front of him that started to move, he didn¡¯t want to believe it.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding me¡­This thing is the chief?¡±


    It was in fact natural to think that it was the chief, since they had encountered it at the ce where they were told the chief was residing in.


    But the fairies that they had met until then were palm sized boys and girls like Corne and was nothing like the chunk of meat in front of them.


    13


    ¡°What the hell!? Why is this the chief!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me.¡±


    There was only about one thing Loren could think of.


    ¡°He ate too much and got fat¡­¡±


    Loren and Lapis had no idea howrge the chief originally was, but since he was a fairy, it was hard to think that he was tall enough for the two of them to look up at him.


    So, Loren concluded that he became the gigantic thing in front of him due to eating all the food he stole from the elves.


    ¡°But this is a bit too much, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s so big he can¡¯t even move in his own.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it won¡¯t be too hard to kill him, I guess.¡±


    Loren had thought the task would be quite difficult since he had heard that the chief was more powerful than all the fairies in the vigebined, so he was relieved that it wouldn¡¯t be so hard since their opponent couldn¡¯t move, but he then immediately jumped away from where he was standing.


    Almost at the same time, a few bolts of firended where he had just been standing, scattering mes in the around the spot.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯ll give us an easy time just because he can¡¯t move.¡±


    The chief indeed couldn¡¯t move on his own.


    But not being able to move and not being able to fight were two different things, and especially if you could use magic, you could fight if you had consciousness.


    ¡°Looks like if we don¡¯t start trying, we¡¯ll be the ones who get killed.¡±


    As Loren muttered and gripped his great sword more tightly, the giant chunk of meat shuddered, whether it was from being nervous of fighting, or from joy that new prey was in its sight, as it started scattering its stench around again.

 Chapter 94: Continuing Battle

    <h4>Chapter 94: Continuing Battle</h4>


    It became that they gave the fairy chief the first hand, but their retaliation was swift and strong.


    Lapis had stepped back to assess the situation, while Loren had stepped forward, pulling his great sword over his head, and mmed it down onto the giant hunk of meat.


    It guessed that from what it looked like, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard, but if it were reinforced by magic, that wouldn¡¯t be the case.


    So, Loren¡¯s first blow had almost all his strength behind it.


    ¡°Giii¡­¡±


    The sounding from the chief didn¡¯t sound like a scream.


    But Loren¡¯s blow still sunk deep into him, raising a ssh of blood.


    ¡°Looks like our attacks go through¡­but¡­¡±


    Loren immediately jumped back from the spot.


    It was because the part of the flesh that Loren cut into was picked up and mmed into where he was standing a moment ago.


    Along with a sound like hitting the floor with a wet rag, the wound that Loren inflicted opened wider and resulted in more flesh and blood scattering over the ground, but the chief showed no signs of flinching.


    ¡°His senses are deafened and his body¡¯s so big it doesn¡¯t seem like my attacks are doing anything.¡±


    But he seemed to know that he was injured, as he started crawling across the ground away from Loren.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t running away, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s that over there.¡±


    Lapis pointed to a mountain near the chief¡¯s body which was almost asrge as it.


    Loren hadn¡¯t noticed it since the chief¡¯s giant body had all his attention, but when he took a closer look he saw that the mountain consisted of the bodies animals living in the forest, as well as the bodies of elves, and it seemed that this was contributing to the stench along with the chief.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.¡±


    ¡°Feeling? He¡¯s definitely going to do it.¡±


    Lapis had a disgusted look on her face as well, but the chief didn¡¯t take notice of them and continued crawling to the mountain, mmed his body onto it, and from where he stuck to it, Loren and Lapis could hear him chew on things that were soft, hard, and wet.


    ¡°He¡¯s eating, right?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    Eating to recover injuries.


    It was an understandable thing to do.


    But it wasn¡¯t something to do in front of enemies, so Loren looked at the chief disgustedly.


    ¡°I understand why you¡¯re looking at him like that but¡­his wound is healing.¡±


    Lapis chided at him.


    The wound that Loren had inflicted was closing in an unbelievable speed, and eventually becamerger than before.


    ¡°Would this guy not die as long as he¡¯s eating?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Well, it¡¯s not like he has an infinite amount of food.¡±


    Thinking that they would have to steadily shred through until the food ran out, Loren continued attacking the chief.


    The de of the great sword cut into his flesh and created new wounds, but while he was eating, the wounds closed, and the part became evenrger than before.


    Thinking that just cutting wouldn¡¯t work, he switched to swiping the de sideways afternding a blow.


    This not only widened the wounds, but tore off chunks of flesh, which sttered onto the ground.


    Loren thought that this would do more damage than just cutting, but when the chunks of flesh hit the ground, something unexpected happened.


    The flesh split up into small pieces and suddenly became fairies that attacked Loren.


    Since he didn¡¯t expect fairies toe out from the flesh he had cut off, Loren couldn¡¯t respond to their attacks fast enough.


    He let his left hand go of the great sword and raised it in front of his face to at least protect his neck and eyes.


    The newborn fairies lunged onto his arm.


    ¡®Energy drain!¡¯


    Right when the fairies¡¯ teeth were about to tear through Loren¡¯s teeth.


    Shayna unleashed her power as a no life king.


    The fairies¡¯ life energies were stolen in an instant, causing them to drop to the ground.


    Loren back away from the spot and thanked Shayna.


    ¡°Turning into fairies if you cut part off. That¡¯s annoying.¡±


    ¡°Swirl before my eyes, rage about, o crimson mes <<fire storm="">>¡±


    </fire>


    As Loren cursed, Lapis used the spell she had been preparing.


    mes erupted from the ground, engulfing the chief¡¯s body, and Loren put his hand in front of his face to protect it from the heat.


    On the other side of his hand, Lapis¡¯ magic burned the chief, but Lapis muttered with a grim expression before it even ended.


    ¡°There¡¯s too much moisture¡­it¡¯s not going to burnpletely.¡±


    As Lapis had said, the chief¡¯srge body was still there after the mes died.


    The surface was burned and a part of it had crumbled into ashes, but from under it, new flesh bubbled up and soon the surface became slimy again.


    ¡°What do we do? Dice him up and crush the pieces?¡±


    ¡°Can Shayna do something with her energy drain?¡±


    Lapis asked him.


    It seemed possible that a no life king ss energy drain could do something about the now evenrger fairy chief by draining his life energy without wounding him any further.


    ¡®I¡¯d rather not, if possible.¡¯


    But Shayna disagreed with the suggestion, not wanting to use her energy drain at all.


    ¡®I¡¯ll keep using it to keep the fairies off like I did before¡­but I¡¯m sorry Onii-san. I don¡¯t want to energy drain the main body.¡¯


    Shayna told Loren in a weak thought.


    As he blocked some bolts of fire that the chief shot while eating with the t of his great sword, he asked Shayna why.


    ¡®I found out when I sucked all the fairies just before, but¡­the life energy of this chief isn¡¯t good at all. He tastes bad, actually.¡¯


    As the voice that only he could hear told him so, Loren wondered how to respond.


    It was the first time he had heard that life energy had taste, and to a living being like Loren, he couldn¡¯t imagine what bad tasting life energy tasted like.


    ¡®This is a first for me as well, so how would I exin this¡­Umm, I can try my best to exin how it tastes.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­¡±


    No matter how good the exnation was, it would just tell him how bad it tasted, and nothing more.


    But Loren was surprised that the fairy chief had life energy that tasted so bad that Shayna, who had be a no life king, would refuse to consume it.


    ¡°How is it Loren?¡±


    Lapis couldn¡¯t hear their conversation.


    The only way she couldmunicate with Shayna was having Loren tell her the conclusion of his conversation with her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point. This guy tastes really bad.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­Then I guess we can¡¯t make her do it.¡±


    Confused that Lapis gave up on Shayna¡¯s energy drain so easily, Loren asked her.


    ¡°That convinced you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The chief, who was still eating, continued to shoot bursts of fire at them, as if they were a nuisance.


    Lapis quickly made a hand sign in front of her chest and said in a quiet voice.


    ¡°God of Knowledge, protect us from the power of magic <


    >¡±


    A dimly shining, transparent membrane enveloped them, and as the bolts of me met it, they disappeared along with a sound like water dousing fire.


    Watching the chief shake in frustration that his attacks weren¡¯t going through, Lapis used another divine art in quick session.


    ¡°Invisible fist of god, smite my enemies <<force>>¡±


    </force>


    The shard of divine power that Lapis drew out.


    The giant ball of pure energy that seemed to reflect the degree of her faith, mmed into the chief¡¯s body.


    It sunk deeply into him and sprayed blood all over, as if a god hade down and dealt the blow, but Lapis, who had initiated the attack, snorted in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough to crush himpletely¡­I need to train more.¡±


    ¡°Is that divine art supposed to be something like that?¡±


    Loren thought that it would take an enormous amount of power to crush a giant body like the one in front of him.


    The chanting seemed too short, considered that it was something to control such a power.


    ¡°Of course not. This one usually only has the power of a buff young man punching with all his might.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way you could crush the chief with something like that, you know?¡±


    ¡°I mean, my devout faith is the source, so.¡±


    Wondering if she was in a position to say that, Loren continued to deal blow after blow to the chief.


    Each blow inflicted wound after wound, but seeing them every one of them heal, he couldn¡¯t help but think that his attempts were futile.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any priests that have such a deep faith to the Knowledge god as I do. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°¡­Well, I guess that¡¯s kind of convincing.¡±


    If he could keep in mind the fact that she just had a different nature than other priests of the Knowledge god, he could see that she could indeed be a devout follower.


    ¡°But if slicing or hitting doesn¡¯t work, what to we do about him?¡±


    ¡°Well, if we go by the book, burning him would be the best, but¡­¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words became a murmur as she looked around.


    As he wondered what she was doing, Loren swatted away another piece of the chief that was thrown at them away with his great sword.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to burn him if this were outside.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­this isn¡¯t the best ce.¡±


    Although the ce wasn¡¯tpletely sealed, they weren¡¯t in a ce that had good venttion.


    It was obvious that if they burned such arge hunk of meat, the heat and stagnation of the atmosphere would be a problem.


    ¡°Then how¡­huh?¡±


    Loren stopped what he was saying.


    When Lapis followed Loren¡¯s gaze, wondering what happened, she saw that the mountain of food had almost depleted.


    It was kind of impressive that he had managed to keep eating while dealing with them, but when it was gonepletely there would only be one thing that he would turn his attention to.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even need to guess that he¡¯s going to try to eat us.¡±


    ¡°I really wish this is a dream.¡±


    Until then, to the chief, he had been being injured by something, and healing them made him hungry, so he ate.


    But now that the food was almost gone, it was obvious that since he would still be hungry from healing, he would think about eating whatever caught his eyes.


    It meant that his attacks would get stronger, and to Loren and Lapis, who couldn¡¯t find a breakthrough, it wasn¡¯t a wee turn of events.


    ¡°So, for real, what should we do?¡±


    Sensing that the attention of the blob of meat, which they didn¡¯t even know where the head was, was slowly turning towards them, Lapis said in an actual troubled voice as she looked up at the chief crawling towards them.

 Chapter 95: Excavating after Continuing

    <h4>Chapter 95: Excavating after Continuing</h4>


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stare at it!¡±


    As Lapis started up at the chunk of fleshing towards her, Loren put his arm around her waist and dove sideways.


    A momentter, the part of the chief¡¯s body that had been thrown at themnded where Lapis had been standing, sttering blood everywhere.


    And when Loren swung his great sword with his left hand, more of the chief¡¯s body was dug out, and when the piece fell to the floor, it turned into arge number of fairies that started attacking Loren and Lapis.


    ¡®Energy drain¡­Ugh, I really don¡¯t like this¡­¡¯


    When Shayna activated her energy drain, even as sheined, it killed the fairies quickly and they fell to the ground, but when they did, the chief¡¯s body covered them and immediately consumed them.


    ¡°He finally started eating himself.¡±


    ¡°This is getting more pointless by the second.¡±


    Lapis muttered like it wasn¡¯t their problem as she was still being carried under Loren¡¯s arm, but Loren didn¡¯t have the time to respond.


    He was too busy shing away the fleshy arms that were being mmed down at them with the great sword that he was holding with just his left hand.


    On top of that, if he cut off a part, it would change into fairies and attack them like the rounds of a shot gun, so the situation was out of his control.


    ¡®I know I can¡¯t throw up, but I still feel like I¡¯m going to throw up¡­¡¯


    Since Shayna didn¡¯t have a physical body, she couldn¡¯t throw up even if she felt like it.


    She could cough out all the chief¡¯s life energy she had sucked up, but even if she did, it wouldn¡¯t get rid of her difort.


    ¡°We won¡¯t get anywhere if we don¡¯t think of something!¡±


    The chief, who was attacking over and over as if he didn¡¯t feel the pain of his body being ripped away, was quite considerable, but Loren¡¯s skill with the great sword, parrying and cutting away at them with the heavy weapon using one arm, was incredible as well.


    The sound of flesh hitting steel rang continuously, and in the midst of pieces of flesh and blood flying everywhere, Lapis sighed as red stains started appearing on her clothes.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to buy a new pair of these clothes when I get back¡­¡±


    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to be saying something like that!¡±


    ¡°Priest¡¯s clothes are expensive you know? The fabric is quite good as well.¡±


    ¡°Worry about your life rather than your clothes!¡±


    Loren wanted to back off for a moment, put Lapis down, and use his great sword with both hands, but the chief¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t stop, so he couldn¡¯t retreat even if he wanted to.


    He had considered letting go of Lapis, but if he let her go while the chief¡¯s attacks were still continuing, the he would start targeting her as well, and with the overwhelming mass he possessed, Loren didn¡¯t think that her delicate body would be able to take the blows.


    Of course, since she was a demon, there was a chance that she could take them like they were nothing, but Loren wasn¡¯t going to take any chances.


    He didn¡¯t want to when it was a situation where one mistake could mean death.


    ¡°Do you mind slowing down a bit!?¡±


    The sensation of something clicking into ce in his mind.


    If it came, Loren would start showing greater strength, but once it did, it would put him on a timer.


    He just had to defeat the chief before that limit, but if he couldn¡¯t, he would just be lying on the ground, waiting to be eaten.


    ¡°Loren, could you do as I say?¡±


    Lapis said, looking up at him from under his arm.


    When Loren turned his eyes toward her, still partying the chief¡¯s attacks, Lapis twisted her body into a strained position and put her hand on his chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to do something reckless. But if you remember this sensation, your fighting capabilities will rise exponentially.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to do!? Don¡¯t alter me or anything, alright?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. There¡¯s no way I could without a facility or equipment.¡±


    Even as sheined about what Loren thought she was, her hand felt about his chest.


    As he felt ticklish at her movements, after a while he realized that Lapis¡¯ palm started getting warmer on his chest.


    With the warmth, which seemed too hot to be body heat, piercing through his skin and muscle and spreading throughout his body, and the sensation of something being pulled out of a deep ce, Loren shook slightly, even as he continued fighting the chief.


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    ¡°I believe that Loren¡¯s berserk converts your life energy or health into strength. But that will exhaust you quickly and it¡¯s dangerous for your body as well.¡±


    The grip of Loren¡¯s great sword creaked.


    It was the sound d of Loren gripping it with more strength than ever.


    At the same time, the next blow against the chief¡¯s attack was faster and stronger than any of those before.


    As if showing off that it was different than the ones before, the chief¡¯s body tore deeply, and the chief, who hadn¡¯t even flinched no matter how much he had been cut, started backing away from Loren, as if it was felt fear at the first sensation of pain.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°This is self enhancement that all demons can do. It¡¯s not as good as Gifts since you can only use it on yourself, though.¡±


    With the chief flinching at Loren¡¯s attack, Lapis used the chance to slip out from under Loren¡¯s arm and jump backwards.


    She decided to do so because she knew Loren couldn¡¯t use his strength to it¡¯s fullest if she was there.


    ¡°If you remember the sensation of mana maniption, you could use it at will. This time I forced it out, but don¡¯t forget the feeling of it.¡±


    As he listened to Lapis¡¯ exnation, he stepped towards the chief, who was trying to get away from him, and brought his great sword in an upwards swing.


    Whether he had too much momentum or he miscalcted the distance, the tip of the sword dug into the ground, raising Sparks as it sunk into the chief¡¯s body, engraving a deep wound and causing the chief to scream.


    ¡°V-vooouuunnnddd!?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Stop running so I could cut you to pieces!¡±


    He forced the upwards sh to a stop with brute strength, then brought it back down.


    The two deep wounds caused the part of the body to rip off, and when it hits the floor it turned into fairies, but Loren swung at them with the t of the de.


    After swatting them away like flies, Loren took another step forward and thrust his sword deep into the chief¡¯s body and twisted it.


    With blood splitting out of the wound, the chief wriggled around to try to dislodge the sword from his body, but Loren drove it further in.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    The tip of the sword that was pushed in deeply.


    Loren¡¯s brows furrowed at the weird feeling he felt from it.


    While feeling that the screaming was too loud, Loren twisted the sword left and right to check it.


    Every time he did, the screams got louder, and after a while, he pulled out the sword and almost let go of it in surprise as he saw a hand grabbing the middle part of the de.


    ¡°What the hell!?¡±


    From its size, he could tell that it was a being that was around his or Lapis¡¯ size, not a fairy.


    Shuddering that it was grabbing onto the great sword¡¯s de, Loren slowly started pulling it out of the body.


    Usually, the fingers wouldn¡¯t be unscathed, but for some reason, the de didn¡¯t dig into the fingers that were grabbing it at all, and the arm starteding out slowly and slowly from the wound along with the de.


    ¡°¡­Disgusting.¡±


    ¡°Loren, what did you pull out of the chief¡¯s body?¡±


    A right arm that was protruding from the body of the chief, who had stopped attacking for some reason.


    Judging from the smooth skin and small amount of muscle, it looked like the arm of a woman, but the sight of it sticking out of the chief¡¯s body was abnormal in every way possible.


    ¡°What should we do with this?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­what else can we do other than pull it out?¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ reply, Loren looked at the chief.


    The flesh that made up his body was unmoving, making the attacks a moment ago seem like a lie.


    He wondered for a moment, looking at the female arm dangling from the flesh, but he eventually stuck the great sword into the ground, reluctantly grabbed the arm with both hands, and started pulling.


    Because the body wasn¡¯t that hard, with the owner of the arm trying to crawl out as well, the chief¡¯s body ripped open soon enough, revealing the head and shoulders of the arm¡¯s owner.


    Blonde hair close to white wet with blood and fat, and a set face.


    As soon as the head was pulled outpletely from the body, it started coughing, throwing up something thick with blood mixed in it, and Loren quickly let go of its arm, grabbed his great sword, and ran back to where Lapis was watching.


    In the meantime, after continuing to throw up, making disgusting sounds, it stopped and wiped its mouth with its free hand, breathing hard, and then suddenly pulled itself out up to its waist.


    Of course, it waspletely naked.


    And it was the body of a young woman.


    14


    Not even trying to cover her chest, the girl wiped her face with her arm for a while and sniffed her hands, then pulled the rest of her body out and set her bare feet onto the ground.


    ¡°Aww, this is bad. It stinks and it¡¯s slimy and I¡¯m covered in blood and it¡¯s ruining my looks.¡±


    The girl, who was checking her naked body, eventually turned towards Loren and Lapis, who were looking on at her from a distance, and called out to them with a smile that contained no hostility at all.


    ¡°Thanks a lot, you two. I was worried when I was released by him. These guys don¡¯t seem to cook and eat everything raw, even if it¡¯s a bit rotten, so I thought I was going to die being fed all this garbage.¡±


    When she looked at them with a smile, Loren raised his great sword without thinking.


    Her eyes looked exactly like a person¡¯s, but the pupils were purple.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything, so you don¡¯t have to be so tense. I¡¯m thankful for you, after all. If you didn¡¯t pull me out, I would¡¯ve been with this big guy forever.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask your name?¡±


    Lapis asked the girl instead of Loren, who couldn¡¯t speak a word.


    After looking at Lapis like she was looking at something strange, the girl answered her question.


    4


    ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a pretty one, but whatever. I¡¯m Gura Gluttony. I used to be called the evil god of gluttony a long time ago, and some adventurer sealed me, but I¡¯ve been revived. Is that good for an answer?¡±


    Lapis nodded and asked another question.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any intentions of getting sealed again, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I want to fix my mouth after being fed such horrible things. And I¡¯ve been sealed for long enough, right? It shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I go stretch my legs a bit.¡±


    As the girl named Gura suggested to her, Lapis started at her for a while, but eventually lowered her gaze and told her.


    ¡°As you please.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I guess I¡¯ll be going then. Oh yeah, hey mister, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    Loren, who hadn¡¯t been expecting her to call out to him, answered honestly out of surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s Loren.¡±


    ¡°I see, you¡¯re called Loren. Alright Loren. I¡¯m really thankful for what you did for me today. I¡¯ll pay you back somehow. Bye.¡±


    Before Loren could say anything, Gura waved at them with a smile still on her face and kicked off the ground, like she was diving underwater, and disappeared under the ground headfirst.


    The body of the chief that was left behind started rotting away, as if many days had passed, and the rotten flesh that was turning into liquid started trickling onto the ground.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It seems that because the chief released the evil god, and they¡¯ve beenbined together until now, and since the evil god isn¡¯t there anymore, he died.¡±


    As Lapis had said, the chief had be a giant blob of dead flesh.


    Realizing that if they didn¡¯t flee from the spot, they would see and start smelling something they wouldn¡¯t want to, they decided to leave the thinking forter and hurry back the way they came.


    Previous Next


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Hey guys Kaoto here.


    So in the original, Gura talks in Kansai dialect, if I¡¯m not mistaken.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of dialogue I should use in English, and I¡¯m not really good at separating ways of talking either, so I thought I¡¯ll just do it normally and make a note at the end.


    We¡¯re almost done with volume/arc four, with the next chapter being thest one.


    This one went by pretty quickly.


    Since I haven¡¯t touched Hero of ck for a while, even thought I said I would, I¡¯ll try to do something like work on this series one day, and the other on the next, and so on.


    Hopefully I don¡¯t forget and it works smoothly.


    Hope you enjoy and I¡¯ll see you guys in the next chapter!

 Chapter 96: Returning Without Incident

    <h4>Chapter 96: Returning Without Incident</h4>


    It was a few days after Loren and Lapis had ran back to where Corne was, that the chief¡¯s death had been confirmed.


    From what Loren and Lapis told her, she could see that the chief had died, and although they understood why Corne wanted to make sure the chief waspletely dead, wanting them to wait until the investigation was done was unexpected.


    ¡°We could think of it as saving money for food and rooms.¡±


    Loren¡¯s job used to require him to go from battlefield to battlefield, so he wasn¡¯t concerned about not being able to go back to the city.


    Lapis hadined slightly, but after Loren had agreed to Corne¡¯s wishes, she went with his decision.


    But it was a vige of fairies that were way smaller than them.


    There was no where for Loren and Lapis to stay in, so they had to pitch tents and sleep in sleeping bags during the few days.


    ¡°It¡¯s basically camping, and even the food¡­¡±


    As the evil good of gluttony named Gura had said, fairies were ustomed to eating their food without cooking them.


    So what the fairies gave them were thing like grass and fruit.


    Loren and Lapis were stunned by this, so they got permission to use fire in a corner, and ate the rations they had brought, as well as fish they caught in the waterway that connected to the vige and managed to survive the past few days.


    The confirmation of the chief¡¯s death took so long because of the state the body was in.


    Since the body started rotting away as soon as the evil god left it, the fairies couldn¡¯t tell if it was the chief or some other being, and on top of that, the smell was so bad that they couldn¡¯t get close.


    They brought a mountain of flowers and herbs to mask the smell as best as they could and burned the body bit by bit to gather evidence, and eventually they concluded that it was indeed the chief.


    ¡°Thank you so much. You really saved us here.¡±


    It seemed that Corne had be the new chief.


    For Feuille, since it was most likely that his vige had been wiped out, Corne had contacted another vige to take him in.


    Feuille had lost not only his family, but his whole vige as well, but he had a long life ahead of him, and Loren could only pray that a day wille when the wounds in his heart will healpletely.


    ¡°So, about the rewards for the job.¡±


    Corne had led them to a building that looked like a storage in the corner if the vige.


    When they got there, other fairies were taking things out of there.


    They were doing so since Loren and Lapis couldn¡¯t get inside, but they still had to pick, and the pile was growing bigger and bigger.


    ¡°As promised, you can take one thing you like.¡±


    Hearing those words, Lapis immediately started sifting through the items.


    Loren didn¡¯t even move to touch them, but instead just stood back and watch Lapis go through the items in the pile one by one.


    In the first ce, even if there were two jewels, Loren couldn¡¯t tell which one would be worth more.


    So he decided that leaving it to Lapis, who was knowledgeable about these things, would be the most efficient, but after a while Lapis¡¯ hands stopped.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    When Loren called out to her, she turned towards him like rusted hinges on a door.


    Wondering what made her move like that, Loren walked up and looked over her shoulder, peered into her hands, and frowned when he saw what was in there.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    What Loren saw was a transparent gem that didn¡¯t seem valuable at all.


    It was quiterge, but it wasn¡¯t cut well, and didn¡¯t seem like something Lapis would be surprised at, but he tilted his head, feeling that he¡¯d something like it before somewhere.


    ¡°Loren, this¡­¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ seemingly puzzled voice, as if she wasn¡¯t sure what she should do, Loren realized what it was, and his eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s that¡­right?¡±


    Lore recalled when they went to the adventurer training school in their previous job.


    What was in her hands right now was the same as the thing she had found and taken from the bottom floor of the dungeon.


    ¡°Which one is it?¡±


    ¡°My right arm¡­I think.¡±


    It was one of the parts of Lapis out of her arms, legs, and eyes, that her parents had taken from her and hidden in various ces before she came to the human world.


    Currently, Lapis had found her left arm at the adventurer training school and returned it to normal, but it seemed that the fairies had found another one from somewhere and stored it.


    ¡°I think they found it in the forest somewhere and brought it¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s convenient, I guess.¡±


    Loren thought it was fortunate she found what she was looking for, but Lapis didn¡¯t try to ask for it, and just had a troubled look on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? We¡¯re going with that, right?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know what kind of valuables were there, but a part of Lapis¡¯ body was irreceable, so Loren couldn¡¯t think of any other option.


    He thought they should just receive it and go, but Lapis seemed to have a different opinion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give up on this for now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t sell this for money. Loren will be getting nothing.¡±


    Lapis said that and tried to return the gem to the pile.


    Loren reached from next to her and grabbed it, and before Lapis could do anything, he showed it to Corne.


    ¡°Corne, give us this as our reward.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Loren!? What are you doing!?¡±


    Loren shoved the gem they received into Lapis¡¯ hand as she tried to argue, and then said to her.


    ¡°If you¡¯re that worried about it, let¡¯s say that you gave me my share and reduce my debt.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­but that¡¯s¡­¡±


    Even if Loren¡¯s debt was reduced, it didn¡¯t give him any sort of liquid ie.


    Although there were advantages for both, with Loren getting his debt reduced, and Lapis getting a part of her body back, they were still at zero when it came to money.


    ¡°We have the invoice for the extermination rewards we got before we came here right? That should be enough.¡±


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    Loren cocked his head at Lapis¡¯ apologetic attitude.


    As Loren wondered what had happened, the conversation started going in a bad direction.


    ¡°The invoice was with our other stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Before we came here, we jumped in the water, right?¡±


    Loren picked up where the conversation was going.


    Although they had to in order to escape the fairies, they had been under the water long enough as well as deep enough for everything including their clothes and things to get wet.


    He didn¡¯t need a further exnation to guess what had happened.


    ¡°It got wet, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, very. I tried drying it, but the ink is all blotched and can¡¯t be read.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­unfortunate.¡±


    At that time, Loren couldn¡¯t think of anything else they could¡¯ve done.


    It was a disappointing result, but it wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault, so Loren gave up on it easily.


    ¡°Well, I get my debt reduced, and you get your body back. This is fine, isn¡¯t it? Even if you give up on it this time, you would have toe back to get it another time, right? Just take it. It¡¯s better thaning again.¡±


    When Loren put patted Lapis on the head, signaling that the conversation was over, she still had a troubled look on her face, but she eventually smiled at him and hugged the gem he had handed her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put a spell that will keep you from getting wet on the way back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks¡­wait. Is that waterway the only way in and out of here?¡±


    ¡°The other way is blocked by the former chief¡¯s body.¡±


    Loren sighed again.


    If he were to choose between jumping in the water or trying to get the rotting flesh out of the way, jumping in the water was easier, and Corne said she would cast a spell so they wouldn¡¯t get wet, so the decision was simple.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be on our way now.¡±


    ¡°Loren, Lapis. We¡¯re really thankful for what you¡¯ve done. If you didn¡¯t do something about the chief, we would¡¯ve been put under his weird spell and would¡¯ve attacked someone.¡±


    As they gathered their things and were getting ready to leave, Corne fluttered around them, thanking them as well as casting a few spells.


    ¡°We won¡¯t forget your kindness.¡±


    ¡°We took the job and got our rewards, so it¡¯s not like you owe us anything.¡±


    ¡°Even so. You could¡¯ve just ignored everything and left the forest. Corne is very thankful. I don¡¯t want you to forget that.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Until fate wills us to meet again.¡±


    Saying goodbye to Corne, who looked unwilling to part, Loren and Lapis dove into the waterway that took them to the vige.


    Although he could feel the coldness of the water on his skin, since Corne had put a spell that kept him from getting wet, he didn¡¯t have to worry about being ufortable in wet, cold clothes.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t it be like this every time¡­¡±


    This time they didn¡¯t ept a job, so they didn¡¯t fail.


    The invoice for the extermination rewards was impossible to read so nothing much was expected from it, but all they lost was the money they used toe to the ck Forest including the equipment and food they bought, but it shouldn¡¯t have been that much.


    But they had been able to retrieve a part of Lapis, and Loren¡¯s debt had somewhat decreased.


    And in recent times, Loren would usually end up in the hospital at the end of a job, but this time he was perfectly conscious and wasn¡¯t injured that much either.


    ¡°Maybe you feel that it wasn¡¯t enough¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, next time for sure¡­¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you!?¡±


    ¡°So, you say, but actually?¡±


    ¡°No, so keep swimming!¡±


    Corne¡¯s spells allowed them to speak underwater as well, and Lapis started teasing Loren.


    Jabbing at her lightly, making her swim in front, he thought that an ending like this time, where he wasn¡¯t that injured, was conscious, and wasn¡¯t in the red too much, wouldn¡¯te by too often, and started swimming slowly after her.

 Chapter 97: Recommended after Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 97: Rmended after Beginning</h4>


    There was a rumor going on that many things had been destroyed.


    The Kingdom of Varganburg, which was in the southwest part of the continent, was in the state of confusion.


    Many viges and a few cities had been destroyed in the span of a short time, and two beings known as evil gods had been revived, after all.


    The high officials of the nations, who had received the information from the adventurer¡¯s guild, started requesting jobs to experienced adventurers, suddenly preparing armaments, so regardless of the military department or the office workers, almost all the officials were in an uproar.


    So, it seemed, but to an ordinary adventurer like Loren, it didn¡¯t concern him much, and he was spending a rxing time, as usual.


    Lapis had sent a report to the adventurer¡¯s guild about what had happened during the monster extermination trip they had gone on as a change of pace from failing jobs.


    Loren had left it all to Lapis, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about it at all.


    Although it seemed to have given Lapis a lot more work to do, as the priestess of the Knowledge god was mutteringint afterint.


    But Loren ignored them, as if he had nopassion.


    Loren hadn¡¯t expected much for the extermination rewards.


    They had received an invoice at the city they arrived in during their trip, but with everything that happened afterwards, it got wet and was impossible to read.


    They had thought it would be hard for them to receive money with the ruined invoice, but the guild of Kauffa kindly contacted the guild in the city they received the invoice from and confirmed they would be able to pay a portion of it.


    It was only a portion of it since the invoice couldn¡¯t be read and some of it was taken off for the expenses needed for the guild to confirm the payment, but Loren and Lapisplied with the guild¡¯s request, thinking that it was better than nothing, and managed to receive some money.


    Loren¡¯s wallet was slightly heavier because of it.


    Although, the debt he owed Lapis was quite an amount, so he wasn¡¯t really in a good spot financially, but since he could pay off whenever he could, there was no rush to pay it back, so Loren¡¯s wallet was the fullest it had ever been since he had be an adventurer.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll take my mind off some things, at least.¡±


    Sitting alone with a bottle and a ss in the guild¡¯s bar, Loren muttered along with a self-mockingugh.


    For his debt to Lapis, it was reduced by quite a bit.


    It was due to Loren making a deal with her to do so as his share of the reward, while Lapis took what she was looking for.


    When they returned to Kauffa, Lapis had told him she would reduce his debt to ten gold coins.


    His debt had been reduced to under half of what it used to be, but Loren thought that seeing it as a lot or a little depended on the person.


    Loren didn¡¯t really care, to be honest.


    There was no interest or coteral, after all.


    No collecting and he could pay it off whenever and how much he wanted to.


    The conditions seemed like a joke.


    Despite being a former mercenary, and no matter how muchmon sense hecked, Loren knew that lending money on those terms wasn¡¯t normal.


    He was beginning to think that the debt was to give him a reason to be with Lapis.


    If it wasn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t exin why Lapis happily looked for valuables from the destroyed viges and the bandit camp they had destroyed and tried to take them.


    If her aim was money, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she worked him like a horse and gave him the minimum amount of money he would need to eat and sleep, while taking everything else.


    Because she didn¡¯t do so, it led Loren to believe that her aim wasn¡¯t money.


    She often tried to n to increase his debt, but that could be taking a precaution for Loren somehow getting his hands on enough money to pay it all off.


    But about thest thought, since there was no proof that she wasn¡¯t trying to fatten him up to eat him, in a sense, so he wasn¡¯tpletely sure.


    ¡°Loren? Umm, Loren?¡±


    Loren, who was lost in thought, came back to his senses at a voice calling him.


    When he turned towards the voice, the one who was sitting in front of him, leaning forward, wasn¡¯t the priestess that he was partners with, but instead it was one of the guild¡¯s receptionist.


    Since he usually used the same window at the same time, he usually met the same receptionist, but the girl that was staring at him was the receptionist of the window he always used.


    ¡°Can you hear me Loren? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I was lost in thought. Did you want something?¡±


    When Loren asked her, refilling his empty ss, the girl pulled out a te of cheese out from somewhere, put it softly on the table, and held an empty ss in front of him.


    At her actions, Loren couldn¡¯t help but look at her face.


    The girl looked around the same age as Lapis.


    Her chestnut colored hair was tied up so it wouldn¡¯t bother her while working, but if she let it down it would be quite long.


    Her face was cute than pretty, but she was a receptionist at the guild, where lot of rough people were, so it was hard to think that her personality matched her looks.


    That could already be noticed when she asked Loren for a drink, but with the way she brought something as payment, she could even be considered faultless.


    ¡°I wanted to talk to you about something, so I thought I¡¯ll join you for a drink.¡±


    It was just past noon.


    Of course, the guild was still up and running, and even if it was to talk to an adventurer, it didn¡¯t seem like the right time to be drinking.


    ¡°Is it alright? You¡¯re still working, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°The adventurer¡¯s guild front desk employees are allowed quite a bit of discretion when ites to negotiating with adventurers, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t buy drinks for someone whose name I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°My name is Ivy Bridgeguard.¡±


    Although Loren was surprised at her immediate reply, he started pouring the contents of his bottle into the empty ss that had been held in front of him the whole time.


    5


    ¡°So, what do you want to talk about?¡±


    If she needed some alcohol to talk smoothly, Loren wished she could hurry up and drink so they could start talking, but Ivy put some of the liquor in her mouth, threw a slice of cheese that she had brought in there as well, and just continued to make a blissful expression instead of talking.


    When Loren fretfully urged her to start talking, she finally started talking, as if she had just remembered why she came to him.


    ¡°Actually, I was wondering if you could take the rank-up exam.¡±


    What she said waspletely unexpected.


    It wasn¡¯t something to be proud of, but Loren¡¯s sess rate as an adventurer was extremely low, so he had thought he wouldn¡¯t be qualified to rise in ranks at all.


    When he had asked other adventurers, they had told him that usually after two or three sessful jobs and if you were believed to do well off on your own, you could immediately be promoted to iron rank.


    Of course, it was after sessful jobs, and there was rarely someone like Loren, who failed job after job.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that your sess rates are one of the lowest of the low¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s feelings sunk as it as she said it in such a straight way.


    The thought that he wasn¡¯t meant to be an adventurer, and he should just go back to be a mercenary crossed his head, and it seemed that it was all over his face, as Ivy quickly followed up.


    ¡°But when considering the scale of the incident you were caught up in, it¡¯s not something that a copper rank adventurer could get through. It¡¯s actually impressing that you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°That true, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes, definitely.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it were true, but there was no reason for a guild employee to be so supportive of a particr individual, and if Ivy, who had seen many adventurers until now, said so, it must have been true.


    Even if he was satisfied with that for now, he didn¡¯t understand the intentions of the guild,ing to him through one of their staff and rmend him to take the rank up exam.


    As Loren started to think something was suspicious, Ivy, who had been sipping her drink, started talking in an easing tone, as if it were small talk.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed, but the nation Kauffa is part of isn¡¯t in a good state right now.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Loren had done anything, but he and Lapis were the ones who leaked the information that made it so, and Loren, who started to feel awkward being there, slowly turned his eyes away.


    Ivy continued, not saying anything about it.


    ¡°Viges being destroyed is indeed sad, but it happened quite often. But if things like post towns and cities get destroyed, the nation needs to take action.¡±


    ¡°Us down here want it to do something for viges as well, though.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I agree with that. But I¡¯m sure you could understand that even the nation has a limit to what it could respond.¡±


    Putting whether it felt good or not aside, Loren understood that there were things that could and couldn¡¯t be done.


    If it were an organization that did anything, it would be a different story, but Loren hadn¡¯t heard of anything like that existing in the world.


    ¡°And so, since the adventurer¡¯s guild tries to maintain public order, so in a sense we¡¯re trying to raise the standard by strongly rmending people to take the rank up exam.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Loren could understand everything up to that point.


    But if that was it, it was a very weak reason for Ivy to go to the trouble ofing to him.


    ¡°One more thing.¡±


    Ivy continued, as if she knew that Loren would think that.


    ¡°If the ones who brought all this information every time were the lowest ranking copper rank adventurers, how would the people who received this information feel?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think status has anything to do with the reliability of the information.¡±


    When he replied honestly, Ivy gulped the rest of her drink with a difficult expression on her face.


    ¡°My work would be so much easier if everyone said that.¡±


    ¡°¡­Must be hard. Here, drink up.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Feeling for her, Loren took the bottle and started pouring Ivy another ss.


    After dly epting it and taking another gulp, Ivy started talking in a tired voice.


    ¡°The people above don¡¯t think so. They say they can¡¯t count on information from copper rank adventurers.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t understand why.¡±


    Even in mercenary groups, information from veterans were more important than those from new recruits.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t thrown in the dirt, it was easy to think that there were mistakes or misunderstandings.


    ¡°So, my superiors told me they want you make sure you take the exam to do something about it.¡±


    ¡°And you had to go through the trouble ofing to me, huh. Thanks for your hard work.¡±


    ¡°And I had to find an opening when you weren¡¯t with Lapis on top of that. She looks like she¡¯d react sensitively to things like this, after all.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I¡¯m easier to deal with?¡±


    ¡°It means that you seem like you would ept it honestly if I talk to you about it honestly.¡±


    If he was being considered easy prey, he was about to change that, but what Ivy said didn¡¯t make him feel that bad, so Loren raised his ss to his lips to hide his annoyed face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing, you know. Of course, the exam will be the same as the regr ones, and just between us, I¡¯ll waiver the exam fee, so could you please take it?¡±


    If Lapis were here, she wouldn¡¯t have epted so easily, thinking that there was something else behind Ivy¡¯s reasonings.


    But Loren thought that since the girl was sent to meet him to give him that exnation during her work time, the chances of that were quite low.


    And Loren himself knew very well that conspiring with copper rank adventurers didn¡¯t mean anything.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I need to ask my partner¡­Well, I¡¯ll try to convince her. Is that enough?¡±


    Although Loren told her he couldn¡¯t promise her, Ivy let out a relieved smile, as if that was enough.

 Chapter 98: Concluding after Reporting

    <h4>Chapter 98: Concluding after Reporting</h4>


    ¡°So, did you tell the guild girl that you¡¯ll take the exam?¡±


    It was currently night time.


    As Loren told Lapis what happened during the day while they were having dinner at the bar in the guild, Lapis asked him that question.


    As she sat across from him, with a te of sausages and a ss in front of her but not touching either of them as she listened to Loren¡¯s story, Loren put down his ss and slowly shook his head.


    ¡°I told her that I¡¯ll talk about it with my partner first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯d say you handled it pretty well.¡±


    Even though Lapis praised him, Loren wasn¡¯t sure what he did well.


    All he had done was postpone his answer until after he had asked for Lapis¡¯ opinion, but Lapis continued as she poked the sausage in front of her with her fork.


    ¡°In these cases, if you don¡¯t have the materials that are worth basing your decision on, it¡¯s best to avoid answering immediately. If that isn¡¯t possible, make sure your replies can be interpreted in different ways, while not saying anything that could be used against you, and try to buy time to ask for someone else¡¯s opinion.¡±


    ¡°You just want to make thingsplicated, don¡¯t you?¡±


    If he were to do that every time something simr happened, the conversation would go nowhere and only time would be wasted.


    As he red at Lapis while thinking that, she stuck her fork in one of the sausages, and averted her eyes in the most natural way as she brought it up to her mouth.


    Seeing Lapis take a bite out of it, letting out a good snapping sound as she did so, Loren slightly regretted not giving a definitive answer earlier, and started pouring himself another ss.


    ¡°Anyways.¡±


    Seeing that Loren¡¯s focus turned from her to the bottle of alcohol, Lapis continued the conversation.


    Although he wanted to question her further, he had a feeling it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere, so he decided to listen to what Lapis had to say.


    ¡°So, the adventurer¡¯s guild wants us to take the rank-up exam, am I right?¡±


    Loren nodded slightly.


    After seeing him do so, she made an unexpected suggestion in a confident manner.


    ¡°Then how about we tell them that we¡¯ll do it if it¡¯s the rank-up exam for silver?¡±


    ¡°Jumping past iron? Does that mean anything?¡±


    ¡°Not really. But if the guild wants us to rank up so badly, I thought maybe we could take advantage of that and try to push some demands that usually wouldn¡¯t go through on them.¡±


    As he thought he could understand why Ivy had made sure that Lapis wasn¡¯t with him when she came to talk to him, Loren asked her another thing.


    ¡°You think it would go through?¡±


    ¡°Most likely not.¡±


    Although she was the one who proposed the idea, she easily denied it.


    As Loren sighed, not sure what she wanted to do, Lapis swung her fork as if it were a baton and continued.


    ¡°If they refuse, we just act like it can¡¯t be helped, and then ask them to waiver the rank-up exam for iron this time.¡±


    As she said they should make new demands without giving up, Loren looked at Lapis with a frown, not sure if he should be exasperated or impressed.


    ¡°You know¡­¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s not possible either, we ask them to waiver a portion of it. Since they are the ones who want us to take it, trying to take as many freebies we can is the smart way to do it.¡±


    Lapis way of thinking was pushing demand after demand, anticipating that the other party would give in somewhere.


    She didn¡¯t seem satisfied with just the fee being waivered, but Loren thought maybe she was being a bit too greedy.


    ¡°What about when you can¡¯te to apromise?¡±


    The guild should have a firm line that it couldn¡¯t cross, so if they couldn¡¯te to an agreement, the whole thing might be cancelled.


    If that happened, they would be losing the perk of not paying the exam fee, but Lapis responded coolly.


    ¡°Then we decline taking the exam itself.¡±


    ¡°But then¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s an advantage for us to be iron rank right now in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    If they became iron rank, the amount of rewards they receive would increase.


    Loren thought that was a good enough reason, but on top of that, there were more information you could ess, fellow adventurers would look at you differently, and you would be raising your status slightly.


    The cons would be the jobs getting more difficult, and the responsibilitying with it increasing as well, but Loren thought it was a trivial matterpared to the pros.


    That was why he couldn¡¯t understand why Lapis said there were no advantages.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re supposed to be copper rank adventurers, so we¡¯ve been taking jobs for copper ranks¡­but I think that for some reason, we¡¯ve been doing things that are well out of a copper rank adventurer¡¯s capability every single time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­I guess?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like they wanted it to happen or they made it happen, but ever since Loren became an adventurer, most of the jobs he took were things that would never be given to copper ranks.


    ¡°What do you think would happen if we became iron rank adventurers?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that¡­?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that we¡¯ll get caught in something that iron ranks wouldn¡¯t ever be doing.¡±


    There weren¡¯t many people who would willingly walk towards trouble.


    If the job were to end somewhere far from trouble, Loren was fine with that, and had no intentions of sticking his head into it.


    But judging from his experiences up to that point, it resulted in troublesing towards him, even though he didn¡¯t want anything to do with it.


    ¡°You might have a point there.¡±


    ¡°Right? We¡¯ve been doing jobs that make people wonder how we¡¯re still alive. As a result, Loren¡¯s sess rate should be one of the lowest in the whole guild in Kauffa.¡±


    ¡°Wait, if I¡¯m one of the lowest, shouldn¡¯t you be as well?¡±


    Loren stopped her as she said something that he couldn¡¯t just let past.


    Since they were a party together, Loren and Lapis should have been doing the same jobs, so Loren thought it was weird that only his sess rate would be considered the lowest, but after thinking for a moment, Lapis said something very heartless.


    ¡°I¡¯ve actually done a few jobs sessfully on my own, so my sess rate is higher than Loren¡¯s.¡±


    Although the two of them were a party, they weren¡¯t with each other around the clock.


    Of course, Loren had his and Lapis had her private time as well as things to do on their own, and Lapis had been using that time to do simple jobs such as collecting herbs and materials.


    And so her sess rate was the number of times she had seeded higher than Loren¡¯s.


    ¡°When did you¡­¡±


    ¡°This is all for Loren, you know. Don¡¯t make such a scary face.¡±


    Lapis said to him, not afraid at all by his re.


    Loren didn¡¯t understand the logic behind her doing all those jobs behind his back and telling him it was all for him.


    ¡°If both Loren and I have the lowest sess rate in Kauffa¡¯s guild, it would sound bad, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you meant.¡±


    If both of them were failing, they would be at the bottom as a party as well.


    Loren realized that Lapis doing some easy jobs on her own would make their sess rate slightly better, so he interrupted her exnation.


    Although he wished that if she were going to do so, she could have invited him to go along, but whenever the two of them went on a simple job, there was a chance something that made it far from simple could happen, so when putting that into consideration, Lapis going on her own might have been the optimal thing to do.


    ¡°Am I the jinxed one¡­?¡±


    It seemed that Lapis¡¯ jobs stayed easy when she was solo.


    Which meant that the one who was pulling unnecessary factors around was someone other than her, which naturally meant that it would be him.


    ¡°It could be that the condition is only when we¡¯re together, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    As Loren started falling into a loop of negative thoughts, Lapis followed up.


    In fact, the prominent reason for Lapis was that it would be troublesome if they were denied from jobs because of a low sess rate.


    But she had no intention of upsetting Loren, so her follow up was a very quick one.


    ¡°Anyways, going back to the rank-up exam. What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°As much as I would like to add and take off conditions and have fun negotiating with the guild, but if you don¡¯t think well of it, how about just taking it?¡±


    Loren thought that the guild staff was wary of her because she said and thought those kinds of things, but instead of saying so, he asked her something else.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it if you do.¡±


    She seemed to leave the final decision to Loren.


    After thinking for a moment, Loren told her his thoughts.


    ¡°I think trying it would be okay since it¡¯s free.¡±


    If they passed, they would receive the qualifications to be iron rank adventurers for free.


    Even if they didn¡¯t it wouldn¡¯t hurt their finances and wouldn¡¯t bring any problems either.


    So, Loren concluded that it was worth taking a shot at.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go with that.¡±


    Since Loren made up his mind, Lapis had no intention of arguing, and since they were in consensus, they would be going along with the guild¡¯s rmendations and taking the rank up exam.

 Chapter 99: Auction at Exam Site

    <h4>Chapter 99: Auction at Exam Site</h4>


    ¡°Thank you so much. I was worried that you would keepining and eventually say that you wouldn¡¯t do it.¡±


    Ivy, a receptionist girl at the guild, said with a smile on her face.


    After talking with Lapis and deciding to take the exam the night before, when he told Ivy that, she let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.


    Wanting to strike the iron while it was hot, Ivy took Loren and Lapis to a training ground near the guild where the exam was to take ce.


    ¡°I¡¯m also thankful that you responded so quickly. I thought it would take a bit more time.¡±


    What Ivy was worried about were things that would¡¯ve happened if Loren let Lapis do all the negotiating.


    In that point, Ivy¡¯s decision to approach Loren when he was alone was the best one, and Loren was impressed, thinking that she was indeed someone who had dealt with many kinds of adventurers through her job, but he guessed that it wouldn¡¯t make her happy even if he told her that.


    It would mean that her prediction that things could¡¯ve been a lot messier was correct, after all.


    ¡°What would the exam be like?¡±


    Lapis asked Ivy casually, not mentioning that she was thinking about doing everything Ivy was worried about.


    Loren was about to wonder why a priestess of the Knowledge god like Lapis didn¡¯t know that, but he immediately stopped himself, realizing that his image of priests of the Knowledge god was being poisoned by her.


    There was no way a priest of the Knowledge god would know everything, and Lapis was just abnormal, so he knew that this natural expectation wasn¡¯t a good thing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. There¡¯s no written exam. If there was, most people wouldn¡¯t be able to leave copper rank.¡±


    Unable to write.


    Or read, or in some cases, there were adventurers who couldn¡¯t do either, and that was a lot of people.


    If there was a written exam for such adventurers, even getting to iron rank would be a difficult challenge.


    For the higher ranks, there were written exams, but that was because to be a high ranking adventurer, you would need knowledge and intelligence as well as skill.


    ¡°So the exam is practical. You would be doing a practice match with a proctor that the guild provides.¡±


    ¡°Would Lapis be doing the same?¡±


    To Ivy, it sounded like Loren was worried that priests, who weren¡¯t really meant forbat, would have to take the same type of exam.


    But in fact, Loren was worried about the proctor who would be going against Lapis, since she was a demon and was easily more powerful than he was.


    If Lapis went overboard and twisted off parts of her opponent, it would be apparent that she was skilled enough, but the proctor would be in a pitiful state.


    ¡°It¡¯s waived for priests and magicians. Instead, we have them show us a spell.¡±


    The guild¡¯s training ground was arge one-story building near it.


    Inside was bare ground, and adventurers could go there to practicebat and magic.


    Almost anyone could use it if they were a part of the guild, so it was used to train new adventurers or practice moving with new members, as well as experienced adventurers training novices.


    Hot blooded adventurers didn¡¯t use the facility much, so it was mostly used for rank-up exams.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be easy, but what about Loren¡¯s opponent?¡±


    Lapis looked slightly disappointed.


    A short time before during theirst two jobs, Lapis had regained both her arms out of her limbs and eyes that her parents had taken from her and reced with prosthetics.


    After that, she didn¡¯t have a chance to test them out inbat, so she had been hoping to do so, but Loren was relieved that the opportunity didn¡¯t present itself.


    ¡°Of course, we have information that Loren is a skilled swordsman, so we¡¯ve prepared someone good.¡±


    In aical fashion, Ivy pointed to a person waiting in the training ground.


    The man with a slime yet trained figure and red hair, opened his eyes wide in surprise when he saw Loren, and started looking between him and Ivy repeatedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s new ace among the iron rank adventurers, us!¡±


    ¡°Wait a second! My opponent for the mock battle is Loren!?¡±


    As us started panicking, a wondering face appeared on Ivy¡¯s face.


    As Loren guessed that she had somehow tricked us into bing a proctor without exining everything, the conversation between the two proved that he was right.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me about this! I would¡¯ve declined if I knew he was my opponent!¡±


    ¡°But I promised you that I¡¯ll spend a night with you if you agreed to be a proctor and beat your opponent, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you said!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who said that a copper rank adventurer was no match for you so I should wait with the key to my room, right?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    As us was at a loss for words, Loren and Lapis¡¯ cold res pierced into him.


    ¡°us, you¡¯re the leader of a harm party including Ange as well as a knight and a magician, but have you been hitting on guild girls as well?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one¡¯s personal preference so it¡¯s not something I can say about. But women will be the death of you, you know that?¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s my private life, so it¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    us responded to their cold words without hesitation.


    Giving up, knowing that he probably wouldn¡¯t change his ways unless he experienced a life-threatening experience, Loren asked Ivy.


    ¡°In any case, I just need to fight him and beat him to a pulp, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please destroy him so that he can¡¯t move his legs and waist properly.¡±


    ¡°What!? Wait a second! Lying isn¡¯t good!¡±


    As Ivy said something quite violent with a smile on her face, us quickly stopped her.


    When Loren nudged him to exin, us started exining the rules to the exam, ncing at Ivy to keep her mouth shut.


    ¡°Winning or losing doesn¡¯t matter in general. If you lose badly, you would lose points, but if you manage to fight decently, there¡¯s no problem. If the exam was based on victory or defeat, since it¡¯s against a copper rank and an iron rank, most adventurers won¡¯t be able to pass.¡±


    There weren¡¯t many adventurers that were skilled swordsmen like Loren was, so a copper rank adventurer with more skill and experience than iron adventurers were very rare.


    Then it would¡¯ve been obvious after a bit of thought that the mock battle wouldn¡¯t be based on victory, but for some reason, Ivy seemed to want Loren to crush us.


    ¡°Can I ask what the circumstances are?¡±


    ¡°Well, that person over there has been hitting on every guild girl that caught his eye.¡±


    As Lapis put her arm around Ivy¡¯s shoulder and leaned in towards her and asked her in a small voice, Ivy replied in a hushed voice as well.


    ¡°No matter how many times we warn him he doesn¡¯t show signs of improving, and sometimes new girls that don¡¯t know about him almost fall for him, so we¡¯ve decided that this can¡¯t keep going on.¡±


    ¡°So, you ended up bing the bait and luring us out here, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I used the condition I mentioned before to do so.¡±


    At Ivy¡¯s clear confession that she tricked us, Loren started to feel sorry for him.


    us¡¯ attitude was indeed a problem, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel that there would¡¯ve been a better way without having to trick him.


    ¡°But no matter how you tricked him, a promise is still effective as a promise, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but with Loren¡¯s skill¡­¡±


    ¡°If victory or loss doesn¡¯t matter, he can lose on purpose if he wants to.¡±


    At the words Lapis said with a smile, us and Ivy¡¯s expressions froze.


    Realizing what was going to happen, Loren dropped his shoulders and sighed.


    ¡°So, the two of you. Let¡¯s start the bidding, shall we? The good will be the right to decide if Loren will fight seriously or go easy and lose at a good time.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute Lapis! That¡¯s cheating, isn¡¯t it!?¡±


    As Ivy started panicking, Lapis said calmly.


    ¡°Cheating? What do you mean? Winning doesn¡¯t matter, and the progress is what¡¯s important, right? And it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve asked you to pass Loren unfairly. It¡¯s about whether he beats up the proctor to a pulp or give up at a good time. That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Your pride as a swordsman won¡¯t let you lose on purpose, right?¡±


    ¡°Strictly speaking, I¡¯m a mercenary, not a swordsman, so I don¡¯t care as long as it¡¯s going to mean money in my pocket.¡±


    If it were a fight to the death, it would be a different story, but what they were about to do was a mock battle, which victory or loss didn¡¯t matter.


    So, Loren thought that going on board with Lapis¡¯ n to get a bit of pocket money wouldn¡¯t be bad.


    His answer was unexpected to both us and Ivy, as us¡¯ face loosened while Ivy, still stiff, looked at Lapis¡¯ face awkwardly.


    ¡°So, now that we¡¯ve gotten Loren¡¯s approval. How much can you pay?¡±


    At Lapis straightforward question, us and Ivy quickly took out their wallets from their pockets and started looking through them.


    Loren whispered to Lapis, humming as she looked on with a smile.


    ¡°Are you serious about this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯m pretty interested in seeing Ivy cry after getting her room key taken though.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s my share?¡±


    ¡°How about seven to three, with Loren getting seven?¡±


    ¡°Not bad. Count me in.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t going to go with it if Lapis took therger share or if it was exactly half.


    But since she immediately responded with him getting therge share, it meant that Lapis was interested in where this would go and didn¡¯t care about the money.


    Loren didn¡¯t have a reason to miss a three-way opportunity to satisfy Lapis¡¯ curiosity, rake us over some coals, and show Ivy what happens when she tries to use someone conveniently.


    ¡°Alright, the two of you. Let¡¯s start piling up what¡¯s in your wallets, shall we?¡±


    Seeing Ivy and us making bids in front of Lapis, who had an innocent yet crooked smile on her face, which made it hard to believe she was actually a priestess, Loren stifled a yawn, thinking that it would be a while before the exam would start.

 Chapter 100: Interruption after Successful Bid

    <h4>Chapter 100: Interruption after Sessful Bid</h4>


    After looking on for a while, Loren started thinking that they were lucky not many people used the training ground.


    It was because the bidding between us and Ivy was getting quite heated up.


    Loren didn¡¯t care what the results were, but to the ones who were bidding, the one who couldn¡¯t knock it down would be in a very unfavorable position, so they were that serious about it.


    What started at copper coins soon moved to silver, and the amount of silver coins increased rapidly was well.


    Loren thought that it would keep going, but because Lapis had limited to what was in the contesters¡¯ wallets, the one who had more money would be the winning side, so Ivy sessfully bid at twenty silver coins.


    ¡°I had a bad feeling about today¡­¡±


    Ivy said with heavy breathing, as if the excitement hadn¡¯t left her yet, as she looked at us droop his shoulders in the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°Good thing I trusted my instinct and held onto more money than usual.¡±


    Loren honestly thought that she was lucky.


    It was because Loren thought that although there were many felt intuitions, only a few could follow it and be sessful.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve had enough of this, don¡¯t bet the keys to your room so lightly.¡±


    ¡°Are you interested Loren? The keys to my room?¡±


    As Ivy asked him, not seeming like she had enough, all Loren could do was shrug lightly.


    Realizing that Lapis was ring at her very coldly, Ivy quickly retreated from the spot.


    ¡°Loren, I guess I have no choice but to beat you to get her keys.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not giving up either, huh¡­¡±


    Loren sighed as us raised a wooden sword used for mock fights with newfound determination.


    Getting serious for his own desires so straightforwardly was something that could be respected, but his motivation was too impure.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start this!¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­but what about my weapon?¡±


    When Loren asked Ivy, she made a startled face.


    Since it was a training ground, there were of course a selection of weapons that could be used for mock fights.


    There were swords of many different shapes and sizes, as well as things like maces and staffs.


    There were different kinds of bows as well as arrows with blunt ends.


    But there weren¡¯t any great swords that Loren could use.


    Loren¡¯s weapon was sorge and heavy that ordinary people couldn¡¯t use it, so there was no way someone would want to use something simr for mock battles.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Loren be at a disadvantage?¡±


    Ivy made a difficult face when Lapis asked that.


    There were adventurers that used unique weapons.


    In that case, they would usually be allowed to cover the de to kill the sharpness.


    If it were a blunt weapon, they would allow the use of it and if heavy injuries were suffered the guild would treat it, but the lethality of Loren¡¯s weapon wasn¡¯t something you could get rid of by putting a cover on it.


    But if Loren used something else, he would be taking the exam on an unfamiliar weapon, so he would be in an equally unfavorable position.


    ¡°So would this mean we¡¯ll reschedule this after we think of some way?¡±


    As Ivy stayed silent with a difficult look on her face, us lowered his weapon, thinking that there wasn¡¯t a way to make it work.


    Even Lapis thought of cancelling it and there was no other way that redo it, but with conditions that made it more favorable for Loren, but Loren took off the great sword from his back, leaned it against the wall, and casually took a wooden two handed-sword that was hanging from it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that confident on these, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    It seemed that Loren was going to go against us with that sword.


    As Ivy asked him, worried that it would be too difficult for him, considering that us used long swords on a daily basis and was quite an experienced iron rank adventurer, but Loren nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to find a recement for us, anyway, so the conditions won¡¯t change much whether it be now orter.¡±


    ¡°Are you looking down at me a bit, challenging me on an unfamiliar weapon?¡±


    To a swordsman like us, Loren using an unfamiliar weapon meant that it was enough for the likes of him, so a steepness mixed with his frivolous expression.


    Loren, on the other hand, checked out the sword by swinging it around lightly a few times, faced us, and told him.


    ¡°The chances of you winning goes up, you know?¡±


    ¡°Loren, I¡¯d like to thank your consideration.¡±


    As us attitude turned around immediately, Lapis and Ivy¡¯s shoulders sunk.


    It meant that the keys to a girl¡¯s room came before his pride as a swordsman, but since it was so much like him, they didn¡¯t even feel likeining.


    ¡°Alright then, please start and get it over with.¡±


    ¡°Well, looks like you just threw everything a them.¡±


    Lapis pretty much left everything up to them, as if she didn¡¯t care anymore, and Ivy signaled for them to begin.


    As they looked on, us raised his word with one hand, but Loren did something strange.


    Although he had been holding the sword normally, he suddenly turned it upside down, directed the tip towards the ground, and pushed his hands, which were on the handle of the sword, and pushed in against his chest.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s something I learned from the person who taught me how to use the sword that helps ease the mind.¡±


    After answering, Loren quickly gripped his sword properly again, and aimed it at his opponent.


    ¡°Are we starting?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Bring it on. I¡¯ll let you have the first hand.¡±


    Because Loren was a lower rank than he was, along with the fact that he was using an unfamiliar weapon, us raised his weapon again and told him to start.


    Against it, Loren didn¡¯t seem upset at all, but instead raised his sword above his head, and swung it down towards us head on.


    Loren was someone who used a very heavy weapon.


    The wooden sword¡¯s weight was nothingpared to his great sword, so the speed that he raised it and brought it down was faster beyondparison as well.


    But still, it was a head on downwards blow.


    It was too visible to us, as he blocked it diagonally with his sword, and let it slide past him.


    us tried to retaliate immediately, but his body couldn¡¯t step forward, but instead he jumped back, trying to gain distance between them.


    Chasing after him, Loren swung his sword diagonally upwards, and feeling the wind that it caused, us clenched his teeth from the shiver that went down his spine, knowing that it was a wooden sword.


    ¡°Are you familiar with that sword too, actually?¡±


    ¡°No. Far from my best.¡±


    A weakugh escaped us¡¯ mouth, hearing that even with the speed he saw was far from his best.


    If he had stepped towards him unprepared, Loren¡¯s swords would¡¯ve caught him straight on, and although it was wooden, he would¡¯ve been rendered unable to move.


    Although Loren¡¯s attacks weren¡¯t as sharp as when he was swinging his great sword, his movements were one of someone who trained with the sword long enough, so us became warier of him.


    ¡°You still going to let me be on the offensive?¡±


    ¡°No. My turn now!¡±


    As Loren taunted us, who hadn¡¯t attacked a single time yet, us shook his head slightly and immediately took a sharp step towards Loren along with a swing of his sword.


    Loren¡¯s sword could be used with either one or both hands, and although it was smaller than a great sword, it was longer and wider than the one-handed sword us was using.


    So it couldn¡¯t make a sharp routing, so it would be used like a great sword, as Loren had done just before.


    Loren most likely had selected it thinking it was the closest thing he could use like his normal weapon, but us¡¯ sword, although losing in power, its speed and routing should have been quicker.


    Using that advantage, us attacked Loren, focusing on speed, but Loren blocked and dodged his attacks calmly, with the smallest movements possible.


    ¡°I guess it indeed is different than what he¡¯s used to.¡±


    Lapis said as she watched the fight between Loren and us.


    Loren¡¯s usual fighting style was dealing blow after blow, using his weapon¡¯s weight along with his strength to ignore his opponent¡¯s defenses, but since his current weapon was wooden, he couldn¡¯t get past us¡¯ defenses.


    On the other hand, us moved quicker and weaved in between Loren¡¯s attacks, dealing attack after attack repeatedly.


    But he couldn¡¯t get past Loren¡¯s skillful defense, so the battle continued on, with both of them not being able tond a single blow on the other.


    ¡°If they were using real swords, us would have died a few times over already though.¡±


    ¡°Loren¡¯s incredible.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ evaluation impressed Ivy, but her face stiffened at what Lapis said next.


    ¡°If Loren could use his great sword, the number of times us died would already be up to two digits, I think.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s let them continue for a bit longer, and if neither of them can find an opening, let¡¯s stop it.¡±


    us couldn¡¯t get past Loren¡¯s defenses, but although Loren was on the offensive sometimes, his attacks were dodged or parried, which cut off his chain of attacks, letting us retaliate.


    Although Ivy didn¡¯t think it was hopeless, she understood that even if it were to go on, it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere.


    ¡°I think that would be the best¡­Hmm?¡±


    Lapis agreed to Ivy¡¯s suggestion, but her eyes narrowed as if she noticed something.


    As Ivy wondered what she noticed, the next moment, she saw a small shadow run in between Loren and us, who were trading blow after blow, and shouted.


    ¡°No!¡±


    The moment the shadow ran in was right when Loren and us were both in the middle of letting out attacks.


    If one went in between, he would be receiving both attacks at once.


    The shadow was small as well, most likely a child, and it was hard to believe that a child could survive a blow from Loren as well as us.


    But the result that Ivy expected didn¡¯t happen.


    Loren and us stopped with their swingspleted.


    The wooden swords in their hands didn¡¯t have a de, and close to the handles were jagged marks, and a heartbeatter, the des, which most likely had been snapped off, spun down from above their heads andnded on the ground.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    us was surprised at the broken sword in his hand.


    Loren threw the useless sword on the ground and asked the being that interrupted them.


    ¡°Well, you were doing something that looked fun, so I thought I¡¯d interrupt. You guys are adventurers, no?¡±


    Talking in a slightly arrogant manner, the being that put her hands on her waist was a girl that was way smaller than Loren or us.


    Her clothes were made from quality material and was tailored well, like clothes worn by nobles, and it wasn¡¯t something to be wearing when interrupting two adventurers in a battle, and she didn¡¯t hold a weapon either.


    She had long, blonde hair, and it was clean and glossy, making it obvious that it was taken care of quite well, and the word princess fit her perfectly.


    But it was clear that she had somehow snapped both Loren¡¯s and us¡¯ sword, and they didn¡¯t know what she did, which made them wary of her.


    The girl circled around and looked at all of them, as if not noticing their wariness.


    ¡°I¡¯vee to request a job. Hear me out.¡±

 Chapter 101: Requesting after Moving

    <h4>Chapter 101: Requesting after Moving</h4>


    ¡°So you want to talk about a job, right?¡±


    They were at the bar in the guild.


    The blonde girl sitting in front of him squirmed in her chair as she looked around.


    Loren was looking at the girl suspiciously, while Lapis, who was sitting next to him, was looking at her with a small smile that didn¡¯t anyone know what she was thinking.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but you chose quite the lively ce.¡±


    Around them were adventurers looking for jobs and drunk customers, and the waitresses were weaving in and out between them, and it was indeed a sight that could be described as lively.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad. It¡¯s aesthetic.¡±


    Even if they were to move, Loren didn¡¯t know a quiet and fancy shop that the girl might like.


    Lapis might have known, but such a shop would be very expensive, and he had no intention of going somewhere like that.


    ¡®Onii-san, Onii-san, be careful.¡¯


    The voice of a girl that couldn¡¯t be seen rang out in the back of his mind.


    The girl that became a no life king, the highest ranking undead, after a whole city being sacrificed.


    Existing in her astral body after losing her physical one, she was living within Loren¡¯s astral body.


    That was the girl named Shayna, who had spoken to Loren.


    ¡®I sense something strange from her. The same smell as me, to be exact¡­¡¯


    ¡°Hmm, you. You have a strange air about you. You¡¯re keeping something inside, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Choose your words carefully, alright? I¡¯m not keeping anything around me.¡±


    Before thinking that she found out, what came out of Loren¡¯s mouth was a warning filled with killing intent.


    Even if he could put aside the fact that Shayna was an undead, it didn¡¯t change the fact that she had helped him many times.


    Since the girl had said he was keeping her without even knowing anything, there was no way he could just take it, and he couldn¡¯t help but put killing intent into his words.


    It was killing intent that had been toned throughout countless battles.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t pointed towards them, just feeling it made the waitresses stop in their tracks and the people around him widened their eyes and looked towards him, making him the center of attention.


    But even though the girl in front of him got the full brunt of it, she didn¡¯t even blink, and looked at Loren¡¯s face coolly with interest.


    Bing upset with her attitude, Loren started considering leaving without hearing about her job request, but he stiffened at the cold air that came from in front of him.


    It might have been actual cold air.


    But Loren felt the chill in his spine sending a fright all the way inside to his core and ended up not being able to stand up from his seat.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get so upset. I admit that it was a poor choice of words. I won¡¯t ask you to forgive me, but I¡¯d appreciate if you¡¯d ept my apology.¡±


    As the girl switched to amendable way of talking and bowed her head, Loren looked at her in disbelief.


    Around them were customers who were bubbling at their mouths, waitresses that became paralyzed with fright and sank to the ground, but no one had no idea what happened.


    It seemed that it was only Loren, who was in front of the girl, and Lapis, who was beside him, that understood that the st of cold air was from her.


    ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve been noticed by something ridiculous.¡±


    Although she had felt the same thing as Loren, Lapis said so in a joking manner.


    The girl, who had been called something ridiculous, didn¡¯t seem to be upset and just smiled.


    6


    ¡®Onii-san, this person is probably an Elder.¡¯


    ¡°Elder?¡±


    Loren unthinkingly repeated what Shayna had told him.


    Hearing what he said, the girl looked at him like she had found something very interesting.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been trying quite hard to hide it, but you found out.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Is Kauffa going to end today? A lot of things have been destroyed and ended ever since I started being with Loren, but this is the most extreme out of all of them.¡±


    With Lapis muttering on about gathering her belongings and money before everything ended at the corner of his eye, Loren asked Shayna about elders.


    ¡®To put it simply, they are vampires.¡¯


    Shayna used the knowledge of the no life king to exin to Loren.


    Vampires were beings that sucked blood.


    They were like a catastrophe, attacking humans, getting stronger when they drank their blood, and turning their victims into low ss undead, and a single vampire could even destroy a whole nation.


    Vampires differed based on how they were born, and the lowest ss was born from men and women with pure bodies that had their blood suck by a vampire and bing the same type of vampire.


    Even if they were low ss, they were still something to be feared, since they had enough power to annihte a vige or a town.


    For the higher sses, there were those who became vampires by ritual called Trues, in the same way Shayna had been turned into an undead, and depending on their abilities when they were alive, they were feared to be able to annihte a whole nation.


    The ones above them were what Shayna had just told Loren, called Elders.


    They couldn¡¯t really be considered being born, but instead, it was said that they were beings that just came into existence for some reason.


    They had mana and life energy that enormous couldn¡¯t even fully describe, and they couldn¡¯t be wounded by mediocre magic swords or spells, had a lifespan that could be described as infinite, had almostplete resistance to things such as holy water, sunlight, and silver that were weaknesses of normal undead.


    Whether they could be called undead or not was still a popr discussion among schrs, and they haven¡¯t reached a conclusion.


    ¡°So, this is an elder?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean this? Well, I messed up my wording earlier, so I guess it¡¯s fine.¡±


    As the girl puffed out her cheeks slightly with aining look, Loren looked at Lapis with a troubled face.


    If what Shayna said was correct, the girl sitting in front of him had the power to destroy a whole nation by herself.


    To be honest, Loren felt like this was out of his hands.


    ¡°For starters, can you tell us your name miss Elder?¡±


    When she noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she easily took the role of being the negotiator.


    From her personality, Loren thought that she would be reluctant or tease him about it but seeing that she instantly came in to help him, he realized that they were talking with a dangerous individual.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you my family name for a reason. Call me Dia.¡±


    The girl who called herself Dia nodded slightly.


    Lapis nodded back and continued her question.


    ¡°About the job you told us you want to request. What kind of job is it, and would it be something that humans like us could do?¡±


    When thought about calmly, if the girl named Dia was indeed what Shayna said she was, there shouldn¡¯t be a reason for her toe to humans, who were way weaker than her.


    That was why Lapis said ¡®humans like us¡¯, but after hearing that, a troubled smile appeared on Dia¡¯s face.


    ¡°I was thinking of asking that young one as well¡­¡±


    A hint of annoyance missed in her voice.


    Everyone who was there when Dia appeared should have been there as well, but us and Ivy were not.


    Now that Loren recalled what had happened, he realized that it was a frightening thing that happened.


    When Dia stopped their battle and told them she wanted to request a job, us had said that he didn¡¯t have any business with a child, and toe back after a few years.


    As a result, us was spun around on the spot two and a half times andnded on the ground face first and lost consciousness, so Ivy had to take him to the hospital.


    Loren couldn¡¯t see what she did to him, but he did know that she wasn¡¯t a magician.


    Loren thought then that maybe even a young girl could spin us around vertically, but now that he found out what she was, he was surprised at us¡¯ luck that it only ended with getting spun.


    ¡°Well, no use talking about those who aren¡¯t here. To the question of do I think you two are up for the job, the answer is I have no idea.¡±


    If you could know whether the person could sessfully get the job done just by looking at them, you could just request it to those who could.


    But if that were possible, the word called failure should disappear, and the number of adventurers would increase, but it seemed that reality wasn¡¯t so, and no one had that ability.


    ¡°Next, for the question of am I fine with the two of you, I can answer that with confidence. If I¡¯m going to request a job, I¡¯d like to request it to you.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask why that is so?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy. I¡¯m interested in you two. So much that I want to request this job.¡±


    Dia put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, putting her chin on top of her folded hands.


    ¡°Interest, you say?¡±


    ¡°Yes, interest. I was also a bit interested in the boy with the gift that I patted a bit¡­¡±


    She stopped talking and looked at Loren with a meaningful gaze.


    Not knowing why she would do so, Loren looked away feeling troubled, and seeing that, Dia smiled.


    ¡°You two are more than interesting enough to pique my interest. A swordsman with a strange air about him, and a priestess with a strange air about her as well.¡±


    At Dia¡¯s words, Loren¡¯s heart started beating a tempo faster.


    It seemed that this vampire girl not only notice the presence of Shayna within him but was close to finding out that Lapis was a demon.


    ¡°The greatest reason was the gesture that the swordsman made.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    Loren cocked his head, not knowing what she was talking about.


    Seeing him confused, Dia¡¯s smile became even wider.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, I can tell you about it, but doing it for free won¡¯t be exciting. How about I make it one of the payments for epting my job?¡±


    ¡°So, what would the job be?¡±


    As Loren almost responded without thinking, Lapis stopped him with her hand and asked Dia about the job.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing difficult. Two days south from this city is a ruin. I want you to escort me there.¡±


    Dia said again that it wasn¡¯t difficult.


    Hearing that, Loren and Lapis looked at each other, trying to find out what their client¡¯s intentions were.

 Chapter 102: Talking on the Way

    <h4>Chapter 102: Talking on the Way</h4>


    Once they got the supplies they needed, borrow a donkey to carry their things, report to the guild that they had been nominated for a job, they were ready to go.


    On the way, Lapis tried to collect the money that Ivy had bid during the bidding war at the training ground, but she got into an argument with her, as she said that it was void because the fight had been cancelled, but nothing much happened.


    The payment for nominated jobs was negotiated between the client and the adventurer, but Dia didn¡¯t have any money, so she instead offered one of her barrettes as payment.


    It had borate designs made of silver as well as a few gems, and since Lapis appraised it to be around one gold coin at the least, she decided that it was good enough payment.


    ¡°Iron rank adventurer identification tags will be issued to the two of you.¡±


    The rank-up exam had been stopped due to Dia interrupting it, so Loren thought that he would have to do it again, but after her argument with Lapis, with the two of them agreeing on Ivy paying half the bidding price, Ivy said to the two of them as she gave the money to Lapis.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t passed it, right?¡±


    ¡°Strictly speaking, no.¡±


    Ivy told Loren as she gave the tags to him and Lapis.


    The tags they received were legitimate iron tags and weren¡¯t fake.


    ¡°Why did we get promoted?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. There seemed to be a word to promote you or something of the sort.¡±


    As Loren cocked his head, Ivy did the same as she replied.


    It was a confusing story, but Loren received it, thinking that if they were going to give it to him there was no reason not to take it, and walked back to where Lapis and Dia were waiting.


    The meeting ce was the south gate of the city.


    When Loren gave Lapis, who was waiting there, the iron tag, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at it, then looked at Dia, who was standing by herself.


    Unlike them, Dia was wearing a dress that didn¡¯t look fit for moving outdoors, but when she noticed Lapis looking at her, the corner of her mouth rose.


    ¡°Is this your doing?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I wonder.¡±


    Avoiding a direct answer, Dia suggested that if they were ready, they should hurry and depart, so they headed out the gate.


    At first, Loren and Lapis thought Dia would have a carriage ready due to the way she was dressed, but Dia nned to walk all the way to their destination.


    ¡°There¡¯s no carriage that will satisfy me in a city like this.¡±


    Carriages¡¯ level offort depended on its build and quality.


    The cheapest ones were notfortable at all, and carriages that royalty rode were made so that the vibrations from the wheels couldn¡¯t be felt.


    Dia, who was an Elder, seemed to have used those top-quality carriages on a daily basis, so she didn¡¯t find any of the ones at Kauffa suitable.


    ¡°Walking is better than using a low-quality carriage.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t not tiring as fast be good enough to ignore the quality?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t feel fatigue, so.¡±


    Undead didn¡¯t feel fatigue in the first ce.


    Elders, which were ssified as vampires, didn¡¯t feel fatigue as well.


    Loren felt it was strange that someone who didn¡¯t feel fatigue wouldin aboutfort, but Lapis told him that high ss vampires cared about things like that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need food either. But I might drink with you if you have some.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not old enough to drink¡­Oh, you aren¡¯t as you seem, right?¡±


    ¡°Women won¡¯t like you if you talk about age, you know that?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t old enough to talk about love matters¡­Oh, you aren¡¯t as you seem, right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing that on purpose, aren¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The sight of Dia, who was already wearing clothes that weren¡¯t fit for walking outside,tching onto Loren, who was way taller and wider than her, by his waist and swinging him around, waspletely abnormal.


    Loren still had his things in hand, as well as leather armor and ck coat, and his great sword on his back, so including the weight of his belongings on top of his own weight, it should¡¯ve been impossible to lift him up.


    As Lapis watched Dia swing Loren¡¯s body around and around, she thought that if this continued it would gather the attention of people on the road, and weird rumors would start spreading, but er worry dissipated soon enough.


    ¡°I said south of Kauffa, but I never said we¡¯ll be following the road.¡±


    As Lapis tugged on the reins of the donkey, prepared to be the center of attention, Dia came to stop her with Loren under her arm, his eyes spinning.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go straight to our destination. This direction to be exact.¡±


    ¡°¡­There¡¯s no road.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know the direction. I¡¯ll lead.¡±


    After saying that, Dia started walking towards the fields without hesitation, still carrying Loren.


    Lapis wondered what she should do, but since Dia had taken Loren, there was no way she could let that pass, and after sighing, she tugged on the reins and followed Dia into the field.


    There was no one around to see the strange sight of a girl carrying a well build man and a girl chasing after her with a donkey in tow.


    ¡°Hey you.¡±


    ¡°My name is Lapis.¡±


    On the way, when Lapis responded as Dia called her, she realized that neither she nor Loren had told Dia their names.


    Usually they would have noticed it earlier, but Lapis guessed that since Dia seemed so uninterested in those things, they couldn¡¯t find a good time to do so.


    ¡°Oh, Lapis, I see. And this one?¡±


    ¡°Loren. Please give him back. He¡¯s mine.¡±


    Taking advantage of Loren being unconscious, Lapis said something quite bold, but her face was dead serious, and she snatched Loren from under Dia¡¯s arm as she looked at her surprised and put him on her back.


    It was mostly because she had regained her physical arms that she was able to carry Loren, who wasrger than her, along with the great sword on his back.


    Her former prosthetic arms were quite high performance as well, but since she was worried about the joint where her body and the prosthetics met, she couldn¡¯t use her strength to her content.


    ¡°Lapis, you aren¡¯t an ordinary one, are you?¡±


    ¡°I am ordinary. It¡¯s not like I have special powers or anything.¡±


    If Loren was awake and had been listening, he would¡¯veined that there was no way, but to Lapis, she hadn¡¯t said anything wrong.


    She was indeed ordinary, among the demon kind.


    Although among humans, Lapis was a very skilled magician as well as priestess, but in the world of demons, it wasn¡¯t as if she had especially incredible abilities.


    Rather, she was sent out of demon territory to gain experience, and although she wasn¡¯t weak, she wasn¡¯t particrly powerful either, so she was indeed ordinary, without any special powers.


    She didn¡¯t have to point out that it was among a different crowd.


    If it caused Dia to misunderstand, and continue to misunderstand, it would make it easier for Lapis to move around.


    ¡°You mean at your birthce, no?¡±


    As Diaughed, seeing right through her, Lapis cursed inside.


    She had guessed that Dia had most likely realized it, but what she just said confirmed that she knew exactly what Lapis was.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make such a scary face. Your pretty face is all ruined. If your partner Loren saw you right now, even a hundred-year romance could turn sour.¡±


    As Dia turned back towards her and said to her teasingly, Lapis looked slightly upset, and then said in a t voice.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t old enough to talk about love matters¡­Oh, you aren¡¯t as you seem, is that right?¡±


    ¡°After being told that these many times, I think it¡¯s fine for me to start getting upset¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get more wrinkles if you get mad, grandma.¡±


    ¡°Grand¡­I mean, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m that sort of age¡­¡±


    ¡°How many greats do I have to put before it?¡±


    Dia¡¯s face tightened even further at the additionalments, but since Lapis did have a point, she couldn¡¯t argue strongly.


    ¡°W-well, I did live at least five hundred years. Put as many as you want.¡±


    What Dia said was shocking to Lapis.


    She knew that DIa had lived for a long time, but she was surprised that the number of years Dia had lived was way more than she had expected.


    ¡°Five hundred¡­Someone who¡¯s actually experienced the Ancient Kingdom.¡±


    The Ancient Kingdom, which once ruled the whole continent and flourished, was said to have been destroyed around three, four hundred years ago.


    Even if it was four hundred years ago, since Dia had lived for five hundred, she should have witnessed what had happened to it.


    ¡°Yes, although it was during itsst years.¡±


    A smile appeared on Dia¡¯s face, one that a young girl which she looked like wouldn¡¯t make.


    Lapis unthinkingly slowed down, widening the distance between them, but Dia quickly wiped the smile off, and her face returned to normal.


    ¡°I¡¯ve lived through then, so I¡¯m quite knowledgeable about it. Although, since it wasn¡¯t long since I was born, when the kingdom fell, the older Elders had told me about the things I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Just out of curiosity, how long has the oldest individual been living?¡±


    Although she knew it was impolite, Lapis asked Dia, knowing that this was he only chance she was going to get.


    After thinking for a short moment, with her gaze wandering around, she answered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, but the oldest said that he was born during the age of the gods.¡±


    It was said that the gods had descended to create the world.


    The basic myth that was told throughout the world was during the course of many years, the gods created many different kinds of beings to build out the world, and after judging that the world could be managed by those beings alone, they returned the their own world to look over their creation.


    Of course, this was very long ago, and trying to count the years would be foolish.


    The years that the gods took to create the world was currently called the age of the gods, and if what Dia said was true, the oldest of the Elders had been living since that time.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡±


    ¡°Most of it is what I¡¯ve heard from others, but there should be a lot of time to tell you about some things.¡±


    As Lapis¡¯ curiosity started to grow, Dia let out an awkwardugh, and started to distance herself from her as her eyes started shining.

 Chapter 103: Talking While Preparing

    <h4>Chapter 103: Talking While Preparing</h4>


    ¡°Why did the Ancient Kingdom perish?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was gone before I knew it. Our species don¡¯t interact with humans at all, after all. We were considered monsters, so.¡±


    It would take them two days to reach their destination, which meant that they needed to camp for a night.


    Of course, Loren and Lapis was prepared for it, so when the sun set and the sky started turning red, they stopped travelling and started setting up camp.


    Loren, who had literally been swung round and round by Dia and lost consciousness, had woken up on Lapis¡¯ back, and was currently untying their stuff from the donkey, and was starting to pitch the tent.


    Lapis, who dug a small hole and put dried grass and wood and started a fire, set up a stand using metal bars, put a pot on top of the fire, cut salted meat and vegetables and threw them in there, and let it simmer as she adjust the fire, was in the middle of asking question after question to Dia, who was sitting near the fire.


    ¡°Why are Elders treated as vampires? From what I¡¯ve heard, ssifying them as undead itself sounds quite strange.¡±


    ¡°You would have to ask whoever made the ssification, but it¡¯s most likely because of our inescapable characteristic, our blood impulse.¡±


    Beings called Elders weren¡¯t affected by the weaknesses of normal vampires, which set them apart from them.


    So, Lapis couldn¡¯t understand why they would be ssified as vampires.


    After all, they couldn¡¯t be stopped by running water, killed by silver, and they walked under the sun like it was nothing.


    But Dia concluded that it was because of their blood impulses.


    ¡°Other than that, we are also rtively weak to Divine Arts, but the biggest reason is our blood impulse. Vampires suck blood, after all.¡±


    Dia herself didn¡¯t know the reason why either.


    But even Elders, who didn¡¯t need any food, couldn¡¯t escape from the impulse of wanting to suck blood.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything about it. We can¡¯t substitute it with animal blood, and blood from cultivated humans don¡¯tst long. Once the thirstes, even the will of an Elder can¡¯t resist it.¡±


    ¡°So that means you¡¯ve done it quite a few times.¡±


    Although Lapis asked it easily, her words had a heavy meaning to them.


    Having blood sucked by a vampire meant that the person would either turn into a low rank undead or be a normal vampire, and either way, it would mean death for that individual.


    ¡°Well, yes. For us, one person a year is enough, so we won¡¯t make much of a mess as other vampires.¡±


    ¡°That would still be five hundred people. That¡¯s quite the number.¡±


    ording to Dia, she was over five hundred years old.


    Since Dia wasn¡¯t a vampire that was born after having her blood sucked, that meant that there was a time when she was young, so although the number of people may not equal her age, it meant that it was at least that many people.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you to think if five hundred people in five hundred years is many or few.¡±


    The number five hundred made it seem like a lot, but when seen as over the course of five hundred years, it seemed small.


    When considering the number of lives lost in battle over five hundred years, its number would be hundreds of times more, sopared to that, it seemed like a very small number.


    ¡°If you think about the race as a whole, wouldn¡¯t it be quite a bit?¡±


    As Loren said as he hammered in the nail to keep the ropes down, Lapis came back to her senses.


    If it were Dia alone, it would be five hundred people during five hundred years, but with number of all the Eldersbined, the number would be many times higher.


    ¡°There¡¯s a bit more than a dozen of us.¡±


    Dia said it like it was nothing, but it meant that there were over a dozen victims each year.


    It was way smallerpared to deaths in battle.


    But Lapis thought that if there were more than a dozen people going missing everywhere, people would find out about it and would be a problem.


    ¡°We have viges of humans that supply us blood, after all.¡±


    ¡°You mean you are keeping humans?¡±


    It was an unsettling thought.


    Noticing that Lapis¡¯ tone got harder, Dia shook her head.


    ¡°Regardless of how it looks, we don¡¯t have such intentions. As lords of thend, we require one person to be given to us each year, and in return we give the viges many blessings. It¡¯s a deal.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re keeping them, right?¡±


    ¡°I told you, regardless of how it looks. I believe it¡¯s better than kidnapping people and killing them. The viges usually select the oldest person.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such vige.¡±


    If there were any sort of interactions with other people, through supplies or information, there was no way such viges could be hidden from the age of the gods.


    The information would slip out from somewhere, and nations would gather their forces to put an end to it.


    ¡°We hide them, we protect them, and we iste them.¡±


    Dia exined that by making sure the vige only interacted within itself and by making it so that outsiders could never find it, and on top of that, making sure that its existence was kept secret, the Elders had maintained these viges that supplied blood for many years.


    ¡°Was it okay for us to hear that? Don¡¯t try to kill uster or something like that.¡±


    Loren was worried since Dia was telling them things that had been kept secret until now.


    Telling them about things they shouldn¡¯t know could mean that she wasn¡¯t going to let them go alive, but Dia denied such thoughts in a light tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even if you tell others about this, they would justugh it off.¡±


    ¡°The fact that we heard it from an Elder herself would erase the credibility.¡±


    Adventurers usually dealt with normal vampires.


    It wasn¡¯t something a copper rank adventurer could handle, and even for iron ranks, they would have to expectrge casualties.


    Trues were beings that heroes, whole nations, orrge organizations would have to move to try to subdue.


    Either of them still seemed realistic.


    But when it came to Elders, the credibility of the story would thin out.


    There were very few stories of people meeting Elders.


    Although their existence was known, to ordinary people, they were beings within stories, so itcked realism.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we aren¡¯t outgoing, but we don¡¯t reveal our identities either. People won¡¯t realize we are Elders unless we tell them, anyways. This time is a special case.¡±


    Dia had revealed her identity because Shayna, who was within Loren, realized that she was, and if Loren didn¡¯t say the word ¡®Elder¡¯ out loud, Dia would not have told them.


    ¡°Since we are on the topic, the point of this job is rted to those viges.¡±


    Loren, who finished pitching the tent, walked over to the fire and sat on the ground.


    Although Lapis didn¡¯t let Dia out of her sight, her hand stirred the contents of the pot, making sure they didn¡¯t burn onto it, and threw in some salt and other spices every now and then to adjust the taste.


    ¡°Actually, I am the youngest among the Elders.¡±


    ¡°At five hundred years old?¡±


    ¡°The others are older, and Elders themselves ur naturally, so there¡¯s no way of knowing when a new one will appear.¡±


    Elders did not have biological parents.


    That was why it was impossible to know when another would appear, and it was possible that no other had appeared for the past five hundred years.


    As a result, the youngest Elder was over five hundred years old.


    ¡°Young Elders live under the protection of another Elder, and until that guardian decides you are ready to be on your own, you receive education, building up knowledge and power.¡±


    ¡°Which means that you are under the wing of someone else. Oh Loren, could you taste this?¡±


    Lapis took a small scoop of what she was stirring, poured it into a bowl, and handed it to Loren.


    Loren wondered if it was something to do during such a serious conversation, but Dia didn¡¯t take any notice and just nodded.


    ¡°Even now, I am under the protection of another Elder. Oh, there¡¯s nothing I could tell you about the other Elders. I don¡¯t have the right to tell information about others, after all.¡±


    ¡°Not interested anyway. Lapis, I think this needs more salt. It¡¯s nd.¡±


    Loren had no intention of having any sort of interactions with beings that humans couldn¡¯t handle.


    Information on other Elders would be useless for him, and to him, the taste of the stew Lapis was making was more important to him.


    ¡°I think you should get used to light taste¡­but okay. Oh, you can keep going.¡±


    Even as she exhorted at Loren¡¯s thought, she threw in extra salt into the pot.


    ¡°This feels sort of unsatisfactory, but whatever. When an Elder leaves the protection of his or her guardian, they are givennd to use as a base, as well as the viges of humans within thatnd.¡±


    ¡°So, you mean¡­¡±


    They had heard from Dia that their destination was a ruin.


    7


    From the flow of the conversation, Lapis guessed that it was thend that she was given to use as a base, but Dia shrugged.


    ¡°I was just told by my guardian to go there, so I don¡¯t know if that is thend that will be given to me. It might be, or it might be where there is information of a differentnd.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s like a test to see if you¡¯re ready to be on your own?¡±


    ¡°You could say that.¡±


    ¡°Is it alright to ask for help?¡±


    From what Loren had heard, it was a test to see if a young Elder could be on her own, so he wondered if it was okay to ask others for assistance.


    Dia nodded at his question.


    ¡°Using others to reach your goal is a type of skill, after all.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s just reaching where your guardian told you to go, it doesn¡¯t seem that dangerous.¡±


    ¡°If so, I wouldn¡¯t be asking for help.¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ optimistic guess, Dia looked up at the sky and sighed.


    ¡°First, the guardian will ready some obstacles. On top of that, there should be some interference from other Elders, so it won¡¯t be that easy.¡±


    ¡°Why would other Elders interfere?¡±


    Lapis cocked her head slightly in wonder.


    Loren snorted quietly, as if he had heard something boring, and told her as he handed the bowl back.


    ¡°There are factions among Elders as well, I bet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as you say. Two beings with will start an argument, while three will start a power struggle, and that goes for Elders as well.¡±


    ¡°It seems like we¡¯re in the middle of something very troublesome, don¡¯t you think? Should we have gotten a better down payment?¡±


    Being able to be on her own meant that she was being recognized as an adult, a proper Elder.


    While under someone else¡¯s protection, she wouldn¡¯t have a say in matters, and the others wouldn¡¯t count her when making decisions and such, but once she became an adult, she would be included in all those things.


    Loren and Lapis didn¡¯t know what kind of factions there were among slightly over a dozen Elders, but for this case, it meant that Dia would join the faction that her guardian was in, and it would be a nuisance to the other Elders, therefore they would try to interfere.


    ¡°If you manage to be an adult, would you join your guardian?¡±


    ¡°Most likely. I owe it to my guardian for protecting me until now, as well as sharingnd and people with me. I won¡¯t turn as soon as I be an adult.¡±


    Dia smiled after saying that, and then said to Loren and Lapis, whose expressions were clouded with the thoughts of the troubles yet toe.


    ¡°So that is why I ask you two to help me be an adult. Don¡¯t make such faces. If I seed, I¡¯ll think of extra payment, and on the way there, I¡¯ll answer as many questions that my knowledge allows me to.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess we should make the most out of it.¡±


    Scooping the finished stew into a bowl, Lapis immediately started asking Dia questions, and Loren, who wasn¡¯t that interested, received the bowl from Lapis and started eating, while telling himself that since it was a job that he had epted, he must see it to the end.

 Chapter 104: Explanation During Watch

    <h4>Chapter 104: Exnation During Watch</h4>


    ¡°Shall I keep watch during the night? I don¡¯t need sleep.¡±


    Loren and Lapis ate the stew that Lapis had made, but as she had said in the beginning, Dia didn¡¯t even try to eat a bite.


    Loren thought it was a waste, but he felt that it wasn¡¯t right to try to get her to eat, so he didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Do vampires only drink blood?¡±


    ¡°Not really. But we prefer not to.¡±


    ¡°Should I go catch some mice or snakes in the area? I¡¯ll squeeze them really hard.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t just be any kind of blood.¡±


    Dia frowned, but Loren nor Lapis knew what kind of difference there was in blood.


    But they decided that since Dia herself said so, there must be a difference, and Loren took out a leather pouch that contained wine from one of the bags.


    Diained that the smell of leather would stick, but she took the cup that was given to her, as if she felt awkward just looking at them eat, and started sipping it.


    After all of that had passed and they finished eating, was when Dia said that she would keep watch.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I could let the client keep watch.¡±


    Loren argued immediately.


    Dia was indeed a vampire, as well as an incredible being called and Elder, but at the same time she was their client, and as one who was hired, there was no way he could let his client keep watch.


    Lapis agreed with him, but Dia cocked her head slightly at his words and replied.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t sleep, you know that?¡±


    But Loren wished that she would.


    Although he knew she wasn¡¯t a threat, she was still a vampire, and it was scary to think that she would be walking around during the whole night.


    But telling someone that didn¡¯t sleep to sleep was strange thing to do as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s up to you.¡±


    ¡°No, putting aside the fact that I¡¯m an undead or a vampire. It¡¯s going to start getting dangerous from tonight.¡±


    The words that came out so smoothly from her mouth almost slipped through Loren¡¯s mind, but he quickly asked Dia again.


    ¡°What was that about tonight?¡±


    ¡°I think it will be dangerous. It won¡¯t be strange for those who don¡¯t want me to get to the ruins to start interfering.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea of what might being in detail?¡±


    ¡°Most things won¡¯t be surprising. Humans or monsters or vampires. Anything they could muster up, I believe.¡±


    As Dia said such a disturbing thing like it was nothing, Loren was about to draw the great sword on his back, thinking that this job was going to be messy as well, but Lapis stopped his wrist.


    ¡°Lapis?¡±


    ¡°I think Loren should sleep and regain your energy.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to get out of Dia while I¡¯m asleep?¡±


    ¡°Since when did Loren be able to read my mind!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so obvious!¡±


    ¡°You two are so carefree.¡±


    As Loren red at Lapis, who had a fake smile on her face, he peeled her hand off of his wrist.


    Lapis drew hand back towards her chest, rubbing the back due to Loren grabbing it too hard, and as she watched Loren draw the great sword from his back, she asked Dia with a sigh.


    ¡°Then does that mean we will keep going? There¡¯s no reason to camp here if no one¡¯s going to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Personally, I would prefer the two of you to sleep.¡±


    If they weren¡¯t going to rest, there was no reason to camp.


    Lapis thought that it would be better to keep going towards their destination rather than stop.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be having you two work quite a bit tomorrow, so I was going to keep you safe until morning.¡±


    ¡°The way you say it makes me nervous.¡±


    He had no idea what Dia meant by them working quite a bit, but since she was willing to keep watch since she wanted them to be well rested, he guessed that it wasn¡¯t going to be an easy task.


    On top of that, she was an unearthly being called an Elder, so that made the worry pile up even further.


    ¡°This is the reason I¡¯ve asked humans, who have inferior abilities, for help. I¡¯m a vampire. Since the ones who are trying to interfere are vampires as well, it¡¯s fine to think that they know my weaknesses, is it not? I¡¯m a vampire as well.¡±


    Thinking about Dia¡¯s words slowly, Lapis asked her to continue.


    ¡°It means that it won¡¯t be surprising if they ready something that I can¡¯t deal with. That¡¯s why I asked humans for help in the case that happens.¡±


    An Elder devising a n to interfere with another Elder and being carried out by an Elder.


    Since they were the same type of being, it was obvious that they would know the best about themselves, so it was possible to think of things that would be effective.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re still far from our destination, it¡¯s unlikely that they would send in something lethal. Which is why I wanted you to rest now while you could.¡±


    Dia¡¯s words, which wasforting since it meant that their current situation wasn¡¯t that dangerous, but at the same time, it told them that the closer they got to the ruins, the more dangerous it would be.


    ¡°Just wondering, what kinds of things would be used?¡±


    Unlike Loren, Lapis was more interested in the methods of interference.


    Although Elders were vampires, they had almost no weaknesses in the first ce.


    Things that were fatal to Trues or normal vampires weren¡¯t effective against Elders.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to even if you tried, but the simplest is overpowering me with the power of another Elder. Between us Elders, the older you are, the stronger you are. And among them I am the youngest.¡±


    Diaughed, saying there was no way she could win, but to Loren and Lapis that was already something close to a death sentence.


    ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be over if an Elder that doesn¡¯t want you to make it appears?¡±


    ¡°Not quite. Of course, I¡¯ll get overpowered, but the opponent wouldn¡¯t have the strength to deal with you two after. Which means that as long as I¡¯m with you, there won¡¯t be a situation where you would face off directly with another Elder.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s some good news, although barely consoling.¡±


    Lapis said with a suspicious tone and expression.


    Loren thought that if they ended up fighting against an Elder there was no way of winning, but even if that Elder and Dia faced off against each other, he quickly realized that they still wouldn¡¯t have the upper hand.


    ¡°If we get into such a situation, we¡¯ll have to go against whatever forces the Elder brings without your help.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you would.¡±


    ¡°What kind of things are we going to have to face, damn it.¡±


    ¡°No idea. I would think that it wouldn¡¯t be anything I can¡¯t handle, though.¡±


    Dia said it to give somefort, but it wasn¡¯tforting at all.


    There weren¡¯t many things that an Elder couldn¡¯t deal with, and if something like that was brought out, there was nothing they could do about it.


    ¡°Well, I hope a high-ss dragon won¡¯te out.¡±


    ¡°If something like thates out, I give up.¡±


    ¡®If it¡¯s something around a bone dragon, I¡¯ll be able to help Onii-san.¡¯


    As Loren spoke in a fed-up manner, Shayna said to him encouragingly.


    Bone dragons, which were made up of bones, were slightly different than the dragons that Dia was talking about, but it was still as dangerous.


    Loren and Lapis had been chased by one before, but putting Lapis aside, if Loren was to face off against it head on, he couldn¡¯t imagine beating it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about low-ss dragons. It will be easy for them to prepare wyverns and lesser dragons, which aren¡¯t far off from beasts.


    Wyverns had forelegs that were assimted with its wings, and stood on its hind legs, looking like something that failed to be a dragon.


    Lesser dragons were low rank dragons, and only thought about hunting and mating.


    Among the nations on the continent, they had organizations that used them for sending messages during battle as well as supporting and attacking from the air, and since they humans were able to tame and use them, there was no way Elders couldn¡¯t do the same, so Dia said that it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they use them for interference.


    ¡°For vampires by the way, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if True ssese.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a scary thing you just said.¡±


    Loren wished she would say such important things in a more serious manner, but it seemed like to Dia, True ss vampires weren¡¯t much of a threat.


    The difference in strength between Trues and Elders was imminent, and it was to a point where there was a wall between them, and to Elders, Trues weren¡¯t threatening at all, but to a human like Loren, either one was an entric monster, and were beings that he didn¡¯t want to face if he could.


    ¡°There are power struggles and factions among vampires as well. Trues were originally people who longed for great power and long lifespans and willingly became undead, you know? Of course, they would try to fawn upon factions that will benefit them.¡±


    ¡°Not being able to get away from those strains even after dying is pretty sad.¡±


    Loren thought that they became undead to escape these things, but Dia had a different opinion.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way you could escape from those unless you die and perish. I think that the ones who try to be Trues by magic or rituals want to be caught by the strains and struggles of the undead instead of the living.¡±


    Loren wondered if that was the case, but the only ones who knew were the Trues that became undead by such magic, so there was no way to confirm.


    ¡°Well, even if something like that came, I could deal with it easily. If you get tired you can go to sleep if you want, okay?¡±


    As she said it in a way that made her seem like she was their caretaker, Dia hugged the wineskin that Loren had handed her earlier, which she had been pouring wine from and drinking it since dinner time.


    Not sure what to think of at the sight of Dia, who looked like a young girl, holding a wineskin, Loren plunged his great sword into the ground next to him and although he couldn¡¯t see into the darkness, he started looking around hoping he could at least catch something that would let them know something wasing, while Lapis threw more firewood onto the dying fire, strengthening it.

 Chapter 105: Battle after Attack

    <h4>Chapter 105: Battle after Attack</h4>


    Time passed, where the position of the moon told him that it was halfway through the night, Loren was looking up into the sky, sitting down and leaning back against the de of his great sword, which he had stabbed into the ground.


    Near him was Dia, still drinking wine, and next to her asking her questions was Lapis, who for some reason kept on ncing at him.


    In the end, even though they set up camp, no one went to sleep.


    As she had dered earlier, Dia nned on not sleeping at all, and Lapis, out of curiosity, was trying to extract as much information as she could out of her.


    Loren felt a strong opposition against sleeping while his client was awake, so all of them were currently awake.


    Part of Loren¡¯s reason was Dia staying up, but the stronger one was the feeling that he shouldn¡¯t let Lapis and Dia alone together.


    Although she didn¡¯t interact with people at all, Dia was someone who lived during the final years of the Ancient Kingdom, someone you usually wouldn¡¯t be able to meet.


    There was bound to be some dangerous knowledge within the things she knew, but since she was an Elder, things that were dangerous to humans might not seem so dangerous to her, so Loren was anxious that she would say something that could possibly mean the end of the world.


    ¡°You¡¯re not trusted at all.¡±


    When Dia said with augh as she saw Loren all worried, Lapis puffed out her cheeks slightly.


    ¡°He has faith in me so it¡¯s okay.¡±


    As Loren wondered if there was a difference between the two, he smelled something on the wind and slowly stood up.


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    Seeing Dia and Lapis stand up at the same time as he pulled his great sword out of the ground, Shayna, who took the form of a girl with wings, suddenly appeared in front of him.


    ¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll tune our sights.¡¯


    Loren, who was but a human, didn¡¯t have the power to see in the dark.


    But when his sight was linked with Shayna¡¯s, he started to be able to see things the same way as a no life king.


    The dark of the night turned bright in the blink of an eye, and where he saw nothing but an empty in before, what he saw now made him grimace and take a step back.


    At the end of his sight was a countless number of beings.


    The beings who were surrounding them didn¡¯t have any expressions, but instead their faces looked like masks.


    Their clothes were ones that ordinary people would wear in viges or cities, but they weren¡¯t something that would be seen worn on the ins in the middle of the night.


    As Loren asked himself why he didn¡¯t notice until now, he saw the beings wavering red with hollow eyes within the no life king¡¯s sight, he got a good idea of why.


    It was because all the beings surrounding had be vampires.


    Unlike living beings, the undead had a very thin presence.


    Since they were moving, it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t have any presence at all, but since he was with beings with very strong presences such as Dia and Lapis, as well as himself, he wasn¡¯t able to differentiate them.


    ¡°Lapis, how did you not notice?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren. I was too busy talking with Dia.¡±


    Lapis, whose eyes were prosthetics, were able to see through the dark and should have been able to spot the vampires faster than Loren.


    But she was too busy trying to extract as much information as she could from Dia, she wasn¡¯t paying attention to her surroundings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t me her. I didn¡¯t notice until now either.¡±


    Dia said to him as Lapis looked embarrassed, Loren had no intention of ming Lapis ofr anything.


    He had no intention of pushing the fact that he didn¡¯t notice to someone else in the first ce.


    ¡°More so, I didn¡¯t notice because I wasn¡¯t worried about them.¡±


    ¡°That should be something to be worried about¡­¡±


    In a situation that decided whether or not she could be on her own or not, Loren thought that not paying attention to her surroundings was too careless.


    But when he thought about it, normal vampires weren¡¯t a threat at all to her, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she wasn¡¯t worried.


    ¡°There¡¯s way too many. They¡¯re all vampires, too.¡±


    ¡°Not all of them. Look again.¡±


    Loren looked again at Dia¡¯s words and saw that indeed only a part of them had glowing red eyes, while the others were looking forward with dark, hollow eyes.


    ¡°I told you that only pure men and women could be vampires, right? If there were that many, what in the world have they been doing this whole time, won¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°So you mean¡­¡±


    Lapis wrapped her arms around her and looked around with her eyes wide.


    Dia sensed what Lapis was about to say and nodded.


    ¡°The Elder probably attacked some vige or town and sucked the life out of all of the people there. What a disgusting thing to do.¡±


    At her words, the beings surrounding them slowly starteding closer.


    With nk expressions and hollow eyes, and with their arms stretched forward as if wanting something, the beings started trudging forward, and seeing them, Loren hesitated for a moment, but quickly tightened the grip on his great sword.


    He knew it was a sad thing that happened, but there was no way to save someone who had drained of their blood and killed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice, huh.¡±


    Even if they left them alone, they would find their way to somece else and look for victims.


    Rather than showing them mercy by not killing them, Loren thought that killing them here and letting them move on, not letting them kill anyone else, was a better mercy, immediately stepped forward and swung his great sword through the shoulder of one that was closest to him.


    The heavy de sunk into the poor victim¡¯s shoulder and cut down all the way down to the stomach without any resistance, as if there wasn¡¯t a difference between bone and flesh, and sprayed blood and flesh around.


    He swung the de back, into another one¡¯s waist, ripping it in half, with the top flying away and the bottom sinking to the ground.


    Although Loren had killed two of the undead in an instant, a smile didn¡¯t appear on his face.


    There were too many of them.


    Killing just two of them didn¡¯t change anything, as a countless number of undead still surrounded them.


    And because Loren had killed them so extravagantly, spraying flesh and blood all over the ce, the ones with red eyes started moving more smoothly, and started moving closer to the camp, leaving the slow ones behind.


    ¡°So annoying!¡±


    As one of them tried to jump on him, Loren smashed his great sword into it.


    His blows had easily ripped through the ones before, but this one caught the de between its hands and tried to stop the blow before it reached its body.


    A vampire¡¯s body was a way stronger than when the body was human.


    Because of their superhuman strength, it was very difficult for humans to fight them, which was one of the reasons why they were so dangerous, and the vampire seeded in slowing down Loren¡¯s blow.


    But in the next moment, the de in its hands elerated again, and crushed the surprised vampire head on.


    ¡®Onii-san, you¡¯re able to use it now!¡¯


    It was the self-enhancing spell that used mana.


    Loren had be able to activate the skill that Lapis had taught him how to use on his own.


    With this, he could enhance his base strength, which made him be able to disy superhuman strength for a moment.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep it activated constantly though. It seems that I don¡¯t have that much mana.¡±


    He had already confirmed that he could barely keep it activated for five minutes.


    But a spell that onlysted five minutes wasn¡¯t something that could be used in actual battle, so Loren thought of a different way of utilizing it.


    Not looking back at the body that sunk to the ground after suffering the full brunt of the blow, Loren swung the sword sideways in a wide arc.


    The sight of the undead in its path being ripped apart in half along with the sound of metal smashing into flesh and bone didn¡¯t look like the work of a human.


    It was proof that Loren was using the self enhancement just when he needed it when swinging his sword, dealing a stronger blow than usual.


    Activating the spell when he needed it instead of activating it constantly seemed simple, but it was in fact a very difficult thing to do.


    If he mistimed the activation, the power of the blow would fall, but by using his skill and intuition as a swordsman to cover it, he was seeding in dealing powerful blows, iparable to when he used his great sword normally.


    ¡°<<turn undead="">>!¡±


    </turn>


    Next to him, Lapis was using her abilities as a priestess.


    Each time <<turn undead="">>, which had the power to cleanse the undead, was used, a few of the undead were engulfed in white mes and turned to ashes without even letting out a scream.


    </turn>


    Although it didn¡¯t work on Shayna when they fought against her as the no life king, it seemed to have an instant effect on the undead around them, and as she saw undead after undead turn to ashes, Lapis gripped the sigil on her chest.


    8


    ¡°Loren! Look! I¡¯m doing priestess-like things!¡±


    ¡°Hearing those words from your own mouth¡­I¡¯ve got nothing to say.¡±


    Although exasperated, Loren turned the undead into chunks of flesh, blow after blow.


    When facing off against the undead, weapons would usually be consecrated or be made of silver, but Loren¡¯s great sword had a ck de made of unknown material.


    Loren was worried if it would be effective against undead, but no matter how tough they were, it seemed that they couldn¡¯t continue moving if they were cut in half or crushed.


    ¡°Incredible. I¡¯m impressed that you could do something like this even as a human.¡±


    Dia, who was standing behind Loren and Lapis, looking at the situation, raised a voice of wonder.


    That was how well the two of them were decreasing the numbers of their attackers.


    On top of that, neither of them was injured, and were waging a one sided battle, so Dia couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.


    ¡°It looks like there¡¯s nothing for me to do.¡±


    ¡°You can always help us a bit, you know?¡±


    Although Loren did feel opposed to making his client work, but he had a good reason to ignore it.


    It was because of the vampires mixed within the attackers.


    He could make quick work of normal undead, but for the vampires, he couldn¡¯t defeat them without using self enhancement.


    Of course, he could immediately defeat them when he used it, but the more he used it, the more it drained his mana, and because of the numerous attackers, he soon started running out of breath.


    But there were still many enemies left, so even though she was his client, it was natural for Loren to think of wanting the help of Dia.


    ¡°By a bit, do you mean this much?¡±


    Hearing Loren¡¯s words, Dia waved her small hand.


    Although it was a small, simple action which didn¡¯t cut through the atmosphere nor shatter the earth open, but with just that, the heads of the attackers in an area flew off.


    Since they were already dead, blood didn¡¯t spurt out everywhere, but the sound of the heads hitting the ground rang out, and the blood flowed out from the sinking bodies, dousing the ground in red.


    The silent scene of death took Loren and Lapis¡¯ breath away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care which is first, the attackers being wiped out or the sun rising, but do your best.¡±


    Wiping out a portion of the attackers, Dia sat down, as if her job was now done.


    If his client defeated more enemies than he did, him being hired would be meaningless, so Loren raised his great sword above his head and cut into the attackers, while Lapis, with her sigil in hand and using <<turn undead="">>, continued reducing the number of their enemies.</turn>

 Chapter 106: Increased Payment

    <h4>Chapter 106: Increased Payment</h4>


    Loren ended up swinging his great sword until morning.


    The undead that attacked them were slow and weren¡¯t a threat individually, but there were just too many of them.


    At the enemies whose numbers didn¡¯t seem to drop no matter how many he cut down, Loren started to worry that it coulde to the worst, the sky began to lighten, and morning soon came so the attackers gave up and disappeared.


    After all of them disappeared, Loren pried his unmoving fingers off the handle of his great sword and dropped it to the ground.


    Thinking that it would¡¯ve been bad if there had been more proper vampires than there were, Loren stuck his great sword into the ground and sat down on the ground, breathing hard.


    Loren thought that the only reason they managed to drive the attacker off was because most of them were the slow, zombie like enemies.


    The amount of fatigue he felt told him that if it wasn¡¯t for that, it would¡¯ve been possible that they would¡¯ve fell prey to them.


    But he couldn¡¯t afford to rest all day.


    Although they had survived the attack during the night, it couldn¡¯t be said that they werepletely out of danger¡¯s path.


    Even though they didn¡¯t know who it was, the fact that there was an attack meant that whoever it was knew their position, and there was no telling when the next attack would be.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start moving. We can¡¯t handle another attack.¡±


    ¡°Looks like we took quite the difficult job.¡±


    Lapis quickly started taking down the camp even as sheined.


    Loren stood up to help her, but Lapis stopped him with her hand and he ended up sitting down again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the camp. Loren you should rest as much as you can.¡±


    Even though she had used <<turn undead="">> the whole time, unlike divine arts, it didn¡¯t drain any of her strength, and since she was a demon, she was stronger than a human as well.


    </turn>


    Watching Lapis, who showed no signs of fatigue other thanck of sleep, quickly take down the camp, Loren took deep breaths and rxed his body, trying to recover as much as he could.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed that you managed to keep swinging that until now.¡±


    Dia was looking at Loren¡¯s great sword.


    Although it was made of many kinds of materials from its handle to the tip of its de, the great sword, which waspletelyprised of the color ck, had cut through and crushed the undead all night, and as a result it was sticky with flesh and blood.


    Loren knew that he should wipe it off or else it would rust the de, but his body wouldn¡¯t listen to him, and although he tried to reach for it, he felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to lift it up.


    ¡°Keep resting. I can wipe it for you.¡±


    Seeing Loren¡¯s shaking hand reaching for his great sword, Dia grabbed it by the de and pulled it out of the ground.


    Seeing a small girl lifting a sword that was taller and thicker than her was a strange sight, but what made Loren¡¯s eyes widen was that Dia had grabbed the de, which caused her hand to be covered in blood as well.


    Vampires getting drunk off blood was well known.


    It was a phenomenon where a vampire that touched or saw blood would lose its reason and start killing left and right, but although Dia was an Elder, she was a vampire as well, so she should have the same kind of thirst.


    Although it was the blood of the undead, Loren was afraid that if she touched human blood, she would get drunk from it.


    But with just a disgusted expression at the blood on her hand, she took the wet cloth that Lapis had brought her and started cleaning the de.


    ¡°H-hey?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We Elders can keep all other impulses except our blood impulse that happens once a year down with our willpower. Which is why there is no way for us to keep our blood impulse down.¡±


    ¡°Just wondering. Is there a possibility that one time hasn¡¯te around yet?¡±


    It seemed to be an impulse so strong that they couldn¡¯t keep it at bay.


    And since Dia was an Elder, if she somehow went under its influence and attacked them, there was no way for them to escape.


    And from what she had told them, one person would have his blood sucked outpletely.


    If it wasn¡¯t, the supposed five hundred victims should be existing somewhere.


    Loren had heard before that the powers of a victim of a vampire was reliant on the parent vampire.


    Undead that were victims of normal vampires as well as Trues were already quite terrifying, so if undead created by Elders were roaming all around free, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the world would end soon enough.


    ¡°Ahh, well, you know. If it happens, I¡¯ll think of something.¡±


    As Dia looked away slowly as she said that, Loren, without thinking, forced his body to move away from her, and seeing him, Dia frowned.


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke. I¡¯m already done with it. If not, I wouldn¡¯t ask humans for help.¡±


    ¡°Bad taste for a joke¡­¡±


    It was a life rting matter.


    Wiping cold sweat, Loren sat down again, and Dia picked up the cleaned great sword and handed it to him.


    ¡°A great sword made of magic iron. Humans have quite fine weapons as well, I see. It must have cost you a fortune. Take good care of it.¡±


    ¡°Magic iron?¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯ve been using it without knowing?¡±


    As Dia looked surprised, Loren nced at Lapis.


    Lapis, who was putting up camp, didn¡¯t seem to notice their conversation, much less his gaze.


    ¡°You know that demon kin reside in the center of the continent, surrounded by mountains, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s a metal that could be found there. It¡¯s a valuable material that gains different attributes when mana is poured into it, so it¡¯s very rare to see a weapon which is made up of so much of it. It¡¯s usually spread thin across a normal steel de or just the de being made of it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite expensive, I¡¯m guessing?¡±


    Judging from Dia¡¯s exnation, he could tell that it was a very valuable metal.


    The rarer something was, the more expensive it was, so Loren decided to confirm with Dia, and she looked at the sword and thought for a moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s made of genuine magic iron. Its core is most likely magic iron as well. On top of that, there are many runes engraved on it as well. I¡¯m not sure why a rune to make it lighter isn¡¯t incorporated¡­¡±


    As she muttered that there should be room to include it, Dia gave her conclusion after a while.


    ¡°With the material and runes, gold worth ten times its weight wouldn¡¯t be enough. If you are a true swordsman, you wouldn¡¯t try to let go of something like this.¡±


    Loren gulped at Dia¡¯s appraisal.


    The amount of money that he had borrowed from Lapis was quite a bit but finding out that it was worth way more than that, Loren couldn¡¯t help but be surprised, and while he sat there speechless, Lapis, who seemed to have finished packing everything up, was next to him.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible. Loren you¡¯re so lucky that you could buy something like that.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words implied something.


    When Loren had bought the great sword at Kauffa, Lapis and the shop owner had been suspicious, so Loren believed that Lapis had prepared it somehow and made the owner sell it to him.


    Loren asked Lapis if it was fine to say that he managed to get his hands on something he wouldn¡¯t be able to buy at its full price by chance, but Lapis answered with a smile.


    ¡°Of course, it is.¡±


    ¡°I see. So that¡¯s what it is.¡±


    From their conversation as well as her realizing what Lapis was, Dia had understood what was going on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sell it just because it¡¯s expensive, okay?¡±


    ¡°I know. I won¡¯t.¡±


    Nodding at Lapis, Loren took the sword from Dia, stood up, and strapped it onto his back.


    Watching him with a satisfied expression, Lapis pped her hands.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re done with packing up, so let¡¯s get moving. Loren got some rest as well, and it¡¯ll be bad if we get attacked again.¡±


    ¡°Not going to lie¡­I can¡¯t deal with that many opponents for a while. I¡¯m the weakest out of all of us her, you know.¡±


    Although he replied so, despite what he just said, he could feel his body recovering at a rapid pace.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s own power.


    It was Shayna, who was within Loren, using the life energy she had siphoned using energy drain and pouring it into Loren, speeding up his recovery in an inhuman speed.


    If she poured in too much, she would drain her own strength, but Shayna was powerful enough to aid with Loren¡¯s recovery without a problem.


    ¡®I sucked out a lot from the attackers, so don¡¯t worry Onii-san.¡¯


    Loren was slightly worried that Shayna was using her powers to help him recover, but when her words that seemed tough his worries off reached his mind, Lorenughed nervously.


    ¡°Butpared to the great sword and coat you¡¯re wearing; your armor is quite shabby.¡±


    Dia told Loren as she started leading the way, leaving the campsite behind.


    Out of his equipment, his great sword and coat was something Lapis had readied, but his clothes and leather armor were normal ones he bought at the shop.


    To Loren, it was enough to serve its purpose and didn¡¯t feel like he needed anything better, but to Dia, it seemed unsatisfactory.


    ¡°You have such fine equipment, so you should be at least be using armor that meets the standards as well.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford them, so.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t any items like his sword and coat that were worth way more than their price buting upon such items wasn¡¯t easy.


    And although his debt had decreased, he still owed ten gold coins, and since his ie wasn¡¯t much either, he didn¡¯t have the money to upgrade his equipment.


    ¡°From the attackst night, I was just thinking about how the payment I promised you wasn¡¯t enough. If we manage to get to our destination, how about I present you equipment?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for offering, but the payment is split between me and my partner.¡±


    Loren thought that he shouldn¡¯t ept payment that only he could receive.


    There was the option of getting the payment in money and splitting it with Lapis, but that would mean that there would have to be money that was worth half of the price of the equipment Dia would give him in his wallet, but he didn¡¯t have that amount.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all. Loren¡¯s equipment being upgraded means that I¡¯ll have an easier time.¡±


    ¡°That might be true, but¡­¡±


    ¡°If you want to say it won¡¯t feel right, then there¡¯s also the option of increasing your debt by half the amount of the price of the equipment.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it to raise it any further¡­¡±


    Since she didn¡¯t remind him, the load wasn¡¯t too heavy, but Loren didn¡¯t want to increase it if he didn¡¯t have to.


    ¡°Then how about I ready some other type of payment for Lapis. That¡¯s fine, no?¡±


    ¡°I guess, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Wow Loren, extra payment. It makes you want to try harder, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis said happily, but the thought of the pack of undead from the night before lied heavily in Loren¡¯s mind.


    It was doubtful that those were the full force of whoever sent them, and the closer Dia got to the ruins, the higher the chance of something more dangerous attacking them.


    Having thoughts that he should be happy after the extra payment after he had survived the whole thing, Loren quickened his pace slightly.

 Chapter 107: Explanation after Delay

    <h4>Chapter 107: Exnation after Dy</h4>


    The group had left the campsite, but they still had a day¡¯s worth of walking to reach their destination.


    If they moved smoothly, they would reach the ruins at nighttime, but Loren suggested they slow down a bit and spend a night slightly far off from it.


    Dia, who wanted to reach the ruins as soon as she could, didn¡¯t like his suggestion and said they reach their destination as quickly as possible, but Loren didn¡¯t listen to her, and forcefully slowed down their speed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve realized something, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Lapis, who didn¡¯t say her opinion, asked Loren.


    Near him, Dia red at him, telling him that if it wasn¡¯t a good reason, she wouldn¡¯t go easy on him, but since he had nothing better to do, Loren exined why he suggested so.


    ¡°First of all, it¡¯s to mess up the interferers¡¯ schedule.¡±


    ¡°Schedule?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s just a guess, but the route we¡¯re using is known to them, right? If it wasn¡¯t, there¡¯s now way they could send such arge amount of undead straight to that particr cest night.¡±


    It was the pack of undead that they couldn¡¯t wipe outpletely even with Dia wiping out a portion of them, Lapis cleansing them one after another, and Loren swinging his great sword around all night.


    Of course, it was way more than a few dozen, and if such arge number of undead were wandering around that area in in sight, they would notice them, and since they didn¡¯t, it meant that they came from the opposite way of them so that they reached their campsite in the middle of the night.


    To make that possible, there was a need to have a general idea of where they would set up camp.


    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t walk on the road, it shouldn¡¯t be surprising if we run into a vige or two. But we haven¡¯t, so it means Dia selected a route that far off from them, which would limit the number of routes she could take.¡±


    Viges weren¡¯t always near roads or highways.


    Small viges existed here and there, and even if they weren¡¯t following the road, it was strange they hadn¡¯t seen one yet.


    ¡°Of course. I want to stay away from meaningless confusion and fighting. There¡¯s the ones who want to interfere, as well as the fact that I¡¯m not a being that would be weed at human dwellings.¡±


    Not weed, was a very moderate way to put it, but Loren had no intention of pointing that out, so he just nodded.


    Dia¡¯s thought of not wanting to involve humans was favorable to him, but he felt that it was a bit toote for that.


    He thought so because he was sure that a few viges had be victims and turned into the pack of undead that attacked them the night before.


    But Loren didn¡¯t say anything about it, and just prayed that the victims found peace wherever they went.


    ¡°I think that whoever is trying to interfere is piecing together our route and the speed we are travelling at, and calcting where we would be at what time, as well as where we would camp, and set a schedule based on that.¡±


    ¡°So, you want to slow down on purpose to mess up their calctions.¡±


    It wouldn¡¯t mean anything if there was someone spying on them, but Loren thought that it was better than not trying anything.


    ¡°The second reason is to make sure that the time which we run into such problems is during the day.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether it be night or day.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you wouldn¡¯t, but it¡¯s troubling for us. What human would want to jump into the middle of undead in the dead of the night, when they are the strongest?¡±


    The undead were weak against the sunlight.


    Of course, when it came to Elders, it wasn¡¯t a fatal weakness any longer, but they were still somewhat weaker during the day.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what was waiting for them at the ruins, but if they reached it during the evening and started exploring during the night, trouble was bound to hit them during that time.


    ¡°Putting into consideration there¡¯s going to be at least one more attack, it should be better than rushing in there at night.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re trying to reduce the chances of meeting two attacks, I see.¡±


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t have such a reason, I was about to think that you were just trying to prolong the inevitable, but since you have a legitimate reason, I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Dia, who had looked upset, couldn¡¯t seem to bring herself to keep urging to hurry up, so she decided to listen to Loren¡¯s suggestion.


    But Loren still had a feeling they would run into a second attack, but then noticed that Dia was looking into empty space, as if she had noticed something.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Not responding to Loren¡¯s question, a bright smile appeared on her face as she continued staring at a point in space and started running off.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what had gotten into her, and all Loren and Lapis could do was follow Dia with their eyes, and as she stopped in the middle of nothing, she raised her arms and said with a smile.


    ¡°Master! What are you doing here!?¡±


    During her words, the space in front of her warped.


    Loren and Lapis stiffened at the sight, but Dia wasn¡¯t rmed at all, and just stood there with her arms outstretched, and suddenly a hand appeared out of the distorting space, grabbed it, and widened it.


    Eventually, when the distortion was wide enough for a person to go through, a woman with tinum blonde hair, wearing a ck dress that was open wide at the chest appeared.


    9


    The woman looked around slowly, then confirmed the sight of Dia looking at her with a smile and her arms outstretched, frowned for a moment, and dropped her fist on Dia¡¯s head.


    ¡°Ow!? M-master!?¡±


    Putting her hands on her head, Dia tried to argue, but the woman put out an index finger in front of her face and made a scary face, then started scolding her about the importance of security and being cautious.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Master¡¯ me you idiot student. An Elder who is about to be on her own standing in ce with her arms outstretched, defenseless. What were you going to do if I was an enemy? Do you want to get killed?¡±


    Dia drooped her shoulders as she got scolded by the woman who just appeared.


    ¡°But master. I knew it was your spell from the way the spell from the way it felt¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡­It¡¯s not bad to be confident in your abilities. But too much of it will lead to carelessness and bring about unexpected results. Do you want to get killed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Dia seemed down at being scolded by the woman, but Loren and Lapis, who had been looking at the whole thing from the start, were frozen in ce, not sure how to react.


    The woman, who finally seemed to notice them, coughed, and bowed in a manner that even Loren, who knew nothing about courtesy, could see as refined.


    ¡°Excuse me for the sudden visit. Sorry for surprising you.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah¡­I mean, who are you?¡±


    Since Dia wasn¡¯t wary of her, it seemed safe to think that she wasn¡¯t an enemy.


    But if someone that you didn¡¯t know suddenly appeared in front of you, it would be impossible not to be wary, so Loren, with his hand on the handle of his great sword, asked the woman without getting any closer.


    ¡°I ought to have introduced myself first. Let¡¯s see¡­Call me Sierra.¡±


    A woman that didn¡¯t introduce herself normally, was wearing a dress that didn¡¯t match the ins that they were in, and whom Dia, and Elder, called master.


    With these conditions, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what the woman was, and even thought he was sure he was correct; Loren cautiously asked the woman.


    ¡°Are you¡­an Elder as well?¡±


    ¡°Indeed I am. And I am the former caretaker of Dia, who you are helping.¡±


    A being that didn¡¯t name herself properly, appeared in the middle of a in far from any road in a dress, and someone that Dia the Elder called Master.


    With these conditions, it wasn¡¯t hard at all to guess who the woman was, but Loren still asked, without letting his guard down.


    ¡°Are you¡­an Elder as well?¡±


    ¡°Indeed I am. And I am also the former guardian of Dia, whom you are assisting.¡±


    The woman named Sierra, who had answered his question, looked to be in her mid-twenties.


    But since she had introduced herself as Dia¡¯s guardian, and Dia called her Master, she would be well over five hundred years old, and was an Elder as well.


    On top of that, with Dia trying to get on her own, she was the one who had prepared this test, and was the reason that he and Lapis were on this job.


    ¡°What kind of business does her former guardian have with us at this time?¡±


    Even if she was rted to Dia in the form of her former guardian, Loren couldn¡¯t help but be wary of her, as she had appeared after the attack.


    Sierra seemed to understand him, so even though she saw Loren, who still had his hand on his weapon, and Lapis, who had taken a defensive posture, she didn¡¯t seem to be upset at all and proceeded to answer Loren¡¯s question with a calm face.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on interfering at all with the exam. But it seems that someone very troublesome is interfering, so I got worried.¡±


    ¡°Master, you were worried about me¡­¡±


    Dia didn¡¯t even try to hide her smile when she heard that Sierra had moved for her.


    Loren was worried that she was being too careless, but that seemed to be the same with Sierra, as she brought her fist down on Dia¡¯s head again and started scolding her.


    ¡°Stop acting like you¡¯re my student forever. I told you that the others considered you ready for being on your own because your skill with magic surpassed mine, haven¡¯t I? How many times do I have to tell you to watch your actions since you¡¯re finally going to be a proud member of the Elders¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like I want to interrupt your pleasant teacher-student time.¡±


    He had no intention of saving a teary-eyed Dia from Sierra¡¯s scolding, but he felt that it would go on for a while, so he interrupted them.


    ¡°If you know who is getting in our way, shouldn¡¯t you start by telling us about it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­true. The person who is your opponent is Stoos. She isn¡¯t particrly powerful, but she is still quite troublesome.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    As Lapis wondered what she meant by not powerful but still troublesome, Sierra answered her.


    ¡°The stronger an Elder is, the less likely it is for it to borrow the strengths of others. On the other hand, the less powerful it is, the more it would try to find pawns to put around it.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that are opponents are many. That¡¯s indeed troublesome.¡±


    Sierra nodded as Lapis growled, and then her eyes turned back to Dia.


    ¡°From my standpoint, I cannot help you. But with your strength, you should be fine, and with the helpers that you have are formidable as well, but don¡¯t let your guard down.¡±


    ¡°Master¡­¡±


    Sierra reached for Dia¡¯s head, but instead of a fist, this time she patted her on the head with her palm and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make such a face. You¡¯re my student. You will be fine. I¡¯ll be waiting for the day that you will join us as a member of the Elders.¡±


    As she said so while patting Dia on the head, after a while, Dia looked straight at Sierra¡¯s eyes, and nodded.

 Chapter 108: Thinking after Warning

    <h4>Chapter 108: Thinking after Warning</h4>


    As Dia continued looking at her with a smile, after telling them what they needed to know, Sierra disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared.


    Since the one who had given the test, and because it was troublesome if the interferers found out that information about them had been leaked and set up new ns, she believed she should keep contact to a minimum.


    Loren thought Sierra could¡¯ve assisted them, but it seemed that there was a line she wouldn¡¯t cross, so the only thing she gave Dia was information.


    ¡°The information itself is helpful enough, no?¡±


    Dia told Loren, who had aining look on his face, as she started walking again.


    Dia was satisfied knowing the identity of their enemy, but to Loren, it was another Elder, and the only thing they found out was that she had many pawns and didn¡¯t feel like the information helped at all.


    ¡°Dia you must like your master a lot.¡±


    As Loren went silent, since he couldn¡¯t tell his client what he was thinking exactly, Lapis spoke out, and Dia said happily as a wide grin spread across her face.


    ¡°Of course. Master looked after me for a long time, and she¡¯s very kind.¡±


    ¡°She came to give us information on the interferer, after all.¡±


    Lapis smiled as well.


    Dia¡¯s smile widened even further, as if she was happy that good things were said about her master.


    Although Loren was concerned about theck of vignce, but when he thought about it, although Dia was an Elder who had lived around five hundred years, she wasn¡¯t of age and had learned many things from Sierra, so it could be considered that Sierra was her whole world.


    In that case, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Dia trusted Sierra so much, so Loren kept silent, thinking it would be insensitive to interrupt her, as she was telling Lapis more about Sierra with a smile.


    ¡®Onii-san, are you wary of her?¡¯


    The one who said to him was Shayna.


    The girl that almost became a no life king, who was within Loren¡¯s astral body, was currently the being that was closest to him, and seemed to be able to sense his emotions.


    ¡°Doubt anyone other than yourself and yourpanions during a job, that¡¯s the mercenary style.¡±


    It would be troublesome if Dia heard him.


    So Loren muttered in a small voice that no one else could hear.


    ¡°Speaking of master, Loren. About the teacher who taught you swordsmanship.¡±


    Taking no notice of Loren¡¯s thoughts, Dia said to Loren in a good mood.


    Although confused at the sudden change in subject, Loren decided that even if he continued thinking about Sierra he wouldn¡¯t conclude, so he went with it.


    ¡°What about my teacher?¡±


    ¡°Who in the world is he?¡±


    When Dia asked her, the image of a single man popped up in the back of hisi mind.


    The man who had picked him up before he could even remember anything and raised him as a mercenary.


    Although it hadn¡¯t been long since hest saw him, when he thought about him, it seemed like a long time had passed, and Loren let out a troubledugh.


    Now that the group had disbanded, Loren didn¡¯t know where he was or what he was doing, or if he was even alive, but he felt that the man who had raised him was still alive.


    ¡°I was a mercenary before an adventurer, and he was the leader of the group that I was a part of. I learned it from him. Although he said I don¡¯t have the talent, so I only learned a bit.¡±


    It was also because of him that Loren had started using the great sword as his weapon of choice.


    Because the leader had told him that since he didn¡¯t have the talent for skill he should train his strength, Loren had devoted to training his body, and was able to userge weapons that normal people couldn¡¯t use.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t that famous of a mercenary. He didn¡¯t have a title either. He was caring person, but as a mercenary he was normal.¡±


    It was Loren¡¯s evaluation of him as an individual.


    As a leader, he had brought the whole group together quite well, and hismands in battle were very clever and experienced, as there were a few times they had turned the tables on a losing battle because of them.


    But in the end, with the fact that the group had been destroyed, it couldn¡¯t be said that hismand wasn¡¯t something divine.


    ¡°Was he a human?¡±


    The question that Dia had asked Loren after his evaluation was strange, so Loren looked at her with a nk expression.


    If she was being silly, Loren would¡¯ve noticed it from her expression, but Dia¡¯s face was serious, so he knew in an instant that she wasn¡¯t joking, so after recalling his memories of the leader, he concluded.


    ¡°I believe he was human. There wasn¡¯t anything strange about him.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s strange.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s response, Dia said with an unsatisfied expression.


    As Loren waited for her to continue, not sure what she was so concerned about, Dia told him what it was.


    ¡°You remember when you were fighting that cocky child at the training ground in Kauffa?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that old to forget something that recent.¡±


    It was in the middle of Loren¡¯s rank up exam from copper to iron, and it wasn¡¯t that long ago.


    ¡°That time, you were using a normal two-handed sword instead of a great sword.¡±


    Among the training weapons, there wasn¡¯t a great sword like the one Loren usually used, so Loren had fought the one who Dia had called a cocky child, us, with a weapon he didn¡¯t normally use.


    With an unfamiliar weapon, he couldn¡¯t close in on him, and on top of that, Dia had interrupted them so the fight hadn¡¯t gone to the end.


    Remembering that far, Loren remembered that Dia had said something about the gesture he did being interesting.


    ¡°First, the one who taught you the sword knows how to fight like a knight. The moves you made were tracing the basic fighting style of a knight.¡±


    Why would the leader of a mercenary group know the fighting style of a knight?


    That was indeed an interesting point, but Loren thought that it wasn¡¯t something umon.


    There was the possibility that the leader¡¯s fighting style was coincidently simr to one of a knight, and it wasn¡¯t umon for knights who lost their nation or had been dismissed to be mercenaries.


    If one had fought with or been taught their skills, it wasn¡¯t strange for a mercenary to learn how to fight like a knight.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t, there was always a chance to fight enemy knights in the battlefield, so there was the possibility it hade naturally.


    ¡°With that amount of experience and mastered swordsmanship to the point where he could teach others, I would think that he is quite the genius though.¡±


    Dia seemed to think it was strange that such a genius wouldn¡¯t make a name for himself, but Loren hadn¡¯t heard anything about him being well known.


    Even Loren, who wasn¡¯t interested in such things, had heard of well-known mercenaries such as ¡®Sword Demon¡¯, ¡®ying Wind¡¯, and ¡®Hellfire des¡¯.


    If his leader was someone like them, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t have heard about it, so Loren thought that he wasn¡¯t well known at all.


    ¡°Well, even so, that¡¯s not what caught my interest.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something else?¡±


    ¡°Resalute. A knight¡¯s resalute.¡±


    It was the salute that knights made to each other in a duel.


    It meant that they would fight fairly within the bounds of knightly order, and of course, it wasn¡¯t something a mercenary would do.


    Loren used to think that it was a strange thing to be taught.


    It wasn¡¯t something you would do during battle, and unless it was against knights that followed some sets of rules, it was unnecessary.


    But for some reason, the leader had taught Loren the resalute.


    He had stopped being so persistent about it after Loren changed his weapon to the great sword, but he had told him to do it when he used a normal sword, especially in a duel, and Loren kept it even now.


    Loren thought it as showing respect to his leader, who taught him how to fight, but Dia was interested in that resalute.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s strange for a mercenary to do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. Not whether you do it or not, but how you do it is strange.¡±


    Loren cocked his head at Dia¡¯s words.


    Her being interested in how he was doing it, not whether he was doing it or not, was unexpected, so he wasn¡¯t sure how to respond.


    ¡°Usually a knight¡¯s sword is devoted to his master, so it is pointed upwards.¡±


    As she walked, she reached out to a short tree and easily pulled it out with her childish arm, held it with both hands, and held it at her chest.


    The tips of the branches were pointed up towards the sky, and Dia said that this was a normal knight¡¯s resalute.


    ¡°But Loren¡¯s resalute pointed his sword downwards. This isn¡¯t normal.¡±


    ¡°Maybe some nations do it differently. I¡¯m not sure what nation Leader saw it in, though.¡±


    There were numerous nations in the world, and there was that many knights as well.


    Loren thought that there would be knights that resaluted as he did, but Dia disagreed.


    ¡°There are different styles of sword techniques, but for resalutes, this stance is almost universal. No matter where the knight is from, it would be strange if he didn¡¯t take this stance. Of course, this is what I learned from my master, but it¡¯s the knowledge of a long living Elder.¡±


    ¡°You said almost just now, right? So that means there¡¯s nations that are different.¡±


    Loren thought there were exceptions to everything, but Dia threw away the tree and shook her head once more.


    ¡°There is indeed exceptions. I only know one exception¡­but that¡¯s why I can¡¯t help but be interested. After all, the exception is something no one in the current world knows about.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s some vampire knight.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t want the think that Leader was an undead, but when Loren asked Dia about the possibility, Dia shook her head again.


    ¡°There are no knights among vampires. There aren¡¯t any nations in the first ce either.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s question was silenced by Dia¡¯s gaze.


    As his words were caught in his throat, Dia said to him in a somewhat uncertain tone.


    ¡°I can¡¯t talk about this so easily. There¡¯s the possibility that your leader arranged it in a weird way. So I want more information on him. What¡¯s his name?¡±


    Loren recalled his leader¡¯s name.


    The name of the person who raised him and taught him all the knowledge and skill he possessed.


    ¡°Juli Muthschild. That¡¯s his name. He used to brag that he had a family name even though he¡¯s a mercenary.¡±


    ¡°I see. Let me think for a bit. I¡¯ll tell you when I find something out.¡±


    After saying so, Dia ended the conversation and started walking towards their destination again.


    Following her, Loren started thinking about his leader¡¯s identity, even though he knew he wouldn¡¯t find out anything.

 Chapter 109: Preparing to Intercept

    <h4>Chapter 109: Preparing to Intercept</h4>


    Loren and the others started to walk again, and time moved along without anything happening during the day.


    As for those that might try to disturb them, their forces mainly consisted of undead, and so they would not go out of their way to attack during the day, when their powers were weakest. So aside from the attack at the campsite, thepany didn¡¯t even feel their presence at all.


    As they were off the main road, they didn¡¯t pass by travelers either. As for other towns, Dia made sure to use routes that avoided them, so they were never even close.


    Loren had then wondered about the possibility of being attacked by wild monsters, but this too had been dismissed early on.


    After all, the person who was leading them, while she looked like a young girl, she was a vampire that was over 500-years-old.


    Dia did not want her identity to be known while they were in town, but she had told Loren and the others when they were alone. So there was no longer any need to hide it. And her presence could be felt from far away.


    If you had even the slightest ability to be able to detect it, then you would know that she was too dangerous an enemy to get near to. And so that was also keeping monsters away.


    Even Loren had seen a few monsters in the distance and they had run frantically away when noticing Dia¡¯s presence. And so it was clear that not even a starving beast would attack them as long as Dia was nearby.


    ¡°Should we stop here?¡±


    And so they had traveled a good distance without any trouble. Dia saw that they would reach their destination soon enough, and so Loren and the others decided that they would camp here and get some rest.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it a little early?¡±


    While the sun was starting to descend in the sky, it was still quite high.


    Dia felt that they could reach their destination before the sun set if they continued on. But Loren and Lapis thought this was a good time to stop if they were to camp at all.


    ¡°We can see a lot from here.¡±


    ¡°And there is no one to disturb us.¡±


    They said as Loren began to take their stuff off of the donkey.


    Trantions by AsianHobbyist Website.


    Dia had assumed they would start with preparing the tent, and so she narrowed her eyebrows when she saw what Loren took out first.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    What Loren had taken out was not the tent.


    It was a single shovel.

 Chapter 110: Attack after Midnight

    <h4>Chapter 110: Attack after Midnight</h4>


    Time passed, and when the moon was high up in the sky.


    As Loren was keeping watch, fighting the urge to fall asleep, he noticed a smell that reached his nose in a night breeze, and pped himself on the cheek to wake himself uppletely.


    He had meant to hold back, but his sleepiness caused him to fail, so along with a sharp pain that almost made his eyes tear up, a sharp clear sound rang out, and Lapis, who was crouched near him, trembled slightly and her head shot up and she looked around in a panic, while Dia, who was leaning against the dirt wall, rubbed her eyes and looked at Loren with an annoying gaze.


    Loren was too busy dealing with his sleepiness that he didn¡¯t notice the two of them, but it seemed like they were almost asleep.


    Loren didn¡¯t even try to scold them, but instead he looked past the dirt wall to see what the smell on the wind was, and his expression hardened, teeth grinding, at what he saw.


    With his sight being linked to Shayna¡¯s, it allowed him to see the sight before him, regardless of it being night time.


    What he saw was dense crowd of corpses of rotten flesh and bones that he didn¡¯t even want to attempt trying to count how many there were.


    ¡°They went down in rank, but increased in number.¡±


    Lapis walked up beside him, hitting her cheeks to chase away her sleepiness and said in a bored voice as she saw the enemy in the distance, but when she saw Loren¡¯s face, she knew that he was looking at something more, so she squinted and looked again into the approaching enemy, and pulled back in surprise at a shadow towards the back.


    ¡°What is it¡­?¡±


    Dia knew from Loren and Lapis¡¯ reaction that they weren¡¯t looking at the herd of zombies and skeletons, so she looked in the same direction, saw the shadow in the back, and her eyes widened slightly.


    It was the shadow of a giant dragon.


    But the dragon¡¯s eyes were dark and its body was in tatters with no webbing on its wings, holes all around its body, and some sort of liquid dripping from its body, smoke rising from where it hit the ground.


    Usually where there would be sharp fangs lined up, more than half of them were missing, giving it a creepy feel.


    ¡°A dragon zombie¡­¡±


    A monster that was born by turning a dead body of a dragon into an undead.


    As a monster, it was no different than a normal zombie, which was the lowest rank undead, but since dragons wererge and powerful to begin with, dragon zombies were a great threat.


    Unlike normal dragons, dragon zombies lost the ability to use their breaths as well as their magic.


    Although dragon corpses were very rare so they were barely seen, their size and strength, as well as their sturdiness on top of being undead, dragon zombies were monsters that could topple a whole nation.


    ¡°Seems like our opponents are quite serious.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem so surprised Loren.¡±


    Seeing a rotting dragon corpse should be quite shocking, so Lapis expected some sort of reaction.


    But although Loren did look surprised that such a thing was their opponent, there was nothing than that, which confused her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve seen one. There was one that was buried beneath a battlefield that woke up during the night and it was a nightmare.¡±


    It was hard to meet a living dragon, but Loren said that corpses were found quite often.


    Although it was unknown if it died of age, fighting another dragon, or some other unknown reason, but every now and then there would be a corpse buried under the ground in ins, forests, and swamps that people wouldn¡¯t step foot in.


    They would usually return to dust, but rarely, due to a few bad conditions being met, it would be undead and crawl out of the ground.


    ¡°Those ces usually be battlefields since there¡¯s nothing around there to be damaged or destroyed. I have no idea if they be zombies since a lot of people die above it or it¡¯s thend itself that¡¯s like that though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. Just wondering, how did you survive it?¡±


    ¡°I just held my head down and ran. I was lucky I didn¡¯t die. It crumbled on its own when the sun came up.¡±


    Since the dragon zombies that appeared on the battlefield had no master, after spreading death and destruction for the night, they normally burned away in the sun after.


    If the body remained, they could sell the body for a high price, but since everything burned when the sun came out, nothing would remain of it.


    Which meant it was nothing but an annoyance as well as a disaster.


    ¡°How about this time?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the option of running this time.¡±


    Even if he ran, since Loren and the party were the targets, it would continue to chase him down.


    The reason why Loren escaped the dragon zombie on the battlefield was because its targets included his allies as well as his enemies.


    Repeatedly taking care to not be a target and by running as far as he can while someone else was being attacked was the reason why he survived, so when it came to straight up running away by himself, he wasn¡¯t confident if he could pull it off.


    ¡°How about fighting it full strength?¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me to die?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d do pretty well against it. You can use your self-enhancement as well so.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something you could go against with a bit of enhancement.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Wondering if it was really impossible, Lapis threw the stone she was holding.


    Thinking that it was a lot easier to deal with their opponents since theypletely looked like enemies, the stone that Lapis threw flew straight in the air and went through several skeletons and zombies, scattering rotten flesh, and turned them back into corpses.


    The next stone that she threw right after went through several zombies andpletely decimated a skeleton.


    ¡°Damn¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got my physical arms back after all. All thanks to you Loren.¡±


    As Loren wondered if he did anything, Lapis continued to throw stones.


    Although there was a great number of them, zombies and skeletons moved very slowly.


    Since they could see in the dark, Loren and Lapis noticed them and started attacking while they were still far away, so currently they werepletely on the offensive.


    Loren couldn¡¯t throw stones like Lapis could, but he still used his sling and managed to defeat them one by one, but using their sheer numbers as a weapon, the undead that surrounded them came closer and closer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Dia muttered as she threw stones at the undead as Lapis was doing.


    ¡°I can see that the dragon zombie in the back is a threat, but the rest are just rotting corpses and bones.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough for me.¡±


    ¡°That might be so, but this is interference directed at me, isn¡¯t it? Does the enemy really think this is enough to stop me?¡±


    The goal of their enemy was not to kill Loren or Lapis.


    It was to interfere with Dia and cause her to fail.


    But since Dia was and Elder, she couldn¡¯t be stopped easily.


    Even attacking with normal vampires wasn¡¯t enough, and although the dragon zombie was a threat, zombies and skeletons wouldn¡¯t even be close enough to stop her.


    ¡°What is she thinking?¡±


    ¡°Get rid of the assistance and then go for you. Or this attack is a bait. Or she has a way to defeat an Elder with this attack. These are some obvious possibilities.¡±


    Lapis picked up a stone that wasrger than the rest, and threw it in the same manner as the smaller stones.


    It flew off with the same speed as the smaller stones and crushed even more undead, but even as her brows furrowed as the smell of rotting flesh began drifting in the air, she picked up the next stone.


    ¡°By the way, would defeating the dragon zombie be easy for you?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have any trouble, but because of what it is, it would be difficult to do so in one hit.¡±


    ¡®It would be slightly difficult for me in my current state.¡¯


    Shayna said to Loren, as she was listening to Lapis and Dia¡¯s conversation from within him.


    Loren thought that since she was the most powerful undead, a no life king, she could easily defeat a dragon zombie, but her answer was not what he expected.


    ¡®Since I don¡¯t have a physical form, it¡¯s hard for me to affect things in the real world. It¡¯s toorge to energy drain itpletely, and if I want to use magic, I have to do it through Onii-san.¡¯


    This wasn¡¯t based on the knowledge and experience of Shayna herself, but it was judgment based on her knowledge as a no life king, so Loren guessed that she was correct.


    When Loren silently asked her what if she was a proper no life king, Shayna replied to him proudly.


    ¡®I can erase it without a trace in a blink of an eye.¡¯


    Loren was reminded again that he was housing an incredible being inside of him.


    ¡®When they get close, I¡¯ll activate my energy drain slowly. It will weaken the dragon zombie as well, so good luck with the rest.¡¯


    Thanking her for doing what she could to assist him, Loren swung his sling around.


    They had to do something about all the undead before they could focus on the dragon zombie.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way you could purify it using <turn undead="">, is there?¡±


    </turn>


    ¡°No matter how much of a pure and faithful follower I am, there is a limit to what I can do.¡±


    Loren wondered if Lapis could do something with her powers as a priestess, but her response was something along the lines that he expected, so he listened to it without reacting.


    ¡°So we either hold them back until morning, or I go in and start attacking¡­¡±


    ¡°Umm, Loren? You just ignored me!? Loren,e on¡­¡±


    As Lapis started to persist, Loren shoved a stone into her hand and made her go back to throwing them, then picked up a stone for himself.


    But they didn¡¯t have an unlimited amount, and soon there were only a few left.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to have to get in there after all.¡±


    Although it seemed like the number of undead decreased by quite a bit, there were still enough of them that their number couldn¡¯t be counted.


    Loren thought that the only way was to cut through them when they ran out of stones.


    He felt like he could manage the zombies and skeletons, but he was worried about whether he could defeat the dragon zombie.


    Since he couldn¡¯t think of any other way, he steeled himself and slowly pulled out the great sword on his back.

 Chapter 111: Newcomer during Attack

    <h4>Chapter 111: Neer during Attack</h4>


    As the undead continued to fall around the encampment, prated and crushed by the stones being thrown at them, Loren pulled out his great sword from his back and jumped over the dirt wall and the ditch and stretched.


    He then ran towards the undead and with a wide arc of his great sword, he cut through a few of them and sent them flying.


    ¡°Travelling with you two, I¡¯ve been wondering sometimes.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    10


    Lapis, who was throwing stones as she saw Loren run out of the encampment, replied to Dia, who had stopped throwing them.


    She continued to throw stones and crush whatever parts of the undead she hit.


    ¡°He¡¯s a human, right?¡±


    Dia was pointing at Loren, who had left the encampment and was swinging his great sword around.


    In an open area with no allies or obstacles near him, Loren could make the most use of his reach and power, so as soon as a zombie or skeleton entered the reach of his great sword, they were immediately cut down or crushed.


    With the momentum and casualness as if he were mowing grass, he immobilized a few undead with each swing, and along with Lapis¡¯ stones, they were decreasing the number of enemies slowly but surely.


    ¡°He¡¯s a human no matter where you look, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ response, Dia crossed her arms and frowned.


    From her expression, Lapis noticed that she wasn¡¯t satisfied with her response, so she stopped throwing stones and looked at Loren, who was in closebat with the undead.


    Although Lapis evaluated Loren as a very skilled mercenary, she never thought that his abilities were out of the boundaries of a human.


    She did hear from him that there was something inhuman living within him, but even with putting that into consideration, there was no quiver in her judgment that Loren was a human.


    ¡°But he¡¯s using such a weapon, you see? His strength must be extraordinary, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so, but I believe he is human because he uses such a weapon.¡±


    This time Dia couldn¡¯t understand Lapis¡¯ response, so as she wondered what she meant, Lapis threw arge stone at a group of undead that neared the encampment, and after crushing their heads with the weight of the stone, she started exining.


    ¡°Elves could never use such a weapon in the first ce, no matter how hard they try. Dwarves can¡¯t either since they are too short.¡±


    ¡°That is true.¡±


    ¡°Any sane demon wouldn¡¯t even think about using such arge and heavy weapon, then wouldn¡¯t it be humans who would decide to use a weapon like that?¡±


    Although her conclusion drawn by the process of elimination wasn¡¯t the kindest, it was enough to convince Dia.


    But then another question popped up, and Dia asked Lapis again, with a wondering look.


    ¡°But the only ones who could make a great sword out of magic steel like that one is demon kind, no? Why would demons make something that they wouldn¡¯t use?¡±


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re right, now that you mention it. I mean, not that I know the details of where it came from.¡±


    As Lapis continued to press that she had no connection whatsoever to the great sword that Loren was currently using, Dia had no intention of pushing the matter further.


    But since she didn¡¯t get a proper answer, the mystery just got deeper.


    ¡°By the way, not trying to ask for details, but where on earth did you bring that from?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but I saw it in the back of the storehouse back home, so I took it thinking that it might be useful for something. It seems like it was going to be melted down and the materials were going to be used for something else. Not that I would know anything about it.¡±


    Another stoneunched from Lapis hand and turned more of the undead back to corpses.


    As she nced beneath her, she saw that her supply of stones were almost gone, and thought that it might be time she started using <<turn undead="">>.


    </turn>


    ¡°If it was kept safely in the back of the storehouse, wouldn¡¯t it have been something important? Your parents must be surprised when they find it gone.¡±


    ¡°They cut off my arms and legs, and on top of that gorged my eyes out, so this should be basically be part of my allowance. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about your actual parents, right¡­?¡±


    Dia¡¯s voice quivered, as if she had heard a scary story, but to Lapis it was a true story, and was something that she didn¡¯t want others to thing that it was nothing but a scary one.


    To her, taking a bunch of things from the storehouse at home was nothing more than a child¡¯s prank, but she wasn¡¯t sure if others would agree, so she believed that it wasn¡¯t something to tell others.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask any further. I feel like it would just be listening to a scary story.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be thankful if you don¡¯t. It¡¯s not like I have a scary story to tell, anyway.¡±


    After replying, Lapis turned her attention back to Loren.


    But his opponents were nothing more than zombies and skeletons, so as long as he could use his great sword, they posed no danger to him, so Lapis quickly switched from him to the dragon zombie that was slowly but surely getting closer.


    The dragon zombie¡¯s movements were very slow.


    There was still quite a bit of distance between it and their encampment, so it was possible to hit it with magic.


    But sour thoughts crossed Lapis¡¯ head.


    Although undead, with the size and hardness of a dragon still present, it was hard to believe that weak spells would do any damage.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll leave the small ones to Loren.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ eyes narrowed, and took aim at the dragon zombie across the sea of undead.


    In her hand was a stone the size of a baby¡¯s head.


    As she held the heavy stone with one hand, she drew her arm back and threw it towards the dragon zombie.


    The stone flew towards its head in a straight line, and when it hit, along with a loud crack, the stone shattered, along with skin, scales, flesh, and blood scattering everywhere as well.


    ¡°I was hoping it would do more¡­¡±


    The next stone she threw barely peeled off a part of the dragon zombie¡¯s head as well, and although some bone showed from the injury, it wasn¡¯t even close to stopping it in its tracks.


    Although it was obvious that her attacks weren¡¯t effective, Lapis continued to throw stone after stone at the dragon zombie¡¯s head.


    Every time, it would shred its rotten flesh and skin, but didn¡¯t do any meaningful damage.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to attack it with spells after shredding its surface a bit further?¡±


    A few more stones were thrown at its head, but each one of them shattered after only taking a bit of its skin and scales off.


    Seeing that, Dia raised her palm towards the dragon zombie.


    ¡°You can leave the magic attacks to me.¡±


    Losing its outer flesh and skin, the dragon zombie¡¯s defenses had decreased by quite a bit, so Dia thought that if she used a spell, she could defeat it easily.


    As she decided to use a high damage spell, her expression then turned to one of surprise, and from her lips, escaped a weak mutter.


    ¡°What¡­impossible¡­¡±


    She had a feeling she heard something.


    Lapis didn¡¯t know what it was, but it sounded like Dia¡¯s name, so she thought that someone had called her.


    As soon as Lapis heard it, Dia¡¯s expression changed.


    ¡°Dia?¡±


    Lapis called out to her in confusion, as Dia was confidently about to use a spell, but didn¡¯¡¯t.


    But Dia didn¡¯t answer and lowered her palm and brought it up to her face and stared at it in disbelief.


    Although she didn¡¯t know what happened, Lapis stopped thinking about her.


    ¡°Swirl before me, crimson mes <<fire storm="">>¡±


    </fire>


    Since she understood that Dia couldn¡¯t move, there was no reason for her to hesitate.


    The fire magic created a storm of red mes around the dragon zombie, burning all the undead within its range.


    When there was nothing else to burn, and the spell lost its effect, the mes died and the burnt corpses dropped to the ground, but within it, the dragon zombie continued to move slowly towards them, even with arge portion of its body burnt.


    ¡°What is going on¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I would like to ask. Why a priestess could use such a magic spell. Very interesting.¡±


    As soon as she heard the voice near her, Lapis steeled herself as she grabbed Dia and jumped out of the encampment.


    Jumping over the dirt wall andnding in front of Lapis and DIa was a young-looking man dressed like a butler, with red eyes and long white hair.


    ¡°I am a True that serves the Elder Stoos. My name is¡­I don¡¯t really have one. But I was the first to serve Master Stoos, so please call me First.¡±


    ¡°Okay then First. What did you do to Dia?¡±


    Lapis asked the True that called himself First as she put down Dia and pushed her behind her back.


    Judging from the timing that he appeared and Dia started acting weird, Lapis guessed that First had done something to her, and as a result, rendered her unable to use her powers, but First didn¡¯t answer her easily.


    ¡°What in the world would you be talking about? Even if I did do something, why would I have to tell you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡±


    ¡°Rather than her, shouldn¡¯t you be more worried about yourself? I was ordered by my master to eliminate the adventurers assisting Dia.¡±


    As First, who had his hand resting on his chest and had been bowing, lifted his head and looked at her, Lapis scoffed at his words and called out in a loud voice.


    ¡°Loren! I¡¯ll be fighting a True. Can you deal with the dragon zombie?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a lot more than I could handle, but alright! Do something about him before I die!¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    After hearing Loren¡¯s response, Lapis hit her left palm with her right fist, and cracking her joints.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about thingster. I¡¯ve decided that getting rid of the danger is top priority.¡±


    ¡°What a violent youngdy. But do you believe that you have even the slightest chance of defeating me?¡±


    Neither of the two had any weapons.


    But since one was a True, a high rank vampire, and the other was a priestess, one would think that the priestess would be at a disadvantage.


    But although the one standing there was a priestess, Lapis was no ordinary priestess, so with no hint of fear in her eyes, she stretched her right arm out, and as First wondered what she was doing, she flicked her fingers, taunting him to attack.

 Chapter 112: Interrogation after Battle

    <h4>Chapter 112: Interrogation after Battle</h4>


    Loren had noticed the True before Lapis had called him.


    A priestess, which wasn¡¯t a frontline upation, doing closebat against a True would be difficult, so Loren knew that he should back her up, but there was a reason he couldn¡¯t do so.


    It was because as he had been mowing down the undead, he himself had caught the attention of the dragon zombie.


    Because of that, Loren, who was now its target, was having to deal with it.


    Loren was taller than most, but the dragon zombie still towered over him with its long body, and if it could make use of it, Loren would be killed without being able to do anything.


    But that didn¡¯t happen because the dragon zombie couldn¡¯t move its body properly.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s rotting, so¡­¡±


    The only way it could attack was using its front legs and its head.


    Its body and tail werepletely rotten, and as it walked, parts of it crumbled and released foul smelling liquid, so if it were to attack with them or make sudden moves, it looked like they would crumble awaypletely or rip off.


    But although its methods of attack were limited, if even one of them hit, it would do a great amount of damage, or even kill him, so there was no room for Loren to let his guard down.


    He dodged the bite that came down from over his head, then jumped back out of range of one of its front legs as it swiped at him.


    As Loren swung his great sword at the leg before it retreated, rotting flesh and rotting juice flew around, letting out a foul smell in the area.


    Since the dragon zombie was an undead, it didn¡¯t feel any pain.


    But as if it at least felt disturbed that a de cut into its leg, it mmed it onto the ground, trying to crush Loren.


    But Loren had already moved.


    He had run across andnded a blow on its other leg.


    Loren tried not to think about the flesh and juice that flew around again, but since it had the body of a dragon, although it was rotting, it had a hard body, so Loren¡¯s great sword didn¡¯t stick that deep.


    On top of that, since the dragon zombie didn¡¯t feel pain, it felt no hesitation either, so with all the immediate retaliation, Loren couldn¡¯t put much strength into his blows.


    ¡°This is getting nowhere.¡±


    ¡®Ah, you¡¯re thinking about something bad, aren¡¯t you Onii-san?¡¯


    Shayna called out to him in the back of his mind as she seemed to notice something, but Loren took no notice and gripped his great sword tighter with both hands, and until then he hadn¡¯t been spreading his legs out much so he could retaliate as soon as he dodged an attack, but he spread out his legs wide, as if rooting himself on the spot.


    ¡®Onii-san? What are you doing? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯


    Shayna, who had been borrowing Loren¡¯s sight and watching the battle against the dragon zombie, saw it mming its front leg towards Loren, who had changed his stance, couldn¡¯t help but let out a scream-like thought to him.


    But Loren ignored that as well, and as the dragon¡¯s leg came down on him, Loren¡¯s arms swung his sword with great strength and momentum, and the de lodged into the leg, way deeper than before, and as steel met bone, a metallic sound rang out.


    Of course, although Loren¡¯s attack was powerful, it wasn¡¯t enough to cut off the dragon zombie¡¯s leg.


    But it was enough to swerve the attack off course, and the legnded right next to him, barely missing.


    By then, Loren had already pulled his sword out, and using the momentum, he spun around andnded another blow, strengthened even further, onto the leg that had hit the ground.


    As she heard steel hitting bone again, Shayna watched in disbelief.


    Although their opponent was undead, it was still a dragon, and was hard to believe that a human could divert its attack with just the strength of his arms.


    Moving straight to his next attack was unbelievable, and both attacks cutting through its flesh and going down to the bone was unbelievable as well.


    On top of that, even though so much force was behind the blows, the great sword wasn¡¯t even chipped the slightest.


    ¡®I¡¯m lost¡­Onii-san, are you really human?¡¯


    ¡°Never mind what I am, so lend me some of your mana!¡±


    When Loren said that, Shayna realized.


    It seemed that those attacks had been strengthened by the self-enhancing technique that Lapis had taught him.


    But dealing with an attack from a dragon cost a significant amount of mana, and Loren didn¡¯t have much in the first ce, so with thest two blows, he had almost depleted his mana.


    ¡®I see. In that case, I¡¯ll give you all the mana you need Onii-san.¡¯


    The amount of mana that a no life king, the highest ranking undead, was immense.


    Shayna wasn¡¯t aplete no life king, so she didn¡¯t have as much as real ones, but it was still way more than Loren had.


    But since Shayna only had her astral body, if she used all her mana, she would be erasing her own existence, so there was a need for her to save a portion of it as she lent the rest to Loren.


    But it was still more efficient and would cost less mana if Shayna were to use spells through Loren¡¯s body.


    Loren was fortunate that the dragon zombie wasn¡¯t in a good shape.


    The rotting had spread quite well, so it was crumbling away in many ces, which made it impossible for it to use its breath attack.


    It went through the motions a few times, but every time it did smoke started to pour out of holes in its body, and it couldn¡¯t cast its breath.


    If it could, then its fight against Loren would¡¯ve been going on differently, but in the current battle between them, the dragon couldn¡¯t hit the self-enhanced Loren, and after its attack missed, Loren would deal a powerful blow, so slowly but surely, cuts started appearing on its legs, neck, and head.


    Meanwhile, Lapis, who was going against a True, was being hit repeatedly.


    The True vampire who called himself First, was shooting spell after spell at Dia, who couldn¡¯t move for some reason, and Lapis, who stood in front of her, trying to protect her.


    ¡°What happened to that attitude of yours, hmm? This is very one-sided.¡±


    As First asked Lapis, bullets of fire shot out from his palm, and it melted away into the air as it hit Lapis¡¯ defensive barrier.


    But that wasn¡¯t the end of First¡¯s attack.


    He continued to use spells of different elements at her, while Lapis continued to block them with her barrier.


    ¡°I¡¯m just getting started you know. Can you block everything? Do you have enough mana left?¡±


    Even at First¡¯s taunting words, Lapis¡¯ expression didn¡¯t change.


    Her eyes continued to gaze at First¡¯s face, and only her hands moved, not letting any of his attacks get through.


    First soon started to feel irritated.


    From what he could see, his barrage of weaker spells didn¡¯t seem to prate Lapis¡¯ barrier at all, so he decided to use a stronger spell.


    ¡°Can you block this spell¡­Ugh!?¡±


    First tried to ask Lapis in a cool fashion, but immediately jumped away as he felt a shock followed by pain on his cheek.


    The spell he had been constructing had dissipated because of his sudden movement, but what surprised First more was that Lapis was standing where he had been a moment ago, with her fist swung through.


    ¡°What¡­what just happened?¡±


    Judging from the circumstances, the only conclusion First coulde to, was that Lapis saw that he was about to use a powerful spell, instantly closed the distance between them, and punched him away.


    But First denied that thought.


    After all, all Lapis had been doing was blocking his attacks.


    It was difficult to think that she would be able to move close to him in such a state, wearing priest clothing, at a speed that a True like him couldn¡¯t sense.


    On top of that, damaging a True with just a fist was unbelievable.


    Trues, which were high rank among vampires, couldn¡¯t be hurt by steel weapons of adventurers, and even if they had weapons made of silver, which undead were weak to, although they would feel quite a bit of pain, it wouldn¡¯t be lethal.


    But the punch that Lapis threw had enough force behind it to make him jump away.


    ¡°How in the world¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you done attacking? I¡¯ve grasped a good idea of your capabilities, so I¡¯d like to start my attack.¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    First tried to ask her what she meant, but a loud cracking sound came from his face.


    Before he could even realize that he had been punched in the face, Lapis¡¯ fist dug into his stomach, and as he bent over to clutch his stomach, Lapis dropped her elbow on the base of his neck.


    The blows would¡¯ve killed a human, but to a True, it was far from lethal.


    As First tried to keep from cking out from the pain and impact, he swung his arms around and started to back off, Lapis jumped back with leisure and muttered.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re insensitive to pain and shocks since you¡¯re an undead.¡±


    Undead of lower ranks, such as the dragon zombie Loren was facing off against, would be able to continue attacking without concern for pain, but vampires were highly intelligent, and maybe because they retained the forms they had before death, they could feel pain.


    But since they were still undead, their sense of pain was dull, so even if they received attacks that would kill the living, it wouldn¡¯t be a lot of damage.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be worth my time breaking you since you don¡¯t scream or feel fear.¡±


    ¡°What are you¡­¡±


    ¡°I want to ask you before you break. What did¡­what the hell did you do to her?¡±


    When she pointed to Dia, who still couldn¡¯t move, the atmosphere around Lapis changed.


    Her gaze became harsher, and First stepped back a few steps at the pressure she was now emitting, as if it was a physical barrier.


    Lapis continued to re at him as she walked closer.


    ¡°If you tell me I let you die easily¡­¡±


    ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to!¡±


    The lightning bolt he shot as he finished was softly brushed away by Lapis¡¯ left hand, and as he stepped in, trying to deliver a blow that will get past her defenses, Lapis grabbed his right wrist, so the punch never reached her.


    ¡°Impossible! You¡¯re stronger than a True!?¡±


    First tried to shake off her grasp, but no matter how much strength he put in, his wrist didn¡¯t budge, as if it was stuck in ce.


    ¡°H-how is this possible!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions, not you. Answer them when you feel like it. I¡¯ll make sure to listen.¡±


    No matter how hard he shook and pulled, Lapis¡¯ grip didn¡¯t loosen even slightly.


    So First decided to use a spell at close range, so he raised his left palm towards Lapis, but as soon as he did so, his right wrist was immediately crushed by Lapis, and his eyes widened as he watched her rip it off.


    ¡°Handing me your left hand after you handed me your right is praiseworthy.¡±


    Lapisughed as she held First¡¯s left wrist.


    It immediately started to creak, as if screaming from the immense strength and pressure Lapis squeezed it with.


    ¡°I must answer to your praiseworthiness. Alright, I¡¯ll deal with you kindly.¡±


    As Lapis said ominously, First tried to lunge at her with his fangs in desperation, but as soon as he opened his mouth, both his fangs were snapped.


    First covered his mouth with his now handless right arm in shock, but before he could even say anything about losing his fangs, his left wrist, which was still within Lapis¡¯ clutches, was crushed as his right wrist was.


    Following both his wrists and fangs, First¡¯s shoulder was then grabbed and crushed, and his knees were crushed with a kick as well, making him unable to stand, leaving him in a kneeling position in front of Lapis, looking up at her.


    11


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a while before things to settle down over there. Let¡¯s being, shall we?¡±


    ncing over at Loren, Lapis gripped both of First¡¯s shoulders with her both hands.


    Listening to his flesh and bone being grinded together, First finally realized that the girl in priest clothing wasn¡¯t who she seemed to be.

 Chapter 113: Moving after Results

    <h4>Chapter 113: Moving after Results</h4>


    ¡°I thought I was going to die¡­¡±


    It was a long while after he had started battle with the dragon zombie, that Loren stopped and stuck his great sword into the ground, muttering as he leaned against it.


    Loren, who had been repeatedly hitting back the dragon zombie¡¯s simple attacks from its forelegs and bites with enhanced blows and putting in some of his own attacks when he saw opportunities, managed to cut off one of its legs, and a few more attackster, managed to immobilize the dragon by cutting of another, then another few attackster, he managed to get close and get a blow on its neck, and as its movements grew slower, he pummeled his sword onto its head and managed to seed in defeating it.


    But during that whole sequence of events, some of the dragon¡¯s attacks had scraped him, and some had hit him head on, blowing him away, so there were injuries all over his body, and his leather armor and coat were in shambles, in no shape to be used.


    ¡°This is bad. I¡¯ll have to get new ones.¡±


    It was the coat that Lapis went through all the trouble to get him, but with all the holes and rips in it, it seemed impossible to sew back together, he took it off, folded it, and threw it in his other belongings, and he ripped the leather armor which was barely hanging onto his body, and threw it away.


    ¡°The smell got onto my clothes too, huh.¡±


    He didn¡¯t pay attention during the fight, but while he was blocking, dodging, or parrying the dragon zombie¡¯s attacks at close range, its fluids had seeped into his clothes, and now had the rank stench of rotten flesh on them.


    Loren sighed as the thought of getting new clothes crossed his mind.


    Clothes weren¡¯t the cheapest.


    Used ones could be bought for a somewhat cheaper price, but Loren¡¯s body was muscr, and there was quite a bit of muscle on his arms and legs as well.


    Normal clothing would be too tight and hinder his movements, so it was difficult for Loren to find clothing that fit him.


    He had an extra change of clothes in his bag so he was good for now, but when he got back, he would need to get a new change to make up for the ruined one, and the thought of going through clothing stores gave him a feeling of dread.


    His body wasn¡¯t in good shape either.


    Zombie were obviously rotten, which meant their ws and teeth were very unclean, and Loren knew that, so he knew that the injuries he got could get contaminated worse than other kinds of injuries.


    To prevent that, he needed to clean his wounds with clean water, or alcohol with high concentration if needed.


    If he didn¡¯t, viruses would seep into his body from his wounds, and would cause the flesh around them to rot, or even lead to illnesses that could kill him.


    Loren guessed it would be the same for the ws and fangs of a dragon zombie, so he urged his tired body and took a steel bottle filled with alcohol from his bag, uncorked it, and without thinking, he took a mouthful.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be drinking it.¡±


    Some of his fellow mercenaries drank it saying they were getting clean from the inside, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it had any effect.


    He had unthinkingly drunk it since he was very thirsty, but arger part of him thought that it was a waste to use it to clean wounds.


    Telling himself that it was a necessity, Loren filled his mouth with alcohol again and after rolling up his sleeves, sprayed it on his arms, and then dripped the contents of the bottle on his neck and back.


    He now smelled like alcohol but deciding that it was better than the smell of rotting flesh, he finished pouring quite an amount onto himself, then gulped the rest down his throat, and closed the bottle, feeling slightly better.


    ¡°Lapis, how¡¯s your side?¡±


    As he put the bottle back, Loren then took out bandages, and started wrapping it around his arms.


    It was something he had done since his days as a mercenary, so he skillfully bandaged arge wound and cut it,pleting first aid.


    As Loren moved his arm lightly, checking the tightness of the bandages, the silence around him told him that Lapis had finished her fight with the True, so as he looked around looking for her, he found her a distance away staring from behind with her mouth open.


    From the looks of it, it didn¡¯t seem like she was injured at all.


    Her white priest clothing was clean, with no signs of tears or blood.


    ¡°Hey Lapis? What¡¯s wrong? That stupid look is ruining your beautiful face, you know?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well. Thank you? I mean, Loren! Did you¡­defeat the dragon zombie?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t use its breath, so I managed to do it somehow¡­Sorry Lapis, the coat you got me is ruined.¡±


    Since he attacked the hard dragon zombie many times, Loren thought that his great sword could be ruined as well, but unlike the coat, it wasn¡¯t chipped at all and wasn¡¯t bent or cracked either, and had done its jobpletely.


    Loren was thinking he should thank Lapis for preparing such a sharp sword.


    ¡°Coat¡­I mean, I can care less about it being ruined, but are you saying you managed to defeat it with just ruining the coat and leather armor?¡±


    ¡°Just as you see it. There were a few times I thought I was a goner, but I guess it¡¯s possible if you try.¡±


    As Loren pointed to the remains of the dragon zombie with no forelegs and a crushed head that was a formless pulp, Lapis sighed deeply and shook her head, holding her forehead with her palm.


    ¡°You said something abouting to save you before you die, but you defeated it before I could even try. What even are you Loren?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­I tried it and did it, you know?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like he did something wrong, but Loren felt kind of sorry.


    Lapis red at the remains of the dragon zombie and muttered disappointedly.


    ¡°My n to coollye in and save Loren when he is struggling to improve my image¡­¡±


    ¡°Does that really matter?¡±


    ¡°I saved up my strength so I could defeat it in one blow too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. What if you didn¡¯t make it in time and I died?¡±


    Loren was slightly upset that Lapis had been going easy on their opponents, but he remembered that Lapis was a demon, so when he thought that it wasmon for her to think in such a way, it seemed silly to be angry, so he dropped his shoulders weakly.


    On the other hand, Lapis, although she was acting as usual by saying such things, inside, she was so surprised she was worried that she had said something weird.


    It was true that dragon zombies were way weaker than dragons themselves.


    But even so, it was still way stronger than a human, so Lapis didn¡¯t think it was something a human could defeat alone.


    ¡°Well, we could call it a job well done, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right, but whatever. What happened to the True?¡±


    As Lapis thought that Loren would have a difficult time with the dragon zombie, Loren thought that a True would be enough to give Lapis some trouble.


    After all, Trues were high ss among vampires, and were powerful among undead in general.


    Therefore, Loren thought that although demons were also powerful, the fight would be difficult and would be injured, but judging by Lapis¡¯ appearance, it didn¡¯t seem that she was injured, and her clothes were clean.


    For a moment, the thought that maybe the True had run away crossed Loren¡¯s mind, but Lapis let out a troubledugh as she scratched her head.


    ¡°Well, umm, about that. I might have let my wild side out of control¡­¡±


    ¡°You what?¡±


    ¡°I got carried away and went full strength, something like that.¡±


    ¡°Hey?¡±


    ¡°I-it can¡¯t be helped, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ve finally got my real arms back, and an opponent that wouldn¡¯t break even if I go a bit hard appeared. And on top of that, its an opponent that will heal even if I break it, so I couldn¡¯t stop myself¡­¡±


    ¡°You forget that you¡¯re a priestess sometimes, don¡¯t you Lapis?¡±


    When Loren red at Lapis, Lapis¡¯ mouth opened and closed, trying to find an excuse, but she seemed to conclude that nothing she said would be an excuse, so she hung her head and shoulders.


    ¡°So, what happened to the victim?¡±


    ¡°I was twisting him up, and he suddenly turned to ashes and blew away in the wind.¡±


    Lapis exined that when vampires died, they didn¡¯t leave behind a physical body.


    Vampires themselves were beings that strayed off from thews of nature, and the price showed when they died, as they melted into ashes.


    Stubborn ones could regenerate from such a state, but in order to do so, the ashes must be in one ce, and if it was scattered in the wind, only very powerful vampires coulde back from that.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about Elders, but that¡¯s what happens up to Trues.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of Elders, where¡¯s Dia?¡±


    While he was talking to Lapis, Loren noticed that he couldn¡¯t see Dia anywhere.


    When he asked Lapis, Lapis pointed in a direction.


    When he looked that way, he cocked his head as he saw Dia with a knee on the ground, unmoving.


    ¡°Did she get hit by something¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem so¡­but she suddenly became like that.¡±


    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t get the reason out of the True, am I right?¡±


    ¡°I did try really hard squeeze it out of him.¡±


    Lapis indeed did squeeze very hard, both mentally and physically, but in the end, the True died without even saying anything much of use.


    Lapis did feel like she went too far, but since she was dealing with a vampire, which was dense against pain and regenerated, half-hearted measures were useless, so she thought that it couldn¡¯t be helped that he had died.


    With the appropriate preparations and instruments, it was possible to make even vampires to talk, and Lapis knew most of the skills, but making them talk with just her hands proved very difficult.


    ¡°It looks like Dia seems to know something though.¡±


    Lapis guessed that she knew at least what had happened to herself.


    What she had said before she had frozen led Lapis to believe that.


    ¡°Hopefully she tells us when everything settles down.¡±


    ¡°Can we start with either moving or doing something about that? It stinks.¡±


    The stench was mostly from the remains of the dragon zombie, but it also came from the shards of skeletons and pieces of zombie all over the ce, and it didn¡¯t look pleasant either.


    Gazing around them, Lapis nodded, agreeing with Loren and started thinking about how they should move Dia, who was still frozen.

 Chapter 114: Speculating While Moving

    <h4>Chapter 114: Specting While Moving</h4>


    Eventually, Loren and Lapis gave up on trying to clean everything.


    There were just too many bodies, and the dragon zombie was toorge to move.


    Although they knew they couldn¡¯t do anything, it didn¡¯t help the stench at all, so they were walking towards their destination under the night sky.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way we could spend the night there.¡±


    Loren and Lapis had decimated a great number of undead, a True, and a dragon zombie at the ce where they nned to camp for the night.


    Although it wouldn¡¯t be thest, Loren hoped that they had done enough damage so that their enemy wouldn¡¯t be able to mass a simr force and attack anytime soon.


    ¡°Are you okay Loren? Humans die so easily unless they sleep, so I¡¯m worried.¡±


    Lapis was carrying a silent Dia on her back.


    After the attack, Dia, who had been stunned and unmoving, didn¡¯t seem to budge where she was kneeling even after they had finished packing up and were ready to move on.


    They couldn¡¯t leave her there, but they couldn¡¯t stay there either, so Loren suggested that he carry Dia, but Lapis refused and said that she would carry her.


    Loren was used to carrying heavy things on his back, so he thought that he should be the one to do it, but Lapis seemed to have her own thoughts.


    She was being wary of Dia¡¯s fangs being so close to Loren¡¯s neck, as he was only a human.


    ¡°It would be a disaster if you were bitten.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the same for you?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I can manage, so.¡±


    Lapis smiled as she picked up Dia, but the fact that she said she could do something about being bitten, when normally if vampires sucked blood from living beings, they would end simrly, made Loren think about how powerful demon kind were.


    ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re such an efficient party, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    When Loren looked at Lapis¡¯ face, wondering what she meant, she looked back with a serious expression.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re walking in the ins at night without a light.¡±


    Now that she mentioned it, Loren remembered that his sight was still linked with the no life king Shayna.


    A normal party would use torches ornterns, and move in the darkness of the night.


    But the two of them had no need for such things, and were walking as if it were daytime.


    The only one that was shaking in fear was the donkey, since it was the only one that was walking in pure darkness.


    ¡°Can you do this with your real eyes too?¡±


    When Loren asked Lapis out of curiosity, Lapis answered with a proud look.


    ¡°Whatever I can do now, I can do with my real body.¡±


    ¡°Even beating up a True with just your hands?¡±


    ¡°Easily. It¡¯s actually more difficult right now. I can fight a lot better since I can allocate the mana I used for my arms down to my legs, but I still can¡¯t move how I want to since I¡¯m worried that the joints would fall apart.¡±


    ¡°Priestess¡­¡±


    ¡°Should I eventually introduce myself as a monk soldier?¡±


    Loren wondered if that would be fine with her, it didn¡¯t seem like she cared, so he thought that it wasn¡¯t something he could say about it.


    ¡°Is Dia still down?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I wonder.¡±


    When Lapis turned over her shoulder to look at Dia¡¯s face, Dia saw that she was being looked at, and raised her head slightly from Lapis¡¯ back.


    Her face was quite shaken, which was unlike the calm self she had been showing, and made her seem like the young girl she looked like.


    ¡°She¡¯s supposed to be over 500 years old, though¡­¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t not hinting at that be an act of kindness?¡±


    ¡°Why was she suddenly not able to fight in the first ce?¡±


    Loren thought that if there was a reason, he needed to know.


    He hadn¡¯t asked until now since Dia wasn¡¯t in a state to talk, but since she was able to respond, he immediately asked her, and when Dia heard him, she looked down, still clinging to Lapis¡¯ back.


    Loren regretted asking, as it seemed like she couldn¡¯t speak yet, but after a moment of silence, Dia managed to form words.


    ¡°We Elders¡­don¡¯t speak our true names.¡±


    ¡°Seems so.¡±


    Loren recalled when Dia had introduced herself to them for the first time, she had said she couldn¡¯t tell them her family name, and to call her Dia.


    Loren thought that there was a good reason for it, so he hadn¡¯t asked her about it, but it seemed that it was the same for them as a race.


    ¡°For us Elders, our real names are connected to our very existences.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Although it seemed that she hade out with something very important, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she meant.


    When he looked at Lapis for help, since Lapis was more versed in magic and divine arts, she thought about Dia¡¯s words for a moment, as if she was letting the words sink in, and asked her.


    ¡°Is that like a so-called True Name?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it is.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Lapis seemed to understand, but Loren was still in the dark.


    ¡°Would you like to hear about it Loren? If you ask, I could exin it¡­¡±


    As Lapis showed a sense of superiority of knowing something he didn¡¯t, Loren felt slightly annoyed, he didn¡¯t show it, but instead replied in an uninterested voice.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Shayna probably knows, anyway.¡±


    ¡°What!? O-okay, I¡¯ll tell you, I mean, please let me exin.¡±


    Shayna possessed the knowledge that a no life king would have.


    Loren guessed that she would know about the ¡°True Name¡± that Lapis had mentioned, but since Lapis seemed to want to exin it to him very badly, he decided that there was no need to ask Shayna and silently motioned for Lapis to go on.


    ¡°Shayna is quite troublesome¡­Even more so because only Loren can see her. Umm, True Names. It is said to be something that anyone can have, and it¡¯s a name that is used to indicate one¡¯s own existence.¡±


    ¡°Could you exin it simpler?¡±


    Although Loren seemed to be quite educated for a mercenary, when it came to practical matter such as magic, it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that he couldn¡¯t understand the theoretical things Lapis told him at all.


    Which is why he asked Lapis for an easier exnation, but Lapis went silent with a troubled look on her face.


    ¡°Umm. How would I exin this¡­This was the only exnation when I learned about it¡­¡±


    ¡°What if I tell you that it¡¯s like a magic name that if someone says it, he has every part of that being in his hands?¡±


    Dia exined from Lapis¡¯ back, helping her.


    As Lapis looked at him to see if the exnation was good enough, even though she wasn¡¯t the one who came up with it, Loren seemed to get a vague image of what it meant, and nodded slowly.


    ¡°So your magic name was used against you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly.¡±


    Dia¡¯s face turned sullen again.


    Loren had a good idea where the conversation was going, but until it was said clearly, he couldn¡¯t use it as solid intel, so even though he didn¡¯t feel like it, he needed to hear it from Dia, so as he rubbed the back of his neck, he continued to ask her.


    ¡°Who else knows your True Name other than you?¡±


    There was no answer.


    That itself was an answer in a sense, but Loren pressed on.


    ¡°I have my own guess. Want to hear it?¡±


    ¡°¡­Tell me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s most likely her master Sierra that knows Dia¡¯s True Name other than herself. It¡¯s such an important name, so it¡¯s not something you can just tell anyone.¡±


    ¡°Based on your assumptions Loren, wouldn¡¯t it be Sierra who is getting in our way, not Stoos?¡±


    It was unlikely that the True who called himself First was able to force that information out of Sierra, who was an Elder.


    Instead, Dia¡¯s True Name was something that couldn¡¯t have gotten into anyone else¡¯s hands unless Sierra had leaked it.


    But if was leaked, the one who did it couldn¡¯t be anyone other than Sierra herself.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s Sierra who did it.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask why?¡±


    The feeling that she didn¡¯t want to believe and the fact that there could be no other exnation seemed to be fighting each other inside, as Dia¡¯s voice was trembling.


    Pretending not to notice it, Loren continued his thought.


    ¡°The dragon zombie. If something like that¡¯s walking around, there¡¯s no way no one wouldn¡¯t notice it. And being what it is, if found, it would definitely cause an uproar.¡±


    ¡°But there was nothing like such, and it was able to attack our camp, which means there¡¯s a high possibility that someone sent it our way.¡±


    ¡°Even though we slowed down to screw our enemy¡¯s ns. But they still knew our location, which means someone had to confirm where we were.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you think that Dia¡¯s master is suspicious since she came to us earlier. But why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about motives. More so if it¡¯s something within the confinements of Elders themselves.¡±


    ¡°Would you understand if I told you that Elders take pride in things that they excel in?¡±


    Loren thought about what Dia said in almost a whisper, eventually recalled a certain conversation.


    It was something Sierra had said when she hade to check on Dia.


    ¡°Does your master excel in magic?¡±


    ¡°Loren, are you saying¡­¡±


    ¡°She said it herself. The reason why Dia was considered capable of leaving her master¡¯s care was because her skills in magic surpassed Sierra¡¯s.¡±


    Loren thought that a student surpassing her master was proof that the master had taught he rwell, but apparently Elders couldn¡¯t think of it that way.


    It was easy to dismiss it as silly, but as long as Dia didn¡¯t say so, it could be said that Loren was correct.


    ¡°I guess, that would be so.¡±


    As Dia muttered, not able to object Loren¡¯s reasoning, buried her face in Lapis¡¯ back, not letting the two of them see her face.

 Chapter 115: Recovering while Moving

    <h4>Chapter 115: Recovering while Moving</h4>


    ¡°Anyways, we¡¯ve got to get to the ruins.¡±


    Loren dered as he walked swiftly through the dark of night.


    While there was no response from Dia, Lapis asked him with a questioning look.


    ¡°If this exam is indeed rigged, wouldn¡¯t it be pointless to go there?¡±


    ¡°No, what should be there is definitely there.¡±


    Lapis couldn¡¯t understand why Loren could say so with such confidence, so she continued to ask him.


    ¡°If the n is to kill Dia during the exam, wouldn¡¯t it be pointless to ready anything?¡±


    Lapis couldn¡¯t help but think that readying something with no intention of giving it was pointless, but it seemed that Loren had a different opinion.


    ¡°Not really. If there wasn¡¯t, it would raise suspicion among the other Elders.¡±


    Loren thought that there would be no way the other Elders wouldn¡¯t be tracking the movements of Sierra, since she was the one who made the test.


    What Sierra was to give Dia if she passed it.


    It was something to help Dia create her own base of operations as an Elder, but what would happen if the other Elders noticed that it wasn¡¯t prepared?


    ¡°Let¡¯s say she did prepare everything. What do you n on doing?¡±


    ¡°Easy. We take it and go against Sierra.¡±


    Dia looked up at him when he mentioned opposing Sierra, but Loren continued.


    ¡°So what if someone who is going to be on her own parts ways with her master? It¡¯s a different story if you aren¡¯t prepared, but since you are, don¡¯t be crying about opposing her.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°If you like her so much, then get strong enough that she can¡¯t hurt you. And then you can try or even force her to be friendly. Or do you think that if she thinks you¡¯re a nuisance, you should let her kill you?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all¡­¡±


    As Dia mumbled, Loren stuck a finger between her eyebrows.


    As Dia widened in surprise, Loren twisted his finger and pushed into her head.


    ¡°Then think about what you could do. She won¡¯t be appearing during the test anymore, anyway.¡±


    As Loren flicked her forehead with his finger, Dia red at him with teary eyes, but seeing her covering where he had pushed into, seemed to him that a bit of her brazenness had returned.


    ¡°You think that Sierra won¡¯t intervene anymore?¡±


    Lapis, who had been watching the whole thing, decided to speak up, seeing that Dia seemed to be feeling slightly better.


    Although he had tried to encourage her and seeded in doing so slightly, he knew that she needed time to collect her thoughts, so Loren decided to answer Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°She won¡¯t. If my prediction is correct.¡±


    ¡°May I ask what it is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because if Sierra really wants to kill Dia, she would take one of the many easier ways to do so.¡±


    Sierra was Dia¡¯s master and with Dia being very fond of her, and on top of that, she knew Dia¡¯s True Name.


    Loren thought that there would¡¯ve been plenty of chances and methods to get rid of her without waiting for the exam.


    There should¡¯ve been a reason why she didn¡¯t do so until now, and Loren was guessing it was appearance.


    ¡°Well, normally thinking, if a student that is more skilled than the master suddenly dies or is killed, the first to be suspected is the master.¡±


    ¡°That was why she hadn¡¯t tried to kill her?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and she waited for a time like this, and most likely leaked information to people who had no problem killing her.¡±


    Although Lapis understood what Loren was talking about, there were still some things that bothered her.


    ¡°Then she could¡¯ve just killed all of us at the beginning of the exam, no? There¡¯s no reason to wait until now, is there?¡±


    Loren shook his head at Lapis¡¯ words.


    ¡°If the student is incapable, the reputation of the master drops. If she takes pride in her magical skills, having others say behind her back that she was horrible at teaching would be unbearable.¡±


    Loren thought there had to be times where Dia shined to appeal to the other Elders watching, that the exam was still going on.


    It required quite a bit of time, and it needed to make the others think that Dia was capable, and after she showed that, Sierra wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the responsibility falling on her.


    ¡°So it probably means that the appealing time is over.¡±


    ¡°This is troublesome.¡±


    ¡°Seems like both humans and vampires are riddled with troubles.¡±


    Loren thought that since both races had their own wills and thoughts, there wasn¡¯t much of a difference in that sense.


    The only ones who thought of things no one else would were geniuses, or someone who lived among things that werepletely different than humans, and meeting such a being was rare, and from Loren knew, stories of things that exceeded human knowledge only existed in fairy tales.


    ¡°Then the Elder named Stoos that Sierra told us about that is our enemy¡­¡±


    ¡°Either Sierra yed her, or she was nning on getting in Dia¡¯s way in the first ce, and Sierra joined her.¡±


    ¡°I starting to feel sorry for Dia now.¡±


    ¡°Really? I won¡¯t sympathize though.¡±


    To Loren, who was protecting Dia, he had no interest in what kind of being his enemy was, nor if she was being used or not.


    It was because it summed up to one thing, defeating his enemy.


    If he didn¡¯t have to, it made things easier, but if he had to, it was better to do it as quickly as possible.


    That¡¯s all it was to him.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t include whether it was possible or not.


    Loren understood that he didn¡¯t stand a chance against Elders.


    ¡°In any case, all we have to do is get to our destination, clear the exam or whatever is waiting for us there, sessfully help Dia be on her own, and our job is done.¡±


    ¡°You say it so simply, but it¡¯s not something we could do so easily isn¡¯t it? Stoos wouldn¡¯t back off at this point and is sure toe back.¡±


    If she hadn¡¯t been found out, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for her to draw back after suffering a certain amount of casualties.


    But in this case, they knew who she was and hadunched tworge attacks, so she had already suffered arge casualty.


    ¡°Even if Sierra doesn¡¯te, Stoos might stille to fight us if she has to. Do you have any hope of winning against an Elder?¡±


    ¡°Not really, but we can¡¯t say we¡¯re going to quit because we can¡¯t, right?¡±


    If they quit here, it meant abandoning Dia.¡±


    Loren asked if she could do so, but Lapis didn¡¯t try to answer, but instead drooped her shoulders.


    In fact, she felt that she could do so very easily, but she knew that if she said that, on top of being thought of as a stereotypical demon, there was a chance of making herself look bad to Loren.


    But replying something that Loren would think good of wasn¡¯t the correct answer to her either, so she decided to stay silent and follow Loren¡¯s lead, but there was no way she could know that Loren had realized her thought process in the short amount of time.


    ¡°So, this is a bit of self-talk that¡¯s not much of a prediction at all.¡±


    Since their next course of action was pretty much set, the group had started moving again.


    Lapis didn¡¯t pay attention to Loren, as if she hadn¡¯t heard him, but Dia, who was being carried on her back, looked towards him.


    ¡°If someone you tried to kill didn¡¯t die as nned, but instead managed to reach her goal. And on top of that, instead of thinking of how to kill her, you might think of striking a deal and getting back together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°It depends. If there are grudges or something mixed, it would be hard to bnce, but don¡¯t you think a bit of jealousy could be kept in check and make it a profitable rtionship?¡±


    As Loren looked at Dia, she looked back at him for a moment, but eventually nodded and tapped Lapis on the shoulder, and as she caught her attention, she climbed down from her back and started walking on her own.


    ¡°Either way, nothing will start unless I be a proper Elder.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, exactly.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s take our time. The sun will soon rise. It¡¯s better if we arrive at the ruins around dawn, no?¡±


    Although they had moved from their nned campsite after the attack, they weren¡¯t that far from their destination, so if they moved too quickly, there was a possibility they could arrive there before the sun rose.


    As Dia pointed that out, Loren thought that she had finally regained some of her thoughts, as he slowed down slightly.

 Chapter 116

    <h4>Chapter 116</h4>


    Ch. : Exploring after Arrival


    As Dia had guessed, the group reached the ruins at dawn.


    It was a bunch of stone foundations that looked like they had been some sort of manmade buildings in the middle of the ins, and to Loren and Lapis, it didn¡¯t look like a ce to make a base of operation.


    ¡°Is this the ce?¡±


    Dia was the only one who knew the exact location, and all Loren and Lapis did was follow her, so they had no idea if their current location was their destination.


    ¡°This is the ce, no doubt.¡±


    Dia responded with confidence.


    There weren¡¯t any noticeable ruins, so Loren couldn¡¯t help but think they were in the wrong ce.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here, though.¡±


    He had heard that the destination itself didn¡¯t always be a base, so the state of their destination didn¡¯t bother him much, and it that case there would be something that would guide them to the actual location of the future base, but with nothing there, Loren was starting to get worried if they were in the right ce.


    ¡°It appears that searching for what we need is part of the exam as well.¡±


    ¡°Searching, huh¡­¡±


    All that was around them was rocks and dirt.


    The ce looked like it had been abandoned for years, and with everything crumbled down, it seemed impossible to find anything.


    He thought of the possibility of it being buried underground, but then it would mean digging through the whole area, which they didn¡¯t have enough people to do so.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re going to investigate first. Digging without thinking will take too much time.¡±


    As Loren made a tired face, Dia scolded him as she snapped her thin fingers.


    The sound was so small, Loren only heard it because he was talking with Dia, while Lapis, who was looking around, couldn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°It seems like this ce could be used as a base by itself. There¡¯s arge space underground.¡±


    ¡°You could tell with just that?¡±


    As Lapis asked Dia, sounding impressed, Dia puffed out her chest and said to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s a spell for probing underground or whatever¡¯s around you by letting off a small soundwave and erging it with magic. It¡¯s quite useful so I won¡¯t mind teaching¡­well, you¡¯re a priestess, no?¡±


    ¡°Yes, unfortunately.¡±


    Priests in general couldn¡¯t use magic.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t have the ability to, but since they served their own gods and learned Divine Arts, the general mindset was that they didn¡¯t have the time to hone other skills.


    Dia thought that Lapis, who could use both Divine Arts and magic at a high level because of her natural abilities, if a spell that a vampire had developed was added to that, her abilities might overflow.


    The only one who knew what exactly would happen was Lapis herself, but since she immediately gave up on the thought, Loren guessed that Dia wasn¡¯t wrong, but the words that came after changed his mind immediately.


    ¡°It seems quite dull, anyway.¡±


    Loren wondered if her standard for learning spells was based on how shy it was, but since it was Lapis¡¯ abilities they were talking about, he wasn¡¯t going to say anything about it.


    ¡°Well, there should be an entrance that leads below somewhere.¡±


    As Dia started to search around the area, Loren and Lapis just followed her.


    It was because since they had managed to make it here, they didn¡¯t want to be wandering around alone and then be ambushed or anything of the sort.


    Although they didn¡¯t see any enemies around them, it didn¡¯t hurt to be cautious, and since Dia was immersed in trying to find the entrance, they had to keep watch for any possible dangers in her stead.


    ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to hide anything, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    Dia, who had walked aimlessly around the area for a while, still couldn¡¯t find anything, with time passing by.


    Loren wasn¡¯t experienced at all when it came to these things, so there was no advice he could give to Dia, while Lapis was keeping watch around them, uninterested in what Dia was doing.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to think that there¡¯s anything meaningful ced in the space below. So, looking for the entrance must be the end of the test.¡±


    ¡°Your magic abilities are greater than your master¡¯s no? Can¡¯t you just find it already?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. No matter the difference in magic abilities, of course the one who hid it has the advantage here.¡±


    It would¡¯ve been easier if it was in a smaller, limited space, but Dia was looking for a wide space somewhere in the middle of the ruins.


    And since they didn¡¯t know what it was exactly and how it was hidden, there was more to investigate, and there was no way they could find it immediately.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to take step by step and look for it.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like it¡¯ll take a while. You think we¡¯ll find it before our lifespan ends?¡±


    ¡°If it took that long I¡¯ll have failed the test already.¡±


    ¡°We should still look to be here one or two days.¡±


    Dia bared her teeth slightly at Loren¡¯s sarcasm.


    At Lapis¡¯ words, the two of them looked at her.


    ¡°What we¡¯re looking for might not be confined to one exact location, or it might only be here at a certain point in the day.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that it might not be here depending on the time?¡±


    ¡°Yes, since the one who hid it is a vampire, there¡¯s the possibility that it won¡¯t appear unless it¡¯s nighttime, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely possible.¡±


    Dia quickly agreed with Lapis.


    ¡°It might even depend on how the sun and moon and starts are lined up, if we¡¯re unlucky¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to know¡­but how long would it take for those conditions to be met?¡±


    Loren was getting irritated, but he was dealing with Elders, beings that weren¡¯t even known to have a lifespan.


    It wouldn¡¯t be strange for them to implement such conditions into an exam.


    ¡°It would depend on the conditions, but if it isn¡¯t something too specific, a few seconds. For others, it could take years or dozens of years.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    Loren growled in annoyance at Dia¡¯s words.


    To an Elder, it might be an instant, but to a human like him, that was way too long.


    When he said he couldn¡¯t deal with that, Dia made a troubled smile, understanding his irritation.


    ¡°I mean, if it really is something like that, I¡¯m done for.¡±


    ¡°Is that really a possibility?¡±


    ¡°Yes. A dull but effective harassment.¡±


    Dia thought that among the ways to get in their way, it was the most dull and effective.


    It would mean that it would keep the exam from being over for years, without their opponent having to do anything.


    Even if Dia was toin, all they would have to say is that it¡¯s part of the exam, and there would be nothing she could do about it.


    ¡°Just wondering, what¡¯s the longest there¡¯s ever been?¡±


    Loren asked out of curiosity, which was rare from him, but after he heard Dia¡¯s response, he wished he hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°There¡¯s one condition back in the time of the Ancient Kingdom. It came around once in a few hundred years.¡±


    It was impressive that Dia knew that, but if the condition of the current exam was something of the sort, Loren would need dozens of lifespans to see through it.


    ¡°Can¡¯t really deal with that.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t either.¡±


    ¡°Of course you can¡¯t. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll end the job there and give you your rewards, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Dia didn¡¯t seem to want to force the job on them, as she tried to relieve the two.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the reason why we haven¡¯t been attacked yet?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for an attack, you mean? If that was the case, there was no reason for them to attack us on the way here, so it would bemon sense to attack sooner orter, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren started to wonder how differentmon sense for and Elder differed from a human¡¯s but Dia¡¯s next words cut his thoughts short.


    ¡°Found it. This must be it.¡±


    Loren looked at the part of the ground Dia stopped in front of and was looking at, but he couldn¡¯t see anything.


    But when he looked closer, with Shayna¡¯s sight merged with his, he could see some sort of pattern on top of the ground.


    ¡°It was drawn with weak magic on purpose with a spell of concealment on top of it.¡±


    ¡°Such an annoying trick. It would take a human magician months to find this. Oh, can you see this Loren?¡±


    ¡°Barely, thanks to Shayna.¡±


    Lapis was impressed and praised Shayna for being outstanding, but a frown grew on her face when she nced behind Dia.


    When Loren looked in the same direction, wondering what was there, he saw a shadow with the sun shining behind it.


    ¡°Did you find anything Dia?¡±


    It was a woman¡¯s voice.


    The shadow that took a stepped towards them revealed a tall woman with long red hair along with pale white skin that looked like one of a dead person¡¯s, and she was wearing a dress with smooth fabric, simr to Dia¡¯s, that one wouldn¡¯t normally wear in the middle of a in.


    ¡°Finally revealing yourself. Quite dirty of you Stoos.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll be more of a shock if you almost reach your goal, but then knowing it¡¯ll never be within your grasp?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m calling dirty.¡±


    As Dia responded in a disgusted voice, the woman put a hand on her chest, bowed gracefully, and introduced herself.


    12


    ¡°I am one of the Elders. Call me Stoos. I¡¯m someone who wants Dia to fail her test. We won¡¯t be friends, but nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°The most troublesome one showed up, huh.¡±


    Loren cursed and raised his great sword, while steadied herself, unarmed.


    Dia just red at the woman who introduced herself as Stoos, while Stoos broke into a smile, in answer to the re, revealing two sharp fangs underneath.

 Chapter 117

    <h4>Chapter 117</h4>


    Ch. : Battle after Appearance


    ¡°To think that you woulde out yourself. I¡¯m honestly surprised.¡±


    Stoosughed at Dia¡¯s words.


    When she did so, Lapis took a step back, her expression stiffening, and Loren stepped up, with his great sword ready, to be the front line.


    ¡°Are we doing this? This isn¡¯t in our favor at all.¡±


    Although Lapis had said something downbeat, Loren couldn¡¯t help but agree.


    After all, even though their opponent was unarmed while he had a great sword, his hands were sweaty, and a cold chill was going up his spine ever since he saw Stoos.


    Even to Loren, who was battle hardened, the pressure he felt from her was so great, he thought that his knees would buckle.


    ¡°To think that an Elder that isn¡¯t hiding her animosity would be this much¡­¡±


    Lapis as well, who was able to go toe to toe with ease against a True, was being pressured like Loren, with cold sweat running down her cheek and neck.


    Although a bead of sweat ran down Lapis¡¯ white, glossy skin, she didn¡¯t bother to wipe it.


    It was because if she did so and lost focus for even a moment, there was a chance she could be killed before she could even finish wiping it.


    ¡°I guess it was true that there is an unscble wall separating Elders and Trues¡­I¡¯d rather punch through a hundred Trues than face her.¡±


    ¡°You think only a hundred or so would bnce it out? You¡¯re cute.¡±


    Stoos smiled, as if she had heard a funny joke.


    She waspletely looking down on them, but it was with good grounds, and since Loren knew that as well, he couldn¡¯t say anything back.


    Although the woman was just standing there, he couldn¡¯t see an opportunity to rush in and attack.


    No matter how he attacked, he only saw himself being killed immediately, so naturally his hands, which were holding onto the grip of his sword, was moist with sweat.


    ¡°No good Lapis?¡±


    ¡°If I at least had all my limbs¡­but there¡¯s nothing I can currently do.¡±


    ¡°As expected of an Elder, I guess.¡±


    ¡°It would be different if Dia could join us.¡±


    Loren nced at Dia at Lapis¡¯ words.


    She was biting her lips and looking at Stoos in frustration, but when she noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she managed to shake her head slightly.


    Race wise, the two of them were equal, but there was a definite difference between the them.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know already, but I know her True Name.¡±


    As Stoos said so yfully, two things became apparent.


    One was that Dia¡¯s master, Sierra, was siding with Stoos to disrupt Dia¡¯s exam.


    The other was that if a fight broke out, Dia couldn¡¯t be counted as any help.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to tell you where I got that information, right?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that I was so hated.¡±


    When Dia managed to moan out, for some reason, Stoos¡¯ eyes widened slightly, as if she was surprised.


    ¡°Dia, you¡¯re misunderstanding something.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    When Dia questioned the word misunderstanding, Stoos, still smiling, started to exin what she meant.


    ¡°Sierra didn¡¯t n on killing you or anything. She doesn¡¯t hate you at all, in fact, she loves you so much it disgusts me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    This time Loren was the one who let out a stupid voice.


    Since Sierra had leaked Dia¡¯s True Name, as well as sent hordes of undead, anyone who heard that she loved Dia would have the same response as Loren did.


    ¡°To put it simply, what she didn¡¯t like was that the topic of Dia going on her own came from other Elders, not her.¡±


    ording to Stoos, when it came to Dia bing a full fledged Elder, Sierra had nned everything carefully, and was going to do it when she thought the time was right.


    But the other Elders caught wind that Dia¡¯s skill in magic surpassed that of Sierra¡¯s and decided that it was a waste for such a powerful Elder to not be on her own.


    Sierra had been against giving Dia the exam, but since majority ruled, the exam was to be held.


    Stoos then went on to exin that Sierra wasn¡¯t satisfied, so she did all those things.


    ¡°I thought it was stupid as well, but if I went along with her ns, I could absorb her into my side, so I decided that it was worth a shot.¡±


    ¡°What the hell¡­So what would happen after.¡±


    ¡°If Dia fails the test, it would mean the reputations of the Elders who rmended her to take the exam would crumble, and the exam wouldpletely be under the management of Sierra, wouldn¡¯t it? If that happens, it means that things would go back to how she nned everything to be.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s definitely loved¡­quite heavily.¡±


    As Lapis sorely said so, Dia blushed and looked down.


    There was no way to tell if she blushed from happiness or embarrassment.


    ¡°So, anyways. I want you to retire here.¡±


    ¡°But selfishly¡­¡±


    Dia couldn¡¯t help but mutter, but Loren agreed with her.


    A student being pushed around by her master wasn¡¯t the most umon thing, but just because of that, on top of taking advantage of a power struggle, as well as wasting such forces, including a True, which had been destroyed by Lapis.


    Loren thought it was way past the boundaries of selfishness, but it seemed that Stoos didn¡¯t like it either, so she said in a tired voice,bing her red hair.


    ¡°If all goes well, Dia as well as Sierra would join our side, so a True and a dragon zombie is worth losing.¡±


    ¡°Is it alright for you to say all that?¡±


    The things that Stoos said wasn¡¯t for Dia to know about.


    Since she had revealed everything, Loren asked her, wondering what she was thinking, but Stoos just shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s cheap for the price of two Elders, but it¡¯s true that I spent a lot of my forces. On top of that, Sierra told you earlier that I was involved, didn¡¯t she? It¡¯s just a bit of retaliation.¡±


    Stoosined that she didn¡¯t like that Sierra had interfered with the exam and had told them of her involvement.


    It meant that Sierra did so to convince Dia that she had nothing to do with all that happened during the exam, as well as make Stoos the enemy.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this all a bit too careless? It would be obvious that the master is the mastermind the moment True Names pop up.¡±


    ¡°Both Sierra and I thought you would wipe out with the second attack. She must have thought she could just make up an excuse for why Dia couldn¡¯t move. Even if that didn¡¯t work, if Dia became unconscious, manipting her memories wouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡±


    ¡°What about the difference in strength between Elders and Trues? If that True went against Dia without knowing he True Name, I don¡¯t think he would¡¯ve been a match.¡±


    Stoos easily answered Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°There are Trues that specialize inbat and could go toe to toe against an Elder. But although, it seems that the one I sent was crushed by that girl over there.¡±


    Stoos¡¯ gaze turned to Lapis, as if she was looking at something creepy.


    Dia seemed to have a good guess of what Lapis was when she met her, but it seemed that Stoos still had no idea.


    With just that, it was obvious how capable and better Dia was.


    ¡°That¡¯s the whole story of this exam. And going back to the beginning, I¡¯d love it if Dia would just retire the exam here. Fighting you and chasing you off is another method, but that would be tiring, and you two don¡¯t want to die either, no?¡±


    ¡°Well, if I were to choose between dying and not dying, I don¡¯t really want to die.¡±


    But Loren didn¡¯t lower his great sword or let go of his stance.


    He didn¡¯t take his eyes off Stoos, who was smiling slightly, not even considering him a threat, as he asked Dia behind him.


    ¡°You¡¯re our client. We have no choice but to go with your decisions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to retreat if it¡¯s too much, though.¡±


    Lapis said with a nervousugh, but she was ring at Stoos too, still ready for anything.


    ¡°Give us orders, Ms. Client.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Dia stuttered for a second, but immediately looked at Stoos straight in the eye, and said in a clear voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to move based on my master¡¯s expectations. Since I started this exam, I¡¯m going to do my best to finish it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what she says.¡±


    ¡°So, negotiations broke down? It might be okay for Dia since she doesn¡¯t die, but the two of you could. Are you sure?¡±


    Stoos said to Loren and Lapis, telling them to convince Dia otherwise if they wanted to live, but Loren scoffed at her words.


    ¡°One thing you should know about mercenaries. We don¡¯t betray our clients unless they betray us first.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re currently an adventurer, though.¡±


    When Lapis cut in, mentioning that titles were important, Loren couldn¡¯t help but give her a dirty look.


    Ignoring it, Lapis gave Stoos a hard look.


    ¡°Our opinions are set. What are you going to do now?¡±


    Stoos folded her arms in front of her chest, looked down, and sighed deeply.


    The act was full of openings, and although it looked like there were many opportunities to attack, Loren still couldn¡¯t think that he could charge.


    ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped then. All I can do is eliminate the obstacles, defeat the examinee, and call it a day.¡±


    Stoos spread her crossed arms and spewed words filled with hostility, a twisted smile appearing on her face.


    ¡°Come, mortals, if you think you¡¯d be a match for an Elder. With everything you¡¯ve got, so you would have no regrets on the road to the underworld!¡±


    Even though the intimidation within the words was so great it seemed like physical pressure, Loren gripped his great sword tighter, and ran straight towards Stoos without hesitation.

 Chapter 118

    <h4>Chapter 118</h4>


    Ch. : Stuck During Battle


    Since he had decided to do it, there was no dy in Loren¡¯s actions.


    The speed that Loren leaped forward surprised Lapis and Dia, even though they knew he was going to run forward.


    But Stoos was still way more powerful than Loren in every way.


    The de of the great sword, which was swung with such force that it made a ripping sound in the air, whizzed through empty air, as Stoos leaned backwards, and even when he swung the sword back for another blow, she was already outside of his range.


    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting weapon you have. A great sword made of magic steel? Where did you find such an antique?¡±


    ¡°No idea!¡±


    Loren activated the self enhancement spell for a split second and instantly closed the distance between them and attacked again, but again, he couldn¡¯t hit her.


    He returned the de and tried to go for another, but before he could, he was surprised by the face of a smiling red-haired woman in front of his, which caused him to jump back greatly.


    ¡°Your decision-making speed seems okay.¡±


    Stoos, who had been closing the distance between attacks to an extend that Loren could feel her breathing, didn¡¯t chase Loren, who had backed off again, and just stood and pointed her finger at him.


    Loren blocked the fireballs that had erupted from the fingertip without any chanting or dering the name of the spell with the t of his sword.


    Although he was blown backwards by the explosion and impact, he didn¡¯t let go of it.


    ¡°I¡¯m just getting started, you know?¡±


    More fireballs continued to fly towards Loren.


    As he continued to block them with his sword, he stood firmly and braced against the explosions.


    ¡°y with me as well, won¡¯t you?¡±


    While Stoos¡¯ attention was on Loren, Lapis quickly dove under her nose.


    Stoos just nced at Lapis¡¯ fist, which was thrown at her stomach, as it was stopped by an invisible wall of some sort, not reaching her.


    ¡°Are you a monk or something? I guess you can¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡±


    As she said so, she kneed Lapis in the ribs, the hem of her dress pping.


    Lapis barely managed to block it with her elbow, but couldn¡¯t kill the impact, so her light body was blown away and hit the ground, bouncing a few times.


    Using the momentum to get far away from Stoos, Lapis stood up immediately, her white clothes covered in dirt and dust, but before she could regain her footing, she saw Stoos pointing at her, and jumped further back.


    Immediately after, a few arrows made of lighting prated the ce where she had been standing.


    Not even looking to see if her attack hit, Stoos, nced at Dia, who still wasn¡¯t moving, raised her hand, and caught the de that Loren swung down on her, without even looking at him.


    ¡°Oh? As expected of magic steel. I can¡¯t just crush it with my hand.¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Loren tried to pull his sword back, not even having any time to be surprised that Stoos had caught it with her bare hand, but even with his strength, it didn¡¯t move from her clutch, as if it was stuck there.


    The kick that he made in desperation was, like Lapis¡¯ punch, deflected off an invisible wall, and didn¡¯t even make a scratch.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a bad foot habit. Kicking a woman is just rude.¡±


    As she said so, Stoos swung the great sword to the side.


    With just that movement, Loren was plucked from the ground and flung sideways as well, and when she let go of the sword, throwing it, he flew away as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you that you held onto your sword. But that¡¯s it.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t take his eyes off Stoos, even as he was flung away and was rolling in the dirt, but when he saw her take a step towards him, he started rolling faster away.


    As if chasing him, Stoos stomped the ground where he was, and with the force of the impact blowing up sand and dirt, Loren continued to roll away.


    ¡°<<turn undead="">>!¡±


    </turn>


    A white light erupted from beneath Stoos¡¯ feet as she tried to chase Loren further.


    Lapis had used <turn undead="">.


    </turn>


    Stoos had taken the full hit, but when the light disappeared, she stood there, same as before, with a small smile on her face.


    ¡°That tickled. A somewhat faithful follower, I¡¯m guessing?¡±


    ¡°I am a model as well as ideal priestess of the Knowledge god!¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t a monk¡­?¡±


    When Stoos said so, along with a roar, the de of a great sword was mmed into her neck.


    But it was again blocked by the invisible wall, right before it could hit.


    Loren had dashed within range in one jump and tried tond a blow, but seeing that it was blocked yet again, he moved away from the spot immediately.


    Stoos didn¡¯t chase, but instead lightly caressed her neck, then smiled at him, as he readied his great sword again.


    ¡°You¡¯re an excellent swordsman I¡¯ll give you that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m overjoyed at the praise. I¡¯m going to make that cool face of yours pale up, so you¡¯d better be ready.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re eloquent as well. But you should say things you can¡¯t do, you know?¡±


    Loren grinded his teeth as Stoosughed.


    It was true that there was a hopeless difference between the two of them.


    With the weight of Loren himself added to the weight of his great sword, it was quite the heaviness, but Stoos had the strength to swing them around with one arm, as well as use spells without chanting them.


    She was resistant to Lapis¡¯ <turn undead="">, along with an invisible wall that blocked any sort of physical attack.


    </turn>


    With no idea how to defeat her, let alone hit a blow, it was apparent that Loren and Lapis couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can just back out!¡±


    Loren activated the spell of self enhancement again.


    He kicked off the ground andunched a fierce attack at Stoos.


    Stoos was about to take it with her palm again, but she noticed a phosphorescent light emitting from the de, and instead of her palm, she swung her arm to counterattack.


    Sparks flew when the de and arm came into contact, with a noise that didn¡¯t sound like a sword hitting flesh, and this time both Loren and Stoos were pushed back from the impact.


    ¡°That¡¯s really an interesting weapon. What did you just do?¡±


    Stoos said as she nced at her right arm that blocked the attack, after firing a fireball at Lapis to keep her in check.


    There were no visible wounds on her white skin, but the part where Loren had hit her had turned red, like a bruise mark.


    Loren, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, as he plunged the tip of the great sword into the ground, using it like a staff, but at Stoos¡¯ question, he exhaled deeply and replied.


    ¡°Think for yourself, Elder.¡±


    ¡°Stingy, I see. Well, whatever.¡±


    Stoos guessed that she hadn¡¯t blocked the attackpletely.


    Judging from the state of her arm, she had blocked the sundering blow itself, but hadn¡¯t been able to kill the impact.


    She surprised that a human, a normal swordsman on top of that, could deal such an attack, but to her, it was just that.


    It was more than enough for her healing factor to kick in, and even if she was hit with a hundred of them, it wouldn¡¯t be close to fatal.


    And judging from Loren¡¯s state after the blow, it was easy to guess he was using some sort of energy or ability.


    She wasn¡¯t sure if it was mana or life energy, but she knew that it took a great toll.


    She guessed that he couldn¡¯t use it in session but seeing him barging at her again after catching his breath, she realized she was wrong.


    ¡°You can do it again?¡±


    Loren¡¯s second strike was faster than the first.


    Stoos blocked it, putting a bit of strength in her arm, frowning as she felt a slight quiver of pain, and looked at it, ignoring Loren, who was flung back again.


    The de still hadn¡¯t reached her skin, but the damage was increased than before, with the red hue beingrger, and she turned her eyes to Loren, who was getting up, with slight surprise.


    Meanwhile Loren, enduring the fatigue in his whole body, stood up using his great sword as support, thinking that he was lucky that Stoos still thought of him as a lesser being, which kept her from following up with an attack of her own.


    He didn¡¯t know what he was doing either, but he guessed that the sword carried a few mechanics to it.


    In any case, when he dashed forward, activating self enhancement, he also imagined putting all his strength into his sword when he swung it, and when he did, he noticed that the strike was more powerful than usual.


    Although it wasn¡¯t enough to get past the Stoos¡¯ defenses, it seemed that he was doing a bit of damage, and a smile appeared on his face as he knew that it wasn¡¯tpletely neutralized.


    But the price was very high.


    Every attack, he was attacked by a feeling of all his strength leaving him, and if Stoos seriously wanted to kill him, if he had used such an attack just before, he couldn¡¯t dodge or parry everything she threw at him.


    ¡®Onii-san, are you alright? Should I give you some more?¡¯


    Under normal circumstances, Loren shouldn¡¯t be able to perform the attack more than once.


    The reason why he could do so in rapid session was thanks to Shayna, who was lending him power from the inside.


    ¡®As expected of an Elder. My energy drain isn¡¯t that effective. But it¡¯s working nheless, so there¡¯s no problem with supplying you with more energy.¡¯


    (Thanks. I know it¡¯s difficult but lend me a bit more of your strength.)


    When he replied to Shayna in his mind, he immediately felt a surge of strength.


    The immediate replenishment of strength was possible due to Shayna using energy drain every time Loren attacked Stoos.


    Shayna had been transferring the drained energy to Loren.


    ¡®It¡¯ll be impossible to drain herpletely. She¡¯s recovering as well, probably since she¡¯s on the draining side.¡¯


    Elders, who had enormous amounts of mana and life energy, seemed to have incredible recovery as well, as even with Shayna¡¯s energy drain, it was impossible to defeat her.


    But because of it, he was able to regain his strength to continue attacking, so he thanked Shayna quietly.


    ¡°<<turn undead="">>! <<turn undead="">>! <<turn undead="">>! A short break, and another <<turn undead="">>!¡±


    </turn></turn></turn></turn>


    ¡°Damn you! So annoying! You know it¡¯s not working! It doesn¡¯t hurt, but it tickles!¡±


    ¡°<<turn undead="">>! Annoying you is good enough! <<turn undead="">>!¡±


    </turn></turn>


    While Loren was catching his breath, Lapis used <<turn undead="">> in rapid session to keep Stoos¡¯ attention on her and keep her from attacking him.


    </turn>


    Even though it didn¡¯t do any damage, it seemed to cause difort, as Stoos waved her arm, blowing up dirt and sand, and tried to attack Lapis, but with her own powerful abilities, she continually dodged Stoos¡¯ attacks, using <<turn undead="">> at every chance she found.


    </turn>


    ¡°One more,ing up!¡±


    Loren kicked the ground, putting in even more strength than before, and swung at Stoos.


    Since her attention was turnedpletely towards Lapis, she couldn¡¯t even dodge the attack, and could do nothing but raise her arm again.


    This third attack, same with the previous two, didn¡¯t reach her body, but this time Loren wasn¡¯t flung back, but instead the great sword and her arm were suspended at the point of collision.


    13


    ¡°It got stronger again!? What in the world are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just an adventurer!¡±


    As Loren roared and tried to push the de into Stoos¡¯ arm, she kicked him away.


    With all his strength used up in the attack, Loren couldn¡¯t dodge it and took the full brunt of it, but even as he flew back and rolled on the ground, he didn¡¯t let go of his great sword.


    ¡°An impressive attack, but even with a hundred or two hundred of those, it won¡¯t reach me.¡±


    Stoos dered, fixing the hem of her dress and rubbing the arm that blocked Loren¡¯s attack.


    ¡°If you¡¯re expecting help from Dia, you should stop right now. As long as I have her True Name, she won¡¯t be able to move.¡±


    Ever since the fight started, Dia hadn¡¯t moved a step.


    It was because she understood that if she wasn¡¯t careful, Stoos would use her True Name and make matters worse.


    Although it was possible for Stoos to tie her up with her True Name even though she wasn¡¯t moving, but with Loren and Lapis attacking, it didn¡¯t seem like she was going to use it anytime soon.


    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet. <<turn¡­¡± <="" p=""></turn¡­¡±>


    ¡°For thest time, you¡¯re annoying.¡±


    When Lapis tried to use her ability again, Stoos waved her arm.


    With just that, the ground under Lapis¡¯ feet exploded, and as she was trying to attack, she couldn¡¯t dodge it and was blown backwards by the st and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Lapis!¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m quite tough.¡±


    After coughing violently and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stood up, Loren shouted out to Lapis, but she immediately got up and waved at him that she was fine.


    ¡°I thought I knew what to expect, but you¡¯re pretty ridiculous, Elder.¡±


    ¡°Then that means you didn¡¯t know what to expect, so give up now, human.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t help but say so as he readied his great sword again.


    As Stoos looked down on him as she replied, Loren couldn¡¯t find any words to say

 Chapter 119

    <h4>Chapter 119</h4>


    Ch. : Settling after Consulting


    ¡°Lapis, could you buy me some time?¡±


    Loren went in to attack Stoos again, not giving up even though they couldn¡¯t find a way to defeat her.


    Dia, who had moved close to Lapis as she was following up Loren, asked Lapis, watching Stoos fight back barehandedly.


    ¡°Time?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I something I want to talk to Loren about.¡±


    If Dia herself went in to help, Stoos would use her True Name to stop her.


    So Dia concluded that to do something, she had to form a n with Loren or Lapis.


    Although Lapis thought it was a reasonable conclusion as well, she couldn¡¯t think that there could be anything to help them defeat Stoos, but she also thought that since Dia had gone through the trouble of asking her for help, there was a chance that her and Loren could open up some path to victory.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do so for long though.¡±


    ¡°A little bit is fine. It won¡¯t take long at all.¡±


    When Dia said so with confidence, it was enough to make Lapis think that there was a way to get them through.


    Lapis pped her fists together.


    Luckily, they were in in the ruins in the middle of arge in, so even if she used her abilities, no one was there to see her.


    She knew she couldn¡¯t defeat an Elder, since her body wasn¡¯tplete and in good shape, but she was confident that she could at least buy some time.


    ¡°Make it short please. I don¡¯t want to die.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Seeing Dia nod, Lapis used the self enhancement spell she taught Loren on every part of her body.


    Feeling the strength surge within her, Lapis shouted to Loren, who was still battling Stoos.


    ¡°Loren! Switch!¡±


    ¡°Lapis!?¡±


    Although surprised that Lapis had shouted out to him, Loren followed what she said and jumped backwards, creating arge distance between him and Stoos.


    When she tried to chase after him, Lapis, who was fully enhanced, stopped Stoos in her tracks with her fist clenched, and punched Stoos one fist after another, so fast that it was a blur.


    ¡°Really, what in the world are you!?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ fists didn¡¯t reach Stoos.


    But the impacts still stopped her, so she faced Lapis with a look of surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯m a model priestess of the Knowledge god, an adventurer! And Loren¡¯s partner!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely something wrong with those titles!¡±


    Ignoring Stoos¡¯ wailing, Lapis continued to throw punch after punch.


    As Loren watched her, thinking that no one who saw this would think that Lapis was a priestess, but dismissing the thought since it was Lapis he was looking at, Dia, who had asked her to buy some time, came close to him.


    ¡°Loren, let¡¯s talk.¡±


    ¡°Is it about something that could get us out of this situation?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But let me see your great sword first.¡±


    Loren handed her the sword that he hadn¡¯t let go even once this whole fight.


    Dia took the giant weapon that even a normally strong man would have trouble picking up, scanned its de, and after a moment, handed it back to Loren.


    ¡°Listen carefully. I have an idea. It¡¯s¡­¡±


    Loren leaned forward as Dia waved for him to get closer.


    She started whispering in his ear in a voice that he could barely make out.


    After Dia finished and moved away from Loren¡¯s ear, Loren¡¯s eyes widened at what he had just heard and couldn¡¯t help staring at her.


    ¡°That¡¯ll work?¡±


    ¡°It should. I¡¯m notpletely certain, but Stoos would back off.¡±


    ¡°If you want me to do it I will¡­but are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Do it please.¡±


    Loren could sense a strong determination in her reply, so he stopped questioning.


    ¡°Alright. If it¡¯s fine with you, I won¡¯t say no.¡±


    ¡°Please. We¡¯ve got one chance.¡±


    After replying, Dia¡¯s gaze went from Loren to Lapis, who was fighting.


    Although she could fight Stoos, it was obvious she was at a disadvantage.


    After all, all her attacks couldn¡¯t get through Stoos¡¯ defense, while Stoos¡¯ attacks were draining her health bit by bit.


    But she wasn¡¯t being pushed around in any sense and seeing that she was able to go somewhat toe to toe with an Elder, it was apparent that her abilities weren¡¯t normal.


    ¡°It¡¯ste to ask, but you aren¡¯t human, are you?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to answer that.¡±


    ¡°The other one was a human swordsman¡­but what is something like you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Being an adventurer. Also, a priestess of the Knowledge god.¡±


    ¡°What even is a priestess of the Knowledge god¡­¡±


    Lapis smiled at Stoos¡¯ response, but the two of them stopped when they heard Dia¡¯s voice behind them.


    ¡°Lapis! We¡¯re done! Switch!¡±


    Without even nodding at Dia¡¯s words, Lapis mustered all her strength into one final blow.


    The blow, which contained a enormous amount of mana as well as her strength, still wasn¡¯t enough to get to Stoos, but it managed to push her back, and Lapis immediately jumped away from the spot.


    As if threading a needle, Dia ran past Lapis, her skirt pping in the wind.


    Seeing her run straight at her, Stoosughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s no use? I know your True Name¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Seeing Dia and her clenched fist, Stoos was about to say her True name, but her eyes narrowed as she saw Loren with his great sword raised a few steps behind her.


    When Stoosughed at another useless attempt, Dia shouted, still in an attacking stance.


    ¡°Do it Loren!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    At Dia¡¯s signal, Loren imagined all the strength he had pouring into his sword and swung it.


    Of course, from his position he couldn¡¯t his Stoos, let alone Dia.


    But during the attack, he let go of his great sword.


    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±


    Although she didn¡¯t know what they were up to, Stoos felt that she still needed to stop Dia, so she said her True Name, but in front of her, Dia¡¯s head was cut off her body, and she came at her faster than before.


    When Loren had let go of the sword mid-swing, it flew forward, spinning towards Dia from behind, but she didn¡¯t block it, causing it to cut through her neck.


    At the same time, her face went nk as her true name started to control her consciousness.


    But her headless body wasn¡¯t influenced and continued to charge, and as Stoos froze in surprise, Dia¡¯s raised fist knocked through her defense and plunged into her chest.


    The powers of the Elders collided with one another, cancelling each other out for an instant, but within that moment, Loren¡¯s great sword, which was still flying after cutting off Dia¡¯s head, dug itself into Stoos¡¯ neck, with Dia¡¯s headless body in her arms.


    ¡°Ugh¡­Ah!?¡±


    With her powers and Dia¡¯s powers cancelling each other, there was nothing to stop the de.


    Still, she tried to muster all the power she could and defend herself, but it was already toote, and the steel de cut through her neck like it was nothing, and her head flew into the air.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding¡­¡±


    Even though she was just a head, she somehow managed to talk, and she looked at her headless body, with a hole in its chest.


    Lapis walked over and gently picked up Dia¡¯s head, which was lying on the ground near them.


    ¡°Cutting your head off right before you heard your True Name, so your body isn¡¯t affected¡­and using it to attack? You¡¯re insane.¡±


    ¡°Might be. But it was a good idea, no?¡±


    Dia¡¯s head, which was picked up and was in Lapis¡¯ arms, said in an amused voice.


    She too, was somehow able to speak without her body, and even Lapis had no idea how that was possible.


    ¡°B-but it¡¯s just that my head was cut off.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯ll do this.¡±


    When Dia turned her gaze towards her body, which was hugging Stoos¡¯ body, it erupted in raging mes.


    As it consumed Stoos¡¯ headless body as well, both turned to ashes.


    ¡°Hey!?¡±


    ¡°Now you literally can¡¯t even move a finger. Do you still want to do this in that state?¡±


    As Dia smiled at her, Stoos couldn¡¯t reply immediately.


    Since they were Elders, they wouldn¡¯t die just because they were heads.


    But if their bodies were turned to ashes, it greatly limited what they could do, so she couldn¡¯t do anything, much less fight, even if she used Dia¡¯s True Name to stop her again.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you want to continue. But I don¡¯t know what will happen to you.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°What would happen if we bury her? Would her body regenerate?¡±


    Lapis said something horrible with a bright smile on her face, but no one stopped her.


    Loren had lost consciousness and the two Elders were just heads, so there was in fact, no one to stop her.


    ¡°It would, but it would take quite a bit of time.¡±


    ¡°Y-you think you¡¯ll get away with this!? Your True Name¡­¡±


    Stoos started saying with frustration, but Dia let it slide as if it was nothing.


    ¡°No reason to worry about that either. I lost most of my body as well. I can change my True Name when I reconstitute it. That¡¯s the end of it.¡±


    ¡°You can change your True Name?¡±


    ¡°We usually don¡¯t. But since I lost so much of my body, I¡¯ll have to make some changes when reconstituting anyway, so it¡¯s a good opportunity to.¡±


    Dia looked down at Stoos¡¯ head on the floor from Lapis¡¯ arms, asking her what she was going to do.


    Stoos tried to think of some way to get out of the situation, but couldn¡¯t find one, and after a while, she muttered with her voice shaking.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll retreat¡­so please don¡¯t bury me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather burn you than bury you though.¡±


    Lapis said something horrible again, just like that.


    Therefore, the battle against an Elder ended in the ruins, where nothing else was moving.

 Chapter 120: Resting in the Hospital

    <h4>Chapter 120: Resting in the Hospital</h4>


    ¡°Just because you couldn¡¯t get through the defense barrier of an Elder, wasn¡¯t it too brutal to let my student get rid of it, and cut her along with Stoos?¡±


    Loren looked at the smiling face of the owner of the cold voice bitterly.


    Straight tinum hair and white skin.


    And with looks that anyone who saw her would say that she was beautiful, although there was a slight hard impression to Loren, she had a stretched smile that covered it.


    She was wearing normal civilian clothing that wasn¡¯t strange in any way, but it threw Loren off since she had a noble air about her.


    And such woman was sitting on the chair next to his bed.


    ¡°Maybe you should put your hand on your chest and think really hard about why that happened.¡±


    With the weariness that was attacking his body, even talking was bothersome to him, but he felt that if he didn¡¯t say something he would be hearingint afterint, so when he said so with sarcasm in his voice, the woman brushed her hair and replied without the slightest annoyance.


    ¡°I had to. It was all out of love.¡±


    ¡°What a bothersome love.¡±


    Although Loren said so with a sigh, the woman¡¯s smile didn¡¯t disappear.


    They were currently inside a room int the hospital within Kauffa.


    Loren was lying on the bed with his upper body raised.


    ¡°If you had persuaded Dia to give up, you wouldn¡¯t have gone through all that trouble.¡±


    ¡°She herself didn¡¯t want that. Be happy at your student¡¯s growth, stupid master.¡±


    Loren felt a slight chill as the word stupid unintentionally left his mouth, but Dia¡¯s master, Sierra, didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all.


    He was talking with a being who could decimate the city, and even the whole nation, but the word still slipped out of his mouth.


    ¡°And how is that student of yours doing right now?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s feeling quite inconvenient since she¡¯s just a head, but she¡¯s preparing to be on her own at the ruins.¡±


    The final obstacle of the exam was facing another Elder named Stoos.


    She tried to make Dia fail, and they had to constantly move about while battling her, but in the end, Loren cut off Dia¡¯s head, and her body rammed into Stoos¡¯, disabling her defenses, and immediately after, Loren¡¯s great sword, greatly enhanced with all his strength, managed to cut off Stoos¡¯ head as well.


    Since they were Elders, both Dia and Stoos didn¡¯t die, but Stoos gave up and Dia sessfully passed the exam and seemed to be setting up preparations at thend that she was given to make it her home.


    They had won and their job was sessful as well, but the aftermath wasn¡¯t clean either.


    After all, both Elders were just heads, and Dia had burned both their bodies.


    Loren had lost consciousness, seemingly have poured too much of his strength into his sword.


    The only one who could move properly was Lapis, and with Dia¡¯s instructions, she had opened the entrance to the space where the base was located, carrying Loren, throwing away Stoos¡¯ head somewhere in the area, and many other things, and seeing that Loren hadn¡¯t recovered even after all that, she tied him to the donkey that everyone hadpletely forgotten about and returned to Kauffa.


    The diagnosis was prostration to the extreme.*


    He was in such a state since he all his strength into his sword, thinking that there was no way he could hold back against an Elder, spending almost all his mana and life energy.


    Therefore, he was at the hospital he frequently ended up in and was in the middle of recovering, but in that meantime, Sierra, Dia¡¯s master, had paid him a visit.


    ¡°She said that if I listen to what she says for a while, she¡¯ll let this whole thing slide. And she said that she¡¯ll hate me forever if I don¡¯t, so of course I have to listen.¡±


    ¡°An Elder¡¯s ¡®forever¡¯ seems pretty long.¡±


    Sierra sighed, going from a smile to a depressed frown.


    Loren thought she reaped what she sowed, but he also knew that with all the time that Elders had on their hands, being hated by someone you love would be hard.


    As Loren thought that if doing errands would get Dia¡¯s forgiveness Sierra should do them, she asked him in a strengthless voice.


    ¡°Do you think about a hundred years will be enough?¡±


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s pretty long. Well, I have no idea. I won¡¯t be alive anyway, so I don¡¯t care, either.¡±


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯re so cold.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t touch me! Stop shaking me!¡±


    14


    Loren wailed as Sierra grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him back and forth.


    Sierra shook him for a while, but she noticed the light dizziness in his eyes and finally pulled away from him.


    ¡°So¡­did youe all the way here just toin?¡±


    As Loren looked up at the ceiling, feeling fed up, Sierra pped her hand together, as if she just remembered.


    ¡°Oh, right. I came because Dia told me to.¡±


    ¡°Then hurry up and take care of it and go back to your grave.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really cold. You¡¯re probably the only human that an Elder visited on his hospital bed, you know?¡±


    Sierra opened the traveling bag at her feet.


    What came out was something unexpectedlyrgepared to the size of the bag.


    Sierra tossed the folded leather onto Loren¡¯s knees.


    ¡°What is¡­Ugh!?¡±


    Loren cried out in surprise, as it was way heavier than Sierra made it seem and picked the object up.


    It was an orange-brown colored leather jacket.


    It wasrge as well as heavy, as if it was meant for Loren.


    ¡°Your armor was ruined during the job, right? Dia wanted me to get you something of the sort, so I brought some things.¡±


    ¡°This is armor?¡±


    ¡°Pegasus leather, triple tailored. There¡¯splex chain mail and impact absorbing padding in between them as well, specially made by an Elder. With anti-magic treatment on the surface, it¡¯s a fine piece of work.¡±


    Sierra then threw gloves and boots on his knees as well.


    ¡°These are made from the same material, just slightly tougher. The surface treatment is the same as well.¡±


    ¡°Why did you throw them on my knees?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to break them. That¡¯s just the only ce I could put them.¡±


    Luckily, human legs weren¡¯t made to break so easily.


    Loren was worried that the boots would soil the nket and sheets but since they were brand new, they made no such marks.


    ¡°Dia already gave you the money, beforehand right? So, this concludes your payment.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to give some extra, I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    ¡°Greed will ruin you. Live humbly, alright?¡±


    Sierra closed her bag and stood up from her chair.


    As Loren looked up at her, she shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now. I don¡¯t want to meet that scary girl, and there¡¯s a lot more errands that Dia wants me to do, and lots of things needed for her base that I have to gather.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a lot of work. Good luck.¡±


    As Loren said so ndly, Sierra waved at him and was about to leave, but suddenly stopped, as if she remembered something, and turned back towards him.


    ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot I had a message from Dia.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Since he had been unconscious until he got to the hospital, as well as Dia being in her head-only state, the two of them hadn¡¯t been able to say their goodbyes.


    As Loren thought that was it, Sierra raised her index finger.


    ¡°First, Thanks for taking care of me. I have no intention of moving anytime soon, so if something happens, don¡¯t hesitate to ask for help.¡±


    ¡°Tell her thanks as well.¡±


    Loren thought that was it, but Sierra didn¡¯t move, but instead raised her middle finger.


    ¡°Second, about the leader of your former mercenary group.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, I totally forgot about that.¡±


    During the job, since Dia was curious, Loren told her the name of his former superior.


    After saying that she would tell him if she found out anything, she hadn¡¯t presented anything yet.


    ¡°The name Juli Muthschild is still a mystery, and I will continue investigating. But about the resalute that you do, I¡¯ll give you some information, although uncertain.¡±


    ¡°Which is¡­¡±


    It was something him and Dia had talked about before.


    Loren had done a resalute that differed from normal knights.


    Dia had mentioned that she had an idea of what it was.


    ¡°A knight¡¯s resalute offers his sword to his lord. But there was an order of knights that instead of offering their swords to their lord, they pointed their des down, offering them to the earth.¡±


    ¡°Hm, what were they called?¡±


    As Loren asked her, quite intrigued, Sierra¡¯s reply made him doubt his ears.


    ¡°Noona Magic Kingdom, Knights of the Fourth Order. Commonly known ases Knights. I¡¯ve heard that they had quite a high degree of freedom, as they almost never moved as a proper organization, but instead the members moved on their own jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that sort of nation.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t well versed in geography.


    Since he had been moving from battlefield to battlefield when he was a mercenary, he wasn¡¯t interested in the names of the ces he was at.


    But there were still ces and nations that he had heard of, but it was the first time he had heard of the nation that Sierra had just mentioned.


    ¡°Of course, you wouldn¡¯t know. I would expect most people to not know this either.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, Dia said something simr as well¡­So is there such a ce?¡±


    Since it was a ce not many people knew about, Loren wondered what kind of unexplored region it was in, but Sierra shook her head.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist in the current world. That¡¯s why no one knows about it. The only ones who do are beings like us and elves who lived for a very long time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Remember this. And try not to let it out easily. The Noona Magic Kingdom is an extinct nation and is what you would refer to as the Ancient Kingdom. Which means that leader of yours that taught you swordsmanship is somehow connected to the Ancient Kingdom.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t find anything to say.


    There was a part of him that thought, ¡®so what?¡¯.


    It was because even if he knew techniques from the Ancient Kingdom, it didn¡¯t change anything.


    But at the same time, he was interested.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how in the world did he learn such a thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s all I know right now. I¡¯ll give you a notice once I find out more. This is all Dia asked me to tell you.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­Can you thank her for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Oh, and let me thank you as well. Thanks to you, she could be on her own.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, from you? Not sure if I did something for you to say that¡­¡±


    Sierra waved at him once more, and then this time, she walked out of the room, not looking back.


    As he watched her leave, Loren sighed deeply, put the jacket, boots, and gloves on top of the chair Sierra had been sitting on, and leaned back on his bed.


    ¡°Loren, how are you? Is anywhere hurting or itching or are you not feeling well in any way?¡±


    Right after Sierra left, Lapis entered the room.


    ¡°Hm? Where did you get the jacket and all these things? You didn¡¯t buy them, did you?¡±


    Although he was on the way to recovery, he was still quite weak, so he couldn¡¯t walk around the city on his own.


    So, Lapis looked at the gear that Sierra had given Loren, wondering where he had got them.


    ¡°Did you pass by anyone on the way here?¡±


    ¡°No. I didn¡¯t see anyone.¡±


    Based on the timing of hering in, Loren thought that Sierra and Lapis would¡¯ve walked pass each other.


    But since it seemed like they didn¡¯t, Loren wondered how that was possible, but immediately stopped thinking about it.


    Sierra was an Elder who lived hundreds and thousands of years.


    He guessed that there was a way for her to leave without letting Lapis know of her being there.


    ¡°Never mind then. Dia sent the extra payment she promised.¡±


    ¡°Who brought it to you?¡±


    ¡°No idea. The person handed it to me and left right after.¡±


    Loren thought that there was no need for him to tell Lapis that Sierra had been there.


    He also thought that there was no need for him to tell her the things Sierra had told him.


    It wasn¡¯tpletely reliable, and even if she knew about it, nothing would be different.


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯re hospitalized again. Your bills are increasing as well.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to think about it¡­Take out the amount from this job¡¯s rewards, will you?¡±


    ¡°That would be about half of you rewards gone, then.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. At least there¡¯s something left.¡±


    Loren lied down on the bed and closed his eyes slowly, thinking that it was better than his debt increasing.


    What he had heard from Sierra shocked him quite a bit, but the fatigue that was left in his body easily started to bring sleep to him as soon as he closed his eyes.


    Since the information wasn¡¯t certain, he decided he would worry about it when he would have to.


    After that thought, he let the sleepiness overtake him, and fell into a deep sleep

 Chapter 121: Talk about Investigations and War

    <h4>Chapter 121: Talk about Investigations and War</h4>


    There was a rumor that a few viges had been destroyed.


    It wasn¡¯t something unusual.


    Viges appeared and disappeared all the time, so it wouldn¡¯t grab any attention whatsoever.


    But this time it was different.


    There was also a rumor that it was due to a vampiric cmity.


    Vampiric cmities referred to disasters caused by vampires.


    A vampire appearing in a vige, converting a few people into its ves, then those lesser undead would attack others, and after continuing that bloody cycle, all the humans would be reced with undead.


    It would result in a horde of undead that the nation couldn¡¯t ignore, so even though it was a rumor, the governmentunched an investigation in case such a situation would happen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they would find a horde of undead anywhere, though.¡±


    Looking at Lapis, who chimed like it was none of her business, sitting in front of him, Loren tilted the cup of liquor in his hand and swirled it slowly.


    As Lapis had said, there was zero chance that a horde of undead would be found.


    It wasn¡¯t that Lapis had received a revtion from the Knowledge god.


    A little while before, Loren and Lapis had received a job straight from the client, instead of through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    It was during that job, that the viges were turned into undead, resulting in an undead horde, that was used to attack them.


    But the horde, along with the True that caused the vampiric cmity, werepletely wiped out.


    Loren hadn¡¯t reported this to the guild.


    It was because he thought that if they wanted to know, they should ask the Elder that caused all of it.


    Apparently, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was a powerful organization, and had connections to monsters that could converse with humans.


    If not, there was no way the guild could get their hands on some of the information they possessed.


    In any case, the job was a direct contract from their client, so he and Lapis had no responsibility to give the guild any information on what had happened during it.


    If they didn¡¯t report and the Elders didn¡¯t say anything either, there was nothing the guild could do about it.


    Even if they knew something had happened, they couldn¡¯t carelessly aggravate the Elders, and if they tried to do something to Loren and Lapis and they found out about it, it could offend them as well, so there was nothing they could do.


    That was why Loren thought that the guild was letting them move around freely.


    ¡°I feel sorry for the people investigating.¡±


    No matter how hard they investigated, they wouldn¡¯t find anything.


    The Elders had all left, and the undead horde, which was the main point of the investigation, most of them were defeated by Loren and the sunlight and were back to being immobile corpses.


    Loren thought it was harsh to send people on an investigation which nothing would turn up, but since it was still a job they would be paid ording to the number of days, so Loren hoped that the adventurers that he didn¡¯t know the names or faces of wouldn¡¯t think of it as wasted time.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the least of their worries.¡±


    Loren said quietly as he looked down at the notice from the guild that was spread on the table.


    It was a form that the guild used to spread important information far and wide throughout the adventurermunity.


    The contents were so shocking that it almost made Loren forget a lot of things that were on his mind.


    ¡°They¡¯re skirmishes, but still an official war between nations.¡±


    Unlike Loren, Lapis wasn¡¯t interested in it at all.


    On the paper that Loren was looking down on told him that the Kingdom of Wagenburg, the nation that Kauffa resided in, was warring with the nation of Schoenbryn, which was located to the northeast, and the battle was going on in an unnamed in on the border.


    The reason for the war wasn¡¯t specified.


    Loren thought it was a pathetic reason anyway.


    Wars never started with a good reason, and many were started over the smallest of things, but rather than that, because of them, the cirction of goods got slower, people were drafted from cities and viges, and because of that, there would be less soldiers policing areas, leading to increase in crime.


    ¡°The guild always remains neutral, though.¡±


    Even though they were neutral, they still had to receive jobs from both nations.


    In fact, most of the jobs on the board were straight from Wagenburg.


    They spanned from recon missions to guarding important people to guarding bases and fortresses.


    It was probably simr in Schoenbryn, and because of the influx in jobs, the guild was quite packed.


    ¡°As a mercenary, does it make you tingle with excitement?¡±


    When Lapis asked him, he asked it again to himself.


    ¡°Not interested. No intention of participating. Also, I¡¯m a former mercenary, alright?¡±


    ¡°But it seems like you would make quite a bit, don¡¯t you? This might be your chance.¡±


    Until a short while ago, he had been thinking that if a war broke out, he could pay his debt in no time.


    But currently, when he asked himself Lapis¡¯ question, he realized that he wasn¡¯t interested at all, and he raised the ss he was swirling and gulped the rest of the contents down.


    ¡°No interest at all. I¡¯m content with how I¡¯m living right now.¡±


    It was his true feelings.


    In any case, it was a lot lighthearted and safer than on the battlefield, constantly on alert and the air prickling around him, missing meals and sleep all the time.


    Although, he had been exposed to dangers far worse than anything on the battlefield the past few jobs, but he had made it out alive every time, so he thought thatining was too much of a luxury.


    ¡°Hearing that makes me a bit happy.:


    Seeing Lapis¡¯ gaze on him as she smiled happily, Loren averted his own, feeling slightly embarrassed.


    Aining look appeared on Lapis¡¯ face for a moment when he did so, but she immediately stood up and changed the subject.


    ¡°Then that means avoiding jobs rted to the war¡­which there aren¡¯t many of.¡±


    The guild wasn¡¯t an organization to pass on jobs from the nation that paid well.


    Not just because the guild was a mutual aid organization to adventurers, but because the guild itself was a profit organization.


    With so many good paying jobs, there was no reason for them to pick up ones that didn¡¯t look promising.


    ¡°Loren, do you have enough money saved up tost you until the war ends?¡±


    Loren scowled at Lapis¡¯ sudden question.


    It was a topic he didn¡¯t want to hear about, but it didn¡¯t seem like he could get away without answering, so he managed to spit out a reply.


    ¡°You¡¯re asking even though you already know that I don¡¯t, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    With all the debt he had, there was no way he had anything saved up.


    In fact, all his debt was from Lapis, and even with no interest nor deadlines, Loren wasn¡¯t the type of person to keep any money when he owed some.


    ¡°Of course. Then I guess we can¡¯t go without taking any jobs at all. You won¡¯t survive until the end of the war.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to say so, but yeah.¡±


    Loren did have a bit of coins in his wallet.


    But since they didn¡¯t know when the war would end, whether it be a few days or a few weeks or even longer, if one was to ask if he had enough tost without working at all, Loren would have to shake his head.


    If he used all his coins with no ie.


    He would be slowly going dry.


    ¡°Then I guess we need to find work.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t deny Lapis¡¯ words.


    As if she had seen through all of this, she pulled out a piece of paper from an inner pocket and spread it out on the table.


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing much other than jobs rted to the war.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that there weren¡¯t other jobs, but the guild didn¡¯t rmend jobs that weren¡¯t rted to the war, so naturally, those were the ones that would catch one¡¯s eye.


    ¡°I tried to find one that¡¯s as unrted as possible.¡±


    ¡°You already investigated¡­?¡±


    Usually, having the needed information already investigated and gathered beforehand would be something to be praised, but it was Lapis he was looking at.


    He couldn¡¯t just praise for what she did because he couldn¡¯t put aside the possibility that she could have secretly induced many factors to engineer the current situation, so all he could do was look at her bitterly.


    ¡°This is the one I rmend we should do¡­what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Go on.¡±


    Whether it be that she predicted correctly, or everything went ording to her nning, it wouldn¡¯t change what came next, so Loren gave up and told Lapis to go on.


    Lapis cocked her head as she looked at Loren, but she soon pulled herself together and started exining the job to him.

 Chapter 122: Choice and Interruption

    <h4>Chapter 122: Choice and Interruption</h4>


    Three pieces of paper were spread out in front of Loren.


    They were copies of the job descriptions that Lapis had taken from the quest board next to the counter.


    Since Lapis wanted him to choose one, he was about to take one and start reading through it, but when he thought about it for a second, it could be seen as Lapis making him choose between the said three, but when he looked at her, wondering if she was nning something again, she smiled at him, wondering if something was wrong, so Loren just stopped thinking about it.


    He was moving with Lapis, who had been kicked out of her home amongst the demon kin to explore the world.


    Deciding that there was no use being concerned about it after all their time together, he looked through the three papers and saw that although they weren¡¯t about participating in the war, they were rted to it.


    ¡°Reconnaissance in unknown territory? This is going through one of the possible battlefields. I¡¯ve done some of these as a mercenary, but if you meet with an enemy squad, it¡¯s immediately going to be a full-on battle.¡±


    It was a job to scout out the terrain and condition of the battlefield before the actual battle started.


    Going in without knowing anything about the battlefield was a great disadvantage, and it was normal to use arge amount of time and manpower to know everything you could about it, but it would mean thinking and doing the same thing as your enemy, so skirmishes were amon urrence.


    In the worst case, the main forces would be deployed, and the battle would start right then and there, which was what Loren was wary of.


    If they made the wrong predictions, it meant the two of them would be mixed into the midst of the war.


    ¡°Guarding the supply squad to the main forces is a no as well. It¡¯smon sense to hit the enemy¡¯s supplies, so unless the defenses are rock solid, it¡¯s more unlikely that there won¡¯t be an attack. There would be a lot of mercenaries that are quick on their feet¡­and even though it¡¯s a job in the back lines, the rewards are too cheap.¡±


    It was because it was thought to be quite safe since it was in the back lines, but there was no way adventurers could fend of even a small group of trained mercenaries, and the chances of being attacked was quite high as well.


    Another factor was that attacking the supply squad was a popr job since whatever was recovered during the attack would belong to the attackers.


    Goods and money, and in the worst case, even people.


    The morale of the attackers would be very high, and so was the danger.


    ¡°If it was within the boundaries of your country it would be easy¡­but that¡¯s not the case with the current war, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. It seems that the war is in the east border for this nation and south border for the opposing one. No idea why it¡¯s in such an obscure ce.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Loren thought it was obvious that the nations were fighting over something.


    If it was something simple, such asnd, the war would be within the boundaries of either of them.


    But the location that Lapis had told him belong to neither of them, so Loren couldn¡¯t think of a reason why they would be fighting in such a ce.


    ¡°It¡¯s the ins in the southern central part of the continent. There are tribes of beast kin living there, although they are not their own country.¡±


    Which meant they were fighting over unimed territory.


    Since there were beast kin living there, Loren thought that it belonged to them, but their social standing on the continent was very low, so there was no way it would be theirs.


    ¡°Beast kin? They¡¯re the race who look like humans but have some characteristics of animals, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hypothesized that the people of the Ancient Kingdom created them.¡±


    In other words, animal-human hybrids, or chimeras.


    It was thought so because the Ancient Kingdom was known for such research, but no one knew if it was true.


    Since they had the characteristics of different animals, many of them were stronger than humans, but their lifespan was shorter.


    ¡°Must be a nuisance for the people already living there.¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a single war that isn¡¯t a nuisance to someone.¡±


    As Lapis gave him a very dry answer, Loren shrugged and looked at thest piece of paper.


    It was about guarding a caravan full of supplies to a vige near the battlefield.


    ¡°This is another one with a not-so-low possibility of being attacked.¡±


    A vige that was a distance away from the battlefield.


    The client, the vige chief, wanted bodyguards to guard the caravan filled with supplies the vige needed.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t directly rted to the war, there were usually no merchants who would willing go near the battlefield.


    But because of that, there would be no supplies going to the viges in the area and affect the people living there.


    Loren guessed that the vige chief, who posted the job, managed to find a merchant and needed people to keep him and the goods safe until it reached the vige.


    Although Loren was willing to take it even though the rewards were poor, since people¡¯s lives were on the line, he looked at the paper again and frowned.


    ¡°Four days to reach the vige. Eight for a round trip, with eight silver coins per person.¡±


    ¡°Everyone seems to be ignoring this because you need to pay for your own necessities as well.¡±


    It was a joke.


    Even though it was away from the battlefield, considering the high possibility of being attacked, there was nothing to gain from it.


    He could understand that after paying the merchants for the goods and his service they won¡¯t have much left for the rewards, but knowing why the other adventurers skipped over it, Loren flicked his finger on the paper.


    ¡°This one isn¡¯t any good Lapis. It¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    Even if a person needed to work to survive, no idiot would take on a job that would leave him worse off than before.


    There was the option of cutting costs to try to make a profit, but Loren knew from experience that people who tried that tended to have a dreadful time.


    ¡°A dangerous job that doesn¡¯t pay enough and doesn¡¯t make any sense from start to finish. I¡¯d rather stay and starve.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that Loren. There¡¯s a job I want you to take.¡±


    Loren slowly turned and red in the direction the voice came from, while obvious disgust appeared on Lapis¡¯ face.


    Although it wasn¡¯t hard to know that he wasn¡¯t weed, the young man with red hair named us took no notice and ced his hands on the table the two of them were sitting at.


    He was a capable and well-known adventurer within the guild, backed up by some country, and usually traveled with three beautiful girls, but currently none of them were to be seen.


    ¡°What do you want? What are you plotting?¡±


    When they first met, he was so insufferable even Loren hated him, but with a few experiences together, he seemed to acknowledge Loren¡¯s skill and abilities, with improvements to his attitude, and although he was still bothersome, Loren didn¡¯t really hate him anymore.


    With his special ability Gift, us was someone who could be considered a hero, but with a drawback for being very sloppy with his rtionship with women, and since he didn¡¯t try to fix it even though he was aware of it, Lapis treated him like scum.


    ¡°What do you mean, plot? Especially against you Loren.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the right way of thinking. Then with what intentions did you interrupt our conversation?¡±


    ¡°I told you already. There¡¯s a job I want you to take.¡±


    ¡°One of these?¡±


    When Lapis pointed to the three pieces of paper on the table without changing her look of disgust, us nodded deeply.


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Ahh, wait, let me guess. It¡¯s the one about the vige, right?¡±


    us froze when Loren said that.


    Lapis guessed that Loren was correct, while us looked at him in wonder.


    ¡°Why did you think so?¡±


    ¡°The other two are rted to the nation. The client is some army official. Most of the time they¡¯re snotty old men or unlikable bastards.¡±


    Loren¡¯s exnation seemed very biased, but Lapis knew that for some reason, most of them were as Loren had said.


    In any case, when it came to the nation or the army, there were rarely likable young men or cute women.


    ¡°But thest one, the client is the vige chief.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren, but my first image of a vige chief is an old man.¡±


    Whether it be due to wisdom from years of experience or some other reason.


    In any case, the image of a vige chief to Lapis was what she had just said.


    It was the same for Loren, but he also knew that there was more to it.


    ¡°If the vige has been there for a long time, the chief is indeed usually an old man, but for a newer one, the chief could be a young man or woman.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°And even if it were an old person, there¡¯s usually a daughter or granddaughter.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see.¡±


    Vige chiefs were usually slightly better off than the other vigers.


    Of course, they had big responsibilities, but putting that aside, because they were wealthier, their daughters or granddaughters were good looking most of the time.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t always so, but even in that case, there was always that one good looking girl in the vige, and the vigers usually couldn¡¯t go against the chief¡¯s orders.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s rted to women.¡±


    When Lapis said with a re so cold that it could freeze one¡¯s soul, us, who had a disturbed smile on his face as he still stood with his hands on the table, suddenly looked at Loren with a distraught face.


    On top of that, he grabbed Loren¡¯s hand and started begging in a pitiful voice.


    ¡°Please Loren! I¡¯ll even pay you extra! So please listen to what I have to say!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to¡­I already have a bad feeling about this¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone else to turn to!¡±


    Loren tried to shake us off, but he couldn¡¯t, with us gripping it with unexpected strength, so he used his free hand to push us¡¯ face away as he tried to get closer.


    ¡°You bastard¡­You¡¯re using <<boost>>, aren¡¯t you!? I¡¯m not into another man holding my hand! Let go!¡±


    </boost>


    ¡°I won¡¯t let it go until you listen to what I have to say!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it in a way that could be misunderstood!!¡±


    Loren roared and started using his feet to peel us off, but us held on fast, determined to cling on.


    5


    Lapis, who was watching the whole thing unfold, wondered if she should help peel us off to resolve the situation, or see where it would end up, just out of curiosity.

 Chapter 123: Presentation to Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 123: Presentation to Negotiation</h4>


    ¡°If you take the job, I¡¯ll pay five silver coins beforehand. Five more after the job is done.¡±


    That was the first thing us said after Loren finally managed to peel him off.


    ¡°Is that per person?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­Y-yeah. Twenty silver coins in total. It isn¡¯t bad, isn¡¯t it? Then¡­¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    us brightened up for a second at Lapis¡¯ response, but Loren cut her off.


    Lapis ignored us, who was at a loss for words, and looked at Loren, wondering why he said so.


    ¡°Jobs that start by talking about money can never be trusted. Those who jump at jobs like these can never live for long.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll go throw this thing out then.¡±


    When Lapis said so in a cold voice and pointed at us, Loren¡¯s stern face crumbled slightly.


    ¡°I mean¡­we can at least listen to what he has to say.¡±


    ¡°Make up your mind.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ voice hardened slightly at Loren¡¯s indecisiveness, saying that us¡¯ offer couldn¡¯t be trusted, but then wanting to hear him out.


    Loren responded in an unsure manner, very unlike his usual self.


    ¡°Yeah well¡­I mean, if the conditions are solid, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a reason to be so hard on him, you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren, are you getting soft on us, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m being soft on him in any way, but¡­anyways.¡±


    Loren forced the conversation in another direction, knowing that he was at a disadvantage.


    Lapis already knew so due to the air around him, but instead of pushing it, she calmly went with the change in topic.


    ¡°If you want our help, tell us everything, no secrets. After that, I¡¯ll tell you the minimum conditions we¡¯ll help you for.¡±


    ¡°If we find out you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll snap you in half. What part of you would be how I¡¯d be feeling at the time.¡±


    Intimidated by Loren, who told him to tell them everything, and Lapis, whopletely threatened him, the words started spilling out of us¡¯ mouth.


    ¡°As you could see by the amount of rewards, the girls and I were talking about how we shouldn¡¯t take this.¡±


    ¡°The girls? So Ange and the other girls are on board with this?¡±


    us was currently in a party with three girls.


    Since Loren thought that the whole thing had something to do with women, he thought that Ange and the other girls wouldn¡¯t want to take part in it.


    From the few times he had met them before, all of them had feelings for us, but they were also annoyed and tired of us¡¯ and his sloppy habits with women.


    He guessed that they would be fed up with him soon, and thought that maybe today was that day, but from what he just heard, it didn¡¯t seem to be so.


    ¡°They agreed to lend a helping hand to the vige in distress.¡±


    ¡°That was easy. So, what¡¯s the actual reason?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you would keep it between us¡­¡±


    ¡°Why would I give two damns about the love affairs in your group?¡±


    Although he said that, Loren wasn¡¯t someone to spread the word about such things.


    He didn¡¯t care if the girls found out about it, he just wanted to know what us¡¯ intention was.


    ¡°Well, actually, the vige chief¡­¡±


    ¡°Young?¡±


    ¡°Not that much. But she has an outstanding charm, in a sense¡­She was a housewife until her husband passed awayst year¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you start feeling sorry for her when she started crying?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and some other intentions as well¡­¡±


    ¡°You know that¡¯s going to be the death of you? Don¡¯t expect to die peacefully in a bed.¡±


    Although Loren had said that, us¡¯ life was his own, so no matter how it ended, it wasn¡¯t something for him to be concerned about.


    ¡°Well¡­hahahaha¡­¡±


    When usughed without even a hint of remorse, Loren snorted, and Lapis sighed deeply.


    ¡°So how about it? Will you help?¡±


    ¡°Since you came over to us and begging, I¡¯m guessing that means no one else other than your group wanted to do this?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. I wouldn¡¯t have epted it if it weren¡¯t for the chief.¡±


    us said so very clearly.


    As he wondered where he got that gut of his, Loren started to think.


    He understood that the correct thing to do was push the whole thing away, saying that it wasn¡¯t their problem.


    But other thoughts swirled in his mind as he red at us, who was looking at him with eyes full of expectation.


    This young man named us could be summed up as human trash, as he had been showing them, but there was a small part of him that couldn¡¯t leave anyone in need.


    He also had a rare Gift called <<boost>>, so if personality was taken out of the equation, he was quite the skilled swordsman.


    </boost>


    On top of that, although it was unknown how long they would stay with him, the girls in his party were all very skilled as well, so they were quite capable as a party as well.


    They weren¡¯t bad people to gain favors with.


    There was the possibility that us would forget it, but Loren knew that he wasn¡¯t that much of a scum.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know each other. I¡¯d be willing to do it depending on the payment.¡±


    When he told his opinion to Lapis, although the disgust didn¡¯t drop from her face, she nodded, as if she wasn¡¯t rejecting uspletely.


    ¡°I¡¯ll join depending on the payment as well.¡±


    ¡°Is twenty silver coins not enough?¡±


    us suggested the original amount he presented, but Loren shook his head.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not worth the trouble.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve be iron rank adventurers as well. If you want our help, it should be enough for our services.¡±


    When Lapis said that, us¡¯ face brightened for some reason.


    ¡°You ranked up? Congrattions.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, you were my opponent on the exam. Did you not hear the results?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me anything after it ended vaguely.¡±


    There had been a rank up exam, but Loren¡¯s opponent during that exam was us.


    As us had said, it ended weirdly since there had been an interruption, but for some reason Loren had passed and was now a proper iron rank adventurer.


    ¡°And so, we decided to increase our payments.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not that weing.¡±


    ¡°Give it up. So, our conditions are ten¡­¡±


    ¡°Fifteen silver coins upfront, another fifteen after the job, so a total of thirty per person. If you cover the necessary expenditure, we¡¯ll ept the job.¡±


    Lapis interrupted Loren and told us a specific amount.


    us looked surprised, but Loren knew why.


    The condition that Lapis presented was over three times the amount that us had suggested.


    If he wasn¡¯t surprised, it meant that he had suggested a low payment to try to rip them off.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡±


    us managed to squeeze the words out of his mouth, which was agape with shock, and Loren agreed.


    Loren¡¯s suggestion was going to be ten silver coins upfront and ten after per person, for a total of forty silver coins.


    Even that was double us¡¯ suggestion, and Loren thought that was a bit much as well, but not only did Lapis ask for more than that, she asked him to cover their expenditures as well, showing how she never refrained herself.


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you. If you don¡¯t like it, you can go ask others.¡±


    us looked to Loren for help at Lapis¡¯ cold and unapproachable attitude.


    But Loren had no intention of giving him a helping hand at this point.


    It was because Lapis had gone as far as to interrupt him to propose her conditions.


    Lapis had more experience as an adventurer than Loren.


    Which made him believe that Lapis¡¯ proposal would be suitable payment for iron rank adventurers than what he was thinking of.


    But he also believed that us couldn¡¯t pay it.


    The original payment was eight silver coins.


    Making him pay sixty to help him on the job, even though it was because of a woman, made Loren pity him slightly.


    ¡°We¡¯re acquaintances, right? Can¡¯t you lower it a bit?¡±


    ¡°I would believe it¡¯s still cheaper than market price.¡±


    ¡°That might be true, but I don¡¯t have enough to pay that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not my problem.¡±


    Although her voice was still cold, Lapis quickly nced at Loren.


    He didn¡¯t know exactly what she wanted, but he had a good guess of what it was, so instead of calling out to us, who was hanging his head at Lapis¡¯ words, he called out to her.


    ¡°Keep it at that Lapis. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re strangers. Can¡¯t we lower it a bit?¡±


    ¡°Loren¡¯s the leader, so I¡¯ll follow what you say.¡±


    ¡°us, I can¡¯t lower it that much. Fifty silver coins upfront for the two of us as well as the expenses. How about that?¡±


    Loren felt that he didn¡¯t lower it enough.


    But he also felt that if he did, it wouldn¡¯t do any good for us either.


    He was someone who would end up losing his life if he didn¡¯t learn his lesson with women sooner orter.


    ¡®I think it¡¯s going to be a meaningless effort, Onii-san.¡¯


    The one who jabbed in as cold as Lapis, was the girl named Shayna, who had been turned into a No Life King, being reduced to just her astral form after losing her physical body and was residing within Loren¡¯s spirit.


    Watching us rejoice at the discount and bowing his head over and over, thanking him, he wondered if it was as Shayna had said.

 Chapter 124: Departure after Preparation

    <h4>Chapter 124: Departure after Preparation</h4>


    Since us was the one covering their expenses, Lapis went all out.


    After creating a contract and making us sign it, not trusting him, she took over a dozen silver coins and decided to use it to buy what they needed.


    ¡°Should I go ept this job?¡±


    ¡°No. Come shopping with me. We¡¯re joining us on this so we¡¯re going to have him register us as part of his party.


    If they went without saying anything to the guild, they wouldn¡¯t receive the payment.


    Loren thought that he would have to go register for the job, knowing that people would look at him funny for going on such as job, but since Lapis said that it was us¡¯ job, he red at him as he sighed with relief that Loren and Lapis had epted his request.


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be the party leader, so you would have to listen to my orders.¡±


    Loren thought so too, but the temperature of Lapis¡¯ re dropped steeply, so us immediately waved his hands in front of him.


    ¡°I¡¯m joking, okay? I¡¯ll register you as party members, but you can move on your own.¡±


    ¡°Make sure it¡¯s temporary, okay? If you registered us as a legitimate party, I¡¯ll pluck it off.¡±


    As Loren thought that he shouldn¡¯t ask what, us paled as he covered his crotch and nodded repeatedly.


    After that little exchange, letting us deal with all the troublesome things, Loren and Lapis went out into the city to prepare for the uing job.


    ¡°We have an ample funds this time. We shouldn¡¯t hold back and buy everything we need.¡±


    ¡°Go easy, alright? There might be a time when we have to go crying to him for help.¡±


    Loren thought that even though they should take advantage of it, there was a line they shouldn¡¯t cross.


    Even when he was a mercenary, when a member would ask for help to the others, although there were some hardships that came with it, he would still be able to recover from it.


    It was because the ones helping him made sure to adjust it so that it wouldn¡¯t go too far.


    And when they were the ones who needed assistance, they would be treated the same, so it was sort of an unspoken agreement.


    Because Loren knew that, although he thought that us reaped what he sowed, they shouldn¡¯t push him into a corner.


    ¡°Us crying to us?¡±


    When Lapis cocked her head, wondering if there would ever be such a scenario, Loren neither nodded nor shook his head, but instead pat her on the shoulder.


    ¡°The chances aren¡¯t zero, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Hm, that might be so. I guess I¡¯ll have to give up on the best quality sleeping bags andfort pillows.¡±


    ¡°What the hell were you thinking of buying?¡±


    What she mentioned was indeed something they needed, but it was something they already had and needed to buy, much less best quality ones, so Loren couldn¡¯t help but say so as Lapis looked disappointed.


    The next day, after using up all of us¡¯ money to buy what they needed, the two of them arrived at the ce where us told them to meet him.


    It was at the east gate of the city, where us and his party were ready to go, along with a few carriages carrying the supplies.


    The vige chief, their client, was there as well.


    ¡°Thank you so much for epting this kind of job.¡±


    The woman, wearing good quality clothes and wearing her brown hair up, bowed and thanked them.


    She had a full-figured body that stretched the fabric on her clothes, with her chest seeming to bounce every time she moved, and seeing us look at them with a sloppy gaze in the corner of his eye, Loren thought no wonder us fell so easily.


    ¡°Loren¡­¡±


    The sharp sensation of getting pinched on his thigh along with a grumpy tone from Lapis made him avert his gaze from the chief¡¯s chest to her face.


    6


    ¡°I hope not you out of all people Loren. But depending on the circumstances, I¡¯ll rip it off.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a scary thought¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s equipment consisted of the leather jacket, gloves, and boots he had received from his previous client, along with his usual great sword strapped to his back.


    His pants were made of tough material, but they were bought from a store, so if Lapis wanted to, she could rip his flesh off his bones, and with no sign of her letting go of his thigh, Loren felt cold sweat running down his back.


    ¡°I¡¯m the vige chief Rose. We¡¯ll be in your care on the road.¡±


    When Rose bowed her head again after introducing herself, us let out a loose smile as he stared at her chests, and at this point, Ange and the other girls finally found out what it was all about, and kicked him, sending him sprawling to the ground.


    Looking away from the chief, who looked surprised at what was going on, Loren turned to the people around the carriages, who seemed to be people from Rose¡¯s vige, and felt that something was off.


    ¡°Loren? I¡¯ll really rip it.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t you¡¯re going to make me wet myself. Well, don¡¯t you think something is off?¡±


    The reason whypis said ¡°rip off¡± again was due to the vigers near the carriage.


    It was what Loren thought was weird as well.


    ¡°Why are there only women in this whole group?¡±


    The ones who were tying up the goods on top of the carriages.


    The ones who were loading sacks in there.


    All the vigers who were doing them were women, with no men to be found.


    Although it wasn¡¯t wrong that men weren¡¯t doing the hard lifting, it was still strange.


    There was the slight possibility it was because the vige chief was a woman, but even so, no men at all was still not normal.


    ¡°Were they all taken to fight the war?¡±


    Lapis seemed to have noticed the slightly unusual sight, let go of Loren¡¯s thigh, and looked around.


    No matter where they looked, there were no men anywhere.


    ¡°They took all the male vigers? There wouldn¡¯t be many of them in the first ce, and they wouldn¡¯t even be much of help anyway. It would instead leave the vige without a work force and anger them. I wouldn¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe they were too busy toe?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something more important than getting supplies that¡¯s the lifeline of the vige? I don¡¯t know what that could be.¡±


    ¡°That might be true.¡±


    There must¡¯ve been a reason for it, but since Loren was an adventurer hired for a job, he didn¡¯t feel like poking around too deep, so once he chased the thoughts out of his head, the carriages were ready, as Rose called out to everyone.


    ¡°We¡¯re going back to the vige. We¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    With that as the signal, the donkeys started pulling the carriages, and the whole group started moving.


    Loren and the others put their belongings wherever in the carriage was open and walked next to the slow-moving carriage to guard it.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you epted a job like this.¡±


    The one who came near Loren and talked to him was Ange.


    Instead of responding, he looked at us, whose body was shrunk up with an apologetic expression on his face, and saw that the other two girls, a knight and a magician, were scolding him.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t hear anything from us?¡±


    Although they were temporary members, Loren thought that us would¡¯ve have exined things to his main party members, but also thought that it could¡¯ve been awkward to try talking about it.


    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t heard anything. If we knew it was going to be something like this, we would¡¯ve let him do this on his own.¡±


    ¡°Comining during the job isn¡¯t very impressive.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    No matter what the job is, once you¡¯ve taken it, you shouldplete it.


    As Loren noted that that didn¡¯t change whether you were a mercenary or an adventurer, Ange nodded.


    Of course, he knew how much she and the other girls would want toin, so he didn¡¯t me them.


    ¡°He asked us to help. I don¡¯t know about anything else. I know there¡¯s a lot of things you want to say, but even though his motives might¡¯ve been impure, he still wants to help those in need.¡±


    Loren knew that those who were smart would never take this job.


    Those who were idiots could¡¯ve taken it to help those in trouble.


    Although taking a job with impure motives, but at the same time trying to help a troubled vige wasn¡¯t something to praise, it could be having a delicate bncing sense.


    But Loren wasn¡¯t sure if us was aiming for that at all.


    To be honest, he thought that it was more likely that us took the job blinded by lust, but if he told that to Ange, it would put us in a more awkward ce, and there wouldn¡¯t be any gooding out of it.


    ¡°Well, just try to keep him in check so he doesn¡¯t go off too hard.¡±


    ¡°With our fists and feet, swords and magic?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t there be a more peaceful way¡­?¡±


    Loren wondered why they thought of using force as their first option, but he concluded that it must be because of their anger towards us had umted that much.


    As Loren thought maybe he should warn us to be more considerate to his part members, Lapis presented a question.


    ¡°You could just let him do things his way, can you not?¡±


    ¡°That could be so, but it¡¯s better to avoid a tragedy if you could, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I can¡¯t shake the feeling he would go and ruin himself headfirst no matter what you tell him.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ impression of us was almost at the bottom line.


    As Loren wondered if women saw things and felt that differently than men did, he patted Ange, who had been listening to him and Lapis with interest, on the back lightly, ending the topic, and redirected his attention to keeping watch around them.

 Chapter 125: Encounter during Travel

    <h4>Chapter 125: Encounter during Travel</h4>


    Everything was peaceful for a while after they left Kauffa.


    They would eventually have to get off the road to get to Rose¡¯s vige, but while they were on the road, with soldiers patrolling around it, there was no danger to them.


    It was so peaceful that Loren thought that out of the four days it took to get to the vige, they probably didn¡¯t need guarding for the first two.


    Loren felt that the spending the night was quitefortable as well.


    Among Rose and her vigers as well as Loren and us¡¯ party, the two of them were the only men, so Loren thought it would be quite ufortable, but when it came to work, as well as when keeping watch, which the two parties took turns doing, Lapis was the only one he was with, so things were as usual.


    ¡°Can we do something about tying up us at night?¡±


    ¡°Loren, are you saying we should let a wolf loose inside a pack of sheep?¡±


    It was very so, since all the people other than Loren and us were women, and Loren sighed as he watched us be tied up from shoulder to knees and thrown into a one-person tent.


    The food was like none other than he had seen before.


    They had agreed to eat what they had brought instead of sharing what Rose had brought, but it was because us had their expenses, and Lapis didn¡¯t hold back.


    Of course, since they needed the food tost the whole job, there wasn¡¯t anything over the head, but what came out was still way better than the provisions that they were used to, and that caused the girls to treat us even harsher, but Lapis paid no attention and enjoyed the luxurious meal.


    ¡°With enough money, even dried meat tastes different.¡±


    ¡°How much did this cost¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret. It¡¯s free, anyway. Loren, do you want a drink? Believe it or not, it¡¯s wine that isn¡¯t thinned in water. I had it poured into a vintage wineskin as well.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing? I mean, I¡¯ll take it though.¡±


    He knew it wasn¡¯t something he should drink during the middle of a job, but he wasn¡¯t someone to make something that tastes good into something that doesn¡¯t taste as good.


    Wine thinned with water was something that was drank by adventurers instead of water, and Loren had drunk it before as well, but of course, it wasn¡¯t something that tasted that good.


    ¡°The bread is pure flour as well, and the cheese is good quality as well, so if you put it on top of the bread and sear it¡­it tastes so good. It goes so well with the wine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re enjoying yourself to the fullest, aren¡¯t you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Maybe put some pieces of dried meat on it as well. Too bad we don¡¯t have any vegetables. They don¡¯tst a few days.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you throw potatoes in the campfire earlier?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to retrieve themter and put butter on them. It tastes good you know. You¡¯re going to have some, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yeah.¡±


    Rose and the vigers had pots they used to stew their ingredients so they were doing okay, but us and his party were eating hard brown bread and dried meat that looked like the soles of a boot, and were drinking either wine thinned in water or just water.


    With Lapis eating her delicious meal next to them, of course their morale would be low.


    Loren would¡¯ve suggested sharing if he could, but there wasn¡¯t enough for everyone, and he didn¡¯t want to give them his share of the food either, so he just sat there and ate the great meal with Lapis.


    That was how the first two days went, but things changed from the third day.


    It was because they went off the main road and went onto the path that led to Rose¡¯s vige.


    Although it was a path that led to a vige, it wasn¡¯t one that many people used.


    It was only used when the vigers transported supplies or merchants went from vige to vige, so it wasn¡¯t maintained too well.


    The carriages shook as they rolled on the uneven ground, slowing their progress, and with no soldiers on patrol, there was more risk for danger, so as bodyguards, all their senses were on alert.


    ¡°This is a harder job than I thought it would be.¡±


    As Lapis looked around, Loren was pulling one of the wheels of a carriage out of a hole in the path.


    With only women, it would¡¯ve been possible if the carriage was empty, but since it was full of supplies and the weight was near its limit, it was quite the feat to get it out of the hole, which Loren managed to do.


    ¡°That should do it.¡±


    He put his hands on the carriage, and without even grunting, he lifted it up slightly.


    At the same time, one of the vigers lightly whipped the donkeys, which caused them to move forward, and the carriage finally slipped out of the hole.


    Loren brushed the dust off his hands, watched thepany move once more, and followed, looking around them as Lapis was doing.


    Their surroundings were a simple in with nothing but grass, so their outlook was good, but it was the same for anyone looking at them, so with nowhere to hide, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel danger.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be hard to see somethinging, but there¡¯s nowhere to hide.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we hired adventurers like you to protect us.¡±


    Rose was the one who responded to his words.


    Seeing us¡¯ face starting to loosen up at her glossy voice, but immediately tightening back up as he felt Ange and the other girls¡¯ res on him, Loren said something that could be taken as a warning as well as aint.


    ¡°Then you should put more thought in the payment. No one would take your job with the current one.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s people like you who took it.¡±


    As Rose replied with a smile, Loren just snorted, not giving her a reply.


    It seems that Rose had put bodyguard jobs up with simr conditions as the current one.


    As Loren was impressed that she managed to find people to take the job every time, Rose leaned forward slightly and said in a whispery voice.


    ¡°There might be a next time. In that case, I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing you again.¡±


    Seeing her movements and voice, Loren had a good guess of what it was.


    It seemed that every time, she had been depending on adventurers like us to bite the hook.


    He had no idea how far her ¡°service¡± went, and how long she had been doing this, but sensing that she was quite good at what she did, he backed off as naturally as he could as she stepped closer to him.


    ¡°This time was by chance, so there¡¯s no next time. For us, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Hm, you¡¯re a hard person.¡±


    Seeing us mesmerized at Rose, who had bent over slightly, emphasizing her chest, Loren waved his hand as if he was batting a bug away, signaling for her to go away.


    ¡°If only our leader had half that self-control¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to hope that.¡±


    ¡°This must be a trial from god.¡±


    Hearing the girls around us muttering, Lapis had a smug look on her face for some reason, but after making sure that Rose had left, Loren returned his attention to his surroundings.


    He then suddenly smelled something in the air that shouldn¡¯t be there and looked upwind.


    When attackinging from upwind was quite na?ve, even when put into soft words, but if being found out wasn¡¯t a hindrance, it wasn¡¯t a bad ce to attack from, with the tailwind helping them.


    ¡°Something¡¯s there!¡±


    The wholepany tensed at Loren¡¯s warning.


    The smell that drifted on the wind was unpleasant body odor and the smell of leather.


    They were smells that warned Loren of danger, as he was familiar with them during his life on the battlefield.


    ¡°Bandits.¡±


    When us drew his sword, nasty looking men suddenly stood up from the middle of the field, as they had been lying in wait for victims to show up.


    They were wearing dirty leather armor, which was what made Loren aware of them, and they had different weapons as well.


    The bandits would¡¯ve preferred their victims closer to them, but with Loren realizing they were there, they had no choice.


    Loren immediately assessed that they couldn¡¯t run.


    If they left all the supplies, there was a chance they could do so, but it was hard to believe that the vigers would want to leave their lifeline behind.


    It wouldn¡¯t matter if they died, but if the bandits took the supplies, they were going to go down the same path anyway.


    But Loren still asked Rose.


    ¡°Are you willing to abandon the supplies?¡±


    ¡°W-we can¡¯t! Without it, we¡¯ll¡­¡±


    As her response was the expected one, Loren scratched his head.


    If they couldn¡¯t run, the only option they had was to fight.


    When he squinted his eyes, he saw around twenty armed men, and unthinkingly said to Lapis next to him.


    ¡°You could handle them by yourself, right?¡±


    Lapis immediately elbowed him in the gut.


    When seen from others¡¯ perspectives, it might¡¯ve looked like Lapis was annoyed that Loren said something a bit stupid.


    But knowing that Lapis was a demon, and with the amount of force behind the jab, Loren felt a chill go down his spine for a moment.


    ¡°What are you saying Loren? I¡¯m just a priestess. I know a bit of self-defense, but there¡¯s no way I could deal with all those bandits.¡±


    Her blow didn¡¯t deal that much damage to Loren.


    Although there was a dull sound when her elbow made contact, to him it felt like he was poked very hard, so he looked at Lapis, thinking that she had held back, but for some reason she had a vexing look on her face, so he realized that it was because of the quality of his armor.


    At the same time, he reminded himself that they were with us and his party as well as Rose and her vigers, so they couldn¡¯t depend on Lapis¡¯ abilities.


    ¡°Sorry. That was a bit mean.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you understand.¡±


    After apologizing and letting the people around them know that it was a joke, Lapis¡¯ face loosened up and she nodded.


    ¡°Then leave this one to me. That number is no match for me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Protecting the weak is our job too.¡±


    While Loren and Lapis were doing their thing, us and one of his party members, the knight named La, both readied their swords and stepped forward.


    Ange moved behind them with her staff in hand for support, and Roll the priestess stood even farther back, watching the whole situation.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll watch for separate detachments and protect the goods.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be fun¡­I mean, the vigers will need protection.¡±


    Letting us deal with the situation, Loren walked over to the vigers and carriages, his hand still on his great sword.


    Lapis covered her mouth with her hand as she followed him, warning herself to watch what she said.

 Chapter 126: Cleaning Up after Attack

    <h4>Chapter 126: Cleaning Up after Attack</h4>


    Just because weapons were drawn didn¡¯t mean a fight was going to break out right away.


    It was since just because some bad looking men were in wait for them, didn¡¯t mean they were bandits.


    To Loren, it seemed fine to just attack them, but us, weapon drawn, shouted to the men who appeared.


    ¡°Who are you people?¡±


    There was no answer.


    The men, who were probably bandits, readied their weapons and all charged at Loren and thepany, as if not wanting to give them a chance to run away.


    Loren scanned the area and saw that there were around twenty bandits, and with the only ones defending being us and La, he didn¡¯t think just the two would be able to intercept all of them.


    ¡°Are we going to have to step in to help?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    As Loren and Lapis were having a stale conversation, us started running.


    Loren had seen us fight before and remembered his fighting style.


    Of course, he remembered his speed and strength as well, but the speed that us moved in was nothing like the speed he remembered.


    ¡°He¡¯s faster than before.¡±


    It was impossible to stop around twenty people with just two.


    It was impossible even for Loren, and if he tried to fight near the vigers or the goods, there would be some sort of harm that could be done.


    If he wanted to prevent that, he had to fight at a distance.


    Which meant he had to fight up front.


    ¡°A few would still get past.¡±


    After he muttered, La ran in a moment after us ran off, her blonde hair rippling in the wind.


    ¡°Kill the men! Immobilize the women! It¡¯s time to make bank! Let¡¯s get them!¡±


    Listening to the leader of the men, Loren was about to draw his great sword, but stopped.


    Lapis cocked her head, confused, but Loren had his reasons.


    ¡°If I were running in, yeah, but if I start swinging this here the blood and flesh would stter the goods.¡±


    With the amount of force behind Loren¡¯s blows, any human would easily be cut in half.


    Loren didn¡¯t think that was a bad thing, but with the goods containing ingredients and clothes, he knew it would be quite the problem if blood and body parts would be sttered on them.


    ¡°Hopefully us and his party take care of all of them.¡±


    Lapis nodded as she said so, which was what Loren wished as well, but as he thought that it would be impossible, us reached the first enemy.


    The bandit swung his thick axe with all his strength.


    Against the blow that would¡¯ve broken his sword if he blocked it, us met it straight on with his sword.


    The axe and sword met mmed into each other with a loud ng of steel meeting steel.


    Usually the axe woulde out on top, but us¡¯ de deflected the axe.


    Although it wasn¡¯t enough to rip the axe from the bandit¡¯s hand, it threw him off bnce, and although he mustered his strength again for another blow, us was a few times faster than he was.


    A swift blow to the neck.


    Instead of a sh, it was a straight pierce, and as soon as the de went through the bandit¡¯s neck, us immediately pulled it out and dashed towards his next target.


    Slipping through the swords swung at him, us¡¯ de shed left and right.


    Almost immediately, blood spurted from the deep cuts that the sword made in the bandits¡¯ necks.


    The bandits stopped in their tracks as they saw us take down theirrades with a single swing, so fast that the flying blood didn¡¯t even hit him.


    ¡°They got scared. Idiots.¡±


    The bandits¡¯ response was so bad, the words slipped from Loren¡¯s mouth.


    It was because the only options they had was ignore theirrades facing us and attack Rose and the vigers directly.


    If they did so, they could¡¯ve done some damage while us dealt with one or two of them, and possibly distract him by attacking the people he was trying to protect and try to find an opening to defeat him.


    But they flinched at the sight of theirrades dying and froze, so they couldn¡¯t do that anymore either.


    ¡°Well, that makes it easier for us.¡±


    Loren was supposed to do something about the bandits that got through us, but with them freezing, the chances of that were reduced significantly.


    If none of them got close to the supplies, Loren didn¡¯t have to attack them and just leave it to us and La, which made it easier for him.


    Even while he was thinking, us killed two more, and La, who had just met her first opponent, and killed him.


    Although she wasn¡¯t as fast as us, La was quite skilled with the sword.


    She seemed to have learned an orthodox swordsmanship, but she also had an air about her that she had honed her skills and techniques in actual battle, not just training.


    Seeing another one of theirrades fall to La, as he had underestimated her since she was a girl, the bandits finally realized that the adventurers they were facing were no ordinary adventurers.


    ¡°Why are there veteran swordsmen in this group?¡±


    The leader of the bandits shouted, but Loren felt a bit sorry for him.


    Usually you wouldn¡¯t expect a swordsman with a Gift and a knight.


    It was very possible to overpower a few capable adventurers with sheer numbers.


    ¡°You¡¯re out of your league, so just give up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯ll just let you escape. If we let people like you go, you¡¯d just attack someone else, so we¡¯ll have to take care of you here and now.¡±


    ¡°Give me a break, damn it! Run!¡±


    Unlike the army, it was difficult to manage bandits and expect high morale.


    us and La had already killed around half of them, and each bandit was scared that he would be next.


    Once they lost the will to fight, it was as one would expect, with the bandits throwing their weapons away and running.


    us and La froze when they suddenly showed their backs.


    It was because they wondered if they should attack someone from behind.


    us¡¯ personality kept him from following, while La¡¯s knowledge as a knight stopped her, but Loren could only think that their decision was na?ve.


    Since bandits weren¡¯t worth anything even if they were kept alive, so although they were retreating, not attacking them was unthinkable, and Loren was itching to run out and attack them.


    But he knew there was other reasons for not doing so, and that was because their jobs were to protect the supplies, but there was someone who moved as the bandits were fleeing.


    ¡°Scatter the sand, bring upon slumber! <<sleep>>¡±


    </sleep>


    Ange raised her staff and chanted.


    The spell took effect and the leader of the bandits fell, followed by the rest of them.


    The other bandits who saw this froze again, which gave us and La enough time to make up their minds and catch up, and they were either killed or tied up with rope.


    ¡°That was pretty anticlimactic.¡±


    ¡°I guess there was nothing for us to help with.¡±


    The vigers cheered as us and La returned, sheathing their weapons.


    The cheers became even louder when Rose ran into us¡¯ arms and he caught her, while his party members didn¡¯t look amused.


    ¡°As expected of you, us.¡±


    ¡°No, it was just because our opponents were weak. And it wasn¡¯t all me.¡±


    ¡°That may be true. So, let me thank you first. I was worried what would happen, but thanks to you we¡¯re all safe.¡±


    From her position, she wrapped her arms around us¡¯ waist, and when she squeezed, of course her chest pressed against his body, and he could feel the soft sensation over his leather armor.


    Ange and the other girls red at him, but the only thing us could think of was the sensation of Rose in his arms and didn¡¯t notice the threatening looks.


    Impressed that they were still managed to function as a party, Loren walked over to the sleeping bandits.


    ¡°Are you looking for something?¡±


    Lapis tagged along and asked him as he squatted next to one of the bandits and searched their armor and weapons.


    ¡°There¡¯s a war going on near here, right? I was wondering if they were deserters or something.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t they a bit too weak to be soldiers?¡±


    It may have seemed like that to Lapis, but from what Loren saw, it seemed more correct to say that us was too strong for them.


    Since us was that strong, it made sense that he stopped the bandits in their tracks, and as a result, no harm came to Rose and her vigers.


    ¡°I guess they¡¯re not. Kind of strange to say unfortunately, but they¡¯re just bandits.¡±


    Loren knew they weren¡¯t mercenaries either.


    If they had any measure of battle experience, they wouldn¡¯t have stopped when they saw us¡¯ fight.


    ¡°Hey you! How long are you going to hug us!¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s indecent!¡±


    ¡°You too us! Do something about your loose face!¡±


    ¡°Umm Loren? What should we do with the bandits that are still alive?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if there¡¯s more of them somewhere and theye to save them. I¡¯ve no intention of taking them, so I guess I¡¯ll just take care of them right here.¡±


    Ange peeled Rose off us, Roll pummeled him, and La¡¯s fist cracked across his cheek.


    As Rose¡¯s eyes widened in shock, La grabbed the knocked down us by the cor and dragged him off, while Ange and Roll stopped Rose from going after him with threatening looks, Loren took out the knife he used to carve materials, and kneeled down next to the sleeping bandits, unaware of their fates.

 Chapter 127: Deriving at Destination

    <h4>Chapter 127: Deriving at Destination</h4>


    ¡°Hey Loren. What happened to the bandits?¡±


    ¡°Just leave them. They¡¯ll survive if they¡¯re lucky, if not someone will probably finish them off.¡±


    Although he had been beat up by the girls, us seemed to bepletely fine.


    Ange used to do him quite a bit, but he must have gotten tougher as it didn¡¯t seem to have done anything.


    But Loren wondered how he was fine after taking a beating from La.


    He was even more confused how he survived the priestess Roll¡¯s attacks, when he thought about it, he realized that there was no way a priestess could deliver blows that could knock a swordsman unconscious, and cocked his head, wondering where that image came from.


    ¡°Anyways, it looks like you¡¯ve gotten stronger than before.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m backed by a nation and they expect great things from me.¡±


    us told Loren something that he wasn¡¯t sure if he should¡¯ve heard.


    But he guessed that since us talked about it, it wasn¡¯t a problem, so he asked him something.


    ¡°By nation, you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Wagenburg, of course. Where else?¡±


    Loren sighed in relief since he wasn¡¯t sure what he was going to do if us named somewhere else.


    If an adventurer backed by another nation was acting in Wagenburg, it would¡¯ve been a serious problem.


    Loren knew those kinds of adventurers existed.


    It was difficult for a nation to send soldiers or knights to others, but it wasn¡¯t so for adventurers.


    He also knew that among mercenary groups, there were groups that gathered information on other nations.


    Of course, they weren¡¯t talked about openly, but there were rumors that went around.


    If they yed it correctly, they could be backed and act on behalf of a nation, but if they were found out, the nation would ignore them, and the nation that found out about them would stop at nothing to destroy them, so it was a risky position to be in.


    He had suspected his own group to be something of the sort, but when he asked his leader, heughed it off, and since then, although he knew it had nothing to do with him, he kept his ears open.


    It must¡¯ve been the same for adventurers, where some might be working as spies, but it seemed like us and his party were not.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think La would mind since I feel like we¡¯ll be seeing you two a lot.¡±


    ¡°I think you should make sure to get confirmation first on these types of things.¡±


    Exasperated that us had told him this, without getting permission from La, who seemed to have been sent by the nation, made a mental note to not tell us anything that he didn¡¯t want others to know about.


    After traveling further and camping for another night, thepany reached Rose¡¯s vige right before noon on the fourth day.


    Other than the bandits that attacked them, there was nothing that bothered them, and Loren started to have slight hopes that this job would be a simple one.


    But his hopes were immediately shattered when he saw the people from the vigee out to greet them.


    ¡°Loren, there¡¯s definitely something wrong with this vige.¡±


    The vigers hade out and greeted them and started unloading the goods and carrying them back to the vige, but the scene was very weird to Loren as well.


    It was because there wasn¡¯t a single male viger who came out.


    On top of that, most of them were old or children, with only two young women.


    ¡°This vige. Not only are there no men, there aren¡¯t many women either.¡±


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to say such a vige doesn¡¯t exist, I¡¯m seeing it with my own eyes¡­¡±


    Rose¡¯s vige was a farming vige.


    There were gardens and fields around the vige, and the vigers raised crops to make a living.


    Not having any men to do the work was already abnormal, but there weren¡¯t many young women as well, and with only the elderly and children, it would be impossible for the vige to function.


    us and his party seemed to have picked up on the abnormality as well, as us walked over to Loren with a tense expression.


    ¡°Loren, have you noticed?¡±


    ¡°Well, at this point, who wouldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Is this heaven?¡±


    Loren stared straight into us¡¯ serious face, not sure what he had heard for a second.


    He couldn¡¯t see any yfulness in it, so when he realized that us was being dead serious, Loren clenched his fist slowly.


    ¡°Wait a second! If you punch me my neck will break!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll hold back so it¡¯ll just make arge dent in your face.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bad as well!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    Although it could barely be called an excuse, Loren gave up on hitting us and lowered his fist, then grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards the vigers around the carriages.


    ¡°Do you see anything strange?¡±


    ¡°There are a bunch of women. What a wonderful vige.¡±


    ¡°¡­Is there anything else¡­?¡±


    Keeping his frustration back, Loren asked in a low tone, strengthening his grip on us¡¯ shoulder, and as us grimaced at the pain in his shoulder, he wondered what kind or response Loren was expecting, and eventually found an answer.


    ¡°There are a lot of young girls and elderly women? But Loren, discriminating women based on age or looks isn¡¯t a very good¡­Ow! It¡¯ll break!¡±


    ¡°Do you try to get with any girl you see?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I just don¡¯t judge women based on those characteristics!¡±


    Loren let go of us¡¯ shoulder, as his straight answer gave him a sort of a refreshing feeling.


    Freed from Loren¡¯s tight grip, us cocked his head as he massaged his shoulder, as if finally realizing what Loren was talking about.


    ¡°But it¡¯s strange that there aren¡¯t any men.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason for that.¡±


    Rose suddenly interrupted their conversation.


    Loren hadn¡¯t noticed her walk up to them, as all his attention was on us, so he stepped back a few steps in surprise, but us didn¡¯t even blink, as a sloppy grin appeared on his face.


    ¡°What kind of reason would that be, chief? Can you tell us?¡±


    ¡°Master us¡­But what would you do if I told you?¡±


    ¡°Not a doubt. If there¡¯s a woman in need, there¡¯s no way I could ignore her. If there¡¯s anything I could do to help, I¡¯d do it dly.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­Master us.¡±


    Rose said emotionally.


    us didn¡¯t let his smile fall, but Loren was trying to get away from there as quietly as he could.


    Of course, Loren wasn¡¯t someone who would immediately try to help a vige even if he heard about a vige¡¯s plight.


    The only ones who would do that were the hero of a fairy tale and wouldn¡¯t be something that adventurers or mercenaries would do, but apparently it wasn¡¯t so for us.


    It might¡¯ve been because of that personality of his, the nation thought that if they took care of him, he would use his gifts for them, but it didn¡¯t concern Loren, but us, with his head still turned to Rose with a smile, grabbed his belt.


    ¡°Where are you going Loren? You should listen to what she has to say with me.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not interested.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll listen even though you¡¯re not interested. I¡¯m the party leader.¡±


    Loren was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, but when he thought about it, even though he was a temporary member, he was currently still part of us¡¯ party, and us was indeed the leader.


    It seemed harmless to ignore him, but the fact that Loren thought that it seemed childish to go against his word that he would listen to the leader just because he didn¡¯t want to listen to the chief, showed the upright side of him.


    ¡°Just saying, if you decide to take it, it means extra payment. And I can¡¯t guarantee that Lapis would agree to help either, so keep that in mind.¡±


    Loren said to us, not wanting to take an extra job without extra payment, us whispered back, still not taking his eyes off Rose.


    ¡°I know. No matter what happens, I won¡¯t ask you to help for free.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you could just stick to the original job¡­¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t understand sticking your head further into trouble, but seeing us go back to talking with Rose, with Rose continuing to thank him, he already knew the reason.


    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s another vige to the north of this one¡­¡±


    ¡°What about that vige? Was there a conflict?¡±


    ¡°No, we are very friendly with each other. People came and went between the viges, but a few days ago, people stoppeding.¡±


    Since the people who came almost everyday suddenly stoppeding, Rose became worried and sent a few young men to check on them, but they never returned.


    ¡°We knew something was wrong, so this time we sent more men and asked the soldiers that protect our vige to go with them¡­¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t return either?¡±


    Rose nodded at us¡¯ response.


    Suddenly losingmunications with another vige wasn¡¯t umon.


    Viges could disappear anytime, whether it be attacked by monsters, raided by bandits, or get caught up in a battle.


    It was more likely so if the vige was still in the middle of building up.


    ¡°Seeing that both groups didn¡¯te back, I warned everyone to forget about the vige and not to go close.¡±


    Rose¡¯s decision was a bitte.


    But it was still better than not trying anything, so she nned to write a petition to the nation to do something about the situation, but even as she went through the process, for some reason, there were continuous cases of people walking over in the direction of the neighboring vige.


    ¡°And because of that, all the men went off somewhere?¡±


    ¡°At first it was just the men, but then women started disappearing too, as if being attracted to something¡­¡±


    If it were just men, Loren thought that maybe it was a subus, but when she mentioned that it was both the men and the women, Loren wasn¡¯t sure anymore.


    It was apparent that the reason lied at the neighboring vige, but with the investigation groups noting back, there was no information at all.


    ¡°Master us, if you are willing to help us, could you please go to the neighboring vige and investigate what the problem is, and save the people who disappeared?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say anything for now, but I¡¯m not someone to leave a woman in distress. Please don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­Thank you so much Master us¡­¡±


    Rose jumped into us¡¯ arms as he showed a reassuring smile.


    Seeing him hug her back. Loren started wondering when Ange and the other girls would stab him to death and remove the problem.

 Chapter 128: Demanding after Unifying

    <h4>Chapter 128: Demanding after Unifying</h4>


    ¡°If they are that troubled, we should help.¡±


    Unexpectedly to Loren, the one who said that was La.


    Unloading the carriages wasn¡¯t part of the job description, so after borrowing a room in Rose¡¯s house, the party had a meeting, centered around us.


    The proceedings were of course, about the situation he and Loren had heard from Rose and whether they should help or not.


    Loren expected everyone except us to cast negative votes, but the one who suddenly betrayed him was La.


    ¡°I may be an adventurer, but I¡¯m a former knight. I can¡¯t leave the weak asking for help.¡±


    ¡°I knew I could count on you La.¡±


    ¡°Although, the sequence of events our leader went through to obtain this information makes pisses me off¡­¡±


    La clenched her fist so hard it was shaking, but us didn¡¯t mind it.


    She even started grinding her teeth as us started apuding with a big smile, but Loren thought that unless something physical urred, it was impossible to let him be aware.


    ¡°As a priestess¡­I also cannot ignore people in trouble¡­¡±


    Roll followed up with her own opinion nervously.


    This was within Loren¡¯s expectations.


    Although there was the difference of payment or free charge, priests in general had the mentality of having to help those in need, and if a priest ignored them, it would be a problem.


    ¡°As a priestess of the Knowledge god, I don¡¯t think we should leave people in trouble.¡±


    Although she said so with dead eyes and a t voice, this was within Loren¡¯s expectations as well.


    If it were only Loren, she immediately would¡¯ve told him she didn¡¯t want to stick her head into any unnecessary trouble, but on the surface, she was a priestess, so she had to say that.


    Loren and Ange were the ones left, but Loren thought that there was a very low chance that she would disagree.


    In this circumstance, if she did disagree, he would be impressed at her straight personality, but there was no way she could¡¯ve stuck with us this long with one like that.


    ¡°I guess¡­there¡¯s no use for me to be against it. In that case I¡¯ll agree, but you owe me one, alright us?¡±


    ¡°Thanks Ange.¡±


    As Loren expected, Ange calcted that disagreeing with the two girls that agreed already wasn¡¯t the best thing to do, and when she poked us with her finger, us smiled and took her hand.


    Looking at them with cold eyes, as Ange¡¯s face reddened and a small smile appearing on her face, Loren tried to resist.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do it for free. That¡¯s something I can¡¯t take back.¡±


    Since he couldn¡¯t avoid it, he had to make it as worth his time as possible.


    He had to at least secure extra payment, but in the back of his mind, he knew that it would be a difficult matter.


    After all, Rose was thinking that she had managed to snag us using her charms as a woman, so it didn¡¯t seem like she would pay anything extra.


    Even if she were to pay something, it could be that she spends a night with us instead of payment.


    It seemed difficult to squeeze it out of us as well.


    He had already paid them fifteen silver coins, and he was tight on money as well.


    Although he was backed by the nation, he didn¡¯t get all the money he wanted or with no conditions, and there was a limit to what he and his party could spend.


    ¡°For that, let¡¯s see. I understand that since you¡¯re only a temporary member, I shouldn¡¯t force you on jobs you don¡¯t want to take.¡±


    La said so and nodded.


    The reason why her words pointed only towards Loren, was because Lapis had already agreed with helping, and since she couldn¡¯t go back and say she wanted extra payment as well, a weakugh escaped her lips, which stretched across her face into a forced smile.


    ¡°How about this. us and the four of us who agreed pay you two silver coins each, for a total of ten. Would that be enough?¡±


    When La presented the idea, the air around Lapis became even heavier.


    us and the girls didn¡¯t seem to notice, but Loren could see that Lapis didn¡¯t like it, but it would be strange if he suddenly refused the payment, and with her position, there was no way Lapis could say that she didn¡¯t want to pay.


    ¡°That¡¯ll do. I guess.¡±


    Loren decided to immediately jump on the suggestion.


    He might¡¯ve been able to raise the amount if he tried.


    It was because us and the girls had no idea if the job was something they could aplish on their own, and needed all the help they could get, and it would be troublesome if they lost Loren.


    But at the same time, it would mean taking money from Lapis, who had no choice but to agree with them, and to Loren, that meant there was nothing good for her.


    ¡°Thanks for cooperating Loren.¡±


    Waving his hand to stop La from bowing, Loren said in a grumble.


    ¡°I already came this far. I can¡¯t go back to Kauffa alone.¡±


    ¡°Since we all agree, let¡¯s start heading towards the vige Rose spoke of.¡±


    When us said with a big smile on his face, La and Ange pummeled him to the ground.


    As Roll looked on with a sigh as she stepped on him, Loren drew close to Lapis, who still had the smile stuck on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give the coins backter.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something I already paid. Please keep it¡­¡±


    When Lapis said without even batting an eysh, Loren frowned and whispered again.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to act so stubborn you know?¡±


    ¡°Then please buy me something worth two silver coins after the job¡­that¡¯ll do.¡±


    Loren nodded when he finally saw her expression change into a tired one.


    If that would be enough to cheer her up and stable her mental, it wasn¡¯t a bad deal.


    ¡°S-so¡­the neighboring vige¡­¡±


    ¡°We should start by going to that hag and asking her the distance and other pieces of information, as well as supplies.¡±


    ¡°It would be much easier if she would pay extra¡­but since us epted it, I doubt she would do such a thing¡­unfortunately¡­¡±


    ¡°Why does he get caught so easily, I wonder.¡±


    ¡°I believe we can only take it as a trial from god¡­¡±


    ¡°Then your god must be a mean one. But as someone who got tangled up in all this, who am I to say about others?¡±


    Ignoring us, who had recovered from being stomped on by Roll, trying to take the lead again, Loren and the girls went to Rose to try to receive any kind of supplies they could get.


    ¡°Our vige doesn¡¯t have much to offer¡­If the nation did something, I wouldn¡¯t have to ask you to do it¡­¡±


    Rose¡¯s response was pretty much what they had expected.


    She also kept ncing at La, who was dressed like a knight, making it worse.


    Although she had only prepared and hadn¡¯t reported the incident yet, Loren knew that there was almost no chance of the nation doing anything.


    The nation was at war, after all.


    There was no way they would send anyone to deal with a small vige¡¯s problem.


    La hung her head because she knew that as well.


    ¡°But Master us has epted.¡±


    When Rose said so with a smile, us blushed and smiled back.


    While Ange and Roll immediately started punching him in the gut, Loren sighed in exasperation and said to Rose.


    ¡°I get what you want to say. But aren¡¯t you being a bit too dirty about this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like that. I¡¯m just someone who doesn¡¯t have the means to fight that¡¯s appealing to you for mercy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand why you want to do this. But just handing everything over without cutting yourself even a little bit isn¡¯t the most praiseworthy thing to do, no?¡±


    Loren understood weak or helpless people asking stronger people for help.


    But Loren believed that even so, the ones asking for help should of course, carry a part of the burden as well.


    But even when he said that, instead of responding, all Rose did was smile.


    After thinking for a moment, Loren lowered his voice slightly.


    ¡°So that means you can¡¯t give us anything to help?¡±


    ¡°I believe ¡®we can¡¯t give you anything even if we wanted¡¯ is the correct response.¡±


    ¡°I see. I guess it can¡¯t be helped. By the way, since there¡¯s no payment, it means there¡¯s no problem if we fail and we don¡¯t need to report back, right?¡±


    Rose looked at Loren with a wondering face, not understanding what he was saying for a moment, but her expression changed as she heard Loren¡¯s next words.


    ¡°If you paid us, we would carry the risk of failing, and report back to you, whether the situation is wrapped up or not. But since there isn¡¯t, it means you don¡¯t need those either, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°What I mean is, it¡¯s alright if we made it so that we failed immediately after we leave, and just go back to Kauffa.¡±


    If there was no payment, there was no risk or penalty if they failed.


    Then all they had to do was silence us somehow immediately after they left the vige, consider the job a failure, and head back to Kauffa.


    Since La, as a knight, wanted to help them, things wouldn¡¯t go that smoothly, but Rose had no way of knowing that.


    ¡°Please, you can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Then at least try to help, dammit. Don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re weak, getting help is natural. Well, the biggest problem is that our leader is sloppy when ites to women.¡±


    ¡°B-but¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you need to pay us money. There¡¯re things like food, water, or alcohol that you could supply us with, right? Maybe lend us a donkey to carry our things. What I¡¯m saying is, at least try to show a cooperative attitude.¡±


    Loren knew the vige was in a tight spot.


    On top of that, without any men, they didn¡¯t have enough working hands either, so he understood that Rose wanted to save as much as she could for them.


    But trying to solve the problem without carrying any of the burden wasn¡¯t a good thing, and hearing Loren¡¯s demands to give them what they could, Rose started calcting in her head, while cold sweat ran down her brow.

 Chapter 129: Conversation during Travel

    <h4>Chapter 129: Conversation during Travel</h4>


    In the end, Loren was able to borrow a donkey to carry the food and medicine Rose provided to them.


    It had resulted in him telling her that they could fail the job on purpose, but since it was a personal job from Rose herself, not the guild itself, it wouldn¡¯t leave any bad marks on his career, so it was quite lighthearted.


    Rose did have a sullen look on her face, but Loren felt that she wasn¡¯t even being that serious.


    After all, if one were to hire six iron adventurers it would take a few dozen silver coins, but the supplies they had received wasn¡¯t even close to that amount.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you have been able to increase our payment if you tried?¡±


    ¡°Since they¡¯re in a tight spot, they could think of countermeasures. It¡¯s better to y it safe for these types of things.¡±


    Lapis seemed dissatisfied, but publicly she was on the side that agreed with us, so she couldn¡¯t express her dissatisfaction loudly, so all she could do was whisper to Loren, but Loren shook his head.


    Loren knew that greed would only bring more trouble.


    He thought that they should be satisfied that they got something out of nothing.


    From Rose¡¯s description, the neighboring vige was only a few hours away, so since they didn¡¯t have anything to do while the vigers unloaded the carriages, they decided to head there.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to go though.¡±


    ¡°I understand how you feel, but could you give in already?¡±


    La said in response to Loren¡¯sint with a troubledugh, but what was on his mind differed from what she was thinking, so Loren shook his head, wanting to clear the misunderstanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the extra job. I made the vige give us supplies, and I got extra payment. I still haveints, but I¡¯m convinced.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°About the neighboring vige.¡±


    ording to Rose, the closest vige to hers was to the north.


    The size was almost the same, but farther north, past the vige, was a slightlyrge forest, and when Loren looked at the map, he saw that the battlefield that the two nations were fighting at was past that forest.


    ¡°Nearing the battlefield means more danger. You¡¯d understand why I don¡¯t feel like doing this, don¡¯t you?¡±


    To a former mercenary like Loren, the battlefield was like an old home to him, but it wasn¡¯t somece he wanted to step close to either.


    His words of not wanting to get close if he could, came from knowing the dangers of that ce.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a forest between, and it¡¯s quiterge, so wouldn¡¯t it be fine?¡±


    Roll said, looking upwards in a diagonal direction as if recalling the map in her head, so Loren replied as he scratched his head.


    ¡°Only if they were fighting head on with each other. But if they were to go around and attack from the side, the cavalry could go around a forest very quickly.¡±


    Loren knew how scary cavalries were.


    Their mobility and prating abilities were way more powerful than normal soldiers and weren¡¯t opponents you would want to meet in battle.


    ¡°You¡¯re so worrisome.¡±


    When Ange remarked so, surprised at his attitude, Loren shrugged.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to survive the battlefield if you aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to get near one then.¡±


    ¡°If you keep adventuring with that, wouldn¡¯t you have to one way or another?¡±


    When he nodded towards us, who was in the front holding the reins of the donkey, Ange thought for a moment.


    ¡°us is supported by the nation, so he would have to be in battle one day.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll try to help him so that wouldn¡¯t happen, but we don¡¯t know for sure.¡±


    A nation supporting distinguished adventurers or adventurers with potential did mean they considered them to help in battle, but more than that, they were also expected to find and explore ruins, as well as hunt down monsters to keep the nation safer.


    Anyone could understand how foolish it would be to send someone who could do all these things to a battlefield, where only battles are waged, but there could still be times where they would have to face the enemy in war.


    ¡°I¡¯ve started wondering if I should start thinking of switching parties.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not my problem but¡­actually, I¡¯m more confused why you haven¡¯t left him yet.¡±


    Loren thought that us wasn¡¯t a bad person.


    He showed a bit of hubris every now and then, but he was a good person in general.


    Being sloppy with women was a big fault in his personality, but the fact that if it was a woman, age or looks didn¡¯t matter, he could be considered a phnthropist as well.


    ¡°So, he has a fairy tale protagonist kind of aura?¡±


    The girls agreed to what Lapis had said.


    us, who was still leading the donkey, as well as the only one not participating in the conversation, turned back towards the other members who were talking about him with an ashamed face.


    ¡°Could you stop judging me like that behind me?¡±


    ¡°Think of it as a rare chance to find out what the girls think of you.¡±


    With Loren cutting him of so directly, us looked forward again, with the look still on his face.


    Loren snorted as he looked at us¡¯ back, but Ange¡¯s next words almost made him choke.


    ¡°By the way, how do you think of Loren, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°What would that mean?¡±


    When Lapis calmly responded to Ange¡¯s sudden question, Ange pulled on her sleeve with sparkling eyes filled with curiosity.


    ¡°You heard what we thought of us, so this time you could tell us how you feel about Loren.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how it¡¯s rted.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested too. It¡¯s nothing anything difficult. Just think of it as small talk until we reach our destination.¡±


    La had joined in, and Roll nodded deeply next to her.


    8


    When Loren covered his face with his palm, wondering how the conversation took such a weird turn, Lapis calmly ced her finger on her chin and thought for a moment, and then replied with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to invite him to my home sometime soon.¡±


    ¡°I see. You like him so much you want to introduce him to your parents.¡±


    Lapis smiled at a surprised La and an Ange and Roll who were blushing and smiling happily for some reason.


    ¡°But I¡¯m a priestess, so it¡¯s also difficult to take that step. That¡¯s what I currently think.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that priests were forbidden to marry.


    But since they served a deity, getting together with someone and breaking up repeatedly wasn¡¯t good for their image, so they had to be very careful when choosing someone.


    That was what Lapis was talking about, and although she felt that she liked Loren enough to introduce him to her parents, but wasn¡¯t sure of him as a husband, which was a very humble way to express affection.


    ¡°Good to see that you two are getting intimate Loren.¡±


    ¡°Shut up and keep walking.¡±


    As us looked back at him again, smiling, Loren kicked him in the butt, making sure to hold back.


    He thought he had held back quite a bit, but seeing that us floated up in the air very slightly, he realized that he failed to do so, us rubbed the part where he got kicked, putting a note in the back of his mind to make sure to use <<boost>> when teasing Loren or he would really be hurt.


    </boost>


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the troubles being a priestess.¡±


    When Ange muttered so, watching Loren and us with a re, Roll said timidly.


    ¡°Umm Ange, I¡¯m a priestess as well¡­¡±


    ¡°If you like us you better be prepared. That¡¯s not someone who could be content with loving one person.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, umm¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely going to make lovers and mistresses. I¡¯m already determined to deal with it.¡±


    As La said so proudly, everyone other than us wondered what she was so proud of, but she herself didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°You should really fix that personality of yours. Isn¡¯t Ange the one you love?¡±


    Before, when Loren had seen Ange at the brink of death, he couldn¡¯t believe that the worry us showed towards was a lie.


    But he couldn¡¯t understand him hooking up with other women, and as that irritated him and made him want to kick him again, us put some distance away from Loren and nodded with confidence.


    ¡°Of course, the one I love the most in this world is Ange. That¡¯s a fact.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°But loving La and Roll, and all the countless women that I haven¡¯t met yet equally is the main duty of myself.¡±


    ¡°¡­Oh, okay.¡±


    Loren was impressed at the courage us had, to say something like loving all women equally, even though he didn¡¯t want to feel it.


    You couldn¡¯t walk the battlefield without courage, and Loren was quite confident in his own as well.


    But while Loren felt that he was no match for us and felt a weird sense of defeat with ack of frustration, he watched Ange and the girls all attack us from behind him.

 Chapter 130: Arriving at Neighboring Village

    <h4>Chapter 130: Arriving at Neighboring Vige</h4>


    After walking for a while, having conversations as they did so.


    A few members had suffered light injuries before they even reached their destination, but other than that, nothing stood in their way, and they arrived at the vige that Rose told them about just as the sun was starting to set.


    Its size was like Rose¡¯s vige and looked like any other vige as well.


    But although there were signs that it was inhabited until recently, when they scanned the area, it was nothing but a ghost town.


    ¡°Naturally thinking, something¡¯s going on in there.¡±


    After going around once and standing in the center of the vige, Loren¡¯s gaze was directed at the dense forest to the north of them.


    The forest was creepy, since he couldn¡¯t see inside at all in the dying sunlight, but at the same time it just looked like a normal forest.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit simple? It¡¯s possible that the vige got attacked by monsters or something, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    In Lapis¡¯ arms were vegetables and salted meats she got from who knows where, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but look at her sharply.


    ¡°I found them in the food storage, but it¡¯s about to rot, and that would be a waste. We should use it for our own good instead of wasting it, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°If we find vigers, you¡¯d better pay them back.¡±


    Loren was hesitant to take the vige¡¯s food, which could be considered a part of their fortune.


    But as Lapis had said, he knew that it was better for them to eat it than let it all rot.


    So, it was Loren¡¯s opinion that although they should use what they could, but make sure to pay the vigers in case they were found and made sure to express that firmly to Lapis.


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    Lapis agreed to do so quite easily.


    Loren continued staring at Lapis, thinking that she somehow knew that she wouldn¡¯t have to pay anyone anything, but Lapis startedying out the ingredients she brought, not paying any attention to him.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t fresh, but good thing there are vegetables. It looks like we¡¯ll have a good dinner tonight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice. By the way, where are the others¡­¡±


    Right as Loren started, he saw Ange and the girls bring sausages as well as some barrels out of the houses, and sighed, but then he saw us bring a cow out of the cow shed and gulped.


    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡±


    Wondering what his voice sounded like as he called out to them, all of them started stuttering excuses like Lapis, and so Loren put his hand against his forehead and sighed.


    He thought that what they were doing was theft, but since it seemed that using what was avable was part of an adventurer¡¯s creed, he didn¡¯t feel like saying anything more.


    ¡°You guys pay the vigers too if we find them, alright?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty strict when ites to these things, huh.¡±


    us said, impressed, but the cow that he had brought was quite thin and weak since it had been tied up for a while.


    Although it hadn¡¯t starved to death yet, it proved that the people who took care of it had been gone for a while, but it still didn¡¯t tell where they went.


    ¡°What¡¯re you going to do with that cow?¡±


    ¡°I thought maybe we could get some milk.¡±


    ¡°Not with how thin and weak it is. Take it back.¡±


    ¡°Alright. But these animals are lucky. There isn¡¯t anyone to take care of them, but they haven¡¯t been attacked by beasts or monsters.¡±


    Loren thought for a moment at us¡¯ casual words.


    Livestock in these kinds of viges were often attacked by beasts or monsters regardless of vigers being there or not.


    On top of that, the fact that they weren¡¯t attacked even though there was no one to take care of them was strange.


    ¡°Ill tie it back, but I could give it food, right? I don¡¯t want it to starve.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll help.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure what happened to the vigers, but the animals were still alive.


    There was no need to make them starve, so Loren decided to go with us to tie to cow back up and feed them.


    While they did all that, the sun had started to set and their surroundings started to get dark, so thepany decided to camp in the middle of the vige.


    They had considered borrowing some of the vigers¡¯ houses and sleep there but sleeping in houses which the owners had vanished mysteriously wasn¡¯t the most pleasant, and everyone except Loren declined.


    ¡°All of you definitely can¡¯te to the battlefield. Sleeping next to corpses happen all the time.¡±


    ¡°But you will get attacked if they turn undead.¡±


    ¡°Every now and then, yeah. Things like that happen.¡±


    As Loren had said, there were times where soldiers died because bodies that hadn¡¯t been treated properly turned undead and attacked them.


    To prevent that, most of the time the bodies in good shape were tied up and stuffed into bags.


    ¡°Just for reference, what were bodies in bad shapes like?¡±


    Ange asked, and Loren replied like it was nothing.


    ¡°Bodies with no heads or missing limbs won¡¯t turn undead, but even if they did, they can¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked¡­¡±


    Ange said with a sullen face, but to Loren it was nothing out of the ordinary, and it was something he had gotten used to.


    Of course, there was a small bit of unpleasantness that didn¡¯t disappear, but Loren thought that such things could be bearable with experience.


    ¡°Anyways, lets get ready for dinner. Tonight¡¯s is going to be good, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We got the ingredients and the water from the well is good to use so we have a lot of that as well.¡±


    While they were looking through the vige, they found that the vige¡¯s well was still okay.


    For the water, Loren some up and rubbed it on his arm, and after waiting for a while, this time he put a little bit in his mouth, tasting it then spitting it out, and seeing that nothing happened, he then drank some and waited for a bit again, making sure it was safe.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably fine. But boil it just in case.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Should I use <


    >?¡±


    ¡°Feels like a waste, but if you¡¯re just going to sleep after go ahead. But if you were going to do that, did I really have to go through the trouble of checking it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you. But there¡¯s the possibility of something we might be hesitant to put in our mouths even though it doesn¡¯t hurt us.¡±


    Loren guessed that could be so, but us and the other girls started looking at the water like something scary was in it.


    ¡°There¡¯s a limit to how much I can clean with <


    >, so let¡¯s use it on the water we brought to lower the chances of getting upset stomachs.¡±


    There were two priestesses in the party.


    They had many uses of Divine Arts, but they still couldn¡¯t waste a charge just for cleaning water.


    ¡°<


    > is a simple Divine Art, so I¡¯ll use mine. Roll should save hers.¡±


    Lapis said and proceeded to use <


    > on the water.


    From Lapis¡¯ point, it seemed that Roll was more skilled as a priestess than she was, and skilled healers should save their strength in case something happens, so Lapis decided that amon Art such as <


    > could be done by herself.


    ¡°So that means Roll is a better priestess than you are?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, yes. Only as a priestess, though.¡±


    Lapis seemed to imply something, and Loren knew what she meant.


    Since Lapis was a demon, all her abilitiesbined, Roll was no match for her, but there was no way she could mention that in front of everyone.


    It seemed that Roll had more charges of Divine Arts as well.


    ¡°Difference in amount of faith?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Lapis sadly agreed, and Loren patted her on her head to make her feel better.


    As they had such conversations, Lapis continued to prepare the food.


    Although, it wasn¡¯t much in the first ce.


    She just cut the ingredients they gathered from the houses into pieces and threw them into a pot they had found in one of the houses as well, poured water in it, and added salt they had found and herbs they had picked in the area and prepared to stew everything, but it was still better and warmer than eating rations, and dinner with soup was nice as well.


    The only downside was that they had to eat the bread they had brought.


    There was bread left in the vige, but they were all rotten and weren¡¯t in a shape to be eaten.


    ¡°Women who can cook are nice.¡±


    When us said such carefree words so nonchntly, while in a vige where the vigers had mysteriously disappeared, Loren replied in a cold voice, as he thought that us might be something on a whole different level.


    ¡°If you try to hit on her, I¡¯m going to make you go cold.¡±


    ¡°You see. I¡¯m not really into sleeping with other another man¡¯s woman.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t slept with her. And she¡¯s not mine, either¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then there could be an opportunity¡­¡±


    As us started to say so, the de of the great sword that Loren had drawn from his back plunged into the ground less than an inch away from his foot, making the smile on his face freeze as he saw a ck wall suddenly appear in front of his eyes.


    ¡°You say something?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait for dinner to be done.¡±


    As Loren asked us in a cool voice that didn¡¯t make it seem like he had just plunged his sword into the ground, almost stabbing someone in the foot, us immediately replied in a nd voice.


    Everyone was at a loss of words at his quick-wittedness and guts.

 Chapter 131: Approached after Sunrise

    <h4>Chapter 131: Approached after Sunrise</h4>


    The sun rose and soon morning came.


    The group took turns keeping watch, but when the eastern sky was slowly turning white, Loren and Lapis were on watch, and both let out sighs of relief as they squinted at the suning up.


    Although spending the night at a vige where all the vigers disappeared was necessary, it wasn¡¯t the nicest feeling.


    Since nothing happened, they couldn¡¯t help but feel some relief.


    ¡°No one came.¡±


    There was no one who entered nor came out of the forest.


    ¡°What should we do today then?¡±


    ¡°We could start with investigating the vige again and think about whether or not to check out the forest. If there¡¯s something going on, it¡¯s either the vige or the forest.¡±


    There was nothing out of the ordinary that they could see.


    Lapis nodded at Loren¡¯s opinion that those two were the only leads they had, and looked towards the tent that us and the girls were sleeping in.


    ¡°I guess they aren¡¯t like Sarfe.¡±


    Loren wondered where he had heard that name and treaded through his memories to ce it, and after a while, he remembered that he was the leader of the group that Lapis had been in, and had been the one to invite him to join them.


    He remembered what he had done during their first job as well and understood that Lapis was worried that us would do something simr.


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s not iron rank for nothing. He must be considerate of ce and time.¡±


    ¡°Or he learned how to be so.¡±


    ¡°Either way, as long as it doesn¡¯t hurt us.¡±


    There was a lot of firewood, possibly because the forest was so close.


    They took some of it and Loren started a fire.


    ¡°I guess we could start boiling water and start breakfast. Could you go wake up us and the girls?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Seeing Lapis nod, Loren put a pot on top of the fire and poured water in it.


    Since he thought it wasn¡¯t good to eat heavily, he decided to do something simple, taking thin slices of bread, grilling them lightly, and putting cheese that were also lightly grilled on top of them.


    Drinking alcohol first thing wasn¡¯t good either, so he took a few tea leaves from his bag and dumped them into the boiling water, making a thin tea.


    As Loren was thinking that this should suffice as breakfast, us and the girls started crawling out of their tents.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty adept Loren.¡±


    us said, impressed as he saw what Loren had prepared, but Loren didn¡¯t respond and just told him to get changed.


    With his life on the battlefield, Loren was used to sleeping with all his armor on, but us and the girls seemed to have chosen to take off all their equipment and sleep lightly, so they had to put everything on again.


    But probably since they had been adventurers for a while, it didn¡¯t take them long to suit up ande back out.


    ¡°Eat then we work. We¡¯ll investigate the vige again.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Hopefully we find something that would tell us what happened.¡±


    Loren said as he handed us a cup full of tea, and us took it and shook his head, chasing away the rest of his drowsiness as he took a sip.


    ¡°You used good leaves. It has a good scent.¡±


    ¡°We had a funder this time around.¡±


    ¡°¡­If it¡¯s from my own pocket, I guess I¡¯ll make the most of it.¡±


    As us said with a nervousugh, Loren handed him fresh bread with cheese on it as well.


    As he took it, us realized that all the girls were staring at him, and he tilted his head as he bit into the bread.


    ¡°Did you finally realize my charms or something?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty lively first thing in the morning.¡±


    Loren stared at us with half opened eyes as hebed through his hair, but his brow furrowed as he noticed a wondering gaze from Lapis and grumpy looks from Ange and the other girls.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Loren, are you getting friendlier with us, by any chance?¡±


    Lapis asked him, as if speaking for all the girls.


    Feeling ufortable being stared at by everyone, Loren replied.


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t done anything, so there¡¯s no reason to treat him badly either, no?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as his womanizing habits aren¡¯t fixed, we can¡¯t be friends.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s relieving.¡±


    Lapis put her hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.


    Seeing the other girls finally look away, satisfied, Loren looked back towards us, wondering if it was a good thing if they were satisfied with such a response, but us just looked back, still chewing the bread, asking him if he needed anything.


    Loren decided to stop thinking about it and start breakfast as well.


    As he went back to slicing the bread, putting them on the fire and putting cheese on top of them, Shayna¡¯s voice rang out in the back of his head.


    ¡®Onii-san, something¡¯sing. A great number of them.¡¯


    When he asked which direction, she told him west.


    Putting down the knife and bread he was holding, Loren looked to the west.


    A field spread out past the houses of the viges, but he couldn¡¯t see anything like what Shayna had just warned him about.


    But it was a warning from a no life king, so he couldn¡¯t let his guard down just because he couldn¡¯t see anything, so Loren tied his great sword that was next to him on his back.


    ¡°Loren? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    As Lapis picked up the bread he had put down and took a bite, Loren wondered how he should word it.


    He didn¡¯t think they would believe him if he said something wasing even though they couldn¡¯t see anything.


    Of course, he could tell Lapis that it was Shayna if it were just her, but he couldn¡¯t say that when us and the others were there as well.


    If he couldn¡¯t mention Shayna, there was no credibility to his words.


    ¡°I think I saw something.¡±


    Loren said so, knowing that there was no credibility whatsoever, yet not able to think of anything else to say, but Lapis¡¯ face grew grim.


    She threw the bread away and tapped Ange, who was reaching for a slice of bread.


    ¡°Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Ange, could you use the spell, <<distant view="">>?¡±


    </distant>


    ¡°O-of course. It¡¯s an elementary level spell¡­¡±


    The spell was a simple one that allowed the user to see off into the distance, and as Ange had mentioned, it was an elementary level spell.


    It was a spell any magician could use, and it wasn¡¯t something you would ask if they could use, but every now and then, there would be magicians who specialized in attacking spells, so it wasmon practice to ask.


    ¡°Then please use it.¡±


    ¡°That direction? Got it.¡±


    Ange didn¡¯t question Lapis¡¯ request and started chanting.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? I can¡¯t see anything¡­¡±


    ¡°Dunno, but I felt something bad.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t like how what he was saying was so vague, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    He even considered telling them about Shayna butparing whatever wasing towards them and a no life king, it was obvious which one was more dangerous.


    ¡°Mercenary¡¯s intuition? Sounds legitimate.¡±


    ¡°You doubt me?¡±


    Loren asked us, but he threw the rest of the bread in his mouth and shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s the intuition of a battle-hardened mercenary. What else would you do except believe it?¡±


    Nodding at us¡¯ words, La and Roll immediately started taking down the tents.


    Loren felt kind of bad since they couldn¡¯t even eat properly, but as Loren was trying to think of how to apologize, Ange¡¯s warning reached his ears.


    ¡°I see a cavalry! Their numbers¡­I don¡¯t know, but a lot!¡±


    ¡°Judging from the direction, it looks like they¡¯re from the side of Wagenburg. I feel like there wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I don¡¯t want to meet them either.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it only smells like trouble.¡±


    The possibilities that Loren could think of was the war going on farther north, past the forest.


    He guessed that it was probably some sort of unit that was participating in it.


    There wasn¡¯t enough information to know why they wereing towards the vige, but adventurers making food with ingredients they found in an abandoned vige wouldn¡¯t be a good first impression.


    ¡°Nothing good¡¯s going toe out of them finding us. Ange, are theying this way?¡±


    Loren stomped the fire out.


    He had used dry wood so there wasn¡¯t a lot of smoke that went up, but to keen eyes even a light smoke trail could be visible.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯reing straight for the vige.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to run. We¡¯ll have to hide in a house or storage.¡±


    Loren considered running into the forest, but he wanted to avoid heading into it when they weren¡¯t sure if something was wrong with it, so he took it out of their options.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with that then.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the leader of this party, right¡­?¡±


    us immediately started moving, but Loren red at his back with half opened eyes.


    Since Loren had received the information from Shayna, there was no way us could¡¯ve known anything about the situation they were in, but since they now knew, it should¡¯ve been us to think and make the decisions.


    ¡°Yeah, but you seem like you¡¯re more experienced, you know?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny it.¡±


    Although he said that, he wasn¡¯t sure what to think of us not saying even a single word.


    Not even knowing his thoughts, everyone started taking down their camp quickly and covering their tracks.

 Chapter 132, From Arriving To Travelling Together

    <h4>Chapter 132, From Arriving To Travelling Together</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Before long, just as Loren had sensed and Ange had confirmed with her <distant view="">, a group of riders arrived in the vige. But by then, Loren¡¯s group had already cleared their camp and left the za.</distant>


    At first, they had thought about hiding in a warehouse or some cattle pen; however, after some careful consideration, they concluded that once the riders arrived and found no one in the viges, they would search those ces next. So, they chose a suitable home in the vige and hid there.


    Dealing with the donkey that carried their luggage was another problem. But in order to be able to apologize and exin things in case the vigers came back, they also led it into the house.


    ¡°They have nice equipment.¡±


    Loren muttered. He closed the window¡¯s shutter so that it wouldn¡¯t look out of ce, and was peeking outside through the slits to check out the riders.


    He believed them to be Vargenburg¡¯s soldiers. There was still the possibility that they were robbers though. Still, Loren didn¡¯t think that there was a robber gang powerful enough to mobilize dozens of riders like this.


    ¡°Vargenburg¡¯s regr soldiers. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    La, who was also peeking outside the window, confirmed their identities. Loren considered that if she, a former knight of Vargenburg, had said so, then it couldn¡¯t be wrong.


    ¡°What do Vargenburg¡¯s soldiers do at a ce like this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m sure it has something to do with the war.¡±


    As La answered Ange¡¯s question, the troopers rode deeper into the vige, and some of them spread out. Judging by their behavior Loren assumed that they were likely scouting and checking out the state of affairs here. That didn¡¯t say anything about their intentions though.


    ¡°Would be fun if we could snatch one.¡±


    To understand the situation, asking the person himself would be easiest. But if they did that, they would definitely be branded as criminals. Working in such arge number, it was certain that these Vargenburg soldiers were acting on someone¡¯s orders. If they hindered their job, things would be neither pretty nor fun.


    ¡°Should I secretly capture one of them?¡±


    Lapis proposed in response to Loren¡¯s words, but he shook his head.


    ¡°If you do, you¡¯ll turn the whole empire into your enemy.¡±


    ¡°Miss La, would your connection manage somehow?¡±


    La had looked startled at the word ¡®capture¡¯, but her expression stiffened immediately, and she pondered for a short while. She tilted her head in contemtion while groaning quietly.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult. I¡¯m not sure if I can get through to them or not. These soldiers are following some secret order; if this is handled poorly, it¡¯s very likely that we¡¯ll be arrested here.¡±


    ¡°Even that will be fine, I think.¡±


    Loren grumbled. He had been unwilling to take on this job from the beginning; bumping into the kingdom¡¯s soldiers and getting arrested halfway through would be a splendid reason to give it up, wouldn¡¯t it?


    However, being tied up, even for a short a time, wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience. Loren himself couldn¡¯t bear the thought of it, letting Lapis and the others have such an experience, was not an option.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be easier to talk if there¡¯s someone I know¡­ No, wait, that person is probably¡­¡±


    La, who was looking outside with bated breath, seemed to have discovered a familiar face among the troopers that had stopped at the za; she inched her face close to the window slits.


    ¡°I¡¯ve probably found someone who I can talk to. I¡¯ll go out first. I¡¯ll call you out if things go well; if not, I¡¯ll shout, and you guys run. It won¡¯t be a big deal if only I get caught.¡±


    Said La, after looking closely at the troopers for a while, as if to verify her memory. She then moved away from the window and before the group could ask any questions, she leapt out of the house.


    There was no time to stop her; us and the others couldn¡¯t do anything but watched her leave in shock. Loren and Lapis took up the reins of the donkey, ready to run away at any moment and listened closely for any sounds from outside.


    The troopers immediately noticed La and surrounded her, but it seemed like she had introduced herself as a Knight of Vargenburg immediately: they didn¡¯t arrest her, but took her to the square where troopers were gathering instead.


    ¡°Will La be alright?¡±


    Ange asked worriedly. As if to reassure her, us hugged her shoulders and pulled her towards him. Roll seemed to be jealous of it and quietly leaned on us; he put his hand on her waist and also pulled her to him.


    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡­¡±


    Loren questioned bluntly; he was feeling doubtful about whether they really understood the situation. When he noticed Lapis, who was beside him, looking up at him with expectant eyes, he scratched his head.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t do that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve lost to us here, I think.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about winning or losing, not that I want to win, in the first ce. Rather than that, focus on the current situation. If La gives a warning, we have to run right away.¡±


    Loren said as if chiding. Smiling wryly, us took his hands off the girls, and they hurriedly distanced themselves from him while blushing. Lapis looked dissatisfied, but she seemed unwilling to pursue the matter further and just quietly watched for any progress with bated breath.


    Finally, they heard La calling from outside:


    ¡°Talk is done! It¡¯s alright toe out now!¡±


    us and the other two girls were relieved that La had seemed to handle things well. But Lapis still looked tense, and Loren once again put his hand on his great sword in alert.


    ¡°Loren? What¡¯s wrong? La said it¡¯s alright¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not something to ept without questioning. I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    He and Lapis believed they shouldn¡¯t let their guards down until they could be absolutely certain that everything was alright. But it was probably no use telling us about that, so Loren decided to go out by himself first. It was so that he could buy some time for the others to escape if anything happened, but they didn¡¯t seem to understand. us still nodded with a puzzled face though.


    As Loren pushed the door at the entrance open, a number of soldiers were waiting for him. They looked surprised that his hand was still on his great sword. La stepped out a bit quickly from behind them and spoke to him:


    ¡°Of course, you¡¯lle out first. It¡¯s alright, really. There¡¯s no problem at all.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t they tell us to disarm or something?¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t. But don¡¯t go berserk. If you do, I don¡¯t know what kind of damage you¡¯ll cause. I, knight La, will guarantee your safety myself.¡±


    Having the knight using her own name to assure it, Loren epted that everything was alright and finally moved his hand away from his weapon. He felt relief flooded the atmosphere as he did so. Turning around, he met Lapis¡¯ eyes; she was peeking out through the slits. He beckoned them over, indicating that all was good.


    ¡°Could you pleasee this way? The captain wants to talk to you about something.¡±


    A soldier told Loren once everyone hade out and led him away. Following him, Loren was taken into the center of the group of troopers gathering in the za, and came face to face with one of them.


    ¡°Excuse me for staying on horseback. I am Karl Belnadotte, a Knight of Vergenburg. I am currently the Captain of this group.¡±


    The one who introduced himself was a middle-age man, who dressed in nicer armor than the surrounding soldiers. He had an impressive beard, and the gaze he gave Loren from his horseback was not that unpleasant despite the hint of caution it held. Loren bowed slightly in return.


    ¡°Loren, adventurer. I am here due to some circumstances.¡±


    It was good manners to introduce your name after being introduced; even Loren understood that much.


    In this kingdom, knights were also a part of the aristocracy, and Loren had thought that they wouldn¡¯t have bothered about things like the name of an adventurer. But the reaction of this knight didn¡¯t make him feel any distaste.


    ¡°Thank you for letting me know your name. I have heard a bit about your circumstances from Knight La. As I understand, you were entrusted by the neighboring vige to investigate the unusual happening here; is that correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s about it.¡±


    Loren felt a little reluctant about the term ¡®entrusted¡¯. To be correct, he was temporarily instated as the leader of the party, but he had no intention to exin that to the knight in front of him. Even though it couldn¡¯t be helped, having others known that someone like him had taken the role of the temporary leader was embarrassing to him.


    And, by all rights, us should have been the one to stand here and talk to this knight as the leader. In a manner of speaking, Loren felt like he had been cajoled into this somehow. Even though he had been the one to step up first, he wanted toin about how wrong the role assignment was.


    ¡°Is that¡­ Sir us? There¡¯ve been rumors about him for some time now. I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s a brilliant adventurer.¡±


    ncing behind Loren, Karl saw us and bowed ever so slightly. us also bowed to him in return. Admiring the difference in treatment, Loren tried throwing a question once Karl¡¯s eyes had returned to him:


    ¡°What are you doing here, Sir Knight of Vargenburg?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a ssified military mission, so I can¡¯t talk about it. But we n to enter the forest and head for the northern exit.¡±


    Was it proper to say that, Loren wondered. With the war going on, he couldn¡¯t think of any other reason why they woulde out of the forest from the northern exit except to strike the enemies from the nk or the rear.


    Riding through a forest didn¡¯t seem like a very good idea, but the forest wasn¡¯t that dense to make passing it on horsebacks impossible. They probably could make it if they slowed their speed.


    ¡°However, there¡¯s something that bothers me a little. That concern has gotten stronger once we arrived at this vige.¡±


    ¡°Would it be alright for me to ask what it is?¡±


    Lapis asked Karl before Loren could open his mouth.


    Karl looked alert for a moment, but once he noticed that the one who had asked the question was a girl in priest clothing, he softened just a little. When Loren was thinking how convenient it was to have clothes that could announce to everyone that one was a priest, Karl spoke.


    ¡°You have known that there is a war going on in this vicinity, I believe.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve heard of that.¡±


    ¡°The truth is, desertion has been happening one after another in both armies.¡±


    That was not anything unusual, Loren thought.


    In the first ce, there were very few people going to wars because they liked it. Most people did because they had no other choice, and as they could die at any time, he could understand why some wanted to run away.


    It was a bit concerning if desertion was happening in both sides, but the chance of dying wasn¡¯t that different for front line soldiers whether their side was winning or losing. So, it was not like people would run away only when they were losing.


    ¡°It seems like the deserters have taken refuge in this forest.¡±


    Karl turned his stern eyes to the forest and scowled.


    ¡°I thought that they would hide in this vige before passing through the forest, but if this ce has be vacant, then where did they go?¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking that they¡¯re staying in the forest?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But we don¡¯t have the time to ponder or investigate it.¡±


    Having said that much, Karl made a proposal to Loren as if he had juste up with it:


    ¡°If it¡¯s alright, what do you think about travelling together with us? Since the vige has been in this state, I believe you have also thought about investigating the forest.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to take part in wars.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. If youe with us, you¡¯ll be able to grasp the state of affairs in the forest to some extent, and it¡¯ll be safer than you going through it alone, don¡¯t you think? I also believe that it¡¯ll be safer for us to cross the forest with some adventurers than by ourselves. What do you think?¡±


    It could be said that the ability to detect danger of adventurers was superior to that of knights or soldiers, whose main purpose was to fight. In exchange, they could borrow the knights¡¯ and soldiers¡¯bat ability to pass the forest ¨C that was what Karl was proposing.


    It was not such a bad bargain, but was there a catch in it somewhere? Loren wondered. He looked at Karl, who was waiting for his answer while considering what to do about it.

 Chapter 133, From Acceptance To Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 133, From eptance To Chaos</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    In the end, Loren decided to ept Karl¡¯s proposal.


    As he had said beforehand that he didn¡¯t want to participate in the war, he decided that he would just feign ignorance till the end no matter what he was told. Should anything happen in the forest, it would be a merit to have more people ¨C that was the reason why he epted the proposal.


    He had been supposed to confirm with us first, but since us himself just approved it readily, the other girls also had noints. And things just went along like that.


    ¡°Will only us walk?¡±


    ¡°I apologize for it, but we don¡¯t have horses to lend you. Since we¡¯ll move slowly in the forest, you walking probably wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Talking about borrowing horses, Loren actually had no experience riding a horse. He had never ridden a horse during his mercenary days, and horses were extremely expensive to be of practical use to begin with. Moreover, horses that had been trained for battles were also rare; one wouldn¡¯t be able to ride them unless one belonged to the army.


    It was the same for us and the others. The only ones who had ever ridden a warhorse were La, a knight and for some reason, Lapis.


    ¡°How did you ever ride a horse?¡±


    ¡°That is, well, a secret of the maiden.¡±


    Lapisughed mysteriously. He could have pressed her for an answer, yet since they wouldn¡¯t be lent horses anyway, Loren just stopped the conversation there. Without horses there was no difference whether she could or couldn¡¯t ride a horse.


    Karl decided to leave some troopers in the vige in case any vigers return. At the same time, he let the two return to the main force to report about the unusual happening here.


    Loren thought that the kingdom¡¯s involvement might improve the situation. Nevertheless, there was no way back anymore, unless the state of affairs changed.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s go.¡±


    At Karl¡¯smand, the cavalry slowly advanced into the forest. Loren¡¯s group was at the front, walking near Karl.


    The forest was quite gloomy inside, but the trees didn¡¯t grow too thick to hinder riders¡¯ pass. There were also paths formed by vigersing and going, so there seemed to be no issue for the slowly-moving cavalry. The biggest problem was their width. Human footpaths weren¡¯t wide enough for horses to line up side by side. Thus, Karl instructed the troop to advance in two columns.


    ¡°How long does it take to pass through this forest?¡±


    ¡°About two hours on foot.¡±


    Military personnel were generally the ones who knew most about topography details. There were maps on the market, but the information they recorded were very vague; in many cases, the country concealed the exact distance and location.


    ¡°For some reason, the atmosphere here is a bit strange.¡±


    As they went forth on the forest paths, Karl looked around and muttered.


    ¡°Have you noticed? There are no signs of birds, animals or even insects in the forest. It¡¯s too quiet.¡±


    Loren had also noticed without Karl pointing it out. A forest was a ce where various creatures lived. It wouldn¡¯t be strange to see the signs of their presence, to hear their sounds or to catch a glimpse of their shapes. Yet there were no birds and not a single animal he could find when he looked around; it wasn¡¯t normal.


    ¡°If there are deserters or vigers here, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to have signs of them.¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, having no signs of them so far is rather eerie.¡±


    Lapis, who was walking next to Loren, voiced her feelings. Not just Loren group, the soldiers were also having the same thoughts. Some of the troopers looked around with anxious faces, representing the uneasiness they felt.


    ¡°I¡¯ll want to investigate this if we have time, but I can¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a good tendency for soldiers to be anxious.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll end once we leave the forest.¡±


    Karl said, but the whole group had to stop just a short whileter.


    ¡°Messenger here! There¡¯s people ahead!¡±


    When the news came from the group that had gone ahead of them, it had been about one hour since they had stepped into the forest.


    Karl immediately ordered the whole troop to stop and rode ahead himself to check what the messenger had reported. Loren¡¯s group also followed him.


    When they arrived at the vanguard, a bewildered-looking soldier pointed to a human figure standing alone on the path ahead and reported to Karl, who was approaching him.


    ¡°Captain, there¡¯s a person.¡±


    ¡°A viger?¡±


    The human figure looked to be female; she didn¡¯t show any reaction even after seeing a cavalry. She wore themon clothes of vigers, and didn¡¯t appear to be armed. They couldn¡¯t see her face due to the distance and the gloom of the forest, but her just standing straight without even swaying was quite unsettling.


    ¡°Is it human?¡±


    As Loren muttered, Shayna¡¯s voice spoke up in his mind.


    [¡®Doesn¡¯t seem to be an undead, onii-san.¡¯]


    [¡®Any signs from the surroundings?¡¯]


    [¡®That¡­ I don¡¯t know for sure. There seems to be some, but at the same time doesn¡¯t¡­¡¯]


    Loren heightened his alertness at Shayna¡¯s vague words. If even the King of the Dead couldn¡¯t be sure of the situation, then it couldn¡¯t be normal.


    [¡®It feels like something is hindering me. Please be careful, onii-san.¡¯]


    Loren didn¡¯t need Shayna to tell him that. Seeing Lorenid his hand on his greatsword, us group and Lapis also became tense.


    And of course, Karl also began to give orders seeing them like that.


    ¡°Be alert! We don¡¯t know what will happen!¡±


    The change happened right at that moment.


    The first thing Loren could sense was a sweet aroma tickling the back of his nose; it felt just like a flower¡¯s nectar was mixed into the air. Loren reflexively covered his mouth with a hand, but he couldn¡¯t stop breathing.


    ¡°Wh-what is this?¡±


    Noticing that Karl¡¯s confused voice seemed to be strangely faraway, Loren beat at his chest. Every time he breathed in the heartburn-inducing air, a haze shrouding his consciousness. Loren fell to his knees.


    It also appeared to affect the cavalry; some began to fall from their horses with a confused expression on their faces.


    ¡°Loren-san, are you alright?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help breathing but every time he did, his consciousness became hazy. Loren could feel an rm bell ringing somewhere in his head, telling him to run away from this ce immediately. But his arms and legs just wouldn¡¯t do what they were told.


    Just when he thought how ugly it was to be like this, Lapis, who was standing beside him, put her hands under his arms and helped him up. The tone of her voice was unexpectedly calm.


    ¡°Things seem to have be strange again.¡±


    Even though she was talking right next to him, her voice also seemed toe from a distance. It was just like getting drunk on some strong wine. Loren desperately shook his head to maintain his consciousness, but the drunkenness became stronger every time he breathed; so that just standing by himself became a difficult thing.


    ¡°Lapis¡­ Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course I am. Won¡¯t you praise me?¡±


    Lapis said with a grin. As Loren staggered on his feet, she kept a hand on his waist and lent him a shoulder to help him stand. But he couldn¡¯t even reply to that; his consciousness had begun to dim.


    ¡°What about us and the others?¡±


    ¡°Seems like thedies are no good. They have all gone down. us-san is¡­ amazingly, he seems fine.¡±


    ¡°The cavalry¡­¡±


    ¡°All are no good. Most have fallen from their horses and just lied there.¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­ so¡­¡±


    He couldn¡¯t collect his thoughts at all; just breathing had be a rough thing to do.


    Loren suddenly became very aware of Lapis¡¯ body pushing against him. As he grasped her free hand for a moment without really knowing what he was thinking, he got a punch to his face. The pain radiating from his cheek and the taste of blood inside his mouth woke his mind for just a moment, and his awareness immediately turned hazy again.


    ¡°Just what is this, really¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well? This¡­ seems to have be a critical situation.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ tone changed, which signaled Loren once more that they were in a really bad situation. But even as he thought about options, the sweet scent pouring into his mouth and nose scattered all thoughts away.


    ¡°A poison¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. To be able to prate Loren¡¯s protection that easily, the culprit seems to be quite brutal.¡±


    Lapis answered. She looked around and quietly clucked her tongue.


    ¡°And, we¡¯re surrounded.¡±


    Numerous human figures began to emerge from the shades of the trees. Where had that many people hidden up until now? They looked like vigers and soldiers, and their appearances and genders varied. They slowly walked up, grabbed the immobile soldiers that had fallen from their horses and dragged them into the depth of the forest.


    Would the horses panic and go on a rampage? Strange, wondered Lapis, while casually waved her arm at an approaching human figure. The head of the figure that had been trying to grab her was shredded just by that action, with the pieces flying up and disappearing into the trees. Blood squirted up from the headless body.


    The scent of blood woke Loren¡¯s mind a little.


    ¡°Run¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to. us!¡±


    Lapis called and us, who was keeping the girls up, turned around. His face was painted with surprise: at the unfamiliar expressions on Lapis¡¯ face or at the change of the situation, no one knew.


    ¡°Can you run?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure. I can¡¯t leave the rest behind.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s see if we can use the horses for transportation.¡±


    ¡°What about the soldiers?!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s abandon them. It¡¯s impossible to save everyone anyway.¡±


    Lapis hurriedly gave us instruction, and he immediately began to load the unconscious girls on the back of a horse that wasn¡¯t shifting around.


    Lapis kicked down one approaching figure and grabbed the cor of another and shoved it into a tree. Then she lightly lifted Loren, who was still leaning on her shoulder, to a horse¡¯s back and nimbly sat astride it herself.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be nice if we can escape by running away, but that must be impossible.¡±


    ¡°Where can we run to?!¡±


    With three people on a horse, there was no more space for a rider. us had no choice but to take the reins and pulled the horse along. Lapis shrugged at him.


    ¡°Well, where to, I wonder? Away from here at least. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll leave the destination to you!¡±


    Lapis wondered what to do if the horse wouldn¡¯t run, but it obediently broke into a run with a light kick to the stomach. In order to keep up with the horses, us activated a <strength boost=""> on himself and followed her with enhanced speed and vigor.</strength>

 Chapter 134, Dealing With Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 134, Dealing With Chaos</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The horse did run, but not that fast.


    Even though the way it ran was unsure somehow, they should be thankful that it did run at all, Lapis thought.


    She didn¡¯t know if Loren, who she was holding on the back of the horse, was aware or not. Sometimes he clenched his teeth or knocked at his own head in an attempt to clear up his mind, but it didn¡¯t seem to work.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. You should sleep, if you like to.¡±


    ¡°Lapis¡­¡±


    Loren muttered and looked at her over his shoulder. For a brief moment, Lapis was thoroughly surprised at the gaze he directed towards her. The molten eyes on his flushed face carried such interest for the opposite sex that she had to wonder if it was too tant. Needing to confirm it, Lapis cautiously spoke to him even as she blushed involuntarily:


    ¡°Loren, could it be that you¡¯re thinking about¡­¡±


    ¡°Quiet¡­ ¡®s nothing¡­¡±


    Loren replied in a somewhat ashamed voice. He let himself fall face down on the horse¡¯s neck and made a ragged sound while thrusting a fist into his own head. Lapis knew she should make him stop, but she could somehow guess what kind of state Loren was in right now from his gaze and expression earlier; if she stopped him, things would be impossible to stop.


    us¡¯ shriek-like voice came from behind her then, making the horse stop.


    ¡°Wait! Now is¡­ tch, uwah?!¡±


    Lapis turned the horse around to look. The girls had reached out and grasped u¡¯s hand, who was pulling the reins of the horse carrying them. He was right in the middle of shaking them loose.


    Ange slipped down from the horse with intoxicated eyes and a smile on her face, and clung to us¡¯ neck. Before one realized, La had also dismounted and was hugging him from behind, while Roll clung tightly to his leg with both arms.


    Normally, Lapis would have yelled at them, but she couldn¡¯t after seeing the state Loren was in. It was clear that something was causing these usually-cannot-happen things to happen.


    ¡°Well, what should I do?¡±


    Strangely, the idea of helping us didn¡¯t cross Lapis¡¯ mind at all. The problem was Loren.


    She could somehow guess what was happening to him. If this continued, Loren would probably endure it with his will, but it wouldn¡¯t be good for his body, not to mention especially hard on his mind.


    For a moment, Lapis considered justing at him, but she immediately shook her head to chase that thought away. She didn¡¯t want to be rejected, and if it turned out that Loren didn¡¯t desire her, there would be problems with their rtionship from now on. And above all, doing it on horseback in a forest was no way to her taste.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that the first time must be on a canopy bed, but well.¡±


    She joked while patting Loren, who was lying on the horse¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Shayna, can you hear me? If yes, take control of Loren¡¯s body for a while. As you are the No Life King, you can do that much, right? I will apologizeter if there¡¯s any problems.¡±


    As Lapis made her appeal, Loren¡¯s body, which had been lying face down, twitched. A short whileter, it rose up and turned around with an emotionless face. Even though she felt slightly ufortable as the empty eyes turned towards her, Lapis still spoke to Loren¡¯s body, which was staring at her without moving.


    ¡°Did you seed?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes, onee-san¡­¡±


    The words came from Loren¡¯s mouth, in Loren¡¯s voice, but didn¡¯t belong to him. The tness of the tone, as well as the words that he normally wouldn¡¯t use caused something like a chill running down her spine. Still, Lapis spoke.


    ¡°So you seeded.¡±


    ¡°Because onii-san voluntarily gave me the control.¡±


    Loren replied, but Lapis could sense that regardless of the appearance, the person inside was different. Of course, it went without saying that this other person was No Life King Shayna, who normally reside quietly inside Loren.


    By all rights, it was not an easy thing to take control of someone else¡¯s body while dwelling inside it, even to a No Life King. For it to go smoothly, Loren must have been giving the control of his body to Shayna by his own will after noticing his own unusual condition.


    ¡°Do you have any difficulty moving the body?¡±


    Even though both Loren and Shayna were from the same race, there was a clear difference in their physiques. Movements were basically the same, but if the different sensationing from the difference in physiques became a hindrance, it would need some getting used to.


    ¡°I don¡¯t. But I think fighting is impossible, onee-san.¡±


    Shayna answered. She had looked at her arms and body as if they were something strange, and began to raise the arms and turned the neck and such. Even though Loren¡¯s physical strength could be used as is and she could easily lift the greatsword, Shayna herself didn¡¯t have the knowledge or skills to fight with it. It would be just like swinging a big sword around, and even though that was kind of a threat of its own, it would be impossible for Shayna to fight like Loren.


    ¡°And, I don¡¯t rmend maintaining this state for a long time.¡±


    By nature, being forcibly moved by someone else that wasn¡¯t its owner like this wasn¡¯t a good thing for Loren¡¯s body, Shayna said. Moreover, some adverse effects might happen to his mind due to the separation from his body, no matter how temporary it was. Such an unnatural state should be corrected as soon as possible.


    ¡°It¡¯s either one of these two: Just abandon everything and run away if the worst happens, or give the control back to Loren, assuming that he¡¯ll ept me.¡±


    ¡°Onee-san, you are such an adult¡­¡±


    Shayna bashfully blushed just a little, but the appearance was that of Loren. The gap between the action and the appearance was so big that Lapis felt dizzy.


    ¡°A-aside from that, is there any inconvenience?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡­ is a bit ufortable¡­¡±


    Shayna hesitantly looked down at her own crotch. Lapis understood what she wanted to say with that action; she looked up at the sky and sighed, unable to say anything.


    The difference in physique between Loren and Shayna was definitely a problem, but something even more problematic was their difference in gender: Loren was a man, and Shayna was a girl. In short, Loren had something that Shayna originally didn¡¯t have, and the feeling of a non-existing organ brought confusion and difort to her.


    ¡°I have decided that this is a very serious situation.¡±


    ¡°O-onee-san¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to tell him to give me some detailed datater¡­¡±


    ¡°Please stop, onee-san. Onii-san will die mentally.¡±


    Shayna pped her hands in a panic. The action would be cute had it been done by a girl, but it was a deadly weapon being performed by a well-trained swordsman like Loren.


    The horse whinnied in annoyance at all the fuss being done on its back. Lapis soothed it while smiling wryly and apologizing to Shayna, who was still waving her arms around.


    ¡°Sorry sorry. It was a rather bad joke.¡±


    ¡°Please stop, really. Onii-san can hear this.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ face twitched slightly at those words. While residing inside Loren, Shayna was able to see and hear the state of the outside world by synchronizing with his sensations. Conversely, now that she was in control of the body, she seemed to be able to transmit what she saw and heard to Loren.


    ¡°As I have be the No Life King, I¡¯m alright with the total darkness I reside in, where I can¡¯t hear anything. But Onii-san is human, and spending a long time in a state where there¡¯s no sound or no light can cause abnormalities to his mentality.¡±


    ¡°I feel like there is a kind of torture just like that.¡±


    ¡°Therefore, I¡¯m still maintaining my synchronization with onii-san¡¯s sense of sight and hearing. Please act while bearing that in mind, onee-san.¡±


    ¡°I will keep it in mind.¡±


    Wondering what kind of retaliation would await her once this was all over, Lapis shuddered slightly and turned her eyes towards us and the girls, who were still entangling with each other on the ground.


    Seemed like us was trying desperately to fend off the girls, but even though he had an advantage in terms of individual power, he was overwhelmingly disadvantageous in terms of number. The situation was slowly bing one where it was impossible to say that his defense wouldn¡¯t break.


    ¡°So unexpected. I thought you¡¯d just go with the flow and do it.¡±


    ¡°There are asions when I care about the timing and situation too!¡±


    us was trying to peel the girls off him somehow, but he couldn¡¯t be too rough with hispanions. The girls were in no state to care about ces or situations though; they just thrust their hands into any gaps of his armor and clothes and trailed their tongue along his nape. us was overwhelmingly disadvantaged.


    ¡°Also, doing it with them while they¡¯re being dosed with such a horrible drug is no fun at all!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m having troubles reacting to that even if you press me.¡±


    ¡°Please! Do something-!¡±


    us asking for help while being approached by women was an extremely rare sight that might never ever happen again if one missed it, Lapis thought. But this was not the time to happily watch.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a little rough, so forgive me, OK?¡±


    Lapis waved her hands without waiting for a reply, and us and the three girls who were coiling themselves around him were all blown away and crashed into the trees.


    us, who still had his senses, was able to immediately get up as the girls had acted as his cushions and lessened the impact. But the three girls hadn¡¯tnded well and had taken some damages; they were writhing in pain and unable to stand up.


    ¡°What¡­ Or rather, wasn¡¯t it too much for ¡®a little rough¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I was trying to blow you all away in one go with <<force>>¡­ Was it too rough? I don¡¯t have time to peel them off one by one.¡±


    </force>


    <<force>> was one of the few offensive spells in the list of spells deemed legal to practice byw, which was dominated by protective and healing spells. Being hit by it was just like being punched by an invisible fist; it was not a spell with the power to blow away four people including us.


    </force>


    ¡°It¡¯s already toote by now, but can I ask who you are?¡±


    ¡°Just a priestess serving the God of Knowledge. Let¡¯s keep it at that.¡±


    Her words did not allow for any arguments. us immediately understood that it was not something for him to delve into; he nodded to show his acknowledgement while enduring the pain running through his body.

 Chapter 135, From Separation to Speculation

    <h4>Chapter 135, From Separation to Spection</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Anyway, we have to find the culprit of this incident and deal with them.¡±


    Lapis went deeper into the forest with Loren apanying her.


    She actually also wanted to bring us along to increase fighting power, as he was still able to behave normally under this circumstance. But if she did, the three girls who were affected by this phenomenon would be a problem. Of course, they couldn¡¯t leave them and carrying three unconscious people would seriously affect their mobility. If something were to happen, it would be troublesome. As ast resort, Lapis had ordered us to watch over the girls and gone into the forest with Loren, or rather Shayna.


    As Loren¡¯s physical strength and stamina were pretty much retained, Shayna was able to move fast enough to keep up with Lapis, who was leading the way.


    ¡°Onee-san, I¡¯m sorry but-¡°


    ¡°Would you stop with that ¡®onee-san¡¯?¡±


    Interrupting Shayna¡¯s attempt to talk to her, Lapis stopped and turned around. The expression on her face somehow looked like both anger and perplexity.


    ¡°Onee-san, I can¡¯t call you that?¡±


    ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s alright if Shayna-chan calls me that, but your appearance is now Loren-san¡¯s, isn¡¯t it? To be called ¡®onee-san¡¯ by a well-trained swordsman bigger than me is in no wayfortable¡­¡±


    The tone of her voice had returned to normal. Lapis told Shayna in an embarrassing voice, as she didn¡¯t seem to notice it.


    ¡°But onee-san, I can¡¯t speak like onii-san.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you to imitate him, but¡­ Can you manage somehow?¡±


    Not sure if it was discouraging or motivation-dampening but to Lapis, Shayna¡¯s way of speaking was a more serious problem than the strange phenomenon happening in the forest right now. Unless she managed to do something about it, she didn¡¯t think she would be able to muster up the energy to face the culprit of all this.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll try?¡±


    ¡°Please do. It directly affects my spirit.¡±


    ¡°So, uhm, Lapis-sa¡­san? There¡¯s something I think we have to do before we deal with the culprit.¡±


    Even though she still stuttered, Shayna seemed to have really considered her words. Lapis could ept it more or less, and prompted her to continue.


    To be honest, Lapis didn¡¯t really enjoy being called ¡®san¡¯ by something with Loren¡¯s face, but when she thought about it, she didn¡¯t really want Shayna to address her without any honorifics either, so she couldn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°The viges and soldiers, if we don¡¯t find them first then with their number, they will be a hindranceter when we face the culprit, won¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Lapis immediately rejected Shayna¡¯s suggestion. It was so decisive and immediate that Shayna tilted her head and wondered if there was any reason behind. Lapis exined to her:


    ¡°This strange phenomenon doesn¡¯t seem to be caused by people being manipted. I think we won¡¯t be able to make the vigers and soldiers move at will under the current circumstances.¡±


    ¡°This is like a hive mind behavior. So they¡¯re not being controlled?¡±


    Shayna examined the current happening in her own way. After all, this was something that could easily incapacitate her host Loren. For her own safety as well as for her host to be able to return, she had to figure out what exactly had attacked the vigers and soldiers by affecting their minds. She was wondering if those affected were being controlled, but Lapis seemed to disagree.


    ¡°This is not a systematic mind control, I think.¡±


    Lapis had started walking again; she told Shayna, who was walking behind her, in a preaching tone.


    ¡°When controlling others, if the ones under control are not in a stable state by themselves, it¡¯ll be aughable situation even if the control is good.¡±


    It was impossible to control someone who was acting wildly. If one could be controlled, they wouldn¡¯t act wildly, and it would be strange if they didn¡¯t move in some sort of order. From Lapis¡¯ point of view, Loren had seemed to be trying to endure something out of control before switching with Shayna; it was difficult to imagine controlling him in such a state.


    ¡°So it¡¯s some factor that makes everyone act wildly?¡±


    ¡°That information doesn¡¯t remain inside Loren-san, does it?¡±


    Lapis tried asking with some anticipation, and Shayna shook her head.


    ¡°I rarely synchronize with onii-san¡¯s senses. I could feel that onii-san was very flustered before we switched, but I don¡¯t know anything about his state of mind.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ve anticipated this¡­ It¡¯s just like my guess.¡±


    ¡°So you guessed it.¡±


    Hearing that, Lapis puffed up with just a tiny bit of pride. Loren would have said something about this, but unfortunately it was Shayna in Loren¡¯s body now, and Shayna just intently waited for her next words. After keeping her proud expression for a while, Lapis just gave up and quietly sighed.


    ¡°This is so difficult¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? Eh? Did I make a wrong reaction just now?¡±


    ¡°If I make such an expression, Loren-san would interrupt and say something like ¡®I know¡¯, or ¡®don¡¯t do useless things¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lapis-sa¡­san¡­ I-I will try harder.¡±


    Shayna clenched her fists in a motivational pose; but as it was Loren¡¯s body, it looked somehow eerie.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s alright. Talking about guessing, judging from the girls¡¯ reaction, I guess this is something rted to libido getting out of control.¡±


    ¡°Libido?¡±


    ¡°Think of it like a man pushing a pretty woman down and keeping at it all night, or a woman being pushed down by a handsome man and pushed back, and they grappled with each other in a mess.¡±


    Lapis just wanted to give a super simple exnation to Shayna, who looked like she didn¡¯t really understand. But the question Shayna threw back at her made her face froze:


    ¡°Lapis-sa¡­san also wants to do that?¡±


    ¡°This is not the time to talk about what someone wants to do or not.¡±


    Lapis couldn¡¯t answer that frank and pure question, so she changed the subject. She was furious at herself for being unable to answer it immediately and decently, but her cheeks also became hot due to the feeling of being made fun of by that question of Shayna, who was certainly younger than her in age, not to mention in race.


    ¡°W-well, this somehow seems to be more about lust than libido. And with the idleness and gluttony, I can kind of guess the culprit of this incident.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-san, are you alright? Your face is a bit red.¡±


    ¡°A-Anyway! I don¡¯t expect the vigers and soldiers to be manipted to attack us, so let¡¯s leave this for now.¡±


    With that decisive deration and a re from Lapis, Shayna lost the will to delve deeper into that subject and just nodded.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s make finding the culprit our top priority.¡±


    ¡°Haa¡­ But Lapis-san, this is so difficult to say¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it? Even if it¡¯s difficult to say, it might be something important. Please just speak clearly!¡±


    As Lapis said it would be a problem if she didn¡¯t tell her something because it was difficult to, Shayna pointed to the trees and said:


    ¡°I think we¡¯re surrounded.¡±


    ¡°Eh? You don¡¯t say¡­¡±


    Lapis looked around in panic. She had thought that she didn¡¯t see or hear anyone, but now she realized for the first time that the gaps between the trees were full of human figures who looked to havepletely lost their senses. They were surrounding her and Shayna.


    ¡°I, of all people¡­¡±


    ¡°Sis¡­ no, Lapis-san, please hold on! Everyone makes mistakes once or twice.¡±


    ¡°That tone, with that face makes me feel so exhausted¡­ No, it¡¯s alright now. Let¡¯s vent my anger on them.¡±


    Lapis said, half desperate, and raised her left hand.


    Thinking that it was bing more an annihtion before going forward rather than a retreat, Shayna reached for the greatsword on her back and lifted it up. Regardless of who was inside the body, Loren¡¯s well-trained arm easily raised the sword; even though she knew nothing about the techniques, Shayna thought she would be able to at least swing the sword around to defend herself against anyoneing near.


    ¡°Until onii-sanes back, I won¡¯t let anyone touch Lapis-san, even just a finger!¡±


    With a shing sound, Shayna unsheathed the sword in one take. She was in a ready-to-fight stance when she saw the figuresing out from the trees and involuntarily gulped. Lapis was also in a fighting stance with fists clenched, and she could also sense her gulping.


    Human figures wereing out from the trees¡¯ shadows. There were only twenty of them, but the problem was how they dressed.


    ¡°Wh-what¡­¡±


    Lapis couldn¡¯t continue after the interrogative word.


    That was not unreasonable: Of all things, the ones who came out were all men and looked to be a mixed group of soldiers and vigers based on their attire, and while there were no problems about their upper bodies, they didn¡¯t wear even just a single piece of clothes on their lower bodies. In short, the things that shouldn¡¯t be seen were swinging and danging in in sight.


    Even Lapis was at a loss for words due to the surprise of it, and Shayna switched to holding the greatsword with one hand while covering her eyes with the other.


    ¡°Lapis-san?! What on earth is happening?!¡±


    ¡°Even if you ask me¡­ As they¡¯re under the influence of lust, maybe to be able to go at it right away? Or maybe theye here right after doing it and don¡¯t have time to put anything on?¡±


    ¡°Wha-wha-wha-what should we do?! I can¡¯t fight while looking at those things!¡±


    Aside from being very young, Shayna had originallye from a good family; asking her to fight while seeing men¡¯s bare lower bodies was impossible.


    As for Lapis, her mind had already been not-calm due to the thing with Loren; now that she was suddenly presented with such a sight, she had absolutely no confidence that she could keep herposure.


    ¡°Let¡¯s draw back! Let¡¯s go refresh our mind and body somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Roger. We¡¯ll do a strategic withdrawal!¡±


    It was more running away than withdrawing, but once a n had been made, Lapis was quick to execute it. She immediately used <<force>> to clear a corner, then grabbed Shayna¡¯s hand and ran off through that opening.</force>

 Chapter 136, From Switching to Commencement

    <h4>Chapter 136, From Switching to Commencement</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Lapis was running in the gloomy forest, her face faintly colored with fear.


    She looked over her shoulders; Loren, with a greatsword on his shoulder, was running after her, but his face was distorted with fear. It was not an expression usually seen on his face, and Lapis wondered if that was what he looked like when he felt scared. She had no references though, so she turned around again and shrugged lightly.


    Inside Loren¡¯s body was a girl called Shayna, and it was her who formed the body¡¯s expression. Even though it was the same body, the two of them must have felt fear in different ways; it was not certain that Loren would make the same expression Shayna had just now.


    ¡°Are they chasing us?¡±


    ¡°They are!¡±


    Being chased by demons was what adventurers do; that was one of the things Lapis had signed to. Being chased by soldiers and adventurers couldn¡¯t be helped as she was from the Daemon race; she had also used to that. But Lapis hadn¡¯t even expected to be chased in a forest by countless crazy, naked-from-the-waist-down men. Surely enough she didn¡¯t feel prepared at all.


    ¡°Why do I have to go through such a thing like this?!¡±


    ¡°As a daily activity?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that bad?! I strongly protest!¡±


    Shayna thought that shouting while running would mess up one¡¯s breathing and cause excessive tiredness but Lapis¡¯s body, with support from her demon abilities, didn¡¯t seem to be exhausted by that.


    Just then, a man suddenly reached out from the shade of the trees ahead and tried to block them. Lapis threw a punch at his face, coloring trunks of trees in red.


    ¡°It¡¯s strange that we can¡¯t shake them off, but how did they get ahead of us?!¡±


    ¡°Are we in a normal space now?¡±


    The man fell backwards. Lapis thought about adding a kick just to make sure but just gave up.


    No matter how high her ability was, it was still impossible to deliver a high kick towards the guy¡¯s temple while running. If she were to make a more natural kick, it would have to be a front kick, and the ce such a kick hit would be his lower half body. But this man was, just like the ones who were chasing them, naked from the waist down for some reason. A front kick might hit that vital, difficult-to-mention part of him. It would be alright if he had been wearing clothes, but Lapis just couldn¡¯t imagine having her own feete into direct contact with that thing.


    Anyways, Lapis asked Shayna about her grumbling:


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I think we have already been under the influence of the culprit of this strange happening, just like how onii-san has. If that¡¯s the case, maybe we¡¯ve already been trapped in some area and won¡¯t be able to get out.¡±


    ¡°In short?¡±


    ¡°Even though we¡¯ve tried our hardest to run away, it¡¯s possible that we¡¯re actually just running in a circle.¡±


    ¡°In that case, isn¡¯t it strange that we don¡¯t see the backs of our pursuers?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they separated and are hiding in the shades of the trees and wille out when we pass by, again and again.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t remember the faces of each pursuer. She agreed with Shayna¡¯s idea that a fixed number of the men pretended to chase them while the others hid and came out to block them repeatedly. But if that was the case, there would arise a new problem. Lapis scratched her head in annoyance.


    ¡°In that case, it¡¯ll be meaningless no matter how much we run, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll run out of strength before long, and will be captured.¡±


    It was easy to guess whose stamina would deplete first ¨C theirs, who just kept running single-mindedly or of those men, who hid between the trees after running for a bit. Even though Lapis had quite high stamina due to her demon heritage, it was still impossible to run away from pursuers who could take breaks while chasing her.


    ¡°Well then, we have no choices but to intercept them somewhere, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Or breaking free from the area we¡¯re trapped in.¡±


    Neither of it was easy. One had no choice but to do what needed to be done though ¨C Lapis made up her mind.


    ¡°First of all, let¡¯s deal with our pursuers.¡±


    ¡°I have no confidence about it, but I¡¯ll try¡­ Ah.¡±


    Shayna stopped in the middle of the sentence. Thinking there was some problem, Lapis looked over her shoulders and saw Shayna pressing at her temples. Her expression changed from innocent and childlike to stern and bloodthirsty.


    ¡°If it¡¯s that kind of work¡­ I¡¯ll take charge of it!¡±


    Instead of Shayna¡¯s unfamiliar tone, the tone of voice that reached Lapis¡¯ ears was familiar.


    ¡°Loren-san?!¡±


    He had stopped as his expression changed. Lapis saw their pursuers approaching him from behind and raised her voice in warning. But Loren had already raised his greatsword with both hands and swung it around with a roar. The de cut deeply into the trees around them and slightly into the torso of the approaching man without stopping. The body was shed into two, blood and flesh spread around.


    Seeing the clothed upper half body being cut off from the naked lower half body, the pursuers didn¡¯t even flinch. They started leaping at Loren with the momentum of their run. But trying to grab at Loren, who was wielding a sword, while they were barehanded, was just a mad attempt.


    ¡°Come on!¡±


    Loren shed the sword upwards and cut one of the men into two from crotch to head in a straight line. He pulled the sword back and split another man into two again, from head to crotch this time. The two severed parts of the corpse slowly fell to left and right while Loren emerged in the middle, leaning forward with a violent shake while being showered in blood.


    Thinking that Loren¡¯s losing his stance was a good opportunity, the other men rushed in with increased vigor. But despite the unstable stance, he still swung the greatsword with his right hand; those on the path of his de have their upper body torn off, making the cross-section of their bodies visible. The bodies were cut into halves and fell away.


    New fountains of blood spayed in the air and Loren, having lost his bnce, fell to his knees. Lapis rushed up to him, but he raised a hand to stop her.


    ¡°Loren! You¡¯re still under its effect¡­ This is not good, please change ces with Shayna!¡±


    It seemed like Loren¡¯s mind was still being influenced by some force hiding in this forest. Lapis immediately realized that in order to fight, he had forcibly used the battle¡¯s tension to trick himself. If this continued, his mind would be deeply affected by this phenomenon.


    But he ignored Lapis¡¯ advice and didn¡¯t switch ces with Shayna.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let someone who¡¯s not used to killing, kill. Unlike magic and such, the feeling stays on your hands.¡±


    No matter how inhuman an existence she had now be, Shayna had originally been a very young girl. No matter how desperate the situation was, making such a young girl feel the de cutting through flesh and bones and smell the stench of blood was¡­ And Loren could still remember the repulsion he had felt when taking away another person¡¯s life with his own hands.


    ¡°Leave it to me. I will try to keep my sanity until it all ends.¡±


    ¡°And after it all ends¡­¡±


    ¡°If I be mad, run. Or¡­¡±


    Loren took a quick nce at Lapis¡¯ face, then immediately returned his eyes to the enemies in front of them and fixed his grip on the sword.


    ¡°Deal with me in any way suitable then. I won¡¯t hold any grudges, I think.¡±


    ¡°Such things¡­¡±


    Lapis wanted to say that she wouldn¡¯t be able to do that, but before the words came out, Loren had stepped forward.


    He swung the sword that had been resting on his shoulder downwards, and the head that received its direct hit was crushed into pieces and scatter in all directions.


    Loren cluck his tongue at that.


    He had been able to cut one man into half with a single stroke of his sword before, but now he could only smash them. This meant he wasn¡¯t in good shape, and couldn¡¯t control his mind or body as he wanted. Loren had realized that he had just used brute force to smash the head rather than slicing it.


    The headless body was still standing and swaying on the same spot as if it couldn¡¯t be stopped. Loren gave it a kick and turned his eyes to another prey. But he could feel his vision flickered for a moment, and grinned his teeth.


    Breathing in the air thick with the stench of blood and mixed with that sickeningly sweet scent made Loren¡¯s consciousness turn hazy.


    [¡®Onii-san! Don¡¯t overdo it and just switch with me, please!¡¯]


    Shayna spoke to him, but he didn¡¯t pay it attention. He asked her for a favor instead: Using Energy Drain, the ability of a King of the Death, to supply him with power.


    Shayna didn¡¯t question what he nned to do; she just immediately sucked up magic power and life force from the pursuers and the trees and poured it into Loren.


    Feeling the power flowing into himself, Loren tried to drag out the sensation caused by the phenomenon, something he hadn¡¯t been able to do by himself.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even sway at this level¡­ It just coats over the fight in my head.¡±


    As if to give himself a hint, Loren only focused on the enemies swarming before his eyes and the greatsword he was holding. Right now, only these two things were important; nothing else was. He drove all other thoughts out of his mind and only focused on fighting.


    ¡°I won¡¯t¡­. let you do it!¡±


    In a corner of Loren¡¯s roaring mind, the feeling resurrected. Something clicked and Loren, feeling the clinking sound of it, lifted the corners of his mouth to form a ferocious smile.

 Chapter 137, From Rampaging to Battling

    <h4>Chapter 137, From Rampaging to Battling</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    With a roar, Loren crushed to pieces several trees as thick as adults¡¯ necks with a single sh of the sword. While wood blocks danced in the air, their pursuers¡¯ bodies became chunks of meat and red droplets that fell to the ground.


    Loren dashed through them with a terrifying smile etched on his face. He was not that fast, but the brute strength of it made even Lapis shudder.


    It would be understandable had he only cut through them; his sword was sturdy and sharp enough. It would still require unconventional strength, but it was still underprehensible category. But instead Loren had just smashed several trees to bits. It showed how exceptional the weight of the weapon as well as the strength of its wielder was. It was beyond Lapis¡¯ understanding.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Lapis had witnessed Loren being like this multiple times so far. It was a kind of rampage where he went berserk as if his shackles had suddenly been removed, then lost consciousness like a suddenly-snapped thread. The more immense the power was, the bigger impact Loren¡¯s body received. He usually ended up in the hospital afterwards.


    For a moment, Lapis wondered if this was a poor choice. No matter how powerful the attack was, it was a useless ability if he couldn¡¯t fight continuously and had to pull back.


    But at the same time, Lapis could think of another possibility, and it might have been the best; she immediately changed her mind.


    It could be said that the situation was getting worse and worse. The soldiers that had gone with them into the forest had been wiped out almostpletely, and the ones who had brought this to them, us¡¯ party, had been incapacitated. Moreover, the missing vigers and soldiers had lost their minds and were chasing them in a disgusting-beyond-words state. She couldn¡¯t think of any good oue if things went on like this.


    But if Loren had to pull back, they could use it as an excuse to run away from this ce.


    Of course, there was still the problem of dealing with their pursuers in order to be able to run away, but the rampaging Loren had almost finished with that. As for the problem about being trapped in some weird space as Shayna had feared, once they didn¡¯t have to worry about the pursuers anymore, Lapis was confident that she could manage it somehow.


    So, letting Loren continue to run wild, then carrying him and quickly escaping once he had lost consciousness was not bad. In the current situation, Loren going berserk was not as bad as the worst scenario.


    Lapis watched Loren¡¯s back with some concerns. He had leapt right into the midst of the enemies, and was smashing them down together with the trees. She was worried that Loren would use up his strength before the enemies¡¯ number decreased, but Lapis had prepared herself for the worst. She would deal with the remaining pursuers then, and give those half-naked men some flying kicks right at their lower bodies.


    If Loren knew of her resolution, he would just scoff ¡®It¡¯s your prosthetic legs!¡¯. But from Lapis¡¯ point of view, whether prosthetic or not, it was still connected to her body and was still her own legs that she used.


    To touch something, one didn¡¯t want to touch, some resolution was needed after all. While Lapis was gathering her determination, Loren was turning their pursuers into meat chunks one by one. His greatsword smashed down trees and bodies alike just like a storm. Loren moved in the center of that storm, wrecking destruction on his surroundings. Lapis watched him, and noticed something a bit strange after a while.


    Loren¡¯s rampage normally didn¡¯tst this long.


    This kind of rampage continuously and viciously consumed a lot of Loren¡¯s various strengths, from physical strength to magic and mental strength. The price for such power was immense, but this rampage Loren was disying seemed tost longer than usual.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why.¡±


    The reason for it suddenly struck Lapis. It was the existence of Shayna inside Loren.


    Shayna, who possessed the abilities of the No Life King, was making free use of <<energy drain="">>, a spell peculiar to the undead. It enabled her to steal power from living creatures in her surroundings and poured it into someone else.


    </energy>


    Lapis had taught Loren self-boosting spells before, but he had never been able to use them for an extended period because the amount of magic power his body had, was too little. To make up for this shoring, Loren had thought of a solution: asking Shayna to use <<energy drain="">> to prolong the spells. This helped Loren be able to use strength boost for quite a long time by continuously consuming magic. Lapis realized that it could also be used for rampages.


    </energy>


    With this, Loren¡¯s rampage would not stop as long as there were still living things around him. No matter how much power he used, he would not lose consciousness. He would eventually stop when the power consumed exceeded the power supplied, but as things were now, no one knew when that would happen.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then this is problematic.¡±


    Lapis sounded impatient.


    Loren¡¯s rampage was a phenomenon that brought about great bacsh to Loren himself. It hadn¡¯t be too bad because his power would run out before anything too serious could happen, and he would lose consciousness. But now, because of Shayna¡¯s <<energy drain="">>, his power would not run out that easily. His rampage would continue on, and he would continue to fight for a long time.


    </energy>


    Until now, he had always ended up in the hospitals after shorter rampages. How much worse would the bacsh to his body be after a longer one? Lapis couldn¡¯t predict it, but there was no doubt that Loren would sustain more damages than ever. She feared that if he was unlucky, he might even receive some fatal damage that he would have to deal with for the rest of his life.


    She had to stop him ¨C Lapis didn¡¯t take much time to make that decision. If she let him continue to fight like this, his body would definitely fail.


    ¡°Loren! Don¡¯t do it! Please stop fighting!¡±


    If it could be stopped by words, it wouldn¡¯t be a rampage. Lapis knew it was impossible, but she still tried with words first. Loren¡¯s movements didn¡¯t falter at all.


    In that case, violence would be the only way to stop him. That led to another problem though: if she wanted to, she had the confidence and power to kill Loren.


    Only her arms had been returned, butpared to when all of her limbs had been prosthetics, she was now able to use considerably powerful magic again. Despite Loren being a capable mercenary, despite the armor being a gift from an Elder, despite his weapon being something Lapis had brought her from her hometown, she still believed she could overpower him.


    But she couldn¡¯t afford to kill Loren here. In the first ce, the purpose of her fighting him was to stop him before his body failed; if he died because of their fight, then everything would be meaningless.


    On the other hand, she also knew very well that he was not an opponent she could go easy on or just try to immobilize. Normally, he was below her level, but he could still retaliate. Now, in the midst of a rampage, hisbat ability had increased.


    The only saving grace was, Loren was not in the condition where he could fight with a perfectly clear mind. If he had been, with his experiences inbat, Lapis might suffer an embarrassing defeat at some unexpected point.


    ¡°Let¡¯s prepare to give each other some injuries, shall we?¡±


    She wouldn¡¯t be able to restrain Loren without hurting him, but she didn¡¯t think she would be unscathed either. Lapis wrapped both arms in magic and used spells to enhance her strength.


    Lapis had wondered if she should use some weapons against Loren, who was still swinging his greatsword and mass-producing corpses, but she felt that using subpar weapons would give her disadvantage instead, so she decided to face him bare-handed.


    And it was probably unlike that Loren had a lot of experience fighting with bare-handed opponents. After all, it was not strange to associate standing barehanded before a greatsword-wielding Loren with death. There was no experience to gain from fighting someone that got killed immediately, so she believed that he was not used to fighting bare-handed enemies.


    Also, an unrestrained Lapis could still easily kill a man even barehanded.


    ¡°Loren! That¡¯s enough already. Please stop!¡±


    The number of their pursuers had dropped to near zero at that time. Smashed wood blocks and human remains had covered the ground and around them, trees had been cleared from an area asrge as a public square.


    In such a setting, Lapis rushed straight towards Loren while raising her voice. The gross state of the ground under her feet didn¡¯t slow her down at all. She stepped on chunks of wood and lumps of meat alike, scattering them around.


    The Loren she confronted wasn¡¯t in a normal state.


    Lapis spread her arms, kicking at the various things under her feet while running; magic could be seen like a shimmering heat haze around them. Right in front of her was Loren, who held his sword high above his head and swung downwards with great force, as if he didn¡¯t care about defense at all.


    Lapis felt a little worried about being attacked by Loren.


    A sane Loren would probably never, ever do such a thing. But in addition to him going berserk, Lapis had now directed hostility towards Loren to attract his attention; it couldn¡¯t be helped that he now considered her an enemy.


    She told herself to be patient until she could stop the fight while crossing both arms over her head to receive the sword¡¯s blow and stop it. As the de crashed against her protective magic and sparks of fire rose up, Lapis felt the strength of the blow she had somehow stopped, and involuntarily gulped.


    In her current condition, she could probably stop a blow from a sliver rank adventurer with just one arm. But Loren¡¯s attack, which she had stopped with both her arms, had not only stopped her track but had even pushed her back two or three steps while scraping off her magical protection.


    Lapis had expected this, but she was still surprised.


    Of course, she was not in top condition herself, and she had to go somewhat easier so that she didn¡¯t kill him. Still, she was a demon, and it was unexpected for a human to be able to make her switch to defense. But Loren¡¯s blow wasn¡¯t something that can be blocked with just one arm, and she had to use both instead.


    ¡°How unexpected, Loren.¡±


    Lapis said with admiration. She was still good: no matter how powerful Loren¡¯s blow was, she still had managed to catch it. It would be a simple strength contest from now on, she thought. If she pushed using her strength, she could easily incapacitate him.


    That was why when Loren began putting even more strength into the sword, surprise was clearly shown on Lapis¡¯ face.


    ¡°No way¡­ I can¡¯t push him away?¡±


    They were in a strange state where Lapis¡¯ arms and Loren¡¯s sword were crashing against each other. Lapis tried to push the sword away, but she could feel the de pressing at her instead.


    She nted her feet on the ground and braced herself, but she was being pushed back little by little. She once again looked at the swordsman called Loren before her with surprise.


    ¡°Loren¡­ You really¡­¡±


    On the other side of her arms and the greatsword was Loren¡¯s face; he probably had no self-awareness. If she lost focus even just a little, she would easily be blown away, or fell to her knees due to the pressure. She stared at that face and muttered with fear.

 Chapter 138, From Restraining To Chance Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 138, From Restraining To Chance Meeting</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Lapis knew that Loren¡¯s ck greatsword had been granted some special abilities. She didn¡¯t know all of them, but she knew that one was the offensive power against magic. In short, Loren could defend against and intercept magic attacks with that sword. Lapis had never thought that there woulde a day when she found that ability so reproachful.


    ¡°This is quite dangerous.¡±


    The de of that greatsword was currently right above Lapis¡¯ head. Her magic-coated arms were protecting her against it, but the sword was cutting into the protective magicyer byyer. In addition to the weight of the sword and the strength put into it, the pressure of the de pushed down on Lapis and made her unable to move.


    She tried to push back but couldn¡¯t at all, as the strength of a berserk Loren surpassed that of Lapis, who was trying to keep her power in check. If she didn¡¯t handle this well and let herself continue to be pushed like this, it was not unlikely that the de would split her head. Lapis had to give Loren¡¯s true strength an upward revision.


    Of course, Lapis had no ns to just obediently let her head be split, so she switched to a more powerful spell and loaded arge amount of magic into her arms. This stopped the de from cutting into the magicyer and began to push it back.


    Loren didn¡¯t seem surprised at that. During a rampage, his mind only thought about fighting; there was no room for surprise. Instead, he pulled the sword back and struck down on Lapis¡¯ head again in a second, even more powerful blow.


    If Lapis received it directly, she didn¡¯t know if she would be pushed back this time. So, she gave up defending and used her magic-d right arm to fend the de off. She could still feel the weight of the blow, but was able to dodge the sword as nned. Making use of the opportunity, she stepped into Loren¡¯s space.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hurt somewhat, but please bear with me!¡±


    A dull pain coursed through the right arm she had used to ward off the de earlier. It probably couldn¡¯t be used properly in this state ¨C Lapis gave up and extended her left hand to hit Loren¡¯s torso.


    At the same time, she forcefully stomped her right foot and let the impact run through her body while twisting to amplify it. She let the force pass from her shoulder to her left arm, then struck Loren.


    Lapis¡¯ palm strike was loaded with enough power to break a normal man¡¯s ribs and if it was taken directly, to make him writhe in pain. Loren didn¡¯t put up any defense, so that was what she had expected.


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    But after that decisive blow, Lapis immediately jumped backwards to gain some distance and cautiously stood in a fighting stance while scowling at Loren.


    Her strike had contained enough power to make an ordinary man faint, but the sensation from her palm had told her that the force hadn¡¯t struck Loren at all.


    ¡°I know that an armor gifted by the Elder, the highest ranking vampire, must have its own defensive power, but I didn¡¯t think that it¡¯ll be this strong.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ blow had hit the leather jacket Loren was wearing. This jacket was a reward from a being called Elder, the highest ranking vampire in their previous mission. It was made from threeyers of Pegasus hide, with ultrafine chain mail and shock absorbent materials inserted in between. It had nullified Lapis¡¯ moderated blow.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too effective?!¡±


    Lapisined in a scream. But the berserk Loren didn¡¯t understand her circumstances at all, and didn¡¯t take a break from his attacking frenzy.


    He hadn¡¯t received any damages from Lapis¡¯ blow and immediately went for a counterattack. His de came in at a wind-cutting speed, and Lapis twisted her body to dodge it.


    ¡°No, really, I¡¯vee to not wanting to be your enemy, Loren. In a lot of ways.¡±


    Lapis muttered while looking at Loren, who immediately pulled the sword back after that strike and returned to his assured stance. Be it emotion-wise or ability-wise, Loren had be someone Lapis didn¡¯t want to make an enemy of. That didn¡¯t mean this battle could end here though.


    ¡°Really, what should I do now? What a pain.¡±


    A pursuer whom Loren had missed killing earlier crept up on Lapis from behind without notice. But his head suddenly shot up into the air, and it was Lapis who had hurled it away. Thanks to the spells, she now had the stamina and attack power to kill normal humans with ease, yet it didn¡¯t work with Loren.


    As his ally, she would think that his armor being able to nullify her attack was a good thing. But in the case where she had to stop his rampage like this, Lapis just wanted to spew venom at the so-called Elder that had given Loren the armor. But there was only Loren in front of her now, so there was no one to direct the venom at.


    ¡°If things go wrong, do I need to be ready to kill you¡­?¡±


    Lapis wasn¡¯t willing to. But if she wasn¡¯t prepared to do it, she herself might be in danger; the rampaging Loren did have the power to endanger her.


    ¡°There is¡­ no other choice! If you die, please don¡¯t me me!¡±


    An unprecedented amount of magic surged up from Lapis¡¯ arms. Unlike the heat haze from before, it burst into a ming white light while her ponytail and priest robe fluttered. The earth and wood blocks under her feet were blown away. Her eyes shone with violet light as if they were artificial. Her face, which usually emitted a calm aura, now carried a stern and razor-sharp look.


    Loren didn¡¯t seem faltered at her changes at all; he just rested his greatsword on one shoulder. Lapis expected the blow he would strike next to be stronger than ever. She clenched both of her fists, ready to catch it directly and crush the de.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Loren will be the first opponent I fight in earnest with!¡±


    It was not that bad, Lapis thought andughed.


    In contrast, Loren just kept silent. Even the part of his mind that had originally been reserved for conversation now only focused on the fight. He charged forward without so much as a battle cry.


    Lapis had raised her fists, ready to rush in to meet Loren¡¯s strike when something so golden that it was almost white suddenly blocked her vision.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Lapis reflexively stopped, but Loren didn¡¯t.


    He charged on without losing momentum, but when he was still a distance away from Lapis, he suddenly stopped and flopped down to the ground.


    Lapis didn¡¯t think that he had used up his strength. From his state, she could see that he was still able to go on for quite a while.


    He would have exhausted his strength much earlier had Shayna stopped supplying him with power. Basically, it seemed like Shayna didn¡¯t try to look at the outside world while she synced with Loren¡¯s senses. She had answered Lapis¡¯ call earlier because Lapis had touched Loren¡¯s body and directly addressed her. If one spoke normally, it almost never reached Shayna.


    Whatever it was, Lapis turned her eyes to the being that had interrupted her vision for a moment.


    Appearing right between Lapis and Loren was a woman with almost-white blond hair, which she let flow freely down her back. A bright red tube top hugged her voluptuous chest, and the hotpants she was wearing fully exposed her belly while barely reaching her thighs.


    She was quite tall, and her line of sight was somewhat higher than Lapis¡¯. She looked down on Lapis and immediately grinned.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it? Do you remember me?¡±


    Strange quirky tone, frank aura. And above all, the purple eyes that were looking at her. Lapis did remember.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why is your aura different fromst time? Are you getting serious? Being two-faced is so cool! Or something like that?¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not like that!¡±


    As Lapis unintentionally blushed and raised her voice in protest, her tone returned to normal.


    ¡°Oh, you changed back? It was you being serious, right? Well, whatever is fine, I guess?¡±


    The woman facing her totally suited the word ¡°grinning¡±. Lapis muttered her name with a weary and confused tone.


    ¡°G Gluttony, the Evil God of Gluttony¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me G-chan?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I will address you so intimately.¡±


    Seeing Lapis being so guarded, G looked a bit sad. It was not the kind of sadness that came from the bottom of one¡¯s heart; Lapis knew it was just for show.


    ¡°I¡¯m sad. I¡¯ve gone through the trouble to help you, and yet¡­¡±


    ¡°Help?¡±


    ¡°That boyfriend of yours. Loren, isn¡¯t it? He seems strange, so I help a bit.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ eyes widened slightly at G¡¯s words. She had even had to make up her mind to face the berserk Loren, but this evil God had quietly and easily neutralized him. Lapis couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised.


    ¡°How the hell did you¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a s-e-c-r-e-t. If you are friendlier to me, I¡¯ll tell you, but¡­ You, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s Lapis. I¡¯m a priest.¡±


    ¡°Priest?! Are you lying? Huh, what a strange child.¡±


    G said, a hand on her forehead as if she was recalling something. Lapis rxed her stance and asked while still keeping an alert eye on G.


    ¡°What did youe here for?¡±


    The woman called G standing before Lapis looked like a normal human but bore the same eye color of demons. She was a being called an evil god, and had even been sealed.


    Lapis had asked, thinking that such beings would nevere for nothing. But G kept silent for a while, then turned her eyes towards Lapis and pped.


    ¡°You see, I said before that I wouldn¡¯t forget Loren¡¯s favor, didn¡¯t I? If you get into any trouble, I¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s the reason you¡¯re standing here? That¡¯s the reason you came?¡±


    G imed that she had somehow known that Loren was in a dilemma after seeing him going berserk, and hade to intervene. There was nothing wrong with that; whether it was trustworthy or not was a different story though.


    But it didn¡¯t exin why G hade to this forest.


    ¡°A too-smart child is not very charming, you know?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be discouraged that easily, so please stop.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ shoulders drooped miserably. G seemed to find it amusing andughed loudly. She stopped after a while and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°Actually, I sensed the presence of an old acquaintance around here. So I wondered if I shoulde to collect them.¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect much, but it seems like I¡¯ve seeded in attracting their attention somehow.¡±


    G licked her lips and turned her eyes to their surroundings.


    Noticing her nce, Lapis once again got back into a fighting stance.


    From the shade of the trees outside the area Loren had wrecked destruction upon, a fresh group of human figures began to appear one by one as if they had been lying in wait.

 Chapter 139, Gluttony Attacked

    <h4>Chapter 139, Gluttony Attacked</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Hah, unsavory things are swarming out.¡±


    G grinned and said it in an easy tone. But Lapis, who hade to crouch down besides Loren, stiffened once she saw the newly-appeared figures.


    The ones who had attacked them earlier had looked and acted strangely, but they had still appeared to be normal vigers and soldiers. But the ones surrounding them now looked abnormal right from their appearances.


    ¡°Why are they all stark naked?!¡±


    It was not unreasonable at all for Lapis to scream. The onesing out from behind the trees were all muscr men. As Lapis screamed out, they all undressed, as if they agreed upon this beforehand. They had bloodshot eyes, which were all locked on G and Lapis, and their breathing got heavier.


    ¡°I hate this¡­ Loren, do something about this please¡­¡±


    Lapis began smacking the unconscious Loren¡¯s head, but of course, he didn¡¯t respond at this.


    ¡°Now wait, he doesn¡¯t wake up. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Uhm? Is that so?¡±


    G¡¯sid-back expression didn¡¯t change at all despite being surrounded by naked men. She looked as if she didn¡¯t notice them. After humming for a while, G seemed to be unable toe to a conclusion about whatever she was thinking and simply turned around, walked to Loren¡¯s side, and lightly poked at him with her toes.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Ah, he¡¯s fine. He¡¯s still alive.¡±


    Being poked by G¡¯s toes, Loren¡¯s body moved slightly. As G had said, it was proof that he was still alive, and Lapis felt relieved for the time being.


    ¡°Now wait, this is not the time to feel relieved!¡±


    ¡°Right, why do they leave it dangling like that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say dangling and such, please!¡±


    Lapis had tried to not pay attention, but once it had been described like that, she couldn¡¯t help but be conscious of the men and their dangling things.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be much more refreshing if she just burned down the whole forest? But before Lapis could be swayed by that dangerous thought, G stopped poking Loren and walked towards the men in a nothing-worth-being-so-cautious-about gait.


    ¡°G?!¡±


    ¡°You take some rest. I¡¯ll be a proper partner to these¡­¡±


    One of the men grabbed G¡¯s shoulder while she was speaking. Before she could do anything, he pushed her to the ground with all his strength.


    At the sight of blond hair suddenly spreading on the earth, Lapis half rose up toe and help, but G waved a hand to stop her.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m doing quite well, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    G said, but the man was still keeping a hand on her shoulder. A smile that Lapis didn¡¯t want to see at all appeared on his face, and he lifted his leg to straddle G.


    ¡°How dirty¡­ I might even lose my appetite.¡±


    G looked at the naked man straddling her and said; she didn¡¯t even try to get up. The words didn¡¯t reach the man¡¯s ears, of course. However, in the next moment, the upper half of the man¡¯s body suddenly vanished.


    ¡°What the hell just¡­?¡±


    Even Lapis could only see his upper half body disappearing.


    The remaining lower half body kept the leg-raised posture for a short while. But before long, blood poured out from the cross-section, and it also vanished while falling to the ground.


    ¡°I wanted to try eating that. Tasted bad though.¡±


    G sat up. The naked men were still surrounding them. They leapt at G as if they hadn¡¯t seen the other man vanishing at all.


    ¡°So it¡¯s fine if I keep youpany?¡±


    Not even bothered to be on guard, G stood up. At the same time, the upper half bodies of the numerous men leaping at her vanished without any warning just like the man earlier. Their lower half bodies also vanished after that, but the remaining men didn¡¯t falter whatsoever.


    ¡°I¡¯m not picky, but it¡¯ll be nicer if what I eat tastes good.¡±


    A man wasing at G with his arms wide open as if to embrace her. Both arms vanished starting from the shoulders, disying two neat cross-sections. The force of blood shooting outbined with the loss of bnce due to losing his arms made him fall to the ground. Then his head vanished, then his upper body vanished, and finally his lower half body vanished.


    The men rushing at Lapis also had body parts vanishing here and there, as if they had been gouged out. In the end, they all disappeared without leaving a trace in the world.


    ¡°What is¡­ happening?¡±


    ¡°Hhm? Even you can¡¯t see?¡±


    G waved her right hand in the empty space. Lapis strained her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t see what had erased those macho men from this world.


    ¡°What¡­ is this¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren?!¡±


    Hearing the voice beside her, Lapis reflexively touched Loren¡¯s arm. Since he had fallen face down, he still lied on the ground. He slightly opened his eyes and let out a groan.


    ¡°Are you alright?! Can you move?!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ What happened¡­?¡±


    Loren lifted his head. He ced his hands on the ground to lift himself up but couldn¡¯t, as if there was no strength in his arms.


    Noticing that, Lapis turned him to a face-up position and helped him sit up.


    ¡°You suddenly copsed. Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I suddenly lost all my strength¡­ When I came to, I was on the ground¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I took a bite at you.¡±


    G made a praying gesture with her left hand while waving her right hand. Just that, and the upper half body of the naked man rushing at Lapis from behind vanished without a sound or any piece of scattered meat. Before blood could even spurt out from his lower half body, it also disappeared abruptly at a wave of G¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Loren, can you see anything?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ is it Shayna¡¯s vision? I can kind of see¡­ a lot of huge mouths.¡±


    Loren, who still couldn¡¯t move and was being held sitting up by Lapis, could see things that look like gigantic transparent mouths flying about G. They leapt into the air at G¡¯s signals and bit the attacking men.


    As for where in the world the eaten bodies disappeared to, he had no clue. This information was hard to get from his vision. However, as G was controlling the mouths, it was natural to think that the bodies were being digested somewhere connected to her.


    ¡°How can you see it? Ah, the one inside helped you, right? That¡¯s quite a being, to be able to see my <


    >.¡±


    G signalled for the flying transparent mouths toe back. They gathered around her at hermand and snapped their teeth while Loren stared at them.


    ¡°I used this mouth to eat delicious things, but it¡¯s hard to fill my stomach with it.¡±


    G pointed at her own lips with an index finger. She licked it with a loud slurp, then turned her clouded gaze to the remaining naked men. They didn¡¯t falter even after receiving gaze, but Lapis shuddered. She had noticed that G was looking at them not as on humans but as on something close to livestock, something to eat.


    ¡°Well, I have lots of mouths, but when I don¡¯t want to use my own mouth, I¡¯ll use these Predators. The taste won¡¯t bother me as much, and I can still fill my stomach.¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ From what you said, those mouths that I can¡¯t see are linked to your stomach?¡±


    Lapis asked somewhat hesitantly, and G nodded easily.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Do you¡­ eat humans?¡±


    Hearing that question from Lapis, G folded her arms and tilted her head in puzzlement. Around them, attacked by invisible mouths, the men¡¯s bodies were being gouging out bit by bit until they disappeared.


    ¡°But Lapis-chan, you do it too? You also eat animals¡¯ meat, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That, well¡­¡±


    ¡°For me, I don¡¯t see any difference between animals¡¯ meat and these guys¡¯ meat, aside from the taste.¡±


    G said and caught the remaining arm of a man, who had vanished while rushing at her, before it could fall to the ground. She held it by the wrist and took a bite at the shoulder part.


    With blood smeared around her mouth, G chewed a couple of times, then immediately spit out the mix of blood and gnawed meat.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste nice. Good enough to fill the stomach though.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the Evil God of Gluttony¡­¡±


    Lapis muttered with tension. G threw the severed arm away and wiped her blood-stained mouth.


    ¡°That name is a bit too much now, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Probably because they had gone crazy, the ughtered men didn¡¯t scream at all. And even when they had been killed, their bodies were immediately consumed by G¡¯s Predators, leaving nothing behind. It was almost one-sided. And on the face of G, the one who was devouring them, was quite a happy, if not unpleasant smile.

 Chapter 140, Encountering an Evil God

    <h4>Chapter 140, Encountering an Evil God</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The atmosphere changed right after that.


    Lapis was holding Loren up and watching G¡¯s massacre unfold when she noticed the change and reflexively tightened her hold on Loren.


    ¡°¡­Do you want to strangle me to death?¡±


    ¡°S-sorry. But¡­¡±


    ¡°Seems like something ising. That smell is¡­ getting stronger.¡±


    The smell Loren mentioned was the sweet scent that was making him lose his mind, and probably was what had stolen the soldiers¡¯ and vigers¡¯ awareness. It had suddenly be stronger.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to make me unconscious now before it¡¯s toote?¡±


    Feeling that his senses were going hazy again, Loren prompted Lapis. Lethargy attacked his whole body, his awareness flickered, and he lost the ability to move. But if he did something strange or blurted out something weird while being held by Lapis, he would mentally dieter.


    Hearing Loren¡¯s proposal, Lapis looked down at him with a troubled expression. He was in a quite battered state now. Even though it hadn¡¯te to anything fatal due to G stopping in the mid of his rampage, the bacsh had definitely caused damage to his body.


    ¡°But in this state, just a single blow might kill you, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Howe the first thing you think of is knocking me out?¡±


    If it was only to make him unconscious, a <<sleep>> spell would be sufficient; there was no need for a blow. Even though Loren¡¯s magic resistance was high, if he himself didn¡¯t wish to resist it, magic could work on him with no problem.


    </sleep>


    ¡°You want me to use a sleeping spell?¡±


    ¡°Can I ask you to? I feel like it¡¯ll be dangerous if I continue like this.¡±


    Loren just wanted to quickly fall unconscious before he could do anything strange. But G came and ced her palm on his forehead before anyone could notice.


    ¡°Hey?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m giving back what I bit off before, plus a bit of interest.¡±


    G¡¯s hand clutched at Loren¡¯s forehead lightly. From that hand, Loren felt something he couldn¡¯tprehend pour into his body. He immediately tried to shake her hand off, but G didn¡¯t let go and held on tight with a strength that made Loren unable to move even his neck.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°Heh, all done. Don¡¯t you feel morefortable?¡±


    G smiled cheerfully and quickly let go of Loren, who was still trying to rise up even though his strength was no match for hers. He wanted toin, but immediately noticed the changes in his body and swallowed the words down. The fatigue he had been feeling since G showing up had disappeared, and he didn¡¯t feel the haze in his mind whenever he inhaled that sweet scent anymore.


    ¡°I munched on you a bit when you were going berserk to make you behave. I¡¯ve just returned it, and I¡¯ve also enhanced your resistance to the phenomenon happening in this ce.¡±


    Still keeping his eyes on G¡¯s smiling face, Loren got up from Lapis¡¯ arms. The pain has recededpletely and his mind cleared up. The feeling of sickness and fatigue vanished from his body.


    ¡°Are you alright, Loren?¡±


    Lapis asked, as she followed Loren and stood back up. He silently nodded.


    He didn¡¯t really understand what G meant by munching on him, but he guessed it was about his stamina and life force. She had taken away some of them to stop his rampage.


    Her returning that force back to him was conceivable, but he couldn¡¯t understand her intention of enhancing his resistance.


    ¡°What the hell are you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°Right, I wonder how will things progress from here? Well, in the worst case, I have returned enough stamina for you to run away. The aftertaste will be bad though.¡±


    ¡°Aftertaste?¡±


    Lapis wanted to rify G¡¯s remark, but she didn¡¯t borate any further. Her gaze turned away from them to somewhere beyond the remaining naked men.


    ¡°Since the scent has be this heavy, you must be over there.¡±


    ¡°G-chan¡­ I feel so sad.¡±


    Hearing the voice, Loren frowned in confusion. Lapis¡¯ eyes widened, and she looked around restlessly, as if she had be suspicious of something.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just woken up and spread my love around here, you know. Seeing my lovely captives being gobbled down like that makes me really sad.¡±


    [What love?]


    Loren wondered while his sixth sense, cultivated through countless battles, rang a spectacr rm bell in a corner of his mind.


    The speaking manner was simr to one of an aged woman, who could be found in a tavern or brothel. Yet no matter how much his brain refused to ept it, the deep voice seemed to belong a man.


    ¡°Hey Lapis, is there something wrong with my hearing? Somehow I hear a man¡¯s voice¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren, your hearing is probably alright. Because I also heard a man¡¯s voice.¡±


    G¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t shift.


    Seeing the figure slowlye out from behind the naked man, Loren unthinkingly fixed his grip on his greatsword, and Lapis clung to his arm as if she was hugging it.


    ¡°Love¡­ It¡¯s beautiful yet ugly, fleeting yet powerful, fragile yet strong¡­ And, without a doubt, has faults.¡±


    The naked men made Loren feel extremely unpleasant, but if he were to be asked who was more unpleasant, them or the newly-appeared figure, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer right away. The neer was that kind of existence.


    First of all, the height was taller than that of the naked men by two heads. The hair gleamed glossily as if it wasbed through with some kind of oil. And the face was, unmistakably, the chiseled face of a man, with a small mustache and a cleft chin.


    Shifting his gaze downward, Loren saw a neck as thick as the waist of a woman. Further below was a brawny torso packed with muscles that was, for some reason, straining in a ck mesh shirt.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Blergh¡­¡±


    Perhaps because the sight was so shocking, Lapis began to get sick while still clinging to Loren¡¯s arm. He rubbed her back and shifted his gaze further down.


    His eyes met a pair of tight leather pants hanging so low that they could barely be called low-rise. The muscles squeezed into those pants made the legs¡¯ outline clearly visible. Moreover, he could clearly see a very noticeable bulge in the middle. Unwilling to believe what he had seen so far, Loren turned his gaze back to the face.


    ¡°Really?¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can feel a very hot gaze on me. Have I charmed you, dear boy?¡±


    If this was a mental attack, then the sweet scent from earlier was no match for it; Loren thought with a shudder. He began to think that he probably would have gone crazy right here if he hadn¡¯t received that resistance power from G.


    ¡°It¡¯s understandable. Everybody yearns for this attractive body of mine after all.¡±


    ¡°No, I think you¡¯re so gross that he¡¯s be immobile due to the mental damage. Look at the priestess next to him. She¡¯s trying so hard to not vomit, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Ah, forgive my rudeness. It¡¯s alright, cute priestess. I¡­ swing both ways, you know.¡±


    Lapis screamed and hid behind Loren.


    Loren, despite being used as a shield, was also filled with the desire to run away from this ce as soon as possible, but he couldn¡¯t. In addition to the revolting feeling for the being in front of him, Loren could also feel the heavy pressure of facing another entity simr to G, a so-called Evil God. If he didn¡¯t y well here, an easy escape wouldn¡¯t be a choice at all.


    ¡°Stop making heart eyes, you idiot. What the hell are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to build a love nest.¡±


    ¡°What love nest? You just call people here with no discrimination at all. It¡¯s started to be a big mess, you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll wee anyone who gathers here. I¡¯m a phnthropist.¡±


    Loren desperately tried to control the nausea brought about by all the wriggling muscles and asked G:


    ¡°H-hey, what the hell is that¡­?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve understood somewhat, haven¡¯t you? I don¡¯t really want to admit it, but he and I are the same kind.¡±


    ¡°Now, excuse me, but what do you mean by ¡®don¡¯t really want to admit¡¯? Being jealous of my beauty, are you Envy?¡±


    ¡°Have you gone senile while sleeping? I¡¯m Gluttony. And you are Lust.¡±


    Hearing that the muscle head who used feminine speech in front of them was an Evil God, and of Lust no less, both Loren and Lapis stiffened up.


    Paying no mind to their reaction, G continued her exnation:


    ¡°Luxuria Lusterity, Evil God of Lust. He¡¯s a queen who calls himself a phnthropist just because he¡¯s fine with both genders. And there¡¯s no age limit for him. Upper limit is dying grandpas and grandmas, and the lower limit is¡­ I can¡¯t really say it out loud, but his range is extensive.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no limit for love. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Lapis, who was hiding behind Loren, pressed her forehead into his back and desperately tried to suppress her nausea and scream. That was quite painful for Loren, but he couldn¡¯t move even an inch. All he could do was looking-back and-forth between a grinning G and a winking Luxuria.

 Chapter 141, From Opponent To Agent

    <h4>Chapter 141, From Opponent To Agent</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°And what did youe here for? It can¡¯t be to stuff my lovely children into your bottomless stomach, right?¡±


    Luxuria asked G.


    G clicked her tongue sharply and made a truly contemptuous face at his question.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say stupid things. Even if you beg me, I¡¯ll nevere just to eat your kids or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Why did youe then?¡±


    Luxuria talked while wiggling his body from side to side, and it just increased Loren¡¯s difort.


    [Couldn¡¯t he stay still?]


    Loren wondered. He wasn¡¯t able to cut into their conversation though.


    Just when he had decided that he had no choice but to endure it, G spoke as if on his behalf:


    ¡°Stand still. You¡¯re scaring these two pitiful kids, you know.¡±


    ¡°What are they scared for? Did I do something?¡±


    ¡°Even while doing nothing, you¡¯re still a lump of revolt.¡±


    [That is absolutely correct]


    Although these were Loren¡¯s thoughts, he couldn¡¯t say it out loud ¨C in fact he couldn¡¯t even nod in agreement. He could only apud G¡¯s choice of words in his mind.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk business. Just quietlye with me, will you?¡±


    G went straight to the business.


    Luxuria¡¯s answer was short.


    ¡°I refuse.¡±


    ¡°State your reason.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gone through the trouble to build a nest and gather all these cute children of love here. Why should I abandon all and let you take me somewhere?¡±


    To be clear, Loren believed they should burn down this whole forest instead of evacuating everyone. There was still some uncertainty about it, but he had a hunch that releasing those still under the influence of this Evil God of Lust into the world wouldn¡¯t bring about anything good.


    G showed Luxuria, who had turned away in a huff, a dangerous smile.


    ¡°I can use brute force, you know.¡±


    ¡°Try then. I¡¯ll teach you how helpless gluttony is before the power of love.¡±


    Undeniable tension rose between the two Evil Gods. Something very bad would happen for sure. Following his senses Loren began to try gaining some distancing from that ce while still shielding Lapis. But before he could, G sped her hands together in front of her chest and cracked her knuckles.


    ¡°What can a sex-obsessed idiot like you teach me?¡±


    ¡°Your body is the only nice thing about you. How about I push you down and personally teach you the splendor of love?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll eat you, muscle-head daruma!¡±


    (Xem: )


    The cleft chin macho made a gesture of fondling something with his hands, and G suddenly charged.


    The force of her fist was almost undetectable, and as befitting the differences in their physiques, Luxuria received and stopped it with the palm of one hand.


    The collision gave out a thunderous sound totally unlike flesh meeting flesh, but it was Luxuria who fell backwards.


    The naked men stepped forward and formed a wall of nude bodies in front of G. Wet with their own sweats, their bodies gleamed brightly under the sun. Unconcerned, G mmed her fist into the row of men.


    Being under an Evil God¡¯s influence didn¡¯t mean having an Evil God¡¯s strength, and the bodies of those struck by G¡¯s fist burst as if they had exploded.


    Before the blood spray could fall to the ground, Luxuria threw a fist at G as a return gift. But his fist couldn¡¯t reach her: it stopped midway with a deafening noise as if it had collided with something invisible.


    Loren could see a semi-transparent gigantic mouth literally bite into Luxuria¡¯s fist. The fangs of G¡¯s <


    > could easily bite off the naked men¡¯s bodies, and they did manage to stop Luxuria¡¯s blow, but they could only make faint impressions on his skin.


    ¡°Is my hand delicious?¡±


    ¡°It tastes gross, idiot!¡±


    G started ordering more mouths to attack Luxuria. Meanwhile, Luxuria thrust his other hand into the mouth biting him and tore it off with all his strength. With both hands free, he began to intercept G¡¯s mouths.


    Whenever fist and mouth shed, a sound st and shock wave would spread, disturbing the earth and sand and blowing the naked men away. But Luxuria only had two hands while G¡¯s Predators were numerous; even though the mouths broke once hit, it seemed to Loren that G had the upper hand to some extent.


    ¡°I¡¯m pushing you back just like this!¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll let you? Take this <<lust dance="">>.¡±


    </lust>


    Loren thought it would be something simr to G¡¯s <


    >, but the scene unfolding before his eyes was disgusting beyond that.


    As Luxuria clenched his fists, countless clones of himself emerged from his body and proceeded to hug the mouths with their thick arms.


    Just one Luxuria was causing enough mental damage to Loren, multiple of them made Loren¡¯s very soul scream. Unable to run away and with Lapis clinging to his back, he desperately endured it.


    One by one, and with looks of ecstasy on their faces, the cloned Luxurias disappeared together with the mouths they were hugging.


    ¡°You still use that disgusting technique!¡±


    G said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Even though it was through my clones, they did ascend to heaven while being in my embrace. Calling it disgusting is a bit exaggerated, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Luxuria replied while continuing to wiggle his body.


    Even though Loren desperately wanted to run away, he couldn¡¯t speed out of there as he would like to. If he made a wrong move, he would attract their attention and bring danger to himself.


    And, in a forest influenced by an Evil God, would he be able to escape from his hands just by running? That was a problem in itself.


    Even though it was already toote by now, Loren began to regret not bringing us along. Despite his interest being towards women only, us did have the same mind-set as Luxuria, and Loren wondered if he would be able to somehow stop the Evil God because of that.


    ¡°Not good, I¡¯ve reached my limit.¡±


    Watching <


    > being offset by <<lust dance="">> and disappeared, G said with regret.


    </lust>


    ¡°We¡¯re basically on the same level.¡±


    ¡°Idiot. Shouldn¡¯t you have realized that before doing all this?¡±


    Luxuria didn¡¯t try to attack G further. Was it because he knew G would just offset his attacks, or because he actually hadn¡¯t really wanted to fight from the beginning? Whatever it was, the Evil Gods¡¯ quarrel seemed to stop here, and Loren breathed a sigh of relief.


    He was immediately shocked by the words G spoke next though.


    ¡°Well, can¡¯t be helped then. Let that swordsman onii-chan and his girl over there be my agents.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°G, they surely are cute kids, but I don¡¯t understand how they can beat me when even you can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°You tone down a bit, and I give them some help. And you can¡¯t use Evil God¡¯s power. How does it sound? The match ends when they give up, or when you take a blow from them.¡±


    ¡°Even if they go numb after hitting me, I¡¯ll still lose? I¡¯m ok with this though.¡±


    ¡®Don¡¯t drag me into this!¡¯, Loren wanted to scream. But it was an Evil God who had dragged him into this, thus he didn¡¯t know what the hell she would do if he offended her. Denying her statement in front of Luxuria might not be a wise course of action.


    ¡°How¡¯s this: If I win, you have to obediently go with me. If you win, turn this ce into a love nest or a garden of pleasure as you like. Then nevere out again until this world ends.¡±


    Dered G while ring and jabbing a finger at Luxuria, who was still wiggling his body as he always did. She then returned to Loren¡¯s side.


    [It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if I spoke to her now, would it?]


    After short contemtion, Loren feeling a bit cold feet, decided to object.


    ¡°Don¡¯t drag me into this.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to see us keep on fighting then? I don¡¯t care about the damages to this area if we do, but do you?¡±


    ¡°If you two fight in earnest, then¡­ Give me some examples.¡±


    ¡°Well, the forest will be gone, and the terrain here will be altered.¡±


    Loren immediately understood that the battle would be on such a level that it couldn¡¯t be allowed to happen. And the thought of it being on the verge of happening gave him shudders.


    But even with that fact in mind, Loren still had something to say.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any benefit for me to get involved in this though.¡±


    So what if a forest in a ce that had no rtion to him disappeared, or the terrain in that ce changed a bit? It still didn¡¯t answer the question of why he had to fight that Evil God of Lust. If he couldn¡¯t escape this, then at least he should get something out of this. In that case, even if thingster came to a point of no return, he wouldn¡¯t regret it that much, or so Loren believed.


    ¡°Benefit¡­ benefit huh. Well, it¡¯s surely a bit unfair to have to fight that without anything on offer.¡±


    ¡°Do I even have a chance to win to begin with?¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling that you¡¯ll be able to manage to win somehow, but¡­ You said ¡®I¡¯. Can it be that you want to fight him by yourself?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I should let Lapis fight him in this state.¡±


    Pointing at Lapis, who was still shaking and clinging to his back, Loren said.


    G pondered for a bit with a troubled expression, then pped Loren on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased that you don¡¯t want to let priestess-chan fight. Alright, I¡¯ll offer you one benefit.¡±


    ¡°Will you really offer me a proper benefit?¡±


    Loren red from the corner of his eyes at G to emphasize his doubt.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m called an Evil God, but I¡¯m a woman who keeps her words. Just trust me.¡±


    Full of confidence, G beat her chest and answered.

 Chapter 142, The Resolution to Fight an Evil God

    <h4>Chapter 142, The Resolution to Fight an Evil God</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    G gave no details about the benefit she was offering. Loren had tried to get her talking, but she had said nothing other than it would be something good.


    Even though Loren had every intention to pursue the matter, he was worried that G would tell him ¡®I¡¯ll just fight Luxuria myself then¡¯ if heined. So, for the time being, he had no choice but to trust her words.


    As Loren readied his sword and stepped forward to face Luxuria, the Evil God looked at him with a strangely hot gaze. It gave Loren chills, not only in his spine and guts but all over his body. He still managed to re at him though, and the Evil God muttered following before letting out a passionate sigh:


    ¡°It¡¯ll be wonderful if you continue to re at me like this.¡±


    From the bottom of his heart, Loren wanted to run away and cry, but he couldn¡¯t. He wondered what sin he hadmitted to be cornered into a predicament like this, but there was no answer.


    ¡°First of all, how long can you make it in your current condition?¡±


    Lapis, who was standing next to a happy-looking G, asked him worriedly. She was still looking pale, and was holding her fists close to her chest. Loren raised his sword, thinking the only good thing in this whole situation was that Lapis wasn¡¯t involved and.


    ¡°I¡¯m going¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee at any time, and any ce.¡±


    Luxuria fluttered his hand to beckon Loren, and Loren kicked at the ground and thrust his sword forward.


    Since Loren tried as hard as possible to not get close, his first attack was a thrust that made use of the greatsword¡¯s length. The movement would be minimum, and he could attack from a two arm¡¯s length distance.


    That was what Loren had expected, but his eyes widened in surprise when Luxuria easily knocked his sword down to the ground with just one hand.


    Loren still kept his grip on the hilt but with both arms thrust out, his bnce was lost. He forcibly lifted up the de and sh upwards at Luxuria. But his sword was easily pushed off track by a swat from Luxuria, and Loren himself leapt to the side as if he had been hit by the rebounded sword.


    Luxuria¡¯s fist appeared where Loren¡¯s head had been just a moment ago. Right after swatting Loren¡¯s sword away, Luxuria had stepped in and struck him with such incredible speed that his eyes hadn¡¯t been able to catch it. Loren had somehow managed to dodge the blow and Luxuria, who was still in his fist-out stance, looked at him with a broad grin on his face.


    ¡°Nice reflex. You¡¯ll surely cry out nicely.¡±


    Loren fixed his grip on the sword while wondering if this was what a predator being hunted by another predator felt like. In that sense, it was simr to dealing with G, but this guy brought fatal mental damage while G brought physical danger.


    Loren wondered which was the lesser of two evils whilemencing his next attack.


    This time, it was a close range sh from the side, where the sword point would only graze Luxuria. There was no need for a proper blow in this battle, as Luxuria would admit defeat as long as he took one hit. Luxuria himself would decide if the blow was half-assed or not, but Loren believed it was important to strike him once anyway.


    However, the de¡¯s trajectory was once again changed with just a tap from the Evil God.


    Loren was able to maintain his almost-lost posture but deep down, he was astonished. The greatsword¡¯s weight and his strength had been incorporated into the sh. The force was enough to dent a shield, and if his opponent was to receive it with a sword, it could cut both sword and wielder into halves. And yet, Luxuria had brushed off the de with just one single movement as if it had been a twig. His expression hadn¡¯t even changed, and he had been bare-handed.


    Loren wondered what he should do with such an exceptional being of an opponent while making another attack. But it was also brushed off by Luxuria, properly and easily.


    Loren was thinking there was no way he could win this when G told him:


    ¡°Use self-boost!¡±


    He tried to remember the sensation Lapis had taught him.


    Recalling the feeling of something that was probably magic spreading to every nook and corners of his body, Loren raised his greatsword and moved with a speedpletely different from before.


    Luxuria didn¡¯t seem particrly surprised; he simply repelled Loren¡¯s strike with one palm, and the sword was once again swatted away without leaving so much as a cut on the Evil God¡¯s skin. But unlike before, Luxuria¡¯s own hand was also knocked away with force.


    Even so, the Evil God only looked surprised for a very short while. He immediately pulled his hand back and warded off Loren¡¯s second, then third attack with ease.


    ¡°Your muscles are very nice, but you don¡¯t put enough love into them.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk. I¡¯m about to throw up.¡±


    Loren ground his teeth and put all his strength into the next attack, but it once again failed to get past the Luxuria¡¯s hand defense to touch his body.


    In the first ce, the speed of Luxuria¡¯s hands and Loren¡¯s sword was too different. No matter how fast Loren tried to swing his sword, Luxuria¡¯s bare hands would never be slower. Loren¡¯s attacks, which couldn¡¯t even graze the Evil God¡¯s palms, simply couldn¡¯t reach his body.


    ¡°Can I perform some counterattacks? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll nurse you properly if you be unable to move.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m seriously horrified. If I can¡¯t move, just leave me alone!¡±


    Loren swung his greatsword while screaming out those words. Luxuria caught the de with one hand. Loren was unable to move, and the Evil God drove his log-like leg into Loren¡¯s nk.


    Surprisingly, the force was absorbed by the jacket Loren was wearing; most of it didn¡¯t reach his body at all. But there was still the impact of being kicked: Loren was literally blown off to the side, and he rolled around on the ground a couple of times.


    ¡°Eh? What a nice jacket you¡¯re wearing. I thought it¡¯d be a decisive blow.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re truly a monster in many ways¡­¡±


    Luxuria hadn¡¯t seemed to put that much strength into the kick; he hadn¡¯t even pulled his leg back and just kicked out. But he was able to send flying aside not only Loren, a well-trained,rge build man, but also the heavy greatsword he was carrying. The power Luxuria kept hidden must have been unthinkable. Just like Luxuria had said, without the jacket, that kick would have ended him. Loren understood that very well.


    ¡°I should aim for some ce that jacket doesn¡¯t cover next.¡±


    Luxuria said. Whenever he put strength into his legs, the muscles there could be seen twitching under his tight pants. Loren thought of how he would hate to be kicked by those legs and lostposure for a moment, but then straightened his stance again.


    Just then, G, whose approach he hadn¡¯t realized at all, ced a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you a bit. Do the same thing you do when using self-boost.¡±


    From her hand, something poured into Loren¡¯s body with such force that made Loren wonder if it was even alright to receive such a thing. He believed it to be the magic G possessed, and immediately sensed its flow throughout his body.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? You should exin things more clearly.¡±


    Not understanding G¡¯s instructions, Loren muttered. No matter how much boost Loren got from an Evil God, the only thing he could do was attacking head on. Loren stepped forward with that thought in mind. But the speed of his step was different from before, and he was bewildered for a moment when he noticed.


    But Luxuria was closing in, and Loren couldn¡¯t stay bewildered forever. He put off that sentiment and swung the greatsword down towards the Evil God.


    Luxuria moved to catch the de in his hand like before. Yet his expression somehow stiffened momentarily, and he turned to dodge the strike instead.


    Having lost its target, the de hit the ground. Wondering why Luxuria hadn¡¯t caught the de, Loren pulled the sword upwards in a diagonal sh. The Evil God once again chose to dodge instead.


    ¡°Amazing. You¡¯re already this powerful with just a bit of help from G-chan. You¡¯re so wonderful.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    Loren stepped forward and swung the sword down again. This strike also couldn¡¯t touch Luxuria¡¯s body, but at the same time, it also wasn¡¯t repelled.


    Not giving up, Loren took one more step forward and made an upward sh from Luxuria¡¯s crouch to the top of his head. The Evil God dodged again. It seemed like since Loren had borrowed G¡¯s power, Luxuria could no longer stop his attacks barehanded or swat them away.


    Noticing this, Loren tried to change into the offensive. But then Luxuria gave Loren a casual kick to the stomach, sending him flying backwards. The ground shook with the force of the impact.


    ¡°You need toe up with something better if you n to hit me.¡±


    ¡°This guy is such a monster.¡±


    That kick was meant to be a counterattack and targeted Loren¡¯s abdomen. It made him feel slightly nauseous and lose his breath. The kick contained so much power that without his jacket, all of his internal organs probably would have ruptured.


    ¡°Bastard! I can¡¯t touch him at all!¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you just give up? I¡¯ll invite you into my love nest then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather die!¡±


    Loren truly believed from the bottom of his heart that death would be better than joining that love nest. He raised his sword again for that very reason.


    Just then, Lapis, who was standing beside G, looked at Luxuria in surprise and asked.


    ¡°If Loren loses, that thing and him will¡­?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind ofte to react at this point!¡±


    ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t like that, Loren! I don¡¯t like that!¡±


    ¡°Neither do I!¡±


    Loren answered and decided to try one thing he hadn¡¯t yet. It was probably thest option for him. He didn¡¯t know whether it would be sessful or not until he tried it, but if he didn¡¯t, the situation would just be worse and worse, and there would be no way to break the deadlock.


    ¡°Your eyes look like you¡¯ve made some kind of resolve. Very well,e!¡±


    Having noticed the look in Loren¡¯s eyes, Luxuria invited him and gave him a fascinated flirty gaze.


    Feeling his resolution crumbling, Loren braced himself and began to focus on the remnants of G¡¯s power inside him once more.

 Chapter 143, From Commencement to Conclusion

    <h4>Chapter 143, From Commencement to Conclusion</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren was able to smoothly execute the first step of his n, as it was something he had done multiple times: performing self-boost with the magic received from G. He didn¡¯t really understand the details, but he somehow managed to do it by following the sensation and mental images. He had never failed at executing self-boost, maybe because Lapis¡¯ teaching method was good.


    ¡°That again? Your skill doesn¡¯t match your determination, does it?¡±


    Luxuria moved first this time, as if he could sense magic coursing through Loren¡¯s body.


    Instead of using his fist, the Evil God attacked with a kick. Loren used the t of his sword to defend himself from the impact and wordlessly focused his awareness towards Shayna.


    [¡®There¡¯s a somewhat strange aura, so I feel a bit reluctant¡­¡¯]


    Shayna didn¡¯t know what was happening in the outside world since Loren wasn¡¯t sharing his vision with her.


    Normally, Loren found her state to be quite pitiful and would try to share his senses with her as much as possible. But this time, he thought he shouldn¡¯t share his vision even if she asked. Lapis and him were old enough that shocking sights didn¡¯t have that much impact on them anymore. But Shayna was much younger, and Loren was worried about the mental impact she would take.


    After sharing that thought with Loren, Shayna began supplying him with magic power.


    The power he had received from G was immense and powerful, but it would be exhausted soon if he kept using it. In order to push back the point of exhaustion, Loren had asked Shayna to supply him more power with Energy Drain. This would dramatically extend the length of his self-boost; Loren himself couldn¡¯t even predict for how long he would be able to use it.


    ¡°Is this a war of attrition, I wonder?¡±


    Sucking from Lapis would mean preying on an ally. Since she still didn¡¯t know how much power an iplete King of Death like Shayna could absorb, Evil Gods like G and Luxuria were out of the question. Hence, the targets of Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain were the trees in the surrounding and the naked men, almost all of which had fallen.


    It seemed like Shayna had also realized that Loren was using a stronger version of self-boost. The effect of Energy Drain was stronger than ever: the trees withered in the blink of an eye while the men¡¯s bodies became wizened.


    Receiving such an immense supply of power from Shayna, Loren focused only on the greatsword he was holding. Even while dodging punches and kicks that held deadly power, his mind was wholly upied by the thought of ying his opponent.


    Before long, Loren could feel something clicked in his mind.


    ¡°You won¡¯t make any progress if you continue to defend only¡­ huh?¡±


    Luxuria broke off in the middle of the sentence. Loren had suddenly attacked. The Evil God leapt back to dodge, his eyes widened at the speed of the strike. He was built muchrger than Loren, and the scene of him leaping lightly looked rather unpleasant for some reason.


    But G and Lapis didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to him; they were captivated by Loren¡¯s strike. It was released at such a speed they had never seen from Loren.


    ¡°What was that just now?¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡±


    Loren let out a roar, his voice making the air vibrate like a jolt of electricity. Lapis reflexively covered her ears with her hands and recoiled. G stood still, her expression stiffened slightly and Luxuria unthinkingly stopped moving at Loren¡¯s sudden change.


    Loren raised his greatsword and charged at Luxuria. He didn¡¯t seem to have a specific aim, didn¡¯t even set up a proper path for the de. He simply struck at the Evil God consecutively.


    Luxuria was able to somehow dodge the first few blows, but he soon gave that up. He reinforced his hands with magic and instead chose to meet Loren¡¯s attacks directly.


    That showed how fierce Loren¡¯s attacks were. Even if Luxuria had chosen to continue dodging them, he would have needed to prepare to take some hits.


    That said, even though Luxuria¡¯s hands were reinforced with magic, him parrying Loren¡¯s strikes with bare hands was still quite extraordinary. But Luxuria himself also found Loren¡¯s attacks to be extraordinary.


    ¡°What¡¯s with this boy?! Isn¡¯t he too fast?!¡±


    Speed-wise, Luxuria should have had the upper hand, seeing how he was using bare fists while Loren was wielding a heavy sword. But he noticed that the attacks sessivelying at him matched the speed and frequency of his fists.


    Luxuria shot a magic shock wave from his fist in order to gain some distance from Loren. But Loren not only cut off the shock wave but also continued to pursue him.


    ¡°What is this?! If you¡¯re capable of something like this, do it right from the beginning! It¡¯d be much cooler, right?¡±


    Seeing Loren suddenly switch to offensive only, Gined with a voice full of expectation.


    Next to her, Lapis scowled intently at Loren, who was attacking continuously with a power she had never seen before. His movements seemed to be different from his usual rampages, even if she also counted the ones she had just witnessed.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what it is?¡±


    ¡°What? Lapis-chan, if you know he was hiding a secret talent like this, you should have told me.¡±


    G pat Lapis on the back as she told her this. But the next moment, she was surprised by Lapis grabbing her top.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that! This is unlike what I know!¡±


    ¡°W-wait a bit, Lapis-chan. If you pull that hard, it¡¯ll show!¡±


    G frantically pulled down her tube top, which had ridden up thanks to Lapis¡¯ grabbing.


    Lapis didn¡¯t notice G¡¯s distress at all. Her mind was full of the realization of the god damn thing Loren had done.


    ¡°He isbining them!¡±


    ¡°Combining¡­ what with what?¡±


    ¡°He wasbining self-boost technique with his rampage!¡±


    Lapis had guessed correctly.


    Loren had known that he wouldn¡¯t have been able topete against Luxuria if he fought the usual way. So, he had decided to activate his rampage state, but not from a normal state as usual: he had activated it from the enhanced state after using self-boost. He had simply thought that if going into rampage from a normal state could make him be rtively strong, then going into rampage from an enhanced state would make him be even stronger. And he wasn¡¯t wrong about that.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Physically fighting against one of us Evil Gods is overwhelming for humans.¡±


    Luxuria couldn¡¯t make any effective counterattacks against Loren. Whenever he was about to throw a punch or a kick, countless shes woulde at him, driving him into a defensive stance.


    From the look of it, the fight had be one-sided, with attacksing from Loren only. Some of Luxuria¡¯s defenses hade a bitte, and G believed it would only be a matter of time before he took a blow.


    ¡°This is not good! Loren always loses consciousness as a bacsh from his rampages! If he forcibly enhanced his rampage, do you understand how much bacsh his body will have to take?!¡±


    If he forcibly did something he shouldn¡¯t have been able to do, he would have to pay an appropriate price.


    Rampages caused a lot of damages to Loren¡¯s body to begin with. It hadn¡¯t been fatal so far and he hadn¡¯t sustained any irrecoverable damages because he had always exhausted his strength and lost consciousness before reaching that point.


    But this time, Shayna was continuously supplying him with power, and Lapis worried that this rampage might cause dangerous damages to Loren. Not to mention that he was supplementing the rampage with the power received from an Evil God. Lapis wasn¡¯t sure how harsh the bacsh would be.


    ¡°We must stop him!¡±


    ¡°We can, but¡­ It¡¯ll mean he gives up.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Once the battle was stopped, it was unlikely that Loren would be able to enter the fight again. Unable to continue fighting would mean giving up, which meant he lost.


    If it was just losing, then Lapis wouldn¡¯t hesitate at all. But it was not an exaggeration to say that losing here meant death to Loren.


    ¡°He might not be able to recover¡­ But if the fight stops here, he¡¯ll die mentally¡­¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we should quickly make a decision¡­ Even if that idiot ispletely rotten, he¡¯s still an Evil God, and he won¡¯t just simply take a blow anytime soon¡­ If there¡¯s an opening now, Loren probably can make it.¡±


    ¡°An opening¡­¡±


    Loren continued to attack, and Luxuria continued to dodge, even though just barely. Lapis watched them and thought about how to create an opening for Loren.


    With folded arms, Lapis contemted for a while. Then she threw a question at G, who was watching her with interest.


    ¡°G, is it correct to say that Luxuria is lustful, and a phnthropist who is alright with both men and women?¡±


    ¡°Your words are a bit too generous, but that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Which does he prefer, men or women?¡±


    ¡°He has no preference. He likes anything and everything with no discrimination. Macho ornky, men or women, young or old, they are all the objects of his lust.¡±


    ¡°Hm, in short¡­¡±


    Lapis unfolded her arms, extracted both arms from her sleeves, and put her hands inside her clothes. She rummaged for a while, then finally ced both hands on herpel and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Luxuria!¡±


    She didn¡¯t need a response. But when she confirmed that the Evil God had turned away from his fight and looked towards her, she pulled herpels open.


    Of course, her clothes fell away from her upper body as a result. Moreover, Lapis had taken off her chest cover during the rummaging earlier, and her naked upper body was now fully exposed with not a single thing concealing it.


    Her action was so sudden that both G and Luxuria were surprised. They had thought she would do something, but she had just undressed and exposed her upper body. G thought Lapis had been thinking too much and lost her mind, but Luxuria was captivated by the naked sight of the two bulges and their darker tips.


    ¡°Well! Those look delicious¡­¡±


    To someone who liked both men and women and could associate anything with lust like Luxuria, the sight of Lapis¡¯ half-naked body was so beautiful that it was more than enough to distract him even during a fight.


    However, his opponent, Loren, was in a berserk state, and wouldn¡¯t be distracted even if Lapis had gonepletely nude.


    The result was, even though Luxuria had only been distracted for one moment, it was enough of an opening for Loren, who had nothing in mind but the fight.


    The first blow was a direct hit on the top of the head.


    Luxuria¡¯s head wasn¡¯t split open as his magical defense seemed to be still working, but the impact made him stagger. An upward sh followed right after, and a scream erupted from the Evil God¡¯s mouth.


    Even so, Loren¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t stop. Luxuria¡¯s defense seemed still held on tight, so the de didn¡¯t cut into his flesh. But the sound of steel continuously shing against flesh and the Evil God¡¯s high-pitched scream reverberated in the air.


    Amidst all that, Lapis straightened her clothes with a slight blush on her cheeks.


    ¡°That idiot. Even the way he got defeated is so stupid that I¡¯m speechless¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been hit quite a lot of times, so could you put Loren to sleep now?¡±


    ¡°Let Loren hit him a bit more to weaken him, then I¡¯ll stop this fight. Nevertheless, Lapis-chan, it was really brave. And nice boobs you have there.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the end of the world if I show them.¡±


    It was clear from Lapis¡¯ expression that her reply had been just a bluff. She had literally taken her clothes off for Loren, and G decided that it would be cruel to tease her further. She went to check and confirmed that the injuries-covered Luxuria had been sufficiently beaten up, then took a nibble at Loren¡¯s magic and stamina as she had done before, stopping the fight. If not for this, Loren would have still been shing at Luxuria.

 Chapter 144, From Reward to Partnership

    <h4>Chapter 144, From Reward to Partnership</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren thought that a man was happiest when he was sleeping. He didn¡¯t need to open his eyes, and could rest in the warmth of his bed all he liked.


    He knew that he couldn¡¯t stay sleeping forever, and that he would need to wake up sooner orter. But until someone came to wake him, he wanted to rx within this pleasant warmth while doing nothing.


    Loren stirred, and found his movement somehow sluggish.


    Maybe he had been hospitalized again, and was bandaged from head to toe? But it didn¡¯t feel like that. He could still move if he tried, albeit slowly. It somehow felt like he was covered with thick, warm oil. The sensation bothered him a little, so he tried to wipe it away, but his hand was met with something soft.


    For some reason, he was clearly aware of his hand being brushed away. Then something suddenly tightened around his chest, and even though he was still reluctant about leaving his slumber, Loren slowly opened his eyes.


    The first thing he saw was a familiar ceiling. It was the ceiling of Kapha city¡¯s hospital, a ce he had been admitted to numerous times before.


    Memories about what had happened before he had lost consciousness finally came back to Loren one by one. He sighed, it seemed like he had caused Lapis troubles again.


    Realizing that he was lying face up on the hospital bed, Loren tried to sit up but couldn¡¯t. Somewhat scared that the damage to his body this time was more serious than he had expected, he turned his gaze to his body to check his own conditions. But what met his gaze was a pair of purple eyes.


    ¡°¡­Ah?¡±


    Even Loren knew how stupid he sounded.


    The owner of those purple eyesid her cheek on Loren¡¯s chest and closed her eyes. Her blond, almost white hair was spreading over Loren¡¯s body.


    What the hell was happening?


    His thinking ability btedly came back. He realized that the warm sensation he had felt in his sleep was brought about by him being hugged. He also realized that the one hugging him was somehow naked, and that he could feel her nakedness because he also wasn¡¯t wearing anything.


    Loren believed that if he had been a woman, he would have screamed by now. But he lightly grabbed the head of the person who was burying her face into his chest and lifted it up instead.


    He was met with purple eyes.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Loren asked tranquilly. He was not angry, nor his partner was someone he could get angry with.


    G answered with a serious expression:


    ¡°I told you I¡¯ll give you something good.¡±


    ¡°So this is the benefit you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°This is nothing but a benefit, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    G wrapped her arms around Loren¡¯s arm and her ample breasts squashed between them. Her torso stuck to Loren¡¯s torso as if glued, and her legs wound tightly around one of Loren¡¯s legs. She was using her whole body to get as much contact as possible with his body.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m an extremely ordinary man.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re truly a man. It was somewhat hard when you were sleeping, but it has got up properly now that you¡¯re awake.¡±


    Loren looked at the ceiling awkwardly. G grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ eat you.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be nice for your reputation if the Evil God of Gluttony is eaten by a human like you, right?¡±


    (Xem: In japanese ng terms ¡°eat¡± is referring to ¡°having sex¡± => Unchanged to preserve the word y by the author)


    G rose up slightly and looked at him with purple eyes and a charming smile. She whispered into Loren¡¯s ears, as he was starting to get worried for his life.


    ¡°Right¡­ I had a meal. I ate a bit too much, so I¡¯m full now.¡±


    Not too bad then, Loren thought.


    But the next moment, G¡¯s head was punched sideway with a muffled sound. She fainted and copsed on Loren¡¯s chest.


    Loren could actually guess what had just happened. And just as expected, Lapis peeked into the room.


    ¡°¡­Did I interrupt you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve helped me.¡±


    Loren actually thought it would have been nice if things could have continued and he could have ¡®released¡¯, yet he knew Lapis would be in a bad mood if he told her so. With some regret, he moved G¡¯s unconscious body to the side and sat up. Lapis¡¯ face suddenly became red then, and she turned away.


    ¡°Please put on some clothes.¡±


    ¡°So I wasn¡¯t put to sleep naked.¡±


    Loren¡¯s cheeks felt a bit hot when he thought about how G had undressed him herself, but he was careful to not show what he was feeling. He looked around restlessly, searching for his clothes.


    Lapis quietly handed him the clothes that had fallen on the ground, face still turned away.


    Loren asked while putting on his clothes:


    ¡°So, it¡¯s over now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is.¡±


    ording to Lapis, something had happened during the fight, creating an opening for the berserk Loren to rain a storm of attacks on Luxuria. He had been shed all over his body by Loren¡¯s greatsword, had admitted defeat because of that, and had obediently let G take him away.


    Thanks to that, the vigers and soldiers that had been under the influence of the Evil God¡¯s power had regained their sanity. But things had be troublesome after that.


    Luxuria¡¯s power, as the Evil God had dered himself, was increasing libido. In short, those under his influence would engage in acts that were difficult to be put into words with no regards of the gender or age of their partners. The vigers and soldiers had regained their sanity right in the midst doing such acts; it would be more strange if things hadn¡¯t be chaotic.


    ¡°That was¡­ literally Hell on earth.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to imagine that scene.¡±


    Of course, Lapis had had no reason to try to control that situation. With G¡¯s help, she had quickly carried the unconscious Loren away from that ce. They had fetched us¡¯ party on the way and had told Rose, the person they had been involved into this in the first ce, that the problem had been resolved more or less. Then, they had returned to Kapha as if they had been running for their lives.


    And incidentally, the skirmish happening near Rose¡¯s vige hade to an end at the same time. The reason was unclear. However, the number of soldiers pulled into the forest due to Luxuria¡¯s power had been quite high. When the spell had been broken and those soldiers had regained their sanity, they probably had thought about what they had done and with whom, and had been in no conditions to continue fighting a war. That was what Lapis had guessed, anyway.


    ¡°So, where has Luxuria, the culprit of all this, gone to?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. G took him to somewhere.¡±


    Both of them looked at G, who had been struck unconscious in a moment of distraction and was now sleeping beside Loren. They wanted to know about Luxuria¡¯s whereabouts, but G was an Evil God herself; she wouldn¡¯t just give them the information like that.


    ¡°She won¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°No, she won¡¯t.¡±


    Convinced that their questions wouldn¡¯t be answered, the two of them decided to stop thinking about that matter.


    They would probably meet again if that was what fate decided, but for now, Loren preferred to think that it had been thest time he had met that muscle head.


    ¡°That aside, Loren, you can¡¯t use what you did when fighting Luxuria again, unless things go terribly wrong!¡±


    Lapis brought her face close and red at Loren. He vaguely nodded at her.


    As he would never have been able to hit Luxuria with normal methods, he had tried to go into his berserk stage from a self-boosted stage. He had just now slowly realized how severe the bacsh of that action could have been. His whole body hurt, and even though he didn¡¯t feel anything strange with his bones right now, he wondered how it had been right after the rampage.


    ¡°I tried to heal you as much as I can, but there are things that can be healed and things that can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my bad. I¡¯ll be more careful.¡±


    Loren meekly nodded as he knew he had made Lapis worried. But he would still do it again should the need arise; this was something he didn¡¯t n to tell her.


    ¡°And, why is she here?¡±


    Loren pointed at G, who was still unconscious, and asked. Lapis stepped back a bit and tilted her head in puzzle.


    ¡°Why¡­ She somehow followed us here.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you too harsh on me?!¡±


    G suddenly sat up and said. Her bare breast jiggled, and as Loren¡¯s eyes reflexively fixed on them, Lapis pinched his ear.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ I¡¯m a man too.¡±


    ¡°I know, but still.¡±


    ¡°So, why are you here? It¡¯s not just to give me those nice things, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°There was that too.¡±


    G straightened up and sat cross-legged on the bed. Loren threw his nket on her lower-half body, thinking about how it was not the type of posture one should take when being naked.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting a bit interested in you two, so I n to stick with you for a while.¡±


    Loren was about to reply how troublesome that would be, when he suddenly realized how much of a danger letting an Evil God loose could be.


    So far, Loren was aware of only three Evil Gods roaming the world: Gluttony, Lust, and Sloth. He had no ideas what kind of havoc they were nning to wreck though. If they didn¡¯t cause a mayhem, he wouldn¡¯t care about them whatsoever. But in case they were scheming something, it¡¯d be better to keep an eye on one of them. That way they could at least try to prevent get caught up in their mess again. And G was the one least mentally-taxing to be around.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll help you guys out, and do nice things for you. Just repay me with lodging and food expenses.¡±


    ¡°Food expenses will be outrageous in your case.¡±


    ¡°But I can make lots of money, don¡¯t you think? So, what¡¯s it going to be?¡±


    Feeling troubled, Loren looked at Lapis, but she silently cast her eyes down once she noticed his gaze. Realizing that she was somehow leaving the decision to him, Loren pondered for a while, then said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cause us troubles.¡±


    ¡°Hope you won¡¯t mind my food expenses.¡±


    G showed them an easy smile.


    Lapis pressed a hand to her forehead as if trying to suppress a headache and told Loren:


    ¡°In the past few days, G has consumed enough food for ten or so restaurants, so be prepared.¡±


    What she meant was, his payment was already used up. Loren had begun to feel like turning G away, but he still managed to grit out:


    ¡°¡­Add it to my debts.¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s split it in half.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, I really can make money, so please treat me well!¡±


    As G smiled nonchntly and scratched her head, her breast happily jiggled. Loren¡¯s eyes reflexively fixed on them again, and Lapis pinched his cheek with a sullen expression on her face.


    Loren didn¡¯t know if his choice would bring them good fortune or bad fortune, but at least this case had ended here. Loren shrugged and let Lapis continue to pinch him.

 Chapter 145, Starting with Registration

    <h4>Chapter 145, Starting with Registration</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Rumor was going around that part of the army had been obliterated, and their force had be sparse.


    Even though Loren didn¡¯t want to hear about such rumors, he had no means to stop the talk from reaching his ears.


    He was sitting in a corner of a tavern that belonged to the Adventurer Guild, and the group of adventurers near him were chatting about it; he couldn¡¯t help but overheard their conversation.


    ording to the rumor, the soldiers that had participated in the almost-war skirmish between Vargenburg and Schoembrin had all disappeared. The skirmish hadn¡¯t been that bad, and the number of killed-in-action hadn¡¯t been that high either. And yet, soldiers had disappeared, from not just one but both factions, and at about the same time. The adventurers were quite interested in what on earth could have happened there.


    ¡°*talking gibberish*¡±


    ¡°Swallow! Swallow before you speak!¡±


    G, who was sitting opposite to Loren with a grilled chicken drumstick in each hand, tried to speak around mouthful. Loren couldn¡¯t understand her at all, so he shouted at her to swallow first.


    G proceeded to try to chew the meat in her mouth with all her might. Meanwhile, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren in her priest robe, rocked the ss of wine in her hand.


    ¡°I think I know the reason somehow.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it, so you don¡¯t need to tell me.¡±


    To be honest, Loren also knew. It was their previous mission.


    It had started with a request from an adventurer named us to escort some goods to some vige. Then one thing had led to another, and in the end, they had encountered Luxuria, the Evil God of Lust, a macho Loren didn¡¯t really want to think about.


    Vigers from the neighboring areas and the soldiers fighting nearby fell under the influence of that Evil God¡¯s power and had been entranced. Shortly after a sort of ¡®festival¡¯ with actions that couldn¡¯t be put into words had unfolded.


    The situation had been resolved somehow, but the consequence of it was the tinum blond girl, who was enthusiastically gnawing on chicken bones in front of Loren: G had decided to apany them.


    G was the Evil God of Gluttony, but she had be interested in Loren and Lapis for some reason, and had followed them to Kapha city.


    ¡°They won¡¯t have the heart to fight the men they gotid with yesterday, right?¡±


    G said with no reservation after chewing and swallowing the meat in her mouth.


    Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ faces noticeably darkened at her remark. Loren gave G a disgusting look and said with a somewhat sullen tone:


    ¡°I said I don¡¯t want to hear about it, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°But you said it to Lapis-chan.¡±


    G gave him a re that meant ¡®You didn¡¯t tell me so it¡¯s alright¡¯.


    ¡°And who do you think is going to pay for all the meat you¡¯ve just eaten?¡±


    G had been sealed as an Evil God for a long time, so of course she didn¡¯t have any money. Or rather, she didn¡¯t possess anything valuable. Naturally, Loren and Lapis paid for her lodging expenses in Kapha, and it was not an insignificant amount.


    Moreover, as if to live up to her title as the Evil God of Gluttony, G really could eat a lot. She ate so much that others could get heartburns and lose appetite just by watching her. Any diners that were unlucky enough to have G as their customer would have to close their business for the day, as she could devour enough food to put them out of stock in a blink on an eye. And she would still look unsatisfied.


    She ate like that for exactly three times a day, and it was unbearable for Loren and Lapis, who paid for her meal.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need gold coins to pay for your meals soon, won¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Ah, ahahahahaha. I¡¯m probably too hungry after such a long sleep, and human food is too delicious.¡±


    For a moment, Loren thought that maybe she was not being unreasonable.


    A little while ago, Loren had taken up a mission at an adventurers¡¯ training facility in a certain city that had been the ce where the Evil God of Sloth had been sealed. If the stories he had heard there had been true, then G had probably been sealed for hundreds of years, and hadn¡¯t been able to eat anything during that time. She seemed to have eaten variousmon as well as strange things after waking up, but all had been a far cry from a decent human diet.


    When he thought about that, he felt a little pity for her, and wasn¡¯t able to condemn her too hard.


    ¡°I¡¯ll work hard too, so bear with me.¡±


    ¡°We came here today to get ready for that.¡±


    G didn¡¯t have any proof of identity to use in a human town. They had questioned how she could have gotten into any town, but once that problem had been put aside, the issue of her social status was still hanging above their head. There was no doubt that it would be troublesome if something happened.


    For that reason, they had nned to register G as a member of their party at the Adventurer Guild. She would be able to receive an identification tag and have her social status established thanks to this.


    G had suggested filling their stomachs before going though, and they had had no choice but toe to a diner first. Loren and Lapis had nursed their sses of wine while G had started attacking arge te of chicken drumsticks with both hands as soon as it had been brought out.


    ¡°But are we really going to register her as a Copper rank adventurer? What a joke.¡±


    ¡°I feel the same, but we can¡¯t really exin her situation and have her started with a higher rank.¡±


    Ability-wise, an Evil God like G shouldn¡¯t have been a Copper rank adventurer. She should be a Silver rank at the very least. Well, there would be no questions if she was actually ranked higher.


    However, they couldn¡¯t just naively tell the Adventurer Guild that G was an Evil God. If they didn¡¯t stick to their story and registered her as an ordinary adventurer they had partnered with by coincidence, there was no telling what kind of uproar would happen.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t we report to the Guild about her before?¡±


    Loren had first met G in a fairy vige. It had been during the fight with the fairies, who had be ferocious under the influence of her power.


    As an adventurer, he had roughly reported the incident to the Guild, and the Guild had passed on the information to Vargenburg.


    ¡°If you register with the name G, it will cause amotion, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ But it¡¯s not like there is no one else named G.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t think it was a rare name, but he couldn¡¯t say that it was amon name either. He thought there would be no other way but for G to use a false name, but she immediately refused.


    ¡°Names are important. I am Gluttony exactly because I am G. If I use a false name, even just temporarily¡­¡±


    ¡°What will happen?¡±


    If she lost her power as Gluttony because of it, then of course she shouldn¡¯t use a false name. But this exnation wasn¡¯t quite urate, and G¡¯s answer was not what Loren had expected.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to control the power of Gluttony.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s use your real name then¡­ And pray that we won¡¯t get caught.¡±


    When G¡¯s seal had just broken, she had fused with the chief of a fairy vige. As a result, all creatures in the neighborhood had had their appetite increased abnormally, causing themselves to be ferocious. If such an incident happened in Kapha, what kind of turmoil could it cause? Not to mention, Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it could even be resolved.


    They just had to take the risk and let G register with her real name. And so, they should think about what to do if she was suspected to be an Evil God.


    ¡°Well, she won¡¯t get caught if she only introduces her name.¡±


    Lapis took a small sip from her ss and replied to Loren¡¯s worry.


    ¡°The Adventurer Guild doesn¡¯t have any magical instrument to reveal registrants¡¯ identities. They¡¯ll probably find it strange at most, and that I think we can handle.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words were strangely credible, as she herself still hadn¡¯t been caught yet.


    Lapis appeared to be a priest and acted like an ordinary human, but she was actually a demoning from a region surrounded by rocky mountains in the center of the continent. Her race was much more powerful than humans.


    She had been half-expelled to the human world by her parents in order to gain life experiences. To hide her demonic heritage, both of her eyes had been gouged out and all four of her limbs had been cut off to suppress her power. Moreover, her dismembered body parts had been hidden throughout the human realm. She had had a rather sad upbringing.


    Lapis had sessfully retrieved both arms since she had started working with Loren, and now she was more powerful than when they had first met, with more demonic abilities. Even so, the Adventurer Guild still hadn¡¯t suspected anything.


    Loren himself was also sheltering the soul of a girl who had been made into the highest ranking undead, the King of Death, inside his own soul. This had happened during one of his earlier missions. Strictly speaking, he couldn¡¯t be considered an ordinary human either. But the Guild also hadn¡¯t seemed to notice anything.


    Considering Lapis¡¯ and his own case, Loren thought maybe they would also manage to make it work with G¡¯s case somehow.


    ¡°Well, maybe you¡¯re right. Ah, G, do something about your eyes.¡±


    Her hair and skin were not that odd, but there was one thing about her that was greatly different from humans: her eyes.


    It was the same for demons. Loren suspected that Evil Gods were actually from the demon race, but he couldn¡¯t get an answer from Lapis, and hadn¡¯t really talked to G about it.


    ¡°What do you mean by something?¡±


    ¡°I mean the color. Can you change the color of your eyes?¡±


    ¡°Loren, please look at G¡¯s eyes carefully.¡±


    Following Lapis¡¯ words, Loren looked straight into G¡¯s eyes.


    G looked back at him nkly for a moment. But a short timeter, she cupped her cheeks with her hands and wiggled her body.


    ¡°Woaa, now you¡¯re staring at me like that.¡±


    Loren wordlessly touched the greatsword on his back. Seeing his movement, G hurriedly leaned over the table, her expression turned serious.


    ¡°I was joking. Well, look at me.¡±


    Taking his hand away from the sword¡¯s handle, Loren looked into G¡¯s eyes again.


    What set Evil Gods and demons apart from humans were their purple irises. That eye color didn¡¯t present in humans.


    But G¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t have that shade of purple now; they were a shade of beautiful, clear red.


    ¡°The color of your eyes¡­¡±


    ¡°Remove a bit of the blue and they¡¯ll be red.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not talking about paints here¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it all the same?¡±


    G spoke about it so simply, but it was not that simple to change one¡¯s eyes color. Loren wondered if it was one of the powers of Evil Gods.


    He wouldn¡¯t know no matter how hard he thought about it though, so for now, Loren decided to content himself with the relief that G wouldn¡¯t be suspected because of her eyes.

 Chapter 146, From Registration to Dispute

    <h4>Chapter 146, From Registration to Dispute</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Oh Loren. What business are you here for today?¡±


    Sitting behind the reception desk at the Adventurer Guild was Ivy, a receptionist Loren had met multiple times before.


    He wanted to go to one of those other counters with capable-looking receptionists; he had a bad feeling about this one. But if he left now, it would mean to tantly announce to everyone that he was avoiding Ivy. So, he put on a forced smile and went to stand in front of her desk.


    Loren had chosen this counter by ident. All the other desks had adventurers queueing before them, and while he had been waiting for his turn in one of the queues, this counter had suddenly opened after being closed since he had arrived. He had trieding here for no particr reason, but he wondered if Ivy had opened her counter after seeing him in the other queue. He eyed her warily. Loren considered Ivy as someone he needed to be cautious around, but he wasn¡¯t sure if she knew his thoughts or not.


    Ivy showed him a smile, either for business or just to be sociable.


    ¡°I want to add a member into my party.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally cancelling your current partnership?¡±


    Ivy sounded a bit surprised, and Loren frowned at her words. He didn¡¯t understand why she had mentioned partnership cancetion while he had just said he wanted to add a new party member.


    It was Lapis who answered his question.


    ¡°So if we add another member to a two-member party, it means we¡¯re cancelling our partnership?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t particrly want to stop our partnership.¡±


    Loren replied, and Lapis broke into an extremely happy smile.


    Ivy watched them somewhat jealously then turned her gaze towards G, who was waiting at their back.


    ¡°Is that your new member?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m G. Nice to meet you, I guess?¡±


    ¡°G?¡±


    Ivy asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone, and Loren dreaded that they had been caught somehow. But after pondering about something for a while, Ivy simply unfolded a sheet of paper on the desk.


    ¡°Well then, please fill in this form. Can you write?¡±


    ¡°No problem. Just leave it to me.¡±


    G nodded and borrowed a pen from Ivy, then began to fill in the form. Loren was watching her and thinking about how he had done exactly the same in the past when Lapis secretly whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Loren, you also did this before?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Doesn¡¯t everyone register here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Loren, so you can write.¡±


    The truth was, reading and writing was a skill on its own. There were just a few people who were educated enough to be able to do it. Loren had been properly educated by his mercenarypany, so he could write by himself. His leader had believed that if one couldn¡¯t read his own contract or fill in his own form, then he shouldn¡¯t have worked as a mercenary. Loren had only realized that his idea wasn¡¯t a conventional one at all after resigning.


    ¡°Lapis, you don¡¯t seem to have any problem with it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a priest, so of course I was properly taught to read and write.¡±


    ¡°G doesn¡¯t seem to have any trouble either.¡±


    Watching G smoothly write down her name, Loren spoke. Noticing that G was about to write herst name after finishing her first name, he lightly poked at her. She looked at him with a puzzled expression, but when he tapped at the name field on the form, she realized that she was about to write down her full name, the name of an Evil God. Smiling wryly, G stopped at her first name and moved to the next field.


    The next field was ce of birth. G contemted for a moment, then began to write. Just then, Loren asked her in a small voice:


    ¡°What are you writing here?¡±


    ¡°Well, my birthce, of course. ck Magic Kingdom of Nuuna.¡±


    Ivy was watching them whispering to each other with suspicious eyes. To avoid her finding out, Loren stepped on G¡¯s foot under the desk. When she screamed because of the pain, he used his hand to cover her mouth and pulled her away with a forced smile.


    A distance away from the counter, Loren smacked G¡¯s head, who looked like she was about toin.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t understand what will happen if you write down the name of that ce?¡±


    ¡°Ah right. But that¡¯s really where I came from though?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to have another blow? I can serve you a few punches until your Gluttony is satisfied.¡±


    Loren clenched his fist this time. Flustered, G looked at him. Still she didn¡¯t know what to write.


    But Loren himself didn¡¯t know much about ces¡¯ names either, so he looked towards Lapis, asking for help. Lapis sighed impatiently and whispered something into G¡¯s ears.


    A short whileter, G seemed to have understood whatever Lapis had tried to tell her. She walked back to the counter looking fully satisfied and continued to fill the form.


    ¡°I told her a more suitable ce name to use. It might seem suspicious, but they don¡¯t have the means to verify it, so it¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    Watching G, Lapis said.


    If Lapis said that it would be alright, then it would be alright. But Loren still felt a bit worried, so he asked:


    ¡°She¡¯ll have to fill in age and upation too, right?¡±


    ¡°I told her to write something reasonable; 21 years old magician.¡±


    It was understandable for G to lie about her age. If she was to write down her real age, it would be some crazy number somewhere in the hundreds. Rather than that, Loren was a little surprised that they had decided for G to be over twenty years old instead of a younger age like eighteen.


    ¡°I¡¯m registered as an eighteen years old priest, by the way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a reasonable estimation, I guess?¡±


    ording to Lapis, despite the longer lifespan, demons still matured at the same rate as humans, so that number wasn¡¯t a lie. As Lapis was a priest of the God of Knowledge, an officially-recognized one at that, she couldn¡¯t lie about a single thing in the form.


    ¡°Is it that easy to be a priest?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m excellent.¡±


    Lapis nonchntly said. She was indeed excellent though, so Loren had nothing else to say.


    ¡°What about you, Loren?¡±


    Looking at him with interest, Lapis asked. It took Loren some time to recall what he had written in the form.


    ¡°A twenty-two years old swordsman, I think.¡±


    ¡°That also seems reasonable.¡±


    Loren thought about how he had registered with rather vague information.


    He had written down a number that had seemed appropriate for his age; the truth is, he didn¡¯t actually know how old he is.


    He was an orphan that had been picked up by a mercenarypany. He didn¡¯t know his birthday, or how old he had been when they had found him. He had been told to be around that age by others in thepany, so he had registered as such; Loren himself didn¡¯t even know if he was actually older or younger.


    As for his birthce, he had chosen the Republic of Portaria.


    He had heard from hispany leader that it was an isted country in the northernmost part of the continent with hardly any interaction with other countries. It seemed to be often picked as the birthce of people with special circumstances, since nothing could be verified. That was why saying you were from Portaria was no different from saying that you had something to hide. In Loren¡¯s case, since he didn¡¯t know anything about his birthce, he still had an excuse even if he got caught lying.


    ¡°Did you also tell G to use Portaria?¡±


    ¡°If she tells people that she¡¯s from the North with that appearance, won¡¯t they think that she¡¯s not right in the head?¡±


    By appearance, Lapis meant how G bared both shoulders and stomach and didn¡¯t even remotely look like she knew how to dress for the cold. But Kapha was in the southwest of the continent and enjoyed the warm climate; dressing like G wouldn¡¯t make one shiver in cold unless it was winter.


    ¡°She feels the heat more because shees from the north ¨C it can also be interpreted that way, can¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t think of that, but does G even care about heat and cold?¡±


    Loren tried to imagine Evil Gods being affected by weather like heat and cold, but he immediately gave up ¨C his imaginative power wasn¡¯t high enough for that. If pushes to shove, all he could conjure up was the image of Gughing nonchntly standing in a blizzard wearing that skimpy outfit.


    ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t write down the name of a country that perished long ago, then anything is fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not important information.¡±


    In the end, Loren and Lapis reached the conclusion that whatever country would be alright. G briskly approached them just then. It seemed like she had finished with the registration; a copper identification tag was dangling on her chest.


    ¡°The Adventurer Guild was so stingy. Someone as strong as me should get the iron rank like Loren at least, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the rule, so there¡¯s nothing to do about it. I mean, considering you as an iron rank still sounds like a joke anyway, so copper or iron doesn¡¯t matter here.¡±


    Ability-wise, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if an Evil God like G was given the highest rank in the Adventurer Guild¡¯s ranking system. But the rule was for all adventurers to start with copper rank at registration, and there was no exception unless something truly exceptional happened. G being given the copper rank was nothing strange.


    In the first ce, Loren had thought that G couldn¡¯t be sorted into ranks like copper, iron, or silver anyway, so whatever rank she started with didn¡¯t matter. She still remained discontent after what he had said though.


    ¡°I want to be in the same rank as you guys. This feels like I¡¯m being left out, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll rank up pretty quick anyway. Just bear with it until then.¡±


    ¡°That said, will you be willing to work with us when ranking up, G?¡±


    Lapis asked with her tone also being discontent somehow. G answered her with a cheerful smile:


    ¡°Until death do us part. Is it ok for me to stick with you guys?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a huge trouble. Mainly because of the food expenses.¡±


    Lapis said coldly. G made a sad face while snuggling up to her, but thetter pushed her away, looking truly annoyed.


    Loren urged them to leave to discuss their n from now on. He couldn¡¯t decide whether they were getting along or not, but he¡¯d hoped that they wouldn¡¯t cause troubles at least. As they followed him out of the door, trouble arrived.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry.¡±


    G bumped into another adventurer who was passing by. G immediately apologized, but the other adventurer grinned broadly after seeing her and herpanion.


    It seemed like the seed of trouble hade from another party instead. Loren had that hunch, and involuntarily facepalmed.

 Chapter 147, From Pondering To Trespassing

    <h4>Chapter 147, From Pondering To Trespassing</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Sorry about our member, even though it¡¯s already toote.¡±


    Loren sighed and said. Humans should start interaction with a conversation, at least so he believed.


    The other adventurerughed scornfully at his words.


    ¡°It can¡¯t end with just an apology, you know?¡±


    ¡°Can I ask if you know me, just in case?¡±


    The adventurer stared at Loren for a moment, with a quizzical look on his face. But an easy smile immediately came back to his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t. Are you someone suspicious?¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t think that his face was that well-known either. Just that, he and Lapis had been in the same situation before, and had almost killed the other adventurer back then; he had expected to kind of have the reputation of a dangerous character.


    If he had had such a reputation, it would have been simple for the other party to understand how much of a trouble it would be to get involved with him, and they would have been able to avoid unnecessary quarrels. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t seem to work that way.


    Loren wondered who would be the best choice to manage this situation with minimum inconvenience.


    First of all, G was out of the question. An Evil God like her wouldn¡¯t be able to handle this without causing troubles; it wasn¡¯t even worth considering her.


    As for Lapis, Loren had no doubt that she could handle this well. But she looked like a delicate girl, and people tended to make light of her because of that. To change that opinion would need some external factor, or the other party had to realize it themselves.


    ¡°Seems like I have to deal with this myself¡­¡±


    Loren muttered and turned towards the other adventurer.


    Being directly stared at by Loren, the adventurer seemed to feel a little intimidated; he took two, then three steps back from G.


    Surprisingly, it was neither his height nor the bulging of muscles in his arms and legs that gave a measure of Loren¡¯s prowess; it was the greatsword on his back. The power needed to wield such a weapon was a statement on its own, and those who confronted Loren usually felt intimidated by it. asionally, there would be some who didn¡¯t feel surprised or intimidated or anything though.


    The adventurer who was trying to mess with them this time somehow seemed to understand how powerful Loren was just by facing him, and immediately gained some distance from him. He seemed capable, and that was a trouble in itself.


    Things would be simple if the other party had sensed Loren¡¯s power and backed off. But this adventurer had sensed Loren¡¯s power and still didn¡¯t leave. Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it was obstinacy or bravery.


    And someone capable like this man shouldn¡¯t have been picking fights with copper rank adventurers.


    The reason for his action immediately became known though.


    Loren noticed the man was ncing at G. It seemed like this man was harbouring some ulterior motives after seeing how G was dressed and the copper tag hanging on her chest. Loren guessed what he had been thinking, yet he had chosen himself an unattainable target this time.


    Loren was about to say something when the adventurer suddenly disappeared.


    It was so abrupt that Loren actually wondered if G had eaten him. He spun around to look at her, but she was shaking her head frantically, denying that it was her doing.


    When Loren was still wondering about what the hell had just happened, he was pulled back to reality by the voices of people who seemed to be in the same party with the disappeared man. Looking at the direction of their pointing fingers, Loren saw a smashed table and some other adventurers. Then he noticed the adventurer who had just stood in front of him: He was embedded into the wall, his body twisted unnaturally.


    It had all happened so abruptly that Loren could only stare at the scene dumbfounded. Someone pped his shoulder then, startling Loren.


    ¡°Make way. You won¡¯t want to be like that.¡±


    It was the voice of a woman, and the hand on his shoulder wore a rugged metal gauntlet, painted crimson.


    Loren¡¯s instinct told him to make way immediately, and so he did. The owner of the gauntlet passed by him without so much as a nce, and he was able to catch a glimpse of her.


    The woman didn¡¯t wear a helmet; her long crimson hair flowed freely down her back. Her eyes were red, and her lips were also vividly so. The te armour she was wearing was strangely revealing. Even though it was decorated heavily to the point that one would wonder if it was too much. The armour had openings all over, exposing her bare skin here and there. She wasn¡¯t very tall, just about Lapis¡¯ height.


    ¡°What? You want to die?¡±


    ¡°No, just thinking that I¡¯ve never seen you before.¡±


    The woman in red nced at Loren as if sensing his gaze. One wouldn¡¯t be able to guess from her appearance that she had just blown a muscr adventurer all the way to the wall. Loren thought that he needed to be very careful with his reply, or he might meet the same fate.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯vee here, so it¡¯s understandable. If I don¡¯t have any business here, I would never havee to such a ce.¡±


    The woman replied and walked away. But she suddenly stopped for some reason and turned around to look at Loren, making him wonder if he had done something wrong.


    ¡°Have I met you before?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have no recollection of it.¡±


    The woman watched him intensely for a while. Seemingly unable to recall anything about meeting him, she turned her gaze away from him with a puzzled tilt of the head and continued walking away.


    Another group of adventurers blocked her way this time.


    ¡°You! How dare you!¡±


    Pushing Lapis and G away from the ce, Loren thought it was understandable what those adventurers shouted. After all, a member of their party had just been blown away and got embedded into a wall by some stranger. A member of their party had tried to pick a fight with other adventurers, but still.


    That adventurer must have sustained serious injuries, and his party wouldck one member for a while. The party¡¯s power would decrease because of that, and their earnings would be affected. It was natural that they would want toin to the person who had caused all this.


    [They might¡¯ve missed one point in this whole situation]


    Thought Loren watching them surround the woman in red. And that was ¨C their opponent was way above them.


    The woman in red was powerful enough topletely incapacitate an adventurer in an instant right in front of Loren¡¯s eyes, using some method that he still hadn¡¯t figured out. What would happen if someone condemned her? They shouldn¡¯t have even considered it. Loren wasn¡¯t sure if those adventurers were too stupid to think that far, or that they themselves were actually powerful enough to handle her.


    ¡°He blocked the way, so he was at fault. If he¡¯s injured, then it¡¯s also his fault for being too fragile.¡±


    Her answer was to the point and easy to understand, but it carried no intention to appease the adventurers surrounding her.


    Having been spoken to like that, of course the adventurers weren¡¯t mollified at all. Anger was apparent on their faces, and they reached for their weapons.


    ¡°He deserved it for picking fights with others, but there was no need to go that far, was there?¡±


    A man who seemed to be the party leader gestured at the unconscious adventurer with his thumb and said. The woman¡¯s answer was curt.


    ¡°Have you thought about him being unlucky? It¡¯s your bad luck to meet me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any intention to apologize? If you do, we¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s out of the question. This Tizona, apologizing to someone? What an absurd joke.¡±


    Loren, who was casually listening to their conversation, quickly searched his memory for the name ¡®Tizona¡¯. He had said that he didn¡¯t remember when asked if they had met before, but there was a chance they had actually met.


    His thinking was immediately interrupted.


    ¡°Our career is finished if we let ourselves be looked down on. This can¡¯t end here.¡±


    ¡°So, you want to bet on your life? Be prepared to get killed then.¡±


    Tizona replied and stood her ground. From what Loren could see, she carried no weapons despite wearing a very gaudy armour. The thought of her being a magician crossed his mind, but he couldn¡¯t understand why she was wearing te armour if that was the case.


    ¡°Let us give you some painful experience!¡±


    At their leader¡¯s deration, the adventurers simultaneously picked up their weapons. This had escted beyond the usual quarrels between adventurers, and the woman was outnumbered. Loren reached for his greatsword, wondering if he should back her up. But Lapis, who was standing beside him, stopped him.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling that we should stay away from this.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Lapis-chan. What¡¯s with that woman? Such a strong presence, crackling like electricity.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s at that level?¡±


    Loren was flustered; this would be a big trouble then.


    G was quiet for a short while, then answered:


    ¡°On second thought, her presence is more like tingling.¡±


    G immediately yed it down, but Loren believed that if the woman was worth G¡¯s attention, then it was better to be cautious with her. He gave up the idea of backing her and took some distance as Lapis had advised.


    The smarter adventurers had all stepped away from the scene, and the slower one also stepped back once they realized that there were no one else around them. A clearing was soon formed, with the woman at its centre.


    ¡°Even now, if you apologize¡­¡±


    ¡°No. Juste in at once. I¡¯ll roast you all in one go. It¡¯ll be quicker like that.¡±


    Tizona said and extended her hand towards the leader. Seeing a red me flickered to life and coiling around her hand like a snake, a name finally came to Loren¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 148, From Instant Killing To Lapse Of Memory

    <h4>Chapter 148, From Instant Killing To Lapse Of Memory</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren had heard the stories, but had never witnessed it himself. That was why he hadn¡¯t been able to call up the memory right away.


    He knew that it was already toote to say ¡®Run!¡¯, but he did anyway.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know if the adventurers facing Tizona realized that it was directed at them or not. Because the moment he had recalled Tizona¡¯s identity and shouted out the warning to them, he had also picked Lapis up and ran away.


    G also had set off after them just one momentter, and at almost the same time, Tizona had opened her mouth.


    ¡°Burn. Ashes to ashes. Trashes to ashes.¡±


    The words were spoken as if sung. As soon as they left her mouth, the adventurers burst into mes.


    The red mes enveloped their whole bodies and, without a single scream or a single whiff of smoke or smell of burning flesh, the adventurers became piles of ash in the blink of an eye. Despite how violent the mes were, it didn¡¯t spread.


    The massacre was over too soon, and it had happened so seamlessly that no one was able to utter anything. Those presented could only turn their gazes towards the piles of ash lying on the floor.


    The sole perpetrator, Tizona, slowly lowered her arms and looked around. After confirming that no one had anything to say, she slowly walked towards the wall, where Loren had escaped to with Lapis. Her expression was so indifferent that it was impossible to imagine she had just burned several people to death.


    ¡°You seem to know about me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Tizona wasing closer and closer with a cking of heels, and Loren found himself unable to answer her. He had the experience of imagining scenes after hearing stories about this before, but it was probably the first time that he saw the actual scene. It was so shocking that he was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Wha¡­ what was just now?¡±


    G, who had run to the wall like Loren, asked with dumbfounded words. Hearing her questions, Loren¡¯s stiffened lips finally moved to say the following:


    ¡°Hellfire Sword¡±


    ¡°That means you know me, don¡¯t you? I also feel like I know you. Maybe we¡¯ve met somewhere before?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. At least, this should be the first time I¡¯ve met you.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe it was on a battlefield. In that case, it¡¯s very likely that only I saw you¡­ Have you always used that greatsword?¡±


    Tizona nced at the greatsword on Loren¡¯s back and asked.


    Loren had used a simr sword during his mercenary days, but it had been a very ordinary steel sword, not entirely ck like this one. That sword broke when he became an adventurer, so he bought this one as a recement as per Lapis¡¯ advice. Loren suspected that this sword was the reason why Tizona felt like she had met him before.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve just bought this one recently. The sword I used to use was¡­ broken.¡±


    ¡°Was it simr to this one? A steel greatsword?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can say so.¡±


    Loren had considered lying, but he wasn¡¯t sure what Tizona would do if she knew she had been lied to. Rather than taking that risk, he believed it was better to just tell the truth.


    ¡°Is that so? Are you the mercenary called ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Isn¡¯t he the one said to be able to turn the tide of a battle by himself, and thus have a nickname, just like you? I¡¯m not such a big shot.¡±


    It felt like Loren already had a simr conversation before. Still being carried by Loren, Lapis watched him and Tizona. Loren looked very earnest, his face saying ¡®I¡¯m not lying¡¯. Meanwhile, Tizona nodded multiple times as if she was satisfied.


    ¡°You really are ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯. What are you doing here? I heard the mercenarypany you belonged to was annihted. Did you quit working as a mercenary?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said I¡¯m not him. Mypany was indeed annihted, and I did quit being a mercenary, but I don¡¯t have a nickname. I was just an ordinary mercenary.¡±


    Loren kept insisting that it was not him. But Tizona already made conclusion and looked at him with an expression of understanding his need to deny the ¡®truth¡¯.


    ¡°Uhm, excuse me, but is it alright for me to say something?¡±


    Feeling that the conversation was going nowhere, Lapis timidly said to Tizona from within Loren¡¯s arms.


    It seemed like Tizona hadn¡¯t noticed Lapis¡¯ existence until then. She turned towards her and nodded after a brief consideration.


    ¡°If Loren keeps insisting that he is not that mercenary, then maybe there really is some misunderstanding here?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ But he really is ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯. I have no doubt about it.¡±


    Tizona said with such confidence that Lapis wondered if it really was the truth. Loren didn¡¯t look like he was lying, but it was possible that he himself didn¡¯t know. Whatever the truth was, there was something Lapis felt like she had to say.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not saying that those adventurers weren¡¯t at fault since they did take up arms themselves, but I can¡¯t help but think that there will be a lot of trouble if you kill people that easily.¡±


    Hearing Lapis¡¯ words, Tizona¡¯s face stiffened at once. Just as Loren realized that she had killed them without much thought about consequences, Tizona turned her eyes towards the piles of ash on the floor and murmured:


    ¡°Is that bad?¡±


    ¡°Well, for adventurers, there¡¯s a term about killing someone during quarrels¡­ I myself did get quite serious in quarrels sometimes, but to kill others is¡­ Have you done that, Loren?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t. Probably.¡±


    Loren recalled having done rather terrible things during quarrels, like hurling his opponents away or strangling them. They might be unable to recover, but they probably hadn¡¯t died, or so he thought.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not an adventurer.¡±


    If Tizona really was Hellfire Sword as Loren said, then she was a mercenary and not an adventurer. What Lapis had mentioned only applied for quarrels between adventurers; no one here knew what it would be like for quarrels with non-adventurers.


    ¡°In that case, would you minding with me? I¡¯d like to have a talk with you.¡±


    It was Ivy who suddenly cut in. The receptionist had a smile on her face, but her aura was terrifying somehow. She was keeping a tight hold on Tizona¡¯s shoulder from behind.


    Meanwhile, Tizona, who could easily resist Ivy if she wanted to, looked to have frozen. She looked towards Loren for help, but he immediately averted his eyes. Getting involved with Tizona or Ivy? Thanks, but no thanks. Loren didn¡¯t want to get involved with either of them.


    ¡°Well then, let us go to the back. It won¡¯t take too much of your time; it¡¯ll end quickly and it won¡¯t be painful at all, so please follow me obediently.¡±


    ¡°Follow you? Wait, Decapitating Wind! Help a fellow mercenary, will you?! Wait!¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t I tell you?¡±


    Tizona hadn¡¯t lost a fight here, but she was letting Ivy drag her away by the shoulder. Lapis¡¯ face indicated very clearly that she didn¡¯t want to get involved, and Loren¡¯s answer was very blunt:


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you. I¡¯ve already told you, I¡¯m not the mercenary called ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯, and I only know the name of ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯ by rumors.¡±


    Lapis felt like Loren wasn¡¯t lying or trying to trick Tizona. She couldn¡¯t tell if Tizona had told the truth or not, but rather than reflecting on it, distance themselves from her was a higher priority.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s pretend that we didn¡¯t see anything here. First of all, let¡¯s look for some jobs to pay for G¡¯s food expenses, shall we? Otherwise, at this rate we¡¯ll end up on the street.¡±


    ¡°Does she really eat that much¡­?¡±


    Loren looked dazed at G, to which she shyly scratched her head.


    ¡°Eh, there was a long period when I couldn¡¯t eat anything, you know? And right after that I was eating a lot of strange stuff¡­ So to stop eating an ordinary meal for a change became irresistible¡±


    ¡°I know how you feel, but it¡¯s still no excuse to make us go bankrupt.¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s rare, but it¡¯ll be nice if we can find some high-paying jobs. It¡¯s even better if G can take them on her own.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan, that¡¯s too cruel¡­¡±


    G began to butter up Lapis, who had just told her to earn the money for her food herself. Loren, who had never heard of any parties getting bankrupt due to food expenses, began to thoroughly investigate the jobs still left at the reception. The Tizona incident hadpletely vanished from his mind.


    In the end, they couldn¡¯t find any jobs with decent pay that day, so they decided to return to their inn ande backter for a fresh start. But the next day, when they came back only to have Ivy suddenly drag them into a backroom, and Loren was reminded of Tizona once more.

 Chapter 149, Explanation from A Mercenary

    <h4>Chapter 149, Exnation from A Mercenary</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Truth is, there¡¯s a job that Guild would like you to take on.¡±


    Ivy got straight to the business. She had led them to one of the backrooms behind the counters at the Adventurer Guild, a in room with no furniture except for the table they were sitting at. Lapis and G sat on both sides of Loren, and opposite them was Ivy and Tizona. Ivy was in her Guild receptionist uniform, and Tizona somehow seemed to be shrinking in on herself as if in shame. The atmosphere was rather awkward somehow.


    Loren answered Ivy:


    ¡°Is iting directly from the Guild? It doesn¡¯t seem like a simple job.¡±


    A designated jobing directly from the Adventurer Guild reeked of trouble. Loren didn¡¯t want to ept it, and he frankly let his feelings seep through his voice while answering Ivy.


    Ivy should have noticed, but she simply continued without a change in neither expression norplexion.


    ¡°The job is to investigate the unexplored mountain region south of Kapha. It¡¯s to be done within eleven days, with eight for the two trips to and from the area, and three for the investigation itself. You¡¯ll receive one gold coin for each person, and expenses for necessities will be paid separately.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know much about geography, so he looked at Lapis for help. Lapis, who was looking back at Ivy with the same poker face expression, replied:


    ¡°You mean therge mountain range to the south, or southwest of Kapha. Its name is¡­ It¡¯s not named, I believe. There are a number of mountains in that area. Is there an unexplored ruin there?¡±


    The question was meant for Ivy, but it was Tizona who answered.


    ¡°I discovered it. It¡¯s a disguised, fort-like ruin halfway up one of the mountains. I couldn¡¯t get close to it, but I¡¯ve never heard of any ruins in the area, so I dare say it¡¯s unexplored.¡±


    ¡°I have another question. Why is Tizona here?¡±


    ¡°The truth is¡­ My mercenarypany is in financial trouble.¡±


    Tizona said with a blush and a bowed head, as if it was something embarrassing.


    Loren wondered whether thepany¡¯s falling into financial trouble bothered her. Mercenarypanies always scrambled for funds, and getting low on cash due to failing a job was not a rare sight, so he didn¡¯t find this something to be embarrassed about.


    But listening further, Tizona appeared to be the cause of the financial trouble herself. And so the reasons of her embarrassment started to get clearer.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ burned down our employer¡¯s troops.¡±


    ording to Tizona, it had been a job they had taken just a little while ago. The battle ended up in a stalemate, so Tizona decided to use her extraordinary power to incinerate the enemy troops, yet went overboard and caused huge coteral damage. And in her case it was no exaggeration, since the number of casualties had quickly escted to several hundreds.


    They had won, so their employer hadn¡¯t been able to charge them. Instead, herpany had faced an enormous im ofpensation. Since then their business was going downhill day by day, Tizona haltingly finished her story.


    ¡°Are you a moron?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a fool, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    All three members of Loren¡¯s party said in reply. Tizona blushed bright red and answered with minimal objections:


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped! They outnumbered us, so I couldn¡¯t use <<roast>>!¡±


    </roast>


    ¡°<<roast>>?¡±


    </roast>


    ¡°It¡¯s my blessing. It¡¯s why I¡¯m called ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯ amongst the mercenaries.¡±


    Loren wondered if it was alright to just speak about one¡¯s blessing like that, but Tizona didn¡¯t look particrly concerned; she began to exin what <<roast>> was.


    </roast>


    ording to Tizona, it was a skill that could literally roast every single person within a designated range. No defense would be effective against Roast ¨C it would thoroughly burn down everything, inmmable or not. However, it wouldn¡¯t affect anything outside its range.


    It sounded almost too powerful, but it had some drawbacks: the burning range wasn¡¯t toorge, and it wasn¡¯t possible to create multiple zones at once.


    ¡°I had no choice but used another method to burn them down¡­ Mypany noticed me using my powers and put some distance toe out unharmed. Employer¡¯s soldiers, on the other hand, were jumbled up with the enemy troops. I knew that over time it would get more dangerous, so I thought the sooner I burn all down, the better it would be.¡±


    ¡°What a troublesome character¡­¡±


    The method she used was still unknown, but it must have been powerful enough to be able to burn down three hundred-odd people in one go. Just as expected of a mercenary with such a nickname. Moreover, being able to burn down both friends and foes alike, further escted her troublesomeness. For her to still use her powers despite knowing that it would affect her allies, her way of thinking was also dangerous. In short, Loren decided that she was a moron. He looked at Ivy, who had been listening in silence.


    ¡°I understand the situation, but why are we nominated?¡±


    Smelling troubles, Loren asked. Ivy shrugged and told him the reason as if it was nothing important:


    ¡°Because it seems like you know each other.¡±


    Seemed like the Adventurer Guild had also decided that Tizona¡¯s story was very disturbing. And since they couldn¡¯t get unrted people involved, Loren¡¯s party became an obvious choice.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know her.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because you¡¯re originally in the same trade as her then.¡±


    ¡°I used to be one. Unlike her, who is still one, right?¡±


    Loren wondered if this meant Tizona was considering bing an adventurer, but she suddenly nodded.


    ¡°I still want to be a mercenary. I¡¯m indebted to our leader. If our leader resigns, I¡¯ll follow. But that¡¯s still a long way off.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the reason your leader might be forced to quit is a certain ¡®glorious¡¯ victory of yours.¡±


    A mercenarypany couldn¡¯t operate without funds. Even if herpany didn¡¯t disband, in case they couldn¡¯t pay thepensation to their employer, there were only two ways to go forward: either thepany could sell themselves to the said employer, or it could ignore thepensation im entirely and goes rogue.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve received an offer that, if I sell myself to our employer, our debt will be annulled.¡±


    Loren thought that it was not a bad deal. To fill up a gap of a few hundred soldiers, a twice-named mercenary with powerful skills like Tizona was ideal.


    Also, personality aside, Tizona was a beautiful woman. There was a lot of use for her aside from fighting, so trading couple hundreds of soldiers with her was a fair exchange. A beneficial one, even.


    ¡°I think in the worst-case scenario I¡¯ll take up that offer. As I¡¯ve just said, I¡¯m indebted to our leader. If this can be settled with just me, then I¡¯m willing to.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll be treated nicely, do you?¡±


    ¡°I was told I¡¯ll be treated as a ve. But if it can save our leader from trouble, then so be it. I was about to take up the offer when I suddenly remembered the ruins I¡¯ve encountered during a previous job. So I decided to give it a try, as my final option.¡±


    It was a simple story after that. Tizona had asked for a short vacation from herpany, collected all the money she had been saving and used it all to put in a request at the Adventurer Guild. She was asking for some adventurers to apany her to explore the ruin. Some of her fellow mercenaries feared that she could run away, but the leader had let her go willingly.


    ¡°To repay my debt to our leader, I want money, no matter what it takes. For that reason, I need to explore that ruin. Would you help me?¡±


    Tizona ced both hands on the table and bowed so low that her forehead touched the tabletop. Loren watched her and considered her offer.


    Getting rich by exploring unexplored ruins strongly resembled a gamble. If she won, everything would be solved in one shot.


    It wasn¡¯t a bad idea.


    Tizona herself was more than a capable fighter, so she wasn¡¯t recruiting adventurers for battles. She was smart enough to understand that no matter how potent her offensive power was, it would be useless for exploration and appraisal of the ruins. And so adventurers¡¯ skills were required.


    About the reward, Loren couldn¡¯t decide if it was high or low. One gold coin would be too cheap if there was something in the ruin valuable enough to pay off the hugepensation. But if there was nothing inside, it would be quite an expensive gambling fee.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s unexplored?¡±


    ¡°The Adventurer Guild guarantees it.¡±


    Ivy answered him and continued:


    ¡°I¡¯ve researched it and couldn¡¯t find any records of ruin discoveries in the given region. I can¡¯t be sure about illegal explorations, but I think it¡¯s very likely that the ruin is unexplored.¡±


    The Adventurer Guild tried to keep its adventurers from going on a fool¡¯s errand, and thus kept detailed records of all explorations. Of course, if the exploration was illegal there would be no records. However, the stolen goods still had to be sold off somewhere with information about their origins, and the Guild also possessed an abundance of such.


    ¡°What do you think? Doesn¡¯t seem too bad to me.¡±


    If they were to take on this job, Lapis¡¯ and G¡¯s opinions also needed to be taken into consideration. As a start, Loren asked for G¡¯s.


    ¡°If we can earn money, then I have no particr objection.¡±


    ¡°Me neither¡­ But if this exploration is sessful, I¡¯d like to have more regarding the reward.¡±


    What Lapis meant was, one gold coin would be enough if they found nothing, but if they did find something valuable enough to pay off Tizona¡¯spensation, she would want more.


    Loren thought it was a bit too greedy, but he was also curious about what Tizona would say. So he said nothing and just watched her instead.


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s fine for me as long as I can pay off thepensation. I promise to increase the reward in ordance with what we find.¡±


    Tizona decided quickly.


    Loren didn¡¯t particrly care about this quest, but noticing Lapis lightly clenching her fists, he understood that she wanted to take it. That was a good enough reason for him.


    ¡°Then, we would like to officially ept this job.¡±


    Ivy answered Loren with a nod of confirmation, and a small smile of relief appeared on Tizona¡¯s face.

 Chapter 150, From Idle Talk To Preparation

    <h4>Chapter 150, From Idle Talk To Preparation</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°I want to ask you something, Miss Human Flint.¡±


    ¡°What an ill-bred, impolite person¡­¡±


    Early next morning found Lapis and Tizona at the south gate of Kapha city.


    After epting Tizona¡¯s job yesterday, they had talked for a while, and it was decided that they would start preparing for departure now. Thus, Lapis and Tizona were watching their luggage while Loren and G went to rent a donkey to carry them.


    Lapis found it to be too boring to wait for them in silence, so she tried to start a conversation. But Tizona grimaced as if she had been stabbed with a knife:


    ¡°Miss Indiscriminate Pyromaniac?¡±


    ¡°Name, call me by name. You can skip the honorific. So, what do you want to ask?¡±


    Having a strong feeling that she would be stuck with this nickname forever if she let it slide now, Tizona bluntly opposed Lapis with just a bit of annoyance.


    Lapis looked at her nkly for a moment and, after a brief consideration, called her again:


    ¡°Miss Indiscriminate Pyromaniac?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to get burned?¡±


    Wondering if some threatening would be needed, Tizona lit up a me on her fingertip and red hard at Lapis. But Lapis just nonchntly replied without any hesitation:


    ¡°If you burn me, you won¡¯t get Loren to help you. And I wonder if there will be any other adventurer who would want to work with you after that fight in the tavern?¡±


    ¡°Just ask what you want to ask. Are all priests as disagreeable as you?¡±


    Lapis was right though, so Tizona sighed and put out the me on her fingertip. She now realized what a bad move it was to burn down those adventurers during the tavern fight the day before yesterday.


    After that incident, her name and face had be well-known amongst adventurers, along with the rumor that she would burn people to ashes just because of minor disputes. No adventurers would dare take her job. She also knew that they were looking at Loren¡¯s party with pity after hearing about them epting it. But it had already been toote, so nothing could be done now.


    Tizona started to regret incinerating those adventures in the guild hall. Scorching them a bit would be a more prudent option. But for that she had to rely on conventional magic, instead of <<roast>>. The issue, however, was that conventional magic had never given a satisfactory sensation of burning¡­


    </roast>


    While Tizona was musing this, Lapis thought that the conversation would go nowhere if she kept fooling around with her, so she went straight to be business:


    ¡°It¡¯s about Loren.¡±


    ¡°About whether he really is ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯ or not? If that¡¯s the case then yes, there¡¯s no doubt about it. I guarantee that.¡±


    Lapis thought so too, but Loren denied it so vehemently that she had to wonder if there was some misunderstanding. She was thinking about confirming it with a currently-active mercenary and by chance this was when Tizona had shown up, so she took this chance.


    Tizona¡¯s answer came right away, and the indifferent tone she used bewildered Lapis:


    ¡°His appearance and weapon are the same, but the biggest tell is how strongly he denies to be Decapitating Wind. That guy is known to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge his nickname.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    Bing a feared figure on the battlefield and being given a nickname was not a bad thing for a mercenary. On the contrary, it would increase the mercenary¡¯s value, leading to more high-profile jobs and creating a positive impact on the wholepany. At least, that was what Lapis thought.


    But Tizona spoke of a different reality while turning her gaze to the direction where Loren should havee back with the donkey.


    ¡°The biggest reason is ¨C it would have brought troubles to hispany.¡±


    ¡°Brought troubles to hispany? Why?¡±


    ¡°Apany that has an outstanding member easily attracts attention from otherpanies. Not only that, but it will also attract a different kind of attention from the government. Such attention can sometimes be good, but they are more often bad.¡±


    People would think that a mercenarypany with such an excellent member would be very capable, and as a result thepany would be forced into life-and-death situations more and more often. Tizona said with a wry smile:


    ¡°I was also happy with the nickname ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯ at first, but now I¡¯m regretting having ever acknowledged that name. Of course, mypany has been treated better thanks to it, but I can¡¯t help the feeling that danger has also increased.¡±


    ¡°Loren denies his nickname because he¡¯s afraid of that.¡±


    ¡°If the person himself does not acknowledge his nickname, others can¡¯t use it in their narratives. That¡¯s why I find it amazing that the nickname still continues to be used even though he keeps denying it.¡±


    Normally, the talk would die down if the person denied his nickname. But in Loren¡¯s case, the nickname still pointed to Loren and even spread.


    ¡°Other than that, I think he keeps denying it also because Decapitating Wind tends to lose consciousness after a battle. Have you seen it?¡±


    Lapis silently nodded at Tizona¡¯s question.


    Loren sometimes could exert unusual strength during battles, which she herself had witnessed multiple times. He could reach that state not by gradually gaining strength but by mental conditioning, and he seemed to have been able to control it himself recently. However, the bacsh Loren¡¯s body receives after is severe.


    Lapis had been secretly racking her brain trying to find a solution, but she hadn¡¯t had any breakthrough so far. What Loren did was essentially forcibly drawing out histent strength, so it was unreasonable to expect no recoil on the body.


    ¡°People often forget things after serious injuries. Loren might have forgotten about himself being Decapitating Wind because of this.¡±


    Lapis had difficulties believing this, he still could have guessed something from the stories. After all, this wasn¡¯t a matter that could be forgotten just like that¡­ On the other hand, Loren¡¯s tendency to avoid negative attention had to be ying a bigger role in his stubborn denial of the nickname.


    ¡°Loren is really strong, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Since there was still no sign of Lorening back, Lapis decided to ask another question that she was curious about. Tizona unfolded her arms, ced a hand under her chin and answered after a short while in a wondering tone:


    ¡°I haven¡¯t fought against him, so it¡¯s difficult to evaluate.¡±


    ¡°Were you his enemy or ally?¡±


    ¡°There are no friends or foes between mercenaries ¨C our positions change together with our employers. It is not umon that the one with whom you fought on the same side yesterday, to be on the side of your enemy tomorrow. ¡°


    It was a characteristic of mercenaries, who worked just for money. It was understandable on a professional level, but Lapis wondered if it was eptable on an emotional level.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t ept it, you can¡¯t be a mercenary. I probably killed quite a lot of Loren¡¯srades, as he probably did mine. If we bear grudges for that, we can¡¯t be mercenaries.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it is?¡±


    ¡°You have to ept the basic givens of our profession.¡±


    Taking her hand from her chin, Tizona answered and folded her arms again.


    ¡°About your earlier question, I consider him to be a rare fighter.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand?¡±


    ¡°Before we talk about strength, I acknowledge him to be an opponent one can¡¯t be careless with. This might sound like boasting, but he is the only one to ever be able to see through <<roast>> at first sight and dodged it.¡±


    </roast>


    <<roast>>, Tizona¡¯s powerful ability, was a horrible one, almost like a foul y: simply by watching it was impossible to tell how many burning ranges she created, or how big the ranges were. The targets wouldn¡¯t be able to know they were targeted until they started burning and when they did, they would turn into ashes with no time to run.


    </roast>


    And Loren had been able to dodge it.


    ¡°How did he do it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve thought about it a lot, but¡­ I have no idea at all.¡±


    Tizona looked at Lapis with an earnest expression and added:


    ¡°Could you ask him for me if you have the chance? How did he evade my ability on the first encounter? Even now I still find it strange.¡±


    It didn¡¯t seem difficult to ask, but Lapis couldn¡¯t help but feel that the chance to get a direct answer from Loren would be extremely low. Considering his words and actions so far, she believed Loren would somehow manage to dodge the question, either by himself or by chance. If that happened, maybe it would be better to not tell Tizona at all.


    Just when Lapis started to ponder about this, Loren and G finally came back. Loren was empty-handed except for his usual equipment but G, who followed behind him, was pulling two donkeys along. Lapis and Tizona looked at their luggage, but for some reasons the donkeys were already packed.


    ¡°Wee back, Loren. What¡¯s with those sacks on the donkeys?¡±


    Lapis ran up to him and asked in confusion. He just scratched his head hopelessly while G smiled embarrassingly.


    ¡°It¡¯s some food. G estimated that our provisions won¡¯t be enough.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. From my point of view, the food we prepared will be more than enough for four people during the intended period, won¡¯t it?¡±


    Actually, Lapis believed that the prepared provisions were already a bit too much. She couldn¡¯t really exin it to Tizona, but she¡¯d reserved additional food for G. However, it seemed like G had found even that to be insufficient.


    ¡°So it¡¯s for G. How much do you n to eat with that body of yours? Honestly, I don¡¯t even have the slightest idea where the hell all that foods go.¡±


    ¡°Mainly to my breasts, I guess? Right, Loren?¡±


    She thrust her chest forward to show off her tube-tope-d breasts. Loren simply dropped a fist on the crown of her head. It made quite a loud sound, and G crouched down holding her head. Loren bluntly told her in an exasperated tone:


    ¡°I¡¯ll let it go this time since it¡¯s Tizona who pays for all this. But for the next time be prepared and reduce your portions.¡±


    ¡°If possible, please be a bit considerate¡­ My purse is not bottomless.¡±


    Tizona said in a ¡®I-know-it-is-useless-to-tell-them¡¯ tone, and Lapis dealt her the finishing blow:


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit toote by now, isn¡¯t it? I bought two top-quality sleeping bags and pillows and counted them into necessity expenses.¡±


    ¡°What?! No, rather than that, why two?¡±


    Tizona¡¯s eyes widened at Lapis¡¯ confession, and Lapis said matter-of-factly with no hint of embarrassment:


    ¡°They¡¯re for Loren and me. Ah, don¡¯t worry, I bought the normal ones for you two.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan?! Aren¡¯t they for us?!¡±


    ¡°Your food expenses cost the most, so please just bear with it.¡±


    Lapis coldly replied to G. With a troubled expression, G thought hard about what should be prioritized, first-ss sleeping bag or food. She finally came to a conclusion and heart-brokenly hang her head:


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then. I can endure low-quality sleeping bags, but notck of food.¡±


    ¡°If things continue like this and the exploration ends up a failure, I might have to sell myself even before it¡¯s time to pay for thepensation¡­¡±


    Just as Tizona¡¯s face darkened at the image of her unweing future, Loren pped her on the back:


    ¡°Talk with Lapis then. The interest rate will be high, but she¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to discussing it with you!¡±


    Lapis energetically replied after Loren¡¯s introduction. Tizona just stared at her with slump shoulders and an even gloomier expression.

 Chapter 151, From Departure to Camping

    <h4>Chapter 151, From Departure to Camping</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The party left Kapha city, and their journey so far was a little better than expected, though they didn¡¯t manage to get far on the first day. All they did during the day was following the main road and exchanging greetings with the asionally passing travelers.


    Since they couldn¡¯t go farther than nned, they decided to set up a camp on the in along the main road and called it a day.


    ¡°Is it just me, or we¡¯re going a little slow?¡±


    ¡°No, everyone feels the same, except for one person.¡±


    ¡°The reason is¡­ surely that.¡±


    Lapis said, as she was looking at two exhausted donkeys. Everyone could see that they were a bit overloaded and, G, the reason of this increased baggage load, showed a weak, apologetic smile:


    ¡°Sorry. I eat a lot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright for us, but the donkeys are pitiful. Apologize to them.¡±


    ¡°Sorry guys. I just eat a lot.¡±


    G said and repeatedly bowed to the donkeys. Tizona just smiled wryly but Lapis, who knew G¡¯s true identity, watched the unbelievable scene with a perplexed expression. Lapis didn¡¯t know who called them Evil Gods for the first time, but she wondered how that person would feel seeing such a being bowing to a pair of donkeys.


    Lapis¡¯ expression became even more perplexed when Loren stacked up the huge amount of branches he had cut and picked from their surroundings into a pile.


    ¡°Tizona, light these up.¡±


    Loren thought that as someone nicknamed ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯, Tizona would be a master in using fire. But she protested with a merciless expression:


    ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯m not a tinderbox. Besides, there¡¯s green wood mixed in this, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you dry them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t, but¡­ Well, you know my nickname, don¡¯t you? Should my ability be used for things like this?¡±


    Tizona asked with a rather pitiful expression. Surely this was a too lowly work to ask of a twice-named mercenary, wasn¡¯t it?


    Loren calmly replied:


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. If you don¡¯t want to do it, then buy firewood in the next town. Of course, this will be added to our expenses, and given that we will be camping a lot due to the round trip, you need to buy enough for future use. Alright?¡±


    ¡°¡­Just let me do it.¡±


    Buying firewood would further increase the expenses, and so Tizona reluctantly changed her mind. She then lifted her hand over the tottering pile of wood gathered by Loren.


    ¡°Can you dry the green wood?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright if I just heat them up and do not burn them, right? In the worst case, I can force them to burn.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that magic?¡±


    Asked a priest of the God of Knowledge, who suddenly became curious about the process.


    It didn¡¯t look like Tizona intended to hide anything, so she answered while scowling at the pile of wood:


    ¡°It¡¯s my blessing. Another one aside from <<roast>>.¡±


    </roast>


    ¡°That¡¯s really convenient, isn¡¯t it? To be able to use magic to dry things¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s not supposed to be used like this. Rather, you should be more surprised about me having two blessings.¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡±


    Aside from Tizona, Lapis hadn¡¯t met any other person with a blessing¡­ except for a certain adventurer named us. He had a blessing called <<boost>>, which allowed him to increase his own power and the power of those he touched. us had never mentioned having another blessing, so Lapis wasn¡¯t sure if he was hiding it or if Boost was the only one he had. However, judging by the way Tizona spoke, it seemed that for one person to receive two blessings was extremely rare.


    </boost>


    ¡°I have not only one, but two rare blessings. And now I¡¯m using one of them to dry your firewood¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re using it for a peaceful purpose though?¡±


    ¡°Why does it sound like you are trying to give a noble purpose to my blessing here? Isn¡¯t it strange?!¡±


    ¡°What blessing is it, by the way?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called <<heat>>. I¡¯m using it to dry firewood now, but this is what I used to burn our employer¡¯s troops. And it¡¯s where my nicknamees from.¡±


    </heat>


    Said Tizona and her left hand twitched by a small spark that immediately turned into the fire. As she clenched her hand into a fist, the fire started to grow and took a shape simr to a sword.


    ¡°This is how <<heat>> is originally used.¡±


    </heat>


    Tizona opened her left fist, and the sword disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. There was no actual need to draw a sword, she simply wanted to show it to them.


    Lapis eximed, truly impressed:


    ¡°You really don¡¯t need a burner at all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the first one ever to have that kind of reaction after seeing <<heat>>.¡±


    </heat>


    Tizona continued silently drying the firewood, but her shoulders now had slumped in disappointment.


    After solving the issue with fire, Loren and Lapis managed to somehow prepare G¡¯s dinner. But when Tizona checked the amount of wood left, she became utterly surprised:


    ¡°Wait, how could you use up almost all the firewood?¡±


    Tizona dried up quite a lot of firewood, but the amount left was barely enough for a bonfire. She was even unsure if it could keep fire going throughout the night.


    To answer her astonishment, Loren wearily pointed at G:


    ¡°We used more than half of it to cook¡­ Comin to the big eater over there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not even half full.¡±


    G said sadly while rubbing her stomach. Tizona saw her devouring enormous amount of food, yet could not fire out where the hell did all go. Even more strange was that fact that her stomach didn¡¯t even look bloated.


    ¡°I have a feel that we¡¯ll need to stock up once more before reaching our destination.¡±


    Lapis muttered in dismay while opening her map. The donkeys¡¯ load was quite heavy, but it lightened up considerably after just one camping and the donkeys now looked somewhat happier. However, if this continued already after the second camping they would run out of food. It wouldn¡¯t be possible to reach their destination if they do not stock up at a vige or a town along the main road.


    ¡°Physical activities increase appetite, huh.¡±


    ¡°Loren, is this really okay?¡±


    Lapis pointed at G, who procured a toothpick from somewhere and was chewing on it. Loren was unable to give her an answer.


    Saying it was not alright would mean throwing G out. What bothered him about doing so was not her being indispensable but the prospect of her actions afterwards. Rather than dumping a dangerous crate ofbustibles without knowing where it would end up, it was better to spend some money and keep it within sight.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We won¡¯t find any solutions even if we try to. Rather than that, let¡¯s decide the order to keep watch, then go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Well, let G keep watch for the whole night then.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute! I want to sleep too.¡±


    G spat out the toothpick and protested, to which Loren and Lapis looked back at her dumbfounded. Unsure if she said something strange again, she faltered a bit.


    Lapis asked her, sounding rather confused:


    ¡°Do you even need to sleep?¡±


    ¡°I do?! I¡¯m still a living being, you know?!¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough sleep to rot your brains off? Not sleeping for a few days is still alright for you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even intend to let me sleep even just once?¡±


    ¡°Please work as much as you eat.¡±


    Lapis said matter-of-factly, and G¡¯s expression turned sad.


    Thinking that she couldn¡¯t let things progress like this, Tizona intervened:


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how serious you are, but she¡¯ll die if she doesn¡¯t sleep for four days.¡±


    ¡°But she won¡¯t. At most, she¡¯ll just have some hallucinations.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just let it go? The one whose pocket hurts the most is me, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    G hung her head at the poison secretly hidden behind those words.


    Seeing that Lapis had no objections, Tizona took out an hourss from her luggage:


    ¡°The sand will run out in exactly two hours. Since there are about eight hours left until morning, let¡¯s take turns and keep watch for two hours each.¡±


    ¡°Should we draw a lottery?¡±


    ¡°No, I proposed it, so I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    And so the order of keeping watch was decided like this: Tizona ? G ? Loren ? Lapis.


    Hearing this, G energetically leapt at Loren as if her dejected expression earlier had been all a lie. Loren didn¡¯t have any time to dodge her advance and ended up having her clinging tightly to his arm. He tried to shake her off, but she held on firmly with both arms, making it impossible for him to push her away.


    ¡°In that case, sleep with me, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡±


    ¡°Cause our sleeping bags are the normal type, while yours are high-quality. It¡¯ll surely feel different, right?¡±


    It was true, but that didn¡¯t mean he shouldply with her wish. G embraced him in bed just recently, and the situation back then was really dangerous. If she did that within the tight confines of a sleeping bag, he would simply burst.


    However, he didn¡¯t think that G would ept a refusal. Thinking that he was just human, Loren proposed apromise:


    ¡°You can use my sleeping bag then. The normal one is fine for me.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯ll be meaningless. Two people will be warmer, right Loren? Right?¡±


    G rubbed her body against Loren. At this very moment, Lapis approached her from behind and covered her from head to toe with her sleeping bag. She even neatly tied G up with a rope while Loren watched on in astonishment. Like this G wouldn¡¯t be able toe out when her turn arrives. While Loren was wondering about such things, Lapis tossed a tightly-packed G into her tent and turned to look at him.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t feel regret or anything, do you?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±


    Hearing his thanks Lapis looked relieved. She then bade Loren and Tizona goodnight and crawled into her own tent.


    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s quite a trouble but when it¡¯s G¡¯s turn, can you take her out of the sleeping bag? I think she won¡¯t be able to get out on her own.¡±


    ¡°I-I understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡±


    Loren waved lightly at a nodding Tizona and slipped into his tent. A day of walking had worn him out, though not as much as the matter of G¡¯s appetite, and sleep came soon after he crawled into his own sleeping bag.

 Chapter 152, A Massacre Starting From Dawn

    <h4>Chapter 152, A Massacre Starting From Dawn</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    It was the morning of their second day on the journey. Lapis was watching the sunrise and got totally mesmerized by it. In front of her was the bonfire, which surprisingly had not gone out and was still zing brightly, beneath her buttocks was a tightly-wrapped G.


    ¡°The morning feels so refreshing¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel refreshed at all¡­¡±


    ¡°Please consider this a lesson. I¡¯m starting to wonder if you¡¯re actually Lust and not Gluttony¡­¡±


    Of course, there was a reason for G¡¯s current state. The Evil God had sneakily slipped into Loren¡¯s tent just before his watch shift was about to end, yet was caught by Lapis. She said she wanted to see howfortable a high-quality sleeping bag was, but Lapis was certain that her goals were somewhat different. She then immediately properly tied her up with a rope, so that she couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lump me with that guy¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you two the same?¡±


    ¡°Not at all?! I¡¯m being like that with Loren, not with anyone else! But Luxuria is indiscriminate!¡±


    The one G mentioned was the Evil Gold of Lust, whom they had encountered in a previous job. Recalling what she had witnessed back then, Lapis could feel the refreshing effect of the morning disappearing, and a spectacr frown appeared on her face. Despite his title, the Evil God of Lust was, for some reason, a macho queen. He had betrayed a lot of Lapis¡¯ expectations for Lust, and the trauma, he had burned deep into her mind, was still present.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    As long as G¡¯s target was Loren, Lapis didn¡¯t care if she was indiscriminate in her taste or not. Lapis could never overlook such a thing, and she would stop whoever went after Loren, be it G or Luxuria. Just that in Luxuria¡¯s case, Loren probably would also receive some mental damage, so she guessed G was somewhat better.


    Loren and Tizona woke up a short whileter, and after exchanging morning greetings with them, Lapis immediately started to prepare both breakfast and lunch. It¡¯d be troublesome to get the cookware and such ready on the road, so it was better to make lunch now. They could munch on itter while walking.


    Lapis first made a simple stew with salted meat and vegetables. She served it with some bread and with this breakfast was done. After that, she lightly toasted some bacon and vegetables, and sandwiched them between two slices of hard, crunchy bread for lunch.


    When Lapis was wrapping the sandwiches in cloth and putting them into her luggage, G, who was still tightly tied up, spoke unhappily:


    ¡°Lapis-chan, that much is not enough at all.¡±


    ¡°You really want to eat up all of our supply, don¡¯t you?!¡±


    Lapis had made ten sandwiches. Loren, Tizona and her would have two each, and the rest was for G. But from G¡¯s point of view, even if all of them were for her, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    Lapis wanted to save some of the food considering what was left of their supply, but she had a hunch that G wouldn¡¯t listen if she told her to tolerate her hunger. With no other choices, she prepared the remaining ingredients and made twice the amount of sandwiches she had nned. G was still unsatisfied, but reluctantly gave in after being told there was nothing left.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯ll have heartburn right from the morning.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way but to get used to it, I think.¡±


    Lapis gave Loren and Tizona their servings of stew and bread, got her own and then shoving the rest to G, who had been untied by now. G greedily wolfed it all down directly from the pot. Manner wise, it was an appalling sight, enough to make one lose their appetite. The other three ate while trying to avoid seeing her as much as possible, and breakfast ended like that.


    They broke camp and started the second day of their journey.


    From this point on, security on the highway began to worsen little by little. There weren¡¯t any big towns nearby, and the ce their party was heading to was on the very edge of Vargenburg¡¯s territory. Naturally, there were not many patrols or workers in this area, and so the chance of encountering thieves, bandits or monsters increased.


    ¡°Normally, we should proceed with caution.¡±


    Lapis muttered in an exasperated tone when a man burst into mes in front of her eyes.


    A startling scream rose up, and people tremblingly watched the burning figure. But the me continued to lick at its victim with no concerns, until the man became ashes and scattered in the wind.


    ¡°You thought your number would be enough for an ordinary group of four travelers, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren swung his greatsword with a roar. The de cleanly cut into a man¡¯s torso, leaving his lower-half body standing on the ground while sending his upper body flying into the sky. Looking up at the shabbily-dressed body, Lapis sent out some magic bullets. They pierced the heads of the men surrounding her, leaving red, white and pink pieces of flesh and bone scattered magnificently in the air. Lapis looked at them with pity.


    ¡°Tizona, can you do something about how you kill them? If everything is burned to ashes, I won¡¯t be able to scavenge their pockets.¡±


    They were attacked by ten or so bandits, at a spot where the trees along the road were thick enough to hide in. They had noticed the bandits beforehand, but everyone believed finishing them off would be better than taking a detour. Right now, the bandits were having the bitter experience of being demolished right during their attack.


    ¡°Scavenging these bandits? You must really need money.¡±


    ¡°Whatever sum I found will lessen the burden on your own pocket, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°¡­How about this?¡±


    Tizona seemed to agree with Lapis¡¯ argument. She waved her hand lightly, and the me enveloped a bandit¡¯s head. The fire didn¡¯t spread to his body, and only his head turned into ashes. The headless corpse fell to the ground, the cross-section at the neck burned ck. Compared to the corpses shed by Loren and head-blown by G¡¯s magic, it looked much prettier.


    ¡°You really can do it if you want to, don¡¯t you?¡±


    She should have done this right from the beginning if she could. There was no need to burn everything down: what could be used should be used, Lapis believed.


    Tizona looked at her with a slightly disgusted expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s a hassle to aim.¡±


    Tizona replied and continued to turn another bandit into a headless corpse.


    It was easier to scavenge like this. Lapis fished around the corpse¡¯s pocket and found some copper and silver coins, which she gave to Tizona.


    ¡°Is it alright to give them to me?¡±


    Tizona looked at the coins and then back to Lapis, who answered in a light tone:


    ¡°I think the employer should have the first right to whatever found during a job.¡±


    Actually, what she found wasn¡¯t much, and she thought she should just give it to Tizona, who bore the heaviest financial burden in this job.


    ¡°When we fight against monsters, could you please use the same trick? We can¡¯t sell their body parts as raw materials if they¡¯re burned to ashes.¡±


    Tizona, who had been fighting as a mercenary, had never thought about scavenging money from her fallen opponents or selling monsters¡¯ bodies as raw materials.


    ¡°That reminds me, you don¡¯t have any weapons, Tizona.¡±


    Right at that moment, another body was sent flying to the sky. It had been roughly cut off diagonally from the shoulder and was now whirling in the air, scattering blood everywhere. It was amon sight since she had partnered with Loren, and she had gotten used to it by now. Still it was not a pleasant sight to behold, Lapis thought and turned her gaze to Tizona¡¯s waist.


    Tizona¡¯s armor was surely splendid, but she didn¡¯t carry any weapons from what Lapis could see. Seeing as Tizona worked as a mercenary, she wondered why.


    Noticing Lapis¡¯ gaze, Tizona pped at her own waist:


    ¡°If I¡¯m in a serious fight, it¡¯s better to not carry any weapons.¡±


    Tizona answeredughingly.


    Her reply made Lapis feel uneasy. Even magicians carried staff ¨C it was justmon sense to carry some sort of weapon. Tizona seemed to expect her to understand underlying reasoning, but Lapis just couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a swordsman?¡±


    She looked like a swordsman, she just couldn¡¯t be a magician with that heavily-decorated armor.


    Tizona held out both hands, and two swords of me appeared in her palms.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to carry around something I can conjure myself, right?¡±


    ¡°But you can¡¯t parry with them, can you?¡±


    Lapis asked. A bandit charged at her from behind but was destroyed by fire, leaving behind only four limbs and a head, which were falling to the ground. Looking back over her shoulders, Lapis noticed something like tooth marks on the severed body parts. She frowned and red at G, who had just used <


    >, her Evil God power. Noticing Lapis¡¯ stare, G bowed repeatedly. She probably couldn¡¯t endure her hunger anymore. It would be a serious problem if Tizona noticed though.


    ¡°They can burn off my opponents¡¯ weapons in battles.¡±


    As if to prove her words, Tizona used her ming de to parry the axe another bandit was swinging at her. The steel de and the me de passed through each other without any resistance at all, but the steel de was cut into two pieces and fell to the ground.


    The bandit looked at his axe in disbelief, and Tizona turned her de around and cut off his head. The me burned and sealed off the wound, and the bandit quietly became a corpse without a single drop of blood spilled.


    ¡°This is absurd. I feel bad for your opponents.¡±


    Lapis thought it would be too much if what she had seen today happened on a battlefield. If you kept a distance from Tizona, you would be burned by a high-temperature me with no way to defend yourself. But if you got closed, you would be done by a sword of fire that you couldn¡¯t even parry.


    Lapis believed she could fight against Tizona using demonic abilities. But if she were to fight her with the power of a priest only, she would have no choice but to surrender immediately.


    ¡°You¡¯re kind, Lapis, to feel bad for bandits.¡±


    Lapis tilted her head in a puzzlement. Was it strange to feel pity for those who got trampled on with no decent chance to fight back? But the bandits, the object of her pity, had beenpletely annihted by then, and Lapis could only offer the corpses scattering on the ground an offhand, silent prayer.

 Chapter 153, Complaints At A Post-Town

    <h4>Chapter 153, Comints At A Post-Town</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    It was just before nightfall, when Loren¡¯s party reached the post-town.


    They had been attacked by demons and bandits multiple times that day, but they only drove their attackers back instead of killing them. Lapis said they were too pitiful, as they couldn¡¯t even harm the party.


    It was understandable though: after all, their party did consist of two twice-named mercenaries (even though one kept denying it), an Evil God and a deamonkin. Though Lapis didn¡¯t even have to use her demonic powers, and she had nothing to do as a priest seeing that no one was injured.


    ¡°The sun haspletely set.¡±


    Just as Loren grumbled, the sun hadpletely set by the time they reached the town, and it was so dark that they couldn¡¯t see a thing. The lights from the town gave the party a sense of security: finally, they would be able to sleep in an inn tonight.


    But Loren voiced his worry:


    ¡°Can we still find an inn at this hour?¡±


    If they couldn¡¯t find lodging, they would have to camp near the town. Stores had also closed by now, and they had used up almost all of their food supply to satiate G¡¯s hunger. So they would have to make do with the remaining meagre portions until morning.


    ¡°That depends on how much we¡¯re willing to pay, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t believe that money could buy everything, but in truth ¨C it could buy almost anything. This town wasn¡¯t that big and normal rooms were likely filled already, but it wouldn¡¯t be strange for the pricier ones to be still vacant. The question was whether there was an inn with such rooms here, and if yes, whether they could pay for them.


    ¡°In the worst-case scenario, we can ask some travellers to pass on their rooms to us.¡±


    If they were willing to pay, they could find someone to arrange it. In short, as long as you have money, getting some rooms wasn¡¯t a difficult thing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have any troubles with sleeping outdoors, but food is the problem. All thanks to a certain Miss Big Eater.¡±


    In response to Lapis¡¯ dripping-with-sarcasm remark, G said:


    ¡°I can still get food for us if we camp though?¡±


    The town was small, but it did have almost all facilities of a post-town. Lapis was curious about what the hell G was nning to fetch and use as food, but they would be in trouble if she did something outrageous. They really should secure some rooms in an inn by all means.


    So, Lapis picked an inn, told the others to wait outside, and went in to speak with its owner.


    ¡°Not sure if you guys are lucky or unlucky, but we do have rooms.¡±


    Was what the innkeeper, an elderly man, who had already passed middle-aged, told Lapis. She told him about the number of people in their group and asked if he had rooms for one night. She thought that being able to find vacancies would be lucky enough, but the innkeeper¡¯s way of speaking made her feel a bit uneasy.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®unlucky¡¯?¡±


    Lapis called the others in and observed the first floor of the inn, which also functioned as a dining hall. The business seemed to be thriving, and the ce was full of travellersing for a meal or a pint. But when she looked closer, she could spot some empty chairs here and there in the gloomy hall.


    Lapis was thinking that they really do have rooms avable when G whispered into her ears. She had juste back from putting their donkeys into the stable.


    ¡°The stable is quite empty.¡±


    Could it be that she had picked an inn with terrible service? Lapis was worried about that when the innkeeper grumbled:


    ¡°A rather big gang of bandits has just emerged south of this town. That¡¯s why there are fewer peopleing or leaving here.¡±


    South was where their party was heading to.


    ¡°Are they really that big?¡±


    Lapis slid some coins across the counter to secure their rooms and asked. The innkeeper answered while counting them:


    ¡°Ah, they¡¯ve wrecked a couple of viges already. Done a number to the guards stationed in the region too. The soldiers in this town are fearing that they¡¯lle here next.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awful. Have you appealed to the kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Of course we did. But it¡¯s rumoured that the kingdom will just look on and won¡¯t lift a finger.¡±


    ¡°And why is it again?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we just have a skirmish with our neighbour a little while ago? There are rumours that we¡¯ve lost quite a lot of troops in that and still can¡¯t regroup.¡±


    What he just mentioned was not unrted to their party. Actually, right now the member who was the culprit¡¯s ¡®friend¡¯ was looking in a different direction and whistling while feigning ignorance.


    And among the ¡®lost¡¯ soldiers the innkeeper had just mentioned, not that many were actually killed. The true story was, many of them weren¡¯t able to continue their soldering career after a certain event, but Lapis couldn¡¯t tell the innkeeper that. She offered some harmless and inoffensive opinion instead.


    ¡°That¡¯s war for you. Scary, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The innkeeper nodded with a troubled expression:


    ¡°Definitely. The bandits are acting up thanks to that, so it¡¯s a big loss for us too.¡±


    ¡°But how the hell did they manage to gather enough men to form such a big gang?¡±


    Bandits didn¡¯t suddenly appear out of nowhere, they must havee from somewhere. Gathering here in such numbers was also strange.


    ¡°The Kingdom basically considers the south from here to be an outback region. Runaway criminals, broke mercenaries and soldiers, and failed pioneers, all gathered and formed a bandit gang.¡±


    Loren¡¯s face slightly stiffened hearing the words ¡®broke mercenaries¡¯ and Lapis knew quite well why is that: he was one of them, but was lucky enough to be able to enter the adventurer business. His debts were still there, but at least he was still able to put food on the table.


    However, not all mercenaries were as lucky and some strayed, bing bandits and forming gangs with others in simr circumstances. Just one mistake, and Loren would have ended up like those guys. No wonder he had mixed feelings being reminded of that again.


    ¡°It¡¯s said that the Kingdom is forming a unit to deal with these bandits, but how real can that be? And even if they did form a unit, it¡¯ll all be meaningless if they can¡¯t eradicate the gang.¡±


    ¡°Are they really that big?¡±


    This time Tizona asked, joining the conversation. She was a mercenary much like one Loren used to be, but unlike Loren, her mercenarypany was still going strong, save for a hugepensation im they had to pay. If they failed to, Tizona would be forced to pull out, and Lapis believed it would put herpany in a dangerous situation. Losing one member would always lower the wholepany¡¯s fighting power, not to mention, one with exceptionalbat ability thanks to her blessings like Tizona. Her resignation would create a quite big power vacuum, and it would be very difficult for thepany to regroup.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but it seems so. It¡¯s said that they even acquired and merged with other gangs in the region.¡±


    ¡°Do they have someone capable of pulling that off?¡±


    An average person wouldn¡¯t be able tomand such arge group. Loren and Tizona, who had been close to leaders of such groups, understood that very well. If the leader didn¡¯t have true ability and personal charm, the group would be divided and copsed in no time. However, from what they heard so far, it seemed to be the case here. The unknown leader managed to properly organize a group formidable enough to force the Kingdom to take action.


    ¡°But the base of such arge group must have be known by now, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard that the location of their base is still unknown. To be able to hide it in this area, their leader must be quite smart.¡±


    A mob, no matter how big their number was, was not really a threat. But if it was properlymanded by someone, then it was another story.


    ¡°This is no good.¡±


    Lapis said. She received their room keys after the innkeeper finished counting her coins.


    Loren nodded in agreement:


    ¡°This story reeks of trouble. It¡¯ll be nice if we don¡¯t run into them.¡±


    ¡°If we do, we just need to kill them off right away, don¡¯t we?¡±


    Loren and Lapis smiled wryly at G¡¯s nonchnt words. Of course, some bandits wouldn¡¯t hinder her, no matter how many of them there were.


    However, given Tizona¡¯s presence in their party, if they were to go all out against the bandits, there was a possibility of receiving undue injuries by some strange ident.


    ¡°Just count on my power, ok?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be counting on it.¡±


    With the proper precautions Tizona could utilize all of her powers. Loren wondered about the extent of their fighting force, with Tizona bing their main damage dealer. But then he noticed that he was already somehow thinking about a strategy for the case they encounter those bandits, and smiled wryly:


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s better to not meet them at all. Let¡¯s worry about what to do when we actually do run into them. We can¡¯t turn back now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we need to reach our destination, no matter what it takes. That fact still doesn¡¯t change.¡±


    ¡°So, no change in n. Just stop thinking about things we can do nothing about, and quickly get some rest.¡±


    ¡°How about praying to some Gods then? Maybe one will hear you.¡±


    G suggested jokingly, and Lorenughed with scorn as if hearing a bad joke.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you believe in Gods, Loren?¡±


    Tizona asked. Due to the nature of their trade, many mercenaries were superstitious. They might not necessarily pray, but the number of mercenaries who believed in Gods was not low.


    ¡°I believe that Gods do exist, but¡­ I don¡¯t really want to pray to them. It won¡¯t bring anything good. I started thinking that way after bing an adventurer.¡±


    Loren answered and directed a somewhat meaningful nce towards Lapis, a priest who mentioned the God of Knowledge at every chance possible and G, an Evil God. Both of them looked somewhat displeased.

 Chapter 154, Attacked Since Breakfast

    <h4>Chapter 154, Attacked Since Breakfast</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    With a gang of bandits looming ahead, Loren believed it would be better if they just turned back. However, Tizona didn¡¯t have the luxury to make that decision. She wanted to depart as soon as she got out of bed the next day, but G and Lapis stopped her.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t even had breakfast yet.¡±


    G said. Last night, the innkeeper told the party that he hadn¡¯t stocked up much food because he didn¡¯t have many customers these days. Moreover, their party had arrivedte, and most of the food had already been used for earlier customers. He exhausted his remaining stock to make them supper, but of course it was nowhere near enough for G. She made a fuss about it, but calmed down after the innkeeper said he would go to the market first thing in the morning and buy something especially for her. So, she was quite determined to have breakfast, and until she did, she wouldn¡¯t budge no matter what.


    ¡°Breakfast aside, we still haven¡¯t restocked at all. It¡¯ll be another two days until we reach our destination, right?¡±


    Lapis added. They had used up almost all the supplies they prepared at Kapha before reaching this town. Therefore, Lapis told Tizona that if they didn¡¯t restock now, their travel condition would be very difficult.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just hunt for food on the way?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that too.¡±


    Loren was also worried about Tizona¡¯s pocket, but if they let Lapis and G go hunting, he had no idea what they might bring back. Hunting would be their best option if they could get normal human food. Tizona probably wasn¡¯t aware of that other prospect though.


    But Tizona reluctantly nodded:


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Just stop saying you¡¯re hungry.¡±


    Tizona made her decision quickly. Even though it would add to her financial burden, she didn¡¯t say they should save money at all. Loren thought she didn¡¯t seem to care at all, and he respected her a little for that.


    ¡°G, your tendency of overeating is really too much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll work hard instead.¡±


    She didn¡¯t sound to be very sorry. Tizona sighed heavily, but Loren couldn¡¯t do anything but pray for her to not get bankrupt.


    The innkeeper really kept his promise. He came back from the morning market with arge amount of food and immediately started preparing breakfast. The scene was so unsettling that the other guests began feeling suspicious, but G just waited for her meal with a smile on her face. Lapis turned away as if she didn¡¯t care about breakfast at all, while Tizona held her head in her hands as if bearing a headache.


    Loren believed that G really needed to think about how to manage her eating habit if she wanted to continue travelling with them.


    G made short work of her breakfast, which was so huge that it even attracted attention from other customers, whereas Loren and the other two had normal helpings. Then, they left the donkeys at the inn and went to the town center.


    The post-town, despite being small, did have a proper town center. Several stores were opened for travelers, so they went to the grocery store and set about tossing goods into their shopping baskets.


    ¡°Uhm, don¡¯t you want to choose what to buy?¡±


    Tizona asked, seeing that Loren and Lapis were just picking up a multitude of goods casually, and rather irresponsibly. Lapis nonchntly answered:


    ¡°It¡¯s all good as long as we get enough food. We can choose what we like from the pileter, and shove the rest to G.¡±


    ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°It is. Anything is fine for her as long as it¡¯s edible.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ remark was harsh but true, so Loren couldn¡¯t object to that. He just continued to help her in silence.


    ¡°Still, the food selection here is not very good.¡±


    Lapis grumbled while inspecting the vegetable she had picked from one side then the other. Loren had no idea if that vegetable was of good quality or bad, but seemed like Lapis had deemed it to be bad. He reached for another one, and the store owner apologized:


    ¡°We don¡¯t have that much choice, since our supply is limited.¡±


    ¡°Does it have anything to do with the bandits we¡¯ve heard about at the inn?¡±


    Typically, farm produce like vegetables would be transported torge towns via multiple ry points. Loren didn¡¯t know how many towns there were near Kapha or how big they might be, but products from nearby viges must go through a few connecting points before reaching ces about the size of this town. If the product selection here was not of good quality, then something must be going on at the viges.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve been quite brazen. Even worse, they seem to be expanding their range. If the Kingdom doesn¡¯t act soon, they¡¯ll reach this ce sooner orter.¡±


    ¡°What about the soldiers stationed here?¡±


    ¡°There are some, but not that many. If the stories are true then, when the banditse, they¡¯ll all be killed before they can do anything.¡±


    Soldiers dispatched to remote areas of course didn¡¯t have much ofbat abilities. And seeing that there weren¡¯t many here, Loren couldn¡¯t think of any defense measure that would be effective against a bandit attack that relied on numbers.


    ¡°I really want to close the store and run away, but I don¡¯t have the luxury to do so. I can only pray that they won¡¯te.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s terrible.¡±


    Lapis gave up on choosing better quality vegetables ¨C all of them were about the same anyway. She


    tossed the one she was holding into the basket and bargained with the store owner:


    ¡°If I buy all this, will you give me some discount?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t afford to.¡±


    The owner replied with a wry smile. But Lapis didn¡¯t give up, of course, and continued to haggle. Tizona watched them in surprise while G, who was leaning against the wall, looked on with no interest, as long as she got the food, she didn¡¯t care about price or quality at all.


    The restocking issue seemed to have been solved for now, so Loren left the haggling to Lapis and went out. He looked up at the sky, the weather was good, and it seemed like today¡¯s journey would also go well.


    A girl¡¯s voice rang up in his mind just then:


    [¡®Onii-san, do you know the saying, ¡®Speaking of the devil¡¯?¡¯]


    It came from a girl who was temporarily residing within Loren¡¯s body. After a certain incident, she had be the King of Death, the highest-ranked undead, and lost her own body.


    Shayna¡¯s words gave Loren a bad hunch.


    [¡®I don¡¯t. Sorry, but I¡¯m uneducated.¡¯]


    [¡®Onii-san, look behind you to the right. It¡¯s probably from the south of here.¡¯]


    Loren looked over his shoulders in the direction Shayna had told him. There was a grocery store that had just opened, next to it was another store, the type of which Loren couldn¡¯t determine. There was nothing particrly unusual though.


    [What has Shayna sensed?]


    Loren titled his head in puzzle, wondering if he had overlooked something. He observed the ground, then the stores again, but he only understood Shayna¡¯s warning when he looked up at the sky.


    In the clear blue sky there was a thin column of gray smoke. It couldn¡¯t be mistaken for clouds at all.


    ¡°Something is burning, but not in this town.¡±


    G looked at the sky and said. She had followed him out of the store, and seemed to have noticed the smoke immediately.


    If something happened in this post-town, there would surely be an uproar by now. But if it happened somewhere else, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if no one noticed.


    However, some townsfolk did take notice of the smoke. They came out to the street and started pointing at the sky, which began to attract the attention of others.


    ¡°It seems to be close by.¡±


    The smoke would be thicker if it came from within the town, but considering the rity of the thin smoke column, it couldn¡¯t be from too far away.


    ¡°Right. From my feeling, it¡¯s the neighboring vige.¡±


    G¡¯s guess was not good news.


    From the current states of affairs, if something happened at the neighboring vige, which resulted in something burning, then it was very likely that there had been a bandit attack. It depended on how big the raid was, but if the earnings at the vige wasn¡¯t good enough, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if bandits continued on to this town. Realizing that, a group of armed personnel, probably the town¡¯s guards, rushed towards the direction of the smoke.


    ¡°How does it look?¡±


    Lapis looked at the sky and asked. She had immediately stopped the haggling after noticing something unusual was going on, paid a reasonable amount for the food and took some out. Behind her was Tizona, who seemed to carry most of the food they had bought in arge sack on her back. The sack got caught at the door, and she couldn¡¯t get out no matter how much she struggled.


    ¡°Can¡¯t say anything from here.¡±


    It hadn¡¯t been confirmed to be a bandit attack yet, but from Lapis¡¯ way of speaking, it seemed like she had already decided it to be one. If she was acting while expecting the worst-case scenario, Loren thought he probably should do the same. He worked the gears in his brain:


    ¡°If we go back to the inn, take the donkeys and leave now, we¡¯ll probably make it, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Depending on how those bandits operate.¡±


    Loren believed it was better to run if they could. If the bandits came, they should protect themselves from any possible dangers, if not, they should leave things in the hands of people who had been prepared to deal with such situations. Their party should just leave as soon as possible.


    Whether the bandits would let them leave was another question though. It was extremely unlikely that the bandits would distinguish townsfolk from travelers.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hurry back to the inn and pack for now.¡±


    When the situation was still unclear, it wouldn¡¯t help to panic. The only preparation they could do now was putting their things in order as soon as possible.


    The other three members of their party nodded at Lapis¡¯ suggestion.

 Chapter 155, From Being Too Late to a Counter Attack

    <h4>Chapter 155, From Being Too Late to a Counter Attack</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren¡¯s party hurriedly left the store and got back to their inn. They headed for the stable, where their donkeys were kept, as soon as they arrived. Sensing something had happened, the innkeeper asked them about the current situation, but they had no time to answer him. They packed and loaded the donkeys, but before they could take them out of the stable, the situation had changed.


    ¡°Ah, this is no good, ain¡¯t it?¡±


    G, who was pulling the donkeys¡¯ reins, said the moment she left the small hut. In front of them rose a thick, billowing column of ck smoke,pletely different from the wispy one they had seen at the grocery.


    Apparently, some people weren¡¯t satisfied with the havoc they had wrecked somewhere else, and had stretched their hand to this town. Or maybe it had been their intention from the very beginning.


    ¡°Are we toote?¡±


    ¡°Seems so.¡±


    If the town had already been under attack, it was unlikely that the bandits would let their party leave so easily. Not to mention that the smoke was rising from the south, where they were heading to. They couldn¡¯t leave town without passing the area where something was surely happening.


    ¡°We have no other choice but to leave through another exit and take a detourter.¡±


    ¡°If only our opponents were stupid enough to let that happen.¡±


    Their opponents wererge in number, and if their operation method was good, they would never leave a gap for townsfolk to escape.


    If the town wasrger, the bandits wouldn¡¯t have enough men to keep watch and even if they did, the crew would be spread thin. But in not-sorge towns like this one, that was too good to hope for.


    ¡°Even if they are stupid, we still won¡¯t be able to move fast in the current situation. They¡¯ll discover and surround us sooner orter.¡±


    Lapis said when looking at the donkeys¡¯ loads, which had be huge again after food restocking. The two creatures looked somewhat tired. Donkeys weren¡¯t fast animals even at their prime, and considering the amounts of luggage currently on their backs, they could barely walk, let alone be able to run away from anything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take responsibility and deal with this¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about things you can¡¯t do.¡±


    G tried to say, but Loren held her back.


    Tizona probably thought G was feeling responsible and tried to solve the situation alone even though she couldn¡¯t, and Loren was dissuading her from doing so. But the truth was, G really could solve all this by herself, but Loren had no idea what Tizona would think after witnessing that, so he had to rein her back. His ¡®can¡¯t do¡¯ carried the nuance of ¡®can¡¯t show Tizona¡¯.


    ¡°Then lemme check the situation first.¡±


    ¡°What do you n to do?¡±


    G didn¡¯t answer Loren, she just threw the donkeys¡¯ reins to Tizona, then ced both hands on the stable¡¯s wall and smoothly climbed up to the roof.


    Loren and Lapis just watched her climb while Tizona asked in amazement:


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she a magician?¡±


    ¡°¡­If you think all magicians are delicate, then you¡¯ve made a big mistake.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t answer that. To his knowledge, amongst the small poption of magicians in this world, none could climb a wall with almost no foothold or support using only hands and feet like G did. But if he was asked how she did it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer, so he had no other choice but to keep his silence.


    ¡°Loren, this is bad! I can see fireing from the south!¡±


    G, who was standing on the rooftop with one hand shading her eyes, looked at the direction of the mes and said. From her position, she could see things they couldn¡¯t down here.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s truly a raid, and we have no choice but to act ordingly.¡±


    ¡°There should be a limit to our bad luck. Is there anyone with ties to the God of Pestilence here?¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not me, I think.¡±


    Tizona was the only one to get flustered by Lapis¡¯ question and Loren didn¡¯t think it could be him at all. The only one who seemed likely to have links with the God of Pestilence was the one currently on the rooftop. But, since he didn¡¯t know the difference between the God of Pestilence and an Evil God, he couldn¡¯t consider the two entities to be the same.


    ¡°What do we do now, exactly?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way but to repel the raiders. I¡¯m not sure how many of them are there, but they should withdraw if we kill about thirty, right?¡±


    ¡°Does it mean there are almost a hundred of them in total?¡±


    Lapis sounded shocked, but Loren thought it was not that bad. On the battlefield, killing thirty men wouldn¡¯t make any impact on the war oue, unlike here.


    ¡°So, who should do it?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we all go?¡±


    Tizona asked. Loren looked at the reins in her hands then at the loaded donkeys behind her and wondered if she nned to go in battle like this.


    ¡°We need someone to guard the luggage, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°I can fight like this though?¡±


    If Tizona used her blessings, she could indeed still fight without letting go of the donkeys¡¯ reins or leaving this ce. That didn¡¯t mean the donkeys would be safe though. She might burn them down along with the luggage.


    ¡°It won¡¯t do. If you burn our luggage, and we lose our stocks, the one up there will get hungry.¡±


    Loren pointed at the rooftop, from where G was watching the discussion.


    After this raid was over, the stores probably wouldn¡¯t be able to resume business as usual. If they lost their luggage, they would be stuck in this town, andpleting Tizona¡¯s mission would be difficult. If the payment terms of Tizona¡¯s reparation im wasx enough, they could wait until the town resumed its normal operations, but no one knew when that would be.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s your n?¡±


    ¡°Tizona will guard the luggage. Lapis too. G and I will manage somehow.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good.¡±


    Lapis voiced her agreement before Tizona could object. Bringing Lapis, who was a priest, to a chaotic area might be a rather dangerous act. That didn¡¯t mean they could let her watch the luggage alone though. They would need someone else, and from Loren¡¯s point of view, Tizona was suitable for that role: she could handle multiple enemies by herself after all.


    ¡°I have no problem with that, but¡­¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s decided. G! Memorize the location ande down quickly. We¡¯ll take care of this.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I should work as much as I eat, shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    G jumped down from the rooftop, and Tizona¡¯s eyes slightly widened at her agility. Her movements weren¡¯t something Tizona would associate with the word ¡®magician¡¯ at all. Hernding was as soundless and lithe as cat¡¯s. She doubted that G was truly a magician, but there was no time to confirm it now.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re going. We¡¯ll leave this to you.¡±


    ¡°Come back safely. We¡¯ll stay put here like good girls.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll heal you right up if you¡¯re injured but still, be careful, both of you.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words were said to their backs. Loren already had his hand on the hilt of his greatsword, whereas G ran towards the me barehanded as always. Tizona followed their backs with her eyes, then turned her gaze back to their surroundings. She believed that the bandits split up their forces.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll be alright?¡±


    It was hard for Tizona to imagine a mercenary nicknamed ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯ would be hindered by some bandits. And it was not bragging, but the same could be said about herself, who had the nickname ¡±Hellfire Sword¡¯. Still, she felt a touch of anxiety to have only two people dealing with a group of bandits in a town raid.


    ¡°They will, won¡¯t they? The soldiers stationed here won¡¯t be suddenly wiped out either.¡±


    Even if only a few of the guards survived, they would still be able to lessen Loren¡¯s and G¡¯s burden. Also, Lapis couldn¡¯t imagine those two being defeated by the bandits at all. To be honest, she wondered if it was overkill to send a twice-named mercenary and an Evil God to deal with a hundred or so bandits.


    ¡°Rather than them, I¡¯m worried about us bumping into bandits.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll do my guard duty properly.¡±


    Or so Tizona said, but Lapis was worried exactly because of her. Tizona¡¯s blessings were a bit different from normal fire maniption, but fundamentally she could only attack by using fire to burn. On the battlefields or empty ins, her skills were indeed very powerful. But in an enclosed area like a town, even though <<roast>> wouldn¡¯t cause coteral damage to the surroundings, <<heat>>, which Tizona tended to use when facing arge number of enemies, surely would.


    </heat></roast>


    Loren left Lapis here because they told Tizona that she was a priest, which meant she should have been useless in a fight to repel raiders. But there must be a reason why he took G instead of Tizona.


    ¡°Anyway, just leave it to those two and standby here quietly, shall we?¡±


    Lapis said, slightly stressed the ¡®quietly¡¯ part. Tizona found her way of speaking a bit dubious, but still nodded earnestly.

 Chapter 156, From Fighting to Preparing

    <h4>Chapter 156, From Fighting to Preparing</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Leaving the luggage to Lapis and Tizona, Loren and G rushed towards the location, from which smoke was rising.


    ¡°Is¡¯t alright for me to fight a lil more seriously this time?¡±


    G asked Loren as she followed him closely from behind. Still running, Loren spared her a half-nce and replied:


    ¡°Not a good idea. y it safe, y it safe.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you leave Tizona-chan behind then?¡±


    If G could fight in earnest, it would surely be easy. But no matter how strong the bandits were, there was still the possibility that not all of the town guards are killed off by the time Loren and G reached them. Loren couldn¡¯t let G eat the bandits when there were witnesses around.


    ¡°To keep her eyes off us.¡±


    As long as Tizona wasn¡¯t there to see it, if they could sufficiently feign ignorance about the whole thingter, Loren did n to let G loose a little. Even if there were witnesses.


    ¡°I wonder if I can secretly eat somethin¡¯ then¡­¡±


    They reached the south district of the town while talking. There were fires here and there, as well as guard corpses lying on the ground, probably killed by the bandits. They could also see the bandits that had invaded the town moving about. The scene made Loren stop and rub his eyes.


    ¡°This is rather amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    There was a reason why Loren had to stop. What was happening waspletely different from the image of a ¡®bandit attack¡¯ Loren had in his mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t care about the guards! Just take the goods!¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t go after the residents! If you have that much free time at hand, go move the bags!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go burn everything like idiots! Only burn the buildings!¡±


    From the look of it, the bandits were moving their loot out one by one in a well-organized manner. Several of them seemed to be in charge of supervising the process and under their orders, the other bandits were packing their loot, loading them onto wagons, and the fully-loaded wagons were leaving the town one after another.


    ¡°Seems like they¡¯ve already wrapped up everythin¡¯.¡±


    From behind Loren¡¯s back, G peeked at the scene and voiced her impression. But watching the way-too-well trained bandits working gave Loren a very bad feeling.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they behaving too well?¡±


    G put his bad feeling into words.


    Attack, kill, loot, burn, then run; bandits¡¯ MO could be summed up by those words. But the behaviors of the bandits raiding this town are very different from thosewless acts; they moved as if they had been trained.


    ¡°So¡­ wha do we do now?¡±


    ¡°What do we do, you ask¡­ No matter how well-behaved they are, they¡¯re still carrying this town¡¯s supplies away, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    If Loren was asked whether well-behaved bandits should be let off, then the answer was no. Still, the too-strangely-behaving bandits made it difficult for him to just kill them. He wondered what was up with them.


    ¡°Then I can eat some, right?¡±


    ¡°Only if you take care to not get found out.¡±


    As if having received a permission, G licked her lips, as she passed Loren, then jumped right into the midst of bandits carrying supplies out of town.


    To the bandits, who had finished their raid and were now wholly engaged in transporting loot, G¡¯s assault was a great surprise. In an instant, more than half of them had fallen prey to the invisible fangs and disappeared.


    ¡°What?! What¡¯s going on?!¡±


    ¡°Are there still some guards left?¡±


    The bandits burst into an uproar like a nest of ants being poked at. Watching from the shadow of a building, Loren couldn¡¯t decide who was the viin here, them or G. The bandits were surely in the wrong, as they did attack the town ¨C that was an undeniable fact, but G, who lunged at them like a dog off leash and immediately started an indiscriminate ughter, certainly didn¡¯t look like someone who was working to help the town.


    ¡°Damn! What¡¯s with this woman?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just like there are many teeth around here!¡±


    ¡°Run! Let the wagons go first! Dump the leftovers!¡±


    Even in the midst of considerable chaos, the bandits still acted fast. Except for those fighting G, all others immediately gathered their loot bags, got on the remaining wagons and made off at full speed. Loren admired their quick reaction, but it was not like G would let her opponent get away.


    ¡°Wha?! You even don¡¯t leave any food behind?!¡±


    Light spheres shot out at the same time of her shout, urately destroyed the axles of the wagons. Losing their wheels, the wagons bounced on the ground and tumbled over. Loren watched the disy while casually twisting the neck of a bandit who had noticed him and hade to attack.


    The lucky bandits who fell out from the driver¡¯s seat immediately got up and readied their weapons. The unlucky ones stayed still with broken or twisted bodies. But in no time, the ones who could get up had their bodies torn off, chewed off, and swallowed into thin air by G.


    Before long, Loren and G were the only ones who were still moving at the ce. G wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, rxed her body, then turned towards Loren, who was watching everything from a distance like some sports game.


    ¡°All done?¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Any witnesses?¡±


    ¡°Some residents survived, but I¡¯ve sent them to have a nap beforehand. As for the bandits, all except the ones who ran off were killed.¡±


    ¡®Just as expected¡¯, Loren thought and looked down at his feet. When G was fighting, some bandits had alsoe to attack him here. He had killed almost all of them barehanded, but an idea suddenly came to his mind, and he decided to keep one alive. So instead of killing he knocked him out, and was currently keeping him under his feet.


    ¡°Hey Loren, are we takin¡¯ those bags?¡±


    ¡°Is there any reason to? Let¡¯s just return it to the residents.¡±


    There was no problem for one to im the stolen goods one had recovered, but Loren was not thick-skinned enough to do that, even if the goods were recovered directly from the bandit¡¯s hideout.


    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t work for free!¡±


    ¡°We can also demand some rewards from the town. Just leave it to Lapis, she¡¯ll work out a good deal.¡±


    Having said that, it looked like the guards who came to intercept the bandits had been almostpletely wiped out, and he had no idea who to negotiate rewards with. Loren decided to also leave that to Lapis and turned his attention back to the bandit he was currently stepping on.


    The bandit was a man who looked to be near thirty years old. He seemed to have been a bandit for quite a while: he was covered in scars, and his face was vicious even in his unconscious state.


    Even if he looked scary enough to frighten children, there was nothing he could do while unconscious. Before he woke up, Loren decided to do what needed to be done: he picked up a rope used to tie loot bags, and properly tied the bandit up, then threw him over his shoulder.


    ¡°Eh? Is that an emergency ration?¡±


    Having realized that they were about to bring that man somewhere, G asked.


    ¡°Emergency ration for whom¡­ Ah, you mean you?¡±


    ¡°You also eat people?¡±


    ¡°Cannibalism is not my hobby. And I¡¯ve heard that people don¡¯t taste good.¡±


    G¡¯s face stiffened at Loren¡¯s smootheback. She hadn¡¯t expected that reply at all.


    ¡°From whom did you hear it?¡±


    ¡°A fellow mercenary who once got caught in a siege. The enemy was using starvation tactics, so they had to eat whatever seemed to be edible¡­ Well it¡¯s nothing important.¡±


    The odoring from the bandit made Loren grimace. He smelled of sweat, filth, and dirt. ¡®Maintain personal hygiene, won¡¯t you!¡¯, Loren thought. But a hygienic bandit probably didn¡¯t exist anywhere in this world, so he just resigned himself to it.


    ¡°Is there any ce where we can avoid public eyes? We don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    ¡°How¡®bout under the shadow of that ruined warehouse?¡±


    G gestured at the ce with her chin, and Loren headed there with slightly-quickened steps, the bandit still on his shoulder, and G followed him. She seemed to be interested in what he was nning to do. When Loren dropped the man to the ground, leaned against the wall of the warehouse and unhurriedly opened his jacket to pull out something, G generally understood his n.


    What Loren pulled out from his jacket was a knife. He held it in his right hand, de naked, and pped the bandit with his left. G asked.


    ¡°You wanna to hack him? It¡¯s a bit dirty, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Well, that depends on his endurance.¡±


    The bandit¡¯s eyes opened just a slit. Loren knelt down behind him, flickering the knife in front of his eyes so that he could see it better.


    The bandit looked around with slightly-opened eyes. His awareness seemed to still be hazy, and he couldn¡¯t grasp what kind of situation he was in. When he finally realized that he was being tied and couldn¡¯t move, and noticed Loren waving a naked knife in front of him, he let out a short, small shriek.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make a sound. If someonees, I¡¯ll have to deal with you real quick.¡±


    Loren pushed the de close to the man¡¯s cheek and said. The cold steel de seemed to fully wake him up, and he paled.


    Loren seemed pleased with that. He leaned in just a bit closer and whispered:


    <¡°Well, I don¡¯t have much time, and I don¡¯t want to get my hands dirty.¡±>


    ¡®What the hell are you nning to do?¡¯, the bandit stared at Loren as if seeking for an answer. He actually could guess, but just couldn¡¯t make himself believe it.


    Loren paid it no mind and continued:


    ¡°First of all, I¡¯ll give you a quick demonstration about what will happen from now on if you don¡¯t answer my question.¡±


    ¡°P-please stop. Just ask what you want to ask!¡±


    ¡°For the sake of both of us, I hope you¡¯ll tell the truth. I don¡¯t have time for you to lie to me. So, it¡¯s better if you experience once what will happen if you lie or keep silence. Easy to understand, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren unhurriedly dragged the de on the bandit¡¯s cheek down to his lips. Tears came out from the bandit¡¯s eyes, and he even seemed to want to shake his head to beg Loren to stop, Loren¡¯s firm grip only allowed him to move his neck. A stiff, broken whine leaked out from his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m not an expert, so I¡¯m not very good at this. Well, it¡¯s probably enough though, so enjoy it.¡±


    The bandit let out a muffled scream and iled his feet wildly. But as Loren was straddling him, he was almost immobile, and he could only let Loren do whatever he wanted without being able to resist.


    ¡°Uwah¡­ So Loren even knows of these nasty things.¡±


    G eximed. She was covering her face with her hands, but still peeked out from behind her fingers to watch the scene. Meanwhile, Loren just continued his knife work without a change in expression.


    Xem: Dear readers, in this chapter I have edited lines of G to make them more aligned with her rxed, informal andid back demeanor. Please share your thought on this in thement section below

 Chapter 157, From Information to Taking Up a Job

    <h4>Chapter 157, From Information to Taking Up a Job</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°In conclusion, interrogating an underling is not that worthwhile.¡±


    Loren washed his blood-stained hands at a well by the road, dried them with a piece of cloth torn off from the bandits¡¯ clothes, and said. G frowned at him a little.


    They had sessfully intercepted the raid, but since the bandits were too efficient, it didn¡¯t make much of a difference. Half of the stolen goods were left behind, and G killing off tens-odd bandits by herself were the only sesses they could im if they had to.


    As for the bandit Loren had captured, he was handed to the town officials while still breathing. He was made to talk, of course, but after getting the information he thought he needed from him, Loren could only let out a hollowugh. Loren didn¡¯t think the surviving soldiers and town officials would be able to get anything out of him, but he didn¡¯t know of the bandit¡¯s ultimate fate.


    ¡°He did have some useful information though. Well, if he didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be impressed if he had balls to bullshit us after all that.¡±


    G, who had been present at the scene, said with a shudder. Loren wondered why an Evil God like her would say that, but there was fear in her eyes when she looked at him, and her body did tremble. He couldn¡¯t tell if she was serious or not.


    ¡°Was it really that nasty?¡±


    It was Tizona who asked that question.


    They were at a dining hall in the northern area of the town, which wasn¡¯t damaged by the raid. They were staying at a different inn this time, since they got evicted from the previous one even after exining about their circumstances.


    Lapis had left to talk with the surviving town guards and officials, as G hated troublesome things and Loren and Tizona weren¡¯t confident about being able to provide a good exnation. They were currently waiting for her toe back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think of it as something nasty anymore.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it amon practice on the battlefield? It¡¯s just a mean to extract intel from captured enemies.¡±


    Hearing Loren saying so, G turned her attention to Tizona, who was also a mercenary. Tizona became flustered and waved her hand.


    ¡°I, that¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it not amon practice?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m basically just in charge of fighting. Dealing with prisoners is someone else¡¯s responsibility¡­ I don¡¯t know what they do.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s surely not something for <hellfire sword=""> to do.¡±


    </hellfire>


    That said, Tizona also wondered why the hell would they leave interrogations to <decapitating wind="">, but since she knew Loren would deny being that person if she asked him, she only smiled vaguely at his remark.


    </decapitating>


    ¡°So, what¡¯d you get from him?¡±


    G seemed to be watching Tizona¡¯s reactions still, but she changed the topic nevertheless. Loren also found the topic of prisoner treatment annoying, so he jumped at the chance.


    ¡°It¡¯s not very useful.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine too. Just tell me.¡±


    ¡°First of all, the one I caught was on the lowest level of their gang, so he didn¡¯t know anything about their HQ.¡±


    This was amon thing inrge organizations. It was also an evidence of how big this gang of bandits was.


    ¡°The ones attacking this time are based in one of the depots scattering in this area. All the loot they get will be gathered there, and only the valuable ones are sent to HQ.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of something like that before.¡±


    Loren agreed with Tizona. Even though it was also a rather strange practice in itself, the bandits in this world usually brought all their loot to their HQ. To have designated depots for loot would require them to break up their force and base ordingly.


    ¡°And isn¡¯t it strange to transport only valuable items to HQ? Bandits normally take all they can, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°I think so too, but it seems credible since that guy did confess so. There will be peopleing from the HQ to appraise the loot and take some of the valuable ones back to HQ. The rest will be left as the depot for those based there to do as they like.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite fair.¡±


    ¡°Are bandits supposed to be fair though?¡±


    As G and Loren argued with each other, Tizona sat in silence with her head tilted in puzzle.


    Lapis returned just then. She seemed tired, so after spotting the group, she ordered some drinks and joined them.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. How was it?¡±


    Loren asked, but Lapis raised her hand to signal him to stop and wait until their drinks arrived. Tizona and G thought the report shoulde first, but since Loren left all the troublesome decision-making to Lapis, he didn¡¯t rush her.


    Before long, the owner came carrying their drinks. Lapis drained her ss in one gulp, exhaled heavily, turned toward the other waiting members, and finally started speaking.


    ¡°Well, I was helped by understanding people.¡±


    ording to Lapis, handing over the captured bandit was also considered a big deal. The town officials and guards believed that their party had repelled the bandits more readily than expected, and so they thanked them, and easily epted their demand for reward.


    Loren found their response a bit too lighthearted and got suspicious, but Lapis had a different opinion:


    ¡°I think it¡¯s better to just ept their gratitude quietly and get their cooperation, instead of going against them and losing their goodwill.¡±


    ¡°Even if we¡¯re asked to work with them on the town defense, we can¡¯t. We¡¯re in the middle of a job ourselves.¡±


    Tizona¡¯s quest for the ruin expedition must take priority, thus repelling bandits was just a side job. From Loren¡¯s point of view, even if they were asked to work with the town, they must reject it.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. So, I think we should let Tizona make the decision.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    Tizona pointed at herself, and Lapis nodded.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re currently our client, so no one, but you should decide our course of actions.¡±


    ¡°What decision should I make?¡±


    Tizona seemed to think that what Lapis said was not incorrect, so she calmly turned towards Lapis and asked.


    Lapis held the cup with both hands, raised it as if she was praying, and looked at Tizona:


    ¡°The town officials request, or rather expressed their wish, that we somehow deal with the bandits attacking them this time.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®deal with¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It means ¡®deal with¡¯. Obliterate them if possible. If not, deal enough damages to them so that they cannot attack the town again.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡±


    Tizona folded her arms and considered this. The other three watched her, Loren with an unchanged expression, Lapis with a frown, and G with a bit of astonishment on her face.


    ¡°A quick question: it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t do it, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still not sure about their force, but¡­ no, it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t.¡±


    From Tizona¡¯s question, G wondered if she had known about her own and Lapis¡¯ true power. But a short whileter, G remembered that just Tizona¡¯s power alone would be enough to deal with the bandits.


    ¡°Loren and G have killed a number of them already, and we know about their depot¡¯s location from the captured bandit.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubled if we¡¯re asked to tackle their HQ. But just a depot won¡¯t take us much time, will it?¡±


    ¡°Tizona, you¡¯re amazing!¡±


    Lapis said with no hint of exaggeration, and Loren choked a little hearing her exim. Lapis and G turned to look at him as if asking what was wrong, but he waved his hands at them to indicate that he was alright.


    The truth was, he was surprised to hear the word ¡®amazing¡¯ing from Lapis, but it was difficult to exin that to them. The two girls didn¡¯t seem to notice his predicament, and didn¡¯t ask more questions.


    ¡°But I think you also know that I¡¯m not in a position to waste time here.¡±


    ¡°Then, let me tell you one good thing.¡±


    Putting her ss down on the table and raising one finger, Lapis told them another piece of


    information:


    ¡°If we canplete their request, aside from the reward, the town will let us do what we like with the loot found at the depot.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very generous of them.¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t rted to a specific job, the goods found at a bandits¡¯ ce would belong to whoever attacked them. However, if the attack was done due to a request from a client, the client normally imed the stolen goods.


    Since the town offered to reward them for dealing with the bandits¡¯ depot, it would be normal for them to im the goods found there. But the town proposed to waive their im this time, meaning their party could take whatever they wanted once the job is done.


    If one didn¡¯t consider the risk of dealing with an overwhelming number of bandits, then this was an extremely good job. The biggest problem was getting rid of the bandits.


    ¡°If I say I want to take on their request, what will your answer be?¡±


    ¡°That depends on your remuneration, of course.¡±


    Client decided the course of actions, but the contractor had the right to ept or refuse it. Tizona also agreed with this point.


    ¡°One more gold coin for each then. How is it?¡±


    Tizona asked Lapis, but she didn¡¯t answer, instead she looked at Loren. She considered him their party¡¯s leader, and thus he should be the one to decide what to do.


    ¡°Do we have time for this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a problem if it takes seven or eight days.¡±


    ¡°It probably won¡¯t take that long.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. So, do we ept this job?¡±


    ¡°Well, what should we do, I wonder?¡±


    Lapis had already left the decision to him. As for G, when he nced at her to check her reaction, he saw her yawning. Apparently she wasn¡¯t interested in the discussion at all.


    After a while, G finally finished yawning and noticed that Loren was staring at her. She jumped in surprise, but immediately realized he was asking for her opinion and nodded twice. It seemed like G had also left the decision-making to him.


    Loren turned back to Tizona and answered:


    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll attack the bandits¡¯ depot.¡±


    ¡°Good. We need a map of the ce and its surroundings. Then we need toe up with a n.¡±


    At Tizona¡¯s words, Lapis started unfolding a map of the area around the post-town she had procured somewhere on the table they were sitting at.

 Chapter 158, From Arriving to Attacking

    <h4>Chapter 158, From Arriving to Attacking</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Comparing the information Loren got from the bandit with Lapis¡¯ map, they found out that the bandits¡¯ depot was on a mountain. It would take them a day to get there on foot, but they could arrive in no time on horseback.


    Wanting to save as much time as possible, the party decided to borrow some horses from the town. However, the town didn¡¯t have enough horses for all of them, so they had to make do with one fast horse and a sturdy carriage instead.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be very simple if I burn them all down.¡±


    Tizona said from inside the dangerously jolting carriage. Loren did agree with her, so he had no objections to that.


    However, the cost for a simple closure would be much less profit. As getting the loot was also their aim, they should avoid burning techniques as much as possible. Otherwise, it was very likely that the goods would be burned to ashes together with the bandits and be useless.


    ¡°Can¡¯t eat them if they be ashes¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, so can you shut up?¡±


    As G was about to say something stupid in front of Tizona, Loren used his hand to block her mouth. Tizona watched them wrestling each other with a tilted head, while Lapis looked back from the driver seat with a reproachful expression.


    They needed a coachman to drive the carriage, but of course, the city would not allow one to apany them in an assault of a bandit hideout. Lapis had no choice but to take on the job, but she seemed to be already regretting it.


    ¡°You look to be having fun¡­¡±


    Lapis grumbled, and G answered sincerely:


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s unexpectedly fun.¡±


    Lapis not expecting such an answer got so surprised that she lost control of the carriage for a moment, making it jolt violently. G found even that to be funny, and Loren had to acknowledge that she was a kind of good travelpany.


    Their carriage reached the mountain range atst. Even though it was slower than riding, it was still much faster than walking, as they managed to reach their destination before sunset.


    They parked the carriage at some distance from the depot. Loren got down and muttered while looking in the depot¡¯s direction:


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just the right time to attack?¡±


    The sun was setting, the light was changing colors, and darkness would soone. Just like Loren said, it was the perfect time for an attack. They could move under the cover of night.


    ¡°Do we have any attack n?¡±


    Lapis asked while tying the carriage to a tree. From the intel they had gathered, there were about a hundred bandits at this depot. She thought it was a bit too many for four people, but Tizona answered with no regards to her worry:


    ¡°I will charge in from the front.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well, alright, let¡¯s hear it all first.¡±


    Number-wise, they were overwhelmed, and yet Tizona wanted to charge in head on? Lapis wanted toin, but it looked like she had a n, so Lapis decided to hear her out first.


    ¡°While I make a show to attract their attention, you sneak in and cause disorder from the inside. If we attack from both inside and outside, they will fall into chaos, don¡¯t they?¡±


    The n was unexpectedly decent, so Lapis told Tizona:


    ¡°You really did think it through, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Tizona snorted at her words with just a bit of annoyance. Lapis didn¡¯t say anything, but told her clearly through facial expression: ¡®If you don¡¯t want others to think of you like that, then stop mentioning burning things at every chance possible¡¯.


    She then looked at Loren for his opinion:


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad, right? Do you have any problems with the n¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just that we suck at sneakin¡¯ in.¡±


    ¡°Also, unlike you guys, I¡¯ll die if I face a group of bandits alone.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    G scowled at Loren as if asking what kind of stupid thing he was saying.


    Loren was speaking his true thoughts, but from G¡¯s point of view, what he said was just an iprehensible joke. Tizona seemed to have the same opinion, and was looking at him with the same expression.


    The truth was, Loren believed that if he were to face the group of bandits alone, he would use up his strength sooner orter and die. Even when they intercepted the town raid earlier, he was able to make it because he could entrust his back to G, who, as an Evil God, was a being existing beyondmon knowledge.


    But the people around him didn¡¯t seem to think so. Feeling troubled to be so overestimated, Loren cleared his throat:


    ¡°Well, if Tizona can attract their attention with her shy disy, it¡¯ll be alright, I guess?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. And if we mess up, we simply have to crush¡¯em.¡±


    Lapis then concluded:


    ¡°We¡¯re absolutely horrible at things like stealth and subtlety.¡±


    They looked at each other and, except for Loren, everyoneughed at almost the same time, even though theughter was somewhat forced. It could be said they were all feeling self-conscious because of Lapis¡¯ words, and could onlyugh to gloss it over.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll go in from the front and make a show.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯ll detour and sneak in as stealthily as possible from the rear.¡±


    Tizona snapped her fingers and walked straight to the entrance of the depot. Loren watched her go, then tried to move as silently as possible towards the back of the depot.


    ¡°Hey, someone¡¯sing.¡±


    A short whileter, a gaudily-dressed, redheaded woman appeared in front of the bandits¡¯ depot.


    The depot was a fort-like structure surrounded by wooden fences, with two bandits guarding the gate. The guard who noticed the woman picked up his bow while wondering why would shee alone. He watched the other guard to also pick up his own bow while knocking an arrow in his bow.


    ¡°An attack from the town?¡±


    ¡°If so, isn¡¯t it strange that she¡¯s alone?¡±


    Even the guards knew that after they had their ways with almost all of the viges in the surrounding area, they decided to touch the post-town a bit, but had failed. The survivors scurried back and told them that they had been done in by only one or two opponents, but everyone at the depot was half-suspicious of how absurd the story sounded.


    The sight of a woman unhurriedly walking towards them alone was a vivid reminder of that story, but doubt was still dominating their hearts.


    ¡°Whatever. Just shoot first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    The guards chose acting over thinking and released their arrows at the woman, who still didn¡¯t change her speed despite knowing that she had been spotted. They were quite urate for bandits, and their arrows went straight on a trajectory to pierce the woman. They smiled, imagining the woman being dyed in blood and copsing to the ground. However, their faces immediately stiffened.


    The woman didn¡¯t put up any defenses or dodge the arrows, just continued walking forward, but the arrows suddenly and violently burst into mes before they could reach her and turned into ashes, which was then scattered by the wind.


    ¡°Ha?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that just now?¡±


    They eximed like idiots. What happened before their eyes was so iprehensible and unbelievable. Tizona just stopped, smiled daringly at them and beckoned them over in an act of provocation.


    Having no patience whatsoever, the guards¡¯ blood rushed to their heads at Tizona¡¯s gesture, and they shouted:


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what she did, but she¡¯s making fun of us!¡±


    ¡°Hey guyse out here and shoot her down!¡±


    Other bandits burst out at their shouts, knocking arrows and firing at Tizona one after another. Quite arge number of arrows rained down on Tizona¡¯s head, but none touched her; they were all burned to dust in a blink of an eye.


    By the time the bandits realized that their attacks were futile, they shot almost all of the arrows they had.


    ¡°Wh-what in the world is that woman?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s call for reinforcement¡­¡±


    Realizing that their arrows were useless and decided to call for backup, but their decision came a bitte. Noticing that the rain of arrows had stopped, Tizona charged at them.


    The bandits were surprised to see the woman charging at them barehanded, but they all had some experience in actualbat. Just as they dropped their bows and picked up their swords and axes, one of them was suddenly engulfed in mes with no warning. He burned into ashes right in front of their dumbfounded eyes, but things didn¡¯t end there. Another one was immediately covered in mes and burned out without even the time to scream. Then yet another caught fire.


    The bandits¡¯ morale, which hadn¡¯t been that high, copsed.


    ¡°What the?! What¡¯s happening?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, but that woman is no good!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it magic?!¡±


    They shouted while running inside and shut the gate. They unconsciously thought that she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything if they closed the gate, but to Tizona, wooden gates were no different from no gates.


    ¡°Let¡¯s burn it a bit more shy!¡±


    As she spoke, Tizona changed from <<roast>> to <<heat>>, raised her hand high and brought it down, and a wave of me surged out. The bandits weren¡¯t even aware of her attack ¨C they were burned down together with the gate by the deep red fire. The me spread to the wooden fence surrounding the depot and cast a brilliantly red light in the darkness of the night.


    </heat></roast>


    ¡°It¡¯s begun.¡±


    Loren watched the fire on the opposite side and muttered.


    Believing it to be the signal to start their attack, Lapis began to walk into the depot, but Loren grasped her shoulders to stop her.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going in?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in from the side. Not all of them went to the front.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­ Isn¡¯ting from the side the same asing from the back?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why we won¡¯t go in from the back.¡±


    Loren answered and tapped G¡¯s shoulder, who was watching the situation beside him, and pointed to the gate on the opposite site of where Tizona was attacking:


    ¡°Go eat and mess them up.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡±


    Having obtained permission, G immediately charged at the gate without giving Lapis time to stop her. The guards¡¯ eyes widened as she jumped at them with way too much energy, but their upper bodies immediately vanished as if being bitten off by some gigantic beast. Their lower bodies also disappeared soon after as if being dug out from the ground they had fallen on.


    Loren watched the gate being grandly scooped out from where it was standing and tapped at Lapis¡¯ back, who had been watching G with her mouth wide-open:


    ¡°With this much uproar, the nk will be rather sparse. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°This can only be called a tragedy¡­ I have no sympathy for them, but still.¡±


    G seemed to be unsatisfied with just the gate, so she began dismantling the fences. Which was better, being burned to death or being eaten alive? Lapis was caught by such thought while watching the fire burning yet higher and the fences being gouged out.

 Chapter 159, From Annihilation to Interrogation

    <h4>Chapter 159, From Annihtion to Interrogation</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    In the end, Loren wondered if they used more force than necessary to deal with the bandits.


    Attacked from the front and the rear by Tizona¡¯s fire and G¡¯s Gluttony power, the bandits weren¡¯t able to regroup for a retaliation. They fell into disorder with no need for interference from Loren and Lapis, couldn¡¯t properly fight back, and ended up either being burned to ashes or bing food to some invisible stomach.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them all, alright? Leave some that look high-ranked.¡±


    Loren reminded. Tizona was worried about the fire spreading and had been fighting as carefully as possible, but G was in high spirit and without his warning, she might had eaten them all.


    ¡°I¡¯ve no clue what high-ranked people look like though?¡±


    ¡°Those that look fatter, or have better equipment, or simr.¡±


    ¡°They al¡¯ look the same to me.¡±


    ¡°The ones who don¡¯te out to intercept us and draw back inside.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Choosing some better-looking bandits, G made them lose consciousness without even touching them. Loren was concerned about how much of this could be exined by the magician ruse, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to care, and Tizona was too preupied with her own battle to even look in G¡¯s direction, so they could probably feign ignorance when asked.


    Loren himself didn¡¯t have to use his sword at all. Even though some bandits attacked Lapis and him, all could be handled barehanded. Lapis never left his side, and didn¡¯t engage in the fights.


    The sounds of battles began to calm down and before long, theypletely stopped. All that remained were piles of charred corpses and countless gouged marks on the ground. Only one part of the structure left almost untouched.


    There should have been nearly a hundred bandits at this depot, but only about ten were still alive after the battle. The others had all been burned or eaten. Loren looked around the battlefield and believed that none had escaped. Even if some had been able to, their number would be too few to form a group, and they probably would return to their HQ or end up dead on the road somewhere.


    ¡°I¡¯ve left some alive like you said. What do we do with them?¡±


    G asked while lighting up the magic lights. She had eaten some of their spirit, causing them to lose consciousness. They would not wake up until G gave back what she had eaten, or until they had recovered the loss by themselves. She had done the same to him before, so Loren understood its effect very well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s interrogate them, shall we?¡±


    There was no other answer to G¡¯s question. The town asked them to deal some damages to this depot, and what they had done was more than enough. They could end their job here and go back, but Loren thought that if they had gone through all the trouble to destroy one depot, they might as well get some intel about the bandits¡¯ HQ.


    ¡°You n to do that again?¡±


    G asked with a frown and shivered, but Loren shook his head. When they intercepted the town raid earlier, Loren had captured and interrogated one of the bandits to acquire intel about this depot. However, he was just an ex-mercenary turned adventurer and torturing wasn¡¯t his job.


    Generally, only the tortured was subjected to pain during a torture session, but the act also took a toll on the torturer¡¯s physical and mental strength. It wouldn¡¯t be the case if the torturer liked it, but unfortunately Loren didn¡¯t. In short, he was not very willing to torture someone either.


    Loren picked one amongst the surviving bandits and tied him up. After checking multiple times to make sure he couldn¡¯t move, Loren told G to wake him.


    ¡°Dun want to, y¡¯know.¡±


    G grumbled while returning what she had nibbled from the bandit. He regained consciousness, but seemed unable to grasp the situation he was in at first: he looked around with vacant eyes and squirmed on the ground. When he finally caught on, he struggled like a worm and shouted:


    ¡°You! If you think you can just walk away doing this to me¡­¡±


    ¡°I am thinking exactly that. Why don¡¯t you look around yourself?¡±


    Loren kicked at the bandit¡¯s stomach, making him cough violently. He pulled him up by the head so that he could see his surroundings more clearly. Seeing how his base had been changed, the bandit lost his words and stopped making a fuss.


    ¡°You seem to have understood the situation now.¡±


    ¡°How the hell did you¡­¡±


    ¡°We are the ones to ask questions, not you.¡±


    Loren replied curtly and lightly (from his own point of view) mmed the bandit¡¯s head to the ground. Bone and meat hit the ground with a dull sound, and the bandit¡¯s head bled. The wound wasn¡¯t deep, but head wounds always tended to bleed more. The blood started drippomh down the bandit¡¯s face, and he groaned in pain.


    ¡°Well, I only want to know one thing. Where is your HQ?¡±


    ¡°And what will you do when you know?¡±


    Loren mmed his head again, this time with a bit more force. Being hit once more, the shallow wound opened again and blood flowed more profusely.


    ¡°I don¡¯t ept questions. Just obediently tell me what I want to hear.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll be killed.¡±


    The bandit¡¯s resolution seemed to start breaking after tasting Loren¡¯s violence twice. He mmed the trembling bandit¡¯s head to the ground once more.


    ¡°That¡¯s not an answer. Keep talking like that if you want to die. I don¡¯t really have to get the answer from you, you know. If you die, I¡¯ll just show your corpse to another guy and ask him.¡±


    The wound had opened even more, and the bandit¡¯s face was smeared in blood. His nose seemed to have been broken by the impact: it was crooked, and wheezing breaths wereing from his swollen lips. Loren asked him again:


    ¡°Talk. Where is your HQ?¡±


    This bandit had said he would die if he told them and that was a proof he knew where their HQ was.


    If he didn¡¯t know, he would just have said so. That would be a good enough answer for Loren whether it was true or not, and he wouldn¡¯t use unnecessary violence.


    But as the bandit seemed to know, Loren wouldn¡¯t stop his questioning.


    ¡°If you talk, this will end with you in the town officials¡¯ hands. If you don¡¯t, be prepared to make friends with the ground a few more times. Let¡¯s see how much you can endure.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll die either way! Please help me!¡±


    Bandits who formed gangs to attack towns and viges usually received capital punishment once caught. Some might be turned into ves and sold to work in mines, but they would have to work until death there, so their ultimate fates would be the same. In short, being handed to the post-town officials also meant death. The only difference was an easy death or a difficult one after a harsh interrogation.


    Either way, Loren had a hand in his fate. Cornered, the bandit begged Loren with a pitiful voice, but Loren was unshakable:


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it your fault, choosing to be a bandit? Just give up. Well, if you tell me about your HQ, I¡¯ll put in some good words to the officials for you. How about that? If you cooperate that is.¡±


    It probably wouldn¡¯t change the bandit¡¯s fate though. At least Loren had never heard about any bandits being spared for giving intel, but he wasn¡¯t obliged to tell this bandit that.


    ¡°R-really?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But the officials will be the ones who make decisions, and I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll decide.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk. If I do, can you let me go?¡±


    The bandit smiled slyly, and Loren considered his options. They would get some rewards for turning in the bandits, but the amount was insignificant. If he disregarded the rewards and let this bandit go, he would get the information more easily, so it didn¡¯t seem such a bad deal.


    But Loren immediately shook that idea off.


    ¡°No, just give up already. Haven¡¯t you been doing whatever you want? It¡¯s time to pay back.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­¡±


    The bandit cursed. He realized that with him being tied and Loren¡¯s grip, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.


    ¡°So, what do you choose?¡±


    Loren asked. The bandit desperately searched for a way to get out of this alive, but no convenient option came up.


    A whileter, after getting the intel he wanted, Loren asked G to make the bandit lose consciousness, and began tying up another bandit.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Thinking that the interrogation had ended, Lapis watched Loren bringing out another bandit and asked.


    The first bandit¡¯s face was smeared with blood. Loren pulled him to the second bandit and asked G to wake the second one up.


    ¡°I need to double-check what he¡¯s said.¡±


    Woken up by G, the second bandit also looked around with vacant eyes. He began to struggle once he noticed the bloody form of hisrade, but of course he couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Are you awake? I want to ask you something. Where is your HQ? Answer right away.¡±


    Loren grabbed the first bandit¡¯s head and pulled it closer to warn that if he didn¡¯t speak, he would end up like him. The first bandit, unconscious and bloody, looked like a corpse. It was easy to see from his crooked nose and swollen lips that he was treated roughly. The second bandit immediately turned pale, thinking about how he might go through the same treatment.

 Chapter 160, From Confirmation to House Search

    <h4>Chapter 160, From Confirmation to House Search</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°This has be a kind of odd story, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Loren muttered after finishing his interrogations, and the others all nodded to show their agreement.


    After Loren had questioned all the surviving bandits, they had checked the information with Lapis¡¯ map, and had found the approximate location of the bandits¡¯ base. And that was what Loren mentioned as ¡®odd¡¯.


    ¡°No matter how you look at it, this ce is¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s where Tizona-chan¡¯s ruin is.¡±


    Lapis and G, who were huddling over and checking the map, pointed to the same spot at the same time. That spot was at almost the same location as the unexplored ruin Tizona told them.


    The bandits Loren interrogated didn¡¯t know what the HQ looked like, so they couldn¡¯t get any information about that. There were three possible reasons why the bandits¡¯ HQ was at almost the same location as Tizona¡¯s ruin.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that the bandits¡¯ HQ and the ruin are at different locations.¡±


    Lapis raised her index finger and said as if to organize her thoughts.


    ¡°If there really is an unexplored ruin at this ce, it won¡¯t be strange to set up a bandits¡¯ base next to it. They can do illegal diggings as a side job.¡±


    People would only need one look to recognize an unexplored ruin even if they hadn¡¯t known of its existence before. If one had even just a little knowledge of how much fortune an unexplored ruin could hide, they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave it alone, even considering the danger of illegal digging.


    ¡°In that case, the bandits won¡¯t let the treasures be taken out of the ruin.¡±


    Ruins were dangerous ces by themselves. Aside from the guardians, all kinds of monsters might settle in there. Adding bandits to that mix, and the level of danger and troublesomeness just skyrocketed. Loren felt sickened just thought about it.


    ¡°Another possibility is that the bandits have settled in the ruin.¡±


    Lapis raised her middle finger and said.


    Tizona found it questionable:


    ¡°Is it even possible?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely for a ruin to be in pristine condition. If one part of it is damaged, monsters usuallye in through that and settle inside. If monsters can live there, then so do bandits. Probably.¡±


    Everyone wondered how she could equate bandits with monsters, but considering how very annoying both were, it could indeed be said that they were simr.


    Ruins¡¯ guardians only attacked if you entered certain areas, so if you were careful, you could still live there.


    ¡°But there are lots and lots of bandits, right? Can they all fit in one ruin?¡±


    ¡°Yea, so der¡¯s another possibility.¡±


    Lapis raised her ring finger and answered G¡¯s question:


    ¡°The third possibility is, the bandits set their HQ up around the ruin.¡±


    Lapis believed this to be the most troublesome of all possibilities. It was a fusion of the first two possibilities, and it would take twice as much time to deal with.


    This third theory would be unlikely to happen if the number of bandits at HQ was low. However, from what they gathered, there were quite a lot of them, so this theory was the most likely.


    ¡°Are there really a few hundreds of them at their HQ?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a lie.¡±


    All the interrogated bandits said the same, so its credibility was actually high. Loren just didn¡¯t want to believe it. Their HQ must be on the same scale as a town or a fort if they really had a few hundred there. A bandit gang that big was so unexpected that it was unbelievable.


    And there was still another question: Where the hell did they gather that many people from? Assimting other bandit gangs in the region wouldn¡¯t be enough. For this to be possible they had to assimte some remote viges.


    ¡°At this stage, it¡¯ll be a big trouble if the kingdom doesn¡¯t step up, won¡¯t it?¡±


    Multiple depots with a hundred at each, and a few hundred at the HQ, in total, the member count of this bandit gang must have reached a thousand. The person who couldmand that many people must be quite a character, and it was difficult to imagine them as a nameless bandit.


    ¡°If I¡¯m told that the head of this bandit gang is a spy from another country, I¡¯ll believe it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually the most desired scenario, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren sighed. Rather than the act of some character that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, this being linked to subversive activities of another country was much moreprehensible.


    ¡°Well, whether it¡¯s an unnamed great man or a spy, what we have to do is still the same.¡±


    ¡°Do we rly have to? It¡¯s too troublesome.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯tplete Tizona¡¯s job if we don¡¯t.¡±


    Lapis chided at displeased G and pped her hand to gather everyone¡¯s attention. When everyone had turned to her, she smiled like a blooming flower and said:


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for a long-awaited house search.¡±


    Tizona and G had destroyed the depot quite splendidly, but they had been careful to not damage what shouldn¡¯t be damaged: the warehouses.


    Valuable loot would be separated and transported to HQ, but they should be stored in the warehouses before sorting, along with less-valuable goods.


    Cash should be at the main building where the bandits lived, but Loren didn¡¯t have much expectation for it. When it came to ¡®collecting valuable goods¡¯, the first things that came to mind would be jewelries and cash. Not to mention that they weren¡¯t bulky, so they should have been transported to HQ already. Even so, with about a hundred bandits living at this depot, there should still be something left. They had gone through the trouble of destroying the depot, so might as well take as much as they can.


    ¡°In the worst case, we can recruit some people from the town to help us with transporting.¡±


    Loren knew from the beginning that they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry everything out by themselves. He was considering following the bandits¡¯ method: carrying only the valuable goods, and asked the townsfolk to help with the rest in exchange for some cash.


    ¡°Lapis and I will check the warehouses. G and Tizona, you two search the main building.¡±


    ¡°Aighty, leav¡¯it to me.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    Under Loren¡¯smand, G and Tizona jogged towards the half-destroyed main building. Loren watched them go, then walked towards the warehouses with Lapis.


    Lapis promptly ran around the heap of goods in the warehouse as soon as she entered. She returned to Loren after a while and said:


    ¡°I¡¯ve guessed as much, but there¡¯s really not many good things here.¡±


    Loren hadn¡¯t looked very carefully himself, but it seemed like all that remained in this warehouse was food and the bandits¡¯ equipment. All were bulky, and not very valuable.


    Loren was beginning to think that this was a letdown when Lapis came back bringing a longsword and some daggers, together with a pair of gauntlets and a helmet.


    ¡°These are the most valuable.¡±


    ¡°What on Earth are these?¡±


    From the first nce, they looked just like ordinary stuff sold at the stores around here. Loren picked them up, believing that they must be special if Lapis had brought them back, but he couldn¡¯t see anything outstanding in particr. They also didn¡¯t look very well-maintained. Loren looked closely at the conspicuous dirt marks.


    Lapis answered with both hands on her waist:


    ¡°These are infused with magic.¡±


    ¡°All of them?¡±


    Lapis hadn¡¯t found many, but these arms still made a decent number. A longsword cost 10 silver coins, and the price would be higher if it was infused with magic. The gauntlets and helmet were only parts of an armor, but they could still be sold for a reasonable amount. If they could find theplete set, they could earn gold coins selling them.


    ¡°What are these doing in a bandits¡¯ warehouse?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe they found them in Tizona¡¯s ruin, and decided to use them.¡±


    Many treasures slept in a ruin. There were ancient currencies, jewels, objects made from rare materials, and magic-infused arms like the ones Lapis had found. If the bandits had entered one part of Tizona¡¯s ruin, then they were likely to scavenge it. The items Lapis had found might havee from that.


    ¡°Or maybe they got them from attacking some caravans? We can¡¯t know for sure.¡±


    ¡°How much will these cost?¡±


    Even magic-infused items were varied in performance, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange if their values could be as different as heaven and earth. A dingy sword might be worth dozens of gold coins, while a dazzlingly decorated armor could be as valuable as an ordinary item. The ones found in this warehouse were in and dingy, and they didn¡¯t look to be that valuable. Loren asked just in case, and Lapis folded her arms and looked at the items with a pondering expression:


    ¡°Probably not that much, I think. They¡¯re just a bit sharper or tougher than ordinary items.¡±


    Lapis said while picking up two daggers from the pile. They were sheathed in in leather scabbard, and looked just like ordinary daggers. Lapis gave the two seemingly-average daggers to Loren:


    ¡°Only these two are a bit special. This is <dragon yer="">, and this is


    </dragon>


    .¡±


    Loren took the two daggers, thinking how amazing Lapis was to be able to appraise items by her own eyes without having to visit an appraiser in some big city.


    Both daggers looked very average, but Dragon yer had its pommel inset with a blue gem, while a red gem adorned Painful Addition at the same spot.


    ¡°What did the person who made Dragon yer think when giving a dagger such a specification? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone who cane close enough to use it.¡±


    ¡°The person probably did it as a hobby? These look interesting, so maybe you should keep them.¡±


    Dragons were the highest-ranked amongst the monsters in this world. The highest-ranked amongst the Dragon, the Ancient Dragons, which were said to have power rivaled to the Gods. No one knew whether the story was true or not though. Facing the Ancient Dragon generally meant death, and even a much lower ranked dragon would require several parties of silver-ranked adventurers working together to subjugate, but not before iming multiple victims.


    Using a dagger to fight such creatures was really a bad joke, but the name ¡°Dragon yer¡± did have a nice ring to it. Loren nned to add the two daggers to his equipment if Tizona allowed it.

 Chapter 161, A Nap After Returning

    <h4>Chapter 161, A Nap After Returning</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s alright, isn¡¯t it? Weapons should be used¡­ But, a dagger called <dragon yer="">? Do we use it by throwing? The dragon¡¯s breath has a longer range tough.¡±


    </dragon>


    Loren brought the valuable items back from the warehouses just as Tizona and G returned from searching the main building. As Tizona was in the situation where every single dime mattered, he was worried what she would say when he asked to keep some items for his personal use, but she agreed so easily that it was a bit anti-climax.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be thankful if you can consider them as part of the reward.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine for me. Can you discuss with Lapis about their worth?¡±


    Loren answered without hesitation, and Tizona looked disappointed towards a smiling Lapis, who was standing beside Loren. As Loren didn¡¯t know much about goods appraisal, Tizona was hoping to make a good deal out of the two daggers. However, her n fell to pieces when she was asked to discuss with Lapis.


    Anyway, Tizona herself didn¡¯t know that much about the value of magic-infused items, so it was unclear who might havee out with a better deal should she negotiate directly with Loren¡­


    ¡°So, what have you found?¡±


    ¡°Rather meh for a gang this size. But considering their territory being around the bordends, it¡¯s not that bad I guess.¡±


    G dropped the rather heavy bag she was carrying on her shoulder to the ground. The clinking sound of coinsing from the bag let everyone know what it was stuffed with.


    ¡°There are a few gold coins, some silver coins, and a lot of copper coins. There are some gems too, but they don¡¯t look to be very valuable.¡±


    G wasn¡¯t very satisfied, but Loren thought Tizona seemed relieved. The cash would be enough to pay for their remuneration, and the rest Tizona could im as her own. They would go to pay the debt she was carrying, but just one look at her face let him know whether it was enough or not.


    ¡°This is not enough, right?¡±


    ¡°Did I let it show? Sorry. Of course, it is not, but this is not our target anyway.¡±


    Tizona¡¯s target was the ruin, this depot was just a detour. Loren, however, believed that to be able to earn a rather decent sum from just a detour was a sess already.


    ¡°Then, do you want to take these goods and the captured bandits back to the post-town?¡±


    They had got what they needed, so there was no need to remain at this ce anymore. They needed to return to the town and let the officials know they hadpleted their request. Furthermore, they also needed to deal with the loot they had salvaged: the sum wasn¡¯t that much, but they couldn¡¯t travel carrying that many coins. There had to be some way to store it.


    And, the ten captured bandits also had to be delivered to the town officials.


    ¡°Taking these guys back to the town is so troublesome¡­¡±


    They could be stuffed into the carriage if there were only one or two of them, but ten would break the carriage. Ten people would also be too heavy to drag along, even with everyone properly tied up. Loren also considered waking them up and made them walk on their own, but then the party would have to match their speed, and it would take longer to return to town.


    ¡°How about getting rid of half of them here?¡±


    They might be able to manage with five of them by stuffing some into the carriage and dragging the others along, but Loren couldn¡¯t consent to G¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°We told them that we would hand them over to the officials during interrogation. It doesn¡¯t sit right with me to break a promise, so no.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re way too honest.¡±


    G was shocked to see Loren keeping his promises even to bandits, but Lapis said:


    ¡°It¡¯s what¡¯s good about him.¡±


    Since Loren didn¡¯t consent to getting rid of half the bandits, G also didn¡¯t force it. But the problem of how to deal with them still remained.


    ¡°Seems like we have no choice but to make them walk back.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t it take too much time? Will it be alright?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t expect the raid to end this early anyway. It¡¯ll take about a day to walk back, so it probably won¡¯t be a problem time-wise.¡±


    ¡°So, should we tie them to the carriage?¡±


    ¡°Then if all of them cooperate to pull the carriage back, we won¡¯t be able to move forward, will we?¡±


    What Lapis said was quite reasonable. There was no reason for the bandits to obediently walk behind the carriage at all. They might also risk being killed by Loren for doing it, but if all of them pulled at once, the carriage might stop or even overturn. And if the carriage overturned, they might be able to escape if they were lucky. Considering all this, they probably wouldn¡¯t quietly walk behind the carriage to let themselves be handed over.


    ¡°What should we do then?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wake them all up, then kill one in the most gruesome way possible.¡±


    Lapis made that very unexpected statement with a very serious face. Loren looked troubled, while Tizona looked at her with a startled expression.


    ¡°Thest one in the line will be a good choice. Then Loren will say something like this: ¡®If you think of something funny, you¡¯ll be like him. So that you don¡¯t forget, we¡¯ll pull him along together with you¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I see. The corpse will get worse and worse being dragged, making the fear unforgettable. It¡¯s a good example.¡±


    G nodded in agreement.


    Tizona walked up to Loren, who was still scowling, and whispered into his ears:


    ¡°Loren, you¡­ You should choose your party member more carefully.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I think so too.¡±


    Loren answered, then turned towards Lapis and G, who were eagerly waiting for his approval, and shook his head to refuse that proposal.


    ¡°No. I said I¡¯ll hand them all to the officials. No matter what, I won¡¯t agree with killing one to make an example.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? What do we do then?¡±


    Lapis immediately asked, surprisingly she didn¡¯t look to be very disappointed.


    First of all, Loren asked G to wake up the bandits. After G returned their stolen stamina, the bandits regained consciousness. Once they noticed Loren standing nearby, their faces stiffened, and they began to try distancing themselves from him by any means possible.


    Loren watched them struggling for a while. He finally spoke, unhurriedly and clearly:


    ¡°Listen. Just obediently run after the carriage. You may find it harsh, but resign to it as this is just reaping what you¡¯ve sown. Don¡¯t try anything funny. Just so you know, my party wants to cull you, so that it¡¯s easier to get back to town. I promised to hand you over to the officials, so I¡¯ve stopped them for now. But if anything happens, then that¡¯s it. And I can ensure you that if something happens, then what I did to you would appear as a massage inparison.¡±


    Loren believed that rather than threatening, telling them the truth would be enough to make them understand.


    But the content of his speech was definitely threatening. The bandits stopped moving, and looked at him with fear. He watched them and titled his head in puzzle:


    ¡°What¡¯s this? I¡¯ve just told you the truth due to kindness.¡±


    The bandits¡¯ teeth began chattering, and Loren scratched his head. He thought it¡¯d be kinder to let them know right from the beginning what might happen instead of letting them have rebellious thoughts due tock of understanding, but it seemed like the result was somewhat different from expected. Loren wondered if he had done something wrong. To worsen his worry, Lapis and G were, for some reason, smiling especially bright at him and giving him thumbs up.


    Thanks to Loren¡¯s act, the bandits followed after the carriage exceptionally meekly. As expected, they couldn¡¯t let the bandits run continuously, so they took several breaks throughout the night. As a result, when they returned to the post-town the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.


    Without even time for a rest, the party immediately handed over the bandits, who were covered in wounds, then reported to the top officials aboutpleting their request.


    An unexpected trouble urred then: Since they had returned too soon, the officials were questioning if they had just caught the bandits on the way and returned. G took offense at their doubts, flew into a rage and wanted to eat them all. It resulted in Loren frantically trying to calm her down while Lapis negotiated with the officials.


    After Lapis told them to question the captured bandits and dispatched some people to check the depot to verify their story, the town officials requested some time to do that. For the time of questioning the bandits, Loren¡¯s party was grounded.


    The room they were forced to stay in was a first-ss guest room. When Tizona and G were rxing on the sofa, Loren secretly asked Lapis


    ¡°About the depot, is it alright to leave it like that?¡±


    They had left the depot as-is after taking what they needed, and Loren wondered if they should have done some cleaning up.


    Lapis answered after thinking for some time:


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s nothing left at that ce.¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­ What if there¡¯s something left?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing left. The only things remaining are half-destroyed buildings.¡±


    Normally, there should be corpses at the scene of the battle. But this time, it had been Tizona and G who did the killing. Loren and Lapis barely had to lift a finger. Tizona killed by burning, so the corpses were reduced to ashes and G devoured her opponents, so nothing of them remained in this world.


    If there had been corpses, they would need to deal with them somehow, so that they didn¡¯t attract beasts and monsters or got possessed by spirits and became undead. But since there was none this time, Lapis believed they didn¡¯t need to do anything.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that also mean there¡¯s no proof of us destroying the depot?¡±


    ¡°There are the ruined buildings and the captured bandits, so it¡¯s alright.¡±


    It would take some time, but Lapis believed everything would be alright. She didn¡¯t worry at all. The town officials had said they needed some time to verify their story, and even though they were grounded, it didn¡¯t seem as if they were being suspected: their treatment was good. Watching Tizona and G rxing on the soft sofa, Lapis thought that there were no problems at all.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already expected them to doubt our report. We¡¯re not that pressed about time, so resting here for a bit is not such a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe I should sleep for a bit.¡±


    There was nothing they could do while being grounded, so Loren thought it would be better to take some sleep to cure some fatigue. He sank into one of the sofas in the room and closed his eyes. His breathing immediately became even.


    ¡°I should sleep too, I guess.¡±


    ¡°So will I, next to Loren¡­ eh?!¡±


    G said and stood up to walk towards Loren, but Lapis cast her a look, sharp enough to kill a man on the spot. Noticing this G changed her mind and somewhat flustered went back to her seat.


    Lapis continued staring at her for a while to keep her in check. Once G had given up and curled up on her sofa, Lapis went to sit next to Loren, leaned her head on his shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.


    Before long, the room grew quiet with no other sound but the breathing of four people.

 Chapter 162, Departing, Again, and Camping

    <h4>Chapter 162, Departing, Again, and Camping</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Just as Lapis said, the post-town officials didn¡¯t need that much time to verify their story. They started interrogating the captured bandits and dispatching riders on fast horses to the depot location right away. Loren¡¯s party was proved to have raided and destroyed the depot, and earned much gratitude from the town.


    ¡°Why¡¯s it feel like they change their attitude wey too easily?¡±


    G wondered. At first, she was still holding a grudge over the town¡¯s earlier distrust, but the sentiment immediately disappeared from her mind once she saw the meals they had prepared to show their gratitude. She began to systematically and thoroughly clear up the dishes with a great joy. Loren kept half an eye on her while talking to the town¡¯s top official, thinking that they were quite shrewd in dealing with this matter.


    They were talking about the treatment of the captured bandits. He had made a promise, so he was letting the officials know about the bandits¡¯ cooperative attitude.


    Loren was also refusing the remuneration from the town. The amount was not that much, and they needed to repair the raided southern districts.


    The refusal was actually toy the groundwork for a request for aid.


    ¡°We would like to ask for your help instead.¡±


    Loren told the fat man who was acting as the representative of the town officials.


    The first thing he asked of them was to take the items scavenged from the bandits¡¯ depot. Their party couldn¡¯t carry them around, and they wouldn¡¯t sell for much money. He wanted the town to keep these items, and gave the parties some cashes for them. When Loren said the town could decide the value of the items, Lapis looked a bit unhappy, but the delegate immediately started appraising the items.


    From the town officials¡¯ perspective, the remuneration for Loren¡¯s party was a done deal: They had already decided how much to reward them, and it was unexpected that the party refused the reward. This proposal of exchanging the items found in the bandits¡¯ depot for cash would actually be more profitable for the town, so there would be no reason to reject it. They offered Loren¡¯s party a sum slightly higher than the intended remuneration and received a quick eptance.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve left the appraisal to me, we would have gotten 20% more.¡±


    Lapis absentmindedly whispered to Loren, and he patted her head with a wry smile. If he left the negotiation to Lapis, they woulde out with a better deal as Lapis had said. However, to Loren, this deal was just a bonus. Thus, he wanted to avoid wasting time just to make the other party feel a bit of loss.


    ¡°Is this really alright? We can still discuss the reward now.¡±


    ¡°No, this is good enough. We have another request to ask, if you please.¡±


    The second request was for the town to continue lending them the carriage they had been using. Horses were expensive by themselves, and caring for them was also costly. Renting a carriage was expensive, but Loren was asking the town to let them use one free of charge, just like they had for the depot raid.


    ¡°We originally came here on a different job. We¡¯re now a bit pressed on time afterpleting your job.¡±


    If they returned the carriage now, they would have to walk to their original destination, and that would take two days. If they used the carriage, they could arrive in half a day, or one day at most.


    Loren wanted to use the carriage no matter what. Tizona was still alright with their current schedule, but it was best to have some time to spare in case something happened.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to a rather dangerous ce, so we might not be able to return the carriage. What do you think?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure they could return the carriage at all, and he properly cautioned the delegate about it beforehand.


    The official thought about it, then replied with a smile:


    ¡°I see. Please feel free to use it.¡±


    ¡°We are the one asking for it, but is this really alright for you?¡±


    Loren asked for a confirmation. A carriage was a valuable asset of a town. And yet, the town delegate was willing to let them borrow it for free, even after being told that they might not be able to return it.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not a problem. Even if you don¡¯t return it, we won¡¯t regret it. This town has already received something much more valuable.¡±


    With this job, the town had been able to remove the bandit threat while expending almost nothing. They didn¡¯t have to send out soldiers, and Loren¡¯s party had refused the reward. Even though they had to spit out some cash in exchange for the scavenged items, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to earn back almost the same amount if they sold those items.


    Moreover, once the rumors about a hundred-odd bandits based near the town being practically annihted in one-day spread, no other bandit gangs would think abouting to this region for a while. It wouldn¡¯t be forever, but they would be able to enjoy safety for a time. This was a nice bonus.


    Loren had already considered all these benefits before proposing the request. The town official also seemed to understand, and thus willingly epted it.


    Regardless of the actual context, Loren was thankful that they were able to borrow the carriage. After enjoying the town¡¯s hospitality, the party immediately loaded their luggage into the carriage and left.


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m always the driver¡­¡±


    Horse¡¯s rein in hands, Lapis muttered with the tiniest bit of resentment.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the best at it.¡±


    ¡°Loren, at leaste and sit with me please.¡±


    ¡°Me? But this will get in the way.¡±


    The greatsword on Loren¡¯s back was already a hindrance inside the carriage car, and it would be even more troublesome at a narrow space like the driver coach. But if he left it inside the car, he wouldn¡¯t be able to react on time if something happened.


    ¡°This feels a bit like I¡¯m being excluded, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t mean it¡­ Well, it can¡¯t be helped then.¡±


    Loren decided to move and sit down next to Lapis. Even if his sword got in the way and he had to put up with some difort, if it could help Lapis concentrate on driving, then it had to be done.


    Behind him, G was grinning and Tizona was watching them with great interest. He tried his best to ignore both of them.


    ¡°The stares at my back is making me ufortable.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to put them down?¡±


    Lapis said, totally unlike a priest. Tizona turned her eyes away in panic, while G immediately pretended to be asleep.


    And so, after a smooth journey, the party reached their destination. The sun had already set by then, and it was pitch dark. They stopped near the ruin.


    ¡°It went surprisingly well.¡±


    ¡°This gang assimted all other gangs in the region, didn¡¯t they? And we¡¯ve just destroyed one of their depots. There are probably no other bandits in this area.¡±


    ¡°No monsters have appeared either.¡±


    ¡°Monsters are typically more sensitive than humans.¡±


    If humans could sense the presence of a being like G in the carriage, no one would dare to meddle with them. Monsters were surely superior to humans in that regard. As long as G didn¡¯t try to hide her presence, they wouldn¡¯t be attacked by monsters unless something exceptional happened. In Loren¡¯s opinion, while they were on the move, there was nothing to be more thankful about than this.


    On the other hand, if they needed to hunt monsters to earn money, G would need to hide her presence ¨C that was something they needed to pay attention to.


    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡±


    To reach Tizona¡¯s ruin, they needed to leave the main road and go a short distance towards the mountain region.


    Even though Loren knew it was best to attack at night, charging in without a n and no knowledge of the enemies¡¯ numbers or organization couldn¡¯t be considered a good idea at all.


    ¡°To avoid being sticking out a mile, let¡¯s spend the night here and scout the ce by eye. It¡¯s troublesome, but our opponent is arge bandit gang. It won¡¯t be strange if they¡¯re hiding something.¡±


    In reply to Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis said:


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a cautious move. I feel like we can just charge in with this party. If things don¡¯t go well, G and Tizona can finish it off by themselves, right?¡±


    ¡°I huh¡­ Not really.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go if you tell me to. That said, G, are you really a magician? I¡¯ve seen the leftover marks at the depot. Just what kind of magic are you using?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret. Only third-rate magicians reveal their skills, don¡¯t they?¡±


    Magicians could only use a limited number of spells. Even though each of their attacks was very powerful, they normally didn¡¯t fight alone like G had done at the depot. The basic battling formation would involve a vanguard, who intercepted iing attacks to some extent in the magician¡¯s ce, while the magician himselfmenced a high-powered attack to bring down the enemies. But the marks G left at the depot just didn¡¯t look like what a magician¡¯s attacks would cause.


    ¡°So you¡¯re a rather high ranking magician? In that case, I think you should be more well-known.¡±


    ¡°If¡¯ya don¡¯t wanna be known, ya¡¯won¡¯t. Der¡¯re a lot of hidden geniuses in dis world, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ But if she is that powerful, she should have gained some fame, whether as a magician or as an adventurer, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got nu interest in such things. I can¡¯t eat fame.¡±


    ¡°This talk is fun and all, but don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re quite close to the enemies¡¯ base. It¡¯ll be trouble if they discover us and strike first.¡±


    Loren cut in and forcefully ended Tizona¡¯s and G¡¯s conversation, as he was feeling a bit impatient. G seemed to understand that something bad would happen if her true identity was revealed, so she was thoroughly dodging the topic. But the longer this conversation dragged on, the chance of her slipping would be higher, so he thought it was best to stop it right now.


    ¡°Rather than that, let¡¯s hide our carriage asap. We also can¡¯t cook, since there¡¯ll be smoke. If we can¡¯t find any pit nearby, we¡¯ll have to dig a hole to hide the carriage ourselves.¡±


    There were no bushes to hide the carriage in sight. If there was a gouge somewhere, they could put the carriage there and camouged it with some nts to avoid the bandits¡¯ detection. But if they couldn¡¯t find anything like that, they would have to dig a hole as Loren had said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to dig non-stop, without even time to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hate that. Tizona-chan, let¡¯s search with all our might, heh?¡±


    ¡°Understood. Let¡¯s search.¡±


    Tizona and G finally understood that this was not time for chatting and obediently followed Loren¡¯s instruction, immediately starting to search the area.


    Deciding that he had sessfully diverted Tizona¡¯s attention, Loren quietly stroked his own chest in relief while Lapis patted him on the back.

 Chapter 163, From Investigating to Contemplating

    <h4>Chapter 163, From Investigating to Contemting</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    After a not-very-satisfying sleep, they had a simrly, not-very-satisfying breakfast, after which the party closed in on the vicinity of the ruin. Their carriage was well-hidden.


    The sight made Loren feel sick.


    Rather than being built on the mountain, the ruin was carved into the mountain itself. The enormous entrance appeared as if it was stuck to the mountain surface, and could be seen from a distance, giving it quite an unnatural look. Loren wondered why such a construction hadn¡¯t been discovered until now. But ording to Tizona¡¯s story, this area was originally covered with tall trees, so maybe it wasn¡¯t visible from afar back then.


    So, the reason why this ruin became noticeable now was the changes in its surrounding.


    ¡°It¡¯s been turned into a splendid fortress.¡±


    They hadn¡¯t just cleared out the trees, there was a ratherrge fort-like building, and a number of smaller buildings around. They were surrounded by a tall fence, which in turn was surrounded by a deep moat. There were also some watchtowers, and human figures could be seen both atop and below them. The fence gate was admirably thick, and was also manned by several gatekeepers. Moreover, archers could be seen everywhere, and there were evenrge catapults installed on the ground. Lapis hadn¡¯t exaggerated saying it had been turned into a fortress.


    ¡°The difficulty level of attacking this ce would beparable to attacking a castle, right?¡±


    Lapis asked Loren and Tizona, the professional soldiers. Loren groaned with a gloomy look on his face, while Tizona scratched at her own cheek with a troubled expression. The depot they attackedst time was also ratherrge in scale, but inparison to this fort, there was still a very big difference in numbers and armament.


    This was far beyond the scale that mere for four people could handle. Even if asked, Loren and Tizona couldn¡¯t give any estimation about their chances.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just bows, I¡¯m confident I can use <<heat>> to burn them, but¡­ Targeting something as big as a catapult is a different matter. <<roast>> might work, but I need to concentrate to aim. With such numbers, I might not be able to burn them all.¡±


    </roast></heat>


    (Xem: Some details for Nerds


    <<heat>> ¨C can provide Tizona with a stable shielding against all iing projectiles of a small scale, arrows and axe alike. However, the payload of catapults is too massive to be incinerated by <<heat>> on contact and to counter that she has to use <<roast>>, which in turn requires careful aiming. With increasing number of iing fire, the task to focus and burn each payload bes more and more challenging and there is a risk that some of those would prate her defenses.)


    </roast></heat></heat>


    ¡°The moat is a nuisance. If they lift the bridge, we won¡¯t be able to cross.¡±


    Hiding in the forest surrounding the bandits¡¯ HQ, Loren looked at the moat around it with worry. It was probably too deep to wade through, and too wide to jump over. With no equipment used in castle attacks, they had no means to cross it. Of course, there was a bridge ¨C the bandits also needed to go in and out ¨C but it was the kind of bridge that could be pulled up by ropes. In times of emergency, the bandits could pull the bridge up to prevent anyone from crossing the moat. Swimming across was possible, but if one really did have the chance to do so, they would just be easy targets for the archers.


    ¡°I¡¯m asking this just in case, but can you use your skills underwater, Tizona?¡±


    ¡°What a bad joke, Loren.¡±


    Loren had thought that if Tizona could use her skills underwater, maybe she could pull some stunt like burning theing arrows while swimming. But it seemed like her skills were not at the level of absurdity to allow fire to burn underwater.


    ¡°The ruin is behind that fence. To get to it, we must go past the bandits¡¯ base, which is very well-defended.¡±


    ¡°G, do you have any n?¡±


    Lapis asked. G hadn¡¯t joined in their conversation at all. She was staring intently at the ruin inside the bandits¡¯ HQ, and looked to be thinking hard about something. After hearing Lapis¡¯ question, she finally realized that everyone was looking at her and blinked.


    ¡°Eh? Ah¡­ n? Can¡¯t we just charge in from¡¯der front?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you listened to us talking?¡±


    ¡°Eh? We can¡¯t? Then wat about climbing the mounti¡¯n at the back of the ruin and getting down frum der?¡±


    The fence didn¡¯t form a full circle, it stopped at the mountain where the ruin was carved into. In short, the fence was U-shaped and attached to the mountain at the back. What G proposed was to ignore the bandits¡¯ basepletely and get to the ruin via the mountain instead.


    Loren eyed the mountain. It was quite steep and rocky, rather difficult to climb or descend. But at least, it looked possible to scale up and down to his untrained eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s ourst resort, I guess.¡±


    If all else failed, they would try it out.


    G didn¡¯t seem keen on pushing her n, instead she just turned her eyes back to the ruin. Bothered by her gaze and expression, Loren nced at Lapis to send a silent signal.


    ¡°Tizona, let¡¯s get a bit closer. I want to look closer at their equipment and skills.¡±


    ¡°M-me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please. G is bad at such things, and both Loren¡¯s weapon and stature arerge, so he has more chance to be spotted.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I see. Loren, is it alright for me to go?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s nod, Tizona and Lapis slowly drew closer to the base while hiding under the trees¡¯ shadows.


    Loren watched them go. Once they seemed to get far away enough, he whispered to G, who still hadn¡¯t taken her eyes off the ruin.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­ Someone is in there. Someone of my kind.¡±


    Thebination of the content and the serious tone of G¡¯s answer gave Loren a spectacr grimace. Needless to say that ¡°G¡¯s kind¡± meant Evil Gods. If anyone heard that there was such a being at the ce of their destination, they would surely have a simr expression.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t know exactly who though ¨C just know that they¡¯re there. Best to be careful.¡±


    ¡°What good does this ¡®be careful¡¯ do when facing someone of your kind?¡±


    The three Evil Gods Loren had encountered so far were Gluttony, Sloth, and Lust. All were such powerful beings that they greatly affect all those in their vicinity, and they also possessed great abilities. G was restraining her Evil God power as much as possible while travelling with them, so Loren and Lapis sometimes forgot that she was one of such beings. But the truth was, if she was to wield her power to its utmost, no human would be able to stand against her. Loren knew that very well, so her warning sounded shameless to his ears.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s nothing better than being careful though?¡±


    G looked at Loren and replied. She appeared somewhat hurt, but in Loren¡¯s opinion, if being careful or not being careful resulted in the same thing, then there was no use in being careful.


    ¡°Do you know which Evil God that is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that much yet. But if it was Lust, I¡¯d have known it right away.¡±


    That reminded Loren of the being called the Evil God of Lust. Just the memory gave him mental damage and slight nausea, but it was nothing strange. It made sense if the only Evil God with a distinguishable aura was Lust.


    ¡°I think they¡¯re rted, these bandits and the Evil God.¡±


    ¡°All right. It¡¯s probably either Greed or Pride.¡±


    From G¡¯s guess, if they manipted the bandits to collect wealth, then it was Greed. But if it was simply to stand above those bandits and used them at will, then it would be Pride.


    ¡°Both are equally troublesome.¡±


    ¡°What are they like?¡±


    Believing that it was best to have as much info as possible beforehand, Loren asked. But G¡¯s answer was ambiguous:


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s no good to have preconception, I think. Also, we were sealed hundreds of years ago. Something won¡¯t be the same anymore, so I would feel sorry if I give you the wrong info.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    If the Evil God turned out to be different from the image Loren had instilled in his head beforehand, the shock might be quite big. G was of the opinion that in case the difference was severe enough to be fatal, it was better to not have too much information. And Loren did agree.


    ¡°Rather than that, about a n to attack that base. How about I use a bit of my power to drink up the moat and eat the fence?¡±


    Loren looked at the bandits¡¯ base again. Water filled the moat to the brim with water; it was not a normal amount. And the fence behind the moat was tall and sturdy. Loren wondered where the hell G¡¯s stomach was and how big it must be to be able to store such things.


    ¡°It¡¯s a nice idea, but only if Tizona is not with us.¡±


    ¡°Then, how about telling Tizona-chan to sneak into the ruin by herself?¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll cause a distraction at the front while Tizona-chan uses the opportunity to cross the moat and secretly enter the ruin.¡±


    ¡°What do we do then?¡±


    ¡°After Tizona-chan has gotten in, we¡¯ll go at them in one go.¡±


    G said that once they met up, they could just lie to Tizona about how they had broken through the defense.


    ¡°The enemies are bandits, so it won¡¯t be strange if the damage is a bit more severe and all of them are obliterated, right? In that case, I¡¯ll stuff the runaways into my stomach too. Won¡¯t make much of a difference.¡±


    Some bandits on their way back to base might flee once they saw the defense broken. With this proposal, they wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    This n might be a bit too aggressive, but if there were no survivors, even if Tizona doubted their exnation, she wouldn¡¯t be able to confirm what had actually happened when she wasn¡¯t present. Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about being exposed or so was what G¡¯s n.


    ¡°Tizona will say that she shoulde out if it¡¯s a group battle, won¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°When ites to fighting alone, Tizona-chan is the most powerful, isn¡¯t she? If she causes disturbance within the ruin, the bandits¡¯ attention will be split between us and her, right? Isn¡¯t that a good reason to split up?¡±


    Loren believed that this was not a bad n. The only problem remained, if there could be one, was how Tizona was going to cross the moat without a bridge. But if she could swim, she could swim across while their group caused a big uproar.


    ¡°Let¡¯s propose it to them then.¡±


    If there were no other good ns, they might just follow through with this.


    For now, they would wait for Lapis and Tizona to return. If they had no good ideas, Loren and G would propose this n.

 Chapter 164, From Planning To A New Turn Of Events

    <h4>Chapter 164, From nning To A New Turn Of Events</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Lapis and Tizona came back after some time. Loren told them about G¡¯s idea, and they readily epted it. Loren was worried about Tizona crossing the moat, but Tizona herself didn¡¯t seem to care much.


    The cause of Loren¡¯s worry was Tizona¡¯ over-the-top armor. He wondered if she really could swim in it. He had been taught the technique to swim in armor during his mercenary days as it was a necessary skill, but it was only for light ones made from leather and such. Likewise, he just couldn¡¯t imagine swimming in te armor like Tizona¡¯s.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that wide, so it¡¯ll be fine even if I go underwater.¡±


    The moat was too wide to leap over, but it seemed like Tizona believed that if one was resolved to go underwater, it wasn¡¯t impossible to hold one¡¯s breath and cross over it.


    ¡°I can use <<roast>> to create a slope while you guys cause an uproar.¡±


    </roast>


    ¡°That skill of yours is surely convenient.¡±


    <<roast>>, Tizona¡¯s ability that could burn down everything within a designated range, seemed to be able to reduce anything in its range into ashes, regardless of where it wasbustible or not. She could use it to turn part of the moat into a gentle slope; then she just had to hold her breath and ran through.


    </roast>


    ¡°Is it alright if I cause amotion after getting past the fence?¡±


    ¡°No, just try to get into the ruin. Going in first will be difficult, but some bandits will follow you inside, relieving the pressure on our side.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Leave it to me.¡±


    Tizona pped at her own chest and said. Loren believed that with her skills, the likes of these bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to hinder her. But there was one thing he had to clearly exin to her:


    ¡°Once you¡¯ve entered the ruin, please don¡¯t go overboard until we¡¯ve joined you. The leader is quite capable, being able to organize this many people.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯ll be a difficult feast for anyone who is not at the level of the rumored <<sword demon="">>. Even you and me won¡¯t stand a chance fighting him alone.¡±


    </sword>


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t stand a chance at all.¡±


    Loren still stubbornly refused to be considered in the same rank as Tizona. Aside from that, the course of action was decided, and Tizona began to move away from the gate of the bandits¡¯ HQ. The other three waited until it was safe to assume that she had reached the designated location beforemencing a shy attack to attract the bandits¡¯ attention.


    ¡°I¡¯m itching to put my skills to use.¡±


    ¡°No, Lapis, you can¡¯t go all out in front of Tizona, right?¡¯


    They couldn¡¯t afford to let Tizona, who would return to her mercenarypany at any given moment, witness anything abnormal. And Lapis using magic despite being a priest was one of the most abnormal things. Such a sight would be so beyondmon sense and shocking enough that it would make Tizona question Lapis¡¯ lineage.


    In G¡¯s case, they could actually make do by insisting that her power came from her being a superior magician. Magicians normally didn¡¯t join mercenarypanies, so if Tizona asked around after returning to herpany, she wouldn¡¯t be able to confirm anything. Even if she happened to talk to another magician about G, they still had a lot of excuses to use, like she was using unidentified spells excavated from ruins or some kind magic-infused items.


    ¡°Well then, shall we start now?¡±


    Lapis urged a short whileter, in a tone that made everyone wonder if she did feel anything about Loren¡¯s jab earlier.


    They needed to make a show to attract the bandits¡® attention, so hiding themselves had be unnecessary at this point.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make the most shy ruckus we can!¡±


    Loren gave a cry to raise everyone¡¯s spirit and charged out from his hiding ce under the trees. G and Lapis followed after, but even though they had leapt out of the grove with great force, they immediately slowed down and got back behind Loren for some reason.


    Without slowing down, Loren ran towards the bandits¡¯ base while wondering if he should act as a vanguard to support a ¡°magician¡± called G and a ¡°priest¡± called Lapis.


    Some bandits appeared, weapons at the ready, to intercept the party.


    [¡®Onii-san, so we¡¯re going to attack as shy as possible. Got it!¡¯]


    Shayna suddenly spoke in Loren¡¯s mind. He had no time to ask her what she was nning to do. He ran to the moat and crossed swords with one of the bandits who wereing out to meet them.


    The difference in their skill level was ringly obvious. Fire sparked when their swords met, and the bandit¡¯s sword shattered. Loren¡¯s greatsword continued on without losing momentum and cut the bandit into half diagonally from the shoulder.


    Loren pulled the sword back to hack down at a spearhead thrusting at him. The head of the spear-wielding bandit flew high into the sky with a ssh of red, its eyes still staring dumbfounded at the broken spear.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°A raid?! How many¡­ three?!¡±


    ¡°Raise the bridge! Cut off their path and shoot at them with bows¡­ uwaaah?!¡±


    From this side of the moat, they could hear the bandits at the gate shouting. If the bridge is pulled up, Loren wouldn¡¯t be able tomence attacks, but they could let G use her magic from this side. He was puzzled by the shrieks mixed in with the bandits¡¯ conversation though. Nevertheless, Loren wondered if he could manage to cross the moat before the bridge waspletely raised and ran through the bridge with all his might.


    ¡°The bridge¡­ doesn¡¯t move?¡±


    Loren was sure that he had heard orders about raising the bridge. But the bridge, which was about 10m long, showed no signs of being lifted, and he was able to run through it in one go. Crossing the moat was disappointingly easy to the point of being anticlimactic, but the reason of this being the case was waiting for Loren on the other side.


    ¡°Wh-what?! Hey, stop! I don¡¯t understa¡­ gyaaa!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bite! Don¡¯t eat me! Please don¡¯t eat me!¡±


    ¡°What all of a sudden all these undead?!¡±


    Running past the gate, he saw the bandits falling into chaos. The source of the turmoil could be traced to the unexpected change in behavior of some individuals within the fort. Loren noticed that some bandits were looking extremely ill and exhausted, and it to his surprise they suddenly started attacking their more healthy counterparts. The former had bloodless, bluish white skin and their eyes were nk, showing no signs of life left within. Theyunched themselves at their fellows with unnatural speed, clung on with both arms, and bit their bodies with white teeth. And these weren¡¯t isted cases ¨C from what Loren could see, they were everywhere.


    (Xemul: I slightly modified the description in this paragraph to improve the congruence.)


    The bandits weren¡¯t going down without a fight either. Weapons in hands, they fought back with determination. But the undead still reached out even with their arms or head cut off, and the bandits at the gate fell into a state of panic.


    ¡°What on Earth is this?¡±


    [¡®I tried making some corpses using Energy Drain, then used the power of the King of Death to raise them!¡¯]


    Shayna answered in Loren¡¯s mind, her tone so bright that it was impossible to think she was the culprit of this gruesome scene.


    Loren was so distracted by trying to hide G¡¯s Evil God origin and Lapis¡¯ demonic lineage that he had almost forgotten there was another existence inside himself, which also needed to be concealed. Once the shackles called Tizona hade off, there was no reason for Shayna to restrain herself anymore. Loren should have expected that Shayna, who was relying on his soul to exist, would be enthusiastic to lend her power to help him. He had really been too concerned about G and Lapis, really too much¡­


    ¡°Ah¡­ so this is how it turns out.¡±


    Seemed like Lapis had somehow perceived what was happening. G too. That was why they had slowed down midway and let Loren take the lead.


    ¡°It¡¯s gotten quite nasty, huh? I¡¯ve kinda expected this, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°There are too many of them to fight honestly, not to mention that with their skill level, we wouldn¡¯t be able to ignore them¡­ To Shayna, they¡¯re just arge group of prey.¡±


    Shayna was the highest-ranked undead, King of Death. Even though her power wasn¡¯tplete, it was still hopelessly strong to humans. Enough to turn a part of a couple hundreds of soldiers into corpses and spread the damage. The average soldiers and bandits were no match for the King of Death.


    Loren idly mused about all that while cutting down two bandits with one swing of his sword. He wiped the blood off the de, then put it back to its scabbard. Dust was blowing up at one corner of the base as if there had been an explosion, and underneath the column of dust, a smallish dragon made of bones made its appearance. Not taking time to consider, it just began to strike indiscriminately at the surrounding people and buildings.


    ¡°Is that a¡­ bone dragon? It must be.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a dragon corpse around here, so it can¡¯t be a zombie dragon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s small because there¡¯s not enough materials, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ye think? I¡¯ve got no idea.¡±


    Even iron-ranked adventurers would have no choice but to run away from such a powerful monster like a bone dragon. The likes of bandits had no chance against it. No matter how many of them were there, it would be just like insects to a human.


    Not to mention, this bone dragon didn¡¯t just look like a real dragon; the intimidating air it was emitting didn¡¯t feel half fake. No one would be able to hold their weapon ready before it.


    ¡°Tizona has already gotten inside the ruin, right?¡±


    ¡°Probably? Even if she sees this, we can just tell her that an undead outbreak happened here by coincidence and pretend to know nothing.¡±


    ¡°A bone dragon, appearing by coincidence?¡±


    ¡°No matter how persuasive we are, it won¡¯t be enough to convince her, right?¡±


    One of the horrible things about undead damage was that the victim would be an undead themselves. In short, the damage would multiply endlessly.


    Realizing this, Loren hurriedly turned towards Shayna mentally, but she casually replied in an unconcerned tone:


    [¡®It¡¯s alright, onii-san. I will properly put everyone down after a while.¡¯]


    They hade to raid a bandits¡¯ base, but ended up causing an undead outbreak instead. This was much less severe in terms of scale and damage. Shayna seemed to have considered this much, and Loren was relieved at her words.


    ¡°Won¡¯t they attack us?¡±


    [¡®It¡¯s not normal to attack the king, right?¡¯]


    ¡°It¡¯s alright then¡­ But isn¡¯t this a bit too shy?¡±


    Things had gone out of control with this outbreak. This wasn¡¯t about attracting bandits¡¯ attention anymore. Of course, the chance of Tizona noticing this had decreased, but it simply was because the undead had started wreaking havoc inside the base.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped now¡­ We can¡¯t do anything about this.¡±


    ¡°Broken items are unsalvageable, but most cash and jewels can still be retrieved from under the rubble.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­. Can I go get myself something to eat?¡±


    G, who had been very dissatisfied with the breakfast, said while looking longingly at the bandits being crushed under copsed buildings and eaten by their zombie colleagues.


    Normally, Loren would tell her to have her way with it. But he was worried about Tizona, who had gone in first by herself. Also, there seemed to be an Evil God in there, and facing them with G gave him a very different sense of security. So, he asked her to hold on for now.


    ¡°Later. We need to follow Tizona first. It¡¯ll be terrible if she gets into some troublesome fight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s harsh¡­ You¡¯ll have to let me eat delicious things when we return to Kapha.¡±


    ¡°¡­As long as you don¡¯t make me go bankrupt.¡±


    If he refused her, G wouldn¡¯t budge. So Loren took a while to find an appropriate way to answer her. And if she did eat without reservationter on and made a mess of it, he thought he would have to rethink how to deal with her.


    It was unclear if G could guess what Loren was thinking or not, but after looking at the base a bit regretfully for thest time, she followed them and walked towards the entrance of the ruin.

 Chapter 165, Encountering the Evil God in the Ruin

    <h4>Chapter 165, Encountering the Evil God in the Ruin</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Walking through the bandits¡¯ base wasn¡¯t difficult at all.


    After all, they didn¡¯t have the luxury to care about Loren¡¯s party right now. They were busy trying to form groups to deal with the sudden attack of the undead, but parts of the groups kept bing undead themselves and attacking the rest. Thus, they just couldn¡¯t get the situation under control.


    The only way to solve this was to deal with its source, Shayna the King of Death, but she was currently wielding her power to cause this magnificent chaos from within Loren. So no one could evene up with the idea that this human swordsman was the source of this undead outbreak.


    [¡®Sucking out their life, killing them, then controlling their corpses¡­ It¡¯s a simple task for me.¡¯]


    Shayna said. One could see the triumphant look on her face just from her tone, but only Loren could hear her voice. Watching the horrible spectacle unfolding around him while jogging towards the ruin¡¯s entrance, Loren thought that it was surely a power worth boasting about.


    The smart ones among the bandits had already started to run away at this point. The not-so-smart ones were still trying to intercept the undead¡¯s attacks, but unless this outbreak ended, they only had two options: running away or bing undead themselves. The base¡¯s destruction was just a matter of time now.


    Loren¡¯s group passed through such chaos with no trouble, and before long, they reached their originally intended destination: the ruin.


    Its door was gigantic. It was several meters high, made of metal, and looked to be very solid and very difficult to move. Loren looked at the closed door and wondered hard about how the hell Tizona managed to get past it to go inside.


    As if to answer him, Lapis pulled at his sleeve:


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s another path.¡±


    Lapis pointed to a normal wooden door installed directly into the mountain a little distance away from the metal door. In front of the door there were two piles of ash being scattered by the wind, the door itself had a burned hole, big enough for one person tofortably pass through.


    ¡°Why is there a door here?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ That door doesn¡¯t open, so they had to dig into the wall and make this door?¡±


    Ruin doors were normally locked, and the sealing methods varied: It could be via physical locks, or via magical seals. It seemed like the bandits weren¡¯t able to open the door of this ruin, but still determined to make use of it. So, they destroyed a side wall and inserted a regr door there to make an entrance.


    ¡°What the¡­ such a brute force¡­¡±


    ¡°It looks like the walls weren¡¯t strong enough to prevent being brocken through.¡±


    ¡°So it means this huge door won¡¯t open.¡±


    Loren touched the metal door, thinking it was such a waste of such a majestic door. Feeling the cool sensation of metal under his palm, he gave it a little push, wondering if it really wouldn¡¯t open. The door was lighter than its size and thickness suggested, and it opened inward a little.


    ¡°Hey, has it just opened?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why do you open it?¡±


    ¡°You ask me why?¡±


    Things meant to be opened should be open, right? Loren pushed at the door with a little more strength. He felt no weight, and it easily opened further inside.


    ¡°Maybe Tizona opened it from inside?¡±


    ¡°Then what did she burn that big hole in the wooden door for?¡±


    Loren peeked inside and took a look at the wall next to the metal door. The wooden door with the big burned hole was there. Whichever doors one picked, he would end up at the same ce.


    ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no one here.¡±


    Loren said while slipping inside the ruin. Lapis and G followed him.


    On the other side of the door there was a spacious entrance hall. Wide staircases fixed to both the right side and the left sides of the walls were leading to the upper level. They met at anding of the first floor, then continued to rise and joined at the third floor. The third floor looked to be a hall with handrails.


    Several chandeliers hung down from the ceiling. They probably once served to illuminate thisrge space, but now none of them were casting light. Instead, there now were tallow candles erected here and there on the stairs¡¯ railing and at each of three floors, casting faint light. The walls looked to be coated with something, but after centuries and years, they were all peeling now, revealing the stones. Still, the ce overall was very spacious, and gave off the ambiance of a noble¡¯s mansion.


    The party had originally expected that numerous bandits would enter the ruin, and that they would have to start fighting as soon as they entered. However, thanks to Shayna, the bandits had all be characters in the picture of Hell outside, and there was no sign of anyoneing to meet them now.


    ¡°Tizona is deeper inside, I guess?¡±


    Everyone strained their ears, but all they could hear were the shrieks and sounds of the battle outside. Nothing could be detecteding from deep inside the ruin. If Tizona was engaging in battle with enemies inside, they should have heard something.


    Then all of a sudden, a shrill scream of a woman sounded.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°That sounded like Tizona.¡±


    ¡°It seems toe from the third floor.¡±


    Tizona herself was an extremely powerful mercenary. At the very least, she wasn¡¯t the type to be hindered by or scream because of some bandits.


    But when Loren thought about this, he remembered that there was one thing he forgot to tell Lapis.


    ¡°That reminds me, there¡¯s another being like G in this ruin.¡±


    ¡°Telling me that now is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s met it? Her scream sounded like she was in pain.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go to the third floor.¡±


    Regardless of the cause of the scream, Loren believed that something must have happened, and this was no time to specte about the reason. They needed to get to Tizona as soon as possible instead. He took the lead and began to run forward, leaping over the stairs to reach the third floor, then looked around. The space wasrge, and there were numerous doors on both the left side and the right side walls, but the double door opposite the stairway was bigger than any of them. That door was cracked open, so the scream might havee out through that.


    Loren charged forward while unsheathing his greatsword. There was no time to open the door, so he just smashed the sword into the door. A loud sound boomed, wood chips flew, and Loren rushed in through the shattered door. Just when he realized that he had stepped into a big room, he noticed Tizona sitting on the floor a little distance ahead. He hurriedly got to her just to immediately turn away.


    Tizona was sitting with her legs closed, and was hugging herself tightly. The armor she had been wearing before entering the ruin was nowhere to be seen. Even the underwear she should be wearing underneath it was now also gone.


    In short, she waspletely naked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow after!¡±


    Lapis rushed in after him. When she passed by, he gave her the piece of cloth he used to wrap his greatsword and said. It¡¯d be better if he had a cloak to give her, but unfortunately he didn¡¯t wear cloaks. His jacket was doubled as his armor, so he couldn¡¯t give it to her either. The cloth wrapping his greatsword was the only thing he could give. The sword was unconventionally big, so the cloth was also quiterge. It probably wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to cover a woman¡¯s body, but it should help to some extent.


    As if understanding Loren¡¯s thought, Lapis took the cloth from him and wrapped it around Tizona¡¯s shoulders, partially covering her naked body. Tizona was still sitting down unable to move, her head hung in shame.


    ¡°Oh? Who might this be? Is it another mouse?¡±


    Still carefully avoiding looking at Tizona, Loren warily held his sword ready and looked around. The room was vast with a tall ceiling, and deep inside it was a slightly elevated tform, on which there was a throne-like, heavily and gaudily decorated thing.


    The figure sitting on the throne spoke, while G stood on guard beside Loren:


    ¡°Eh? Wouldn¡¯t this be G? Why might you be here? And with humans at that. Isn¡¯t this preposterous?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also finding this ridiculous. I¡¯m sorry, but gathering bandits at such a ce and ying king? We haven¡¯t met for a long time, have you leveled up on stupidity since?¡±


    There was a bit of disgust on G¡¯s face as well as in her tone. That surprised Loren, but what made him even more surprised was the voiceing from the throne deep inside the room. It was a male voice, but a bit high in pitch. It sounded almost like a child¡¯s voice to Loren.


    ¡°You¡¯re still as sharp-tounged as ever, G. I¡¯m not ying king. I AM a real king here. They just gathered here without me even doing anything. It¡¯s quite convenient to be honest.¡±


    ¡°From the look of things here, I already know what you¡¯ll answer if I ask you to quietlye with me.¡±


    ¡°G? Are you gathering us? Should I obedientlye with you? But too baaad, I think I¡¯ll do what suits me this time around.¡±


    The owner of the voice stood up from his throne. He wasn¡¯t very big, and with just candlelight illuminating such arge room, Loren couldn¡¯t see his face from this distance. But then, the figure snapped his fingers rather dramatically, and a magic light appeared right above him. With it, Loren could see him clearly.


    ¡°Loren, he¡¯s Mammon Avarice, the one called Evil God of Greed.¡±


    Loren gazed at this Evil God as G spoke. He was quite short and wouldn¡¯t even reach Loren¡¯s stomach. He had fluffy curly brown hair, and his purple eyes, the characteristic of Evil Gods, seemed to look down on Loren. Just as Loren had guessed from his voice, he appeared to be a young boy. He also dressed like a kid from a well-off family, which made the thing he was holding look even stranger.


    ¡°I should say ¡®Nice to meet you¡¯, should I? By the way, who is this human to you, G? Bait, or portable snack?¡±


    The boy called Mammon smiled. In his right hand was Tizona¡¯s armor, and he was twirling some small piece of cloth on the finger of his left hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m just wondering, but is that the underwear of the nakeddy over there?¡±


    ¡°You want it? You really want it don¡¯t you, onii-san. But I won¡¯t give it to you. Because I¡¯m Greed.¡±


    The smile turned into a somehow murkyugh. Alert by the change, Loren turned the sword in his hands towards Mammon, ready to strike at any time.

 Chapter 166, Misfiring from The Start

    <h4>Chapter 166, Misfiring from The Start</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Seeing Loren¡¯s sword pointed at him, Mammon made his move. He casually threw Tizona¡¯s armor and underwear behind his back and, without moving from his ce, turned his palm towards Loren.


    Loren had been expecting him to use magic at any time, so he immediately jumped to the side. But he began to wonder if he had misunderstood something.


    One beatter, Mammon clenched the hand he was turning towards Loren, but nothing seemed to happen in particr.


    Loren kept his sword ready, but the feeling that he had guessed something incorrectly still stuck in his head. Meanwhile, Mammon unclutched his fist and looked at Loren with an impressed look on his face. He then turned towards G, who was ring at him with a rather grim expression:


    ¡°Hey G, your pawn is quite perceptive. I was a bit surprised. He could dodge my <<greedy robbery="">> on first sight.¡±


    </greedy>


    ¡°Can I consider that as being attacked?¡±


    Loren¡¯s brain knew that his opponent was an Evil God, the same kind of being as G. But in addition to Mammon having the appearance of a boy, his move earlier didn¡¯t cause any perceptible changes in Loren, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he had been attacked or not.


    ¡°Hm? What do you think, onii-chan?¡±


    An innocent smile once again appeared on Mammon¡¯s face, and he immediately turned his palm towards Loren again.


    Loren knew something wasing and leapt to the side, but he kicked at the ground twice this time instead of once, and moved away a bigger distance than thest time.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re amazing, onii-chan.¡±


    Mammon said in an impressed tone and clenched his hand, which was turning in the direction of Loren¡¯s old location. Loren had now prepared to dodge as soon as Mammon moved his hand, and he had also understood many things thanks to it.


    ¡°G, that was an Evil God¡¯s power, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren asked without taking his eyes off Mammon. G nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s <<greedy robbery="">>, the power to forcibly take whatever he¡¯s aware of. You know when it¡¯s activated, right?¡±


    </greedy>


    If Mammon¡¯s movements weren¡¯t faked, then Loren believed his power was activated whenever he clenched his hand. From Loren¡¯s impression, this power might seem to be not that big of a dealpared to G¡¯s or Luxuria¡¯s at first nce, but it actually was a rather nasty power.


    No matter how powerful G¡¯s and Luxuria¡¯s powers were, it was still possible to defend against them. But there was no way to defend against Mammon¡¯s power.


    The only thing he could do was moving away before Mammon clenched his hand. But if it was during a serious battle where he wouldn¡¯t know when Mammon would activate it, it would be difficult to dodge.


    Also, it was easy to imagine what kind of danger he would be in if his possession was suddenly snatched during a battle. If it was his weapon or armor, hisbat ability would seriously decrease. If it was his boots, he might not even be able to move depending on the ground¡¯s condition.


    Thinking that there was no choice but tond a swift attack before the Evil God could use his power, Loren got his sword ready.


    Mammon turned his palm towards Loren again then.


    Loren immediately moved away, but Mammon didn¡¯t pursue him. He aimed at G, who was standing a bit away instead.


    ¡°Ah, not good!¡±


    G received her death sentence as soon as she realized Mammon was aiming for her. She reflexively raised her arms to defend herself, but it was meaningless before Mammon¡¯s power. He quickly clenched his hand, and G screamed and sat down.


    ¡°Has your taste in clothes changed, G? Have you always worn such showy things?¡±


    Twirling on Mammon¡¯s index finger was G¡¯s hot pants, which she had been wearing just a moment ago. The thing had already beenscivious enough when G was wearing it, but seeing it twirling on the finger of an underage boy was an indescribable scene, even if the boy was only appearing to be one. Loren continued to keep a steady grip on his sword and keen eyes on Mammon, but his expression had turned wary.


    But G, who had her clothes snatched away, couldn¡¯t have the same reaction as Loren. Blushing, she was trying to conceal her lower body as much as possible with her hands while ring at a grinning Mammon with murderous eyes.


    ¡°Mammon, you¡­ Do you think you can get off scot-free, doing something that shouldn¡¯t be done¡­?¡±


    ¡°If I can¡¯t get off scot-free, will you give me something?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a lot!!¡±


    As if Mammon¡¯sugh made her snap, G screamed. A group of Predators, G¡¯s own Evil God power, appeared at the same time. These things ate everything in their way, animate objects or not, and G had unleashed arge number of them in her anger. Face twitching, Loren turned towards her, but what happened next made his face twitch even more.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hot-tempered, G? Is it age?¡±


    While Mammon continued to twirl G¡¯s hot pants with his left hand, he lightly swung his right arm. Thanks to the power of the King of Death, Shayna, inside him, G¡¯s Predators were visible to him, and he witnessed an unbelievable scene: Mammon only swung his right arm lightly, truly lightly, but all the mouths rushed in to bite him were smashed in one strike. Loren was taken aback. He could only watch dumbfounded as countless were smashed into pieces and disappeared.


    ¡°Not yet!¡±


    It seemed that smashing the mouths didn¡¯t cause any damage to G. As soon as one mouth was smashed, another appeared, and they all rushed at Mammon. But even with their number and speed, not even one could reach Mammon¡¯s body. They were all smashed and vanished into thin air with just a swing of his arm.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten weaker, haven¡¯t you, G? This¡­ Ah, you¡¯re quite full now, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Mammon hade to some understanding by himself. No more mouths wereing at him. G was still sitting on the ground, but her breathing had beborious. Grin still on his face, Mammon continued:


    ¡°The Evil God of Gluttony¡¯s power is very strong, but ites from hunger. Once you¡¯re full enough, you¡¯ll be weak.¡±


    ¡°Gngh¡­¡±


    G gritted her teeth, but was unable to make anyeback. She just silently red at Mammon.


    ¡°So you¡¯re stronger if you are fast?¡±


    Come to think of it, even Gluttony couldn¡¯t continuously eat without stopping. It was only natural that once her stomach was full, her power would calm down until she became hungry again. In short, even though G wasn¡¯tpletely full now, her stomach was quite full, and so she had be weakerpared to other Evil Gods ¨C At least this was what Loren guessed from Mammon¡¯s words.


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s one way to look at it, I guess?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t fight kids.¡±


    ¡°Even if he¡¯s a kid, he¡¯s still an Evil God¡­ But Mammon really is a kid, both in looks and thinking.¡±


    G said and looked at Mammon. He was ying with the hot pants he had snatched from her, stretching and twirling it. Unthinkingly, she half rose up to attack him again, but Mammon beat her to it. He carelessly threw the pants at G, and her attention went after it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the top next.¡±


    As G thought she was over, Mammon turned his palm towards her. He just needed to clench that hand, and her top would be peeled away this time. But before he could, someone kicked at him from the nk with all their might.


    ¡°Lapis-chan?!¡±


    Lapis, who should have been staying with Tizona, had moved to right beside Mammon before anyone noticed. When he was preupied with G, she kicked at him with no reservation. The impact should be quite big, but Mammon still held his ground somehow. He immediately turned his palm from G to Lapis. Still in kicking stance, Lapis was unable to dodge. Mammon clenched his hand, and she jumped back while covering her chest with both arms, her cheeks lightly dyed in scarlet.


    ¡°What a surprise attack. And with such strength. Onee-san, are you human?¡±


    Mammon asked, a piece of white cloth in his hand. He was about to spread it out to let everyone know what it was, but he immediately threw the cloth away to dodge the greatswording from the opposite side of Lapis¡¯ kick. He turned to confront Loren.


    ¡°Another surprise attack? Isn¡¯t this getting boring?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. You¡¯re a bit too young to be taking off women¡¯s clothes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m older than you though, onii-san?¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t call me onii-san!¡±


    Loren shed at Mammon with ferocious force. Mammon deftly repelled it with both hands. Loren paid it no mind and shed again, and Mammon showed difort for the first time.


    ¡°You know it won¡¯t work, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, if one strike is not enough, then I¡¯ll make ten or twenty strikes!¡±


    Loren swung his swords, paying no mind about whether his strike would be received or repelled. Even if it didn¡¯t work, it would turn Mammon¡¯s attention to himself, and his attacks wouldn¡¯t allow Mammon to use his power. With the greatswording at him like thunder tearing through air, he wouldn¡¯t be able to turn his attention to anywhere else.


    ¡°Even if you sh at me a hundred times, you still won¡¯t hit me¡­ Gah?!¡±


    Mammon was handling Loren¡¯s attack with an easy smile, but a kicking from behind sent him flying. Loren shifted to avoid colliding with him. He bounced off the ground once, then immediately got up.


    ¡°It¡¯s the one-san with bad foot habit!¡±


    The one that kicked him was Lapis, who had temporarily withdrawn from the frontline. When his attention was on Loren, she had given him a kick as a return gift for earlier.


    But even though Mammon had been sent flying a good distance away, he didn¡¯t seem to sustain any injuries. He immediately turned his palm towards Lapis again, but was interrupted by a flurry of sword strikes from Loren, forcing him to turn to defense again.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a trouble, onii-san. That greatsword is in the way!¡±


    In between defending himself, Mammon turned his palm towards Loren. Loren immediately realized that he was trying to use his power to snatch his sword, but he kept attacking without care. He had resolved to hit him with his bare hands if his sword was snatched. Mammon looked at him with a mocking expression and clenched his hand.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Mammon¡¯s dumbfounded exim reached Loren¡¯s ears. He didn¡¯t feel the sword vanishing from his hands. He could still feel its solid weight. He swung it directly at Mammon¡¯s side.


    Mammon btedly rose his arm in defense, but his small body was blown to the side as it had been earlier. Loren gave chase, thinking that even if he had defended against that sh, he might have taken some damage due to the impact. But Mammon immediately got up and flicked off Loren¡¯s new strike.


    ¡°Why? Why?! Why can¡¯t I get it?!¡±


    Mammon sounded flustered. Without stopping his attacks, Loren looked down at his hands. His greatsword, the target of Greed¡¯s power, was still in his hands. It was an unbelievable thing, not only for Loren but also for Mammon and G.


    ¡°How? No way!¡±


    ¡°Does it mean you¡¯re opposing my power?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Whatever, just be silent and let me beat you up!¡±


    The fact that he was unable to use his power sent Mammon into turmoil. Not missing that chance, Loren began to invoke self-boost while continuing shing at him with even higher speed.


    Xem: Is it just me? Or does this brat resemble somewhat Kazuma with his <<steeeaaaal>>?</steeeaaaal>

 Chapter 167, From Confusion to Conclusion

    <h4>Chapter 167, From Confusion to Conclusion</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Eh? What? That power is resistible?¡±


    G was as confused as Mammon. Unlike the powers of other Evil Gods, Mammon¡¯s power wasn¡¯t the offensive type, so she had always thought that it couldn¡¯t be resisted. Yet Loren¡¯s greatsword wasn¡¯t snatched away, and he was able to continue attacking Mammon. Thispletely overturned her belief that the only way to fight against Mammon¡¯s power was to dodge.


    After failing the first time, Mammon tried using his power on Loren again. But his power continued to fail without showing any effect for the second, then the third time.


    ¡°The atmosphere is kinda strange.¡±


    G folded her arms and turned to Lapis, who was hopping over. Her face was still red because of whatever Mammon had snatched from her, but G couldn¡¯t afford to tease her right now. She had her own pants snatched away and if she made fun of Lapis, the counterattack would be very harsh.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that power too unfair? Even if he can¡¯t see it, as long as he knows it¡¯s there, he can snatch it. It¡¯s just absurd.¡±


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t we Evil Gods? Our very own existence is absurd to begin with, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Losing before Lapis¡¯ threatening attitude, G uttered those excuse-like words while wondering why she had to give excuses.


    But as Lapis reached G¡¯s ce, she decided to bury the hatchet.


    ¡°But why wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s greatsword snatched?¡±


    ¡°I wonder why? Even if it¡¯s a magical equipment, as long as it¡¯s a sword, it shouldn¡¯t escape Mammon¡¯s recognition, and his power shouldn¡¯t fail.¡±


    Lapis nodded in agreement at G¡¯s reply, but she suddenly recalled something and asked again:


    ¡°Is it correct to say that if Mammon can¡¯t recognize something, he can¡¯t steal it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s correct. For example, if he thinks your jacket is your breast cover and exercises his power on it, he won¡¯t be able to snatch your breast cover.¡±


    ¡°You feel like attacking me while talking about examples?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here, Lapis-chan. I don¡¯t think I can handle your attacks right now.¡±


    She was dead serious. G, who had her hotpants snatched away and had nothing but her arms to cover her fully exposed lower body, was in no state to respond to Lapi¡¯s attacks. If Lapis went serious, she might even send her flying in her half-naked state. G wanted to avoid that as much as possible.


    ¡°Leaving that aside, ording to your exnation, it¡¯s very likely that Loren¡¯s greatsword isn¡¯t actually a sword.¡±


    ¡°Eh that¡¯s stupid. No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s a sword, right?¡±


    Even Lapis had the same opinion. But from the fact that Mammon¡¯s power failed to work on the sword, the most probable exnation Lapis could think of was that it wasn¡¯t a sword.


    ¡°What the hell is it then?¡±


    ¡°I took it from my parents¡¯ warehouse. I don¡¯t know its true form either.¡±


    Loren¡¯s greatsword looked like any other greatsword that could be found in any weapon store in Kapha, but it was an open secret that it came from Lapis. Loren knew it, but still continued to use it. If even Lapis, who brought that sword here, didn¡¯t know its true form, then no one did.


    ¡°What¡¯s your appraisal of it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s expensive.¡±


    The truth was, Lapis, despite being able to appraise all kinds of goods, didn¡¯t really know much about Loren¡¯s swords. She had given it to Loren knowing only that it must be a very good item to be carefully stored in the deeper part of her parents¡¯ warehouse. She had never truly tried to get information about it.


    While Lapis and G were talking, Loren continued to attack Mammon to prevent him from directing his attention elsewhere.


    ¡°Even though my power doesn¡¯t work, theck of progress on your end is irritating. Don¡¯t you think so, onii-san?¡±


    ¡°I do not notice you injuring me either!¡±


    In return for Mammon¡¯s provocation, Loren provoked him right back. Even though he was the one who started it, Mammon¡¯s face still twisted in anger. Loren was amazed at hisck of patience. He found a small opening in his storm of attacks, probably caused by anger, and threw a kick to take advantage of it. It hit Mammon, who had been focusing on repelling his sword, on the side.


    Being a magical being, Mammon didn¡¯t sustain much damage despite Loren putting his strength into the kick. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem to have much of an effect at all, except for inciting a grunt from the Evil God. But the kick did halt his movements for a moment, and Loren seized it to strike with his sword.


    Unable to put up a defense on time, the sword struck Mammon¡¯s shoulder, but the de wasn¡¯t able to cut into his flesh. The Evil God had quite a high toughness, which made Loren reflexively click his tongue, but Mammon let out a painful groan at the first strike he received since the battle started.


    ¡°So it does hurt when you get hit!¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Don¡¯t make fun of me!¡±


    Without losing his pace, Loren swung his sword, trying to give Mammon a follow up strike. Mammon, who had received a clean hit, looked at him with eyes full of anger. Aiming for the top of the Evil God¡¯s head, Loren shed with all his strength. Mammon met the de with his fist, which was trembling with power. It was the first time he had used that much strength in this battle.


    When the fist met the de, both of them recoiled at almost the same time.


    In that moment, Loren heard a small but ominous cracking from his greatsword. The de couldn¡¯t withstand the force of his sh and Mammon¡¯s fist anymore. Loren understood that, but he had no other means to attack the Evil God.


    Hoping to at least be able to somehow finish Mammon off, Loren fixed his stance and struck again. Meanwhile, Mammon¡¯s fist started to bleed a little from the impact of crashing against the de, and the pain seemed to have made him tear up. But he still clenched his fist to meet Loren¡¯s sword.


    Just like the first time, the impact of the crash sent both of them flying backwards. The difference was the wound on Mammon¡¯s fist had gaped open wider.


    And then, Loren¡¯s greatsword broke with a dull sound. Tiny fragments of the ck de scattered in the air, and Mammon smiled widely despite the freely-flowing tears caused by even more intense pain, a feeling of his certain victory prevailed.


    However, Loren continued on to his next move with no care about the broken fragments of his de. The reason was, even though the de had seemingly broken, the weight of the sword in his hand hadn¡¯t changed. It made Loren believe that the de was still there, and he swung the sword for a third strike without confirming the state of the de.


    Mammon¡¯s eyes widened at the seemingly deless swording at him. The sword swung down coldly in a white sh of light and hit the left arm directly, which Mammon had raised to defend himself. No attack had ever touched Mammon¡¯s body before, but this strike cut deeply into Mammon¡¯s arm and even reached his shoulder.


    The Evil God screamed in intense pain, and Loren knew this was the deciding moment. Leaving the sword still biting into Mammon¡¯s body, Loren let go of its handle and reached into his jacket to pull out a dagger with a red gem inset in the pommel.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you this too! Savor the rich taste of pain!¡±


    Even though Mammon¡¯s body was protected by some kind of force, Loren reckoned that since his greatsword was able to injure him, it would probably work if he struck him again at the same ces. He rushed at the Evil God, pulled his head towards himself with his left hand and thrust the dagger into his nk.


    Loren felt a strong force pushing at his chest just then, and was sent flying backwards. He bounced on the ground a couple of times while hearing his ribs and sternum creaking painfully and ominously, and even rolled on the ground a few times before finallying to a stop. The shock and the tumbling disoriented him, but he ced both hands on the ground and pushed himself up. When he lifted his head to check the result of his attacks, he saw Mammon writhing on the ground and shrieking in agony, the dagger stuck deeply into his side. The greatsword that was biting into Mammon¡¯s shoulder was lying on the ground near him. It seemed to havee off due to some impact.


    ¡°So, does it hurt? It¡¯s a magic weapon that can amplify pain. Feel it to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    The dagger was one of the magic-infused items they had salvaged from the depot. It could amplify the pain of the stabbed person by a couple magnitudes. Injured by both the greatsword and the dagger, Mammon was bearing unimaginable pain, and was writhing about on the ground.


    It seemed like Evil Gods¡¯ appearances did reflect their mentality. Loren had guessed from Mammon¡¯s words and behavior that he had the mentality of a child, and should be extremely weak at pain. He had nned to take advantage of this weakness when the timing was right, and the effect was immediate.


    Still, it might not be the decisive blow. With that thought in mind, Loren creeped on the ground, got near to Mammon, and grabbed the handle of his greatsword. The sword originally had a ck de, which should have been broken. But there was another white de there in its ce, slightly thinner but almost as long.


    Loren put off thinking about the true form of his sword, which was able to cut through the protection force of an Evil God and injured his body. Instead, he stood up, intending to finish off Mammon. But when he turned around to face him, he saw G kneeling on the floor as if protecting Mammon, who was sobbing due to the pain on his shoulders and side.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but can you let him off? I¡¯ll take responsibility, and will take him away, so I want you to spare his life.¡±


    ¡°Keeping him alive gives me no benefit, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Just make it work somehow.¡±


    G prostrated herself before him. Loren¡¯s expression turned troubled, and he looked at Mammon behind her. He was still crying from the pain of his wounds even now, and was looking at Loren with frightened eyes. But he endured the pain, sat up, then kneeled down like G.


    ¡°S¡­ Sorry.¡±


    No matter what Mammon really was, Mammon¡¯s appearance was still that of a child and of one covered in blood, at that. The sight of such a child kneeling before him and apologizing¡­ It somehow felt like he was the bad guy here. Loren lowered his sword.


    But Lapis and Tizona also had their feelings hurt because of this. Loren turned towards them, but Lapis just shrugged without saying anything in particr. And Tizona, who was wrapping herself in the cloth Loren had given her, gave him a single nod. It seemed like they had let him make the decision. Loren looked down at the Evil Gods prostrating before him.


    ¡°Can you promise that you will break up the bandit gang, and will not be hostile towards us?¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Apologize to those you stripped too. Then let them hit you a few times, alright?¡±


    To Loren, it was unforgivable to strip someone naked or steal someone¡¯s pants. Mammon nodded multiple times at the punishment Loren had issued for him.


    ¡°And we¡¯ll confiscate the goods and treasures you¡¯ve collected. I really thought this was a ploy from some countries¡­ I¡¯ll report that you¡¯ve escaped.¡±


    Their purpose was to obtain the treasures inside the ruin, not to subjugate the bandits or to hand their head over to the kingdom. Loren believed that it was good enough to get the money and goods to fulfill Tizona¡¯s purpose. Anything else was just extra, and thus inconsequential.


    The bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much damage by themselves. Their leader, an Evil God, was now G¡¯s responsibility, and would be under her supervision. Loren thought that it should be safe.


    ¡°If we hand defeated Evil Gods over to the kingdom, they¡¯ll either destroy the kingdom or will be used by it, which could turn out to be even more troublesome.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, isn¡¯t it? As for hitting him, let¡¯s wait until his wounds are healed. If we go at it now, he might die.¡±


    Lapis dered with an ice-cold smile. It seemed like she was still holding a grudge over her stolen chest cover. Mammon looked at her with a tear-stained face, his eyes were as frightened as when he looked at Loren.

 Chapter 168, Cleaning Up, And Closure

    <h4>Chapter 168, Cleaning Up, And Closure</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    And so, the story about the big bandit gang causing trouble at one corner of the Wargenburg Kingdom came to an end.


    Loren reported to the Adventurer Guild that the bandits had been dealt with. In his report, the bandits were annihted by an outburst of the undead. Even though they had also fought some of the bandits themselves, there was no one else around by the time they finished with them, and so the party assumed all other bandits had either died or ran away.


    This report would sound rather dubiousing from the party contracted to wipe out the bandits, but Loren¡¯s party hadn¡¯t sign up for such a quest. They were contracted to explore the ruin, so there were no issues. On the contrary, they actuallyined to the Guild instead. After all, the Guild hadn¡¯t informed them about such arge bandit base being near the ruin. They had received some money as an apology.


    As for their original purpose in this adventure: the ruin had turned out to be just a disappointment to Tizona.


    When they entered the ruin, Loren and Lapis thought that it must had been a holiday house of some noble or rich person from ancient times. There seemed to be several other constructions in the surrounding, but only the main house was left standing after all this time. In short, it was a rarely used building, and nothing of much value was left inside. Moreover, the bandits had carried most of them out, selling some for cash and storing the rest at their depots. The magic-infused items they had found before were a part of these.


    If the story ended on this, Tizona wouldn¡¯t get the amount she needed and would have to be some noble¡¯s property. But luckily they sessfully found some amounts of bandits¡¯ treasure.


    This treasure included arge number of goods the bandits had gathered before getting big, and things they had plundered after, all stored inside the ruin. They gave a part of it to the citizens that had suffered because of the bandits, but were still left with a ratherrge sum of money.


    ¡°Well, no matter how much we have left, it¡¯s all Tizona¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Is it alright like that? I feel like she required a lot of rescuing. Nevertheless¡­¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to sell ourselves if we don¡¯t have money. But if Tizona doesn¡¯t have money, she¡¯ll have to sell herself, right? So for it to not end up like that, we¡¯ll only take our remuneration. The rest is yours, Tizona.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m indebted to you. And¡­ about what I saw back then.¡±


    Tizona looked hesitant, and Loren scratched his head in trouble. Aside from G and Mammon being Evil Gods, there was also Lapis sending an Evil God flying with a kick. Furthermore, Tizona had seen Loren¡¯s fighting style when he was battling the Evil God. Of course, it was impossible to regard these matters as nothing, but it also didn¡¯t mean that they had to honestly exin everything to her.


    While Loren was wondering what should be done, Tizona told him:


    ¡°If it¡¯s not something you want to be asked about, then let¡¯s decide that I haven¡¯t seen anything at all. I swear on my pride as a mercenary that if you don¡¯t want to talk about this, I will bring this story to my grave.¡±


    ¡°We appreciate that, but¡­ Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I have the feeling that even if you tell me the truth, I won¡¯t know how to deal with it. So it¡¯s easier and simpler to decide that I haven¡¯t seen anything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite smart of you.¡±


    Tizona wasn¡¯t sure how much she could believe in their story, and she thought that such a story would be too absurd for a third party to believe in should she try to tell them. And so, they parted ways without Loren having to do anything in particr to muzzle her. Tizona, feeling grateful for their help this time, also promised that if they needed her, they only needed to contact her, and she woulde to their aids. But Loren didn¡¯t care much about this promise, since Tizona was returning to the wandering life of a mercenary, and it would be difficult to contact her.


    It ended here for Loren, but not for others. As if afraid that the runaway bandits would rise up again, the Kingdom btedly dispatched a team to chase and subjugate them. They wouldn¡¯t find any, but it wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s duty to tell them that. Aside from the base and the depot they had destroyed, there were several other depots. ording to Lapis, things woulde back to normal once those depots were discovered and destroyed.


    ¡°On the other hand, is it really alright to leave Mammon to you?¡±


    Mammon, who had the mentality of a kid but the power of an Evil God, was especially troublesome. He was put under G¡¯s custody, and she had led him somewhere no one knew. Loren found it a bit questionable, and he stated this to G as such. She just looked at him meekly and bowed deeply:


    ¡°At least he can¡¯t do mischief at a ce I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Why does it sound like you think it¡¯s ok for him to do bad things as long as it¡¯s at a ce you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I make Lust watch him.¡±


    Loren imagined the Evil God of Greed being watched over by the Evil God of Lust, and hurriedly stopped his train of thoughts. Even though this reeked of crime, both of them were beings beyond humans age-wise, and maybe humans¡¯ ways of thinking and standards shouldn¡¯t be applied to them. It was better for Loren¡¯s mental health to think that way, so he hurriedly stopped boration on this matter.


    ¡°But what do you want to do, gathering other Evil Gods like this? Or should I say, why do Evil Gods keep resurrecting here and there?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me why. Probably our seals had loosened, or someone had deliberately untied them. I asked Mammon, but couldn¡¯t really find out anything either. The reason why I¡¯m gathering them because it¡¯s easier that way? Do you want to leave them unchecked?¡±


    G¡¯s reasoning was quite persuasive. If left alone, no one knew what kind of havoc they would wreck. And rounding them up was definitely not something humans could do. In that case, having G, one of the Evil Gods, set out to gather them was much better than other alternatives. There seemed to be no reason to stop her.


    ¡°How many more are there?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve had Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, and Greed, so there are 3 left. Envy, Pride, and Rage.¡±


    ¡°Just hearing the names makes me not want to meet them. Why do you all haunt Wargenburg and its vicinity to begin with?¡±


    ¡°Well, because the ancient kingdom¡¯s capital is around here. Unless someone looks into this thoroughly, I think appearing here is more probable?¡±


    Just as the actual name of the ancient kingdom wasn¡¯t known, there were no records about the location of its cities, or what they were like. Lapis added that it wasn¡¯t even known if its capital was on the continent or not.


    ¡°Do you know the exact location?¡±


    ¡°The topography has changed a bit, so I can¡¯t say for sure where it is. But I know it¡¯s somewhere around here.¡±


    ¡°If we can excavate it, we¡¯ll discover unimaginable things.¡±


    ¡°Talking about unimaginable things, isn¡¯t that ¡®thing¡¯ of Loren one of them?¡±


    G pointed at the sword on Loren¡¯s back. The ck greatsword had been broken during the fight with Mammon, revealing a white greatsword inside it. Being able to cut through the protection of an Evil God like Mammon and injured him, the sword was definitely not an average magic-infused weapon, but its true character was still unknown. Its sharpness was far beyondmon knowledge, and if it was dropped down point-first, its weight was heavy enough to break stone and make it sink into the earth. It would even sink deeper before halting due to its sharpness. The strange thing was, if it was wrapped in cloth, the sharpness seemed to y low¡¯: if Loren used it to sh at something in this state, the cloth wouldn¡¯t be cut. This was why Loren could carry it around on his back. It would have been too dangerous to walk with otherwise.


    ¡°It¡¯s too sharp for a greatsword.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. Its sharpness was too dangerous, so it was wrapped in magic-infused iron to be concealed.¡±


    ¡°Greed¡¯s power didn¡¯t work probably because the magic-infused ironyer acted as its scabbard. He acknowledged the scabbard as the sword, so his power didn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°In short, I¡¯ve been fighting with a sword¡¯s scabbard up until now? I¡¯ve never heard of a scabbard with an edge before though.¡±


    ¡°Probably because this sword is something meant to be hidden.¡±


    If the outeryer hadn¡¯t been broken, Loren was sure he would have never noticed it. Lapis guessed that the outer de had probably been used to hide the inner de, but as it had been shattered, there was no way to confirm her guess now.


    ¡°It seems to be a rather valuable item, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is. Is it alright to give it to me?¡±


    Loren knew that magic-infused iron de was very rare. If it was used as just a cover, there was no question about how valuable the inner de was. He wondered if it was alright for him to possess such a valuable item, but Lapis looked at him nkly:


    ¡°Hah? What do you mean? Isn¡¯t it something you bought at a store?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it seems like only you know of its true character, Lapis.¡±


    ¡°Are you relying on me?¡±


    Lapis looked at Loren with some kind of expectations in her eyes. Loren wondered for a moment what the correct answer to her question would be, but in the end he decided to tell her what he felt safe to say. Lapis was looking up at him, as Loren patted her head and said:


    ¡°I am, and always will.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very happy to hear that.¡±


    Lapis looked a bit shy, but she smiled happily just as she had said she was.


    ¡°Yeah, he really relies on you a lot, financially¡­ Ah, no, nothing.¡±


    G blurted out one word too many, and received a freezing nce that was totally opposite of the one she was giving Loren.


    Loren watched them with some shock and reached into his trousers¡¯ pocket. He fiddled with the two gold coins he had received from Tizona as remuneration, and thought that this job could be considered as a sessful one.

 Chapter 169, An Escort Request

    <h4>Chapter 169, An Escort Request</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    There was a rumor that a certain adventurer had gone broke.


    ¡®Not really though¡¯ thought Loren, the one who spread the rumor, thought while flinging a small cloth bag on the table. This small cloth bag was a representative for his wallet, which had be significantly lighter.


    It all started with a remark from G, the so-called Evil God of Gluttony and a member of Loren¡¯s party. It wasn¡¯t even spoken very loudly.


    ¡°That reminds me, Loren, you said I can eat all the delicious things once we return to Kapha, right?¡±


    That was quite a shameless remark, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think.


    He did say such a thing when they were working on their previous job. That job did end up to be quite a sess, but they encountered one of G¡¯s buddies halfway through: Mammon, the Evil God of Greed, who had the appearance of a young boy. Loren was one strike short of killing him but stayed his hand because G begged for his life and Mammon himself showed some remorse. So he let G have custody of Mammon instead.


    Because of this, Loren thought G should have felt some indebtedness to him. But it seemed like in G¡¯s point of view, that was that and this was this.


    ¡°You¡¯re weakened if you¡¯re full, aren¡¯t you? Starve a bit more.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say such a cruel thing. And it¡¯s still alright even if I¡¯m weakened a little bit, isn¡¯t it? And it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll encounter my kind all the time.¡±


    Saying it like this just made Loren fear that they would suddenly encounter another Evil God.


    Anyway, G wanted to eat delicious food no matter what, and Loren just gave up. At the end of his rope, Loren agreed to treating G to a meal. To have delicious food, they went to a slightly more high-end dining hall, and Loren enjoyed a ss of fine wine for the first time in a long while. G, on the other hand, demonstrated her appetite as if her title of Evil God of Gluttony was at stake and proceeded to eat up the dining hall¡¯s stock. Since it was a high-end dining hall, it was more expensive than other ones in the area, and since she consumed everything, it naturally costed a lot.


    What¡¯s more, there was already a rumor spreading about a beautiful woman being able to gorge down a ton of food. Naturally, that was because such an unusual scene would gather people¡¯s attention and the more people witnessed such a scene, the worse the rumor got.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    At night, in the dining hall attached to the adventurer¡¯s guild, Loren sipped on some cheap wine he had ordered for himself by candlelight and shrugged at the voice that came from across the table.


    The person sitting in front of Loren across the table was none other than Lapis, whose expression was eloquently showcasing her deep-seated dismay.


    Lapis, despite being a demon, a race that humans feared and hated, actually did have some semnce ofmon sense. Yet she could not understand why Loren agreed to pay for G¡¯s meal even though he didn¡¯t have much money himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I need you to help me pay for it this time. Isn¡¯t this fine?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you spend most of the money you earned from the previous request as well?¡±


    Lapis lifted the pouch Loren had thrown onto the table and checked its content. Hearing no clink of coins when picking it up, she could already guess the pouch¡¯s content. When she opened it up and looked inside, all she saw was a single golden glow. There was only one coin left at the bottom of the bag.


    ¡°Looks like there is some left¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare tell G. Any more of this and I would be suicidal.¡±


    Thankfully, G was no longer nearby.


    Normally, Loren would be asleep in his room by now, not out here drinking. He was here only because Lapis had summoned him through the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    Loren expected Lapis to startining about the stupid stunt G and him had pulled a few days ago, but she simply closed the pouch and returned it to Loren while muttering under her breath ¡®Fine then¡­¡¯


    ¡°I didn¡¯t call you here to talk about that.¡±


    ¡°Really? I thought you were going to for sure.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to talk about what you do with your money¡­ Ah, that reminds me, can I count that remaining gold coin as a payment for your debt with me?¡±


    ¡°¡­Without it, I¡¯ll have to sleep in the alley tonight.¡±


    But Loren did believe it was better to pay off one¡¯s debt, so he picked up the pouch and passed it. But she pushed his offering pouch back.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take it like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really mind though?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You can pay me backter, so just use what is left for your amodation and food.¡±


    Since the lender said it was fine to not pay it back right now, the borrower had no reason to disagree. Also, given their rtionship, it was uncertain how serious they were about this whole borrowing and paying-back talk.


    ¡°So, can we move on to the main topic?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So, what do you want to talk about?¡±


    Since Lapis requested to see him through the guild, she had to pay a fee.


    Meanwhile, Loren did not know where Lapis lived.


    Whenever they were in Kapha city, she just appeared wherever he was at. This felt like she was always there when needed. Loren had already spent a substantial amount of time with her but he still had no clue what she did during her spare time.


    Loren knew that Lapis would not have summoned him in such a manner for some foolish rhetoric. So, the topic at hand must be serious. She nced at the hilt of his greatsword and spoke.


    ¡°I need to discuss with you about your sword¡±


    Once she said those words, Loren took a nce at the weapon on his back.


    The sword he used when he was a mercenary was broken, and he ¡®happened¡¯ to have bought a random recement.


    When in fact, Lapis was the one who had masterminded the whole thing in secret. She had set it up in such a way that made it questionable whether she wanted to hide what she did or not. She made it such that the trader would have only sold the weapon to Loren.


    During thest job, the Evil God of Greed, Mammon, broke the sword, and it turned out that there was another de inside the destroyed one. Loren was able to defeat him thanks to the unusual sharpness hidden within his weapon.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s dangerous to use a weapon from an unknown origin.¡±


    ¡°I agree with you¡­ But are you seriously telling me that you don¡¯t know where it came from?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡±


    Lapis asked as if she found what he just uttered aspletely strange, to which Loren could only silently shake his head.


    He knew that one¡¯s thoughts might sometimes deviate from what one says. So, he pretended like he didn¡¯t know anything.


    Even if he wanted her to confess, he did not want to force her.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, I really don¡¯t know where it¡¯s from. No one told me what it is. It was just one of those things that was kept in the warehouse,¡±


    Lapis muttered, taking her eyes off Loren. It was a dangerous weapon but the man wielding it himself seems to be nonchnt as he took another sip and ced his drink back on the table.


    ¡°So, this is something you took from your house?¡±


    He asked, as he thought this girl had taken out something dangerous.


    However, so far, there have been no problems with it. Rather, Loren would have to say that the weapon had proved quite handy.


    But since Lapis had brought it from home, it might change things.


    After all, she is a demon.


    Demons could keep items in their warehouse that could be a few dozen times more dangerous than what he would expect.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t ask,¡±


    Lapis moodily said, turning away. Though from Loren¡¯s point of view this was a life-threatening issue. Not something that can be so easily dismissed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean it that way. I mean, since it is from your warehouse, it¡¯s dangerous right?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing dangerous in my family¡¯s warehouse!¡±


    ¡°Well, that maybe so¡­¡±


    It was logical to assume that demons keep something dangerous in their warehouses, though that was a rude thought.


    What¡¯s more important, it was Lapis¡¯ home. The same Lapis who he has been with for so long.


    Loren was sure she wouldn¡¯t hand him an item without making sure it wasn¡¯t life-threatening but soon noticed the girl¡¯s wandering gaze.


    ¡°Lapis?¡±


    ¡°N-no¡­ It might not sound convincing but¡­ I checked everything thoroughly. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have ced something so dangerous in a town store.¡±


    ¡°Were you selling something?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point. How do I put it¡­¡±


    For a while Lapis seemed to want to say something. But, each time she wanted to speak up, she closed her mouth again and scratched her head. To Loren, it seems as though she was trying to think up a story, trying to hide that she was the original owner of the sword. When she finally settled on her story, she turned to Loren and looked at him.


    ¡°If it was entirely made of magic iron, then there would be no problems. I never thought that there would be something inside it¡­¡±


    ¡°So you admit it¡¯s your fault?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying what has happened!¡±


    Loren believes that they would uncover the solution if Lapis would share more but, since she continued to hide it, Loren decided that it would be impossible to probe further. Therefore, he just let it go and asked.


    ¡°All right. So, what do we do?¡±


    When Loren asked ¡®what to do¡¯ when the owner herself was uncertain, Lapis seemed a little hesitant to answer.


    ¡°We need to ask someone who knows.¡±


    ¡°Someone who knows¡­? Who?¡±


    Loren did not believe that this weapon could be appraised.


    Lapis could appraise herself, and Loren did not believe anyone could do a better job than her.


    If there was anyone who knew anything about this weapon, it would be the original owner. So, Loren stared at Lapis.


    ¡°Do you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know who originally owns it¡­ But, there is someone I know who knows more about this sword than I do,¡±


    Leaning on the table, the girl spoke in a low voice to Loren, who was staring at her in bewilderment.


    ¡°Loren, I need you toe to my house.¡±


    Not knowing what to say, the man just looked at the girl who wore a serious expression.

 Chapter 170, From Escaping To Persuading

    <h4>Chapter 170, From Escaping To Persuading</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    It was a quiet night at Kapha city.


    A cloaked man in grey from head to toe appeared at the city gate. The cloak made it impossible to tell the person¡¯s gender or look, but the man seemed to be of fairlyrge built based on the height. The person walked quickly while surveying their surroundings from time to time. In short, a very suspicious person.


    People shouldn¡¯t be acting that suspicious if they just wanted to get out of the city. Just as the guards at the gate unthinkingly straightened up as if feeling a hint of anxiety, another person appeared behind the first one. The neer grabbed the cloak of the suspicious one and stopped it.


    ¡°Where are you trying to go, Loren?¡±


    The one who asked that question was a young girl with a sweet smile and an innocent tone. She was wearing priest¡¯s clothes, and the guards recognized her right away ¨C the girl¡¯s name was Lapis, someone they saw often. So the suspicious figure must be herpanion, an adventurer called Loren.


    ¡°Leaving the city this early, are you trying to run away?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s right.¡±


    Loren was at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Lapis sneakily tore his cloak off him. Loren appeared to be the same as always, but he wasn¡¯t carrying his greatsword for some reason. Noticing that, Lapis stared at him with narrowed eyes, then forcibly pulled him away by his belt without saying anything.


    ¡°Ah, wait. Hey?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re delusional if you think you can run away, Loren. But alright, I¡¯ll forgive you. We¡¯re friends after all.¡±


    ¡°This is a misunderstanding. I¡¯m not trying to run away. I just want to go into hiding and cool down for a while¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it. Listen, let¡¯s just go. I¡¯ve already arranged breakfast at the Guild¡¯s dining hall.¡±


    A big guy being pulled away by a small girl wasn¡¯t amon scene at all. The two guards at the gate watched them go while wondering what the heck was happening and exchanged nces after the couple had disappeared from sight.


    Meanwhile, Lapis dragged Loren all the way to the entrance Adventurer Guild¡¯s dining hall. Loren surrendered then, and walked inside on his own. They sat at their usual table at the end of the hall, and a waitress immediately appeared to take their orders. Lapis ordered for both of them, paid, then red at Loren, who was sitting opposite her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to cancel our partnership, you know?¡±


    It sounded like an excuse even to Loren, but he felt like he had to say something. Lapis nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Our destination this time is¡­¡±


    Yesterday, Lapis told Loren that she wanted him to apany her on the way to her parent¡¯s home. And if one thought about it, this wasn¡¯t about Loren wanting to run away, but about Lapis¡¯ home.


    No matter how much like an ordinary human priest Lapis might look, she was actually a demon, a being much stronger than humans, and not very well-liked by humans. Of course, Lapis¡¯ home was in the demon country, on the other side of the mountainous region in the center of this continent. And apanying her there meant going to the demon country.


    It was just natural that Loren would think twice about her request. And the decision he came to after such thinking was to disappear for a while and wait for Lapis to cool down. He left his greatsword behind in case Lapis wanted to send it back to her parents¡¯ home to investigate its origin.


    By the way, even though there was no detailed map of the continent, it was generally thought to have the shape of two circles. The line that formed the inner circle was the mountainous region that they would have to cross, inside which there was the demon country.


    ¡°So even you would hesitate.¡±


    Lapis muttered with some disappointment. It seemed like her anger subsided a little bit.


    ¡°I thought that you¡¯ll be able to apany me there without caring too much.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I¡¯m just an uneducated, mercenary-raised guy. I¡¯ve been taught about the terrors of demons by mypany since I was a kid, you know?¡±


    There were a lot of stories about demons¡¯ infamy. The most extreme story was one about the Demon King, which Loren couldn¡¯t help but think to be greatly exaggerated. But even excluding that story, the stories usually ended up with them being the cause of a country¡¯s destruction, a hero¡¯s corruption, or making part of the continent a deadnd where nothing could grow from for ten years at a time just for their own research. There simply was no end to their infamy. Loren thought that all of those were exaggerated to some extent after working with Lapis for a while, but he was still worried, and he told her as much.


    ¡°To be very clear, I have a feeling that this will be a hassle.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not scared or angry. I¡¯m not sure if I should be happy or sad about this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m having my hands full with only you, Lapis.¡±


    ¡°Am I such a handful?¡±


    Lapis watched Loren intently, looking smug. Being asked that question again, Loren tilted his head. It wasn¡¯t like Lapis gave him a horrible experience or anything.


    ¡°Well, I do try to increase your debt. Just a little bit though.¡±


    ¡°That, well¡­ Not good, but alright.¡±


    Loren had to admit that he did have a self-destructive tendency. Treating G to a meal this time was probably the most extreme.


    ¡°The trip there is a bit dangerous, so I want you to guarantee my safe arrival. Can youe with me for that reason?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much I can trust that.¡±


    Basically, demons looked down on humans. There was a natural gap between the two races regarding abilities, and even if it was left aside, Loren just couldn¡¯t imagine a human ended up safe after setting a foot into demons¡¯ territory. Humans picked fights with humans from lower ss, which made Loren sure that he would be treated unfairly no matter what.


    ¡°Do I really have to go with you no matter what? How about G?¡±


    Hearing the name of the currently-absent third member of their party, Lapis grimaced a little.


    ¡°G is¡­ She probably could pass as a demon.¡±


    G originally had purple eyes like the demon race. She had altered her eyes color by some unknown method in order to live in Kapha. With her purple eyes and abilities, even the ones that were not Evil God¡¯s power, exceeding that of the average humans, she could certainly pass as a demon.


    ¡°Besides, I have some personal errand to attend to¡­ I really want you to apany me.¡±


    ¡°Personal errand?¡±


    Hearing that she went home not only to find out about his greatsword piqued his interest. Even more so when it seemed that he was involved somehow.


    ¡°What kind of errand? I might change my opinion depending on that.¡±


    Loren felt like ever since he quit mercenary life and became an adventurer, Lapis had always taken care of him. He was grateful to her, and he believed that if hispany would help her solve her errands more smoothly, he would be fine with it even if it meant some difort for him.


    ¡°Actually, that is¡­ Eh, well. How do you say it? Ah¡­¡±


    Lapis had some difficulties putting it into words. Since it was a personal errand, Loren wondered if it was something difficult to talk about. After groaning for a while, Lapis seemed to have made up her mind. She cast her eyes down and murmured in a small voice:


    ¡°It¡¯s a good opportunity¡­ to introduce you¡­ to my parents.¡±


    It was now Loren¡¯s turn to be taken aback. Demons¡¯ custom wasn¡¯t his area of expertise, but for humans, introducing someone to one¡¯s parents meant the two had an intimate rtionship. To be more specific, it meant the two wanted to be partners, or had already decided to be partners. Even Loren knew that much.


    Hearing that Lapis wanted to introduce him to her parents, Loren didn¡¯t know how to reply. Seeing him like that, Lapis waved her hand in a fluster and talked rapidly:


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll let it go this time if it¡¯s too troublesome for you. I can also go home on my own if you really don¡¯t want to go no matter what¡­ What do you think?¡±


    Lapis asked like that while looking up at Loren, making it unable for him to deny her upfront. He had no way to know what Lapis was thinking about introducing him to her parents, but leaving the ¡®good opportunity¡¯ part aside, Lapis did seem to have thought about it seriously, and she did deserve a serious answer.


    ¡°Did you fight with your parents because of the human race?¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s too direct¡­ I¡¯ve nned to wait a bit more, until both parties can understand each other more. But, but, you¡¯ve saved me from many dangerous situations. I was also able to recover both my arms thanks to your help¡­¡±


    Loren looked at her with admiration. She was speaking fast, but her speech was still smooth. As she finished and stared at him with a slightly blushing face, there was nothing else for him to do but to answer her after a deep sigh:


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m not sure how it¡¯ll turn out, but I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    Having sessfully extracted an agreement from Loren, Lapis¡¯ face brightened.


    ¡°Just leave it to me, Loren. Except for the trip itself, I will support you. Mother is my ally, but it¡¯ll be alright with my father too.¡±


    ¡°There are at least two things from that statement of yours that make me feel concerned¡­¡±


    The first thing was, she didn¡¯t deny even once that the trip to the demon country would be a dangerous one. The second thing was, it seemed like her father might have some kind of troublesome reactions when meeting him. But Loren wasn¡¯t the type to suddenly go back on his words ¨C he grumbled in a resigned tone:


    ¡°Please do. I¡¯m betting my life on just knowing the true character of my greatsword.¡±


    Loren said, but he was still thinking about how troublesome this whole trip would be. But Lapis somehow decided that the talk was already over, so she greeted the waitress that brought their breakfast over and began to set the food on the table.

 Chapter 171, From A Discussion to A Monologue

    <h4>Chapter 171, From A Discussion to A Monologue</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The decision to go to the demon territory had been made without consulting G, the other member in their party, so Loren insisted that they had to talk to her. His suggestion was met with Lapis¡¯ cold reaction. It was just a trivial matter to her, but Loren did consider G apanion, and he decided that they would talk to her when she came to the Adventurer Guild.


    G had no other ces to go except for her inn and the Adventurer Guild, so it was almost certain that she would eat at the Guild¡¯s dining hall. Loren was sure that if they hung around the dining hall for a bit more, she would show up. And she indeed did.


    ¡°Eh? You two are a bit early today. Are you hungry?¡±


    Seeing the two of them already sitting at a table, Gmented. She gave her order to a waitress while joining them at their table.


    ¡°Twenty sunny side up eggs with bacon, ten tes of assorted sausages, thirty loaves of brown bread, three sds, five pitchers of milk. Breakfasts should be light, right?¡±


    ¡°U-understood¡­¡±


    The waitress epted a pile of coins from G and went to pass her order to the owner with a stiff face. G watched her go with a smile and when she turned back, she saw Loren and Lapis looking at her with the same expression as the waitress.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already known how much you can eat, but it¡¯s still such an amazingly big order.¡±


    ¡°My appetite has decreased a bit, I think.¡±


    Lapis looked as if she was having heartburn, but G didn¡¯t seem to care about it. With an anxious longing, she was busy watching the owner receiving her order and disappearing into the kitchen.


    Loren told her about his talk with Lapis and their decision to go to the demons¡¯ territory.


    ¡°Hm, so we¡¯re not going there for our next job?¡±


    G asked as if she had no objections at all. Loren was about to confirm her guess that they weren¡¯t going there for work, when Lapis interjected:


    ¡°You¡¯re fine if it¡¯s for a job?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Well, every country is interested in the state of affairs of the demon country. I¡¯m sure the Guild has a permanent request for scouting the ce.¡±


    Keeping someone you hated out of sight wasn¡¯t a concept that worked on a country level, or so Lapis said. Every country needed as much information as possible, in case something happened or suspected to have happened. Originally, it was the job of a country¡¯s intelligence agency to gather such information. But such information-gathering requests also came to the Adventurer Guild because it costed less, and also because adventurers were a bit more specialized in surviving and breaking in¡­ Or so Lapis exined.


    ¡°If we choose a suitable job among those, we can make this a proper job, right? We¡¯ll earn money.¡±


    Lapis slightly stressed the ¡®money¡¯ part, but Loren snorted at that as if he was hearing some rather dubious story.


    ¡°Do you have any objection?¡±


    ¡°So you mean we take on some job of some intelligence agency. During my mercenary days I¡¯ve learned it the hard way and multiple times that intelligence agencies and news agencies can¡¯t be trusted.¡±


    It was natural that Loren had such an opinion. After all, people of those agencies could trick their friends with no hesitation should the need arise. And they collected information that no one wanted to know. People like that just couldn¡¯t be trusted. Using mercenaries as sacrificial pawns to save their country¡¯s armies was also a normal thing for them. So mercenarypanies usually warned their members to be more cautious of these people than of the enemies.


    ¡°I understand your feeling, but these jobs are not suspicious because the Adventurer Guild is also involved.¡±


    Mercenaries had no backing, but adventurers did have a huge one ¨C the Adventurer Guild, and those who tried to y dirty with them would meet a huge drawback. The Guild might not openly step up, but all they needed to do was to publicly dere that they would withdraw from a country. And if that were to happen there would be no adventurers to undertake jobs like subjugation of bandits and demons or exploration and excavation of ruins. The country¡¯s ns would be dyed, and there would be public disorder. Rather than letting such a thing happen, anyone with a brain knew that it would be more beneficial to just put out some low-confidential jobs and corporate with good faith.


    ¡°Those who can¡¯t figure out such pros and cons won¡¯t be able to enter such agencies in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Doubt was apparent in Loren¡¯s tone. He just ignored the talk and focused on G, who was ferociously inhaling the smell of the food that had just been brought out. The sight of her consuming the food with a terrifying speed wasn¡¯t strange or vulgar in the least. Instead, the sight of a scantily dressed beauty eating with delight while sweating a little was rather sensual. Whenever G had meals, she always attracted the eyes of those around. Since it did more or less attract more customers, Loren thought the dining hall should pay her something as an advertisement fee.


    G was happily stuffing her mouth with food, but once she noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she swallowed hurriedly swallowed and asked:


    ¡°Hm? What? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s gravy on my face?¡±


    Loren shook his head to indicate it was nothing. G thought for a while, then stabbed thest remaining sausage on her te with a fork and handed it to Loren:


    ¡°Do you want this? I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    ¡°Gluttony giving me food? Will there be a storm tomorrow?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t link the title ¡®Evil God of Gluttony¡¯ with food-sharing, not in the least. Having said God offered him a piece of food brought a wry smile to his face.


    ¡°This is not just a sausage, you know?¡±


    ¡°It looks like any sausage to me?¡±


    ¡°The fork that stabbed it has been used by me.¡±


    She meant an indirect kiss. G was smiling, but immediately stiffened by the icy cold aura Lapis was emitting.


    ¡°What are you doing? We¡¯re in the middle of a discussion.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my bad. I¡¯ve just had a lil¡¯ escape from reality.¡±


    Loren had enough with going to the demon country AND being introduced to Lapis¡¯ parents, but now they would have to get involved with the kingdom¡¯s intelligence agency¡­ He also wanted a ¡®lil¡¯ escape from reality¡¯.


    Lapis turned the corners of her mouth down and struck at her own chest:


    ¡°Just leave all the troublesome things to me. I won¡¯t do anything bad.¡±


    ¡°Can I trust you? I have no other choices though.¡±


    Loren could choose to go there without taking on an intelligence-rted job, but he did want to make the most of this situation. If taking a job could give him more backup, he would.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re worried, Loren, but leave it to me. I¡¯ll choose the safest job for you.¡±


    Lapis dered with confidence. Loren had no other choices but to leave everything to her. If something were to happen to him, there were still Lapis, a demon and G, an Evil God with him. There was also the highest-ranked undead sleeping inside him, Shayna (she lost her body in a previous job and was now sharing a body with him). It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to physically eliminate almost all obstacles with them.


    Having gotten Loren¡¯s consent, Lapis immediately went to check out the notice board at the Adventurer Guild, where job requests were posted. Meanwhile, Loren and G stayed in the dining hall and waited for her.


    ¡°How are Lapis-chan¡¯s parents like, I wonder?¡±


    In contrast to G¡¯s very apparent interest, Loren¡¯s tone when answeringcked any curiosity:


    ¡°Well, I have a feeling that they¡¯re not very easy going. After all, they¡¯re the ones who took Lapis¡¯ limbs and eyes while telling her to go experience the world, right? Don¡¯t seem to be decent at all.¡±


    ¡°Seeing that Lapis doesn¡¯t make a big fuss about it, maybe things are different for them over there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be even more horrified if that¡¯s the case. We¡¯re going to a ce full of such characters.¡±


    While answering, Loren noticed something in G¡¯s words. He wondered if he should ask about it while watching G drink milk directly from the pitcher.


    ¡°G, so you¡¯re not the same as the demons.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What now? I¡¯m an evil God.¡±


    ¡°Well, I know, but your eyes. But just now, you called the demons ¡®they¡¯, right? It seems like you¡¯re different from them.¡±


    Having purple eyes was the only, and the most distinctive characteristic that set demons apart from other races. As G had purple eyes, Loren used to wonder if she was one of them. But from her choice of words just now, he concluded that G and demons must be two different races.


    ¡°Ah, right. Well, if there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll tell you about it.¡±


    ¡°Is it some kind of pretentious story? Or maybe it¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to talk about?¡±


    Loren believed that poking into someone else¡¯s past wasn¡¯t a nice thing to do. If it was something that could be easily talked about, no doubt he would want to hear it. But if it wasn¡¯t, then he had no intention to force it out of her.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. Well, I¡¯ll tell you sooner orter.¡±


    G stopped eating and replied. Somehow, Loren sensed loneliness from her tone. He decided that it wasn¡¯t something to hear out of curiosity, so he shut his mouth and let the topic end.

 Chapter 172, Job Explanation

    <h4>Chapter 172, Job Exnation</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Lapis returned with a piece of paper in her hands. It looked like the copy of a request, and it seemed like she already epted a job beforeing back. Loren believed that since he had left it in Lapis¡¯ hands, she wouldn¡¯t choose something unreasonable.


    She approached them with light steps, pulled up a chair, sat down next to Loren, and ced the request on the table.


    ¡°A ssic scouting job. The time limit is one-month max. The base fee is fifty silver coins per person, more will be paid once information is obtained.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unexpectedly cheap?¡±


    Loren had to wonder if there were any adventurers who would be willing to set foot into the demons¡¯ territory for such an amount of money. If the payment was only this much, it was much better to take on other normal jobs. Loren had the feeling that no one would take this job by their own volition.


    But Lapis raised her index finger and wagged it from side to side:


    ¡°You¡¯re quite naive, Loren. The key point of this job is, aside from the base fee of fifty silver coins, we¡¯ll also be paid for any information we get.¡±


    In short, they were promised AT LEAST fifty silver coins per person, and would earn more based on their performance. Loren tilted his head, wondering if such a good term actually existed.


    Lapis quietly whispered to them:


    ¡°As long as we reach the demon¡¯s territory, even if we just hang around at the border and do nothing, we can still earn money.¡±


    What Lapis meant was, they could just make a report based on what they heard from the Adventurer Guild¡¯s staff. Even if they didn¡¯t actually meet any demons, they could still earn some additional payment.


    ¡°Also, the time limit is one-month max. They specified the maximum time, but not the minimum, right?¡±


    ¡°In short, we can go there ande back immediately.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Of course, we still have to get enough information to make a report, but if there¡¯s nothing unusual, the ce we¡¯ll go in through should be peaceful, and we¡¯ll only need to talk.¡±


    Lapis added that as Kapha was in the southwest of the continent and was rather far from the center, they couldn¡¯t earn more from such jobs. In the areas near the center, where demon territory and human territory were separated by just a mountain range, there were fixed short-term jobs that paid really well.


    ¡°How do we prove that we really did go to the demon country?¡±


    If they didn¡¯t have to prove it, they wouldn¡¯t even have to go there. They could just idle away, then submitted a report to the Guild after an appropriate amount of time had passed. The Guild wouldn¡¯t be able to verify the uracy of their report; if they could, there would be no need for a scouting job.


    ¡°We were given a magic-infused brooch. It¡¯ll check our location at regr intervals and transmit the information to another magic equipment. The Guild will know where we are thanks to this.¡±


    Lapis pointed to her own chest ¨C there was indeed a new brooch there, glowing blue.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep it. If we lose it, we¡¯ll have to pay a ridiculously high fine.¡±


    How often the brooch would record their location was unknown, but with such a magic equipment, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to prove that they had actually entered the demon country.


    ¡°Aside from that, it¡¯ll take skilled adventurers to cross that mountain range. That¡¯ll be another story on its own, right?¡±


    Lapis nodded to confirm G¡¯s remark.


    ¡°Is that mountain range dangerous?¡±


    Infiltrating demon territory was dangerous, but Loren wanted to know how dangerous was the mountain range that they would have to cross on their way.


    Lapis answered easily:


    ¡°It¡¯sparatively safe¡­ Inparison to the demon country, I mean.¡±


    She said this as, if there was any problem to arise, then it would be the mountains themselves.


    ¡°It¡¯s a range of high mountains. It¡¯s not that wide, but crossing it might be deadly.¡±


    The areas around the mountains¡¯ summits were covered with snow and ice all year round. Even with professional equipment, climbing such a mountain range was very likely to result in death. It was said amongst the demons that the mountain range was too high to cross even while riding on dragons.


    ¡°Well, how do we enter the demon country then?¡±


    It was such a disheartening thing to hear that Loren felt fed up even before the journey started. But Lapis seemed not to find it particrly difficult:


    ¡°If we can¡¯t go on top, we can just go under.¡±


    Of course, if they couldn¡¯t go over the mountains, they would have to pass below it. But Loren didn¡¯t think there was a road conveniently cut through the mountain range just like that.


    ¡°I said ¡®under¡¯, but it¡¯s actually inside the mountains. This mountain range has been known for its high-quality ores since long ago, and the dwarves have dug tunnels all the way throughout it.¡±


    The dwarves were a humanoid race whose height only reached a human¡¯s waist even in adulthood. They were hairy with muscr, solidly-built bodies, and excelled at handling materials like earth, stone, and metal. Some of them lived amongst humans, though not many, and their hand-crafted armors and essories were often traded with high prices due to their superior quality and beautiful designs.


    Dwarves normally collected materials to use by themselves, and if they heard of a mountain with high-quality ores, they would appear out of nowhere and proceeded to dig holes all over said mountain. Even though the notion didn¡¯t work in the human world, dwarves considered ores as blessings of the earth and not the property of any selected individuals. To them, the mountain range that separated the demon tribe from the rest of the world must be mountains of treasure. No country controlled this mountain range, of course, so the dwarves could freely mine it as much as they like.


    ¡°They¡¯ve gone pretty extreme there. After all, the dwarves are a diligent race. They¡¯ve only ever shown interest in alcohol aside from work, so the mining goes on regardless of day or night¡­¡±


    The harsh environment of those mountains wasn¡¯t something humans could endure, but with their hardy bodies and persevering nature, it wasn¡¯t that much of a problem. Even if there were cave-ins, they could still survive with their toughness, and that was how they gradually expanded their territories.


    ¡°A lot of tunnels are abandoned now, but there are still many dwarf ns residing there.¡±


    Some of the ns seemed to lead adventurers towards demon territory for a fee. But it wasn¡¯t a one-way trip.


    ¡°I also used their service when I came here.¡±


    ¡°Demons too?¡±


    ¡°If you pay properly, they¡¯ll even be kind enough to help you with the luggage.¡±


    Lapis said that when she left her parents¡¯ home, she had secretly brought along numerous items to use as a reserve fund. (Loren itched toment that it was stealing, but (with some effort) he resisted as he wanted to hear the story.) She had managed to make it half the way by dividing her luggage and made multiple round trips, but she finally got too tired of it. It would be meaningless if she couldn¡¯t carry what she had gone through much trouble to take out, and Lapis had considered giving up. But just then, she met a group of dwarves. After listening to her story, they agreed to apany her to human¡¯s territory beyond the mines as her luggage carriers in exchange for some of the items she had brought along.


    ¡°It was extremely helpful. I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry all of those by myself.¡±


    ¡°How many did you steal from your parents?¡±


    Even though she seemed to hide it, Lapis, as a demon, was quite strong physically. It must have been a ratherrge amount to make her want to give up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use such a horrid word as ¡®steal¡¯. I¡¯m not disowned, so it was just like getting some funds, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Without your parents¡¯ permission?¡±


    ¡°Those things belong to my family.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t satisfied with Lapis¡¯ reasoning, but he didn¡¯t delve deeper into this topic, as it might have been amon thing for demons.


    G changed the topic at just the right time.


    ¡°So we¡¯ll also use the dwarves¡¯ tunnels this time?¡±


    Lapis looked troubled:


    ¡°That¡¯s an option, yet the fee will be very high.¡±


    Going through the dwarves¡¯ tunnels was practically the only way to reach the demons¡¯ territory. The dwarves took advantage of that and to prevent many people from making such trips, they set their price as high as possible.


    ¡°I was charged quite a lot, and I was alone then. With the three of us, we¡¯ll have to be prepared to pay arge sum.¡±


    ¡°Will it exceed our reward?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately yes. That¡¯s why adventurers normally used the abandoned mines that are not controlled by the dwarves. They¡¯re dangerous though.¡±


    Once they had mined all the ores from a tunnel, the dwarves abandoned it. They didn¡¯t bury it but rather just left it as-is. There were quite a few of such tunnels in the mountains, and adventurers usually used them to go to the demon country. Of course, there was an increased risk of cave-ins due to deterioration over time, but very few had actually happened, probably due to the dwarves¡¯ great handiwork. But due to the dwarves¡¯ departure andck of continuous human presence, monsters tended to gather in these tunnels, and make them into their nests. And that was the source of danger.


    ¡°The dwarves originally resided there, so they should befortable enough.¡±


    ¡°So this is what makes the trip dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. So we have two options: pay some money to use the dwarven tunnels, or do not pay anything and use the abandoned tunnels.¡±


    Paying the dwarves would be quite harsh on Loren¡¯s pathetic wallet. Lapis probably had paid for a one-way trip, and it was already expensive enough, so paying for a round trip for three people¡­ A fifty-silver-coin-per-person job wasn¡¯t worth it.


    But Loren also wanted to avoid entering a ce that was known to be dangerous because they were conscious of money. Losing your life just because you wanted to save some money was way too stupid. It probably wouldn¡¯t happen since Lapis and G were with him, but Loren felt wrong to have to rely on them.


    Lapis watched Loren wrestled with his worries for a while, and as she realized that he couldn¡¯t make a decision, she said:


    ¡°Let¡¯s decide which option to take once we¡¯re near the ce. If it feels good, we¡¯ll take the abandoned tunnels route, if not ¨C we can just ask for the dwarves¡¯ service.¡±


    ¡°Can we even get in touch with them?¡±


    ¡°Just leave it to me.¡±


    Lapis offered with a smile, and Loren decided to shelve the matter. As Lapis had said that they would decide when they were at the ce, Loren decided that there was no need to worry about it now.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do as Lapis said and worry about going there first.¡±


    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll need to prepare a coach and necessary equipment.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the groceries.¡±


    G stood up humming, probably thinking about what to buy. Lapis gave her a warning:


    ¡°We can only bring the bare minimum, ok?¡±


    It was an instant kill of G¡¯s enthusiasm. Loren and Lapis left their seats and started preparing for the trip to the demon country while trying their best to ignore G¡¯s dejected expression.

 Chapter 173, From Departure to Sinking

    <h4>Chapter 173, From Departure to Sinking</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    They went to buy groceries and medical supplies the next day. They also rented a carriage as their destination was quite far this time.


    After loading the carriage with all their luggage, they left Kapha.


    This time, they would have to travel to the center of the continent from Wargenburg, which was in the southwest. It was already quite a considerable distance even without the return trip.


    But it seemed like it was only Loren who thought that way. When he grumbled about how it would be such a long journey, Lapis answered in a ¡®what do you mean¡¯ tone:


    ¡°No, not really¡±


    And G didn¡¯t seem to be thinking about anything in particr. She had left Kapha carrying a bag of all the food she could buy from the city¡¯s food stalls on her shoulder, and was now fully preupied with relocation of the food from the bag into her mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s not?¡±


    ¡°If we go straight for the mountain range, how long did you think it will take? It¡¯ll also depend on the road conditions, but it¡¯ll take seven or eight days.¡±


    Their job this time had a time limit of 30 days. If what Lapis said was correct, half of it would be for travelling. Once including the time to cross the mountains, it left them almost no time for any activities within the demons¡¯ territory.


    ¡°That¡¯ll be fine for people with a more rxed schedule. Those with a primary focus on effectively fulfilling the job would keep their luggage to the minimum and race there on horseback. If they change horses midway, they¡¯ll be able to arrive in about four days.¡±


    ¡°What about us?¡±


    They weren¡¯t exactly in a hurry, but if they deviated too much from the time limit, they would be considered as not finishing the job and wouldn¡¯t receive the payment. The remuneration wasn¡¯t their original aim, but since the expense for this trip was quite high, it wasmon sense to try earning back as much as possible.


    ¡°First, we head north. Then after three days of travelling, we¡¯ll make a stop at a certain ce. It¡¯s a short way to the mountain range from there.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t make sense of what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    Wargenburg was in the southwest of the continent. Everyone knew that they would need to go northeast to get to the center of the continent, but Lapis just told them to go straight north. Loren understood that she wanted to take another route, but he couldn¡¯t understand the part about ¡®a short way to the mountain range after a stop three days away¡¯.


    ¡°But if Lapis says so, then so be it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just leave it to me.¡±


    Lapis assured, full of confidence, and Loren just stopped wondering about it. There was surely something that even a former mercenary like him couldn¡¯t imagine at that ce, so he decided that worrying about it was futile.


    Their journey north was surprisingly smooth. To the point that Loren, who had expected some monsters or bandits at least, felt a bit anti-climax at theck of hostile encounters. He didn¡¯t voice it out loud, but he suspected that G¡¯s presence probably yed a big role. Even though all she did was lying around in the carriage all day long, G was still an Evil God, and if she didn¡¯t deliberately conceal her presence, weaker monsters wouldn¡¯t dare approach them. Stronger monsters might be confused by her aura, but stronger monsters were usually also smarter, and they wouldn¡¯t mistake a being obviously stronger than them for a prey. As for the bandits, they didn¡¯t appear probably because they could sense danger from their party. Or maybe they were just lucky.


    ¡°That reminds me, we¡¯ll probably cross the border if we continue north for three days. Is it alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple for adventurers to cross the border. We just need to show our identification tags at the checkpoint.¡±


    This was a proof of how big an organization the Adventurer Guild was. The Guild was influential over a substantial part of the continent, and the identification tags they issued held much more validity than those of any other organizations. Their party had to go through numerous checkpoints on their way north, but just as Lapis had said, they mostly get through with no troubles once they showed their adventurer identification tags.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this make smuggling too easy for adventurers?¡±


    ¡°You may not notice, but they all secretly perform <sense evil=""> on us.¡±


    </sense>


    Even though the checkpoints might vary in scale, they were all agencies of the country. Of course, they were manned by soldiers, but it seemed like there were priests like Lapis in the mix as well. Lapis said that they could judge a person to be ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®bad¡¯ by using undetectable spells. The judging standard was rather vague, but basically these spells could detect if a person was feeling guilty or was hiding something. Anyone judged as ¡®bad¡¯ would be captured and investigated in detail.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you get caught, Lapis?¡±


    The word ¡®demon¡¯ evoked an image of evil by itself, so Loren found it strange that the spell didn¡¯t catch Lapis.


    Lapis replied with a calm and dignified face:


    ¡°I am a priest of the God of Knowledge. There is not a single thing that I feel guilty about.¡±


    ¡°What about G?¡±


    ¡®Evil Gods¡¯ evoked a fare more evil image than that of ¡®demons¡¯. Lapis might not be caught, but Loren thought it was illogical that even G wasn¡¯t caught.


    But G also replied with a calm and dignified face:


    ¡°I also have nothing to feel guilty about, not a single one¡±


    ¡°This ¡®checkpoint judgement¡¯ is quite useless, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren unthinkingly blurted out, and both Lapis and G gave him an elbow to the stomach. Thanks to the jacket he received from an Elder Vampire in a previous job, he was alright but for a little choking.


    On the third day of their journey north, they left the main road under Lapis¡¯ guide. Following her instruction, they continued on for a while, until all that was waiting for them was a sandy desert.


    ¡°There is such a ce?¡±


    The deserts Loren knew had scorching sun and dry air. But this desert was not that warm even in the middle of the day, and even though the air was dry, it was a bit chilly. The sand spreading under their feet carried a bluish hue, making it look like the sea.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here?¡±


    Just as G said, there was nothing in this ce. There was only sand, and no other human figures besides their party. No one knew why Lapis brought them to such a ce.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s really nothing here. You don¡¯t know this ce, G?¡±


    G frowned and pondered for a while, then looked as if she had recalled something and pped her hands:


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this one of the test sites?¡±


    ¡°We demons don¡¯t know the details either, but it seems like this artificial desert is a byproduct of the ancient kingdom¡¯s magic research institute.¡±


    Her words made Loren take another look at the ce. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing magical about this sea of blue sand. But from the girls¡¯ conversion, this desert had been created by somerge-scale magical experiment conducted hundreds of years ago, and that fact terrified him a bit.


    Loren voiced his impression when seeing the scenery before his eyes:


    ¡°It was such a crazy kingdom.¡±


    Loren¡¯s tone was even and words didn¡¯t betray whether he thought it was a good or bad thing.


    ¡°The ancient kingdom was said to be able to manipte time and space during its heyday. Even though the demon race is overwhelmingly powerfulpared to humans nowadays, we were in quite a danger during that time.¡±


    ¡°Demons are also an outrageous race¡­¡±


    The bad impression was, if pushed to say, a bit more vivid this time. But even if Loren didn¡¯t highlight this, the feeling was still apparent in his eyes. Lapis raised her voice, sounding wounded somehow:


    ¡°You really consider us to be the same as those stupid magic fanatics?!¡±


    ¡°Now, now, Lapis-chan, calm down. How¡¯d we cross this desert?¡±


    Even though the temperature wasn¡¯t that high, the air was dry. The sand was fine, so the horse¡¯s hooves would easily get caught. They wouldn¡¯t be able to move easily.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to go forward a bit more, but we won¡¯t need to cross the desert.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean the stop you mentioned is somewhere in this desert?¡±


    Loren wondered what kind of business they had to do in the middle of this desert, which could only be described as a barren wastnd.


    Lapis fold her arms and replied with:


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°No, I mean there¡¯s no doubt our destination is in the desert, but where?¡±


    Just when Loren was wondering if rephrasing his question was enough, the horse pulling their carriage, let out a high-pitched neigh. Turning to look, how the horse was dealing with the sand, Loren noticed that the horse¡¯s hooves were being swallowed by the desert.


    ¡°Hey, this¡­¡±


    ¡°This ain¡¯t good, Loren! The horse is being swallowed by the sand!¡±


    The horse struggled wildly while sinking. If the horse sunk, the carriage, which was linked to it, would also be in danger. Not to mention that if they lost the horse here, there would be no recement to pull the carriage, and they would have no choice but to abandon their luggage.


    Loren grabbed the rein on the driver seat and tried to see if he could somehow pull the horse up. But before he could, Lapis gently ced her hand on his arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just let it sink.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying¡­?¡±


    ¡°Our stop is below this desert.¡±


    Loren worried that the heat might have gotten to her. But then the temperature wasn¡¯t that high, and the sun wasn¡¯t that hot. It was difficult to think that the heat at this ce was enough to make Lapis lose her mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. We¡¯ll need to get under this desert.¡±


    ¡°Through the sand? Won¡¯t we suffocate?¡±


    Living things couldn¡¯t breathe in sand. Assuming that the stop Lapis mentioned was really under this desert, then depending on the depth, there was the very real possibility of them suffocating and dying before reaching it.


    ¡°Loren, let me tell you one good thing.¡±


    ¡°I only have bad feelings about this, but speak anyway.¡±


    Following the horse, the carriage was slowly being swallowed by sand. Lapis ced both hands on Loren¡¯s shoulders, Lapis said with a deadly serious face:


    ¡°If you faint before suffocating, the chance of being saved will be higher.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have such a convenient skill!¡±


    Loren unthinkingly shouted back. He tried to jump out of the carriage, but Lapis clung to his waist. It looked like Loren would be able to immediately shake her off in this contest of strength, but that was not the case, and he was pulled back into the carriage.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just take a deep breath before your head goes under and bear with it for a while.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that there¡¯s a difference between our breathing time?¡±


    ¡°¡­Loren, do you want to faint now?¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid?! Let me go!¡±


    Loren struggled violently but couldn¡¯t escape from Lapis¡¯ arms. G watched Lapis pinned a squirming Loren down while tightening the mouth of the groceries bag so that sand couldn¡¯t get in, and regarded the carriage sinking into the desert little by little with a shrug.

 Chapter 174, From Sinking to Registration

    <h4>Chapter 174, From Sinking to Registration</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Being swallowed by sand definitely wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience.


    As he couldn¡¯t escape, Loren had no other choice but to resign himself to it and follow Lapis¡¯ advice. He took in a deep breath at a seemingly-right time and held his breath before his head got under the sand. He felt sand on his face almost as soon as he closed his eyes and knew that he had been engulfed by the desert.


    And then, he continued sinking down for a while.


    With eyes closed, Loren epted the descent. He started to feel suffocated, yet couldn¡¯t do anything except praying to get released soon. But he wasn¡¯t sinking very fast, and no matter how much time passed, the weight of sand on his body was still a constant. Loren began to wonder for real if this whole sinking business would require a demon¡¯s tolerance to pass. Loren knew that death by suffocation was extremely painful. He would probably faint before reaching his limit, but it should be very painful before that.


    Just as Loren was thinking about how much he wanted to avoid such pain, his sinking speed suddenly increased. With no time to even wonder what was happening, he was met with a floating sensation the next second. Then came a violent reverberation from beneath him, apanied by a neigh of the horse and the sound of the carriage¡¯s wheels hitting something hard.


    They hade out of the sand somehow. As Loren opened his eyes while shaking loose the sand stuck in his hair and body, he heard Lapis saying in a somewhat unhappy tone:


    ¡°G, what did you do?¡±


    G answered with a confused expression.


    ¡°Well, what should have I done?¡±


    Lapis red at her for a while, but then sighed and averted her eyes. She muttered with regret:


    ¡°And here I was thinking that Loren would just faint.¡±


    G quipped:


    ¡°Nah, Lapis-chan, it¡¯d be too painful, right?¡±


    From their exchange, Loren understood that G had sensed a human like him wouldn¡¯t be able to endure until they reached their destination, and had eaten some of the sand to speed up their sinking.


    ¡°What did you n to do to knock me out?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to make a maiden like me say it out loud?¡±


    ¡®Don¡¯t n to do anything that can¡¯t be said by a maiden from the beginning!¡¯, thought Loren. But it¡¯d be useless to tell Lapis that, so he just gave it up and turned to survey their surroundings instead.


    The ceiling wasn¡¯t very high, but he couldn¡¯t see the opening where they had fallen down from. Around them were smooth white walls, and even though he had absolutely no idea where the light source was, it was bright enough to ensure full visibility. The room they were in was ratherrge, but there wasn¡¯t a single piece of furniture in it. There was just a double door made from metal on one wall.


    ¡°Are we¡­ below the desert?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s probably something from the time of the ancient kingdom.¡±


    Lapis said while getting down from the carriage. Loren also got down. The floor seemed to have been made from the same material as the walls, white and solid with no visible seams.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the carriage here. We won¡¯t use it when crossing the mountain range anyway.¡±


    ¡°What about our luggage? We¡¯ll have to bring them.¡±


    ¡°I brought a cart, so wait a bit please.¡±


    Lapis said, and before Loren could say anything in return, she gently opened the only door in the room with not a hint of caution and went through it. Loren considered going in after her, but since she told them to wait, it probably wasn¡¯t dangerous. He exchanged a look with G, then both of them decided to stay still and wait for her.


    ¡°A facility from the time of the ancient kingdom, beneath a desert¡­¡±


    ¡°Probably belonged to the research institution mentioned before.¡±


    ¡°Why is such a ce under the sand?¡±


    ¡°I think it wasn¡¯t under the sand from the beginning, but was buried under it.¡±


    G leaned against the carriage and said.


    ¡°After all, no matter how magically developed the civilization that built it was, it still isn¡¯t a match for time, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be a different story if they weren¡¯t destroyed, right?¡±


    The ancient kingdom that Loren had heard about was a majestic country, where there was nothing that couldn¡¯t be aplished by magic. If an area was turned into a desert due to a research failure, they should have been able to continue their research on it, or to turn the desert to its original state.


    ¡°Well, I wonder if the ancient kingdom was as wonderful as you think?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. Don¡¯t you know, G?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ But the ancient kingdom I know was already in its final years.¡±


    G gazed at the ceiling with a distant look in her eyes as if she was thinking about the past.


    ¡°Even us don¡¯t know about its golden age. The ancient kingdom itself had existed through a long period of time, you know.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine it. Humans can only live for a couple of decades at best.¡±


    Humans might be able to live up to one hundred years thanks to certain methods, but hundreds of years was a number that didn¡¯t make sense to humans. Loren was wondering what it would feel like to live for such a long time when he suddenly realized something.


    ¡°G, your kind has existed since the ending years of the ancient kingdom, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so?¡±


    ¡°The ancient kingdom was destroyed hundreds of years ago, wasn¡¯t it? And you Evil Gods were also sealed hundreds of years ago, weren¡¯t you? In fact, you haven¡¯t lived for that long, have you?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if they could be considered as ¡®alive¡¯ during their sealed state or not. But they couldn¡¯t have known anything about the outside world during that period, and he wondered if it was like sleeping to them.


    ¡°Hm¡­ Well, I can¡¯t say that I¡¯ve been in the outside world for a long time. It was a few decades at the end of the ancient kingdom era at most, then one or two hundred years more until we were sealed?¡±


    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s more than long enough. G, you¡¯re really an old¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait! Who are you calling an old woman?! No matter how you look at me, that word just doesn¡¯t apply to me, right?!¡±


    G cut Loren off and protested about his honest word choice. She certainly did have the appearance of a young woman, and Loren had been about to say so until she interrupted him. Yet it seemed like she didn¡¯t bother correcting him.


    ¡°You¡¯re actually a couple of hundred years old, right?¡±


    ¡°My heart is forever eighteen!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you write twenty-one when you register at the Guild?¡±


    ¡°I did?!¡±


    G threw her head back, looking greatly troubled, while Loren looked at her with cold, exasperated eyes.


    Lapis opened the door just then, pushing a cart.


    ¡°Sorry for making you wait. Let¡¯s load our luggage onto this.¡±


    The cart was made of metal, and fairly big. It¡¯d be a bit cramped, but they could load what they had in the carriage on this. Loren immediately started moving the luggage from their carriage to Lapis¡¯ cart. G and Lapis also helped.


    ¡°But Lapis-chan, you¡¯re really good at discovering hard-toe-by stuff.¡±


    Lapis shook her head at G¡¯sment:


    ¡°I didn¡¯t discover it. This ce just happens to be a base. Well, I¡¯ll exin it sometimeter.¡±


    ¡°Base¡­ Is this your base, Lapis?¡±


    If this ce had existed since the time of the ancient kingdom as Lapis and G had said, it was actually a ruin, and it wasn¡¯t a good idea to deliberately utilize it as a personal property. But Lapis didn¡¯t seem to care at all, she just smiled and nodded:


    ¡°Yeah, I store the items and money I took out from home here.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it an illegal upation?¡±


    Loren said while stacking the numerous luggage they had unloaded from the carriage into neat piles and loading them on the cart. Lapis tilted her head and thought for a short while, then dered tly:


    ¡°No one will find out anyway.¡±


    ording to Lapis, the room they were in could only be reached by submerging under the sand, but the depth was too much for humans to be able to hold their breath for¡­ Thinking about how he had been dragged to such a ce gave Loren the chills, and he grimaced when recalling Lapis¡¯ lighthearted instruction that it would be alright if he fainted.


    ¡°Also, some functions of this ce are still active.¡±


    Because of that, the ce had recognized Lapis as an intruder when she first discovered it and activated the defense mechanism, giving her quite a trouble. She was able to subdue it somehow, then she found the control room and while researching for a way to make the guardians retreat (they were still trying to remove the intruder at that point), she eventually managed to take control of the whole facility.


    ¡°That happened a little bit before I was kicked out of home, when I just got my priest qualification.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ amazing.¡±


    If her story was real, then Lapis had discovered a ruin from the ancient kingdom era and neutralized its mechanism to be able to use it for her personal purposes, all by herself.


    ¡°I brought a lot of things from home, so I was desperate.¡±


    Moreover, Lapis said she was lucky that the ruin was in its dying stage.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I was able to put together a function to immediately eject anyone who gets lost and finds this ce by ident. It¡¯s alright for you this time because I¡¯m also here¡­ In order to be able to enter by yourselfter, you have to register as visitors.¡±


    Lapis let Loren push the cart and ce her hand on the wall next to the door. Numerous symbols that Loren didn¡¯t recognize suddenly appeared on the in wall.


    ¡°Guest registration will be done right away, so wait a bit.¡±


    Lapis glided her fingers over the symbols on the wall and tapped at them multiple times, then stared at them with a frown.


    ¡°G was sessfully registered, but¡­ Loren wasn¡¯t. That¡¯s strange? Let me see¡­ ah no, it¡¯s alright, you¡¯re registered now.¡±


    G teased her:


    ¡°Is this alright? It¡¯s old, so anyone who enters might be able to manipte it, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s old, but it¡¯s under my control now.¡±


    Lapis answered in a slightly offended tone, then took her hand off the wall and pushed the door open.


    ¡°Go in, please.¡±


    In front of the wide open door, Loren and G exchanged a nce, wondering what to do next. But they actually had no other choice but going forward, so they went through the door under the watchful eyes of a brightly-smiling Lapis.

 Chapter 175, From Falsification to Action

    <h4>Chapter 175, From Falsification to Action</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Behind the door was a long passage.


    It was more than wide enough for the cart, with doors lining up on both walls at regr intervals and another one at the end.


    ¡°<<<ice coffin="">>>¡±.


    </ice>


    After both Loren and G had gone through the door, Lapis suddenly used magic. When Loren turned around to see what the hell she used it for, he saw the carriage they had left behind being enclosed in ice.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if we just leave the horse like that, with its feeds and droppings and all. If we put it in a suspended state like this, we can just use <<<dispel>>> on it when wee back.¡±


    </dispel>


    Lapis said with a proud face. Loren felt like he could see the horse¡¯s eyes from within the ice lump behind her, and for some reason, he apologized to it in his mind. He just couldn¡¯t help it; the horse was too pitiful. It had pulled a carriage full of luggage, made toe to a desert only to get swallowed by sand and in the end, was buried in ice. But since they couldn¡¯t leave someone behind to take care of it, this was probably better than starving to death.


    ¡°Rather than worrying about that, we should finish what we¡¯vee here for.¡±


    ¡°Coming here will help us shorten the time it will take to get to the mountain range at the center of the continent, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it will. Before that, we have to deal with this though.¡±


    Lapis said and poked at the brooch on her chest.


    It was a magical equipment they received from the Guild, one that could keep track of the bearer¡¯s journey. It was supposed to record their progress to the demons¡¯ territory and if left as-is, it would also record their current location.


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice but to perform some trick on it.¡±


    Lapis said smoothly and easily, and G looked at her as if she was seeing something unbelievable. Loren, who understood neither Lapis¡¯ words nor G¡¯s gaze, looked back and forth between the two of them.


    ¡°Trick¡­ Lapis-chan, you can tamper with magical items?¡±


    ¡°I can. I even have tools to use for that purpose here.¡±


    Loren had absolutely no idea how amazing that was, but from the look on G¡¯s face, he knew it wasn¡¯t something to speak about lightly. Yet Lapis opened one of the doors on the wall and stepped inside as if it was something she was very familiar with.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be done in a minute.¡±


    Lapis¡¯s voice came out from within the room, and Loren and G couldn¡¯t help but peek inside. They could see her doing something at the desk in the dimly-lit room, surrounded by various machinery, which casted an eerie light on the whole room.


    ¡°I think the item that is paired with the brooch can be used to erase the location details it records.¡±


    G said to Loren as if she wanted to give him an exnation.


    ¡°But she¡¯s falsifying data without using official equipment. It¡¯s really unthinkable, you know? Even us Evil Gods can¡¯t do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    G raised a question while watching Lapis¡¯ working:


    ¡°Yeah. Why¡¯d Lapis-chan decide to get a priest qualification? Isn¡¯t it better to just be a magician?¡±


    If Lapis became a magician instead of a priest, she would be an exceptionally brilliant one, and would be a greatly sought-after adventurer. On the other hand, it was strange for a priest to use magic. It really was iprehensible why she would choose priesthood as an upation.


    ¡°Maybe she has some reason to not be a magician?¡±


    It seemed like Lapis was still keeping an ear on their conversation when working, so she answered G¡¯s question without looking back:


    ¡°A very simple reason.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell us, just for reference?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Lapis looked over her shoulders at the two standing outside the door and lightly pinched at the cor of her priest¡¯s dress:


    ¡°Because the clothes are cute. Being a magician means I have to wear a robe, right? Those lengthy draggy things are not cute at all.¡±


    G looked dumbfounded at her answer. Loren looked carefully at her: here was one self-proimed ¡°magician¡± in a strangely revealing outfit of tube top and hot pants. It was true that magicians usually wore robes, and Loren had never seen anyone dressed like G.


    ¡°G also should wear robes, shouldn¡¯t she¡­?¡±


    ¡°No way! I refuse!¡±


    ¡°The clothes of God of Knowledge¡¯s priests have especially nice design. And this is a secret, but¡­ Demons aren¡¯t exactly religious, but the God of Knowledge is an exception. There are quite a lot of God of Knowledge¡¯s priests among us.¡±


    Loren had heard about this from Lapis before that demons didn¡¯t believe in Gods, and he had believed it. Thus, this was a rather shocking revtion to him.


    ¡°Basically, there have been quite a lot of demons within the God of Knowledge¡¯s priests since long before¡­ And the predecessors have interfered with the design for their sessors¡¯ sake.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that privatization part of a religion?¡±


    If they could alter the design of priest clothing to suit their own taste, he had no idea how much influence the demons had over the organization of the God of Knowledge¡¯s priests. They might even exploit the priest qualification system for their own benefits ¨C Loren shuddered thinking about that possibility.


    ¡°This much is good enough. There¡¯s nothing one can¡¯t do, but overdoing things never amount to anything good.¡±


    Lapis seemed to have finished whatever she was doing with the brooch. She picked it up with her fingers, lifted it to slightly-above her line of sight and looked at it as if admiring her own work. Loren, having no knowledge in the field, couldn¡¯t understand what she was looking at, but Lapis seemed to be satisfied with what she saw. She reattached the brooch onto her chest with a smile:


    ¡°Our location information has been altered with no problem. It still needs some more fine-tuning, but we¡¯ll stop by hereter anyway.¡±


    If they didn¡¯t stop by here again, the horse and carriage, which currently were frozen in ice, would stay frozen forever. Loren was thinking that they definitely needed toe here again after the job was finished, if only for the sake of the horse.


    Lapis left the room, and under her lead, they advanced forward.


    ¡°Are other rooms here also workrooms?¡±


    ¡°No no, this is my base, so not every room is a workroom. There¡¯s a warehouse, a kitchen, and even a living quarter. What, do you want to stay here for a night?¡±


    Loren shook his head decisively at Lapis¡¯ invitation. It wasn¡¯t that he felt staying a night at her base would be dangerous. Rather it was that he still couldn¡¯t believe they could really immediately reach the mountain range directly from this ce. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to waste time.


    ¡°You worry too much, Loren. I told you, it¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    ¡°You did, but¡­ The mountains are at least two or three days away, aren¡¯t they? Not to mention that there¡¯s a desert right above my head. Only idiots will believe everything is alright just by being told so, right?¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re a skeptic¡­¡±


    Lapis looked at him fondly and dered. She decided that it would be faster to just show him how to do it, so she quickened her steps a bit and walked up to the end of the passage. There was a door simr to those on the walls there. She opened it, then stepped aside as if to make way for Loren and G. Wanting to check what was behind the door, Loren gave the cart to G and stepped in.


    There was a t white scaffold inside. It was fairlyrge, and anchored on it was some ship-like structure made from metal. The structure was as wide as the carriages they usually rode and twice as long, so it seemed like they could all fit in. Below it there were two wires made from the same metal that extended to a cylinder-shaped pathway. He could see white light shining down from the ceiling at regr intervals in there, but he couldn¡¯t see where it led to.


    After carefully surveying the whole space, Loren went back out, where Lapis and G were waiting for him. He asked Lapis, who probably knew what was in there:


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°We can go directly to the mountains from here. We¡¯ll board that ship-like thing, make it run, and we¡¯ll reach the mountain range in about two and a half hours.¡±


    Loren looked at that ship-like thing again. He had never seen anything that could travel at such speed before, but if Lapis had said so, then it must be able to.


    ¡°There are seats and a cockpit inside it. It¡¯s linked to another base right in front of the mountain range only, so it can¡¯t be used to go anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°Does it also belong to this ruin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it does. Well, I¡¯m not sure who made it or why, but I know it¡¯ll be useful for us, and that¡¯s enough.¡±


    If they were archeologists or something, they would have to study who had built this facility, when, and why, but they were adventurers. Setting aside stuff like troublesome contexts and reasons, as long as something was useful to them, everything else was just a side story.


    ¡°So should we load our luggage to that ship thing?¡±


    ¡°We should be able to load the cart on it. Try pushing it in through the back entrance, I think it¡¯ll work.¡±


    ¡°Can we depart immediately after the luggage is loaded?¡±


    ¡°Since Loren seems to worry a lot about the time, let¡¯s do that. Our destination is a simr ce, so let¡¯s take our rest there.¡±


    Loren nodded. He still found it unbelievable to immediately reach the mountains from here, he had no reason to refuse an immediate departure. G looked like she wanted to rest a bit, but since Loren and Lapis had made up their mind on the matter, she didn¡¯t seem inclined to argue with them and just obediently followed their decision.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s move quickly, shall we?¡±


    Lapis opened a part of the ship-like thing, inviting them to embark, and Loren walked in with a steady gait but somewhat-nervous heart.

 Chapter 176, From Departure to Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 176, From Departure to Arrival</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The luggage cart, together with their party, embarked on the ship surprisingly smoothly. There wasn¡¯t even a sound. Lapis then steered them into a cylindrical passage.


    The vehicle they were in was also lit by the same light sourcesing from the ceiling, but had had no windows, making it impossible to tell what was going on outside. They knew they were moving, but had no idea at what speed. The interior design was dreary. Aside from having no windows, there were only some chairs for passengers to sit on and some space with shelves for their luggage. It was apparent that the thing was built solely to be functional.


    There was a waist-high tform in one corner, which seemed to be where the controls of this vehicle were ced. Lapis was the at the tform, her fingers sliding over the controls. She told them:


    ¡°The weak point of this transportation method is that we¡¯re moving in a tube. There¡¯s no taste at all.¡±


    Loren had given up on understanding all these earlier on. Even if he took a peek, he wouldn¡¯t understand what she was doing, or how.


    ¡°It¡¯s as fast as a fast horse though.¡±


    A fast horse wouldn¡¯t be able to make the journey in two and a half hours like Lapis had said. Even if they could change horses freely, they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry their luggage. A vehicle that was able to run continuously without break at the speed of a fast horse was surely convenient.


    ¡°The weakness of this vehicle is that it can¡¯t run without its own passage, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re correct. It can¡¯t run without a rail.¡±


    Lapis said that this was probably a track built during the ancient kingdom era to link this facility with the dwarves¡¯ tunnels in the mountain range, and was probably used to transport ores and such. She didn¡¯t know where the main part of the research facility was, but it seemed like thepound and attached rooms she had discovered and used as her own base was just a part of it.


    ¡°Eh? So you store your personal stuff somewhere in those rooms, Lapis-chan?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what of it?¡±


    Lapis asked without stopping her work. G clicked her tongue while snapping her fingers and said:


    ¡°I knew it. I should have pinched something there.¡±


    Lapis had brought a fortune out of her home. G was sure that it must also include arge sum of cash, and she was regretting not getting her hands on it. She would be able to eat freely for a while otherwise.


    Hearing G¡¯s remark, Lapis stopped her work at the control and turned towards G. G immediately hid behind Loren as if she was using him as a shield.


    With G clinging to his back and Lapis slowly approaching him from the front, Loren wondered what to do. He suddenly seized G, then lifted her up and calmly set her down in front of Lapis. Lapis leapt at G, and G hurriedly offered an excuse while resisting her.


    ¡°G!¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t! I haven¡¯t done anything yet!¡±


    As this suddenly-arose ruckus had nothing to do with him, Loren sat down on a chair, folded his arms, and closed his eyes. If they really would arrive at the time Lapis had said, that meant they had two and half hours of doing nothing. He should try to preserve as much strength as possible and take a brief nap if he could. It¡¯d be better if something happenedter that way. Lapis and G should have done the same instead of exerting themselves in meaningless scuffle, but demons and evil gods had iparable stamina anyway. Actually, it might be better for them to get a bit tired, since it made them more tamed.


    ¡°Wake me when we¡¯re there. And don¡¯t mess around too much.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not messing around! Loren! Stop Lapis¡­¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll wake you upter, so just sleep!¡±


    From the other side of his closed eyelids, Loren could hear dangerous sounds like something breaking / detaching and something being kicked or punched. Then a scream, probably of G, came, and Loren believed that he shouldn¡¯t stay conscious for any longer. He tried to calm his mind and sleep while feeling cold sweat running down his body.


    Sleepiness finally came, the sounds became distant, and Loren entered a light nap that made his body feel pleasantly warm. He was enjoying this feeling of being asleep and awake at the same time when a tentative pat of Lapis¡¯ hand roused his consciousness.


    ¡°Sorry, Loren, but we¡¯re at our destination.¡±


    She sounded apologetic for having to wake him when he was having a good time. Loren waved his hand to tell her that he didn¡¯t mind and stood up. Sleeping on a chair made for not very nice sleeping posture, and he massaged his arms and legs to loosen his stiff muscles. That was when he discovered G¡¯s unconscious body on the floor. He was quite interested in what the hell had happened during his nap, but there was more important matter to tend to right now. So he asked Lapis:


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re right in front of the mountain range. Fast, right?¡±


    Even if Lapis said so, Loren still couldn¡¯t see what it looked like outside as they were in a windowless vehicle. He only knew that the vehicle had stopped.


    ¡°Is it alright to go out now?¡±


    ¡°It is. Do you want to see outside first?¡±


    Before unloading their luggage, Loren wanted to first solve the question, whether they had actually arrived at the mountain range or not. He epted Lapis¡¯ proposal. Leaving the luggage and unconscious G inside, Loren followed Lapis and got off. He stepped through the door, and saw a passage simr to the one at Lapis¡¯ base stretching out before him. There was another door at the end of the passage.


    ¡°Theyout is the same as the desert base.¡±


    Lapis opened the door. On the other side was arge, empty room. There should have been a frozen horse and carriage if this was the other base, but there was nothing here as if to prove that this was a different ce.


    ¡°We can go out through this room.¡±


    There was another door on the opposite wall. Loren stopped, but Lapis ran to the door and stroked it before slowly pushing it open a crack. The chilly night air immediately flowed into the room together with the scent of greenery, which couldn¡¯t be found in a desert at all. Just that scent made it apparent that they weren¡¯t in a desert anymore, and Loren peeked through the crack with a somewhat surprised face.


    The first thing that came to his sight was the sparse but overgrown trees. He could see them clearly in the night thanks to the bright moonlight streaming down from the sky. In the distance were the mountains, standing out as if being highlighted by the moonlight. Even from afar, the mountains boasted such a height that made people have to look up to take them in. They gave an impression that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for anything toe out from behind them.


    ¡°So that¡¯s the mountain range at the center of the continent that separates demons from the other races.¡±


    ¡°Not really, if we really wanted to cross them, we would have done it in no time.¡±


    It was rather blunt, but it wasn¡¯t a lie or an exaggeration. Loren, who had some knowledge of demons, knew that. The demons didn¡¯t want to get involved with the outside world because they found it to be troublesome. Once their interest did turn to the rest of the world, crossing this mountain range would be child y as Lapis had said, and they would descend upon humankind like an avnche.


    ¡°And so, we¡¯ve really arrived here, and in just four days


    It had taken them three days to get to Lapis¡¯ base from Kapha, and less than one day to get to the mountain range from that base. They had finished the trip in only four days, half of the time it was originally meant to take. If they went back using the same method, they should be able to save quite a lot of time. But other adventurers weren¡¯t able to do the same.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be quite profitable if you transport other adventurers here for a fee, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get many customers.¡±


    There weren¡¯t that many adventurers who wanted to get into the demons¡¯ territory or use the dwarves¡¯ mines and tunnels. Without a good number of customers, it would be very difficult to make profits from a service, no matter how convenient it might be.


    ¡°The silver-ranked will still use the service even if the price is a bit high, won¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°But silver rank adventurers are not thatmon either, right?¡±


    Loren turned around to look behind him. There was a small hill, and the door they had just exited through was set into its slope.


    ¡°This one is above ground.¡±


    ¡°The one in the desert was originally above ground too, it was just buried under the sand. Its location should have been more or less like this one.¡±


    Loren actually had the same thought. It was difficult to think that such an organization would build its facility underground, where both construction andmute was troublesome.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay here for today. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll go looking for the dwarves, find out the tunnels¡¯ condition, then decide whether we will use the dwarves¡¯ tunnels or the abandoned ones.¡±


    ¡°Is there any other option besides the dwarves?¡±


    If they had to go find the dwarves, they would use up the precious time they had saved, and Loren would prefer using the abandoned tunnels in that case. But then, the question would be which tunnel ran across the mountain range. If they were unlucky enough to pick one with a dead end, they would need to spend time searching for another route and end up missing their deadline.


    ¡°Just leave it to me. I have some friends among the dwarves.¡±


    ¡°So you do ¡­¡±


    It went without saying that demons were despised by all other races, and were not the type to make friends, even by mistake. Of course, as an exception himself, Loren didn¡¯t have much right to say anything about Lapis¡¯ im, but it was unbelievable to hear that demons and dwarves could be friends.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty easy to make friends with rare ores and cash.¡±


    ¡°That simple?!¡±


    That might be how it was with the dwarves, but Loren didn¡¯t think demons could be handled the same way as dwarves.


    ¡°Rather thanplicating matters by reasoning and negotiating and ending up not even knowing what you¡¯re saying yourself, isn¡¯t that much better?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Well, you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re reliable and trustworthy partners, as long as you pay what needs to be paid. They¡¯re extremely easy to understand.¡±


    Loren was unable to say anything back, and if he couldn¡¯t object, there was no choice but to leave this in Lapis¡¯ hands.


    ¡°Please take care of this matter.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ve walked these paths multiple times.¡±


    Lapis puffed up with pride and nodded to Loren, full of self-confidence.

 Chapter 177, From Arrival To Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 177, From Arrival To Negotiation</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Svin


    Loren and Lapis went back inside, woke up the still-unconscious G, unloaded their luggage, then spent the night at the base. Unfortunately, Lapis didn¡¯t really live at this base and didn¡¯t keep any beddings and such here, so they had to use the sofa and chairs to make some simple beds. It was still much more pleasant than camping outside. The best thing was, they didn¡¯t need to keep guards; they just closed the door, and everyone could sleep soundly until morning. Loren was worried that Lapis and G would do weird things during the night, but it seemed like mental fatigue also came after their bout of off-routine physical exercise; both of them slept without doing anything.


    The next morning, they had a simple breakfast, then divided their luggage into three and put them into the backpacks Lapis kept at the base. They each carried a backpack and left the base.


    The n was to walk to the foot of the outer mountains, then Lapis would talk to her dwarf friends there.


    ¡°Please leave the negotiation to me. If you twoe forward, they¡¯ll be cautious.¡±


    Lapis warned them beforehand, but neither Loren nor G felt like interrupting a talk between dwarves. She had brought some ores from the base to use in the negotiation, and was carrying them in a bag hanging from her waist.


    Under Lapis¡¯ guidance, they reached the dwarves¡¯ base after two hours of walking. It was a group of cave-like dwellings situated near a section of hole-ridden mountain. It could be called a dwarf vige, butpared to human viges with fields and water wells, it wasn¡¯t very impressive. Rather dreary, to be honest.


    A quick look over the vige showed no signs of inhabitant, but as if to prove that there were indeed people ¨C no, dwarves ¨C living here, the sound of metal striking earth could be heard from the caves. They stepped into the vige, but there was no sign of anyoneing out. While Loren was wondering if the dwarves were being too careless, Lapis called out someone¡¯s name:


    ¡°Is Grandpa Dig here?¡±


    The sounds of hammers and pickaxes they had been hearing immediately stopped at the same time and short, stout bearded men came out of the caves. They were holding huge hammers in both hands, and all looked rather unhappy.


    ¡°Who?! Who interrupted our work?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me. Is Grandpa Dig here?¡±


    The dwarves turned to Loren¡¯s party with such harsh gazes that it wouldn¡¯t be incorrect to say they were seething with anger, but Lapis stepped between the other two and their line of sight. Dwarves were known for their sturdy bodies and physical strength, and thus were quite capable warriors. But against such powerful opponents like Loren with his white sword and the Evil God G, they were, without a doubt, not a match. If either Loren or G took offense at the dwarves¡¯ re, it would turn into a brawl, so Lapis had to hurriedly step in. Also, dwarves were known to be short-tempered; even if Loren and G didn¡¯t take offense, the dwarves might just attack first depending on the answer they received.


    ¡°And who are you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Lapis, Lapis. Lapis the priest. Did you forget me?¡±


    Lapis answered with an amiable smile. The dwarves surrounded and scrutinized her, then one of them dropped the hammers he was holding and pointed at her face:


    ¡°I remember you. The miss with the hangover medicine!¡±


    ¡°Ooh, that very good medicine!¡±


    Once one had remembered, the others also did, one by one. They began drawing nearer with bright smiles.


    Lapis responded with a smile that was almost bitter. Things wouldn¡¯t be able to progress like this though, so she asked the dwarves in a louder voice:


    ¡°I¡¯vee to meet Grandpa Dig. Is he not here?¡±


    ¡°Is that the little miss demon? Long time no see.¡±


    In response to Lapis¡¯ question, a dwarf with an impressive white beard came forward as if breaking up the crowd of dwarves.


    When that dwarf called Lapis a demon, Loren was worried about the other dwarves¡¯ reaction, but their attitude didn¡¯t change at all. They didn¡¯t seem to despise Lapis.


    ¡°Long time no see, Grandpa Dig. I¡¯vee for a guide request.¡±


    ¡°Guide? To the demons¡¯ ce? You¡¯ve finallye home?¡±


    The dwarf called Grandpa Dig turned his eyes towards Loren and G.


    ¡°Human and¡­ What¡¯s that sexy one? Doesn¡¯t seem to be human.¡±


    ¡°That sexy one is some being I don¡¯t fully understand.¡±


    Dwarves¡¯ bodies were wholly covered themselves in leather and thick clothes, and their faces were covered with beards. They didn¡¯t really expose skin. Therefore, to them, someone with bare shoulders, stomach, and exposed thighs and legs like G could only be described as ¡®sexy¡¯.


    As the other dwarves also started saying ¡®Sexy, sexy¡¯, G clung to Loren¡¯s arms and looked closed to tears:


    ¡°What, they give me such an awful assessment¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know why though.¡±


    Loren did n to shut them up if it was something unwarranted, but Loren did understand why the dwarves gave G this assessment; it was difficult to tell them to stop.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you just wear a robe?¡±


    ¡°Dun like it. It¡¯s not cool.¡±


    G tly refused, and Loren patted her shoulders to suggest her just resign to it then. He listened closely to Lapis and Grandpa Dig¡¯s conversation:


    ¡°How much does it cost for you to guide three people to the demons¡¯ territory?¡±


    Lapis said while bringing out the small cloth bag at her waist and lightly shook it as if to hint at what was inside.


    Hearing the sound of the bag, the dwarves¡¯ expressions immediately turned happy, but gloomy right after. They all looked away from Lapis and cast their eyes down. Grandpa Dig was the only one who was still looking at her, and he said in an incredibly regretful tone:


    ¡°About that, well, there¡¯s been a problemtely. Guiding activities in the tunnels have been stopped.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    There were pretty valuable ores inside Lapis¡¯ bag. To Lapis, they were nothing more than some specimens left over at the ruin she used as her base; but to the dwarves, those ores were precious things that they desperately wanted. And yet, they didn¡¯t ept this deal. That was enough to tell Lapis that it wasn¡¯t some trivial matter.


    ¡°It seems like something hase out of the tunnel leading to the demons¡¯ territory. Those who guided people through those tunnels and the young ones who dug there, they haven¡¯te back.¡±


    ¡°What hase out?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that unusual for monsters to gather in tunnels and abandoned mines. identally digging up and breaking monsters¡¯ seals while expanding mines were alsomon unfortunate incidents that happened all over the world.


    ¡°No idea. Cause no one came back.¡±


    If no one came back, they would have no way to know what happened. They probably had also dispatched search parties, but if even those search parties didn¡¯te back, then they had no other choice but to cease activities there.


    ¡°Because of that, the Great Tunnel is now closed.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the Great Tunnel?¡±


    Loren abruptly asked Lapis in a low voice, and she answered in a simrly-low voice while giving him a quick nce:


    ¡°It¡¯s thergest tunnel the dwarves have. It¡¯s very wide, easy to pass, and runs all the way to the demons¡¯ territory. It has a great number of branches, and once you get lost in there, you probably won¡¯t be able toe out even until you die.¡±


    ¡°Is there no other route?¡±


    Wondering if it was alright for him to cut in, Loren asked Dig. Dig looked at him with suspicious eyes, then turned to ask Lapis without answering Loren¡¯s question:


    ¡°What¡¯s this guy to you?¡±


    ¡°Our party leader, and a very important person of mine?¡±


    Lapis dered with no hesitation, and Loren could feel his cheeks heat up just a little. But Dig just snorted and looked at the two of them as if they were some boring thing. He answered Loren while ncing at him with sharp eyes:


    ¡°Little miss, you have bad taste in men. Men without beards are worthless.¡±


    ¡°Are beards that important?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Having a beard means you¡¯re a man. Having no beard means¡­¡±


    Dig shouted at a stunned Loren, but stopped midway. Wondering what happened, Loren looked at him to see Lapis¡¯ slender fingers wrapping around his neck, her fingertips making light imprints on his flesh.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my taste in men, you say?¡±


    She was smiling, but Loren could feel the air bing chilly. He reflexively stepped away from Dig while the dwarf stretched out his arms towards him as if to ask for help. As if sensing something bad had happened, the other dwarves scattered away in all directions and disappeared as if escaping. G was still at the scene as she seemed unable to decide whether to run away or stay.


    ¡°Grandpa Dig, what did you say about my taste in men? Sorry, but could you please say it again, and louder?¡±


    ¡°W-wait, little miss! Let me exin! I just blurted it out without thinking! Calm down! I really don¡¯t think that at all!¡±


    Lapis¡¯ fingertips slowly sank deeper into the old dwarf¡¯s neck. Loren could only watch the frantically-apologizing dwarf¡¯s face turning from red to blue as he was being pulled away by G.

 Chapter 178, From Discussion to Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 178, From Discussion to Reunion</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Svin


    ¡°It was just a joke. I wasn¡¯t asking for death.¡±


    Dig rubbed his reddened neck and said. Lapis red at him, still looking unhappy, and he ducked his head and turned away to avoid her eyes. They had moved to a small work shed nearby to talk. The simple shed, despite being dirty with all the dust and mud, was sturdy like dwarves¡¯ handiwork always were. The chairs and table didn¡¯t even creak.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a good thing to joke about. At least for me¡­¡±


    Lapis grumbled. Knowing it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere to keep talking about that topic, she asked Dig, who was sitting opposite her:


    ¡°We have to cross the mountain range, no matter what. Is there any map of the Great Tunnel?¡±


    Fueled by the displeasure from the dwarf¡¯s joke earlier, Lapis had be a bit more threatening. As if feeling pressured, Dig nodded continuously while leaning back slightly:


    ¡°Of course, there is¡­ Do you want to see it?¡±


    Loren could sense a rather bad characteristic of dwarves from Dig¡¯s response. Seemed like a lot of dwarves had the artisan temperament and did things based on intuition and mood.


    Meanwhile, Lapis took one look at the map and immediately gave up on trying to understand it.


    ¡°What a mess.¡±


    G dered. The map was packed so full with writings and drawings that they couldn¡¯t understand what was what or which route to take at all. Dig looked at it closely just to put it down on the table and out of his sight after a while. One by one, the other dwarves picked up the map and discussed something amongst themselves in a whisper, but all gave up and put the map back on the table in the end.


    ¡°Could it be that you guys also can¡¯t read it?¡±


    Loren pointed at the map and asked. Dig rxed into his chair and answered cockily:


    ¡°Our memory is more urate.¡±


    Loren face-palmed, this was just hopeless. He realized that this was the reason why the dwarves¡¯ guiding business could hold up. If the routes were properly managed, people could pass them with a map even without the dwarves¡¯ guidance. But these tunnels were dug with no nning and no control, and only the dwarves could navigate them.


    ¡°Well, please guide us then.¡±


    Lapis leaned towards Dig and said. He replied in a fluster while avoiding her eyes:


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to die. I know your strength very well, little miss, but I don¡¯t think you alone can make it.¡±


    From Lapis¡¯ point of view, Loren and G were just as strong as her, and there should be no worry with the three of them going together. But to Dig, someone who knew of her true identity, it was unbelievable that the other two could be her equals.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if there were more people at least.¡±


    ¡°More people, you say, but¡­¡±


    Even Lapis couldn¡¯t just find more people to go with them out of nowhere. Not to mention that it couldn¡¯t just be anyone ¨C it must be capable characters whom Dig approved. The difficulty was on another level.


    ¡°I¡¯m at a loss here.¡±


    ¡°Is there no other route?¡±


    Loren asked, feeling this was the right time to turn around and take another route if possible.


    Lapis tilted her head in consideration:


    ¡°I think there is, but I¡¯ve never tried it.¡±


    There were other dwarves¡¯ settlements aside from the one they were currently at, so naturally there should be other tunnels that ran across the mountain range. However, as Lapis wasn¡¯t acquainted with other dwarves, the negotiation would be a gamble.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to manage, some way or another.¡±


    ¡°If we can¡¯t cross this mountain range, we can¡¯t do anything, right? Even if we can gather enough people, won¡¯t the way back be a problem?¡±


    Even if the dwarves agreed to guide them to the demons¡¯ territory, they wouldn¡¯t be able toe back without their escort. But they couldn¡¯t make the dwarves wait for them, or rather until whatever blocking the Great Tunnel was eliminated, their return trip couldn¡¯t be guaranteed.


    ¡°If it¡¯s too troublesome, let¡¯s just dig our own way through? I can work real hard.¡±


    ¡°But how many days will it take?¡±


    If they could dig their way straight across the mountains, there would be no need for a guide. But the distance to dig wasn¡¯t a short one, and even G couldn¡¯t dig through it in a short time.


    ¡°Should we try it?¡±


    Evil Gods were quite sturdy, and Lapis wondered if their beyond-imagination strength would make the impossible possible. Sensing the change in the atmosphere, G hurriedly moved away. A knock came right then.


    ¡°Are there any soil workers here?¡±


    Without waiting for an answer, the door was opened, and a woman dressed like a hunter peeked in. She had straight blond hair with ears pointed like daggers, and she had a bow in her hand and a quiver on her back. She didn¡¯t seem to think that opening a door without permission was something bad. She then surveyed the shed and, after noticing Loren¡¯s party, said in a t, slightly surprised voice:


    ¡°Loren? Have you been a good boy?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Eh¡­ Is that Nim?¡±


    The woman was an elf, and Loren remembered her. She was from a party of silver rank adventurers Loren had meet during his first job as an adventurer.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°We are silver rank adventurers, we have to contribute something to our country and the Guild. We¡¯re to scout the demons¡¯ territory, a job to earn money as well as credits.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Nim, are the dwarves here? If yes, you should tell us so¡­¡±


    Loren knew the voiceing from behind Nim. Three people appeared behind her: a thief-like, unshaven man with brown hair, a swordsman carrying a round shield and a longsword, and an old man d in a robe and carrying a staff. All were silver rank adventurers.


    The thief-like man lightly pushed Nim aside to enter the shed. Seeing Loren¡¯s group, his face broke into a smiled:


    ¡°Someone came before us? Oh hey, isn¡¯t that a familiar face?¡±


    ¡°Long time no see. Nice to see you doing well.¡±


    ¡°You have one more member? Another girl? Do you aim for a harem?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have such a n¡­ It just became like this somehow.¡±


    Loren answered with a slightly bitter face. Thinking that he was joking, the man pped Loren on the back and shoulder. He was a silver rank adventurer called Jack. The swordsman behind him was Ritz, another silver rank adventurer and the leader of their party. The old man who was clinging onto his staff was Quartz, a magician.


    ¡°Well, well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand how you feel, but have some moderation,dykiller.¡±


    ¡°Jack, you¡¯re a bit noisy.¡±


    Nim, who had been pushed aside, thrust a tight fist into the side of a defenseless Jack. The impact of it seemed to reach his internal organs, and he fell to the ground in a somersault. Nim kicked him aside, then turned toward Loren with an expressionless face and said in a t tone:


    ¡°Loren is a good boy. He won¡¯t gather hispanions for such a dishonest purpose.¡±


    ¡°Such trust¡­ Where does it evene from?!¡±


    Jack shot the question at Nim in between painful gasps, and she answered nonchntly:


    ¡°From experience.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that so.¡±


    Jack weakly copsed on the ground as if he had used up all his strength and nced at Nim. She was stroking Loren¡¯s head, who was sitting still in his chair with a troubled expression. Lapis looked at them with envy, and G turned to the dwarves, who were taken aback by the rapid development of the situation, and pped her hands once:


    ¡°The problem is solved, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We have one copper rank adventurer, me, and two iron rank, Loren and Lapis. How about adding those four silver rank adventurers? With this, we can deal with pretty much anything that happens, right?¡¯


    In theory, copper rank adventurers who didn¡¯t die during jobs or subjugation could be iron rank after a certain time, but only a handful of iron rank could be silver rank. So, the addition of these silver rank adventurers would be enough to reassure Dig ¨C that was what G thought. It wasn¡¯t incorrect, but to Ritz¡¯s party, who had witnessed Loren¡¯s fighting before, being considered as better was a touch uneasy.


    ¡°Could you tell us about the situation first? Then we¡¯ll think about itter?¡±


    No matter what, they had just arrived. Lapis gave them a summary about the current situation, what they had to do from now on, and introduced G to them, of course, not without withholding ¡°some¡± information.

 Chapter 179, From Negotiation to Departure

    <h4>Chapter 179, From Negotiation to Departure</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°I see. I more or less understand the situation now.¡±


    Having listened to their story, Ritz said and looked between his party and Loren¡¯s.


    ¡°In addition, I¡¯d like to propose that we do something about the thing nesting inside that Great Tunnel.¡±


    The dwarves looked happy hearing Ritz¡¯s words, while Loren and Lapis looked troubled. The difficulty level between attacking only whatever attacked them first and looking for the cause of Great Tunnel¡¯s blockage and eliminating was different. Thetter was much more difficult, of course.


    Carefully choosing words so that it didn¡¯t sound offensive, Lapis asked:


    ¡°May I ask why you would deliberately pick a more troublesome path?¡±


    Ritz nodded solemnly and announced his reason to everyone:


    ¡°We use that tunnel very often.¡±


    ¡°¡­Please pay, Ritz.¡±


    Lapis immediately cut in with a cold, sharp nce directed at Ritz. He was at a loss for words and couldn¡¯t say anything.


    So, Ritz party used that tunnel quite often, and they would be in trouble if whatever blocked it wasn¡¯t removed. With Loren party here, they had an unlikely ally, and seemed to think that even if it might be a bit troublesome, now was the perfect time to pin down the blockage and remove it. And as they shared the same purpose of going through the tunnel, they wanted to make Loren party work for free. Lapis immediately realized their intention, and it couldn¡¯t be helped that her eyes turned cold.


    ¡°Oh,e one. Don¡¯t you guys also need to go through this tunnel? We should work together to find the cause of this blockage and¡­¡±


    ¡°Please pay.¡±


    ¡°If we work together, the fee¡­¡±


    ¡°Whatever, please pay.¡±


    Ritz tried to persuade, but Lapis resolutely refused to yield. Loren watched them attentively: it seemed like this would drag out for quite some time. Close to him, G and Nim secretly started a conversation for some reason.


    ¡°One copper rank, and two iron ranks, right? Our party shouldn¡¯t cost that much.¡±


    G counted with her fingers and said, but Nim shook her head:


    ¡°We¡¯re buying Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ actual capabilities. Being theirpanion, your capability must also be worth considering. However, the amount you demand is quite expensive. We would like a sum that is kinder to our wallet.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll give you a discount then¡­ How about this much?¡±


    ¡°A higher discount, please. At least this much.¡±


    ¡°Hm, that¡¯s tight.¡±


    The two of them somehow hadpletely immersed themselves in the negotiation, and all eyes were on them. Nim noticed the attention and said with aposed face:


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to pay them anyway, so it¡¯s faster to decide the rate quickly.¡±


    ¡°As expected, negotiating with elf-oneechan here is really fast.¡±


    G said with a smile. Only Loren and Lapis knew that she probably was older than Nim. It wasn¡¯t something to share around to begin with, but if they told the others that G, who had just called Nim ¡®oneechan¡¯, was actually an Evil God, no one would ever believe.


    ¡°Err, Nim¡­¡±


    ¡°Ritz, what Nim said is true, I think.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯ll give us a bad impression if we drag this out. We should just pay them happily.¡±


    Loren watched Jack and Quartz went back-and-forth with Ritz. It seemed like they would get something extra somehow or other, so he just left the negotiation to Lapis and G. Instead, he turned towards Dig, who was watching over the whole thing:


    ¡°Four silver ranks, two iron ranks, and one copper rank. That means seven adventurers in total. Will you guide us?¡±


    He would have two adventurer parties to escort him through the tunnels now. Normally, this would be overpowered, but considering the blockage in the tunnel, it was a luxury to have multiple parties, one of them silver ranked no less. Of course, Dig had noints this time.


    ¡°Well, yeah. It¡¯s also a problem for us if the tunnel is closed forever. If you guys can remove the blockage, we¡¯ll guide you. We¡¯ll even pay you.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just not charge us?¡±


    As Lapis would pay for their party¡¯s guidance fee herself, Loren thought it would be better to not charge her instead of paying the whole party. Dig immediately nodded at his proposal:


    ¡°It¡¯s fine for us too. We¡¯ll guide you.¡±


    The next steps were defined as soon as Dig gave his approval. Normally, they could reach the demons¡¯ territory in half a day via the Great Tunnel, but as things were now, it was unsure how long the trip would take. Dig needed to make some preparations, so Loren and the others stayed in the small shed on standby while the dwarves scurried around getting things ready for him.


    ¡°There are kids roaming around.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t unreasonable for Loren to have such an impression. Dwarves were even shorter than Lapis, the one with the smallest build amongst them, and it wasn¡¯t strange to think of children when one looked at their height.


    With their spectacr beards and stocky bodies, dwarf men were hard to mistake them for children. However, here and there amongst the dwarves, there were some with no beards and somewhat slenderer bodies.


    ¡°Those are dwarf women.¡±


    As Loren didn¡¯t seem to notice, Lapis, who was absentmindedly watching the dwarves working with him, said. Quite a lot of people believed that dwarves had beards, regardless of gender. Loren had also talked about it, in fact. The truth was, even though dwarf women were also stocky, they were more slender than the men and didn¡¯t have beards.


    ¡°So they aren¡¯t kids?¡±


    ¡°No. They¡¯re fully matured women.¡±


    Loren looked at them again, but wasn¡¯t able to change his initial impression. No matter what, they still looked like kids who were trying too hard to carry things bigger than their bodies.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a bit too much luggage?¡±


    ¡°Dwarves are great eaters and heavy drinkers, so groceries should take up arge portion of their luggage, right?¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, the dwarves said something about you and hangover meds, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Dwarves just don¡¯t know their limits when ites to drinking. No matter how tough they are, they¡¯re not bottomless.¡±


    Even though their tolerance was higher than humans, if dwarves drank too much, they still suffered from the terrible headaches of hangover. But due to their tough bodies, dwarves didn¡¯t really take medicines, and they just tolerated the hangover like that, knowing that it would be over sooner orter. And it was Lapis who sold them some medicines for hangovers.


    ¡°No one has ever done that before?¡±


    ¡°You think there¡¯ll be someone among us demons who deliberately does that?¡±


    Demons only cared about what was good for themselves ¨C all else wasn¡¯t worth worrying to them. That was why they usually caused troubles for others around them and were detested. They weren¡¯t the type to give suffering dwarves hangover medicines. In fact, Lapis had given them the medicines as part of the guidance fee, she didn¡¯t n to do anything for the dwarves writhing in pain at all.


    ¡°It was more profitable to pay them with headache medicines.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    It also depended on the type and quality, but you could buy a decent amount of headache medicines at pharmacies in towns with one silver coin. It was definitely way much cheaper to pay with them. As dwarves didn¡¯t have the habit of taking medicines, pharmacies were all but non-existent to them, and they had no intentions to make medicines themselves. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Lapis was single-handedly responsible for their medical supply. It was only hangover medicines at first, but now she also provided them with other medicines.


    ¡°This¡­ is not something to tell the others. But you don¡¯t seem to n to pay with meds this time.¡±


    When supply increased, rtive value would decrease. If value decreased, Lapis would need to increase the variety and quantity of the medicines she traded. Lapis, being a demon, would never share something with others if that resulted in her loss.


    Nevertheless, what she had prepared this time weren¡¯t medicines, but ores. As they were taken from the facility she was using as her base, they wouldn¡¯t hurt her pocket, but Loren thought medicines would be less bulky and cheaper.


    Lapis answered with a wry smile:


    ¡°Since I became an adventurer, I¡¯ve been using the medicine supply for myself, so I don¡¯t have any extra left. I should have stocked up in town, but I forgot to.¡±


    If she paid with medicines this time, there wouldn¡¯t be enough for their party to use, and it would be a big trouble in case of emergency. That was why she chose to use some ores at her base for this trip.


    ¡°The medicines you guys make and the ones we make¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re almost the same. Humans probably have more types, though.¡±


    Even though they weren¡¯t as indifferent towards medicines as dwarves, demons still had tougher bodies than humans. They had high tolerances to injuries and diseases, so their pharmaceutics wasn¡¯t as advanced as humans, who used medicines more often.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ssic example of ¡®having greater abilities doesn¡¯t mean making progress in everything¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to not need medicines at all, I think.¡±


    From the point of view of an ex-mercenary like Loren, not needing medicines was an ability that he was honestly jealous of. Soldiering was a trade inseparable from injuries and illnesses. Armies usually had military physicians travel with them, but mercenarypanies didn¡¯t. Not to mention that for them, keeping an inventory of medicines and bandages was also a big burden, both to their wallet and their head.


    ¡°I think I should try to follow your practice of using medicines to treat minor injuries and ailments.¡±


    ¡°Should you?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    They said and somehow turned to look at each other. As if it was being timed, Dig¡¯s preparation finished right then. He then called out to Ritz and asked him to gather the others, which he did by firing the departure signal to catch everyone¡¯s attention.

 Chapter 180, From Entry to Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 180, From Entry to Discovery</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren thought that the Great Tunnel must be quiterge due to its name. But then, considering the dwarves¡¯ stature, their tunnels should be a bit of a tight squeeze for him. Either way, he would know once they were there.


    But the actual sight of the tunnel made him gape. He was at a loss for words for a while, and could only watch.


    ¡°You look like you didn¡¯t expect this at all.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t need to voice that ¨C it was indeed way beyond Loren¡¯s expectation. ¡®Big¡¯ couldn¡¯t even begin to describe it. Loren was fairly tall for a human, but he still had to look up to see the ceiling. The light from the dwarves¡¯nterns couldn¡¯t even reach it. It was also wide enough for multiple people with Loren¡¯s build to fightfortably.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the dumb face?¡±


    Dig asked Loren, who had unthinkingly stopped at the entrance. He finally snapped out of it and hurriedly rushed to Lapis¡¯ side.


    ¡°It¡¯s huge. Isn¡¯t it too huge?¡±


    Even though the tunnel was currently shut down, there was no door to barricade set up at its entrance. It was hard to imagine a door big enough to cover such a huge hole, and it would be very easy to jump over a barricade to get in or out.


    ¡°It¡¯s used to mine ores, so there¡¯s no problem if it¡¯s a little big.¡±


    ¡°You really dig well for that height.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us. We can do almost anything for ores.¡±


    Dig didn¡¯t sound boastful, but he looked proud. Somehow Loren wanted to make a quip, but maybe it was normal for dwarves to think like that, and he chose to stay silent instead of making a poor retort and risked making the dwarves angry.


    In any case, the wide tunnel made it advantageous for someone who used arge weapon like Loren. In a tunnel where no one had evere out from, being able to fight to his full potential was something to be grateful for.


    Normally, the air inside a cave system was cooler than outside, but the air in this dwarven tunnel was warmer.


    ¡°Is there a furnace inside this tunnel?¡±


    Unrefined ores were very bulky, but refined metal lost some of its weight, making it easier to transport. That was why Loren thought there might be a furnace inside the tunnel used to refine ores, but Dig snorted at his question:


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You can¡¯t properly refine ores with a furnace inside a tunnel.¡±


    ¡°Then why is it so warm here?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. Seems like there¡¯s a heat source somewhere inside. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve dug deep enough to hit the geothermal energy, but we do dig up some warm water from time to time.¡±


    Dig added that even though they didn¡¯t know the exact reason for this warmth, it was definitely better than the cold that made people huddle. It was certainly much easier to move. If the dwarves, experts in this field, didn¡¯t even know the cause of this warm atmosphere, a human like Loren never would, so he stopped thinking about it.


    As the tunnel was supposed to be shut down, there wasn¡¯t anyone else inside except for their group. They walked with the sound of their shoes on the hard stone floor resounding in the tunnel. And as there seemed to be nothing in here, they naturally became bored.


    ¡°How long does it take to get to the other side?¡±


    In abyrinth such as this, they normally would have to be cautious about traps or bandits, but since this tunnel was originally the dwarves¡¯ workce, there was no need to. Instead, the chance for cave-ins or sinkholes to happen was high. Dig, who was most familiar with this tunnel, walked in the lead of their group. He was followed by Jack, who continuously checked their surroundings. The rest of them trailed behind the two.


    ¡°About half a day. Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡±


    ¡°You did, just that there¡¯s nothing else to talk about.¡±


    With the guiding entrusted to Dig and guarding entrusted to Jack and Nim (elves had excellent hearing), there was nothing else for the rest of them to do except walking.


    ¡°Shut up and walk. If nothing happens, we¡¯ll arrive soon.¡±


    ¡°If nothing happens, you say.¡±


    There were no other sounds aside from their footsteps and no other movements aside from those of their own. But this was a ce where no one entered had evere out from, so there was no way nothing would happen.


    [¡®Onii-chan, can you ask something? There¡¯s something I want to ask the dwarf uncle walking in the lead.¡¯]


    The voice that suddenly came to Loren¡¯s mind was of Shayna, the Undead King who was now residing inside his soul. He turned his focus towards Shayna to see what she wanted to confirm, rephrased it in his own words and asked Dig:


    ¡°By the way, before us, how many have entered despite the restriction?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a strange question. Well, some dozens, from what we know of. There were both dwarves and humans. If we also count those who entered behind our backs, then I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Before the restriction order, the entrance to this ce was closely controlled by the dwarves, as they were highly cautious of illegal mining. It was almost impossible to enter behind their backs. But ever since people who entered did note back and the ce was shut down, their control had significantly rxed. After all, people who went in didn¡¯te out anymore, so there was no need to worry about illegal mining now. They only needed to take care that their own didn¡¯t enter. The dwarves had half abandoned this ce.


    ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Those who deliberately enter a ce that they¡¯re told to not enter are of no concern to us.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like Loren didn¡¯t understand Dig¡¯s sentiment about this, but it was something he needed to confirm as per Shayna¡¯s wish. He asked if the answer was good enough for her, and Shayna muttered after a short silence:


    [¡®There are signs of life all over this tunnel.¡¯]


    Loren tilted his head in puzzled at Shayna¡¯s statement. This tunnel was shut down, but that didn¡¯t mean it had be a dead world. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if there were animals of all sizes inhabiting this ce. Not to mention that it wasn¡¯t a natural cave system but an artificial one, so there should be a lot of creatures living in here.


    [¡®Many of them are as big as humans, so I thought that maybe the ones entered before us are still alive¡­ But the number doesn¡¯t match¡­¡¯]


    The end of Shayna¡¯s sentence was uncertain. Sensing something unpleasant from that uncertainty, Loren was about to ask her to rify it when Shayna inly told him after some hesitation:


    [¡®There are countless number of them. Probably not more than ten thousand though.¡¯]


    It took Loren a few moments to truly understand what she had said. It was quite risky for him to converse with Shayna, since others who didn¡¯t know what was happening would wonder if he was okay. He tried to keep his expression unchanged while talking to her, but those words still almost caused a strange sound escape from his mouth, but he hurriedly swallowed it down.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what things Shayna was sensing, but if her assumption was correct, then this tunnel they were walking in was inhabited by almost ten thousand creatures as big as humans. It was impossible to stay calm and not be surprised at such information.


    This tunnel, no matter howrge it might be, was originally dug up to mine ores. It was hard to imagine that there could be almost ten thousand human-sized creatures living here. Loren wondered about it while looking around without fidgeting, but Lapis somehow sensed something was off and asked:


    ¡°Loren? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    For a moment, Loren didn¡¯t know how to answer her question.


    If there were only Lapis and G here, he could just tell them what he was told and how he was feeling. But Ritz party and Dig were also here, and he had no idea what kind of ruckus they would make if they knew about Shayna¡¯s existence. It was a fact he tended to forget, but Shayna was the King of Death, a being who was quite capable of destroying a country by herself. There was no one who could still keep theirposure after being told that such a being was existing inside him.


    On the other hand, if he didn¡¯t tell them about Shayna, there was no way he could exin about the thousands of creatures she was sensing. He could only use ¡®intuition¡¯ as an excuse at best, but there was a limit to the persuasive power of somethinging from intuition.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    Receiving no answer, Lapis looked at him quizzically and asked again. Noticing something had happened, the others had also stopped walking. Loren began to think about a way to answer, but his effort soon became unnecessary.


    ¡°You sense something, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s the mercenaries¡¯ intuition for you.¡±


    G said, and Ritz party visibly tensed at her words. They readied their weapons and looked around grimly as Ritz asked Loren:


    ¡°What do you sense?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s really just a hunch. I¡¯m not certain at all.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s fine if there¡¯s nothing, but if there¡¯s really something, at least we won¡¯t be unprepared.¡±


    Ritz answered, and Loren asked Shayna if she could somehow ry what she was sensing. Shayna¡¯s response was immediate.


    The link used to convey Loren¡¯s sight and sensation to Shayna could also be used to share what she was sensing to him. In this case, it could be used to reflect these thousands of life forces Shayna was sensing on Loren¡¯s senses. As soon as she began synchronizing with him, a sight that he shouldn¡¯t have been able to see became visible to him.


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    Loren unthinkingly muttered. The human-sized life forces were projected into his vision field as spots of light, and all he could see was a bright shine persisting throughout the bedrock of the tunnel and burying his sight in a myriad of light.

 Chapter 181, From Getting Stuck To Being Attacked

    <h4>Chapter 181, From Getting Stuck To Being Attacked</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren was at a loss how to convey what he was seeing to others.


    Looking up, he also saw countless bright spots of life on the ceiling, where the light of thenterns couldn¡¯t even reach. These surely weren¡¯t easy opponents. They were human-sized, but could cling to such a high ceiling. To make matters worse, they had already taken them overhead, yet no one except Loren noticed it.


    He could feel a chill running down his spine.


    There were silver rank adventurers here, together with an Evil God and a demon ¨C all were very capable, all first-ss fighters. And they weren¡¯t careless. They were all very cautious, and yet no one noticed the creatures above them. People generally weren¡¯t very attentive about what was above them, but this was different. It was proof that these creatures excelled at stealth.


    As Loren opened his mouth to warn the others, he saw Ritz, who was walking ahead of him, touching some spindly thing dangling down from the ceiling. Having no time to say anything, Loren charged at Ritz and pushed him to the ground.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    Lapis eximed in surprise at Loren¡¯s sudden action, but Ritz was even more surprised. He was the one who suddenly got tackled to the ground after all. Defending against a sudden attack from an ally, and from behind no less, was impossible even to an experienced silver rank adventurer like him.


    Ritz was about to shout at Loren to ask what he was doing when he saw Loren unsheathe his sword and sh at where he had been just a moment ago. The de met something and cut it in half, causing blue fluid to ssh around. Ritz¡¯s face stiffened at the scene.


    ¡°Uwah?!¡±


    Jack drew back in surprise, and Nim wordlessly kicked him down. Without even sparing him a nce, she immediately took an arrow from her quiver, nocked it and shot it at something that was dropping down from the ceiling.


    Another dropped down. Loren shouted while severing in halves:


    ¡°G! Protect Lapis!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Leave it to me.¡±


    G grabbed Lapis¡¯ shoulders, and the two of them crouched down while looking up at the ceiling. Loren saw the lights of lives above them disappear then.


    ¡°What was that?!¡±


    Jack shouted while Nim shot another arrow. Her aim was urate despite theck of light, and something was killed. Ritz watched it fall down and said in a stiff voice:


    ¡°Insects?!¡±


    ¡°No. This is a spider.¡±


    Nim calmly corrected him. Wondering if it was even worth correcting, Loren sheathed his sword. The thing he killed earlier was lying in halves on the ground, and it surely looked like a spider as Nim had said. But its size was abnormal ¨C Just its huge belly was as big as Lapis or Quartz, the two smallest-built in their party. There was a thread attached to that belly, so thin that it was hard to imagine it came from something that huge. The spider had spat it out and used it to drop down and attack them.


    ¡°Damn! Where do theye from?!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re clinging to the ceiling!¡±


    As Ritz got up and confirmed the identity of their enemies, he mmed his shield at a spider that was dropping down and sent it flying. The violent blow dented the spider¡¯s body; it smashed against the tunnel¡¯s wall with a squelch and spraying blue fluid.


    ¡°Scarlet stones, shoot at our enemies. <<fire beads="">>.¡±


    </fire>


    Still in a crouch, Quartz held his staff up andmenced a magic attack. Fire orbs shot out from the staff and flew at the ceiling; they didn¡¯t hit at one specific point but scattered caused a. The fire illuminated part of the ceiling, making it visible to their group, and the scene turned everyone¡¯s insides cold.


    The ceiling was packed full with spider-like creatures clinging to it. Not only that, but they could also see the spiders¡¯ preys among them, probably the ones who had entered the tunnel before. They were wrapped in fine spider threads and attached to the ceiling; all looked nothing more than skin and bone.


    ¡°Gross¡­¡±


    G unthinkingly uttered while the gruesome scene above their head became hidden once more as the fire died down.


    ¡°We can¡¯t kill them all!¡±


    Jack shouted as he thrust his dagger into a spider dropping down after the spell ended. It was natural for him to think so, seeing that the ceiling was packed full of spiders.


    Loren also felt daunted, and he had considered drawing back for a moment. But the spiders wouldn¡¯t let the preys wandering into their feeding ground go that easily. They crowded to the part of ceiling above Loren¡¯s group retreat path and began cutting the threads that were attaching their previous victims to the ceiling to drop them to the ground.


    Even though the victims were only a husk of themselves now, considering the height they were dropping from, their corpses would still cause quite a lot of damage to anyone they hit, not to mention that they still had their armors and weapons on. It was also extremely difficult to dodge the corpses as they were dropped one by one.


    The other spiders didn¡¯t waste any time and started dropping down.


    ¡°We can¡¯t retreat. No other choice but to run through them.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Everyone, run!¡±


    Ritz ordered while grabbing a troubled, still crouching Dig and ran further into the tunnel. Everyone ran after him in a bid to escape the spiders that were chasing them.


    ¡°Can we really make it just by running?!¡±


    Jack shouted while shing his dagger at a dropping spider. The spider squirmed as its legs were cut off and Nim shot an arrow at it while running, pinning it to the tunnel¡¯s wall.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we don¡¯t have any other choices.¡±


    ¡°Fucking bastards! Were they here before?!¡±


    Loren, who was running at the rear of their party, looked back over his shoulder; he totally understood why Jack cursed. The spiders crawled all over the ground and walls of the tunnel to chase their preys; there were so many of them that the floor and walls were hardly visible. Their number was so great that the thought of fighting them didn¡¯t evene to his mind. Loren thought it was impossible for these spiders to multiply that much in a short time, but Lapis, who was running a head of him, disagreed:


    ¡°Spidersy a lot of eggs. In an ideal environment, they can reach an unthinkable number very quickly.¡±


    She said they might havee from the demon side.


    ¡°Dig, what¡¯s on the other side of the tunnel on the demon side?¡±


    Still running, Loren asked Dig, who was being carried by Ritz. Dwarves had sturdy bodies, but their legs were short; they weren¡¯t born to run. Dig was saved now thanks to Ritz carrying him, but once Ritz¡¯ arms couldn¡¯t bear his weight anymore, he would have to let him go; there would be little hope for him to survive then. Dig seemed to know that very well; he answered Loren¡¯s question while desperately keeping thentern high to ensure visibility with a pale face:


    ¡°That, there¡¯s also a dwarf vige on that side.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡±


    Dig¡¯s answer gave Loren a bad feeling, but he had no time to worry about it now; escaping from the spiders chasing them was the first priority now. He stopped thinking about that matter and focused on trying to run as fast as possible. Seeing a thin thread dangling down from the ceiling and twined around Lapis¡¯ shoulder, he increased his speed even more.


    ¡°Eh? Eek?!¡±


    Lapis felt something pulling her shoulder, and before she even had time to think what was happening, her feet were off the ground. Then strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and the pulling sensation on her shoulders disappeared.


    ¡°Be careful! They¡¯re dropping threads to catch prey!¡±


    All of this was started by Ritz touching one of such threads. The vibration from his touch transmitted to the ceiling had alerted the spiders that a prey had entered the area, prompting them to attack. Not only that, but these threads were especially strong and durable, as they were used to capture preys. Anyone got caught by it would be pulling up to the ceiling in an instant, and would be swarmed and attacked by the spiders waiting there; it was just like a trap.


    ¡°Be careful, you said, but we can¡¯t even see them.¡±


    In a dark tunnel where they must rely on the light of antern to see, it was difficult to notice a thin thread hanging down while running. Even though the threads were strong enough to lift up a person, they were so thin that it was almost impossible to see them if one didn¡¯t look closely.


    ¡°I was about to be pulled up just now.¡±


    Still being held in Loren¡¯s arms, Lapis said with a shudder while looking up at the ceiling. As a demon, she might have been alright, but being swarmed by countless spiders wasn¡¯t an experience she wanted to have. Not to mention that in the worst case, these spiders might be poisonous. Just thinking about it made gratitude welled up inside Lapis.


    ¡°Thanks a lot, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If you¡¯re pulled up there, I won¡¯t be able to help.¡±


    The ceiling was so high that thentern¡¯s light couldn¡¯t reach it, and it was vast. There was also no visible path to climb up to it. Rescuing someone pulled to the ceiling was impossible.


    ¡°Nim and Quartz, be careful! You¡¯re light and don¡¯t have much physical strength. They¡¯ll pull you up in an instant!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like to spend my final days at spider¡¯s food at all.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. I n to live for another thousand years.¡±


    Nim dered with a serious face, and Jack reflexivelyined:


    ¡°But I can¡¯t live for a thousand year.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have enough determination. You should be an undead and continue living. Will you leave me alone?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Can undead be considered still living?¡±


    Jack asked Loren with a serious face while still running. Amazed that they still had so much leisure despite the situation, Loren kept silent while gesturing at the direction to take with chin.

 Chapter 182, Repelling The Attack

    <h4>Chapter 182, Repelling The Attack</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren¡¯s group continued to run in a line.


    The spiders chasing them didn¡¯t decrease in number, nor did they show any signs of slowing down ¨C they were like an avnche, or a tsunami.


    ¡°No matter how many arrows are there, it¡¯s still not enough.¡±


    Nim grumbled, her quiver had been reduced to less than half. She looked over her shoulder and shot at the spiders from time to time, one arrow of hers carrying enough force to pierce through multiple creatures at once. But the fallen spiders were immediately reced by others, and her attack showed no visible effect at all.


    ¡°Magic has its limit too.¡±


    Quartz, who was trying his best to run, had given up using magic attacks since the start. The spiders were numerous enough to fill the whole width of the tunnel, so they would have caught up to him while he was still chanting a spell. And even if he was lucky enough to be able tond a hit, it probably wouldn¡¯t mean much, since it would only cause a bit more damage than Nim¡¯s arrows.


    ¡°Ritz, stop for a bit and do them in!¡±


    Jack shouted at Ritz, and he shouted back:


    ¡°You do that!¡±


    None of them were being serious about it, though. They both knew that in this situation, if they stopped even just for a moment, they would be engulfed by the tsunami of spiders and die before they had a chance to do anything.


    Loren knew it too. He only used his greatsword when a spider dropped in his path. In all other cases, he just devoted himself to running.


    But Loren painfully knew that sooner orter, one of them would reach their limit. He wasn¡¯t worried about Lapis, who he was carrying in his arm and G, who was running so closely behind him that it felt like she was sticking to his back. The one he was most worried about was Quartz, who didn¡¯t use his body much as a magician, and was elderly in age. In fact, Quartz was speaking less and less, and sometimes a hint of pain showed on his expression.


    ¡°Is the exit still a long way off?!¡±


    Ritz asked Dig, who was still being carried by him as there was no way dwarves could outrun spiders. Dig answered in a loud voice while holding thentern aloft:


    ¡°Unfortunately yes! We¡¯re not even halfway there!¡±


    Everyone felt quite hopeless hearing his answer.


    ¡°We can¡¯t escape!¡±


    It was understandable for Jack to scream like that. Humans just couldn¡¯t run with all their might for such a long distance. Yet, if they let up their speed, the spiders will catch up with them.


    ¡°G, can you do something?!¡±


    Loren asked G, who was supposed to be just another magician. His question wasn¡¯t for a magician who could cause wide-scope damage by herself, but for a being having the power of an Evil God. Even though they would surely be questioned by Ritz¡¯ partyter, it would still be a lot better than bing spiders¡¯ food.


    But G¡¯s answer was unfavorable:


    ¡°Even I will be swarmed by spiders if I stop.¡±


    ¡°<<earth wall="">> probably won¡¯t be effective, right?¡±


    </earth>


    If the tunnel was less wide and high, an earth wall could be raised to stop the spiders, even if just temporarily. But with the width and height of this tunnel, one single earth wall wouldn¡¯t work.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been through something like this before, haven¡¯t we?!¡±


    ¡°Do you mean the goblins case? But don¡¯t worry, Loren.¡±


    Lapis said with full confidence, even though there was not a single thing to not worry about in the current situation. Loren, who was carrying her under his arms, gave her a puzzled nce, and she said in a resigned tone:


    ¡°Last time, only women were used as nurseries. This time we¡¯ll all be food or nurseries together. The only difference is whether they¡¯ll eat us right away or nt eggs on us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing to not worry about!¡±


    ¡°Somehow you guys seem quite rxed.¡±


    Ritz said with amazement. Near him, Quartz suddenly stumbled, and Nim and Jack hurriedly grasped his arms to lift him up. He managed to not fall this time, but it was clear that he was near his physical limit. Ritz grimaced.


    ¡°Hey, Loren,..-¡°


    ¡°If you want to tell me to take Dig and go ahead, I won¡¯t hear it.¡±


    Loren interrupted before Ritz could continue. Everyone knew Quartz wouldn¡¯t be able to keep running like this. It seemed like Ritz nned to stop and tried to buy as much time as possible for Quartz¡¯ tomence some more powerful spells, hoping it would turn the situation around.


    There was almost no chance for that n to seed, of course. The odds were too high that it wasn¡¯t even worth betting, and Ritz didn¡¯t want to drag Loren¡¯s party into it. He was about to tell Loren to take Dig and leave, but Loren stopped him before he could.


    ¡°But, to continue like this is¡­¡±


    ¡°If you want to make a bad bet, why don¡¯t you bet on me, hm?¡±


    G suddenly barged in on their conversation.


    ¡°Bet on you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Try to run hard for a while. Count slowly to 300 while you¡¯re running. When you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll manage it somehow.¡±


    G proposed without telling them even one specific solution. But they had no other ideas now, so Ritz made a quick decision. He pointed at Nim and Jack, who was carrying Quartz:


    ¡°During the time it takes to count slowly to 300, run like dying if you stop!¡±


    ¡°Does such an instruction even exist?!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Jack.¡±


    Nim told him that if he had the leisure to chat now, he should turn it into running power instead. Jack shut his mouth and continued to run with a frantic face. With a simr expression, Ritz continued to run while carrying Dig. Loren was also running without dropping his speed, Lapis still under his arm.


    ¡°G, are you done?!¡±


    G had somehow dropped to the end of their line even though she wasn¡¯t carrying anyone or anything. She absentmindedly uttered while ncing back over her shoulder to check something,


    ¡°Nah, wait just a minute. Does it work, I wonder? It should by now.¡±


    If nothing happened, they woulde to a point where they couldn¡¯t run anymore, and would end up being swarmed by the spiders. Just as Loren wondered if G understood that fact, he noticed the sound of the spiders¡¯ feet begin to falter.


    ¡°Eh? Ah?¡±


    Ritz¡¯ party had also noticed it. They slowed down more and more, and eventually stopped to look behind. Enticed by their actions, Loren also stopped and put Lapis down.


    ¡°Seems like it worked well.¡±


    Hands on hips, G squinted at the scene behind them and said with satisfaction. There were still countless spiders there, but even though they had been chasing them vigorously just a moment ago, they now all stopped moving and drew their legs in as if they had died.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Not quite believed in the scene before his eyes, Loren asked G. They had been saved, but if he didn¡¯t understand how, he still felt unsteady. Somehow, it just didn¡¯t feel real.


    ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t really want to exin it.¡±


    G scratched her head and turned towards Loren, looking troubled. But Loren didn¡¯t let her end it there and kept looking at her, waiting for an exnation.


    ¡°I just used some magic. Just some magic. As for what I used or how, well, it¡¯s a secret. My secret as a magician.¡±


    G dered loudly to everyone, then grabbed Loren¡¯s head and pulled him closer. She secretly told him what had actually happened in a low voice:


    ¡°Spiders¡¯ respiration systems are their weakness.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you want to say.¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, the gas that is harmless to humans could make them immobile.¡±


    ¡°Gas¡­ It can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    Being mindful of his own volume, Loren said and unthinkingly looked back at the spiders behind them. From what he understood, G had somehow released some kind of poisonous gas inside the tunnel. In that case, if they dawdled there, they might end up being affected by the gas. They should leave this ce as soon as possible.


    But G waved her hand while still keeping hold of Loren¡¯s head:


    ¡°I won¡¯t use poisonous gas in a closed space like this. Everyone will be in danger.¡±


    ¡°So what did you release?¡±


    If it was something harmless, the spiders wouldn¡¯t be immobile, so it should have some toxic element at least. Loren questioned her, but she was hesitant to say it for some reason:


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s something that can¡¯t be spoken¡­?!¡±


    ¡°N-no, it isn¡¯t. But it¡¯s not something nice to talk about¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not being clear at all.¡±


    ¡°Eh, you see, I eat a lot, don¡¯t I? There¡¯s a lot of things you can do if you eat that much, you know? There¡¯s this thing that¡¯s basically harmless to humans¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s gas? Is it not something solid or liquid?¡±


    ¡°¡­What are you imagining now¡­ Ah, no, don¡¯t say it out loud. If you do, I¡¯ll kill you, alright?!¡±


    G let go of his head and grabbed his neck instead, shaking it back and forth. Loren still didn¡¯t understand what G had released, but he still believed they should go asap, when the spiders were still unmoving.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Author¡¯s Note: In defense of a certain Evil God


    The thing she used was released from her upper body, not from her bottom.


    Loren was strangled because he thought it was thetter.

 Chapter 183, From Repelling Attack to Infiltrating

    <h4>Chapter 183, From Repelling Attack to Infiltrating</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren¡¯s group left that area, leaving the motionless spiders behind.


    The ones being carried decided to walk on their feet, worrying that they might tire the members carrying them off. They proceeded to walk to the end of the tunnel.


    Jack and others wanted to burn the spiders, but Loren and Nim objected:


    ¡°Making such a big fire in an enclosed space like this, we¡¯ll all die choking, won¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Spiders are also part of the world. Let¡¯s not kill them. We can¡¯t eat them, even if we do so anyway.¡±


    After being chased around that bad, everyone was feeling lighthearted now. It wasn¡¯t like Loren didn¡¯t understand their feeling, but it was stupid to get carried away and got themselves into another predicament.


    Having been so calmly admonished, Jack came to understand the meaninglessness of burning the spiders. He gave up immediately and continued on while saying bitterly:


    ¡°So, it just ends here?¡±


    Nim quickly disagreed:


    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. The next wille soon.¡±


    ¡°The next¡­¡±


    ¡°Those are probably the children of a Huge Spider. The parent is still somewhere in here.¡±


    Elves generally lived in forests, so they were naturally deeply knowledgeable. Everyone¡¯s mouths hung half open at the piece of knowledge Nim had just shared.


    The spiders chasing them had been as tall as Lapis. It was not unreasonable for them to think that those spiders were adults. If those were just children, they didn¡¯t even want to imagine how big an adult one would be.


    ¡°The parent is several times bigger than the children. Its thread is also bigger. It¡¯s very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°For such a big spider to move around in a tunnel¡­ Nah, this one is big enough.¡±


    The size of the spider Nim had mentioned was ridiculous just to hear, but the size of the tunnel they were walking in was also not average at all. Such a spider would still be able to easily move in here.


    ¡°Why did you dwarves dig such a stupidly big tunnel like this?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s a vein of ore, we¡¯ll dig.¡±


    Jackined, but Dig answered full of pride and with not a single shred of shame. His attitude would be nothing in normal times, but it was strangely irritating in the current situation. They all secretly turned their eyes away from him.


    ¡°If there¡¯s a parent, that means we¡¯ll have to run again.¡±


    Jack said, seemingly fed up when recalling the series of escape dramas, they had engaged in sinceing here. Ritz nodded multiple times ¨C he obviously felt the same. Nim was still calm, but Quartz was gloomy, for he knew that if they had to run again, he would be a burden.


    ¡°Nah, we won¡¯t have to run again, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s how it is with huge spiders.¡±


    Hearing G¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ conversation, Nim suddenly pped.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Right, that¡¯s how it is¡­¡±


    Loren had a feeling that it wasn¡¯t a very satisfactory story, but he still wanted to know what they were talking about. So he asked Lapis, the one most easily talked to between the three of them:


    ¡°What does it mean?¡±


    ¡°Young Huge Spiders chase after preys and shoot threads to catch them like the ones before. But adult ones just weave webs like normal spiders.¡±


    The passage they were walking in suddenly expanded. Feeling an unpleasant premonition, Loren continued towards a space asrge as a hall. But just before he actually set foot into the hall, he stopped and stared at the thing inside.


    ¡°Ah, so this is it¡­¡±


    This space was probably the dwarves¡¯ mine, and was muchrger in both width and heightpared to the passage. A pure white object illuminated by thentern¡¯s light stood towering over everything in the space, almost filling it up entirely.


    ¡°Is this it?¡±


    Loren asked, still holding a sliver of hope that it wasn¡¯t, and Lapis gave him a blunt answer:


    ¡°Yes, this is probably the web.¡±


    Even though a gentler answer wouldn¡¯t change anything, that straightforward affirmation still gave Loren some intense mental damage.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit like a mountain?¡±


    Ritz looked up and said. The round web made from woven thread was wide in perimeter, and the ground was covered in spider threads.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Just charging at this thing is kinda disgusting, isn¡¯t it? Can we burn it down?¡±


    Lapis frowned at Jack¡¯s suggestion, while Nim gave him an exasperated look. Jack retreated a little ¨C it looked like he didn¡¯t understand why they looked at him like that. Loren pped at his shoulder:


    ¡°Spiders¡¯ threads don¡¯t burn, you know?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Jack eximed in a strange voice with widened eyes. He seemed to be greatly surprised by Loren¡¯s words. The others seemed to know already, they didn¡¯t look surprised at all and just nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re probably confused because it¡¯s called ¡®thread¡¯, but spider threads are made from solidified body fluid. They can be burned, but they don¡¯t catch fire.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Eh?¡±


    ¡°Dust and insects caught in a spider web can catch fire, but the thread itself doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Loren patted Jack¡¯s shoulder as if telling him ¡®You¡¯ve learned something new¡¯. Nim spared him a sideway nce and continue:


    ¡°Our path is a straight path. There¡¯s no detour.¡±


    ¡°We have to get rid of it somehow.¡±


    Ritz looked at Dig as if asking for a confirmation, and Dig nodded solemnly.


    ¡°Miss G, can you use your secret skill again?¡±


    Quartz ced his hope on the secret skill G had used to incapacitate all the spiders chasing them, but G shook her head:


    ¡°Once spit out, it takes some time to gather again.¡±


    Loren could only think of one kind of gas to be emitted after eating, but he kept his mouth shut because he didn¡¯t know what G would do to him if he spoke it out. But if the gas was really what he thought it was, it definitely took some time to be gathered again once released.


    ¡°Can we go stealthily?¡±


    Nim suggested.


    The passage beyond this space was almost filled with the threads that made up the web. Even if they wanted to go in stealth, they wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid stepping on them.


    ¡°Spiders determine prey¡¯s location by the vibration of their threads. If we can avoid disturbing the threads, it won¡¯t notice us.¡±


    ¡°Hey, your elf is talking about the impossible.¡±


    Loren turned to Ritz and said, but Ritz just shrugged. Elves had lighter body weights and nimbler movements. Nim probably could go through without touching the threads, but Loren and Ritz had the well-trained bodies of swordsman, and they weighed considerably more due to all the muscles. And Quartz, being an eldery magician, had weak legs and joints, by no means could he move like an elf. Dig, as a dwarf, was out of the question, so no one was keen to listen to Nim¡¯s proposal.


    ¡°With a web this big, I think it won¡¯t shake if we walk carefully.¡±


    Nim said easily.


    ¡°Because the web isrge, the load of each individual thread is also higher. Even if we step on a taut thread, it won¡¯t shake.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Ritz asked with doubt. But the route back was also a straight path. If they turned around, they would definitely run again into the spiders G had somehow immobilized.


    Ahead was a spider web, and behind was a horde of spiders. In the current situation, it was dangerous no matter which path they chose.


    Ritz considered it for a while, then chose to move forward.


    ¡°If both front and back are as dangerous as one another, we should go forward.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If it goes well, we might not be in any danger.¡±


    Even though the hope was thin, if walking stealthily could keep them from confronting a spider like Nim had said, they wouldn¡¯t be in any danger.


    ¡°Weft threads are used to capture preys, so they¡¯re sticky. Warp threads are not sticky. Step on the warps.¡±


    Nim said with a deadly serious face. But Loren and the others looked at the towering web and couldn¡¯t tell which were weft and which were warp at all. Everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Nim, thinking that she must know, but she just carelessly said:


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t stick to your feet, it¡¯s a warp.¡±


    ¡°If it sticks, then we¡¯re finished though?!¡±


    Ritz quipped with an obvious fact, but Nim clicked her tongue and wagged her finger:


    ¡°Pull your foot back before it sticks.¡±


    One could say that this was a method unique to the lightly-weighted elves only. It was difficult for heavily-weighted dwarves or armed humans to imitate.


    ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you can tell us something possible for dwarves and humans.¡±


    Loren smiled wryly and begged, but Nim just said after thinking a while:


    ¡°These threads are not on the web¡­ so maybe we don¡¯t need to be too careful. The threads supporting a web won¡¯t be sticky, I think.¡±


    ¡°In short, we have no choice but to walk stealthily without touching the web?¡±


    Loren summarized, and Nim nodded. Ritz looked up at the ceiling and sighed, while Dig and Quartz held each other¡¯s hand and stared at the web they were about to walk through with pale faces. Loren nced at Lapis and G, who looked no different from how they were usually, and wondered if he could just let them blow off the web in the worst-case scenario. He let out a resigned sigh.

 Chapter 184, From Infiltration to Passing Through

    <h4>Chapter 184, From Infiltration to Passing Through</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The art of walking with no sound was, of course, mastered by Jack, a thief and Nim, a hunter. Loren and Ritz, despite being swordsmen, also learned how to do it to some extent. But it really was to some extent only.


    The threads that constructed the spiderweb were all over the ground and the wall, but it would be alright as long as the ones they stepped on didn¡¯t vibrate. The problem was, no matter how hard Loren and Ritz tried, they still rocked some of the looser threads. And, of course, it was impossible for Quartz and Dig to do what Loren and Ritz couldn¡¯t manage, so the four of them walked nervously while trying desperately to check if the thread under their feet was loose or not.


    In contrast, the thief ¨C hunter pair and the priest ¨C Evil God duo proceeded recklessly yet skillfully. They didn¡¯t seem to care much about what was under their feet, and walked briskly without stopping. They had walked through a considerable distance.


    ¡°Hey Loren, go faster. We¡¯ll leave you behind.¡±


    G tried to motivate Loren, but whenever he thought about how just a single wrong step would rock the web and alert the spiders within, he just couldn¡¯t pick up his speed.


    ¡°G, it¡¯s better to not rush. The spiders here are used to hunt in the dark, so they¡¯re sensitive to vibration and sound.¡±


    Lapis added that huge spiders¡¯ eyes weren¡¯t very good. Instead, their sound receptors and vibration receptors were very well developed. They could determine the location and number of their prey thanks to sounds and the vibration of their webs.


    ¡°Once in battle, they¡¯ll gather one after another.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like that. Let¡¯s leave this ce quickly.¡±


    G said. Just then, a portion of the wall near her waist moved slightly. The wall was covered in thick spider threads, and beneath the threads should be stones¡­ which shouldn¡¯t be able to move.


    That was what Dig and Quartz thought while staring at the ce. The two of them had somehow gotten ahead of Loren and Ritz, and the movements had caught their attention.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t stop¡­¡±


    Ritz chided them, but he was interrupted as the wall beneath the thread split into two. The thing that made an appearance was probably a victim of the spiders, and was being kept between the threads and the wall as a form of storage. The body had already half dried up, and spider nymphs as big as fingertips spilled out from hollowed eye sockets and dropped to the ground.


    Being in such a state, the victim shouldn¡¯t be alive anymore. Yet that should-be-dead victim had somehow ripped the threads and extended a hand out as if asking for help towards Quartz, who was unfortunate enough to be looking at the wall that moment.


    Quartz was surprised at the sudden appearance. Dig had managed to stay unmoved, but Quartz retreated several steps as if to run away from that extending hand. He tripped on a sticky thread and fell back-first onto Ritz, who was walking behind him.


    By all rights, Ritz should have been able to catch him, but he was slow to react to Quartz¡¯ unexpected movements. They got entangled and both fell into the web.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?!¡±


    Loren shed at the neck of the spider¡¯s victim, whose hand was still extending towards Quartz. The head fell with a dry sound, and countless small spiders burst out from the cross-section and the eye sockets.


    ¡°What the hell is this?!¡±


    ¡°The eggs that were imnted inside have consumed the victim and turned him into an undead.¡±


    Even without its head, the victim¡¯s body was still moving. Loren sent it flying with a kick and trampled the small spiders that were trying to climb up his legs.


    But the situation continued to get worse.


    From the opening the first one hade out from, dried-up corpses came slithering out one after another. Moreover, the fall of Quartz and Ritz had violently rocked the web, and the adult spiders now knew that there were preys here. They appeared all over the web, and were certainly iparably bigger than any spiders they had seen so far.


    ¡°What a hassle.¡±


    Loren cursed while smashing another headless corpse that was trying to get up. There should be blood sshing out, yet all of it was already consumed by the spiderlings ¨C there were only a wave small spiders pouring out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cut the corpses! It¡¯ll only increase the number of young spiders!¡±


    ¡°But how do we deal with them?¡±


    Ritz helped Quartz get up while striking an approaching corpse with his shield. The corpse was already in a ramshackle state and was unable to withstand such a blow. The impact made a big dent on its body, and arge amount of spiderlings gushed out from its mouth. The spiderlings rushed to climb up their bodies, while they were trying to crush them under their feet, sttering body fluids about.


    ¡°There are too many of them!¡±


    If they couldn¡¯t be cut or hit, then it was impossible to deal with them. Using magic to burn the young spiders was also an option, but they were already in a close proximity, not to mention the corpses, which would also be affected if the magic was poorly executed.


    ¡°The adult spiders are also a problem.¡±


    Nim muttered while shooting an arrow. The arrow cut through the air and pierced a spider right in the head. Unable to cling to the web anymore, the dead spider fell to the ground.


    ¡°No good! Get away!¡±


    At Jack¡¯s warning, everyone scattered to avoid the spider carcass, but it was so big that it couldn¡¯t be avoided by just moving some distance. They had no choice but to run. The carcass fell down a momentter and crashed into the wall, crushing the spiderlings and the victim corpses, sttering the white web with blue fluid.


    ¡°More areing!¡±


    Even without Dig¡¯s warning, everyone had already noticed the huge spiders chasing them. There were about ten of them. Whether that number could be considered many or not was still a matter for debate, but just the fact that there were several spiders, multiple times bigger than a human, chasing them ¨C was already incredible. And as such spiders were chasing them, no one had the time to think about anything else.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    Loren shouted. He didn¡¯t think they could outrun the spiders that had covered this space with their threads, but there was no other option left. No matter how strong Loren was or how sharp his weapon was, it was impossible for him to fight against ten or more of these huge spiders. So even though he knew it would be useless, he believed they had no other choice but to run as fast as possible.


    Yet the spiders didn¡¯t even allow them that. Corpses of the spiders¡¯ victims appeared, blocking their path. Not only were they full of growing spiderlings, they had also been turned into undead. Breaking through the spiders¡¯ thread, they came out one after another.


    ¡°Turn Undead!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Lapis!¡±


    Noticing the corpses blocking their way, Lapis immediately used <<turn undead="">>. Loren wasn¡¯t able to stop her on time, and the corpses were enveloped in a cleansing light and turned into dust. Lapis¡¯ power was probably too strong for them, so the corpses just turned into dust with almost no resistance. Lapis looked proud, but her expression stiffened soon after.


    </turn>


    The corpses were undead, so they turned into dust under Lapis¡¯ power. But the spiders inside them weren¡¯t, so of course they didn¡¯t be dust no matter how powerful Lapis was. Big chunks spiderlings now dropped to the ground as the corpses carrying them crumbled away.


    ¡°E-eh?¡±


    Running on a ground covered in small spiders caused physical revulsion. But there was no other foothold, so stepping on them they must. It was still easier to move forward like this than breaking through the crowd of undead. Estimating the distance between them and the adult spiders at their back and above their head, Loren scolded Lapis, who had stopped and tilted her head in puzzlement:


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Crush them under your feet!¡±


    ¡°I-I know! But, they¡¯re popping and squelching under my feet!¡±


    ¡°Bear with it! It¡¯s better than getting bitten by those behind!¡±


    Lapis¡¯ face twitched at the prospect. She continued to run at full power while half-crying because of the sensation she felt through the sole of her shoes. Ritz¡¯ party and Dig didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. They just calmly ran through them. Loren, who was at the end of the line, nced back and secretly clicked his tongue.


    The adult spiders were surely faster than them and they still hadn¡¯t reached the exit yet. The asionally-appearing victims¡¯ corpses were turned into dust under Lapis¡¯ <<turn undead="">>, releasing small spiders onto the floor. So they ran, stepping over those spiders. If this continued, the adult spiders would surely catch up to them.


    </turn>


    Shayna spoke in Loren¡¯s mind:


    [¡®Can I do something about them?¡¯]


    In response, Loren asked her to exercise Energy Drain on the adult spiders, but to not kill them. Shayna found the ¡®not killing them¡¯ a bit questionable, but she thought he might have something in mind and began using Energy Drain on the spiders as he had asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re getting slower! They must have started to be tired!¡±


    Ritz noticed a change in the spiders¡¯ speed and said in a tone full of joy. Of course, the spiders¡¯ stamina wouldn¡¯t run out just because of some chasing like this. It was just Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain taking effect. Being sucked of their vitality, the spiders had started to weaken.


    [¡®Is it alright to not kill them?¡¯]


    No matter how big they were, they were just spiders. They couldn¡¯t fight against the King of Death¡¯s Energy Drain, and sucking their vitality dry to kill them was just a piece of cake to Shayna. But there was a reason for Loren to not ask her to do so.


    It would be very strange if the spiders that were chasing them suddenly dropped dead, and Ritz¡¯ group would surely question it. That was the problem. Ritz¡¯ party probably wouldn¡¯t suddenly associate them with such a strange phenomenon, but Loren believed it was best to not raise unnecessary doubts.


    Another reason was, those who were killed by the King of Death¡¯s Energy Drain might be undead. Whether spiders could be undead or not was still a question, yet it would be creepy if they could.


    [¡®But they¡¯ll be under my control in that case, won¡¯t they? I think we won¡¯t need to worry about that?¡¯]


    It would also be strange if the spiders just be undead all of a sudden. To make it worse, if they suddenly ceased attacking after bing undead, everyone would notice that something had happened.


    Loren sent Shayna a heartfelt thank you while watching the unmoving spiders, and she told him with a smile:


    [¡®What a hassle¡­ But it¡¯s fine as long as I can help you, onii-san.¡¯]

 Chapter 185, From Passing Through to Being Embraced

    <h4>Chapter 185, From Passing Through to Being Embraced</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°We¡¯ve really made it somehow?¡±


    Ritz asked as if seeking confirmation, but no one responded.


    Yes, everyone was tired because of all the continuous running, but the impact of the ce they had just escaped from was more heavy.


    ¡°What a bad experience.¡±


    Between them, Lapis was the one most affected, with her white priest dress bing filthy. It was covered in cobwebs and all the dirt they carried, and stained with body fluids and chunks of the spiderlings she had trampled on the way.


    Loren and others thought she shouldn¡¯t have dressed in priest clothing if she disliked getting dirty, but Lapis stubbornly insisted on it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the design. It¡¯s a necessity for a priest.¡±


    Seemed like it wasn¡¯t an excusable thing. Loren didn¡¯t understand why, but if Lapis insisted so, he thought her opinion should be respected. He also thought she should put up with the dirt in that case.


    The states of the others¡¯ shoes and pants weren¡¯t much different from Lapis. But for some reason, G was the one least affected. With so much skin exposed, everyone was concerned that she would be covered with spiders¡¯ webs and fluids and flesh. Yet while they were tediously wiping themselves down, there wasn¡¯t a speck of filth on her body. Even Nim, who was unquestionably light on her feet as an elf, still had her legs quite dirty. Ritz and others were impressed by her unexpectedly skilled footwork, and only Loren had a different idea.


    ¡°Did you eat them?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I feel so refreshed somehow.¡±


    G yed dumb, but it was obvious that she had done something. From the state of things, it was certain that she had secretly used an Evil God¡¯s power.


    ¡°You ate them, right? You have such bad eating habits.¡±


    G¡¯s power was basically eating. While others were struggling to escape from the adult spiders while the spiderlings were swarming under their feet, she had used <


    > to clear her way and ensured her own foothold.


    ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, whatcha talkin¡¯ about. By the way, Loren, I heard that in certain southern countries, spiders are used as dessert. Is that true?¡±


    Refusing to admit it, G asked him a question back, but Loren curtly answered:


    ¡°No idea.¡±


    ¡°We still haven¡¯t got through this tunnel yet. Please refrain from chatting.¡±


    Ritz chided, and Loren and G obediently shut their mouths.


    Getting through the tunnel was of course their top priority right now, but there were still things they had to worry about.


    ¡°We ran over that many spiders, so it won¡¯t be strange if some has gotten inside our clothes. Be careful.¡±


    Depending on the situation, it wouldn¡¯t be much of trouble to notice or exterminate a big spider. But the spiderlings they had run over might be able to slip under their clothes as they were small and at that size, they would be very hard to detect. ording to Lapis, huge spiders wouldn¡¯ty eggs until they became adults, so the risk of being injected with eggs was very low. Still, having spiders in one¡¯s clothes was super gross, and their group walked on while patting their clothes to check for spiders.


    Lapis said with envy:


    ¡°G, it¡¯s great for you to not have to worry about it. With that attire, there¡¯s no ce for spiders to hide in.¡±


    The spiderlings surely wouldn¡¯t have any ce to crawl in and hide in G¡¯s daringly exposed outfit.


    ¡°Poor you, Lapis-chan. With such a dress, the spiders will be all over inside, right? Be good, lemme check it out for you.¡±


    Grabbing Lapis¡¯ hand, G pulled her towards herself and started thrusting her hands into Lapis¡¯ clothes.


    G acted so fast and smooth that Lapis didn¡¯t even have time to protest or stop her. She was taken aback, but she came to her senses after a short while and began to push G¡¯s hands away in a fluster.


    ¡°Wait, G?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, just leave it to me. Lapis-chan, you have lots and lots of hiding ces. I¡¯ll properly check them all and kill all the spiders for you.¡±


    ¡°Where are you putting your hands on?! If there are spiders there, I¡¯d definitely noticed!¡±


    ¡°Nah ah~, it¡¯s unexpectedly easy to miss.¡±


    G held Lapis from the back so that she couldn¡¯t get away and touched her all over. Naturally, the scene attracted Ritz¡¯s and Jack¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Wai¡­ eh? Err, that¡¯s why there¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice, right? Isn¡¯t it nice here?¡±


    ¡°Hyaa?! Where are you touching!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just women bonding. It won¡¯t shrink anyway.¡±


    ¡°No! The visible thing won¡¯t shrink, but the invisible one will!¡±


    Loren wondered what would shrink while averting his eyes and tried his best not to look over there. At the same time, Nim kicked Jack, who was watching very eagerly.


    ¡°That hurts!¡±


    ¡°Your eyes are those of a criminal.¡±


    ¡°Can you not be that savage?!¡±


    Jack immediately got up and protested, but he shut up as soon as he saw Nim¡¯s unhappy face and meekly mumbled some excuse instead.


    G shifted target to the unhappy-looking Nim and went towards her with grabby hands.


    ¡°Nim-chan, do you need me to look you over too?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Making use of that opportunity, Lapis put some distance between her and G and went to hide behind Loren as if intending to use him as a shield. Her face was red.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say so, Nim-chan. Your outfit is also really fluttery¡­¡±


    G didn¡¯t seem to mind Nim¡¯s refusal at all and continued drawing closer to her. Nim was on guard. But after looking her up and down with no reservation, G¡¯s smile disappeared for some reason, and she lowered her hands.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Nim was bewildered by her sudden change. G said in a somewhat-pitying voice:


    ¡°I see. It seems like in Nim-chan¡¯s case, we won¡¯t need to check to know.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. I want you to exin what that means!¡±


    ¡°Well, you seem to have no ces for the spiders to hide in.¡±


    At G¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s eyes unconsciously went to Nim.


    Nim¡¯s outfit was in hunter-style, very easy to move in and, just as G said, provided no hiding ces for the spiders. And unlike Lapis, she had an elf body, which didn¡¯t have any hiding spots either. Everyone came to the conclusion that G¡¯s assessment was correct.


    ¡°Your gazes are ridiculous.¡±


    Nim red at them with a sullen face, and Ritz and Loren immediately looked away. Quartz and Dig were, for some reason, smiling kindly at her. G had turned back to find Lapis only to find out that she had hidden behind Loren¡¯s back. Jack was the only one who continued to stare at Nim. Finally, he uttered:


    ¡°Indeed¡­¡±


    In an instant, Nim¡¯s raised her right leg at an admirable speed and angle, and kicked right at Jack¡¯s temple. He fell down like a pole without making a single sound. Ritz and Loren stared at him,pletely stunned. Nim, who was red to the tips of her pointed ears, began throwing jeers at the unmoving Jack to her heart¡¯s content. No one felt like stopping her.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me.¡±


    Still looking stunned, Loren asked Ritz, but he looked embarrassed for some reason. He casted his eyes down and begged Loren to stop asking. Loren had no intention to poke at someone else¡¯s party when they were in disorder. So instead he patted Ritz¡¯ shoulder to indicate that his request was epted, since Ritz was still avoiding his eyes.


    It was difficult to continue on while Nim was like this, so Loren intended to leave her alone for a while and waited for her to cool down. He began to watch out for another possible attack from the spiders while they were stopping. Suddenly, Lapis, who was still hiding behind him, noticed something and let out a small scream.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°L-Loren, on your shoulder¡­¡±


    Lapis pointed at Loren¡¯s right shoulder and said in a trembling voice. Quartz and Dig followed Lapis¡¯ finger and looked at Loren¡¯s shoulder, and unthinkingly caught their breath once they saw what was on it.


    Wondering why the hell they were so surprised, Loren moved his hand to the ce where their gazes gathered. His fingertips touched something hard, and he reflexively took his hand back.


    ¡°What is it¡­?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a spider clinging to you.¡±


    ¡®No wonder¡¯, Loren thought and looked at his shoulder. There was a spider right there, as big as his palm, its eight legs clung firmly onto his jacket.


    Having a spider on your shoulder wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling, it just sat there motionlessly without biting him. Loren poked at it with a finger to chase it away but it didn¡¯t budge no matter what, as if it had decided that his shoulder would be its home.


    ¡°Is this a spiderlings of that Huge Spider?¡±


    ¡°Eh, it seems a bit different somehow?¡±


    It really did look different from the spiders that had been attacking them. Huge Spiders had long thin legs, but this one was rather short and round, with short thick legs. It had a ck body that gleamed like obsidian, and eight eyes that were as red as ruby.


    Loren poked it a bit stronger, yet it still didn¡¯t budge from that spot.


    ¡°Can it be that it feels attached to me?¡±


    ¡°You mean the spider? Are there spiders that feel attached to humans?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t have an answer for that. Not knowing what to do, Loren continued poking the spider. Nim, who had grown tired of verbally abusing Jack, noticed what he was doing and came over. She leaned closer to look at the spider.


    ¡°It¡¯s an adult Obsidian Spider, I think. It¡¯s extremely rare.¡±


    ¡°Is it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°A bit. They tend to cling to strong individuals.¡±


    ording to Nim, they had very hard bodies and even carried poison, yet weren¡¯t aggressive. They preyed on the kills of the individual they clung to.


    ¡°They also spit threads. They¡¯re quite strong by themselves, so it¡¯s a mystery why they cling to others.¡±


    ¡°Will ity eggs inside me?¡±


    The victims from earlier shed through Loren¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t want to go through such an experience.


    Nim nodded.


    ¡°These spidersy only one egg, but this one seems to be a male.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strong¡­¡±


    As the spider didn¡¯t move no matter how much he poked it, Loren tried pressing on it with his finger. But the spiders nted his feet on Loren¡¯s jacket and firmly but stubbornly refused to leave.


    This continued for a while, yet even multiple triester the spider still showed no signs of moving no matter what, and Loren gave up.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then. It¡¯s fine as long as it doesn¡¯t bite me.¡±


    ¡°It can look like an essory.¡±


    As Lapis said, the unmoving spider¡¯s shining ck abdomen certainly did go with the color of his jacket. So it indeed looked like an essory.


    Loren sighed and flicked at the spider head to tell it to not cause him troubles. As if understanding it, the spider stirred just a bit, then returned to its stationary state. It didn¡¯t even twitch.

 Chapter 186, An Encounter Near the Exit

    <h4>Chapter 186, An Encounter Near the Exit</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    After leaving the spider web area their journey was rather peaceful.


    They were asionally attacked by undead and huge spiders, but these were all put down easily by Ritz¡¯s party. Loren¡¯s party didn¡¯t need to intervene at all, so he uttered:


    ¡°Exactly what¡¯s expected from a party of silver rank adventurers.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know why, but I feel like we¡¯re getting too much praise.¡±


    Ritz responded with a wry smile. An adult huge spider appearing alone should have been a formidable enemy due to its sheer size, the thread it spat out, and the poison transmitted through its bite. Yet just Ritz and Jack were able to kill those lone spiders as if it was their routine work.


    Jack stood in front of the remains of the one such spider they had killed and grumbled:


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to collect raw materials, right?¡±


    Hearing him, Loren asked, just for the sake of future reference:


    ¡°Which part of this spider can be used as raw material?¡±


    ¡°Shell and poison nd. The thread sacs too.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a thread sac?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an organ storing the fluid that will be silk thread when spat out. I don¡¯t know its official name either. I can cut it open to show you, but if we stop, the next one wille soon.¡±


    Jack exined that the shell was used to make armors and such, and the poison nd were often used in medicine. The thread sacs would be used as a fiber after being treated. Despite the body size, each huge spider only had few of them, making it difficult to collect them in quantity. Huge spiders¡¯ thread sacs were actually fairly valuable.


    ¡°Can we collect them on the way back?¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, what will we do on the way back?¡±


    Their two parties were working together due to circumstances, but they had originallye here for different purposes. If collecting intel was Loren party¡¯s only purpose and if the situation allowed, continuing to work together like this was indeed an option. But collecting intel was only an excuse for Loren¡¯s party, their actual purpose, was to visit Lapis¡¯ house. They definitely couldn¡¯t bring Ritz party there.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go a bit deeper into the demon territory¡­ What about you?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine at the outer edge. We don¡¯t want to go deeper.¡±


    Loren believed such an answer would be sufficient for a party of iron rank adventurers, and Ritz nodded:


    ¡°In that case, maybe we should part ways after exiting this tunnel¡­¡±


    Loren was puzzled at Ritz¡¯ vague choice of words. Ritz looked towards Dig, who was leading their group, and told Loren in a small voice:


    ¡°There should be another dwarves¡¯ vige by the exit. Originally, we n to ask them to guide us on our way back¡­¡±


    ¡°In the current situation, the chance of the vige still being safe is slim.¡±


    The number of spiders inhabiting the tunnel was toorge to have been bred solely inside it. And no matter how frequent people passed through this tunnel, the number of travelers wouldn¡¯t be able to provide food for all those spiders. And considering the dwarves¡¯ vige by the entrance side was still safe, the chance of the vige on the exit side bing preys was exceedingly high.


    ¡°It¡¯s still possible that some stupidly big game was inside the tunnel.¡±


    Ritz was being overly optimistic. If there was such a creature inside the tunnel, the dwarves would have noticed it.


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Right, it isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So, you want to leave Dig with us?¡±


    To Loren, Ritz¡¯ words sounded like a subtle offer that wasn¡¯t really helpful.


    Dig¡¯s original role was to guide them through the tunnel. Since they would also have to go through the tunnel on their way back to human¡¯s territory, he was someone they needed to have, no matter what. Without him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to go back. Ritz¡¯ offer actually came off one-sided and high-handed in this case.


    But Loren¡¯s party would have to go to Lapis¡¯ house after this, and Loren wasn¡¯t very willing to have Dig apany them, as he didn¡¯t know what would happen. It was actually better for them if Dig went with Ritz¡¯s party, but then the return trip would be a worry.


    When Loren was still wondering how to answer him, Ritz continued, seemingly knowing beforehand what Loren was thinking:


    ¡°We¡¯ll collect intel for about two days before going back. Then we¡¯ll wait in the area near the tunnel for another day. If you can survive those three days, we¡¯ll pick you up.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Loren looked at Lapis, who was walking beside him, to ask for her opinion. Since he didn¡¯t know where her house was, he wasn¡¯t sure if the three days Ritz mentioned would be enough or not. Only Lapis knew.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably alright.¡±


    Lapis answered as if it was just a trivial matter. Loren looked at her, it seemed like it would really be alright. He nodded at Ritz:


    ¡°So we¡¯ll leave it in your hands.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely pick you up if you¡¯re alive.¡±


    Loren was grateful for Ritz¡¯s offer to look for them, and he presumed on it. Loren¡¯s party didn¡¯t have any rogues, but Ritz party had Jack the thief and Nim the elf hunter, so they were obviously more skilled in terms of searching and exploring.


    ¡°We still have to get out of here safely first.¡±


    Jack cut in. He stopped in front of a passage a bit ahead and signaled everyone to halt. Noticing the sign of something happening, they all stopped. With a serious face, Jack pointed at the passage ahead with his thumb and said:


    ¡°Something¡¯s no good there.¡±


    ¡°And quite big, too.¡±


    Nim, who was listening attentively next to Jack, added. Recalling something, Dig suddenly lifted his face:


    ¡°Ahead should be our work hall.¡±


    ording to Dig, there was a hall near the entrance on the demons¡¯ side, where the dwarves performed simple tasks and stored goods. In short, once they passed the hall, it would be a short distance to the exit.


    But now, Jack and Nim sensed something at that ce.


    Loren moved thentern further away to prevent its light reaching the vast hall ahead and asked in a small voice:


    ¡°What¡¯s no good?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, but quite big.¡±


    ¡°The footstep is heavy. It¡¯s something huge.¡±


    Since they had encountered mainly spiders so far, it might be a spider boss. This was the more favorable scenario. Regarding their opponents and the chance of winning, there were too many possibilities to narrow down.


    ¡°Can something that big even get in there?¡±


    No matter how big the hall was, the creature still needed to go through the tunnel to get in. Something as big as a huge spider could easily move in this tunnel, but it was difficult to think of something big enough for Jack and Nim to be wary of could.


    ¡°It probably grew big inside the hall.¡±


    ¡°Something that grew in there¡­ What a sad story.¡±


    They didn¡¯t know what that thing fed on, but if it couldn¡¯t get out, then it couldn¡¯t catch preys. As fewer and fewer people travelled through this tunnel, dying from starvation was its only future. While Loren was feeling pity for the creature, G disagreed:


    ¡°If it eats other spiders, it won¡¯t have to worry about preys, right?¡±


    The other spiders could go in and out of the tunnel and catch preys outside. If that creature was feeding on spiders that had grown to some extent, it wouldn¡¯t need to go out.


    ¡°What a troublesome story.¡±


    If the tunnel waspletely dominated by spiders, the surrounding area would be spiders¡¯ feeding ground. The area on the demon side probably had already been devastated, and with time spiders would start flooding the area on the other end of the tunnel. The timing was truly dangerous.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t think of a way to exterminate them, you¡¯ll be their food.¡±


    ¡°Ngh¡­ Should I ce a request with the Adventurer Guild?¡±


    Lapis exined to Loren in secret that dwarves did set up viges, but they weren¡¯t very organized. There were no organized armed troops to fend off attacks. If they truly needed fighting power, they wouldmission it from outside.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have a proper country. They move away once a mine is exhausted, after all.¡±


    ¡°This mine doesn¡¯t seem to be exhausted yet.¡±


    ¡°The mountains above are still safe, so it probably hasn¡¯t.¡±


    Loren turned to Lapis with a surprised face. He didn¡¯t understand what she had just said at all.


    ¡°Once dwarves have mined all the ore veins in the area, the mine will be exhausted and cave in, and the mountain above it will copse.¡±


    ¡°What a troublesome race¡­¡±


    ¡°In the worst case, there will be a pit after the mountain copses.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t even care about the underground¡­¡±


    Lapis said that it was in the dwarves¡¯ nature to mine as much ore as possible. In the worst case, they might mine enough to turn part of the mountain range separating demons and the outsider world into level ground. Only then would they decide that the mine was exhausted.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too foolish?¡±


    ¡°Well, rather than the dwarves¡¯ nature, the huge thing waiting ahead should be our first priority.¡±


    Lapis said as if to calm Loren down and looked towards Jack and Nim, who was peering into the path in front of them. They were going a bit ahead of the group to check out the situation in the hall. Slowly returning, they told the group, who was looking at them.


    ¡°As expected, it¡¯s a stupidly big spider. It¡¯s grayish, and it covered all the hall in hanging webs like curtains.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a species superior to huge spiders, I think. It¡¯ll be difficult to pass without being noticed.¡±


    After hearing their report, Ritz grimaced and looked at their group.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. We¡¯ll have to kill it to go forward. Any objections?¡±


    If anyone objected, they would have toe up with a way to pass by a spider superior to huge spiders without being noticed. No one had such a brilliant idea in mind.


    And so, everyone exchanged nces with each other and decided that there was no other option but to kill the superior spider like Ritz proposed.

 Chapter 187, From Encounter To Conquest

    <h4>Chapter 187, From Encounter To Conquest</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    First thing first, they needed to ensure visibility.


    ¡°<<ball lightning="">>!¡±


    </ball>


    Quartz shot a burst of magic at the ceiling. He seemed to have strengthened the spell ¨C white light shining down from the ceiling was meager but strong enough to illuminate the whole hall and the spider inside it.


    Next, the battle started with an arrow from Nim, who had the longest attack interval and the fastest attack speed. The arrow was released at the same time as Loren and Ritz, the vanguards, mmed into the spiders. The arrow tore through the air, crossed the vast hall and plunged into a crouching-like spider at the same time as Loren and Ritz, the vanguards, charged. Considering Nim¡¯s skill, the distance and the size of the spider, of course, the arrow wouldn¡¯t miss its target. But it only scratched at the spider¡¯s exoskeleton and flipped with a solid sound.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard¡­¡±


    Nim muttered with a scowl. This spider was surely big. The adult Huge Spiders they had escaped from earlier were big, but this one was bigger by three or four times.


    Noticing the attack, the spider began to turn towards them. Nim flinched. This sight looked just like a small hill moving. Next to her, Quartz and G, who were also capable of long-range attacks, shouted:


    ¡°Let¡¯s attack simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Ca~n¡¯t be helped then. Match with me!¡±


    As G turned her palms towards the spider, Quartz pointed his staff at it and chanted:


    ¡°Scarlet stones, shoot at my foes. <<fire beads="">>!¡±


    </fire>


    Two balls of fire flew over Loren¡¯s and Ritz¡¯ head and mmed into the spider, spreading fire on impact, but the fire scattered and went out. Quartz watched this with widened eyes, while G pushed her hair back in annoyance.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t work at all.¡±


    The spider¡¯s carapace didn¡¯t even show any burned marks. The spider also didn¡¯t show any signs of being in pain ¨C it slowly continued to turn towards them.


    ¡°Can we even kill this thing?!¡±


    Jack eximed. Being a thief, he hadn¡¯t charged forward together with Loren and Ritz, but was on standby tomence attacks from the side while the spider was busy dealing with the two vanguards. However, seeing the spider still unaffected after three attacks, had scared him a bit.


    Lapis, who couldn¡¯t join in the battle and was watching over from the side, answered him in a tone without much sense of urgency:


    ¡°We can¡¯t, can we?¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°We probably have no choice but to sh at it with all our might. Because of its size, its exoskeleton is too hard for weapons to cut through, but Loren¡­¡±


    Lapis¡¯ gaze was on Loren¡¯s back. At that moment, he and Ritz were in the middle of attacking the spider, which was still turning around.


    Ritz swung his long sword downwards with a cry. His de dug a bit into the outer shell of the spider¡¯s leg, but was stopped by the firmness and thickness of the carapace and couldn¡¯t reach any vital organs.


    But Loren¡¯s greatsword easily cut through the exoskeleton without a single sound and made a deep gash into the spider¡¯s leg. He didn¡¯t even feel any impact transmitted to his hand. A sound like metal rubbing together reverberated in the hall, and the spider, that had been moving very slowly until now, retreated with an agility that didn¡¯t match its gigantic body.


    Loren didn¡¯t even have time to recognize that metallic sound as the spider¡¯s cry. The spider charged at him, and Loren shed at another leg while dodging it.


    ¡°Just a shallow one¡­¡±


    Loren muttered while watching the spider crash into a wall in the momentum of its charge. Loren¡¯s sword could easily cut through stone, so spider¡¯s exoskeleton was nothing to it. But he couldn¡¯t get closer to the spider as he couldn¡¯t afford to get caught up in its charge, and his sh only made a shallow scratch in result.


    That, however, was only from Loren¡¯s point of view only. Ritz, who was nearby, considered the wound he gave the spider a severe one that cut through almost half of the thick leg.


    ¡°You really can cut through such a hard shell¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that my weapon is good.¡±


    Loren answered bluntly and leapt away the next moment. Ritz followed his example, and right after that, thick white fluid sshed violently at the spot he had just been.


    The sticky fluid was shot out by the spider. Its head was stuck into the wall, but its bottom was turned towards Loren and Ritz. From that bottom a mass of fluid was ejected, yet instead of hardening into the usual thin threads, it turned into a bullet-like projectiles.


    It was easy to imagine what would happen if someone was hit by such a thing. At the very least, their movement would be restricted. They might even be glued to the ground and couldn¡¯t move just an inch of your body. In addition, the released fluid on the ground still retained its stickiness. Anyone stepped on it might trip.


    Loren cluck his tongue at the dangerous attack. In front of him, the spider slowly moved away from the wall. But for some reason, it mmed its head hard into the wall once more. The resulting noise and impact shook their surroundings, and Loren wondered what the hell the spider was thinking. He immediately understood its intention, though.


    As the whole space with its countless curtain-like spiderwebs shook, several cocoons dropped from the ceiling right at Loren¡¯s group. Being casually dropped down from such a height, the content of a cocoon must had been damaged quite severely, yet it started moving. As the moving something started crawling out, it turned out to be a moving corpse. The corpses slowly stood up, let out groans like the whine of a cold draft, and walked towards the adventurers.


    These were also spider victims that had been turned into undead, but they were mere shadowspared to the spider victims Loren¡¯s group had encountered earlier: Despite still wearing their clothes and equipment, they were all skin and bones. Reacting to the life forces in front of them, the undead victims stretched their hands at Loren¡¯s group.


    ¡°I hate these too! We¡¯re not the ones that killed you!¡±


    Ritz cursed and shed at one undead who had staggered back after being bashed by his round shield. If undead could feel resentment and such, they would have rushed at the spiders that had killed them. But rather than the cold-blooded spiders, they preferred the warm flesh.


    That said, these undead had been sucked dry by the spiders, and their bodies were very brittle. Ritz¡¯ long swords and Jack¡¯s daggers had no problem dealing with them.


    ¡°Hey, Loren, leave these to us!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the difficulty level too distinct¡­¡±


    Realizing that their attacks would be sufficient for the undead, Ritz left the spider to Loren, who had a weapon that could work against it.


    Loren wasn¡¯t very keen on this idea. But the fact was that Ritz¡¯ and Jack¡¯s weapons didn¡¯t work against the spider, and letting the one who possessed a weapon that could deal damage to do the damage ¨C was the correct choice in some sense. Still, from the person¡¯s, entrusted with said task, point of view, it wasn¡¯t a very weing idea. The difficulty level of fighting some dried up undead was very different from the difficulty level fighting a spider so huge that one would need to look up to see it in entirety. So different so that Loren just had toin.


    Still, he had no choice but to do it. The spider was still shooting sticky fluid from its spinnerets, so Loren shed down at its abdomen. But the spider, in a surprisingly shrewd move, rolled over with its head turning towards Loren and jumped away from the sword¡¯s span. As a result, Loren could only make another shallow sh at its leg.


    ¡°This thing!¡±


    Loren was about to chase after it, but was forced to dodge once again as the spider suddenly charged. Considering the sharpness of his sword, it would be possible to cut through the charging spider. But cutting through the spider didn¡¯t necessarily mean stopping it, and if the spider wasn¡¯t stopped, he would be knocked down by its huge body and seriously injured. If unlucky, he might even be ran-over and killed. Loren had no choice but to dodge, but that meant the spider mmed hard into the wall again.


    ¡°More are dropping down!¡±


    ¡°Damn! They just won¡¯t stop!¡±


    Ritz and the others continued to deal with the newly-dropped undead. Their number was so big that Loren had to wonder how many were stored on the ceiling, but Ritz¡¯ group still seemed capable of dealing with them. Even so, if this continued, it could only end when either the undead ¡®stock¡¯ or Ritz¡¯ group stamina ran out. The only way to break the deadlock was to finish off the spider somehow, so Loren took a step forward.


    ¡°<<force>>!¡±


    </force>


    Before Lorenunched his attack, Lapis, who had been watching over the situation, threw a spell at the sticky-fluid spitting spider. The pure force of energy smashed into the spider¡¯s belly so hard that it almost made a dent, and the spider¡¯s movement stopped for a moment.


    Taking advantage of that, Loren got close and put all his strength into shing at the spider¡¯s belly, which wasparatively softer than the rest of its body. The de of his greatsword smoothly cut into the spider and carved a rather deep wound this time. Green and white fluid spurted out of the wound, and the spider writhed as if it felt the pain while trying to turn back to face Loren. Taking care to not get caught in the spider¡¯s movements, Loren cut off one of its legs and deterred its of mobility.


    ¡°<<fireball>>!¡±


    </fireball>


    At that crucial moment, G shot a ball of fire at the spider. It hit the squirming spider¡¯s body and caused a violent explosion that rocked the tunnel¡¯s walls. Even though <<fireball>> itself didn¡¯t cause the spider any damages, the heat surely did, and the creature writhed in agony.


    </fireball>


    ¡°Just now, when the spell hit, the exoskeleton was gnawed at, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No, Grandpa, it couldn¡¯t be, right?¡±


    Quartz seemed to have noticed something the moment G¡¯s magic exploded, but was dismissed by Lapis¡¯ rather monotone answer.


    As the spider began to stagger due to the heat and shock, Loren readied his sword and charged into the creature again. He didn¡¯t know where a spider¡¯s vital points were, but he roughly knew that crushing the head would probably kill it. He cut off another leg to stop it from charging, changed his hold on the sword to a backhand grip, and thrust the de into the spider¡¯s head where its eyes were. To push the de deeper inside, he let go of the hilt and stomped on the pommel, then leapt back.


    With a sword buried to the hilt in its head, the spider raged in pain, and the group rushed outside the hall to avoid getting caught in the rampage. They watched the spider writhed about and crushed the undead beneath from the passage, where the creature couldn¡¯t get through to.


    ¡°Amazing. You¡¯ve really defeated it.¡±


    Having a vitality fit for its size, the spider struggled for a while with a sword in its head before its energy ran out. It grew weaker and weaker until finally turning to lie on its back and, with a final twitch, stopped moving.


    They waited a bit more after that before entering the hall again and examined the spider¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°The surrounding area was also trashed.¡±


    The spider threads that had been all over the hall earlier were torn off and now stuck around the corpse, making it look like a mountain of garbage. The spider¡¯s rampage had also made more undead drop down from the ceiling. Yet this time around they were all either crushed beneath the writhing spider and turned into chunks, which were scattered around the hall, or got stuck to the spider¡¯s corpses together with the threads. Just like Jack said, it was a scene of a disaster.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    Loren came towards the head and pulled his sword out. Having pierced a spider¡¯s body, the de was covered in oozing greenish fluid. But then it flew off with just one casual shake, and Loren cleaned off the rest with an old rag.


    ¡°We just have to walk out next¡­ It won¡¯t be easy outside, either. Probably something like this.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest a bit. Fighting continuously is tough.¡±


    ¡°I agree. It¡¯s better so for my old bones.¡±


    Quartz immediately agreed with Jack¡¯s proposal, and no one else had a different suggestion. As Ritz decided that they would head out after a short break, G pointed at the spider corpse:


    ¡°Do we take this spider to pieces? There¡¯ll be a lot to harvest at this size.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s pass on it. It¡¯ll add to our luggage.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? What a waste.¡±


    G looked a bit disappointed. But they still had to gather intel from the demons after this; any harvested fresh materials would be ruined, and the exoskeleton was too bulky. And to be honest, no one wanted to disassemble a spider corpse that was covered in threads, dirt, bones and body parts. Even Nim didn¡¯t have any objections.


    Each of them chose a spot to sit down. As Loren was looking for a ce to lean on and rest his body, Lapis thanked him:


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Loren. It seems like you¡¯re not injured.¡±


    She also gave him a water sk and a clean cloth. He epted them with a thanks, then wiped his face with the cloth and took a sip from the sk.


    ¡°We¡¯ll reach the demons¡¯ territory after this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Before that, we¡¯ll have to pass another dwarven vige.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s troublesome.¡±


    ¡°It is. We¡¯ll make it somehow though, definitely will.¡±


    Demons ¨C it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they were hated by the whole world. They would enter the domain of such beings soon, yet Lapis talked about it as if it was something trivial. But considering that was where she had originallye from, it would be like homing, and there was no reason for her to get worked up at all. For G too, as one of the beings called Evil God, keepingpany with some demons was no big deal at all.


    Only Loren, with his human body, had a lot to worry about this, and he was feeling a bit gloomy. Lapis smiled at him as if to tell him to not worry and presented him both of her hands. He ced the cloth he had used and the water sk in them, then silently deeply exhaled.

 Chapter 188, From Investigating to Mind Reading

    <h4>Chapter 188, From Investigating to Mind Reading</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    During the short break they took after the spider was defeated, Loren went to examine its corpse. Others kept a distance from the carcass, and Loren was the only one who approached it. He had a reason to though.


    Loren stabbed the spider carcass with the tip of his sword multiple times to make sure it had really died beforeing closer. The first thing he examined was the spot where G¡¯s <<fireballs>> hit. The exoskeleton was quite hard, and even though the surface was scorched, there weren¡¯t many signs of damages. There was only one spot where the exoskeleton had been torn apart, allowing the magical fire and explosion¡¯s to spread inside.


    </fireballs>


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a bite mark¡­¡±


    The marks left on the exoskeleton were, very obviously, tooth-shaped. Since G was the caster, it was obvious what happened. The others didn¡¯t notice, simply because they hadn¡¯t really inspected the spider. Even if they did and wondered what the hell had happened, they wouldn¡¯t be able toe up with an answer anyway. It should be alright to just leave things as they were, but Loren still used his greatsword to scrape off some exoskeleton just to be sure.


    When he was doing that, Loren suddenly felt the loss of a weight on his right shoulder. Looking over, he noticed that the ck spider that had been clinging to his shoulder had disappeared. In its ce was a piece of thread, and the spider was at the other end of the thread, clinging onto the dead spider carcass and thrusting its head into the hole Loren had made with his sword. Loren wondered what it was doing, but immediately noticed that it was somehow eating the dead spider, which made him feel a bit weary. He actually thought that it would be nice if the spider just went away like this, but the threading from its bottom was still attached to his shoulder, letting him know that it had every intention to return. Wondering if the thread could be removed, Loren pulled at the thread with a little of strength, but it seemed to be very securely attached ¨C there was no sign of iting off at all. He wondered if it woulde offter, but for now he had to continue his examination.


    ¡°That being done¡­¡±


    Loren spoke aloud while properly dissecting a spider leg. The exoskeleton was so firm that Ritz¡¯ sword couldn¡¯t make a dent in it, but it was no match for Loren¡¯s greatsword. The leg easily came off with just one light swing of the de. Loren looked into the freshly cut flesh and sighed at the expected scene.


    There was nothing inside the exoskeleton of the leg, just a hollowness. Loren stared at that hollowness for a while, then turned his nce towards G, who was resting in a passageway on the other side of the hall. She looked to be in a world of her own, but she stiffened her face and looked away in a fluster once she noticed Loren¡¯s eyes on her. That behavior let Loren know exactly what had happened to the flesh of the spider inside the exoskeleton.


    ¡°That girl¡­ She ate up all the insides.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if it had happened during or after the battle, but after taking a bite off the spider¡¯s exoskeleton to allow her magic to take effects, G had sent <


    > into the open wound and cleanly ate off the spider inside out. Why did she have to go through so much troubles though? More or less, G also wanted to avoid attracting Ritz¡¯ party¡¯s attention, but a corpse cleanly devoid of its inside was undeniably suspicious. She didn¡¯t seem to do this to avoid their attention.


    ¡°What do we do with this?¡±


    If Ritz¡¯ party came to examine the carcass, they would immediately notice the abnormality. Yet, cleaning up the exoskeleton would take a lot of time andbor as it was too big and hard. They just had to leave this ce before the others took an interest in the spider remains.


    Loren ended his examination and returned to the party. The ck spider, which had been rummaging around in the dead spider¡¯s head, followed the thread and smoothly returned to his shoulder. It peeled the thread off Loren¡¯s jacket, wound it up and ate it clean. Loren looked down at the spider for a while: it seemed a bit heavier than before. It seemed like this spider had no intention to part ways with him for a while.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a pet, but¡­ I should give it a name or something¡­¡±


    Loren unintentionally uttered, and the spider on his shoulder vibrated. With such a reaction, Loren wondered if it could understand human speech, but he immediately dismissed the idea. Big or small, spiders were spiders ¨C it would be too much if they could understand human speed and react to it.


    Loren felt the spider stopped vibrating just then. He looked at it once more and nervously asked:


    ¡°Do you want a name?¡±


    Loren thought he wouldn¡¯t get a reaction, but he did. The spider vibrated once again. Trying to not let his jaw drop unintentionally, Loren changed his mind. Apparently, spiders that could understand humans did exist. He had never once thought about it during his mercenary days, but such things did exist in the world¡­


    When Loren was musing, the spider on his shoulder began vibrating even harder, as if to urge him. He had believed that naming should be done with great consideration, but he just blurted out the first word that came to his mind:


    ¡°Nigreto. Nig if it¡¯s too long. How about it?¡±


    The spider stopped rocking its body at Loren¡¯s words. He wondered if it didn¡¯t like the name, but as he began to think of another one to propose, the spider suddenly shook its body once. Loren considered that an eptance and said in confirmation while stroking the spider¡¯s smooth body with his left hand:


    ¡°So, it¡¯s Nig. I don¡¯t know for how long you want to stick with me, but well, please take care of me.¡±


    The spider named Nig shook its body again.


    ¡°Are you done talking?¡±


    Lapis said, as if she had been waiting for the right timing. Somehow, feeling like her eyes were on him as well as the spider on his shoulder, Loren asked:


    ¡°Could this spider be intelligent?¡±


    ¡°This one? Of course it is, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis said this as if it was something obvious, and that confused Loren.


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°These spiders are intelligent enough to understand humans to some extent. They¡¯re famous for it¡­ Even the dwarves know.¡±


    ¡°Is it alright for me to walk around with it?¡±


    The spider wasn¡¯t only intelligent, but was even famous for understanding human speech. Loren was made to realize that the ecosystem of this ce exceeded hismon sense, and felt uneasy.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ no problem, I think? Just one of them won¡¯t be able to ruin a country.¡±


    ¡°Yourparison is a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous for a vige, so please be careful.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words made him feel awfully uneasy, and he wanted to ask what she meant, but Ritz interrupted:


    ¡°Can we continue now? I can¡¯t say it was plenty, but we did have some rest.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine now, isn¡¯t it? What do you think, Loren?¡±


    Since he was asked directly, Loren had no choice but to answer. He gave up questioning Lapis for now, but he had the feeling that if he couldn¡¯t find the time to do itter, something outrageous would happen, and he would regret not asking.


    ¡°Fine for me. We¡¯re almost at the exit, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Be careful though, there¡¯s a high chance that the outside is full of spiders.¡±


    As the spiders hadpletely overrun the tunnel, they might have spread outside. If that was indeed the case, it was very likely that the area around the exit on the demons side had be a breeding ground for the spiders.


    ¡°Would be nice if they ain¡¯t big.¡±


    ¡°Pardon us, but you¡¯ve just seen that our weapons are no match for them at all.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other countermeasures?¡±


    Ritzined, and Loren asked with just a little bit of surprise. It was partly because a silver rank adventurer was admitting his weapon¡¯s ineffectiveness to him, but it was also because entering the demons¡¯ territory without any counter-n was way too reckless.


    ¡°Not that we don¡¯t. We do, and we still have our trump card too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be in bad taste to ask you what it is, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t tell you, cause that¡¯s how a trump card works.¡±


    Ritz answered while walking, and Loren nodded in agreement.


    ¡°If you¡¯re aiming for something higher than iron rank, you should have one hidden trump card too.¡±


    ording to Ritz, it was normal for adventurers above silver ranks to have one or two trump cards or hidden tricks. Of course, information about such things were a matter of life and death, so they would keep them hidden until the veryst minute.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same as showing your hands. You¡¯ll have to keep it hidden to thest minute, and once you use it, you¡¯ll have to dispose of your opponents. There¡¯s no harm in keeping this in mind, you know?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the advice. I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    Loren replied in a light tone, but he knew he really should have at least one of those things. Right now, their partyrgely depended on Lapis the demon, G the Evil God, and Shayna the King of Death. From Loren¡¯s point of view, he was the weakest in terms of fighting power in their party. Maybe he should have something that didn¡¯t depend on them up his sleeve, even just one.


    [¡®Onii-san, if you want even more power, do you want to be inhuman? As a human who has be inhuman, I don¡¯t rmend it.¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s words made Loren¡¯s heart jump. Loren wondered if she could read his mind, but Shayna immediately dismissed the notion:


    [¡®You¡¯re just easy to read.¡¯]


    Loren tilted his head in puzzlement ¨C was he really that easy to read? But then, Jack¡¯s voice came, bringing him back to reality and pushing such thoughts to the back.

 Chapter 189, From Investigating to Camping

    <h4>Chapter 189, From Investigating to Camping</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Hey,e here guys.¡±


    At Jack¡¯s call, everyone came over to where he was hiding. The ce was right in front of the exit, where sunlight from the outside did reach. Thentern was put out, and they looked into the direction Jack was pointing.


    If the tunnel exit on the demons¡¯ side was the same as the exit on human¡¯s side, there should be a dwarven vige here. And yes, there surely was a vige, where someone had lived. But Jack wouldn¡¯t call out to them if that was all, and the reason for his call soon became apparent.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one here.¡±


    Ritz muttered. There were no signs of humans or dwarves in this vige.


    But this was something within their expectation. They had thought that the spiders infesting the tunnel had increased their numbers by attacking this vige. If that was really the case, there should have been spiders and spiderwebs here. But in front of their eyes was nothing but the emptiness of the ce.


    ¡°The spiders havepletely destroyed the ce¡­ then went somewhere else?¡±


    Ritz made a guess, but Lapis immediately shook her head.


    ¡°Even so, there should have been spider threads remaining here.¡±


    If the spiders upied a ce, then no matter how temporarily, there should have been webs remaining. But from what they could see, in this quiet vige, there was nothing like that.


    ¡°The spiders actually didn¡¯te here?¡±


    Jack asked cautiously ¨C it sounded like he couldn¡¯t even believe his own words. But everyone turned their cold gazes on him, and he shrank into himself.


    ¡°No matter how you think about it, the spiders in the tunnel should havee by here, right? Why is it this quiet, then?¡±


    Ignoring Jack¡¯s words, G asked. Of course, no one here had a clear answer to her question.


    ¡°It won¡¯t help to loiter here and chit-chat. Let¡¯s go look around.¡±


    Ritz said after a while. In the current situation, where no one had any guess about what had happened, it was no use to keep hanging out at the entrance.


    ¡°If no one is here, we¡¯ll go on. If there¡¯s somebody around, we just have to catch them and ask what happened.¡±


    ¡°It would be nice if this ¡®someone¡¯ can speak.¡±


    Loren interjected in a whisper, and everyone exchanged powerless smiles. Anyway, everyone agreed that they wouldn¡¯t know what happened if they didn¡¯t go investigate. And so, they got out of the tunnel and stepped into the dwarven vige.


    But their investigation abruptly came to an end.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing left.¡±


    Loren muttered. There really was nothing left in the vige. They found traces of fighting and several bloodstains, but no corpses or signs of spiders. Goods and food were alsopletely absent. There wasn¡¯t a single clue left here.


    Speaking of things, they found, there were traces of something like a bonfire and footprints that even Jack couldn¡¯t recognize, partly because dwarven viges were nicely paved with stones.


    They could have made some guesses about what had happened if there was somethingprehensible left behind, but as things were now, they weren¡¯t able to think about anything even if asked. So, after a short investigation, they came to the conclusion that nothing could be done here.


    ¡°It¡¯s better to wrap up early. We can¡¯t hang around here forever.¡±


    Ritz looked up at the sky and said. By the time everyone finished their investigation and gathered, the sky had already been dyed red, telling them that it would soon turn dark. If too much time was spent on investigating the vige, the time intended for their original purposes would decrease. And that was another reason why Ritz decided to end their investigation early.


    ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Dig, but we didn¡¯te here to investigate why the residents of this vige disappeared.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­¡±


    Dig didn¡¯t look like he agreed, but he understood very well that he couldn¡¯t force Ritz¡¯ and Loren¡¯s parties to do a job they weren¡¯tmissioned to, and didn¡¯t try to object to Ritz¡¯ n.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t investigate further, it¡¯s best to quickly leave this creepy ce behind.¡±


    ¡°I have no objection to that.¡±


    Considering that it would be night soon, there actually were ces that could serve as camping grounds here even without any preparation. But since the residents of this vige had vanished, by no means they felt like spending the night here.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s say goodbye here. Three days after tomorrow, we¡¯ll wait for you until around noon. If youe back to this area by then, you can return with us. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s impossible for us to go in deeper anyway. We¡¯ll hang around here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine then. Just a heads-up, but if you camp around here, don¡¯t worry about the fire. The demons don¡¯te all the way here. Even if they notice the fire, they won¡¯te to check. They¡¯re actually quiteid back.¡±


    If that was true, it would be really nice. Loren looked at Lapis.


    ¡°Demons don¡¯t have that much free time.¡±


    Lapis said, seemingly not noticing Loren¡¯s eyes. Still, Loren believed she was answering his question. Even though it was a secret, that Lapis was a demon. If that was her opinion, then it must be true.


    ¡°Well then, we¡¯re going. We don¡¯t have that much time, either.¡±


    ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t overdo it.¡±


    ¡°See youter, Loren.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be great for us if we meet again.¡±


    Each member of Ritz¡¯ party said goodbye, then headed for the center of the demons¡¯ territory. Just like they had said, they were probably going deeper into the demons¡¯ territory to collect intel. Loren saw them disappear into the forest outside the vige.


    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡±


    After he was sure that Ritz¡¯ party had disappeared from sight, Loren turned towards Lapis and asked. Loren had told Ritz that they would wander around the outer edge of the demons¡¯ territory, but their true purpose was going to Lapis¡¯ home to ask about the true identity of his greatsword. No one but Lapis knew the path.


    ¡°Right. Sorry everyone, I¡¯d really like to say ¡®Let¡¯s go to my house¡¯ now, but I have some minor business to attend to.¡±


    Lapis said apologetically. Loren expected her to borate, but he asked just in case:


    ¡°What business?¡±


    ¡°Checking what happened here. I told Ritz earlier that there are no demons that are free enough to check out this outer region, but the truth is there are no demons that won¡¯te investigating once they notice something strange.¡±


    From Loren¡¯s and Ritz¡¯ point of view, this was thend of another race, whatever happened here had nothing to do with them, and it was okay to not care. But from Lapis-the-demon¡¯s point of view, this was her people¡¯snd, and she couldn¡¯t overlook some unexined anomaly happening here.


    ¡°I was under the dwarves¡¯ care when I left the country. I believe I should find out what happened to them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. Well, if that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to go with you.¡±


    Without Lapis, no one knew the way to Lapis¡¯ house. So, Loren believed that they had no other choices but to go with Lapis on her investigation. Lapis suddenly understood that and nodded grimly. It was natural for a demon to perform this investigation, but Loren and G would have to apany her whether they wanted to or not.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, both of you. I proposed it myself, but I didn¡¯t see iting this time¡­¡±


    She was about to withdraw her proposal, probably worrying about needlessly involving the other two in a dangerous situation. But G pointed to the sky and interrupt her:


    ¡°Whatever, but¡­¡±


    The red sky indicated that night was just around the corner. Following G¡¯s finger, Loren and Lapis looked at the sky, then looked back at her to see what she wanted to say.


    ¡°The sun will set anytime now, I think. We¡¯ll have to camp anyway, so this vige will do, right? If something happens, it¡¯ll happen at night. If nothing happens during the night, then we can say that this ce is safe for now.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ You could say so. I don¡¯t want to get you two into danger though.¡±


    Lapis sounded reluctant, but G just smiled broadly. Her smile was so evil that Loren reflexively put himself on guard while Lapis put some distance between her and G. But G immediately retracted the evilness and waved her hands:


    ¡°Just a joke, just a joke. It¡¯s because Lapis-chan hardly ever says something so cute. Anyway, what danger were you talking about?¡±


    After that smile, Lapis just couldn¡¯t say the same thing anymore. But even if it was alright for G, there was still another person Lapis worried about.


    ¡°But¡­ There¡¯s Loren too.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine if he follows us, right? Also, he can manage the usual stuff, right?¡±


    G told Lapis, and she looked at Loren. Of course, from their point of view, he was the weakest one, that was indeed the truth, and Loren had no objection.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to not be a burden.¡±


    That much was all he could say. Lapis thought about it for a while, then looked up at the other two and said:


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m sorry, but please apany me and spend the night here.¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ rephrased request, Loren and Lapis nodded deeply at almost the same time.

 Chapter 190, From Camping to an Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 190, From Camping to an Encounter</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    And so, night came.


    ording to Lapis, a fire at this outer region wouldn¡¯t attract the demons¡¯ attention. The reason was, the demons were actually aware of humans and other races entering their domain and collecting intel. If humans came near or into their town, of course they would think about dealing with them. Otherwise, they would simply acknowledge that there were few trespassers doing something sneakily, but they didn¡¯t care enough to go over and repel adventurers.


    ¡°Because humanse here gathering intel just to know whether demons will cross the mountains and attack them.¡±


    Dealing with some mere adventurers would only add to demons¡¯ already-bad reputation, while those adventurers only did that much¡­ To demons, such an action simply brought no profit. After being told so by Lapis, Loren came to think that acting with extreme caution here was somehow stupid.


    Still, this time, demons weren¡¯t their only opponents. In order to not attract unwanted attention from other creatures, they didn¡¯t make a fire. After dinner, they hid in a corner of a vige and kept watch for any strange urrences.


    ¡°I want cooked food.¡±


    ¡°Later.¡±


    As expected, Gined about their scarce dinner, and Loren and Lapis had to sooth her. They decided to not set up a tent, but took turns getting into their sleeping bags and keeping watch.


    The strange urrence took ce past midnight, when the moon was high in the sky. It was Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ guard shift, and G was sleeping soundly. Their camping site was hidden next to a building at the edge of the vige, and even though there should have been no one else but themselves here, some living creature was approaching them. It was Lapis and Shayna, who noticed its appearance.


    ¡°Something¡¯sing. From the East. There are about twenty or thirty of them.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, East of the vige. Twenty-eight.¡¯]


    As expected, the night belonged to the King of Death. Loren gestured Lapis to wake G up, then moved to a spot where he could watch the east region of the vige. He saw figures climbing over the vige fence and got inside. The figures looked a bit bigger than a human and, for some reason, they began demolishing a nearby building with tools held in both hands.


    It happened so suddenly that Loren had to wonder if he saw it wrongly. He blinked, but no matter how many times he looked, the figures still continued their work. They were extremely quiet, but very efficient in their work. As some of them carried scrap materials out of the viges, new figures joined in as if to rece them.


    ¡°What are they doing¡­?¡±


    ¡°Maybe destroying evidence or something like that?¡±


    Before Loren realized, Lapis hade to stand behind him. She watched the scene with him and guessed with her head tilted in confusion.


    ¡°Destroying evidence¡­¡±


    ¡°To cleanly erase what happened here. Like, before it¡¯s exposed that some unforeseen ident has happened and annihted a dwarves¡¯ vige, let¡¯s make it as if there has never been anything here.¡±


    ¡°You sound like an experienced person, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t make such blunders.¡±


    Loren thought Lapis coulde up with such an idea so smoothly because she was a demon, but Lapis denied it, so he didn¡¯t delve into the subject further. Actually, if she answered ¡®Yes¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t know how to react, thus Loren cautioned himself to not ask questions he wouldn¡¯t know how to react to. G¡¯s drowsy voice came from his back just then; Lapis had woken her up.


    ¡°What? Are those big dark goblins?¡±


    ¡°Big dark¡­ goblins? You can even see colors in this situation?¡±


    Since they didn¡¯t start a fire, they had to rely on the moonlight for visibility. In such a situation, Loren could only see several human-like figures working, but G¡¯s eyes could discern even colors in such meager light. He was once again astonished by the powerful abilities of Evil Gods. Aside from that, he was concerned about the phrase ¡®big ck goblins¡¯ G used.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before?¡±


    ¡°I dunno? Anyway, those are big goblins with dark skin.¡±


    Loren searched his memory for big dark goblins, he thought he had met them before. Lapis looked at him in shock and said:


    ¡°It was our first job, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ah? Ahhh, that.¡±


    It was the very first job Loren had taken after bing an adventurer. He was asked by another party to apany them on a goblin extermination, but that party was wiped out at the scene. He saved Lapis, who belonged to that party, and they began working together. They were chased by the goblins, got lost, then ended up in a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom. That was where they encountered the big dark goblins. These goblins were more intelligent than normal ones, and their strength and skills were also superior. They were such formidable enemies that even a party of silver-ranked adventurers like Ritz¡¯ was also put into danger.


    ¡°No, but we sealed that ruin. It shouldn¡¯t be serviceable anymore.¡±


    The ruin was a facility that experimented on breeding and strengthening goblins. Loren had destroyed it by his own hands and made sure that it wouldn¡¯t be able to run again, and the Adventurer Guild had sealed it as it was ssified as a dangerous ruin. Even if the Guild¡¯s seal was temporarily broken, the facility wouldn¡¯t function because Loren had destroyed it. It wouldn¡¯t be able to produce strengthened goblins anymore.


    ¡°That ruin isn¡¯t the only one that exists. If the information is taken out, it¡¯ll be simple to do the same thing in some other ruins.¡±


    ¡°Simple¡­¡±


    ¡°That ruin was dormant, but then became active again. Someone entered it before Ritz¡¯ party.¡±


    A dormant ruin wouldn¡¯t be able to operate again without someone activating it. It was an obvious thing, but Loren thought Lapis still should have pointed it out.


    ¡°I thought it¡¯s just a trivial thing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡±


    Lapis shamelessly dered, and Loren was considering pressing her a bit more, but Shayna sent a warning in his mind.


    [¡®Onii-san! We¡¯re surrounded!¡¯]


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Loren was being vignt, but he didn¡¯t notice them being surrounded at all. Surprised, Loren tried to stand up, but a semi-transparent hand reaching out from under the ground and grasped his right ankle.


    [¡®Don¡¯t touch!¡¯]


    The hand dispersed at the same time Shayna¡¯s thought came, but another hand immediately sprouted from the ground and began tremulously extending towards their party. And there wasn¡¯t just one or two of them. Their number multiplied, and when the three of them noticed, their surroundings were full of translucent hands.


    ¡°Are we surrounded by ghosts?!¡±


    As they weren¡¯t living things, ghosts had no presence. Even though the atmosphere had be a bit strange, they were preupied with the goblins and didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°Ghosts can¡¯t be eliminated by eating.¡±


    Gined and waved her hand. Unbelievably, the countless arms sprouting from the ground cleanly disappeared. It was over so quickly that Loren felt a bit anticlimactic, but he immediately gathered his mind and spoke to Lapis and G.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run. Something had probably noticed us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    G remained silent, but Lapis answered. They were about to escape the area, but the thing that had noticed their existence reacted before they could: A fresh crop of dark goblins with huge clubs in hands appeared in the direction they were about to run to.


    ¡°So troublesome!¡±


    There were quite a few goblins blocking their path, but Loren charged into them without slowing down. He unsheathed his greatsword and shed at the goblins as he passed by. The goblins either swung their clubs at Loren or used them to meet his sword, but all those actions proved to be futile. As they came to understand that, the white de had passed through their bodies, making them shiver by its coldness. The next moment, they became mere chunks of meat that fell to the ground.


    Witnessing theirrades¡¯ too easy demise, the other goblins instinctively ttered. G¡¯s <


    > swooped down on them, biting indiscriminately and leaving behind untidy messes.


    With a considerable number of them being defeated so easily, normal goblins would have lost their fighting spirit ¨C it wouldn¡¯t be strange if they even ran away. But dark goblins just stepped over the chunks of meat and puddles of blood that used to be theirrades and charged at Loren¡¯s group as if to stop them.


    ¡°These guys aren¡¯t scared at all?!¡±


    ¡°I wonder if they were even thought about that.¡±


    Lapis waved her delicate hand, and the heads of the goblins surrounding her were rotated sideways. As the heads were twisted off, blood spurted from the neck, but Lapis just ran past them without seeming to care. She rushed to Loren¡¯s side, as he had stopped to parry with the goblins.


    ¡°It won¡¯t stop if we keep engaging with them. Let¡¯s break through and take refuge in the forest.¡±


    There was a thick forest outside the vige. If they get into there, not only Loren but the goblins also wouldn¡¯t be able to use their weapons as they wish. Theirrge bodies would be a big hindrance when running through the trees, and their speed would significantly decrease.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna clear the way!¡±


    G turned her palms towards a corner of the wall of flesh made from goblins that was surrounding them. With that simple action, the goblins at that spot disappeared as if being gulped down by something. It wasn¡¯t possible to immediately close a sudden gap like that, and Loren¡¯s group ran out and away from the vige through that gap. But then someone stopped.


    ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡±


    Something that could only be described as a sh of light stroke their group right at the front. Loren, who had synced with Shayna¡¯s vision, saw that sh of light cut the Predators right into halves, tearing the ground and surged up toe straight at them. Shuddered to see an attack that was able to cut through an Evil God¡¯s powering at them, Loren immediately started self-boost. He even aroused the sensation that came with his rampage, and hit at the sh of light with the most powerful sh he could manage.


    There was the sound of something breaking, and sparks of light scattered at the spot where his sword made contact. Loren could feel the scattered light causing injuries all over his body, but he immediately thrust his sword into the direction the light wielder should have been in.


    ¡°Hoh, should I defend now?¡±


    Someone¡¯s voice came from that direction. It sounded just a little impressed. Loren didn¡¯t know how often the voice¡¯s owner could make an attack like the one earlier, but he knew it would be bad to be struck like that again. He smashed the double-strengthened shes that worked even with the Evil God of Lust on the figure with no reservation. The white de that could cut through stones as if nothing, swung with a force strengthened to the maximum and a speed that eyes could hardly follow, shed at the figure, but the sensation transmitted to Loren¡¯s hand was not of a de cutting through flesh but the shock of the de being stopped by something hard.


    ¡°No idea what kind of suspicious character you are, but you¡¯re a so-so swordsman.¡±


    Loren¡¯s greatsword was stopped by the longsword the figure held in one hand. He stared at the locked des with an unbelievable look on his face. The owner of the other de broke into a smile.


    The strike Loren had made with his utmost power while sping his greatsword by both hands had been stopped one-handedly. His opponent was looking at him with happy eyes, but Loren, even in his rampage state, felt like his heart was stabbed with an ice-cold de.

 Chapter 191, From Escaping to Clashing

    <h4>Chapter 191, From Escaping to shing</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    With their des locked and neither able to move, Loren managed check his opponent¡¯s appearance.


    He was the same height as Loren, but built slightly thinner. His appearance didn¡¯t match his strength, considering that he was able to stop Loren¡¯s double-enhanced attack with just one hand. He wore fitted ck metal armor and a ck cloak. His almond eyes were also ck, however his countenance rather than being cold, gave off a cruel impression. Straight long ck hairpleted his look. His long sword was currently locked with Loren¡¯s greatsword, whereas his second hand was free as he didn¡¯t carry a shield.


    ¡°What now? Do we finish here?¡±


    This guy stopped Loren¡¯s full strength sh with a longsword held in just one hand, yet he didn¡¯t even tremble. Not only that, but he was pushing Loren back, even just a little. Loren gritted his teeth. Keenly feeling his shoe sole scraping against the ground, he put more strength into his hands and noticed the other man¡¯s slight smile.


    ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡±


    Before Loren knew, the shing attack wasing again, it was already toote to dodge. He prepared himself for the worst and put even more strength into his greatsword. And as if in response, the white de started emitting a white light.


    ¡°Ngh?!¡±


    Loren thought he heard the man exim in surprise. But he was immediately blown back by the shock of the impact without even being able to brace himself. At the same time, the other man was also sent flying back, making the distance between themrger.


    The man immediately corrected his posture and held his sword up. Loren also readied his sword again, but he had started thinking about how to escape from this ce with as few injuries as possible. From the brief parry earlier, he had fully understood that he was no match for this man. If the man could stop his attack by just one hand even after he had used self-boost and triggered his rampage, Loren had no chance of beating him.


    Loren felt calmer, probably because he had been repelled so easily. It was lucky that he came out of his rampaging state earlier than usual ¨C he wouldn¡¯t be able to run away otherwise.


    The other man was strong, but the fact that his shing light attack could be triggered again after such a short time was what made him especially dangerous. Even though his unidentified white de seemed capable of stopping it somehow, Loren didn¡¯t know how far he could rely on that. He didn¡¯t want to receive a blow that could cut through an Evil God¡¯s power with his mortal body, and seeing that he had no countermeasures for said blow, to quickly run away was the best option.


    ¡°What are you thinking about? Do you even have the luxury to think now?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t incautious, but the man still managed to make a sh at him while he was thinking. The sh wasn¡¯t fast but was packed full with power, and even though Loren was able to parry it somehow, he was still being put into the defensive stance. The man exceeded him in both speed and strength, and if this continued, he would get hit sooner orter. But he could find no way to break the deadlock.


    Just then, G shouted from behind him.


    ¡°Loren! Jump back!¡±


    Jumping back while in the middle of a sword fight would give your opponent the chance to rally and chase after you, making the situation worse. But Loren believed that G had reasons to specifically instruct him so, and he jumped back as much as he could without thinking. The other man chased after him.


    By that time, half of the dark goblins surrounding them had disappeared. Loren didn¡¯t even have time to think about that, as one of G¡¯s Predators suddenly appeared in front of the man. Loren was surprised to see the normally-invisible Predator now suddenly materialized, but the man had already proved that he could cut apart Predators.


    Not even faltering, the man swung his sword at the Predator with no restraint. But the Predator spat out arge amount of meat and blood that buried the man down from head to toes.


    ¡°What!¡±


    G clenched her fists and looked at Lapis with half-opened eyes.


    ¡°G, that¡¯s gross¡­ You really vomited the goblins you ate¡­¡±


    Lapis sounded shocked. Lorennded and finally understood what G had done.


    After knowing that she couldn¡¯t directly use <


    > on the man, G had eaten up the surrounding goblins, chewed them up, then materialized a Predator in front of the man and spat them out. The man also didn¡¯t expect such a move ¨C he only thought that the Predator came to attack him. Because of that, when meeting with vomited blood and meat, his reaction was dyed, and he was buried whole.


    ¡°I can¡¯t describe it as anything but extremely distasteful.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s effective.¡±


    Exactly because it was distasteful the ck swordsman couldn¡¯t sense the danger. Also, it was a surprisinglyrge amount of blood and meat chunks. If such arge amount of things were suddenly hurled at Loren, he would also be confused, and it would take a while for him to regain his senses. In addition, as fat was also present in the chewed mix, it would be sticky all over his body, armor and weapon, making it extremely difficult to continue attacking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run away immediately. Such opponents are not easy to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s strong?¡±


    Lapis asked as if to confirm, and Loren nodded with no hesitation.


    ¡°He¡¯s strong. I couldn¡¯t make a solid hit at all.¡±


    Not only because that man was able to stop his double-enhanced attack with one hand, but also because his longswords didn¡¯t break or chipped after shing with Loren¡¯s greatsword. His sword skills were also above Loren¡¯s, and he was able to make such a powerful attack like the sh of light rather frequently. To be honest, Loren didn¡¯t even want to be his opponent. Running away from this ce was the only correct solution.


    As for what had happened with this dwarven vige, even though they still didn¡¯t know anything clearly, they had gotten enough information to know that these guys had done something. Investigating further might very likely turn this into a matter of life or death for them.


    ¡°Indeed. G, let¡¯s run.¡±


    Hearing Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis also agreed that they should run away from this ce. She immediately called out to G, who had eaten almost all of the goblins only to spat them out, rushed over to their side with a smile of a child that had seeded in a prank.


    ¡°Running away? Well, let¡¯s do it right away then.¡±


    ¡°Was that guy also a difficult opponent to you, G?¡±


    ¡°How to say it hm¡­ I probably can do him if I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t want to deal with him though. He¡¯s stronger than Loren. So such a human does exist.¡±


    As the man was buried under a mound of blood and meat, they couldn¡¯t see him. But this was no ce for idle chit-chat, being near an enemy that could strike any time and all. So, Loren¡¯s party immediately fled the ce. They didn¡¯t even consider where they were running to ¨C all they knew was that they had to put some distance between them and that vige. But before long, they noticed that it was bright behind them and realized that sh of light wasing again.


    ¡°He¡¯s already back?!¡±


    ¡°What a troublesome guy!¡±


    Just as Loren turned around and swung his greatsword down, the sh of light crashed into his de. As a result, he was pushed back due to the tremendous force, but his white de managed to shatter the sh of lighting at them. Loren frowned ¨C his arm had begun to hurt, and his hands felt a bit numb due to the shock transmitted from the sword.


    >¡±You do this and dare to run away?!¡±<


    The man¡¯s body was soiled with meat and blood from the head down. His face was distorted with anger, and he chased them with his long sword held high. Loren¡¯s face stiffened, he was still quite fast despite the heavy-looking armor he was wearing.


    ¡°That¡¯s fast! You caught up with us!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m mad.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s understandable.¡±


    Anyone would get mad after being vomited on, even more so if that vomit was goblins¡¯ meat and blood. Loren understood his anger. Looking back while frantically running for the forest, they could see a man covered in meat and blood from head to toes in the meager light. His state was so horrible that even though Loren had no intention to apologize, he was sure that even an apology wouldn¡¯t stop him.


    ¡°Cut, Caliburns!!¡±


    Another sh of light shot at them from behind. Still running, they had very little time to defend themselves, but the intense light shed by them into the trees ahead. The trees were sted away, soil turning up with them. Loren shook the dirt from his body while still running, and he looked over his shoulder to see the man brandishing his long sword again. He called out to him loudly.


    >¡±That dirty bastard! He keeps firing that attack ¡¯cause it¡¯s risk-free for him!¡±<


    ¡°Even if I try to eat him with my <


    >, he¡¯ll just slice them apart again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a rather powerful magic weapon. It¡¯s a set with the armor, though iplete. They are endowed with various kinds of magic.¡±


    Lapis nced back and spoke about her appraisal. His armor seemed to have unthinkable power, yet it was still iplete.


    ¡°Probably the shield and helmet are missing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just a trivial thing now, isn¡¯t it?! It¡¯s already enough in this situation!¡±


    Another shot of light wasing. Probably because the man fired it while chasing them, his aim was off: the light missed them and hit a nearby area instead. Still, the aftershock of it jolted their bodies, and Lapis tripped because of that. Loren, who was running beside her, immediately saved her by carrying her.


    ¡°That bastard! He¡¯ll hit us sooner orter!¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Should I make some effort, I wonder?¡±


    Lapis said from within Loren¡¯s arms. She slipped out of his hold and climbed to sit on his shoulder to look behind. As Loren was still running at full speed, her maneuver looked just like an acrobatics act to Loren and G, but they had no idea why Lapis would do it.


    ¡°Well then, the unknown mister from behind, may I suggest you stop chasing us?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Do you think you can get off unscathed after doing something like THIS?!¡±


    ¡°I just want to give you an advice.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ shoulders drooped a bit at the man¡¯s reaction. Loren, being the closest to her, had no idea how that was an advice though.


    ¡°So, I have no choice. I¡¯ll have to use my power to make you leave.¡±


    ¡°Try, if you think you can!¡±


    The man stopped with his deration. Loren didn¡¯t think he stopped because of the exchange with Lapis at all, so he looked over his shoulder to see their attacker and his face stiffened. The man held his sword aloft with both hands and said:


    ¡°In the name of the King, I call your noble name. Fire, Caliburns, epassing light.¡±


    ¡°Wake up, the power that fills thisnd, in the name of the ruling King. Attack the insolent one.¡±


    At the same time, Lapis said another incantation and turned her palms towards the man, while still sitting on Loren¡¯s shoulder.


    Loren knew something happened, but he had no idea what. All he could feel was a white light so intense that it could burn his eyes despiteing from behind him, and a shock crashing into his back so hard that he thought his body was shattered.


    Then he saw G jump at him while shouting something and felt Lapis, who was still sitting on his shoulder, softly ce her hand on his head.


    In a silence soplete that he wondered if his eardrums had been torn, white painted all over the scenery, and Loren with a strange floating sensation lost his consciousness.

 Chapter 192, From Destination to The Next Commission

    <h4>Chapter 192, From Destination to The Next Commission</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren drowsily thought that he remembered this sensation.


    He remembered swaying in a vortex of unthinkable magic power and could only cry. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly when it happened, but he was strangely sure that it really did happen. Loren didn¡¯t even remember when thest time he cried, so it was probably from a long time ago. He vaguely remembered someone else being there and kept soothing him though.


    As he reached out for help because of the recalled pain, something warm enveloped his hand, and his body rxed in relief.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s bold.¡±


    ¡°Mother? Could you please exin in way I can understand why you are here?¡±


    ¡°To evaluate the man my daughter brings home.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too blunt.¡±


    The two women¡¯s conversation forcibly pulled Loren back from the realm of sleep. Upon opening his heavy eyelids, the first thing that appeared in this sight was an indignant-looking Lapis. Next was a woman in a rather extravagant dress who was, for some reason, straddling him. The woman had long ck hair that casually flowed down her back, and somehow resembled Lapis. From the conversation he had overheard earlier, she must be Lapis¡¯ mother, but appearance-wise, she didn¡¯t look like someone who had such a big daughter at all.


    The woman¡¯s eyes were a surprisingly clear purple, so there was no doubt she was from the demon race.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve woken? Sorry for being so noisy.¡±


    ¡°Mother, please get off Loren. That is my ce.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    The woman asked, but still obediently got off. As the weight atop of him was gone, Loren sighed in relief. But for some reason, Lapis climbed up and sat on him in the exact same spot, and Loren choked again.


    ¡°Sleep a bit more, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Get down, Lapis.¡±


    Loren lightly tapped at her knee and asked, and Lapis slowly got down with a somewhat dissatisfied look on her face.


    Loren¡¯s clothes were notpletely taken off when he was put into this bed, but his boots and jackets were. Both were now neatly ced together near the wall. Nigg was still on the jacket, as if it had really imed that spot as hisir.


    Looking around, Loren understood that he was in a bedroom of sorts and bright light was streaming in from the window.


    ¡°I am¡­ still alive? Where is this?¡±


    Recalling what had happened before he lost consciousness, Loren was sure it wouldn¡¯t be strange if he just died. It was such a strong force. Loren wanted to know what happened after the ck-d man shed with whatever power Lapis was wielding, but he also didn¡¯t want to know. It was aplicated feeling.


    ¡°You¡¯re alive, and this is my home. Is this exnation alright for you?¡±


    ¡°Home?¡±


    Loren asked and looked at the other woman, who was standing smilingly next to Lapis. ording to what Lapis had just said, he was lying in one of the rooms in her home, and the smiling woman was indeed her mother.


    ¡°How much time has passed?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t add ¡®since I passed out¡¯ because he thought Lapis would get it. She answered immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s just past dawn.¡±


    Not that much time had passed then. Loren wanted to leave the bed, but Lapis and the other woman stopped him.


    ¡°Please sleep a bit more, Loren. I¡¯ve healed you, but it was pretty severe.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that our Lapis acted without thinking of the consequences.¡±


    Loren wondered what she was talking about for a moment, but then immediately realized she meant the sh with that ck-d man. It seemed like he had passed out because of it, and that was what she was apologizing for.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything else at the time.¡±


    ¡°In that case, you haven¡¯t really grown up, have you, Lapis-chan?¡±


    The woman smiled, and Lapis seemed to lightly gritted her teeth. Loren coughed lightly while wondering if it was alright for him to cut in.


    ¡°Ah, Loren, let me do some introduction. This is mother.¡±


    Loren had no idea how managed to clear he throat so fast, but Lapis pulled the smiling woman by the shoulder with one hand and pointed at her with the other and made a perfunctory introduction. The woman gave him a polite bow.


    ¡°I am Judie Paimonia. I have a different family name though.¡±


    ¡°I am Loren, former mercenary and now adventurer. I am your daughter¡¯s partner.¡±


    It was just good manners to introduce yourself after being introduced, so Loren gave Judie the bare information and a light bow of the head. Next to her mother, Lapis smiled happily.


    ¡°Partner has a nice ring to it.¡±


    ¡°Great to see you like it. By the way, how¡¯s G?¡±


    Loren recalled her leaping at him before he lost consciousness. As he was still alive, it was hard to think something worse had happened to her. Still he was a bit worried not seeing her at all.


    ¡°She¡¯s resting in another room. She¡¯s a bit exhausted after using too much power.¡±


    ording to Lapis, before Loren lost consciousness, G had set up a barrier to protect everyone. But the sh was much more powerful than expected, and Loren and G still received quite some impact despite the barrier. It was nothing too serious, but G was down due to overusing her power and magic.


    ¡°Are we close that ce?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s quite far. My people came to see the sh and carried you and G back here.¡±


    ¡®What the hell is your family?¡¯, Loren wondered. Just a look at Judie, who was watching their conversation by Lapis¡¯ side, and one could easily guess that their family was not an average family but a high-ranking one. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for such a family to have numerous servants.


    Also, he found it a bit unfathomable that he and G lost consciousness in that light, but Lapis, the one who created it, was totally fine.


    ¡°Still, we reached our destination.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we did.¡±


    Lapis replied. Next to her, Judie unhurriedly took out something from behind her. It was Loren¡¯s greatsword. She lifted it with one hand and gazed at it with mncholic eyes.


    ¡°You came here to hear about this sword¡¯s story, didn¡¯t you? So Lapis-chan really took it out.¡±


    Judie said she had been searching for it and wondered where it had disappeared to. She casually swung the greatsword with just a snap of her wrist, and Loren, who had been using the sword until now, watched with disbelief. Even though the greatsword had lost its outeryer, it was still a huge weapon. It definitely wasn¡¯t something a woman should be able to lift with one hand and move with a snap of the wrist. Yet Loren couldn¡¯t deny that the scene before his eyes right now was real.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sword I used to use in the old days. Ah, that sounds like a youthful indiscretion, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t think it was something one wields in a youthful indiscretion, but he kept his mouth shut because he was sure such an opinion meant nothing to Judie. Rather than that, with the greatsword¡¯s identity being revealed so easily, their biggest purpose for going to Lapis¡¯ house should be considered aplished.


    ¡°It¡¯s the thing I used when I was the Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°Mother, that kind of phrasing is misleading. You should use present tense, Mother. ¡®I am the Demon King¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡±


    Somehow, such an unthinkable term was spoken so casually as if it was something trivial. Lapis and Judie were talking in a small talk atmosphere, but for a listener like Loren, this was a conversation that couldn¡¯t be ignored.


    ¡°Demon King?! Lapis¡¯ mother is the Demon King?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Well, that title isn¡¯t that rare in the demons¡¯ world.¡±


    ¡°To be specific, I am one of the Demon Kings, appointed to be the Guardian of the West.¡±


    ¡°There is a Great Demon King above Mother. We¡¯re just a minor noble family¡­ There are quite a lot of Demon Kings.¡±


    Lapis exined that ¡®Demon King¡¯ title didn¡¯t actually mean ¡°The King of Demons¡±. In fact, just like humans had numerous countries and each country had their own King, demons also had different power factions within their own King. Lapis¡¯ mother belonged to the faction protecting the Western region of the demons¡¯ territory, and as she was the most powerful in the faction, she was given the title ¡®Demon King¡¯.


    ¡°The Great Demon King is above all the Demon Kings.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to say that this is my property, and I want it back. But since there¡¯s some circumstances¡­ maybe I can consider letting you use it.¡±


    Lightly lifting the sword and cing it on her shoulder, Judie said. As Loren wondered what the hell she was thinking about, she dered with a smile still on her face:


    ¡°It¡¯s a request rting to the armored man you encountered earlier. Commission fee is the permission to wield this sword of Demon Kings, Fiamma Unggia. Not bad, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Be it good or bad, Loren didn¡¯t know anything about themission¡¯s content at all. He wanted to ask Judie to exin, but seeing Lapis just shook her head next to her, he at least understood that the option to not ept thismission didn¡¯t exist here. He gave up all hopes, turned his gaze towards the ceiling, and silently sighed.

 Chapter 193, From Starting to Observing

    <h4>Chapter 193, From Starting to Observing</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    There was no talk about a dwarven vige being destroyed at all.


    Loren thought that a vige being destroyed was a rather brutal thing, but it seemed like the demons didn¡¯t share the same opinion.


    Part of it was due to the vige¡¯s location. Even though it was inside demons¡¯ territory, the vige was in the mountainous area, a region closest to the territory of another race. Another reason was, there were only a dozen dwarves that disappeared. Also, demons were the type that had no concerns for others, so as long as things were going well for them, then it was all good. A dozen or a hundred of dwarves disappeared wouldn¡¯t make the news, Lapis said.


    ¡°Do think so too, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ no matter what you say, I¡¯m a demon that has been strongly influenced by humans¡¯ way of thinking, so I can¡¯t have such a clear distinction between ¡®us¡¯ and ¡®them¡¯ like that.¡±


    Lapis answered with a wry smile that seemed to say ¡®Sounds bad, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯, but Loren found it to be a very satisfactory answer.


    They were currently in a demon town. Their party had used the great tunnel dug by dwarves to get into demons¡¯ territory, and had been attacked by the horde of spiders living in there. They escaped outside, but were met with a destroyed dwarven vige, a group of dark goblins that probably had something to do with the destruction, a swarm of ghosts and in the end, were attacked by a man in ck armor. They managed to repel the man and escape with great difficulty thanks to Lapis, though Loren and G were injured and lost consciousness. Loren believed G was down not because of the sh between the forces Lapis and the man used, but because she was covering for him.


    Luckily for them, the people who noticed and came to check the uproar were from Lapis¡¯ household, and they had brought them to this town, where Lapis¡¯ home was.


    ¡°Hows¡¯ G?¡±


    Since he was alright, nothing too bad should happen to G, someone stronger than him. However, if G really was injured because of protecting him, he had to confirm her status in case anything happened.


    ¡°It¡¯s just some minor injuriespared to yours. Just some burns and cuts.¡±


    Lapis exined. When he thought about her choice of words more closely, he realized that his injuries weren¡¯t the same. Even though he was still feeling a bit sluggish, there were no wounds on his body, and he didn¡¯t feel like he had been in a bad shape like he was told. He had been properly healed, and he could only feel thankful for it.


    ¡°By the way, Lapis, you really are ady, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    They were walking towards G¡¯s room, and the hallway wasrge enough for them to walkfortably side by side. Moreover, they had been walking for quite a while, but still hadn¡¯t reached G¡¯s room yet. The house was considerablyrge, and they had passed by numerous women wearing maid outfits on the way. They looked at Loren with a puzzled expression on their face, but once they noticed Lapis walking next to him, they immediately showed hospitable smiles and politely bowed. All of them had purple eyes, and Loren found it a bit odd that there were even demons who worked as maids.


    ¡°How should I put it¡­ My mother is just one of the current Demon Kings.¡±


    Lapis slightly waved and nodded at the maids and said, somewhat embarrassed.


    ¡°The demon king system is not a hereditary one, but a meritocracy one. The term of office is four years, and even though my mother is currently serving as one of the Kings, if someone more capable emerges, she¡¯ll need to hand over her seat.¡±


    ¡°What is the process of such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Candidates will announce their candidacy at the end of the term.¡±


    ¡°Will everyone engage in a fist fight?¡±


    ¡°Something simr. But it¡¯s not just about physical strength.¡±


    Lapis said that there was always an exception to everything, and ended the story there. Looking at her, Loren suddenly wondered if Judie wanted Lapis to seed her as a Demon King. Probably yes, considering how Lapis¡¯ parents cut off her limbs and removed her eyes and hid them away. They seemed to be the type of parents that made their kids learn through hardships, but he felt that they went a bit too far.


    ¡°Being the daughter of a Demon King seems to be so troublesome.¡±


    As Loren muttered, Lapis stopped before a door. Loren did the same. It seemed like this was their destination. Lapis knocked lightly a few times and said:


    ¡°G? It¡¯s Lapis. I bring Loren along too. Can wee in?¡±


    Lapis sounded very cautious, but Loren thought it was totally understandable. G was the Evil God of Gluttony, and sometimes her actions and speech were just in unimaginable. Something trivial like exposing herself just to tease Loren, for example. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if she was waiting inside stark naked just to make Loren embarrassed. That was why Lapis was cautious, and Loren thought he shouldn¡¯t set foot inside that room until Lapis had checked the situation first.


    Lapis knocked again.


    ¡°G?¡±


    No answer.


    Lapis sounded even more cautious now. Loren reached for his shoulder, where the hilt of his greatsword was always at, but then remembered that it wasn¡¯t there now and dropped his hand.


    Lapis wasn¡¯t really aware of it before, but the white greatsword she had taken out from her home and passed to Loren was actually the property of Judie, a Demon King. As Judie had no recollection of letting the sword go, she asked him to return it for now. Loren himself didn¡¯t want to stick with something he didn¡¯t really understand either, so he handed it over to her.


    But Loren couldn¡¯t find a recement weapon right away, and was currently barehanded. He was feeling confused and lonely because of the loss of the familiar weight, but heforted himself that it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Anyway, neither knocking nor calling produced any responses, and Lapis had begun to get a bit irritated.


    ¡°What is she doing? Is she still sleeping?¡±


    Before one knew, Lapis had started knocking with her full fist. Her knocks were packed with power, and each of them shook the door and the wall. Loren was worried if she would eventually break them, but he was also worried that those knocks would turn his way if he uttered too many a word, so he decided to keep silent on the matter.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that she still doesn¡¯t respond after such knocking?¡±


    From what Loren could see from the side, Lapis¡¯ knocks had developed into fist attacks with serious power. The door, which seemed to be quite sturdy, didn¡¯t show a scratch or crack though, so she must be restraining herself to some extent.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? With this level of sound and vibration, everyone should havee to check by now.¡±


    ¡°This is something normal at our home.¡±


    ¡°Normal¡­ is it¡­?¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should be amazed by the maids, who were still unfazed despite being subjected to this kind of disturbance, or admire the building, which still stood tall despite having to withstand such impact on a frequent basis.


    When Loren was caught in such thoughts, Lapis had given up knocking, instead she turned the door knob to open it. Loren believed it was bad manners to open a door without any consent from the person inside, but it couldn¡¯t be helped in this case. The two of them poked their heads into the small gap Lapis had opened and peeked inside.


    ¡°Ngh¡­ Nnn¡­ Nghhh¡­ Nnn!¡±


    ¡°This child is not a demon, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°But she had the same eyes as us¡­ She has a different aura though.¡±


    What Loren and Lapis heard were the groans of someone being crushed to death, and smallughter that seemed to try to cover the groans. With a bad hunch in mind, they looked more closely and saw that, for some reason, some maids had climbed onto therge bed. From between the maids, they were able to snatch some fleeting glimpse of hands and feet and golden hair.


    ¡°What¡¯s with this child? She looks like the one Lapis-sama brought along.¡±


    ¡°Hey, look, this child is really interesting. Even if we shove a baguette into her mouth, she eats it all in a blink. It¡¯s the seventh one already, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Without drinks?! Just seven baguettes? Let¡¯s add three for now.¡±


    ¡°Gah?!¡±


    They saw the person on the bed il their arms and legs with a scream, but the maids easily pinned them down and crammed not three, but six more baguettes into the person¡¯s mouth. The maids who didn¡¯t participate looked on with sparkling eyes as if they were watching some curious scene. The baguettes disappeared little by little, and Loren and Lapis were able to see who the person on the bed was.


    ¡°Her mouth must be dry, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that she didn¡¯t choke.¡±


    ¡°Hey hey, should we try with dry-cured ham next?¡±


    ¡°Her stomach doesn¡¯t expand at all despite being stuffed with such an amount¡­ Very interesting.¡±


    Loren wondered what the hell they were doing, but Lapis gently pushed at his chest. They moved their heads away from the gap, then Lapis softly closed the door as if to not disturb the maids inside. The conversation inside became inaudible, and Loren wondered if it was alright to just leave things like that, but Lapis looked like she had given up and weakly said:


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Loren. It¡¯s hell inside. G¡­ Let¡¯s go get her a whileter.¡±


    ¡°No, but¡­?¡±


    ¡°If we go in now¡­ We might be the same, right?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that bad to be pushed down on a bed by women in maid uniforms. But it was a different story altogether if they began shoving huge breads and cow or deer legs down your throat after.


    G might make it somehow because she was the Evil God of Gluttony, but if a mere human like Loren was put in her position, it would be life-threatening.


    ¡°They¡¯ll get bored after a while.¡±


    If Lapis, who knew best about the affairs of this house, said so, then it must be so. Loren avoided asking any further. He didn¡¯t know what he would say to Gter, but for now, he could only pray that she would be alright. He quietly closed his eyes and sped his hands to pray that the maids¡¯ interest towards G would go out soon.

 Chapter 194, From Gathering to Discussing

    <h4>Chapter 194, From Gathering to Discussing</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Ah, shit, what a bad experience.¡±


    About an hour after Loren and Lapis had visited her room only to close the door softly and leave again, G was released from the maids¡¯ clutch.


    The maids must have done a lot of things to her after that visit. Loren and Lapis were sitting in a guest room sipping tea prepared by maids and waiting for her when she came in, and the state of her startled them. Her long blond hair was a mess, and her disheveled clothes were slipping off her body. She was fixing them as she went.


    In such a state, G sat facing them and watched them sip their tea with reproachful eyes.


    ¡°You guys are having tea while I¡¯m having a hard time.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, G. Thank you for your consideration.¡±


    Loren greeted G with a teasing remark, but Lapis gave her a nod and some words of gratitude. Loren wondered why, but he soon realized the reason.


    G was a being called Evil God, so she definitely wasn¡¯t the type to be overpowered by maids, even demon ones. The maids were able to torture G as they wished because she had condoned it. Of course, it would have been very easy for G to fight off the maids and torture them as she wished instead, but she seemed to think that it was necessary to let the demons know that she was currently a harmless existence.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not going to diminish my power. In fact, it was pretty delicious.¡±


    ¡°The fire-logs¡­ Did they stuff them into your mouth?¡±


    ¡°The curiosity of demons is unforgiving¡­ I got three.¡±


    As G sat down next to Lapis with a scowl on her face, the maid who had been waiting in a corner of the room immediately offered her a steaming cup without making a sound. Loren didn¡¯t want to be in a situation where he felt like he was being watched or had a maid waiting by his side at all times, but Lapis said that this was the norm, and that he wouldn¡¯t want to go through the trouble of calling for the maids every time he needed them.


    ¡°That reminds me, where do you live when you¡¯re in Kapha, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll invite you over someday.¡±


    Lapis answered evasively, and Loren got a bit anxious. It wasn¡¯t about where she resided in Kapha, what he was rather interested in was where in that city people who were used to having maids waiting on them lived.


    As if to interrupt that train of thought of Loren, G asked Lapis:


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the situation? Will you exin it to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you want to ask. Is it about epting my mother¡¯s request or not?¡±


    ¡°Mother? Whose?¡±


    ¡°Mine¡­ Well, I have to start from there, right?¡±


    And with a sigh, Lapis began to tell G the whole story.


    But the whole story was just that, Lapis¡¯ mother had amission for them to do, and the reward would be the right to use the white greatsword. Exnation ended pretty quickly.


    ¡°So, Lapis-chan¡¯s mother is a Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, she is.¡±


    G sounded impressed, but Lapis responded nonchntly.


    The title ¡®Demon King¡¯ tended to conjure up images of great things, but after listening to Lapis¡¯s exnation, Loren thought that the position was more like that of a General in other countries. It was still quite impressive, of course, butpared to a sovereign, it was inevitably much inferior in terms of power and bloodline. To demons, the equivalent to a sovereign was the Great Demon King.


    ¡°And what does Demon King-sama want us to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve just heard about it from my mother, more or less.¡±


    Lapis replied, and gave some orders to the maid who was standing by. The maid bowed deeply and walked away, then returned a momentter with a round object covered with a cloth in her hand. She ced it on the table, bowed, then retreated to stand near the wall again. Lapis removed the cloth covering the object and told Loren, who was watching the maid:


    ¡°My mother¡¯s request is, throwing this into the crater of a certain volcano.¡±


    What appeared from under the removed cloth was a ck metal helmet. There were numerous patterns carved on it, but overall it was a very in, all-ck helmet. It wasn¡¯t even decorated ¨C it was something made for practical use only. The helmet didn¡¯t look like something a Demon King would go to the trouble of asking someone to transport it for.


    ¡°This thing? Dump it in a crater?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just melt it down?¡±


    Not really understanding the purpose of thismission, Loren and G stared at the ck helmets on the table and made thosements. Lapis shrugged.


    ¡°I also thought that maybe we could just throw it into some furnaces around here¡­ But seems like it¡¯s not a good idea.¡±


    ording to Judie, this ck helmet possessed powerful magic, and normal furnaces wouldn¡¯t even make it lose its shape. The reason for this was not well known, but it was said to have been brought from thend of humans a long time ago.


    ¡°It seems that this helmet alone can¡¯t do anything, so it¡¯s been sitting collecting dust in a corner of the warehouse. But recently, the situation has changed a bit. It seems to have something to do with the man in ck armor we encountered in the dwarven vige.¡±


    Judie had almost forgotten about this helmet, but a certain circumstance happened, and the warehouse was ransacked to the ground. The helmet was found during the cleaning up afterwards.


    ¡°A certain circumstance, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes, a certain circumstance. I don¡¯t know what it is either.¡±


    It was obvious that Lapis was the cause of that ¡®certain circumstances¡¯, but she calmly replied to Loren without even batting an eye. It wasn¡¯t like Loren was not in the mood for some quips, but for now, the best thing to do was listen.


    Lapis calmly continued.


    The ck helmet was known to be very durable and to have been infused with some kind of powerful magic, but when it came to actual use, no one had ever been able to get any effects equipping it. Thus, it had been stored away as an unidentified item.


    Judie knew all this, and was about to have the helmet put in the back of the warehouse again, when something stopped her: In other Demon Kings¡¯ warehouses, several magic-infused items simr to this helmet had been discovered. In total, the four items found were a helmet, an armor, a shield, and a longsword, all ck.


    The items produced no effects on their own, but they all had extremely simr auras and magic powers. They were thought to be the type of items that would only show their true power if all parts were assembled, so they were gathered in one ce for research.


    ¡°But before we could do that, a bandit invaded.¡±


    It was not clear how the bandit got into the demon territory, but he managed to sneak into a Demon King¡¯s warehouse and steal the ck armor. While running away from the pursuers, he sneaked into another Demon King¡¯s warehouse, where he obtained the long sword before disappearing.


    ¡°The bandit was said to have called himself Magna. He¡¯s a young man with ck hair.¡±


    It was a strange thing for a bandit to announce his own name, but the man called Magna didn¡¯t seem to mind being chased or surrounded at all, and proudly imed that these items belonged to him. He was still on the run now, slipping through the demons¡¯ pursuers and the tight security.


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously that man.¡±


    Recalling the face of the man in ck armor they had encountered in the dwarven vige, Loren grumbled.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably him. In addition to his own power, the shes of light he called forth and the physical strength that allowed him to receive Loren¡¯s blow may have been the result of those unidentified magical items.¡±


    Some magical itemse in sets of several pieces, and they must be equipped together in order to be truly effective. The ck armor set that the Demon Kings were keeping seemed to be one of these, but it looked like just the armor and sword were enough to produce some effects.


    ¡°Our report has confirmed that, and we do not know what kind of effect it will have if the full set is assembled.¡±


    ¡°So before they can be assembled, let¡¯s just destroy them. It¡¯s a rather cowardly way of thinking for a Demon King.¡±


    Fearing that the helmet would be stolen, and considering it had no power on its own, Judie decided to destroy it to prevent the whole set being assembled. In Loren¡¯s opinion, it was the same as admitting to being unable to prevent a thievery. In short, the Demon King recognized that she couldn¡¯t stop that Magna guy.


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to see it. But the truth is, it¡¯s just not something worth protecting. Collecting the other items in the set is also troublesome, so she wants to destroy it.¡±


    ¡°So, a crater. Why doesn¡¯t she just go there herself?¡±


    Since ordinary furnaces couldn¡¯t destroy the helmet, it wasn¡¯t hard to understand why Judie wanted them to dump it in a volcano crater, where the fire never stopped. But Loren believed that it would be faster and more reliable for Judie to go there herself, given that she was a Demon King.


    ¡°About that¡­ There¡¯s a reason why Demon Kings do note near that ce.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? That crater is within demons¡¯ territory, right?¡±


    If not, it would be quite a troublesome story. Loren was worried, but Lapis gave him a nod.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s in the center of the demon territory.¡±


    ¡°Seems quite far¡­ So why don¡¯t Demon Kings go there?¡±


    Loren asked, and Lapis hesitated for a moment before giving up all intentions to lie and answered with a troubled smile.


    ¡°The truth is¡­ There¡¯s an Ancient Dragon living in that volcano.¡±


    Dragons, the most powerful beasts. It was generally believed that encountering one is the greatest misfortune and thest thing ever happened in one¡¯s life.


    It was said that the longer a dragon lived, the wiser and more powerful it became. Among the dragons, there were those that had existed for a long time, since the time of the Gods. They were called Ancient Dragons, and are feared by all. Loren couldn¡¯t find the word to describe how suicidal it would be to climb a mountain inhabited by such a being.


    ¡°If a being as powerful as a Demon King approaches the mountain, they would be warned and attacked. That¡¯s why powerful demons can¡¯t get close.¡±


    In their party, Loren was a mere human, G could conceal her Evil God¡¯s power, and Lapis was considerably weakened as her legs and eyes were artificial. The idea was that they could sneak up the mountain and dump the helmet into the crater before the dragon noticed them.


    ¡°This¡­ The reward isn¡¯t worth it, right?¡±


    That white greatsword was certainly a very powerful weapon, but Loren thought it was too cheap for a request like stepping into the Ancient Dragon¡¯s dwelling. It seemed that Lapis had the same opinion, so she nodded.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s possible to get some additionalpensation, though.¡±


    ¡°What about refusing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea, but¡­ Just usemon sense. Do you think you can get out of here safely with a Demon King being displeased with you?¡±


    Loren seriously pondered which would be less difficult: to reach the volcano crater under the watchful eye of an Ancient Dragon, or to return to the realm of humans under the watchful eye of a Demon King. It seemed that both would eventually end up being impossible, though, and Loren exhaled deeply as he dropped his gaze to the floor and thought about how troublesome this whole situation was.

 Chapter 195, From Negotiation to Proposal

    <h4>Chapter 195, From Negotiation to Proposal</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°So, I¡¯m here to negotiate about themission and additional rewards, Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Wee.¡±


    ¡°What? Um¡­ Are we doing it with this kind of mood?¡±


    In the end, Loren decided that they could not refuse the request from the Demon King. And if you couldn¡¯t say no, might as well try to get the maximum reward. So, Loren asked Lapis to guide him to the office of Judie, the Demon King.


    Judie was sitting at a huge ebony desk in her office, working on some paperwork. She didn¡¯t seem offended by Loren and the others¡¯ sudden visit at all, and weed them casually. For some reason, Lapis, her daughter, seemed flustered at her reaction.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°Loren, I¡¯m not sure if I should be the one to tell you this, but you¡¯re dealing with a Demon King. A Demon King, the root of all evils and the enemy of all things, as far as mankind is concerned.¡±


    ¡°She is¡­ your mother, right?¡±


    ¡°I can say that because she is my mother. If you talk like that with another Demon King, you¡¯ll be like this, like this!¡±


    Lapis stuck out her tongue and mimed shing at her own neck with her hand. As Judie was called a Demon King, there was a lot to consider, and Loren wondered if he should just think of her as a normal King now.


    Just then, Judie asked from behind the desk:


    ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯vee to negotiate with you about themission. I¡¯d like to ask for a little more in the way ofpensation.¡±


    ¡°Negotiate with a Demon King?¡±


    Judie said in an amused tone. She looked so young that Loren could hardly believe she was Lapis¡¯ mother. She was sitting on a chair, so naturally she had to look up when talking to him. With that gesture and that appearance, he wouldn¡¯t find it strange if she was introduced as Lapis¡¯ sister.


    ¡°I have no intention to be pushy with a Demon King. If we refuse themission, you¡¯ll just order us to do it, right? If we value our lives, we have to listen to you.¡±


    ¡°As a parent, I won¡¯t say such unreasonable things to my daughter¡¯s friend.¡±


    Judie stressed the word ¡®friend¡¯ strangely. Loren¡¯s mouth turned down, while Lapis red at her with a sullen look.


    ¡°Wait a bit. We¡¯re missing one person, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Loren suddenly noticed something and asked. Lapis answered with no hesitation:


    ¡°G has been kidnapped by the maids just now.¡±


    It seemed that G, who was supposed to be following him and Lapis at the end of the line, had been taken somewhere by the maids without him noticing. The maids being able to kidnapped someone like G without making him noticed horrified Loren, but he had something to tell Lapis first:


    ¡°If you saw, you should stop them¡­¡±


    ¡°I can manage with one or two maids, but¡­ Five or six of them at once is dangerous even for me¡­¡±


    ¡°There were that many?!¡±


    Loren was actually a little nervous about negotiating with a Demon King, but the fact that several maids were able to move like that without him noticing anything unnerved him even further.


    As Lapis nodded with a somber face, Judie looked as if she was being shown something interesting. She told Loren in a testing tone:


    ¡°So, do you still want to negotiate?¡±


    Judie¡¯s voice, even though just a little, had an intimidating edge to it. The actual question was, under such a circumstance where Loren was swarmed by maids that could take away someone like G without being noticed, did he really think he could bear the brunt of this negotiation?


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a different topic.¡±


    Loren¡¯s answer to her question was simple.


    Since Judie had such skilled maids, she could have had them carry out thismission. But she asked Loren to do it instead, so he figured that there must be some reason for her to select him. Unless that reason became nullified, she would not harm him.


    ¡°I see. You¡¯ve got some nerves.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just stubborn.¡±


    Loren believed that risking his life for a cheap reward was not that different from being buried here in secret due to having incurred a Demon King¡¯s displeasure, and such thought was what enabled him to make that statement.


    Judie looked at him nkly for a moment, then said with suppressedughter in her voice:


    ¡°Indeed, indeed. You seem like a pretty good fit to be the person by Lapis¡¯ side.¡±


    ¡°Mother?!¡±


    Lapis eximed in a fluster, but Judie just gave her a nce without saying anything, then immediately turned her attention back to Loren:


    ¡°So, you want to have your reward raised?


    ¡°And some support toplete themission. I¡¯m not sure if we can sessfully climb a mountain inhabited by a dragon by our own power only.¡±


    Even if they were asked to aplish it on their own, impossible was impossible. At the very least, Loren was not optimistic enough to think that he could carry out thismission without the help of demons, as there was a possibility that they would encounter a dragon.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much to ask?¡±


    ¡°If so, let someone else do it. I don¡¯t want to get stuck with somemission I can¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°Even in exchange for your own life?¡±


    The threat was clear in her choice of words and tone. Lapis made a move, but Loren stopped her.


    All Lapis did was lightly pulled at Loren¡¯s sleeve, and all Loren did was slightly raise his other hand, but Judie knew what those movements meant.


    If Lapis were to fight with Judie here, she would certainly lose. She knew that, so when she realized that Loren was being threatened, she pulled his sleeve, indicating that she had chosen to run away. Fighting was impossible, but they might have a chance to live if they ran. However, Loren had stopped her.


    ¡°Dying when doing an impossiblemission is no different from being killed here.¡±


    ¡°Being killed here might be certain for you, but how can you be sure that you¡¯ll die doing themission?¡±


    At this point, Judie had begun to intimidate Loren without hiding it. ¡®You know what will happen if you refuse mymission, don¡¯t you?¡¯ was what she was actually saying. In response, Loren snorted, looked straight at her and said bluntly:


    ¡°So that¡¯s how a Demon King sees things, huh.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so here wee.¡±


    Judie smiled at him as if the intimidating atmosphere just now was a lie, and Loren somehow realized that she was not seriously trying to push themission onto them without offering any assistance. He wondered what the hell she had been ying at, but had no immediate answer. In the end, he decided that though umon, it was just how Demon Kings, or rather demons, were killing their time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like to be taken as a fool, either.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­¡±


    ¡°But it won¡¯t be befitting a Demon King to offer their services just because they¡¯re asked, right?¡±


    Judie asked, and Loren kept silent. What Loren had been implying was, was a Demon King like Judie so naive that she thinks their party couldplete thismission without any aids from the demons, or was she so stupid that she couldn¡¯t realize it? His implication seemed to have been conveyed to Judie, but he suspected that the talk was now going in a different direction. He could tell it from the Demon King¡¯s tone and expression.


    ¡°I have no idea what a Demon King should be like, since I don¡¯t have any Demon Kings as acquaintances.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be your first. Nice to meet you~¡±


    Judie smiled and waved her hand. Not knowing how to react to this, Loren turned to Lapis, who was looking up at him worriedly while still holding his sleeve. She should know how to act in this situation, but she also seemed to be at a loss. She just tilted her head while looking at Loren with a troubled expression.


    Seeing the two of them being like that, Judie stopped waving and lowered her hand, then with a slightly more serious face, she said:


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not like a Demon King to give something to someone just because they¡¯ve asked for it. So, if you want something, take it yourself. That¡¯s more like how demons are, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Are you asking him to fight you, mother?¡±


    That was even more unreasonable, or so Lapis believed. Loren¡¯s opponent would be someone who was excellent at eliminating powerful individuals. After all, only those who came out at the top of the pack could earn the title of ¡®Demon King¡¯. Fighting such an opponent to win something was out of the question, unless the challenger was one of those heroes that appeared very rarely in human history.


    But Judie quickly shook her head at Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you do know that it¡¯s absurd. I¡¯m a little relieved.¡±


    ¡°No, if that boyfriend next to you is a hero, I will consider it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s differ¡­ Uhm? Errr¡­ Huh? Should I deny it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a hero, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s right. Loren is not a hero.¡±


    Lapis seemed confused by something, and her reply was incoherent. But after Loren pointed it out, she finally gave a clear denial. Judie seemed to find it amusing, she rested her chin on one hand and tapped the desktop with the index finger of her other hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s why a Demon King might be too much for you to handle. But you¡¯ll manage if it¡¯s her aide, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You want support and extra pay. I want to have the job done as cheaply as possible. The rest is simple, isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ll fight to decide how much of each other¡¯s ims we¡¯ll ept. Very demon-like.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a demon myself, but if you¡¯re asking me whether that¡¯s demon-like or not, I¡¯m inclined to say no.¡±


    Lapis said with a sour expression, but Judie shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s a difference of opinion. I¡¯m not going to dwell on it.¡±


    Lapis understood that it meant she wouldn¡¯t make concessions any further, so she let Loren make the decision.


    ¡°Your representative will fight with my representative, and the loser will have to ept the winner¡¯s terms. Take it or leave it, it¡¯s all up to you. Choose as you please. How is it?¡±


    How the hell should he answer?


    Judie seemed to enjoy herself. Wondering how he should answer, Loren gazed back at the Demon King, who were observing him with her purple eyes.

 Chapter 196, From Settlement To Action

    <h4>Chapter 196, From Settlement To Action</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°We can¡¯t refuse that proposal. How should we decide on a representative?¡±


    Loren asked, but he was nning to name G as the representative if he was told that it could be anyone.


    First of all, G was the most powerful in their party. She could use an Evil God¡¯s power as well as the more normal magic used by magicians, and she was also rather good at hand-to-handbat. There was no reason to pick anyone else.


    Loren was also interested in how Judie would react if they chose Lapis, but given that she was a Demon King, it was quite possible that she would show no mercy to her own daughter and would pick some unthinkable opponent. He just couldn¡¯t make a wrong choice here.


    Moreover, if he really thought about it, the Demon King who was smiling in front of him as if she was watching something interesting was the one who cut off her own daughter¡¯s four limbs. She didn¡¯t seem to be the type that would be more considerate to her daughter.


    ¡°You can pick whoever you like, but you have to announce it first.¡±


    Judie said this without losing her smile, and Loren immediately frowned. In that case, Judie would be able to change her representative ording to his choice. She didn¡¯t actually say that out right, but Loren believed that was what she meant when she asked him to announce his representative first.


    Loren only had three options at his disposal, but Judie had countless options to match each of his. She just needed to pick one after hearing Loren¡¯s announcement.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you announce your representative first?¡±


    To prevent Judie from selecting a representative that corresponded to theirs, the only way was to have the Demon King dere her representative first.


    The truth was, Judie had the upper hand here, and if she were to refuse, it would be the end of it. Or so Loren thought, but Judie readily and casually dered:


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s a ck knight. A knight in full ck te armor.¡±


    ¡°¡­What a bad personality you have¡­.¡±


    If he was wearing full-body te armor, it would be too early to assume that he was not a magician. Considering how Lapis was a priest, it seemed like it wasmon for demons to be able to use magic. And since there were people who could use magic while wearing te armor, it wasn¡¯t anything surprising.


    The most troublesome thing was the full-body te armor part. The most annoying thing about full body armor was that you couldn¡¯t tell who was in it from the outside. In the worst case, even if it was Judie herself inside the armor, it would be impossible to tell unless she removed it and let them look. It would be no different from waiting for Loren to make a deration before deciding a representative. Moreover, full-body armor took a lot of time to put on. If Judie used the long preparation time as an excuse, she would be able to change her representative ording to his choice, even if she had to call someone from a short distance over.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Judie asked. She didn¡¯t even try to hide that she was testing him. Loren let out a small breath, pushed his hair back, and responded in a resigned tone:


    ¡°Who do you want toe out from our side?¡±


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how you go.¡±


    Judie looked surprised. Lapis looked between Judie and Loren and wondered what was happening.


    What Loren thought was that, there was some hidden intention behind Judie¡¯s words and actions. In other words, Judie must have had a certain representative that she expected Loren to choose, and if he picked anyone else, she would crush them without mercy.


    If that was the case, Loren believed it was better to just follow her expectation from the beginning, and so he asked that question. Judie was surprised because she didn¡¯t expect him to do that.


    ¡°Being upfront is a virtue. Demons don¡¯t think so though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a human.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan, your luck with men is good, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯ve really picked a good boy to keep by your side.¡±


    ¡°Mother¡­ Please stop talking like that in front of the person himself¡­¡±


    Lapis blushed and looked down, while Judie was smiling. With that smile still on her face, she turned towards Loren:


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you on the show, Loren.¡±


    Even though Loren was specifically nominated by Judie, he was not surprised ¨C somehow he had already expected this. It was only natural that she would want to evaluate the person by her daughter¡¯s side, a mere human no less.


    ¡°Do you have a weapon for me to borrow? I¡¯ve already returned mine to you.¡±


    Even though he had a jacket for armor, he only had spare daggers for weapons, nothing that could be used for a proper fight. Judie couldn¡¯t make him fight barehanded against an opponent wearing full body te armor.


    Judie nodded.


    ¡°I can lend you anything you want from our armory. Not the ones infused with magic though.¡±


    ¡°The same condition applies for your side, I assume?¡±


    If she gave him an ordinary weapon and allowed the ck knight to use a magic-infused weapon, his already-disadvantageous situation could only be described as hopeless.


    ¡°Obviously. So, what do we do now?¡±


    ¡®So this is the final confirmation¡¯, Loren thought. He had no choice but to answer:


    ¡°I¡¯ll go. There¡¯s no choice.¡±


    If he picked G or Lapis, they would be met with an opponent impossible for them to handle.


    If it was Judie¡¯s intention for Loren toe out, he believed that she would have prepared someone he could deal with in some way. He had to bet on that.


    ¡°Loren¡­¡±


    Lapis looked apologetic, and he patted her head. Judie said, with a smile still on her face:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll guarantee his safety. Not only will he not be killed, I¡¯ll also make sure to give him back in full health.¡±


    If she could take away Lapis¡¯s limbs and eyes, she could also restore someone¡¯s dismembered body parts. But her words didn¡¯t make Loren feel more at ease at all, not even by a little.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what people usually say to reassure someone else.¡±


    ¡°Normally, if a human is discovered to have infiltrated the demon realm, he will be dealt with on the spot, won¡¯t he? If you¡¯re told that your life is guaranteed, isn¡¯t it enough to feel reassured?¡±


    So the demons knew that humans did enter their territory to gather intel, but weren¡¯t willing to take any proactive measures against it. But from what Judie said, once those humans got caught, it would be a different story.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a given that we¡¯ll deal with them if wee across them?¡±


    If she said that it didn¡¯t happen because they were with Lapis, it was probably the truth. Loren had no words to reply.


    Considering Loren¡¯s silence as an indication that he had understood the situation, Judie got up and walked past Loren and Lapis toward the door of the room.


    ¡°Now, follow me. I¡¯ll take you to the armory first.¡±


    If the Demon King would lead the way herself, one couldn¡¯t help but follow, so Loren followed after Judie and Lapis. The way to the armory was long enough to make him realize howrge Lapis¡¯ home was.


    Loren had been trying to remember the route, but had given up halfway. He didn¡¯t know if it was on purpose, or it was truly necessary, but the route that Judie was taking them on had so many turns, three forks and crossroads that he quickly became confused when trying to remember the directions.


    ¡°How big is this ce?¡±


    Thinking that he would certainly get lost if he strayed from his guide, Loren asked. Judie answered him:


    ¡°Extremely huge. It¡¯s the castle of the Demon King of the West, after all.¡±


    ¡°If this is how a Demon King¡¯s castle is, then the Great Demon King¡¯s castle must be even bigger.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s probably several times bigger than this one.¡±


    Judie put her index finger on her chin, thought for a while, then said. Loren couldn¡¯t imagine something that big at all. The demons who could construct such a huge building were amazing, but the Great Demon King was also very admirable for being able to live in such a huge ce.


    ¡°Sounds like a ce where you¡¯ll get lost on the way to the bedroom, or won¡¯t be able to make it to the toilet in time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it like that.¡±


    As they were conducting such small talks, they arrived into the armory.


    It surely looked like a normal armory with equipment neatly lined up. Loren could tell that they were all good weapons, but he couldn¡¯t tell which of them were normal ones that didn¡¯t have magic infusion like Judie had said.


    [¡®They all look like normal weapons. I can¡¯t sense any magic power from them.¡¯]


    Lapis was silent, probably because Judie was watching. Instead, Shayna the King of Death synced with his sight and confirmed that the weapons weren¡¯t magical or anything strange. Loren thanked her in his mind and looked around for a while before deciding on a greatsword, thinking that it was best to go with something he was used to wielding.


    ¡°Is that alright? Don¡¯t you need any kind of armor?¡±


    ¡°I have my own.¡±


    All of the greatswords here had almost the same design, so it wouldn¡¯t matter which he selected. He picked up one and tested its weight. It was lighter than the one he used during his mercenary days or the white de he had returned to Judie, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Resigned, he looked closer at the de and noticed that it had a proper, sharp edge. He looked at Judie:


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these used for training and such?¡±


    ¡°Can fighting with a dull de be considered training?¡±


    Judie asked seriously, and Loren was at a loss for a reply. It was true that people¡¯s mindsets during training and actualbat differed, even when they held the same weapon. The de might be sharp, but it didn¡¯t mean its wielder would swing it with no hesitation during training.


    In addition, it was no exaggeration to say that what they were going to do was not a training but a real battle in a sense. It would be useless to ask for a dull weapon, or one wrapped in thick cloth.


    ¡°This will do.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯ll take you to the arena next, then.¡±


    ¡°Is it another long walk?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Well, yes, it is. But it can¡¯t be helped, right? Think of it as a health benefit.¡±


    Loren wondered if it was alright to wander around the castle with a naked sword that didn¡¯t even have a sheath, but Judie didn¡¯t seem to care at all. She walked forward, ready to be the guide again.


    Even though Lapis was by his side, if Loren lost Judie, he would get lost. The greatsword didn¡¯t even have a string for him to hang on his back. Thus, he had no choice but to carry it on his shoulder. He urged Lapis to go ahead while he himself followed after the two women.

 Chapter 197, From Moving to Battle

    <h4>Chapter 197, From Moving to Battle</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    After getting a weapon, Loren was led on a long walk by the Demon King before finally arriving at an amphitheater located, in what looked like, the courtyard of the castle. Loren was tempted to ask why such a thing was built here, but he forced himself to recognize that it was such arge building that they could build whatever they wanted. A Demon King must have a lot of soldiers, so it was a good idea to have a ce where they could train.


    ¡°We have a different training ground for soldiers.¡±


    ¡°What is this ce for, then?¡±


    Loren had no idea what the point of having an arena if it was not used for training. He asked Judie if this ce was truly built simply because their castle was too big, and they had too many unused spaces, but she just looked away without answering, her cheeks slightly twitched.


    Loren was taken aback at her reaction ¨C it seemed like he had hit the bullseye. But his astonishment soon dissipated when he saw the figure standing in the center of the arena.


    So that was the person the Demon King called a ck Knight.


    Indeed, his entire body was covered with ck te armor, and he did not have a shield. His greatsword, which almost came up to their chest, was stabbed into the ground as if it was a staff. He stood with both hands on its hilt. The aura of the ck Knight perfectly fitted the word ¡®imposing¡¯. Loren scowled at his with his greatsword on his shoulder.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Mother. Even I think that something is strange too.¡±


    As they stepped into the arena, Loren and Lapis stared at the ck armored figure that refused to move from the center of the arena. They were still quite far away, but they couldn¡¯t have been mistaken because there was no other figure around.


    It was the size of the ck Knight that Loren and Lapis were concerned about.


    ¡°The knight is bigger than me, no matter how you look at it.¡±


    ¡°If you think so, then I guess so.¡±


    Loren himself was one of the tallest amongst humans. With such a height, a blow from his greatsword contained marvelous power. But the ck Knight standing in front of them was two heads taller, and of course to go with that height, he was also wider in built. In short, he was big enough that Loren had to look up at him. The length of his greatsword was almost Loren¡¯s height.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he too big?¡±


    The helmet the ck Knight was wearing was the type thatpletely covered the face, so you couldn¡¯t tell what he looked like even if you wanted to. Loren could barely see the purple of their eyes, but that didn¡¯t give him any information about whether the Knight was male or female, or how old he/she was.


    ¡°Was there such a huge person in your entourage, Mother?¡±


    Standing next to Loren, Lapis looked up at the Knight and cocked her head in wonder. If even Loren had to look up at the Knight, the difference in height was even greater for Lapis, who was shorter than him.


    ¡°I thought I could remember most of your subordinates, Mother.¡±


    ¡°¡®It¡¯s a hidden gem. The talent is guaranteed.¡±


    Judieughed and patted the ck Knight¡¯s armor, but he didn¡¯t even twitch. The knight continued leaning on his greatsword and stared at Loren from inside his helmet.


    ¡°Is it even alright for me to fight that person?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If you can¡¯t continue fighting or if you surrender, you lose. Simple and straightforward, right?¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    Loren signaled for Lapis to step back, then got his greatsword ready. The weight in his hand was unfamiliar. Unable to feel the usual reliable weight in his hands, Loren watched the ck Knight leaning on his greatsword. It was obviously not the case for him.


    ¡°You can attack if your opponent is down, but you can¡¯t finish him off. If someone dies, no matter how much we try, we can¡¯t bring him back to life.¡±


    As Lapis retreated to behind Loren, Judie stepped back to stand behind the ck Knight. The Knight slowly raised his greatsword with its tip pointing up in front of his chest. Realizing it to be a salute, Loren returned with the only salute he knew: He gripped the hilt of his greatsword with both hand and pointed its tip down.


    ¡°Can I at least ask your name?¡±


    After that mutual salute, Loren held his greatsword back up and asked the Knight. He didn¡¯t expect any answer, but he could hear some kind of murmuringing from behind the ck Knight¡¯s helmet, even though no meaningful words reached his ears.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s start!¡±


    As soon as Judie¡¯s order came, Loren leapt forward. Victory belonged to those who made the first move, so he kicked at the ground and charged with a speed unimaginable for such arge body. He was skeptical about the ck Knight¡¯s slow reaction to stop him, but he held his greatsword high and struck at the Knight¡¯s left shoulder with all his might.


    The shrill sound of metal hitting metal rang, and sparks of fire red up at the site of impact as if to represent the force Loren had put into the blow. Yet he was the one who grimaced and immediately leapt back.


    His arms were numb as if being electrified, and he had to use all his strength to keep the greatsword from falling off, but the pain in his wrists and shoulders was too much to ignore.


    Yet the ce where Loren had struck was only slightly scratched, and it did not look like the power of the attack had reached inside the armor at all.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    Loren was still enduring the pain, but the ck Knight immediately raised his sword to unleash a sweeping sideway blow, and he tried to defend it by raising his greatsword.


    Almost at the same time, the ck Knight took one step into Loren¡¯s space and struck at his greatsword. The shock struck Loren¡¯s whole body, and the unstoppable momentum sent him flying sideways and rolling several times on the arena floor. When he got up, he was some distance away from the Knight.


    Wary of pursuit, Loren held his sword up even before fixing his stance. But the ck Knight stayed at the same ce and watched Loren getting up while slowly raising his sword.


    Thinking that he was very lucky to still be able to hold his sword despite his arms feeling so tired, Loren wondered why the ck Knight didn¡¯t seize this perfect opportunity to go after him. His stance was bad, and his arms were too numb to wield the greatsword. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to counteract if the Knight attacked now, and this battle would very likely end here. Yet the knight didn¡¯t take this chance, and Loren just couldn¡¯t understand it. Loren wondered if he was being yed, but he reminded himself that it was too early to draw any conclusion when they had only crossed swords once. So he readied himself and lunged at the Knight once more.


    This time, the ck Knight also reacted to Loren¡¯s attack and did an upward sh to match Loren¡¯s downward blow. As a result, des crashed into each other, sparking fire and sound, it was Loren who lost. And it was a rather one-sided loss too: Before his sword could be swung downward, it was sent flying back up. The shock was too much that his shoulders almost got dislocated, and he was knocked down backward.


    The ck Knight gave chase this time, but Loren managed to escape somehow by following the momentum rolled back a couple of times.


    [¡®Onii-san, do you need my aid?!¡¯]


    Loren heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind as he stood up and lightly swung his sword sideways to keep the ck Knight from approaching. If he used the King of Death¡¯s power, he would be able to handle the ck Knight, who hadn¡¯t shown any signs of being a magic user until now. The idea had crossed his mind, but he shook it off, as he could feel Judie observing the battle closely from a distance away. He had no idea what Judie would do to him if he got help from Shayna. Even though the King of Death¡¯s power was invisible, a Demon King might still be able to see through it, so using Shayna¡¯s aid would be a bad idea.


    [¡®It can¡¯t be helped then. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll lend you my magic power, onii-san.¡¯]


    Normally, Shayna would have used Energy Drain, the power of the King of Death, to absorb the power of others and supply it to Loren. However, since it would be difficult for her to do so in front of the Demon King, she gave up on the idea and offered him the power she originally possessed. She exined to him that this would make it look like he was using his own magic, because she herself was inside his mind.


    [¡®Use self-boost, then try attacking again!¡¯]


    With Shayna¡¯s voice cheering him on, Loren quickly circted magic power throughout his body and activated self-strengthening technique. Feeling a force unlike anything before coursing through his body, he wondered if it was alright to use it like this and swung his greatsword again. The ck Knight intercepted him, and their des shed.


    The self-boost allowed Loren to make a dash forward, adding even more power into his sh. When his sword met the ck Knight¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t a one-sided loss anymore, and both of their des were locked for a moment. Loren could feel himself being pushed backward slightly, though, and he realized that he was still outmatched. This may have been due to the difference in size and weight between Loren and the ck Knight, in addition to speed and arm strength.


    The ck Knight seemed to sense that Loren wasn¡¯t being overpowered like before and pushed at him with even more strength. Thinking that he might be defeated like this, Loren quickly changed tactics. He immediately changed the angle of his de to block the pushing force of the ck Knight, then quickly slid his greatsword past the Knight¡¯s de to the back of his knees, which were usually considered to be weakly defended.


    ¡°Hard!¡±


    The backsides of joints were usually weakly defended due to the construction of armors. Loren had struck with that anticipation, but it seemed that the joints of the ck Knight¡¯s armor were reinforced with chains and metal tes. Loren¡¯s blow didn¡¯t cut through the armor, but only scratched at it with an unpleasant sound.


    As if to return the favor, the ck Knight struck another sh, which Loren met with his greatsword. But the force of the strike was too much for Loren to withstand, and he was sent flying backwards. He was prepared this time, though, so he didn¡¯t roll on the ground and safelynded a distance away from the ck Knight instead. Still, the fact that the Knight was strong enough to send him flying back with just a casual flick of the sword chilled him. He readied himself again as the Knight slowly drew his sword back and turned towards him.

 Chapter 198, The Conclusion of The Battle

    <h4>Chapter 198, The Conclusion of The Battle</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with that ck Knight.¡±


    Lapis muttered while watching the battle between Loren and the ck Knight. Loren kept on attacking, but could never deal any real damage aside from some scratches on the ck Knight¡¯s armor. Meanwhile, the ck Knight, who didn¡¯t even sustain any damage even when getting hit, used his greatsword to receive Loren¡¯s blows with a strength that Loren seemed unable to withstand.


    From what Lapis saw, it was the ck Knight who was acting strange.


    If he had that much power, he should be able to close the gap and attack Loren directly, but as far as Lapis saw, the ck Knight was hardly moving from his standing position since the start of this battle.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t move, or can¡¯t move?¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course, Lapis-chan will notice it.¡±


    Judie said. She hade near Lapis before anyone noticed. Lapis nced at her with a somewhat sullen look, then immediately turned her eyes back to Loren.


    It was just a small thing she had noticed, but Lapis wondered if it could give Loren some advantage if she told him. She didn¡¯t have time for Judie now ¨C that was why she unconsciously gave her the cold shoulders.


    Judie didn¡¯t seem to mind though. She came to stand beside Lapis.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any subordinates that huge, do you?¡±


    ¡°Well? What do you think?¡±


    ¡°He has experience with swords¡­ Otherwise, it would be impossible to wield such a super-heavy weapon.¡±


    The ck Knight was moving very little, but he was definitely defending against and returning Loren¡¯s attacks. Lapis could see that he wielded the sword properly, raising the de before cutting down. An inexperienced person wouldn¡¯t do that even with normal swords, but the ck Knight did with every strike. The person inside that ck armor must be very used to handling swords.


    ¡°He had enough physical strength to send Loren flying back when defending¡­ Most demons are able to do that.¡±


    There was some difference in strength between men and women, but demons could also use self-boost to enhance their own strength. With that, any demons working at a Demon King¡¯s castle would be able to send someone with Loren¡¯s built flying back while still defending themselves.


    Lapis gritted her teeth:


    ¡°I can¡¯t narrow down who that ck Knight is¡­ If I know the person, I can think of a counter-attack n.¡±


    On the battlefield, Loren was having the same thought. But unlike Lapis, he didn¡¯t know about the demons in this castle, so it was meaningless trying to identify the person behind the ck armor after all. It was then that he realized the Knight¡¯s unnatural movements, something he hadn¡¯t considered before.


    ¡°You¡¯re just standing there, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Due to the length of the Knight¡¯s sword and arm, there was a fairly wide gap between Loren and him. If Loren stepped into that space, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the Knight¡¯s counterattacks unless he leapt back quite a distance. But once he calmly assessed the ck Knight¡¯s movements with each strike, Loren noticed that he had hardly moved from his original standing position. He would move one step to cross swords with Loren, but that was all. Even if he was flicked back due to defense, the Knight never tried to pursue him.


    Furthermore, as Loren moved around him to find an opening, the ck Knight only followed him with his eyes. If he entered the knight¡¯s blind spot, he would just let himself be exposed without changing his body¡¯s direction.


    ¡°You can¡¯t move because your armor is too heavy, can you?¡±


    The ck Knight didn¡¯t show any reactions to Loren¡¯s muttered words, but Loren could see the purple eyes behind the helmet wavered, even if just a little. He knew his guess was correct.


    In other words, the Knight standing in front of him had an extraordinary defensive ability, but he was unable to handle the weight of the ck armor that built up that very ability. This was the reason why his body could not keep up with Loren¡¯s movements.


    Loren believed that the person inside the armor was definitely someone from the demon tribe, judging from the color of his eyes. In that case, the ck armor must be so heavy that even with the power of the demon race, he could not move satisfactorily. And if the armor was that heavy, it made sense that no matter how many times he shed at it with his greatsword, the attack would not go through.


    Moreover, unlike Loren, who was moving in a circle around him, the ck Knight himself was only swinging his sword in response to Loren¡¯s attacks. Unable to make chase seemed to be the only problem he had in this battle.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t run, I¡¯ll be the one to run then.¡±


    If your opponent couldn¡¯t chase you, it meant you wouldn¡¯t be chased. This might sound stupid, but with this opponent, if Loren just gave up on the battle and ran now, there was a very high chance that he could really get away.


    ¡®A very high chance¡¯ only, because it was possible there was some hidden cards, and he would get a blow the moment he turned his back.


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t run away.¡±


    If he did, he would be considered to have abandoned the battle, and the negotiation with Judie would end with Loren¡¯s defeat.


    That didn¡¯t mean anything, but Loren had no way of dealing with the embodiment of defense in front of him. He nced at his greatsword, which he had smashed it into the ck Knight¡¯s armor over and over again, causing the de to be covered with chips. Originally, it was not a weapon that relied much on the sharpness of the de, so if such a weapon was blunted further, it couldn¡¯t possibly prate the ck armor.


    With his greatsword at the ready, Loren walked around the ck Knight a little out of his range and wondered what to do. After a while, he suddenly thought of a way.


    ¡°Is it worth a try, I wonder?¡±


    Loren muttered and patted Nigg, who was clinging to the shoulder of his jacket. Like an essory, the spider clung to it without making a single movement ¨C its body moved a little just because of Loren¡¯s palm.


    Loren moved his hand from Nigg¡¯s back to stroke his tummy, then dropped his greatsword and ran towards the ck Knight barehanded.


    The ck Knight seemed to be slightly bewildered by his action, but he immediately aimed his sword at Loren¡¯s neck. With his strength, if the blownded, Loren would die on the spot, weapon or no weapon. But before the de could touch his neck, Loren slid down, avoiding the blow and dived behind the Knight in one move. He then quickly ran out of the Knight¡¯s range, clutching a rather thick white thread in his hand.


    ¡°When?¡±


    Judie eximed. When he ran towards the ck Knight, she was sure he was empty-handed. Before she could see where the thread came from, Loren had begun to run around the ck Knight with the thread in his hand.


    When the ck Knight noticed what he wanted to do, the spider¡¯s thread, with one end stuck to his leg, was wrapped around the Knights¡¯ leg multiple times. The knight hurriedly used his sword to cut the thread, but Loren, thread still in hand, also picked up his discarded greatsword to stop him. The de met the de, and Loren was sent flying back again, but the Knight was also unable to cut the thread. As the knight raised his sword to attempt to cut the thread again, Loren also made another one-handed thrust to stop him.


    After several such exchanges, the ck Knight¡¯s legs were wrapped in spider thread and eventually sealed in a pure white cocoon.


    The spider thread was very durable to begin with, and a spider of Nigg¡¯s size could spit out a pretty thick thread. Being wound so many times like that, it formed a cocoon that couldn¡¯t be torn out from the inside or cut open from the outside.


    The ck Knight used to be able to change direction with just some slight movements of the feet, but now even that had be difficult. He tried to remove the thread, but Loren immediately interrupted that attempt and wound even more thread around his legs.


    Before long, the ck Knightpletely lost the freedom to move his legs at will. As Loren drew near him from behind, he frantically tried to swung his sword at him, but Loren kicked at his back and knocked him face down to the ground of the arena.


    ¡°Now, wait, isn¡¯t that cheating?¡±


    Judie asked, and Lapis answered after some thinking:


    ¡°Would you im that using a spider¡¯s assistance is cheating?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Demons were a race of great power, and they generally considered other races to be inferior to them in many cases.


    With such beliefs in mind, even a Demon King would be ufortable with the fact that a human, who should be inferior to them, had won the battle simply by borrowing the power of the spider, or calling the act ¡®cheating¡¯.


    Moreover, it was the Demon King¡¯ aide who Loren fought here. If she imed that he was cheating, it would mean she was keeping by her side someone who wasn¡¯t even a match for the power of a humanbined with that of a spider. It would bring questions about the Demon King¡¯s good name.


    ¡°Mother, that Knight must have a great fixation to that armor and armor¡¯s sizes in order to put on something that limits his own movements to such extent.¡±


    The ck Knight couldn¡¯t even get up on his own, but he kept trying to.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to stand up again once I fell down with all that weight.¡±


    ¡°Should I stop that?¡±


    Judie said in a disappointed voice, but she didn¡¯t dere that Loren had won. In that case, the battle still continued. Or so Loren thought, and he picked up his chipped greatsword, ced a foot on the ck Knight¡¯s back, and swung the sword down on his helmet. No matter how thick the armor was, he believed that if he kept hitting a vital point with enough force and precision, it would have some certain effect. Maybe if he kept hitting the helmet, the person inside the armor would lose consciousness at some point.


    ¡°Who¡¯s actually inside that armor?¡±


    Lapis asked as she watched Loren putting a foot on the Knight¡¯s back and began hitting his helmet vigorously. Judie stared at Lapis, then said in a small,zy voice:


    ¡°Your Father.¡±


    ¡°Father?!¡±


    ¡°Well, he kept going on about meeting the man his daughter has brought back, so I tossed him into some bulky armor, gave him a pair of tform boots, then took him along.¡±


    ¡°Eh? No, wait?! Mother! Father is being beaten to pulp!!¡±


    Even though the de didn¡¯t cut through and the thick armor prevented most of the shock reaching inside, if Loren kept beating without a care like that, some damage might be done to the head if he hit the right spot. The ck Knight¡¯s struggle to escape from Loren¡¯s foot had gradually be sluggish.


    ¡°Should I stop it? But it¡¯s a shame that the loss is confirmed.¡±


    ¡°Is this the ce to say such a thing?! It¡¯s alright, Mother, the battle hase to a conclusion?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. So, Loren won.¡±


    Judie offhandedly dered, and Lapis rushed out to protect the ck Knight¡¯s head from Loren¡¯s blows. Loren guessed that the battle had ended somehow and stopped striking at the somewhat-disfigured helmet. Watching the ck Knight¡¯s prone form, he let out a sigh.

 Chapter 199, From Preparation to Departure

    <h4>Chapter 199, From Preparation to Departure</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°Well, well, well. You¡¯ve found a boy quite strong for a human.¡±


    The man smiled cheerfully and scratched his head. He was a fine gentleman with neatlybed hair, and his all ck attire looked like that of a butler. However, the color of his smiling eyes were purple, and he had a rather rugged, wide long sword hanging in a scabbard at his waist, so there was no way he was just a butler.


    The man, who looked like he was about to enter middle age, sounded much more convincing, posing as Lapis¡¯ parent, than Judie. His name was Aus And. The difference between hisst name and Judie¡¯s was, Judie¡¯sst name was that of a Demon King, while Aus¡¯ was that of his family.


    ¡°So, Lapis¡¯ full name is Lapis And?¡±


    ¡°If she takes over the family, then yes. If she doesn¡¯t, she doesn¡¯t have to take And as her name, and it will only be ¡®Lapis¡¯.¡±


    They were now on a in near the Demon King¡¯s Castle, and maids were busy loading supplies and materials into wagons in front of them as they talked. All those supplies were the support the Demon King Judie provided to help them fulfill hermission. The wagon itself was also arranged by Judie.


    ¡°You can discard it if you need to.¡±


    Aus said in a light-hearted tone. Loren didn¡¯t know what made him happy, but he had been smiling ever since Loren beat him up. He had feared that he was beyond the point of anger and had no choice but to smile, but after talking to him, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. He seemed to be genuinely happy about something.


    ¡°The helmet is enchanted so that it will always let Judie know where you are. If you can sessfully throw it into the crater, the magic will stop responding and Judie will know, so you don¡¯t have toe back here if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get paid in that case, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you in advance. This, right?¡±


    Aus said and presented the greatsword that Loren had been using, the weapon of a Demon King. He handed it to Loren, who had prepared a set of cloth to wrap the de and a cord to carry it on his back.


    ¡°Is this alright?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I won¡¯t begrudge you if you just take it and run away, either. You¡¯ll have to reconsider your rtionship with my daughter, though.¡±


    Aus was still smiling, but the meaning behind his smile seemed to have changed. Feeling a bit intimidated, Loren looked straight back at his face and replied:


    ¡°If anything, I¡¯m the one who was asked out.¡±


    It was Lapis who asked him to apany her. Loren didn¡¯t want to allude anything about how his and Lapis¡¯ feelings had changed, so he just told Aus the fact.


    Aus replied without losing his smile:


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then my daughter¡¯s eyes have been blinded, and as a parent, I¡¯ll have to disallow you to see her again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Lapis¡¯ eyes can be blinded now. Haven¡¯t guys already gouged them out?¡±


    Whether or not Lapis¡¯ eyes were gouged out or not, the truth was they had been taken away by Judie and Aus, and in her eye sockets were currently two finely-crafted prosthetic eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡±


    ¡°Um, you too? I¡¯ll cry, you know? I really, really will.¡±


    Lapis put her hand on Loren¡¯s shoulders and started to shake him in protest. He figured he should just let her do what she wanted for a while, and continued watching the maids work while being rocked. But he suddenly realized something and asked Aus, who was watching over the maids with a smile still on his face:


    ¡°How long will it take us to get to that mountain crater?¡±


    ¡°Even if you travel by carriage, you¡¯ll have to spend one night on the road. As you know, I don¡¯t approve of premarital sex, so please be prepared.¡±


    ¡°Stupid father¡­ Stupid father, it¡¯s not like that. If we don¡¯t get back until the morning after tomorrow, another party will think we¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a group of people who have broken in from the same ce as you and are doing a bit of digging. I¡¯ll arrange for them to be informed via the dwarves that there has been some trouble and they should be hiding in some dwarven viges until things cool down.¡±


    Loren did not want to worry Ritz¡¯ party, but Aus promised to take appropriate action immediately.


    ¡°¡®What kind of support will you give us in terms of fighting power?¡¯


    Loren asked as he hung the greatsword he had received on his back as he had always done. Aus¡¯ smile didn¡¯t vanish, but he answered the question with a slight drop in his tone:


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Judie deems that it¡¯s best not to not provide you support in terms of fighting power.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, that¡¯s¡­¡±


    Loren was on the verge of protesting, but Aus continued:


    ¡°Instead, we¡¯re going to help you with supplies.¡±


    As he said this, Aus handed Loren an item that looked like a big chicken egg but felt a bit harder.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a disposable magic item that generates a protective ward. Try crushing it.¡±


    Loren did as he was told and put strength into his hand and the item, just like an egg, shattered fragilely in his hands. At the same time, Aus drew the sword that had been hanging at his waist and swung it at Loren¡¯s neck. He was so quick that even Lapis, whose hands were still on Loren¡¯s shoulder, didn¡¯t have time to raise her voice.


    But the strike, which should have separated Loren¡¯s neck from his body, stopped far from his neck as if it had hit an invisible wall, and the de did not cut into his flesh at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t startle me.¡±


    ¡°This egg is a disposable magic item that builds a protective barrier around the person who crushes it. It should be able to block at least one blow from a dragon attack.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite impressive that it can block my father¡¯s attack.¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression did not change as he listened to Lapis say this, but inwardly he felt a twinge of fear, which he struggled to subdue.


    That was how sharp and fierce the Aus¡¯ strike had been.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t retaliation for the beating, is it?¡±


    ¡°Well, what do you think?¡±


    Aus was being evasive, but from the ckness of his mouth, Loren suspected that was indeed the case.


    ¡°Judie believes that having someone powerful apany you, even just as a support, might unnecessarily irritate the dragon. By the way, these eggs can also be used to offset magic, so you should try out their various uses. You can keep the surplus as an extra reward, but please don¡¯t sell it on the human market.¡±


    Even if they couldn¡¯t be exchanged for money, Loren thought that they were very powerful magic items. If you used them well, they could save your life, and since there were a good number of eggs in the wagon, he believed he would really appreciate being able to use them.


    If possible, he would like to have someone who could fight apany them, but if the Demon King had made that decision, it would be better to follow it.


    ¡°Where¡¯s G?¡±


    Thest time Loren saw her was in Judie¡¯s room, and he was toldter that she was abducted by the maids. He asked Aus just because he thought the man might know something, but Aus simply pointed with his chin toward the wagon:


    ¡°Our maids were loading her earlier, didn¡¯t you see?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tease her too much. I know she¡¯s unusual, but¡­¡±


    G hadpletely turned into a toy for the maids of the Demon King¡¯s Castle. She had been ¡®loaded¡¯ meant that she had probably been brought in unconscious, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but be somewhat curious about what the maids had done to make her so.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot of research, right? What did you find out?¡±


    ¡°About Evil Gods, you mean? To be honest, we don¡¯t have much interest in them, so we don¡¯t know much.¡±


    Aus mentioned G¡¯s true identity so nonchntly that Loren had almost missed it, but Lapis¡¯ tightened hands on his shoulders made him listen more carefully.


    ¡°I know they were created by the ancient kingdom. There are various rumors that they were researching about making demons submit to humans or turning humans into demons, but the truth is unknown. I¡¯m sure the Evil Gods themselves don¡¯t know everything either.¡±


    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s still a pity you don¡¯t know more.¡±


    ¡°I know how you feel. Well, you can either take it easy or forget about it altogether.¡±


    Loren lightly clucked his tongue at Aus¡¯ words as if to say that it was someone else¡¯s problem, not his, then asked more questions:


    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me where Lapis¡¯ eyes and legs are?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret. I¡¯m sure Lapis will agree. Don¡¯t you, Lapis?¡±


    Lapis nodded in response as if to confirm Aus¡¯ words. Loren was somewhat dissatisfied, but he convinced himself that if Lapis, the person in question, was fine with it, then there was no need to pry any further.


    ¡°You can keep the wagon and horses at Lapis¡¯ base in the area. The wagon is infused with numerous technologies of ours, so it¡¯s best to not sell it on humans¡¯ market.¡±


    ¡°Can it cross the mountains?¡±


    ¡°It can, on a specific route¡­ But if it¡¯s too much trouble, you can just sell it off to the dwarves.¡±


    Aus seemed to consider the wagon as an additional reward, and Loren was impressed by his generosity.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be too dangerous on the road, but you should leave it to Lapis to deal with the demons. If you leave now, we can spend one night on the road and reach the mountain by noon tomorrow. I¡¯m praying for your safety. And, well¡­ Take care of my daughter.¡±


    Aus said, still smiling. Before Loren knew it, the maids had finished their work, and all that was left to do was to board and leave.


    Lapis took her hands off Loren¡¯s shoulders and climbed onto the driver¡¯s bench. Loren followed her, thinking that Aus¡¯ request to ¡®take care of my daughter¡¯ was pregnant with hidden meaning. Feeling a bit mean, he asked Aus, who was seeing them off:


    ¡°Are you that worried? Why did you take away her limbs and eyes then?¡±


    ¡°Because we think a sheltered girl has no worth. That was necessary to give her experiences in the human realm. Still, as her parents, we¡¯re worried about her. Is it that strange?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t answer that question. After all, he had never been a parent, and he had never known his own parents. If he had to, he could say that the leader of his mercenarypany was his parent, but he had no idea if said leader felt the same towards him as Aus towards Lapis.


    Aus didn¡¯t seem to be expecting an answer from Loren either; he didn¡¯t look disappointed about Loren¡¯s silence but simply looked up at them. As Aus opened his mouth to say something, one of the maids quietly approached him and whispered something in his ear, causing his face to cloud over for the first time.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you have to hear this right before leaving, but I have some bad news.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear such things while I¡¯m just about to depart¡­¡±


    ¡°You might want to hear this thought. It seems the shield has been stolen.¡±


    The man named Magna already possessed the sword and armor, and the two items he hadn¡¯t stolen yet were the shield and the helmet that Loren was carrying. If the shield had also been stolen, the only thing left would be the helmet, and it was almost certain that Magna would go after their party.


    ¡°You demons are unexpectedly negligent.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much interest in them, so we manage them rather carelessly¡­ I apologize for this shameful situation.¡±


    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. If this helmet is destroyed, we¡¯ll be able to handle the situation somehow.¡±


    The helmet had been loaded into the wagon along with the other supplies. It was wrapped in a packing that had been treated to make it difficult for magic to probe it, but Aus exined that it would not be very effective against Magna, who already had three of the set.


    ¡°If you sessfully carry out thismission, you will have the free pass to enter and leave the region under Demon King Judie¡¯s control. Do your best.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like a very nice reward, but it¡¯s amission from the parent of myrade. I¡¯ll even get paid, so I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Take care of my daughter. With all my heart, I ask you, take good care of my daughter.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, if you¡¯re that worried about her, you should have kept her sheltered in the first ce!¡±


    Loren was dumbfounded. Next to him, Lapis silently whipped the horse with a bright red face. Loren thought she was too embarrassed to let Aus continued talking, but when he noticed her ncing over her shoulder at Aus and the maids, he leaned into her ears and said:


    ¡°You can drop by on the way back, if you want. Since we don¡¯t have to worry about Ritz¡¯ party anymore.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    Lapis answered with an even redder face, and Loren was made to understand that some feelings were the same whether you were a human or a demon. He would suggest Lapis drop by Judie¡¯s castle on the way back.

 Chapter 200, A Premonition On the Road

    <h4>Chapter 200, A Premonition On the Road</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Their journey was going quite well.


    First of all, to Loren¡¯s surprise, the roads, which were called highways, were quite well paved.


    Roads in the realm of the humans were usually just bare earth, although the bigger ones were more-or-less maintained. However, roads in the demon realm were properly paved with stones. ording to Lapis, almost all highways in the demon realm were properly maintained. Every year, the demon kings would allocate a budget to pave new roads and maintain old ones.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that they don¡¯t really maintain the roads so that troops won¡¯t be able to move around as easily in times of war.¡±


    ¡°Troops on both sides? That sounds inefficient.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mainly to hinder the enemies, isn¡¯t it? Even if it¡¯s at a slow pace, if your allies move in advance, you¡¯ll be able to ce the necessary troops where they need to be.¡±


    In fact, Loren remembered that during his time as a mercenary, he was taught that it served more as an obstruction when enemy forces invaded your country.


    Lapis snickered at themon sense of the human race.


    ¡°It¡¯s meaningless in the demon realm. Of course, there are some skirmishes amongst Demon Kings, but the Great Demon King is on the top. There¡¯s no need to mobilizerge armies. Problems can be solved by the Demon Kings and the Great Demon King themselves.¡±


    Lapis exined that rather than worrying about such things, the demons were more concerned about the dys in distribution caused by theck of maintenance of the roads.


    It was true that if only one person had the strength equivalent to arge army, then this kind of obstruction was pointless, and Loren agreed that it would be more efficient to focus on convenience in peacetime.


    What surprised Loren even more was the performance of the wagon they had borrowed from Aus. The road may have been good, but the wagon itself didn¡¯t jolt much. Lapis said that the secret was in the axle and the body of the wagon, but Loren, who was not a specialist in this area, could not understand what was done to reduce the jolting. Nevertheless, the wagon barely shook even when the horse pulling it was going at a rather fast pace, and he was so impressed that he began to seriously consider the possibility of bringing it back to Kapha.


    ¡°Maybe I can secretly ask Mother if we can use it in the human realm.¡±


    When adventurers went out on a long trip, they usually rented a mule to carry their luggage or a wagon to ride in. But even though walking was very tiring, riding in a wagon was very bumpy and brought about its own problems like motion sickness and sore butts. However, with this wagon, the likelihood of getting motion sickness and sore butts would greatly decrease, making it worth considering bringing it back to the human world with them.


    ¡°As long as we only use it for ourselves and don¡¯t let anyone else find out, I think Mother will agree.¡±


    ¡°If themission ispleted sessfully, we should stop by the Demon King¡¯s castle.¡±


    Loren was convinced that a less-jolting wagon totally worth the trip.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stop by there anymore.¡±


    It was G who uttered those words.


    When they left the Demon King¡¯s castle, G had been loaded into the cart together with their luggage in an unconscious state, probably due to the maids¡¯ attack. A whileter, she had finally crawled out from between the luggage, squirming like a caterpir. Her whole body was carefully bound with ropes. Loren had immediately cut the ropes with the dagger he kept inside his jacket as a backup weapon, but the experience of being harassed by the maids, losing consciousness, then being tied up left a scar on G¡¯s psyche.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat baguettes and ham anymore¡­ I want to fill my stomach with proper food.¡±


    ¡°The maids only fed you those?¡±


    ¡°They must have had a lot of leftover food that was going bad. Sometimes that happens, and all we get is that food.¡±


    Looking angry, Lapis said that the maids in charge of stocking were quite irresponsible. But Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and the lord of that Demon King¡¯s castle, was rather indifferent about such matters and didn¡¯t really reprimand them for it. The result was things didn¡¯t improve at all.


    ¡°Indulge yourself for tonight, then.¡±


    Feeling sorry for G, who seemed to have been stuffed with nothing but meat and bread under the maids¡¯ watching eyes, Loren suggested. The wagon was loaded with all kinds of food, so he believed it wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if she consumed a bit too much. Lapis did not object to the suggestion, and G weed it with open arms.


    They proceeded in such an atmosphere, and spent the first night of the trip camping outdoors. But from the second day on, the number of demons they passed on the road increased, and they were stopped more often.


    Unlike human cities, which were surrounded by walls and moats, demon cities seemed to have a building at the center with houses and storesid out around it, their density decreased as you moved away from the center. It seemed like they had been far enough from the Demon King¡¯s castle that they could be considered to be out of the city now.


    In other words, their encounters with patrolling soldiers had increased, and those soldiers often had their eyes on Loren, a human. But these kinds of attention didn¡¯t develop into real trouble because G had reverted her red eyes to their original purple hue and Lapis, despite currently having ck eyes, was more-or-less known due to being the Demon King¡¯s daughter.


    In addition, the white greatsword Loren carried on his back also served as a kind of pass.


    ¡°For something that¡¯s been stored in a warehouse, this sword is quite famous among demons.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t even know how many times they had been stopped by soldiers until now, but every single time, he just needed to show them the sword, and they would let them go. He now let it rest on his knees in case he required to show it to another group of soldiers.


    ¡°It seems so. I didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    Lapis said while steering the wagon. Then she seemed to suddenly recall something and started rummaging around her pockets with one hand before taking out a piece of paper. She gave the paper a shake to unfold it, then read attentively for a while.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the manual for your greatsword. Father gave it to me right before we left.¡±


    Of course, there was no such thing as an ¡®manual¡¯ for a sword, but Aus had given Lapis a list of the sword¡¯s properties that had been known since the time Judie used it. It seems that Aus thought it would be pointless for Loren to have a weapon that he didn¡¯t really know how to use, but Loren tilted his head and wondered why he gave it to Lapis instead of him.


    ¡°An insurance, so that you don¡¯t just make off with it, I guess?¡±


    Lapis tried to answer Loren¡¯s question. In the event that Loren didn¡¯t carry out Judie¡¯smission but ran away with the greatsword instead, even though he possessed the sword, Lapis would be the one who possessed the information about it. Lapis would choose to tell him about them or not at her own discretion.


    ¡°So they don¡¯t trust me.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t know you well enough to trust you.¡±


    ¡®But I do¡¯, Lapis said, and proceeded to tell Loren about what was written on the paper.


    ¡°To put it simply, the sword is very sturdy, unbreakable, maintenance-free, and so sharp that it can cut through magic.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too general.¡±


    In fact, the paper was filled with exnations about the magic that was applied to the sword and the metal used to forge the de, but Lapis decided that even if she exined all that to Loren, a swordsman, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to understand anything. So, she skipped all these descriptions and only gave Loren the necessary information.


    ¡°Will you understand if I tell you about the synergistic effect of the magic form and the demon metal on its sturdiness, or the form that converts the wielder¡¯s life force into its sharpness, or the form that enables it to record its shape and destruction to repair itself?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sorry, my bad.¡±


    Lapis began listing out, and Loren immediately admitted his wrong and apologized. He realized that if she kept on with such exining, he wouldn¡¯t be able to understand a thing when she finished.


    ¡°It can transform life force and create mes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome. So I can be something like a magician?¡±


    A magic sword that could produce mes from its de was an orthodox yet powerful one. They were asionally avable on the market at a very high price. This was an expensive sword that was normally beyond Loren¡¯s reach. Loren was extremely grateful for being able to obtain it now.


    ¡°However, it doesn¡¯t have a limiter for the user¡¯s safety, so if you¡¯re not careful, it can siphon off all your life force and kill you.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s scary.¡±


    If the wielder was a Demon King, even if the sword had absorbed all the life force it could, the most the wielder would feel was some fatigue. That was what written on the paper, but Lapis skipped over it. In fact, from those words, she came to understand that if a human like Loren used the sword¡¯s power with no moderation, he would die for sure.


    ¡°In addition, there is a small amount of supportive magic infused in it, such as increasing recovery, strengthening defense, and boosting arm strength. But you¡¯ve probably used them already despite not knowing anything, so there shouldn¡¯t be any difference.¡±


    ¡°Well, those are nice features, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Finally, now that you¡¯re officially registered as its user, a new function has be avable¡­¡±


    At this point, Lapis became evasive. Loren peered into the paper, but it was written in a script he didn¡¯t know, so he had no idea what made Lapis act like this.


    ¡°Is it something bad?¡±


    ¡°Father just said to have fun using it.¡±


    The fact that there was no warning meant that it wasn¡¯t going to be life-threatening. But a function that a demon, the husband of a Demon King no less, said to ¡®have fun using¡¯¡­ There was no way Loren would use it without any information.


    ¡°Does it at least say how to use it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, but¡­ It¡¯s really insane?¡±


    Lapis said and, as if afraid someone else might hear, leaned in close to Loren¡¯s ears, covered her mouth with her hands, and whispered to him about how to use the new function.


    Loren frown once he finished listening.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can tell you to try it.¡±


    Loren memorized what Lapis had told him in case nothing else worked and he had to use it, but he really didn¡¯t want to be in that kind of situation at all.


    ¡°You probably won¡¯t have to use it unless we¡¯re in THAT situation¡­¡±


    ¡°This is quite ominous.¡±


    But considering the ce they were heading to, they couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that they might be forced into a predicament where they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about. Also, this was a reward given to them in advance by the Demon King. Loren wondered if Judie had already anticipated such a scenario.


    ¡°L-Loren, I¡¯ll try my best to not let that happen.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ Well, yes please.¡±


    Lapis clenched her hands into fists to emphasize her determination. Loren had already half-resigned himself to ept that it would happen, so he just patted her head.

 Chapter 201, From Climbing the Mountain to Being Sabo

    <h4>Chapter 201, From Climbing the Mountain to Being Sabo</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    And so, they arrived at the foot of the mountain.


    Considering the direction they were going in, Loren had already had a sneaking fear that their destination would be THAT mountain. As his fear came true, he let out a deep sigh at the sight of the mountain towering over them.


    ¡°We really have to climb this?¡±


    Loren muttered this to himself. It was no wonder that he did: to put it simply, it was one rocky mountain range.


    The area was made up of a series of mountains, but Loren¡¯s gaze was drawn to the highest of them all.


    ¡°Are you kidding? We¡¯ll climb this?¡±


    Next to Loren, who had just gotten off the carriage and was looking up at the towering mountain, G let out these words with a hint of disgust in her voice.


    It really was a rocky mountain.


    The mountain itself was so deste that there was no vegetation in sight. The slope was steep, but not so steep that it was impossible to climb. The problem, however, was the height of the mountain.


    From the foot of the mountain, no matter how high they casted their eyes up, the surface of the mountain seemed to stretch on and on uninterrupted. As they turned their heads to look up, they saw that the mountain was covered in thick ck clouds half-way up, making the summit invisible.


    They definitely couldn¡¯t scale this mountain with a wagon, so Lapis went to hide the vehicle in a small forest nearby.


    ¡°Since we need to reach the crater, we¡¯ll have to climb all the way to the summit, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    After hiding the wagon, Lapis brought out bread and drinking water from the back of it and handed them to Loren while replying casually as if it was a matter of course.


    It was just about noon, and as Loren took the food from her, he assumed that he was supposed to have them for lunch.


    ¡°For G, some baguette and ham.¡±


    ¡°Are you bullying me?!¡±


    Thinking how rare a sight it was to see the Evil God of Gluttony refuse the food offered to her, Loren bit into his hard bread. The thing was tasteless, but it could fill his stomach, and that would have to do for now. As he gnawed on the bread, Lapis forced a baguette and a chunk of ham on G. Then she came to his side and looked up at the towering mountain, holding the same food as Loren.


    ¡°¡®It¡¯s called Mount Sverg, the Mountain Where the King Sleeps.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care for the story of this mountain.¡±


    ¡°The ¡®King¡¯ is the Ancient Dragon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s even less important.¡±


    It was the kind of information that one couldn¡¯t do anything about even after knowing it.


    And staying here looking at the mountain would make any progress. He had no choice but to resign himself to it and climb.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll make it to the top before dark even if we start now.¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, we won¡¯t make it within a day.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯ll have to spend the night on a windswept mountain face?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to make use of G¡¯s power to dig a hole.¡±


    The surface of the mountain was mostly bare rock. If they wanted to dig a hole in it, they would have to work for a long time and make a lot of noise with hammers and pickaxes. However, with G¡¯s power, it would probably be much easier to dig a hole quietly and quickly, and the dug out rocks would be eaten up.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too mean to me?¡±


    Gined while gnawing on the baguette that she had eventually ended up epting, but she didn¡¯t seem to truly reject Lapis¡¯ proposal. Loren chewed on his own bread, thinking that they might not have to make G go that far ¨C finding a cave would do too.


    After finishing their tasteless lunch, they immediately began their preparation by taking out whatever seemed necessary from the wagon and stuffing them into their backpacks. These backpacks, which were also prepared by Judie, were quite sturdy and much better than what adventurers usually used. Loren was impressed by how far ahead the demons were in terms of manufacturing technology inparison to humans.


    ¡°We can also use these even after returning to the other side, right?¡±


    ¡°These are all stuff you can get by paying money, so it should be fine.¡±


    Lapis shouldered her backpack. It was filled with supplies such as food, medical supplies, and sleep bag. Loren couldn¡¯t shoulder his as he was carrying his greatsword on his back. Instead, he grabbed it by the shoulder straps and carried it like a sack. G, who was carrying a backpack slightlyrger than Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯s, tried to sound as cheerful as possible as she gazed with genuine disgust at the direction of the mountain peak, which was obscured by clouds:


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go have some fun climbing the mountain, shall we?¡±


    This was how they began to climb the rocky mountain.


    Unlike traveling in a wagon, the climb was extremely strenuous. Just climbing a mountain was tiring enough, but when you were equipped with a backpack filled with enough supplies tost three to four days, the amount of energy consumed is proportional to the weight. In addition to that, they had to be on the lookout for the dragon that was supposed to live in this mountain. It would be strange if it wasn¡¯t tiring.


    ¡°Being cautious or not, if we¡¯re discovered, we¡¯re done.¡±


    There was no ce to hide on the bare rocky face of the mountain. The shade of arge boulder wasn¡¯t bad to hide behind, if your enemies were monsters on the ground. But if you were hiding from a dragon flying above, you would be in full view. And there was no sign of any other monsters on this mountain. Loren was sure that since this mountain was home to a dragon, the most powerful monster of all, no other demons would evene close to it.


    ¡°Rather than proceeding cautiously, it¡¯d be better to hurry ahead, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°¡®That¡¯s right. If there¡¯s no way to hide from detection, we might as well focus on gaining distance.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of fighting a dragon either.¡±


    If even an Evil God like G wanted to avoid an encounter with a dragon, they all agreed that they should quickly finish their business and leave the mountain as soon as possible.


    They started to climb up the slope of the mountain, but the distance to the top was too great, and after they reached a certain height, the sun went down.


    ¡°G-san, a hole.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, Lapis-chan, even though I¡¯m like this, I¡¯m still an Evil God, you know?¡±


    G nervously protested at Lapis¡¯s request, but she knew she had to do it anyway and began to use her Predators on the part of the mountain face Lapis pointed to. Multiple mouths, which would normally be invisible, started gnawing away at the mountain surface and swallowed up the crushed stones. Soon enough, a cave opened up on the vertical mountain surface, big enough for three people to lie down.


    ¡°That¡¯s convenient.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Can you please stop using me for your convenience?¡±


    With G¡¯s power, it really was easy to dig a hole, and you didn¡¯t even have to worry about the dug up rocks.


    As Loren checked the condition of the newly-dug cave and thought that he might ask for Gs¡¯ help in this kind of situation from now on, he suddenly put his palm on his nape and rubbed it as he looked around. G was going into the cave, thinking that since she had dug it, it would be okay for her to go in first. Lapis was watching her, but she noticed Loren¡¯s gesture and also turned to look around


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s probably just my imagination.¡±


    As Loren replied, he asked Shayna in his mind to search the area. In the absence of nts and animal life on the rocky mountain, Loren knew he could rely on Shayna¡¯s senses to tell him if there was any living thing nearby. But Shayna answered that there were no signs of life nearby, and Loren tilted his head as he rubbed his nape.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just that I thought I felt eyes on me, but I guess it was just my imagination.¡±


    If Shayna didn¡¯t feel anything, then there was probably nothing. But Lapis¡¯ face became a little grim at his answer, and she looked around carefully again. Loren thought there was no need to be that cautious if the King of Death didn¡¯t sense anything, but Lapis had a different opinion:


    ¡°Something like a life response can be masked by a type of magic called <<seal>>. However, the feeling of being watched like you sensed cannot be hidden by any magic.¡±


    </seal>


    Lapis said it was also important to trust your senses. Loren once again looked out from the cave¡¯s opening, but he couldn¡¯t spot anything. Not being sure what to make of it.


    ¡°Who will go after us at such a ce?¡±


    ¡°Someone who wants this helmet, of course.¡±


    Lapis took out the ck helmet from her pack. As far as Loren knew, the only person who wanted the helmet was Magna, the long-haired man wearing ck armor.


    ¡°Are you saying he¡¯s already here?¡±


    ¡°Even if he hasn¡¯t, we shouldn¡¯t assume that he¡¯s working alone.¡±


    Loren thought about what Lapis was trying to say and eventually came up with an answer.


    ¡°You mean he has aplices?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And if he does, this mountain will be watched.¡±


    Lapis exined that there was a reason why the Demon King had instructed him to throw the helmet into the crater of this very mountain: It was because she had judged that the helmet and other items in the set could not bepletely destroyed by any other means. Magna, who was collecting the set, probably knew about this. It would be troublesome for him if any item was destroyed, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he was monitoring the area where the only thing that can destroy these items existed.


    ¡°Do you think they will attack us?¡±


    If they wanted to quickly get the helmet from them, they could storm the ce, get rid of the three of us, and then retrieve the item at ease. They didn¡¯t know how many aplices Magna had, but themon sense should be at least the same number as Loren¡¯s party or more.


    ¡°It depends on how many people they have, but the first question is whether these aplices actually exist or not.¡±


    They guessed that Magna might have some aplices, but they were not certain. It was possible that what Loren sensed was just his imagination, and Lapis¡¯ spection was overly cautious.


    ¡°If Shayna can¡¯t detect them, we¡¯re in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But unless Magna could find help from the demons, I don¡¯t think there are many people that skilled. The same number as us at most, if not fewer.¡±


    ¡°They n to stop us with fewer people than us?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Lapis turned her gaze upwards. Even though the sun was setting and the night was about to fall, the heavy clouds hanging over their heads were still visible. As Loren also looked up, wondering what on earth Lapis was watching, she muttered absentmindedly:


    ¡°If they cause amotion and attract the Ancient Dragon¡¯s attention¡­¡±


    From the Ancient Dragon¡¯s point of view, any human or demon who set foot in the vicinity of its home would be seen as an intruder, unless the person had a specific reason for doing so. Lapis thought that if Magna¡¯s aplices could make amotion to attract the Ancient Dragon¡¯s attention then hide well, they would be able to pin that attention on the three of them.


    ¡°In that case, having too many people would be a disadvantage.¡±


    If you were working alone, you only needed to conceal one person from the dragon. If you had three people like Loren¡¯s party, you would have to hide three people, making it very difficult.


    ¡°Which means if they raid us, they have more people than us. If they don¡¯t, then they have fewer people than us. Is that correct?¡±


    ¡°You can say so.¡±


    If Magna really had aplices here, what kind of method would they use to hinder their party?


    As if to betray Loren¡¯s expectation that it would be better if they didn¡¯t exist, suddenly, out of nowhere, he saw a crimson re running through the darkening night. Itnded a bit closer to the mountaintop than where their party currently was at, and a huge explosion sounded, followed by a burst of red mes.


    ¡°Your keen senses are admirable, Loren.¡±


    They knew the direction where the shot came from, but they didn¡¯t know exactly where it was fired.


    In case they were aiming directly at their party, Lapis executed a <


    >. The second shot came right that moment, hitting slightly closer to them than the first one, and Lapis grumbled at the explosive sound and mes it brought.


    Loren unconsciously looked up at the ck clouds hanging thickly in the sky. If you made such loud noise and mes on a bare rocky mountain with no other conspicuous features around, you were bound to attract some attention.

 Chapter 202, From Being Sabotaged To Being Discovered

    <h4>Chapter 202, From Being Sabotaged To Being Discovered</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    ¡°What the? What the hell just happened?¡±


    G, startled by the explosion that shook the rocky surface, tumbled out of the cave she had dug. Loren hurriedly grabbed her to stop her from rolling down the mountainside, then quickly looked around as he threw G into the cave again.


    ¡°Where the hell did theye from?¡±


    ¡°From that direction, I think.¡±


    Lapis looked in the direction where the light spheres wereing and pointed her finger. Loren turned his eyes to that direction, but it was getting dark, and he was unable to see the shooter.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re aiming for us?¡±


    ¡°¡®I don¡¯t think so. There¡¯s only one shooter, and the barrage is thin.¡±


    Before Lapis could finish, another light sphere flew in, causing an explosion near the cave they were in. Loren raised his arm to protect his face from the st and shattered rocks. He was now sure that the shots wereing from the direction Lapis had pointed, but he still couldn¡¯t confirm who was shooting.


    ¡°Can you see the enemy, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°No, unfortunately not. I can only guess about their number and method.¡±


    If there were more than one enemy, Lapis believed that they wouldn¡¯t fire one shot at a time, but would strike consecutively in a shier manner. But these attacks were single shots, and the intervals between them were long.


    ¡°Our opponent is a magician or something simr. Their skill is not that good. It¡¯s not about their aim, but about how they¡¯re unable to handle anything but an intermediate level of magic like <<fireball>>.¡±


    </fireball>


    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with magic, but maybe they¡¯re using it together with another spell?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Indeed! We can¡¯t see our assant because they¡¯re ¡®hidden¡¯. So they¡¯re using <<seal>> together with <<invisible>> or <<camouge>>¡­ then <<fireball>>. I take back what I said earlier. They¡¯re a first-ss magician.¡±


    </fireball></camouge></invisible></seal>


    ¡°Stop praising our opponent!¡±


    Loren grunted. Just then, another light sphere hit near their cave, sting mes and shockwaves and sending shattered rocks flying.


    ¡°Is there no restriction on how many times they can use it?!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re probably using <<scroll>> to increase it.¡±


    </scroll>


    The number of times a magician can use a spell in a day was limited by the magician¡¯s ability. The difficulty of the spell itself also yed a part in it, but it was difficult to imagine a single magician shooting spells at them one after another like how they were being attacked now.


    However, by using pre-made scrolls, a magician could use their magic without caring about the limit, as the spells made with scrolls wouldn¡¯t be counted into the limit. Any magician with a bit of money in their pocket would always carry a couple of magic scrolls with them.


    ¡°In any case, if we don¡¯t deal with that magician as soon as possible, we might attract some unwanted attention.¡±


    ¡°But we can¡¯t even see him.¡±


    Shayna was still unable to detect any other signs of life besides their party. Loren tried to look around more closely, but with the sun going down, it was too dark for him to see. To make matters worse, the sound and mes of the fireball exploding nearby made it harder for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and for his ears to pick up any other sound.


    As Loren gritted his teeth at how they were unable to do anything, right then he heard Shayna spoke in the back of his mind:


    [¡®I¡¯ll try a bit advanced version of <<energy drain="">>.¡¯]


    </energy>


    Before Loren could ask how shy it was, the presence of the King of Death surged up from inside Loren. G, who had been tossed back into the cave and Lapis, who was standing next to him, widened their eyes. The presence shot forward, straight at the direction where their assant was lurking.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    It was not surprising that Lapis was shocked.


    Another light sphere was shot, but it lost its light midway and disappeared just like a candle that had been blown out. In addition, the surface of the mountain suddenly burst up into dust as if hundreds of years had passed and it had been weathered. And finally, in the middle of the area where these changes urred, a small scream from a woman could be heard.


    ¡°They have a practitioner!¡±


    Although Loren¡¯s eyes did not see it, Lapis¡¯ eyes seemed to have caught the figure of the magician in the darkness. G, who also had excellent senses, jumped out of the cave with the speed of a hound at the same time that Lapis used <<light>> to secure their vision.


    </light>


    Illuminated by the light, Loren¡¯s eyes finally caught sight of a figure copsed on their four in a slight depression in the mountainside a long distance from where they were.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    The figure there looked like nothing Loren had ever seen before.


    She seemed to be wearing leather armor, but not the kind that mercenaries liked to wear ¨C it was made to fit the lines of her body. That was why Loren could see that the figure was female, but what surprised him was the color of the woman¡¯s skin and hair.


    The woman¡¯s skin, illuminated by the magic light, was a dark brown, and her long hair, fluttering in the wind, was pure white.


    Her ears were long and pointed like des of daggers, and they reminded Loren of a particr member from the party of silver-ranked adventurers with whom they had worked on the way to the demon territory.


    ¡°An elf?!¡±


    ¡°You surprised me, Loren. She¡¯s from an endangered race, the Dark Elf.¡±


    Before Loren could ask Lapis what ¡®endangered race¡¯ meant, G jumped at the elf. The elf dodged while unsheathing two daggers from her back, then furiously shed at G. Even from a distance, Loren could still notice the slight gleam of those des.


    ¡°Careful, G! They¡¯re poisonous!¡±


    ¡°Is poison effective against the Evil God of Gluttony, I wonder?¡±


    That was the cold retort he received, and the corners of Loren¡¯s mouth turned downwards. It was true that G would not only eat the poison but also eat the te without a care in the world. It was no wonder that Loren¡¯s warning was irrelevant.


    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with ¡®endangered race¡¯, by the way?¡±


    Wanting to change the subject, Loren asked. Lapis didn¡¯t want to dig further into his miss either, so she answered frankly:


    ¡°It means they¡¯re going extinct. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right. Dark elves are persecuted by other elves and hunted by humans, which leads to a drastic decrease in their poption.¡±


    Lapis exined that the dark skin of Dark Elves is abhorred by other elves. Dark Elves had organizedrge armies to fight against other elves many times in the past, but they were outnumbered and defeated.


    In addition, as they were basically another race of elves, they were also extremely attractive, and were hunted by humans to be captivated and sold off as ves. As a result, their numbers had been greatly reduced, and nowadays, they could hardly be seen anywhere.


    ¡°You can see that unlike Nim and other elves, the proportions of Dark Elves are closer to those of humans, though as a maiden, I can¡¯t exactly spell out what kind of proportion. Furthermore, even if humans hunt them for their beautiful forms, other elves won¡¯tin at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s sad.¡±


    ¡°They are skilled in the use of poisons and have good concealment techniques. As they¡¯re also skillful at magic, they are valuable assassins. The entire race makes a living out of it, and that¡¯s another reason for the detest.¡±


    ¡°What an annoying race.¡±


    They could easily blend in with the darkness of the night, with their dark skins, their bodies were light as typical of elves, and they were skilled with magic and poison. It was natural that they would take up assassination as their main upation. Loren admitted that he was being racist, but he thought that it couldn¡¯t help that they were hunted if they chose to make a living business out of assassinating people. But he also thought that it would be too much to wipe them out.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s not G¡¯s enemy. I¡¯d like to see her captured alive if possible.¡±


    Calmly receiving the dark elf¡¯s poisonous dagger with her palms, G approached her barehanded. Even though it was an unbelievable thing that her des didn¡¯t cut into G¡¯s flesh, the dark elf didn¡¯t lose herposure at all. She slipped through the Evil God¡¯s arms and precisely shed at her abdomen and leg.


    But the des still didn¡¯t prate G¡¯s flesh. Even though the elf was thrusting the tip of the daggers in and sliding the de over the exposed skin, G¡¯s skin was not even scratched.


    The dark elf¡¯s daggers had a very strong protective magic applied on them and their des were coated with poison, but it was very likely that they were ordinary daggers without any magic infusion. Lapis said that they would not be able to hurt G.


    ¡°Captured alive?¡±


    ¡°It is not necessary to reduce the number of a species that is already small by one. The effect that the extinction of a species has on the world is immeasurable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s in theory, but the truth is?¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to say it out loud that scarcity value is a lovely thing?!¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression turned weary, he wasn¡¯t sure if Lapis had identally slipped and revealed her true intentions, or if she was just going with the flow of the chat. Then Lapis just started hitting his side with her fists.


    Loren didn¡¯t bother to fend her off. He continued to watch G¡¯s fight. Acting as if her opponent¡¯s attacks were nothing, she was gradually cornering the dark elf. As she was just using brute force and not her Evil God¡¯s power, she probably didn¡¯t n to kill the elf.


    Loren began to think that it was only a matter of time before the elf was captured and that he should start preparing the rope, but as if to interrupt him, a deafening roar of overwhelming volume echoed in the mountain.


    ¡°What the?¡±


    ¡°I think we did it, attracting unwanted attention.¡±


    Loren and Lapis hurriedly covered their ears while searching for the source of the roar. The loud noise reached Gura¡¯s ears as well, making her reflexively stop moving, and the dark elf took advantage of the opportunity to flee.


    The efl¡¯s escape could only be summed up with one word, ¡®splendid¡¯, and when G thought of pursuing her, she was already out of the range of the magic lightunched by Lapis and had melted into the darkness of the night.


    G was unsure if she should go after her, but when she heard another roar, she hurriedly ran back to where Loren and Lapis were.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡±


    ¡°The only thing that can make such a roar in these mountains is¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, it seems like we¡¯ve been discovered and have attracted some attention.¡±


    In a somewhat strained voice, Lapis said as she looked up at the sky.


    As Loren and G looked up at the sky, the Lord of the mountain seemed to about to reveal himself as another roar rose up as if piercing through the ever-present thick ck clouds that were hanging low in the night sky.

 Chapter 203, From A Close Encounter To Battle

    <h4>Chapter 203, From A Close Encounter To Battle</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    Loren¡¯s honest impression, if he had to give one, was that it was not that big.


    From the term ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯, Loren had expected a being that could cover the sky with its wings. But when he thought about it, he realized that if such a huge creature existed in this world, its home must also be huge. The mountain they were currently on was a huge mountain, but it was not big enough to be described as covering the entire earth. Since the dragon lived here, it shouldn¡¯t be any bigger.


    But still, the creature that was slowly descending from the sky while beating its wings surely did possess the presence of an Ancient Dragon.


    ¡°Do you think we can escape?¡±


    Looking up at the sight of a dragon slowly descending from the clouds, Loren said, but not to anyone in particr. He was hoping that either Lapis or G would answer, and it was Lapis who did:


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it? We can¡¯t find a ce to hide, and even if we run, it¡¯s probably faster than us.¡±


    ¡°Lapis, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen a dragon, but¡­ Damn, are you sure that really is an Ancient Dragon?¡±


    When Loren was still a mercenary, dragons were things that existed in fairy tales only, so he had never seen one. In the first ce, there was no room for an existence that only appeared in stories to intervene in a battle between humans. That was the reason why Loren had to ask.


    Lapis slowly nodded:


    ¡°Judging by this sense of intimidation, I¡¯m almost certain it is.¡±


    There was no way Loren could tell the difference in the sense of intimidation between an ordinary dragon and an Ancient Dragon. But if Lapis said so, then it must be so. Loren thought and decided to assume that the being above them was indeed an Ancient Dragon.


    ¡°Do we fight?¡±


    ¡°If necessary. But Loren, we have a better chance if we ask G to hold it back and run.¡±


    ¡°You want to use me as a sacrificial pawn?!¡±


    G clung to Lapis as if to stop her from doing that, and Lapis wordlessly gave her an elbow to the brow. It made a rather loud sound, and G reflexively covered her face with both hands and dropped to a crouch. Loren had no time to care about it though.


    ¡°ARE YOU THE ONES WHO DISTURB MY DWELLING?¡±


    The dragon that had been hovering overhead opened its mouth.


    Loren found the sight of a dragon that looked like a lizard speaking humannguage with its mouth extremely disturbing, but despite being taken aback, he knew that he had to give some kind of answer, and he managed to open his mouth somehow:


    ¡°We are not the one who caused the explosion with magic!¡±


    Thinking that the disturbance was about the magic explosion, Loren raised his voice and denied it.


    Considering the distance between them and the dragon, Loren was not sure if it could hear him or not, but it seemed like it had picked up his voice.


    ¡°THAT MUST BE THE DARK ELF THAT JUST RAN AWAY. I THOUGHT I HADN¡¯T SEEN THEM LATELY. TURNS OUT THEY¡¯RE STILL LURKING AND SCUTTERING AROUND, AS INCORRIGIBLY ALIVE AS EVER.¡±


    That sounded more like how one would describe something lurking in a dirty kitchen than an elf. Loren thought, and raised his voice even more:


    ¡°If you want to chase her, go that way. We have nothing to do with her!¡±


    ¡°THOSE EXPLOSIONS WERE UNPLEASANT, YES. BUT THAT¡¯S NOT WHY I¡¯M HERE.¡±


    Loren had assumed that the dragon hade out because of the noise of the explosions, but judging from the way the dragon was talking, he was wrong. His cheeks twitched as he realized that there was only one other factor that could have upset the dragon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU? THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A PERSON CARRYING SUCH A THICK PRESENCE OF DEATH IN MY DWELLING, EVEN IF I DREDGE UP MY MEMORIES.¡±


    Both Lapis¡¯ presence and G¡¯s power were suppressed to some extent. Their influence was limited, and perhaps if that was all, they would not have offended the dragon.


    However, in order to peel away the cover of the dark elf, Shayna, the King of Death inside Loren, had used her powervishly without suppressing it. The King of Death¡¯s extravagant energy drain was so powerful that it nullified the dark elf¡¯s magic and turned the mountain surface into weathered dust.


    It was ridiculous to think that the dragon would not notice it.


    ¡°I CANNOT FORGIVE YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UNPLEASANT PRESENCE INTO MY HOME. YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT CRIME.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute! That was ourst resort¡­¡±


    ¡°YOU CAN MAKE YOUR EXCUSES IN THE AFTERLIFE.¡±


    There was no point in saying any excuses. After all, it was true that Loren had the spirit of the King of Death inside him, and it was also true that Shayna had wielded her power without restraint.


    However, Loren felt that he had to say something, but the dragon would not listen.


    ¡°Loren! Dodge!¡±


    Hearing Lapis¡¯s voice, Loren held his greatsword at the ready.


    It was only in the next moment that he realized that it would be useless against the dragon¡¯s attack from above, but it was natural for him to hold his sword in battle, and he had never experiencedbat against a flying opponent like a dragon.


    By the time he realized that he had made a mistake in judgment, countless spears of red-hot mes had appeared around the dragon, and there was no time to run away.


    As the mes illuminated the night sky, Loren noticed that the dragon¡¯s body was red in color, and he put all his strength into his hand holding his greatsword.


    ¡°It¡¯s not <


    >?!¡±


    At the same time as Lapis¡¯ surprised exim, the dragonunched the spears of me.


    As the spears shot down from the night sky and left trails of red light behind, Loren swung his white greatsword. Sword and spears collided, and the sword won the one-sided battle. The dragon raised its voice in astonishment as the spears of me shattered with bright red sparks:


    ¡°IT¡¯S NOT JUST A SWORD¡­ FIAMMA UNGGIA? IT¡¯S THE GREATSWORD OF DEMON KING JUDIE, ISN¡¯T IT?¡±


    When the dragon saw Loren¡¯s greatsword, it raised its voice in doubt. As he looked at the sword in his hand, Loren thought that it must be a very special item that even the Ancient Dragon knew about.


    Nut the dragon¡¯s next words sent a chill down his spine:


    ¡°SO, SHE SENT YOU. IS THAT SO¡­ WHAT¡¯S SHE AFTER?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ This indicates that Mother had done something like this before.¡±


    There was no way he could tell the expression on the dragon¡¯s face, but from the tone of its voice, it seemed to Loren that the Ancient Dragon knew Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother. And he had the impression that their acquaintance wasn¡¯t a good one.


    ¡°WELL, IT DOESN¡¯T MATTER. WHATEVER SHE¡¯S THINKING, YOUR FATE HAS BEEN DECIDED.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no room for negotiation, is there?¡±


    Gr blurted out. Before he had time to reply, Loren, who had been watching the dragon¡¯s movements, saw its huge body descend from above at a considerable speed and shouted.


    ¡°Bastard! It¡¯s ramming us!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a disadvantage for us if itnds on the ground, but¡­ There¡¯s no stopping such a mass.¡±


    Lapis said as they ran away from the dragon, which seemed to be trying to crush them. Loren thought it would be easier to fight if the dragon came down to the ground rather than stay in the sky, where it could attack them unterally, but apparently Lapis had a different opinion.


    ¡°I thought the dragon was going to attack with <


    > from the start.¡±


    The dragon plunged its huge body into the ground where Loren¡¯s party had been standing, itsnding shook the ground and crushed the mountain surface. With a roar, a wall of me appeared in the path of the fleeing party, stopping them in their tracks.


    ¡°By the way, the dragon¡¯s first attack was by magic, <<firence="">>. Do you know why it chose a less powerful magic as its attack?¡±


    </fire>


    ¡°How am I supposed to know what a dragon is thinking?¡±


    ¡°If it shoots <


    > down from the sky, it will blow away a good part of this mountain. The dragon couldn¡¯t use <


    > because it would have resulted in something stupid: blowing up its own home.¡±


    As Loren¡¯s greatsword sliced through the wall of mes, it lost its shape and disappeared as if it had been blown away. However, another wall of mes appeared behind it. It seemed that the dragon had created a multiyered wall of mes surrounding their party to prevent them from escaping.


    ¡°But if ites down to the same level as us, the damage done to the mountain when it uses <


    > will be less severe.¡±


    ¡°And that means?!¡±


    ¡°That means this time, the dragon will not hesitate to shoot us with its greatest attack, <


    >.¡±


    ¡°G!¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never eaten an Ancient Dragon¡¯s Breath either.¡±


    Gura sounded unsure of herself, but she was already deploying her power in front of them, preparing for the breath of the dragon. Loren¡¯s eyes, which were synced with Shayna, saw this, but he was rendered speechless when he saw the glow of power converging in the mouth of the Ancient Dragon as it opened its mouth.


    The mass of power was glowing with a radiance Loren had never seen before in his life. Just a glimpse of such overwhelming, body-trembling power reminded Loren of how powerless he was, and he unconsciously lowered his sword.


    [¡®I¡¯m sorry, onii-san. It¡¯s because I used my power without thinking¡­¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s tone was full of guilt, and it pulled Loren back from the thought of resignation he had started to sumb himself to. He raised his greatsword again.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped. And I guess I¡¯m just as guilty as you for not being cautious.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san¡­¡¯]


    ¡°It¡¯sing, Loren.¡±


    Loren was pulled back to his senses by Lapis¡¯s voice, which sounded just a bit tense, and saw a torrent of dragon power glowing red on the other side of the magical barrier that Lapis seemed to have created and the Evil God¡¯s power that G had deployed. Fear almost froze him, but Loren put all his strength into the hands grasping the hilt of his greatsword and nted his feet firmly on the ground.


    If they could defend against this blow, their opponent would be on the same ground as they were, and Loren¡¯s attack would be able to touch it. The best thing to do now was looking for the right moment to attack, and as Loren had these thoughts, the dragon finally unleashed the power it had gathered in its mouth.

 Chapter 204, From Battle To Ceasefire

    <h4>Chapter 204, From Battle To Ceasefire</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    The action Loren took, when the thought ¡®It¡¯s bright¡¯ crossed his mind, was neither attacking nor defending, but evading.


    Like a premonition, the moment that bright clot of energy was about to be spat out from the dragon¡¯s mouth, a clear image of him dying on the spot appeared in his mind should he not move.


    Lapis seemed ready to defend against the attack, while G looked like she thought it might be hopeless with her stiff expression. Loren immediately exercised the self-boost technique, picked both of them up by their waists, and jumped sideways with all his might. The weight of two womenbined with the weight of his own equipment, including the greatswords was enough to impede Loren¡¯s movement to some extent, but the image of an impending demise mobilized Loren¡¯s body to do the impossible.


    At almost the same time, the white, shining <


    > plunged forward from the dragon¡¯s mouth. It easily engulfed the Evil God¡¯s power G had deployed, then continued to advance while grazing the ground. It stopped somewhere far away, and with a horrified feeling Loren could see a pir of pure white light shooting up from the ground into the sky, going on so high that he couldn¡¯t see the end of it.


    In fact, the pir, shooting into the sky, had so much power that it blew away the clouds above the site of impact. Loren was startled when he saw G, who was still in his arms, belching smoke out of her mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. It burns me before I can consume it¡­¡±


    G groaned in frustration as she let out a burnt-smelling breath. Loren looked troubled hearing her words, unsure if he should be surprised that she had managed to eat some of that attack or worried about her stomach as she was belching smoke due to her <


    > being burned.


    ¡°I guess I underestimated our opponent a little. The power of the <


    > just now is¡­ very problematic.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ tone had changed, and her eyes became just a bit sharper. This proved how dangerous was the attack of a dragon, which they had barely managed to evade.


    Loren also realized that Lapis had used the defensive magic item given to them by the Demon King when he saw something like a crushed shell falling from her hand. Looking around, he noticed that the atmosphere was hot enough for him to see a heat haze, and the part of the ground grazed by the dragon¡¯s <


    > had turned red and gooey. An attack of such tremendous heat should also have devastating after-effects, and Loren broke out in a cold sweat thinking about what would have be of a mere human like him, had Lapis not used the magic item to protect all three of them.


    There was no guarantee that they could evade the next attack. In addition, G had gone limp in Loren¡¯s arms, perhaps as a result of having her power burned away, and couldn¡¯t be expected to fight.


    Loren looked at the dragon and wondered if all of this was a bad idea. But for some reason, the dragon was keeping its mouth wide open and refused to move as if it was frozen. It was lucky for them that there wasn¡¯t any follow-up attack, but Loren found it suspicious that the dragon, which could have killed them with just one more strike, was not acting at all.


    Loren gently set the two girls down on the ground.


    ¡°Does it be like that because of such an attack?¡±


    When fighting with a sword, there would always be a break after an all-out swing, and Loren wondered if something simr was happening to this dragon after using <


    >. But the time it stood motionless as if frozen was too long. There must be some other reason why it had stopped moving, but Loren had no idea what it was.


    ¡°Should we run away now?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea.¡±


    Loren muttered, and just as Lapis voiced her agreement, the dragon closed its mouth, the action done with enough force that they could hear the ng of its teeth snapping close. The dragon stared hard at the direction in which it had shot its <


    > for some reason. After a short while, it turned its gaze back to Loren¡¯s party, who was wondering what was going on.


    ¡°YOU DID IT.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t do a single thing.¡±


    Loren quipped, but that was the truth. The only thing that Loren had done was jumping aside with Lapis and G. He hadn¡¯t done anything at all.


    The dragon staggered towards their party as if it had been damaged in some way.


    ¡°I HAVE TO GET YOU, NO MATTER WHAT.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I can¡¯t say ¡®Oh, sure thing¡¯!¡±


    G was lying on the ground, with smoke was stilling out of her mouth. Lapis was keeping a close eye on the dragon¡¯s movements, but she couldn¡¯t fight it face-to-face as she wasn¡¯t carrying any weapons. Loren would have to do this himself. With his greatsword at the ready, Loren kicked at the burning ground and charged at the oing dragon.


    ¡°SUBMIT OBEDIENTLY!¡±


    ¡°I refuse, you idiot!¡±


    The dragon breathed in heavily as Loren charged at it. He thought that it was going to use <


    > again, but it let out a deafening roar instead of a white light.


    Unbeknownst to Loren, a dragon¡¯s roar had an effect that would cause any weak-willed person to instantly lose control and be unable to act. The dragon wanted to use this to stop Loren¡¯s movement, but Loren just lunged forward without a care and, as the dragon had stopped to roar, struck with all his might at its front leg.


    Loren watched white sparks scattered from the collision of scales with the de his greatsword. He grimaced in surprise as he realized that his blow had not been able to prate the dragon¡¯s front leg at all.


    On the other hand, the dragon cried out in surprise as it felt its leg tremble from the impact, even though its scales had prevented the swordsman from cutting through.


    ¡°YOU DARE TO UNLEASH SUCH A STRONG SLASH!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! It didn¡¯t go through at all, and I¡¯m feeling a little less confident!¡±


    Loren pulled his de back and struck another blow at the dragon¡¯s front leg, but once again it did no more than scattering sparks against the scales. Even though he knew it would not work, Loren was not going to let the dragon have any breaks.


    ¡°SUBMIT OBEDIENTLY!¡±


    The dragon kicked the ground with its front legs, lifted its body, then mmed its raised front legs down at Loren.


    If Loren were to take the blow and be struck with the dragon¡¯s weight, he would be crushed, no matter how skilled a swordsman he was or how good his armor was. He knew this, but he still ced his greatsword on his shoulder and caught both of the dragon¡¯s legs with the t of his sword.


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE BEING RIDICULOUS!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    Loren¡¯s knees almost buckled under the crushing weight and impact, but he used all his strength and self-boost technique to resist it.


    [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll help you!¡¯]


    The King of Death¡¯s magic power poured into Loren¡¯s body as Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in his mind. It was immediately turned into self-boost, and Loren just barely managed to stop the dragon¡¯s blow before it crushed him.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too early to be surprised!¡±


    While enduring the weight that was slowly pressing down on him, Loren freed his right hand from his grip on the greatsword and thrust it into his jacket. In there was Dragon yer, a dagger that he had picked up during another job and kept as a backup weapon. He grabbed and pulled it out at once, then with all his might, stabbed it into the leg of the dragon that was trying to crush him.


    The dagger, which is iparably powerful if the opponent is a dragon, met with only slight resistance from the dragon¡¯s scales. His greatsword wasn¡¯t even able to scratch those scales, but the short de easily prated them and cut into the flesh behind.


    The dragon hadn¡¯t expected a mere swordsman to have the means to hurt it. It howled in pain at the injury done to its body and withdrew its front legs as if it was frightened, then backed away slightly.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the end!¡±


    ¡°WAIT! LET¡¯S TALK.¡±


    Loren was about to lunge forward as he should when his opponent faltered and retreated, but the word ¡®talk¡¯ing out of the dragon¡¯s mouth made him almost fall over.


    This was a fatal opening, but the dragon, not wanting to contradict his own words, did not draw near when Loren lost his stance ¨C instead it moved backwards to put some distance between them.


    ¡°You want to talk at this point?¡±


    ¡°YES. IT¡¯S NOT A BAD IDEA. YOU DON¡¯T THINK THAT A SINGLE DAGGER WILL BE ENOUGH TO KILL ME, DO YOU?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ depends on how I use it, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Or so he said, but Loren knew that no matter how easily it could pierce the dragon¡¯s scales, it was unlikely that the de of a dagger would be able to inflict any fatal wounds on a dragon. If it was a longsword, then it might be a different story.


    ¡°I MIGHT BE IN A FAIR AMOUNT OF PAIN, BUT YOU¡¯RE MORE LIKELY TO DIE. WOULD YOU STILL FORCE YOURSELF TO CONTINUE?¡±


    Loren considered what the dragon had just told him. The dark elf was the one who caused themotion in the dragon¡¯s dwelling in the first ce, but it was Loren and Shayna who actually spread the King of Death¡¯s presence here. When he really thought about it, it felt wrong to continue fighting when the other party asked for a talk. Loren lowered his greatsword.


    ¡°YOU UNDERSTAND, DON¡¯T YOU? SO, LET¡¯S TALK.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just here to use the mountain crater. If you can overlook it, we won¡¯t do anything else.¡±


    ¡°USE THE CRATER? YOU WANT TO THROW SOMETHING INTO IT AGAIN? MY RESIDENCE IS NOT A GARBAGE DUMP.¡±


    It seemed that the demons had been dumping things they couldn¡¯t handle into the crater of this mountain. Loren wondered if there were so many dangerous items in the demon realm that they would have toe all the way to the mountain where an Ancient Dragon lived just to dump them.


    The dragon continued with a hint of dissatisfaction in its voice:


    ¡°WELL, IT¡¯S ALRIGHT. I HAVE ONE REQUEST THOUGH.¡±


    ¡°If you want to eat one of us, then there¡¯s no discussion.¡±


    Loren dered as a warning, but the shook its head¡±


    ¡°I¡¯D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO MEDIATE WITH DEMON KING JUDIE.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°TO BE PRECISE, I WANT TO ASK THE DEMON LORD JUDIE TO MEDIATE WITH THE GREAT DEMON KING. THE LASS HAS MADE MISCHIEF ON MY MOUNTAIN MANY TIMES BEFORE¡­ ADD THAT TO THE FACT THAT I¡¯M LETTING YOU GUYS OFF THE HOOK THIS TIME, I¡¯M SURE SHE WON¡¯T REFUSE.¡±


    Loren tilted his head at the sudden mention of the Demon King and Great Demon King. Unable to understand the flow of the story, he looked at the dragon to ask for an exnation. The dragon scratched its neck several times with its front feet in an embarrassed manner, then started to mutter the reason:


    ¡°THE <


    > JUST NOW¡­ YOU¡¯RE THE FIRST INTRUDERS I¡¯VE HAD IN QUITE A LONG TIME, SO I SEEMED TO HAVE OVERDONE IT A LITTLE BIT.¡±


    ¡°It was a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°IT¡¯S YOUR FAULT FOR GIVING OFF SUCH A STRANGE AND DENSE SENSE OF DEATH. REGARDLESS, I WAS PRETTY CLOSE TO BEING SERIOUS THEN¡­¡±


    That meant it wasn¡¯t really serious when shooting that <


    >¡­ Loren shivered, feeling a chill running down his spine again. But his jaw dropped when he heard the dragon¡¯s next words.


    ¡°IT SEEMED THAT¡­ MY <


    > LANDED QUITE CLOSE TO THE GREAT DEMON KING¡¯S CASTLE.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Ah¡­ I see.¡±


    Knowing the reason why the dragon had frozen up and unable to move after shooting that <


    >, Loren nodded in understanding.


    In short, it had made an idental discharge.


    ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE IT CAUSED, BUT IT SURELY HAS CAUSED SOME. IT¡¯S HARD FOR ME IF I¡¯M TO BE BLAMED FOR IT.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you want to ask the Demon King who knows the situation to mediate things.¡±


    ¡°THAT¡¯S WHY WE MUST COME TO AN AGREEMENT.¡±


    Loren still had no understanding of dragons¡¯ facial expressions, but somehow he felt that the dragon in front of him was making a very troubled face.


    This was quite a disheartening task, but it was a cheap price to pay for not having to fight an Ancient Dragon. Loren looked at Lapis, and she nodded decisively ¨C it seemed like she share the same opinion.

 Chapter 205, From Meditating To Eating

    <h4>Chapter 205, From Meditating To Eating</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Proofreader: Xemul


    As soon as the truce with the Ancient Dragon was settled, Lapis took out an ink pot, a pen, some sheets of paper from her luggage, then started to write something on them.


    Lapis took some time to finish her writing as Loren and the dragon looked on. Then she signed the papers, waited for the ink to dry, then rolled them up and presented them to the dragon.


    ¡°I¡¯ve written a letter to Mother. If you show this to her, she will meditate for you.¡±


    ¡°YOU ARE JUDIE¡¯S DAUGHTER?¡±


    The dragon had guessed that their party was rted to Demon King Judie because of the greatsword Loren was carrying, but of course it did not know that Lapis was Judie¡¯s daughter.


    ¡°Yes, I am Judie¡¯s daughter, and my name is Lapis.¡±


    ¡°IS THAT SO?¡­ THAT¡¯S GREAT¡­ BUT IS IT ALRIGHT FOR ME TO GO TO JUDIE¡¯S CASTLE?¡±


    It sounded just a little worried, but Lapis just shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. To begin with, I don¡¯t know what has happened between you and my mother.¡±


    ¡°DO YOU WANT TO HEAR IT?¡±


    Lapis thought about the dragon¡¯s question for a short while, then nodded.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°ALRIGHT. AS AN EXAMPLE¡­¡±


    From there, the Ancient Dragon told them about Judie¡¯s deeds. They were the kind of things that raised the eyebrows of even her own daughter, Lapis.


    She hade to test her skills, but rather than an honest challenge, she tore off dozens of dragon¡¯s scales while it was asleep, saying that she would use them as ingredients for something. She had thrown various things into the crater where Loren¡¯s party were heading, iming they were garbage. As a result, the entire mountain was contaminated to the point that even dragons could not survive due to the noxious gases emitted from the burned wastes. And that was just the beginning.


    She had tried to steal eggs countless times because she wanted to makerge omelets. When she heard that dragons¡¯ tails were delicious, she hacked off the tails of the normal dragons in the Ancient Dragon¡¯s family and took them home. When she heard that a baby dragon had been born, she kidnapped it to the castle to keep as a pet. She said she wanted sulfur and other minerals, and riddled the mountain with holes.


    ¡°THE FIRE SPIRIT LIVING IN THE CRATER WAS SO ENRAGED BY THE HORRIBLE WAY SHE TREATED IT THAT IT EVOLVED INTO AN EFREET AND BECAME THE GUARD OF THE CRATER. NO ONE COULD COME NEAR THE CRATER AFTER THAT.¡±


    Efreets were higher fire spirits, wild spirits in the form of giants. As beings that controlled destruction, there were even humans who revered them as Gods. When Loren¡¯s party heard that one was created by Judie¡¯s actions, they were stunned beyond surprise.


    ¡°AND SO, IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE CRATER, YOU¡¯LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS EFREET FIRST BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN GET CLOSE.¡±


    ¡°My mother has been a real trouble to you¡­¡±


    ¡°NO, IT WOULD BE UNREASONABLE TO BLAME THE PERPETRATOR¡¯S SUBORDINATES AND DAUGHTER. I LOST MY COOL. I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME.¡±


    As Lapis knelt down on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, the dragon also started to swing its head up and down. It was not every day that you saw a person and a dragon bowing to each other, but Loren scratched his head and wondered how he was going to keep this under control.


    Lapis and the dragon continued to bow to each other for a while, but eventually, they stopped without warning. The dragon deftly plucked the letter Lapis had offered it again with its ws and spread its wings wide. Loren¡¯s party still had to climb further up to the crater from here, but as the dragon had caused some damage near the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, it had to talk to the demons as soon as possible, or the Great Demon King mighte to this mountain in person. Loren¡¯s party had already had their full share of Ancient Dragons. The Great Demon Kinging here would only make things even moreplicated, and they wholeheartedly agreed that the matter should be taken care of as soon as possible.


    Even though it was currently nighttime and no one was sure that the dragon could speak to Judie even if it flew to her castle right now, at least it could use this as an excuse that it had actually tried to do something about this mess.


    ¡°I¡¯M SORRY. I¡¯LL BE BACK AS SOON AS WE REACH AN AGREEMENT. AS A DRAGON MYSELF, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO BE ON THE SIDE OF HUMANS OR DEMONS, BUT I PROMISE TO REPAY YOU IN SOME WAY FOR THE TROUBLE I¡¯VE CAUSED.¡±


    The dragon gently kicked the ground and soared up, its movements unimaginably light for a body that huge. Loren felt an indescribable sense of difort when he noticed that its wings rarely pped.


    ¡°DRAGONS DON¡¯T FLY BY FLAPPING THEIR WINGS, YOU KNOW.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if these thoughts were showing on his face, but Lapis got up and whispered into his ears.


    ¡°THEY FLY BY EXERCISING SOMETHING SIMILAR TO MAGIC. IN THE FIRST PLACE, IF THEY FLY BY FLAPPING THEIR WINGS WITH SUCH HUGE AND HEAVY BODIES, THEY WOULD CAUSE QUITE A BIT OF DAMAGE TO THE SURROUNDINGS JUST BY FLYING.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M LEAVING THEN. SEE YOU LATER.¡±


    With a word of goodbye, the dragon flew high into the sky. Loren muttered to himself as he watched the dragon fly away in the direction of what was probably Judie¡¯s castle.


    ¡°That dragon was a female, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    There was no way he could tell the gender of a dragon from its voice or gestures. He had a feeling that the voice was a little thin and high-pitched, but not enough to distinguish between male and female or young and old. He guessed it was a female based on its words.


    ¡°She said something about eggs.¡±


    ¡°Eggs¡­ I¡¯m hungry. Everything in my belly is on fire.¡±


    It seemed that G wasn¡¯t able to eat the <


    >, but got her Evil God¡¯s power burned by it instead, and her stomach was in a bad state. Smoke was stilling out of her mouth, making Loren wonder if there was still something smoldering in there. He was also worried if she would be okay with a burning stomach.


    ¡°First of all¡­ Should we sleep? It¡¯s night.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Then, G, please dig another hole.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Making me do stuff on my empty is bullying, you know.¡±


    ¡°Have some baguette and ham then.¡±


    ¡°We still have them?!¡±


    Lapis cheerfully dug out said food from their luggage and handed it to G, who was starting to panic. Loren watched them while idly thinking that even the Evil God of Gluttony would get tired of certain food.


    G was able to stop Lapis somehow. Still mutteringints, she used her power against the mountain surface and dug out another cave big enough for three people to sleep in. However, it took her more time toplete the cave than before their encounter with the dragon. Apparently, the Ancient Dragon¡¯s breath had done more damage to G¡¯s powers than expected.


    ¡°We have to keep guard.¡±


    ¡°Right. Lapis-chan and I will take care of that, so you just sleep.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that the Dark Elf will return, but I¡¯ll set up a magic barrier just in case she does. You fought the Ancient Dragon with your human body, so you should rest.¡±


    If you thought about it, fighting an ordinary dragon was a rare event, an event difficult enough that could annihte an unlucky adventurer. But Loren, despite not meaning to, had gone right beyond that and fought a top-ranked amongst dragons, an Ancient Dragon.


    Thinking again that he had experienced something extraordinary, Loren finally began to feel the fatigue that had built up in his overworked body and he felt extremely sleepy. With somewhat unsteady steps, Loren went into the cave G had just dug and leaned his greatsword against its wall. The moment he crammed into the sleeping bag Lapis had set out, he could barely move his head anymore. He let the drowsiness take over and drifted to sleep.


    When Loren woke up, it was the morning of the next day. The sun was high in the sky, and Lapis shook him awake. He hadn¡¯t woken up once during the night, and had fallen into such a deep sleep that he didn¡¯t even dream.


    Loren didn¡¯t know how Lapis and G had been keeping guard while he was unconscious, but judging from Lapis¡¯ rxed face as she made a fire and prepared breakfast and G¡¯s asional nces at their surroundings while watching her working, it seemed that nothing had happened since the dragon left.


    ¡°Good morning, Loren. Did you sleep well?¡±


    Lapis asked. She seemed to have made a simple stove by piling up the broken stones scattered around them. She lit some kind of viscous substance that she had taken out of her luggage and put a small pot on the fire to cook something.


    ¡°Breakfast will be ready soon. We¡¯ll have beans and salted meat stew this morning. It¡¯s a little in, but we have no choice.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be enough at all.¡±


    Gined, and Lapis silently offered her a long, thick baguette. Even Loren had to wonder where the hell she got it from, but G, who had received the baguette without saying a word, suddenly took a bite of the in, filling-less baguette and began to chew. Loren wondered if she had gotten used to it or she had given up after being yed with the same trick over and over again.


    Lapis had served Loren some stew from the pot. It was a very simple dish of different types of beans, sliced salted meat and herbs stewed together, but when he scooped some into his mouth with a wooden spoon, it tasted soothing. He wondered if it was the quality of the ingredients or Lapis¡¯ skill. Loren took his time to savor it, chewing slowly.


    Lapis took her own serving, then handed G the pot with the rest of the stew. As G took the pot and poured its contents directly into her mouth, Loren and Lapis felt their appetites diminish somewhat, but they continued to eat their breakfast at a somewhat-leisurely pace.

 Chapter 206, A Request Made After a Reappearance

    <h4>Chapter 206, A Request Made After a Reappearance</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    After finishing their meal, Loren¡¯s party quickly packed up their belongings and buried the cave they had spent the night in before resuming their mountain climbing.


    Even though they had made some progress, the summit was still far away, and the slope of the mountain was getting steeper and steeper the closer they got to it, so there was no telling how long it would take.


    ¡°I thought it was high when I saw it from afar, but it¡¯s even higher up close.¡±


    G grumbled. Her mouth stopped emitting smoke and the burning seemed to have calmed down. Although it would take some time for her to recover, she seemed to have returned to her normal state somewhat.


    ¡°Normally, when you climb a mountain, the scenery changes, and you can watch the vegetation. It¡¯s quite distracting, but¡­ It¡¯s hard to appreciate climbing a rocky mountain with such a bleakndscape like this.¡±


    It was Lapis whoined about this point. Indeed, it was true that their surroundings were full of rocks, and there was no sign of greenery. There was no path to follow, so they had to just keep climbing up the route they thought they could take. It was a long and tedious process, but there was no other way. If they stopped, they might reach the summit when it was toote. If they wanted to finish this task in time, they had to keep climbing.


    ¡°If the Ancient Dragon carries us on her back, we would reach the peak in no time, won¡¯t we?¡±


    Loren had no idea how fast flying would be, but with that huge body, he was sure that a dragon flying would be faster than them on foot. The three of them could surely fit on a dragon¡¯s back.


    But Lapis sighed and shook her head.


    ¡°Dragons don¡¯t let anyone climb on their backs.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, even a normal dragon doesn¡¯t. And if you ask an Ancient Dragon to do it, you¡¯ll get a ] to show how much of a fool you are.¡±


    Lapis said that dragons, who were often called the strongest magical beasts, had a pride that was proportional to their greatness. There was no way that such creatures would agree to such an act as carrying something on their backs like horses or cows. In fact, if you suggested such a thing, they would get angry and attack you for insulting them.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t propose it, okay? I don¡¯t want to get into a fight with a dragon for that reason.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I asked first.¡±


    If Loren hadn¡¯t received such an exnation from Lapis, he might have asked the Ancient Dragon about it the next time he encountered her. He breathed a sigh of relief that he had been able to prevent that from happening in advance.


    ¡°Still, this is such a depressingndscape.¡±


    Looking up at the sky, G grumbled again.


    The mountain they were climbing was a volcano, and there was smoke rising from the crater at the top, probably because it was still active. The thick clouds hanging in the sky above the mountain and their darkness seemed to be making G depressed.


    ¡°Theining won¡¯t get you any closer to the peak, you know?¡±


    ¡°Right. Climbing steadily is the only way.¡±


    It seemed that even Evil Gods didn¡¯t have the power to instantly reach the top of the mountain. And even if G had that kind of power, she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to carry Loren and Lapis, so in the end they would still have no choice but to climb.


    ¡°Do you think that Ancient Dragon can sessfully settle things?¡±


    Loren spoke to Lapis, thinking that conversation would be the only option to distract her from the fact that she could only walk without being able to enjoy the scenery.


    Lapis thought for a moment and then tilted her head lightly.


    ¡°I wonder? Well, I don¡¯t think it will end up bing terrible.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®terrible¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The Great Demon King making an appearance, I mean.¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression turned weary at Lapis¡¯ short and crisp words. Even if it was not intentional, it was a fact that a ] of tremendous power hadnded near the Great Demon King¡¯s castle. If it was deemed to be an attack of some kind, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the Great Demon King would personallye out.


    ¡°If it goes badly, it¡¯s going to be a battle between an Ancient Dragon and the Great Demon King. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll flee the demon realm then.¡±


    G jokingly said, but Lapis calmly interjected.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can rest easily just because you fled to human territory.¡±


    Not understanding what her quip meant, G and Loren unconsciously stared at her, and she indifferently continued as if stating a fact:


    ¡°A battle between the Great Demon King and an Ancient Dragon? It will be a battle of mythical proportions. The demon realm will surely be devastated, and the mountain range will be cleared in an instant.¡±


    ¡°So it will be totally out of control.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. If I am told that the world is going to end when it happens, I¡¯ll believe it.¡±


    If the demon realm in the center of the continent were to be destroyed and the mountain range surrounding it were to be cleared, the battle would be truly extensive. When Loren imagined such a future, he believed he would also ept that the world was ending.


    At the very least, if such a battle were to spread beyond the mountain range and into the realm of humans, it was hard to believe that there would be anyone who could do anything about it.


    ¡°The world¡¯s going to end because of a misfire? ¡­Well, that¡¯s an interesting reason to end it, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not finding it funny.¡±


    As G frowned and chided Loren, a gust of wind hit the three of them. It was not strong enough to blow them away, but strong enough to make G¡¯s long hair flutter and Lapis¡¯ ponytail and priest¡¯s robe p. Then arge shadow covered them.


    ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT TO CAUSE THE WORLD¡¯S DESTRUCTION BY A MISFIRE, EITHER.¡±


    When Loren looked up at the voice that came from above him, he saw that the red Ancient Dragon was hovering in the sky above, looking down at them. He thought that he would have noticed such a huge creature flying towards them, but the dragon had suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere.


    ¡°Where did youe from?¡±


    ¡°BEINGS LIKE YOU ARE USUALLY STRANGELY UNAWARE OF BEING APPROACHED FROM DIRECTLY ABOVE. I FLEW AT AN ALTITUDE SO HIGH THAT YOU COULDN¡¯T SEE ME, THEN I SWOOPED DOWN.¡±


    Basically, humans and other races that could only walk on the ground were very slow to react to the possibility of somethinging at them through the air, especially from directly above their heads, where they couldn¡¯t see. It seemed that the Ancient Dragon had taken advantage of this to sneak up on them.


    ¡°Why though?¡±


    Loren wondered why she didn¡¯t just fly over normally.


    When asked why she had taken the trouble to surprise them, the Ancient Dragon smirked with her dragon face.


    ¡°SURPRISED, AREN¡¯T YOU?¡±


    Loren was indeed surprised, but the fact that an Ancient Dragon had apparently done such a thing just to surprise them made him frown.


    ¡°You¡¯ve finished with the talk?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯LL EXPLAIN IT TO YOU WHEN THINGS SETTLE DOWN, BUT SHOULDN¡¯T YOU BE A LITTLE MORE CAREFUL?¡±


    The dragon said and looked up at the sky as it lingered above their heads. Loren looked up to see if there was anything in the direction she was looking at, but all he could see were thick ck clouds. Nothing that told him to be careful.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°HAVEN¡¯T YOU EVER HEARD THAT THE WEATHER IN THE MOUNTAINS IS FICKLE?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard that as a general rule, yes.¡±


    ¡°WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE ONE ABOUT SMOKY BLACK CLOUDS TENDING TO TURN INTO THUNDERCLOUDS?¡±


    Loren gazed at the dragon. He had never heard of such a thing.


    Judging from his reaction, the dragon turned her dragon face down to look at him:


    ¡°THEY CONTAIN A COLLECTION OF TINY PARTICLES. WHEN THOSE PARTICLES RUB AGAINST EACH OTHER, THE FORCE OF LIGHTNING IS CREATED.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    It was the first time he had ever heard of it, but since the dragon was so confident, Loren assumed it was true. He still didn¡¯t understand what it had to do with them needing to be careful though.


    ¡°EACH PARTICLE IS A SMALL FORCE OF LIGHTNING, BUT WHEN MANY OF THEM COME TOGETHER, THEY BECOME A POWERFUL FORCE OF LIGHTNING THAT RAINS DOWN ON THE EARTH.¡±


    While listening to the dragon¡¯s exnation, Loren looked up at the sky once more. The thick ck cloud hanging above the mountain top was gradually expanding, and was now almost above them. ording to what the dragon sait, it was a thundercloud. But what the hell would happen if there was strong lightning power stored in that cloud?


    As if to answer Loren¡¯s sudden question, a beam of light fell down to the mountain surface together with a roar of thunder in the direction of the summit, some distance away from their party. As it fell, shaking the air, it shattered some of the rocks on the mountain face, and the fragments scattered to the surrounding area.


    ¡°THE CLOSER YOU GET TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, THE HIGHER THE FREQUENCY OF LIGHTNING STRIKES.¡±


    ¡°If it hits us, we¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE WEAK. I ONLY GET A LITTLE NUMB IF I GET HIT.¡±


    Loren stared with grim eyes at the Ancient Dragon, who said this with a certain amount of pride. It was only natural that there was a heaven-and-earth difference in physical strength between dragons and humans. Even though the dragon was speaking proudly about it, a human being like Loren could only think of it as a matter of course.


    ¡°Hey, Ancient Dragon.¡±


    ¡°IT¡¯S EMERY.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    As Loren couldn¡¯t help but ask about the sudden appearance of a feminine name, the Ancient Dragon stared at Loren and opened her mouth again.


    ¡°IT¡¯S MY NAME. MY NAME IS EMERY. ¡®ANCIENT DRAGON¡¯ IS TOO LONG.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, Emery, I need a little help. To be specific, could you fly slowly towards the top of the mountain?¡±


    ¡°YOU WANT TO USE ME AS AN UMBRELLA TO WARD OFF LIGHTNING? ¡­ALRIGHT. IT¡¯S NOT A BAD IDEA TO FLY SLOWLY ONCE IN A WHILE.¡±


    Since Emery said that she would be alright even being struck by lightning, then they should be able to minimize the damage caused by lightning if they could walk underneath her. Moreover, since Emery was only flying slowly, she could excuse herself by saying that he was not actively helping.


    In response to Loren¡¯s request, the Ancient Dragon, who introduced herself as Emery, did not seem to be offended at all. She immediately nodded her head.

 Chapter 207, Back to the climbing Again

    <h4>Chapter 207, Back to the climbing Again</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Emery¡¯s body was not as huge as Loren had imagined from the title ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯, but she was still big enough that three people walking side by side wouldn¡¯t step out of her shadow.


    As Loren walked in Emery¡¯s shadow, he thought about how rare an experience it was to walk under a dragon flying so slowly above that it felt like a joke. But at the same time, he also felt a sense of dread for some reason.


    Emery was flying over their heads, but quite low, as she might not be able to fulfill her role as an umbre if she was too far away. Loren wondered if there was anyone else who had been walking in such close proximity with the belly of an Ancient Dragon and still alive today.


    They continued to climb and gradually gained altitude, but just as Emery had said, the higher they climbed, the more the sky was covered with thick clouds. And as the clouds increased, the frequency of lightning strikes also increased.


    ¡°So shy.¡±


    Lapis muttered in admiration as she watched the lightning strike a short distance away from where they were, shattering rocks and scattering debris.


    Because of the frequency of lightning strikes in such close proximity, Loren¡¯s ears were almost numbed by the loud noise, but he still somehow managed to pick up Lapis¡¯ voice. He said while enduring the ringing in his ears.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the kind of thing to be called ¡®shy¡¯ or ¡®in¡¯.¡±


    Whether it was shy or not, a hit could be fatal. Loren didn¡¯t feel like admiring the lightning strikes like Lapis did at all, and concentrated only on climbing silently in Emery¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°We can protect you from after-effects of a lightning strike and such, so why don¡¯t you enjoy the scenery a little more?¡±


    G said, but Loren didn¡¯t feel reassured at all, because she sounded like a direct hit couldn¡¯t be avoided or deflected.


    ¡°Lightning strikes happen in an instant. They¡¯re too fast.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t prevent a strike after you¡¯ve seen it. Yet you can¡¯t keep defensive magic deployed all the time either.¡±


    There was a time limit for the use of magic. Once that time passed, the magic¡¯s effect would disappear, and it would need to be re-deployed. But with no idea how long it would take to reach the top, it was impossible to keep deploying defensive magic.


    ¡°At this speed, we won¡¯t reach the summit before sunrise.¡±


    The three of us looked up at the voice from above. Emery, who had dexterously looked down while flying slowly, opened her mouth:


    ¡°IT¡¯S IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS SPEED. YOU¡¯LL HAVE TO SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT ON THE ROAD.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that far?¡±


    When Loren said in a disgusted tone, Emery turned her gaze toward the top of the mountain.


    ¡°IT¡¯S TOO FAR AND YOU¡¯RE TOO SLOW. AND IT¡¯S GOING TO GET MUCH STEEPER.¡±


    The mountain face that they were currently climbing on was quite steep, though not so steep that they had to crawl. The lightning that was striking here and there stopped them in their tracks, making their progress slow. From the point of view of the dragon, who could afford to ignore the inclination and the lightning strikes, the speed of movement was certainly too slow. But of course, it was the best they could do, so it was impossible to ask them to speed it up.


    ¡°One more night, under such circumstances?¡±


    Lightning wouldn¡¯t stop just because it was nighttime. Even if they could get G to dig another cave to sleep in, a direct hit from the lightning would copse it in an instant. They would not be able to sleepfortably.


    On the other hand, continuing to move without sleep was also something they needed to avoid, considering the guard who may be waiting for them at the crater and the Dark Elf who may still return.


    As Loren looked up at Emery flying above with a troubled expression, she turned her gaze down at them again, and their eyes met.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you do something about this?¡±


    ¡°ISN¡¯T THAT TOO VAGUE A REQUEST?¡±


    Loren thought about it. This Ancient Dragon named Emery seemed to be willing to help them to some extent, but she also seemed to want to avoid actively helping. There was a high possibility that she would refuse their request for direct support.


    If that was the case, Loren thought about what kind of request he should make an ask of Emery.


    ¡°Do you have any idea where we could spend the night?¡±


    He asked, hoping that Emery, who had made this mountain her home, would know at least one ce where they could spend the night in rtive safety, even in the event of a lightning strike.


    As it was a request for information and not for help, Emery seemed to consider it was alright to answer. Her reply was quick.


    ¡°THERE IS. DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAD YOU THERE?¡±


    Loren nodded in earnest. It was hard to believe that they would be able to find such a ce on their own, at least not in this situation; considering Emery¡¯s knowledge was the most reliable information they had, there was nothing else to rely on.


    ¡°ALL RIGHT. DON¡¯T STEP OUT OF MY SHADOW.¡±


    As soon as she said that, Emery started to change course a little without changing her flying speed. Even though she was flying, her movements looked somewhat slippery, as if she was a fish swimming in water. The party headed towards the direction Emery was flying.


    They walked for a while further.


    As the sky began to turn red behind the clouds, Loren, who had been walking with a grudging look at the summit that didn¡¯t seem to be getting any closer at all, eventually saw a gaping hole ahead of them. As they walked toward the hole, which seemed to have plenty of room for Emery to dive into, he asked the dragon:


    ¡°Is that the ce?¡±


    ¡°YES. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS, YET THE SAFEST PLACE ON THIS MOUNTAIN.¡±


    With those two contradictory words, ¡®dangerous¡¯ and ¡®safe¡¯, there was no way to know what was going on. As Loren and the other two tilted their heads in confusion, Emery slowly dove into the hole and went inside. They hurriedly followed her into the hole only to see that it was a dead end with nothing inside.


    Loren was about to ask Emery what was going on, but when he saw her lowering her flying height to almostnding and silently extending her right hind-leg towards them, he became even more confused.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M SURE YOU HAVE SOME ROPE WITH YOU. YOU CAN TIE IT TO ME. WHEN YOU¡¯RE DONE, YOU ALL GRAB IT TIGHTLY.¡±


    Loren, who somehow knew what Emery was going to do, hurriedly took out a length of rope from his luggage and tied it tightly to Emery¡¯s proffered leg. He pulled on it a few times to make sure the knot was secure, then grasped it tightly. Then Lapis, who was waiting for him to finish, then climbed onto his back and clung to his neck, while G clung tightly to his waist.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    ¡°Please take care of me.¡±


    ¡°And me too.¡±


    Loren asked what they were doing, and the two women made such requests with serious faces. It was certainly more stable than having three people hanging from one rope, or having three ropes tied to Emery¡¯s legs for three people to hang from, but Loren wondered if there really was no other way to do this.


    Emery double checked with him:


    ¡°CAN I FLY UP NOW?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    As he could not find any other alternative, Loren nodded grudgingly to Emery, thinking that it would be a bad idea to keep the dragon waiting any longer.


    With that confirmation, Emery slowly rose up. They could not see the ceiling from their position because it was hidden by the dragon¡¯s body, but it seemed that this hole had been transformed into a shaft as soon as they entered. Surrounded by stones, they were being pulled up by Emery as she slowly rose up in the shaft.


    There was no light, of course, and although Emery might have been able to see, Loren¡¯s vision was soon obscured by jet ckness. With his vision lost, all Loren could perceive was the feeling of arms and bodies clinging to his neck and waist, and the rope he was holding onto. He felt a bit uneasy, and perhaps noticing this, Lapis lit a magical light on her fingertip, which finally allowed them to see their surroundings to some extent.


    After a short ascent, a part of the wall came to an end, opening to another hole. Emery shifted to horizontal movement, and Loren, who was holding on to the rope, was presented with an amazing sight unfolding below her.


    ¡°Is this a¡­ nest?¡±


    Under the light that Lapis held up at her fingertip, the hole quickly turned into arge, wide space, and a slightly sweltering heat blew over their party. He wasn¡¯t sure if Emery had lowered her altitude or not, but when his feet are close enough to the ground to reach it, Loren let go of the rope. Then Lapis and G let go of him, and Lapis, with Emery¡¯s permission,unched the magic light from his fingertip to the ceiling with a flick of the wrist. The small spot of light went straight upward, and the moment it made contact with what was probably the ceiling, it increased in intensity and illuminated the entire space.


    The sight rendered Loren speechless.


    The space itself was nothing more than a in area surrounded by rocks. However, what mattered was what spread all over the floor.


    Illuminated by the white light of magic, the glittering pile of treasure was of an unimaginable amount. There were swords, armors, and shields decorated with gold and silver coins. And there were colorful jewels, nes and bracelets, crowns and medals of honor. All of them shone with the glitter of gold and silver, and all of them snatched Loren¡¯s eyes and words.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that dragons like shiny things, but this is really something else.¡±


    Lapis also widened her eyes in wonder, though not as much as Loren.


    The only exception was G. Even though the mountain of treasure was not inedible, they wouldn¡¯t taste good. So she just let out an uninterested yawn.


    Without seeming to care about Loren and the others¡¯ reactions, Emery slowly flew across the nest-like space andid down on top of the nket of treasure.


    ¡°NOW, RELAX. THIS IS MY NEST. IT IS THE SAFEST AND MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON THIS MOUNTAIN.¡±


    In other words, they would spend the night in a dragon¡¯s nest.


    It certainly would be the safest ce on the mountain as long as Emery didn¡¯t attack, but it could be said to be the most dangerous ce just because it was a dragon¡¯s nest. Loren had to agree with Emery¡¯s choice of words here.


    ¡°MY NEST IS LARGE. I¡¯M SURE I OCCASIONALLY MISS SPOTTING A FEW PEOPLE COMING INSIDE.¡±


    It seemed like Emery wanted to pretend that she didn¡¯t notice them instead of actively telling them to spend the night in her nest.


    No matter how much of a storm was blowing outside, the thick bedrocks would be able to protect this ce. And as she specifically chose this ce to be her nest, Emery had probably done something to prevent it from easily copsing.


    Thinking that there would be no better ce in the vicinity to sleep in, Loren made use a corner of the nest with gratitude.

 Chapter 208, A Conversation After Rummaging

    <h4>Chapter 208, A Conversation After Rummaging</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    ¡°This is wonderful, Loren.¡±


    Loren promptly took out a tent and some other stuff from his luggage to start preparing for their stay, but Lapis was mesmerized by the treasures under Emery¡¯s belly. She picked them up one by one while kneeling on the ground, and letting out a sigh of admiration.


    The preparation itself was not particrly urgent and did not require much effort, so Loren figured he could let her do whatever she wanted as long as Emery did not mind.


    ¡°My warehouse has some pretty cool stuff lying around, but these are even cooler.¡±


    Lapis said with a hint of excitement in her voice. She was holding a palm-sized, transparent, shiny gemstone. It must be a priceless item, but Loren didn¡¯t know anything about gems¡¯ quality. He looked at her hand without much interest as he continued to work, and Lapis puffed her cheeks in displeasure at his indifference.


    ¡°You¡¯re not surprised?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will fetch a high price just for its size.¡±


    If they could take it out of Emery¡¯s nest, it would be a fortune. Hecked intention to try though: It was unlikely that the dragon would allow such a thing, and Loren had no desire to steal a treasure from a being willing to share with him a part of her nest.


    ¡°It¡¯s a feast for the eyes, Loren. You can¡¯t even see such a rare thing in the treasure room of some royal castle.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a diamond. Have you ever heard of a diamond of this size?¡±


    Loren looked into Lapis¡¯ hands again.


    The magical light that Lapis hadunched to illuminate the nest had already passed its duration and disappeared, and their sources of light now were just themp they had pulled out of their luggage and the fire burning with the wood Emery had offered. The colorless and transparent jewel shone in such a way that it attracted the eyes even in such a poor light, and Lapis¡¯ eyes shone just as brightly as the jewel as she was holding in her hands.


    ¡°I think its value would rival the annual budget of a small country.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s too big to adorn a finger or a neck.¡±


    It was so big that Loren was sure your finger would feel like breaking under the weight if you were to use it as a ring, and your shoulders would stiffen if you were to wear it around your neck.


    Lapis puffed her cheeks even more after hearing Loren¡¯s pragmatic remark. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, no matter how many gems there were in this ce, it was all meaningless as they couldn¡¯t take any out. He just couldn¡¯t understand why Lapis was so excited.


    As Loren continued his work, he felt something tapping on the shoulder of his jacket, thumping on the surface of his jacket. Turning his attention to the spot, Loren saw Nig, who had made Loren¡¯s shoulders its home, tapping on his shoulder with its legs. He knew that he was being asked to do something but not knowing what exactly, and he wondered if it wanted to be feed.


    Come to think of it, Nig hadn¡¯t eaten anything since this morning. As a living creature, it would need to eat, and it was natural for it to ask for food when hungry.


    A normal spider would probably eat insects, but Nig was hardly one. Still, he had to give it something to eat, so he took out a small piece of dried meat from his luggage, tore it into even smaller pieces, then offered it to Nig. The spider took the dried meat from Loren¡¯s hand with its legs, dexterously wrapped it around a thread to create a cocoon-like structure, and put it in its mouth. Then it became motionless once more, but it somehow seemed content.


    As Loren was about to resume his work, he suddenly noticed that G was not there.


    ¡°Loren, this! A treasured sword from the time of the Ancient Kingdom! It doesn¡¯t seem to have any notable magic on it, but it has all these exquisite decorations! A masterpiece, which I¡¯m sure will fetch an unthinkable price on the market.¡±


    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s G?¡±


    Ignoring Lapis¡¯ excitedment as she pulled out a sword from the treasure pile, Loren asked. Noticing Lapis making a dissatisfied face again, he turned his eyes to the sword she brought over, but his impressions were that the decoration was too obtrusive for it to be used as a weapon and the de was too thin to be considered sturdy. It didn¡¯t have much use.


    ¡°G? You can find her over there.¡±


    Lapis pointed to a corner of therge nest, where he saw G running around chasing something. Looking more closely at the things she was chasing, Loren could see that there were several of them scurrying on the ground on four legs, all about half his height.


    G seemed to have fun chasing the giant-lizard-like creatures around. Eventually, she picked up one and ran back towards Loren and Lapis with a happy look on her face.


    ¡°Loren! I caught something edible!¡±


    ¡°No, wait a minute.¡±


    The creature was being held up by G, and Loren leaned in to observe it more closely. It looked a bit more angr than lizards, and the ws on its toes look pretty sharp. In addition, the protrusions on its back looked like they could grow into wings. Although it had lizard-like eyes, there was a hint of intelligence in them, and the way it looked at Loren seemed like it wanted to be saved as soon as possible.


    ¡°Is it from here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! There were about ten of them. If there are more, should I go get them too?¡±


    In this rocky mountain, they had seen no other creatures besides Emery. As Loren pondered about the identity of the lizard-like creature found in her nest, he suddenly noticed the dragon staring at them. He gently took the lizard-like creature from G¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Could it be¡­¡±


    ¡°IF YOU¡¯RE GOING TO EAT THAT, YOU¡¯D BETTER BELIEVE YOU¡¯RE GOING TO WAR WITH ME.¡±


    In response to Emery¡¯s subdued voice, Loren gently lowered the lizard-like creature in his hand to the ground. As soon as its feet touched the ground, the creature scurried away and dove into the pile of treasures under Emery¡¯s belly.


    ¡°Hey! After the troubles I went through to catch it!¡±


    ¡°Idiot! If you¡¯re suicidal, do it by yourself!¡±


    G raised her voice in protest at Loren for letting the lizard-like creature to escape, but he immediately shouted at her and brought his fist down onto her head without restraint. As a rather loud and dull sound echoed, G wordlessly crouched down on the spot and began twitching.


    Loren didn¡¯t even bother to help her - he just loosened his fist and sighed. The lizard-like creature that she had chased around and caught should be Emery¡¯s offspring, and the dragon seemed to be looking at them with an air of dismay.


    ¡°Is that what a baby Ancient Dragon looks like?¡±


    The dragon whelp that Loren had released as well as the ones that hadn¡¯t been caught by G were peeking out from here and there in the pile of treasure under Emery¡¯s belly, watching their group. He didn¡¯t know how long it would take for them to grow up to be worthy of being called dragons, but he hoped they wouldn¡¯te to take revenge for what was done today.


    ¡°TO BE CORRECT, THEY ARE DRAGON WHELPS. DRAGONS GROW INTO BEINGS CALLED ANCIENT DRAGONS OVER THE YEARS. WOULDN¡¯T IT BE STRANGE TO BE CONSIDERED ANCIENT FROM BIRTH?¡±


    ording to Emery¡¯s exnation, there was no such thing as an Ancient Dragon race. Dragons that had evolved over the years were called Ancient Dragons, and her children were just dragon whelps.


    Emery said, even though dragons were considered to be the most powerful magical beasts, not many were able to survive until they reached the state of being an Ancient.


    ¡°LIFESPAN, INJURY, DISEASE - THERE ARE SO MANY FACTORS THAT CAN KILL YOU.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by lifespan? Can¡¯t you just continue to live if nothing happens?¡±


    ¡°IF THAT WERE THE CASE, THE POPULATION OF ANCIENT DRAGONS WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH LARGER. DRAGONS THAT JUST LIVE WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING WILL REACH THE END OF THEIR LIFESPAN IN ABOUT TWO HUNDRED YEARS AT MOST.¡±


    Loren thought that it would be enough to live that long, but it seemed that to be an Ancient Dragon, it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°So, how long have you lived, Emery?¡±


    ¡°PROBABLY MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS.¡±


    Emery said that in order to evolve into an Ancient Dragon, a dragon had to live for at least five hundred years, because she herself evolved around that time. Loren believed that since an Ancient Dragon herself says so, it must be correct. In other words, you can only be an Ancient Dragon if you can somehow stay alive for more than twice as long as you would have if nothing happened to you.


    ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it? Ancient Dragons are amazing.¡±


    ¡°Living for over a thousand years, does that mean you know a lot about the Ancient Kingdom?¡±


    Lapis, who had been rummaging through the pile of treasures, suddenly became curious and asked such a question. She seemed to hope that Emery, who had lived for a thousand years, would know a lot about the destroyed Ancient Kingdom that she had been hearing about since she started working as an adventurer. But Emery¡¯s answer, spoken through a downturned mouth, was not what she had expected.


    ¡°THE LARGE COUNTRY THAT PROSPERED IN THE HUMAN REALM ABOUT THREE-HUNDRED YEARS AGO? I¡¯M SORRY, BUT I¡¯VE ALWAYS STAYED HERE, AND I HAVEN¡¯T BEEN TO THE HUMAN REALM MUCH.¡±


    Information in different habitats varied, and it seemed that Emery had not been to the human realm very often.


    Lapis looked a bit disappointed, but the dragon added:


    ¡°I DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT MY KIN WHO LIVE IN THE HUMAN REALM.¡±


    ¡°Is it alright if you tell us about it?¡±


    ¡°IT¡¯S FINE. BUT YOU SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS WHEN YOU MAKE CONTACTS. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, DON¡¯T EXPECT THEM TO ALWAYS BE WILLING TO TALK TO YOU. NOT EVERYONE IS A DRAGON LIKE ME.¡±


    Emery said and skillfully used her ws to pull out a rolled-up sheaf of paper from the treasure pile underneath her. She untied the string binding the sheets with the tips of her w, took out one, then rolled it up again and re-tied it with the string before carelessly pushing it back into the treasure pile.


    ¡°DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WRITE WITH? I¡¯LL SHOW YOU WHERE IT IS AND YOU CAN MARK IT.¡±


    Emery said, and thrust the paper at Lapis. As Lapis took it and looked at the content, she let out a small whistle.


    ¡°A map of the continent? This¡­ It is a little different from what I know.¡±


    The mention of a map of the continent was enough to surprise Loren, but he was twice as surprised by Lapis¡¯ words. In the human realm, there was no such thing as a map that described the entire continent. This was because none of the human countries had enough information to create such a map, but it seemed to bemon for the dragons and demons.


    ¡°IT¡¯S AN OLD MAP, SO THERE¡¯S NO SURPRISE THAT IT¡¯S A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THE TERRAIN MAY HAVE CHANGED A BIT, BUT AS LONG AS YOU KNOW THE GENERAL LOCATION, YOU SHOULD BE FINE.¡±


    As Emery began to exin while pointing at the map with her w, Lapis listened, pen in hand - she had brought it out from her luggage - and wrote something on the map. He left it to Lapis and went back to make preparations for their stay, G still crouching down at his feet, twitching with head in her hands.

 Chapter 209, From Waking Up to Acquiring Information

    <h4>Chapter 209, From Waking Up to Acquiring Information</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    The next day, Loren woke up feeling a slight heaviness on his chest.


    Last night, they had a simple dinner in the nest of Emery, the Ancient Dragon. They didn¡¯t need to keep guard since they were in the dragon¡¯s nest, so they had all gotten into their sleeping bags and slept to recover their strength for the climb to the crater the next day.


    When Loren was still a mercenary, sleeping with other members of thepany was amon urrence. Back then, some of thepany¡¯s members had bad sleeping habits and tended to cause a lot of trouble for others, and he wondered if the heaviness he was feeling on his chest now had a simr cause. Looking down, he saw that the string tying his sleeping bag¡¯s mouth had somehow loosen, and something a bit more angr than a lizard was clinging to his chest, looking vaguely happy.


    Loren blinked. He was confused for a moment, but then he pulled himself out of the sleeping bag and half-raised his body to see a dragon whelp, probably Emery¡¯s child, hanging from his jacket. Looking at the dragon whelp that showed no signs of waking up despite all the swaying, he thought its ws must have hooked quite firmly onto his jacket.


    He tried to sort out the situation. Normally, this baby dragon would be sleeping in a crevice in the treasure pile under Emery¡¯s belly, but this time there was a warmer, softer crevice close by. It must have crept near while they were sleeping, loosened the mouth of the sleeping bag somehow, and burrowed in.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine with me.¡±


    It was true that he was a little surprised, but he could ept the fact that some lizard-like thing had snuck into his sleeping bag while he was sleeping, considering that he was in a dragon¡¯s nest. Loren looked at Lapis, who was sleeping nearby, and wondered what kind of situation she was in now, as her ce was softer and warmer than his.


    Since the nest had a roof, they decided to sleep in the open space instead of the small tent they had set up. It made Loren worry that Lapis might be swarmed with baby dragons, but the mouth of her sleeping bag didn¡¯t look loosened, and she was breathing regrly.


    Loren thought the dragon whelps had only gone to his ce and not Lapis, but he soon realized that he was wrong: Lying around the sleeping Lapis were several cocoons woven with white thread, all about half his height. Judging from the way they were wriggling around, whatever inside the cocoons seemed to be alive. When Loren thought about what were inside them, he could think of nothing but the dragon whelps. And he couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who could have wrapped them up with thread.


    ¡°Is it him?¡±


    Sleeping with a thick jacket on was quite ufortable, and Loren had taken it off before getting into his sleeping bag. In other words, the spider Nig that was clinging to his jacket¡¯s shoulder was outside the sleeping bag. Loren turned his gaze around to search for Nig¡¯s figure, and after a while, he found it in a ce he had never imagined he would.


    It was on top of Loren¡¯s luggage. Nig seemed to have left his jacket at some point, crawled over to his luggage, and used its legs to open the mouth of the bag. It dove into the bag and rummaged around. When it emerged, there was a chunk of dried meat hooked to its front leg. It skillfully tore the meat apart with its eight legs.


    The dried meat did not look like it could be torn apart with the strength of a spider¡¯s legs, but Nig seeded in tearing off small pieces from the dried meat, little by little. As expected of a spider that held on to Loren¡¯s jacket and never be shaken off.


    With an air of satisfaction, it began to wind the dried meat with its own thread, and when it formed a cocoon of a certain size, it bit into it. Spiders often eat by injecting their digestive juices into their prey, then sipping at the dissolved body. But apparently, Nig was eating by trapping the dried meat in a cocoon and injecting digestive juices into it to dissolve the dried meat.


    Loren¡¯s gaze coincidentally met Nig¡¯s eight eyes while it was eating. Being caught stealing food made the spider freeze and stop moving, but Loren nodded to say it was okay, and it resumed eating.


    Loren was amazed at Nig¡¯s intelligence, as it had not only opened the package by itself but also taken out what it needed from it. He already knew beforehand that it was not just any spider though, so he epted the fact that it could do such things.


    He also thought that it was Nig who had created the cocoons lying around Lapis, which probably contained dragon whelps. The baby dragons probably tried to instinctively crawl into the Lapis¡¯ warm sleeping bag. But before they could aplish their goal, they were stopped by Nig, who was clinging to the shoulder of the jacket that Loren took off.


    As for the one in Loren¡¯s sleeping bag, either it was overlooked by Nig, or it thought that he would be alright. Either way, that dragon obviously made the right choice, and was able to spend the night in the warmth of his sleeping bag.


    ¡°And G¡­¡±


    If Lapis had been targeted, it was not surprising that G had also been targeted. But when Loren turned his gaze in the direction of her sleeping bag, he found that, unlike the area around Lapis¡¯, there were none of the white cocoons there. This meant that the baby dragons had not gone to G, and Loren wondered why. But the answer came quickly.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be eaten.¡±


    It would be meaningless if they approached G for warmth and ended up getting eaten instead. Moreover, in that case, if Emery challenged her about eating them, G could use the argument that it was their fault for approaching her. Whether out of consideration for such a situation or instinct, it seemed like the baby dragons wouldn¡¯t go near G.


    ¡°Smart creatures are smart, huh?¡±


    Gently removing the ws of the baby dragon still dangling from his chest and lowering them to the ground so as not to wake them, Loren nced towards the pile of treasure.


    Emery was curled up on top of it, asleep, and showed no signs of waking up.


    Thinking that it would be better to release the dragon whelps that Nig had captured now so that there would be no troubleter, Loren slipped out of his sleeping bag and put his hand on one of the cocoons that were lying around Lapis. The fact that the dragons inside weren¡¯t suffocated meant that Nig had left a reasonable amount of space while weaving the cocoons. Still, in order to release the dragons, the cocoons had to be broken.


    Loren picked up the cocoon with his fingers and pulled it from side to side to see if he could break it with his hands, but it was made of such a strong material that it did not budge even with effort. It felt like silk to the touch, but was much more durable. Loren had heard that spider thread was strong, but he didn¡¯t think it was this strong, and after a while he gave up.


    Loren considered using a knife, but it was difficult because he was worried if he could cut the cocoon without damaging the dragon inside. If he were to injure a dragon and upset Emery, it would be impossible to get out of this nest alive; he brooded over the several white cocoons he had retrieved from around Lapidus.


    ¡°GIVE THEM TO ME.¡±


    When he looked up at the sudden voice, he saw that Emery hade up to him before he knew it, and was peeking at him.


    As Loren retreated to give her space, Emery ced her ws on the cocoon that was lying on the ground and gently drew on it vertically. Loren was again amazed at the sharpness of the dragon¡¯s ws as he watched the cocoon break open.


    Watching the baby dragons being released from their cocoons and hurriedly fleeing toward the mountain of treasure, Loren asked Emery:


    ¡°Is it morning already?¡±


    ¡°IF YOU MEAN OUTSIDE THE NEST, YES, IT IS. THE SUN HAS ONLY JUST RISEN.¡±


    When Loren heard from Emery that it was still early in the morning, he immediately wanted to start preparing breakfast. Even though he didn¡¯t know how far it was to the crater, if he didn¡¯t leave the nest as soon as possible and reach the crater, he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish his work.


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE IN QUITE A HURRY.¡±


    Emery looked at Loren, who had efficiently started his preparations, and said admiringly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a thousand years to live.¡±


    Loren answered without stopping his work, and Emeryughed.


    ¡°ARE YOU BEING SARCASTIC?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what it sounded like to you, then that¡¯s what it is, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Of course, Loren did not mean for it to be a sarcastic remark. It was just that for a being like Emery, who had lived for a thousand years and was still living, the act of hurrying would not be well understood.


    ¡°WELL, IF YOU¡¯RE IN A HURRY, I WON¡¯T STOP YOU. BUT I DON¡¯T THINK YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ON YOUR WAY TO THE CRATER.¡±


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°THERE IS A SINGLE PATH FROM MY NEST TO THE CRATER, A BIT FAR BUT NOT TOO STEEP. I¡¯VE NEVER TAKEN IT, THOUGH.¡±


    Loren tilted his head at Emery¡¯s iprehensible statement that she had never taken the path but knew it was there, but her next exnation convinced him.


    ¡°YOU¡¯VE HEARD THAT JUDIE, THE DEMON KING, DID A LOT OF BAD THINGS TO THE CRATER, RIGHT?¡±


    ¡°Could it be that she went to the crater through that path?¡±


    ¡°APPARENTLY SO. I¡¯VE ONLY HEARD ABOUT IT, BUT IT¡¯S PROBABLY STILL USABLE. IT¡¯S LIKE GOING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN, SO YOU DON¡¯T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE OUTSIDE. AND SINCE THE DEMON KING MUST HAVE MAINTAINED IT TO SOME EXTENT, IT SHOULD BE EASY TO TRAVEL ON.¡±


    It was a great help, but when Loren heard that the reason such a path was created was some mischief of the Demon King, he wondered if he should be grateful.


    ¡°I¡¯LL TELL YOU WHERE IT IS. IF YOU TAKE THAT ROUTE, YOU¡¯LL REACH THE CRATER BEFORE NOON.¡±


    ¡°I really appreciate it.¡±


    Loren thought the matter about whether he should be grateful to Judie the Demon King or not, should be put aside. Instead he expressed his gratitude to Emery for giving him this information.

 Chapter 210, From The Secret Path To The Crater

    <h4>Chapter 210, From The Secret Path To The Crater</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    As Loren finished preparing breakfast, Lapis and G crawled out of their sleeping bags. The cocoon containing the baby dragons around them had already been collected by Emery - none of them was left.


    As Loren handed the girls the breakfast he had prepared, he told them about the path to the crater that Emery had told him about.


    ¡°If it¡¯s the path that Mother used, it should be fine.¡±


    Lapis responded, even though she did feel a little embarrassed when told that the Demon King had used the path for mischief.


    Although he still felt a little uneasy, Loren decided to take the path leading from the nest to the crater Emery had told him about, as he thought it would be safer than going outside.


    ¡°I¡¯M NOT GOING TO ACCOMPANY YOU FROM HERE ON. I PRAY FOR YOUR SAFETY, BUT I CAN¡¯T HELP YOU ANY FURTHER.¡±


    Emery said to Loren and the other two as they finished their breakfast and announced their departure.


    From Loren¡¯s point of view, just her lending them a safe ce to spend the night was enough of a favor. He thanked Emery for letting them borrow a part of the nest as politely as possible before leaving.


    ¡°Demon King¡¯s daughter, I suggest you leave the gold coins in your pocket behind. Also, that strange blonde over there, give me the thing in your backpack. Then I¡¯ll let you off.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­ As expected of an Ancient Dragon¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen through our bad habits, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You two¡­ Well, just like demons and evil gods¡­¡±


    Loren still felt dumbfounded, even after dropping his fists on the girls¡¯ heads.


    And so, they left Emery¡¯s nest behind, rtively free of trouble.


    ¡°Did you properly return everything?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be burned in the back with a ].¡±


    ¡°Neither do I¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    ¡°Would be nice if we can take something out. But we can¡¯t.¡±


    Loren was not without greed. Seeing all the treasure Emery had under her belly, it was hard not to want to take some of it with him.


    However, his fear of a being chased by an Ancient Dragon overcame his greed.


    Loren could not do something that he knew would surely kill him if he did, at least not when it came to money.


    ¡°In that sense, you guys, who actually did it, are amazing.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I can take it out. I just wanted to at least try.¡±


    Lapis answered with a very honest expression. In other words, she was using herself as a test subject to see if she could actually do it or not.


    Now that she had mentioned it, there were plenty of other items of value, but the only thing Lapis tried to take out was a pocketful of gold coins. As someone who could appraise items, it would be easy for her to choose something smaller and more valuable. Loren had thought that her action was strange, but now it made sense.


    ¡°You won¡¯t have enough lives for your antics.¡±


    ¡°I thought she¡¯d let you off the hook once, Loren.¡±


    Lapis smiled at him without any sign of embarrassment, and unable to find the words to reply, Loren just shrugged. It was obvious that Emery liked him to some extent, and he could understand her expecting it to work once because of that. But if he was asked if he could actually do it, he could only say no.


    He wondered if Lapis being able to take a step forward in a situation where one wrong move could cost you your life was because she was a demon.


    ¡°I thought I could make it, but¡­¡±


    ¡°You were overly optimistic.¡±


    Afternding a resounding fist on the back of G¡¯s head, Loren decided to focus on walking.


    Emery had told them about the path to the crater.


    The path to the crater was one where weather and encounters with enemies were almost non-existent. Distance was the only factor that remained uncontroble.


    They had to walk to reach the destination, and since the path was inside the mountain was without any change in scenery, it was quite a depressing walk with only the light of thentern to guide them.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that it¡¯s easier to walk. That¡¯s just like Mother.¡±


    ¡°I wonder what the heck your mother was doing, going all the way into a dragon¡¯s den.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t it to maintain the road?¡±


    Lapis dered that her mother¡¯s work was extremely helpful to those who had business with the crater. But Loren thought that the road they were currently walking on couldn¡¯t possibly be used by anyone else besides the Demon King.


    After all, the only entrances of this path were the crater and the dragon¡¯s nest. Regardless of which one you used, you were bound toe face to face with an Ancient Dragon at least once, and you would definitely have to go through the dragon¡¯s nest. Loren thought that this was not a path that an ordinary being could safely use, but Lapis seemed to disagree.


    ¡°People can just sneak through the nest though?¡±


    ¡°If you fail, you¡¯ll be burnt to ashes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a little difficult because Emery¡¯s detection abilities are quite good¡­ But if you prepare well in advance, you can manage it¡­¡±


    Lapis muttered to herself, and Loren just left her to it. If she just thought about it and didn¡¯t put it into action, it was harmless. And they had already left Emery¡¯s nest. There would be a problem if Lapis came to the conclusion that they should experiment on the way back, but it wouldn¡¯t be toote to worry about that after they finished their business at the crater.


    They continued on, taking several short breaks along the way, and eventually reached a point where they could see the light outside.


    Loren thought that even the possibility that something was waiting for them outside was low, it still existed, so he stopped Lapis and G, turned off thentern, and peeked out from near the exit by himself.


    Having been in the dark for a long time, Loren¡¯s eyes were hurt by the outside light, and it took some time for his vision to adjust to the brightness. Thinking that it would be dangerous if he were to be attacked during this time, he looked outside without pulling his body out of the exit while letting his eyes adjust.


    The only thing he could see was andscape of rocks.


    The slope seemed to indicate that they would have to climb a little higher to reach the top of the mountain. But as Loren craned his neck and looked up the slope, he could see that the mountain face would end after a short climb, and he assumed that would be where the summit was.


    ¡°How does it look, Loren?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing around. The summit is a short distance away.¡±


    Loren could see no other beings that seemed to be moving besides them. Still, he checked their surroundings a few more times to make sure everything was okay before slowly walking out.


    ¡°My eyes hurt.¡±


    G¡¯s eyes, having been ustomed to the dark, seemed to be in pain from being out in the light, just as Loren¡¯s had been. She whined and covered her eyes with her hands.


    ¡°I guess I should be a little grateful that I have prosthetic eyes in this case.¡±


    On the other hand, Lapis¡¯ eyes are magical prostheses, and brightness or darkness seems to have little effect on them, so she could look around without temporarily losing her vision or experiencing pain.


    ¡°Hey, are you sure the real ones work better?¡±


    ¡°The eyes? Yes, of course. Definitely notparable.¡±


    Loren sometimes wondered howe Lapis¡¯s artificial eyes, which seemed to be very efficient, were inferior to the real thing. As she confirmed it herself, he decided to ept it to be so. And even if that wasn¡¯t the case, it was understandable that a pair of real eyes would be better than a pair of artificial ones.


    ¡°Well, our destination is just right there. Let¡¯s hurry up.¡±


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s going to take a little longer.¡±


    Loren urged everyone to hurry up, but what Lapis said caught his attention. He wondered what she meant, but was soon made to understand.


    ¡°It¡¯s still a long way to the crater¡­¡±


    After climbing up to the top, they came to a mortar-shaped crater. The mountain itself was huge, and so was the mortar. It was extremely difficult to climb down the gouged-out-like slope. If they made a mistake and slipped, they would have to be lucky to get caught somewhere, otherwise they would fall straight into the bright red hole a long way down.


    ¡°If we throw it from here, it won¡¯t reach.¡±


    There was no reason to go near the crater, though. All they had to do was to throw the ck helmet they brought into the hole they saw, which probably was filled withva. Loren thought that they could do it from a distance, but Lapis, who had been staring at the crater and its surroundings for a while, shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not within throwing distance, and the slope around that hole is gentle, so there¡¯s little chance of it rolling down on its own.¡±


    ¡°What a perfectly annoying situation.¡±


    ¡°If we get close enough to throw it, the slope in the surrounding area is so steep that it¡¯ll be difficult to make a proper throw¡­ In addition, once we get past this point, the Efreet that Emery mentioned will probably attack us.¡±


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s that too¡­¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Loren had forgotten about it - it was just something he didn¡¯t want to think about. But now he was once again confronted with what he had been keeping out of his thoughts, and he made a disgusted face. The idea of being attacked by an enraged spirit of fire while having a bad foothold was horrifying, but there was no way to avoid it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we have to finish this somehow.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my Mother¡¯s fault. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    Lapis held her, clenched his fists against her chest. It was a rather cute and energetic gesture, but the meaning behind it was very disturbing, something that would st away words like ¡®cute¡¯ and ¡®energetic¡¯.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll take the lead, and you can cover me.¡±


    They could not afford to go slowly down the slightly steep incline: they would be a good target for the efreet¡¯s attack if they did. So Loren decided that he would take the lead and run down the steep slope to confront the efreet, even if it meant taking some risks.


    ¡°Then first, some defensive magic¡­ G, please.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ll cast some powerful ones. And if Loren is attacked by an efreet, I can just strangle it.¡±


    It seemed thatpared to Lapis¡¯, G¡¯s abilities as a magician were somewhat superior. The proof of this was that Lapis asked G to cast defensive magic on Loren. Not knowing much about magic, Loren slowly pulled out his greatsword as he watched G prepare to use various kinds of magic.

 Chapter 211, From Breaking In To An Advice

    <h4>Chapter 211, From Breaking In To An Advice</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    Amidst G¡¯s flowing chanting, Loren leapt forward into the crater.


    Once he started running, he could do nothing else but continue to speed up across the sloping ground. With his greatsword at the ready, Loren kept moving his feet to avoid falling. Then in front of him, numerous mes red up.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there only one?¡±


    He had heard that his opponent would be an Efreet, and was surprised to see there were more than one me. The mes then transformed into the shapes of lizards on four legs.


    ¡°Loren! They¡¯re Smanders!¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    Loren retorted as the lizard-shape mes spat fire at him. The columns of fire shot straight at him, and he swung his sword without thinking of dodging or defense. The moment the de¡¯s trajectory met the fire lines, the fire dispersed.


    Loren ran through the flying sparks without slowing down, and before the next columns of fire could be spat out, he closed in on the Smanders. In one swoopingsh, he cut one of the nearby Smanders in half, returning it to mere fire.


    ¡°It even summons lesser spirits. So upright.¡±


    G said, and started to run down towards Loren. Lapis, who was running beside her, nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s an introduction. This close to a fire, the Efreet can use its power to summon as many Smanders as it wants.¡±


    ¡°The terrain is too favorable for the Efreet.¡±


    While G wasining, the Smanders opened their mouths at them and Loren. When they tried to spit out fire, they were cut down by Loren, who had already closed in. A normal weapon wouldn¡¯t work against spirits, but Loren¡¯s sword did work very well. The Smanders, despite having the forms of lizards, were actually just fire, and all vanished before even withstanding a blow.


    ¡°Spirits just can¡¯t fight, can they?¡±


    Loren muttered to himself as he looked at the dispersed bodies of the Smanders. He didn¡¯t even know how many he had cut.


    Were they demons, they would leave corpses, and you could strip it for materials and such. But Smanders disappeared when they were cut, so there was nothing left behind. In other words, no matter how many Smanders he cut, there was nothing left to gain.


    Loren wanted to get somepensation for hisbor, but he couldn¡¯t stop cutting them just because there was no profit. He had no choice but to swing his greatsword, and one after another, the Smanders disappeared.


    ¡°Lesser spirits are powerful enemies in their own way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. They¡¯re the spirits that control fire, after all. At least they can be snuffed out like candles.¡±


    As G said this, the surrounding Smanders kept appearing and going out like candles. Of course, it was the yet-to-be-seen Efreet that summoned them, and it was G¡¯s power that extinguished them. The power of the dragon¡¯s ] had once burned out G¡¯s power, but it seemed to have recovered over time and was now regaining its original strength. Moreover,pared to Dragons¡¯ ], the Smanders¡¯ fire was not that powerful, and they were devoured one after another.


    Lapis, on the other hand, did not make any moves of her own and just asionally leapt away to avoid the Smander fire. She had a reason for this.


    ¡°If we can use ice magic, we may have a way to fight it.¡±


    As their opponent was a fire spirit, naturally fire magic would be less effective against it. If they used magic with the opposite attribute, they would be able to deal damage efficiently. However, if they used a spell powerful enough to work against the Efreet and kill the Smanders at the same time, the temperature of the crater would drop. In that case, even if they sessfully defeated the Efreet, they might not be able to deal with the ck helmet.


    ¡°Since it originates from fire, we can¡¯t defeat it with normal attacks.¡±


    Seeing an opening, Lapis picked up a stone from under her feet and threw it at a Smander. The stone hit and tore a hole in its body, but the hole closed up the next moment. Spirits couldn¡¯t be defeated so easily by mere physical attacks.


    ¡°What about beating them with extraordinary attacks?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®extraordinary attacks¡¯?¡±


    Not knowing the answer, Lapis shook her head, and G blew ck smoke out of her mouth. Loren began to worry that she was swallowing too much Smander fire, but he was soon distracted by a nearby pir of me that had a different intensity.


    ¡°So it¡¯s finally here!¡±


    From Loren¡¯s party¡¯s point of view, no matter how many Smanders they defeated, they couldn¡¯t move forward until they defeated the source of the problem, the Efreet. And from the Efreet¡¯s point of view, no matter how many Smanders it sent forth, they didn¡¯t seem able to take care of Loren¡¯s party. It was meaningless to dispatch more Smanders now.


    ¡°The one who strikes first will win!¡±


    The pir of fire was still rising, and the Efreet had yet to take on any form like the Smanders. But Loren thought that the white sword of the Demon King would still be able to do some damage even with the Efreet in that state, and he immediately shed at the pir of fire.


    However, before the tip of the sword could touch the pir, the pir dispersed as if burst from within, and crimson mes attacked Loren. He hurriedly stopped his attack and moved to dodge them, but a fist of me tore through the air and came straight at him.


    ¡°Is this an Efreet?!¡±


    As a mercenary, Loren had never seen a Smander before, let alone an Efreet. It took the form of a naked giant whose entire body wasposed of bright red mes, and was muchrger than Loren in stature.


    As the Efreet¡¯s ming crimson hair fluttered in the air, it struck Loren with both fists. The newly summoned Smanders, as if to support it, spat mes at Loren one after the other.


    [¡®Just a bit of Energy Drain.¡¯]


    As soon as he thought he heard Shayna¡¯s voice, all the fire that was about to beunched at Loren was extinguished. At the same time, he felt his breathing, which had been a bit erratic during the previous attacks, calmed down.


    Focusing only on the Efreet in front of him, Loren swung his sword. The de met the ming fist and tore it apart, but as the Efreet¡¯s body was made entirely of mes, it didn¡¯t lose its stance. Instead, it dealt with Loren¡¯s blow in the most unusual way: immediately vanished its arm and re-grew it.


    ¡°A human fighting an Efreet is just too strange.¡±


    G said as she watched Loren and the Efreet attacking and defending, neither able to deal a decisive blow.


    The number of Smanders summoned by the Efreet had stopped increasing when it began to engage Loren in directbat. This was a sign that the Efreet could no longer afford to call lesser spirits. Feeling that she had less and less to do, G looked at Loren.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a littlete?¡±


    ¡°Can we give up on that question?¡±


    Both Lapis and G did not forget to use magic and spells to support Loren, whose burden had increased as their own had decreased.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Demon King¡¯s weapon, so using ] on it is useless. Should I use a self-boost technique on him? Something like ] and ]?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give him ] and ].¡±


    ¡°Eh? Lapis-chan, you can use more spells now?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I am growing every day. I won¡¯t stay a novice priest who can only use two spells a day forever.¡±


    Lapis stood with hands on her hips, looking rather proud, and G gave her a round of apuse. Loren thought that they were being a bit too carefree, but their support magic did strengthen him properly, and he shed at the Efreet with even more speed and precision.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this, but we have our own reason too. If you¡¯re going to interfere, I have no choice but to cut you down.¡±


    There was no way that Loren knew how to calm down an angry spirit. He hadn¡¯t met any spirits when he was a mercenary, and naturally didn¡¯t have any knowledge of such beings. He didn¡¯t know how to stop them aside from cutting them down.


    However, it was not impossible to understand why an angry spirit would attack them. It would be easy to me everything on Demon King Judie, but Loren had no idea whether a spirit would understand such a story. Still, he spoke to the Efreet, which is gradually weakening with each cut:


    ¡°If I can help it, I don¡¯t want to attack you until you disappear. We just have a task to do, and we¡¯ll leave immediately after. Could you ignore us until we leave?¡±


    Loren asked the Efreet regardless of whether spirits could understand humannguage, since killing a spirit that only meant to protect the fire crater from being harmed would leave him with a bad aftertaste. However, what they would do was no different from Demon King Judie¡¯s mischief, and Loren began to think that it would be difficult to obtain the Efreet¡¯s approval.


    But the spirit stopped its attacks and moved away from Loren. Thinking that it would attack from a distance, Loren immediately readied himself for an assault. Seeing that, the Efreet somehow looked frustrated, then abruptly discarded its form and dispersed into countless sparks of fire.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill it, did I?¡±


    Seeing the Efreet scattered itself into fire sparks, Loren muttered as if to confirm, even though he could still sense its power and aura.


    ¡°Seems like it decided that it can¡¯t stop us and pulled back.¡±


    Lapis concluded while watching, the Efreet disappeared entirely.


    After making sure that no Smander would show up, Loren put his greatsword back on his back and exhaled deeply.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Really. I have toin to the Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Comin to the Demon King¡­ Can someone even do that?¡±


    G folded her arms and tilted her head, finding it difficult to ascertain whether Loren¡¯s remark came from ignorance or foolhardiness or an understanding of the Demon King¡¯s character.

 Chapter 212, Reunion at The Crater

    <h4>Chapter 212, Reunion at The Crater</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    When the Efreet disappeared, the Smanders it had summoned also vanished, and the surrounding area of the crater regained its tranquility.


    Believing that higher spirits did have the intelligence to stage a retreat to fool their opponents, Loren stayed on guard for a while. When it seemed that the spirits had retreated for real, he called over Lapis and G, who were standing a little distance away.


    Lapis came running up to him on the sloping ground, and before Loren could say anything, she circled around Loren and observed his body closely. When she was sure he was alright, she nodded.


    ¡°You defeated an Efreet without any major injuries. Amazing, Loren.¡±


    ¡°More like it backed down.¡±


    Loren had a feeling that the Efreet didn¡¯t intend to fight until one of them died. It probably appeared to stop Judie from doing what she had been doing, but didn¡¯t want to risk its own existence for that. He believed he¡¯d eliminated a good number of Smanders, which seemed to be lesser spirits, but as a human, Loren couldn¡¯t guess how much that means to the spirits.


    ¡°We¡¯re just here to melt one helmet. It seems to decide to let us pass.¡±


    ¡°I see. Shall we go then?¡±


    If there were no obstacles in the way, it was not difficult to reach the crater. It was a little ufortably hot to approach theva-filled crater, but it was not unbearable from a certain distance.


    ¡°As expected, it¡¯s impossible to get too close. We just need to get close enough to throw it down.¡±


    ¡°The crater isrge enough that once we¡¯re within throwing distance, we won¡¯t miss.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh-, I want to get out of here as soon as possible.¡±


    Gura tugged at her top and fanned her face with her hands. Her sweat-soaked skin was generously exposed, of course, and although Loren didn¡¯t really want to look, Lapis cupped both his cheeks with her hands and made him turn away so that he wouldn¡¯t even face G¡¯s direction.


    The closer they got to the crater, the stuffier it became, and the hot air seemed to be soaked in sweats. It was scorching. In addition, the smoke bursting everywhere wasced with a smell that made their noses wrinkle.


    ¡°The smell is awful, but the heat isn¡¯t so bad, is it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still under the residual effects of the magic I applied to you, Loren. G and I don¡¯t have that, so this heat is pretty hard on us.¡±


    In order for Loren to deal with the me-controlling Efreet and Smanders at close range, Lapis had used a spell that resisted fire on Loren. Thanks to the remaining effect of that magic, Loren was less affected by the heat when they approached the crater than Lapis and G.


    In fact, if it wasn¡¯t for that effect, Loren wouldn¡¯t be able to get this close to the crater, since he was just a human and had much lower resistance than Lapis and G, a demon and an Evil God.


    ¡°In any case, let¡¯s get the job done and get out of here. It¡¯s not a ce you want to stay for long.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    Lapis agreed that they should finish quickly. In any case, they couldn¡¯t leave the ce if they didn¡¯t finish their errand. She pulled out the ck helmet from her luggage. Even a demon like her couldn¡¯t walk near theva without any preparation, so she nned to throw it down from here.


    Lapis was about to make the throw, but she suddenly leapt away from the spot. At the same time, Loren also quickly moved away from the crater with his hand on the greatsword on his back. G was the only one left there, and even though she looked sleepy, her hand held the arrow that had been shot at her. On the ground, where Lapis and Loren had just been, were two other arrows. The two of them had sensed those arrowsing, and had moved to dodge.


    ¡°Would you hand it over to me?¡±


    The direction where the voice came from was probably where the arrows had been shot. Lapis ignored it and made to throw the helmet again, but more arrows came to stop her. She had no choice but to retreat behind Loren.


    ¡°It is useless to those who do not understand its value. Just hand it to me obediently.¡±


    A man with ck hair and ck armor said as he approached them. The young man carried a longsword and a ck shield, something they hadn¡¯t seen with him in their first encounter.


    If the information they heard from Judie was correct, this was probably Magna, the man who had been stealing pieces of the ck armor set belonging to the Demon Kings, iming it to be his own.


    ¡°What kind of idiots will just give things away when asked?¡±


    Loren asked as he assumed a fighting stance, ready to confront Magna.


    If there was an opening, he could send Lapis running through to throw the helmet into the crater, but there was no way this man would allow them such an opening. Moreover, he could catch glimpses of the Dark Elf woman a distance behind Magna, watching them vigntly with an arrow knocked on her ready bow. He had guessed it, but she was apparently the man¡¯s aplice. Loren unsheathed his greatsword, but Magna showed no signs of getting ready for a fight. Instead, he spoke:


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just tell the Demon King that you¡¯ve thrown it away?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, we¡¯re under the spell of the Demon King.¡±


    Even though she was in her castle, Judie was still tracking the helmet¡¯s position and status. If they gave in to Magna¡¯s cajoling and gave him the helmet, no one knew what she would do to themter.


    And even if Judie hadn¡¯t used any tracking magic, Lapis, who was standing right behind him, was her own daughter. It was not possible to go against a request from the Demon King in front of Lapis, who was watching attentively.


    ¡°Why are you so obsessed with this anyway? Your taste for gear is pretty random and nd for a guy so fucking high and mighty, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk about it if you don¡¯t want to, but it¡¯s hard for us to cooperate if we don¡¯t know the situation, you see.¡±


    As Loren conceded, Lapis tugged at his shirt from behind. She knew he wasn¡¯t the type of man to abandon amission he had epted, but she also knew he wasn¡¯t the kind of human to faithfully fulfill a deal with a Demon King. She was wondering if he actually meant it.


    Loren didn¡¯t respond to Lapis but kept looking at Magna. The man took some time to think about it, but eventually twisted his lips in a condescending smile and said while looking down at Loren:


    ¡°You expect me to ask for help from some random adventurer? The only thing you should do here is to hang your head and offer the helmet to me.¡±


    ¡°Those with too much pride are troublesome.¡±


    ¡°You want to die here while doing a Demon King¡¯s bidding?¡±


    ¡°Even your threats are boring.¡±


    Loren replied with a mockingugh, but he kept his eyes on the movements of the Dark Elf behind Magna. Neither of them was the type of opponent that could be confronted half-heartedly, and just a little negligence could really mean the end of his life.


    ¡°Watch your mouth, mongrel. You should not even be allowed to speak to me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make meugh. What kind of noble are you that you can¡¯t even talk to me?¡±


    Loren had intended to make fun of him, but Magna¡¯s reaction was something Loren had not expected.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make meugh. Me, a noble?¡±


    Loren was a bit surprised to learn that he was not satisfied with the term ¡®aristocrat¡¯. He wondered what the hell he wanted to be called to be happy, but Magna didn¡¯t pay any attention to his pondering. The man pointed his longsword right at Loren¡¯s face.


    ¡°Your disrespect is of no concern to me right now. If you want to at least improve my impression of you, just prostrate and offer me the helmet.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m going toply with that kind of talk?¡±


    Loren was dumbfounded, but Magna seemed to be very serious. He looked at Loren with frustration, then spoke to Lapis, who was behind him:


    ¡°You, woman. You give it to me instead of that stupid man.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a joke. We have no idea what she¡¯ll do to uster.¡±


    If Lapis, Judie¡¯s daughter, were to give the helmet to Magna, Loren was sure the treatment she would receive would be unimaginably horrible. Knowing that, Lapis wouldn¡¯t be a bad daughter and give the man the helmet.


    ¡°Magna-sama! It¡¯s useless to negotiate with those people.¡±


    The Dark Elf said as she drew her bow and aimed it at Loren. Magna, who had been ring at Loren without answering her, turned his gaze to G, who was watching Loren and Magna¡¯s exchange from a short distance away with a bored expression.


    ¡°What about you, woman? Are you willing to take the helmets from these people and offer it to me? Being an adventurer is not something you can do forever. If you cooperate with me, I promise you that you will eventually obtain wealth and splendor. I¡¯ll even let you off the hook for your previous transgressions.¡±


    In the past, when fleeing from Magna, G had crushed the enhanced goblins in the surroundings and vomited their flesh and blood on him to create an opening that allowed them to escape. Magna offered to forgive that action of hers, but G just stifled a yawn:


    ¡°Nah. You seem very unappetizing, at leastpared to Loren.¡±


    Loren wondered what criteria she had.


    Magna looked unhappy with G¡¯s answer, but turned his attention back to Loren.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you understand the folly of fighting me.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. We don¡¯t have to fight you properly. We can just throw the helmet you¡¯re so obsessed with into thatva and our business will be over.¡±


    ¡°Do you think someone like me will allow such a thing?¡±


    ¡®Someone like me¡¯, Magna said, but the thing was - Loren didn¡¯t know his lineage. Even the name ¡®Magna¡¯ was something he heard from the Demon King. He hadn¡¯t heard the man himself say it at all. Thus, he had no idea how amazing this guy was supposed to be.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother me, you mongrel.¡±


    ¡°Stop saying mongrel this mongrel that. Most of us humans are mongrels anyway.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. In this world, there are mongrels like you and purebreds like me. It¡¯s folly to lump someone who inherited an ancient and venerable bloodline like me with the likes of you, who don¡¯t even know from which bloodline you came from.¡±


    Magna looked at him condescendingly. Loren met his gaze straight on, wondering what the hell the man was talking about. Only royalties or great nobles would be able to im that their bloodlines were ancient and venerable, but he didn¡¯t think such people would go to the trouble of visiting the top of a mountain in the middle of the demon territory, where dragons lived.


    However, there was something in Magna¡¯s tone that made him believe that he wasn¡¯t just spouting nonsense.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again: Give me that helmet. The likes of you or the demons possessing it will be like throwing a pearl before swine. It¡¯s only when I, the rightful owner, possess it that it will serve a meaning.¡±


    ¡°Jokes should remain jokes. Even if it was yours, once it¡¯s in a Demon King¡¯s warehouse, the Demon King will be its owner. If you want it, go negotiate with her.¡±


    ¡°So that is your answer?¡±


    Loren readied his sword; in all honesty, he hoped the guy wouldn¡¯t tell him to go negotiate with the Demon King. In case he did, Loren of course preferred to just feign ignorance and throw the helmet into the crater, but with the Dark Elf¡¯s arrow trained on Lapis, who was carrying the helmet, he couldn¡¯t do anything reckless.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. Noel, watch out for that woman with the helmet. If she tries anything strange, stop her, even if you have to kill her. Do not let her throw the helmet.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    The dark elf called Noel replied without taking her eyes off Lapis. Magna nodded at her, then slowly began to walk towards Loren with his shield and longsword raised.


    ¡°If one fight can¡¯t make you understand that your sword skill and strength are no match for mine, I¡¯ll teach you again.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want any lecture from a guy who let us escape while being covered from head to toes in vomit. Did you manage to get rid of the smell,dykiller? Goblins¡¯ blood must really stink.¡±


    Loren challenged Magna, who was still looking down on him. Magna¡¯s face suddenly turned grim, as if he had no tolerance for being mocked, even though he may mock others.


    ¡°You¡¯re talking too much. I¡¯ll have your head cut off from your body.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, try it. We have bad mouths and bad habits, soe prepared!¡±


    Magna shed at Loren with movements so light that it was difficult to believe he was wearing such heavy equipment. In response, Loren shouted a battle cry and swung his greatsword with all his might.

 Chapter 213, Seeking for Solution in an Unfavorable Situation

    <h4>Chapter 213: Seeking for Solution in an Unfavorable Situation</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    A shrill, metallic sound reverberated as the des shed against each other.


    As before, Magna only used one arm for his attack in contrast to Loren, who used both arms. The difference was that this time the longsword had an absolute advantage.


    ¡°What kind of strength was that?!¡±


    In their previous battle, there was no such thing as an absolute defeat, and even though it was a two-armed versus one-armed situation, the strength of the two of them were matched to some extent.


    But this time, Loren waspletely outmatched. His greatsword was flipped backwards and hit his body. Even so, he didn¡¯t let go of the sword, and as he regained his stance with a shout, Magna closed in with another blow. He swung the longsword ever so lightly, but the blow pushed Loren¡¯s body, which was defended by the greatsword, even further backwards. Loren had to do all he could to maintain his stance so that he wouldn¡¯t fall down.


    From the look of it, Magna¡¯s arms were definitely not as well trained as Loren¡¯s. Loren¡¯s weapon should also have been more powerful, if not overwhelmingly so. But when they parried, it was as if something other than arms¡¯ strength and weapon¡¯s weight was at y, and Loren would be defeated.


    ¡°You¡¯re using some tricks, aren¡¯t you?!¡±


    If Magna was using self-boost techniques, he would have been defeated instead, since it was hard to believe that Loren would lose against him if it was a contest of in brute strength. Thus, Loren was sure that he was using something else other than demons¡¯ self-boost techniques.


    ¡°Watch your mouth, lowlife. Do you n to continue your disrespectful acts?¡±


    ¡°Stop ¡®mongrel¡¯ this ¡®lowlife¡¯ that! My name is Loren!¡±


    Loren thought that telling Magna his name would make him use it. But the guy didn¡¯t seem to have any interest in hearing it. He continued whilepletely ignoring Loren¡¯s name.


    ¡°A mongrel introducing his name? How impertinent.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better than someone like you, who still hasn¡¯t introduced himself after all this time!¡±


    ¡°The Demon King has already told you my name, right? There¡¯s no need for me to introduce myself to you.¡±


    ¡°What an attitude you have.¡±


    Loren replied and attacked. His sh was so fast that it was hard to believe he was using a greatsword, yet it was easily flicked up just by a swing of the longsword. As Loren tried to regain control of his greatsword, Magna changed his stance and raised his shield up. Loren wondered what he was nning to do, raising his shield while Loren couldn¡¯t make a counter-attack yet, but Magan¡¯s intention soon became clear.


    With his shield up, Manga kicked the ground and charged into Loren, who was trying to regain his stance.


    The shield mmed into Loren, its impact knocked the wind out of him and sent his body flying. After a short moment of floating sensation, Loren mmed down into the ground. His breath caught in his throat at the impact, but he didn¡¯t even have time to work through the pain: the longsword immediately came at him, forcing him to roll back to dodge. Loren was desperately trying to get away from Magna, but the moment he stood up, he was forced to fall over by another blow from the shield.


    ¡°Loren!¡±


    When Lapis was about to run up to him, Noel shot at her. Lapis paid her arrows no mind and kept running, and G used her own body to shield Lapis.


    ¡°Out of the way!¡±


    ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll deal with you two.¡±


    G¡¯s power chewed through the arrows rained on them. Noel¡¯s eyes widened slightly at the sight of her arrows being suddenly crushed in empty air, but she figured G must have used some kind of force to do it, and changed her aim to G.


    Lapis spared a nce at the scene of arrows colliding with G¡¯s power, then turned her attention back to Loren, who was knocked to the ground by the shield and Magna, who was about to run his longsword through him. She forced her way through his opening.


    ¡°Woman, get out of my way!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary to speak out loud everything that can be understood just by a look.¡±


    Magna raised his shield at Lapais, and she drove her right fist into it with all her might. With a dull sound, the strong punch shook the shield, but it was Lapis and not Magna who had to step back. She looked astonished, but safely dodged the longsword¡¯s thrust that followed.


    In the meantime, Loren staggered to his feet.


    ¡°What the hell is this guy? He¡¯s more than a little tough!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also what I want to ask. He¡¯s a lot tougher than thest time we fought.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s different from the other day is¡­¡±


    As Lapis looked closely at Magna, he attacked her. She dodged with ease, and when he made for a follow-up strike, Loren¡¯s sword mmed into this shield. He shook Loren off with an impatient shake of the shield just like one would shake off an insect, and Loren was sent flying.


    ¡°The shield? The shield strengthens the magic?¡±


    ¡°Is that how they work?¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t know where the armor Magna was wearing came from. If it was from the same set, Lapis thought that it wasn¡¯t so surprising that Magna¡¯s power was increased by carrying the shield, something he didn¡¯t possess when hest engaged in battle with Loren.


    If that was correct¡­ Lapis looked down at the ck helmet that she still held in her left hand. She was holding it so that she could throw it into the crater at any time, but she couldn¡¯t seem to find the right moment to do so. She had thought that now would be the right time as G was able to deal with Noel¡¯s sniping, but then she was faced with the problem of Magna being too strong for Loren.


    ¡°If you ditch that guy, you might at least find the right moment to dispose of that, right?¡±


    Magna chuckled, pointing at Loren with his chin. Lapis did not answer, but continued to pay attention to each of Magna¡¯s movements. Surely, if she didn¡¯t have to worry about Loren, she might be able to get free and throw away the helmet. But quickly dismissed that thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly important to dispose of this thing.¡±


    Hooking her fingers on the helmet, Lapis light waved it around and said. It was a very crude way to handle things, and Magna¡¯s eyes slightly narrowed. From Lapi¡¯s point of view, this helmet, which they had to throw down into the crater, was no better than garbage.


    ¡°Butpared to this piece of trash, Lonren¡¯s life is undoubtedly more important.¡±


    Lapis boldly dered, but Maga didn¡¯t seem to take offense. Heughed.


    ¡°So,dy-killer, how does it feel, being protected by women?¡±


    If not for Lapis¡¯ intervention, Loren¡¯s life might have ended when he was knocked to the ground by the shield.


    In response to Magna¡¯s mocking, Loren nonchntly raised his greatsword without any anger. It was indeed a fact that Lapis had saved his life, and Magna pointing it out didn¡¯t offend him. Loren was more confused as to why Magna would point it out in such a mocking tone.


    ¡°About that, you can fight like this thanks to that Dark Elf, can¡¯t you?¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t for Noel, they would have gone at Magna three-on-one, and in that case, it was impossible to tell if Magna would have been able to overpower Loren as he was now. Loren was sure that the reason why G wasn¡¯t attacking Magna was because Noel was holding her back, and it could be said that Magna was also protected by Noel.


    ¡°You get it wrong. I can fight without That.


    He said, pointing at Noel.


    ¡°That person only followed me because she wanted to. I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like there won¡¯t be any rewards for her.¡±


    ¡°Instead of worrying about others, why don¡¯t you worry about yourself? Don¡¯t you see how reckless it is to try to fight me?¡±


    It had been aplete defeat for Loren, even with his self-boost techniques in effect. He didn¡¯t think the situation would be improved by much even if he entered the state where something in his head snapped.


    ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m ready to give up.¡±


    ¡°You still want to do it? It¡¯s a shame that you don¡¯t know your ce in the world.¡±


    The jacket Loren was wearing was a highly efficient item that was previously given to him by a high ranking vampire, the Divine Ancestor. It boasted a high level of protection that one would not expect from its appearance. But even with the jacket on, the damage Loren received from the blow of Magna¡¯s shield was quite serious. If it weren¡¯t for that jacket, Loren might have been driven to his death by a single blow. Right now, his body was screaming after the several hits he had taken.


    ¡°Do you have a n?¡±


    As Loren had dered that he didn¡¯t want to give up, Lapis came up to him and asked while touching his hand. Loren felt something warm flowing into his body from where she had touched him, and the pain from the ces where he had been hit with the shield and knocked to the ground receded.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t think of anything in particr yet.¡±


    I¡¯m sure Magna knew that if Lapis, a priest, touched Loren, she would use her healing on him. Yet he just kept a faint smile and didn¡¯t stop her from approaching him. Well, having a priest heal his body wasn¡¯t going to change the situation, and Loren grimaced as he felt the implication.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame for a mercenary to lose to a human in swordsmanship, get mmed with a shield, and then just turn tail.¡±


    If it was against a demon or something, it might have been necessary to back off. But if the opponent was a human, Loren believed that as a mercenary who had earned his living in war, he should somehow defeat him. Of course, if he was out of options, it was important to run away without looking back, but Loren hadn¡¯t exhausted all of his options against Magna yet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make that arrogant face of yours twist in surprise for once in your life.¡±


    With his longsword and shield at the ready and a calm smile on his face, Magna provoked Loren.


    ¡°Try it, lowlife. What can you even do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking!¡±


    Gripping his greatsword, Loren shouted as if to fire himself up, then shed at Magna from the front.

 Chapter 214, From an Explanation to A Strike

    <h4>Chapter 214, From an Exnation to A Strike</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    ¡°How did you even get here in the first ce?!¡±


    Magna casually caught Loren¡¯s strike with his longsword one-handedly. Tricks were meaningless to him since he was superior in strength, and he met Loren¡¯s raw power with his own. But when their forces shed, a hint of surprise showed on his face for a moment.


    ¡°By walking, of course?¡±


    ¡°And nothing happened on the way?¡±


    ¡°Nothing happened except for her fighting with you. What are you talking about?¡±


    Pointing at Noel, who was fighting G, Manga replied, and Loren suddenly understood why he seemed suspicious about his question.


    This mountain was inhabited by a dragon, and perhaps because of her intimidation, no other demons or animals lived here. But said dragon had offered her nest for Loren¡¯s party to rest for the night. In other words, Magna¡¯s party were able to weave their way up to the top of the mountain without much trouble thanks to that.


    ¡°There are lightning strikes, aren¡¯t there? Don¡¯t tell me that the lightning avoided you?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? When we arrived, the sky was clear.¡±


    The weather in the mountains was fickle. The amount of smoke rising from the crater was not always the same, and its density varied from moment to moment depending on the direction of the wind. And coincidentally, the lightning that had struck Loren¡¯s party seemed to havepletely gone by the time Magna¡¯s party passed through.


    ¡°Damn it. We¡¯re the ones who have to deal with all the trouble, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Loren knew that Magna really had nothing to do with it, but he still couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter. It was just a matter of timing or choosing the right path, but it was iprehensible how much of a difference it could make. They had to deal with all sorts of hardships while Magna¡¯s party were able to reach the top without any obstacles.


    Wondering if he was destined for misfortune, Loren swung his greatsword. The thought strengthened his arms¡¯ power even more, but it still was not enough for Loren¡¯s de to reach Magna¡¯s body.


    ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡±


    A white sh of light rushed past Loren. He managed to dodge it within a hair¡¯s breadth. A heat-wave hot enough to burn the hair on his skin struck him and Loren, frowning at the sensation, shed his greatsword with even greater force. If he moved too far away, his greatsword wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Magna, and he would be continuously hit with the white sh with no chance for a counter-attack. But the closer to Magna he was, the more difficult it would be to avoid the shes of light he unleashed.


    Loren had deemed that it was impossible to dodge the sh of light after it materialized. The only reason he was able to avoid it was because Magna would always say a certain phrase before unleashing it.


    [¡®I¡¯ll help you!¡¯]


    As Shayna¡¯s spoke, some kind of force stirred in the space around Magna. It turned the stones at his feet to dust in an instant, and Loren and Lapis, who had seen a simr phenomenon before, realized that Shayna was using ] on Magna without any reservation.


    The wave of ], which was so strong that even stones could no longer exist as stones in the face of it, must have engulfed the entire space around Magna, yet his body and equipment did not turn to dust like the stones.


    By the time Loren realized that Shayna¡¯s power had been resisted, Magna¡¯s longsword had closed in. He hurriedly defended himself with his greatsword and was knocked to the ground by the force of the impact.


    ¡°Cut, Caliburns!¡±


    A sh of light struck at Loren just as he rolled over. Seeing that he would not be able to avoid it in time if he were to stand up, Loren managed to dodge by making use of his momentum to roll away.


    ¡°You¡¯re good at dodging, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also a skill!¡±


    Magna may have said that to mock Loren for keeping running away, but in his opinion, evasion was a fine skill. No matter how powerful an attack was, it was meaningless if it couldn¡¯t hit.


    Magna¡¯s eyes narrowed at the ¡®Hit me if you can!¡¯ implied in Loren¡¯seback, but Loren couldn¡¯t afford to provoke him. In addition to the fact that most of his attacks were ineffective against Magna, even the powerful ] that Shayna unleashed was resisted. There was nothing he could do.


    Feeling like raving about the boost Magna had received, Loren searched for a way to break through the situation.


    ¡°If only we can distract him for a moment¡­¡±


    If he couldn¡¯t stand against Magna in a head-to-head fight, he could do nothing but try to create an opening and exploit it. However, even if he, who hadn¡¯t been able to get a solid hit in at all, did something, it was unlikely that it would be able to distract Magna. This guy had simply too great of an advantage in terms of strength.


    Loren suddenly thought of the ck helmet that Lapis, who was watching the situation from nearby, was holding in her hand.


    It could be said that Magna¡¯s senses were mainly focused on the ck helmet. Taking it away was his goal, and he was doing everything he could to achieve that goal. If Loren used the ck helmet, he could attract Magna¡¯s attention.


    He considered wearing the helmet and making use of the benefits that Magna might be receiving from the armor set, but then he remembered Magna¡¯s insistence on ownership and decided against that option. There was a famous story about a certain holy sword that could only be used by the person who pulled it out of its pedestal. The holy sword recognized its owner and allowed only that person to use the power it possessed. If someone else were to hold it, it would be too heavy to lift, let alone swing, and its de would be too dull to cut even a twig. It was possible that the armor set Magna wore was the same. In that case, wearing the helmet might lead to his own destruction.


    Wondering if there was any way to make use of the helmet¡¯s existence without wearing it, Loren immediately extended his left hand toward Lapis and shouted:


    ¡°Lapis! Give it to me!¡±


    Although the instruction was very vague, Lapis immediately understood what Loren was asking her to do and threw the ck helmet in her hand at him.


    Seeing Magna¡¯s eyes following the helmet, Loren believed that Magna might do what he expected. He caught the helmet with his left hand.


    ¡°What the hell are you¡­¡±


    Manga¡¯s words were interrupted by Loren¡¯s next action.


    Seeing Magna¡¯s gaze turned towards him, Loren threw the helmet high in the air in his direction. Lapis¡¯ eyes and mouth widened in surprise as Loren threw something that was not to be taken in the direction of the one who wanted to take it.


    It was also a very unexpected move for Magna. Just as Lapis, his face twisted in surprise, but he was at a loss what to do next. He was carrying the longsword and shield in both hands. If he were to catch the helmet, he would have to let go of one, both if he wanted to make doubly sure that he could catch it. But he was also in the middle of a battle with Loren, and Magna was hesitant to let go of his longsword and shield.


    [If you can use such a powerful shield bash, why don¡¯t you just knock me down and then retrieve it]


    Crossed Loren¡¯s mind - although they were fighting near the crater, they were still a good distance away from theva-filled hole. If Magna failed to catch the helmet, it was unlikely that it would immediately sink intova, and there would have been no problem if he were to leisurely pick it up after removing the obstacles. But Magna was so fixated on the helmet that he couldn¡¯t realize it. Aside from his skill and strength, he must be inexperienced. Loren concluded this as he gripped his greatsword with both hands and held it high above his head, then kicked at the ground and leapt up.


    His target was not Magna. Even though he was distracted by the helmet, if the blow had been aimed at him, Manga would probably take defensive action.


    However, Loren¡¯s target was the helmet that had been thrown up high and was now falling towards Magna. He leapt up and struck down at the helmet with his greatsword.


    The momentum of the strike elerated the helmet, which was flying into the face of Magna, who was unable to grasp the situation. The thing he was after suddenly flew at his face with increased speed, and he couldn¡¯t repel it with his shield or flick it away with his sword. He took it full force on his forehead.


    ¡°Gah?!¡±


    There was a sound of metal colliding bone, and the pain on his forehead made Magna throw his head back and scream out. He reflexively dropped his longsword to cover his forehead with his right hand.


    On the other hand, the helmet bounced off Magna¡¯s forehead and flew right back towards Loren.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    Magna was too distracted by the pain to move, and Noel was upied with fighting G. Considering the situation as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Loren did not let go of his greatsword to grab the helmet, but swung it sideways with all his might instead.


    ¡°Magna-sama! The helmet!¡±


    ¡°Ngh?!¡±


    Noel shouted a warning, and Magna looked up in pain, but by that time it was toote for either of them.


    The de of the greatsword caught the helmet¡¯s center mid-air, giving Loren¡¯s hands a pleasant sensation, and Loren swung his sword mercilessly.


    The blow gave the helmet a horizontal momentum, and it flew straight towards theva-filled crater. The distance and momentum were just right. After confirming that it would surely fall intova, Loren shouted without paying Magna and Noel any attention:


    ¡°Our work is done! Let¡¯s get the hell out of here!¡±


    With those words, Loren¡¯s party left the crater behind.


    Magna¡¯s party ran after the helmet towards the crater¡¯s center, but the helmet span in the air before finallynding into theva with a ssh¡­ Though a bit close to the edge of the crater.

 Chapter 215, Escape And Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 215, Escape And Reunion</h4>


    Trantor: Lizz


    ¡°Damn it! I screwed up!¡±


    Loren was the first one to curse.


    He thought he had swung out his greatsword with all his power, but the de didn¡¯t send the ck helmet flying as far as he had expected. Both the sword and the helmet were not originally designed to be used in a batting, and he might have missed the center of the helmet because he was in a bit of a hurry¡­ Anyway, the ck helmet did fall into theva pool, but not very far from the edge.


    That didn¡¯t mean Loren could afford to give it another hit to push it down deeper, because Magna had abandoned their fight to run after the helmet. All he could do now was praying that Lapis would tell G to run, and that the helmet would break down despite falling near the edge of theva pool.


    ¡°Damn you! You mongrel!¡±


    The next one to curse was Magna.


    He thought about chasing after Loren and dealing with him, but after weighing the merits of securing the ck helmet against dealing with the person who attempted to destroy it, he decided that securing the helmet was of the higher priority. He spared a moment to shoot an angry nce at the back of the escaping Loren, but quickly turned his gaze to the helmet that was slowly sinking intova and ran towards it. The thing was turning red, either because of theva¡¯s reflection or it was heating up.


    ¡°I see! Since that helmet is part of a set, striking with it won¡¯t be blocked by other items of the same set, even if those items are infused with some sort of defensive techniques!¡±


    Lapis, who was running next to Loren, pped her hands as she continued running, as if she was now convinced of her theory.


    Loren hadn¡¯t really thought about it that much, but that seemed to be the reason why the blow was able to strike Magna so cleanly. It was a good decision to not attack Magna when he was struck by the helmet then.


    But the question now was how to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.


    ¡°Just run! I can¡¯t deal with that bastard if he¡¯s angry!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so true!¡±


    It was not clear what effect it would have on the whole armor set if only one item was destroyed. But since Magna had been fighting without the helmet, it was reasonable to assume that he would still have the same strength as before. As Loren thought about this, he looked back over his shoulder and saw Magna stepping into theva. The sight made his face twitch.


    But the full-body te armor that Magna was wearing also protected his legs, and it seemed to have prevented theva from affecting him. He pushed through theva as if he were wading through water and grabbed the sinking helmet with his hand.


    ¡°No way¡­¡±


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s mostly thanks to the equipment, he doesn¡¯t seem to be human anymore.¡±


    ¡°Evil Gods don¡¯t do such things.¡±


    As the three of them uttered with a mix of dismay, fear and amazement, Magna brought the helmet before his eyes. Even though it was only for a short while, the helmet had almost sunk intova, and heat had deformed it. There were even holes in some ces. Regardless of its magical properties, it would be difficult to use it as a helmet.


    Manga seemed to have the same conclusion. He shot an angry nce at the running party.


    ¡°Damn! He looks at us!¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to catch up if he pursues us now, so¡­¡±


    As Lapis was speaking, she felt something few past her ear. It flew straight forward, then quivered and stabbed the ground ahead of them.


    It was an arrow.


    If they looked, they could see Magna giving instructions as he stepped out of theva pool. Noel was holding her bow horizontally in a kneeling position, aiming at Loren¡¯s party¡¯s backs.


    Another arrow was fired. Grazed the side of Loren¡¯s jacket this time. Another hit Loren¡¯s shoulder, but was repelled with a solid sound.


    ¡°It hit Nigg!¡±


    ¡°It did, but its ability to repel it was amazing.¡±


    Whether the arrow did hit its target or not, elves¡¯ bows were very powerful, and it should be the same for dark elves¡¯ bows. But Nigg was able to sessfully repel a direct hit from such a distance. It wasmendable.


    Nig, which was still perching on Loren¡¯s shoulder, seemed to be quite startled. Although he didn¡¯t fall off the shoulder, he expressed his surprise by restlessly moving his legs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tickle me!¡±


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re having fun¡­¡±


    G said to Loren, who was patting Nig¡¯s back to calm him down while running. It really was not a pleasant event for Nig, who had been shot with an arrow, nor for Loren, who was being roughed up by Nig at his shoulder.


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense and run!¡±


    A sh of light came for them as Loren shouted a warning. Magna had activated the sword called Caliburnus, but the sh of light unleashed hit the ground quite a distance away from Loren¡¯s party. It might be because of the distance, or because Magna had lost control in anger.


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to take a hit like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It seems to be more powerful because the guy is angry.¡±


    After running up the slope of the crater in a single bound, Loren¡¯s party quickly found themselves on the downward slope of the mountain.


    It wasn¡¯t as if all they had to do was run down the slope, because there was only one path they could take, and if they looked up, they could see that the thick ck clouds were beginning to cover the sky again.


    Loren wondered who would suffer more if the lightning rained down on the mountain, them or Magna, and soon came to the conclusion that it would probably be them. If there was a numerical value for luck in this world, it was certain that Magna¡¯s value was higher than his own.


    ¡°Do we still have to run down?!¡±


    ¡°Would be nice if we can use the same path we came in on¡­¡±


    Lapis looked around quickly, but it was difficult to tell from the unchanging scenery whether the ce where they left the crater was the same ce where they entered. If it was the same ce, they didn¡¯t have to go very far to find the entrance to the shortcut that led to Emery¡¯s nest. Otherwise, the dragon¡¯s nest would not necessarily be nearby.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell when we¡¯re looking down like this!¡±


    ¡°There were nondmarks to be seen.¡±


    Lapis strained her eyes, but all she could see was the uneven rocky surface of the mountain. She had no idea whether the hole they had passed through was there or not.


    Next to Lapis, G also squinted at the mountain surface, but without finding any clues, she just let her gaze wander around aimlessly.


    ¡°Should we just give up and run?!¡±


    Half-resigned, Loren asked. He didn¡¯t think a human like him could find something that even a demon and an Evil God couldn¡¯t spot. Just then, an arrow from Noel pierce the ground under his feet with considerable force. And when Loren saw another sh of lighte from the crater and prate the mountain face a short distance further away, he decided that there was no choice but to run down the slope of this mountain. The mountain face was too high and too steep to climb in a day or so, but he thought that if they could run down from the top, they might be able to save some time.


    However, this was based on the condition that they were able to run down the mountain.


    Loren was about to step forward, thinking that it would be less difficult than fighting Magna and Noel again, when a small sound reached his ears and stopped his feet.


    ¡°Pii! Pii! Pii!¡±


    It sounded like a small bird, but as far as Loren could tell, there were no birds living in this mountain. It could be said that it was inevitable since there was no food or trees to perch on, but as he listened more carefully, he saw something moving on the rocky surface.


    Looking more closely, he could see a creature poking its head out of the mountain face and making a beeping sound. It looked like a lizard, but had a much more angr silhouette.


    ¡°Is that Emery¡¯s child?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Where?¡±


    He took Lapis hand, who could hear the cries but couldn¡¯t find the source of the cries, and G¡¯s hand, who had given up looking for the source, and ran in the direction of the baby dragon, which had poked its head out of the ground and was still crying.


    After running down a short distance without caring about the arrows and shing lights that were still flying behind them, they saw the direct passage to Emery¡¯s nest that they had used to get to the top of the mountain on the ground, where the baby dragon was peeking out. He immediately pushed Lapis and G inside.


    ¡°Loren, aren¡¯t you being too rough?!¡±


    ¡°Ah, where are you touching? If you touch me like that, I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    G squirmed by his side with a red face, while on Loren¡¯s forehead, a vein popped.


    ¡°Shut up! Get in, quick!¡±


    After shoving Lapis into the opening and kicking G¡¯s butt for talking about unnecessary things, Loren nced at the top of the mountain to confirm that Magna¡¯s party had not yete out. He went in himself, carrying the baby dragon that had told him of this path on his back.


    If they had been seen entering, Magna¡¯s group would havee after them immediately. But they hadn¡¯t, and without some kind of guide like the baby dragon¡¯s cry, Loren believed that it would take a long time to discover the opening to this path.


    Even if Magna was able to find him, his group would have to go straight to the nest of Emery, the Ancient Dragon, through this path. If Loren¡¯s party might have a chance, it was unlikely that Manga¡¯s party would be safe from a run-in with Emery.


    Loren had considered copsing the entrance to the path to seal it up, but that would look more unnatural and make it easier to find. Even if Manga managed to find the entrance, it would have been toote, and they would be able to reach Emery¡¯s ce. He hoped that when she found out about current situation, she could lend her wisdom to them or help him with various ideas.


    With that in mind, Loren left the entrance as it was and followed the other two while still carrying the baby dragon.

 Chapter 216: Reporting After Descending From The Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 216: Reporting After Descending From The Mountain</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard~ Lapis-chan, you caught a really good boy, you know.¡±


    Judie, the Demon King of the West, said cheerfully with a big smile on her face.


    They were in a dining room in some corner of the Demon King¡¯s castle. It was almost nighttime, and the maids had been endlesslyying out what must be dinner on the table in front of Judie. The table was so huge that it made you wonder how many people it was supposed to serve.


    ¡°The tracking magic I used on the helmet was deactivated, so its original magical properties have probably vanished or broken. Even if it wasn¡¯t, from what I¡¯ve heard from Loren, it¡¯s apparently no longer in a condition to work properly.¡±


    Judie swirled the ss of wine a maid had poured for her, apparently in a good mood. In front of her was Lapis, who was slumping over the table, and Loren, who was slumping back into his chair. Both of them lookedpletely exhausted. They had been brought here before they even had time to take off their equipments, and their clothes were covered in dust, but Judie didn¡¯t seem to mind at all.


    At the crater, while running away from Magna, Loren¡¯s party fled through a secret passage to the nest of the Ancient Dragon Emery thanks to the help of a baby dragon. Upon arriving, they returned the whelp to Emery, who was upset that one of her children had disappeared, and exined the situation.


    Emery had been angry at the baby dragon for disappearing without permission, but after Loren¡¯s intercession that they might not have been able toe back to this ce if it had note, she relented. They weren¡¯t sure if it was another way for Emery to vent her anger or not, but she flew out to go beat up Manga¡¯s party, who were probably somewhere near the crater. Loren hadn¡¯t seen it, so he didn¡¯t know what kind of battle unfolded near the mountain summit.


    Anyway, they decided that the first priority was to rest their bodies, so they began discussing their next steps while resting inside the dragon¡¯s nest. Beforeing to this mountain, Loren had thought that they should go back to the Demon King¡¯s castle once themission waspleted to give Lapis some time with her parents and other acquaintances, but he didn¡¯t even give it a thought now. Instead, he suggested evacuating to the Demon King¡¯s castle rather than going back into the human realm until the situation calmed down because it would be quite safe in this Demon King¡¯s territory. Lapis agreed, albeit reluctantly while G, perhaps unable to forget what the maids had done to her, objected until the end. In the end, they agreed that it would be better to leave after confirming their safety to some extent, rather than being pursued by Magna¡¯s party while traveling.


    When all that was left was to descend the mountain and return to the Demon King¡¯s castle, Emery returned from the mountain¡¯s summit and somewhat regretfully informed them that she had lost sight of a group that looked like Magna¡¯s party, even though she had chased them around the mountain. It seemed that Magna and Noel didn¡¯t want to mess with anAncient Dragon, so they just ran away.


    ¡°The man is a bother. He defended against my >.¡±


    Emery had said in frustration, and Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ jaws had dropped in surprise. The dragon might have toned down her > in consideration of their surroundings, but the fact that a human was able to defend against it was something neither Loren nor Lapis wanted to believe. It was probably the power of Magna¡¯s equipments; they could now imagine how powerful that armor set was and Lapis was very curious about where it hade from.


    ¡°How powerful are those items? Well, but they can be melted in the crater here, although we only tried with the helmet.¡±


    Loren wondered why such a powerful item would melt after being thrown into a crater, and Emery answered:


    ¡°Those kinds of equipment are usually only effective when worn. If no one was wearing it, it wouldn¡¯t have the proper effect.¡±


    Following this conversation, Loren¡¯s party were allowed to spend the night in Emery¡¯s nest again. Then, after being crushed by the baby dragons that didn¡¯t want to part with them, they descended the vertical hole leading to the nest by hanging on to Emery¡¯s legs just like they had done when they first came here. After saying goodbye to Emery, they descended down the mountain, being very careful not to run into Magna and the others.


    They then jumped into the carriage that they had used when we first arrived, which was hidden at the foot of the mountain, and from there they drove as far into the city as they could. When Lapis hid the carriage, she had prepared food and water for the horses so that they would not starve, even if it took her some more time. Thanks to that, the horses did not seem to be weakened, and the trip was smooth, though a bit strenuous.


    As a result, they traversed the distance in one day instead of one day and one night of rest, rushed directly to the Demon King¡¯s castle and asked the Demon King for temporary protection.


    ¡°We made an enemy. I must have lost my mind, making an enemy of a guy I don¡¯t think I can win against.¡±


    ¡°That sounds tough¡­¡±


    ¡°Just someone else¡¯s problem to you huh, motherfucker.¡±


    ¡°Loren, what badnguage.¡±


    The Demon King said; she didn¡¯t seem to really care. Loren looked around wearily, then poked at Lapis¡¯ shoulder, who was sitting next to him and looked as tire as he was.


    ¡°What is it, Loren?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no sign of G. Did she run away because she thinks we¡¯ll tell her off for not killing that Dark Elf?¡±


    In the middle of the battle with Magna, the one who tried to stop Lapis from running towards Loren was a Dark Elf named Noel, and the one who was to deal with Noel was G. No matter how powerful or rare a Dark Elf was, Loren didn¡¯t believe she could stand a chance fighting G alone. He wondered if G had gone easy on her, or if she was blinded by the rarity of her race and didn¡¯t want to do her in. But Lapis disagreed.


    ¡°That Dark Elf, it¡¯ll be very difficult to take her down.¡±


    ¡°Even for you, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re expecting from a priest like me, Loren.¡±


    Lapis dered something so tantly questionable with such boldness that Loren looked at her in disbelief. But she continued in a very serious tone:


    ¡°That Dark Elf probably has some kind of contract with that Magna guy. Dark Elves are originally a bit more powerful than Elves, but it seems that she has some other modification added on top.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    ¡°A master-servant contract, or a contract of servitude and such. The type where someone makes some kind of contract with someone else, and as long as the contract is fulfilled, they receive various benefits from each other.¡±


    ¡°I think the practice has already been lost in the human realm. If it was passed down, it would be used all the time. Humans.¡±


    Judie added. As a human himself, her remark made Loren¡¯s ears burn, but he could understand that if such a useful technique had been handed down, it would have been used more openly.


    ¡°A swordsman d in ck, who knows magic that was supposed to be lost. It¡¯s kind of intriguing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I never want to see him again.¡±


    ¡°Mother has strange tastes. It¡¯s not the first time.¡±


    There seemed to be a certain amount of battle-crazed thinking going on in Jude¡¯s mind. She seemed quite intrigued by Magna, but to Loren and Lapidus, he was the kind of person they would never want to meet again. They just couldn¡¯t understand why Judie would be interested in such a person.


    Wondering if that was what made a Demon King a Demon King, Loren came back to his original question:


    ¡°So, where has G disappeared to?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­ the maids¡¯ quarter or the longue.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­. Well, I hope she won¡¯t die.¡±


    The curiosity of the maids had not yet waned. Judie spoke with a smile on his face as Loren prayed for the repose of Gura¡¯s soul, who had been taken away by her maids¡¯ curiosity.


    ¡°You deserve a lot of credit for your work this time. You¡¯ve managed to do such a rough job for a human being, Loren. You have a promising future.¡±


    ¡°Am I supposed to be grateful for that evaluation?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve done a great service! Don¡¯t be so bitter.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Instead of such kinds of praise, give me money, money.¡±


    The reward has already been handed over to them beforehand in the form of his greatsword. Loren said that just for the sake of saying, but for some reason, Judie¡¯s expression darkened. The sudden change made him wonder what had happened. He leaned forward as Judie told him in a somber voice:


    ¡°I¡¯ve got some bad news for you, Loren.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not something one can avoid hearing.¡±


    ¡°You engaged the Ancient Dragon on that mountain, right? Did you see one hell of a stray bullet when you were there?¡±


    And Loren remembered. One of Emery¡¯s > had gone too far and caused damage where itnded, and she had asked Judie to mediate for that. When he recalled where it hadnded, his face twitched.


    ¡°Now that you mention it, she said it hit somewhere near the Great Demon King¡¯s castle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That one shot blew away a whole corner of the castle. It made Great Demon King-sama furious. Great Demon King-sama wants both the dragon and you, Loren, topensate.¡±


    ¡°Why me?!¡±


    Loren mmed the table, thinking it was unreasonable, and Judie began to exin with a troubled look:


    ¡°Great Demon King-sama said that both sides are to me. It¡¯s true that the dragon¡¯s > was the direct cause, but the one who made her breathe is also to me.¡±


    ¡°That happened while we were working on yourmission, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I didn¡¯t ask you to fight the dragon.¡±


    Judie calmly said, and Loren had no words to reply. It was true that the request was only to throw the helmet into the crater; there were no instructions regarding the process. In such cases, Loren¡¯s party, who received the request, would certainly be responsible for the process. The Great Demon King¡¯s argument was not unreasonable.


    ¡°I think the client is also responsible, so I responded to Great Demon King-sama¡¯s request forpensation myself. Are you going to im more cash from me on top of that?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°By the way, the amount I paid to Great Demon King-sama. I¡¯m not going to ask you to pay back all of it or when you¡¯re going to pay it back, but are you going to shirk your debt?¡±


    As Judie stared him down, Loren shook his head as he felt the sweat running down his forehead and back. It was a bit vague, but Loren couldn¡¯t say he had nothing to do about the damage ured while he was carrying out the work he was asked to do, even with all his experience as a mercenary. But he also couldn¡¯t guess whether thepensation Judie made to the Great Demon King was something he could really afford.


    ¡°I can tell you how much if you want to know. Do you want to hear it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I am grateful that you are working with my Lapis-chan, you know? That¡¯s why, as I said before, I won¡¯t demand full or immediate repayment. It¡¯s fine as long as you return a reasonable amount when you can afford it.¡±


    Judie said with a genuinely happy smile, and Loren slumped back into the chair again, speechless. At this point, he did not know how far Judie would go to impensation from him, but he was not the kind of person who could shirk his debts. Looking up at the ceiling. he wondered why his debts just kept increasing as he worked.


    ¡°Also, Great Demon King-sama seems to have taken a bit of an interest in you. You¡¯ll probably be summoned sooner orter. By the way, if you are to be married into our family, going to be my son-inw, your debt can be written off as dowry, so please think about it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about it¡­ I want to go back to Kapha.¡±


    ¡°Oh well. I also think you should go back there once. You need to find Lapis-chan¡¯s legs and eyes, and you¡¯re not very experienced yet. I¡¯ll take care of the arrangements there for you, so you can take it easy for a while.¡±


    The only thought that upied his mind was how did this happen, but Loren wanted to stop thinking and rest for now. The thought would return to himter anyway, but being able to escape from it for a short while was still nice. Looking over, Loren saw that Lapis was still slumping on the table. She nced at him for a moment, and for some reason, smiled a happy smile. Was it relief that they had somehow managed toplete theirmission peacefully this time, or was it just a reaction to the fact that Loren was now burdened with a debt that was an order of magnitude greater than anything he had ever had before, one that he would not be able to pay it back anytime soon?


    Without knowing the reason behind Lapis¡¯ smile, Loren looked up at the ceiling again with the corners of his mouth turned down, and let out a long breath.

 Chapter 217: A Proposal Prompted by Misinformation

    <h4>Chapter 217: A Proposal Prompted by Misinformation</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    There was a rumor that the Demon King¡¯s castle had been destroyed.


    Loren wondered where the rumor hade from, but it seemed that a party of silver rank adventurers who had infiltrated the demon territory had managed to get close to one of the Demon King¡¯s castles, where they had witnessed a sh of lighting from far away and striking the castle, causing massive destruction.


    Loren admired them for being able to sneak into such a ce ¨C how did they even do that? ¨C but he was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t a Demon King¡¯s castle, but the castle of the Great Demon King who controlled several Demon Kings, and the blow that destroyed it must have been the Breath of an Ancient Dragon living quite a distance away.


    Of course, there was no way Loren could tell anyone about this.


    If he did, people would ask him how he knew such things, and if he were to answer honestly, he would have to tell them about his rtionship with Judie, one of the Demon Kings, and Emery, the Ancient Dragon. Loren knew that if he shared this story, it would beughed at as idle gossip, but if someone were to believe it, he would be in trouble.


    The information that the castle was destroyed was also reported to the Adventurer Guild as unconfirmed intel, and it would take an enormous amount of time and effort to corroborate it. Loren tilted the ss of liquor in his hand and thought that it should be left alone.


    He was currently in the usual dining hall attached to Kapha¡¯s Adventurer Guild. He was enjoying some alcohol for the evening when he had heard about the rumor, and he wondered how he had even managed to get back to Kapha alive.


    He had entered the demon territory to apany Lapis on a trip back to her home, as well as to gather some intel for a job on the side, but what he encountered there was not something an iron rank adventurer would normally encounter. At the very least, he never expected toe face to face with a Demon King, nor dreamed of an encounter with a dragon, the most powerful demon beast in the world, not to mention an Ancient Dragon, which was considered to be the most powerful of all dragons.


    On the way, a dwarven vige was destroyed, then he received a request from the Demon King for some reason, and as a result of that request, he got tangled with a Dark Elf and incurred the grudge of a swordsman d in ck named Magna, who was more powerful than Loren. It was hectic, but the origin of the greatsword Loren had been using was now known, and the sword¡¯s owner had officially given it to him.


    The problem was that Loren was now in debt to the Demon King, but he had resigned himself to the fact that it was the result of force majeure. Besides, he thought it was a big feat that he was able to survive two encounters with the Demon King and the Ancient Dragon, beings that people normally wouldn¡¯t survive encountering.


    Loren had always thought that there were a few silver rank adventurers who had experienced something like this, but the truth was that almost no gold rank adventurers had such an experience. The only person who didn¡¯t know that fact was Loren himself, and he simply thought of his experience as a valuable one.


    ¡°Oh, Loren, you¡¯re here.¡±


    Looking in the direction of the voice, Loren saw Lapis, the priest who was his partner, approaching with a wave of her hand. As he watched the girl with her ck hair tied up in a ponytail order a light meal and a drink from a passing waitress, Loren recalled what had happened on their way back from the demon territory.


    After carrying out a request from a Demon King and probably got themselves into a feud with Magna, they stayed for a while in the castle of Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and a Demon King. After a few days had passed, they decided to return to the human realm, thinking that the heat had cooled down.


    Loren had wondered about how they would get through the dwarven tunnels they had used toe here, but thanks to Judie getting some demon soldiers to escort them and the spider Nigg clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, they were able to pass through without much trouble. The demon race was more powerful than the human race, and being trained as soldiers, the escorts Judie arranged for them were strong enough to keep most monsters at bay. And by following the directions that Nigg gave them, they didn¡¯t get lost in the tunnels.


    There was still a dwarven vige at the end of the tunnel, even though Ritz and his party were already gone. To avoid the troubles that would ur if the demons showed up, they parted ways with the soldiers before leaving the tunnel, then took the same vehicle they had used on the way here to get back to Lapis¡¯ base underneath the desert sands. There, they retrieved the wagons and horses that had been enclosed in ice, and it took them another three days to return to the city of Kapha.


    Loren was curious as to how they were going to get the wagons out of the base, considering it was under the sand, but what Lapis did was to open the door to a room that led to the outside of the base and shot some water magic that Loren did not know on therge amount of sand that was rushing in. While blowing away the sand, the magic also created a path with the wet sand to allow a carriage to drive through. It was a tant, yet powerful move.


    Once dried, the sand would fill up the path again, making it unrecognizable from the outside. But if Lapis did this, every time she came and went, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if someone started questioning it. Loren asked her about it, and she nodded.


    ¡°If this happens every time, yes. But I don¡¯t usually bring my carriage in, so I can sneak in and out more easily since it¡¯s just me.¡±


    Loren could only reply with an ¡®I see¡¯.


    And so, he managed to return to Kapha. But now, before he had a chance to catch his breath, he hade face to face with Lapis, and he braced himself for what he would have to do next.


    As Lapis waited anxiously for the waitress to bring her drinks and food, she noticed that Loren was somewhat nervous and tilted her head.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I was just wondering what you¡¯re nning to do next.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing anything for the time being.¡±


    Lapis replied with an air of tiredness. It was somewhat surprising to Loren. He had thought that she sat down here to talk about where she would go next, but she said that she had no intention of doing so. He was confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be back in my parents¡¯ house for the first time in a while, but a lot has happened¡­ And it hasn¡¯t been that long since we came back to this city, has it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Adventurers need to take a break too, don¡¯t you think? I think that if you¡¯ve been working for a while, you need to take a break.¡±


    Loren wasn¡¯t sure why, but for some reason, he felt a sense of caution welling up from the bottom of his heart at Lapis¡¯ perfectly honest opinion.


    It was not like Lapis was saying anything that should make him wary. Loren was well aware of this, but he was still unable to erase the wariness he was feeling at the unexpected turn of events.


    ¡°I agree that a break is necessary. But there¡¯s something to do first, you know? My wallet is not in the condition for a vacation.¡±


    The reward for the job to gather intel from the demon territory had been paid. Loren had left the report to Lapis, as he could not determine which information was safe to give to the Adventurer Guild and which was not.


    As if she had known of his intention beforehand, Lapispiled a report on the way back to Kapha and submitted it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guildter. Themission was considered to have been carried out then, and their party received their reward. But it was not arge sum of money, and Loren¡¯s financial situation was tight.


    Although he wasn¡¯t urged to return the money, the job had made him to be in debt not only to Lapis but also to Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and a Demon King. He didn¡¯t have to pay the entire amount, just a third of the original sum, but it was still a tremendous amount.


    The reason for the one-third was because Loren¡¯s party consisted of three people: Loren himself, Lapis, and another woman, G, who was not here at the moment. Judie paid off Lapis¡¯ debt for her as her mother, and G immediately paid hers, although he didn¡¯t know how.


    ¡®It¡¯s horrible to owe a Demon King. It should be paid as soon as possible.¡¯ ¨C that was what she said. When Loren asked her where the hell she got the money from, her answer was vague:


    ¡®No, you see, even though we¡¯ve be like this, we are still Evil Gods. You¡¯ve never heard of an Evil God being in need of money, right?¡¯


    ¡®Yeah, so?¡¯


    ¡®We make use of Greed and Lust and such.¡¯


    Although G looked like a mere human, she was actually a being that was called an Evil God in the olden times. She was the Evil God of Gluttony. The Evil Gods that their party had released or captured were managed by her, and she currently had three Evil Gods in her hands: Sloth, Greed, and Lust. It seemed that G had been doing something with the Evil Gods of Greed and Lust, and used the proceeds to pay off the debt to the Demon King.


    Loren wanted to ask her about what she was making them do, but G, knowing that he would be questioned, had disappeared since that day. Loren didn¡¯t feel like looking for her and left her alone, but he was worried that he might regret it one day.


    ¡°Loren? Are you listening to me?¡±


    He had been lost in thoughts when he was brought back by the voice of Lapis calling him, and he met Lapis¡¯ gaze without letting his eyes wander anywhere.


    ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t listening.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be honest, but it¡¯s not good to be absent-minded.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. So, what were you saying?¡±


    Thinking that it was necessary to hear the part he didn¡¯t catch, Loren asked Lapis to repeat it. She did with a dissatisfied look on her face.


    ¡°In order not to¡­ burden your pocket, I was nning to invite you on vacation this time.¡±


    ¡°I was about to say that I didn¡¯t expect this.¡±


    ¡°Honesty is a good thing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Avoiding Loren¡¯s gaze, which was asking for confirmation, Lapis answered with a wry smile, and he didn¡¯t press her further.


    He hadn¡¯t been working single-mindedly since resigning as a mercenary and bing an adventurer, but he also hadn¡¯t taken a real vacation. Thinking that it would be nice to take a break about now, he vaguely nodded to Lapis, who was waiting for his answer with shining eyes.

 Chapter 218: Reunion After Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 218: Reunion After Meeting</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Vacation? For adventurers? Adventurers can take time off? That¡¯s neat.¡±


    When G came to the dining room attached to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild when Loren and Lapis were chatting. Lapis had already finished the meal she ordered and was beginning to enjoy her after-dinner tea. Meanwhile, Loren was sipping a ss of cheap wine after finishing his meal, but he seemed to be doing it at a pretty fast pace. He immediately asked the waitress for a few more drinks after he finished that one.


    ¡°There¡¯s no profession that doesn¡¯t have a vacation, right?¡±


    Loren said. He didn¡¯t understand why G thought one vacation was that nice, but G, who was sitting next to Lapis, clucked her tongue and waved her index finger at him.


    ¡°Naive, so naive, Loren. There are many professions in the world where you can¡¯t even get a day off.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t imagine what she was talking about. If he had to speak from experience, mercenaries were almost always on vacation when there was no war, and Lapis said that the adventurer business he was currently involved in was the kind of business where taking a vacation was not a problem. He had no experiences about other businesses, but it seemed to him that most of the stores he had been to in his life, whetherrge or small, had proper days off. From dining halls, grocery stores, weapon and armor stores, tool shops, transportation businesses, to hospitals.


    ¡°Is there such a business that doesn¡¯t have days off?¡±


    ¡°As far as I can remember, there¡¯s the mortician, priests, and coffin makers¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about it. When was it anyway?¡±


    G looked dissatisfied with Loren for interrupting the disturbing topic that had suddenly popped up, but she quickly regained her mood and turned to Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not going on vacation in Kapha, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. If you¡¯re going to take a vacation, it has to be somewhere worthy.¡±


    Lapis was trying to convince him, but Loren had no idea where a ce worthy of a vacation could be. If he had to pick one¡­ The word ¡®graveyard¡¯ came to his mind, but he hastily dismissed it, thinking that he would be no different from G.


    ¡°Do you have a pick already?¡±


    G asked Lapis, who had no idea about the thoughts going on in Loren¡¯s mind, and she took out some papers from the breast of her priest robe andid them out on the table. As he looked over at the papers Lapis was arranging, he saw that they had something seemed like city names and some kind of sales pitch written on them.


    ¡°I went to the library to look up some information about cities that might be good ces to take a vacation at.¡±


    Loren knew that books were very expensive items. Not only because of the time it took to write them, but also because of the time it took to copy them for distribution. In addition, if you could read and write, it meant that you had received a certain level of education. It was not something everyone could do, so it took a lot of effort to secure people who could. The time and effort it took to produce something, the higher its price would be; it made senses to Loren that the price of a book would be high. There was no way such an expensive thing could be taken out of the library, so if someone wanted to take some information outside, they would naturally have to transcribe the parts you needed like Lapis did.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for me to make the choice on my own, so I think I¡¯d ask for your opinions.¡±


    ¡°What? You want me to join you?¡±


    G was surprised, and Lapis nodded at her with a look that seemed to say ¡®What are you surprised about?¡¯


    ¡°No, I mean, isn¡¯t this like a private something for Loren and you, Lapis-chan?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not? It¡¯s really just a vacation for our party.¡±


    Lapis replied with a smile, but Loren didn¡¯t miss the fact that she looked taken aback for a moment. She had probably realized that she could do that, and after the realization, she wanted to. But at the same time, she couldn¡¯t leave G out of the picture now after she had brought it up. If Lapis did ask G to not join them, Loren would be very disappointed and might reject the vacation. She was probably aware of this, and had decided to go ahead with the original n. This way of thinking of her was better for Loren.


    ¡°So, what kind of ce do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve picked out some ces where we can rest our bodies and eat good food.¡±


    As he listened to Lapis¡¯ exnation, Loren picked up a sheet of paper on the table and read the information on it. It did indeed look to be a ce like she had mentioned.


    Basically, many of the towns were located in remote areas away from the capitals of each country. This was because Lapis believed that rural areas were more suitable for resting than urban areas. It was true that a peaceful and uncrowded remote ce is better for resting than a capital city full of people and stone buildings.


    Furthermore, Lapis seemed to have selected towns that were nearkes, rivers, oceans, or mountains. Loren thought that it was probably because such ces had good food, like local specialties. Towns in the middle of the countryside may also have good food, but if they wanted to eat something a little more unusual, they would choose such ces.


    ¡°If I¡¯m going to go anywhere, I¡¯d rather go somewhere I wouldn¡¯t normally go.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but if it¡¯s too far away, you¡¯ll get tired.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a problem, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Considering that the means of transportation is either on foot or in a carriage, it would be unreasonable to choose a city in the northeast of the continent while Kapha was in the southwest. A ce too close to the city would be boring, but if they had to travel to the other side of the continent, their bodies would be exhausted just by going back and forth.


    ¡°Then we can only go to the western or southern part of the continent at most.¡±


    It would only take them a few days of riding in a carriage to get there, Loren thought. When they were going to the demon realm, it would have taken them seven or eight days if they followed the usual router. A few days would be tolerable.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right¡­¡±


    Lapis was about to pick up a piece of paper from the table that contained the information of a ce that would meet Loren¡¯s requirements, but her movement was suddenly interrupted by a voiceing from the side.


    ¡°Oh, long time no see. What are you discussing?¡±


    It was a young man who spoke.


    Looking over, Loren saw a young red-headed man standing there, dressed in leather armor reinforced with sheet metal all around. It was tailored in such a way that everyone could tell at a nce that it must be quite expensive.


    Loren didn¡¯t recognize his kit, but his face was somewhat familiar. Before he could even recall who the man was, Lapis called out his name in a slightly displeased voice.


    ¡°us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m honored that you remember me, Lapis.¡±


    us said with a smile. He was an iron rank adventurer swordsman with whom they had worked several times before.


    us was an excellent adventurer with a rare blessing. When they first met him, he seemed like an intolerable person, but as they worked together, his speech and conduct changed, and he came to respect Loren¡¯s party to a certain extent.


    He seemed to be supported by the government because of his excellence, and was the leader of a party with three women.


    At that thought, Loren suddenly looked back at himself and realized that his party was also made up of only women, and he wondered if he should force a man to join their party to make it clear that he was different.


    ¡°That girl over there, it¡¯s the first time we meet, isn¡¯t it? I see, Loren¡¯s party has be quite morous.¡±


    In Loren¡¯s opinion, this adventurer named us had a fatal w: he was an unparalleled womanizer.


    Loren was sure that he would someday lose his life because of it, but it seemed that it wasn¡¯t something that could be cured with just a little advice. Also, Loren believed that he should live his life as he liked.


    It seemed that us immediately had his eyes on G. He gave her a pretentious bow with a refreshing smile on his well-featured face.


    ¡°Are you alone today, us? Have they finally had enough of you?¡±


    Lapis smiled and said without bothering to conceal the poison in her words. But us acted as if he didn¡¯t notice and answered with a cheerful smile while scratching his head.


    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be, can it?¡±


    ¡°The patience of those three is worthy of special mention.¡±


    The knight, the priest, and the sorceress that were supposed to follow as as hispanions seemed to still be following him and not discouraged by his excessive womanizing at all.


    ¡®If it were me and Loren was like that, I would have gone home immediately¡¯, Lapis grumbled. Loren shot her a warning nce; he thought it wasn¡¯t right to be too harsh with the guy.


    us pulled a chair over to sit at Loren¡¯s party¡¯s table even though he wasn¡¯t invited to and asked in as calm a voice as possible:


    ¡°So, what brings you out here?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re wondering where we¡¯re going to spend our vacation.¡±


    Loren considered adding that they were unsure but not troubled about it, but then he thought it would not be worth the trouble to correct it, so he closed his mouth, then reopened it to speak of something else:


    You must have some good information about such ces?¡±


    ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d just sit down here without a second thought.¡±


    If the story involved a woman, us was the kind of person who would most likelye out of nowhere without a second thought, but he was also the kind of person who can be reliable in other cases.


    In addition, unlike Loren, us routinely asked women out, so it was not surprising that he had a better idea of where to enjoy his vacation than Loren did.


    ¡°I¡¯m not paying for information.¡±


    It was a preamble that could be called stingy. However, Loren thought that he had to be clear about that, and us replied with a smile that was as fresh as ever.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not in the business of getting paid for this kind of information.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s free, we¡¯ll listen, but what kind of information do you have?¡±


    Loren asked. as looked at the papers that Lapis hadid out on the table, and after a while, he took up one and spread it out in front of Loren.


    ¡°I rmend this ce. Karlovy, a city of food and hot water in the southern part of the continent. If you want to rest your body, eat delicious food, and refresh your body and soul, there is no better ce than here.¡±


    The way us said it as if singing was somewhat scandalous, but the paper spread out in front of him certainly said so, and it seemed to be solid information to some extent.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad choice, is it? It¡¯s definitely a nice ce.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fascinated by the idea of a food town, you know.¡±


    Lapis seemed to find us¡¯ rmendation a bit suspicious like Loren did, but the book did say the same thing, so she didn¡¯t intend to outright deny it. Meanwhile, G¡¯s face became somewhat enraptured at the mere mention of a food town.


    ¡°In fact, we¡¯re going there to rest ourselves. If we go together, we can save on carriage fees, and I can show you around if you like.¡±


    ¡°So, what are you really up to?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words hinted of suspicion, and us¡¯ smile froze on his face. He was well aware of the danger of hiding things from Loren. His face suddenly darkened, and he began to confess in a whisper.


    ¡°Well, I made Ange and the others angry¡­ They want a vacation aspensation¡­ But if it¡¯s only me¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. You don¡¯t have to tell anyone.¡±


    us didn¡¯t want to sleep on a bed of nails, so he wanted to increase the number ofpanions so that he could have some room to escape.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then of course it¡¯ll also be beneficial to us, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That, yes¡­ My wallet will give a certain amount of thanks¡­¡±


    ¡®He wasn¡¯t a bad guy¡¯, Loren thought as he looked at a deted us. That was why the girls in his party didn¡¯t give up on him and still continued to be his partners. Still, sometimes they may feel that he needed to be punished, and it seemed that now was the time.


    ¡°Of course, we won¡¯t do anything to interfere with your vacation. I was wondering if you coulde along as a favor.¡±


    Lapis was taken aback by us¡¯ honesty, but told Loren that she didn¡¯t oppose it. G, who didn¡¯t know us very well, said she didn¡¯t care about anything else as long as they could go to the food city.


    If he answered immediately, us would not be grateful. Loren thought that he would have to teach the guy a little lesson by keeping him on his toes for a while, so he avoided giving him an answer at this moment and told us, who was looking at him as if he was relying on him, in a tone that seemed like a refusal:


    ¡°Well, let me think about it. I¡¯ve got my own situation to consider too.¡±

 Chapter 219: Secret Talks and Acceptance

    <h4>Chapter 219: Secret Talks and eptance</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Having thought about it, us¡¯s offer was appealing in its own way.


    First of all, it was very attractive to be able to rely on not only Lapis¡¯ wallet but also a part of us¡¯ wallet for funds. Furthermore, for those who were not familiar with such ces like Loren¡¯s party, the information provided by us, who seemed to be familiar with the area, would be quite useful once they arrived there.


    If the one who made the proposal wasn¡¯t us, Loren would have jumped at the chance. So he sent us back first, then told Lapis and G that he was going to ept the offer. They called it a day after that.


    The next day, Loren was visited by a member of us¡¯ party, the sorceress named Ange, at the inn where he usually stayed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about us bothering you.¡±


    They were in the dining room on the first floor of the inn. Loren normally didn¡¯t eat here. Ange seemed to shrunk into herself on her chair in apology. Sitting across her, Loren waved his hand to indicate that he wasn¡¯t bothered.


    ¡°If he was, I would have said no right then and there.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m worried that we might interfere with your vacation.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. On the contrary, don¡¯t you mind that he would cover for us with his wallet?¡±


    He was told that the money woulde from us¡¯ personal fund, so he wouldn¡¯t be touching the party¡¯s funds. Still, Loren was worried that us¡¯ party members wouldn¡¯t be feel good about their leader¡¯s wallet bing lighter. However, Ange¡¯s reaction was the exact opposite of what he expected.


    ¡°We don¡¯t mind. We¡¯d rather you squeeze him dry for us.¡±


    Ange said, that us had more than enough money in his wallet and he was able to spend it on women everywhere. If his funds were reduced down to the point where he couldn¡¯t do that, his womanizing habits would probably die down for a while.


    ¡°And¡­ The atmosphere of the party is indeed a bit bad. It¡¯s supposed to be a recess for us to reconcile, but it was just us, we couldn¡¯t help but¡­¡±


    Loren could understand what Ange was saying. No matter how much they wanted to make up, if the parties involved acted alone, the atmosphere would inevitably deteriorate and be strange. It was understandable that Ange wished for Loren¡¯s party to apany them, since the atmosphere could be expected to improve somewhat by bringing in someonepletely unrted to the situation.


    ¡°us¡¯ womanizing might also be lessened by your presence, Loren.¡±


    ¡°I think I can y the role of holding his scruff.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I apologize for asking so much from you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know each other. It wouldn¡¯t even interfere with my vacation.¡±


    If it had been a vacation with Lapis only, Loren would have thought twice before agreeing, yet since this was a vacation for a party, G wasing along. This meant that Loren had to n spending a certain amount of effort to hold G¡¯s scruff anyway, adding us wouldn¡¯t make much difference.


    If Lapis heard about this, she mightugh and tell him that he was such a hard worker, but he thought that it would be okay to spend that much effort.


    ¡°So¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take the offer. I considered saying yes as soon as I heard about it from usst night, but I didn¡¯t want to give him relief with a quick answer.¡±


    Wondering if he was being a little mean, Loren smiled wryly. But Ange kept a serious face and politely bowed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯re in your debt.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re going to be taking care of us too, so let¡¯s consider us equal.¡±


    Loren smiled wryly at Ange, who shrank even more in shame. But his face suddenly became serious again, and he asked her:


    ¡°By the way, what do you actually think of us?¡±


    ¡°That, eh¡­ well.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can kind of tell by your reaction. I¡¯m just curious, have you ever thought about putting us in debt to restrain his actions?¡±


    ¡°A-a debt?! No, that¡¯s going too far¡­¡±


    Ange started to shake her head and hands in panic, and Loren asked her again.


    ¡°How would you feel if your parents saddled us with a ridiculous amount of debt?¡±


    ¡°Uhm, Loren? What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m not sure how to say this, but it seems like a very real question.¡±


    Ange asked with some concerns, and with a slightly stiff expression, Loren pondered for a moment what he should say to her. In the end, he shook his head and let out a deep breath.


    ¡°Nah¡­ I just said something weird. Please forget it.¡±


    ¡°H-ha¡­¡±


    Loren suddenly wondered what his situation would look like to a normal woman, so he took the opportunity to ask Ange about it. But just from her reaction, he could see that it was an abnormal situation.


    But Ange was just a human being, while Lapis was a demon. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if there was a difference in sensitivity, and Loren thought that if he ever had a chance to talk with a regr demon, he might ask her something simr.


    After such an exchange, Loren went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and contacted us through the Guild. He could have asked Ange for his whereabouts and contact information, but he thought he shouldn¡¯t let us know that Ange hade to ask him to ept us¡¯ offer.


    ¡°She¡¯s too good for you, isn¡¯t she¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Loren told us, who hade to see him. But when us tilted his head in puzzle and asked what he meant, Loren said it was nothing and then cut to the chase.


    ¡°Your proposalst night. I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve saved me.¡±


    His face suddenly lit up, us leaned forward in excitement. Loren held up a hand to stop him. He looked into his eyes and continued.


    ¡°Just that, it¡¯s also a vacation for us. Don¡¯t get your hopes up too much. Handle it yourself as much as you can.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I¡¯ll try to.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t want to be overly optimistic, but he believed that a positive attitude is a good thing, no matter what the circumstances.


    Had us been a bit tamer in his behavior, he would have been a very nice young man. Loren wondered if there was really nothing to be done about his womanizing habits. But then, if there was something to be done, the girls in his party would have done it already. The word ¡®incurable¡¯ somehow crossed his mind.


    ¡°We¡¯ll also pay, but be prepared for some unrestrained gouging.¡±


    Loren hesitated for a moment when he said they would pay. After all, it was Lapis, not Loren, who was going to pay. He didn¡¯t like the idea of talking about someone else¡¯s wallet as if it were his own,


    But us seemed to have taken Loren¡¯s momentary hesitation as something else.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m just reaping what I sow. Don¡¯t be reserved about it.¡±


    us dered decisively. Loren couldn¡¯t help but grumble about us¡¯s attitude, which could be considered admirable if only he didn¡¯t turn a blind eye to the context and cause.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you use that uprightness in other things?¡±


    He knew that the guy was not a bad person. Loren thought that if he liked women so much, he should appeal to their sincerity and innocence rather than just indiscriminately asking them out, but us had a different opinion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to pick the flowers right in front of you?¡±


    ¡°You should be satisfied with the flowers you have.¡±


    ¡®You have at least three different kinds of flowers on hand¡¯, Loren thought. But us suddenly widened his eyes and shouted.


    ¡°You want me to die, Loren?!¡±


    Loren¡¯s shoulder twitched at the overly exaggerated expression, but he managed to hold it together with his willpower and fought back the urge to punch him before opening his mouth.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to die because of something like that, then go ahead and die!¡±


    Loren said in a rough voice with clenched fists, and us hurriedly distanced himself from him. ¡®This might really be an incurable disease¡¯, Loren thought as he unclenched his fist and asked us with a sigh.


    ¡°So, when are we leaving?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to arrange for a carriage, so how about tomorrow afternoon?¡±


    Even though it was a sight-seeing trip, it was not so different from traveling for work. They had to buy all the supplies needed to get around, and that would take some time.


    ¡°Not bad.¡±


    Loren assumed that if they had that much time, they would be able to finish the necessary preparation. In this case, the biggest problem would be Loren not having much cash in his pocket, and he would have to ask Lapis to take care of what wascking, which made him feel a little gloomy.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s agree so. I¡¯m going to talk to my partners. Can you talk to the members of your party?¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. We¡¯ll meet at the east gate of the city, alright?¡±


    This time, the destination was a city straight east of Kapah, and there was no better ce to meet than there. us nodded to Loren.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s meet there. So, tomorrow afternoon, around the first bel, at the east gate.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Is there anything I need to prepare?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know much about the city they were going to. Or rather, he didn¡¯t know anything at all. He thought it would be best to ask us, who had suggested it, for such information, and us pondered the question for a while.


    ¡°As long as you have what you need for a normal trip, you should be fine. Ah, you might want to prepare arge cloth and bathrobe. It¡¯s not impossible to get them over there, but you¡¯re a big guy, so they might not have the right size, and everything is expensive over there.¡±


    ¡°Bathrobe?¡±


    Loren asked about the unfamiliar word.


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re the type who likes to be nude? Well, that has its own charm, I guess.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what a bathrobe is? Is it because you¡¯re not familiar with intimacy? Karlovy is a city of food and hot springs, famous for its delicious food and splendid hot springs.¡±


    Loren had heard of hot springs before. Apparently, there were ces where water boiled naturally, and the water was used as a bath.


    It was not forbidden to take a bath in the nude, but those who didn¡¯t like to expose their skin to the public wear a bathrobe as bathing clothes, us said.


    ¡°Someone as big as you might not be able to fit into a ready-made bathrobe, so you¡¯d better hurry up and have one made if you need one.¡±


    Loren¡¯s impression of what us had just told him was that, it was too much trouble.


    It was a luxury to soak your body in a lot of hot water to wash it, but he couldn¡¯t help but felt that it was a waste of money to make clothes specifically for this purpose.


    Loren wondered if he had chosen the wrong destination. But since G and Lapis were reasonably keen on the idea, it seemed immature to change the destination now. So, he began to think about how much cash he had in his wallet.

 Chapter 220: Departing From The East Gate

    <h4>Chapter 220: Departing From The East Gate</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The next day, Loren¡¯s party was by the east gate of Kapha when the first afternoon bell rang. They dressed as usual and were armed, but their luggage seemed to be a little bulkier than usual.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think about the bathrobe thing at all.¡±


    It was Lapis who said this. Until yesterday, when Loren told her about the bathrobe preparations that us had told him, she hadn¡¯t thought about it at all, and the two of them had to make a quick trip to the clothing stores in Kapha. But almost no one took baths in Kapha, so there was no way the stores would have bathrobes in stock; the store had to quickly take their measurements and make them right there.


    Loren thought it would be toote to have them made now, but bathrobes were made of non-transparent white cloth, and the structure was simple enough: just hanging over the shoulders and tied at the waist with a string, so it took only about half a day from measurement topletion.


    ¡°They¡¯re a bit expensive though.¡±


    Lapis paid some more money to the store to have the work done in a short time and with the highest priority. Loren tilted his head and wondered if it was necessary to go that far, but from Lapis¡¯ point of view, it seemed to be very important.


    ¡°I can¡¯t expose my skin toplete strangers.¡±


    She said, but a question suddenly came to Loren¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a bath in your parents¡¯ house?¡±


    From all the talks about preparing bathrobes and exposing skin, it seemed to Loren that Lapis wasn¡¯t ustomed to taking baths, so he decided to ask such a question.


    But Lapis replied with a puzzled expression:


    ¡°Of course there was?¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re used to going in there though, does it?¡±


    It was impossible to say out loud, but Lapis¡¯ family home is a huge Demon King¡¯s castle. It was sorge that it would not be surprising if there were not one or two baths, but ten or twenty.


    When Loren asked if she was used to taking baths, Lapis answered with a slight blush on her face.


    ¡°I have taken baths before, but never with anyone else. So, of course, there was no such thing as being seen by someone while bathing.¡±


    ¡°In the town we¡¯re going to, the baths are separated for men and women, right?¡±


    From Lapis¡¯ reaction, it seemed as if they were going to take mixed baths, and Loren confirmed it just in case.


    When he was a mercenary, Loren used to clean his body only by wiping it down with a cloth soaked in hot water or taking a dip in ake or river. But even in such cases, a certain degree of gender separation existed as a matter of course. Loren had thought that this was amon practice, but looking at Lapis¡¯ shyness, it didn¡¯t seem as if there would be any such division.


    ¡°Of course! If they were mixed baths, I would definitely refuse to use them!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll trust your words then. But if they¡¯re divided by gender, doesn¡¯t that mean that only people of the same sex can see you? Then it¡¯s not a big deal to be seen¡­¡±


    ¡°No. Absolutely no.¡±


    Loren changed the subject, thinking that there must be some kind of non-negotiable line in the way Lapis said it so clearly.


    ¡°Did you prepare G¡¯s too?¡±


    G did not apany them on their shopping trip. Lor¨¦n thought that since they had not taken her measurements, if G had not prepared a bathrobe for herself in advance, there would be none for her. But Lapis seemed to have thought about her as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little concerned because I haven¡¯t taken measurements, but I¡¯m having them made based on my eye measurements.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind being naked though?¡±


    G seemed to find the whole thing troublesome, but when Lapis red at her sternly, she mumbled something and made the end of her sentence unclear. Loren thought that Lapis didn¡¯t have to re at her like that because it wasn¡¯t her business, but the words that came out of his mouth were about something else.


    ¡°You had it made by eye measurements?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Yeah, well. G wasn¡¯t there.¡±


    Lapis said and tilted her head in puzzle as if to ask what was wrong with that. Loren stared at her for a while, then turned his gaze towards G, and after a few more moments, he muttered something in a whisper.


    ¡°The oue is apparent somehow.¡±


    ¡°Oue? What oue, Loren?¡±


    Neither Lapis nor G could quite grasp what Loren muttered about, but before he could say anything to Lapis¡¯ question,a carriage approached the three of them.


    ¡°Have we kept you waiting?¡±


    It was us who greeted them from the driver bench. Next to him was the magician Ange, who bowed at them, and in the carriage were the blond knight and a light blue-haired priest.


    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t waited that long.¡±


    Loren answered and approached the carriage with his luggage. Le, the knight, opened the carriage door and invited him to get in. Inside the carriage, there were seats facing each other, and the seats on one side of the carriage were vacant, perhaps reserved for Loren¡¯s party.


    ¡°Le and¡­ Laura, is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it? I¡¯m honored you still remember me.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in your care.¡±


    The two bowed in unison as a greeting. Loren returned the gesture, then briefly looked around the carriage. It was us who rented it, and he must have paid a good deal of money. The carriage was carefully constructed, and the interior was quite spacious. The seats seemedfortable, and it would not be so tiring even on a long trip.


    ¡°Can the three of us here sit on the empty seats over here?¡±


    ¡°No, one of you should sit with us if you can.¡±


    Loren looked down at himself as Le said. The most heavily-built in here was Loren, and he took up a lot of space. It would be cramped if the three of them sat on the same side, so Le suggested that one of them shoulde to their side. And although no one said anything, G promptly moved.


    ¡°Having a big body is nice too.¡±


    As Loren sat down on his seat, feeling a little sorry for himself, Laura said with a forced smile. But her gaze suddenly turned to his shoulder.


    ¡°Is that a decoration? It¡¯s very well made.¡±


    What caught Laura¡¯s eye was Nig clinging to his shoulder. Nig, with its shiny ck body, certainly looked artificial when standing still. In fact, ording to a silver-ss adventurer who had worked with them before, it was a dangerous kind of spider. But it seemed to be friendly to Loren, and he kept it clinging to his shoulder, assuming it would do no harm as long as it remained docile.


    ¡°An Obsidian Spider? No, it can¡¯t be¡­ can it? Is it attached to humans? Are spiders attached to humans in the first ce¡­?¡±


    Eyes strained on the spider, Le muttered to herself with a frown and a hint of sweat on her forehead. But hermon sense got in the way, and she was unable to believe that what she was saying was the truth.


    ¡°Is everything ready? Let¡¯s get going then, shall we?¡±


    us called out to them from the driver bench, probably because Loren¡¯s party had taken their seats. Loren nodded in response, seeing that there seemed to be no problem with their departure. After having his confirmation, us shook the reins, and the two horses tied to the carriage slowly began to move forward.


    ¡°That reminds me. That¡­ What is it, the name of that town?¡±


    ¡°Karlovy?¡±


    Having forgotten the name of the town they were heading to, Loren was helped by Lapis. Loren pped a hand to his forehead and nodded.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. How long does it take to get to Karlovy?¡±


    Loren had heard that it was a city in the southern part of the continent, a city of food and hot springs, but he had no information about how far it was from Kapah or how long it would take to get there by a horse-drawn carriage.


    ¡°Eh, how long will it take?¡±


    Lapis asked Le. Le folded her arms, thought for a moment, and then gave her answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s just past the border, you know. We can see it for a few days, I think?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s far¡­¡±


    ¡°I think it will take about four days to reach the eastern border, and from there it should be a day or two.¡±


    It was Laura who supplemented the information.


    Loren had thought that it would not be a distance that could be covered in a day or two, but he hadn¡¯t expected to spend several days to reach the town, and he began to worry whether the luggage he had brought would really be enough.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the trip there. We may have asked you to bring some luggage, but I think we can basically cover everything with what we have stocked in this carriage.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very well prepared, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Because we can use us¡¯s wallet this time. We went shopping with no reservation.¡±


    With a grin, Le pulled out several sses and a bottle of expensive-looking wine from under her seat and waved them at Loren.


    ¡°Drinking in the middle of the day? How nice.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to join? You know what, we have plenty of alcohol in stock too.¡±


    With Le¡¯s encouragement, Loren epted a ss and had some of that expensive-looking wine poured for him. But he looked at us¡¯ back at the driver bench with a somewhat worried expression.


    ¡°Is it alright? I know he¡¯ll pay for everything, but I¡¯m suddenly worried.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t go broke. Even if he does¡­ we¡¯re still here.¡±


    ¡°For now, we¡¯ll punish him until we¡¯re satisfied. Then, if he repents, we¡¯ll forgive him.¡±


    ¡°That guy¡¯s still¡­ Ah, scary.¡±


    From Le¡¯s words, it seemed that they didn¡¯t have any intention of abandoning him, but they also had no intention of condoning him half-heartedly. The red of the wine in Loren¡¯s ss somehow looked like blood, and he lost the appetite to taste it. He couldn¡¯t help butugh a troubledugh.

 Chapter 221: From Checkpoint To Checkpoint

    <h4>Chapter 221: From Checkpoint To Checkpoint</h4>


    Proofreader: Xemul


    After departing from the city of Kapha, the group traveled on a long stretch of road leading eastward in the carriage driven by us. Although it took four days to reach the eastern border, the journey went smoothly without a single incident of trouble along the way.


    The trip was intended to be an apology from us to his party¡¯s members. Loren¡¯s party was taking full advantage of it; they had a very nice time, swaying in the carriage with nothing in particr to do, drinking with Le and Angel from time to time, and tucking into the food they had brought fromKapha.


    What was somewhat pathetic was that, since they departed, us had been forced to y the role of a coachman, preparing for encampment, and taking lodging at the inn town. Loren had wanted to help him, but was gently told by the girls in us¡¯ party to not get involved, so he had quite a bit of free time on his hands.


    ¡°I heard that this town of Karlovy is in a neighboring country. What kind of country is it?¡±


    Loren was very unfamiliar with geography. He had always been moving from ce to ce at all hours of the day, as was the usual for mercenary groups that did not have a base, and information such as the situation and geography of the surrounding countries were in the hands of the group¡¯s leader and the executives. Since bing an adventurer, he had been asking about information he didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Karlovy is located in the Republic of Jaloris. It is ruled by a governing council made up of elected representatives.¡±


    Perhaps anticipating such a question from Loren in advance, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren, answered while pulling out a cheat sheet of paper from her luggage.


    ¡°They have a republican system because there are a number of ns in the country. In fact, the country is like a collection of several regions ruled by these ns. There is no national monarch, but the councilors are supposed to be chiefs of the ns and their close rtives.¡±


    Lorren¡¯s face became puzzled at the mention of the word ¡®n¡¯. Seeing his face, Lapis thought for a moment, then added.


    ¡°The Republic of Jaloris is a nation dominated by beastmen, who are divided into several ns based on their physical characteristics. Thend is splitted and ruled amongst these ns.¡±


    By ¡®physical characteristics¡¯, Lapis meant that the beastmen were a race that had the characteristics of beasts in some parts of their bodies. ns were formed ording to these characteristics. She said that the extent of their beastly characteristics of beasts varied from n to n, with some ns looking no different from humans at first nce while others looked like beasts walking upright.


    ¡°The stronger a n¡¯s beastly characteristics are, the closer to pure blood it is said to be. Those from so-called primitive n have the appearance of a beast that walks almostpletely upright.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because the ns are so closely knit, they don¡¯t get out of the country very often. Even in Kapha, you hardly saw any beastmen. The only ones who leave the country are those who have some reason to do so, those who are curious, and those who have been exiled for some reason.¡±


    Le, who was drinking incessantly in the carriage, added. She seemed to enjoy drinking so much that she had been happily doing it in her spare time ever since they left Kapha. She was trying to keep a moderate pace though; she had never gone beyond having a red face, and she was still articte.


    ¡°They are not bad people in terms of character, but many of them have a bit of a violent mindset. They also tend to boast about their strong blood, and the closer they are to the primitive n, the more snooty they are. Also, beware of ns with the characteristics of foxes and rats; they are said to be cunning.¡±


    ¡°Then, won¡¯t people like us, who have no beast characteristics, be looked down upon?¡±


    Loren was worried that if that was the case, it would have been a huge mistake to choose that ce as a vacation spot, but Le shook her head.


    ¡°They recognize us as apletely different species. We¡¯re not subject to that.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t seem to like us very much either.¡±


    It was Laure who joined the conversation. As a priest in the service of the water god, she was not very fond of anything with alcohol in it. She rarely drank, even when Le urged her to, and in her spare time she would pull out a book from her luggage that seemed to contain the doctrines of the water god and read it over and over without getting tired of it.


    ¡°I heard that it is possible for humans and beastmen to mate, but since it will dilute the blood and such, it¡¯s almost never done. And when it is about to be done, those around try to prevent it.¡±


    ¡°It has nothing to do with us though.¡±


    Leughed pleasantly as she said this and poured the wine in her ss down her throat. Laure alsoughed in agreement; watching her, Loren thought that they really had no intention to leave us at all. Wondering if those words were intended for the other man, who was still ying the role of a coachman, he looked at his back.


    It was almost noon of the fourth day after their departure from Kapha when their group arrived at the border.


    Basically, adventurers did not need to go through anyplicated procedures to cross the border. This was because the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had influence over a wide area of the continent, and with proof of registration with the Guild, they could pass through most borders without any problems.


    ¡°I must say, it seems odd to me that even us and Le could get through the checkpoint so easily.¡±


    Loren whispered, as it was probably not something to say out loud even in a carriage. Le asked him back.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Although he was just an adventurer, us was an adventurer with a promising future in the country, and it was highly likely that he would enter the government circle in the near future. Le, who was following us, was also currently working as an adventurer, but if us were to enter the government circle, it was almost certain that she would be a knight of the country. Loren wondered how such people could easily cross the border, but Laure answered his question.


    ¡°I guess the reason is that it is the same for every country, so they can¡¯t say ¡®You can¡¯t¡¯.¡±


    ¡°If a country does such a thing, adventurers operating in said country will be in trouble. They won¡¯t be able to go to other countries.¡±


    ¡°If adventurers¡¯ movement stalls, it will paralyze the parts of the business that adventurers are responsible for, such as maintaining public order and exterminating demons, which in turn will cost extra people and money.¡±


    ¡°As a result, they have to pretend they don¡¯t know anything even though they do.¡±


    Le concluded the conversation by saying that it would be different during wars. Loren agreed to everything they said, but another question soon arose, and he tapped Lapis, who was sitting next to him, on the shoulder.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Somehow, the soldiers at the checkpoint are behaving very strangely, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    As part of the departure process, they were surrounded by human soldiers of the Kingdom of Wargenburg. After the process wasplete, they would be allowed to pass through Wargenburg¡¯s checkpoint, and would soon enter the Republic of Jaloris side customs gate toplete the entry procedures.


    They had already presented their Adventurers¡¯ Guild registration cards, so all they had to do was wait for their turn to leave the checkpoint. During the wait, us, who was ying the role of a coachman, was talking with the soldiers at the gate, and Loren noticed that they gave us and their carriage rather pitiful looks.


    ¡°Hey, us!¡±


    After watching the soldiers move away from the carriage, Loren opened a small window facing the driver¡¯s bench and called out to us.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m curious about the soldiers¡¯ eyes just now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either. I¡¯ve noticed the way he looks at me.¡±


    Ange, who was sitting next to us, also nodded, indicating that she had also noticed. Leaving aside the question of which of them was more attentive, the fact that they both clearly recognized it suggested that the soldiers had looked at them very tantly.


    ¡°I asked them about it, but they said that we would find out when we get there.¡±


    If it was about something life-threatening, the soldiers would not have been so pretentious and would have told them what their looks meant. The fact that they did not tell them outright made Loren think that it was not life-threatening, but it still bothered him.


    ¡°I mean, there¡¯s always the option of turning around, right?.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a problem.¡±


    us¡¯ reluctance was understandable. If they just drove for a few days, arrived at the border, and then drove back to Kapha for a few more days, they could hardly say that they enjoyed their vacation. Loren thought that Le might have been satisfied with it because she was able to drink a lot, but the other members of the group might have said that they were just tired and had no fun.


    ¡°If it¡¯s dangerous, they would at least do something to stop us, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s their job, too.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s just go. It¡¯s not toote to think about it after we know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Loren¡¯s proposal, which was better than turning back, was epted by all, and the carriage in which they were riding left the checkpoint on Wargenburg side. The checkpoint on Jaloris side was only a short distance away; they would reach it after passing through a buffer zone, which would take no time to do.


    As the carriage ran through this short distance, Loren suddenly felt the greenness of their surroundings thicken.


    ¡°Thend of the Republic of Jaloris is characterized by a lot of greenery like forests and such.¡±


    Lapis said while looking out the carriage window.


    ¡°I heard that their woodworking technology is advanced, but on the other hand, there aren¡¯t many stone buildings in the city.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a country that burns very well.¡±


    Just as Loren told G, who had just voiced some rather disturbing opinion, to be silent, the carriage entered the Jaloris checkpoint.


    There, Loren was confronted with a sight rarely seen in thend of humans.

 Chapter 222: Entering The Country Through The Checkpoint

    <h4>Chapter 222: Entering The Country Through The Checkpoint</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    What Loren saw as he entered the checkpoint was countless animals¡¯ ears and tails wagging and bobbing all over the ce.


    The checkpoint¡¯s construction was no different from the one on the Wargenburg¡¯s side, but the soldiers stationed here, though were not so different from humans at first nce, all had triangr animal ears wiggling on their un-helmeted heads and tails of various patterns and length swinging from their waists.


    The soldier who seemed to be inmand of these soldiers appeared to be of rather high rank and was wearing a set of magnificent armor, but looked like a beast walking upright. Loren thought that they were probably from the primitive tribe, but this was the first time he had ever seen a beastman having beast features on their whole body like this. He had almost no memory of seeing beastmen on the battlefield when he was a mercenary, and even if he did, he only vaguely remembered only those with beast parts here and there on the body of an ordinary person.


    ¡°It looks like this barrier is under the jurisdiction of the Cat-men.¡±


    Lapis, who was looking out the same window as Loren was, exined this to him.


    ¡°Are they different from beastmen?¡±


    ¡°No, they are generally ssified as beastmen, but if we divide them into ns, as I mentioned earlier, then these are Cat-men.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean there are many others?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are the Dog-men, the Rabbit-men, the Fox-men, the Rat-men, and so on.¡±


    ¡°I guess it was good to know that there isn¡¯t enough going on to spread the word, though, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to look at it.¡±


    If this was some kind of a major event, it would be strange if the information wasn¡¯t widely spread. In us¡¯ view, it was likely that what was happening in Karlovy was something that was limited to one city and had little impact on the rest of the country. The thinking made sense, and it made Loren reconsider his opinion about us a bit. But limited to a city or not, they were headed for that city, which meant that they were going to be confronted with something they were not going to be able to get any information about.


    ¡°Ie for vacation, not for troubles.¡±


    Loren shook his head, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. He just wanted a vacation without doing any work, and he couldn¡¯t even have that. There must be a limit to his bad luck, mustn¡¯t it?

 Chapter 223: Dining upon arrival

    <h4>Chapter 223: Dining upon arrival</h4>


    After spending the night in a vige on the way to Karlovy, the party set out again the next day for their destination.


    The thought of trouble awaiting them ahead made their legs heavy, but Loren was thankful that they did not encounter any demons or bandits along the way, and the journey went smoothly.


    As a result, Loren and his group arrived at their destination, the town of Karlovy, in about half a day¡¯s time after leaving the vige in the morning.


    Karlovy was, in Loren¡¯s opinion, more like a vige than a town, with its rows of wooden buildings. However, it boasted a scale that could hardly be considered a vige; it surely was as big as a town as its name suggested.


    Surrounded by grasnds and small forests, the terraincked height, but it was also a ce that could be described as tranquil, with asional herds of wild beasts, perhaps herbivores, visible in the distance.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad ce.¡±


    Loren muttered to himself as he felt a pleasant breeze blowing through the open carriage windows, even though it felt a little cold.


    They were supposed to wait in the carriage while us visited the numerous inns in town by himself and booked onerge enough to park the carriage. Now, they were waiting for us toe back.


    Normally, it would be very difficult to get so many rooms at one ce, and us had feared that they might have to stay at different inns. But after entering the town, such fears vanished.


    The town could hardly be called lively, after all.


    There were indeed stores and stalls here and there along the streets, and the number and size of inns seemed to be quiterge. However, there were no innkeepers out on the streets to attract customers, and the stalls did not appear to be doing any business at all, with the stall keepers looking somewhat bored while sitting on the edge of their chairs or the shelves disying their wares.


    The shopkeepers didn¡¯t look as if they were not interested in doing business, but rather as if they were unable to do so because there were no customers in the town. Loren, with his hair blowing in the wind, continued to look out the window at the city, wondering what in the world was going on.


    ¡°Something is clearly not right, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis, who was still sitting next to Loren, spoke when she noticed that he continued to look out the window.


    ¡°There are stores, but no customers. There are shops, but no customers, and I don¡¯t see any tourists. Something must have happened here.¡±


    ¡°For me, as long as I can enjoy my vacation, nothing else matters.¡±


    It was very Lapis to say terrible things so nonchntly, but Loren thought that it was also the truth thinking that this is also the truth and decided to not take her words to heart.


    While Loren was musing about how frightening it was to have the power to take the matter of life and death for someone else as something trivial, he heard in the back of his mind the voice of the mental body of Shayna, a girl who almost became the King of Death and was now living in a corner Loren¡¯s inner self.


    [¡®Aren¡¯t you capable of the same thing, onii-san?¡¯]


    ¡®You¡¯re overestimating me¡¯, Loren thought.


    It was true that he had encountered and survived against many opponents that no copper or iron rank adventurer would ever encounter, but it was something that he managed thanks to good luck and his partners; Loren was sure that he would have been dead long ago if he had been on his own.


    He told Shayna this, and she became silent again without saying anything more, although she seemed to be somewhat unhappy. Loren smiled wryly, wondering if he had given the roommate who shared his mind the impression that he wished to be stronger. Just then, he caught sight of us returning.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little hard for me to tell if I¡¯m lucky or unlucky.¡±


    As soon as he returned, us climbed onto the driver benched and started the carriage. His voice was so clear that it could be heard over the noisy sound the carriage made as it moved along the deserted street.


    ¡°I found a ce to stay pretty easily.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡±


    Even though he knew it was probably not true, Loren still tried to say as an answer. us seemed to know that Loren of course would not agree wholeheartedly, and he shook his head with a wry smile.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be a good thing, can it? Well, we¡¯ll talk about thatter, but first let¡¯s eat. It¡¯s probably time.¡±


    It was about time for a ratherte lunch. None of them had lunch yet, thinking that since they were arriving in Karlovy anyway, it would be better to eat something tasty at a diner in town, even if they had to endure a little more. In other words, everyone was hungry to some extent, and us¡¯ suggestion was epted without any opposition from anyone. But Loren somehow realized what us was thinking by suggesting having a meal first instead of heading to the inn that he had gone through the troubles to get.


    People were creatures that were influenced by their mental state. When they were hungry, they became prone to anger, but when they were full, they wouldn¡¯t get angry at the slightest thing. It was impossible to know how much anger the girls would feel if they were given bad news with empty stomachs. us probably thought that it would be less damaging to satisfy their hunger first and then broached the main issue when they were calmed.


    No one knew how sessful this would be until they tried it, but Loren could only hope that it would be sessful.


    As Loren was thinking about this, the carriage headed for a restaurant that was so luxurious that he would never think of entering it under normal circumstances. Watching from inside the carriage, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel his mouth hanging open a little at the atmosphere given off by the magnificent restaurant, the likes of which he had never been in before in his life.


    The restaurant was not only luxurious; it was so huge that it must have taken a lot of money to build. While Loren and the girls were looking up at the establishment, us was in the process of asking someone from the restaurant to tie the carriage up somewhere.


    ¡°Are we going in here?¡±


    With her mouth hanging open, Ange asked us, who had just returned from the carriage procedure, as if she were trying to get at him. But us smiled while restraining her with his hand.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll pay, so rest reassured.¡±


    us tapped his chest, and the girls cheered. The fact that us would offer to treat five people, excluding himself and Loren, with no limit must mean that he was making a lot of money. Loren let out a small sigh.


    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t get too reassured though.¡±


    Loren warned G, whose eyes were sparkling at us¡¯s words. us probably did not know this, but if G were to order food and eat while feelingpletely reassured about the bill, all the food in the restaurant in front of them would be devoured entirely, and since us¡¯s wallet was not infinite, it would surely run out. Loren didn¡¯t care much about the depletion of us¡¯s wallet, but he would feel sorry for the other girls if they suddenly ran out of money after just arriving for their vacation.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to eat without any worries just for once.¡±


    G, perhaps anticipating Loren¡¯s warning, looked into the distance and muttered. But Loren couldn¡¯t guess how much food she would consume if she were to eat without any worries, and besides, that would weaken her Evil God¡¯s power, so he wasn¡¯t about to let her do that.


    ¡°So, what do you serve here?¡±


    They went in. The high ceiling and wide space of the restaurant made theck of customers even more noticeable. Still, looking at the asional tables with customers, they could see some kind of boiled or grilled food.


    A group of seven customers like their group seemed to be quite rare, and the waiter who guided them from the entrance to their table was exceedingly humble.


    ¡°We serve almost everything, but I rmend meat dishes. Karlovy¡¯s specialties are the assault bull hot pot and grilled meat. And when you return home, some jerky would be a wee treat.¡±


    They ignored the waiter, who was trying to get them to order not only food but also souvenirs, and us ordered a few rmended dishes.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to eat meat, we have to drink. us, I¡¯ll leave it to you too.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Le. Let me order some too.¡±


    Le dered in a good mood. us returned her smile and ordered some alcoholic beverages from a different waiter. Loren took his seat; he had no idea what wereing despite the names, but he heard how much us ordered and decided to swipe some of it. Le surely couldn¡¯t drink all of that by herself.


    After waiting for a while, the food was brought to the table by several waiters, which made Loren wonder if they could really eat all of it.


    The dishes, which were steaming hot and sizzling on the griddle, were appetizing from both looks and smell. And although there were seven of them in total, Loren estimated that the amount of food was intended for twice that many.


    ¡°Hey, this is¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems there is too much of a difference between beastmen¡¯s serving and ours.¡±


    It was said that the beastmen ate more than humans. It was only natural that the amount of food for one serving would be different ordingly, but us seemed to have ordered without taking this into consideration.


    ¡°It would be wasteful to leave leftovers.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be any.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know how much Le, Ange, and Laure could eat, but with G here, he was sure that there was no way there would be leftovers.


    ¡°Maybe you can manage it, Loren? With such a big body, I guess you eat a lot.¡±


    Considering their appearance, it was certainly not surprising that Loren, who was the biggest, would be considered the best eater. That was why it was understandable for us to say such a thing while giving him a smile.


    But in reality, of course that was not the case, and Loren, feeling a slight headache at the prospect of G¡¯s solo performance, patted us on the shoulder. The guy probably did not understand why Loren looked so gloomy.

 Chapter 224: A Fight During Meal

    <h4>Chapter 224: A Fight During Meal</h4>


    The number of dishes brought to their table was quiterge, but the girls¡¯ appetite was also, in Loren¡¯s eyes, not half bad.


    At first, Loren had thought that G would be the only one who would be able to handle all these dishes, but reality differed from his anticipation quite a lot.


    ¡°Hmm, meat really goes very well with wine. The richness of the seasoning makes the alcohol taste even better.¡±


    Le gobbled up the thinly sliced, slightly salty meat at such a speed that one wondered if she was chewing properly. The thin slices of meat were grilled to a golden brown on the outside but still slightly pink on the inside; the sight of Le inhaling the meat then chasing them down with sses of alcohol was something one would never expect from her.


    Next to her, Laure was stabbing her fork into the steaming pile of meat dumplings and bringing one after another to her mouth. Her hand never seemed to stop moving, and Loren felt like he was watching an act of engineering as the pile of dumplings steadily decreased in height.


    us was watching such a scene with a troubled smile on his face. Ange, who was sitting next to him, leaned on us and emptied sses after sses of sparkling wine while reaching for the grilled meat skewers in front of her. Her face was red, probably due to drunkenness. She would stuff a skewer into her mouth, pull it out and ce the empty stick on the table in one go. By the time she bit into the meat in her mouth, she had already reached for the next skewer. She consumed them at a rapid pace, creating a mountain of empty skewers on the table.


    As Loren turned his gaze around, a sight that surpassed all these jumped into his eyes.


    It was from G, of course.


    The other girls kept only what they liked in front of them and passed the rest to other members. Of course, those dishes had to end up somewhere, and apparently, they were G¡¯s share.


    The food that no one had touched was brought to G¡¯s mouth without a single pause, and even after an amountrge enough to make one wonder where they could all go had disappeared, her appetite remained unabated.


    ¡°Loren, how are you paying for her food?¡±


    us asked, and Loren wondered what to say.


    The truth was, G was a being that ate even things that were not food. She was an Evil God that used her power to devour things, even demons and humans. In other words, gave her suitable things at suitable time and she would eat them up. Loren didn¡¯t think us would understand this though.


    Lapis, who was quietly and slowly cutting the steak into small pieces and even meticulously separating the lean meat from the fat, spoke on behalf of Loren, who was thinking how to answer.


    ¡°She¡¯s usually a bit more reserved, but this time she seems to feel some sort of obligation to finish off the uneaten dishes.¡±


    ¡°Really? But at that rate, she might as well finish a whole bull.¡±


    Loren thought that it would be a piece of cake for G to finish off two or three bulls, let alone one, but of course he would not be foolish enough to mention it.


    Lapis, while trying to keep as much of G¡¯s meal out of us¡¯ sight as possible, turned away and answered in a nonchnt manner.


    ¡°No way. That¡¯s no longer a human act.¡±


    ¡°But I ordered a whole roasted pig as a joke earlier, and she was eating it all by herself.¡±


    Loren quickly nced at the table. There was a tter on which something quite big had been ced, but as a matter of course, the object that should have been on it was no longer there.


    ¡°Maybe you saw it wrong? I¡¯m sure she shared the food with Le and others.¡±


    It might be a smaller amount of meat than a whole bull, but devouring a whole pig was by no means something a human could do by themself. Loren could eat a fair amount if he wanted to, but if asked to finish off a whole pig by himself, he would reject the idea even before trying.


    ¡°And I also ordered several tes of T-bone steaks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m having some of it, though?¡±


    The dish was apparently among the steaks that Lapis was working so hard on. She had cut the meat dishes into neat bite-sized pieces so no one could tell which pieces of meat were form the T-bone steaks, but some of the bones, the remnants of the dish, were indeed left on the te.


    ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s fine that you all are eating¡­ I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m mistaken, but that G girl, I think she¡¯s bringing the whole bone to her mouth and chewing it right off.¡±


    A T-bone steak was a steak made from the loin of a cow, with the bone attached to it. Of course, it would be strange if the attached bone didn¡¯t remain after eating it.


    Ordinary cow bones were probably quite tough, but if the bones were from a cow with a name like ¡®Assault Bull¡¯, they should be even tougher. But there was no sign of bones left on the tes piled up around the G, which made one wonder where the bones, which should have been the remains of the dish, had gone.


    ¡°She must have thrown them into the trash beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Assault Bull are not the type of cows with edible bones, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°If there were such cows, they would already be extinct.¡±


    Lapis responded to us¡¯s question in a matter-of-fact manner. She spoke with so much confidence and calmness that even though us wasn¡¯t fully satisfied with her answer, he still had to concede.


    However, Loren¡¯s eyes did not miss the slight tremor in Lapis¡¯ hand as she was cutting the steak right next to him. In other words, Lapis was well aware of how unreasonable this exnation was, but she had no other excuse to use.


    Loren also felt troubled, but he had no way to warn G, and he could not ask her to spit out the bones she had eaten. He silently stared at her.


    G noticed him looking and stopped stuffing food into her mouth with a happy expression. She choked lightly, beat her chest, and with tears in her eyes, poured the content of a ss nearby, which could either be alcohol or water, down her throat.


    ¡°That aside, us, we¡¯ve ordered a lot more after your initial order. Is your wallet in good shape?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure cash will be enough this time, given the number of people we have.¡±


    us took out a small bag from his pocket. It seemed to contain some gems. us had brought gold coins, but he had also brought some small gems. Light and valuable gems were a great temporary recement if one had to carry arge amount of cash, albeit they would be exchanged at a somewhat reduced price.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you deposit and withdraw cash through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡±


    Loren thought such a huge continent-spanning organization would be able to provide such a service, but usughed and shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not too bad if transactions are in the same country, but it¡¯s difficult if they¡¯re in different countries. And it¡¯s impossible in a country of a different race.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Loren was about to return to his meal when he suddenly noticed a figure standing behind us and raised his eyes. us also noticed someone standing behind him and looked back over his shoulder.


    ¡°Looks like things are going quite well for you. We¡¯d like a share of it too.¡±


    Standing there were four men. Each of them had a well-trained body, and their leather armors made it clear at first nce that they were not ordinary citizens. Their faces looked like those of ordinary people with cat ears on top of their heads, indicating that they were not of the primitive tribe but of an ordinary beastman tribe.


    Loren was somewhat misguidedly impressed that even among the beastmen, there were those who would try to pick a quarrel and extort a few coins when seeing someone well-off.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have a lot of things I have to pay for, and I don¡¯t have any spare to give you.¡±


    us replied with a smile, but Loren¡¯s eyes did not miss the way his gaze quickly darted to the faces and chests of the four men behind him. It was to confirm that they were male, and since us showed no interest in the beastmen behind him after he had done so, Loren concluded that they were surely all male.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be so cold about it. In thepany of all these beautiful girls, can you really say that you can¡¯t spare us any?¡±


    One of the men lightly smacked us¡¯ head with his hand as he sat down.


    The other girls were so engrossed in eating that they did not seem to notice us¡¯s situation. Loren turned to watch as he was not the one the beastmen picked on, and Lapis nonchntly cut another steak while turning her gaze toward us.


    ¡°My money is for those beautiful girls.¡±


    us replied with an easygoing smile while ncing at Loren. Loren wondered if it was a request for him to intervene, but since it was not a verbal one, he pretended that he didn¡¯t see anything. He picked up a slice of steak from Lapis¡¯ te and tossed it into his mouth. Lapis shot him a reproachful nce, and Loren watched with interest to see how us would handl the situation while soothing her. At the same time, he was also assessing how far the beastmen would go to harass the guests of a ce like this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about your trouble. I¡¯m just asking for a part of what you¡¯ve got in your pocket.¡±


    Once us realized that someone was behind him, he had put the bag on the table back in his pocket. However, it seemed that it was already toote, and he had already attracted the attention of a group of people with an unfavorable character.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then¡­ Loren, are you going to help me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your guest, ain¡¯t I?¡±


    Being addressed, Loren replied curtly.


    Perhaps anticipating this reaction, us stood up from his chair, scratching his head as if he had no choice, and turned his body in the direction of the four people who had been picking a quarrel with him.


    The four beastmen flinched in surprise for a moment as us suddenly stood up. But then they immediately remembered that only us had stood up while there were four of them, and they closed the distance between them with a smirk.


    ¡°Shall we go outside? We¡¯ll bother mypanions and the restaurant here.¡±


    ¡°Only you? Won¡¯t that big one over there help?¡±


    One of the beastmen looked at Loren and said as if to provoke him, but he quickly turned away when Loren nced at him. Between the slender us and the mercenary-ish Loren, it was a simple choice who would be easier to deal with. It seemed that they did not want to have anything to do with the one they did not choose to pick a fight with, and they did not really want Loren toe out even though they tried to provoke him.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ If I lose, please take care of the rest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do.¡±


    Smiling and waving, us walked out of the store with the beastmen in tow. Watching them, Lapis secretly asked Loren.


    ¡°Is it all right?¡±


    ¡°It is. If it¡¯s not, I¡¯ll do something about it.¡±


    Having said that, us was a skilled adventurer who had became an iron rank adventurer before Loren. He was not someone who would be defeated by a gang of thugs, soldiers, or adventurers. If the beastmen were powerful enough to defeat us, there was no way they would be extorting tourists in broad daylight, so Loren thought there would be no problem. He tried to reach for another piece of steak that Lapis had cut, but this time he was hit a little harder on the back of the hand by Lapis, who was expecting his action, and he hurriedly withdrew his hand.

 Chapter 225: Requested To Surrender

    <h4>Chapter 225: Requested To Surrender</h4>


    The street out front, where us and the thugs had gone, was getting noisy. Loren patted Lapis, who was still carving steaks next to him, on the shoulder before getting up and heading outside.


    It was hard to imagine that us would be harmed in any way, but there was a chance that he might be. Moreover, us was outnumbered; someone who had been raised well like him might get the wrong end of the stick in such a situation.


    A waiter approached Loren, and he pointed out that his friends were still eating before stepping out of the restaurant. There was a crowd in the corner of the street, and us was in the middle of a standoff with four beastmen in the center of the crowd.


    Amidst the irresponsible yells of ¡®Do it!¡¯ and the like, Loren observed us¡¯ bodynguage with interest. As expected of an iron rank adventurer with a promising future in the country, his movements were quick and precise, and he showed no signs of being at a disadvantage in a one-man battle against four.


    Nevertheless¡¯, Loren thought to himself.


    If they were fighting with weapons, us would have easily cut down the four beastmen and put an end to this, but now they were fighting barehanded. It was not the kind of fight where one punch would be the end of the fight, but a fight where unless they were knocked down unconscious, they would hit back or grab at each other. In short, it was a brawl. And from Loren¡¯s point of view, us, although ustomed to fighting, did not seem to be ustomed to brawling.


    Loren¡¯s concern soon became reality.


    As us knocked one of the beastmen to the ground with his punches and prepared to deal with another one, the knocked-down beastman, whom he thought he had defeated, grabbed him by the leg.


    The reason why us could not finish off the beastman was that he was not used to brawling and did not really know how hard his strikes should be to make the beastman stop attacking. He also did not have much experience in barehandedbat to begin with. Furthermore, beastmen were stronger than humans, with sturdier bodies, so some minor damage was not enough to make one incapable of fighting.


    And just as expected of those who were partly beasts, Loren was impressed to see that us, who had been grabbed by the leg and had his mobility hindered, began to be attacked by the remaining three. The strikes that us had been able to avoid with his brilliant footwork were now unavoidable as his legs were rendered immobile, and he was forced to use only his arms to fight and defend himself, making it impossible for him to handle the attacks of all three.


    ¡°Good! Don¡¯t let him go!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re giving us a hard time! I¡¯m gonna beat you till your face changes shape!¡±


    us had even managed to shake off the beastman clinging to his leg once, but he was unable to free himselfpletely; the beastman who continued to cling desperately to him would not let that happen.


    Loren thought using here would be a good idea, but if us were to try to activate such a rare blessing in the presence of others, he might find himself in more trouble than a brawl. Still, Loren believed that it would be better for him to use it, considering that he might be beaten up and stripped to the ground by the ill-mannered beastmen otherwise, but as did not seem to have that kind of resolution.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like dealing with males!¡±


    us grumbled and tried to attack with his fists several times to shake off the beastman clinging to his leg, but he was unable tond any effective strikes on the beastman, who was crawling on the ground and keeping only his legs immobile. Instead, his frantic struggle made him lose his bnce and, and he fell on his buttocks on the spot. Immediately, the beastman clinging to us¡¯ leg raised the leg he was holding onto higher so that he could not get up, and the remaining three rushed to hold us down to the ground.


    us somehow managed to make counterattacks from his disadvantageous position, but attacks from such a stance fiercely drained his strength, and his movements were gradually bingckluster.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re a persistent one for a human.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just give up? Or do you want to have an even more painful experience?!¡±


    us, who had been pulled down to the ground, was no longer able to defend himself, and was in a position to take several pretty good hits to the face. Yet he was still resisting, and the beastmen were unable to contain their irritation at his relentless struggle. One of them grabbed him by the chest, pulled him toward himself, then mmed him down to the ground with force.


    ¡°Gah!¡±


    The beastmen¡¯s fists mmed into us¡¯s face, causing him to scream in pain. Blood poured from his lips, as if he had been cut inside the mouth. Yet he still moved his arm to fight back, and one of the beastmen mmed him into the ground once more and said with annoyance:


    ¡°Can¡¯t eat after all this anyway. Let¡¯s just finish him and give the women inside a good time for the damages he caused us.¡±


    Although it was a four-on-one situation, the beastmen had also suffered quite a bit. They were beginning to think that it would not be worth it to beat us until he lost consciousness to take what was in his pocket. Loren began to walk rather leisurely toward the beastmen holding us down, thinking that at least two of the women inside were much more fearsome than us.


    ¡°us, you¡¯re surprisingly weak, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°C-cause I¡¯m ady-killer.¡±


    Looking at us with a puzzled look for making such a joke while being held down by the chest, Loren called out to the beasts who were ring at him as if to ask what he was doing.


    ¡°Felt better after beating him up that bad? I¡¯ll tell him to at least pay the medical bills for your injuries, so let¡¯s let him go.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Do you think we¡¯ll be satisfied with such a small amount of money?¡±


    One of the beastmen snarled back, and Loren let out a sigh as he reached for the beastman¡¯s chest and casually grabbed it, just as another beastman had done to us. Faster than the beastman could resist, Loren put some strength into his arm and the beastman¡¯s body was lifted up with considerable force, and his feet easily left the ground. Although the beastmen had ratherrge builds, Loren was somewhat taller than them. Furthermore, by being grabbed by the chest, the beastman¡¯s body was lifted even higher.


    ¡°Wait, hey! Let go of me!¡±


    ¡°us, you don¡¯t seem to be used to brawling, so let me teach you something. How to fight a brawl.¡±


    Letting the beastman il his legs and try to escape from his arms, Loren spoke to us, who was still lying on the ground.


    us looked up at Loren with a puzzled expression. The beastmen holding us down also looked at each other, unsure of what was about to happen, and alternately looked at their ilingpanions and Loren¡¯s face.


    ¡°This is how it¡¯s supposed to be!¡±


    Loren mmed the beastman¡¯s body he was lifting to the ground with force.


    The unlucky beastman squeezed out something like a strange moan as his back mmed into the ground, but Loren hadn¡¯t finished yet. He stomped his heel into the chest of the beastman as hey limp on the ground. More strange moans came from the beastman¡¯s mouth and some blood sttered out; the sound of something being broken could definitely be heard from the area where Loren stomped on. The arms and legs of the beastman pped for a while, then finally flopped to the ground and did not move at all.


    ¡°Those who don¡¯t think ahead are stronger.¡±


    After another stomp to finish the job and confirming that the beastman hadpletely stopped moving, Loren drew his leg back and gave the beastman¡¯s body a proper kick.


    Without showing any further interest in the beastman, who was now in such a state that he should be more concerned about whether he was alive than worrying about the extent of his injuries, Loren looked around at the beastmen holding us down and asked casually as if he were inviting them out for a walk.


    ¡°Who wants to be next?¡±


    ¡°Y-you! Don¡¯t you care about what happens to him?!¡±


    In response to Loren¡¯s question, one of the remaining beastmen pulled out a small knife and thrusts it at us, perhaps as a threat.


    The metal gleamed, and us stared at the de with wide-open eyes, but Loren did not seem bothered, nor did he respond to the threat. He grabbed the beastman who had pulled the knife by the chest, pulled him away and swung him around at once, then mmed him into the ground with momentum.


    The beastman, who was unable to even take a passive stance due to the sheer force of Loren¡¯s attack, mmed into the ground with his entire body. Without making a single sound, his eyes rolled back, and the knife he had pulled out fell from his powerless hand, making a dry, ttering sound.


    After confirming that the second beastman he mmed into the ground waspletely unconscious, Loren kicked the knife lying on the ground, appropriately enough, toward the onlookers. Seeing the flying knife, the onlookers just watched the situation, unable to raise their voices.


    ¡°Which one of you wants to be the third one?¡±


    Loren¡¯s question, which was neither a joke or full of anger, but merely confirming, caused the two beastmen holding us down to move away as if in a hurry to distance themselves from Loren.


    After regaining his freedom, us stood up, rotating his arms as if to loosen his body and rubbing the parts where he had been hit. He smiled wryly at Loren.


    ¡°Even if I tell you to copy that, you won¡¯t, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be impossible to copy that kind of arm strength.¡±


    us may have workout, but not as much as Loren. Even if he were to try using the greatsword that Loren used, it would probably be impossible for him to wield it satisfactorily.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to copy what I just did. Just learn how it works.¡±


    Loren looked down at the beastmen, who seemed to havepletely lost their will to fight and were sitting on the ground, looking at him as if they were looking at something terrible.


    ¡°If you think too much, your moves will be dull. It¡¯s a crime to kill your opponent in a brawl, but if you¡¯re not willing to let that happen, you shouldn¡¯t be in a brawl in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Rather than scary, that¡¯s terrifying.¡±


    Finally realizing that they had gotten involved with the wrong person, the two sitting beastmen began to tremble. The two beastmen who had been knocked to the ground, were not dead; they coughed violently and moaned as they tried to raise their bodies, but the damages were too severe and they were not able to move properly. They ended up writhing clumsily on the ground


    The onlookers, too, were rendered speechless by Loren¡¯s disy of power of swinging and mming beastmen of reasonable size with only one arm, and they only looked at the scene of the brawl from a distance.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve pulled quite a crowd huh? What are we going to do about this?¡±


    ¡°Someone will report this, and the guards wille. I¡¯ll exin the situation to them, they¡¯ll take me away, and it¡¯ll be over.¡±


    It had somehow be a big deal.


    The guards who would rush to the scene upon receiving the report would not be able to disperse the crowd without taking anyone away, so it was likely that one of the parties involved would be taken away. But two of the beatsmen who started this were seriously wounded, and us, who was picked on, was also injured in various ces. Loren thought that he, who waspletely uninjured and the culprit of two seriously injured people, would be the suitable choice to be taken away, but then someone called out to him.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary. They have a pretty good idea of what¡¯s going on. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find out soon that you are not at fault.¡±


    Both Loren and us turned their heads at the same time, but us¡¯s reaction was clearly quicker. By the time Loren had finished turning around, us had already walked up to the owner of the voice and was smiling so brightly that it was hard to believe that he had just had a fight.


    While he was appalled that the man still had not learned his lesson, Loren was able to take a closer look at the owner of the voice thanks to us¡¯s more forward step.


    She must be from what was called a primitive n among the beastmen, Loren believed. Her face was very simr to that of a cat. The beastmen he had just beaten looked simr to cats, with cat ears and tails on their human bodies, but this one certainly looked like a cat that had been transformed into a humanoid shape and was walking on two legs.


    Her clothes were well-tailored women¡¯s clothes that seem to be easy to move in, and her breasts were also well-developed, but all the parts where her skin should be exposed were covered with fur.


    ¡°Prettydy, I would like to know your name. I am an adventurer of the human race, and my name is us.¡±


    ¡°Th-Thank you very much for your kind words. My name is Minuet Shingapul. I am a member of the primitive cat people, and I am the Lord of this city.¡±


    What in the world was a Lord doing, being on a street like this? Loren felt something fishy there, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to interject when us¡¯ eyes were shining at the reality that the primitive beastwomen he was after were right in front of him and Minuet was bing rather timid in front of the guy¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Minuet, is it? Even your name is beautiful. I¡¯d love to get to know you¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯d like to talk business first¡­ I understand that you are the victims, but we can¡¯t just let you go scot-free without an investigation. Turn yourselves in, plea¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will go wherever you tell me to go.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡±


    Minuet flinched, but us didn¡¯t seem to be listening at all. At any rate, it was not going to be possible to just say yes, bye and leave; the girls were still in the middle of eating in the restaurant. Lorren scratched his head and wondered how he was going to exin it all.

 Chapter 226: A Commission Received After Turning Themselves In

    <h4>Chapter 226: A Commission Received After Turning Themselves In</h4>


    Exining the situation to the girls was surprisingly easier than Loren had expected.


    However, Lapis was the only one who was aware and sober. The girls in us¡¯ party, including Ange, were not that heavily under the influence of the alcoholic, but it wasn¡¯t sure whether they were listening to what was being said or not. As for the ones in his own party, Lapis was almostpletely clear headed, but G looked happy in her sleep, perhaps due to a full stomach, and showed no sign of waking up even when Loren shook her.


    Having no other choices, after exining the situation to Lapis, Loren told Minuet that they would definitely report to the designated ce but they would need a little more time. When this was epted, he and us took two of the women who were unable to move properly one at a time and carried them to the inn they nned to stay at tonight.


    ¡°Should I have passed out too? Loren would have carried me if I did.¡±


    ¡°Give me a break. Also, didn¡¯t we say that since you¡¯re not out of it, you can go with us to court? ¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say which was better.¡±


    Loren could only smile wryly at Lapis, who looked as if she was seriously troubled about it.


    Meanwhile, us paid the bill, then absorbed himself in the task of carrying the drunken and somewhat not-normal girls in his party on his back or in his arms to the inn he had booked. He even made use of the rare blessing > to transport them from one ce to another at an unbelievable speed, and even though Loren thought it was something too trivial to use such a blessing for, he still found it amazing. Amidst the confusion, us tried to carry G princess style, but Loren grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pushed G¡¯s body toward Lapis, who was ready to pick her up.


    ¡°What are you doing? You can¡¯t be trying to piss me off, can you?¡±


    ¡°No way. I only have good intentions...¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. Then don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Loren said and pushed his face close to intimidate us, who never lost his smile despite slightly twitching. Lapis watched on with G¡¯s body in her arms, then she remembered that she couldn¡¯t keep doing this forever and carried G properly in har arms.


    G was slightly taller than Lapis. As for body built, if Lapis¡¯ could be described as slim, G¡¯s could be described as curvy.


    ¡°Somehow I¡¯m a little ticked off.¡±


    Loren looked at G and Lapis¡¯ bodies alternately, then said in a serious voice to Lapis, who sounded unhappy as she looked at the area around G¡¯s tube top.


    ¡°Is it really that much to worry about?¡±


    ¡°This is the kind of thing where the person herself cares more about those around her.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Although he did not understand, Loren avoided further mention on the matter, agreeing that if Lapis said so, that must be so.


    After they had managed to get the other members of the group into the inn, Loren and the other two moved through the city to go to the ce designated by Minuet. The sun was already setting by then.


    The ce was also a rather strange ce.


    Minuet had told them toe to a certain address in the city, which she wrote on a piece of paper and handed to Loren. Loren took Lapis and us to that address, but it was not the Lord¡¯s mansion in the center of the city, but rather a shop located near the outer edge of the city.


    ¡°This is the so-called red light district.¡±


    As Lapis described with a nk expression and no hesitation, their group came to a suspicious area with a not-so-favorable atmosphere and a somewhat decadent smell.


    Lights in strange red and pink colors illuminated various parts of the district ¨C how in the world did they make such shades? Uncouth male beastmen wandered around, while beastwomen in revealing outfits hung around here and there, weaving in and out of the gaps between the lights. The air had a sweet smell to it, and it felt like if you breathed in deeply, your whole lungs would be engulfed in a thick sensation. Loren openly frowned, while us was looking here and there with great interest.


    ¡°Well, I guess there are tourist attraction ces like this everywhere.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of ce to meet up with someone iming to be a lord.¡±


    ¡°I actually feel very grateful to meet at this kind of ce.¡±


    ¡°Shut up for a minute.¡±


    Loren and Lapis warned in harmony, and in response, us kept his mouth shut as if they were the ones at fault. But he seemed to have no intention of refraining from giving unreserved nces to those around him, and he waved back at the beastwomen who asionally waved to him, paying no heed to Loren and Lapis¡¯ disgusted nces.


    ¡°So, which shop?¡±


    ¡°Probably this, I think.¡±


    Lapis pointed to a building that looked a bit in in a district lined with suspicious-looking buildings. Still, Loren found it sufficiently garish and gaudy.


    At the entrance, there were some thug-like beastmen hanging around. Loren didn¡¯t want to go near them, but he felt that he might get into a lot of trouble if he ignored the instructions of someone iming to be the Lord toe in, so he approached the entrance, though reluctantly.


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Noticing Loren¡¯s group approaching, one of the beastmen came toward them. He had a knife in his hand, and although Loren didn¡¯t feel very nicely about him shing the naked de at them, he couldn¡¯t be rough with the guy, considering that he was probably doing his job. He showed him the piece of paper that Minuet had handed to him.


    ¡°We were summoned here by the one who gave us this.¡±


    The beastman looked at the piece of paper Loren presented as if he was looking at something fishy, but eventually noticed the writing on I. He continued to stare at it for a while, then turned his gaze away and jerked his chin at the entrance to the building.


    ¡°Come in. A guide will be waiting for you inside.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    The beastman had not be more affable, but he seemed to be the type of person who did his job properly. After briefly thanking the guy, who did not try to do anything else after indicating that they should enter, Loren led Lapis and us through the indicated entrance and into the building.


    The building was dimly lit, with doors leading to rooms on either side of a long passageway. A beastwoman, also in a very revealing outfit, was waiting near the entrance; as soon as Loren¡¯s group entered, she bowed and announced that she would show them the way.


    Following her, the group walked down the hallway and were led to a single door, where they were urged to enter. Loren opened the door and stepped inside.


    There was only one round table in the room, and on one of the chairs surrounding the table, Loren could see Minuet, whom he had met during the day, sitting there, dressed as she was during the day.


    ¡°Wee, Loren-sama.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not one to be called ¡®sama¡¯.¡±


    Minuet stood stood up and greeted Loren, who replied in a curt manner, but us bowed politely and walked up to Minuet to take his ce.


    ¡°Thank you for inviting me, Minuet-sama.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t invite you in particr¡­¡±


    Minuet tried to correct hurriedly, but Loren could not tell whether her words had properly reached us¡¯ ears.


    ¡°There must be a reason why you asked us toe here today¡­¡±


    ¡°us, the talk can¡¯t go on like this. Shut up for a minute.¡±


    Minuet tried to move the conversation along, but us pressed on, appearing to not listen at all. It wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s duty to help, but he had a feeling that if he left things as they were, they would continue to go back and forth forever, so he had no choice but to interject.


    us reluctantly backed away, and Minuet, looking relieved, urged Loren and the others to take their seats.


    When they had sat down, Minuet opened her mouth.


    ¡°How about a drink and something to eat?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk business first. You didn¡¯t choose this shop to interview us about a fight in the city, did you?¡±


    If they had been ordered to report to the Lord¡¯s mansion or the soldiers¡¯ station, it would have been a straightforward interview and a notice of punishment for the brawl. However, as it was a room in a shop in the redlight district, it was unlikely to be an interrogation or a notice, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what on earth she wanted.


    ¡°I see. Then¡­ are you aware that there is currently an anomaly in the city of Karlovy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d call it an anomaly, or just something that is happening¡±, Lapis answered before Loren did. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that arge percentage of visitors leave unsatisfied. Is there some kind of blunder?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a blunder. The cause is under investigation, but¡­ Things do not look good.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    To Loren¡¯s question, Minuet opened and closed her mouth several times and looked terribly lost, as if she was afraid to say it. But eventually, she seemed to decide that it would be easier to bring up the next discussion if she spoke honestly, so she took a deep breath, looked Loren squarely in the eye and began to talk.


    ¡°Karlovy is a city of food and hot spring. It used to be a tourist destination that sold delicious food and offered a warm hot spring, but a few days ago, the hot spring suddenly became unserviceable.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®unserviceable¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I heard that the water quality of the hot spring has changed. They said it might be harmful to the bodies, and that we should forbid its use.¡±


    Minuet said that, since the city sold itself as a city of food and hot spring, they had imposed quite strict checks on the quality of these two things. During one of these checks, the hot spring water was found to be toxic. This had forced the temporary closure of all hot spring facilities, and the town of Karlovy was now unable to use one of its selling services.


    ¡°I see. So that¡¯s why some of them came back in a bad mood.¡±


    Loren thought that if he hade because he heard that the hot springs were very great but then were told that they were unserviceable, he would have been angry. And considering the kind of information a tourist who went through such an experience would give out outside the city, it was certainly a matter of life and death for Karlovy.


    ¡°So, I would like to ask all of you, who are probably skilled adventurers, to represent this city.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon, My Lady, any hardships of yours, this u¡­¡±


    A single dull thud cut off us¡¯s interjections.


    With half-lidded eyes, Loren looked at us crumpling on the table and Lapis standing behind him, holding a chair with both hands. He gave her a firm thumb up as a response.


    ¡°Eh? What?¡±


    ¡°Never mind it. Please continue.¡±


    ¡°H-haa¡­. So, this is mymission.¡±


    In the form of amission, Minuet told Loren to investigate the source of the hot spring in the city. If the water quality of the hot spring had deteriorated and became harmful, she wanted to know what had mixed with the spring water and where, and what could have caused it.


    ¡°Officially, we dere that this unusual phenomenon will soon be resolved. Of course, there is no basis for this deration, but if we didn¡¯t say so, not only the visitors but also the native residents of this town might start a riot.¡±


    The hot spring was the lifeblood of this town; if it was to be ruined, the impact on the residents would be immeasurable. Minuet said that it was why she secretly made the request behind the scenes. She chose to meet in the redlight district because she believed that even if someone wanted to eavesdrop, they would not be able to get into the district so easily.


    ¡°How about it? Would you be willing to ept mymission?¡±


    Minuet leaned forward and appealed to Loren.


    As someone who wanted to enjoy his vacation, he had no intention of epting themission, but if it was not resolved, the atmosphere in the town would be dark and the price of food would skyrocket.


    ¡°How about this? Please.¡±


    Minuet, who seemed to sense from Loren¡¯s face that he was not very enthusiastic, began to bow her head so low that it looked as if she was about to hit her forehead on the table top.


    Not knowing how to respond to the sight of a humanoid cat-like being bowing so desperately, Loren instinctively exchanged a nce with Lapis.

 Chapter 227: Explaining The Purpose

    <h4>Chapter 227: Exining The Purpose</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    It was the next day, and their group were at the south gate of the city of Karlovy.


    ¡°So Loren decided to ept themission, is that correct?¡±


    Le, fully armed, asked Loren with her arms folded in front of her chest, and he nodded, albeit slowly.


    ¡°May I ask why you took it?¡±


    ¡°The main reason is, how should I put it? It was your leader who first said he would take it.¡±


    Loren reminded her, and Le turned her steely gaze toward us. us, who for some reason was carrying arge luggage on his back, noticed her gaze, started and shivered, then began to sneakily move away from her line of sight.


    ¡°The Lord is a woman, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the main reason. I could have left him to it, but¡­ Well, maybe I felt it was toote to turn back, or maybe I was feeling responsible for being there and couldn¡¯t stop that guy¡­¡±


    The question of whether or not he should have stopped us even if he had to beat him up kepting back to Loren¡¯s mind, unanswered even now.


    It was somehow strange to ept a job offer at a ce they had traveled to for a vacation. However, the fact that half of the appeal of the ce was unserviceable meant that they couldn¡¯t enjoy their vacation to the bottom of their hearts, so he believed it was not a bad idea to work a little to eliminate the cause for concern.


    ¡°You say the hot springs are no longer avable, but what is actually happening?¡±


    Le asked as she led the group through the south gate. Behind her was Loren and Lapis, who walked side by side with Loren, followed by G, Ange, and Laure. us walked at the end of the line.


    ¡°Originally, the hot spring water here was opaque, but it has turned a reddish-brown color and began to smell like rusty iron and decay.¡±


    ¡°Could it have been blood?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. It seems like it, though. But how much blood is there to make all the hot springs in the city be like that?¡±


    If just a small amount of blood got mixed into the source of the hot springs, it would not have been discernible to the entire city, and while it was a creepy story, it would not have been enough to cause a fuss.


    However, as all the hot springs in the city were in such a state, one would have to assume that the amount of whatever got mixed in was also quiterge. And if it was in fact blood, it would mean that an unthinkable amount of blood was mixed into the hot springs¡¯ source or somewhere else.


    ¡°That¡¯s hard to imagine.¡±


    And if it was blood, then it had to flow out endlessly. Otherwise, as soon as the hot water with the blood in it finished its flow, the original clean water would have to flow back in.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if there is a wounded dragon plunged into the source. If not, then blood is probably not the most likely exnation.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you think, Loren?¡±


    Loren shrugged at the question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to check it out.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s fair enough, but, you know,¡­¡±


    Le didn¡¯t stop talking while leading their group. While thinking that she was surprisingly talkative, Loren had no intention of stopping her, since the questions Le asked also help in exining the situation to Ange and Laure, who were walking behind them.


    ¡°If she is a Lord, doesn¡¯t she have at least a few trusted soldiers?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. But those trusted soldiers should also be beastmen, right?¡±


    The answer Loren gave was not clear to Le, and she frowned as if asking for some additional exnation. Loren had no choice but to continue.


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for everyone, but¡­ I¡¯ve heard that investigation is a difficult task for beastmen.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see.¡±


    The beastman race was generally considered not suited for detailed work, although there were a few exceptions. It was something recognized by both beastmen and others; the beastmen do seem to be aware of this.


    ¡°If she lets the soldiers under hermand do the investigation, it will probably only make things worse.¡±


    ¡°She is a splendid Lord in that she is aware of the situation and does think of countermeasures.¡±


    Lapis said as if she was impressed, but Loren and Le could only smile vaguely when hearing this, not knowing whether to be impressed or not.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s verymendable to give amission to an adventurer you¡¯ve just met for the first time, is it? Especially when it¡¯s directly from the Lord herself.¡±


    ¡°The information is the lifeblood of the city, but it¡¯s not as confidential as military secrets. If you dy in dealing with it, it will eventually be known.¡±


    ¡°The reason why the Lord directlymissioned us is that, she was just in the middle of looking for someone good when she met us, and it just clicked.¡±


    ¡°us?¡±


    Lapis looked back at Le, who looked surprised, with an equally surprised look on her face. Loren could somewhat understand both their feelings.


    Lapis probably thought that between him and us, us was obviously the one easier to deal with, and she found it natural that the Lord had her eyes on us.


    Le, on the other hand, probably thought that Loren would be more easily noticed than us, who was too soft on women despite being under ¡®familial punishment¡¯. And thus she was surprised to hear that the Lord had her attention on us instead.


    But after a while, Le was the first to show the look of understanding on her face.


    ¡°She sensed that us is a womanizer¡­¡±


    ¡°Not directly so, but¡­¡±


    Lord Minuet told Loren and us that she chose them was very likely because her intuition told her that us wouldn¡¯t refuse her.


    At the same time, however, Minuet knew that she would not be able to finalize the discussion if she dealt directly with us, and as a result, she made her request to us through Lor¨¦n.


    ¡°Is that idiot so obvious that even aplete stranger can see through him?¡±


    Le red at us, who was walking at the end of the group. us tried to look for a ce to escape from her gaze, but he could not find it and had no choice but to turn around to use the luggage on his back as a shield.


    ¡°Be it wild intuition or beastly intuition, Lord-sama does have a good instinct.¡±


    ¡°Themission was epted, so it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s unfortunate for you, but you¡¯ll just have to live with the misfortune of being here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m rather willing to do it, though.¡±


    Le called themission a misfortune, but Lapis responded with surprising words.


    Not expecting Lapis to be interested, Loren and Le looked at each other with a nk expression, but she continued.


    ¡°This is about the hot springs we went through so much trouble to visit? I am looking forward to a big bath, and I¡¯d hate it if I can¡¯t use the hot springs. We should investigate the cause and restore the hot springs¡¯ service as soon as possible.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Le nodded, as if the exnation Lapis gave with all her might was understandable.


    ¡°The reward she offers us is not bad. If we can remove the cause of the problem and make the hot springs avable, she will give us a bonus.¡±


    ¡°So from what I understand, themission is just to investigate the cause, right?¡±


    Investigating the cause and removing the cause were on different levels of difficulty; that was why Le wanted to confirm themission¡¯s details. Loren nodded.


    ¡°Yes. The main purpose is to investigate first. We were told that there is no need to forcibly solve the problem.¡±


    ¡°Of course she wants us to do it if we can, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m aiming for.¡±


    Le could see that there seemed to be a big difference in enthusiasm between Loren and Lapis regarding thismission. Le wondered if it was the difference between those who liked baths and those who did not care for it. If asked which side she was on, she thought it would be Lapis, who would like to be able to use the hot springs.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re heading south, but what¡¯s the actual n?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the canal that brings the hot springs to the city is underground.¡±


    Lapis kicked at the ground with her heel. The canal was built underground to prevent any kind of filth from getting into the hot springs that run to the city, but this had the disadvantage that it made things difficult to investigate if something went wrong.


    ¡°It is difficult to investigate a canal buried underground, so we will go to the warm waterke at the other end of the canal and investigate there.¡±


    If there was no problem at the end of the canal, then the canal was the problem. The Lord asked them to conduct an investigation to determine that first, but before that, Le wanted to make sure of something.


    ¡°A warm waterke?¡±


    Le asked about the unfamiliar words, and Lapis continued to politely exin.


    ¡°There is ake at the end of the canal where the hot spring temporarily gathers. Although I said ¡®warm water¡¯, theke is actually filled with boiling water, so it may be quite dangerous to go near it.¡±


    ¡°Theke is about half a day¡¯s walk to the south.¡±


    The road leading to the ce was a gentle uphill. The difference in elevation was utilized to send the hot water to the town.


    ¡°The thing that bothers me is that the Lord said that theke is surrounded by a forest.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s bothering you about that?¡±


    Le thought there was nothing strange about the fact that there was a forest around theke, but Lapis shook her head to disagree.


    ¡°A forest surrounding ake full of boiling water? It¡¯s not the proper environment. It is strange that there is a forest there. Also, hot springs are usually formed when groundwater boils due to geothermal heat, which is often near volcanoes, but there are no volcanoes at all in the vicinity of the hot waterke.¡±


    In addition, ces where hot springs welled up often have some kind of gas emanating from them, so it was not an easy ce for living creatures to live. Yet there was no such environment at the ce of the hot springke, and that fact bothered Lapis.


    However, she did not raise these questions to the Lord because she believed that even if she did, she would only be told that it was just an exception, or that it was nothing to be concerned about.


    ¡°There are exceptions to everything. If we go there, maybe we¡¯ll know?¡±


    In any case, if they didn¡¯t examine the actual ce, they wouldn¡¯t make any progress. Thinking so, Lapis called out to the others, then walked a little faster along the road leading to the warm waterke.

 Chapter 228: Camping at The Destination

    <h4>Chapter 228: Camping at The Destination</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    As Loren and his group proceeded, the surroundingndscape gradually changed from grasnd to forest-like.


    The wind was warm and humid, and there was a strange smell, albeit faint, in the air.


    ¡°I forgot to mention something.¡±


    While stepping on the huge ck thing lying at his feet and using all his might to pull out the greatsword he had stuck into it, Loren told Le and the others, who were watching him from afar.


    ¡°I heard that there are a lot of dangerous things around here, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°You should have told us that in the beginning.¡±


    Loren pulled out his greatsword, which had been stuck quite deep inside the ck thing, shook off the blood on the de, and shrugged at Le¡¯s reproachful words.


    ¡°Yeah. My bad.¡±


    ¡°Really! That gave me a heart attack.¡±


    Ange raised her voice in protest despite sounding tremulous with fear, and Loren meekly bowed his head. Indeed, not telling the group about the possible danger from the beginning could have put them all at risk. Loren was well aware that it was his fault for being negligent.


    ¡°Um, what is that?¡±


    Laure asked, pointing to the object on which Loren¡¯s foot was resting. It had slipped through the trees and suddenly jumped out from the side, and Loren had killed it with a single blow from the greatsword drawn from his back. Since it was bleeding, it was certain to be a living thing, but Laure and the others were still unable to identify the rather huge creature. The person who killed it, Loren, was also unsure of its true identity, as he only swung his greatsword reflexively at something that jumped out at him.


    ¡°I think it was a bear.¡±


    ¡°A bear?¡±


    ¡°A young ck bear. Probably a male.¡±


    Lapis, who was crouching beside the bear that Loren had killed and was investigating its true identity, seemed to have found the answer. She lightly dusted her knee as she stood up.


    ¡°It was a pretty ferocious and tough animal, but¡­ With just one strike.¡±


    The bear had attacked Loren, and he had intercepted it head-on with his greatsword, splitting and shattering the bear¡¯s head with one single strike.


    ¡°Is it edible?¡±


    ¡°It is. It¡¯s an animal.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s cut it up and take it with us.¡±


    Loren pulled out a dagger from inside his jacket, feeling that it would be a waste to just cast the creature aside after killing it. It would be difficult to use everyst bit of the carcass, but if it could help improve today¡¯s dinner, it would be worth the time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. The rest of you can take a rest.¡±


    ¡°I can help too? It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have any experience with it.¡±


    Le offered, but Loren rejected it softly but firmly.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if something strangees out.¡±


    ¡°What kind of strange thing?¡±


    ¡°This is just between you and me.¡±


    Le stepped forward, and Loren leaned in a little closer, put his hand over his mouth and spoke in a whisper so that the other members could not hear.


    >¡±It¡¯s something the Lord who gave us thismission said. She mentioned that she gave simrmissions to several parties before us.¡±


    >¡±What does that have to do with this?¡±


    >¡±She hired us despite that, meaning none of the partiesmissioned before us were sessful in their requests. Do you understand?¡±


    It was half a day¡¯s walk from the town to theke. It was not close, but it was not very far either. The parties that had left before their group had not seeded inpleting any of themissions, even though they were only such a short distance away¡­ Le spent a short while pondering what it meant.


    >¡±Could it be that none have returned¡­?¡±


    >¡±I guess so. If they had been able toe back to the city, the Lord would have had some information. But she doesn¡¯t, so they probably haven¡¯t.¡±


    There was no way of knowing what the fate of the parties that had failed to return had been, but at least there were no traces of them left in the vicinity of the path that their party had taken. But then, where the hell had they gone? Le thought about it, then came to a horrifying conclusion and turned her attention to the ck bear carcass lying on the ground.


    >¡±We don¡¯t know what happened, but just in case.¡±


    Le, who wasn¡¯t able to deny the implication of Loren¡¯s words, quietly walked back to where Ange and the others were watching over her. Laughing to himself that it was good to be honest with her, Loren quickly began to cut up the bear with his dagger.


    ¡°We can¡¯t carry them all, so I¡¯ll just pick the parts that look tasty. The rest will be¡­ Well, let¡¯s hope some empty stomach will clean it up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    G nodded and beat her chest. Although Loren was not referring to her by name, she was the only one present who could clean up whatever of the bear that was left over from the process.


    Loren carefully removed the meat from the nks, arms, legs, and back. He also checked the internal organs just to be sure, then cut out the heart and liver.


    Therge amount of blood that streamed out was mostly absorbed by the earth, but some of it was secretly sucked off as fresh food by Nig, the spider on Loren¡¯s shoulder, without the other members noticing.


    The bear¡¯s stomach was nearly empty, and Loren didn¡¯t find anything like he had worried. However, there was no way to tell if it meant that this bear had not fed on their poor predecessors, or if it had already digested them to the point that there was nothing left of them.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot of food, even with careful selection.¡±


    Because of the size of the ck bear itself, the chunks of meat he had cut out were also quiterge and heavy. As Loren began to wonder what to do with the meat, Lapis quickly picked up some wide des of grass and leaves from the surrounding area, packed the meat, and without any hesitation, shoved it into therge backpack that us was carrying. This made the backpack even bulkier, but us just smiled wryly without a singleint.


    After Loren cleaned his bloodied gear with a cloth, the group started moving forward again. Not long after, they came upon a hugeke on the other side of a thickly wooded area that was emitting considerable heat, humidity, and smell.


    ¡°This is probably the ce.¡±


    Loren stood by the side of the road, beyond the trees, and gazed at the scene spread out before him, his face contorted because of the damp, hot wind and smell that was blowing at him.


    It was ake formed by the umtion of hot springs, the destination of their trip.


    Theke seemed to have quite an intricate shape, with arge portion of it hidden by trees and such, making it impossible to view it in entirety. Even so, the distance from the shore to the other side of theke was quite far, indicating howrge theke was.


    The surface of theke was indeed a dark reddish-brown color, and the smell of rusty iron mixed with the odor of decay was very unpleasant to the nose.


    ¡°So that eliminates the possibility that there is trouble somewhere in the waterway.¡±


    Since the hot water in theke itself was already showing the same symptoms as the hot springs in town, they had to assume that the cause was either in thiske or somewhere closer to the source than theke.


    ¡°I guess so. Well, what should we do from here?¡±


    A quick look around was not enough to tell anything, but at least as far as Loren could see, there was nothing on theke or its shores that could possibly be causing the water quality to deteriorate.


    Wondering if perhaps the cause was in theke, Loren took off one glove, exposed the skin of his hand, then crouched down and reached out to touch the surface of theke, only to withdraw his hand the moment his fingertips made slight contact with the surface.


    Lapis, guessing that something had probably happened for Loren to move at that speed, tried to take his hand while preparing a healing spell, but he stopped her. He wiped his slightly wet fingertips with a cloth he pulled out from his luggage, then threw the cloth to the ground.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really hot, and the water itself is strange ¨C it has melted my skin.¡±


    Loren did not know where the hot water wasing from, but he assumed that it must have cooled down somewhat whening to thekeside, so he touched the surface with his fingers. But the water was as hot as if it had just been poured out from a kettle over a fire. He also felt a slimy sensation on his fingertips after touching it, and when he rubbed them, the fingerprints disappeared, which led Loren to the conclusion that the surface of his skin had melted.


    It would indeed be bad for business if this kind of hot water was used in the hot springs facilities.


    ¡°First, getting in there is out of the question. It¡¯ll kill us.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around first and see what we can find.¡±


    If they just came here, observed, then went home, they could hardly say that they had done their research. They must stay at this ce for a certain amount of time, and they must secure a ce for that purpose.


    If they chose a bad location, the humidity and smell would be unbearable, so Loren suggested walking along the shore of theke to find a good ce to observe theke, and no one objected.


    A little while after they started walking, Loren noticed something: The reddish-brown water was muddy, but there was a part of the water that was clear.


    ¡°You said that hot springs are cloudy, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren confirmed with Lapis, and she nodded.


    ¡°What do you think about this?¡±


    ¡°Maybe the cause of the impure water is in theke itself, rather than in the source? Or maybe there is more than one source supplying hot water to theke?¡±


    If the cause of the current strange phenomenon was in theke, a possible reason for the proportion of clear water was that there were areas where it had started to change and areas where it hadn¡¯t.


    Another possibility was that impure hot water and clear hot water were discharged from separate ces, creating areas where the hot water did not mix.


    Loren pondered Lapis¡¯ opinion.


    ¡°But if hot water is discharged from two or more different sources, does that mean it has been like this even before the anomaly urred?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t necessarily mean so. It is possible that the rtive density and viscosity of the muddy water has changed, making it difficult for it to mix with the clear water.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just report this without specifying the cause and call it an end, can we?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they would pay us for that.¡±


    As they talked, Loren and Lapis took the lead and the rest of the team members followed them along thekeside.


    ¡°Loren, this ce looks kind of nice, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis pulled at Loren¡¯s sleeve and pointed to a corner of thekeside. It was like a cove in the middle of theke, where the humidity and smell rising from theke would miraculously be not much of a bother, and for some unknown reason, it seemed that only the clear hot water was flowing into the cove.


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    Loren muttered. He bared his hand again and crouched down by thekeside to check the hot water. Strangely enough, the water there was only slightly hot, and there was no stinging sensation on the skin. Loren brought his wet hand up to his nose, and there was no unpleasant smell, so he thought it would be okay.


    ¡°It looks good. How about we set up camp here and do a full-scale survey tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°We have no objection. We agree with Loren¡¯s proposal.¡±


    Le, after asking for Ange¡¯s and Laure¡¯s opinions, told Loren that there was no problem on behalf of their party.


    Loren felt a tiny bit of pity for the fact that us was so naturally ignored, but since it wasn¡¯t going to be a problem, he thought that it would be fine to leave them as is. He turned his gaze to G to ask for her opinion. Although she didn¡¯t look too thrilled, she nodded once she noticed his eyes.


    ¡°Then put your luggage down, clear the ground, and get ready to camp.¡±


    Loren gave instructions after confirming that no one had any objections. In response, everyone began to make the necessary preparations.

 Chapter 229: Tempted by Strange Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 229: Tempted by Strange Thoughts</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The hot water was so clear that they could see the bottom of theke. As far as they could see from the shore, the bottom of theke was covered with a fine sand-like substance, and they could not see anything that seemed to be dangerous. Also, theke¡¯s depth suddenly increased a little further from the shore, but the water seemed to be only up to Lapis¡¯ waist at most.


    ¡°We can take a bath here just like this, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Ange said as if she had suddenly been struck with a great idea. Loren gave her a skeptical look.


    Indeed, the hot water in theke in front of them had the right temperature, and didn¡¯t irritate the skin. Since it was well off the street, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being seen by anyone either. The only one who could be watching would be Loren and us.


    Their camp was not set up near thekeside, but rather a short distance away. Theke was filled with boiling water; it was not a good idea to be too close to the water¡¯s edge in case of an unexpected attack. And considering these circumstances, it was not too difficult to block the view from the camp. In the worst case scenario, Loren and us would only have to look away from theke for as long as they needed to.


    In other words, it was not so difficult to make Ange¡¯s suggestion a reality ¨C it was just a matter of how.


    Loren wondered, however, if it would be a good idea to take a bath just because it was readily avable, when they didn¡¯t even know what was lurking around. He thought it was too careless, but Le and Laure took to Ange¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°Indeed, this scenery is hard toe by.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be an open-air bath, won¡¯t it?¡±


    The sun was still quite high. They had left Karlovy in the morning, arrived at theke after a half-day¡¯s journey, and had only done some casual exploring, there should still be quite a bit of time left until the evening. Loren wondered if they wanted to take a bath because of the time, but then lightly pped himself to straighten his thoughts.


    It shouldn¡¯t be about the time of day or the scenery, but about taking a bath here, and about preventing that somehow.


    The party had seven members in total. Three had already agreed with the idea. If a majority vote was taken, their idea couldn¡¯t be overturned once the majority, four people, agreed with it. Loren had thought that they would still need one more person, but when he saw us with a face that showed he was thinking about something absolutely ridiculous, he realized that the deal was already set.


    There was almost no chance that us, who was thinking of taking a mixed bath if there was a chance, would reject the idea that might provide him with that chance.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be more vignt? We don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there.¡±


    Still, he couldn¡¯t not warn them. When Loren expressed his reluctance, Le countered.


    ¡°But even during normalmissions, if there is a ce with water near the camp, people will bathe in it. In this case, it just happened to be hot water, so it is not so out of the ordinary.¡±


    It was not like Loren didn¡¯t know what she meant. When he was a mercenary, he had been told that if there was a stream or river near thepany¡¯s campsite, he should bathe in it and cleanse his body. Mercenaries couldn¡¯t be said to keep very good hygiene, but being filthy would only lead to illness, and it was the policy of theirpany to wash and bathe as much as possible when they could.


    ¡°What do you think, Lapis?¡±


    Having had actual experiences, Loren could not find a more effective way to refute this argument, so he asked Lapis, who was standing by his side, for her opinion.


    ¡°I think we need to be vignt, but if Loren is vignt, I think it¡¯s going to be fine.¡±


    [¡®I¡¯ll take care of the wide-area monitor for you, onii-san.¡¯]


    As if in response to Lapis¡¯ words, Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in Loren¡¯s mind. With the ability of Shayna, the King of Death, it was possible to know if any living beings within a fairly wide area were trying to approach their encampment. Even if, by mistake, an undead being were to approach from the bottom of theke, it would be extremely difficult for it to draw closer under the watchful eye of the King of Death, the highest-ranking undead being.


    The only exception that could slip through Shayna¡¯s monitor was an Elder, the highest-ranking vampires,ing from the bottom of theke while erasing all of their traces. But the possibility of an Eldering from the bottom of the hot water to harm the girls while they were taking a bath was so low that it was ridiculous to even think about.


    ¡°Besides, we haven¡¯t experienced a hot spring yet, even though we¡¯vee all the way to the hot spring town.¡±


    As Lapis let out her true feelings, Loren¡¯s shoulders dropped, but no one objected to her words. The only one who didn¡¯t seem to be too keen on the idea was, strangely, G, but she also didn¡¯t seem to be willing to voice her objections and remained silent.


    ¡°What do you think, Loren?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice. First, let¡¯s take the rope out of the luggage.¡±


    With five approved, one opposed, and one neither approved nor opposed, there was no way to overturn the decision, so Loren decided to go with the majority and made a request that had everyone wondering what the hell he was starting.


    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d be setting up a bathhouse at a ce like this.¡±


    Despite his grumbling, Loren started to work on the ce without stopping once he had decided to give in. He purposely left the undergrowth near thekeside uncut to form a natural wall, and hung cloths on the ropes tied to the trees to create a simple but effective partition to block eyes. If the wind blew, the other side could still be seen, but since they were in the open air, they would have to put up with it.


    The work was almostplete when heid out some cloths on the ground, creating a ce to change clothes and wipe wet bodies. He also covered a suitablyrge rock with a cloth, making a ce to sit down.


    ¡°Loren, can you tell me why you tied me up with the rope first?¡±


    Near Loren, who was working,y us, blindfolded, hands and feet bound with ropes, unable to move. Loren was dismayed to see that he had crawled over like a caterpir. He had left the guy lying on the edge of the encampment because he was in the way of his work.


    ¡°Do you really need me to say it out loud?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unthinkable if you think I¡¯ll peek at them. I would like to ask you to correct that opinion.¡±


    Loren felt a little surprised at us¡¯ words. He had expected that us, with his indiscriminate fondness for all women, would definitely take a peek when thedies were bathing here, but us¡¯ denial did not sound like a lie to him.


    ¡°I will not sneak a peek. I will demand a mixed bath directly and openly!¡±


    ¡°I understand. Just lie there for a while.¡±


    Doing it openly wouldn¡¯t make it better. If the only girls present were Ange group, he could have told him to do as he pleased. But since Lapis and G were also present, the idea of letting us see them was uneptable to Loren.


    ¡°I know you want to see, too, Loren!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t. I¡¯m a man, too.¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t say that he was not interested.


    However, in his mercenary days, there were countless stories of people who had been subjected to unthinkable horrors for peeping on female mercenaries bathing, and Loren was often shown the scars. The mercenaries probably told Loren those stories to warn him that he should be careful not to get found out because if he did, he would be in simr trouble. But for Loren, this meant that if he didn¡¯t want to be in trouble, he shouldn¡¯t peek.


    ¡°I still want to be in one piece, you know. I¡¯m not willing to trade an earlobe or the tip of my pinky finger for a piece of my dick.¡±


    ¡°What a scary thing to say¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you want to hear the story of a guy who got one of his balls crushed because he thought if he still had one of them, it wouldn¡¯t be a performance problem?¡±


    ¡°Crushed¡­¡±


    ¡°Heughed and said he was d he didn¡¯t have one eye.¡±


    As Loren continued to work while having such a disturbing conversation, the ce took shape to some extent. Lapis and the girls entered the other side of the partition with change clothes and cloths to wipe their bodies.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know this, Loren, but you can¡¯t peek.¡±


    Before going to the other side of the partition, Lapis approached Loren, stabbed her index finger to his chest and said. With us tied up on the ground and couldn¡¯t possibly peek, such a warning could only be directed at Loren now. He nodded and replied.


    ¡°I value my life a lot.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t see through the cracks either. Just look the other way, okay?¡±


    ¡°Do you really have no trust in me?¡±


    Loren looked a bit downcast at Lapis¡¯ emphasis, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. She repeated it once more.


    ¡°You really, really can¡¯t. Absolutely can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Whassis Lapis-chan? What¡¯s with all the pretense?¡±


    A surprised-looking G, who was carrying an armful of clothes and other things, interjected from behind Lapis. Wondering what this was about, Loren looked at Lapis. For a moment, Lapis, who had kept a really serious face, smiled slightly.


    ¡°You can¡¯t, alright?¡±


    ¡°Sorry for your expectation, but that¡¯s impossible. I can¡¯t answer such a question.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Ange¡¯s group to go somewhere that can¡¯t be seen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to this~¡±


    Waving her hands, Lapis disappeared to the other side of the partition.


    ¡°In the end, do you even want to hide or not¡­¡±


    Loren watched her go with a very tired face. At his feet, us, who was so frustrated that his expression was recognizable even with the blindfold, was gritting his teeth.

 Chapter 230: From Bathing to Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 230: From Bathing to Chaos</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°I see, this view is not easily¡­ experienced indoors.¡±


    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it? If I had a ss of chilled wine to go with this, I wouldn¡¯t have anything else to say. But it would be too extravagant to ask for that much.¡±


    ¡°We do have some not-chilled wine, though?¡±


    ¡°Just as expected, Ange. I¡¯ll have some as soon as I get in.¡±


    The conversation drifting through the cloth went in one of Loren¡¯s ears and out the other.


    Of course, Lapis and the other girls were on the other side of the cloth, so there was no way to know what kind of scene was unfolding there, but Loren was in the middle of thinking that he had made a huge mistake in setting up the site.


    The reason was, the sun was setting just in the direction of theke where the girls were about to bathe. That alone might not have mattered, but the cloth that Loren had stretched between the trees to hide them from the camp was not that thick. He had chosen such a thin cloth because a thick cloth would take up too much space to carry, but the result was ying out before his eyes.


    ¡°Silhouettes are also¡­ Well, I don¡¯t know how to put it.¡±


    You couldn¡¯t see through to the other side of the cloth. But the shadows of Lapis and the other girls, created by the light of the setting sun, were reflected on the cloth used to block them from view. Moreover, perhaps because of the proximity, the shadows were so sharp that Loren could see every detail of them.


    They would be out of sight if they would just quickly get into theke, but the girls were not so eager to do so, because none of them had experienced bathing outside before and the beautiful scenery.


    ¡°But why is it that only the water in this area isn¡¯t murky?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps because the clear water is gushing out from some ce near here. Because of the flow, that brown water doesn¡¯t seem to being this way.¡±


    ¡°It seems a little warm, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°If you stay in for a long time, it should be just warm enough.¡±


    Loren wondered if they were nning to stay in for a long time as he heard the conversation through the cloth. He was worried that they might be a little too rxed, but there was no way to tell them at the moment.


    ¡°But¡­ If you look at it, G is big.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. What are you looking at when you say that?¡±


    ¡°Mainly your breasts?¡±


    ¡°Yous are quite big, too, aren¡¯t they? Have you given them a squeeze yet?¡±


    G¡¯s question, which was apanied by a somewhat vulgarugh, provoked a dramatic reaction from Le.


    ¡°Wh-what are y-y-y-y-ou¡­¡±


    ¡°Le, you¡¯re too flustered. No one thinks you¡¯re an aunty just because you¡¯re the oldest one here. Even if it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Ange! You!¡±


    Some kind of scuffle seemed to have started, but Loren was staring nkly at the shadowy scene with dead eyes.


    The silhouettes of the grappling Le and Ange, who had not yet entered theke, clearly showed the sizes and the shaking motions of various body parts, making Loren wonder if it was okay to continue watching, even though they were just silhouettes. But since he had not seen the real thing, he decided on his own that there was no reason for them toin.


    ¡°Oh, you two! Don¡¯t you think we might attract some attention if you are too rowdy?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Laure, you t-chested! I¡¯m busy punishing the girl who taunted this knight!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, stay out of it, straight-body girl! Now I¡¯m going to teach this aunty the wonders of youth! Bigger is not always better!¡±


    ¡°t-chested¡­ Straight-body girl¡­¡±


    Loren thought that the silhouette that had just fallen to the ground was probably Laure¡¯s. She was devastated by the almost insulting words of her twopanions, but as far as Loren could see, her silhouette didn¡¯t show any ups and downs either vertically or horizontally, so much so that it might not be surprising if she were to receive such an evaluation. Still,pared to Nim the Elf, a silver ranked adventurer in the city of Kapha, Loren thought that Laure still had some curves, though shepletely lost in the waist department, and he prayed for her soul.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave that one alone and get ourselves some hot water.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan ain¡¯t budged at all¡­¡±


    Leaving Ange and Le, who were still wrestling with each other, Lapis and G seemed to be walking into theke.


    Loren unconsciously gasped, seeing their silhouettes.


    G¡¯s silhouette was truly worthy of the saying ¡®curves in all the right ce¡¯, with sizable breasts and narrow waist. The curves from her waist to her buttocks, despite being just shadows, were so strangely sexy that Loren instinctively felt carnal desire. And the way things shook with her movements was so shocking that even those with a great deal of self-control could lose their minds, and unintentionally Loren unconsciously swallowed his saliva and cleared his throat.


    Next to her, Lapis was a few levels below G in terms of sizes, but the allure of her curves didn¡¯t lose to G¡¯s at all. In particr, the curves from her nks to her hips were so magnificent that Loren believed they could be cut out and presented as works of art on their own. Andpared to G, there was not much shaking, but it was due to the tautness of youth, which gave it a different charm.


    After all these musings, Loren suddenly realized that he had unknowingly been staring at the woman bathing, even though it was silhouettes, and gently averted his gaze. If he had looked away after realizing he could watch their silhouettes, the story would have ended. Even though he told himself that he didn¡¯t have any other choices as anything could happen over there and he had to keep watch, it still felt like an excuse, and he felt a sense of mild self-loathing


    >¡±After all, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m not interested.¡±


    Loren muttered to himself. Looking down at his feet, he saw us, whom he had left lying on the ground blindfolded, smirking at him, and Loren stepped on him to vent his anger.


    After stepping on us, Loren suddenly realized that the girls must have purchased bathrobes when they left Kapha, and if they had worn them, the scene would not have turned into such a sensational shadow y. But at that moment, a scream that did not belong to anyone rang out in the vicinity.


    ¡°What the?¡±


    Loren wondered as he reflexively put his hand on the greatsword on his back.


    The scream was definitelying from the direction where the girls were currently bathing, but there was no way to confirm the situation except to rush through the cloth that was blocking his view to the other side. However, as he didn¡¯t know how urgent the scream just now was, and whether it was really appropriate to cross the dividing line.


    If it was an attack of some kind, for example, it would be an emergency situation, and it would be the right thing to do to rush in before worrying about whether he could see them. On the other hand, if, for example, it was just a matter of a slightlyrger insect flying in from nowhere that startled Laure and caused her to scream, Loren¡¯s own death would be confirmed the moment he stepped into the area.


    While Loren was still hesitating, his worries were untimely interrupted.


    Before he could decide whether to step through, the girls on the other side of the partition broke through and fled to the camp side.


    ¡°Loren! Loren! Loren!!¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute! Lapis?! What the hell?!¡±


    The first person to jump out of theke and into the encampment was Lapis. With her body still wet, she lightly wrapped a cloth used as the partition around her body as she broke through and jumped in toward Loren, who was too startled to move.


    The deftness of her movements made Loren wonder for a moment if she was aiming for something, but even so, Loren couldn¡¯t afford to be rude to someone who had just fled, so he caught her in his arms as Lapis jumped to him.


    G, who came next, did not seem as panicked as Lapis, and although she was also running, she had pulled off a cloth used as a partition, wrapped it tightly around her entire body, and jogged into the camp. Laure, who had followed at a sluggish pace, also managed to take a cloth and hide herself, but the situation of Le and Ange was worse. They were in the middle of a scuffle, and were the slowest to notice what the others had noticed, so their panic was the greatest. They literally tumbled and leapt into the camp.


    Naturally, there was no way they could afford to take off some cloths to hide their bodies like the other girls, and Le was in such a hurry that she crashed into a grove of trees at the back of the camp and fell over,pletely naked. Ange, forgetting her own state, grabbed shoulders of us, who was lying on the ground, pulled him up, started yelling.


    ¡°us! What are you tied up for! Something strange ising! Something strange ising! Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Ange! Even if you tell me that, I can¡¯t do anything¡­ Just calm down and take off my blindfold first!¡±


    ¡°How can I possibly do that? We are all naked right now!¡±


    Wondering what to do, Loren held Lapis with his left arm and pulled out the greatsword with his right arm.


    The de shone under the setting sun, and Loren caught sight of something in theke, which startled the girls. His face grew tense as he saw it emerging from theke, which was supposed to be filled with hot water, and about toe up from thekeshore tond.


    The first thing he saw was a pair of eyes behind the billowing light blue hair. The hands that were trying to pull the body up tond looked like they belonged to a human being, but the half of the body on the other side, still in the water, looked, for all intents and purposes, like that of a fish.


    The tail pped the surface of the water violently, and with a ssh, the creature got onnd and began to crawl very slowly towards Loren¡¯s group, who were watching the scene.


    ¡°What the hell is that?!¡±


    It was understandable that Loren would involuntarily make such an exim. At the very least, there was no way that he had ever encountered a being like the one in front of him before. And even Loren would be a little afraid of things he had no understanding of.


    Also, the figure was extremely uncanny.


    The arms that were gripping the ground might look human, but the lower half of its body, which was wriggling behind it, was that of a fish and covered in scales.


    It was unpleasant to see such a thing crawling on the ground, and looking from the direction it was crawling towards, it could even be terrifying.


    Loren reflexively put strength into his arm and turned his sword point at the thing crawling toward him as if to keep it in check. However, the thing continued to crawl on the ground and came closer to him, not caring about the sword point.


    Loren was not very keen on the idea of using his greatsword to sh at something he did not understand, but just as he raised it, thinking there would be no other way to deal with it, the creature that was crawling toward him stopped moving.


    ¡°He¡­¡±


    ¡°He?¡±


    ¡°Help me¡­ please.¡±


    Just as if it had used up all of its strength, the thing stopped moving andy prone on the ground.


    Loren was even more surprised to learn that the thing, with what looked like light blue hair spread out and a fish-like lower body, had spoken. He looked at Lapis, who was staring at it from within his arms, and they both tilted their heads, wondering what the hell was going on.

 Chapter 231: A Discovery After Getting Things Under Control

    <h4>Chapter 231: A Discovery After Getting Things Under Control</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Ah¡­ wait, wait. At least let¡¯s get things straightened out first.¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t say this to anyone in particr, but if he hadn¡¯t said it out loud, he would feel so confused that he wouldn¡¯t have known what to do.


    Thrusting his greatsword into the ground, Loren scratched his head. First of all, they needed to confirm how many things they needed to think about in the current situation, then they would need to solve them one by one, or they would be confused forever.


    Loren decided to start with the ones most familiar to him.


    ¡°Okay, G and Lapis. First of all, put on some clothes.¡±


    Thinking that he should start from where there was rtively little confusion, Loren instructed Lapis, who was wrapped in a cloth and in his arms, and G, who was watching the two of them from a little distance with a cloth wrapped around her body.


    G followed the instructions without saying a word, but Lapis was a little dissatisfied.


    ¡°Hey, Loren! You mean to say that you don¡¯t feel anything in this situation?!¡±


    ¡°Lapis, normally it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t consider letting myself get carried away by the momentum, but¡­ This time the impact of THIS is too strong for me to consider that.¡±


    Loren pointed at the half-human half-fish creature lying at his feet. Lapis puffed out her cheeks in frustration, but she did remove herself from Loren¡¯s arms and began to put on clothes as instructed, though somewhat regretfully. She changed a little distance away from Loren so that he could not see, but as she stepped out of his arms, he caught glimpses of various things that made his mind wavered, and he lightly pped his own cheek with his free left hand to clear his head.


    ¡°Well, Ange, Le, and Laure, you guys should also put on something. Ange, stop shaking us. He can¡¯t see anything anyway.¡±


    Loren¡¯s words made Ange, who was still violently shaking us¡¯ body back and forth, realize her own state. With a blush on her face, she threw us to the ground and ran to hide behind the trees with a small scream.


    Laure watched her, then looked down at Le, who had crashed into a grove of trees and was lying naked, with a troubled look on her face that seemed to say ¡®What do I do with her?¡¯.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you carry her?¡±


    ¡°Le works out, so¡­ She¡¯s a bit too much for me. And I¡¯m like this too.¡±


    Laure, who had just a piece of cloth wrapped around her slender body, shyly said. Aside from her not having the physical strength, it was true that it would be very difficult to carry Le while holding down the cloth wrapped around her body.


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice then.¡±


    ¡°Do you consider releasing me?¡±


    us, who was now lying on the ground again after being thrown down by Ange, raised his voice, full of expectation. Loren ignored him and called out to G and Lapis, who were probably changing on the other side of the grove.


    ¡°Lapis! G! I¡¯m sorry, but I need you to carry Le.¡±


    ¡°Please wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°Coming¡­ Uwa?! Sis¡¯ naked and lying spread-eagled?!¡±


    G had finished dressing earlier than Lapis, who was still putting on her priest robes, responded to Loren¡¯s request and came out from the shadow of the grove to carry Le. But upon seeing Le lying on the ground, she eximed somewhat hesitantly.


    ¡°I heard that the blonde beauty is naked and lying spread-eagled?!¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Talking willplicate things, so take a nap.¡±


    Hearing her voice, us half sprang up only to be silenced by Loren with a casual kick to the back of the head.


    ¡°Well, here¡¯s done. Now it¡¯s this one¡¯s turn¡­¡±


    Loren cautiously crouched down beside the unidentifiable creature that had fallen on its face and would not move. Wavy light blue hairs covered its head and a good portion of its upper body, which,bined with the fish-like appearance of the lower body, gave it a rather eerie appearance. However, as he observed the creature, which did not move at all, Loren began to wonder if the light blue hairs that seemed to cover its upper body were actually hair. Although there was a fair amount of it, they all seemed to grow from the head.


    To confirm his guess, he reluctantly picked up the prone figure and leaned it against a nearby grove of trees, then brushed away what appeared to be hair covering its face and body, revealing the upper body of a naked woman.


    ¡°A mermaid?¡±


    Hebed the wet, tousled hair with his hand and wiped off the dirt and filth with a cloth, and there appeared a so-called mermaid he had heard about in fairy tales, with long wavy light blue hair and an upper body of human and a lower body of a fish.


    Loren looked down at the figure, which seemed to be unconscious, and turned his gaze toward theke. The orange glow of the setting sun was certainly a beautiful sight, but before he could let his mind be captivated by that sight, he had something else to confirm first.


    ¡°Mermaids in ake of hot water? Won¡¯t she be boiled?¡±


    ¡°Loren, sorry to keep you waiting¡­ Is that what I think it is?!¡±


    As soon as Lapis, who had finished dressing, stepped out from the shadow of a grove of trees, she eximed in surprise upon seeing a mermaid leaning against a tree.


    ¡°Huh¡­ It¡¯s what surprised you guys.¡±


    ¡°Eh, that creepy fish is a mermaid?¡±


    The unconscious mermaid¡¯s hair was wavy and very long. When Lapis and the other girls encountered her, that hair was wrapped around her upper human body, covering the face, which apparently caused them to recognize it as some kind of creepy fish. So, they jumped out of theke in a panic. Loren thought that it was understandable to be surprised if something with a hairy upper body and a fish-like lower body had suddenly jumped out of theke.


    ¡°Eh? But¡­ Thiske has hot water, right?¡±


    ¡°Only the person herself knows why she¡¯s not a boiled mermaid.¡±


    The sun was setting. Thinking it would be best to avoid dealing with such iprehensible matters after dark, Loren lightly pped the mermaid, who was leaning against a tree, on the cheek. He did it because he thought that no matter what, they would not be able to talk with the mermaid until she regained consciousness, but Lapis looked at him with a somewhat reproachful gaze even though his p was not so hard.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other choice?¡±


    ¡°She has the face of a woman, so please be a bit gentler.¡±


    Although her facial features were certainly that of a woman, she was still within the ¡®unidentifiable being¡¯ at the moment, and Loren wondered if it was necessary to be so concerned. But he nodded vaguely, thinking that it would be meaningless to try to protest.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Uhm?¡±


    With a small moan, the mermaid woke up. Her slightly-opened eyes were light blue, just like her hair.


    ¡°Are you awake?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Eh? Ah, ah!¡±


    The mermaid suddenly rose up and grabbed Loren, who was looking into her face, and held on to his arm tightly.


    ¡°Please help me! I want you to help me!¡±


    ¡°First of all, let me go. Then exin what¡¯s going on. You can¡¯t just appear from the bottom of theke and ask me to help you.¡±


    When Loren harshly shook her off, the mermaid looked a little sad, but she let go of his arm and looked at him squarely as if she could understand his point of view, and began to exin the situation as requested.


    ¡°I am a spirit who lives in thiske.¡±


    Loren wondered what he was going to say from the beginning of the conversation, but he gave up the spot, thinking it would be better to let Lapis proceed with this kind of talk.


    ¡°You are a spirit? Not a mermaid?¡±


    ¡°If I have to say, I am more like an undine. I¡¯ve just lived a few hundred more years.¡±


    Loren could not understand what the difference was, but the spirit of theke began to talk about something that had to do with the anomalies at the hot springs that they hade to investigate.


    ¡°Theke has been fine for a long time. Then, not too long ago, one of the outlets supplying hot water to thiske began emitting brown, sludgy, boiling water.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose this has much to do with a spirit?¡±


    After saying this, Loren suddenly remembered an efreet, a fire spirit he had met before. That spirit had be so angry about various things being thrown into the crater where it lived that it began to attack any being that approached the ce. If the same thing was now happening in thiske, it would make sense that the spirit woulde to ask for help.


    ¡°It may look like no creatures live in thiske, but there are actually organisms living at the bottom that can withstand the heat to some degree.¡±


    The spirit of theke, whose face turned sad, joined her hands in front of her chest and appealed to Loren and Lapis.


    ¡°The brown water is too hotpared to the water that has been flowing in so far, not to mention its odor and toxicity. Right now they are taking shelter at the bottom of theke where there is still water that is just barely cooler, but if nothing is done, they will all die.¡±


    ¡°I understand that you want us to help, but we are adventurers, and we are on vacation. We can¡¯t afford to work for free.¡±


    As Lapis told the spirit this, next to her, Loren was instructing G and Laure, who had finished getting dressed, to drag us, who was still tied up, a short distance away. After all, if even the primitive beastmen ns couldn¡¯t deter us, the fact that this spirit¡¯s lower body was of a fish would not be enough to stop his passion for women, and he might even ept the spirit of theke¡¯s request for free.


    The fact that us was indiscriminately unable to refuse a woman¡¯s request was both his strength and weakness, but in a situation like the one Lapis was currently negotiating, it could only be considered a weakness. The idea was to remove him before anything happened.


    ¡°Money? If it¡¯s the case¡­ How much do you want?¡±


    ¡°You have money? Why does a spirit have money?¡±


    Lapis was surprised by the spirit¡¯s answer, even though she herself was the one who wanted to fish out that information.


    The spirit thought for a moment about how to answer, then replied to Lapis¡¯ surprise in a whisper.


    >¡±Actually, over the past few days, I¡¯ve had quite a few peoplee in who say they¡¯re adventurers like you¡­¡±


    Loren nodded, remembering that the. Lord of Karlovy had mentioned something like that. The spirit continued in a whisper as if it was something embarrassing.


    >¡±Those who had been killed in the surroundings of thiske¡­¡±


    ¡°Were they killed by bears? And¡­ The money you¡¯re carrying, could it be what those adventurers left behind?¡±


    >¡±It was not a bear, but some kind ofrge goblin. A ck-ish one. And dead people can¡¯t use money.¡±


    The spirit calmly dered, but what caught the attention of Loren and Lapis was something else she had said.


    ¡°Big, ck goblin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, from its appearance, I could only call it a goblin. But it was very strong, and it took no time for most adventurers to¡­¡±


    The spirit shuddered, perhaps remembering what happened then, but Loren and Lapis were more concerned about something else than the spirit¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Big, ck goblin¡­¡±


    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should just go back to Karlovy.¡±


    ¡°P-please help me somehow! I¡¯ll also give you this!¡±


    Just as Loren and Lapis, who had heard the story and decided that it sounded bad, were about to leave, the spirit hurriedly pulled a ratherrge colorless gemstone out of nowhere. Lapis¡¯ eyes widened slightly when she saw it.


    ¡°I picked it up at the bottom of theke a while ago. You must be pleased with this kind of thing, right? I¡¯ll give you this as well, so please help me.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    Loren whispered softly to Lapis, whose eyes were glued to the jewel offered by the spirit.


    ¡°Could it be ¡®that¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Yes, it probably is.¡±


    There were certain things Lapis was always looking for. They were the limbs and eyes that Demon King Judie had taken away from her when she left the demon realm in order to suppress his power as a demon. Both arms had already been found and returned to Lapis¡¯ body, but the legs and eyes were still being searched for. These body parts were not found in their original forms, but as colorless gems of considerable sizes.


    When Loren saw the gem offered by the spirit, he wondered if it was what Lapis was looking for, and from her reaction, it seemed that it definitely was.


    ¡°I guess that means we no longer have the option of refusing.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for the trouble, Loren.¡±


    Lapis apologized, and Loren waved his hand at her to tell her not to worry about it. Loren began asking questions to get more information from the spirit, who were waiting for their answer without knowing what the exchange between him and Lapis meant.

 Chapter 232: The Night After The Inquiry

    <h4>Chapter 232: The Night After The Inquiry</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Ah, before Loren asks his question, may I borrow that for a moment?¡±


    Lapis held out her hand to the spirit, and the spirit, seemingly not understanding what doubt meant, ced the colorless, transparent gem in Lapis¡¯ palm.


    While Lapis was examining the gem, Loren decided to ask the spirit for information that he thought might be essential.


    ¡°When did that brown water start flowing into theke?¡±


    ¡°A while ago.¡±


    ¡°How many dark goblins are there?¡±


    ¡°A lot.¡±


    Watching theke spirit¡¯s face, Loren knew that she was honest. But her answers did not match with that honesty. Even he, who was not familiar with spirits and such, knew that there was a difference in the perception of time and numbers between humans and spirits, but this was no way to get any useful information.


    ¡°Is it no good?¡±


    Lapis handed the gem she was examining back to the spirit and asked. Happy that the gem was not taken away but was properly returned to the her, the spirit wrapped the jewel to her chest with care.


    ¡°No good. How about that one?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be an eye. I¡¯d like to get this one.¡±


    It was natural for Lapis to say so. If one did not try to forcibly take the gem from the spirit, the only way to obtain it was to carry out hermission and receive it as a reward. And since the other party was a spirit, there was no guarantee that they would be able to meet her on another asion if they did not manage to get the gem right now.


    ¡°Then, first of all, can you exin to us and the others that we will ept themission?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The reward is a single gemstone, so let¡¯s talk to them about getting a cash reward from us in exchange for us taking the gem.¡±


    The amount of cash that the spirit had looted from the belongings of the adventurers came before them was not veryrge, and could be considered nothingpared to the value of the gem. Therefore, in order to obtain the gem, Loren¡¯s party would have to pay cash to us¡¯ party, and Lapis would have to provide that cash.


    Watching Lapis walk toward us, who was still tied up with ropes, to negotiate, Loren spoke to the spirit by his side, who looked puzzled.


    ¡°We¡¯ll ept yourmission. Do you know where exactly this brown water ising from?¡±


    ¡°Of course. From the hole at the bottom of theke.¡±


    The spirit¡¯s answer was, once again, not what Loren had expected.


    Certainly, as a spirit living in ake, all she knew was theke. It was no surprise that she did not know much about the surrounding areas. But even if she told them that the water wasing from the bottom of theke, they had to way to investigate a water outlet spewing hot, skin-melting water.


    ¡°If it¡¯s about breathing, then¡­¡±


    ¡°>? I can¡¯t use it because it¡¯s an intermediate or higher level magic¡±


    Ange overheard Loren¡¯s mutterings and said.


    Loren remembered that Lapis had used it before, so he thought they could use it this time as well. But then he remembered that it was not good to let Lapis, a priest, cast a spell that should be done by Ange, and held his tongue.


    ¡°If you need protection from water or the hot water, I can handle that.¡±


    The spirit told Loren in a slightly proud tone. Since she was originally a water spirit, and was currently ruling thiske, such magic should be her forte.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take this under Lapis¡¯ terms. Including us, of course.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s quite an expense, but it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Loren was somewhat curious as to how much cash Lapis had promised to pay us¡¯ party for the job, but he did not ask. There was nothing he could do about it, even if he had been told a tremendous amount of money.


    ¡°It seems like she doesn¡¯t even know where the ck goblinse from.¡±


    ¡°What about asking the spirit of ake about the shore?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen a Dark Elf or a ck swordsman?¡±


    The only person that came to mind when he heard of big ck goblins was a man named Magna, the ck swordsman that he had encountered at the Ancient Dragon¡¯s dwelling before.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a ck swordsman¡­¡±


    ¡°You saw him?!¡±


    ¡°Right in front of my eyes.¡±


    As the spirit pointed at him, Loren¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment. It was true that Loren wore a lot of ck clothing, and with ck hair and eyes, he had to ept that he could be called a ck swordsman.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing useful at all¡­¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It was wrong to think of getting information from a spirit in the first ce. Spirits don¡¯t pay much attention to their surroundings.¡±


    Lapis exined to Loren, whomented that it was a disappointment.


    ¡°She is simply reacting this way because there is something wrong with theke where she lives. She will probably forget about us as soon as we are done talking to her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not like that. I will thank you properly.¡±


    Offended, theke spirit objected to Lapis, but it was hard to know how much of what she said could be believed.


    ¡°The reward must be paid in advance. It¡¯s better than to be told after the job is done that you forgot about it.¡±


    ¡°I understand. But I¡¯ll curse you if you run away.¡±


    Thinking that being cursed was a frightening thing, Loren held out his palm toward the spirit. Surprisingly, the spirit honestly ced the jewel she had just received from Lapis on it.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow. The sun is setting and I don¡¯t want to make a move.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Then I will guard this ce for the night.¡±


    Loren felt a touch of uneasiness when the spirit said ¡®Leave it to me¡¯, but she did not seem to notice. She turned to Lapis and said.


    ¡°It looked like you were halfway through the bath. Why don¡¯t you go back in?¡±


    ¡°¡­No, thank you. What about you, Loren?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good. A wet cloth to wipe myself down is enough for me.¡±


    He was a tiny bit interested in bathing in a natural open-air bath, but he didn¡¯t think he could enjoy it when he didn¡¯t know what wasing up from the bottom of theke.


    ¡°What about you, G?¡±


    As he watched the girls begin to reorganize the camp after the talk hade to a conclusion and the spirit keeping watch for them near the shore of theke, Loren secretly called out to G. He had been concerned about the somewhat-disapproving look that she sometimes showed.


    Scratching her cheek, G looked troubled as she approached Loren, who beckoned to her from a spot only a short distance away from the other members.


    ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t ¡®what about you¡¯ too vague?¡±


    ¡°Just that you don¡¯t seem too keen on themission.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡±


    G answered and looked towards theke. The sun had set and it waspletely dark, and the water surface glistened in the light of the fire that was burning in their camp.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but there¡¯s something familiar and ufortable about this area.¡±


    ¡°We asked you to apany us, not forcing. You can wait in Karlovy if you want?¡±


    Having a party member return to Karlovy alone was not something normally done, but G should at least be able to return by herself, so Loren offered her that choice.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it harsh that I¡¯m the only one left out?¡±


    ¡°But it won¡¯t be good to force you toe along while you don¡¯t want.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for your sake as well as ours.¡±


    Loren believed that you couldn¡¯t take someone who didn¡¯t want to go to a ce where you didn¡¯t know what was waiting for them. If this was only G¡¯s matter, he could leave it to her personal judgment. But they were working as a party, and G¡¯s acting by herself could put everyone in danger. That was why he had to make sure.


    G gave a weak smile in response to Loren¡¯s concern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Of all the people in this group, I am the only one who can match or exceed Lapis-chan¡¯ power, aren¡¯t I? I ain¡¯t just a mere human. There¡¯s no need to worry for me that much.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a pain in the ass, Loren. Worrying too much makes you bald. Instead of worrying about us, shouldn¡¯t you be worrying about your own hair?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t help but put his hand on his head as she told him so. Of course, Loren¡¯s hair was far from the state G described, but he still didn¡¯t know what would happen in the future, and he wondered if he would end up like G said if he kept worrying too much about everything.


    Gughed at Loren¡¯s reaction and poked him with her index finger.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s true that I¡¯m a little ufortable, work is work. I¡¯ll do it properly.¡±


    ¡°In that case, well, it¡¯s fine¡­¡±


    Loren was concerned because G, who could be described asid-back, was showing an unusually clear expression of displeasure. But in reconsideration, she seemed fine.


    ¡°Then get some rest and be ready for tomorrow. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡±


    ¡°Roger. Loren, don¡¯t worry about silly things and get some sleep, okay? After all, the spirit said she will guard the camp.¡±


    ¡°How reliable is that?¡±


    Loren pointed to the spirit watching over their encampment from the edge of theke beyond the trees, and G thought for a moment before replied.


    ¡°At least, in the worst case, we can trust her to wake us up if something happens.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can trust that.¡±


    It was a delicate point, but the spirits did not need to sleep, and as G had said, she should be able to wake everyone up if something came, so they all went to bed together, leaving the guarding to her.


    And the next day, their group crawled out of the tents to find several dead dark goblins that had been shot in the chest or head by something.

 Chapter 233: Into The Water

    <h4>Chapter 233: Into The Water</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Then, I will show you around myke!¡±


    The spirit of theke beckoned Loren and his friends from theke with a truly happy smile, although Loren had no idea what made her so happy.


    After a simple breakfast at dawn, their group had been given the blessing of theke by the spirit. She told them that as long as they received the blessing, they would not be crushed by the water pressure in thiske, they would be able to breathe in the water, and they would not even get wet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not permanent, so it¡¯s not like you won¡¯t be able to get into the hot springs after your work is done.¡±


    Loren only realized it when they were told. While the blessing was in effect, their bodies would not be able to get wet in the water, or rather the hot water, of thiske, and as a result, they would not be able to soak in the hot springs that use thiske¡¯s hot water. If it was not permanent, then there was nothing to worry about, but Loren felt a little regretful that he had let the spirit of theke use her power before confirming its validity window.


    ¡°I can also cancel it for you.¡±


    ¡°How long does itst?¡±


    If it worked for too long, it might be necessary to have it canceled. Theke spirit thought for a moment before answering Loren¡¯s question.


    ¡°About one day.¡±


    The answer gave Loren two pieces of information.


    The first was that there seemed to be no need to force theke spirit to cancel the blessing. The other was that, if the work could not bepleted in a day, or if they could not find a way out other than the entrance they were about to enter, they might not be able toe out.


    To begin with, they did not know what was beyond the outlet that theke spirit said to be spewing out dirty brown water. Furthermore, they had no idea how deep they would have to go in to discover the cause. To think that they could easily find the cause of the problem in a day¡¯s time could directly endanger their lives. Aside from G and Lapis, the rest of the team members were mere humans. If their bodies came into contact with the boiling water, they would be burned, and if they came into contact with something that would melt their skin, they would be in serious danger.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t find anything after a certain time has passed, we¡¯lle back at once.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll be waiting for you near the outlet. If youe out from another exit, please wait at the ce where you slept yesterday, and I will join you there.¡±


    The problem was that Loren¡¯s group, who were about to dive into a ce where dirty boiling water was gushing out, had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but he thought they would have to make do with their intuition.


    ¡°Then, everyone, pleasee this way.¡±


    Loren was the one first to step into theke in response to the spirit¡¯s call. The clear water, which should be hot just enough to be used for bathing, did not transmit its temperature to Loren¡¯s body even after he had stepped into it.


    After confirming this, Loren signaled Lapis and the others, who were waiting on the shore. They stepped into theke one after another, with Lapis in the lead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even feel the temperature of the water.¡±


    Loren approached Lapis, who was pulling at her priest¡¯s clothes with a curious look on her face to confirm that she was indeed not wet, and whispered.


    ¡°Did you use THAT already?¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ Ah yes. That thing.¡±


    After confirming that the other members of the group were so surprised by their not-wet bodies that they were not paying attention to what the two of them were doing, Lapis brought her face closer to Loren¡¯s. Loren almost drew back when he saw the familiar ck eyes staring at him turn into deep purple in an instant, but it was not so much about it being a trait of demons as it was just his surprise at the instantaneous change in color.


    ¡°That reaction makes me a little sad.¡±


    While apologizing to Lapis, who looked slightly hurt, Loren really looked into Lapis¡¯ eyes. It was not the first time for him to see purple eyes, of course, but it was the first time for him to look at them so closely, and it was unusual to see the color change from ck to purple and from purple to ck. Just as Loren was about to lean in to have a closer look, us called out to him.


    ¡°Loren, what are you doing¡±


    ¡°I got some debris in my eye, and I was having Loren take a look at it. Yes, it looks like it¡¯s gone now, so thank you, Loren.¡±


    Loren almost choked on his own words when us asked, but Lapis followed up with a harmless story, smiled, and bowed to Loren. Of course, the color of Lapis¡¯s eyes were already fixed at ck by then, and Loren suddenly realized that he had inadvertently brought his face close to Lapis¡¯s and looked into her eyes, so he hurriedly moved away from her and nodded appropriately.


    ¡°Well then, everyone, let¡¯s go, shall we? It may be the first time for you to breathe underwater, but don¡¯t worry, you can do it like normal.¡±


    Theke spirit went into the water with a ssh.


    Normally, one would have to take a deep breath before diving into water, but since breathing was assured this time, there was no need to do so. Although Loren had experienced simr magic before, he still felt strange. As he dived resolutely into theke without being conscious of his breathing, he found that breathing was indeed not a problem, and visibility was more than adequate since they were still in the clear hot water.


    When the other members of the group followed Loren and dove into theke, the spirit beckoned them and began to slowly swim forward.


    Loren was worried that some of them might be confused by the difference between being underwater and being on the ground, but it was not a problem for Lapis as she had experienced the same thing before, and G swam effortlessly in the hot water without seeming to be bothered.


    As for us and his party, he was not sure if they had experienced the same thing before, but all the members except Ange quickly got used to the situation. Even Ange, who was somewhat confused, soon got used to being under water with us holding her hand and apanying her for a while.


    And so, their group began to move around in theke, and as they moved forward, they found that theke was surprisingly teeming with living creatures.


    Loren had thought that even though the water was cooler at the bottom of theke, it would be difficult for fish to live there, but when he looked beneath them, and he could see quite a number of ratherrge fish swimmingfortably. And when he saw lizard-like creatures and even turtle-like creatures swimming about, he was impressed by the fact that there were so many creatures that could survive in the hot water.


    Theke spirit, which had approached Loren without him knowing, lightly tugs on his sleeve. As he wondered what she was doing, she pointed to a corner of theke. From the depth of the ce, it was at the edge of theke¡¯s center. There was a hole in the rock surface where an adult could stand and walk in. The brown water was gushing out of the hole. Seeing this, Loren gestured for Lapis and the others following him to stop, and he approached the brown water together with the spirit.


    Loren moved close to the brown water and casually plunged his left hand, which had been ungloved, into the brown water, thinking that it was his role to do so.


    The brown water was supposed to be even hotter than the clear water, but like with the clear water, he could not feel the temperature at all. When he pulled his hand out and examined it, there was no trace of melting on the skin, and no burns of any kind were visible.


    However, Loren was still not reassured: he plunged his head into the brown water. He thought that even though his skin was fine, he could not let Lapis and the others enter without checking if the mucous membranes of his eyes, nose, and mouth were alright, but the hot water did not affect them at all. Finally feeling reassured, he gestured others to follow.


    They drew closer as per his call, but Lapis, having seen Loren¡¯s actions, pped Loren¡¯s body somewhat angrily while G, us, and the others watched with a somewhat exasperated look on their faces.


    From Loren¡¯s point of view, even if he had been affected by the brown water and suffered an injury or something, he would be able to receive immediate medical treatment because priests like Lapis and Laure were there, so there would be no problem. However, his action of suddenly sticking his head into the brown water, which was known to cause injuries on contact, was not to Lapis¡¯ liking, and it seemed that G, us, and the others were also appalled by the sight of him doing it.


    Loren, who had managed to stop Lapis from pping him, red at the others, whose expressions had changed from exasperation to smirking, and waved his hand as if to say ¡®Let¡¯s move on¡¯. He led the way into the hole where the brown water was spewing out. Just as the spirit had said by thekeside, she seemed to intend to wait there and did not follow them.


    Theke was kept somewhat bright by the light that poured down from the sky, but once they went into the hole, no sunlight could reach there and it suddenly became pitch ck. It would have meant that they would not be able to see and thus, would not be able to examine anything. But Ange, sensing the situation, immediately lit a magic light on each of us¡¯ and Loren¡¯s left hands.


    After having a light source, Loren started walking deeper into the hole with his left hand held up. But with only the brown water flowing out, visibility was almost zero even with light. Hoping that the others would be able to follow him because of the light, Loren half-groped his way forward. Luckily for them, the hole wasrge enough for one adult tofortably stand in, and there were no branch paths, just a straight road ahead.


    After walking some distance, the hole suddenly became an uphill slope, and after climbing the slope, they came to a ce where the flow of water suddenly became calm. Although it was difficult to see the details with poor visibility, it was more like a small open space than a hole. As they proceeded further, the ceiling was suddenly gone, and they came to a ce filled with a light different from that of magic.


    Wondering if this was the ce, Loren kicked off the ground and swam toward the opening overhead. After a short distance, his head came out of the water.


    ¡°What is this¡­?¡±


    Loren muttered as he looked around with only his head above the surface of the water. The ceiling had risen quite high before he knew it, and that brown hot water was roaring down from one corner of it in a cascade a considerable distance from in the direction they were traveling.


    The light illuminating the surroundings seemed to be emanating from the walls themselves. Feeling that he had seen something simr before, Loren tugged at the threads of his memory for a while and eventually remembered that it was simr to a magical building material he had seen in Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruins. If the light-emitting walls were of that same magical building material, then there was a possibility that the space Loren was now looking around was a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom.


    As he looked back, thinking that he should ask for Lapis¡¯ and G¡¯s opinions, he saw Lapis and the others looking around with their heads above the water, just like him.


    ¡°Lapis, are these magical building materials?¡±


    ¡°You remembered it very well, Loren. But it¡¯s a little difficult to tell from here.¡±


    Lapis exined that there were several reasons why walls could emit light other than the use of magical building materials, and that just because a wall was glowing did not mean that it was made from said materials.


    ¡°Then what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°We have to continue on. From the looks of it, there seems to be a passage behind that cascade.¡±


    Lapis pointed to the cascade of brown water roaring down from the wall and said she could see what looked like a passageway on the other side of it.


    Loren and us could not see anything like that, but since Lapis said so, there really must be a passageway. Loren decided to persuade us.


    ¡°Do you really think she can see passages that we can¡¯t see?¡±


    ¡°Lapis has good eyesight, better eyesight than you or me. And we have no other ces to go. We have to assume that there is a passage and try to go there.¡±


    ¡°That waterfall seems to be quite powerful.¡±


    If caught in a waterfall, even a good swimmer could easily drown to death. us was concerned about this, but when Loren told him that they would be safe because they were now in a state where they would not suffocate underwater due to the power of the blessing, he was quickly convinced.


    ¡°The water pressure is also a concern, but that spirit said that it can also be ignored, so it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°The spirits blessing is really convenient, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Knowing that it would be safe to plunge into the waterfall, us did not hesitate anymore, and the group went straight through the cascading brown waterfall.

 Chapter 234: From Entering to Exploring

    <h4>Chapter 234: From Entering to Exploring</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Passing through the waterfall with brown hot water, Loren¡¯s group reached the passage Lapis saw on the other side of the waterfall and immediately got themselves out of the water.


    The passageway had no waterway running through it and continued deep inside, but the walls seemed to be made of magical building materials as well, so there was no problem in securing visibility. Lapis and others begin to check the entrance to the passageway for traps, but Loren behind them, who had just gotten out of the hot water, jumped back into it for some reason, and that attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Loren, what are you doing?¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ question, Loren, who had immediatelye back up as if he wasn¡¯t doing anything in particr, answered that he was just checking something.


    ¡°By checking, you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°We have to be sure that the blessing still works even after we got out of the hot water once.¡±


    Theke spirit had said that the blessing¡¯s duration was about a day, but she did not mention whether it was still effective after they had gotten out of the water once. Loren thought it was necessary to check this, since there was a possibility that the blessing would be invalidated when they returned.


    Hearing this, Lapis and us both voiced their objection.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to do!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s something I should say, but wouldn¡¯t it be better if you consulted with us before taking any action?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not such a big deal, is it?¡±


    ¡°What were you going to do if the blessing became null?¡±


    ¡°I think it would be extremely troublesome if Loren became incapacitated.¡±


    Lapis was concerned for Loren¡¯s safety, while us reminded him that he had a whole party to think about. Both of their arguments were so strong that Loren gave up trying to refute them and ended up apologizing meekly.


    Anyway, the power of the blessing itself remained intact, and with this, Loren thought that the only thing they had to worry about was the return time.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re going in, right?¡±


    Ange pointed to the end of the passageway and said without asking anyone in particr, and Loren nodded in return.


    ¡°Be careful, since we don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll find.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a trap, I can handle it, Loren and I will take the lead.¡±


    Lapis said and took up the ce next to Loren. There were no objections to her proposal, and the lineup was formed with Loren and Lapis in the lead, followed by G and Le, then Ange and Laure, and us was at the tail end.


    ¡°us, shouldn¡¯t you be further in front?¡±


    ¡°No, I should be at the rear. It¡¯s the only ce for me.¡±


    us resolutely refused. Thinking that he was aware of his role to be the rear guard, Loren was not inclined to say anything more. But Lapis, who was walking next to him, whispered in Loren¡¯s ear.


    ¡°It¡¯s surely to check out us girls¡¯ behind.¡±


    ¡°¡­That guy just can¡¯t behave at all¡­¡±


    Indeed, if us wanted to admire the buttocks of the five girls, he would have to be at the back of the line. But it would be troublesome if he was too focused on that and forgot to be vignt. Loren red at him and us, understanding that Loren had seen through his intention, turned his eyes away and looked around as if to show that he was keeping watch. us was not directly touching the girls, and it was not like the body part he ogled would shrink or anything, so Loren decided to stop paying attention to him and continued walking forward. But seeing Lapis walking a little bit ahead of him while seemingly shrinking into herself, Loren wondered if she minded it that much.


    The group continued to walk along the straight passageway with caution, and after a while, they came to a door.


    Seeing Lapis approach the door first and start checking to see if any traps had been set, Le muttered curiously.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Lapis a priest?¡±


    ¡°A priest of the God of Knowledge should be able to do that much, right?¡±


    Loren answered Le, thinking that if she asked Lapis the same question, she would probably get the same answer. Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel that the height of the hurdle that the priests of the God of Knowledge had to ovee was getting higher by the minute, but he couldn¡¯t take responsibility for that.


    As Loren was thinking that if said priests were going to me someone, they should me a certain priest presented here, Lapis finished her examination and put her hand on the door.


    ¡°It looks all right, so I¡¯ll open it.¡±


    ¡°Is the door unlocked?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Very careless.¡±


    With a chuckle, Lapis pushed open the door.


    And instantly came eye to eye with the tworge dark goblins inside.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    As Lapis froze, the dark goblins also stopped moving, not knowing what the hell had happened, and Loren ran through the space beside Lapis without saying a word.


    A white light, much stronger than the one emitted from the magical building material, shed by, and before the ck goblins could take any action, their heads were easily separated from their body andnded on the floor with blood sttering.


    ¡°It¡¯s not very nice to run into them out of the blue, huh.¡±


    Loren, who had sent the two ck goblins¡¯ heads flying at a blinding speed, spoke to Lapis, who was still frozen in her posture. She finally retracted the hand that was pushing the door and scratched her head as if troubled.


    ¡°I was too distracted by the trap.¡±


    ¡°These¡­ Are these the same ones that were in the forest?¡±


    us muttered as he watched the headless corpses through the door that Lapis opened.


    ¡°They look like goblins, but I¡¯ve never seen any in simr size and color. A new species?¡±


    ¡°They seem to be native to the ruins. Can that even count as a new species?¡±


    Loren also thought that they would not exist in nature. If such goblins did exist naturally, there would have to be a tremendous uproar, but he had never heard of such amotion.


    ¡°They¡¯re a rare species, and they¡¯re big, but I doubt they¡¯re that strong.¡±


    Crouching beside the headless corpses of the goblins, us looked closely at them. Hisment was understandable, as in this case, the goblins had been easily defeated. But in reality, such defeat was only because of Loren¡¯s strength and the power of his weapon. It was extremely difficult to cut through their hard skins and bones with an ordinary weapon wielded by an ordinary swordsman.


    Just as Loren was about to open his mouth to warn us not to be too optimistic, a ck goblin¡¯s arm, which was not supposed to move, swung at us, who was crouched down beside it, with a speed that could not have been expected from a corpse.


    While no one had expected the corpses to move, not to mention to attack, us, the one being attacked, pulled out the long sword at his waist in a fluid motion and easily severed the arm that had swung at him at the elbow.


    ¡°>!¡±


    Before the severed arm fell to the floor, Laure released a priestly force that enveloped the bodies of the two ck goblins that were trying to get up, and with a screeching sound, the headless corpses lost their strength and fell to the floor again, not moving an inch from there.


    ¡°I take back what I said before. They¡¯re strong and tough. If it were someone else instead of me, they might have been in danger.¡±


    us said as he returned the longsword, which glowed with a pale light, to its sheath and stood up. His blessing, >, could increase the power of both people and objects, and the longsword he used was such a fine weapon that it had caught Loren¡¯s attention at a weapons store. Thebination of these two factors allowed him to easily cut off the ck goblin¡¯s arm, but us himself seemed to acknowledge that if either one of them had been missing, it might have been a close call.


    ¡°Not only the ck goblin, but there are ghosts too?¡±


    The headless ck goblin moved because a ghost had possessed the corpse right away. Laure was the first to recognize this, and she had purified the possessed goblins with > technique, which had neutralized them without much effort. If Laure had been slower in her judgment, they would have had to fight ck goblin corpses that were fully under the ghosts¡¯ control.


    ¡°Laure, you¡¯re well-versed in this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a priest, I should be able to do this much.¡±


    Le seemed impressed with Laure¡¯s ability to detect the ghosts just by looks and immediately purified them, but Laure was humbled about it. Lapis red at her with half-lidded eyes.


    ¡°Loren, did she just lightly belittle me?¡±


    ¡°E-err, that¡¯s not what they meant¡­¡±


    Depending on how one looked at it, Laure might have sounded like she was criticizing Lapis for not immediately recognizing the incident as the work of a ghost and being slow to take action. However, it was also clear that she had no intention to do so. Loren patted Lapis on the back to appease her, thinking that Lapis was not really serious anyway, while Le calmed the upset Laure down.


    ¡°So, what do we do from here?¡±


    Loren looked around at Ange¡¯s question.


    The passageway extended to both left and right of the door they had entered, but there was no way to know which path was the right one. The only thing Loren knew was that they had to get out of here as quickly as possible.


    ¡°These things weren¡¯t here naturally. They must have been ced by someone else, so it would be troublesome if they realized they had been defeated. Let¡¯s move quickly. But I also don¡¯t have a clue where we should go.¡±


    This set up of goblins followed by ghosts could not be a natural urrence. This should have been considered a deliberate cement by some entity. If it was a deliberate cement, the one who set this up might, via some method, know if they were defeated. Loren didn¡¯t even want to think about what methods would be used to remove intruders like their group.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just pick a path at random?¡±


    As Loren wondered what to do, us casually made a suggestion.


    ¡°Since we don¡¯t know which one to choose, it doesn¡¯t really matter which way we go, does it?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ may well be so.¡±


    Perhaps it was too optimistic a view, but considering that they had to leave this ce as quickly as possible, it was clear that there was no time to hesitate. Loren had to admit that us¡¯s suggestion made sense.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go this way. We¡¯ll move quickly, but be careful of traps and unexpected encounters.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡±


    Loren said and was about to start running when G stopped him. As Loren wondered what was going on, G, with a grim look on her face, pointed to a passageway in the opposite direction from where he was heading.


    ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯s this way.¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­ girl¡¯s intuition or something?¡±


    ¡°Yup. It¡¯s better than having no clue, right?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    If Loren asked G to exin in detail, she might leak information that she did not want us¡¯ party to know. As he couldn¡¯t possibly tell them about G¡¯s true identity, Loren had to appear as if he agreed with her without thinking too much about it. He smiled at the grim-faced G and immediately proceeded to the passageway on the opposite side of where he had been heading.

 Chapter 235: From Exploration to Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 235: From Exploration to Reunion</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Go straight there. Turn right at the end. At the second turn after that, turn left.¡±


    ¡°Loren, does she know about this ce?¡±


    G¡¯s instructions were so specific and precise that it was not surprising at all when us asked Loren such a question.


    No one knew where they were headed, but as they proceeded under G¡¯s directions, it was immediately clear that those directions were not baseless.


    ¡°How can that be? This ce looks like some kind of ruin, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    With walls made of magical building materials, it was natural to assume that this ce was a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, just as Loren had said. If someone had already uncovered this ruin before, there was no way that the beastmen, especially the Lords of the nearby towns, would not be aware of it. However, this would not be the case if the ce had been raided illegally, so it was difficult to say for sure that this ruin was unexplored or not.


    ¡°us, let me tell you something.¡±


    Loren said, trying not to look at us, who was walking at the back.


    ¡°Ruins usually have a specific internal structure depending on their purpose. Normally, you¡¯ll be able to understand their inner structures after you¡¯ve explored enough of them. Iprehensiblebyrinths are an exception, though.¡±


    ¡°Have your party explored that many ruins?¡±


    ¡°As a former mercenary, I didn¡¯t travel to such ces. But G is an experienced adventurer, and she had seen few of those.¡±


    The first half of Loren¡¯s exnation to us wasplete truth. The second half, however, was an outright lie, but such a half-true exnation seemed to have a certain amount of persuasive power.


    ¡°But where the hell is she leading us to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure myself.¡±


    He had considered asking G, but when he saw how grim her face was when she gave directions, somehow he felt less inclined to do so. He guessed that they were probably heading toward what could be called the central part of the ruin, but he could not find any exnation for G¡¯s expression, which became grimmer the further they went.


    ¡°Take right at the next turn. Then keep going straight to¡­ Ah, I knew it¡¯s here.¡±


    Towards the end, G¡¯s voice was filled with such a dark, piercing-cold emotion that all of them unthinkingly looked at her. She did not seem to notice that she had unexpectedly be the center of everyone¡¯s attention, and continued to stare at a point in front of her with a grim expression on her face.


    Wondering what this all meant, Loren shifted his gaze to the double door G was staring at. It was just a lone, unadorned door set into a wall made from magical building material, but there was something beyond it that gave G such an expression.


    ¡°G, what¡¯s on the other side of this door?¡±


    ¡°What huh¡­¡±


    As she was about to answer Loren¡¯s question, G noticed that the attention of everyone was focused on her. She looked startled.


    If she gave the wrong answer, her identity would be revealed. But if she lied, she could cause discord within the group if it was discovered. Even if she were to lie, it was impossible to use the excuse that it was a hunch now that she had precisely guided the whole group through what appeared to be an Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruin.


    As G wondered what to do, Lapis ced her hand on her forehead and shook her head as if to say this was hopeless, and Loren prayed that G would somehowe up with a good excuse.


    ¡°Th-This ce is probably an important facility or something, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ve explored simr ruins before, so I wondered if this one was built the same.¡±


    ¡°You seem to be an experienced adventurer, G. Where did you work before you joined Loren¡¯s party?¡±


    ¡°What? E-erm I¡¯m from the North. I was a wandering adventurer, I didn¡¯t belong to any particr party.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re from the North, and you¡¯re dressed like that?¡±


    Ange stared at G¡¯s outfit from top to bottom.


    On this continent, there were ces where temperature varied considerably depending on the area and season, but there were also ces where it always remained almost the same. The northern regions were generally cooler than the southern ones, so G¡¯s outfit, which was way too revealing no matter how one looked at it, could hardly be considered the outfit fitting the northman.


    ¡°Nah. I¡¯m from the North, and I can¡¯t stand the heat in the South, so I dress like this. I don¡¯t like the heat.¡±


    It was a far-fetched theory, but not so far-fetched that it made no sense. At least, G¡¯s exnation seemed to have convinced us¡¯ group to some extent, and they did not ask anything further.


    Relieved, G collected herself and put her hand on the door in front of her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll open the door, then?¡±


    ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Loren ced his hand on G¡¯s shoulder and said. us and the others recognized this as Loren being concerned about opening the door, but G sensed that there was another meaning in it. She patted the back of the hand Loren had ced on her shoulder to assure him that it was okay, then turned back to the door.


    ¡°Is it unlocked?¡±


    ¡°>. It¡¯s open now.¡±


    After answering Lapis¡¯ question by using magic, G pushed open the double door. Peeking in, Loren let out a sound of surprise at the scene behind the door.


    It was arge room. A white light, stronger than the light emitted by the magical building materials, was pouring down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room. Several ck shelves of unknown purpose lined the walls, and on the surfaces of some of them were rows after rows of letters, which Loren didn¡¯t recognize, and numbers, shining in various colors.


    In the center of the room, seven coffin-like objects were ced in a circle. Several thick tubes connected the coffins to the ck shelves, the walls, and the ceiling.


    With G in the lead, the whole group entered the room. For a while, all they could do was look at the bizarre sight, but then Le spoke.


    ¡°What is this¡­?¡±


    Of course, no one answered, but G was the only one who silently approached one of the coffins and touched its surface with clenched teeth.


    ¡°This looks like some kind of research facility.¡±


    Lapis, who had been walking and looking around with interest, said as she approached a shelf and brought her face close to the characters painted on its surface.


    ¡°Moreover¡­ It appears to be working properly.¡±


    ¡°You can tell?¡±


    Laure asked in surprise. Lapis moved her face away from the ck shelf-like object and replied with a smile.


    ¡°Of course! I am a priest of the God of Knowledge.¡±


    Loren thought that priests of the God of Knowledge must not have such versatility, but Lapis again leaned in close to the ck shelves and began to speak to no one in particr.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough information to know what kind of research facility this is, but from the circumstances, the water flowing into thatke became contaminated probably because this site started operating.¡±


    ¡°Could that possibly be¡­?¡±


    Ange¡¯s face contorted in disgust. She probably had realized what Lapis was referring to, but Lapis continued without caring.


    ¡°Probably. It¡¯s the wastewater from this facility.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s faces, except G¡¯s, contorted at Lapis¡¯ blunt words.


    Anyone would feel a simr sense of disgust if they knew the water used in a hot spring was mixed with wastewater. Even more so for their group, as they had bathed in the hot water of theke a while ago.


    ¡°I think the water we used to bathe was fine. It was clear because it wasn¡¯t affected, thanks to the topography and the flow of the water.¡±


    Although Lapis made sure to add this, the feeling of disgust did not disappear, and the question of whether the water was really safe remained.


    ¡°The question is, what exactly is this research facility?¡±


    Lapis was about to get lost in thoughts about this, but she was brought back to reality by Ange¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Hey, this coffin ¡­¡­ seems to be moving.¡±


    Lapis turned her gaze toward Ange and saw that she was standing in front of one of the seven coffins in the center of the room, pointing at it.


    ¡°The surface of this one seems to be shining, and it vibrates a little.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    Curious, Lapis approached the coffin that Ange pointed at and put her face close to the surface. Indeed, on the surface of the coffin-like object, there were letters simr to those on the shelves appearing and disappearing, and if one touched the surface, one could see that it was vibrating, albeit slightly.


    Upon further inspection, Loren found what looked like a namete attached to the side of the coffin, with what appeared to be inscriptions on the surface, but Loren had no idea what these inscriptions were either.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you read what it says with the power of a priest of the God of Knowledge?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis, who was staring at the namete with her face close to it. She replied without even looking at him.


    ¡°I can read it, more or less¡­¡±


    ¡°Incredible¡­ So, what does it say¡­?¡±


    By now, Loren was unable to tell whether the priests of the God of Knowledge or the demon tribe were incredible. But when he asked Lapis to read the namete, she turned to him with a very serious look on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be surprised. This namete says ¡®Luxuria Lecherity¡¯.¡±


    The words that Lapis uttered were iprehensible to us¡¯ party. However, for Loren, they were words he had heard before, and with a feeling of disbelief in his heart, he involuntarily looked at G, who had a grim look on her face.


    It was a name, but not of an ordinary person.


    It was the name of one of the beings simr to G, beings that have existed since ancient times and call themselves Evil Gods.


    The name of the big, muscr man who was called the Evil God of Lust was Luxuria Lecherity.


    ¡°So, this is¡­¡±


    Loren hurriedly swallowed down the words that were about toe out. It was because he worried that us¡¯ group would suddenly doubt G once he said it out loud. He was trying to be careful, since he couldn¡¯t guess what kind of words would spark their interest in the topic.


    As if to cover for Loren, a voice came from the entrance that they had used to enter this room.


    ¡°Get away from that coffin, you mongrels. It is not yours to touch.¡±


    A familiar, arrogant voice. Of course, the memory it brought was not a good one at all.


    Seeing Loren immediately ready his greatsword, us¡¯ group also decided that this was not an ordinary situation. Each of them readied their own weapons and took a stance against the owner of the voice.


    ¡°A bunch of mongrels from who knows where¡­. Huh, you? So we meet again.¡±


    The guy wore jet-ck armor and had long ck hair. His skin was white, and his features were sharp. His bang was pulled back with a ck metal hair clip, and in his hands he carried an ornate longsword and a ck shield.


    ¡°How unexpected. I¡¯m pleased to see you again.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ I don¡¯t want to see you again.¡±


    Loren spat. The one sneering at him was one who had stolen weapons from the Demon Kings in the demon territory and fought with Loren¡¯s group in the process. It was the ck swordsman Magna.

 Chapter 236: Probing for Information Through Conversation

    <h4>Chapter 236: Probing for Information Through Conversation</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Loren, who is this guy? Do you know him?¡±


    Standing ready, us asked. Perhaps he had guessed from Magna¡¯s words and actions that he had some history with Loren¡¯s party.


    Loren red at Magna, who was standing imposingly at the room¡¯s entrance. He did not want to deny their connection, but he also did not want to be associated with this guy. Magna, on the other hand, did not move at all and simply looked at Loren¡¯s group from his position. He still kept his longsword in his hand, but did not hold it at the ready.


    ¡°Just a bit, and it was some time ago. But be careful. He¡¯s a bit of a pain.¡±


    Loren warned. If they thought the guy was alone and let their guard down, they could be dealt a terrible blow.


    Holding up his shield and sword, Magna said with an air of mockery.


    ¡°Watch your mouth, peasant.¡±


    His stance alone caused us¡¯ party to tense up. They probably had realized that Loren¡¯s warning was an understatement.


    ¡°This¡­ must be a very troublesome acquaintance you have.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Loren gave a terribly ambiguous response to Le¡¯sment. She probably didn¡¯t understand what he meant, but regardless of whether this encounter with Magna was a coincidence or fate, he was thankful that it happened here.


    If he was right, Magna would not be able to fight with all his power, and to confirm his guess, Loren made a move.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Dark Elf that you had by your side? Did she get tired of you? Being considered unworthy is sad, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    As Loren lightly provoked him, Magna¡¯s gaze turned to some ce behind their group for just a moment. The direction of his gaze confirmed Loren¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°She¡¯s in this coffin, isn¡¯t she? What a terrible thing to do. You¡¯re a piece of shit, you know that?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t by force. I didn¡¯t hold her by the neck and shove her in there. Sheid down in the device voluntarily.¡±


    When Magna and Loren metst time, he was apanied by a dark-skinned elf, a Dark Elf. Loren could only think of two possibilities when he didn¡¯t see her here. One was that she may be aiming for a surprise attack from somewhere, like an assassin. The other was that the Dark Elf might be inside one of the coffin-like devices lined up in the center of the room, which seemed to be in operation at the moment.


    Magna¡¯s answer seemed to indicate thetter, but then another question arose.


    ¡°What are you doing, shoving the Dark Elf who has been following you into a coffin like this? It can¡¯t be that you want to bury her before you, can it? If that¡¯s the case, then you¡¯ll be left out in the open when you die. There¡¯s no one to bury you.¡±


    ¡°How impudent. Do you think I¡¯m going to go to the trouble of exining my purpose to a lowlife like you?¡±


    ¡°If you think you¡¯re so superior, at least exin it to me in a dignified manner.¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s correct! At least exin, you gloomy bastard!¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to do,ing out of nowhere like this? Why don¡¯t you at least tell us your name? How shy are you!¡±


    The support for Loren¡¯s provocation came from unexpected sources: Ange and Laure, who Lapis was looking at with a somewhat surprised look on her face. The girls were standing behind us as if he was protecting them. They seemed to be intimidated by Magna, who was speaking in a superior manner. However, as Loren repeatedly provoked him, their anger seemed to prevail over their fear. The fact that they had us and Le, their dependablepanions, in front of them was probably a big part of the reason too.


    Being barked at by two girls, Magna raised an irritated eyebrow.


    ¡°Shut up, you mongrels. I have no reason to tell you my name!¡±


    ¡°His name is Magna. He¡¯s a thief who broke into warehouses and stole equipment a while ago.¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling a thief? They were mine to begin with!¡±


    Magna, who could not bear to be called a bandit, raised his voice.


    ¡°Well, anyway. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re up to something by shoving a dark elf in this coffin. Which means you cannot risk using that sword ability of yours in this room.¡±


    Magna¡¯s sword was capable of emitting a sh of light from its de to attack the enemy. The power and speed of the attack were so nasty that even us and his party, not to mention Loren, would be unable to defend against it. However, if it was in the limited space of a room and Magna himself could not afford to damage the equipment in operation, it was unlikely that he would use the sword¡¯s effects.


    ¡°Provided that you have the brains to take that into ount.¡±


    ¡°Have you already forgotten that you were defeated by me in swordsmanship as well?¡±


    Despite Loren¡¯s continued provocation, Magna still did not fall for it. But Loren snickered as if he was making fun of him.


    ¡°That was thanks to that armor, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Being able to make use of your equipment is also a skill.¡±


    Loren was about to agree, but that would have been the end of their conversation.


    In fact, Loren was not just prolonging this talk for no particr reason. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Magna when he appeared on the scene, but Loren noticed that the color of Lapis¡¯ eyes had turned back to purple. As she used his body as a shield and observed Magna closely while avoiding eye contact with the guy, Loren thought that perhaps she was analyzing and appraising Magna¡¯s equipment. He was stalling for time, thinking that it must be a task that would take a certain amount of time, given that Lapis was still staring at Magna from behind him.


    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t I break one of those equipment that you¡¯re so proud of, the helmet?¡±


    As Loren said with a deliberate smirk, Magna¡¯s expression turned grim, and a small sound of teeth grinding could be heard from his mouth. Thinking that he really must have held a big grudge for it, Loren continued.


    ¡°How did it feel to have a piece of your precious equipment melt away?¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a good reaction. You must have felt awful about that, huh?¡±


    Loren prepared himself for a sh, but Magna, despite raising his voice, did not seem to have lost control of himself yet. While he red at Lorren hatefully, he did not try to cut him down himself.


    Loren would like to escape if he could, but the only entrance and exit to the room was blocked by Magna. There were no other ways out.


    In the event of a battle, Loren had no confidence in his ability to defeat Magna. It was true that the guy¡¯s power would be augmented by the items he was equipped with, but whether the augment was in effect or not, as long as it actually existed as a possible threat, there was nothing to do but treat it as such. And when everything about Magna was considered as a threat, it was hard to think of him as an opponent that could be defeated.


    He was stalling for time, hoping that Lapis would somehow find a w or weakness in Magna¡¯s equipment, but he wondered what he should do if she couldn¡¯t find such a thing.


    >¡±It¡¯s not good, Loren.¡±


    Lapis whispered into Loren¡¯s ear from behind. Wondering if she had finished analyzing Magna¡¯s equipment, Loren focused on her voice without moving his eyes, but the information he received from Lapis wasn¡¯t inspiring at all.


    >¡±That armor, it¡¯s concealed so well that I can¡¯t make out anything.¡±


    >¡±Seriously¡­¡±


    >¡±They have very strong concealment property. With such strong concealment, those items will instantly be national treasures if they are presented to any country.¡±


    Even though they were newly-retrieved, Lapis¡¯ eyes were still the eyes of a demon. Just the fact that those items could hide their information from her eyes made Loren understand that they were considerable treasures. If such things were to be released into the world, they would certainly be designated as national treasures.


    ¡°One-on-one is out of the question, but¡­ maybe three can work?¡±


    Loren thought that if it was just him alone, he would almost certainly have a tough time against Magna, even if he couldn¡¯t use that sh attack. There was one thing that differed from thest time they fought though: the presence of us and his team.


    At the very least, us was a swordsman who could be counted as a force to be reckoned with, and it was hard to believe that Le was only following us as a decoration. In addition,st time there were only Lapis and G as the rear guards, but this time there was also a magician named Ange and a priest named Laure to lend their help. As long as no one dragged their feet, their strength should be higher than when they had fought Magna before.


    ¡°Eh? Wait, what¡¯s this?!¡±


    Just as Loren was about to make up his mind that they would have to try this, Ange suddenly raised her voice. She sounded startled.


    Loren, who could not take his eyes off Magna, could not see what was happening on the side where Ange¡¯s voice wasing from, but instead Magna startedughing happily, as if the grim look on his face was a lie.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were thinking, but you wanted some time, didn¡¯t you? It was the same for us.¡±


    Loren wondered what he was saying, but immediately realized that there was a possibility that Magna actually needed time, too.


    As for what Magna was waiting for, there was currently only one thing. It was the Dark Elf, whose name Loren had heard to be Noel, who had entered one of the coffins here.


    ¡°There was still some time before that Noel woke up. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to lose at all, but if we¡¯re going to fight anyway, the easier the better, right?¡±


    Loren couldn¡¯t suppress a shiver down his spine as he heard what Magna said. Thinking that was probably why Ange raised her voice earlier, he took her eyes away from Magna and looked toward the center of the room.


    The lid of one of the coffins, which was supposed to be closed, was open with a cloud of white smoke.


    Loren came to the realization that it wasn¡¯t just them who needed time ¨C Magna was waiting for Noel to wake up.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the end of the chatter. Noel, get up and help me. We cannot let those who intrude our territory return alive.¡±


    As Magna called out, from inside the coffin, which was still spewing white smoke, a tanned hand appeared and grasped its edge, trying to pull the body out of the smoke.

 Chapter 237: From Surprise Attack To Battle

    <h4>Chapter 237: From Surprise Attack To Battle</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Don¡¯te out!¡±


    The first one who acted was not the Dark Elf called Noel, who was trying to get out of the coffin. It was also not Magna, who was watching the scene very leisurely. Nor was it us, who was looking with expecting eyes because the hands gripping the coffin¡¯s rim were of a girl, and was kicked away by Le and Laure because of that. It was not G, who was staring at Magna with a steely, angry gaze, nor Loren, who was holding his greatsword at the ready. And it was not Lapis, who was staring intently at Magna¡¯s equipment, hoping to see even a glimpse of their capabilities.


    No, the one who acted before anyone else was Ange, who was standing very close to the coffin, and she kicked the lid of the open coffin back closed.


    If the lid had beenpletely opened, it would not have closed even if Ange had kicked it, since it looked quite solid. But the lid was still being opened, and it returned to its original position quite easily after a forceful kick.


    However, there was one thing different from before it was opened, and it was the hand gripping the edge of the coffin. Of course, once the lid was closed, the hand was caught between it and the body of the coffin.


    ¡°Th-that looks bad¡­¡±


    It was natural that Loren would unthinkingly blurt out such words. After all, a hand that seemed to belong to a woman was crushed between the sturdy-looking coffin and its heavy-looking lid. There was the sound of something solid being crushed, and blood sttered outside the coffin.


    At the same time, a scream was heard from inside the coffin, but Ange didn¡¯t seem to care about it. She jumped on top of the lid, making it impossible for whoever inside toe out.


    ¡°If you think you cane out leisurely, you are mistaken!¡±


    ¡°Well done, Ange!¡±


    Raising her voice in praise, Le rushed Laure to also get on the top of the lid.


    Something inside tried to lift the lid, shaking it, but it was not so easy to lift the lid with two people¡¯s weight on it.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get on too.¡±


    The fact that the lid was still being shaken suggested that the arm strength of whatever was inside was considerable. Perhaps that was why Lapis, who had been staring at Magna from behind Loren¡¯s back, gave him a word of warning before running over to the coffin and getting onto the lid.


    The lid, which had been loaded with additional weight, was almost motionless, although the person that tried to open it from the inside was probably still intact.


    ¡°us! Get rid of that ck thing while we still can hold this!¡±


    ¡°Give me a minute, will you? Le¡¯s kick is really something¡­¡±


    While Loren was still stunned by what they were doing, G had already leapt at Magna. Loren tried to call her back, thinking that it would be difficult to coordinate the storyter if she ended up doing hand-to-handbat after being introduced as a magician. But even after just a fleeting nce, he was so overwhelmed by G¡¯s menacing aura that he swallowed the words that were about toe out of his mouth.


    ¡°You son of a bitch!¡±


    G had no weapons. The only way for her to attack was to use her body or her Evil God power, but she seemed to have gotten a bit too hot in the head and mmed her fist into Magna¡¯s shield with force.


    The attack normally would have made her fist shattered, but not only did it fail to do so, it also pushed Magna, who was defending himself, back.


    This result was not a surprise as G was an Evil God. However, Loren racked his brain about how to exin it to us¡¯ party, who did not know the situation.


    G did not stop attacking though. She kicked at Magna¡¯s shield again, pushing him back further. And then, without closing the gap between them, she thrust her fingers at Magna.


    ¡°Red stones, shoot at my enemy. >.¡±


    The ball of me from her fingertips violently mmed into the shield Magna was hiding behind, scattering sparks of fire on impact.


    However, Magna¡¯s expression, which could be seen from the shadow of his shield, showed no sign of being cornered.


    ¡°Well, looks like you can really use magic.¡±


    ¡°Digging these up and using them again, don¡¯t think you can get away with this for free!¡±


    ¡°Again? Well¡­ I don¡¯t know what you don¡¯t like about it, but what¡¯s wrong with using something you can use?¡±


    ¡°Those words¡­ I¡¯ll make you regret them!¡±


    Magna emerged from the shield he had been hiding behind as Gura clenched her fist and lunged forward. In order to intercept her, Magna thrust out the weapon in his right hand, but instead of the long sword he originally held, it somehow turned out to be a one-handed spear.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    For G, who had been expecting a sword, the spear tip was unexpected, and she was slow to react to the attack from a different angle than she had thought. If she had rushed in like that, she would have been skewered, but Loren, who caught up with her just in time, grabbed the belt at G¡¯s waist and threw her behind him with force. And in ce of G, he repeled the spear tip with the t of his greatsword.


    Loren had hoped that by repelling his weapon, he would make Magna lose his stance. However, Magna did not pull back the repelled spear but let go of it instead, then turned the aim of the crossbow that he had suddenly taken out of the air toward Loren.


    ¡°Where the hell did you get that from?¡±


    Without time to be surprised, Loren caught the crossbow¡¯s arrows with the t of his sword. The arrows, turning out to be special, exploded upon impact and drove Loren¡¯s body backward.


    Magna, who had shot at Loren in rapid session, tossed the crossbow away as if it had run out of arrows. The crossbow was enveloped in light and vanished before it hit the floor.


    At the same time, Loren, who was hit by the impact of the explosion through his sword, fell to his knees.


    ¡°Sturdy. As expected of a barbarian.¡±


    Magna raised his voice as if in admiration and blocked the shing from us, who followed up after Loren, with the shield in his left hand, then charged at us with his shield. us wasn¡¯t able to dodge it and was sent flying as the shield mmed into his body, but Le caught him.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be easier to clean up if all the trash gathers in one ce.¡±


    Magna muttered. What he now held in his hand was neither a crossbow nor a one-handed spear, but a long spear designed to be thrown.


    The spear thrown out with a simple stance, was hurled at Le, who was holding us in her arms, at the speed of a sh of light.


    ¡°O God who honors knowledge, protect us from harmful forces. >.¡±


    Lapis, who was keeping watch on the top of the coffin, cast a protective spell, but the spear flew straight through it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡±


    Loren struck the spear down with his great sword from the side. Despite having been cut with great force, the spear fell down without bending before springing up and disappeared in a sh of light.


    ¡°What kind of magic trick is that?¡±


    Loren was bewildered by the phenomenon of the weapon in Magna¡¯s hand changing from one to the other. The longsword he was holding from the beginning seems to have been put back in its scabbard hanging from his waist, but Magna didn¡¯t look like he was carrying the spear and crossbow he had used anywhere on his body. It looked as if they were taken out of nowhere.


    ¡°Do you even have time to be surprised? Shall I use this next?¡±


    A metal ring with sharply polished edges appeared on the index finger of Magna¡¯s right hand. Everyone could tell that it was a weapon, but no one could figure out how it was to be used. As Magna began to spin the metal ring, Loren called out its name.


    ¡°A chakram! You even have this?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a weapon that not many people use, but you seem to know a thing or two about it huh?¡±


    Magna said as he aimed the war ring at Loren and released it with a somewhat erratic trajectory.


    Loren, who was about to intercept it with his greatsword, held up his greatsword, but just as it was about to reach him, the ring of war suddenly split into two and attacked Loren with different trajectories.


    Loren sharply clicked his tongue. Even if he had been able to knock down one of them, he would not have been able to get to the other one. Prepared to be injured, Loren swung his greatsword down to block at least one of the rings, but the other ring was closing in.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡±


    A fireball shot out from G¡¯s palm. Without missing its target, it hit the ring that was about to bite into Loren¡¯s shoulder, stopping its momentum and sending it flying into the wall, where it disappeared in a sh of light.


    ¡°Good grief. You may be worthless opponents, but troublesome nheless.¡±


    Magna grumbled as three small knives suddenly appeared in his hand. The moment his gaze turned to Lapis and the girls who were still on top of the coffin, holding the lid to prevent the presence inside froming out, the knives were released from his hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go that way this time!¡±


    ¡°Think we¡¯ll let you?!¡±


    Loren cursed. us, who remained calm, stood ready in front of the girls at the same time. Loren blocked one knife with his greatsword while us quickly swung his longsword and knocked two knives to the floor.


    Magna, apparently attempting to either finish off the girls on the lid or make them move to avoid the attack so that the coffin would open, saw that his attack had failed and gave a small click of his tongue.


    ¡°Really, this is too much work.¡±


    What appeared in Magna¡¯s hand was ance. It was originally used during a cavalry charge, but Magna held it up lightly and pointed its tip at Loren¡¯s group, even though it was supposed to be quite heavy.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡±


    With its weight and length, thence was not something that can be easily handled by an individual. However, Magna handled it as easily as if he was handling a twig. Loren was secretly impressed by how superior Magna¡¯s current arm strength waspared to his own, even if he could not tell to what extent this was due to the effects of his equipment.


    ¡°The > just now should be faster than a horseman¡¯s charge though.¡±


    The weapon was not something that a person could hold and run with, but with Magna¡¯s strength, its power would be no different from that of a rider¡¯s charge. In fact, it may even be more powerful.


    If he dodged it, Lapis and the others behind him would be in danger, but if he told them to dodge as well, Noel, who was apparently trying to get out of the coffin, would be set free. They were losing even now. should there be more reinforcement, it was inevitable that they would be out of their depth.


    ¡°Do you want to be stab to death, barbarian?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m going to cut you open, so juste here.¡±


    Loren gripped his greatsword tightly with both hands and held it at the ready.


    Magna, on the other hand, hunched down as if to gather strength and pointed the tip of hisnce at Loren. He stared at him for a moment, and as soon as he saw Loren get into his stance, he kicked at the floor and began a furious charge forward.

 Chapter 238: From Battle to Discovery

    <h4>Chapter 238: From Battle to Discovery</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    From the beginning Loren had decided that his target would be the neck.


    Between a spear and a greatsword, the spear was inevitably superior in terms of inflicting damages from a distance. However, the shing strike of a greatsword had a greater damaging area, whereas the cavalry spear, which was used for thrusting, could only pierce in one point. Loren believed that if he was prepared to take one strike and avoid a fatal wound, he would be able to defeat a spear-wielding opponent. However, if the opponent was Magna, the story would be a little different.


    Loren was confident that he could cut through ordinary armor, even te armor, with a single sh of his greatsword. But, he couldn¡¯t be that confident when it came to armor that had been infused with magic, as there was no telling what kind of properties it might have, not to mention that the armor itself might be much sturdier than ordinary one.


    The greatsword in Loren¡¯s hands was also a magic weapon that was said to have belonged to a Demon King, but there was a possibility that it would only show its true value when used by a Demon King. It was not clear how powerful it was in his hands.


    That was why he was aiming for the neck.


    Of course, Magna¡¯s armor protected his neck as well. Yet, because it was a movable part like the elbows and knees, it also had somewhat lower defense power than other parts of the armor. Loren¡¯s n was to deliver a sh with all his might to that part. Even if he could not cut through the armor, the blow from the greatsword would surely inflict fatal damage to Magna¡¯s neck, and since Magna was a living creature, such damage to the neck would surely result in death.


    Still, there were two conditions that had to be met in order for this n to seed.


    Fist, Magna¡¯s target must not be one of Loren¡¯s vital points. Despite a thrust attack carrying less killing power than a sh, as long as Loren was a living creature, he would naturally die if he was hit at a vital point such as the throat, heart, or head. Being struck at other parts of the body was also dangerous, but with two priests present, the probability of death was considered very low as long as he was not instantly killed.


    Second, Loren had to still be able to attack Magna after receiving a strike from him, and that was a problem. If he faltered due to the pain of the wound, or if Magna¡¯s spear had some kind of magical effect that prevented Loren from attacking, he might end up being pierced by the spear without being able to counterattack.


    Only when these two conditions were met would Loren be able to attack Magna, but during the stretch of time when both he and Magna were charging at each other, he made up his mind.


    He would let Magna hit him in the stomach, but he would take his life in return.


    However, Loren had forgotten one possibility.


    His n assumed that the fight would end with a single blow. If his opponent was not willing to do that, then the n would actually fall apart.


    And Magna was not willing to go along with Loren¡¯s idea.


    ¡°Putting your life on the line, huh. Just like a barbarian!¡±


    Magna, who had realized Loren¡¯s intentions during the charge, thought of aiming for a spot where he could kill Loren instantly with a single blow. However, he immediately understood that he did not have the ability to do so.


    If he wanted to kill Loren instantly, who was evidently well-trained, he would have to aim for either the head or throat.


    He had considered going for the heart, but under the influence of his equipment, Magna¡¯s eyes could detect that the jacket Loren was wearing had such a strong defense property that it could not be pierced with a single blow, no matter how much his blow had been strengthened by the equipment and the magic-enhanced spear he was using. He might be able to injure Loren as Loren had intended, but he might instead receive a fatal blow to the neck.


    Thinking this, Magna let go of the cavalry spear in his hand while still thrusting it forward.


    Loren, not thinking about dodging, charged straight into the point of the spear as it was thrown at him. And as Magna expected, the spearhead struck the left side of Loren¡¯s abdomen but was pushed back by the momentum of Loren¡¯s body instead of piercing the jacket and Loren, choking on the impact, struck a sideways cleaving blow at Magna¡¯s neck.


    But by then, Magna, who had let go of his spear, had forced himself to stop, albeit with considerable force, and immediately jumped backward with a backstep. With that single movement, he had escaped out of Loren¡¯s strike.


    Loren, who had missed his aim and received a painful blow to the abdomen, was sure to be somewhat dyed in his next action, and Magna, who had sessfully evaded the attack, was ready to attack again. He immediately selected his next weapon and tried to make it appear in his hand, but as he saw Loren aborted his strike halfway and stopped his forward charge, his expression turned suspicious.


    It looked as if Loren didn¡¯t want to have that gap of break after a sh, but forcibly stopping a sh halfway would create a simr gap. Still, thinking that he had to do it anyway, Magna once more chose the crossbow as his weapon.


    With the crossbow, Magna could attack from outside of Loren¡¯s range without having to try to get close. He put his finger on the trigger and met Loren¡¯s eyes, who was holding his greatsword ready after aborting his sh. Smiling triumphantly, he shouted while keeping eye contact.


    ¡°Burn, Fiamma Unggia!¡±


    Just then, the de of Loren¡¯s greatsword glowed red with the sensation that all of his strength had been drained from his body.


    Magna, who thought he could win just by pulling the trigger while aiming at Loren, who seemed unable to defend or evade, squinted at the glow. He was about to pull the trigger, when the warning that seemed to have been trusted into his head made him quickly remove his hand from the crossbow and ready his shield on his left arm.


    As it turned out, that act saved Magna¡¯s life.


    While enduring the sensation of losing strength, Loren held his great sword so as not to drop it, and a red me gushed out from it. It licked and ravaged the floor, the ceiling, the walls, and everything else in the space in front of him.


    ¡°Gugh?!¡±


    The heat was so intense that if Magna¡¯s shield and armor were mere metal products, it would have been enough to settle the fight. But Magna¡¯s equipment protected his life, even though he was swallowed by the violent me.


    However, this came at a considerable cost.


    Just as Loren¡¯s Fiamma Unguia, the greatsword of a Demon King, sucked up Loren¡¯s magical power and life force to create the me, the ck armor and shield that Magna wore also used the power supplied by Magna to create that much defensive power. As a result, Magna staggered with exhaustion.


    If a follow-up attack had been made, Loren¡¯s victory might have been assured, but Loren, too, had paid an enormous amount of power to the greatsword in order to push Magna to that point, and he fell to his knees on the spot, just barely holding on to his consciousness.


    If this had been a one-on-one battle, it would have been a draw, as both were almost unable to move, but when Magna had no allies, Loren had friends.


    ¡°us! Now! Chop that ck guy¡¯s head off!¡±


    Lapis raised her voice from the top of the coffin.


    In response, us, who had been a little hesitant when Loren¡¯s greatsword burst into me, casted > on himself and shed at the staggering Magna.


    ¡°To be like this because of a barbarian¡­ My skills are stillcking.¡±


    Magna, despite being unsteady on his feet and seeming to fall at any moment, caught us¡¯s enhanced blow with just his left arm.


    However, us did not stop just because his attack was blocked. He immediately struck another blow, and when even that was stopped, he continued to attack Magna in rapid session, gradually increasing his speed.


    But Magna was able to block all of them, then kicked at us¡¯s side, which looked light to outsiders. The kick, which was delivered with such agility that it was hard to believe that he was wearing te armor, struck us in the side and sent him flying.


    ¡°Gagh?!¡±


    ¡°Kyaa!¡±


    The direction, in which us was sent flying, was the worst direction for Loren¡¯s group. Of all things, it was towards the coffin whose lid was being held closed by Lapis, Angel, and Laure.


    Lapis, who had managed to dodge, was not caught up in it. But Ange and Laure, who were slow to dodge, fell off the coffin together with us. Magna, who had straightened up with stance, rushed toward Lapis, who was the only one left on the coffin.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a very good idea, alright?¡±


    Lapis said without any malice and made to intercept the charging Magna. But before he could reach her, who was charging forward with his shield at the ready, G mmed into him from the side.


    ¡°Damn! You again!¡±


    ¡°What the hell! You knew what that device was and still let your own follower inside?!¡±


    ¡°What kind of idiot uses a device that he doesn¡¯t even understand?¡±


    After striking G with a swing of the arm and forcing her to step back, Magna sneered at G, who was ring at him hatefully.


    ¡°It is a device that turns even barbarians like you into beings who can serve someone from a noble species like mine. It is a great device left by my ancestors, not something you are allowed to tread upon!¡±


    Magna continued, ring at Lapis, who was still on top of the coffin.


    ¡°It will give some value to you, worthless people. You should be grateful!¡±


    ¡°What a nonsense!¡±


    Le was the one who shouted and cut Magna off.


    Magna did not even draw his sword ¨C he blocked Le¡¯s blow with his shield, then used it to bash her, knocking her to the floor. He tried to step on her, but G threw a punch at him.


    ¡°We had to suffer because of people like you!¡±


    ¡°What in the world¡­ You can¡¯t be¡­?¡±


    Magna¡¯s eyes widened, as if he had suddenly realized something.


    ¡°Tell me, what is the worth of such power!¡±


    Invisible fangs bite into the Magna¡¯s shield. While not visible to the eyes, the pressure they made on his arm and shield was very real. He red at G with eyes filled with hatred for some reason.


    ¡°You! You are Gluttony!¡±


    ¡°H-how do you¡­?¡±


    Magna kicked G, who was flustered by having her identity revealed, and shook off the things that were biting his arm.


    ¡°If only you had obeyed meekly¡­ We wouldn¡¯t be here right now!¡±


    .


    ¡°What the hell?!¡±


    Magna¡¯s right hand, which was not holding a weapon, reaches for G¡¯s neck. G was so surprised that she was unable to move, and her throat was grabbed in a tight grip.


    ¡°Let the wrongs of my fathers be righted here and now!¡±


    ¡°Gagh?! W-what the hell¡­?¡±


    As her neck was squeezed tight, G threw out questioning words underbored breath.


    Magna, however, did not answer, but instead put more strength into the hand gripping G¡¯s throat. She let out a pained cry at the pressure that would break her neck instantly if she were a mere human, and Magna tried to tighten his grip even more. But at the sight of Loren getting up unsteadily, his hand rxed for a moment.


    ¡°What the hell are you¡­ doing with my friend¡­?¡±


    ¡°You can still move, huh. What a stubborn one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but¡­ I¡¯m going to finish you off!¡±


    Loren, who was forcing strength into his powerless arms, charged forward and, at that moment, felt a click somewhere in his head as if a part of something was fitting into ce.

 Chapter 239: From Settling the Fight to an Escape

    <h4>Chapter 239: From Settling the Fight to an Escape</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren was well aware that with just the double self-boost effect of his berserk mode, there was a high possibility that he would not be able to defeat Magna.


    He did not know whether Magna was that much more powerful or whether his equipment were that superior, but whichever the reason, it did not make much difference from his point of view as the guy was his opponent.


    Thinking that it might still not be enough even if he borrowed Shayna¡¯s magic to increase his self-boost, Loren had asked us for help before he fell into the berserk state. Although us was unable to move fully due to the blow to his side he had received from Magna, he still had enough strength left to get close to Loren and use his power.


    In short, Loren attacked Magna with the triple reinforcement of activating the self-boost technique, entering the berserk state, and the rare blessing of us¡¯s >.


    With the three reinforcement techniques being different in nature, it was impossible to predict what the results would be, but he could not think of any other method to increase his power at the moment. With no consideration for the consequences, Loren came at Magna, who was holding G by the throat, as fast as he could.


    Magna respondedzily, but Loren¡¯s triple-enhanced speed far exceeded his expectations.


    Magna thought that Loren had used up most of his strength and magic power to send forth the mes from his greatsword, but the attack was more powerful than he had expected. Thinking that his shield might not be enough to deal with the attack, Magna released his right hand, which was holding G¡¯s throat, and tried to draw the longsword at his waist.


    G was not about to let this happen though: she clung to Magna¡¯s right hand. The moment the grip on his throat rxed, G, sensing that Magna intended to reach for his weapon, grabbed Magna¡¯s wrist with both hands to stop him from doing so.


    ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Loren, don¡¯t care about me! Just cut me too!¡±


    With Magna not holding a weapon, Loren had a significant advantage. With this in mind, G chose to block Magna¡¯s right hand and shouted at Loren to cut herself down too, but of course Loren had no intention to do so. He believed he could finish Magna off even without that.


    Magna tried to shake off G¡¯s grip on his wrist, but he quickly gave up and kicked his knee into G¡¯s exposed nk instead.


    ¡°Gagh?!¡±


    There was the sound of something breaking, and G¡¯s body almost copsed. But she managed to stay on her feet and did not let go of Magna¡¯s wrist. Magna threw another kick, and as expected, G could not withstand the second blow. She released his wrist as she spat out some blood with a cry of pain.


    Magna was finally able to reach for the longsword at his waist, but that was a misjudgment on his part.


    As he could make weapons appear in his hands in some way, if he had not insisted on using his longsword and used any other summoned weapon instead, he might have been able to deal with the blow that Loren unleashed. However, he was distracted by the weapon that was right there, and because he made the unnecessary move of reaching for it, he received Loren¡¯s blow head-on.


    Loren, however, was in the worst physical condition: he was barely holding his own with willpower, so he was unable to deliver a well-aimed blow. His blow struck Magna¡¯s right shoulder, whether by mis-aimed or by ident.


    ¡°Damn you!¡±


    The moment he heard Magna¡¯s cry, Loren was pouring his remaining strength into the greatsword. The de of the sword, which had burst into mes before, once again emitted a crimson light. Just as Loren thought that the me was much weaker thanst time, Magna¡¯s ck armor burned bright red at the site of the direct sh, and the de cut down to Magna¡¯s armpit as smoothly as a hot knife cutting into butter.


    Loren¡¯s sh, which both cut and burned at the same time, burned Magna¡¯s wound, causing almost no bleeding. However, it solidly severed Magna¡¯s right arm from the shoulder, and the right arm, which had lost its support, fell to the floor with the armor it was wearing, making a heavy sound.


    Suddenly losing an arm¡¯s worth of body mass, Magna fell to his left. Loren himself pitched forward and fell to the floor, as if he had used all his remaining strength in that blow.


    ¡°This is not good.¡±


    Lapis, who had been watching the situation, lightly jumped off the coffin. At the same time, the coffin lid, without her weight to hold it down, was opened from the inside with great force. But Lapis ran to Magna without caring about it and casually gave him a front kick as he was trying to get up.


    The front kick, which was delivered with an admirable form, struck Magna¡¯s abdomen and sent him flying backward, but a dark-skin figure rushing in from the side caught his body, which must have been quite heavy.


    ¡°Magna-sama! Please don¡¯t do anything rash!¡±


    It was Noel, who had been released from the coffin, who held Magna in her arms. Her tanned skin, which was generously exposed, was glistening even though it was probably not anointed with oil.


    Magna was unable to speak, perhaps from losing his arm and from Lapis¡¯ kick. Noel held him with both arms while looking grimly at Lapis, who had slowly lifted Loren up and was calmly returning her gaze.


    ¡°How dare you people do this to Magna-sama!¡±


    ¡°I think the damage is greater on our side, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Noel¡¯s shouts didn¡¯t seem to faze Lapis at all. She nimbly took Loren into her arms, looked around, then told Noel.


    ¡°On your side, only that one guy, Magna or whatever he¡¯s called, was injured. On our side, almost everyone has some kind of injuries, except me. You can tell which side sustains greater damage, can¡¯t you?¡±


    <sub> .</sub>


    ¡°Magna-sama alone is worth more than all of you!¡±


    ¡°A difference in values huh. Differences in perception lead to conflicts. How sad.¡±


    As she said this, Lapis looked squarely in Noel¡¯s eyes, which have grown even more steely, and spoke in a refined but matter-of-fact manner.


    ¡°If you are thinking of using the power of Lust, you should stop, okay? Everyone it might work on can¡¯t move, and it doesn¡¯t work on me.¡±


    Lapis didn¡¯t know how much power Noel had in her newly awakened body, but it was hard to imagine that she was stronger than Luxeria, the Evil God of Lust they had encountered before.


    ¡°And that mister Magna? His wound was burned so it doesn¡¯t bleed and looks fine, but a whole arm has been cut off, you know? If you¡¯re going to treat it, the sooner the better, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡±


    Noel looked down at Magna in her arms. The pain from losing an arm must be tormenting Magna no matter how little blood he had lost, and perhaps because Lapis had kicked him in the abdomen quite seriously, his breathing was also disturbed. He started gasping for breath.


    Noel understood immediately that although Magna might not be dying right now, he was in no condition to be left as is like this.


    ¡°If you run away, we won¡¯t chase you. We¡¯re all wounded on our side, too.¡±


    Loren had used up all his power, G was almost choked to death and had received considerable damage to her abdomen, Le was knocked down, and us, Ange and Laure were all suffering from not-so-light damage. Lapis, who wanted to start treating them immediately, was eager to get rid of Magna, but she did not want to get into a fight with Noel, who had probably been transformed into an Evil God, even though she had just awakened.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure Loren will beat Magna next time.¡±


    Lapis responded casually and Noel, after ring hard at Lapis once more while grinding her teeth, picked up Magna¡¯s body as well as his severed arm, and quickly ran away from the ce. Lapis wondered whether Noel drew back because she believed she could not win Lapis head-on or because she thought she had to treat Magna as soon as possible, but the fact that once Noel decided to run, she did it in a straight line without a snide remark or a look back was an act worthy of recognition.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you ran away. I¡¯m also pretty much in a pinch here.¡±


    Loren was probably the most seriously injured, Lapis thought. His most serious external wound was the bruising to the abdomen from the tip of the cavalry spear, but the power he had put into the greatsword and the recoil from the force he had used to cut off Magna¡¯s right arm seem to have caused deep-seated damage to his body. The next person with serious injuries was Le, who had been struck down by Magna. Lapis diagnosed the others as having rtively minor injuries.


    She was also worried about the G¡¯s injuries, but probably thanks to being an Evil God, she had already recovered considerably with her own healing power alone, and it seemed that even if left alone, she would soon be able to move again.


    ¡°Well, us?¡±


    With Loren in her arms, Lapis called out to us, who was trying to catch his ragged breath with his hands on the floor.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen and heard a lot this time.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Well, yes.¡±


    When asked, us readily admitted it. Lapis, who had prepared to be more violent in their talk if he intended to feign ignorance, exhaled a sigh of relief at us¡¯s honest response.


    ¡°Then, do you know what I¡¯m going to ask you?¡±


    ¡°¡¯I don¡¯t care what happens to me, so please keep this a secret¡¯¡­ Something like that.¡±


    us answered in a slightly joking tone, but his voice began to falter as soon as he noticed Lapis¡¯s cold gaze, and by the end it was almost inaudible.


    Whether he was joking or serious, Lapis had expected him to say something like that. She kept her cold gaze on him and let out an exasperated sigh.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind if we all kept our mouths shut here.¡±


    ¡°Just kidding, just kidding. I won¡¯t tell anyone what I saw and heard here. I¡¯ll make sure Ange and the others know that too. Is that okay with you?¡±


    us said, sitting down on the floor and raising his hands in surrender.


    Wondering how much she could trust his words, Lapis continued to stare at us with a cold stare for a while, but then decided that it was probably okay and dropped her eyes.


    ¡°Thank you for your cooperation, us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Rather than that, can you tell Loren something when he regains consciousness? If he needs help, I¡¯ll lend a hand. I¡¯ll give you guys a discount, so feel free to call me. I¡¯m a pretty good friend. I think I can help you.¡±


    Lapis smiled wryly, knowing that ¡®discount¡¯ did not mean ¡®free¡¯. Loren was in eye-popping debt to the Demon Lord at the moment, so whether he would ask for us¡¯ help if it came with a price tag was a question, but it was always better to have more options.


    ¡°So I guess all that¡¯s left to do is to investigate this facility and either stop or destroy it, and the request is done and dusted for now?¡±


    Cursing the bad turn of events that had urred in the ce she had picked for a vacation, Lapis let out a deep sigh as almost no one else was able to move.

 Chapter 240: From Spinning Threads to Complaining

    <h4>Chapter 240: From Spinning Threads to Comining</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    There was a ck spider spinning thread in front of Loren¡¯s eyes.


    The thread spun out with a rustling sound was binding Loren¡¯s body firmly, though not too tightly. It made him wonder if this was the kind of scene he would see before being eaten by a spider¡¯s prey.


    He was currently in a hospital room.


    The doctor had told Loren that he neededplete bed rest, and Nig, the ck spider dwelling on his shoulder, had understood this in his own way and hade to the conclusion that he should be tied up with threads. At first, he had tried to spin the thread in a way that not only would bind Loren tighter, it would also wrap around the bed, but Loren had stopped him.


    After a series ofmotion, it seemed like Loren and his group had returned to the town of Kapha as if they were running away. ¡®Seemed like¡¯, because Loren had no memory of what happened during that time.


    ording to Lapis¡¯ exnation as he had regained his consciousness, after the battle with Magna at the ruins, she, as the only one who could move well among their group, was assigned to investigate the room with the coffins, the very site of the battle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand anything at all.¡±


    And that was the only thing she could say.


    ording to Lapis, that ruin was filled with even more advanced technology than other ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, and even the knowledge of a demon like her was not enough to understand the technology used there.


    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t we ask schrs and such to investigate?¡±


    It seems that us, who was able to move to some extent, had made such a suggestion, but Lapis shook her head.


    ¡°If it were a normal ruin, I would have agreed. But as you have seen, this seems to be a ce that remakes people into something different. I don¡¯t think we should leave it as is.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I wonder?¡­ You might be right.¡±


    ¡°We are in agreement, then. Well then, let¡¯s get to work on destroying it.¡±


    ¡°O-Ok?¡±


    Loren had asked us about what happened after that, but he still couldn¡¯t get much more information. At any rate, it seemed that the ruin waspletely destroyed and lost its functionality as a result of Lapis unleashing the full range of her atrocities with the help of us.


    ¡°This time, she sensed the mood and was quiet, so it was a good stress reliever for me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, you see, G¡­¡±


    G, who could be considered the interested party of this ruin, did not have much to say about it.


    She simply said that she had not be an Evil God because she wanted to, and that Evil Gods were originally created as a force of war against foreign enemies that threatened the existence of the Ancient Kingdom. However, in the middle of the war, the power used to enforce their subservience to the Ancient Kingdom was somehow lifted, and the Evil Gods all rebelled, which triggered the destruction of the kingdom. And finally, she briefly exined how they came from barbarians to being revered as Evil Golds as a result of the various things they did during their battle against the ancient kingdom.


    ¡°That was not mere old information. It¡¯s practically ancient. I don¡¯t think you have much interest in it, do you? I don¡¯t want to talk about it, either.¡±


    ¡°No, I think we¡¯ve just heard some incredibly important information, especially about why the Ancient Kingdom was destroyed.¡±


    That was the information that could not be spread once known. If it was spread, people would ask where they got this information, and in the process, they would inevitably have to reveal the existence of the G and herrades.


    ¡°I would have been happy to spread the word before they do all kinds of terrible things, though.¡±


    If the names of the Evil Gods and their powers were to be known, now that there have been multiple incidents that might have been caused by them, they could be a target to be defeated by adventurers and governments.


    ¡°¡­Ehehehe.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not cute at all, G.¡±


    Watching this exchange between Lapis and G, whoe to visit him every day, Loren, who was still being wrapped in Nig¡¯s thread, let out a soft sigh.


    This was not a very fruitful job. He didn¡¯t think it was right to be concerned about the results since they originally went there for a vacation, but he didn¡¯t feel good if they didn¡¯t get rewarded for the work they did.


    But he was pleasantly surprised to know that they had received the reward from the spirit of theke.


    Theke spirit was pleased to hear that water quality would definitely improve now that only clear hot water would flow into theke. Just like it had originally been as there was no more contamination


    taking ce. Apparently, in addition to the gem that sealed part of Lapis¡¯ body they had received from the beginning, the spirit also gave them a small amount of coin that she had collected from somewhere.


    ¡®Apparently¡¯, because Loren did not witness the thing. Lapis and us had taken care of it for him.


    Lapis told him that at the time, Loren and the others, conscious and unconscious alike, were all wrapped in Nig¡¯s threads and transported in a cocoon-like state. It was very troublesome to carry unconscious people while their arms and legs were hanging freely, and as they were wondering what to do, Nig, who was clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, packed Loren and the others up really quickly. This made it much easier to carry them, but G, who was still conscious, said that although she had no choice because she had not recovered enough to walk on her own, she wanted that to be thest time she would have to experience being packed like luggage.


    Then, they returned to town with considerable regret for havinge to theke on foot, and after cing the cocoons in a suitable ce while being looked at oddly, us immediately went to town to arrange a carriage for the return trip, and Lapis went to see the Lord to report the details of thismission.


    Lapis felt that if she honestly told the Lord what had really happened, it might lead to a troublesome conversation about the ruins and such, so she simply reported that there was a dpidated ruin upstream of theke and dirty water from there had flown into theke, which caused the hot-spring pollution.


    Lapis did not know if there were other entrances to the ruin besides the underwater one they used, as she was not looking for them. But would not be surprising if there were, given the fact that there were ck goblins on the ground, probably brought by that Magna, when they camped by theke at night. She didn¡¯t know if the Lord would go so far as to search for those entrances and check inside the ruin, but even if she did, it would take a considerable amount of time. And in fact, the ruin itself had been destroyed sopletely that even Lapis herself could never use it again, so it was not exactly a big lie to say that there was a dpidated ruin.


    Lapis told the delighted Lord that this was a casual request and that they had received a reward from the spirit of theke they encountered along the way, so they did not need another reward from the Lord again. She shook off the Lord¡¯s attempts to make her stay, and as soon as she left the Lord¡¯s mansion, she jumped into the carriage that us had prepared and returned to the town of Kapha without looking back a single time.


    ¡°Why did you hurry? Why couldn¡¯t we just enjoy our vacation again after the pollution from the hot springs had stopped?¡±


    G asked with a curious look, and Lapis replied with a big frown on her face.


    ¡°We needed to get out of that town as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°What did we do?¡±


    G thought that at least in that town itself, they must have done nothing, and Lapis turned to her like a teacher would to a student with a bad ssroom attitude.


    ¡°The hot water flowing out into thatke was clear, wasn¡¯t it? They said the hot springs in town were cloudy white.¡±


    ¡°And what about it?¡±


    ¡°That ruin was probably discharging white water before it was put into operation. It was mixed with clear hot water and became the town¡¯s hot spring. And the water discharge from the ruin haspletely stopped now.¡±


    This meant the previously cloudy hot spring water would be reced by clear, colorless water, but Lapis believed the story wouldn¡¯t stop there.


    ¡°That clear water doesn¡¯t have any special properties. In other words, most of the benefits of the hot spring probably came from the water discharge from the ruin.¡±


    Loren interrupted, knowing what Lapis was trying to say.


    ¡°And since that water discharge has stopped¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very likely that it is just hot water now.¡±


    That would be fatal for a hot spring, Loren thought, but they couldn¡¯t let the ruin continue to operate. It just couldn¡¯t be helped, and they couldn¡¯t be held ountable for it. If there was anyone to me, it would be Magna, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that would convince the Lord.


    ¡°The only other positive thing that came out of this was that we now know the names of all the Evil Gods.¡±


    Before destroying the facility, Lapis had obtained the names of the Evil Gods from the coffins that had been ced in that room.


    G said that the Ancient Kingdom shouldn¡¯t have created any other ¡®Evil Gods¡¯ besides her and herrades, and that there were only seven of them. Aside from the ones they had already known, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, and Greed, there were three more Evil Gods that Loren and Lapis had not encountered yet.


    ¡°They are Wrath ¨C Rage Dragonia, Envy ¨C Envy Bridgegard, and Pride ¨C Lucie Supervia.¡±


    ¡°Male, female, female, in that order. There¡¯s no one else like Luxeria, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°You already knew this, didn¡¯t you, G?¡±


    Loren red at G with half-lidded eyes as she proudly listed out the genders of the remaining Evil Gods, and she replied with a flustered wave of her hand and an embarrassed look on her face.


    ¡°I only remembered when I heard the names. I really did!¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all right.¡±


    G must have her own agenda, and although they were working together for the time being, there was no telling how long they would continue to do so. Since there was a possibility that they would eventually part ways, it was not strange if there were one or two things she hadn¡¯t told them, and Loren had no intention of pursuing the matter any further.


    Rather than that, he had a feeling that he had heard something import, but he couldn¡¯t recall what it was right away, so he stopped thinking about it for the moment and poked Nig, who was still spitting out threads, to make him stop and put his back on the bed.


    ¡°Loren, are you hurt that bad?¡±


    ¡°I just hurt one rib, but¡­ The magic power my greatsword consumed and such are much more serious.¡±


    While fighting Magna, Loren had twice sent forth mes from his greatsword. The second shot was hardly a shot, so only the first shot was truly of use, but that one shot alone consumed most of Loren¡¯s power.


    ¡°That¡¯s Mother¡¯s weapon for you. I think it¡¯s amazing that you could even use it once.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to be hospitalized every time I use it.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have any safety mechanism. If the user doesn¡¯t have any restraint, it will really take all of the user¡¯s energy.¡±


    Feeling the weariness that remained in his body, Loren thought that it was just like a Demon King¡¯s weapon to kill its user if the person was careless. He should refrain from using this weapon unless he really had no other choice.


    As Loren closed his eyes, he heard G¡¯s voice.


    ¡°So, Loren. Uhm¡­ There¡¯s a good chance that you¡¯ll run into that Magna or whatever it is again. So, I¡¯d like you to let me stay with you for a while longer¡­¡±


    ¡°Do whatever you like. I don¡¯t particrly want to kick you out or anything at the moment.¡±


    It seemed that Magna had recognized G as an enemy because of the incident this time. As this might cause more trouble, Loren could consider kicking G out to make it disappear. But from Loren¡¯s perspective, trouble woulde up no matter where he went and no matter who was by his side.


    As Loren told G that there was no reason to force her out of the party, and that she didn¡¯t have to worry about it, he could feel a hint of happinessing from the direction where G probably was.


    It seemed to be the same for Lapis, who asked the following, in a bit of lively voice:


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re all settled, what¡¯s the next step?¡±


    ¡°Let me take a break for a while¡­¡±


    Haven¡¯t you just finished your vacation?¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be called a vacation.¡±


    As he said so, Loren wondered gloomily if it would be possible to retake the vacation somewhere else. But even if he were allowed to do so, he somehow had the feeling that the vacation would be just as bad as this one.


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be an adventurer for a living¡­¡±


    But he was constantly bombarded with one troublesome situation after another, while hardly making any money at all.


    As Loren muttered to himself that his life had strayed so far from his original goal, Nig stopped spitting out threads and clung to Loren¡¯s right shoulder, his usual position, and tapped his legs in a somewhatforting manner.

 Chapter 241: From A Wrong Choice to a Re-Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 241: From A Wrong Choice to a Re-Encounter</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    There was a rumor going around that a certain hot spring resort had perished.


    It seemed like their business had already started to go bad when the rumor about dirty water flowing into the hot spring first circted, and was finally dealt the final blow when the cloudy medicinal water they marketed turned into clear water.


    Loren tilted his head and wondered if the rumor mill was a little too fast.


    But stories like this tended to spread very fast as if they had wings on their backs, and the effects they brought also happened strangely quickly, so maybe it was not that strange after all.


    Still, it was said that even though the water is clear, there is no change in the supply of hot water, so there was no doubt that if some changes were made to the facilities and marketing, the town could be reborn as a splendid bath town. The rumor was that the Lord was scrambling to make it happen.


    Under a distant sky, Loren could only wish them the best and thought that he may never be able to visit that town again.


    The phenomenon happening there was rted to amission that Loren and his team had received, and since they had not done anything wrong directly, so the Lord of the town would not bother chasing after them. It would be a different story should they returned to the town though.


    Feeling taping, Loren looked down to see Nig, the ck spider that had found shelter on his shoulder, to be deftly drumming him with its front legs.


    For a moment Loren wondered what kind of human needed to beforted by a spider, but he was d for the spider¡¯s concern and patted Nig on the back with his left palm, causing the passerby to turn and look at him with puzzled looks.


    Remembering that Nig was, generally speaking, a dangerous creature in its own right, he turned to face forward and continued jogging to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha.


    Rumors had been rife that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the city of Kapha had been destroyed.


    Loren thought this was ridiculous, but it was the first rumor he had heard since being discharged from the hospital, where he had been staying due to injuries sustained on hisst adventure. Unaware oftest state of affairs, he hurried down the street to find out what was going on. It seemed certain that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was out of service, and there were many adventurers hanging out here and there in the city, but when he asked them about the situation, they all just smiled wryly and gave him vague description.


    The inability to use the service of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a matter of life and death for Loren.


    He had no money in his pocket.


    If he did not work, he would have no money to eat for the day, and he would have to go through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in order to work as an adventurer.


    Of course, Loren knew that if he asked his partner, a girl named Lapis, a priestess in the service of the God of Knowledge, he would be able to get enough financial support. His debt would increase a little bit, but he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything. But he also believed that if he relied on her help, he would end up in a lot of trouble, so he just couldn¡¯t carelessly talk to Lapis.


    Turning a corner that he had taken countless times, Loren rushed towards the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    The word ¡®destroyed¡¯ was used to describe the state of the Guild, but Loren had believed that it was a figure of speech, since an institution inside a city could not be destroyed so easily. Then he would need to remove the cause of such a metaphor and help to restore the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to its original function as soon as possible.


    That was what Loren was thinking when he rounded the corner that would lead him to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but as soon as he did, he immediately turned around at the sight that met his eyes and went back behind the corner he had just passed. He quietly peeked out from behind the corner to look in the direction of the Guild.


    The entrance door of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was the same as usual. The sign indicating that it was the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the surroundings were the same as before, but there was one thing that had changed drastically.


    A man and a woman were standing in front of the door.


    Or at least Loren thought. He was not very sure about it.


    The two of them were almost the same height as Loren, but their outfits were very revealing, and their skin glistened unnaturally under the midday sun as if it had been daubed with oil. Both had short-cropped blonde hair and radiant smiles that seemed to be pasted to their faces. Their necks were thick and burly, their shoulders were stout, and their chest were incredibly thickly muscled.


    One of them was wearing a tiny piece of leather armor that barely covered her chest so Loren assumed she was a woman, but the man¡¯s upper body waspletely naked. They both wore leather pants that barely concealed the parts of their lower bodies that should not be shown, and their thighs looked as if they had been carved from rock. The braided leather straps of their boots came up to their knees.


    They would likely cause a seizure if encountered in the daytime, and if encountered at night, cause a weak woman or a child to scream and run away, or faint on the spot.


    The sight of these two standing in front of the entrance to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was enough to make Loren think that the Guild had probably been finished.


    Above all, Loren had to unconsciously rub his eyes and wonder if it really were two humans standing there.


    ¡°This is¡­ Those overly ripped figures again¡­¡±


    There was a voice saying, along with the touch of a hand on Loren¡¯s back. Turning around, he saw Lapis hiding in the shadows and peeking out just like himself. Behind her was G, crouching with her head in her hands.


    Having spotted the figure, Loren briskly walked to her and grabbed the crouching G by the scruff, pulling her body up.


    ¡°G, exin.¡±


    ¡°Now, now, Loren. What a nice day today¡­¡±


    ¡°Exin!¡±


    Loren pressed G, who was trying very tantly to dodge the question with a fake smile, for an answer.


    G, still held by the scruff of her neck, could not escape and began to exin the situation with shifting eyes.


    As a matter of fact, it was Loren who had asked G to send someone to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The reason for this request was based on information he had received during an impromptumission at a certain vacation resort they had visited not long before.


    There, Loren and his team came across a ruin where the Ancient Kingdom had created G and other Evil Gods, and for various reasons, they had destroyed the ruins. On this asion, they had also obtained information on the names of the seven Evil Gods created at the ruin, and one of them caught Loren¡¯s attention in a strange way.


    Envy Bridgegard, the Evil God of Jealousy.


    Loren did not know the name Envy. However, he had heard of the name Bridgegard before.


    And so, Loren, who was still in the hospital at the time, had asked G, who seemed to be free, to send someone to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to keep tabs on the situation.


    It was unlikely that the person Loren was after would ever find out that he had be aware of the situation. However, the fact that Loren and his group had entered the ruin where Evil Gods had been created might have been heard by that person, and if that happened, they might escape before he could take action. Concerned about the possible oue, Loren had asked for help¡­ But judging by the current situation, he became acutely aware that he had chosen the wrong person to turn to.


    ¡°First of all, what I want to ask is¡­ Who did you send over there?¡±


    ¡°Luxeria.¡±


    ¡°You! Why did you send him, of all people?¡±


    After releasing G¡¯s scruff, Loren grabbed the front of her chest again with both hands and shook her body back and forth with force.


    Apart from strength, Loren was by far the bigger in terms of physique. G couldn¡¯t do anything but let Loren lift her up off the ground and shake her.


    ¡°Wait! Wait! Loren! My bra¡¯sing off! You¡¯ll see it! You¡¯ll see it!¡±


    ¡°You did that on purpose! You definitely did that on purpose!¡±


    Loren argued and looked at Lapis. Color had drained from her face as soon as she heard G¡¯s words, and she alternately looked at Loren and G, who was still being shaken by Loren, with a look of disbelief on her face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose! He was the only one who seemed like he would listen to me, and he looked like he had time on his hands!¡±


    Luxeria was the name of a being who was apparently called the Evil God of Lust, just as G was called the Evil God of Gluttony.


    However, the problem had nothing to do with the fact that this Luxeria was an Evil God. After all, it was Loren himself who designated someone from the Evil Gods as the person to keep watch after them. He had thought that it was a risky request, but he knew that an ordinary adventurer wouldn¡¯t be able to do the job, considering whom he wanted to be kept in watch.


    ¡°Sloth won¡¯t do anything like this, and Greed is a child, right? There¡¯s only Lust unless I do it myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just keeping watch, so why can¡¯t it be Sloth?¡±


    ¡°How can azy guy keep watch?¡±


    G said very seriously, and Loren stopped shaking her and thought that it might indeed be so.


    Beingzy meant not doing anything and not wanting to do anything. The Evil God of Sloth should have the same way of thinking.


    ¡°I guess I made the wrong choice from the beginning¡­ But there¡¯s no one else suitable. Still, what the hell is that in front of that door?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they are¡­ followers of Lust, or his underlings, or something like that.¡±


    ¡°I thought you guys were supposed to be quiet.¡±


    Loren had heard that G had gathered the three Evil Gods of Lust, Greed, and Sloth, who had been involved with his group in the past, and hid them somewhere. They had parted ways with Loren¡¯s party saying that they were going to wander around the area at random, but before they knew it, they had been caught by G. He had assumed that these Evil Gods lived a quiet life away from the world, but if they had their own underlings and followers, they could hardly be said to be living a quiet life.


    ¡°We¡¯re rtively quiet, you know? What Luxeria has is just a small group of cultists. That¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That macho queen is not cute at all.¡±


    ¡°Compared to his heyday, he¡¯s cute.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not. I absolutely reject that idea!¡±


    After firmly dering that, Loren let go of G and attempted to do something about Lapis, who had stiffened up with a blue face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lapis. You don¡¯t have toe. This time, I¡¯m just trying to secure a person I¡¯m a little concerned about.¡±


    ¡°¡­Ha?! O-ok? Yes¡­¡±


    It looked like Lapis had even stopped thinking. After Loren spoke to her, there was a slight pause, and she turned to him with nk eyes. But then she finally came back to herself and reacted. She seemed to have developed a severe phobia about this guy. Loren, recalling Luxeria¡¯s image in his mind, didn¡¯t find it surprising at all. He patted Lapis on the shoulder, who seemed to be unable to grasp the situation at this point.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go through the trouble of encountering him. I¡¯ll exin the situationter.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, how rude you are. What do you think I am?¡±


    Loren, who had been talking to Lapis in an-easy-to-understand manner, was startled by the throaty voiceing from behind him. Lapis, who was in the position to look right at the person standing behind Loren, suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked about to fall, and Loren hurriedly caught her.


    ¡°The monster came¡­¡±


    Loren muttered to himself without turning around, sweat beading his cheeks and forehead. Then he heard the indignant voice of the person standing behind him.


    ¡°Who¡¯s a monster? How rude~.¡±


    Rude or whatever, a monster was a monster. Loren pushed down his feeling, gently closed Lapis¡¯ wide-opened eyes, and, swallowing once, turned around with determination.


    Standing there was a man who was bigger than Loren, both vertically and horizontally. He had a split chin and a short mustache, and was wearing a see-through shirt withted details and tight-fitting ck leather pants. Loren desperately suppressed his nausea as he looked into those extraordinarilyrge and bright eyes.


    ¡°You asked me to help you, so I did. You should be thankful. I don¡¯t want to be spoken ill of.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, you turn that way. This side is very troubled.¡±


    G hurriedly turned Luxeria around so that Loren would not have to see his appearance.


    While trying not to look at the protesting Luxeria and the cursing G, Loren shook and call out to Lapis, who had stiffened up and even started to foam at the mouth, trying to bring her back to consciousness.

 Chapter 242: From A Demonic World To Moving

    <h4>Chapter 242: From A Demonic World To Moving</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°So, do you have anything to say about this disaster, Loren?¡±


    It was not until sometimeter that Lapis regained consciousness.


    As soon as she did, she began questioning Loren about what had happened, but her gaze was focused only on him. She didn¡¯t even nce at Luxuria and G, who were nearby. Loren wondered if she really disliked that guy that much, but when he nced over at them, his eyes met Luxuria¡¯s superrge and bright eyes, and he winked at him. Loren could understand why she didn¡¯t want to look at him.


    ¡°You know who that person is. I thought that only their same kind could keep watch over them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand your thinking, but the result is a mess, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren could find nothing to say in reply to Lapis, who pointed to the entrance of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    Even though their group was hiding behind the corner, the man and woman in front of the door must have already noticed their presence since they made such amotion, but the big smiles on their faces never changed, making Loren suspect that they were stationed there for real.


    ¡°Could it possibly be the same inside too?¡±


    Lapis slightly turned her face toward Luxuria, her movement so awkward that the sound of her neck cracking was almost audible. Luxuria, who was being held down by Gura and made to look in a different direction, turned only his face toward Lapis and nodded.


    ¡°Of course, the inside is also filled with my beautiful lovers.¡±


    ¡°No wonder, they say the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is destroyed¡­¡±


    Lapis said with slumped shoulders. Unable to find any words to say to her, Loren scratched his cheeks with a troubled expression. In his opinion, while Luxuria¡¯s appearance could only be described as shocking, it was not so bad once you got used to seeing it.


    Loren, who had not expected Lapis to be shocked to the point of losing consciousness and foaming, lightly patted her on the back as she hung her head.


    ¡°People can get used to anything, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get used to it¡­¡±


    Loren chuckled at Lapis¡¯s despondent expression and wondered if she really disliked Luxuria that much.


    ¡°Loren, if you don¡¯t quickly get this over with and get rid of these guys, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is going to sue you for obstruction of business.¡±


    Loren got fired up when G told him so. He didn¡¯t even want to think about the hellish scenery inside the Adventurers¡¯ Guild building, but he was sure that if he didn¡¯t move forward with this, it would stay that way forever, and he would end up causing trouble for the guild.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go then. Lapis, you can go somewhere to kill some time¡­¡±


    Loren told Lapis, but she interrupted him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±.


    Lapis, with a half-desperate look on her face, sat up, clenched her fists tightly, and stared at the entrance to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as if she was looking at an enemy.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let Loren go to that demon world by yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to be eaten¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the confidence that I will survive if youe out of there, glistening with oil, Loren.¡±


    So that was what she really hated.


    [¡®Do you want me to exercise Energy Drain on those inside the building in advance, onii-san? If there is an Evil God in there, only that person can withstand it, I think.¡¯]


    Loren heard in his head the voice of the girl who was the King of Death, the highest ranking undead who was living inside his mind. Hearing Shayna¡¯s suggestion, who normally seldom revealed herself due to the intensity and danger of her existence, Loren felt his heart waver, albeit only for a moment.


    Certainly, if he had her do it, the person he wanted to see would be the only one unharmed among a heap of unmoving bodies, but Loren immediately rejected the idea. No matter how shocking their appearances were, they still came to help him, so he felt that it was too cruel a treatment to put them into aatose state with Energy Drain. He also realized that even if they wereatose, their presence would not diminish, but he did not tell this to Shayna. He gently stopped her instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you just in case, but don¡¯t do anything weird, alright?¡±


    Perhaps he had spent so much time with G that he no longer felt much danger from those so-called Evil Gods, but the other party was still a being worthy of such a title, so there was no telling what they might do.


    That was why Luxuria nodded with a slightly obedient expression at Loren¡¯s warning.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell him off, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    With G taking responsibility, Loren made up his mind and headed for the entrance of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    The only way to get inside was to pass through the muscr gate of the man and woman standing outside. Loren hardened his resolve and opened the door without looking at the ever-smiling faces.


    The air wafting out from inside made him involuntarily flinch.


    ¡°This again¡­¡±


    It was no wonder that Lapis, who was standing by Loren¡¯s side, covered her mouth with a hand.


    The air that wafted out of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild building was thick with the smell of sweat and grease, which was disgusting.


    If that had been all, Loren would not have flinched, but there was also a horrifyingly strong scent of perfume in the mix.


    Enduring the scent, they walked on, only to find that the building was filled with countless men and women who were not much different from the two standing at the entrance. It seemed like this made most adventurers turn around at the entrance and walk away, even if they could bear passing between the two standing at the entrance.


    Looking toward the adjoining diner, Loren noticed that the waitresses, who usually took orders and served the food while passing among the adventurers, were frozen at the far end of the restaurant, looking pale. As expected, the chairs there were also covered with muscles.


    ¡°This is terrible.¡±


    ¡°Who do you think is to me?¡±


    ¡°At least not me.¡±


    Shaking his head, as if he was not willing to be med for the situation, Loren continued on his way through the building, looking for the person he wanted to see.


    He was heading for the reception counter of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    The guild¡¯s employees would normally be there taking care of the adventurers who line up to receive and report theirmissions, but with not a single adventurer in sight, they simply sat in their chairs and stared at the scene on the floor, which seemed to be from another world entirely, with a stiff expression on their faces. Loren located a female staff member with a troubled look on her face among them and went to stand in front of the counter where she was sitting.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long, has it?¡±


    ¡°¡®Well¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to reply to that.¡±


    The one who answered with augh was a female staff member named Ivy Bridgegard, with whom Loren¡¯s party had briefly been involved with in the past. While the rest of the staff had pale faces and stiff expressions, she was the only one with a smile on her face, as if she wasn¡¯t shocked at all.


    Resting his elbows on the counter and bringing his face a little closer, Loren spoke to Ivy in a whisper.


    ¡°You know why we¡¯re here, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I can sort of guess. I heard that you entered those ruins in thend of the beastmen.¡±


    As expected of an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, this information had already reached Ivy¡¯s ears.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to run away, are you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any particr reason to run away.¡±


    ¡°Right. We don¡¯te here to capture and eat you.¡±


    Loren did not even think of doing anything to Ivy just because herst name was the same as that of the Evil God of Envy. They might be rted in some way, and as long as she was honest enough to pass on that information, there was no point in getting into a fight.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re so quick to talk. I just have one question I want to ask you, and as long as you speak, there won¡¯t be any trouble.¡±


    ¡°I see. But I¡¯m a little hesitant to talk about it here.¡±


    Being told so, Loren turned back and looked around.


    Lapis was watching the conversation with interest, and for some reason, G and Luxuria were standing side by side with their eyes fixed on Ivy.


    As the reaction of the two Evil Gods tugged at something in his mind, Loren looked around more and saw frightened Adventurers¡¯ Guild employees, waitresses in the adjacent cafeteria, and a crowd of muscles. It certainly didn¡¯t seem like a good idea to continue the conversation here, and Loren decided he needed a change of location.


    ¡°Do you have a room somewhere?¡±


    ¡°But first, is it possible to get these ratherrge people to leave? It¡¯s hard for us to tell them to leave, since¡­ all of them are registered as bronze ss adventurers.¡±


    Loren looked at Luxuria, and Luxuria crossed his arms in front of his bulky chest without a hint of guilt.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped, you know? We can¡¯t fill the guild floor with people who have nothing to do with the guild.¡±


    ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild in this town is going to be destroyed after all. Or rather, it will be better if it is destroyed.¡±


    Loren did not know how many adventurers had registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha, nor did he know how many adventurers used the guild. However, the fact that so many people had registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at once that it filled an entire floor and even the dining hall next door should have meant that some percentage of the total was upied by muscle-heads that were Luxuria¡¯s followers.


    Ivy smiled a troubled smile at Loren, who was tempted by the devastating thought that it would be better for the guild to be destroyed than to be a guild of muscles.


    ¡°No, please don¡¯t destroy it. We¡¯ll be in trouble if we lose our workce.¡±


    ¡°Unless these guys cancel their registration, we¡¯re going to have to deal with muscles forever, you know?¡±


    ¡°This density is crazy, but it¡¯s still manageable if they¡¯re mixed in with normal people.¡±


    Loren wondered if that was true, but if the staff member who was dealing with the situation said so, then it must be. The only thing left to do now was to pray that the muscles didn¡¯t form parties with other muscles.


    As Loren was thinking about this, Luxuria began to instruct the crowd of muscles to disperse, and the muscles that had filled the floor began to walk out as if their job was done.


    ¡°Thank you. We won¡¯t be able to work if it¡¯s like this day after day.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the ones who made them do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ can¡¯t be helped, I guess.¡±


    Ivy said and gave some instructions to the guild employees, who looked relieved to see that the atmosphere on the floor was returning to normal. Then she got up from her seat and walked past the counter to Loren¡¯s group.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a ce, but you¡¯ll pay for it. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the ones who will listen to you talk, so it¡¯s not like we have a choice.¡±


    Loren thought about paying himself, but unfortunately he did not have enough money on hand. When he looked at Lapis, who held the party¡¯s purse¡¯s string, to ask for her opinion, she shrugged and said.


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too expensive.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a ce where guild¡¯s employees can pay with our wages.¡±


    Ivy was the first to walk away, as if telling them toe.


    And so, Loren and the others followed after her and left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild behind.

 Chapter 243: Seeking Information After Entering the Restaurant

    <h4>Chapter 243: Seeking Information After Entering the Restaurant</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Guided by Ivy, the group went to a moderately refined restaurant that was a little too formal for the masses, but not so formal as to be reserved for the upper ss.


    As expected, Loren¡¯s group, who were armed, were stopped by the clerk at the entrance and told to leave their weapons with him, but more problematic was Luxuria¡¯s attire.


    ¡°Just put a stop to all that transparency.¡±


    The restaurant was not happy with Luxuria¡¯s outfit of tight-fitting leather shorts and mesh shirt, which did not look like something of a normal person from any angle. Loren told him toply with the restaurant¡¯s request to do something about it for the sake of other guests, but Luxuriained while hugging himself with a sultry look on his face.


    ¡°But what¡¯s wrong about me?¡±


    ¡°About everything, I think. But first, do something about the transparency and tightness of clothes. Not only for the sake of the restaurant, but also for our own peace of mind.¡±


    No matter how shocking the outfit was, if you kept looking at it, you would get used to it. Loren was beginning to, albeit gradually. But Lapis, who was by his side, was still avoiding Luxuria¡¯s eyes, and whenever she nced in his direction, the amount of cold sweat on her forehead increased. At this rate, Loren thought that one day they would eventually ovee the near traumatic mental shock, but he felt it was too high a hurdle to demand the same thing from this restaurant¡¯s staff.


    ¡°But I only have these clothes.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to dress this guy, no doubt it¡¯ll have to be custom-made¡­¡±


    Luxuria¡¯s body was evenrger than Loren¡¯s. Loren himself was not in a position to choose much in terms of clothing due to hisrge size, but when it came to Luxuria¡¯s size, it looked like nothing was made in such a size, be it old or new clothes.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. You stay outside.¡±


    Even if they came to a clothing shop now, there was a high chance that they wouldn¡¯t find anything that fit Luxuria. In that case, he just has to give up entering the restaurant. As Loren told him so, Luxuria stuffed his fist into his mouth, shook his head as if saying ¡®no, no¡¯ and croaked out.


    ¡°You¡¯re being cruel. I¡¯ve gone to great trouble to help you, and now you¡¯re excluding me after we¡¯vee this far?¡±


    ¡°I want to cut this guy down¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren, please restrain yourself. I fully understand how you feel, but there will be a lot of inconvenience if you get into an altercation here.¡±


    Lapis gently held Loren¡¯s hand as he reached for the greatsword he had left with the clerk. Two people were trying hard to carry the sword as one person couldn¡¯t move it, but when they saw Loren reach for it with a grim look on his face. They hurriedly carried the sword away to the room where the restaurant kept its guests¡¯ belongings.


    Ivy, who had been smiling with a helpless, troubled expression since the beginning of the meeting, made a suggestion to Loren, who looked at his sword with regret.


    ¡°If you can pay for a private room, I think we can go in like this?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We¡¯ll pay.¡±


    Loren, who was well aware that he did not have the authority to make decisions regarding money, looked at Lapis for her opinion. Lapis did not think it was a good idea to spend any more time at the entrance of the restaurant, so she nodded without any objections and started negotiating with the clerk to have a private room prepared. After some time, the negotiations were settled, and Loren¡¯s group was led to one of the several private rooms in the back of the restaurant. They sat down around a round table in the center of the room, and Lapis ordered a light meal and some drinks.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to have some good wine. Something is difficult to talk about when sober.¡±


    ¡°If you get too carried away, we¡¯ll fill up the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with muscle again, you know?¡±


    ¡°Lapis, can you stand it? I could.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you all just die¡­?¡±


    After sharply clicking her tongue, Lapis changed the drinks order and sat down at her seat.


    A short timeter, food and drinks were brought in, and Loren was impressed by the fact that the servers did not ostensibly change their expressions or attitudes when they saw Luxuria. As expected from a reasonably priced restaurant, their servers were well-trained.


    ¡°So, everyone. Shall we start with a toast?¡±


    ¡°What are we toasting to?¡±


    Ivy was the first to fill her own ss, then stood up from her seat and raised it. Loren red at her with half-lidded eyes as Lapis poured wine into his ss.


    ¡°¡®For today¡¯s encounter?¡±


    ¡°Do what you want.¡±


    Not knowing if he could keep up with her, Loren answered in a dismissive manner. Ivy, perhaps taking that as an approval, raised her ss and spoke loudly.


    ¡°Then,dies and gentlemen, to today¡¯s encounter.¡±


    Loren and Lapis responded by raising their sses, while G and Luxuria held their sses in their hands and stared intently at Ivy¡¯s face. Ivy, without paying attention to their gazes, downed the content of her ss in one go, then exhaled with satisfaction as she sat down and poured herself another ss.


    ¡°Nice wine.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite expensive.¡±


    The taste of the drink Loren poured into his mouth waspletely different from what he usually drank, and the aroma and sweetness were quite distinct on the tongue. He rolled the wine around in his mouth before swallowing, then spoke to Ivy, who was happily sipping her second ss, while wondering about the reactions of the two Evil Gods on his side.


    ¡°Do you mind if I cut to the chase?¡±


    ¡°No. You want to ask me about Envy Bridgegard, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Ivy confirmed once more, and Loren nodded gravely. As this was just a hit-or-miss attempt, Loren had prepared for ackluster result, but the words that reached his ears were outside his realm of expectations.


    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Liar! We all know each other!¡±


    G mmed her ss down on the round table and pointed at Ivy. Ivy looked back at G, seemingly not unperturbed by her rude behavior.


    ¡°Are you trying to confuse us by saying random things? Do you think you can get away with this? If you keep talking nonsense, I¡¯m going to push you down.¡±


    ¡°Please stop. We will be banned.¡±


    Luxuria was quite serious, and Ivy replied with a nk expression. But she probably did feel some kind of fear after being told that she would be pushed down by a giant Luxuria¡¯s size, as Loren did not miss a single bead of sweat running down her cheek.


    ¡°The Envy we know has short blond hair and dark purple dead eyes. She didn¡¯t have a shred of a female staff¡¯s aura!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a terrible thing to say to my face¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how the Envy we know is. She¡¯s nothing like you.¡±


    Ivy herself imed to be the Evil God of Envy, but the two other Evil Gods denied it together.


    Loren, who had only expected Ivy to be rted to Envy at most, was surprised that Ivy imed to be the person herself, and even more surprised that both of the Evil Gods on his side denied that im. He did not know how to react.


    ¡°I certainly used to look the way the two of you described¡­¡±


    Ivy spoke slowly with a distant look in her eyes, as if recalling old memories.


    Whether you suspected or believed her, you couldn¡¯t make a judgment until you¡¯d heard all of her ims. So, Loren told the Evil Gods, who were still trying to make a fuss, to be quiet.


    ¡°In the past, as the Evil God of Envy, I was jealous of everything in the world. I hunted barbarians as a subordinate of the Ancient Kingdom, and after I was released from the subordination, I was jealous of all that belonged to the Ancient Kingdom and fought against them.¡±


    ording to Ivy¡¯s exnation, the power of the Evil God of Envy was called >, which was a self-boost type of power that enhanced her ability through being jealous of something about someone else. She also exined that G¡¯s > and Lust¡¯s > were emanation types, Greed¡¯s > was ssified as a special type, and that there were different types of evil gods.


    ¡°I was fighting like that, but then the Ancient Kingdom fell, and I was persuaded by an adventurer, who didn¡¯t like the idea of our mighty power being used or feared, to enter a sealed sleep.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it happened?¡±


    Loren asked G. G sipped from her ss and answered as her gaze wandered off as if she was reying an old memory.


    ¡°Yeah. Well, you see, our very existence itself is pretty dangerous, isn¡¯t it? And this was right after the fall of the Ancient Kingdom, so it could happen like that. Some of the Evil Gods probably didn¡¯t like it though.¡±


    ¡°It was so long ago that I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    Luxuria tilted his head as wondering if such a thing had ever happened. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, that story didn¡¯t matter now, so he pretended not to notice and let him wonder all he liked. He urged Ivy to continue the talk instead.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, isn¡¯t it? So recently, the seal was broken due to deterioration over time or something. I woke up and returned to this world, but it seems that the world has changed a lot, and I can¡¯t be an Evil God forever, nor is it the time to say that I am one.¡±


    When Loren wondered if she could quit just because she wanted, Ivy spoke about something that surprised Loren to the point of eye-opening.


    ¡°So, I went to the ruin, which I know a little bit about, built this body using my own body as material, transnted my soul into it, and I got a different appearance from what I had before.¡±


    Ivy said that when she changed her looks, she also changed her name from Envy to Ivy. She really wanted to change the Bridgegard part as well, but Ivy realized at that time that the names of Evil Gods were magically bonded with their powers, and if she changed her name entirely, she would lose control of her power altogether. Still, she went through great trouble to change her name to the one she had now because she could not continue to use her original name. And so Ivy concluded her story.


    ¡°Creating a body and transnting a soul? Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, it is possible.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Ivy. I don¡¯t care if you are an Evil God or not. Just give me the information about that ruin.¡±


    Loren¡¯s words were very aggressive. His sudden reaction made Ivy, who had initiated the conversation, look at him as if she did not understand what had just happened, while Lapis and others around him watched on while also wondering what the hell he had just said. And Loren continued to stare at Ivy with an extremely serious expression on his face.

 Chapter 244: From Consideration to Commission

    <h4>Chapter 244: From Consideration to Commission</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°E-eh? This is strange. I¡¯ve just talked about important things, but you don¡¯t seem to be interested at all?¡±


    Ivy wondered if she had misheard, but Loren answered her question firmly.


    ¡°You quit being the Evil God of Envy, rebuilt your body, and changed your name, didn¡¯t you? The rest are trivial.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I still have some power left¡­ But it is true that I can no longer use most of the powers of an Evil God, and I don¡¯t really feel the urge to be jealous of anyone anymore.¡±


    ¡°Well, whatever. At least you¡¯re less dangerous than these two. What¡¯s more important is the information about the ruin where you rebuilt your body in. If someone has the¡­ materials, they can make a new body and transnt their soul into it, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Well, do you know anyone who needs something like that?¡±


    The first thing that came to Loren¡¯s mind when he heard Ivy¡¯s story was the Shayna that was still sleeping inside him.


    Originally the daughter of the head of a city-state, Shayna had been transformed into the ¡®King of Death¡¯, the highest ranking undead, in a quest that Loren was involved in. In a battle with his group, however, she was defeated and her physical body was destroyed. If she had remained in it, her spirit would have perished along with her body, but she was saved by Loren, and now she maintained her existence by dwelling in Loren¡¯s soul.


    Loren thought that if the ruin Ivy mentioned could be used, it would be possible to create a new body for Shayna and transnt her soul into it, even though getting the materials was still a question.


    ¡°It seems like there¡¯s a lot going on here. Is it something to do with your strange mood?¡±


    ¡°Is that relevant right now?¡±


    Ivy¡¯s gaze, which seemed to be observing the change in Loren¡¯s expression, made him feel rmed. But after staring at Loren for a while, Ivy shook her head.


    ¡°Probably not. But it¡¯s information I can¡¯t share with people who might want to misuse it.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a girl I want to resurrect. Her soul is here.¡±


    Poking his own chest with his index finger, Loren confided his reason to Ivy.


    ¡°It seems that she is able to maintain her existence by being inside me, but I don¡¯t know how long she will be able to continue doing so. I want to build a body for her.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. But the child inside of you is¡­¡±


    Ivy¡¯s eyes, which were trained on Loren, turned dark purple for a moment. Loren reflexively leaned back, but Ivy pointed to his chest with a wry smile.


    ¡°An undead? And quite high-ranking.¡±


    ¡°You can tell?¡±


    Loren was surprised that she was able to tell just by looking.


    Ivy nodded her head with a proud expression on her face, perhaps feeling good about having surprised Loren.


    ¡°I¡¯m the self-enhancement type, so I¡¯ve basically been trying to improve my abilities. That includes knowledge and judgment.¡±


    ¡°Hey, did you hear that, you two?¡±


    If anything, both Gluttony and Lust carried a heavy pleasure-seeking connotation.


    When Loren pointed out that they had not been trying to improve themselves as much as Envy, G replied with aposed face.


    ¡°I¡¯m the emanation type.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also the emanation type. We¡¯re different. You know already, so please don¡¯t look at us like that.¡±


    Loren felt a slight anger at the two Evil Gods, who replied with no concern whatsoever. But they were not likely to think of correcting their own behavior even if he pointed it out to them, so it was futile. Loren turned his attention back to Ivy.


    ¡°Even if you create a body and transnt a soul into it, she will only be revived as an undead¡­Oh, no, will it be, though? Since the newly-created body is a living organism¡­ Hmm?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Loren asked Ivy, who had been lost in thought, but she didn¡¯t return from her contemtion to answer him. Instead, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren, poured the contents of her ss down her throat and replied while picking at the food on her te.


    ¡°I think a body created at that ruin will be a living body. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to transnt a soul into it.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°The undead are beings that have no life force. The dead are dead, so it is only natural that they have no life force. What do you think would happen if such a being was transnted into a body with life force?¡±


    There was no way Loren could answer the question of what would happen. Even though he was formerly a mercenary and currently an adventurer, such skills and knowledge werepletely outside his area of expertise. He did not have even a cursory for knowledge of this subject.


    ¡°In my opinion, in the worst case scenario, the soul and the physical body would be reduced to zero, and both would cease to exist.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it more likely that the power of the undead part would be so strong that it would only end up destroying the physical body?¡±


    ¡°Then the soul would remain, so it would not be the worst case scenario.¡±


    Ivy, who had made her own guess at Lapis¡¯ idea, nodded her head in agreement when she heard Lapis¡¯ reply.


    ¡°But with this line of reasoning, there is no solution at all.¡±


    With downcast eyes, Lapis said while cing the ss she was sipping from on the round table.


    ¡°So youpare the soul with the body. If the soul is stronger, the physical body will perish, and if the physical body is stronger, the soul, as an undead, could perish. If both are equally strong, as I said earlier, both could perish.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem like such a good idea¡­¡±


    ¡°If you just transnt the soul into a corpse, it won¡¯t be not a problem.¡±


    A corpse was originally lifeless, so there would be no problem in transnting Shayna¡¯s spirit, which was also lifeless, into it.


    However, Lapis confirmed that in that case, it would simply create one powerful undead, which was not what Loren wanted. If possible, he wanted to return Shayna to how she had been when she was alive, not to create a King of Death by expelling her from inside him.


    ¡°There is another possibility.¡±


    After uttering such a preamble, Ivy looked at Loren, but he did not understand the meaning of her gaze. She continued.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an undead being dwelling inside a human¡¯s soul. We can¡¯t rule out the possibility that this has caused some kind of mutation in the undead¡¯s soul.¡±


    ¡°I agree. If what resides inside Loren was just the soul of an undead, it would have caused tremendous damage to its surroundings with its thirst for life, which is true of undead in general.¡±


    As far as Lapis could see, she had the impression that Shayna was very quiet when she was shut away inside Loren, and even on the rare asion when she came out, she used her own abilities rationally and did not go on an uncontrolled rampage. She believed that this was proof that Shayna¡¯s rationality was still intact, and that she was a little different from the undead, who indiscriminately targeted the living and tried to take their lives.


    ¡°I have to admit, though, that we won¡¯t know for sure until we try.¡±


    Ivy leaned forward a little and put her elbows on the round table, looking at Loren.


    ¡°Do you still want information about the ruin despite that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, tell me anyway.¡±


    Ivy blinked her eyes at the immediate answer.


    ¡°Hm? An immediate answer?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask her if she wants to do it or notter, but give me the information. I need to show her the thing first, in order to talk about it.¡±


    If he asked Shayna what she would do in the current situation, she might answer that she would not do it because she did not want to cause trouble for Lapis and G. However, if he asked the same question after creating a situation where the actual thing was in front of her and she might be able to get her body back, her answer might have been different.


    If she still said she would not do it under those circumstances, they would just have toe up with another way. Still, they needed to create those circumstances first, no matter how things turn out.


    Ivy, on the other hand, had asked Loren this question, because she believed it would be better to think it through first. But his unexpectedly quick response made her speechless, and she fell silent.


    Eventually, seeing that Loren¡¯s resolution seemed firm, she moved her elbows from the table and sat straight up.


    ¡°I understand. Then I will tell you, but I would like to receive a fee for the information.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me about the Evil Gods.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want information. At any rate, I¡¯ll answer what you ask, so there¡¯s nothingplicated here.¡±


    ¡°So money?¡±


    Loren thought that if she asked for money, he would have to ask Lapis again, but Ivy shook her head at his words.


    ¡°What I need right now isbor. So please pay me with it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get what you mean by that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you to pay me with your body.¡±


    As soon as Ivy said this to Loren with a smirk, two things happened at the same time.


    One was that G grabbed Luxuria by the neck as he was getting up and forcibly pushed him back into his chair.


    The other was that Lapis¡¯ hand, in a movement so natural that even Loren could have missed it, threw the fork that was in her hand, which she was using to eat, at Ivy.


    Ivy, too, with a very natural move, smoothly used the ss in her hand to defend herself from the fork that aimed straight for her brow.


    She gently put the ss with the fork still stuck in it back on the table, looked alternately at Lapis, whose gaze was stern, and Luxuria, whose gaze was also stern for some reason, then muttered with a sigh.


    ¡°You misunderstood.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s expression was calm, but Loren could see that her hands were shaking, if only slightly, when she put the cup back on the round table. In other words, Lapis had apparentlyunched a real attack, not a joke.


    ¡°Just say it properly. As you can see, I can¡¯t do anything to stop them.¡±


    ¡°I want you to ept amission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild through me. I have amission that is getting a little stale, and I¡¯ve been looking for someone to take it.¡±


    ¡°That depends on what themission is. If it asks me to kill someone or steal something, I can¡¯t take it.¡±


    ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild is not a crime syndicate, you know?¡±


    Ivy puffed up her cheeks as if to say that she was offended.


    ¡°This is amission for research and exploration in a certain city. If you ept this request, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will provide you with information about the ruin you are asking about, in addition to a reward. What do you think?¡±


    Loren had no choice but to nod in response, and Lapis and the others did not try to stop him either.

 Chapter 245: From Acceptance to Preparation

    <h4>Chapter 245: From eptance to Preparation</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Themission that I want you to ept is about solving an anomaly that is happening in a certain town.¡±


    After confirming that Loren was willing to ept hermission, Ivy began to exin themission¡¯s content.


    ¡°Do you know that there is a ce called Blue Desert north of Kapha, about three days¡¯ wagon ride away?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    The Blue Desert mentioned by Ivy was a ce that Loren and his team had stopped by on their way to the mountainous area separating the demon territory from the rest of the country when they went to the demon realm. It was said that there used to be some kind of test site or research facility of the Ancient Kingdom there, and as a result of some research or experiment, a vast area ofnd was turned into a desert filled with blue sand. Buried under the sand were a facility of the Ancient Kingdom, which Lapis secretly used as her base.


    ¡°I want you to turn west from the Blue Desert and take a day¡¯s wagon ride to a town called Suest.¡±


    ¡°What do you want us to do there?¡±


    It would take four days to get there on a horse-drawn wagon. When Loren asked Ivy what she wanted them to do at such a distant ce, Ivy frowned and pondered for a while. When Loren looked at her with half an eye, wondering if she hadn¡¯t decided what she was going to make them do, she waved her hands in a fluster.


    ¡°No, I do have a purpose in mind. I just don¡¯t know where to start.¡±


    ¡°Then tell me your purpose.¡±


    ¡°Actually, thismission is from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Suest.¡±


    Ivy said that themission came not from Kapha, but from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in arge, faraway city, Suest.


    The story was that, there had been frequent incidents of residents and adventurers going missing in Suest. Adventurers in Suest had beenmissioned to solve the problem, but not only were they not able to do it, they also went missing themselves. There was a possibility the situation was too much for Suest to handle alone, so they asked for assistance.


    Initially, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha did not want to get involved, as it would take four days to get to Suest from Kapha by wagon. However, adventurers who had gone to Suest from guilds in neighboring towns did not send back a single message, no matter how long they waited. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild HQ took the situation very seriously and notified not only the guilds in the vicinity of Suest, but also those further away, that they would send out personnel to find out what was going on in Suest. However, Ivy said that because of the distance to Suest and the mysterious nature of themission itself, no adventurers were willing to take it on, and themission remained pending for some time, in a stalled state.


    ¡°So you want us to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°My position in the guild will be strengthened if I can find an adventurer who can solve a story like this.¡±


    ording to Ivy, themission was rated for iron rank adventurers for now. But if this continued for too long, and if the cooperation of the Adventurers¡¯ Guilds in different towns were not very good, the Guild HQ would have to take action, and they would naturally be forced to use silver and gold rank adventurers. If Ivy could bring a resolution to the situation before that happened, her value within the guild would increase and her position would be stronger and more secure.


    ¡°This directly affects my sry¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the logic in that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the way of the world. If you want to live as a human being, you need the money for it.¡±


    ¡°That I understand. It¡¯s a harsh thing to say, but it¡¯s true.¡±


    Loren could understand Ivy¡¯s point, but it was still a rather creepy story to hear. People went missing without reasons, and even the adventurers who went to find out the cause didn¡¯te back. This was something that he normally would not want to poke his nose into. However, he might have to ept it in exchange for information about the ruin he needed.


    When Loren was thinking about it, Ivy added a final push.


    ¡°By the way, the ruin I told you about is located right there in Suest.¡±


    ¡°I had no way out of it from the beginning, did I?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Ivy said with a smile. Loren stared at her with half-lidded eyes for a while, but eventually let out a breath and turned his gaze toward Lapis and G.


    ¡°Just as you¡¯ve heard, I¡¯ll take it, but¡­ What about you?¡±


    Loren had intended to ept thismission simply because it was necessary for him. But he couldn¡¯t drag Lapis and G into this, and if they wished to, he would take themission on his own.


    Lapis was the first to answer.


    ¡°I will apany you. There is no need for questions or confirmation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go too. It¡¯s troublesome if I¡¯m the only one left behind.¡±


    ¡°Me too-¡°


    ¡°-I didn¡¯t ask you.¡±


    As if getting carried away by the flow of the conversation, Luxuria also answered, but Loren stopped him in a cold tone.


    Regardless of his intentions, the option of taking Luxuria anywhere did not even exist in Loren¡¯s mind. Luxuria¡¯s taste and power of sexual desire were too indiscriminate, and Loren didn¡¯t think they could keep him under control at all. If Luxuria¡¯s influence were to reach the surrounding area, it would inevitably lead to unimaginable devastation, and Loren¡¯s true wish was for him to return to the ce where G was keeping Evil Gods under protection or something.


    ¡°So cruel! You got me involved this far, and now you are going to leave me out?¡±


    ¡°I think it was a mistake to let you get involved this far, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Following Lapis¡¯ cold words, Loren added in a t tone.


    ¡°Take care of those guys you got registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild here. Or rather, keep them in check somehow!¡±


    ¡°What do you have toin about, cute children?!¡±


    ¡°A lot. Look in the mirror.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just showing a reflection of my beautiful self!¡±


    Loren and Lapis wondered whether he was messing around with them by giving this answer, but the short nce at Luxuria¡¯s face told them that he really meant it, and they both let out a deep sigh at the same time.


    ¡°Anyway, you can¡¯t. We can¡¯t spread troubles to other cities.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s Kapha, Loren!¡±


    Ivy said as if she was chiding him, but Loren had a different idea. It was not that it was okay with Kapha, just that it was already toote for Kapha. In that case, the only thing he could do, would be to prevent Luxuria¡¯s influence from spreading to other cities. It was out of the question to take him on themission.


    ¡°So, would it be correct to say that the three people who can ept the request are Loren, Lapis, and G?¡±


    ¡°G, can¡¯t you bring that Sloth guy with you? I think he could be an asset.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how Sloth can do the job. It¡¯s quite trouble to take him along, it¡¯s even more trouble to lead him, and frankly I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be of much use at all, you know? I think Greed is better, but babysitting is hard.¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly useless, you Evil Gods. So, it¡¯s only the three of us?¡±


    In fact, if they could turn a blind eye to Luxuria¡¯s appearance and personality, he might be rtively easy to utilize among the Evil Gods. However, his appearance and personality were the biggest issue, and impossible to ignore. Eventually they could be ustomed to it and be able to endure it, but currently it was too much to ask for of Loren and Lapis. So there was no way he would be allowed to apany them.


    ¡°Then, through me, Ivy Bridgegard, I ask Loren, an iron rank adventurer, and his team to take thismission. In addition, as thismission ising directly from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, a guild official will be apanying you as an intermediary, so we ask that you also escort them.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the staff who will be apanying us is¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am. I¡¯m your agent, so I¡¯ll be apanying you. I look forward to working with you, Loren.¡±


    Ivy held out her right hand to Loren, and Loren, already weary at the prospect of taking along two evil gods and a demon, grasped it.


    After that, Ivy parted ways with Loren and the others and returned to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. She had to ce themission¡¯s order andplete the necessary paperwork before she could apany the adventurers.


    Luxuria had been arguing to the end, but when he realized that Loren would not change his mind, he gave up and went back to his own people, whom he had registered as adventurers.


    Loren and his party also had urgent preparations to attend to.


    ¡°We need to buy enough supplies for an eight-day round trip.¡±


    Since thismission had been stale, Ivy wanted to close it as soon as possible, yet rushing preparations would do no good, so Loren¡¯s party was given one day to prepare.


    ¡°This time, it looks like we¡¯ll only need the bare necessities. Ivy will provide the means of transportation and general goods, and the guild will provide the rest.¡±


    Lapis mentioned that as the guild was the client, it would be providing some support. Therefore, all Loren and his party needed were tools, weapons and medical supplies. The food and daily necessities could be left to Ivy.


    It would be much easier if they prepared these items themselves, but Loren¡¯s group felt that there would be no problem if they didn¡¯t, so they left it to Ivy without hesitation.


    [¡®Onii-san, are you sure? Even if I go there, I¡­ may not be able to use that ruin, you know?¡¯]


    Ivy and Lapis warned that it was highly unlikely that Shayna would be revived in a physical body. Hearing that, Shayna didn¡¯t want to burden Loren and his party with epting a strangemission to obtain the information.


    ¡°You may change your mind, and if we examine the ruin thoroughly, we may find something that will solve the problem. Besides, you can¡¯t stay in me forever.¡±


    [¡®Am I being a bother?¡¯]


    Loren scratched his head as he sensed a feeling of anxiety mixed in with Shayna¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re a bother. You can stay there as long as you want, but I¡¯m just saying that if it¡¯s possible, you should get your body back.¡±


    ¡°Loren, you look like a dangerous man, mumbling to yourself like that.¡±


    In order for Shayna and Loren to have a conversation, there was no need for Loren to say a word. However, Loren was not used to suchmunication, and from the side Lapis noticed that he was unintentionally speaking out loud.


    Loren, who had his cheeks slightly reddened, and mouth corners turned down, could hear the sound of Shayna¡¯sughter echoing in his mind, as he heard Lapis¡¯ remark.

 Chapter 246: From Chatting to Arriving

    <h4>Chapter 246: From Chatting to Arriving</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    At dawn, Loren and his party departed from the north gate of Kapha in a wagon prepared by Ivy, and headed north.


    If it were the first time for them to visit such a ce, the surrounding scenery might have been new to them and they might have been able to enjoy it to some extent, but for Loren and his group, it was a road they had taken not so long ago. As a result, they were just passing through the familiar scenery, with nothing to do during the whole ride.


    The same seemed to be true for Ivy, who was temporarily joining Loren¡¯s party. Sitting in the back of the wagon, she tried to stifle her yawns as she spent the day rocking around.


    ¡°This is my first time apanying adventurers on a quest, and it seems you have quite a bit of free time.¡±


    ¡°If nothing happens, we¡¯ll just keep driving on.¡±


    The asional passing of travelers or merchants heading for Kapha on the opposite side of the road were the only different events happening during their trip, but those were brief, and then it would be time to continue onward through the slowly changingndscape again.


    Loren couldn¡¯t deny that he had time on his hands, but he still had to stay vignt for any attacks by monsters or bandits.


    ¡°An attack from monsters would relieve some of the boredom, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Stop drawing bad luck. As if crossing the mountain, without incidents, isn¡¯t good enough.¡±


    Loren, who was sitting on the driver bench, answered without looking back.


    Whether it was demons or bandits, if you defeated the ones that attacked you, it would bring some money. However, Loren was not very willing to wee danger just for the sake of a few coins, and even less so for the sake of relieving boredom. He just couldn¡¯t agree with Ivy.


    ¡°Aside from some sort of bandits, I doubt that monsters would attack us.¡±


    Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren and holding the reins of the horse, joined the conversation.


    ¡°Two so-called Evil Gods are riding in the wagon, you know? The monsters that hunt on highways will flee at the mere hint of their presence.¡±


    Lapis said, trying not to think about the fact that she was also one of the beings who were exerting what could be called an intimidating pressure on their surroundings.


    Lapis looked like a human, but she actually belonged to the demon race, a powerful race that was hated throughout the continent. When she first met Loren, her parents had taken away her limbs and eyes and hidden them across the continent in order to hide her power and presence. If she had still been in that state, she would not have had to worry about being noticed, but now, Lapis had already regained both of her arms and eyes. In other words, she had regained over half of her original power, so she had to be very careful in her daily life not give away her demonic presence.


    Lapis had also gained a certain amount of control in managing her presence, preventing it from vividly leaking out. But if she lets her guard down, she would still exude a presence strong enough to cause a weak monster to flee instantly.


    ¡°It is good that I¡¯ve regained my power, but on the other hand, it is troublesome having to be careful all the time.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to hide your power without having to pay attention to it someday.¡±


    ¡°It just takes some time to get used to, I guess?¡±


    And so, without being attacked by monsters or surrounded by bandits, the three-day journey northward came to an end, and Loren¡¯s group arrived at a desert with blue sand.


    Loren was once again surprised by the strange sight of the blue desert, but the other members were not sharing his sentiment.


    ¡°I have a base here, so Ie here quite often.¡±


    ¡°During the time of the Ancient Kingdom, we were exposed to so many sights that this one is nothing inparison.¡±


    ¡°Sand doesn¡¯t taste good in the first ce.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, I am surprised. I totally am.¡¯]


    Even though his travel-mates were all very discouraging, Loren was soothed by Shayna¡¯s response, which he could hear in his head. Patting Nig, who for some reason was raising its body and lifting its legs as if it was excited, Loren instructed Lapis, who was holding the rein, to turn west from there.


    As they turned west, they found themselves on grasnds again, but the trees gradually became more noticeable.


    ording to Ivy, Suest was built in a forest. And although the city itself was protected by a wall, there was still a wild forest surrounding it. So as they approached their destination, the greenery became thicker.


    ¡°Location-wise, it¡¯s about the western edge of the continent, right?¡±


    ¡°Except for viges and small towns, it would not be an exaggeration to say so.¡±


    ¡°How could anyone build a city in such a ce?¡±


    ¡°It serves as a transit station for the surrounding viges. And with the forest surrounding the town, there is a high rate of encounters with monsters, so the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is quite prosperous here.¡±


    The source of the information was Ivy, who gave them thismission. Lapis herself also had some information, but it seemed that she was a step behind Ivy, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which has a wide influence on the continent, so she was on the receiving end this time.


    ¡°In addition, forestry and other industries are thriving, and the amount of lumber produced is considerable. In addition, resources are gathered from viges, so there is a wide variety of delicious food.¡±


    ¡°Seems like a nice town.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, there are no rivers nearby, so there is no fish readily avable, and the most you can find is dried and salted for preserving.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything more if I can eat meat.¡±


    Loren was a dedicated meat lover. Fish was not bad either, but if asked which one he prefers more, he would have to say meat.


    ¡°I also like meat.¡±


    ¡°Both are good to me.¡±


    ¡°As long as she can put it into her mouth, G won¡¯t even care if it was a goblin.¡±


    Although there was a moment when G silently grabbed Ivy, who said a few mean things and giggled, the trip from Blue Desert to Suest concluded without any major problems.


    ¡°That¡¯s the city of Suest.¡±


    It was early afternoon on the fourth day after leaving Kapha when Ivy pointed to a tall, thick stone wall surrounded by trees that served to protect those inside from enemies.


    ¡°Stop. Show us your ID.¡±


    With a voice that sounded somewhat t and business-like rather than high-pressured, Loren¡¯s group was greeted by soldiers at the gate, who were checking the identity of travelers from the outside.


    Dressed in te armor and carrying a long spear, the checking soldier did not hold up his weapons, but instead looked up and spoke to Loren while inspecting the others sitting in the wagon.


    For adventurers, the ID card was the registration card with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Loren was about to get out of the wagon to show it to the soldiers when the iron registration card appeared around his neck. As soon as the soldiers saw it, they had lost all interest in their group.


    ¡°Checked. Go through.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Checked. Move along.¡±


    With repeated permission, Loren felt no further need to show the registration card to the soldier. He urged Lapis, who was sitting next to him, to proceed with the wagon as he put the registration card back inside his cor.


    Loren thought they might be stopped, and he would have to show it again, but the wagon passed peacefully through the other side of the gate and entered Suest.


    ¡°The security is quitex, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Stunned, Lapis said, and Loren agreed with her. Even though he showed his registration card, it was only a glimpse, and moreover, he did not even get off the wagon. The distance between him and the soldiers was so great that it was hard to believe that they could see the contents of the registration card properly.


    ¡°Is the Guild¡¯s registration card that trustworthy?¡±


    Even a glimpse of the card would have shown that it was an adventurer¡¯s registration card. If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was that credible, it could be assumed that knowing him to be an adventurer was enough for the soldiers.


    However, Ivy, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, was doubtful of that.


    ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Guild myself, but it¡¯s not that credible of an organization. There are plenty of badly-behaved adventurers on the continent.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying the soldiers are negligent?¡±


    It was possible that the soldiers were not diligent enough in their work to check the identity of every person who tried to enter the city by checking their registration cards. Although the city of Suest itself seemed to be quiterge, it was located on the western edge of the continent, a ce where the word ¡®remote¡¯ was appropriate.


    ¡°It¡¯s not umon for soldiers to lose their motivation when they¡¯re sent to the middle of nowhere.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a problem of the country, and none of our business?¡±


    G quipped, and the others exchanged nces and nodded. At least, none of them were in a position to be concerned about the work of soldiers stationed in some city.


    ¡°Well then, first of all, let¡¯s look for an inn where we can leave the wagon.¡±


    Still riding the wagon, Loren looked around the area.


    The town was big enough to have a variety of stores lining both sides of the street, there were also a lot of street stalls. Streets were full of people ¨C the residents of the city, as well as travelers and merchants who had just arrived in town, could be seen everywhere.


    ¡°Things seem pretty normal.¡±


    ording to the information they had received beforehand, contact with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Suest had been lost. Loren¡¯s group had even considered the possibility that the town itself might have been destroyed for some reason, but there was no sign of this being the case.


    ¡°So does that mean the cause is the Adventurers Guild?!¡±


    ¡°Basically, the Adventurers¡¯ Guildsmunicate with each other by fast horses except in emergencies. But considering what we¡¯ve seen so far, it¡¯s hard to imagine that there are any problems on the road, so that is very unlikely.¡±


    If, by the time they reached Suest, they had encounteredrge monsters or been attacked by arge number of bandits, they could have assumed that the fast horses had been attacked by them, making it impossible for them to make contact. However, Ivy could not find any such traces along the way.


    It was true that there were no attacks because their group consisted of beings such as G and Ivy herself, but if the fast horses that they had sent many times had been killed along the road, they should have encountered at least some trace of it left behind.


    ¡°It¡¯s still unknown what it is at the moment. I guess we¡¯ll find out when we go to the guild.¡±


    ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t turn out to be a case of negligence on the part of the staff or the messengers.¡±


    Lorenughed, thinking that it would not be worth the effort to travel so far for the story to end that way. However, he also thought that it would have been better if the story could have ended without a punchline like that. It was always better this way, rather than some mysterious cause.


    Regardless, Loren¡¯s group started to look for a ce to stay, hoping to find one where they can keep the wagon they were riding in.

 Chapter 247: Seemingly Abnormal

    <h4>Chapter 247: Seemingly Abnormal</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After asking around, Loren¡¯s group found an inn that had space to park their wagon. But as soon as they started talking to the innkeeper about getting a room, the innkeeper quoted them a ridiculous price.


    ¡°One gold coin. There are four of you, so four gold coins.¡±


    ¡°HUH?!¡±


    G, who was negotiating with him, shouted in a tone that could neither be described as surprise nor anger. Loren, who was standing by listening to the conversation, did not raise his voice, but he did question the innkeeper¡¯s sanity as he stared at his face.


    Normally, in an inn, two silver coins would be enough for a one-night stay for four people, including meals. Even if the price included the cost to park their wagon, a silver coin per person would be enough for one night. But the innkeeper here, a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head, had just quoted them an amount a hundred times higher than that. It would be strange not to be surprised.


    ¡°Hey, uncle, is there something wrong with your head? What, one gold coin? This isn¡¯t some royalty¡¯s lodgings, is it?¡±


    ¡°Is it expensive?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s expensive, you, senile old man!¡±


    G yelled, pounding her fists on the counter where the innkeeper was. The wooden counter shook violently under the impact, but seeing that it hadn¡¯t broken, Loren thought she was holding back.


    ¡°A copper coin then.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    G scowled, thinking she had misheard. The innkeeper said the same words to her without hesitation.


    ¡°One copper coin. Is it expensive?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s very cheap. But are you for real?¡±


    ¡°Then one copper coin.¡±


    G unclenched her fists. Hearing those words, a second time, apparently she hadn¡¯t misheard.


    Of course, the cheaper the price, the better. But not only was the price too low considering the average cost of lodging, it was also an outrageous discount of one ten-thousandth of the amount the innkeeper had initially quoted. It was only natural that G¡¯s face grew uneasy before bing suspicious.


    ¡°Four copper coins for four people. With food. Is that all right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡±


    G, who looked dumbfounded, slid four copper coins over the counter. The innkeeper epted them and took out four keys.


    ¡°Private rooms?!¡±


    ¡°All of our rooms are private.¡±


    The innkeeper¡¯s expression did not change as G looked at him in disbelief. He must have known that they were a party of adventurers because they came to the inn together and left G in charge of negotiations while the others watched.


    It depended on the quality of the inn, but if an adventurer party like them stayed at an inn, in the worst case all four of them would be staying in one room. Even if that was not the case, it wasmon for adventurers to share rooms. If they, however, wanted private rooms, they might have to pay some additional amount.


    And yet, the owner of this inn imed to be able to provide private rooms for all guests at a price below the average rate. If he was being so tantly strange like this, Loren¡¯s group would surely be suspicious.


    ¡°Hey, mister owner, isn¡¯t this a bit strange? In a lot of ways.¡±


    ¡°Is there poison in the food, or has someone recently died in the room? Or is it actually haunted by the undead or something?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    The innkeeper did not seem to be offended by Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ words, and replied without raising his voice in a calm manner.


    Although it seemed tantly strange, the innkeeper had already received the four copper coins paid by G and offered them the keys to their rooms in exchange. Loren was not sure what to think of it, but he then noticed that for some reason the other members of the group were looking in his direction. Seeing that he was obviously being asked to make a decision, Lauren spoke to the innkeeper as he picked up the keys from the counter.


    ¡°We¡¯ll use the rooms, but we don¡¯t need meals. We¡¯ll eat outside.¡±


    The innkeeper did not seem to be bothered by this and replied.


    ¡°The price is the same.¡±


    Normally, if you didn¡¯t want to eat at a regr inn, you should be able to get a discount for the cost of the meals. However, with the unbelievable price of one copper coin, it would be surprising if he offered something even lower.


    ¡°Where should we park the wagon?¡±


    ¡°In the yard. Tie it up as you see fit.¡±


    The inn had arge yard, and the innkeeper told them to tie up their wagon there, so Loren urged everyone to start moving the wagon.


    The inn was surrounded by a fence and seemed to have a good level of security, but if the inn itself was this shady, the luggage on the wagon was also a concern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave anything of value in the wagon.¡±


    ¡°It would be better to take the food out of the wagon as well. You never know what they might do to it.¡±


    The four of them carried luggage out of the wagons and distributed them to their rooms. This was done to lower the risk.


    While at it, they also checked all four rooms together to make sure that there were no suspicious devices or items in the rooms.


    ¡°Let¡¯s lock up and go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to see what they say.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we leave one person to guard the luggage?¡±


    Loren considered Lapis¡¯ suggestion for a moment, but immediately shook his head.


    ¡°Somehow, I have a feeling that it would be better if we didn¡¯t act separately.¡±


    ¡°A mercenary¡¯s intuition? We should follow it then.¡±


    ¡°I think so, too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it up to Loren, who seems to be the party leader, to decide what to do.¡±


    Thinking that there was probably no one else on the entire continent who would be entrusted with the responsibility of making decisions for such a group of non-humans consisting of one demon and two Evil Gods, Loren suggested visiting the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which had been their original destination.


    ¡°There¡¯s something strange about the atmosphere, but it doesn¡¯t seem like a bad town¡­ Oh, excuse me auntie, how much is this fruit?¡±


    ¡°A gold coin.¡±


    ¡°Even here? ¡­Well, isn¡¯t it rather expensive?¡±


    ¡°A copper coin then.¡±


    ¡°Four, please.¡±


    Saying this in exasperation, Lapis epted four red, round, palm-sized fruits from a middle-aged woman, who was probably the owner of the stall, and handed her four copper coins.


    ¡°I wonder if the prices in this city are all like this.¡±


    ¡°Is it a fad to try to get people to pay in gold coins?¡±


    Loren, thinking it was just like a children¡¯s game, was about to ept the fruit offered by Lapis when Nig suddenly extended its legs and snatched away the fruit. It stretched its legs all the way to a surprised Lapis¡¯ hand and took the remaining three fruits all at once, then deftly wrapped all four into a bundle with its thread and, still clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, sank its fangs into the wrapped bundle.


    ¡°A favorite?¡±


    ¡°Spiders do eat fruit, don¡¯t they?¡±


    Even though she looked a little regretful, Lapis still patted the back of Nig back, who was holding the bundle of thread containing the fruits, thinking that it was okay if the spider was happy.


    Wondering if Nig liked fruit that much, or if it wasn¡¯t fed enough, Loren walked through the entrance of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and headed to the counter. There was no one queuing, and Ivy began to talk to the receptionist sitting there. But she received a reply that seemed to indicate that the conversation was about to get a bit dubious.


    ¡°¡­What do you mean the staff member who submitted themission is not here?¡±


    When Ivy, as an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, inquired about themission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Suest that had been sent to neighboring towns, the reply she received was that themission had indeed been sent by the Guild in Suest, but the staff who sent it was not from this Guild, which made no sense.


    ¡°Themission surely was issued by our Guild. There is no doubt about that. However, the staff member who processed it is not in our Guild.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean they resigned?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? All I know is that he is not in the Guild.¡±


    ¡°Themission itself is not invalid, is it?¡±


    If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild itself was the client, themission would not be canceled. But if the disappeared staff was considered to be the client, themission may be canceled due to its client being missing. Ivy was worried about this, but the staff responded without a change in facial expression.


    ¡°This is quite troubling. The Guild itself was set up as the client, and yet only the person who registered themission can cancel it, so we have no way to handle it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem very troubled though?¡±


    Unlike what they had just said, Loren could not sense anything ¡®troubled¡¯ in the staff¡¯s tone of voice or facial expression at all. When Ivy said this as if to probe for something the staff might be hiding, they tilted his head without moving a single eyebrow.


    ¡°Is that so? But I am troubled.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, themission is still open, right? If so, I would like to get information on the missing persons.¡±


    Ivy, perhaps deciding that continuing the conversation was not going to be very fruitful, broke off the conversation and changed her mind about asking for information only, but the response from the staff was not what she expected.


    ¡°Missing persons? There is no such thing?¡±


    ¡°Huh? But in themission¡­ There were also adventurers sent by neighboring Adventurers¡¯ Guilds, weren¡¯t there? Isn¡¯t there any information left about them?¡±


    Ivy was a bit flustered, but the Guild¡¯s staff continued to respond in a matter-of-fact manner without losing their calm expression.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that other Adventurers¡¯ Guilds have sent messengers too! Not knowing about them is¡­ No matter how you look at it, it is too much negligence, isn¡¯t it?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t understand what you are saying.¡±


    ¡°W-well.¡±


    ¡°Is that all you need?¡±


    Loren lightly tapped one of her shoulders, who was at a loss for words, to get her attention. Ivy, who had leaned over the counter to pursue the matter further, looked at Loren to see what was going on, but when she saw Loren pointing to the exit, she reluctantly left the counter and walked out of the building.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±


    Lapis, who had been watching the exchange between Ivy and the staff, expressed her doubts about the contents of the exchange, but Loren was more concerned about something else.


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this Guild.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean that staff¡¯s responses?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. First of all, there was no one else at the counter besides us. Does something like that happens Kapha?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    As Loren brought the subject up, Ivy thought about her own workce. Even if there were downtimes, it seemed that while the counter was open, there was usually at least one adventurer there.


    However, no one hade to the Guild¡¯s counter in Suest for quite a long period.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean the Guild had no adventurers, but it seemed to Ivy that their number was so small that it was almost the same thing.


    ¡°And, a group of strangers like us was trying to get at a Guild staff, but nobody came to stop us. How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Well?¡±


    Thinking about this for a moment, Ivy realized that their party looked like the kind of people others would not want to get involved with. She then assumed that it was possible others were too intimidated by arge-built adventurer carrying a huge weapon like Loren to interfere.


    ¡°Anyway, we can¡¯t make any hasty moves while we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Let¡¯s go back to the inn, have a meal with the food we brought in, and discuss our next steps.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going out to eat?¡±


    Loren said apologetically to G, who looked disappointed.


    ¡°This town is strange. Until we find out the cause of the problem, I¡¯m not going to put anything into my mouth without knowing where it came from. I won¡¯t force you though.¡±


    After hearing that, even G was not inclined to carelessly enter a local diner. So, Loren and the others gave up gathering information for the moment and returned to the inn as quickly as possible.

 Chapter 248: From Weaving A Web To Tracking

    <h4>Chapter 248: From Weaving A Web To Tracking</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After returning to the inn, Loren¡¯s group carried the luggage they had brought to their rooms, down to the inn¡¯s yard and tried to get permission from the innkeeper to use the yard.


    After all, even if they had food in their luggage, they could not eat them unless they were cooked.


    They could also ask to use the inn¡¯s kitchen, but Loren felt awkward about asking to use the kitchen to cook their own food after refusing the meals provided by said kitchen. So he decided not to do it.


    They thought that cooking in the inn¡¯s garden might be frowned upon, and were ready to give up cooking and eat only what they could eat without using a fire. They had also considered cooking somewhere else in the city, such as a vacant lot. However, the innkeeper still seemed to be uninterested in their group and kept giving them absentminded replies, so they were at a loss to decide whether it was alright or not.


    Since there was no clear refusal, they decided to take it as a yes and set up a stove near the ce they had parked their wagon as well as assembled a simple table that had been loaded on the wagon.


    After a while, as the daylight began to fade, the stove and table could be considered ready for use. Loren, having decided to draw water for cooking from the well on the grounds of the inn, looked in the direction of the well and was dismayed by what he found.


    By the time Loren looked at it, the well had already turned into a huge white cocoon.


    Loren looked over his shoulder and saw that Nig, who should always be clinging to it, was gone. Nig was the only creature in the vicinity that could have covered the well with threads. The disastrous scene had to be Nig¡¯s doing, but Loren had no idea what the hell the spider was thinking.


    ¡°Loren, what are you looking at¡­?¡±


    Lapis called out to Loren while preparing to cook, and when she saw what Loren was looking at, she was speechless.


    The cocoon seemed to be quite thickly woven. Loren tried to touch it to see if he could get it off, but he soon gave up because of its thickness and the toughness of the threads. It seemed possible to burn it down with fire, but Loren wondered if it would be a waste to go to such lengths for something that Nig had apparently done with an intention.


    ¡°Do we have water in the wagons?¡±


    ¡°I think so. But won¡¯t this cause trouble for the inn?¡±


    If the well was not avable, the inn would not be able to replenish water. Thus they would not be able to serve food or provide hot water for guests other than Loren¡¯s group, which must be damaging to the inn.


    Thinking that he should find Nig and force it to and retrieve the threads, Loren turned toward the inn, and was struck speechless by the sight he saw there.


    As it turned out, Nig¡¯s threads had covered not only the well, but also the doors and windows of the inn. This made it impossible to even open the windows, let alone enter or leave the inn.


    Whatever Nig¡¯s intentions were, Loren knew that the innkeeper would be furious with them, but no matter how closely he listened, he could not hear a single sounding from inside the inn. He thought that at the very least, he should have been able to hear some shouts in response to this unusual situation, but contrary to his expectations, the inn remained quiet.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be a mor like ¡®Let us out¡¯ or ¡®What the hell is going on¡¯?¡±


    Loren tilted his head in confusion, and Lapis did the same, but since the windows and entrances were kept closed, it was impossible to see what was going on inside. In addition, although Nig couldmunicate to some extent, he could not speak, so they had no way of knowing what he was thinking when he did such a thing.


    ¡°So, where¡¯s Nig?¡±


    ¡°Nig-chan is over there.¡±


    G pointed to a spot above her head without taking a break from her work.


    Loren looked in that direction and saw a palm-sized ck thing flying from the treetops of the trees in the inn¡¯s yard to the treetops of the neighboring grove, trailing a thin thread.


    As Loren wondered what it was doing, Nig leapt from tree to tree, weaving the threads he was spitting out between them, and began to cover the area over where Loren and the others were preparing food.


    ¡°It wants to make something to substitute for a tent?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little too high for that?¡±


    The threads, which wereid across each other through the movements of Nigs, eventually were woven into something like a cloth that spread out over their heads. But as Lapis had pointed out, the height of the thing was so high that it did not seem to be a good substitute for a tent.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°We can burn the threads covering the well, but the ones covering the building¡­ We could burn the whole building down if we use fire, and it¡¯s almost sunset. It seems like there are noints, so how about we think about it tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Even if I say no, we can¡¯t do anything about it anyway, can we?¡±


    He must tell Nig to do something about this, but Loren didn¡¯t know how to get it to untie the threads wrapped around the building. He had a feeling that it would do it if he asked it to, but he could not call out to the spider when it was working far above his head.


    ¡°But how can Nig spit out so many threads?¡±


    Lapis sounded impressed.


    As Loren thought about it, a single thread was very smallpared to Nig¡¯s body. There must be quite a lot of threads to be able to cover the well as well as the inn¡¯s entrance and windows like that. The volume of the threads was probablyrger than Nig¡¯s current body, and if it was able to spit out that many threads, then the question was where it got the materials required to produce that amount of threads.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll know how by thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re giving up too soon¡­¡±


    [¡®Nig seems to be eating some prey while weaving the threads.¡¯]


    It was Shayna who answered the question that Loren had given up thinking about.


    [¡®It seems like it caught some small animal or something the size of an adult¡¯s thumb, and is working while eating it.¡¯]


    Loren looked at his own thumb. It was probably bigger than a child¡¯s, but the only small animal of that size that came to Loren¡¯s mind was a mouse at most, and even then it would have to be a fairly small one. However, if he were to ask whether such a thing could have a volumeparable to the threads that Nig spat out, he would think it unlikely, even though it would depend on the amount of those things. The amount of threads that Nig spat out was that enormous.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing there¡¯s plenty of food, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the point.¡±


    Lapis quipped at Loren, who was trying to put an end to the conversation despite still not knowing what was actually happening or why. Even so, it seemed like she didn¡¯t have any intention of thinking about what to do, and intended to leave the decision to Loren.


    Loren, somewhat exhausted, and somewhat resigned to the idea that the problem would have to wait until tomorrow, decided to keep watch after eating dinner anyway.


    The reaction of the town¡¯s inhabitants was strange, and Nig¡¯s behavior after entering the town was also somewhat strange. There must be a reason for this, but there was so little material to consider that Loren couldn¡¯t even formte a reasonable theory, so he decided that it was pointless to think about it and that he would prioritize the essential activities of eating dinner and sleeping for now. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a good or bad decision, but it was the only thing he could think of right now.


    ¡°Loren? Could you please get up for a minute?¡±


    After having a meal, they cleaned up, and the order of the watch shifts was decided, with G and Ivy assigned to take the first shift. Then Loren sat cross-legged at the back of the wagon and dozed off until he was woken by Ivy. He did not know how long he had been asleep, and when he looked up from the back of the wagon, all he could see was the strings that Nig had stretched around them, illuminated by the light from the campfire they had built to keep watch, not the sky.


    Rubbing his eyes and trying to stand up, Loren dropped his gaze when he noticed a weight on his leg that prevented him from standing up.


    It was Lapis, breathing softly in her sleep with her head resting on Loren¡¯s thigh and her hand firmly clutching the hem of Loren¡¯s jacket.


    Even though he wouldn¡¯t be able to get up if he left it like this, he still felt a little guilty about waking Lapis, who was sleepingfortably. Loren poked her on the cheek with his finger.


    The first poke didn¡¯t wake her up. After a few more, she frowned and looked unhappy. But Loren continued to poke her, and Lapis eventually opened her eyes.


    ¡°Wake up. Something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°It was bliss.¡±


    Lapis muttered earnestly as she let go of Loren¡¯s jacket and ced her hands on his knees to push herself up. Thinking that his thigh should be too hard to make a good pillow, Loren stepped out of the back of the wagon.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Outside.¡±


    Huddled against the fence surrounding the inn¡¯s property, G peered out.


    Thinking that he should ask G for more details, Loren looked at his shoulder before moving.


    Before he went to sleep, Nig, who had taken up a permanent position there, was still in the middle of his work and was not there, but the spider had returned at some point and was now clinging firmly to Loren¡¯s shoulder as it always did.


    After confirming this, Loren put the greatsword, he had removed to sleep, back on his back and moved quietly until he was close to G, who was peering out from behind the fence.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. But there are a lot of people gathering at this time of night.¡±


    G said and pointed to somewhere, but there was not a single light on the street despite thete hours, and the people G was talking about did not seem to have any kind of lights with them, so Loren could not see them with his eyes.


    [¡®I¡¯m syncing with your vision, onii-san.¡¯]


    As he heard Shayna¡¯s voice, Loren¡¯s eyes could see through the darkness. He saw G¡¯s pointing to a group of quite a few people gathering without lights.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that it¡¯s obviously strange for people to be gathered here at this time of night without lights.¡±


    Loren did not see anythingmon among the people gathered here. Their ages were all different, and there were both males and females. Among them was also the owner of the store where Lapis had bought fruit during the day.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably toote, but put out the fire anyway.¡±


    Loren, not knowing why people were gathering, instructed his party to destroy any element that might attract their attention, and Ivy immediately put out the fire by pouring water on it.


    As soon as the fire was extinguished, G, who had been watching the group, raised a small voice in the darkness.


    ¡°The group is moving.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going after them. One of you follow me.¡±


    ¡°Then it can¡¯t be anyone but me.¡±


    If they had not just gathered, but had started moving as a group, then there had to be some sort of destination. Loren thought he had to confirm this, regardless of whether or not it had anything to do with the abnormalities they were sensing in the city. Lapis offered to apany him


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave G and Ivy in charge here then.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push it, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not very good at this kind of thing. I¡¯ll cut it off where it¡¯s appropriate.¡±


    Loren was not suited for tracking work because of the weapon he used. Even so, as he was not willing to have someone else go, he had no choice but to go himself.


    ¡°Does this even have any meaning?¡±


    ¡°The meaning willeter, won¡¯t it?¡±


    Ivy tilted her head in doubt, and Lapis responded with something that may or may not be an exnation.


    ¡°It¡¯s better than having no information at all. We¡¯re off then.¡±


    After saying this, Loren quickly ran out from behind the fence into the street. After seeing off Lapis, who ran after him, the two Evil Gods began to watch their surroundings in order to protect their current location, which could now be called their base, until those two came back.

 Chapter 249: From Tracking to Deodorizing

    <h4>Chapter 249: From Tracking to Deodorizing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    At a quick nce, there were about a dozen people gathered near the inn.


    Though not that big of a number, it was quite many for a gathering in the middle of the night, and although no one was leading them, they all began to walk slowly in the same direction.


    Loren and Lapis followed the group while keeping some distance from them, hiding in the corners of buildings and behind trees along the street. The two tried to quiet their footsteps and not make any noises, but the group ahead of them walked without caring about the sound of their footsteps. Some of them were armed, so there were even noises of armors moving and weapons hitting each other.


    Thinking it was quite noisy, Loren looked around, but he could not see anyoneing out of the surrounding buildings nor peeking out of the windows to check on the situation.


    ¡°This town sleeps quite well, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis, who was walking like gliding with her fluttering priest robe, made no sounds at all. The fact that she was not carrying anything that made sounds might be a factor, but the way she moved her body without making a footstep sound or a rustling of clothes was nothing short of magnificent.


    As for Loren, he managed to quieten his footsteps by using his knees, but he still made some noise. In addition, the dagger inside his jacket and the greatsword on his back still made some noise, and he could not reach the point where he could walk silently like Lapis.


    ¡°I guess I should have just left the greatsword behind.¡±


    With the great sword, which was the heaviest of all Loren¡¯s possessions, mounted on his back, he was inevitably restricted in how he could move his body, and was making noises all over the ce. Without the weapon, he would not be able to fight, so it was an essential piece of equipment, but in a situation like this, it felt rather like a hindrance.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry much about it, do you? There is no indication that they will notice us.¡±


    As Lapis said, the people ahead of them did not even look back. They just looked ahead and moved forward at the same pace.


    It was a very strange sight for Loren to see people going in the same direction without any hesitation on the unlit streets. It was so dark that even Loren would have walked into things here and there if he had not been assisted by Shayna. It was strange to think that average citizens, who had not been trained in particr, were walking around in such darkness without any hesitation.


    ¡°Where are they headed?¡±


    Loren asked the question that suddenly popped into his mind, but neither him nor Lapis had any familiarity with Suest. He thought that there would be no answer, but surprisingly, Lapis easily gave him one.


    ¡°It looks like they are walking toward the west of the town.¡±


    ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    Impressed, Loren asked, and Lapis pointed to the sky.


    ¡°We can tell the direction by the position of the stars, can¡¯t we?¡±


    Just as Lapis said, there was really a way to do it. If you started going into details, there would be no end to it, but as long as one remembered some stars, it was not so difficult to determine the general direction.


    ¡°I see. So, what¡¯s on the west side of this city?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything particrly big¡­¡±


    Lapis said this yet her voicecked confidence, as if she was searching her memory. Loren was somewhat relieved to learn that even though she was a priest in the service of the God of Knowledge, she did not have ess to the detailed geography of a city she was visiting for the first time.


    ¡°So nothing worth checking then?¡±


    ¡°I guess so. At most, there is a west gate that leads in and out of the city wall, and an entrance to the sewage system, if I recall correctly, ¡°


    ¡°Should we check that?¡±


    Loren had no intention of asking what on earth she was going to use that information for, but there was one thing among what Lapis had told him stuck in his mind.


    ¡°The entrance to the sewers?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of several entrances on the outer edges of the city, used for cleaning and maintenance. The city¡¯s domestic wastewater and sewage is collected in a sewer system that runs beneath the city. The entrance on the west side is thergest in the city, apparently, as it leads to the outside.¡±


    [Well, that¡¯s a suspicious ce.]


    Loren thought that a sewer was quite a fitting destination for a group gathered in the middle of the night with unknown intentions, but Lapis openly frowned when she heard his words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to go into the sewers?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ they continue to head west, the only ce they¡¯ll end up is outside the city or the sewers, right?¡±


    ¡°Loren, did you hear what I said? The west side drainage is thergest in this city, and it collects all the sewage, carries it out of the city and to the river, which is somewhat far from the city?¡±


    Loren knew what Lapis¡¯ expression meant when she said this.


    In other words, it was the ce where all the dirty water in this city drained, and the dirtiest ce in the city is the best description for it. Since Lapis was wearing a white priest¡¯s uniform, it was not difficult to imagine what kind of consequences awaited her if she were to venture into such a ce.


    ¡°If you insist, I¡¯ll have to give up these clothes¡­¡±


    Even if she was lucky enough to not have her clothes soiled, the strong odor that probably wafted through the space would have seeped into the garments, and unless she used a very strong odor remover or detergent, she certainly would not have wanted to wear these clothes again.


    The same can be said for Loren.


    Loren would not hesitate to step in if necessary, but he certainly did not want his clothes, which he did not have many recements for, or his jacket, which he used as his only piece of protective gear, to be soiled or smelly.


    ¡°It depends on the situation. I don¡¯t want to be in such a ce either.¡±


    ¡°In these cases, the worst thing you can think of usually bes a reality¡­¡±


    Lapisughed weakly as she said this.


    As if those words had be a curse, the group of people who were single-mindedly walking down the streets in the middle of the night eventually came to the western edge of the city, before arge door of a stone building with no decoration and no visible windows, standing alone at a distance from the other buildings.


    Loren didn¡¯t know what that building was used for, but he had a bad hunch about it. He asked Lapis, who was standing beside him with a sour face, if it was what he thought.


    ¡°Could it be that is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is.¡±


    As the two of them watched, thinking that it really always ended up with the worst scenario, the group opened the heavy iron door of the sewage entrance and went in with the same pace they had been walking before. The smell from the open doorway must have been quite strong, but there was no falter or hesitation in the steps of those who went through it.


    When everyone had gone through the door, those at the end of the group closed the door, and the area was enveloped in silence.


    ¡°Nobody¡¯s here, right?¡±


    With the group he had been tracking gone into the sewers, there was no point in hiding, so Loren stepped out from the building he had been hiding behind and slowly made his way to the door that led to the sewers.


    The door had been opened just a moment ago, and there was a strong sewage smell in the air. Lapis covered her mouth with her hands as she followed Loren, but she started coughing as they got closer to the door. When they reached it, she couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and put her forehead on Loren¡¯s back and clung to him tightly.


    It was no wonder, Loren thought as he endured the stench that was wafting around him. It was not unusual for Loren to smell such odors on the battlefield, and to some extent he was used to them. But the smell of a sewer where the sewage of an entire city collected was so strong that he worried that his nose would never work properly again. Loren walked on with Lapis in tow, thinking that if they stayed too long, the smell would seep into his clothes.


    As they finally stood in front of the sewer door, Loren put his hand on the handle.


    ¡°Please wash your hands properly after this.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me.¡±


    Loren was not a fan of dirty or smelly things. Although the handle of the entrance door was not dirty, he promised himself that he would do as he was asked and wash his hands thoroughly afterwards, partly because of his own feelings.


    ¡°And you¡¯re going to open that door?¡±


    ¡°Well, you have to open a door to see what¡¯s inside, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It will be horrible if you open it. Moreover, you can¡¯t see what¡¯s inside just by opening the door. The sewers are underground, so there¡¯ll be only stairs going down.¡±


    Even though the door was only open while a dozen or so people were passing through, the smell of the ce behind it was so strong that Lapis was dazed. If that door was opened and they had to smell the odor wafting directly from inside, no one knew what kind of state she would be in. But there was no sense in following that group of people all the way here and returning without knowing what was going on.


    ¡°You can leave if you want. You won¡¯t be able to stand the air inside.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll take your word this time.¡±


    If one thought about it, Lapis¡¯ mother was a Demon King. For humans, such a position would beparable to that of the King of a country. Loren did not know if Lapis was aware of this status or not, or if the demon race had such a notion, but as the daughter, she was in a position where she could be called a princess. It was not so strange that as such Lapis could not stand the smell of sewage. Rather, it was more surprising to Loren that she had followed him all the way to the door before he opened it.


    Loren watched as Lapis hurriedly moved away, and after she had gained enough distance, Loren put strength into the hand on the handle and opened the door.


    The mass of stinking air that poured out of the door was so strong that it almost made him feel as if he was under physical pressure, and he almost ran away from the ce. But Loren held his ground and slightly leaned in. There was indeed a staircase leading down from the entrance, and at the end of the staircase, there was a fairlyrge space. There were no lights, of course, but Loren, who had borrowed Shayna¡¯s vision, could see as well as if it was in daylight, and he began to descend the stairs, though reluctantly.


    When he reached the bottom of the 20 or so steps, the air was slightly hot, and the smell was even more unbearable. Enduring the nausea that was rising, Loren stepped into the space beyond, which turned out to be a canal.


    At both ends of the canal, which was probably filled with sewage, were passageways for people to pass through for cleaning and maintenance, and the canal itself extended all the way to the west. Loren¡¯s vision clearly saw the foaming, foul-smelling sewage water, and he looked toward the end of the canal, thinking that in a case like this, it was good to have a clear vision.


    It had not been long since that group of people had passed through here, and Loren thought that he could at least see their backs if they were moving along the passageway. But even though he could see far end of the passageway, which went all the way to the west, he could not see anything resembling a human figure in the middle of it.


    When he turned his eyes to the other side of the passageway, there was still no sign of anyone.


    Loren wondered if he was sote that he had lost sight of them, but no matter how hard he looked, no moving things existed in the space.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t dive into the sewage, did they?¡±


    Those people were behaving strangely to that extent. Loren thought that this possibility could not be ruled out, but naturally there was no way to check the sewage.


    As he thought about how much he didn¡¯t want to pick the option of going in himself, Shayna¡¯s voice came to his mind.


    [¡®For the time being, there is no sign of life though?¡¯]


    As the King of Death, Shayna was able to detect the signs of life forces. Even though that was an ability of an undead, it was a very helpful ability in this case, Loren thought. It meant that there was no possibility of someone being in the sewage, so he didn¡¯t have to check anymore.


    ¡°Then where the hell did they go?¡±


    [¡®That¡­ There are countless small signatures at the end of this corridor, but they¡¯re not the sizes of humans¡¯. I don¡¯t know what they are.¡¯]


    ¡°Rats or something? I¡¯m sure they are not umon in sewers.¡±


    [¡®I¡¯m not sure about that.¡¯]


    Loren wondered what to do.


    He thought about going down the passageway for a while, but didn¡¯t feel like it at all. In addition, he had brought a greatsword, but no tools to conduct a search.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to realize that it would be dangerous to go in too deep without preparation, and he decided that it would be best to leave at this point. Paying attention to his surroundings, Loren went back the way he came and went up above ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s honestly disgusting to explore that ce¡­¡±


    As Loren exited the door, thinking that the two staying at the inn probably would not like results of his pursuit, he saw Lapis¡¯ misting a spray in her hand. He wondered where the hell she had kept it. Loren knew it was apparently a perfume because of the rather harsh citrus smell emanating from it.


    ¡°I really did smell¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry Loren, I know it¡¯s bad manners to do this, but please forgive me.¡±


    Loren had not been in the sewers for that long, but the smell had definitely permeated his body. With a very apologetic look on her face, Lapis sprayed him with perfume. Loren, resigned himself, and obediently epted it with a downturned mouth.

 Chapter 250: From Trouble to A Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 250: From Trouble to A Reunion</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren and Lapis returned to the inn from the sewer entrance and weed dawn without a wink of sleep. As the sky brightened, they began to remove the threads that Nig had wrapped around the inn the previous night. They did not know what the spider¡¯s intention was in sealing off the inn, but as long as there were people inside, they thought that they could not keep the inn locked up.


    Loren did not know how Nig felt about their action, but the spider did not act out of control and just clung to his shoulder as usual.


    Using daggers whose des had been heated, they somehow managed to cut up the exceedingly durable spider threads. When they opened the door, their eyes met those of the innkeeper, who had been sitting behind the counter since who knew when.


    Loren felt that this was a situation that deserved his anger, but the innkeeper did not say a word when he saw Loren¡¯s group standing at the doorway, as if he did not understand what situation his inn had been until then.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Are you mad?¡±


    Loren awkwardly asked the silent innkeeper, and the guy simply replied in a murmur.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ You know how the windows and the doors of the inn were shut?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The cold, emotionless voice made Loren scratch his cheeks, unsure of what to make of it.


    ¡°So you¡¯re not mad?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°This is hopeless.¡±


    By this point, Loren hade to understand that this innkeeper was not normal.


    Whatever the cause might be, no matter how long he talked with someone he could notmunicate with properly, the situation would not progress. Loren gave up and decided to leave the matter with the inn behind, and left for the soldiers¡¯ station of Suest.


    No matter how remote a city was, soldiers were still dispatched from the capital to keep public order. Basically, the soldiers were in charge of catching and investigating criminals whomitted crimes in the city, and Loren thought that they needed to report the disappearance of the group of people that they had seenst night.


    As an adventurer, Loren was not sure how much of his testimony would be epted, and this caused him some anxiety. However, he knew that the guards would not hesitate to act if more than a dozen people had disappeared to who knows where. If those at the station were not enough to settle the matter, the soldiers were sure to request assistance from the capital, and hopefully the power of the state might be able to shed some light on the mysterious disappearance.


    But when Loren took the others to the soldiers¡¯ station, he came across a sight that made him think that it might not go as he nned.


    The station had a room for takingints from the citizens, and that was where Loren and his team went. However, as soon as they entered the ce, they saw three men who looked like adventurers at the reception counter and a guard sitting behind it, answering their questions.


    ¡°Like I said, the priest of our party hasn¡¯t been seen sincest night!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you that our party¡¯s priest has disappeared!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you mean you don¡¯t know? It¡¯s impossible to talk with you! Get me somebody more important!¡±


    The man was so enraged that ¡®furious¡¯ was barely an appropriate word to describe his state. He even tried to grab the guard behind the counter. But the guard who was talking to them did not change his expression at all, and remained nonchnt in front of the men¡¯s angry voices.


    ¡°Ourmander is absent.¡±


    ¡°Then someone lower in rank!¡±


    ¡°The vicemander is also absent.¡±


    ¡°Then who is here?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?!¡±


    A man, probably a swordsman, leaned over the counter and tried to grab the guard by the chest.


    Loren could tell that the man was probably a few years older than he was. If he was not stopped, he probably would climb over the counter and grab the guard, and if he did, they could all be imprisoned as criminals. Knowing this, a bandit-looking man and a magician-looking man from each side grabbed the swordsman-looking man by the shoulders and arms to stop him from doing so.


    ¡°Let go of me! You bastard!¡±


    ¡°Stop him! We¡¯ll be arrested if you cause a scene here!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! I have to give him a punch to the face!¡±


    The two men tried to stop him, but the swordsman was too strong and dragged them with him. The bandit and the magician desperately tried to hold the swordsman back, because they knew that if he really touched the guard, it would end badly.


    Loren felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu when he saw no signs of fear or dismay from the guard no matter how furious the swordsman was. What was more surprising was the appearance of the swordsman, who was about to attack the guard.


    ¡°That guy, I remember seeing him somewhere¡­¡±


    ¡°You have a male acquaintance, Loren?¡±


    ¡°Hey, what do you mean by that?¡±


    Loren reached out to grab Ivy, who was feigning surprised. But Ivy was faster, she fled and hid behind G as if using her as a shield.


    ¡°Ah, hey, don¡¯t use me as a shield!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t lose, right?¡±


    ¡°Stop messing around! If he does something with his power, I¡¯ll lose!¡±


    Loren stared at his own palm, wondering if he had enough power to win against an Evil God. But G and Ivy continued to joke around, but just as Loren was thinking that it was time to put a stop to their noisy behavior, the swordsman, who was still struggling with his friends at the reception counter, yelled at Loren¡¯s group as the bandit man held him back by the arms.


    ¡°You¡¯re too noisy! Get the hell away if you have nothing to do!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if we offended you. I¡¯ll shut them up, forgive us.¡±


    If you made noises right next to a dispute, even if you were bystanders, you couldn¡¯t help but be yelled at. Thinking this, Loren red at both Ivy and G once to make them quiet, then slightly bowed to the swordsman who had yelled at him. The fault was on their side, so he thought he should apologize for now.


    When Loren lifted his head, for some reason, he caught the swordsman staring at him with a gaping mouth. From the look on his face, Loren felt that he definitely knew the man from somewhere, so he decided to confirm it.


    ¡°By the way, have we met somewhere before?¡±


    ¡°Where¡­ Aren¡¯t you Loren?¡±


    The bandit released his hold as the swordsman ceased his struggle. He was frozen with a look of surprise on his face as he looked at Loren, and Loren, who was also looking at him, was lost in thought. He was still unable to remember where he had seen the man before, although he looked familiar.


    ¡°I want to say ¡®How dare you forget my face¡¯, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. After all, you and I were just members of the Muttschild Mercenaries, nothing more.¡±


    Loren wondered to himself if that was the name of thepany. He didn¡¯t remember paying much attention to thepany¡¯s name. He probably had heard about it somewhere, but rather than having forgotten about it, it was more like he couldn¡¯t recall it even if told.


    ¡°Did this person work in the same mercenarypany as you, Loren?¡±


    As he listened to Lapis, Loren finally realized that if he recognized the man in front of him, the only possibility was that the man was someone he met during his mercenary days. If it was someone he had met after bing an adventurer, he would remember most of them, and he would not have to wonder about it.


    ¡°You became an adventurer, huh? I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a simr situation? Ehh¡­¡±


    Even after realizing that the other man seemed to have been in the same mercenarypany as him, Loren was still unable to recall the man¡¯s name. Perhaps he had only met the guy in the group and did not know his name. After all, there were quite a few members in thepany, and Loren did not know all of them.


    ¡°My name is Mills. You¡¯re right, I¡¯m an adventurer now. It¡¯s the only way for people like us, who can only fight, to survive after quitting the mercenary business.¡±


    Thinking that most people had the same thought, Loren asked just in case.


    ¡°If you have good manners, you can be a soldier or something, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, aren¡¯t you? There are only a few who have good enough manners to work for the state¡­ You could have done it, couldn¡¯t you? Why did you be an adventurer then?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an adventurer too? My manners aren¡¯t good either. You overestimate me. By the way, what¡¯s your problem?¡±


    As Mills was in the samepany as him, Loren thought that no matter how bad-mannered he was, he would not attack a member of the general public for no reason. In that case, there must have been some reason for the attack, and when he asked Mills about it, Mills turned his reproachful gaze to the guard who had been watching the exchange between them without a change in expression before replying.


    ¡°One of our party members disappearedst night, and we came here to inform the guard that something might have happened. But this bastard keeps saying he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s going on and I can¡¯t talk to him.¡±


    ¡°There were no signs of vandalism in the room he was staying in, but we are concerned because this is not a man who would go somewhere without telling us.¡±


    The magician spoke with concern for his party member, then nced at the expressionless guard, who gave no clue about whether he was listening to their conversation or not, and said in a whisper.


    >¡±The poor quality of the guards on the frontier is troubling.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell us a little more about that?¡±


    The story of the sudden disappearance of one of their party members was somewhat simr to what Loren had seenst night, and Loren thought he should ask Mills for more information. Mills immediately nodded.


    ¡°No problem. But let¡¯s go somewhere else. This ce is disgusting.¡±


    Mills intentionally wanted to be heard, but the guard, who probably could hear him, did not change his expression. He kept his eyes fixed in their direction with a nk expression as if he was wearing a mask or something, and it was difficult to determine whether he was really seeing them or not.

 Chapter 251: From Enlightenment To Sentimentality

    <h4>Chapter 251: From Enlightenment To Sentimentality</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°It¡¯s not that we haven¡¯t heard that something is wrong in Suest.¡±


    Apanied by Mills, who suggested a change of location, Loren and his friends hade to a stall in the za near the guard station. The owner of the stall did not give the same unnatural response as the residents of Suest that Loren and his friends had seen so far, which made them feel a little relieved.


    ¡°We were just in the neighborhood on anothermission, and thought that we¡¯d take a little break. And now here we are. We should have just left, even if it was a hassle.¡±


    The stall selling snacks and beverages was a mobile stall, but it offered foldable chairs and tables for customers. The seven of them upied one of the tables, ordering drinks and food before starting their conversation.


    Around them, there were a few people who seemed to havee from outside the city, but their faces were strangely filled with a sense of unease or fear. It was a bit inappropriate, but after seeing the nk expressions on the faces of the city¡¯s residents, Loren and his group were somewhat relieved to see that there were groups of humans gathering here.


    ¡°We came into town two days ago. The day we got here, we had a big party because we¡¯ve just finished amission. We decided to take the next day off.¡±


    ¡°The priest disappearedst night?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Actually, he started feeling sick in the evening. He was supposed to be resting in his room, but we were worried when he didn¡¯te out of his room in the morning, so we broke the door and went in.¡±


    ¡°You broke through the door of the inn?¡±


    If they were not careful, the guards could be called, and they could be arrested. They had destroyed someone else¡¯s property, and no matter how much of a hurry they were in, they could have borrowed a duplicate key from the innkeeper or something. It was what Loren thought, and when he told Mills this, Mills immediately shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. The innkeeper also kept saying he didn¡¯t know anything.¡±


    It seemed like Mills also had the same thought as Loren. He had tried to negotiate with the innkeeper for a key to the priest¡¯s room, but was having trouble getting through to him.


    ¡°All he said was ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ and ¡®I don¡¯t understand¡¯, so we had no choice but to break the door.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t ask forpensation?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t react at all when I smashed down the door. It was a little creepy, but more importantly, there was no sign of the priest in the room. We¡¯re adventurers, too. We could have looked for him ourselves, but¡­¡±


    ¡°We thought we should inform the guild and the guards first, rather than making a bad move in a town we didn¡¯t know well.¡±


    The magician continued Mills¡¯ sentence. The magician and the rogue, members of Mills¡¯ party, were people Mills had met after he became an adventurer, and they had nothing to do with the mercenarypany that Loren and Mills had belonged to.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that this priest has returned alone to the town where you all are based?¡±


    Mills and the other two shook their heads in unison at Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°He would never do such a thing alone without telling us. Even if he wanted to, it¡¯s too dangerous and too far to go alone.¡±


    ¡°And it would be a suicide for a priest to walk alone through the night on a road where monsters and beasts are present. He has been an adventurer for a long time, so he should know better.¡±


    ¡°And even if he was that stupid, he had to have a reason for doing it, right? The three of us have no idea why he would do something like that.¡±


    With Mills, the magician and the rogue testifying in turns, Loren thought it unlikely that the priest was acting alone, even though he had never met him before.


    ¡°Where the hell did he go, then?¡±


    At the same time that G asked, the stall owner brought over the food and drinks that they had ordered and ced them on the table.


    Suest was quiterge for a city in such a location, but it was not thatrge. It was a town where one could find a single person without too much trouble.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re in trouble. Hey Loren, do you have any idea what¡¯s going on, on your side?¡±


    The only thing Loren could think of when asked, was the story of the sewer he and Lapis went tost night. Although he didn¡¯t even know if Mills¡¯ friend was among the dozen people who had disappeared at that time, it was the only phenomenon he could think of in, which people suddenly went somewhere strange.


    ¡°Actually, we were also thinking of informing the guards about something.¡±


    ncing at Lapis, he saw that she was just about to start on the food that had been brought to them, her eyes shining. Thinking about it, Loren felt that he had not had a proper meal sinceing to this city, and it was not surprising that Lapis was pleased with the food from the street vendor. Hoping for her to pay a little more attention to the conversation, Loren cleared his throat. Lapis stopped the hand that was bringing food to her mouth, looked at him, and slightly nodded. Both of them had obtained the information about the sewers together, and Loren felt that making the decision to talk about it with others by himself wasn¡¯t good, so he was asking for Lapis¡¯ consent. After seeing that she was alright about it, he proceeded telling Mills what they sawst night.


    ¡°The sewers? What the hell were they doing there¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I did see them go in, but I lost them there. Of course, I don¡¯t know if there were any priests in the group.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I can¡¯t think of any other possibilities. But still, a sewer of all ces¡­ I don¡¯t want to go in there.¡±


    Loren understood Mills¡¯ point. He had stepped in there once, but if he was asked to go back, he was inclined to refuse with all his might. However, Loren was willing to endure it and go in if absolutely necessary, and as he thought that Mills would also do the same for the sake of his friend. Mills let out a low moan, then took in a deep breath as if he had made up his mind.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ I guess we¡¯ll just have to go there.¡±


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d say that, but all I can say is, I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡±


    ¡°Aaah that bastard, if I find him there, I¡¯ll make him buy me a lot of expensive drinks, I really will. We¡¯re going to have to go buy a lot of perfume and deodorant.¡±


    As Loren was thinking that despite all his rough speech, the perfume and deodorant Mills nned to buy were probably for his friend, the rogue suddenly looked at Mills and blurted out.


    ¡°What use do we have for perfume and deodorant?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? He just told us that a dozen people disappeared in the sewersst night, right? Maybe there¡¯s a clue to the priest there, so we have to go there, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Did he mention that?¡±


    As the rogue said this with a surprised blink, Mills¡¯ face turned grim. Mills did not have a rough face, but perhaps because he had been a mercenary for a long time, when he made a grim expression, it was powerful in its own way.


    However, it was only Loren and Mills¡¯ friends who could sense this. None of the women on Loren¡¯s side seemed to be moved by the ex-mercenary¡¯s stern face. Even now, they were almost ignoring the conversation and were engrossed in eating the barbecued meat brought by the stall owner. None of them paid any attention to Mills¡¯ face.


    ¡°Do you even listen to us talking?¡±


    ¡°A-ah? Sorry. That¡­ well.¡±


    ¡°Forget it. Anyway, we¡¯re going to go to that sewer entrance on the west side and check it out. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to him there.¡±


    ¡°¡®Him¡¯ means¡­¡±


    ¡°All the drinking got to your head or something? Well just shut up and follow me.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡±


    Mills stood up from his seat, urging the rogue, who was not responding well, and the magician, who remained silent, as if he had something on his mind, to follow him.


    Loren understood his desire to find his friends as soon as possible, but even putting that aside, there was one piece of information that Loren wanted to ask Mills about.


    ¡°In exchange for the information I just gave you, can you do something for me?¡±


    ¡°What? I can, but in that case, we¡¯ll split the bill fifty-fifty, okay?¡±


    Mills smirked at him, and Loren slightly snorted.


    ¡°I have no intention of asking for a treat or anything. What I¡¯d like you to tell me is, do you know what happened to the Commander and the others afterwards?¡±


    For Loren, Mills was the first survivor of his mercenarypany that he had encountered since he became an adventurer. Unlike himself, who was too busy running away to pay attention to his surroundings, he asked the question in the hope that Mills might have some information for him. Of course, Loren didn¡¯t think that he would suddenly have the good fortune to know the whereabouts of themander or the higher executives like this, but he hoped he could at least get some information. But Mills, who was staring at Loren, said something that he could not believe.


    ¡°The Commander? Who is it?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? The Commander of ourpany, Yuri Muttschild. Who else?¡±


    It was the name of the leader of their mercenarypany, which was also thepany¡¯s name. Loren was surprised and wondered why Mills was pretending not to know, but Mills thought for a while and then said.


    ¡°Is that his name? I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    For a moment, Loren wondered if he had been tricked into thinking he knew Mills, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Loren had no idea what benefits there were in deceiving him. Moreover, Mills himself was someone Loren was surely familiar with, and not someone he had no idea who he was talking to.


    ¡°Are you serious? This is a bad joke, right?¡±


    ¡°Joke or not, I really don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know. Rather than that, we need to quickly get ready and go to the sewers. We¡¯ll pay for this ce. After all, I couldn¡¯t answer your questions even if we received some information.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still in town, right? If we can find our priest, we¡¯lle give you our thanks. Well then, we¡¯ll be going.¡±


    Mills handed the stall owner a small bag containing what must have been a considerable amount of money, and then disappeared into the city without receiving any change.


    Loren was grateful for Mills¡¯ thoughtfulness, assuming the guy meant that they can eat and drink the amount of money in the bag, but he stared in the direction Mills and his friends had gone, unable to understand the attitude Mills showed when they parted.


    ¡°How is it possible that he doesn¡¯t remember the Commander?¡±


    Loren thought that every member of thepany had been more or less under the care of the Commander. But he also wondered if mercenaries, for whom money was everything, would forget the name of a leader who had destroyed his group in a losing battle as it was a bad omen.


    In any case, he didn¡¯t think Mills was lying, and Loren, thinking that there were members like that, epted the well-timed ss offered by Lapis next to him and drained the alcohol in it in one gulp.


    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 252: From Discussion To Going Shopping

    <h4>Chapter 252: From Discussion To Going Shopping</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Now, Loren, what are we going to do now?¡±


    The amount of cash that Mills left behind was an alright sum, and would have been enough to fill the four people in Loren¡¯s party up on food and drink. Of course, this was only if the four of them were all normal people. With a being who ate a nonstandard amount like G in their party, even if they were to have ess to the entire storehouse of gold in some royal castle, only G herself knew if she would be truly full.


    ¡°What can I do? I¡¯m going to aplish what Ivy asked me to do and get the information about the ruins that she used. That¡¯s all I can do.¡±


    ¡°Then, we already know that there is something unusual going on in this city, and now we have to find out what is causing it, don¡¯t we?¡±


    Loren thought that this would probably be the case, but he looked to Ivy for confirmation just in case. Ivy, who was absentmindedly watching G quickly empty a te of food next to her while sipping a ss of wine, noticed Loren¡¯s gaze and replied.


    ¡°Yes, something like that, please.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡±


    ¡°Alright. So, the only clue we have so far is that sewer.¡±


    Loren sipped from the ss in his hand with a tantly disgusted look on his face as Lapis spoke those words even though they were in the middle of a meal.


    Loren, who had left Lapis behind and entered the sewers alone, waster sprinkled with a fair amount of perfume by Lapis to mask rather than remove the smellpletely. If it had been a low quality perfume, the result would have been horrible, as the scent of perfume would had mixed with the original smell. But the perfume Lapis used was something special: even though it couldn¡¯tpletely cover the smell that had seeped into Loren¡¯s clothes, it did a fairly good job masking it. It was chilling to think of what Ivy and G would have said to him had it not been for the perfume.


    Regardless, when told that they might have to go back to a space with such an intense smell, it was inevitable that not only Loren, who had actually been there, but also Ivy and G, who had only heard about it, would have a clouded expression on their faces.


    ¡°Just to be clear, I don¡¯t like it either.¡±


    Feeling the reproachful stares gathering on her for some reason, Lapis pouted.


    ¡°So. To somehowplete this unpleasant job, I think we should have a discussion.¡±


    ¡°¡®Somehow¡¯¡­ We can¡¯t do anything about it, right?¡±


    The smell of a sewer was not created overnight. It came from all the things that umted and dposed there over an endless period of time, and rather than just staining, it soaked in. It was not something that could be washed away, and if you want to do something about it, you need to start from the building materials that make up the sewage system and the surrounding soil itself.


    In other words, as Loren said, it was not something that can be done just by having the will to.


    ¡°At the most, we could use perfume before entering.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work. If we try to disguise that stench with a different fragrance, we won¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re so sure, what do you want to do about it?¡±


    G asked without stopping eating, and Lapis drank the contents of the ss in her hand in one gulp and put it down on the table, almost mming it. The cups offered at the stall were simple carved wooden ones coated with some kind of paint, and would not break even if they were handled in such a manner.


    ¡°We need to take steps to control that smell, even if only temporarily.¡±


    ¡°Temporarily huh. Do you have any good ideas?¡±


    Even Loren did not want to step into that stench without taking any measures. If there was a way to control it, even temporarily, as Lapis had said, he would endorse it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t. It¡¯s a hassle, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡±


    Loren knew that there were eyes around him, so he tried to keep his voice as low as possible and not to raise it too loudly, but it was natural that his voice would be slightly louder at the answer.


    Even though Loren did not know how long it had been since the town of Suest was built, he could not help but be surprised to hear Lapis say that she could do something about the stench.


    ¡°It¡¯s really only temporary, and it takes a little bit of time, but there is a way to properly control that smell. If possible, I¡¯d like your permission to do it.¡±


    ¡°Permission? Mine? Why? There¡¯s nothing wrong with doing it, is there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t n to act on my own. A party member should ask permission from the party leader before making a move.¡±


    ¡°I feel like it¡¯s already a littlete for that.¡±


    ¡°And I have to get it pre-approved in order for the leader to take responsibility if something goes wrong.¡±


    ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that the main reason?¡±


    As Loren stared at her, Lapis hurriedly shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. There is no way I would try to impose any inconvenience on you, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah? I¡¯ll just leave it at that.¡±


    Loren had no intention to pull a snake out of that bush right now. If Lapis said so, it would be better to just agree with her.


    ¡°Is that okay with you too, G?¡±


    Before exploring the sewers, where there would almost certainly be something, Loren also asked for G¡¯s consent to take whatever measures Lapis suggested.


    G, who was gorging herself on the food, nodded her head only once without stopping. Loren took it as a sign of approval from G, and turned his gaze to Ivy. Even if he misunderstood that, he believed he could not be med as it was G¡¯s fault for not stopping eating and expressing her opinion.


    ¡°What about you, Ivy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to be a member of your party, am I?¡±


    Ivy, regardless of her true identity, was only an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the city of Kapha, and was not a member of Loren¡¯s party. Therefore, she thought that she did not have to recognize Loren as the leader and followed his instructions, and that he would not be asking for her opinion. She looked at Loren curiously, as he had done the opposite of her expectation.


    ¡°Maybe so, but it¡¯s not fun to just go along and be disregarded, isn¡¯t it? Besides, we¡¯re all in this together.¡±


    If Ivy had been an ordinary guild employee, Loren¡¯s words would have sounded sincere. But even though she had changed her name and body, she had originally been considered as one of the Evil Gods. It had crossed Loren¡¯s mind that she might be offended by being considered to be the same as an ordinary adventurer like himself, but she didn¡¯t seem to take it badly as he had feared. She nodded and said.


    ¡°You do have a point, Loren. Then, my answer to you is to proceed as you wish.¡±


    ¡°I guess there is no one who disagrees. So, Lapis, where do we start?¡±


    ¡°First of all, after you finish eating here, please go shopping with me. And I would appreciate it if G and Ivy would secure the yard of the inn like yesterday.¡±


    ¡°OK, understood, you want to go shopping alone with Loren. So it goes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that I don¡¯t, but if you put it so tantly, you¡¯ll give me ideas, you know?¡±


    Lapis shrugged her shoulders in a deliberate manner and looked straight at G, which caused G to stop eating and turn away in a fluster. Loren was scared of how the Evil God of Gluttony was intimidated enough to stop eating, but there was no trace of that intimidating atmosphere on Lapis¡¯ face when she turned to Loren after silencing G. Loren was inwardly impressed by the speed with which she was able to switch from one emotion to another.


    ¡°G and Ivy, once you¡¯ve secured the ce, don¡¯t go near the well or the inn building, okay? Those were the two ces where Nig was wrapping the threads, so there might be something there. Don¡¯t ever go near them.¡±


    ¡°Alright, got it.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    After confirming that each of the two Evil Gods had understood, Loren looked at Lapis.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do? You said something about shopping.¡±


    ¡°Yes, shopping. I need to buy some materials for something I¡¯m going to make.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re going to make, but can you get it here in town?¡±


    The city of Suest was located in what could be called a remote area. There was no way for Loren to know what exactly Lapis was trying to make, but if she was trying to make some kind of medicine or the like, it was very unlikely that she would have all the materials she needed. Stores that specialized in the production of such medicines-making ingredients were usually located near the center of the country or in towns that were key transportation hubs where many roads converge, perhaps because of the problem of stocking such materials.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s probably fine. I don¡¯t need such rare materials.¡±


    For Lapis, she was more worried about whether she would be able to shop properly in this town than about whether she would be able to get all the materials she needed. The owner of the inn where they were staying, the soldiers at the guard station, and the residents of this town were all somewhat strange. She wondered if she would be able to deal with these strange people and receive their goods by giving and receiving money.


    ¡°In the worst case scenario, we may have no choice but to imitate some thievery.¡±


    Thinking that they would cross that bridge when they got there and there was no need to dwell on the matter right now, Lapis took Loren to the store she wanted to visit.

 Chapter 253: Dealing With Shopping

    <h4>Chapter 253: Dealing With Shopping</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Following Lapis, Loren went to a flower store.


    He had thought that they were going to some kind of dubious alchemy-rted store or some back-street shop to buy prohibited items that if traded openly would make them criminals. So, when Lapis stepped into the store on the main street, rather than feeling a sense of anticlimax, he was suspecting that there was some kind of mistake.


    ¡°Hello¡­ Is there anyone in?¡±


    Lapis called out into the store very amiably, but there was no sign of the shopkeepering out.


    Loren, wondering if it was as he thought, stopped Lapis and slowly entered the store. The store seemed to be in amercial-residential building, and inside he found a young woman standing helplessly at the door separating the store from the residential part of the building.


    ¡°Hey, are you all right?¡±


    Lor¨¦n approached the woman, who did not seem to be alright in any way, with caution, but she did not open her mouth, although she did respond to his voice by directing her stare towards him. Thinking that this was not a good sign, Loren looked at Lapis to see what was going on, but Lapis was not concerned at all. She had begun to look around at the flowers in the store.


    After alternately looking at Lapis, who was rummaging through the flowers, and the shopkeeper, who may or may not be watching her, Loren let out a single breath and decided to stop thinking about the shopkeeper for now. He turned his attention to what Lapis was doing instead.


    Lapis was fumbling with flowers, of which neither the types nor the names Loren were familiar with. However, the fact that they were easily found on the shelves of a flower store suggested that they were not incredibly rare or expensive.


    ¡°You are looking for flowers, right?¡±


    Loren, wondering if she was looking for something that looked like a flower at first nce but actually something else entirely to someone with knowledge, asked for confirmation.


    Lapis replied with a puzzled look on her face.


    ¡°Do they look like anything other than flowers?¡±


    From Lapis¡¯ reaction, Loren judged that she was really just looking for some flower. But if that was the case, then he didn¡¯t understand what Lapis was trying to do by buying flowers.


    ¡°I kind of understand what you mean, Loren, but I really came here to buy flowers.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to mask the smell with that of flowers?¡±


    If that was the case, Loren didn¡¯t think it was a very good move. It was true that the scent of flowers was generally considered to be a nice fragrance, but he couldn¡¯t help but think that it was a rather weak counter to that odor.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to mask it. I¡¯m just trying to do some tricks.¡±


    Lapis looked at the shopkeeper, who hadn¡¯t moved from the back of the store, and suddenly spread her arms.


    ¡°Excuse me, can I have all the flowers here?¡±


    The shopkeeper did not respond.


    Normally, Loren would have thought that the shopkeeper might have been so surprised that she could no longer speak, but as far as he could tell, he doubted that Lapis¡¯ words had even reached her ears.


    Lapis stared at the shopkeeper for a moment, and when she saw that the shopkeeper did not take any action, she walked up to her and slipped a shiny golden coin into her dress pocket.


    ¡°I paid for them. Please keep the change.¡±


    The shopkeeper still did not show any reaction when Lapis said this.


    Wondering if perhaps the woman was dead, Loren inwardly asked Shayna to look at the shopkeeper with the King of Death¡¯s vision, but Shayna confirmed that the reaction was that of a living person, and there was nothing strange.


    ¡°So, Loren. The flowers in this store. Please collect them all.¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to carry all that stuff?¡±


    The store itself was not that big, but even so, there were quite a lot of flowers in the store, ranging from potted nts to cut flowers. Some of them were even wilting, and Loren wondered if a wagon would be enough to transport them all.


    ¡°Cut them down to the roots and put them all together. The roots and pots are not needed, so you can leave them behind.¡±


    The shopkeeper still did not move. Lapis looked around and found two pruning shears nearby, both of which she picked up and carelessly tossed one to Loren. He safely caught it and, after seeing Lapis immediately beginning to cut the potted flowers, he himself also began to cut the stems of the flowers, starting with the nearby potted nts.


    Cutting flowers of an entire store was a time-consuming task, but the shopkeeper did not say a word during the entire process, and rather than watching them, her eyes kept wandering off to somewhere else. There were also no interruptions from outside other than the asional resident wandering past or some curious peeks into the store by someone from out of town.


    Theyid out the cut flowers and stacked them into a bunch. As they were looking around for something to hold them together, Nig, who was clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, spat out a thread and tied them up. Not only that, the spider even allowed some ckness to the winding threads so that it was easy to carry by hands.


    ¡°Nig is really useful.¡±


    Loren lifted the bunch of flowers that Nig had bundled up with one hand, and Lapis said with admiration as she watched Nig returning to his shoulder.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say enough about its cleverness, not to mention its abilities.¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s smart, but why is it clinging to my shoulder?¡±


    Loren had previously heard that spiders in Nig¡¯s species had a habit of clinging to stronger individuals and cohabit with them. However, Loren believed that he should be considered the weakest of the party, to which Loren currently belonged. The spider should cling to Lapis, a demon or G, an Evil God. He did not understand why it was living on his own shoulders.


    ¡°There are two possibilities. The first one is that you are actually the strongest in our party, Loren.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be true.¡±


    ¡°The second one is that it is unlikely for it to survive clinging to me or G.¡±


    The second reason given by Lapis was somewhat convincing to Loren. If you thought about it, Nig had clung to Loren¡¯s shoulder when they passed through a dragon¡¯s nest. If the spider simply had a habit of clinging to stronger things, it would be strange for it to not cling to the dragon. The reason it did not do so was because it knew that if he tried to cling to the dragon, it would probably be recognized as an obstacle and killed in no time. It was possible that Nig thought that beings such as Lapis and G were too powerful for it, and that Loren was just right.


    ¡°If it¡¯s really because of thetter reason, then Nig is quite incredible.¡±


    ¡°It somehow understands not only what you¡¯re capable of, but also how dangerous you are.¡±


    From the mercenary¡¯s point of view, it was an ability to drool over.


    Loren still didn¡¯t quite understand what adventurers were about, but as a mercenary, it was natural to run away from an opponent you couldn¡¯t beat. With the skill to see through both an opponent¡¯s strength and danger level that Nig may possess, he could avoid impossible battles.


    ¡°I¡¯ll know that if I canmunicate with Nig, but I¡¯m not sure if I can hold a conversation with a spider.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can either.¡±


    On Loren¡¯s shoulder, Nig, who may have been listening to the conversation, patted him by raising and lowering its leg. No one but Nig itself knew whether it did that because it was disappointed about being unable to establish a conversation with Loren and the others, or for some other reasons that had nothing to do with the current conversation.


    ¡°Be that as it may, what are you going to do with these?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis, lightly lifting the bunch of flowers he was holding. Since it was a bundle of flowers, it might have been appropriate to call it a bouquet, but it was sorge and so carelessly bundled that it would have been a little daring to use that word.


    ¡°We will deal with them when we reunite with G and Ivy.¡±


    Saying this, Lapis walked out of the flower store. Loren followed her, but it was hard to believe that the flowers he was carrying would be enough to counteract the strong odor.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that the flowers I¡¯m carrying are going to be enough to counteract that smell.¡±


    ¡°I told you that it was impossible to have a perfect solution, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Loren was well aware of the fact that it was impossible topletely restore the sewage system to a state where people can pass through it without having problems, as the smell has been permeating the system for years. However, he also knew that it would be impossible to explore that area without doing something about it. The smell was at a level that if they forced themselves to go on, it would put everyone out of action before they could encounter or find anything.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been close enough to the area to know that even some kind of temporary deception is difficult to achieve.¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m asking is, what are you going to do about it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re talking about taking what¡¯s already there and making use of it.¡±


    The tone of Lapis¡¯ voice and expression suggested that she was confident about what she had just said, but on the receiving end, Loren had no idea what she was nning to do.


    ¡°In other words, we¡¯re dealing with it not by erasing it, but by mixing and making it into something else. You¡¯ll know what it¡¯s going to look like when we use it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing.¡±


    ¡°In cases like this, humans will try to eliminate the problem by force, won¡¯t they? In fact, humans have the tendency to use force to solve problems more than demons. Just leave it to me and wait for the result.¡±


    Loren thought that he probably wouldn¡¯t understand how a whole store¡¯s worth of flowers would help, even if he heard the exnation. However, judging from Lapis¡¯ confident attitude, he believed that it would probably be alright, so he just did what was necessary for now and kept a firm hold on the bunch of flowers he was carrying.

 Chapter 254: From Working To Tracking

    <h4>Chapter 254: From Working To Tracking</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After returning to the inn, or rather the grounds of the inn, Lapis immediately unwrapped the bundle of flowers that Loren had carried, made a fire, assembled some equipment she had brought out from who-knew-where. After that, she did something iprehensible: she began to shred and grind the flowers, then stuffed them into some kind of steaming liquid.


    ¡°It¡¯s like an alchemy.¡±


    Preparing the equipment, measuring the amount of ingredients to be added, and asionally checking the progress while stirring, Lapis looked like an alchemist at work, just like Loren said.


    ¡°It really is.¡±


    As Lapis answered while stirring the liquid in the pot, G, who was standing nearby, peeked into the pot with interest and sniffed at the steam rising from it.


    ¡°This¡­ It¡¯s HORRIBLE!!!¡±


    G screamed loudly and rolled on the ground holding her nose. Ivy watched her thrashing on the ground with amusement and no intent to help her out.


    Loren, on the other hand, began to stealthily move away from the pot, which seemed to be emitting a smell that would make even an Evil God squirm. Although the smell must be quite strong, it was not spreading to the surrounding area.


    ¡°It deteriorates quickly in the air and bes odorless. Unless you smell it directly.¡±


    Lapis smiled at Loren, who was wary of the smell.


    Now that she had mentioned it, it urred to Loren that Lapis, who was standing near the pot and stirring the liquid that seems to have a smell strong enough to make G roll around in agony, didn¡¯t look affected at all.


    ¡°Thebination of the liquid and the flowers is a special mixture. The recipe is a secret.¡±


    Lapis said this with her index finger raised in front of her lips, but the fact that Loren still didn¡¯t know what she was going to do with the liquid was a bit unsettling.


    Regardless of Loren¡¯s feelings, Lapis continued to carefully stir the contents of the pot. She asionally added something powdery or solid to the liquid, then fanned the rising steam with her hand, took a whiff to sense the smell, added something else, then repeated.


    Loren, who had changed his mind and decided that it would be better to leave the iprehensible work to Lapis, decided to keep an eye on the surroundings for the time being until the work was finished.


    The town of Suest was already quite strange, no matter how you looked at it. Not all the residents seemed to be crazy, but it was safe to assume that the majority of them were. As long as they didn¡¯t know the cause of the problem, it was hard to know when it would happen to them, and this caused a sense of uneasiness. But since he couldn¡¯te up with a solution even if he thought about it, Loren pushed it out of his mind.


    Putting that aside, he had no idea what kind of actions the residents of this town who had gone crazy would take, and he thought that vignce would be necessary. But there was no oneing from outside the inn, nor was there anyoneing out of the inn.


    Time slowly passed, and the sun slowly went down with a reddish tinge mixed with its light, which eventually changed into the colors of night.


    Lapis continued her work in the meantime, and the two Evil Gods, perhaps having nothing in particr to do, walked around the area, watching her. With no hesitation, G stuck her head back into the steam rising from the pot, then rolled around on the ground.


    ¡°Seems like it¡¯s a little earlier today.¡±


    Ivy suddenly said these words as the sun was setting, the sky was darkening, and the stars were beginning to shine.


    Loren looked at Ivy to see what she was talking about, and when he saw that Ivy¡¯s gaze was directed towards the outside of the inn, he immediately synchronized his own vision with that of Shayna.


    In the darkening night, with the vision of the King of Death that could see through a darkness that no human eye could see, Loren noticed that again, people were beginning to gather in the immediate vicinity of the inn¡¯s grounds. Moreover, the group that had been only a dozen or sost time, had swelled to more than twice that number this time.


    ¡°Lapis, your work¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll finish right away.¡±


    Lapis overturned the pot and extinguished the fire by pouring the remaining liquid into it. The remnants of the bonfire made a sizzling sound and spat up a white smoke, making G, who had stuck her head into the smokee out of it and il around, then ran to get away from it in a hurry. But Lapis fanned the smoke away with her hand without a care and stamped out the remnants of the extinguished bonfire with her foot.


    ¡°Preparation¡¯s done. We¡¯re ready to go.¡±


    ¡°Good. G and Ivy, youe this time too.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we shoulde with you this time. Wait a moment, please. I¡¯m going to seal the wagon.¡±


    While Ivy was working on the wagon parked in the inn yard, Loren kept an eye on the group of people who had gathered and remained motionless.


    ¡°It¡¯s eerie to see a group of expressionless people standing still, not moving.¡±


    Lapismented as she leaned in close to Loren, and Lorenpletely agreed.


    As they continued to watch the scene, which could only be described as eerie, Ivy walked up to them without making a sound. It seemed like she had finished her work with the wagon.


    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Then, when they start moving¡­¡±


    Just as Loren was about to say, the group began to move.


    They moved slowly, and Loren and his team also began to act. It looked like their destination was the sewer entrance on the west side again, judging from the direction.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Giving a shortmand, he broke into a run, and the three girls also started running through the night streets after him.


    Knowing roughly where they were going, they did not bother to follow the slow-moving group, but instead moved ahead of them to the west side near the sewer entrance.


    Even if the group went down a different road on the way, they would not have to worry about losing sight of them because with Shayna¡¯s ability to detect life essence they knew exactly where they were.


    [¡®It¡¯s useful, isn¡¯t it, onii-san? Wouldn¡¯t you be sorry to let it go?¡¯]


    ¡°Even if you leave me, all I have to do is ask you to do it and listen to the results, right?¡±


    [¡®But it¡¯s the power of the King of Death that you can use with no risk.¡¯]


    ¡°It¡¯s not my power.¡±


    Loren whispered to Shayna as their group hid near the entrance to the sewers.


    Soon, they saw the group of peopleing slowly toward the entrance of the sewers, their faces expressionless. Loren thought that they wouldn¡¯t notice them in such a state, but he hid in the shadows and held his breath just in case.


    Without regard for Loren¡¯s team, the group headed straight for the entrance to the sewers, opened the door without hesitation, nor being overpowered by the stench that wasing out, they passed through the door with undeterred steps.


    Loren¡¯s team watched thest members of the group entering, after which then door closed, and only then emerged from the shadows where they had been hiding.


    ¡°Let¡¯s follow.¡±


    ¡°Dun wanna¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, well, well, this time we¡¯ve got a n.¡±


    Lapis said as she held something that looked like white pills in her hand.


    Looking at the numerous pills, G concluded that they were probably the solution to deal with the stench that Lapis has been working on for half a day or so, but she didn¡¯t know how they would work to make that stench more tolerable.


    ¡°Do we take them?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to?¡±


    G frowned as her question was answered with another question, but Lapis was looking at the pills in her hand and not G¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°I don¡¯t rmend you take them, even though they are not poisonous.¡±


    Lapis said this and clenched the pills in her hand, then suddenly buried her face in Loren¡¯s back and put her arms around his waist. Loren was startled, but Lapis remained in the same position and said in a muffled voice.


    >¡±Until they take effect, the stench will remain foul. This position is bearable for a while, so please lead the way.¡±


    Not knowing what she nned to do but unable to object, he did not proceed. Instead, Loren walked to the front of the sewer entrance in the state he was in and opened the door.


    The stench that came out immediately made Lapis groan with her face still buried in Loren¡¯s back. G, who inhaled it directly, covered her nose and mouth and made a not-very-elegant noise. Ivy, perhaps having thought of this from the beginning, covered her mouth with a cloth she had apparently prepared before Loren opened the door. But the smell was not something that could be prevented with just a cloth, and she covered the cloth with her hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Loren was the only one who breathed in the stench properly without covering his nose and mouth. He had to keep his hands so that he could draw his greatsword if something happened. Naturally, he was ovee with an intense nausea, but he had experienced this smell once before, and it was not as if he had never smelled a simr odor on the battlefield. So he managed to hold back as he dragged Lapis down the stairs leading underground.


    When they eventually reached the bottom of the stairs, they came to a passageway leading to both sides of the sewer canal Loren had seen before, and he looked around with the vision he had borrowed from Shayna.


    Although there must have been arge number of people going down the stairs, by the time Loren¡¯s group arrived, they could no longer see any figures.


    As Loren wondered where in the world they had hidden so many people in such a short time, Lapis, who had been fumbling with something, picked up one of the white pills she had just shown Loren and the others and threw it in the general direction of the center of the waterway.


    Bouncing once on the floor of the passageway, the pill fell with a sshing sound into the sewage that filled the canal, and was soon swallowed by the murky water and lost sight of it.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Loren asked Lapis, who had once again hugged Loren tightly around the waist and pressed her face against his back after throwing the pill. But before she could answer, the water around where the pill had fallen began to foam violently.


    Loren was prepared for something to appear out of the sewage, but even with the help of Shayna¡¯s vision, there was no sign of life in the sewage. Loren wondered what in the world was bubbling up, then blinked as he suddenly noticed that the unbearable smell had faded.


    ¡°Oh? The smell changed?¡±


    G, who was holding her mouth and throat in a rather bad manner, released her hand and sniffed the air. Next to her, Ivy, who had been pressing a cloth over her mouth tightly, also released her hand and looked around with a curious expression.


    ¡°Looks like it worked.¡±


    The stench of the drainage had faded, and a faint but flowery aroma had begun to waft through the air instead.


    Perhaps confirming this, Lapis released the arms around Loren¡¯s waist and lifted the face that had been buried in his back.


    ¡°The pills react with a certain amount of water to produce a gas. The gas generated reacts with the foul odor of sewage and turns it into a flowery fragrance.¡±


    ¡°Amazing.¡±


    ¡°The problem is, it can only change the stench to a limited extent, and it cannot change all the odors that the sewage is giving off. Over time, the effect wears off and the stench returns.¡±


    From what Loren understood, the pills changed an unbearable stench into a tolerable stench with a subtle floral fragrance. The effective range of the gas emitted by each pill was limited, so the pills had to be spread from ce to ce, and their effects were not permanent.


    ¡°It¡¯s still a big improvement. This is tolerable. It¡¯s about as ufortable as walking in a toilet.¡±


    ¡°The pills are originally used in the toilets of our country¡¯s remote areas. It also has disinfecting and insecticide effects.¡±


    Sewage attracted worms, and could itself be a cause of disease. The technology to prevent such things seems to have existed among the demon race, and Lapis was able to use it to explore this sewage system.


    ¡°I wonder if this kind of technology will ever leak out.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be possible. As long as humans still detest us demons, at least. It¡¯s not anyone¡¯s fault, though.¡±


    The reason why the human race and other races avoided the demons was because of their evil deeds.


    However, ording to Lapis, not all demons were evil, but there was no way for Loren to know if the perception would ever change. In addition, Loren found it a bit difficult to answer the question of which side was worse, the demon race that harbored those who created the reason for the hate, or the human race that continued to hate an entire race just because they were demons.


    ¡°I can tell you in secret if you want, Loren. After all, you are a human who doesn¡¯t hate me.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t clear whether Lapis knew of Loren¡¯s thoughts or not, but she said this with a smile.

 Chapter 255: From Moving Forward to Omens

    <h4>Chapter 255: From Moving Forward to Omens</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Now, which way shall we proceed?¡±


    There were no sights of the group of people who had entered the sewers before them, and they had no other clues.


    The sewer itself extended straight from the stairway where Loren¡¯s group entered to both left and right, but whether they looked to the left or to the right, there was only a continuous passageway, and there were no signs pointing them in which direction to go.


    ¡°Should we throw some sticks?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any sticks.¡±


    ¡°Loren¡¯s greatsword then.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to throw it to the floor¡­¡±


    The passageway was right next to the stream of sewage water. There was no telling what might ssh over and stick to the floor, and Loren had no desire to throw the greatsword he would hold in his hands down there.


    Moreover, the greatsword was originally the weapon of a Demon King, Lapis¡¯ mother. He wondered if it would be all right for Lapis to suggest using it in ce of a stick, but she didn¡¯t seem to have any particr feelings about it.


    ¡°Somehow, I think it¡¯s this way.¡±


    As Loren pondered what to do, Ivy pointed to one side of the passage and said. She did it so naturally and without hesitation that Loren wondered if she had some reason to think so, but it seemed that there was none at all, thus she started her sentence with ¡®somehow¡¯.


    ¡°Just curious, but why that way?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this sewer is unnatural?¡±


    ¡®Don¡¯t answer a question with a question¡¯, Loren thought to himself. He looked around as prompted by Ivy¡¯s question, then titled his head, not knowing what was so unnatural.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk as we walk? If we stay here, there will be no progress, aside from the effect of the pill that Lapis just threw in wearing off.¡±


    At Ivy¡¯s urging, Loren¡¯s group started walking in the direction she had pointed to.


    The path was not a difficult one, but they proceeded very slowly. The reason was that, the pills Lapis threw into the sewage had a limited range. Once that range was passed, the air would be filled with that unbearable stench again. To avoid being hit by the stench, Lapis would throw the pills into the sewage at certain intervals, but it would take some time for the gas emitted by the medicine to work.


    If an emergency arose, there wouldn¡¯t be time to worry about it and the only thing to do would be to run, but other than that it wasn¡¯t a stench they liked to smell. So they would repeat the process of advancing some distance, throwing a pill, waiting a little, and advancing again.


    ¡°Location-wise, the city of Suest is in a remote area. It¡¯s quite big, but that¡¯s all there is to it.¡±


    Ivy, who was walking in the front of the group, looked over her shoulder as she spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s unnatural for such a town to have arge sewer system, the kind you¡¯d have to go to a royal capital to see.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    The sewer Loren and his team were moving through was veryrge. Its ceiling was so high that even if Loren were to swing his greatsword while walking, he would not be able to reach the ceiling. A sewer system of this size would consume a considerable amount of money, and there should have been a good reason to build such a structure in a city in the middle of nowhere.


    ¡°Can you guess what caused this oddity?¡±


    ¡°How could we possibly know?¡±


    Lapis answered to Loren as she threw another pill into the sewage. Residents of Suest may know the reason, but there was no way that Loren and Lapis, who were strangers to the city, would understand such a thing without having done any research in advance.


    ¡°The answer is simple. This sewer was here before the city of Suest was built. In short, it has been here since the very beginning.¡±


    Ivy looked somewhat proud of herself, as if she was revealing the answer to a riddle. But Loren just looked at her proud face, not understanding what she was trying to say.


    ¡°Are you saying that originally there was only the sewer system here?¡±


    Lapis asked as they walked on, and Loren found that idea to be strange.


    Sewer systems served their functions only when they were located in a city where people lived, and it made no sense to go to the trouble of building only a sewer system underground. Even if you did build one, if there were no residents above ground to pour sewage into it, it would be a facility that was never used. Loren could not believe that anyone would have the time and money to go to the trouble of building an unused facility on such arge scale.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little different. The truth is that what we had here, was originally an underground canal, and it wasn¡¯t clear if it was a sewer or not.¡±


    Ivy said that it was discovered by ident while doing a site survey when they decided to build a town at the border. The survey team had discovered an underground canal that was well constructed and seemed to be connected to some distant ce. They thought that the canal could be used as a sewer, so they built a city on top of it and drained the sewage from the city into the canal.


    ¡°That was the beginning of the city of Suest.¡±


    Ivy spoke as if she had witnessed it, even though it was unclear how many years ago this all happened. If she was just a normal person, that could be considered a figure of speech, but in Ivy¡¯s case, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if she really had witnessed it.


    ¡°Why does it matter?¡±


    However, Loren couldn¡¯t understand her intention when she talked about history in the middle of a sewer exploration.


    Just as he thought that this wasn¡¯t the ce or time for a history lesson, he felt Nig, who was clinging to his shoulder, move its legs and tap his shoulder.


    Loren wondered what was the matter, and immediately remembered that the pills Lapis was throwing into the sewage to manage the stench also had insecticide effects. Maybe the scent produced by pills had the same effects on Nig as the original sewer stench had on them? This made Loren feel like they were doing something bad to the spider, but he couldn¡¯t bring it back above ground now.


    After thinking for a moment, Loren opened the chest of the jacket he wore as an armor. The generously-sized jacket has quite a bit of space inside. A normal spider might be crushed inside it by mistake, but for Nig, whose body was covered by a hard outer shell, might be okay.


    When Nig saw that Loren had opened his jacket, it easily slipped inside, and when Loren closed the jacket, it positioned itself just around Loren¡¯s heart and stayed on there.


    The inside of the jacket was made of thick cloth, and although it felt a little ufortable, it did not prickle or anything. As Loren thought this would be a little easier for Nig, his eyes met with Lapis¡¯, who was looking at the area where Nig had gone into with an envious look on her face.


    ¡°Is it because Nig is a male?¡±


    ¡°Can you tell¡­? But what about it?¡±


    Loren tilted his head at Lapis, who looked displeased with slightly-puffed cheeks.


    ¡°Can we continue our conversation?¡±


    Loren nodded as Ivy, who had been watching their interaction, shyly called out to them.


    ¡°That is how this town of Suest came to be, but what is not clear is the origin of the waterway used as the sewage system.¡±


    ¡°You know about that, don¡¯t you?¡±


    As Loren thought that Ivy would not say that she did not know anything after having brought the conversation to this point, Ivy nodded her head and continued.


    ¡°A long time ago, there was a research facility.¡±


    Lapis threw another pill into the sewage. After a while, countless bubbles began to rise to the surface, and the emitted gas slowly altered the stench.


    ¡°What it actually studied was the technologies to construct lost bodies and manufacture recement for aging bodies.¡±


    ¡°Could that be¡­¡±


    Loren thought that he had heard this story somewhere, but Ivy did not answer and just continued.


    ¡°The reason I know this is that one of the researchers at the facility was chosen to be the subject of another experiment and was transformed into something other than a human being at another research facility, but that story has already been told, so there is no need to mention it now.¡±


    Ivy suddenly stopped, stared at the bubbling surface of the sewage, and proceeded to talk in a somber tone.


    ¡°Originally, there were various sections, both above and below ground. But over the years, the above-ground sections must have been destroyed, leaving only the underground ones, which survived the destruction. The waterways then channeled the wastewater from all of these sections to the distant river.¡±


    ¡°If it was just some research facility, would there be a need for such a waterway system?¡±


    If that had been the only purpose, a single waterway would have been sufficient. However, the one that Loren and his team are currently going through had several branches, and considering that it was currently being used as a sewage system, it must have extended its branches through the entire city of Suest to some extent. This did not give an exnation to why such a system was built.


    ¡°There were living quarters for the staff near the facilities, so that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°That is to say, this body-construction ruin you were talking about¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are at the end of this waterway.¡±


    In other words, the waterway that Loren and his team were currently on was part of a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom.


    Loren thought that the ce should have been properly investigated before being put to use, but regardless of the research facilities, the waterway was not equipped with any kind of mechanisms. Even if people entered to investigate, it would look like a mere waterway. It was old, but not all ruins were always from the Ancient Kingdom. People might have thought it was the end of a waterway that someone had built.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where the cause of all thismotion lies, but since we¡¯vee to explore the sewers, I thought I¡¯d take you there first.¡±


    Since bing an adventurer, Loren hade to believe that when there was some sort of unexined anomaly, the cause could usually be traced to a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom or tools excavated from there. He thought it was a real nuisance that they kept on causing trouble even after their demise. If such a thing was connected to this waterway, he also thought that the shortest way to solve this problem was to check there first.


    ¡°The underground facilities were still in good working order when I used them, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s still fine.¡±


    ¡°It would be like paying for themission in the middle of the job. Is that okay?¡±


    As a reward for epting Ivy¡¯smission, Loren was to receive information about the ruin. He was concerned that asking her to take him to the ruin while the trouble was still unresolved might be like asking her to pay him a reward in advance, but Ivy smiled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re the kind of person who would just run away afterwards.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to hear that you trust me.¡±


    Loren wondered what it was like to be a human adventurer trusted by an Evil God, but then he noticed that the other Evil God, G, was staring at a certain point in the waterway and not moving. It was the surface of the sewage, the ce where Lapis had just thrown a pill into, and where bubbles continued rising.


    ¡°G, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°The amount of bubbles seems strange.¡±


    Loren looked at the surface of the sewage again.


    The pill that Lapis had thrown into the water was not veryrge, and even if it had spread out a little, the range of the bubbles discharging from it should have remained small. However, the amount of bubbles that G was looking at seemed to be strangely wide.


    ¡°Lapis, you threw in only one pill, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Lapis nodded and then said:


    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this already.¡±


    In the meantime, the rate of rising bubbles to the surface of the sewage began to drastically increase, and suddenly ck shadows peeked out from below.

 Chapter 256: From Emergence to Fleeing

    <h4>Chapter 256: From Emergence to Fleeing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    (Xemul: Fair warning, due to the colorful description of disgusting content in this chapter, we strongly rmend you to refrain from consuming any food while reading.)


    ¡°Prepare yourself for whateveres out.¡±


    Loren wondered if such a thing was truly possible to do, and how much it would help.


    He supposed people could be prepared, but as for keeping yourposure no matter what actually came up, he believed only those with great character would be able to aplish.


    That was why, when the shadows peeking out from the bubbling water broke through the surface and appeared, Loren couldn¡¯t help but scream out.


    ¡°Whoa?!¡±


    What, in fact, emerged from the sewage was not a single being.


    The thing had a ck head the size of a clenched fist and a torso as thick as a human arm. Its elongated torso was lined with countless thin, bright red legs. Two fangs, each the size of a human finger, protruded from its ck head, making a hard clicking sound. If it was shrunk to one-tenth of its size, it would look a lot like a certain creature that Loren had seen before.


    Loren would not have screamed, if there was only one creature. But as it continued rising, countless number emerged from under the water as one gigantic mass, their bodies intertwining as if they were knitted together.


    ¡°These are¡­ centipedes?¡±


    It was no wonder that Lapis¡¯ voice wasced with disgust.


    The centipedes looked as if they had been made up from human arms due to their sizes, and their countless shiny ck bodies were writhing in all directions. The sight of these giant centipedes intertwined into a single mass was so hideous that the sudden appearance of such a thing out of the water left everyone present speechless.


    ¡°Centipedes?! Aren¡¯t they too huge?!¡±


    ¡°But this shape looks like a centipede, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    That being said, they certainly did not look like anything other than centipedes, but even so, Loren¡¯s mind was unable to ept them to be centipedes. The bodies of the creatures continued actively stirring within the huge blob of intertwined insects.


    ¡°W-well. Those things¡­ seem to be increasing?¡±


    Loren and the others, who had been rendered speechless by the creatures, were brought back to their senses by G¡¯sment. The swarm of wriggling centipedes G was pointing at certainly appeared to be increasing in number, as she hadmented, with more and moreing out of the water.


    ¡°This is bad. Hey, which way is the ruin? Let¡¯s run.¡±


    Loren, who quickly assessed the situation, called out to Ivy. Ivy pointed in the direction they should go and started to run, but stopped immediately.


    ¡°We can¡¯t go this way, can we?!¡±


    There was nothing in the direction they were going, but Loren immediately understood why Ivy had stopped.


    ¡°The stench!¡±


    The extent to which the pills Lapis had created could neutralize the stench was limited. The range was not that wide, and if they tried to follow Loren¡¯s instruction to run, they would easily get out of that range. Loren considered just bearing with it and running, but the stench would make it impossible for them to continue running.


    Lapis immediately threw a pill into the sewage, but it took time, and the pill itself was not big enough to be thrown far in advance.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Move as fast as you can.¡±


    Loren urged Lapis, who was carrying the pills, to move forward and let Ivy and G go ahead of him while he took over their rear guard duty, watching the area where the swarm of centipedes had appeared.


    The centipedes, which were gradually increasing in number, were approaching the banks of the channel, albeit slowly. It appeared that they would be on the passage in no time. Once they reached the pathway, there would be nothing blocking their way, and onnd they were usually moving at a very fast pace. They might not necessarily attack, but centipedes were carnivores, and when they were as big as a person¡¯s arm, it seemed unlikely that they would ignore Loren¡¯s team right in front of them.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we intercept them?¡±


    G, who had run forward from behind Loren, stopped to wait for him and asked, but Loren immediately shook his head.


    The greatsword on his back would be able to easily cut down one centipede the size of a human arm, but no matter how one looked at it, their sheer number was way too high. If other centipedes were to attack him while he was cutting down ten or so, his weapon would be useless, and he could only see a future where he fell prey to countless centipedes while pulling them off his body with both hands.


    As for burning, Loren did not think that it would be an effective method, considering the location. Using fire in a closed space was extremely dangerous, and since the ce was a sewer, there was a high possibility that the gases floating in the air would be mixed with mmable substances. Loren had learned from his own experience as a mercenary that some of the gases released by dposing things burn with great vigor.


    ¡°We have no choice but to run. You don¡¯t want to be bugs¡¯ food, do you?¡±


    After saying that much, Loren asked G about something that had juste to his mind.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just eat those things with your Gluttony powers?¡±


    ¡°¡­I wouldn¡¯t mind if there¡¯s a deep kiss after.¡±


    G, replied, with a clear look of disgust on her face and her mouth twisted into the shape of a vicious smile. ¡®Of course¡¯, Loren thought to himself and asked.


    ¡°Is there a link between your stomach and Gluttony¡¯s stomach?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret. But when we do the deep thingy~, I¡¯ll show ya exactly what centipedes taste like, so be prepared~.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you to do it, so don¡¯t make such a horrible face.¡±


    Loren had known it would be impossible when he first asked the question. He hadn¡¯t expected her to do it, so he wasn¡¯t particrly disappointed. In fact, he felt guilty for having offended G by making such a suggestion. He lightly pressed a hand to G¡¯s cheek, and though her displeased expression remained, the grimness disappeared from her face.


    ¡°If nothing else can be done, I¡¯ll do it then.¡±


    ¡°I hope it won¡¯te to that.¡±


    While they were having this conversation, the centipedes were approaching the bank, and it seemed as if they were about to overflow into the passage. As Loren urged G forward to catch up with Lapis and Ivy, thinking that this was not the time for conversation, he heard Lapis¡¯ shriek.


    ¡°Loren! Centipedes areing from other ces!¡±


    ¡°Are we cursed or what? How much do they want us¡­¡±


    Loren cursed, remembering that when he had been alone in this sewer, Shayna had said something about the myriad of reactions of little lives.


    But things didn¡¯t end there, it was about to get even worse.


    ¡°Loren! This time it¡¯s zombies!¡±


    Ivy turned her head slightly to look at Loren and the others and pointed in the direction of a wet sound. Loren turned his eyes to that direction and was rendered speechless.


    He saw a hand of a person coated in sewage sticking out of the water, followed by a hand on the edge of the passageway, and then a body was being pulled up out of the sewage.


    It was a middle-aged man who was probably a resident of the city, judging from his clothing. His hair was coated with sewage and filth, he pulled his body up into the passageway, spreading the stench of the sewage and the putrid smell was now added to the mixture of stenches. There were no eyes in the sockets, just two empty, ck cavities. The half-open mouth revealed teeth that had fallen out in ces, but what sent a chill down Loren¡¯s spine was the centipede that had slithered its head out from the mouth.


    ¡°He was eaten!¡±


    One of the two arms, which had been thrust out as if in search of the living, fell from its shoulder. A centipede, which had a shiny long ck body, pulled itself out of the freshly emerged opening and fell to the floor, sidled to the fallen arm of the poor victim and began to bite into the flesh with its huge fangs.


    Therge, swollen belly seemed to be from the characteristically stout figure of middle-aged people, but the irregr wriggling under the clothes made it immediately clear that it was not the internal organs nor the fat that was packed there.


    Loren almost stopped to watch the gruesome sight, but he quickly realized that this was not the time for that and forced himself to go on.


    The centipedes that had first emerged from the water were already on the verge of reaching the passage, and at the feet of a middle-aged man who had apparently turned undead while being eaten by the centipedes, he saw another hand gripping the edge of the passage, just as the middle-aged man had done.


    ¡°This is getting out of hand.¡±


    The swarm of centipedes alone was out of control, with the zombies joined in, Loren found himself in a state of urgency where he wanted to ask someone what they should do now.


    The zombies themselves could be cut, but doing so would probably unleash centipedes inside their bodies, and the situation would only get worse.


    ¡°Damn it! Run, run, run!¡±


    That creaky sound, was it the fangs ttering, or hard bodies scraping against each other?


    Loren, who was about to run away from the swarm of centipedesing from behind, was stopped by Lapis, who was in front of him.


    ¡°If you run too fast, you¡¯ll be out of the effective range of the pills, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Which do you want, to stink or to die?!¡±


    Loren raised his voice, saying that this was not the time to be talking about the smell. To that, Lapis replied clearly and resolutely.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want either.¡±


    She was so resolute that Loren almost agreed. But, of course, he couldn¡¯t just agree with her and stop under the current situation.


    ¡°Just run! If you don¡¯t like the stink, just go all out and throw the pills!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re too light to fly far!¡±


    Lapis whined, but the swarm of insects didn¡¯t care, and continued to close the distance towards them. Even worse, they were pushing the zombies, who were crawling out into the passage one after the other, toward Loren¡¯s group with unsteady steps.


    ¡°Hurry up, hurry up! If you don¡¯t want to be covered in sewage, insects, or carrion, then run!¡±


    ¡°I should have made them bigger. Oh, I¡¯m such an idiot!¡±


    Lapis desperately threw the pills, but even with the arm strength of the demon tribe, the lightweight pills still did not fly very far. It couldn¡¯t be helped, since they weren¡¯t intended to be thrown far, but Lapis still cursed at her ownck of foresight.


    Patting Lapis on the back, Loren was worried about whether they would be able to escape from the wave of insects that kepting up behind them.

 Chapter 257: From Fleeing to Arriving

    <h4>Chapter 257: From Fleeing to Arriving</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°More keeping!¡±


    As Loren nced back over his shoulder to check behind him, he saw that the swarm of ck centipedes chasing them continued to grow in number, covering the floor of the sewer passage like a ck carpet.


    Fortunately for Loren¡¯s party, the centipedes were slowing down, probably due to the insecticide effect of the pills Lapis had thrown into the sewage, and together with the slow-moving undead, they showed no sign of catching up with the party, which was rather jogging than running. However, their party was not fast enough to break away. The centipedes and undead were following them at a certain distance, and it was not difficult to imagine that they would be swallowed by the wave as soon as they stopped.


    ¡°Still no sight of a ruin?! Do we have to climb up somewhere?!¡±


    They arrived at the ruin that Ivy said she would lead them to.


    Loren thought that the quickest way to escape from the underground passage would be to find a way to the surface, but there was no guarantee that the centipedes would give up their pursuit.


    Still, if they could get away from the sewers, they would be able to fight them off with fire, which would give them a better chance of survival than just running through the sewer.


    ¡°We should be almost there, but there is one problem!¡±


    Ivy, who was leading their group, said, and Loren was almost at his wits¡¯ end that there was still a problem cropping up at this point. He did not want to hear it, but he knew that if he didn¡¯t, he would be in trouble when facing it.


    ¡°What the hell is it?!¡±


    ¡°There is a door to the ruin, but it takes a little while to open!¡±


    Ivy said that the door to enter the ruin from the canal was not the kind that opened as soon as you grabbed the handle and pulled, but the kind that opened slowly when you operated the device to open and close them. Normally, this would not be a problem, but with the horde of centipedes chasing them from behind, the smallest amount of time could be fatal.


    ¡°You open it beforehand then!¡±


    ¡°Asking me to run through that stink¡­ You¡¯re evil, Loren.¡±


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a matter of life and death!¡±


    Loren roughened his voice, asking if this was the time to think about stink and such. Ivy looked resigned to that truth, but she suddenly pointed ahead and shouted.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the entrance.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already arrived?!¡±


    At this distance, where the door was already within sight, there was no way to gain any time when Ivy was ahead of them. Loren wished she had talked about this earlier, but those thoughts disappeared from his mind the moment he looked in the direction Ivy was pointing. It was because part of the sewer wall had already been opened.


    ¡°This way! Hurry up!¡±


    A figure shouting from within, beckoning to them. Loren shouted in surprise as he saw who it was.


    ¡°Mills! What are you doing there¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just hurry up!¡±


    Loren, thinking that this was certainly not the time to be checking on the situation, immediately quickened his pace and picked up G and Lapis, who were running ahead of him.


    ¡°Hold on to my neck!¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your help.¡±


    Loren called out to Ivy, who was leading their party, as he overtook her, and with a word of gratitude, she clung to his neck with both arms and hanging onto his back.


    Loren had to carry the weight of three people by himself, but he managed to support them with all his strength. At the same time, he gritted his teeth and endured the stench that assaulted him once he passed the range of Lapis¡¯ pills, even though he was almost rendered unconscious. He ran as fast as he could and entered the entrance where Mills was leaning out, and immediately looked back toward the door.


    ¡°They¡¯re almost there! Close it!¡±


    Ivy, who had been holding onto Loren¡¯s neck, immediately jumped off Loren¡¯s back and ran to the wall, quickly operating a device that seemed to be there. The wall slowly closed with a creaking sound.


    ¡°They¡¯re getting through!¡±


    But as Ivy had said beforehand, the closing speed was quite slow. Moreover, the centipedes that had been chasing them began to increase their speed, perhaps because they saw that their preys were about to escape. Ivy screamed when she saw this, but Loren had already expected as much. He lowered Lapis and G, whom he had been carrying in his arms, to the floor, and immediately drew the greatsword on his back, sent the heads of the group of centipedes that were diving into the entrance flying, then cut off the heads of the zombies that were being pushed inside by the centipedes and kicked their bodies away.


    ¡°Burn! Fiamma Unggia!¡±


    Loren poured magic into his greatsword, and the mes gushing from the de struck the oing horde of centipedes. Thest time Loren used it, he was nearly drained of all his strength, but from that experience he had learned to save some while letting magic flow into the greatsword. The fire released this time was controlled, and as it hit the leading group of centipedes, they recoiled from the heat.


    The me had been released behind the closing door, and Loren expected that even if it had ignited some kind of mmable gas, the damage would be contained. But luck was on his side this time: and the mes did not burn excessively, and the centipedes at the front were discouraged. He decided to use the sword to exude more me, whichpletely stopped the centipedes that wereing through the entrance.


    Meanwhile, the wall slowly but surely closed, and Loren used his greatsword and the soles of his feet to dispose of the centipedes that had made their way into this side of the wall.


    ¡°You¡¯re Loren, aren¡¯t you?¡­¡±


    Mills, who had sat down and leaned his back against the wall, muttered to himself. A dying torch was beside him, somewhat illuminating the space where Loren and the others were with its scant light.


    Loren had just noticed himself that his party had no lights to illuminate their way through the supposedly pitch-dark sewers. He was able to see around him even without lights because he borrowed Shayna¡¯s vision, but Mills, who was a mere human, was unable to see without lights such as torches, and the fading torches that are now ced beside him were probably not enough to ensure sufficient visibility.


    ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient to be human, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely.¡±


    Leaving the non-human beings talking and nodding to each other, Loren knelt down beside Mills, who remained seated with his back against the wall and refused to move.


    The smell of sewage was wafting from Mills¡¯ body, but Loren tried to put that out of his mind, as now was not the time to worry about that.


    He had been in too much of a hurry to jump in, so he couldn¡¯t get a good look at Mills, but now when he did, he saw that the man no longer had his weapon, his leather armor was torn, he was bleeding everywhere, and his breathing was short and shallow. His eyes were somewhat vacant and it was difficult to tell where he was looking, but what was even more unusual was that his left eye was bloodshot and moving incessantly. His right eye was unaffected, only the left eye was moving on its own, which was eerie enough to make Loren frowned.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Mills moved his lips to answer and immediately coughed violently. Loren could see that he probably didn¡¯t have much longer to live.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. After I talked to you guys¡­ I remember getting ready and stepping in here¡­ But after that, my memories¡­ before I realized, I found myself in the sewers infested with insects, and was being dragged down into the sewers by a bunch of them.¡±


    Mills had no idea what had happened to his two party members at that point. Thinking they were probably dead, Mills resisted desperately and managed to crawl out of the sewage into the passageway, losing most of his equipment, but by that time he was already badly wounded. After that, he managed to fight off the centipedes that were relentlessly chasing him as he continued down the passage.


    The entrance that he had invited Loren¡¯s party into was opened by chance. It seemed that Mills was moving while leaning against the wall, his body caught on something in the mechanism and activated it.


    ¡°I thought I was done for, but¡­ Seeing you at myst moment might have been thest vestiges of good luck I had.¡±


    ¡°All right, don¡¯t talk too much. We have a priest here. We¡¯ll take care of your wound.¡±


    It probably would not help, but Loren said it anyway. Mills slowly shook his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time. I¡¯m not going to make it. And¡­ even if you manage to heal the wounds, it¡¯s already toote for me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something¡­ inside my head.¡±


    Mills slowly lifted his left hand and put it over his left eye. The left eye was still moving frantically, but now that it was covered by the hand, it looked as if there was no abnormality in Mills¡¯s body.


    ¡°They also¡­ must have been hit by this. There¡¯s something in my head that¡¯s telling me to¡­ let them eat me, obediently let them eat me¡­¡±


    ¡°Mills¡­¡±


    ¡°My memories¡­ and my ability to think, they¡¯ve taking them all. I¡¯m not me anymore.¡±


    Mills¡¯ voice began to tremble. Whether this was a response to the impending death, or to the feeling of not being oneself anymore as Mills had said, Loren did not know.


    Not knowing what to do, he turned to Lapis, who was watching them, as if asking for help, and Lapis silently shook her head. Loren realized by this action of hers that there was nothing she could do.


    ¡°Having been in the mercenary business for so long¡­ I figured I won¡¯t die a nice death. Still¡­ I want to die as I am.¡±


    The remaining right eye of Mills looked at Loren. Loren could tell by the way Mills looked at him what he wanted him to do, but when he wondered whether he should really do it, to which Mills opened his mouth to state his desire clearly.


    ¡°Please, Loren. Let me die at your hands¡­ I don¡¯t care what you do after I die, but I don¡¯t want to be worms¡¯ food while I¡¯m still alive.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Is it what you want?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is¡­Sorry.¡±


    Loren stood up after seeing Mills nod.


    If left alone, for reasons unknown, Mills would probably be used as bait by those centipedes. Loren tried to convince himself that it would be an act ofpassion to let the man die as a human being while his consciousness still remained.


    As he was about to ready his greatsword, he heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind.


    [¡®Onii-san, I can help him pass with morefort.¡¯]


    At the sound of her voice, Loren lowered his greatsword.


    Mills¡¯ face was colored with disappointment, but when he saw Loren¡¯s figure stooping down and putting his index finger between his eyes, his healthy right eye stared at Loren, wondering what he was going to do to him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been a mercenary long enough, and you¡¯ve had enough of all the cutting and shing, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit like cheating, but I¡¯ll get it done gently.¡±


    The fingertip that Loren had ced between Mills¡¯ eyes glowed a pale white light. Mills¡¯ expression changed to that of calmness as he saw the light.


    ¡°This is¡­ Indeed, this is morefortable.¡±


    The hand that was covering his left eye rxed and drooped. As soon as the left eye, which had been moving on its own, stopped moving, Mills closed both eyelids.


    ¡°Oh, yes,¡­ I just remembered something. Themander¡­ I happened to see him in the north of Justinia empire¡­ Why did I forget it¡­?¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks for the information. Now, get some sleep.¡±


    There was no reply from Mills.


    When Loren lightly waved his fingertip and extinguished the light that had been lit there, Mills had let out hisst breath.

 Chapter 258: From Funeral to Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 258: From Funeral to Arrival</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren offered a silent prayer, and no one called out to him.


    After a while, as the other three continued to watch, he crouched down beside Mills¡¯ corpse and began to examine it. Removing a metal tag from the body he tossed it to Ivy, who caught it and immediately tucked it into her pocket.


    If possible, Loren would also like to retrieve the Adventurers¡¯ Guild registration cards of Mills¡¯ formerpanions, but he had no idea where they were. And if they had been swallowed by the swarm of insects as Mills had mentioned, it was unlikely that he would ever find them.


    ¡°Can I ask you to take care of the matter?¡±


    Loren asked Ivy, and she nodded in response.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the case of Mills and his party.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯d like to bury him, but¡­¡±


    If there is a patch of soil, Loren would like to bury Mills, but they were within a ruin. There were only stone walls and stone floors, so there was no ce to bury Mills¡¯ corpse.


    He had thought that leaving it as it was might not be a bad idea, but then Mills¡¯ corpse would be taken over by the ghosts that might be floating around the area and be an undead. Or perhaps the swarm of insects on the other side would swarm in and feed on it if they could open the door at any point.


    Unable to bear such thoughts, Loren tried to think of something that could be done, but he could note up with a good idea. As he was about to give up, Lapis stood beside Mills¡¯ corpse and said.


    ¡°If it is the burial of the dead, leave it to the priests of the God of Knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask for your help?¡±


    ¡°No need to. It is my job.¡±


    She was not lying in any way, but for some reason, Loren could not shake off his lingering uneasiness. However, there was no one else to entrust this task to in this situation, and Loren took one step away from Mills¡¯ corpse as if to tell Lapis that he would leave the matter in her hands.


    Seeing this, Lapis stood in front of Mills¡¯ corpse, closed her eyes, ced her left palm on her chest, and turned her right palm toward Mills.


    ¡°O soul of Mills, who has fallen on this earth! Return to the wheel of samsara and await your next birth. In the name of Kukuru, the God of Knowledge, may your path be illuminated so that you will not be led astray.¡±


    No sound or light was emitted, but Loren could see that the atmosphere surrounding Mills¡¯ body became somehow clearer after Lapis¡¯ prayer. Loren thought this was an excellent endingpared to a mercenary¡¯s death, where no one would have even cared, not to mention receiving a priest¡¯s final blessing. He would have been left on the battlefield and be beasts¡¯ food, or wander around as an undead.


    ¡°It is unlikely that he will turn into an undead, but¡­ What do we do with this body?¡±


    Lowering her hands and opening her eyes, Lapis asked. Loren thought for a moment before opening his mouth.


    ¡°Can we burn it?¡±


    The body couldn¡¯t be transported. They were still inside a ruin, and although it might sound bad to say, they did not have the luxury to carry something as bulky and heavy as a corpse around. They could carry bones or ash, but in the current situation where even their safe return to above ground was still uncertain, Loren wondered if it would be possible to burn the corpse down to ashes right here and now.


    The question was whether they had the power to do so, but Ivy modestly raised her hand and offered to do something about it.


    ¡°You can?¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. I am still one of the beings called Evil Gods. I¡¯m not good at fighting now that I¡¯m in this body, but I¡¯m a bit of a magician.¡±


    Ivy said and stood in front of Mills¡¯ body, exchanging ces with Lapis.


    ¡°Build a spire of red me, >.¡±


    As soon as the incantation ended, a heat so intense that one could not help but turn one¡¯s face away from it appeared. A pir of crimson me,rge enough to connect the floor and the ceiling, enveloped Mills¡¯ body in an instant.


    The power was substantial, and by the time Loren held up his hand and braved the heat and light of the mes to witness the results of the magic Ivy had exercised, Mills¡¯ body had already disappeared into the mes. And as the pir of me was gone, there was nothing left, not even smell or ashes. Only the scorched ceiling, floor, and walls left traces that seemed to indicate that magic had been exercised there.


    ¡°Impressive.¡±


    ¡°Power-wise only. As you can see, it¡¯s a difficult magic to aim, so it¡¯s not easy to use.¡±


    ¡°So, where do we go from here?¡±


    As the series of events came to an end, Loren looked toward the depth of the ruin as he heard G inquiring. The ce they had jumped into was a stone corridor, and the path led in deeper. But from Loren¡¯s position, he could not tell whatid ahead.


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep going. We can¡¯t go back anyway. Besides¡­¡±


    Loren pointed with his thumb at the entrance they hade in through. G looked over and saw that although the entrance was securely closed, she could hear the asional sound of something banging on the wall from the other side, indicating that a horde of zombies and insects was waiting on the other side of the wall to chase after them.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know how long that door can be kept closed, either.¡±


    Mills had been able to activate the mechanism by coincidence. The possibility that the door could be opened again by ident, while the insects and zombies were beating their bodies against the wall, could not be dismissed.


    ¡°And it¡¯s deep inside, isn¡¯t it? The device that Ivy used?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    The device made by the Ancient Kingdom that Ivy had used to change from the body of an Evil God to her current body, which was Loren¡¯s goal, was supposed to be ced deep inside the ruin. Shayna still had not made a decision whether to use it or not, but Loren had a feeling that she would like to check the actual device first.


    ¡°Then we have no other choice. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Let me lead the way. I know this ce well, after all. There are still traps for intruders, for one thing.¡±


    Ivy stopped Loren, who was about to walk away, and took the lead. G and Lapis followed, with Loren falling at the end of the line again.


    Unlike the ruins Loren and his party had previously explored, the walls of this one did not shine, and there were no light sources, making it impossible to have visibility. However, due to the fact that no one in their group was in need of a light source, no one lit amp, so they proceeded through the ruin inplete darkness.


    And under Ivy¡¯s guidance, they knew exactly where to go. It was as if she knew in advance where everything was, the order in which to move through the corridors, and how to open the doors.


    She also knew the locations of traps to repel intruders before they were activated and took steps to prevent them from being activated, allowing the others to walk easily through without any noticeable trouble.


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural, since we have someone involved with the ruin leading us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the kind of cheating that would no doubt draw boos from other explorers if they heard it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know much about any of the ruins, G?¡±


    ¡°How could I possibly know anything about them?¡±


    As G confidently stated such a pathetic thing, Lapis shrugged in exasperation and Loren smiled wryly.


    Ivy, who was leading the way, also giggled, but then her footsteps came to a halt. She signaled for the others, who were alerted and wondering what was going on, to stop, then moved a little further down the corridor alone. After a while, she slowly walked back to the others, who had been waiting for her.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°We have a visitor.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s short answer to the question was more than enough to startle Loren and the others.


    ¡°Is there another entrance?¡±


    If the ¡®visitor¡¯ hade through the entrance on the sewer side, it would not be surprising if there were some kind of traces. If they had entered without being discovered, they must have been very skillful.


    And if there was another entrance, Loren and his group were fools to have entered through the sewers.


    To Loren, who asked which of the two cases it was, Ivy replied.


    ¡°There are, but they¡¯re either copsed or unusable.¡±


    Loren, who had almost felt like a fool by Ivy¡¯s simple admission of the existence of other entrances, managed to regain hisposure when he heard that those entrances were no longer in use.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There are several entrances leading down from the original above-ground facility. I have confirmed that all of the entrances were destroyed when the aboveground facilities were lost.¡±


    Ivy said that when she was rebuilding her own body, if she was interrupted during the operation, it could be fatal, so she had made a thorough investigation beforehand. As a result, she confirmed that the only entrance that could be used was the one on the sewer side, and that all other entrances were unusable.


    ¡°What do you mean by unusable?¡±


    ¡°This is a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom.¡±


    Ivy answered Lapis¡¯ question in a hushed voice.


    ¡°It is a facility that you can transport into by using certain equipment and tools. The reality is, most of those equipment and tools were lost or destroyed in the chaos that followed the fall of the Ancient Kingdom, so I don¡¯t believe there are any that can be used today.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s words made Loren and Lapis look at each other.


    Ivy seemed to think that there was no one in the modern world who handled tools and equipment from the Ancient Kingdom period, but Loren, Lapis and G did have some idea about someone who could handle such things without any issue.


    Unable to suppress the ¡®No way¡¯ that was welling up inside him, Loren involuntarily tightened his grip on the hilt of his greatsword.


    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, me too.¡±


    Lapis and Loren nodded at each other.


    Ivy, unaware of the situation, tilted her head at the atmosphere, and G was beginning to exude blood lust.


    ¡°So our destination is just beyond that, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren pointed to the corner where Ivy had just gone to find out what was going on, and she nodded.


    ¡°Take a turn and go a little further. The room where the device is located is at the end of the hall.¡±


    ¡°All right, then, everybody, get ready for battle. Whatever is in there, prepare for the worst.¡±


    In response to Loren¡¯s instruction, Lapis¡¯ eyes turned stern, and G began to crack her knuckles while grinding her teeth.


    Not knowing what was going on with Loren and the two suddenly bing menacing, Ivy was bewildered. However, she was seized with the feeling that whatever was ahead was going to give them a bad time.

 Chapter 259: From Encountering The Enemy To Fleeing

    <h4>Chapter 259: From Encountering The Enemy To Fleeing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    If you knew that there was someone there, it would be easy to be prepared.


    And if you know who that someone was, it would be even easier to be prepared.


    Or so Loren had thought, but the reality was that things didn¡¯t always work out that way. As he and hispanions quietly peeked around the corner leading to the door to their destination, they were thinking about a trouble specific to the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruins.


    ¡°If this was a normal building, we could take strong measures such as firing all the magic we could from here and disposing of the people behind the door.¡±


    That was what Lapis muttered as she looked at the door right beyond the line of sight.


    Loren thought that if they took such an approach, the equipment in the room would also be damaged, and the point ofing all the way here would be null. However, as Lapis was talking about a strategy that did not seem feasible to execute, he decided to leave it alone.


    The door at the end of the passageway, which appeared to be quite sturdy even from a distance, was unlikely to be damaged by a half-hearted attempt to shoot magic at it.


    ¡°Should we be impressed and say something like ¡®Just as expected of the Ancient Kingdom¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say what you don¡¯t mean. And by the way, that door can be locked from the inside. Both physically and magically.¡±


    The information that Ivy just provided was, from Loren¡¯s point of view, vital.


    ¡°So a surprise attack is out of the question.¡±


    If they really wanted to surprise the ¡®visitors¡¯, Lapis¡¯ method seemed to be the quickest and surest way. Other than that, if the door could be opened quickly, it should also be possible to surprise those inside.


    However, a door that was locked by both physical and magical means took a long time to open, and the people inside would surely be alerted while meddling with the lock. This meant that Loren and his party would not be able to attack without being noticed by anyone inside.


    ¡°What if we use magic powerful enough to get through that door?¡±


    Lapis was not ready to give up on the idea of a surprise attack from a distance, but Loren shook his head at her words. He didn¡¯t know how sturdy the device in the room was, but he didn¡¯t think it could stay intact after magic powerful enough to bypass the sturdy door was released. He hade here to secure the ancient device for Shayna. If they were to destroy it in a moment of adrenaline surge, then what was even the point?


    ¡°Ivy, can you open it quietly? You were involved with this ce, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can. As long as it¡¯s locked in the proper way.¡±


    Ivy answered G¡¯s question.


    ¡°You have been able to go this far without encountering any traps thanks to me, so you should be a little more grateful.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. If you do that, the people inside won¡¯t be able to tell¡­¡±


    ¡°They will once it is opened though? Or are you too stupid not to notice that your room has been unlocked, G?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    G red with a threatening expression, and Ivy turned away with aposed face. Loren gently let out a sigh of resignation, thinking that even between beings called Evil Gods, there was a lot going on.


    ¡°We have no choice but to approach as close as we can, and once Ivy opens the door, we¡¯ll step in at once.¡±


    ¡°Then do them in?¡±


    Lapis asked, and Loren shook his head.


    ¡°If it¡¯s them in there, unless they¡¯re really stupid or have a reason not to move, we won¡¯t be able to stop them from running away.¡±


    Loren predicted that the person in the room would be a swordsman named Magna, whom they had encountered several times before. He was a ck-d swordsman who seemed to have some connection to the Ancient Kingdom, and his fighting ability was even greater than Loren¡¯s. He was someone Loren didn¡¯t want to encounter if possible at all, but for some reason, they ran into this Magna guy quite often.


    In a previous encounter, he had managed to cut off one of Magna¡¯s right arms, but at the cost of some sort of injury to almost everyone who took part in the battle, and Loren was hospitalized for what must have been the umpteenth time.


    ¡°If I could finish the job, I would, but they¡¯re very¡­ tough.¡±


    ¡°We have always encountered them when they have equipment, tools, and conditions that are much more favorable. This time, well¡­ I guess it¡¯s the same situation again.¡±


    Considering the information from Ivy, it was highly unlikely that they entered this facility on foot, assuming that the people in the room were Magna and his follower, a female Dark Elf named Noel, who had previously turned herself into an Evil God. In other words, it was highly likely that they hade here using some tools from the Ancient Kingdom time, which put Loren¡¯s party at a disadvantage. Those two would be able to escape using that transport method.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but the other side seems to have the advantage when ites to the Ancient Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a problem.¡±


    ¡°So, what are we going to do? Are we going in or not?¡±


    Faced with G¡¯s question, Loren thought for a while and decided on a half-hearted n: they would move to the door as stealthily as possible, and Ivy would open the door as quickly as possible, but he didn¡¯t dwell on forcibly engaging anyone inside.


    ¡°They¡¯re a nasty opponent, but if we go all out, we¡¯ll manage somehow.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not certain that the ck Swordsman and the Dark Elf are on the other side of that door.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m going now, okay?¡±


    After checking with Loren, Ivy ran down the passageway without a sound and stood in front of the door. Feeling Loren and the others following behind her, Ivy let her hand touch the door to open it, and immediately noticed something unusual and frowned.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°In addition to the two original locks¡­ > has been applied.¡±


    It seems that whoever was inside had a very cautious nature. In addition to the original locking functions of the ruin, they had locked the door once more using their own magic. This meant that even if Ivy was able to open the door by regr means, the door would still not open. An > spell had to be used to unlock the > spell, which was an additional step. Moreover, once the > spell was released, there was a high possibility that the magician, who ced it would notice, making it almost impossible to surprise those inside the room.


    ¡°Can you remove it?¡±


    ¡°The original locks can be removed right away. Maybe the magic lock too¡­ >.¡±


    After unlocking the locks of the ruin, Ivy immediately used her magic to unlock the additional magic lock. However, the magic she casted had no effect.


    ¡°Hm? It won¡¯t open?¡±


    ¡°This magician is on a higher level than I am. I lost because of the difference in the power of our magic.¡±


    Pushing aside the flustered Ivy, G touched the door.


    ¡°Envy¡¯s a fool. She¡¯s lost all her magic power because she quit being an Evil God. She¡¯s useless.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    Ivy was dejected, but they had no time to worry about it. G immediately used her > magic, which canceled the magic on the door. Loren, who immediately switched ces with her, kicked open the door and rushed into the room with the same momentum.


    At the same time, he blocked an arrow shot at him with the belly of his great sword.


    ¡°Look who it is!¡±


    Unlike the passageway, the space Loren stepped into was entirely illuminated by a light source on the ceiling, providing a clear view.


    In the center of therge room was a device that looked like a bed wrapped in a transparent shell. On the wall behind it were various glowing and spinning objects, and in front of it stood a slender figure d in what appeared to be armor, but one that daringly exposed her brown skin. She was holding an arrow to a huge, strangely decorated bow, aiming at the entrance.


    It was the Dark Elf that was Magna¡¯s follower.


    Loren, seeing that it was Noel, who seemed to have obtained the body of the Evil God of Lust, eximed.


    ¡°That¡¯s our line! You guys again! What are you doing this time?!¡±


    There was no answer to Loren¡¯s question, and instead a second arrow came. Loren, who had noticed that the bow she was using had a strangely borate construction, thought that the arrow might have a strange effect, and chose to evade rather than defend himself. The arrow itself disappeared, leaving only a small hole in the wall.


    Loren had thought that there would be a gap between shots, but the moment Noel fired the first shot, another arrow appeared out of nowhere and was already in the bow, leaving no time for a gap.


    ¡°It looks like the bow has an arrow-making effect.¡±


    Lapis dered, while leaving the handling of the arrows to Loren, and was staring at the bow Noel was holding.


    ¡°The number of arrows is infinite and there is no gap between them, but there are no hit corrections or special effects on the arrows. It is a rather mild magic weapon.¡±


    ¡°A bow handled by an elf with an unlimited number of arrows is a nightmare!¡±


    Elves were generally great archers, and it was extremely difficult to dodge their shots. It was no exaggeration to say that the number of deaths is equal to the number of arrows in an elf¡¯s quiver. If arrows were infinitely generated, ordinary soldiers, no matter how many they gathered, could be annihted without any means to retaliate depending on the distance and location of the shooter. However, if there were no magic effects on the arrows and the number of arrows shot out did not increase mid-shot, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to strike down Loren with his skills.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your master? Last time, when I cut off his arm, did it kill him?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words, meant to both confirm and provoke, caused Noel¡¯s mouth to twist slightly in what appeared to be a smile as she held her bow in a careless manner and fired a third shot at Loren. If there were no funny effects attached to the arrows, it was better to defend than to evade. Loren flicked off the arrow with his greatsword as Noel said.


    ¡°He will not die at the hands of the likes of you!¡±


    ¡°Where the hell did he go then? I can¡¯t seem to see him anywhere?¡±


    ¡°I have no obligation to tell you that. Magna-sama has already left this ce, healed from the wounds you inflicted on him!¡±


    ¡°He must have realized we wereing in and fled before we got here, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Take it however you want. You owe Magna-sama a debt for damaging a part of his armor. He¡¯ll deal with you when the time is right. Until then, live in fear.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should just settle it right here, right now?¡±


    Loren taunted and beckoned Noel to him, but she was having none of it. She shot another arrow at Loren¡¯s party as if to warn them, then turned around without seeing the result.


    ¡°I have no more business here. I have to go after Magna, and I don¡¯t have time to deal with you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s trying to escape, Loren.¡±


    ¡°We have no way to stop her¡­¡±


    Noel had seen Loren fight several times. That was why, even if Loren attacked her, she would be able to dodge and escape. Moreover, if the escape method was of the teleportation type, Loren would have had no way to stop her.


    He was ready to throw his greatsword at her if she tried to leave even just one snide remark, but the elf did not say anything more. She used some kind of tool to create a gate of light that was just big enough for one person to pass through, then slid into it and disappeared.

 Chapter 260

    <h4>Chapter 260</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren¡¯s group did not rx for a while, even after Noel had disappeared.


    Transporting was a tricky thing; even if no one was there a moment ago, someone could appear a momentter. They were bracing themselves for the possibility that Noel might suddenly appear out of nowhere after pretending to have vanished, but Ivy¡¯s muttering made them realize that they were wrong.


    ¡°It seems she has really gone.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s noting back, is she?¡±


    In response to Loren¡¯s question, Ivy climbed over the device in the center of the room and began to examine the floor in the area where Noel had disappeared.


    ¡°There is a magic circle for transport here. It needs a certain disposable magic instrument to activate, but we¡¯ll know if it¡¯s about to operate, so there¡¯s no chance of a surprise attack.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we destroy it?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t know if it was possible to destroy that magic circle or not, but he believed that it would be the most reliable approach in this situation.


    Ivy, however, had a hard time with this idea.


    ¡°First of all, it¡¯s a valuable legacy of the Ancient Kingdom¡­¡±


    Loren was unable to say anything more when he was told that it was valuable due to its academic and historical significance. It was not something he could judge, so he had no counterarguments.


    ¡°Is the Adventurers¡¯ Guild going to investigate it?¡±


    Loren thought that it might not be a good idea for technologies about body-swapping to be leaked out into the world today. If Ivy said she would have the Adventurers¡¯ Guild investigate this ruin, he would try to stop her. However, her answer was painfully simple.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of preserving it then?¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t preserve it, it will be a lost technology.¡±


    What she essentially said was that she was not sure where to draw the line between good and bad here. Thinking that there was no need to force the destruction of the transport magic circle, Loren patted the device in the center of the room, which looked like a bed wrapped in a transparent shell, and said to Ivy.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s check this out first. I want to know what they were doing here.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Please wait a moment.¡±


    Ivy said and immediately began to examine the equipments and the glowing devices on the wall.


    G was not particrly interested in these things, or rather did not want to see them; she didn¡¯t look in Ivy¡¯s direction as she worked. But Lapis watched on with great interest, and asionally interjected a question or two to satisfy her thirst for knowledge.


    ¡°This¡­ is a bit of a mess, isn¡¯t it? It looks like someone who doesn¡¯t know much about the equipment here yed around with it.¡±


    Ivy frowned as she worked. Loren had no idea what he was looking for but expected Ivy to exin it to him in her own way, and Ivy began toy out the information she had found without stopping her work.


    ¡°It seems that they were repairing someone¡¯s body and also strengthening the person¡¯s physical abilities. The parameters were¡­ set as high as possible¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s horrible.¡±


    If Noel was the one who had used the equipments here, it should be almost certain that the one whose body had been repaired and strengthened was Magna. The guy was already quite strong with his own strength and the effects of his equipments; if his abilities were further enhanced by the device here, Loren didn¡¯t want to run into him ever again.


    Ivy, who had been continuing her investigative work without knowing of Loren¡¯s feelings, operated some devices on the wall, and the frown on her face turned even deeper.


    ¡°It¡¯s just, the way the equipments was used is a mess. First of all, the culture material has been dripping out.¡±


    Loren¡¯s brow furrowed as he sensed something disturbing in Ivy¡¯s indignant remark. Whatever it may be, the fact that something was dripping out gave Loren a hunch that they were in danger, but Ivy didn¡¯t care and continued to tell Loren what she knew.


    ¡°Solutions are also all leaking¡­ Stimtors, stabilizers, all of them¡­ It would have cost a lot of money to replenish all these. The reserved inventory has been consumed with no care at all.¡±


    ¡°I have a quick question. I don¡¯t care who was repairing whose body, but where do all the leaking things go?¡±


    As the waterway was connected to this ruin, Loren could somehow predict the answer to his question even if he did not receive one. Still, he could not help but listen to Ivy¡¯s reply, who was very knowledgeable about this ruin.


    ¡°It will, of course, be disposed of into the waterways.¡±


    Even though he wished it wasn¡¯t, her reply was exactly what Loren had expected. Feeling a slight headacheing on, he pressed with another question.


    ¡°What happens to the waterways when those kinds of stuff are poured down?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ is hard to say. The materials and drugs will be all messed up, so it¡¯s unlikely to bring about anything.¡±


    ¡°What if it does?¡±


    ¡°Assuming there is something out there that has eaten the culture material, it will grow to several or dozens of times its normal size as it receives the effects of the stimting and stabilizing drugs. The giant specimens willy more eggs than usual under the influence of the drugs¡­ Eh? Could that be¡­?¡±


    Ivy¡¯s face turned pale as if something came to her mind while she was giving the exnation. Loren, who had already reached the conclusion that Ivy just now reached, clutched his forehead with his left hand as if to endure a headache, and the seemingly-uninterested G, though still turned away, had a bead of sweat dripping down her cheek.


    After a while, Lapis, who had been watching their reactions, pped her hands.


    ¡°I see. So it just happens that there are a few ces in the wide waterway where the conditions are just right, and the centipedes and other things that live there multiplied and grew healthily, and that¡¯s why we have that swarm?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure it was a group of individuals that had been elerated to grow under somewhat unfavorable conditions. If I remember correctly, if there were areas in the canal with the right conditions, the rate of growth would be even greater.¡±


    What Lapis had deduced was bad enough, but what might have happened ording to Ivy was even worse. Loren was speechless after learning all this, but Lapis, perhaps unintentionally, rubbed even more salt to his wound.


    ¡°I see. That reminds me; seeing Mills¡¯ eyes moving on its own, I thought I had seen this phenomenon somewhere before. It was a parasite, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°A parasite?¡±


    Loren¡¯s face turned sour as he heard that there was another factor involved, even though the centipedes alone were already too much to handle.


    Lapis began to share some of her knowledge.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember its official name, but it is a small parasite whose final host are centipedes. As arva, it lives in small insects, water, fruits, and vegetables. If the host is a living animal, it enters the host¡¯s central nervous system and brain to control its behavior, and ends its cycle by being eaten by the final host, the centipede.¡±


    The parasitesid eggs inside a centipede¡¯s body, then those eggs were released together with the centipede¡¯s excretion and would be eaten by some other insect, then the parasite would work to have that insect be eaten by a centipede. That was the cycle of this parasite, ording to Lapis¡¯ exnation. Also, theirrvae did not die from being bitten or chewed, and as long as they retained a certain size, they were resilient enough to return to their originalrval state.


    ¡°When we first came to town, Nig caught arva about the size of a thumb and ate it¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably it. I¡¯m sure Nig will be fine though. Spiders release digestive fluid to dissolve their prey and then sip it, and I don¡¯t think thervae will survive that. They are originally smaller than a grain of wheat, so if you include thervae before they grow to be huge, they can be of various sizes.¡±


    If thervae grew inside living creatures, they would have no way to know where these parasites were. If the situation was bad enough, it was possible that almost all of the food in Suest was contaminated by this parasite.


    ¡°By the way, if a human¡¯s brain is infected by the parasite, they will¡­¡±


    ¡°Lose their intelligence and consciousness, and some or most of their memory, I think.¡±


    ¡°What about the ability to converse?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be lost.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this town finished?¡±


    The symptoms of the parasite victims described by Lapis matched the condition of many of the city¡¯s residents that Loren and his group had seen. Perhaps Lapis understood this, for she looked at Loren with a weak smile and asked in a voice that was more than a little shaky.


    ¡°What should we do, Loren?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything, can we?¡±


    If the situation hade to light earlier, some action could have been taken to stop the parasites from spreading. However, the residents affected by the parasites had already spread throughout the city, and Loren did not think that there was anything that could be done about it now.


    ¡°Can we get rid of the parasites after they infect us?¡±


    ¡°After they enter our head? How do we do that?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ response was that if there was a way, she would like to hear it herself. And as Loren wondered if there was any other way to manage such a thing, G said.


    ¡°With the power of Gluttony, it¡¯s impossible to eat only the parasite.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, it¡¯s also impossible to kill only the parasite with Energy Drain.¡¯]


    Shayna said in Loren¡¯s mind as if she had expected him to ask. As he listened to her, he understood that there was nothing they could do.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m sure we¡¯re not infected, since we haven¡¯t had any food of this city¡¯s origin since we came here, and the food in the wagon was controlled and sealed by me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this will make you feel any better, but would you like me to make some deworming medicine? I think I can make it with the facilities we have here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a mixing room at the back of this room. There should be some materials left.¡±


    Under Ivy¡¯s guidance, Lapis opened a door that seemed to lead to a mixing room in one corner of the room and disappeared behind it.


    As Loren watched Ivy, who was still investigating the device, and G, who grimaced because of the terrible situation they were put in, in his heart he continued cursing at Magna, who had probably used this ruin and Noel, who had apparently operated these devices.

 Chapter 261: From Results To Escaping

    Chapter 261: From Results To Escaping


    Proofreader: Xemul


    It did not take long for Lapis to return from thepounding room holding thin ceramic containers filled with clear, colorless liquid in her hands.


    They drank up the containers Lapis offered and took a sigh of relief; even if the parasites had entered their bodies, this drug would make it difficult for them to survive and reach their brains


    ¡°I¡¯ve done some examination on the equipment, but things aren¡¯t looking good.¡±


    Ivy said as she returned the empty container to Lapis.


    Lorren wondered if the situation could be any worse, but the news Ivy gave him was indeed terrible.


    ¡°The devices themselves are damaged because they were manipted improperly. Specifically, if a human body were to be built, some functions would have to be omitted.¡±


    ¡°Be more specific.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t have the ability to grow and reproduce.¡±


    Ivy said it without hesitation, but the news was fatal.


    In other words, even if they tried to create a body for Shayna with the equipment at the site, they would only be able to create a functionally defective body, which would be meaningless.


    ¡°Furthermore, due to the fact that most of the materials had been left dripping, it seems that there is no longer enough material left to build an adult body.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to help.¡±


    Even if they used the devices to build Shayna a body, she would never grow up and would be a child forever. The only thing Loren could say after knowing this was that there was no way he would put Shayna in such a body.


    ¡°There are some parts that automatically restore themselves, so I think they will eventually be repaired and replenished over time.¡±


    ¡°I guess there are no other choices¡­ Shayna will have to put up with it for a while longer.¡±


    [¡®But onii-san, I don¡¯t really feel like I¡¯m having to put up with anything.¡¯]


    As if tofort Loren, who sounded depressed, Shena conveyed such a thought to him.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ We¡¯ll have to leave this ruin behind for now. As long as the drugs and materials are replenished, it will be possible to build Shayna¡¯s body, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And if we have enough time, we might be able toe up with a way to imnt the soul of an undead into a living body.¡±


    There was no point in worrying about what couldn¡¯t be done, Lorren thought to himself. The facilities of the ruin themselves were intact, and if the materials and medicines lost in this incident would be replenished over time, then there was nothing to do but wait. And Shayna hadn¡¯t said that she wanted to leave Loren¡¯s body immediately; it wouldn¡¯t be bad for her to have some more time to think about it.


    ¡°It feels like such a waste of effort though¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild will pay you, and by having a stalemission solved, my experience and reputation in the Guild will rise.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, you were saying something about dealing with stalemissions in the beginning, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Suddenly having a strange feeling, Loren asked Ivy, and she nodded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s been that long since I chopped off Magna¡¯s arm.¡±


    While it was true that a certain number of days have passed since due to travel and other things, Loren thought that it had not been long enough for thismission, which should havee around sometime in the middle of all that, to have a reputation of being stale.


    In response to Loren¡¯s question, Ivy tilted her head.


    ¡°The devices themselves show signs of having been operated several times, but I don¡¯t know how long they have been dripping chemicals and other materials. The site, at the time I used it, had a substantial amount of materials and chemicals in storage, and the fact that they were empty suggests that they had been leaking for quite some time, though.¡±


    ¡°Is this the first time they have been used to enhance someone¡¯s capabilities?¡±


    ¡°That too is unknown. It¡¯s just that the parameters are set to maximum, but we don¡¯t know how long they¡¯ve been in use or when they were used.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m checking just in case, but-¡°


    Loren scowled at Ivy, albeit lightly. Ivy tilted her head, wondering what in the world she had done, and Lorren asked.


    ¡°Is there any chance that you caused the leakage when you made your body?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a rude question to ask a technician. I would not use them this way.¡±


    Ivy red back at Loren. He held her gaze for a moment, then eventually looked away.


    ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The only people who seem to be using this ruin are me and the Dark Elf earlier. From your point of view, that is something to be confirmed.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s expression softened for a change.


    ¡°It¡¯s more believable that it was the work of an Evil God rather than a mistake made by someone who had no idea what they were doing.¡±


    With no hesitation, Loren poked Lapis, who was spouting nonsense, on the head. It made quite a solid sound, and Lapis reflexively pressed both hands to the site of the poke and bent back. Loren asked Ivy.


    ¡°So, I guess thismission can be considered more or lesspleted? You won¡¯t start saying something like we have to solve everything, will you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a little beyond what an individual or a party can handle, so I think it would be unreasonable to ask you to do so much.¡±


    The situation had progressed to the point where the city of Suest could be considered lost. Most of the city¡¯s inhabitants must have fallen prey to the parasites, and the parasite number must have reached over a thousand, or even close to ten thousand, at least ording to estimates. No matter how much the Guild was asked to do something about it, the situation had reached a level where the government had to deal with it.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get the hell out of this town, report to the Guild, and let them deal with the rest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Lapis agreed, but G, who was standing next to her, spoke up as if she had suddenly realized something.


    ¡°But if we make a report like that, won¡¯t they find out about the existence of this ruin?¡±


    ¡°Leave that to me.¡±


    In response to G¡¯s concern, Ivy tapped her own chest.


    ¡°It depends on how you report it. It¡¯ll be all right; we¡¯ll keep this under wraps. I¡¯ll put the general cause of the trouble on Miss Dark Elf and her master, and I¡¯ll talk to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to make arrangements.¡±


    Ivy smiled wickedly as she said this, and G and Lapis began to back away and try to distance themselves from her as much as possible. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, the fact that those two would be pursued by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was not a bad story, and he did not understand why the two of them would back away.


    ¡°Alright¡­ For now, let¡¯s get out of the ruin. There¡¯s nothing more to be gained by staying here.¡±


    ¡°How are we going to get back to the surface?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ question was an expected one.


    The fact was that the hordes of centipedes and zombies that had been chasing them were probably still waiting outside the entrance then had entered through, and it would take a lot of effort to go through them to return to above ground.


    Normally, here they would turn pale thinking about being trapped, but Loren answered the question in a matter-of-fact way.


    ¡°Originally, there was a way to get to the surface in this facility, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s been destroyed¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we use G¡¯s magic to remove the earth and sand that¡¯s crushing it? If there were normal residents above, we would have to worry about coteral damage and this ce being discovered and such, but it seems that there is no need for that.¡±


    Ivy, who was just now catching on to Lorren¡¯s words, pped her hands together. Although it was a rough measure, Lapis and G had no objection, as it was much better than returning to the sewers to face the smell and the swarms of insects.


    ¡°Let¡¯s quickly get this over with and leave this town. Ever since knowing about the parasites, I¡¯ve been thinking that I don¡¯t want to stay here too long.¡±


    At Lorren¡¯s direction, Ivy immediately led the group to the stairs that originally led to the ground level. The stairs were indeed buried halfway up, and G muttered a small whisper after some confirmation.


    ¡°Well then, >.¡±


    A ball of bright red me the size of a child¡¯s head appeared at G¡¯s fingertips. Controlled by her consciousness, itnded on the earth ceiling blocking the stairway. It then exploded, sending arge amount of earth and smoke toward them with a shock. Lapis, who had realized the consequences of the magic just one moment earlier, pulled Lorren away from the scene and escaped, but the two Evil Gods stood there and were covered in dirt and sand from head to toes.


    A huge chunk had been gouged out from the earth burying the stairs, but even with such damage, they still had not reached the above ground.


    ¡°I think we should focus on the piercing power rather than explosive power¡­¡±


    ording to Lapis, the power and range of effect of the > magic were perfect, but it was not suited for destroying thickyers of sand and soil or bedrock. If destruction and pration were important, it would be much more effective to pour stronger magic into the legal > or elementary > and increase the number of bullets.


    Before Lapis could say anything, G and Ivy, with dust still on their heads, pointed their palms at the half-destroyed ceiling.


    ¡°I¡¯ll smash it no matter what! >!¡±


    ¡°Let me help you! >!¡±


    Two balls of me,rger than the previous one,nded on the ceiling, and at the same time, a deafening explosion sounded.


    ck smoke covered their vision and crumbled earth and sand rained down on them from overhead. Lorren tried to keep the smoke from drifting up to where they were by pping his hands, and Lapis, coughing a little in the dust, looked toward where the two Evil Gods were standing.


    ¡°Yes, we smashed it!¡±


    ¡°This is what we can do.¡±


    G and Ivy, who were covered in even more dust than before, pointed to the ceiling with triumphant looks on their faces.


    Although it was impossible to determine whether the earth and sand that had broken off the staircase in the middle fell inside the ruins or was blown out, there was still a gaping hole leading to the outside.


    ¡°If the result is the same, what does it matter what happened?¡­¡±


    At any rate, the exit to the outside was now open. Lorren, thinking that there would be no problem even if he turned a blind eye to everything else, urged everyone to go up the stairs.


    That was the moment it happened.


    A figure suddenly fell through the hole that had just opened into the ruin where Loren¡¯s party was. Without even a single movement of trying to catch itself, it mmed back first into the floor from behind with a rather loud sound.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Lapis thought that it might have been a resident of the city who had fallen into the hole that had suddenly opened up, but her expectation was betrayed when they saw the fallen figure rise up, shivering and shaking and bleeding considerably from the head.


    It was a young man dressed in clothes that made it clear that he was a resident of the town at first nce, but he rose up without wiping the blood that was pouring from his head. And as he turned towards their party, they saw that both his eyes were moving crazily and independently of each other just like the left eye of Mills, who had taken hisst breath at the ruin entrance, had done.

 Chapter 262: From Falling Down To Climbing Up

    <h4>Chapter 262: From Falling Down To Climbing Up</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The moment Loren saw the face of the man who had fallen, he involuntarily took a couple of steps backward. But he immediately felt a shadow over his head, and he jumped away from the spot.


    Almost at the same time that Loren jumped, an old woman fell onto the spot where he had been standing.


    It was an old woman who, by all appearances, had mmed head first into the floor, and her neck was bent in a direction that suggested she would not survive. But without much pause, she also rose up with blood flowing profusely from the wounds on her head and broken neck.


    Noticing that the old woman¡¯s eyes were also moving like crazy, Loren¡¯s face twitched as he shouted.


    ¡°The infected are falling down!¡±


    At Loren¡¯s words, Lapis looked up at the top of the stairs.


    The staircase, which must have led from the underground facility to the aboveground facility, had quite a few steps and was as high as the ceiling. There were more figures gathering around the edges of the hole in the ceiling, and some of them were slowly descending from the top of the staircase.


    ¡°They areing from above!¡±


    ¡°What do we do? Do we go back?!¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Even though they were infected by parasites, they were just former residents of the town. If they were left alone, they would probably end up being eaten by the centipedes, but Loren¡¯s group had no way to save them. There was no choice but to leave them.


    But the next moment, when Loren saw the old woman who had fallen nearby and broken her neck try to approach with her hands outstretched toward him, and he became rmed.


    ¡°Don¡¯te! But you don¡¯t understand, do you?¡±


    The old woman¡¯s behavior should already be controlled by the parasites; even if he gave her a warning, he was not sure if it would be understood. Even so, the sight of an old woman with a lolling head and bloody clothes silently approaching with outstretched hands was enough to give even Loren a creepy feeling. That was why he gave a warning, but it would mean nothing if the other person did not have the ability to understand it.


    It was not that the idea of giving the woman a kick to force her away from himself didn¡¯t ur to Loren, but no matter how bad state she was in, she was still an old woman, and that made Loren hesitant.


    As he considered what to do, he backed away as the woman came closer. Then he saw the man who had fallen in front of him moving toward Ivy, stretching out his hand as the old woman was doing.


    ¡®Well, um, I was wondering if you could stay away from¡­¡±


    Ivy, like Loren, also issued a warning and stepped back as the man approached. But her words didn¡¯t seem to reach the man¡¯s ears, and he was still trying to approach Ivy with the same gait when he suddenly opened his mouth wide and began to make a strange noise that one wouldn¡¯t think wasing from a human throat. He was so loud that Ivy was startled, and at that moment, while still making that noise, the man grabbed her with agile movements as if his movements up until now had just been for show.


    Unable to react quickly enough, Ivy was grabbed by both shoulders by the man, and he pushed her straight to the wall, her back mming against it quite forcefully.


    As Ivy uttered a small groan from the impact, from the wide-open mouth of the man, who was still making strange noises, a slimy, white, thumb-sized object peeked out.


    ¡°Eh¡­¡±


    The man approached Ivy, who was taken aback, with mouth opened and teeth bared. Feeling herself being bitten, Ivy tried to push him back only to suddenly realize that the force that was pushing her against the wall had disappeared. She blinked her eyes.


    ¡°A bit too spineless, aren¡¯t you? You messed up not just your body but your head too, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    It was G who said this with her hands on her hips, as if she was disgusted.


    Ivy, who had not yet caught up with what was being done and said, saw that the man had gone missing except from the wrists down, with the hands still holding her shoulders. She hurriedly shook them off, making them fall down to the floor.


    Loren, who had seen G using her Gluttony powers to devour the body of the man who was about to attack Ivy, also felt a slight cold sweat break out on his forehead as he saw the body of the old woman who was about to approach him disappear from before his eyes in the blink of an eye.


    At the same time that the man who was about to attack Ivy let out a strange cry, the old woman had also opened her mouth wide, her teeth missing here and there, and was about to grab onto Loren with a simr strange cry. It seemed like she had also been swallowed up by G¡¯s power, this time without even a wrist left.


    ¡°Sorry, and thanks.¡±


    Loren¡¯s reaction had been dyed as the old woman suddenly screamed and grabbed him. By the time he was about to ready his sword, she had already gotten well inside his range. Having escaped thanks to G¡¯s authority, he thanked G as she brushed off the dirt and sand that had gotten on her head and shoulders from the magic explosion.


    ¡°I want to say something like ¡®You¡¯re taking too much time to judge the situation¡¯, but it can¡¯t be helped. The other party was a grandmother, and given your personality, it¡¯s understandable that you hesitated.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s what¡¯s good about you, Loren.¡±


    Listening to G¡¯s words, which containedughter, and Lapis¡¯ words, which carried a somewhatforting tone, Loren wondered if he had gotten a little rusty.


    If you were a mercenary, you would not be able to survive on the battlefield unless you had the judgment to respond immediately to any kind of hostile actions. Loren feared that since he had been away from the battlefield for so long, he might have lost some of his sense of perception.


    ¡°By the way, G, is it safe for you to eat those?¡±


    Lapis immediately tried to change the subject, perhaps because she saw that Loren was about to think about it.


    If Loren was made to think too much ande to the conclusion that he had to return to the battlefield, it would be very difficult for Lapis, who wanted to continue as an adventurer, to deal with the issue. Even if he had to go to the battlefield, Lapis would still at least try to make him take her along. But for now, she tried to keep Loren¡¯s attention on other topics to prevent him from having strange thoughts.


    However, that topic was also an important one. If a human being who was infected by parasites was eaten by G¡¯s power, what would happen to her condition? Loren, who heard Lapis¡¯ words, was also very curious about this.


    G kept her hands on her hips as if nothing was wrong and made a small snort.


    ¡°It¡¯s different from eating with my own mouth. What I eat with my power¡¯s mouths will be finished off in my power¡¯s stomach, and won¡¯t have any effects on me. Even inorganic substances can be digested in the stomach of my power, right? A parasite would be killed in an instant.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very encouraging, but¡­ Is it possible to eat all of them?¡±


    G looked to where Loren pointed, and saw that simr figures had been gathering one after another at the edge of the hole, and one by one they were beginning to step off the edge of the hole and fall down. The stairs leading to the surface were so crowded with people that they were beginning to push down.


    Staring at them for a while, G eventually looked at Loren and said in a very offhanded tone.


    ¡°A bit too much.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    The ones who fell down still didn¡¯t take any defensive stance, and hit the floor unprotected. With injuries that made it seem like a miracle that they were still breathing, they still picked themselves up and began to try to crawl closer to Loren¡¯s group despite all the dripping blood.


    Watching their numbers gradually increase, Lapis leaned in toward Loren and asked him in a somewhat strained voice.


    ¡°Do we go back?!¡±


    ¡°Would you rather go back and walk through the centipedes and the stench, or would you rather go forward and walk through the crowd?¡±


    There were only two choices.


    To be honest, everyone present was tempted to answer that they didn¡¯t want to do either, but if they didn¡¯t choose one or the other, they would be stuck here and would eventually join the ranks of the poor victims.


    ¡°Let me vote for the crowd.¡±


    ¡°Me too. Humans are still better no matter what.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your witness if anything happens.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s words were about the two people that G had already taken care of, and the people that they would probably have to take care of in order to escape the city. After all, although they were infected with parasites and deprived of freedom of action and will, they were not criminals or monsters, but mere ordinary people. It was possible to say that they were just dealing with an attack, but it was not a pleasant feeling, and the aftermath was worrisome. Ivy said those words having anticipated all this, and having the Adventurers¡¯ Guild vouch for them wouldn¡¯t be so bad. It lightened Loren¡¯s heart somewhat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡±


    With a single, motivated shout, Loren stepped onto the stairs leading to the aboveground.


    From above them, countless figures were descending the stairs with rather unsteady gait, and some of those in the front suddenly seemed to lose all their strength and tumbled down even though Loren and hispanions had not yet done anything. Loren, who was leading the group, immediately kicked them away, but they did not get up from their feet or move at all, and their limbs were flung around limply.


    [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll help too.¡¯]


    From what he heard from Shayna in his mind, Loren understood that this was apparently the result of Shayna using a strong Energy Drain to suck out the lives of the infected. Even if she could not kill only the parasites, it was possible for Shayna to kill both the host and the parasite at once, and she had an advantage simr to G using her power in that she could make the person die without touching them.


    ¡°We should avoid touching the fallen ones as much as possible. You never know where they are going toe from. The blood and body fluids are most troublesome, I think. Be careful not to get it in your mouth.¡±


    ¡°Easier said than done.¡±


    The number of people on the stairs had been somewhat reduced by Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain. However, since the reduced number of people was quickly reced by those from aboveground, it did not feel like the overall number of people had decreased. It was not hard to understand why Lapis had said that, but it seemed to Loren that it would be extremely difficult to break through the wall of people blocking his way while doing that.


    ¡°As long as the medicine I gave you is working, it won¡¯t be a problem if some of them get into your body. But if the main body of the insect is injected into the body, that would be a problem.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to imagine that¡­¡±


    Loren swung his greatsword as he answered. If he swung the sword with the de up, it would cut his opponents in two and sttered flesh and blood, so he inevitably used the t of the sword to push them away. Even so, with each swing, Loren¡¯s arm strength swept one off the stairs and onto the floor of the ruins. Together with G¡¯s authority and Shena¡¯s Energy Drain, Loren and his team were somehow able to make it to a state where they could climb the stairs, albeit slowly.


    [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll give you power! Burn them down!¡¯]


    At the same time as this thought was conveyed to Loren, the life force and magic power that Shayna had taken with her Energy Drain began to flow into his body. Thinking that it would be difficult to adjust the st, Loren said the words that were needed as he pictured in his mind the image of pouring the power, which was about to overflow, into the greatsword he held in his hand.


    ¡°Burn! Fiamma Ungia!¡±


    Crimson mes erupted from the de of the sword, which was held at the ready and thrust forward. It filled up the path before their group, engulfed head-on the infected that were trying to grab at them and sting them to the ground. The infected couldn¡¯t even make a sound.


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯ve gotten very good at adjusting it.¡±


    Lapis looked on in admiration as the red mes blew through the air, leaving only a number of charred corpses in their wake.


    Having cleared away the obstacles on the staircase, Loren and the others ran up the stairs at a quick pace before the infected still on the ground closed in on the staircase again. As they finally reached the top of the stairs, the infected that were gathering were downed by either G¡¯s power or Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain, and they leaped out to the surface.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re out!¡±


    Loren, wielding his greatsword and trying to buy time for Lapis and the others to reach the surface, tried to check on the town while fighting off the advancing infected. But the sight he was greeted with made him so stunned that he almost dropped the greatsword in his hand.

 Chapter 263: Sealing From Aboveground

    <h4>Chapter 263: Sealing From Aboveground</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Loren? What in the world¡­¡±


    Lapis, who had noticed Loren¡¯s state and climbed the stairs to check on the city as he did, was speechless when she saw what he had seen.


    What they saw was not the same city they had been in before entering the sewers.


    ¡°My goodness¡­ How much things have changed in such a short time.¡±


    G casually said as she shaded her eyes with her hand and watched the city¡¯s buildings burn violently.


    From between the burning buildings that were spewing billowing ck smoke, a young woman, apparently not yet infected, ran out screaming. But just as she was about to step out into the street, a number of hands reached out from the darkness and grabbed her body, dragging her back into the darkness of the alleyway by force.


    There was also a young man running frantically down the street, probably in the midst of running away from the infected who were chasing him from behind. But just as he looked back to see if he had managed to escape, he was swallowed up by a wave of infected citizens that broke through the entrance of a building nearby.


    And on the other side of the street, centipedes were swarming in such numbers that they covered the entire ground, pushing down and swallowing citizens, who were probably already infected with parasites and lost their senses.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too chaotic?¡±


    Loren muttered in a fed-up voice as he knocked down one of the approaching infected with the t of his greatsword and kicked another to the ground.


    As far as he could see, the town had been almostpletely overrun by centipedes, and the situation had developed to the point where there was nothing that could be done to help it now.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t even do anything now, can we?¡±


    In the distance, a building could be seen crumbling down with a rather loud noise. What emerged from the copsed building was a huge centipede, lifting its long body, which was long enough that one had to look up to see it, and ttering its fangs. Loren, with his mouth falling half-open, wondered what would make it grow several to ten timesrger.


    Behind him, Shayna was using Energy Drain to kill those who tried to approach in ce of Loren, who was so stunned that he stopped moving.


    ¡°The city is almostpletely wiped out. There is no way to rescue the victims, and from the looks of it, there are no un-infected people to rescue.¡±


    Those who were able to escape had probably already fled out of the city. The ones that couldn¡¯t escape, like the woman who was dragged into the darkness earlier, had already been made to join the infected by now.


    ¡°So we¡¯re the only ones un-infected?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s very likely to be the case.¡±


    Lapis answered while casually kicking away those who came close to her. Judging from the design of her priest robe, it seemed to Loren that constant kicking was not considered audable action for a priest.


    Compared to the priest robes of other deities, the robes of the God of Knowledge were more nice-looking, but on the other hand, there were many unprotected areas. The skirt is the best example of this, but since Loren somehow understood why Lapis used kicking that much, he couldn¡¯t ask her to stop.


    It was because unlike her legs, which were prosthetics, her arms were now made of real flesh. Lapis was being cautious to avoid touching the infected in the flesh as much as possible, just in case.


    ¡°This is getting out of hand.¡±


    Loren shouted as he drove away the infected, whose numbers did not decrease no matter how many times he did, and Lapis and Ivy began to discuss something.


    In the meantime, Loren and G were in charge of intercepting the attackers to keep them away from those two.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this rusty iron taste for eternity¡­¡±


    G also did not want to touch the infected directly because of their creepiness, and she continued to intercept them mainly by using her power to devour them. Although she also sometimes used magic to burn them down, the number of attackers did not seem to be decreasing, perhaps because their group were the only ones who continued to resist in this Suest city.


    Even so, if they stopped resisting, they would be joining them, and both Loren and G were determined not to let that happen.


    ¡°Loren, what if that big centipede from earlieres this way?¡±


    ¡°We have no choice but to run away. There is no way we can deal with such a monster.¡±


    The giant centipede that they had had a glimpse of earlier seemed to Loren to be as huge as the neck of the Ancient Dragon he had seen in the demon territory, if only in size. He had not the slightest intention of directly crossing swords with such a thing. If possible, he would run, and if not, he would have to put all his strength into his greatsword and create mes to burn it away.


    But fortunately for Loren and his team, the giant centipede had encamped in the center of the town, and there was no indication that it would move from there. Loren thought that perhaps thergest concentration of prey was in that area, and the centipede had not felt the need to venture into other areas yet.


    However, once it had consumed all the food in the central area of the town, it would next turn its attention to the infected on the periphery, and if that happened, the giant centipede could make its way to them.


    Loren was thinking of taking some kind of action before that happened when Lapis, who had been discussing something with Ivy, seemed to have finished and came up to him at a run.


    ¡°Loren, I¡¯ve discussed this with Ivy, and we¡¯vee to a decision. Let¡¯s burn this town down.¡±


    What she had just said was outrageous, but judging from the fact that Ivy, who had been in discussion with her earlier, was nodding her head deeply, it seemed that she was not joking.


    ¡°The truth is, the situation is out of control even if the armyes. The easiest thing to do would be to break through the siege of the infected and escape, but if we leave this city unattended, the damage could probably spread quite rapidly.¡±


    ¡°I agree. But how do we burn down a city? And what are we going to tell the Adventurers Guild about this?¡±


    In the worst case scenario, they could be treated as criminals for being the ones who burned down Suest. And even if they said they would burn it down, Suest was fairlyrge, and Loren was very concerned about whether they had the firepower at hand to burn the entire thing down.


    However, Lapis had an answer for Loren.


    ¡°Put all your power into Fiamma Ungia and generate the greatest amount of me. If you use it seriously, that greatsword will burn down a city without any difficulty.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ going to kill me?¡±


    The power consumed is determined by the power used; that was how the magic weapon called Fiamma Ungia worked.


    If he were as powerful as the Demon King, he might be able to pay the price of burning down a city, but in Loren¡¯s case, he only had enough power to produce argish me before exhausting his strength. He could only see himself dying because his lifeforce had drainedpletely if he were forced to burn the city with his power, but Ivy and Lapis offered a solution to that concern.


    ¡°We will create a defensive barrier. In the meantime, Loren, please use Energy Drain to siphon off the power of those who attack us.¡±


    ¡°I will call you when we¡¯re ready, but I want you to thrust your greatsword into the ground, retreat into the defensive barrier, and then use the power of the greatsword. The sword properly has registered you as its owner, so even if you remove your hands from the sword, you are still linked with it, and you can use its power from within the ward.¡±


    The fact that Lapis and Ivy discussed with each other and came to the conclusion that it would be possible to use the sword in this way suggests that it was probably feasible. But Loren just couldn¡¯t bring himself to ept the fact that his weapon was something that, depending on how it was used, could burn down an entire city. Still, he believed that he had no choice but to do it.


    Ivy continued, perhaps taking Loren¡¯s silence as a sign of hesitation.


    ¡°Please leave the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to me. I¡¯ll make sure to talk to them so that you won¡¯t be inconvenienced.¡±


    ¡°But you know, even if you burn the aboveground part of the city, the underground will remain, right?¡±


    The number of centipedes above ground was considerable, but Loren believed that there must still be a good number of centipedes in those sewer canals as well. These centipedes could survive in the underground canals even if the aboveground part of the city was burned down, with the parasites still inside their bodies. If that is the case, then even if they burned down the city now, it would not have much meaning.


    Ivy answered Loren¡¯s question.


    ¡°G and I will seal off the underground, along with that ruin.¡±


    Ivy believed that also exterminating the centipedes in the sewers right now would be impossible. If that was the case, she believed it was best to ignore the problem to some extent and seal the canals along with the ruin.


    The seal would only prevent people from entering and leaving, and could be released or resealed at will by Ivy or G themselves. Lapis and Ivy¡¯s proposal was to leave the ruin alone until it had replenished sufficient chemicals and materials.


    ¡°And then we¡¯ll make the Dark Elf and her master take the me for the whole mess. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Somehow¡­ Is it my imagination or does it sound like we¡¯re the bad guys?¡±


    In order to save their own lives and prevent further damage to the surrounding area, they burned down the city, including the victims who were infected by the parasites, and then med another party for their crime.


    That other party was indeed the source of all this, and although he felt almost no guilt, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from wondering if this was the right thing to do.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a littlete for that? This party is made up of one demon and two Evil Gods, after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only a temporary member of the party. I¡¯ll be back to being a Guild employee when this is over.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s the n. What do you think, Loren?¡±


    Loren was at a loss for an answer when asked by G.


    However, he knew that he had little time to hesitate, so he answered in a hushed voice while roughly ruffling his hair with his left hand.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the only way, then let¡¯s do it.¡±


    ¡®We¡¯ll get to work right away. Loren, please gather your strength.¡±


    Lapis and Ivy immediately split up and began to draw some sort of magic formation on the ground with chalk. G took up the responsibility of protecting the two of them, and Loren, left alone, exhaled deeply as he looked out at the approaching crowd of infected citizens.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Shayna. I¡¯m going to need your help.¡±


    [¡®Don¡¯t worry, onii-san. I¡¯m going to drain them dry!¡¯]


    Loren could sense the excitement from Shayna¡¯s thoughts, as if she was d to be able to actively help him. He readied his greatsword, wondering how she could sound so excited when she was about to do such a deadly task.


    ¡°Well then¡­ I¡¯m counting on you!¡±


    [¡®I¡¯m going to go all out! Commencing Energy Drain!¡¯]


    At the same time as the deration, the body of the nearest infected from Loren¡¯s position dried up in an instant then fell to the ground with a dry sound. Before the fall could bepleted, the next target¡¯s life was already sucked out of their body by the Energy Drain, and like the first one, the dried up body copsed to the ground.


    In the meantime, Loren, wielding his greatsword, began to fight off the infected citizens that were approaching their group.

 Chapter 264: From Conclusion To Sleep

    <h4>Chapter 264: From Conclusion To Sleep</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°And thus, Loren the Swordsman, with the beautiful Priestess in his arms and the two Evil Gods in tow, crushed the enemies that came at them like raging waves and conquered the city of Suest, which had been struck by cmity!¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    ¡°Are the trials and tribtions that stand before him a curse? Blessed be the God of Knowledge upon him!¡±


    ¡°God¡¯s blessing is thest thing I need¡­ Listen to people, will you? But well, if you don¡¯t want to listen then it can¡¯t be helped. Hey, G, give me that jug over there.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ There¡¯s not much in it, is there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m going to throw it at her head anyway.¡±


    After lightly shaking the ceramic jug to check its contents, G offered it to Loren, who had half-raised himself from the bed with a nk expression on his face.


    epting the jug, Loren shook it lightly himself, and after confirming that there was not much in it as G said, he slowly raised it up.


    Perhaps noticing that Loren was serious, Lapis, who was standing by the window of the hospital room looking out and humming the lines of a local minstrel, hurriedly turned around and thrust her hands forward, stopping Loren as he got into a throwing stance.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my bad, but please don¡¯t do that to my face.¡±


    ¡°Then keep looking out. You¡¯ll get hit in the back of the head that way.¡±


    ¡°Please forgive me, it won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    Seeing that Lapis had begun to bow her head, Loren finally lowered the jug he was swinging and handed it back to G, who deftly held out her hand to ept it. Lapis¡¯ cheeks puffed out in slight dissatisfaction as she lifted her head and watched G returning the jug to its original position.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we had a heroic tale or two starring you, Loren. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous. And the story is all wrong. Who do you think they are talking about, this beautiful priestess girl?¡±


    ¡°Me, of course?¡±


    Looking straight back at Loren, who was ring at her, Lapis said this without doubt or hesitation. With her being so unequivocally sure, Loren found no room for rebuttal.


    ¡°You say it¡¯s wrong, but don¡¯t you think you did a good job this time?¡±


    ¡°Are you joking? I didn¡¯t do anything to be praised like that.¡±


    Loren muttered as if he was spitting the words out. Lying back down on the bed, he thought back to the events leading up to the current situation.


    It was just how a job usually was, Loren thought.


    The number of opponents was indeed staggering, but there was no real fight; they were just a crowd of people rushing in and grabbing. If Loren had been told to deal with them without killing them, he would have had a very hard time, but he knew that even if he didn¡¯t do it, sooner orter they would die by Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain. Knowing that they would die anyway, he had swung his greatsword with no constraint. Against the de that consisted of Loren¡¯s strength and skill and the power of the greatsword itself, those who had been infected by the parasites and deprived of their freewill were no more than a slightly thick wall of flesh. This allowed Loren to devote himself to the task of clearing away the swarms of people who were pouring in until Lapis and Ivy were ready, while Shayna exercised her Energy Drains in between.


    Feeling the power being snatched away and channeled into him continued to increase, Loren waited for the girls to finish their preparations. The moment Lapis told him that it was time, he thrust the de of his bloodstained greatsword into the ground and jumped into the protective barrier that Lapis had deployed while pouring all the power that had umted inside him into the sword.


    He felt his strength being drained from his body at a furious pace, and his consciousness was fading away with it. As he tried to watch what was about to happen, his entire field of vision was dyed red, and he thought he heard a tremendous sound. That was Loren¡¯sst memory.


    Loren did not experience what happened after that, but ording to Lapis, the mes of the Fiamma Unguia he had released while being unconscious had a strength that surpassed that of the protective barrier. It fully engulfed Suest in an instant, destroying the entire ground level of the city and nearly burned their party to death in the process.


    With mes raging in such a wide area, the fire was expected to spread to the surrounding grasnds and forests, yet it did not spread at all. Perhaps the heat was so instantaneous and unimaginably high that any affected materials were either immediately turned into ashes and blown away by the wind, or skipped the melting process and turned into some kind of gas, which was also blown away by the wind and scattered.


    And thus, the town called Suest disappeared from the map. All that remained were remnants of things that had been burned and melted into ss; there were no traces of its inhabitants or anything else.


    After making sure of this, their party got on their wagon, which had stayed intact being protected by the same barrier. After checking the luggage and horses for parasitic effects, they headed for that blue desert where Lapis¡¯ base was located.


    After entering Lapis¡¯ base, the group used the equipment there to check themselves for parasites, and after concluding that everyone was fine, they returned to Kapha.


    After returning to Kapha, Loren, who had never regained consciousness, was taken directly to the hospital and admitted.


    This was the part Loren didn¡¯t want to think of.


    After losing consciousness in Suest, he was nursed by Lapis, G, and Ivy for several days before returning to Kapha without ever waking up. When he started thinking about all the things that had happened during that time, he couldn¡¯t stop tearing his hair out and wanting to hang himself.


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen and done a lot of things. You don¡¯t need to worry about it. You know how Ivy and I are, and Lapis-chan was¡­ rather happy?¡±


    That was what G had said to Loren the first time he thought of this after regaining consciousness, when he was lying in agony in bed and wanting to die. Her words had stopped him mentally and put him in a stupor for a day or so, but that was all in the past now.


    ¡°Ivy is always at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild these days. I hear she¡¯s really busy with reports and paperwork.¡±


    After managing to regain himself by putting certain topics to rest or to oblivion by choosing not to think about them, Loren¡¯s next concern was the cleanup. After all, a town had disappeared; it would be strange if it did not be a big deal.


    When Loren asked about this, G replied that Ivy was handling the situation at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Loren wondered how much trust could be ced in the testimony and reports of Ivy, who was merely an employee of the Guild, but he was unable to obtain any further information.


    G, however, said that the testimonies of an Adventurers¡¯ Guild official were quite credible, and that their authenticity was guaranteed in some way, but she did not know how.


    ¡°It¡¯s not hard to cheat if you know how. From that point of view, I don¡¯t think there is any way that any information that would be detrimental to us could be leaked through Ivy.¡±


    Ivy herself was originally an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild under a false identity. It was G¡¯s opinion that she would not make any underhanded move to leak information that would be detrimental to herself at this point.


    ¡°What information does she have that can be used against us?¡±


    ¡°The true identity of you, G, and Ivy. And I¡¯m practically the one who burned down the town.¡±


    Loren sighed; apparently Lapis did not categorize this information as something that could be used against them if it became known. But still, as Lorenid on his bed, he hoped that Ivy was sessful. If she had done well this time, it would have resulted in a certain amount of damage to Magna and Noel, and it would have been safe to say that they had gotten their revenge.


    With intel on their appearance and names, those two should be relegated to wanted men of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. If they were to attract the interest of adventurers of a higher ss than Loren and his party, perhaps they could be exterminated for that alone.


    ¡®However¡­¡± Loren¡¯s expression grew bitter as he thought about it.


    Their party had always lost the initiative, and had never had a pleasant experience when dealing with the two of them. He wondered if it would be alright to just wait for other adventurers to do something about those two.


    Even if they were to leave the task of finishing them off to other adventurers, he wondered if they could at least take the lead once and outwit the two. Only then would he feel relief for the first time.


    Perhaps reading something from Loren¡¯s face, Lapis asked in a somewhat worried voice.


    ¡°Loren, is there anything wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, but¡­¡±


    Loren told Lapis what he was thinking, and Lapis, who listened silently, folded her arms and let out a small groan as soon as he finished.


    ¡°Making the first move¡­ That¡¯s going to be a little difficult. But¡­ I certainly feel like it¡¯s only after we do that much that we¡¯ll be able to make them regret getting involved with us.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to dwell on it, though.¡±


    From Mills, a fellow mercenary of Loren¡¯s who had died in Suest, Loren had received information about themander of the mercenarypany to which he used to belong. Themander had been seen in the Justinian Empire in the northern part of the continent, and from Loren¡¯s point of view, this information was much more important than dealing with Magna.


    ¡°If themander is really there, I would like to meet him once, even though I have no intention of going back to being a mercenary now.¡±


    ¡°I see. Hmm¡­¡±


    Seeing Lapis lost in thought with arms crossed in front of her chest, Loren felt somewhat uneasy. Perhaps sensing his concern, Lapis smiles while unfolding her arms as if to reassure him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to look so worried. We¡¯re not doing anything right away, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to do something stupid to themander, who seems to be your benefactor, at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Can I trust that?¡±


    ¡°Please do. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll feel a little sad, won¡¯t I?¡±


    With that said, Lapis walked closer to the bed and bent down to put her hand on Loren¡¯s forehead. He felt thefort of the cool touch of the hand, and was once again aware that his body had not fully recovered.


    Exhausting enough power to burn down an entire city had put a tremendous burden on Loren¡¯s body, no matter how much surplus energy he had received from Energy Drain.


    Shayna also had not appeared on the surface of Loren¡¯s consciousness as if to demonstrate how exhausted she was. It was clear to Loren that she had not disappeared, but it seemed that she had be so tired that she did not respond when he called out to her.


    And once again, Loren recognized that the greatsword he was now using was formerly the weapon of a demon king.


    ¡°You need to take a rest for now, Loren. When you get better, we will have many things to think about. But until then, I¡¯ll take care of anything that seems troublesome, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Loren closed his eyes as he felt Lapis¡¯ hand caressing his forehead as if to reassure him. Although he was concerned about Shayna¡¯s condition, he himself understood well that the damage his body had received could not be taken lightly. Leaving Lapis in charge of troublesome matters inevitably left him somewhat uneasy, but he trusted her enough to know that she would never make a move that could be fatal on her own without consulting him. In that case, he should let his body rest and try to recover from the damages.


    As Loren began to think about this, he suddenly felt sleepy, and he let himself fall asleep without resisting.

 Chapter 265: Adapting To Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 265: Adapting To Destruction</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Rumors abounded that a certain remote town had been destroyed.


    Not some vige, but a proper town, even though remote.


    Loren did not even want to think about how many people the rumors would affect, considering the rtives of the town¡¯s sizable poption. And since he had a direct hand in the destruction of that town, the feeling was quite strong.


    Even leaving aside the excuse that he had no other choice, he still did not believe that there was any other way to go about it, and still considered that to be the best course of action. But if the residents of Suest and their rtives pointed fingers at him saying that ¡®You destroyed the city¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find the words to refute them.


    However, life in Kapha was so calm and normal that it was hard to believe that there were rumors of such a thing. This was more than a little surprising to Loren.


    Although not all the details of the situation were known to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it must have been reported to them by a girl named Ivy, who had apanied him on his previous job as an employee of the guild. There should have been a sense of crisis and tension in the air, but the town was looking to be the same as ever.


    Loren went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as always did, and while sipping a cheap drink in the adjoining restaurant, he listened intently to the conversation in the bar. Although some of them mentioned the destruction of Suest, it seemed that many adventurers did not consider this to be a problem.


    ¡°Did you hear that Suest has been destroyed?¡±


    ¡°Suest? Where is that?¡±


    ¡°Some kind of town in the northwest, I think.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about that. Let¡¯s talk about the next job.¡±


    That¡¯s about all there is to it.


    If the other adventurers did not know about the information, it was understandable that they did not bring it up. But if it was brought up and they were not interested, Loren found it difficult to understand.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that strange?¡±


    It was not that he wanted other adventurers to be interested in the topic, or that he wanted Kapha to fall into a depression as a result, but the fact that no one had any interest at all made him wonder about the magnitude of the situation. At the very least, tens of thousands of residents must have died, and it would have been a well-known incident due to how terrible it was. Loren tilted his head, having the feeling that there had been another incident with a simr scale of destruction before.


    [¡®Onii-san, you can¡¯t have forgotten that¡­¡¯]


    The thought of Shayna, who had not responded to Loren¡¯s attempts to talk to her for a while, perhaps because she had used too much power when she was finishing the final task of their previousmission, echoed in Loren¡¯s mind. He did not think that Shayna, King of Death, the highest-ranked undead, would disappear just because she had used a little too much power, but it was still a relief to be able to hear her voice properly.


    ¡°Well, Shayna¡¯s hometown was a city-state, too¡­ And when it was destroyed, I think there was¡­ a lot more going on.¡±


    ¡°Since it happened before, they¡¯ve got used to it, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The answer to Loren¡¯s question came from G, who was sitting across from him at the table and devouring therge bowl of soup she had ordered. Her spoon had not stopped scooping up soup even once.


    The soup was just a cheap one made of scraps of meat and vegetables seasoned with a little salt, made to fill one¡¯s stomach, and of poor quality. It filled the bowl, which was as big as a wash basin, to the brim, and G was in the process of single-mindedly pouring it down her throat.


    Loren wished she had something better to eat, but he himself was drinking the cheapest liquor one offered at the diner. It was not very strong, and was not something you could get drunk on with just one ss.


    ¡°How could one ever get used to it?¡±


    G had received some exnation of the situation when she joined Loren¡¯s party, and of course Lapis had told her how Shayna had gone from being an ordinary girl to being the King of Death. She must have heard about the city-state in which Shayna¡¯s parents served as the chiefs of government, and seemed to know that the girl had a former life.


    ¡°No matter how big the incident is, if it has nothing to do with you, you may get used to it after hearing about it a few times. That¡¯s how it is, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I wonder.¡±


    Loren thought that even if it had nothing to do with him, if it was a big incident, he would be interested in it, but G¡¯s opinion was different.


    ¡°Well, whatever the case may be, it¡¯s over now. Ivy will take care of things, and I¡¯m sure nothing bad will happen.¡±


    In their previous job, they epted amission from Ivy, a Guild official, in exchange for certain information. The information was about a ruin in Suest, which was rumored to have been destroyed.


    In fact, Ivy, who was the Evil God of Envy, one of the Evil Gods that had existed since the time of the Ancient Kingdom, had detailed information about this ruin. But the materials stored in the ruin had been depleted by a swordsman named Magna and his follower the dark elf Noel, both of whom had some history with Loren¡¯s party before. As a result, it was not serviceable right now. Ivy had sealed this ruin, which was located underground within the sewers of Suest, and had promised Loren¡¯s group that she would take charge of it until the materials were replenished over time.


    The purpose of all this was to create a vessel to house Shayna¡¯s spirit body, which was temporarily residing inside Loren¡¯s spirit body. There still remained the question of Shayna¡¯s thoughts about the matter and how to transnt her spirit body, which was now undead, into a living body, and so on. However, the story was shelved for the moment.


    In the sewers of the former town of Suest, which are connected to the ruins, were swarms of insects that have grown abnormally due to the leaked chemicals and other substances that Magna¡¯s group have left behind as a result of their actions. This was not a matter that could be dealt with overnight, and Loren thought it was best to leave it out of the picture for now, since it was difficult to even get close to the ruin until such problems were taken care of.


    ¡°But Loren, it¡¯s annoying to get beaten up all the time, isn¡¯t it? That ck swordsman is our mortal enemy.¡±


    ¡°By ¡®we¡¯, do you mean the Evil Gods?¡±


    When Loren interjected with an implied warning not to include the party into this business, G rested her soup-scooping hand for a moment and looked at Loren reproachfully.


    The ck swordsman, Magna, was apparently rted to the Ancient Kingdom, although he didn¡¯t know how he came to be. Moreover, he seemed to know a lot about many things, and there were indications that he knew a lot about the ruins where G and the other Evil Gods were created, and the one where Ivy created a new body for herself in order to quit being the Evil Gods of Envy.


    Loren also noticed that G and other Evil Gods seemed to have mixed feelings about those rted to the Ancient Kingdom, and that G¡¯s feelings seemed close to hatred and resentment. She was one of his friends, more or less, and he was willing to lend a helping hand if she wanted to fight Magna to clear up the resentment she harbored. However, he would like her to not go and make new enemies as a member of the party.


    ¡°You¡¯re so mean, Loren¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up. What¡¯s the point of considering him as an enemy if we don¡¯t have any countermeasures against him? We don¡¯t even know where he is.¡±


    The possibility of them settling down somewhere was zero. Magna, whether by sheer strength or thanks to the equipment that had enhanced his abilities, was capable of going head-to-head with Loren and even overwhelming him if he were to take him seriously. If such a swordsman, with a dark elf as an attendant, were to stay in one ce, it would be impossible not to hear about him.


    ¡°It would be a different story if they hade at us, but we only encounter them after they¡¯ve done something, and then it¡¯s toote.¡±


    ¡°Have you heard anything about them? They¡¯re officially wanted by the Guild, right?¡±


    Magna and Noel were wanted as persons of interest in the destruction of Suest. Ivy had immediately initiated the procedures after returning to Kapha, and as soon as the warrants became effective, they were sent by various means to the Adventurers¡¯ Guilds throughout the continent.


    ording to what Ivy had told Loren, the wanted list was quite severe, and all adventurers, regardless of rank, were eligible to take them. There were bounties for even the smallest information, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will pay a considerable amount of money for the capture of Magna or Noel.


    ¡°There may be some information out there. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the Adventurers¡¯ Guild pays for information. How can they give away information they paid for for free?¡±


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a mutual aid organization for adventurers, not a charity. There was no way they would share the information they had collected with money with adventurers for free. If necessary, adventurers had to pay the Guild to buy the information.


    And Loren did not have the money in his pocket to buy the information.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you beg Lapis-chan for it?¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯ll work?¡±


    Loren answered, thinking that Lapis would probably nod if he begged her. However, he also knew that there was a world of difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.


    ¡°I thought about doing that too, but¡­ The amount of debt I owe is just too much.¡±


    Although he had not received any demands, Loren was a debtor.


    The creditor was actually Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King. She had paid, on his behalf, the cost to repair the damage of part of the castle of the Great Demon King, who was apparently of an even higher rank than the Demon Kings. Loren had no way of resisting the double attack of the amount of money and the creditor, either which could end his life.


    ¡°I¡¯m in a position where I could be seized at any moment.¡±


    If he were to be taken into custody by the Great Demon King, he would not feel very much like living at all. The thought of not being able to return to his daily life made Loren feel as if he did not have time to think about all themotion over the destruction of Suest.

 Chapter 266: From Proposal To Resignation

    <h4>Chapter 266: From Proposal To Resignation</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°What¡¯s with the gloomy face?¡±


    Loren looked over to see a girl dressed in a white priest¡¯s robe with a ponytail that was swinging from side to side standing over him and peering into his face. He was slightly taken aback by the fact that he did not notice her approach until she called out to him, but considering the girl¡¯s true identity, it was quite understandable.


    She was Lapis, Loren¡¯spanion.


    At first nce, Lapis gave the impression of being a lovely and innocent girl. But in reality, she came from the demon race that lived in a mountainous region in the center of the continent, a race that was hated by the entire continent and boasted physical abilities several times greater than humans. The power hidden in her delicate arms might even surpass Loren¡¯s arm strength, and since her physical abilities were still unknown, it was highly likely that getting behind an excellent swordsman like him without being noticed was no problem for her.


    ¡°May I ask what¡¯s troubling you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious.¡±


    After such a preamble, Loren told Lapis the conversation about Magna that he and G had had earlier.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t mention the debt he owed to the Great Demon King. If anything, Lapis stood on the Great Demon King¡¯s side, and if he were to talk about it, it would be impossible to know what she would start plotting. It was not that Loren did not trust Lapis, but he would prefer to avoid having something nned without his knowledge.


    ¡°Dealing with Magna? That sure is a troublesome thing.¡±


    After listening to Loren¡¯s story, Lapis naturally took the seat next to him on the left, groaning slightly as she folded her arms and tilted her head.


    No matter how extraordinary Laps might be in terms of abilities, if she did not know where the other party was, she is unlikely to be able to do anything. Even so, her participation was a wee change.


    As Loren began to think about another topic, Lapis unfolded her arms and pped once as if she hade up with something.


    ¡°I have a good idea.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to hear it.¡±


    Loren unintentionally revealed his true feelings, and Lapis, looking upset, grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him left to right.


    As if to prove the hidden strength of Lapis¡¯ arms, Loren was easily jolted even though he was physically more imposing than her. Loren was annoyed, and Nig, the obsidian spider that had taken his right shoulder as its home, started to il about in a panic and raised its two front legs in protest. The spider was apparently startled by the sudden movement of Loren¡¯s body.


    ¡°What do you mean by that, Loren? I demand an exnation. I demand a satisfactory exnation!¡±


    ¡°I just slipped¡­ Anyway, just tell me what you¡¯vee up with.¡±


    Still being jolted, Loren almost confessed his true feelings once more. He was a little flustered inside, but tried to deflect by asking about a good idea that Lapis hade up with.


    Loren, who was swayed by the conversation and was about to say something more honest, was a little flustered inside, but tried to deflect the conversation by asking about a good idea that Lapidus hade up with.


    Regardless of what had happened, seeing that Loren was willing to listen to her now, Lapis released his shoulders, though she still looked a bit put off. She coughed once, then raised her index finger at Loren and G, who had started to pay attention to her.


    ¡°I think it would be very difficult to go after Magna himself. So let¡¯s give up on this once and for all.¡±


    ¡°Give up?¡±


    G seemed to be displeased, but Lapis did not seem to take offense by this and exined the reason.


    ¡°I happened to hear that since the Adventurers¡¯ Guild added them to the wanted list, information has beening in little by little, but the quality is not very good.¡±


    This was a surprising thing to hear for those who were familiar with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was a continent-wide organization with a considerable number of members, and it had issued an official warrant so that not only Bronze and Iron rank adventurers but also the so-called master adventurers, the Silver and Gold rank, received information about Magna.


    ¡°I had assumed that once the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had issued the official warrant, we would have very detailed information about Magna¡¯s movements.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    No matter how powerful Magna was, he shouldn¡¯t be able to wipe out all traces of himself. It would only be natural, then, that when Silver and Gold adventurers joined in the search, his tracks would be known.


    Yet, surprisingly little information about the guy hade forth.


    ¡°One possible exnation is that Magna has the ability to hide himself from the eyes of even the most sophisticated adventurers.¡±


    The swordsman named Magna that they had encountered so far had so many magical tools and weapons that Loren wondered where he had gotten them from. It would not be so surprising if among them were tools with the ability to conceal oneself.


    ¡°The other possibility is that they know where he is, but can¡¯t report him.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Loren asked, not quite sure about the second possibility Lapis had mentioned.


    ¡°The second possibility is that Magna already has influence at the nobility or royalty level in some other country. The Adventurers Guild is certainly a significant organization, but it is not the kind of organization that would pick a fight with a country. If they were pressured by a national-level entity, they would probably hide information from the public.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a horrifying story.¡±


    Loren understood that in the extreme, it would be like there was the country of Magna somewhere on this continent.


    Of course, if Magna¡¯s name and face were made public, it would be immediately obvious. But if there was some ce that were performing country-level experiments pulling strings from behind, it wouldn¡¯t be a fun story for Loren, who had a hostile rtionship with Magna. If their party were to wander into that ce unknowingly, said ce would be able to legally consign Loren and hispanions to oblivion in the name of thew that applied to the ce.


    Considering what it would mean to chase after such an existence, even Loren¡¯s desire to forcefully pursue Magna had waned.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to go after Magna himself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m convinced. But then what are you going to do? Wait until we run into them again?¡±


    Loren was about to let out a sigh, thinking that in the end he would have to be one step behind, but Lapis shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a sure thing, but I¡¯m saying that rather than making the first move, there may be a way to spoil their start.¡±


    ¡°If we can do that, it might be worth a try. But how do we do that when we don¡¯t even know what they want?¡±


    If you knew the objective, you could take the approach of destroying that objective beforehand. However, they had no idea what Magna¡¯s objective was; even if they wanted to destroy it, they did not know what they should destroy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that Magna¡¯s group is often associated with ces and things that have a connection to the Ancient Kingdom?¡±


    When Lapis put it that way, Loren thought that it certainly sounded right.


    ¡°If that is the case, I think that if we acquire or destroy all the powerful items and ruins associated with the Ancient Kingdom, it will hinder their group.¡±


    ¡°I see what you mean. But where do we get information about such things? If that¡¯s what you expect from us, I¡¯m sorry but we can¡¯t help you.¡±


    It was logical to think that the quickest way to obtain knowledge about the Ancient Kingdom would be from the Evil Gods, who had been alive since the kingdom¡¯s actual prosperity. However, G proimed that they could not help in this matter.


    ¡°When we were on the side of the Ancient Kingdom, we were their dogs. Ivy, who has got some information from the time before she became an Evil God like she does about that ruin, is an exception. We generally know very little.¡±


    G said tha by thest days of the Ancient Kingdom, she and her group had rebelled against the kingdom and did y a role in its destruction. But by that time, information about the ruins and powerful magical tools was either hidden or destroyed or abolished with the fall of the kingdom, and there was no useful information avable.


    ¡°We were also in a state of rage at the time. We destroyed anything and everything we saw without really thinking about why. Youthful indiscretion, ya know.¡±


    ¡°You destroyed the Ancient Kingdom in a moment of youthful indiscretion?¡±


    Loren felt that it must have been a real nuisance for the destroyed side, but since that side was also the cause of destruction, there was no room for sympathy. G wasughing sheepishly with her tongue stuck out, but Loren could not even begin to imagine how much had happened at the end of the Ancient Kingdom, when it was on the verge of extinction.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any expectations of you Evil Gods from the very beginning though.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words to G were a t denial. Ignoring G, who had almost fallen out of her chair due to those words, Lapis turned her full attention to Loren, who was sitting next to her.


    ¡°In the first ce, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust and Greed are all words that don¡¯t have a single good image, don¡¯t you think? How could I possibly think that I could get any useful information from such people?¡±


    Loren thought there were no words to refute that statement. Rather, he was surprised that they had managed to extract some useful information from those Evil Gods of Sloth, Greed, and Lust. G, who had managed to pull herself back onto the chair, was also unable to refute Lapis¡¯ words as she had already told her that they would not be able to obtain any information from her side, and just silently red at her.


    As if oblivious to G¡¯s gaze, Lapis continued to speak.


    ¡°Rather than them, I know someone who we can get much more useful information from. That person may be difficult to contact, but it¡¯ll probably be okay.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±


    Loren¡¯s memory did not contain any information about the person Lapis was referring to. He wondered if Lapis had known said person before she met him.


    Lapis told Loren about her proposal. G stared at her with her mouth hanging open as if she could not believe what she was hearing, and Loren let out a small sigh as he realized the trouble that awaited him.

 Chapter 267: From Qualifications To Restriction

    <h4>Chapter 267: From Qualifications To Restriction</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°You know Loren, I¡¯m also in the business, so I¡¯ll respond ordingly, but¡­ I can¡¯t believe my ears when I heard what you said, and I doubt your sanity.¡±


    It was Ivy who threw such words over the counter. She was looking at Loren with a sales smile stered on her face and a reluctant look.


    This girl, who was formerly the Evil God of Envy and whose real name was Envy, had apanied Loren¡¯s party on amission they had epted to the recently rumored-to-have-been-destroyed city. After the job was over, she returned to her original position as an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and was apparently working hard every day eptingmissions.


    And there was a reason why Loren went to Ivy¡¯s office.


    ¡°Certainly such requests do exist, yes? I know that you need some money, Loren, I¡¯ve heard from Lapis and G. However, I must say that this is a move that I cannot rmend at all.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I feel the same way.¡±


    Loren¡¯s answer, which seemed to say that he agreed with Ivy from the bottom of his heart, made the girl look at him as if to ask why. But Loren just shrugged, put his elbows on the counter and leaned his weight on it.


    ¡°But Lapis¡­ said that we should take what we can get.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really disagree, but¡­¡±


    After hearing about the person Lapis had suggested they go to for information, Loren hade to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at Lapis¡¯ request to see if they could ept a certainmission.


    Loren had tried to refuse Lapis¡¯ suggestion, not out of reluctance but out of fear of looking like a fool, but he was told that he was in need of money, and was also persuaded that it would be a shame not to ept themission, knowing that he would almost certainly seed, and that it would be a shame not to receive the reward he was supposed to receive.


    He had subconsciously chosen Ivy¡¯s desk because he thought it would be better for his mental health to talk to her, who knew the situation to some extent, rather than to be looked at like a fool by a receptionist whom he knew nothing about.


    ¡°As you probably know, Loren, there are two types ofmissions that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild handles: unlimited and unlimited.¡±


    Ivy pulled out a thick bundle of papers from under the counter. They were stacked in a rather haphazard manner and tied together with string, and appeared to be copies of themission forms posted on the bulletin board on the Adventurers¡¯ Guild floor. She began flipping through them in a manner that looked quite careless from the outside, and eventually found the one she was looking for.


    ¡°This is it, isn¡¯t it? Amission to investigate the dragons that live in Mt. Fire Flute.¡±


    The mountain called Fire Flute was a ratherrge volcano located about a day¡¯s ride south of Kapha. Although it was a volcano, it was not the type of active ones that emitted plumes of smoke and red mes, but the type of gentle ones that had never erupted for several hundred years ording to records.


    The name ¡®Fire Flute¡¯ was a name that was used throughout the continent, but was simply a term used by elderly people in the viges and towns around the volcano; it was in fact one of countless unnamed mountains on the continent. Rumors of dragons living in such a mountain had been passed down from generation to generation since long ago, but few people had actually seen the dragons. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild had ced amission for someone to go there and check in case there really were dragons in the mountain.


    The reason why Loren¡¯s party was going to explore such a ce was that they had previously met an Ancient Dragon named Emery in the demon realm. At that time, they had received information about the Ancient Kingdom and the Ancient Dragon living in the human realm, and Lapis suggested that they ask that Ancient Dragon for information about the powerful tools and ruins created in the Ancient Kingdom.


    Lapis did have some idea about where other beings that had existed since the time of the Ancient Kingdom were, but she believed that the Ancient Dragons, with their knowledge of the Ancient Kingdom and their habit of collecting treasure in their nest, would be the best source to obtain information about what Magna might be after. And from the information they got from Emery, the dwelling of the other Ancient Dragon was Mt. Fire Flute.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost amission in name only. It¡¯s simple work, just performing a safety check, and one or two parties will take it on every year to make a few pennies.¡±


    It was a very boring story, but what Ivy was having difficulty with was the restrictions on epting themission.


    ¡°Thismission is only avable to adventurers of silver rank or above, since the hypothetical enemy is a dragon. Considering the possibility of an emergency, this is a job that we can¡¯t give to adventurers of the iron level.¡±


    ¡°But there have been no reports of dragons in the area, right? Then why don¡¯t you lower the restriction?¡±


    One of the reasons why there were only one or two parties that took on thismission a year must surely be the fact that only silver rank adventurers were allowed to take it. Silver rank adventurers were high rank adventurers, and their number was very limited. There was no way that they would ept amission to search for a dragon which they may or may not encounter.


    If that was the case, Loren¡¯s argument was that if the eligibility criteria for themission was lowered so that even iron adventurers could take it, the number of exploration would increase, but Ivy shook her head with a serious face.


    ¡°There are no reported encounters, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°That means there simply have been no reports of dragon encounters. The truth is, there are a lot of people who haven¡¯t returned yet.¡±


    Those who did not return alive naturally could not report their findings to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Even if they had encountered something, they would not be able to pass on the information.


    What concerned Loren here was that Ivy had just said that there were quite a few people who took on thismission and hadn¡¯t returned, amission that could only be taken by silver rank adventurers and above.


    ¡°There have been twenty silver rank parties that have taken thismission in the past ten years, and eight of them have not returned. That¡¯s a 40% unreturned rate for silver rank parties. You can see how dangerous thismission is, can¡¯t you?¡±


    Although there were only a few parties who had epted themission, it was quite dangerous that 40% of them had not returned. Of course, whether or not all of them had not been able to return after encountering a dragon was beyond Loren¡¯s guess, but it did not seem so far-fetched to him to think that there might be something living in that Mt. Fire Flute that could at least make it impossible to make silver rank parties unable to return.


    ¡°This is the kind ofmission that could result in the loss of numerous lives if it were to go awry. It¡¯s not something you can just drop the restriction on and ask anyone to do it.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that based on your experience working with us?¡±


    Somehow feeling like he was being told that he was not good enough, Loren¡¯s gaze turned a little stern. Meeting his gaze squarely, Ivy leaned slightly forward over the counter and whispered.


    ¡°Pleaseplete an adequate number ofmissions, contribute to the Guild, and promptly take the test to advance to silver rank. How long do you n to stay in the iron rank?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve just be iron rank adventurers recently.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of a bad joke. Even if you had a mock battle against a party of silver rank adventurers, you would still be able to neutralize them with no problem, right?¡±


    If it was a question of whether or not they could do it, Loren guessed they could. At the very least, with Lapis¡¯ and G¡¯s strength, it should be possible to defeat even silver adventurers. However, he could not say that they would take the promotion test too casually, since there was a possibility that they would get involved in some unpleasant incidents and be in the public¡¯s sight, when they did not want to. In the iron rank, they should not attract much attention because they were part of the many adventurers, but if they moved up to the silver rank or above, they may suddenly attract public attention.


    ¡°The more your name is known, the more trouble you will get into. Mercenaries with a nickname do have influence, but they are always being pursued by people who look for fame.¡±


    ¡°Did you have experiences with that?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I was just a regr mercenary, and was not that famous.¡±


    Ivy looked at him with a puzzled expression, then pulled out a piece of paper from under the counter, looked at it, andpared it with Loren¡¯s face in front of her.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is an organization that appears to have aissez-faire attitude toward adventurers, but actually does quite a bit of research on them.¡±


    Ivy said to Loren in a hushed voice.


    Although it was not something that can be discussed openly, Ivy told him that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild used its enormous organizational power to gather information on adventurers that had caught its eyes, if not all of the adventurers who belonged to it.


    ¡°The original purpose is to drive criminals out of the organization.¡±


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but so what?¡±


    ¡°There is a report on you, Loren.¡±


    This was not something that should have been divulged to him. It was not a nice feeling to be told that your past had been investigated, not to mention in the face. Loren wondered if the girl was being too loose-lipped, and actually worried about Ivy before feeling bad for himself.


    There was no way he would feel good about being told that his past had been investigated, much less tell him that he had investigated you.


    It¡¯s not a good feeling to be told that your past has been investigated, and it¡¯s not a good feeling to tell that person that you¡¯ve investigated him or her.


    ¡°ording to the report, you were a skilled mercenary who was nicknamed ¡®Beheading Wind¡¯ on the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°That is a misunderstanding. First of all, the mercenary with that name was so skilled that he changed the course of the war just by taking part in it, right? I don¡¯t know about now, but when I was a mercenary, it was impossible for me to do that.¡±


    If he asked himself whether he alone had the power to change the course of the war now, he felt that he did, although it would depend on the scale of the war. But even so, he didn¡¯t think that he could be the one called ¡®Beheading Wind¡¯.


    ¡°There are some descriptions about the wars in which you participated.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything I did in those wars.¡±


    For Loren, who had spent all his time fighting from ce to ce, what happened in each battle was just a matter to forget, and with each new battle, he forgot the oldest one he had fought. And since the location and timing of the battles were decided by the mercenarypany¡¯s leaders and executives, even the information about where the battles were fought were only vague memories in Loren¡¯s mind. It was also proof of just how many battlefields he had fought on, but now that he was making a living as an adventurer, he thought it was all meaningless.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about those things. Can¡¯t we just take themission somehow?¡±


    Loren again asked Ivy, who had rolled up the piece of paper that was supposed to be a report and tucked it under the counter. She looked to be in thoughts for a moment before answering.


    ¡°Not that you can¡¯t, but¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest we do?¡±


    Loren thought that if the method did not seem executable, he would just give up on thismission once and for all. Taking thismission was not their main purpose anyway, and if it was not possible to ept it ording to the rules, there was no need to force it.


    If he cannot ept the request ording to the rules, there is no need to break the rules by force.


    ¡°You can either ask to be added to the silver rank party that takes thismission, or you can add a silver rank adventurer to your party and have that person serve as the party leader, even temporarily. Then you can receive themission.¡±


    At the mention of a silver rank party, Loren¡¯s mind briefly shed back to a party of silver rank adventurers he had met in the past. However, they are considering taking thismission purely for their own reasons, and he didn¡¯t want to cause troubles for anyone else by dragging them into this.


    Then the question became whether there were any silver ss adventurers willing to join Loren¡¯s party, even temporarily, but there was no way he could know that.


    ¡°I think it would be best to have Loren move up to the silver rank.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s argument was that if Loren himself became a silver rank adventurer, he would be able to ept the request without having to go out of his way to find another silver rank adventurer.


    Wondering which method would be best, Loren decided that he would need to take this information back to Lapis and G and discuss it with them.

 Chapter 268: From Reporting To Boasting About Love

    <h4>Chapter 268: From Reporting To Boasting About Love</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Coboration with a silver rank adventurer?¡±


    After ending his conversation with Ivy, Loren returned to Lapis and G, who were in the adjacent dining hall, and exined the condition to ept themission as Ivy had told him about. And after hearing him out, Lapis let out such ament with a raised eyebrow.


    Perhaps Lapis had in mind the name of a silver rank adventurer they had known in the past, like Loren, but she did not mention the name as he was ufortable with the idea of having someone apany them on a job that had a 40% non-return rate.


    ¡°Should we take the promotion test, Loren?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not.¡±


    Loren answered immediately, and Lapis looked a little dissatisfied but did not say anything more, as if she did not want to force the issue.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to take thatmission, do we?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a shame to not take what you can, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis once again objected. However, if one thought about it calmly, even if they could take themission to investigate Mt. Fire Flute, it would require the coboration of a silver rank adventurer, and that would not be free; they would have to take into consideration the rather hefty sum they would need to pay too. Of course, having amission would be better than nothing at all, but considering the time and effort it would take to be able to ept it, it would be less troublesome if they just worked on their own.


    ¡°But it can¡¯t be helped, can it¡­? I thought we would be able to make some easy money atst.¡±


    Lapis looked extremely disappointed, but Loren did not understand what she was saying. Thismission was a dangerous one with a 40% non-return rate, but she was saying that it was a way to make easy money. Someone with a normal thought process would never utter such words about such amission.


    Loren was about to ask if there was a reason for her remark, but before he could open his mouth, someone sat down at the table they were sitting without asking.


    ¡°A job to make easy money? Tell me more.¡±


    Emotionless blue eyes, long blond hair so smooth that it seemed to be made from gold with the utmost precision and skill, ears so sharply pointed that they looked like des of daggers, clothes that were easy to move in, and the bow on her back; everything about her screamed a hunter in the forests.


    Her appearance was so abrupt that Loren was unable to utter the girl¡¯s name for a moment, but Lapis, who was sitting next to him, immediately spoke the name as she looked at the girl¡¯s chest rather than at her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s Nim, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Lapis, where are you looking? Depending on the situation¡­ I can be ruthless in battles.¡±


    The coldness in her voice sent a shiver down Loren¡¯s spine, even though the words were not directed at him. But Lapis, to whom those words were directed, immediately turned her gaze to Nim¡¯s expressionless face and smiled softly.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Nim. No change at all.¡±


    ¡°Elves live longer¡­ and our changes can¡¯t be seen by humans.¡±


    Loren retorted in his mind that Lapis was not human, but of course he couldn¡¯t say such a thing out loud and so just kept silent. As if being beaten by Lapis, whose smile did not falter no matter how much she was red at, Nim let out a sigh and turned to Loren.


    ¡°Let¡¯s change the topic. I heard that there is an easy way to make money, and I¡¯d like to be a part of it.¡±


    However, Loren had no idea why Lapis evaluated thismission as such. Nim was an elf hunter and a registered adventurer, and moreover, her rank was silver. In other words, considering their current circumstances, she was a godsend, but there was no way he could exin to others what he didn¡¯t understand. So Loren lightly elbowed Lapis, whose face still wore an unnatural smile.


    ¡°It is rtively easy, but I¡¯m not talking about something you can do while humming. Would you like to hear about it, Nim?¡±


    ¡°I do. Actually, I need money.¡±


    Loren¡¯s eyes widened a fraction with Nim¡¯s words.


    The elves, who basically lived in the forest and were said to live off the bounty of the forest, had little value for money. The same was true for elves who hade to human viges; although their way of thinking may change somewhat, there were very few elves who voluntarily strive to earn money.


    ¡®Very few¡¯ meant such elves did exist, but they had some reason to do so and often had no choice in the matter.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Nim gently extended her hands and slowly stroked the head of Loren, who was more concerned about her, an elf, possibly being trapped in a situation where she needed money than about themission or money.


    ¡°Loren is a good child. Now you¡¯re worried about me.¡±


    ¡°Loren has always been a good person. He¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a thing¡­¡±


    Loren protested in a not-very-serious manner as Nim petted him. But Lapis, either pretended not to hear him or really didn¡¯t hear him, turned serious again and spoke to Nim, who removed her hand from Loren¡¯s head, perhaps satisfied that she had petted him enough.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to tell you about it, but just as Loren is concerned about your need for money, I¡¯m curious.¡±


    Although they had met Nim and herpanions several times, none of them seemed to be in need of money as far as Lapis could see. It had been a while since thest time they had met, so she thought that something might have happened in the meantime. But no matter how she tried to imagine it, none of the members of Nim¡¯s party, as she knew them, seemed the type to suddenly be in desperate need of money. Even Chuck, the rogue who seemed to be the most careless, didn¡¯t seem to be a man who didn¡¯t know the limits of what was possible.


    ¡°Lapis is also worried about me. Thank you, but there¡¯s nothing to be worried about.¡±


    A party might need money suddenly if, for example, they had failed in amission and had to pay arge amount ofpensation or penalties as a result, or they had made an expensive purchase that has caused them to lose their cash flow. None of these scenarios could be considered good, so it was natural to be concerned about Nim¡¯s statement that she needed money.


    However, neither Loren nor Lapis felt any lies in Nim¡¯s words, which were said with a smile.


    ¡°Actually¡­ Chuck finally fell.¡±


    If they were truly in trouble, silver rank adventurers would hesitate toin to iron rank adventurers about their plight. However, as Loren and Lapis seemed to imply that they would not allow the conversation to proceed unless they were told about the situation, Nim seemed to have given up on the idea of remaining silent. She bashfully sped the hands she had ced on the table together, and after looking down and saying nothing for a while, she somehow managed to squeeze out those few words.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    Afraid that she had misheard, Lapis had to ask Nim again.


    The way Lapis asked back was a little sharp, and Nim involuntarily shrank back. But when she saw that Lapis was not angry in any way, she began to exin the situation in a whisper while still hanging her head.


    ording to her exnation, Chuck and her, who had been showing signs that they were quite close for quite a while, had managed to get married within the party.


    Hearing this, Loren and Lapis congratted the couple, but the story did not end there. The next part of it was the reason why Nim approached them.


    ¡°In my n, the man and woman who are to be married must give each other a gift.¡±


    Nim exined that although there was only one tribe of elves, there were many different ns within that tribe, and each n had its own customs and traditions that it continued to observe. And among those customs, the n to which Nim belonged had such a rule.


    It was not like Nim and Chuck didn¡¯t have any savings, but since it was a one¨Cin-a-lifetime event, they wanted to put real effort into the gifts. However, Nim was a little short of money to purchase her gift, which was the reason why she needed money so urgently.


    ¡°What the hell are you going to buy? Is it that expensive?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. It¡¯s a secret between husband and wife. The first shared secret.¡±


    Seeing Nim blushed to the tips of her ears while still looking down at the table, Loren thought that it would be too much to ask for more information and kept his mouth shut. Lapis seemed to have the same thought, and while she frowned a little at Nim¡¯s talk, which could be considered boasting about her lovelife, she didn¡¯t seem inclined to say anything unnecessary.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I need money. As soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Why are you alone? Chuck should need money too, right?¡±


    Loren looked around, but there was no sign of Chuck or any of Nim¡¯s party members. He thought that it would be more efficient to work together if they both needed to earn some money, but Nim exined to them that since they were keeping the gifts a secret, they couldn¡¯t be together when earning money or purchasing gifts. Both were currently acting alone.


    ¡°Ritz is probably helping Chuck.¡±


    There were only four members in the couple¡¯s party. If the leader of the group, the warrior Ritz, was helping Chuck, then the magician named Koltz was the only one Nim could turn to. But Koltz was a bit too old to apany a hunter like her; it would be extremely regrettable if she forced him to apany her and he got hurt.


    Thinking that she wouldn¡¯t manage by herself, Nim remembered Loren¡¯s party, whom she had met before, and went to them for help. That was when she overheard Lapis talking about themission.


    ¡°I think I am good enough to not cause you trouble.¡±


    Nim said. Loren¡¯s impression was that Nim was indeed capable by normal standards, but considering the true identity of G and Lapis, he must say that she was somewhat inferior to them. Still, not knowing the difficulty level of this job, Loren decided to leave the decision of whether or not to take Nim to Lapis.


    ¡°Though I did say that it would be fairly easy, I can¡¯t guarantee your safety. Is that alright with you?¡±


    ¡°No problem to me. That is the nature of an adventurer¡¯smission¡±


    ¡°The rewards will be equally splitted into four. Do you have any objections?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. But I would like something extra.¡±


    It was a request that could be considered as brazen, but Loren thought it was a reasonable one, since Nim was originally a silver rank adventurer, one rank higher than them. And without her, they would not be able to ept thismission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    Lapis seemed to feel the same way. She nodded without anyints about Nim¡¯s term, then offered her hand to the elf as if to say ¡®Please take care of us¡¯. In return, Nim took the offered hand as if to reply ¡®Please take care of me, too.¡¯

 Chapter 269: From Accepting The Commission To Departing

    <h4>Chapter 269: From epting The Commission To Departing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    To strike while the iron was still hot, the group went to Ivy immediately after they had secured the participation of Nim, a silver rank adventurer, and went through the procedures for epting themission to explore the area around Mt. Fire Flute.


    Ivy did not think there would be any problem with their party epting themission as long as they met the conditions set forth by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and she registered Nim as the party leader.


    ¡°I¡¯m the leader?¡±


    ¡°Please understand that this is a necessary step in the process.¡±


    Lapis quickly gave a short exnation of the situation to Nim, who sounded puzzled as she pointed to herself. She was coborating with their party to receive a share of the rewards in return, so suddenly being assigned the role of party leader, something she had not expected, was probably perplexing to her. However, after listening to Lapis¡¯ exnation, she patted her chest as if she felt a little relieved.


    The main contents of themission request were to explore the area around Mt. Fire Flute and to confirm the existence of a dragon that was said to live in the mountain. There had been no reports of encounters with dragons in the past, so if they did not find any, they could simply report so.


    ¡°Are there really dragons?¡±


    Loren questioned as they prepared to leave.


    The 40% non-returning rate meant that exploring parties were wiped out at a fairly high rate, but another way to look at it is that as many as 60% of the parties returned without encountering any dragons.


    If the only reason for non-returning was encountering a dragon, then the rate of dragon encounters could be considered fairly high. However, no one could say for certain that dragon encounters were the cause .


    Although reports of a dragon living in Mt. Fire Flute might be no more than a legend, and there were no reports of monsters in the area, adventurers who had explored the ce had reported that there were other types of monsters living there. If the parties of silver rank adventurers had been wiped out by those monsters or some other idents that they might encounter on the way to the mountain, the likelihood of dragons being there instantly decreased.


    ¡°Unless Emery gave us incorrect information, they should certainly be there.¡±


    Stroking the horse pulling the wagon they had hired to calm it down, Loren shrugged at Lapis¡¯ answer, then tossed the luggage he had packed into the back of the wagon.


    Nearby, Nim, who was packing up her belongings, was muttering something with a ratherplicated look on her face. Listening more closely, Loren found that Nim was muttering something along the lines of regretting her decision to participate in the exploration of Mt. Fire Flute when he heard that it was an easy money-making job.


    Loren thought it was not unreasonable. At least, if you looked at the numbers, there was no way that a job with a non-returning rate of 40% was an easy money-making job.


    ¡°Just like Ritz said, ¡®I¡¯ll get married when this job is done¡¯ are words of death. I may never be Chuck¡¯s wife.¡±


    Hearing Nim said such things in a somewhat hollow voice, the corners of Loren¡¯s mouth turned down. But there was no guarantee that they would make it out alive, so no words offort coulde out of his mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it.¡±


    Despite having such thoughts, Nim hadn¡¯t given up themission, and as Loren felt grateful for her integrity, he recalled his mercenary days.


    As Nim said, there was also a jinx among mercenaries that those who said things like ¡®I¡¯ll quit the mercenary¡¯s life and get married in my hometown when this job is over¡¯ were likely to die on the next battlefield. Or at least it was rumored to be so. But if you had lived on the battlefield for a long enough time, the impression you had of those who said such a thing would be somewhat strong in your memory, making it seem as if only those who said such a thing died. In reality, those who died would die no matter what they said or did the day before, and those who did not die survived no matter what they did.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. In fact, if it is only about dragons, there are items at hand that can help us avoid a battle.¡±


    ¡°There are such convenient things too?¡±


    Even though encounters with dragons were rare, if there were tools that could help them avoid a battle with dragons, Loren thought that it surely would not hurt to have one as a talisman.


    Just as he was thinking about how expensive such a tool might be, Lapis rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a scroll from inside. Curious as to whether it was a tool that would allow them to avoidbat with the dragon, he looked at Lapis¡¯ hand, but the scroll she was holding, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be nothing more than a scroll. He wondered if there was some generally unknown dragon-repelling magic recorded in there, but Lapis¡¯ answer was different.


    ¡°Actually, this is it. I got this scroll from a certain Ancient Dragon.¡±


    Nim¡¯s eyes widened at the mention of an Ancient Dragon. It was the type of creature that never seeing one in your whole life would not be surprising for the average adventurers, even silver rank ones. That was why Nim¡¯s reaction was natural.


    Loren and G looked at the scroll Lapis had brought out without any particr surprise. The Ancient Dragon Lapis had mentioned was probably the one who lived in the demon realm, Emery, whom they had met before on a different job. The scroll was probably the one Emery had pulled out from her pile of treasures to show Lapis information about the Ancient Dragon living in the human realm.


    But Loren had no idea how it could be used to avoid dragons.


    ¡°Some kind of valuable scroll?¡±


    As Nim asked, Loren wondered if there was such a thing as magic to ward off dragons, but Lapis shook her head and exined about the scroll she had taken out.


    ¡°No. The scroll itself is imbued with an Ancient Dragon¡¯s magic power, so at least we won¡¯t be attacked out of the blue if we have it.¡±


    It seemed that Emery, who thought Loren¡¯s party might eventually visit her kin living in the human realm, gave Lapis the scroll to use as a talisman.


    If the Ancient Dragon recognized them as intruders and attacked them, they would be killed in an instant without any chances to defend themselves. However, if the dragon understood that they were acquaintances of the other Ancient Dragons thanks to the nature of the magic of the scroll, the likelihood of them being attacked would be very low.


    Lapis¡¯ n was that, once they could establish a conversation with the Ancient Dragon, they would be able to obtain information about the dragons on Mt. Fire Flute with little effort and aplish themission without too much trouble.


    ¡°Does it really work?¡±


    If things went as well as Lapis thought they would, it might; but if not, they might end up being attacked by dragons. Loren looked at her with doubt, but Lapis answered in a matter-of-fact tone.


    ¡°It was given to me directly by Emery, and she personally endowed it with her magic power, you know. If this doesn¡¯t work, nothing will.¡±


    ¡°So if we carry that thing, we can meet the dragon on Mt. Fire Flute, then our job will be done, right? Seems like an easy job to me.¡±


    Even though there was information about monsters living around Mt. Fire Flute, monsters lived everywhere, and living in a certain ce wouldn¡¯t make them more dangerous than living elsewhere. The information that Ivy had given me beforehand indicated that the only confirmed monsters were orcs and ogres, which, while not weak, were not particrly powerful. Loren thought they could handle them. He knew that his outlook was rather naive, but the worst case scenario was that they all get killed.


    ¡°They won¡¯te out in droves again and make things unmanageable, will they?¡±


    G was somewhat skeptical, but it was hard to imagine that they would encounter a mass outbreak of demons so many times, and Loren did not want to think about it. Even so, it was true that they tended to be chased by arge group of different things, from insects, undead, goblins, to humans.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to think about a horde of orcs.¡±


    Orcs were very extremely ugly to the human eyes, and stinky. The idea of arge number of orcs descending upon them was something Loren didn¡¯t even want to think about.


    ¡°If there were such an outbreak, wouldn¡¯t women in every single house in the neighborhood be taken away? And wouldn¡¯t that be a terrible thing?¡±


    The practice of using women of other races for reproducing was also observed in goblins, but the orcs went even further. Goblins attacked adventurers they happened to encounter or viges they happened toe across and kidnapped the women. Orcs, on the other hand, were in the habit of aggressively attacking female adventurers and underprivileged viges at all hours of the day and taking only women away with them. Because they were so aggressive and habitual in this practice, they were so hated by female adventurers that they were always at the top of the list of monsters that they found repulsive.


    ¡°Even in the Ancient Kingdom, breeding of orcs was the only thing not allowed. If they had meddled with it, it might have been the reason for their downfall.¡±


    As soon as the word ¡®orcs¡¯ was mentioned, G, with a grin on her face, shared her knowledge.


    Loren made a horrified face; the idea of a country being destroyed by an orc outbreak sounded bad enough, but it wouldn¡¯t be impossible if the technology to breed orcs were to be established. But neither Loren nor Lapis nor Nim, who was working, took up the topic.


    ¡°G? You know a lot.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ah, well, I¡¯m a magician, so I had to learn about the Ancient Kingdom, you know.¡±


    Nim stared at G with admiration, and G began to stutter some excuses. She might have meant it as a light-hearted remark, but in the presence of Nim, a so-called outsider, it was an imprudent one. Neither Loren nor Lapis offered her a helping hand; they both ignored her nces and continued with the packing work. G seemed very flustered by their attitude, which seemed to be telling her to clean up her own mess with a hint of annoyance, but she managed to fool Nim somehow or other.


    In the meantime, the loading of the cargo was finished, and the group, with Lapis as the driver, Loren sitting next to her, and G and Nim sitting in the back, slowly drove down the streets of Kapha toward the south gate.

 Chapter 270: From Journey To A Ruin

    <h4>Chapter 270: From Journey To A Ruin</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Departing from the south gate of Kapha around midday, Loren¡¯s party headed south in the wagon without much of a hurry.


    Idly watching Lapis steering the horse, Loren spoke to her to confirm something that had just popped into his mind.


    ¡°Hey, Lapis, between a ce that takes two days to reach on foot and a ce that takes one day to reach by wagon, thetter is farther, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a fine line.¡±


    Lapis, who had nothing to do except hold the reins and steer the horse, answered Loren¡¯s question while looking forward.


    ¡°It would be about the same, or maybe thetter is a little bit farther.¡±


    ¡°So that means we can stop over there, right?¡±


    ¡°There?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words came out of nowhere, and Lapis tilted her head. The movement caused a slight diagonal shift in the path of the wagon, but Lapis quickly corrected it and then asked Loren again.


    ¡°Where do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Dia¡¯s ce.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you mean the ce of that Elder, who only has the head now?¡±


    There was a loud ng and a light jolt as the wagon shook lightly, and Loren looked back over his shoulder to see Nim toppling and lying on her back. Given the elf¡¯s clothes and her rather majestic tumble, he should have seen something he shouldn¡¯t from his position. But the fact that there was nothing obstructing his line of view and he could see her face properly despite her lying on her back made Loren unconsciously pinched his nose bridge.


    ¡°Loren, exin your action.¡±


    ¡°Something got into my eye. And what¡¯s with tumbling so dramatically?¡±


    Loren replied with an excuse to Nim, who was still lying on her back and only raised her head to re at him. She rolled to the side from that position and got down on all fours.


    ¡°Did you just say ¡®Elder¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I did. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Nim¡¯s face, which carried the characteristic elegance of elves, twitched. As Loren wondered what was so surprising, Lapis elbowed him from the side. When he looked over to see what that was for, Lapis, still holding the reins and looking forward, whispered in a volume that only Loren, who was sitting next to her, could hear.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing strange to be surprised. She is an Elder, ELDER. You¡¯re a bit dull so you don¡¯t feel anything, but when people hear that they are going to see an Elder, they normally will react like Nim.¡±


    ¡°You say so, but¡­¡±


    Loren was about to say that no one else was surprised, but he closed his mouth when he remembered that the other members of this party, besides himself and Nim, were a demon and an Evil God, and that they were very far from the word ¡®normal¡¯.


    ¡°Ah, Nim, it¡¯s understandable for you to be worried, but this Elder is our acquaintance and has never attacked us, so you don¡¯t have to worry so much.¡±


    ¡°That exnation doesn¡¯t reassure me one bit.¡±


    ¡°I have something I want to ask her, so I thought we should drop by while we¡¯re on the way.¡±


    The Elder named Dia, whom they had met during a previous job, had told Loren¡¯s party to visit her if they needed anything as she had no intention of changing base for a while. After that, however, they did not visit her again because they did not have any business to, as well as did not go anywhere in the vicinity of her base. In addition to thinking that it might be polite to at least show up if they were going to go nearby anyway, Loren had a small business to attend to with the Elder.


    ¡°An Elder isn¡¯t the type of being you go to see just for the sake of it.¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit of a detour, but it¡¯s been a while, and it might be a good opportunity.¡±


    Nim was giving off an air of ¡®I don¡¯t want to go if I can help it¡¯, but Lapis, as if oblivious to it, drove the wagon on while saying.


    Although such conversation happened, the trip itself was going very well.


    If Lapis and G let out even just a hint of the aura of a demon or an Evil God, beasts and monsters with a bit of senses would note close to them. But as long as they were moving along a street used also by ordinary travelers, they could not afford to give off such auras, and both of them were trying to keep their presence as low as possible. Some still noticed, but those who did not were, from the eyes of those who knew what was going on, very reckless in their attempts to attack Lorens¡¯ wagon.


    But this time, on top of the wagon, was a skilled elf hunter named Nim. She had eyes that could see farther than humans and ears that could pick up even the smallest of sounds. Added her skill as a hunter to the mix, and no single creature could escape from there was no single entity that could escape once targeted within the range of her bow.


    ¡°She¡¯s very skilled.¡±


    Loren let out these words in admiration as he watched a group of goblins that were hiding in the sparse bushes along the road and trying to approach their wagon being shot through one after another by Nim¡¯s arrows as if she could see them through the bushes. The goblins probably died without knowing how they had been sent to their deaths until the veryst moments.


    Seeing how theirrades fell, the other goblins became desperate and charged at them, only to be immediately shot down and followed their friends.


    Under Nim¡¯s attacks, the group of goblins could not get close enough, but also couldn¡¯t escape backward. They continued to fall one by one until all of them ended up as corpses on the in.


    ¡°The only part of the body that proves the kill is the ear, right? Do you want me to retrieve them?¡±


    ¡°No need. It¡¯s not worth anything anyway. It¡¯s a waste of time to collect it.¡±


    Looking around to make sure there was nothing else moving, Nim put away her bow and took off the quiver hanging at her waist. It seemed like there had been quite a few goblins lurking around; the arrows in the quiver had been reduced in number, but there was still arge inventory of arrows left in their luggage.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we at least collect the arrows?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to use arrows with goblin blood on them because of the smell.¡±


    If there were only a few arrows left, Nim might consider reusing them; however, as an elf, she had a superior sense of smellpared to humans, and it would be intolerable for her to use arrows that had the scent of goblin blood on them.


    ¡°It¡¯s a waste. It would be nice to just collect the arrowheads.¡±


    The body of the arrow and the feathers were not difficult to replenish as they could be found in a small forest, but there was no way to replenish the arrowheads, which were made of metal, once they were lost.


    ¡°I still have plenty of arrows to spare, and I can still fight even if I run out of arrows.¡±


    Nim tapped the hilt of the dagger she was wearing. However, her arm strength was somewhat questionable, and the idea of Nim, who was slender, engaging in closebat was a story that left Loren feeling uneasy. He felt like she should continue fighting with her best weapon, the bow, as long as she could. He didn¡¯t know what Chuck would say if they let Nim fight in closebat and got any wounds on her body.


    ¡°I wonder if there are any arrows at Dia¡¯s ce. If there are any, it¡¯ll be nice if she shares some with us.¡±


    ¡°Since she¡¯s an Elder, I¡¯m sure she can make plenty of arrows in no time. Shall we ask when we see her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to understand what you two are talking about¡­¡±


    It was beyond Nim¡¯s imagination to visit a ce where an Elder lived and ask her to replenish arrows. The sight of Loren and Lapis talking about it as if they were making small talk was something she could not understand.


    When Nim looked at G, wondering if the other party member might be having the same thoughts as she was, she saw her nodding off while sitting still as if she had nothing to do with whatever was going on around her. Thinking that this one was also an unbelievable character, Nim shuddered once again.


    And so, they continued southward along the road. The party spent a night by the roadside, then drove further south at dawn, leaving the road and proceeding to a ruin in a ce where no one would go near.


    The location was just before Mt. Fire Flute. The mountain in the distance must have been the ce; neither Loren nor Lapis had paid attention to it thest time they had been here, since they had not gone any further then.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve been here.¡±


    At first nce, it was hard to believe that anyone would be living in such a ce. Of course, that was why it was a ruin.


    However, Loren and his friends knew that an Elder named Dia resided under the ruin. Neither Loren nor Lapis knew how long the Elder had been there, but they thought she was probably still; not that many years had passed.


    ¡°An Elder, in a ce like this?¡±


    Nim, who was walking through the ruin after Loren and the others, muttered as she looked around. It was true that the ruin did not appear to be inhabited, but Loren thought as Elders were ssified as vampires, a ruin was still more suitable than a human vige.


    ¡°If she hasn¡¯t moved her base, she should be here¡­ Will shee out if I call her¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of an Elder whoes out when you call her.¡±


    G said with a wry smile as she sat down on a pile of rubble nearby. Watching her, Loren casually asked her about something that was bothering him.


    ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something I sometimes hear being talked about in the Guild these days. Which is stronger, Evil Gods or Elders?¡±


    Both had the character ¡®God¡¯ in their titles. From a human point of view, both must be beings beyond imagination, but he was curious to know what they themselves thought about it. Of course he couldn¡¯t let Nim know about G¡¯s true identity, so he was only talking to her as if he was asking a knowledgeable magician. Although little information about Evil Gods was disclosed, the fact that such a being was said to exist was reported to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild by Loren and the others when they encountered Sloth and the others, so there was at least talk at a casual level.


    ¡°That¡¯s a difficult question¡­ If it were a simple contest of strength, the Evil Gods might win.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It is said that Elders were beings brought forth by the world itself, and they just can¡¯t die. You can¡¯t cut off their heads. You can¡¯t crush their heart. Burning them with fire or freezing them with ice does no good at all. Their only weakness is boiling water, that thing in the kitchen¡­¡±


    ¡°Whose weakness is hot water?¡±


    At the same time as the voice was heard, G¡¯s body flew through the air as if she had been pushed from behind. She crashed to the ground in a rather interesting posture, and another figure flopped onto the pile of rubble on which she had just perched.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Loren and Lapis. And to the elf and that iprehensible woman, nice to meet you, I guess?¡±


    It was a girl who looked to be very young, with long, flowing blond hair and a pompous smile on her face. Dressed in a gorgeous dress that did not fit the scene of the ruin at all, she stood precariously on top of the rubble and flipped her long blond hair with a slightly exaggerated motion.


    ¡°I came out without being called. Short-lived one, long-lived ones, and iprehensible one: I am the one born from the world, an Elder. For reasons I cannot give you my proper name, but you may call me Dia!¡±


    The girl, with her chest puffed up, dered so in high spirits. Loren looked at her, then looked at G, who had probably been pushed by the girl. The Evil God had been thrown a considerable distance and was upside down as if she had plunged face first into the ground; she fell to the ground like a dead tree as soon as the girl finished saying her name.


    Praying that G, who did not get up, was still alive, Loren turned his attention once again to the girl who was standing on a pile rubble.

 Chapter 271: Chatting At The Base

    <h4>Chapter 271: Chatting At The Base</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°So, Loren, what can I do for you today? It¡¯s been so long, I thought you¡¯d forgotten about me.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the kind of rtionship where I visit you all the time though.¡±


    Loren had no desire at all to live a life where he had to see the face of an Elder, a highest ranking vampire, every day.


    Being given the cold shoulder by Loren, Dia mmed a metal cup down in front of him rather strongly.


    After encountering their party in the ruin, Dia had decided that they shouldn¡¯t talk while standing around outside, and had led them to her own base beneath the ruin. Loren wondered who in the world would be visiting a ce like this, but the room they were taken to was a drawing room, and Dia was preparing tea for them while they sat on a sofa. The cups were probably made of metal because they would not break or crack even if handled roughly, and the table on which his cup was mmed on also seemed to be made of some kind of metal.


    ¡°I see that you had some tea leaves ready.¡±


    Lapis said. Unlike Loren¡¯s, her cup was offered to her without a sound, and she was enjoying the aroma of the steam rising from it.


    ¡°I sent Master to buy them.¡±


    Dia answered as if it was nothing.


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t forgiven her?¡±


    Dia nodded decisively as if saying ¡®of course not¡¯, and Lapis smiled wryly.


    There was another Elder who could be called Dia¡¯s guardian-cum-master, and her name was Sierra. She was the one who ultimately pulled the strings behind the scenes in the incident that brought Loren¡¯s party into contact with Dia, and ever since Dia found out about it, Sierra had been letting Dia use her for free to avoid being hated.


    ¡°How can I, after what she did?¡±


    Dia said inly and resolutely, and neither Lapids nor Loren, who were only outsiders, felt like saying anything more. They could only feel worried for Sierra, and hope that Dia would forgive her as soon as possible.


    ¡°That was that, but let¡¯s get back to my question, shall we?¡±


    ¡°The reason we¡¯re here? We were in the neighborhood, and thought that we shoulde for a visit. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    Sipping the tea that had been brewed for him, Loren said in a questioning tone. Taking a look at his party members, he saw that Lapis was watching the proceedings with interest, while G quickly drained the tea that had been offered to her and demanded a refill, which earned her an offended look from Dia. It seemed that the Evil God was still bitter about being pushed down from the rubble pile, but Dia seemed to be winning in terms of response: despite her annoyance, she still quietly titled the teapot and poured G another cup of tea.


    The efl Nim was the only one who took the offered cup with both hands, held it in front of her chest, and sat still with her eyes downcast without taking a single sip. Loren thought that he would have to leave her alone until things were over, since she apparently did not feel very lively in front of an Elder and, no matter how much Loren told her that it would be okay, did not want to believe him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to convince me though.¡±


    After finishing pouring a refill into G¡¯s cup, Dia lightly shook the teapot and said this to Loren while pouring tea into the cup in front of her. Staring at the reddish liquid filling the cup, she then returned the pot to the table where everyone was sitting at and picked up her cup, inhaling deeply and enjoying the aroma before gently cing her lips on the rim.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you shouldn¡¯te if you have no business to. Even if that is the case, you, Loren and Lapis, are always wee, as well as your friends. I am merely suggesting that if you do have some business, why not get it over first and then enjoy the tea?¡±


    After finishing, Dia took a sip of tea from her cup. Loren blinked at the geriatric-like demeanor of the girl in front of him, but in fact there was nothing strange about the way she acted; after all, even if she looked like a young girl, she was a being who had lived for several hundred years.


    Dia¡¯s offer to finish their business first if they did have some, then take their timeter was very much appreciated by Loren. He was about to open his mouth to say that he would take advantage of the offer when G suddenly pressed her hands on her mouth and fell off her chair with her face upturned.


    Wondering what had happened, Loren braced himself and took a look at her. But when he saw G stretched out on the floor with her mouth bright red and swollen as if she had been burned, he turned his gaze to her cup.


    There was no steam rising from the cup, and when Loren touched his fingertips to the cup itself, the metal, heated by the tea, only transmitted a heat that was not unbearable, and not enough to burn anyone¡¯s lips. He tried to move his fingers toward the tea inside the cup, but before he could get very close, Dia reached across the table and gently stopped him.


    ¡°You should stop. It¡¯ll be very troublesome if you get burns on the tips of your fingers. After all, it¡¯s extremely hot and painful.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any steam rising¡­¡±


    ¡°Because I put some oil on top?¡±


    Dia said nonchntly.


    Pulling his own wrist out of Dia¡¯s grip and withdrawing his hand, Loren looked down at G, who had stopped twitching as if she had hit the back of her head when she fell down. Apparently, her attitude of rudely demanding a refill had angered the Elder. He didn¡¯t know when she did it, but she must have gulped down the very hot tea, which was covered with a film of oil on the surface to prevent the steam from rising, since she was G. And this was the result.


    If one did not consider the deftness and severity of the attack, it could be called a childish prank. But the only damage was some burns around the mouth because the one who received it was G; if it were done to a human, it could have resulted in lifelong injuries.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that to me, okay? And the elf over there, too. If I have offended you in any way, I am ready to apologize.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but I wasn¡¯t taught to be disrespectful to guests.¡±


    ¡°Loren, you automatically excluded me just now, didn¡¯t you? You did, didn¡¯t you?!¡±


    Loren had meant it as a casual remark, but Lapis noticed it. When he saw that she was about to take G¡¯s cup in her hand, he hurriedly stopped her. He instantly judged that whatever she was going to do, it would be most dangerous to have it in Lapis¡¯ hand.


    Lapis, too, had no intention of seriously trying to do anything with G¡¯s cup; when Loren wrapped his hand around hers, she pulled back obediently.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see you two are still getting along as well as ever.¡±


    Dia¡¯s throatyugh was so different from the smile on her face that Lapis turned to Loren as if confused by the gap.


    Loren withdrew his own hand, and began to talk to Dia about his business.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯d like to ask you a few questions. I¡¯d appreciate it if you could answer me.¡±


    ¡°All right. I promise to answer to the best of my knowledge.¡±


    After moistening his lips and throat with a sip of tea, he exined the reason why he had decided toe and see Dia.


    ¡°Do you have any idea about how to make the soul of an undead be human¡¯s again?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Loren asked with a serious expression on his face, and Dia stared intently at him while taking a sip from her cup.


    Loren did not speak in detail, but Lapis immediately understood that it must be for Shayna, the King of Death resided inside him.


    In their previous job, Loren¡¯s team had obtained information about a ce where they could make a vessel to turn Shayna back into a human being. However, the ce was in such a state that it could not be used immediately, and that was not the only problem: Shayna¡¯s spirit itself had already be undead, and they had established that if it were to be returned to a living body, either the vessel or the spirit, or both, might disappear.


    Loren was trying to think of a way out of this, but he was just a swordsman; and it was unlikely for him toe up with any ingenious ideas about magic. So he thought about what to do, and decided to ask Dia, an Elder who was also ssified as undead but was hardly an undead, for her opinion.


    If Nim had not been here, he might have been able to ask more directly, but it was difficult to ask Nim to leave the room, so Loren had to choose his words carefully.


    ¡°Turning the soul of an undead back to a human¡¯s soul huh. Of course it¡¯s not impossible.¡±


    Loren was surprised at Dia¡¯s unexpectedly straightforward answer. He had approached her with the idea that she, as a being ssified as high-ranking undead, extremely intelligent and said to be brought forth by the world, would be able to provide a solution to Shayna¡¯s problem. He had not expected to be able to receive it so simply though.


    ¡°There is one simple way. Using > after >.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd¡­¡±


    It was Lapis who said so frankly in response to Dia¡¯s words. Loren looked at her as if to ask her why, and Lapis, with a weak smile on her face, exined the meaning of the words she had unthinkingly uttered out loud.


    ¡°> can be a very simple spell, depending on its use. Something like using it to turn water into holy water can be done by anyone who is a full-fledged priest.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re talking about attempting to purify an undead soul by > here. It may be possible, but it would require the preparation of several high-ranking priests from various sects and several days of rituals. In addition, the soul purified by this technique would probably ascend to heaven at once, you know?¡±


    Lapis was implying that the facilities at the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruin Loren knew couldn¡¯t be used for this. And even if he was able to turn Shayna¡¯s soul back to human, he would not be able to transnt it into the vessel created at the ruin if her soul had been taken to heaven.


    ¡°How to use > is another problem. There have only been a few sessful cases so far, and it is the highest ranking spell. Performing it requires nearly a hundred high-ranking priests and a ritual thatsts for more than ten days to enhance their power.¡±


    Death was absolute. It was an immutablew that even Gods could not easily overturn. If such a phenomenon were to be performed by humans, it was understandable that it could only be achieved through such a procedure. Of course, there was no way that Loren could manage what Lapis was talking about, and the method Dia described was nothing more than an impractical n.


    ¡°It sounds like a pipe dream, but it is not unrealizable. And I¡¯m just giving you an example.¡±


    In other words, this method was something that could be done if one tried to, but its feasibility had not been considered at all. Loren grimaced; even though he now knew a solution, he couldn¡¯t do anything to realize it at all.


    Seeing Loren like that, Dia asked him with a mischievous smile on her face.


    ¡°The idea of turning the undead back into humans is either a fantasy or a pipe dream. Still, the fact that it is not absolutely impossible to realize is a saving grace, isn¡¯t it? So¡­ Would you like to hear about some other ways?¡±

 Chapter 272: The Chatting Continues

    <h4>Chapter 272: The Chatting Continues</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°We¡¯ve heard that much, so can you tell us about other methods?¡±


    Dia looked a little surprised at Loren¡¯s answer. Since what he had heard was impossible to realize, she had expected him to end the topic here. Yet he said that he wanted to have the knowledge even if it was useless, and it took her aback a little.


    ¡°If you want to hear, of course I will tell you. But as to whether it is feasible or not, you can judge for yourself, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t snap even if they¡¯re just useless knowledge.¡±


    ¡°The second method is this: Preparing a soul that possesses a little more magic power and less ego.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    It was an oddly specific instruction, but Loren had no idea what it indicated. Lapis, who was quietly listening in by his side, turned her gaze toward Loren for a moment as if she had some idea what Dia was talking about. But before her gaze could meet Loren¡¯s, she immediately turned her attention back to Dia, so Loren had no idea what she was looking at.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cheat. If you coat the outer of an undead soul with such a soul, it will look like a normal soul from the outside.¡±


    ¡°I kind of understand what that means, but what happens to the soul that is used to coat the undead soul?¡±


    ¡°It dies, of course. Or, more precisely, the person perishes because they lose their soul.¡±


    At this point, Loren finally realized what Dia was trying to say. In other words, it was to create a state simr to the one he and Shayna were currently in.


    If Loren¡¯s ego disappears in this state, the control of his soul would be transferred to Shayna on the inside. Shayna¡¯s soul itself would remain undead, but the soul of the former Loren coating it on the outside would make Shayna to appear as a normal living person and not an undead from the outside.


    The problem was that to do this, someone must be in a state where their soul was lost but they were still alive. This method, too, was one that could be done if they ignored the difficulty to achieve it.


    Loren, who was puzzling over whether there was a way to kill only the ego and leave the soul as an empty husk, was presented with a third method.


    ¡°This one is the easiest. But from the point of view of a solution, it is not a solution at all.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it first.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also easy to realize. The soul of the undead surrenders its power to another soul, or another soul bes undead and takes that power from the undead soul in question.¡±


    Wondering how all that was simple, Loren frowned. But Dia, the one who had proposed the idea, added an exnation as if it was something trivial.


    ¡°I know the magic to do this. It can be exercised.¡±


    As she said this, Dia pulled out a silver ring with a red gemstone from the breast of her dress. It was of simple design and did not appear to be very expensive. Then she casually took Loren¡¯s right hand and slipped it into his index finger.


    Loren usually wore gloves, but as he was currently in Dia¡¯s base and was being served tea, he had to take them off. It was a mistake.


    Dia¡¯s movement was so deft and natural that Lapis, who was standing next to Loren, could not warn him, and Loren himself did not have time to retract his hand. The ring slipped to the base of the ring and then stopped as if it was its ce.


    ¡°Oh, it fits perfectly.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute?!¡±


    Loren hurriedly tried to take off the ring, but it was so snugly fitted that no matter how hard he pulled on it, he could not move it from its position at all.


    It was not something that would get in the way of moving a finger or holding something, but Loren wanted toin about suddenly being forced to wear something he didn¡¯t know what it was. Dia¡¯s next words made him shut his mouth though.


    ¡°That¡¯s the magical tool that contains the form.¡±


    Loren, who had unconsciously turned his gaze to his own finger, was surprised to hear that. Shayna was as well; she activated the King of Death¡¯s vision she possessed and synchronized it with Loren¡¯s vision. Thanks to that, both of them could see that there was indeed some kind of surprisingly borate magic form engraved in the red gemstone of the ring on Loren¡¯s finger.


    ¡°To use it, pass the magic power through the form and dere either ¡®Offer¡¯ or ¡®Take¡¯. The form will do the rest on its own after. Once this is done, the soul of the one whose power has been taken will revert to that of a mere mortal.¡±


    ¡°What happens to the one whose power is taken and the one to whom it is offered?¡±


    Normally, one would think that since the person received the power the undead offered and carried it in their body, they would just create one new undead soul. However, contrary to expectations, Dia folded her arms with a frown and tilted her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that I don¡¯t know. After all, there is no precedent for the transfer of power from the undead, who are beings in their own right, or for taking power away from such beings.¡±


    That sounds reasonable. At the very least, not many people would be crazy enough to think of taking away the abilities of zombies or skeletons, which are low-level undead, and it is unlikely that they would be able to do so with vampires or the King of Death. Furthermore, it was hard to imagine such high-ranking undead going out of their way to offer their power to the living, so it was understandable that there had been no precedent for such a thing.


    However, Loren asked Dia about something that had urred to him.


    ¡°Then why did you make something like this?¡±


    Dia told him that it was a magic that had no precedent, and no one knew what the oue would be. That meant such magic had never been used in this world before, and the ring on Loren¡¯s right hand might be the very first in the world to be able to activate such magic. It was difficult to understand why she would suddenly give such a thing to him, but he didn¡¯t understand the reason why she created such magic in the first ce.


    ¡°Actually, I was thinking of using it on¡­ Master.¡±


    The eyes of Dia, who whispered those words, were almost serious from Loren¡¯s point of view.


    ¡°That¡¯s scary¡­¡±


    Dia was originally a vampire who stayed under the protection of other Elders as the youngest Elder. When she met Loren¡¯s party, she was undergoing a test to be allowed to stand on her own. But the test was actually interfered with by Dia¡¯s master, Sierra, and Dia was subjected to many terrible things. Some time has passed since then, but even now Dia still seemed to hold on to that fact.


    ¡°I thought you were going to forgive her eventually if she kept running errands for you.¡±


    ¡°About this, humans are the same, aren¡¯t they? You say you forgive, but sometimes you have these spontaneous outbursts of anger.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I guess¡­?¡±


    Loren¡¯s eyes were directed to Nim, who was sipping his tea without participating in the conversation. She jumped a little in her chair as she was suddenly included in the conversation.


    ¡°Loren, I am an elf. Don¡¯t ask me about the feelings of the human race.¡±


    Nim shook her head in annoyance at the topic. She herself thought it would make more sense to ask Lapis and G than to ask her, an elf, but what she did not know was that Lapis was a demon, and G might have once been human, but now she was an Evil God. Both of them were not the right people to ask about the feelings of the human race.


    ¡°That was why I made it. After I finished making it, I wondered what would happen if an Elder took away another Elder¡¯s power, and I realized that the magic would not work if the other party strongly rejected it or something, and I just found it troublesome.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a waste?¡±


    ¡°But it might be a¡­ useful tool for you?¡±


    Loren was at a loss for words when Dia told him this with a thin smile and a testing tone. Certainly, if he wanted to turn the Shayna inside him back to a human being, using the power of the ring to transnt her soul into a living body would make it possible, even though he did not know what would happen if he used it.


    As a result, the power of the King of Death would remain inside Loren, and even though it remained unclear what effect this would have on Loren himself, it was hard to imagine that things would go horribly wrong as there was currently nothing too inconvenient about having the King of Death herself residing inside him


    ¡°If I be undead, I can change my appearance and extend my lifespan. That can¡¯t be so bad, can it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty okay with you bing undead, Loren. It¡¯ll probably be quite nice.¡±


    cing a hand on his chin, Loren pondered what to say in reply to Lapis, who said such a thing with a straight face.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to see any rotting things. If possible, please stay as you are, or at least turn into a bone-only state.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like either rot or bones though¡­¡±


    ¡°Loren? Are you seriously considering it?¡±


    Nim asked incredulously, and Loren came back to himself. He shook his head with a wry smile on his face.


    ¡°No way. I was just a little moved by Lapis¡¯ words that even bones are okay.¡±


    Loren said to gloss it over, and Lapis, having been used to deflect the question, poked him on the side with her finger in a slightly dissatisfied manner. He was indeed a bit happy; it was not a lie. But he wondered if it was a bit crass to use it as a joke.


    Dia let out a throatyugh.


    ¡°You get along so well. I¡¯m jealous.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Well, that was all I know to answer. Are you satisfied?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very kind of you to share some of your knowledge of the Elders with me in a chat.¡±


    Loren answered jokingly, but if what Dia said was the truth, the information she gave them was so good that he felt he had to thank her properly. Whether or not it could be used, the fact remained that an Elder who had lived for several hundred years had given him this knowledge without anypensation. However, if he acted too grateful, he had no idea what Nim would think of him, so he had to pass it off as a conversation topic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Instead, I¡¯d like you to¡­ tell me something in return.¡±


    Nim was visibly rmed when she heard that the Elder wanted to ask something, but on the contrary, Loren calmly nodded. In a transaction, it would be very unfair if they only receive information without offering the other party anything.


    In addition, it was not that he did not know Dia; if it was something that came up as one of the topics of conversation during a chat, there would be no need to be so cautious.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing big. So, you¡¯ve been in the neighborhood, and decided to pay me a visit. Can you tell me a little about why you¡¯re in the neighborhood?¡±


    Dia asked with an innocent smile that seemed to indicate that she was just curious, and Loren, thinking that it was nothing to keep secret, began to tell her the story so far, as well as the purpose of visiting the ce they were heading for.

 Chapter 273: Accepting The Proposal

    <h4>Chapter 273: epting The Proposal</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Meeting the Ancient Dragon of Fire Flute Mountain? That¡¯s another bold thing to do in the body of a human. Normally, you would be extinguished without ever meeting them.¡±


    After listening to Loren¡¯s exnation, Dia looked at him in dismay and said.


    Loren agreed with this opinion. Without the map with an Ancient Dragon¡¯s magic in Lapis¡¯ possession, he would never think about putting something like this into action in the first ce.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re introduced by a dragon of the same rank living elsewhere, you may not be treated so badly, but I¡¯m still a little concerned.¡±


    Dia nced at Loren and while saying this, lips curving into the shape of a smile in contrast to her words. Somewhere in Loren¡¯s head, a warning of danger began to send a tingle down his nape.


    As Loren stroked his neck and wondered what this warning was about, Dia pped her hands together as if she had just thought of a wonderful idea.


    ¡°All right then, let me apany you to Mt. Fire Flute.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Loren asked back, feeling the tingle on his nape grow even stronger. Around him, Lapis gaped at Dia, who was smiling happily, while G was still lying on the floor and Nim¡¯s elegant face was hardening into surprise as if she had witnessed the end of the world.


    ¡°You are dealing with an Ancient Dragon that has lived since time immemorial, aren¡¯t you? No matter how good an adventurer you are, and no matter how many safeguards you have in ce, that surely is an opponent too much for a human to face, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    There were things that, even though we understood why they were necessary, we were still reluctant to do them.


    Even though Loren thought they would be fine, the act of going to see a powerful being like an Ancient Dragon was just the same, considering that there was always the possibility of something going wrong. That was why he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That is not the kind of opponent you want to face when you can help it.¡±


    Dia nodded repeatedly as if to say she agreed, then leaned forward and began to exin the situation to Loren, who still hadn¡¯t fully grasped where the conversation was going.


    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you let me act as an intermediary and mediate between the two parties? In other words, let me apany you as an insurance.¡±


    Loren considered Dia¡¯s proposal. Their party was acting based on the expectation that they would probably be safe with the map Lapis had, but it was certain that the addition of an insurance would feel more secure. To ask for that insurance from an Elder was indeed a little worrisome, but aside from them being acquaintances, they had more or less helped Dia be independent, and she felt indebted to them to some extent for that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea to ask for protection from an Elder¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re totally right.¡±


    ¡°But what are you up to?¡±


    Indeed, Loren and his party had helped Dia to stand on her own. But even though she might have felt indebted to them, that did not mean that she would protect them withoutpensation.


    The story between them started with amission from Dia, and although things changed considerably in the course of themission and its oue, it was not something that would make the Elder feel that much guilt about. That was why Dia must have something in mind when she made that proposal.


    In response to Loren¡¯s question, Dia remained silent for a while, then her shoulders began to shake, and she let out a low chuckle.


    ¡°How doubtful you are, Loren. But then again, it might be difficult to survive as a mercenary or an adventurer without that.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of something unsavory, just say it.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe¡­ Alright. The truth is,¡±


    All eyes focused on Dia, who smiled and twisted her face into a nasty expression. They all braced themselves to hear what the Elder was nning to do.


    Dia took plenty of time to pause, then suddenly opened her mouth.


    ¡°As an Elder, I have time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but say it again.¡±


    Loren thought he must have misheard, but Dia spat out the same words in a very clear voice.


    ¡°As an Elder, I have time.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s about it?¡±


    ¡°Well, we have so much power and time, but we have no use for it. If I was doing some kind of research, I might be able to spend time on it, but I don¡¯t have anything like that right now. To put it bluntly, I have so much time on my hands that I am bored to death.¡±


    As a human being with a fixed and not so long life span, Loren did not understand what Dia was talking about, but he could understand what she was trying to say.


    Because human life was not that long, people spent their time and energy to aplish various things in the limited time they have. Many people wasted a lot of time in order to decide what to aplish, and Loren himself was upied with just living in the present.


    But on the other hand, Dia was an Elder, and her lifespan was so long that it was hard to tell whether it was fixed or not. The power contained in her body was enormous, and if she wanted to do something, she would be able to aplish almost anything in a short time.


    If a being like her wanted to spend a long time aplishing something, it would have to be something extraordinary and unimaginable for a human being. But Dia, the youngest of the Elders, had yet to find something like that.


    ¡°I have a vague idea about what I want to research, but I don¡¯t know how long it will take to settle on a topic.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re in a state of limbo and time is just flying by, and you¡¯ve got nothing to do, is that it?¡±


    ¡°I have a lot of time on my hands. If I experience different things, maybe I¡¯ll get a better idea of what to do.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you want to go with us?¡±


    ¡°I think it would be worth it. What do you think?¡±


    Once again, Loren considered Dia¡¯s offer. If an Elder like her was following them to a human vige, a lot of problems might have risen. But in this case, there was just an Ancient Dragon at their destination, so Dia being an Elder was not an obstacle at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s not so bad, is it? I don¡¯t see any particr disadvantage.¡±


    Lapis interjected as if to support Loren¡¯s thought. If he was not alone in his opinion and Lapis also did not see any disadvantages, it seemed to Lor¨¦n that there would be no problem in epting the offer.


    ¡°What about you, G?¡±


    ¡°In my case, the only problem is my own safety.¡±


    When asked by Loren, G, who was still lying on the floor, said as she picked herself up. In G¡¯s case, she was only being treated harshly by Dia because of her attitude towards the Elder, so it couldn¡¯t be said that Dia¡¯spany would be bad.


    ¡°Nim, are you¡­ okay with this?¡±


    Loren asked and, seeing that Nim was frozen in ce with a pale face, half rose up from his chair in a hurry, leaned over and ced his hands on the elf¡¯s shoulder. Nim looked up at Loren with a stiff expression on his face and replied in a detached yet slightly trembling voice.


    ¡°Lore, are you always like this?¡±


    Loren, who understood what Nim was referring to based on the atmosphere but was not sure, hesitated for a moment before answering in a tone that tinged with resignation.


    ¡°I¡¯m almost always like this.¡±


    ¡°I see. Loren¡­ you¡¯ve been through a lot.¡±


    Nim¡¯s face was still pale, but she was looking at Loren with pity for some reason. Loren didn¡¯t remember ever being looked at in such a way, but maybe ordinary adventurers would look at his situation in the same way, and he found it hard to tell her to stop.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that sort of person, but I¡¯m thinking I should take the job that Ritz and Chuck do next time. You should take morefortable jobs too, Loren.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t take on troublesome jobs just because I want to¡­¡±


    Loren blurted out, and Nim, with a straight face, said in a serious tone.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m being asked to take an Elder to meet an Ancient Dragon. I wouldn¡¯t ept such a request even if I am in the silver rank.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t the original request, though.¡±


    The original request was for a survey of the area around Mt. Fire Flute, and there was no mention of any Elders or Ancient Dragons in it. If there were such mentions, just like Nim said, there was no way silver rank adventurers would have epted such a thing, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would have to mobilize adventurers of the gold rank and above, adventurers whose very existence might soon be a story.


    If iron adventurers were to find themselves involved in such a situation, anyone would look at them with pity and not just Nim. Of course, if Loren had seen someone like that, he would have felt sorry for them too, but unfortunately, he was the one involved, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of pity for himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave that aside. Since there doesn¡¯t seem to be any objections, I don¡¯t mind if you go with us.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. You may feel reassured then. Ancient Dragons are mighty beings, but even they are no match for Elders.¡±


    Dia had found a good way to pass the time; Loren could see it written inly in the cheerful smile on her face. Since they did benefit from taking her along, Loren thought that being used as a way to pass the time was not such a bad thing.

 Chapter 274: Detecting Anomalies

    <h4>Chapter 274: Detecting Anomalies</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Dia, who was smiling so happily for some reason, exined to Loren and the others as soon as they stepped onto the ground that the distance between her base and Mt. Fire Flute was not very great.


    Loren did not notice it until he was told, but when he looked in the direction Dia was pointing, he could indeed see a rocky mountain standing alone at a distance that was not close but also not that far away. After looking intently at what Dia was pointing at for a while, he muttered to himself.


    ¡°There¡¯s no smoke.¡±


    Given the name and the information that dragons were said to live there, Loren¡¯s image of Mt. Fire Flute was that of a volcano with ck smoke rising up here and there and bright red mes asionally erupted. However, even though the mountain that stood alone at the end of the road was indeed a steep-looking mountain with bare rock surfaces from a distance, there was no ck smoke or even white smoke rising up anywhere from it. In other words, it was just like what they had been informed about the mountain before they epted themission.


    As Loren thought that it was only natural that he didn¡¯t notice this mountain thest time he came to Dia¡¯s base, the Elder withdrew her pointing finger and scratched her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not an interesting mountain.¡±


    She then walked to the wagon that Loren¡¯s party hade on and hopped on to the back, taking up a position right behind the driver¡¯s bench. She was dressed in the same dress she had been wearing at the base, which, although unadorned, did not look like something for walking outside. Loren, who was impressed by how lightly she could move in such an outfit, sat down next to Lapis, who took the reins, while G and Nim sat at the back.


    Nim might have sat at a distance from Dia purely because she was afraid of the existence of the Elder, but G apparently chose to keep her distance because she felt threatened by what Dia might do if she sat too close to her. As Loren thought that she was only being treated badly because she deserved it, Lapis lightly pulled the reins and began to drive the wagon.


    ¡°We¡¯re within sight of it. We¡¯ll be at the foot of the mountain by nightfall.¡±


    ¡°If nothing happens.¡±


    After arriving at Dia¡¯s base, they had spent some time resting and chatting there. The base was located a short distance from the road, and Loren estimated that if they returned to the road and then went to Mt. Fire Flute, their destination, they would arrive by evening. He had also considered the possibility of heading straight for the mountain from the base without returning to the highway, but that would require driving the wagon over very bad terrain and would take too much time.


    He thought that he was probably not wrong, but then he suddenly became aware of the staresing from behind and turned around to see Dia, G, and Nim all looking at him with somewhat reproachful stares.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°If you keep talking like that, something will definitely happen.¡±


    ¡°Loren, that was careless. You should be careful with what you say.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, I¡¯d prefer it if something does happen.¡±


    Loren turned his head in the direction they were going and lightly rolled his back lightly, trying to escape the gazes of the three girls. Lapis was watching him with a chuckle.


    Despite such incidents, their group returned to the highway and continued southward toward Mt. Fire Flute after leaving Dia¡¯s base.


    Nim and G were bracing themselves for something to happen, but contrary to their mild usation of his slip, their wagon was able to make its way along the road without encountering any obstacles, and the rest of the journey was uneventful.


    The truth was, Loren had been worried that something might have happened, but their group proceeded smoothly and finally arrived at the foot of Mt. Fire Flute.


    ¡°Nothing happened.¡±


    Nim and G each looked in the opposite direction, trying to escape Loren¡¯s staring eyes. Only Dia was looking back at Loren with a frustrated look on her face.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? Won¡¯t saying something like that absolutely make something happen?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no useining to me. Isn¡¯t it good that nothing happened¡­? Dia, are you bored that there is nothing to do?¡±


    ¡°Well, the experience of traveling by wagon under the sun was a good way to pass the time.¡±


    Dia chuckled as she uttered the words that no one could expect toe from a highest-ranked vampire.


    ¡°It¡¯s much healthier than shutting myself in a basement. From now on, I¡¯ll try to go out more often.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s horrifying to have a top ranking vampire like an Elder wandering around. Have some self-restraint.¡±


    Vampires walking around in the daytime was something that could strike fear into the hearts of most humans. But if it was an Elder, it was easy to predict that there would be amotion as big as if the end of the world wasing.


    There were apparently about ten or so other Elders in the world besides Dia, but Loren had never heard of any of them going out to kill time without a purpose. In other words, the other Elders had some other reason or method to pass the time, and they did not simply go out and about. He would like to see Dia learn from them in that area.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any other Elders as harmless as I am.¡±


    Dia said in a slightly disappointed voice and looked up at Loren. He red at her, feeling strongly that if he really showed any sympathy right now, she would really go out during the day.


    Dia kept looking at Loren for a while, and when she saw that his expression had not changed at all, she turned her back on him. Her expression changed to one of annoyance, and she let out a small, sharp click of her tongue. Loren hoped she would give up on the idea, but inwardly he was nervous.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your pleasantries.¡±


    Loren felt a slight sense of difort when Lapis interrupted the conversation. The tone of her voice was one that was not intended for engaging in or making fun of the talk, but to make the listeners uneasy. When he turned to Lapis to see if something was wrong, she was holding the reins and staring straight ahead, but Loren¡¯s eyes could not see what was worth staring at. All he could see was a continuous stretch road and the gradual thickening of trees as they approached the mountains.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°The wind has a strange smell to it. Do you know the geography of this area well, Dia?¡±


    Lapis nced behind, and Dia, who was leaning forward from the back of the wagon, nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s right around the corner. I¡¯d like to think I know it reasonably well.¡±


    ¡°So, do you know what¡¯s up ahead?¡±


    Lapis pointed to the end of the road. Dia closed her eyes as if recalling something, then quickly opened them and nodded again.


    ¡°I believe there is one farming vige. There are several farming viges scattered around the foot of Fire Flute Mountain, and this road should have led to one of them.¡±


    Loren wondered if it was because his previous experiences had been so bad that he felt something ominous about the word ¡®farming vige¡¯.


    Even though the sun had begun to go down, the sky was still blue, and the weather was very nice. But Dia said there was a farming vige ahead of them, and Lapis said she smelled a strange smelling from that direction.


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s not a sign for this one toe out.¡±


    After concluding that looking up at the sky won¡¯t make things any better, Loren pointed to the greatsword that used to be slung on his back and said.


    Lapis nced at the sword, which had beenid down because it would get in the way of sitting on the bench otherwise, then slightly tilted her head.


    ¡°I wonder? But not yet, I think.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Loren had thought that with a farming vige at the end of the road and the strange smell Lapis had sensed probablying from there, they would eventually end up fighting a battle, but Lapis seemed to think differently.


    ¡°There is definitely a strange smell, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be new.¡±


    ¡°That means¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find out when we get there.¡±


    Interrupting Loren¡¯s words, Lapis lightly adjusted the reins on the horses and sped the wagon up a bit. Although the road was maintained for being a highway, it was not even, and there were many bumps and dips; as the wagon started running at a high speed, it started swaying violently.


    Loren and the others endured the jolting, clenching their teeth lightly so as not to bite their tongues, and not long after Lapis noticed the anomaly, they arrived at one of the farming viges that Dia had mentioned.


    After pulling back on the reins and stopping the horses, Lapis took in the scenery of the vige that awaited them, and realized what the anomaly she had felt was all about.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t an abandoned vige, was it?¡±


    There had indeed been a vige there. Because there were traces of what might have been a vige in the past.


    It was a farming vige, and there were fields around it, but they were so overgrown with weeds that it was hard to believe that anyone had ever touched them. The fences that were supposed to enclose the vige grounds had been destroyed here and there, rendering them useless. The buildings inside the fences had also been so badly damaged that they did not appear to be inhabited.


    Their wagon was able to enter through a break in the fence, revealing an even more terrible situation.


    The walls of the destroyed buildings were covered with ckened liquid sttered here and there, and in some ces there were burn marks. The ground was covered with disordered footprints, indicating that the inhabitants of this vige must have been in a great hurry to get around.


    They stopped the wagon and peeked into some of the buildings to see destroyed furniture and debris, probably food, scattered on the floor. The food was either dried out or beginning to rot, indicating that this state of things had not urred recently.


    ¡°It looks as if something attacked them.¡±


    Lapis pointed to a wall of a house that had deep scratches on it, likely the result of some sort of de being driven into it.


    ¡°Some kind of bandits?¡±


    Nim mentioned a likely cause, to which G shook her head.


    ¡°If it were bandits, there would be a corpse or two lying around. Why are there no dead bodies in the house after all these signs of attack?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they were all taken?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. This ck spot on the wall is a blood spatter, right? If the wounds wererge enough to cause that much blood to ssh, there would definitely have been a death toll.¡±


    It was not unusual for bandits to carry off vigers from the viges they attacked. Men were taken as simplebor, while women were taken as objects to satisfy various tastes. There was always a certain demand for both from the not-so-proper ss of people, and that meant money, and it was not umon for bandits to raid viges for it.


    But if, as G had said, some of them were so badly wounded that they were bleeding enough to stter the walls, it was strange that there were no corpses lying on the ground. It was unlikely for the bandits to carry the corpses with them; after all, dead people were not worth money, and bandits were not in a profession where they could afford to carry around things that were not worth money.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look into it a little more closely. Maybe we can find out something.¡±


    The day was still bright. Loren believed that if they did not finish their investigation while there was still light, they would not be able to find any good clues after the darkness of night had fallen. That was why he sounded a little rushed, and Lapis and the others, withoutining, immediately scattered to various ces in the vige to carry out his instructions.

 Chapter 275: From Moving To Camping

    <h4>Chapter 275: From Moving To Camping</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren and the party searched the vige for a while, but what they found was that not a single viger was in sight.


    There were signs of attacks all over the vige, and although it was expected that arge number of people had been injured or killed, not a single corpse had been found, and it seemed that these events had urred long before their party visited the ce.


    ¡°What do you think, Loren?¡±


    Loren pondered over Lapis¡¯ rather vague question.


    They knew for certain that something had happened in this vige, but had no idea as to what it might have been. If there had been any bodies or survivors left behind, they might have been able to find some clues, but when even that was not avable, Loren didn¡¯t know where to start.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m a muscle-brain, but¡­ I¡¯m not good at this kind of thing.¡±


    As Loren said this, his thoughts gradually began to lean towards the idea of pretending to have not seen anything and move on.


    Even if the cause of the disaster was now known, the vige would not be restored. If there were survivors or something, it would not be impossible to think about revenge and such, but there was none here. It was not umon for a remote vige to be destroyed for one reason or another; the country would eventually take notice, and another new vige would simply spring up somewhere else.


    ¡°That reminds me, to some extent, there are soldiers stationed to protect the vige, aren¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are. In a vige like this, there are usually a few to a dozen soldiers stationed by the government to guard the vige.¡±


    ¡°No sign of them. Or¡­have they fled?¡±


    It also depended on the scale of the attack, but Loren guessed from the traces left in the vige that there were so many that a dozen or so soldiers could offer no resistance. Though whether the soldiers fought bravely there or ran for their lives, he could not be sure.


    ¡°If the soldiers had fled, the information would have been passed on to the government, so it would not be surprising if they had formed a sizable force ande to recapture the vige.¡±


    ¡°And if no one hase, either they¡¯re in the middle of organizing, or the soldiers couldn¡¯t get away¡­ Either way, it¡¯s a troublesome story.¡±


    ¡°A farming vige isn¡¯t an isted ce, is it? Isn¡¯t there another simrly sized farming vige nearby?¡±


    At G¡¯s words, Loren and Lapis looked at Dia. She was supposed to be the most knowledgeable of them all when it came to the geography of the area.


    ¡°There are several of them. Do you want to visit them while there is still some daylight?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If there is a safe vige, we should let them know.¡±


    Whether it was to ask for help from the government or flee the area, the other viges would not be able to make a move unless they knew that there was imminent danger. That was why Loren thought it would be a good idea to inform them of this information, and without any objections, the party decided to leave the destroyed vige and travel around the neighboring farming viges, driving wagons under Dia¡¯s guidance.


    However, it seemed that the situation had already deteriorated considerably long before Loren and his party made their move.


    Dia led them to a nearby farming vige, but what awaited them there was almost identical to the scene they had seen in the previous farming vige.


    ¡°Loren, this vige is no better.¡±


    G, who had entered the vige for a quick survey, reported so to Loren, who was keeping watch on their wagon parked on the outskirts.


    ording to her report, in the second vige they visited, there was no trace of any vigers, living or dead, houses were destroyed here and there, and marks of some kind of struggle were left all over the ce.


    ¡°The foodstuffs are all gone, but most of the cash and household goods have been left untouched.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s odd if this was the work of bandits.¡±


    If the vige was attacked by bandits, who usually took everything, it was iprehensible that they would leave valuable belongings behind. Especially the cash; they should have taken it no matter what they left behind, and it was strange that they had left it untouched.


    Loren wondered about the possibility that the resistance on the vige side had been so fierce that the bandits had given up on those items. If that was the case, it would be a reasonably usible exnation for the current situation; maybe the surviving vigers had abandoned the vige to carry the injured and the dead away and to seek help from the government.


    ¡°But even in that case, they wouldn¡¯t leave cash behind¡­¡±


    Cash was necessary, both as traveling expenses and for other use before they could get help. The possibility of vigers abandoning the vige without taking any of it was inconceivable.


    ¡°Loren, there is something else that is actually odd.¡±


    Dia called out to Loren, who had been lost in unanswerable thoughts. When he looked at her, wondering what more there was to see under the circumstances, Dia was keeping her gaze fixed on Mt. Fire Flute, visible from the vige.


    ¡°I havee this close, and yet there is no reaction. This is very strange. I would have thought they would at leaste to check on me.¡±


    Loren could not tell which were the more powerful beings, the Elders or the Ancient Dragons. However, there was no doubt that both are powerful beings, and it was indeed strange that there had been no response from the Ancient Dragon¡¯s side when such a being like an Elder was approaching.


    It would have been understandable if the Ancient Dragon was a much more powerful entity, so far removed in power that it did not need to pay any attention to the movements of an Elder, but from what he had seen of Dia, it did not seem to be the case.


    ¡°You can see the Ancient Dragon from here?¡±


    ¡°Well, actually, I don¡¯t feel such a powerful presence from that mountain. I have never been this close to the mountain before. Since I don¡¯t feel anything¡­ maybe there is no Ancient Dragon on that mountain anymore.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be. Maybe because we are introduced by another Ancient Dragon?¡±


    Lapis was flustered by Dia¡¯s words, but the Elder just calmly asked.


    ¡°When was thest time that Ancient Dragon came face to face with its own kin? Unlike us Elders, no matter how great the Ancient Dragon may be, they still have a lifespan.¡±


    When she said that, Lapis had no choice but to close her mouth.


    The Ancient Dragon named Emery, who gave Loren¡¯s party information about the Ancient Dragons living in the human realm, was living in the demon territory, and she didn¡¯t tell them how long her kin had been living in the other realm. It would not be surprising if the dragon had lost their life for some unfortunate reason before their party arrived here. Whether it was an external factor, such as the appearance of a very powerful enemy, or an internal factor, such as the lifespan of the Ancient Dragon itself, either possibility could not be dismissed.


    ¡°It would be better if they had died of natural causes.¡±


    Nim said, keeping a wary eye on the area.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that there are no more dragons on Mt. Fire Flute. Maybe we can get a dragon corpse in our hands. That¡¯s worth a lot of money.¡±


    Nim said that there was nothing to throw away from a dragon¡¯s body. Flesh, skin, scales, teeth, and even bones were all high-end raw materials and ingredients that fetched a hefty price when they hit the market. And if they came from an Ancient Dragon, the price could skyrocket, and in some cases, it could bring in more than just a fortune.


    ¡°The scales and fangs alone are quite something. We¡¯ll be lucky if we can pick them up.¡±


    ¡°If we can.¡±


    Loren¡¯s original objective was the information he might get from the Ancient Dragon, but if he couldn¡¯t get it, he couldn¡¯t help but shift his interest to the cash ie.


    However, that was only if the desired Ancient Dragon was really dead, and he had no idea what had happened to it at the present.


    ¡°Old dragons are able to suppress the power of their own presence. We can¡¯t assume that they¡¯re dead, but¡­ it¡¯s strange that they don¡¯t appear at all.¡±


    ¡°If they know that Dia has no hostile intent, they may not have bothered to show up at all.¡±


    In Loren¡¯s opinion, no matter how powerful the Elder was, if there was no hostility, an existence such as the Ancient Dragon would not be so rmed.


    Dia nodded gravely at his words.


    ¡°I thought so, too. I¡¯ve tried to intimidate them a few times since a while ago.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make things worse.¡±


    Loren brought his hand down on the top of Dia¡¯s head, making her hold her head in both hands and crouch down on the spot.


    Seeing this, Nim looked at Loren with amazement.


    ¡°Loren, you are an amazing child. How dare you hit an Elder?¡±


    ¡±You¡¯d better think it¡¯s because I¡¯m an Elder who can take a joke, elf.¡±


    Dia, with tears in her eyes and head in her hands, said in a displeased tone, and Nim hurriedly hid behind Loren. As Loren thought that using him as a shield was meaningless because he would have no chance if Dia truly attacked, Lapis asked him for the second time.


    ¡°Loren, what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Loren looked up at the sky and checked the position of the sun.


    Although the sun was still reasonably high in the sky, the time of day was such that they unlikely had enough time to get close to the mountain. Loren thought that if they were going to climb Fire Flute Mountain, which no one knew what was on there, it should be during the daytime, and he did not want to spend the night in the mountain without apelling reason to do so.


    Thinking that it seemed best to camp out for the night and head for the mountain tomorrow morning, Loren looked around their surroundings.


    The area around them consisted of a highway and some ins, and just one step away from a forest. Loren felt that it was a waste to avoid the open space of the vige and camp out on the ins or among the trees, but he also wondered if it was really a good idea to camp in a vige where vigers had disappeared for unknown reasons.


    ¡°Apromise would be to camp a little further from the vige.¡±


    There was some open space on the outskirts of the vige so that wagons could be parked. Loren suggested that they camp there, and the other members readily epted his suggestion, perhaps thinking that it was better than inside the vige and that it would be troublesome to set up camp too far away from the ce.


    ¡°No one would think of raiding a vige once it had been destroyed.¡±


    No one doubted Lapis¡¯ opinion that this would be a rtively safer ce to spend the night than other ces.

 Chapter 276: From A Strange Event To Interception

    <h4>Chapter 276: From A Strange Event To Interception</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren had the impression that strange and weird things did not happen in the daylight, but rather when it was dark and everyone had gone to sleep.


    However, as if to mock Loren¡¯s assumption, this strange event urred suddenly when their group had decided on an encampment site and were beginning to prepare for it.


    ¡°There¡¯s noise.¡±


    The party had parked their wagons in an empty lot on the outskirts of the vige, and were unloading and unpacking their luggage to take out what they needed. Lapis was the first to notice it.


    She returned the luggage she was handling to the back of the wagon and turned her gaze outside the sparse row of trees that surrounded the vige. Loren and G rested their hands and looked in that direction to see what it was about, and Dia casually said.


    ¡°Something is approaching.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    With a sense of foreboding, Loren quickly asked, and Dia looked beyond the trees for a moment before answering with a tilt of her head.


    ¡°About a hundred?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    No matter what was approaching, a hundred was an unusual number. Loren quickly picked up his greatsword and synchronized his vision with Shayna¡¯s. With his vision enhanced by the King of Death¡¯s power, he instantly caught what could not be seen with human vision: the reactions of numerous lifeforms approaching their encampment at a fair speed from a considerable distance beyond the trees. Each of these signatures did not seem to be very powerful, but the sight of that many gathering and approaching all at once caused even Loren¡¯s expression to twitch lightly.


    ¡°Watch out! Something ising!¡±


    Loren shouted a warning, and at the same time, Nim climbed into the back of the wagon and quickly fired an arrow from her position. As the arrow flew through the trees, a faint but distant sound simr to the scream of an animal could be heard.


    Loren was amazed at Nim¡¯s skill with the bow. The arrow had hit its target despite the trees and the distance. Then the elf told him the identity of what she had shot as she knocked another arrow.


    ¡°Loren, the orcs areing.¡±


    ¡°Orcs?!¡±


    As soon as she told Loren the identity of their enemies, Nim shot another arrow. This time, the arrow also passed through the trees, and a scream very simr to that of a pig could be heard closer than before, which made everyone realize that something around a hundred were indeed approaching, and that it was a group of orcs.


    ¡°A hundred or so orcs? That¡¯s too many!¡±


    ¡°It seems that they have obtained arge number of mother bodies.¡±


    As Lapisined with a stiffened expression very much like the one on Loren¡¯s face, Dia said such an outrageous thing in a casual, everyday conversational tone.


    Dia, perhaps noticing that all eyes were on her, tilted her head as if wondering whether what she had said was really that strange and continued.


    ¡°Orcs and goblins grow very quickly. Naturally, they are born from the mother¡¯s body in a dozen days, and can grow to almost adult-size within seven days. A month after that, they will be able to start reproducing.¡±


    The reason why orcs¡¯ and goblins¡¯ numbers did not increase explosively in their natural state was because of the difficulty in securing a mother body, Dia continued.


    But of course, what appeared to be a group of orcs was steadily approaching their party, and while listening to Dia, Nim was frantically shooting from the top of the cart to chip away at the enemy force, albeit just by a little.


    ¡°Since their species have few females and the females are usually not very strong as individuals, it is not possible to have enough females to serve as mothers. That¡¯s why their number is not asrge as it could be.¡±


    ¡°Nearly a hundred orcs IS arge enough number!¡±


    Nim¡¯s shooting continued to make, their probably-orc enemies, scream.


    The sparse trees slowed the enemy¡¯s advance to a certain extent, so none had reached their group yet, but it was only a matter of time. Loren also noticed Nim grimace for a moment as she tried to knock another arrow. Perhaps her arrows inventory was starting to dwindle.


    ¡°They¡¯ve probably managed to secure a good number of mothers¡¯ bodies. Once they do, they will keep on reproducing until the mothers¡¯ bodies give out. That¡¯s why there are so many of them.¡±


    ¡°Where did they get such arge number of mothers?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I think from here?¡±


    Dia casually pointed back to the wreckage of a destroyed vige, where not a single viger was left.


    ¡°Orcs will even eat the corpses of their own if they can get their hands on them. The corpses of vigers and soldiers would have been good food for them. Besides, there must have been quite a few women in the vige, young and old alike.¡±


    Loren looked at the destroyed vige with horror.


    The houses that lined the streets belonged to the vigers, and each house must have been upied by a family. To put it bluntly, there were at least as many women in the vige as there were houses. They did not know how many of them were taken alive by the orcs, but it should be quite a number as orcs would not kill women due to their desire for bodies to act as mothers.


    Moreover, this vige was not the only one destroyed. At least one other vige had suffered the same fate, the one they had found earlier. If both of them had been attacked by the same group of orcs, the number of vigers taken could be close to dozens.


    ¡°And orcs, by the way, are strangely prone to giving birth to twins or more.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear such information!¡±


    Loren swung the greatsword in his hand in response to Dia¡¯sment, which sounded like a bit of trivia about orcs. Coincidentally, a creature leapt out of the trees at the same time and the de, which had been swung with full strength, cut it in half at the torso. The creature had a pig-like face and let out a pig-like scream as blood sshed all around.


    ¡°Eek!¡±


    Loren did not expect any member of this party to scream at the mere sight of orcs, but surprisingly, Lapis did scream and hid behind his back. He had thought it was unexpected, but he immediately understood the reason when he saw the dead orc he had cut up.


    Orcs were intelligent beings, and normal individuals all wore some kind of clothing or armor, even if they were ragged. However, the orc that Loren cut in half was, for some reason, not wearing any kind of clothing and waspletely naked, even though it was holding a weapon in its hand. Naturally, everything was in full view, even the object dangling from his crotch, which was probably a little too long andrgepared to that of a human, and Lapis apparently reacted to this by hiding behind Loren.


    ¡°Lapis-chan, you¡¯ve never seen an orc¡¯s penis before, have ya?¡±


    ¡°The size is different, but it is basically the same as a human¡¯s. It is nothing to be surprised about.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you¡¯ve been traveling together, you must have seen Loren¡¯s at least once¡­¡±


    ¡°Dia, stop it.¡±


    The other three said such things to Lapis, who was hiding behind Loren¡¯s back and noting out, while shooting at orcs that had leapt out of the trees or biting them off with Evil God power or catching and draining them. When thest, inexcusable words came out, Loren had to put a stop to it.


    It was true that Loren has had several instances in the past where he had remained unconscious for long periods of time, and each time he had been nursed by Lapis. What Dia was trying to say was that seeing that thing was a part of nursing, but it was something Loren had always tried to avoid thinking about. He would die of embarrassment if it were to be exposed to the light of day like that.


    ¡°The size difference between Loren¡¯s and orc¡¯s is because of their races¡­¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll throw this sword at your head. If you think ¡®It¡¯s just a greatsword¡¯, you¡¯re mistaken.¡±


    Loren pointed his sword at Dia instead of the orc that wasing for a surprise attack, thinking that making her shut up was of a higher priority. He then thrust the tip of the sword to the throat of the orc that was lunging at him from the side. He twisted the de slightly to widen the wound, and without looking at the orc, which died instantly and fell to the ground, Loren cut another one that jumped at him from behind into half vertically and clicked his tongue in disgust.


    Although most of them could be killed with a single blow, there were just too many of them.


    Thinking that he wouldn¡¯t be able to silence Dia like this, Loren nced at her while shing another orc. The Elder punched and kicked the orc approaching her, then drained the life force of its unmoving body, probably with Energy Drain. Seeing a moment of opportunity, she raised her hands toward Loren as if in surrender.


    Dia thought that to tease Loren and Lapis any further with this stuff would be dangerous not only for herself, but also for Loren, who was still trying to shut her up, and Lapis, who was still hiding behind Loren¡¯s back.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stop checking out your own allies? You might die very unexpectedly.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who started it.¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, the enemy number is increasing. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s more important to intercept them?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better remember what I said¡­¡±


    Despite this venomousment, the number of orcs surrounding the encampment was indeed increasing, and the situation was bing so dire that a single mistake could result in severe damages.


    A normal party of iron-ranked adventurers would have been annihted by this, but Loren¡¯s party remained undeterred.


    Every time Loren swung his greatsword, an orc would turn into a lump of meat, and around G, orcs with missing heads and torsos would disappear as they fell down, their entire bodies devoured before they could hit the ground.


    Nim was still shooting the orcs that tried to approach them from the top of the cart, but Dia, realizing that she had a limited stock of arrows, followed her lead and struck them down with a strength of arms and legs that one could not imagine from her childlike appearance.


    ¡°G, how are you doing that?¡±


    Nim was indeed mystified by the sight of the orcs missing bodies parts just by approaching G without any chantinging from thetter. While Loren was thinking bitterly that it would be natural for that to happen if she used her power, G answered boldly.


    ¡°It¡¯s my secret skill!¡±


    ¡°I see. I won¡¯t ask for more details then.¡±


    Nim replied readily, and Loren wondered if that was a good thing. But he was grateful that she was not pursuing the matter, so he didn¡¯t press it.


    If arge number ofrades were killed in such a short period of time, it was only a matter of time before the orcs, no matter how little intelligence they had, would be frightened and flee. Strangely enough, however, the orcs showed no sign of retreat, no matter how many of them were cut down, beaten and kicked to the ground, pierced by invisible fangs, or devoured by their own.


    Not only that, their bloodshot eyes did not look at Loren at all. They all fixed their stares on the other party members and attacked them.


    ¡°These orcs! Are you all us¡¯ kin?!¡±


    ¡°Loren, isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡±


    Loren, who had spoken these words unintentionally to the orcs, who seemed to have no interest in him, was very calmly reproached by Lapis, who remained hidden behind his back.

 Chapter 277: From Repelling To Pursuing

    <h4>Chapter 277: From Repelling To Pursuing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren knew that on the battlefield, it wasmon to lose the ability to think normally. He himself had fallen into such a state on several asions, and each time he was amazed at how he had managed to survive, and the state of the orcs looked like battle mania to him.


    However, such a state would notst forever. If your army had the upper hand, it couldst for a long time, but there was always a limit. And If your own army was outnumbered, it would cool down even more quickly.


    ¡°They are such a pain in the ass!¡±


    Loren spat out while smashing the orcs with his greatsword. If the orcs failed to defend themselves, there would be flesh and bones flying around. And if they did not fail to defend themselves, there would be flesh and bones AND weapons flying around. The smell of blood filled the air, and orc corpses piled up on the ground in proportion.


    Wiping the blood sttered on his face with the back of his hand, Loren nced behind him and noticed Nim sneakily hiding there in addition to Lapis, who had been there for some time.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I ran out of arrows.¡±


    Replied Nim, who had drawn a dagger for protection. Her words did not carry much sentiment, though there was a somewhat irritated tone in her voice.


    If their opponents were humans, even Nim might have been able to be a challenge in close-quartersbat by making use of her superior speed to stab or tear at a vital point. But their opponents were orcs, whose bodies were protected by a tough skin and a thickyer of fat underneath, making it difficult to inflict life-threatening damage; the most a dagger could inflict on them would be slight scratches.


    ¡°It must be troublesome, bing unable to fight when you run out of arrows.¡±


    Dia, who was still crushing orcs with her bare hands and feet,ughed in a tone that was somewhat mocking, though not to the point of ridicule. Nim was annoyed by those words, but what Dia said was actually true, and the difference in power between Nim, an Elf, and Dia, an Elder, is too obvious.


    ¡°There are too many orcs. If someone doesn¡¯t work, even just a little, we¡¯ll get tired soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I know. I¡¯ll give you some arrows.¡±


    Dia said as she lightly swept off the legs of one of the orcs that attacked her. It was a light foot swipe that seemed to require little effort, but the orc¡¯s legs were torn off and sent flying away from the knees down as easily as if they were attached to the upper thighs by glue. Dia grabbed the neck of the orc, which had lost its bnce and was about to fall, her fingers embedded in the flesh, and chanted something in a whisper. With a light shock, the orc¡¯s body disappeared, and about ten in white arrows appeared in Dia¡¯s hands instead.


    ¡°See, is this good?¡±


    Nim was surprised to receive the white arrows that Dia had walked all the way to Loren¡¯s side to give her.


    The white arrows felt hard and smooth in Nim¡¯s hand; just by touch alone, she could tell that they had no deformation or bends. Even the feathers were made of the same material; these arrows didn¡¯t look like something you could get at a local market.


    Nim put the dagger back in its sheath, took off the bow strapped to her back, and with the arrows she had just been given, she fired at a suitable orc from a position behind Loren.


    ¡°Eh?!¡±


    It was Nim, the one who shot the arrow, who was surprised at the result of her own attack.


    The arrow from the bow flew in a straight line to the targeted orc and pierced its head, but unlike her previous arrows, it went into the orc¡¯s head, with the arrowheading out on the opposite side of the hit point.


    If that were all, it would have been enough to say that the arrow was powerful, but the white arrow that pierced the orc¡¯s head disappeared with the orc¡¯s body. In the ce where the orc had disappeared, about ten white arrows fell down as if to take its ce.


    ¡°Be careful not to misfire those arrows.¡±


    With a stifledugh, Dia told Nim, who was staring at the newly-appeared arrows falling down in a daze without understanding what had happened.


    ¡°It is the work of alchemy. The original power of the arrowhead has been increased, but when the arrowhead prates, the alchemy enclosed in the arrow is activated and the prey is turned into the same arrow. As long as it doesn¡¯t miss, the arrow will never run out, but if it identally gets stuck, the technique cannot be aborted.¡±


    ¡°What kind of principle is that¡­?¡±


    Dia exined with a proud face to Loren, who had taken a break from cutting down the orc and unintentionally butted in:


    ¡°It is an alchemical technique that consumes the victim¡¯s magical power, flesh and blood to create arrows from the pration of the arrowhead. It is a rtively easy technique since neither the magic power nor the materials are altered.¡±


    ¡°Consuming flesh and blood and magic means¡­¡±


    ¡°The arrow is made of bones. Is it such a rare material?¡±


    Nim slightly frowned when she realized that the arrow she had used was made from an orc¡¯s bones, but quickly regained herposure and plucked another arrow. Orcs were basically known for their filthiness, but since bones were found inside the body, it was not a material that cannot be used as long as you can put up with a little bit of creepiness.


    The morale of the orcs, which had been steadily decreasing in number in the meantime, soon reached its limit. Perhaps their battle mania had cooled down at the sight of their friends being so easily and cruelly ughtered, and they began to flee in droves. Once that happened, it would not take long for their rank to copse.


    Fear was a contagious thing; the fear in the eyes of the orcs began to spread, and soon the orcs as a whole began to flee from Loren¡¯s party.


    ¡°We¡¯re going after them!¡±


    ¡°We should probably stop. It is now nighttime. It is the time of day when you can underestimate an easy opponent and get caught off guard.¡±


    Loren thought that if it was the orcs who had attacked and destroyed the viges, they should go after them, find their base, and rescue any survivors left. However, Dia immediately dismissed his words.


    Loren was about to argue with her, but then he looked around and realized that the sun was setting, and it was indeed getting dark.


    ¡°But you know what? It¡¯d be a bore to let them go like this, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No problem. You can leave everything to me.¡±


    Dia answered and approached one of the orc corpses lying all over the area. She crouched down beside the corpse, held her hands over it, and muttered a word or two. Then, the orc, which had been a corpse until then, stood up with its destroyed body.


    ¡°Is it necromancy?¡±


    Lapis, who was still behind Loren, looked over his shoulder and watched Dia¡¯s work with a curious look on her face.


    Loren thought that since the orcs were gone, there was no point in continuing to hide behind him, but Lapis was still snuggling up against his back and showing no sign of leaving. He decided to let her do whatever she wanted to do, thinking it would probably be futile to tell her otherwise.


    ¡°It probably won¡¯t work on the orcs that were cut up by Loren or butchered by G, but the orcs I beat to death can be reused as zombies.¡±


    The ces where the orc had been hit should have been crushed, and its body should have been broken in various ces from rolling and crashing into the trees from the force of the blows. But such things no longer mattered to the dead orc; moving very slowly and strangely, the zombified orc slowly began to walk toward somewhere.


    ¡°Hey, where is it going?¡±


    ¡°Where it lives, of course.¡±


    Dia answered. She had already turned another orc into a zombie, and it, too, began to walk away, dragging its damaged entrails behind it. Loren raised his eyebrows at the gruesome sight, but Dia seemed unbothered; she moved closer to the corpse of another orc and began to use her necromancy again.


    ¡°What are you making them do?¡±


    ¡°Even though orcs are not very intelligent, they can at least remember where they live. So I turn them into zombies and have them walk home.¡±


    This orc, which had also wobbled to its feet, had no head. Loren feels that since the body was headless, high or low intelligence was not relevant, but the ghost that controlled the zombified corpse was, and the presence or absence of body parts was no longer relevant when it came to thoughts.


    ¡°The orcs I turned into zombies are under my control. I can keep track of everything, from how they walk to where they go.¡±


    ¡°Elders do have some useful powers, don¡¯t they?¡±


    Loren thought that it was just what to be expected from the strongest amongst Undead, and a high-ranking one at that.


    Dia turned a suspicious eye on him as she created yet another zombie.


    ¡°When you say it, it sounds like you¡¯re joking, or being sarcastic.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°No, well, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t understand.¡±


    As Loren tilted his head and wondered what she wanted to say, he heard the thought of Shayna inside him.


    [¡®Onii-san, um, I was turned into it, but¡­ I am the King of Death, the highest-ranking Undead¡­¡¯]


    Shayna sounded timid, but Loren wondered if she could do the same thing that Dia is currently doing, and she replied.


    [¡®I can. Is it alright for me to do it?¡¯]


    Thinking that it would be a great help if it could save Dia some work, Loren asked Shayna to use her ability. Having been asked, Shayna projected her own image into Loren¡¯s mind for a moment, said she would do her best, and then began to exercise her power as the King of Death.


    ¡°Eh, wait? This¡­ What is this?¡±


    It was no wonder that G sounded upset.


    Dia had been using necromancy to create zombies by selecting corpses with rtively few broken parts, but Shayna just turned any corpses into zombies almost randomly, and the result was a very creepy spectacle.


    An upper body of an orc crawled with both arms and disappeared behind the trees while trailing various things from its cross section, while a lower body of an orc followed with wobbly steps. The left and right sides of an orc that had been split in half vertically supported each other as they slowly walked away into the line of trees. As they wondered how the orcs with only their heads left could do such a thing, one rolled its way through the trees. It was a sight beyond fear, and they could only watch on andugh.


    And like that, the orc corpses that had received Shayna¡¯s power, regardless of the extent of their damages, walked towards the ce where they had lived.


    ¡°What a bunch of nasty zombies they¡¯ve be.¡±


    ¡°Those zombies, they weren¡¯t Dia¡¯s doing, right?¡±


    ¡°No, Elf, it was me. I didn¡¯t expect it to be such bad taste.¡±


    Dia shielded Shayna¡¯s presence from Nim¡¯s questioning, then looked over the mostly vanished corpses and performed some sort of necromancy to remove the traces of blood that had been sttered all over the ce.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take a good night¡¯s rest tonight and go after them when it gets bright. Hopefully, there will be enough orcs to crush the zombies during the night, so we¡¯ll have less work to do.¡±


    Dia yawned, rubbed her eyes, and patted Loren on the hip as he watched over things.


    ¡°Now that the blood is gone, you should get ready for bed soon. Staying upte is your skin¡¯s worst enemy.¡±


    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re basically a creature of the night, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    It sounded to Loren like a very bad joke for an Undead to say that she did not want to stay upte.


    ¡°Vampires and Ancestors may be, but it has nothing to do with the Elders. Whatever, just get the bed ready now.¡±


    ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll make preparations.¡±


    Looking at Dia, who yawned again, Loren decided that it was probably no good to think too much about it. Putting away his greatsword, he began to resume his work on building a tent for the camp.

 Chapter 278: From Pursuing To Arriving

    <h4>Chapter 278: From Pursuing To Arriving</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    During the night, the party took turns to keep watch in pairs, rotating between G ¨C Dia and Loren ¨C Lapis. The next day, after having plenty of sleep and rest, they began their activities as soon as the sun rose.


    Loren was somewhat ufortable with the idea of a vampire who began activities at sunrise, but he knew he had to ept the fact, as the actual vampire who did that was right in front of him.


    ¡°Is there something on my face?¡±


    Dia curiously asked Loren as she had noticed him looking ncing at her from time to time, to which Loren replied shortly that it was nothing and forced his mind to focus on something else.


    About the orcs that had attacked yesterday, the corpses that had been turned into zombies and sent to search for their home, had provided some rough information about the location of their base to Shayna. But even without such information, there was a clear trail of where the zombies had gone, and it was of no difficulty to follow the blood tracks.


    ¡°I thought we¡¯d done a pretty good job of cutting them down yesterday, but it looks like there¡¯s still a lot of them left.¡±


    The first zombies were created by Dia. Because of this, their information was obtained by Dia, then passed on to Loren and the others. Loren was worried about how she could receive information from the zombies created by Shayna, but his worries proved to be in vain. As the highest-ranking vampire, it was no problem for Dia to interfere with the magical connection between the zombies created by Shayna and Shayna herself to obtain information from them.


    ¡°There seems to be a cave in the middle of Fire Flute Mountain. It seems to be where the orcs live.¡±


    ¡°Are there any survivors?¡±


    Nim asked curtly, and Dia shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Zombies are not intelligent enough to distinguish between orcs and humans. The only thing they can tell is that there is something alive out there inrge numbers.¡±


    ¡°I want to help the survivors.¡±


    Nim stated somewhat firmly. Loren also wanted to help as much as possible, but the first priority was their own safety. If that were to be threatened, he believed it would be necessary to give up on the survivors. However, he thought it would be best to remain silent as it might aggravate Nim¡¯s feelings. But the elf nced at him and, sensing that he was being asked to say something, Loren thought for a moment before offering a nd opinion.


    ¡°If possible.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    After such an exchange, the group left the camp. They loaded their belongings onto the wagon, carried only what they needed, and left the wagons inside the ruined vige. Loren was uneasy about leaving the wagons in the ruined vige without guards, but G and Dia took care of the matter.


    ¡°I¡¯ve left a protective ward and a magic form to keep monsters out, so I think it¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve set up an interceptor on the wagon, so it should be able to handle a few monsters.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to do something too?¡±¡±


    Loren gently turned Lapis¡¯s offer down. The magical form used by the Elder and the Evil God alone was more than enough. If the power of the demon tribe was also used, it was impossible to know what would happen. If they were not careful, they might end up with more damages than just a lost wagon.


    Although it was not a great distance from the wrecked vige to Mt. Fire Flute, the path was quite steep, and there was no such thing as a mountain path. This meant that neither people nor animals would venture into this mountain, and it was very troublesome for their party to have to climb it.


    Nevertheless, they chose a route that seemed rtively easy to follow and began climbing. But there was one person who could not climb the mountain, but climbed on Loren¡¯s back instead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any spare clothes or something?¡±


    Clinging to a stunned Loren¡¯s back and looking somewhat pleased was Dia, wearing a dress.


    Of course, it would not be impossible to climb a mountainside with undergrowth and short trees wearing such a dress, but the dress would obviously suffer from tears all over. Dia immediately gave up climbing the mountain and ng to Loren¡¯s back as a means of keeping up with the group.


    ¡°As an Elder, I don¡¯t have any in clothes.¡±


    ¡°When we first met, weren¡¯t you wearing something more in?¡±


    ¡°I was not a full-fledged Elder then, but I am now.¡±


    ¡°You always just say whatever¡­¡±


    Loren was taken aback by Dia¡¯s manner of speaking, but it was no great burden for him to have the small Dia clinging to his back. The only thing he worried about was that she might get in the way a little when he drew his greatsword. As he thought that he should just let her do what she pleased, he noticed Lapis turning to him with a grudging look, and hurriedly decided to pretend not to know.


    And so, Dia was being carried up the slope of the mountain while humming on Loren¡¯s back.


    After a while, the Elder tapped Loren on the shoulder and pointed in their direction of travel.


    ¡°There¡¯s a zombie over there.¡±


    Loren looked over and saw a motionless, half-destroyed orc corpse leaning against one of the trees growing on the side of the mountain. Thinking what a grotesque sight it was, he approached and stopped when he saw another dead orc hidden in the undergrowth at the zombie¡¯s feet.


    Peeking out from Loren¡¯s back, Dia looked down at the fallen orc corpses and immediately guessed the identity of the corpse.


    ¡°They seem to be intelligent enough to send out patrols. It seems they ran into each other and got into a fight.¡±


    ¡°So, the zombies over there are stuck in a battle.¡±


    ¡°That seems to be the case. The fallen one is a little bitten off, but it seems less damaged than the standing one, so I will let this one lead the way.¡±


    As Dia said and waved her hand lightly, the zombie that was leaning against the tree copsed to the ground, and the fallen orc began to slowly stand up. The orc, whose cause of death was apparently having its throat ripped open, did not appear to be too badly damaged, and as not much time had passed since it was killed, its appearance was well-preserved. However, it was stillpletely naked, and although Lapis had gotten used to it, she still found it hard to look directly at him. She quietly looked away and hid behind Loren.


    ¡°Just like the first time.¡±


    ¡°Please leave me alone.¡±


    As the two people behind his back had this exchange, Loren followed the zombie, who had started walking, and began to climb the mountain again.


    It was a long walk from there.


    Halfway up, they found a ce where they couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what happened.


    Hidden behind arge grove of trees nearby, they came upon a cave-like opening in the mountainside, where a group of naked orcs were locked in a grapple.


    If that were all, it would have been just another unpleasant scene that they could have pretended to not see and forgotten about, but it was apparent that some of the orcs were in such a broken state that they were clearly not alive. It seemed that the orc zombies that Shayna had created and the orcs that were living in Mt. Fire Flute were in the middle of a battle.


    ¡°The zombies are doing pretty well.¡±


    The living orc waspletely naked as usual, but they had weapons in their hands. The zombies, on the other hand, were already broken to some extent, and they didn¡¯t have any weapons. The zombies were strong enough that they would not stop attacking even if their bodies were broken. By the time Loren and his group arrived, a good number of the zombies had already stopped moving. However, the zombified orcs, who were originally sturdy and powerful monsters, had be zombies that wielded their power without concern for physical damage or limitations, and the orcs seemed to have suffered quite a bit of damage as well.


    Thinking that the bnce of the battle would tip to the side of the zombies if they interfered, Loren was about to put his hand on his greatsword, when he was stopped by Dia, who was clinging to his back.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to rush in? I don¡¯t want you to.¡±


    ¡°We can crush those orcs guarding the entrance now.¡±


    Since the cave on the mountainside was probably where the orcs lived, Loren thought that it was unlikely that the orcs engaging the zombies at the entrance were the entire force. However, there were not a small number of them, and he thought that if they were to be exterminated here, it would reduce the amount of work they would have to do when they ventured inside.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to rush in. We only need to crush them, right?¡±


    Dia whispered to Loren, her mouth close to his ears, and snapped her fingers with her right hand. With that single movement, the orc corpses and zombie remnants that had been lying motionless on the ground began to gather together in one ce, as if they had a will of their own.


    The sight was so gruesome that Loren and the others were speechless. The muscle fibers of the gathered orc and zombie bodies were squashed together, the blood remaining inside dripped out, and with the sound of bones being broken echoing all around, merged into a single mass.


    (Liz: just imagine how gross it would smell is enough to make me want to vomit¡­)


    ¡°Flesh golem. It¡¯s not undead, it¡¯s the result of alchemy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so disgusting that it makes me want to vomit.¡±


    Lapis gave a scathing criticism to Dia, who was a bit proud of her performance.


    Dia was somewhat disappointed by Lapis¡¯ words, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, Lapis¡¯ remark was understandable. After all, it was a flesh golem made from orc corpses, both fresh or zombified, kneaded together like y and formed into a humanoid shape. Even if no one said it bluntly like Lapis, there was no doubt that it had an appearance that would make anyone with normal sensibilities nauseous.


    Moreover, when the flesh golem caught the startled orcs and began to try to push them into its body, even Loren, who thought he was used to such things, could not help but feel a small lump in his throat.


    ¡°Well, I guess that takes care of the orcs.¡±


    Perhaps realizing from Loren¡¯s expression that what she had created was uneptable to the other party members, Dia hurriedly tried to change the subject.


    Loren, however, was caught off guard by Dia¡¯s words and questioned her, thinking that no matter how much she tried to change the subject, nothing would change as long as the actual thing was right in front of their eyes.


    ¡°How can you call that ¡®taken care of¡¯?¡±


    It was true that the flesh golem had almost one-sidedly crushed the orcs. However, although the cave where the orcs live was quiterge and spacious, it was probably too small for the flesh golem, which had assimted many more orc corpses, to get inside. If it could not get in, it would not be able to exterminate the orcs inside, and the problem would not be solved at all. But something happening at the entrance of the cave began to overturn this thought of his.


    Of all things, the flesh golem began to bend and twist its huge body and push its way into the cave.


    ¡°It was originally a mass of flesh and blood, so it¡¯s easy to transform.¡±


    ording to Dia, it did have some kind of skeleton, but even if that skeleton was destroyed, there was no problem reconstructing it inside. Moreover, as there was no reason why it had to be humanoid, the size of the space it entered would not matter.


    ¡°After the orcs have been dealt with, the problem is solved by destroying the golem itself. How¡¯s that?¡±


    Dia boasted, and Loren was honestly impressed. Yet that feeling fizzled out when Lapis voiced her question.


    ¡°If there were survivors among them, that golem would pick them out and keep them alive, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Dia froze in her boastful pose, and that was the answer to Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°What do we do, Loren?¡±


    ¡°You tell me.¡±


    The flesh golem had blocked the entrance to the cave as it tried to push itself inside. As they could not stop it now, there was nothing they could do.


    With nothing left to do but watch and pray, Loren looked up at the sky with resigned eyes, hoping that there had been no survivors from the beginning, or that some of them would survive.

 Chapter 279: From Extermination To Raiding

    <h4>Chapter 279: From Extermination To Raiding</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    They watched the flesh golem that Dia had created for a while until it pushed its bodypletely into the cave, making it impossible to see what was happening from the outside.


    After emerging from their hiding ce, Loren tried to approach the cave, but the entrance waspletely covered by a wall of flesh and he could not see inside.


    As the entrance waspletely blocked, no noise could leak out. Wondering what to do, Loren looked down at Dia, who hade up beside him. The Elder moved her face close to the wall of flesh golem she had created, then shook her head as if to say it was hopeless.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do until the order is carried out.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t even cut our way through it?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re ready to get sloshed with blood and grease, I won¡¯t stop you.¡±


    If one were to use a de or something to cut through the wall of flesh that covered therge cave¡¯s entrance, one would have to be prepared for the condition Dia had described. Loren was willing to get covered in blood and grease if necessary, but he didn¡¯t want to be in such a situation when he didn¡¯t have to.


    Looking toward the cave, Loren noticed that the wall of flesh blocking the entrance was slowly but surely slipping inward.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    G, who had also noticed the change, tilted her head, and Dia, who was also tilting her head, pped her hands.


    ¡°This cave is quite deep. The flesh golem does not have enough volume to fill the entire cave, so the deeper it goes, the more the flesh wall will be pulled inside.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re going to be able to move forward as much as the wall being pulled inside.¡±


    Lapis, who was poking her head in to check the condition inside the entrance of the cave, said with a sigh.


    The walls of the cave were slick with blood and grease after the flesh golem had passed through; you might slip if you stepped in the wrong direction, and you were sure to get dirty if you touched the walls, so it was not in a condition that one would want to enter. Still, they would need to enter to check inside after the flesh golem destroyed itself, and the thought made Loren feel gloomy. He stared at the wall of flesh moving slowly toward the back of the cave with disgusted eyes, but after a while he noticed that the movement of the wall was a little strange and looked at it more closely.


    The wall of flesh, which had been moving steadily inward until then, suddenly stopped moving at a certain depth.


    ¡°Hey, it stopped.¡±


    ¡°Has it reached the end?¡±


    The wall had not advanced that far and was still within sight of their group, who were peeking in through the entrance. Thinking that it might be too shallow and too early to have reached the end of the cave, Loren suddenly noticed that the wall of flesh, which had gone deep inside, wasing back toward them.


    ¡°Run! That thing ising back!¡±


    Loren did not consider the flesh golem to be such an inferior creature that it could not distinguish between friend and foe, but the speed of the returning wall was so fast that he thought it might engulf him and the others who were peering into the cave. As he tried to move away from the entrance while giving a warning to everyone, Dia, who was at his back, whispered.


    ¡°Copse.¡±


    With that single word, the flesh golem, whose body had been made of flesh and blood, crumbled as if it had been some kind of joke.


    Loren was worried that if the thing copsed, its remains would flood beneath their feet, and they would be in serious trouble. But his worry was for nothing as the remains of the flesh golemy on the ground as flesh and blood for a moment, then soon dried up and turned into clumps, which after a while broke into dust.


    Crouching down in the remains of the flesh golem, which had self-disintegrated without leaving so much as a smell behind, Dia took a pinch of the dust before the others could stop her and stared at the substances on her fingers.


    ¡°Golems basically have no feelings.¡±


    Dia said to no one in particr as she brushed the dust off her fingers.


    ¡°But golems made from living organisms, such as flesh golems and bone golems, sometimes retain some kind of residue of emotion.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°This golem was frightened by something.¡±


    Dia¡¯s gaze turns to the depth of the cave.


    It was impossible to see inside the unlit cave with normal vision, but Dia, being an Elder, could see through that level of darkness just as well as in daylight. Loren, too, was able to see as far as her by borrowing Shayna¡¯s vision, although he was unable to see into areas that are notpletely lit by his own vision alone. When he turned his gaze toward the depth of the cave as well, all he could see was just a straight stretch of cave; there didn¡¯t seem to be any being that could frighten even a golem as Dia had said.


    ¡°It must be quite a thing to frighten even a golem.¡±


    Lapis, who had followed after Loren and peered into the depths of the cave, could also see through the darkness with her magical vision. G, too, could do the same thing. Nim was the only one who had a frown on her face after peering into the dark and ncing at the others.


    ¡°Loren, do you see anything?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. How can I?¡±


    In fact, he could see, but he couldn¡¯t let Nim know that. So Loren had no choice but to tell the elf that he couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Nim, you can¡¯t see?¡±


    ¡°I can to some extent¡­ But not to the end of the path.¡±


    ¡°I also can¡¯t see anything?¡±


    ¡°Me neither.¡±


    G and Lapis, still peering into the cave, lied one after the other.


    Dia was looking at Loren and the others with a look that seemed to say ¡®What are you talking about¡¯, but they just couldn¡¯t let Nim know the truth.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to get some light and go in there. Thankfully, the blood on the walls and floor seems to be gone.¡±


    As the flesh golem self-destructed, the blood and grease that had wet the walls of the cave also self-destructed and turned to dust, perhaps because they were also parts of the golem. As Loren was thinking that it would be no problem to touch the walls even though they might have to pay some attention to the dust under feet, Dia curiously asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to go in and investigate?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Maybe there are some survivors left, and probably something else in there that scared the flesh golem too?¡±


    Although Loren had a rather brutal thought that it would be less troublesome if there were no survivors left, he believed it would be a good idea to investigate what had frightened the golem.


    The reason was simple: of all the beings that might inhabit Mt. Fire Flute, the only one powerful enough to drive away even a supposedly emotionless golem would be the Ancient Dragon that they hade to see.


    He did think that it might be unlikely, since Dia and Lapis could not feel anything when they came close, but he also thought that it would be a much more productive idea than trying to search the entire mountain, as long as there were no other clues.


    ¡°I¡¯m not forcing you to follow me. I¡¯ll go on my own.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I can let Loren go alone.¡±


    Nim said with her bow at the ready. Lapis nodded, her face showing some dissatisfaction at having been beaten to the punch.


    ¡°If everyone is going, I can¡¯t bear to be the only one left behind.¡±


    ¡°I have to go, too, if that¡¯s the way it¡¯s going.¡±


    In the end, it was decided that they would all go inside together.


    The cave wasrge enough for two people to walk side by side. Loren and Dia, who had a magic light on her fingertips, walked in the front, G was in the middle, and Lapis and Nim walked side-by-side behind her.


    ¡°I thought it would stink¡­ but it doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Even without the presence of the flesh golem, Loren had expected the ce to be filthy and stinking, as it had probably been the home of orcs. But the air inside the cave they stepped into, although a bit damp, did not contain the foul odor he had expected.


    ¡°The golem was in here first. All the dirt and smells have already been taken in.¡±


    Dia said that if they had gone in first, perhaps the cave would be in the condition Loren had expected. But the flesh golem had charged in first, and as it went deeper inside, rubbing its body against the cave wall, it seemed that it had also taken dirt and other things into its body. Those things were broken down with the golem when it self-destructed and turned into the dust that filled the area underfoot, so there was no scent or dirt left behind.


    ¡°That¡¯s handy.¡±


    ¡°Originally, golems were meant to be used as tools.¡±


    ¡°They look horrible, though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more charming when they have at least one w.¡±


    Loren continued through the cave, wondering if that appearance, which was made from internal organs and muscles kneaded together, could simply be considered as a fault.


    The flesh golem itself did not go very far into the cave; it turned around in the middle of the path, so Loren wondered if there might still be some orcs left in the back. But when the party went deeper inside, there was no sign of orcs, nor were there any leftover food like dead bodies lying around.


    ¡°Looks like it did a good job of cleaning up.¡±


    Dia said with satisfaction while checking the situation by holding out magic lights here and there.


    The cave was deep. Loren was somewhat curious as to how the flesh golem, which had only made it to a rather shallow part of the cave, had gotten rid of the orcs that might have been in the back. However, he could not carelessly ask Dia about it, considering that he might get some absurd answer.


    As for the result, Loren thought that it would be good enough if the orcs had been exterminated.


    ¡°The survivors were cleaned up, too, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    G, who was walking behind Loren and Dia, spoke to the Elder in a somewhat dismayed tone. But Dia puffed out her chest lightly and firmly stated.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything like survivors, so perhaps they were never here!¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ Loren, this Elder has be defiant.¡±


    ¡°I certainly did expect them to be here, but since we can¡¯t know for sure whether they really were here or not, you cannot argue that they really were.¡±


    Lapis somehow managed to convince G, who was dumbfounded.


    ¡°Loren, you should choose your friends better.¡±


    Loren listened to Nim¡¯s worried words of advice as he alone kept his eyes on their surroundings. There must be something in their path that frightened even a golem, but where had hispanions left their sense of urgency, he wondered?

 Chapter 280: Traces In A Hidden Room

    <h4>Chapter 280: Traces In A Hidden Room</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s nothing here.¡±


    The group proceeded with caution, but there were no signs of life in the cave, despite the fact that it was once the home of orcs.


    The ce where they would normally cook food, the ce to lock up the vigers brought from the vige they had attacked, the ce to store food¡­ They couldn¡¯t find any ces like that.


    They found a few spaces that looked vaguely like they might have been used as rooms, but there was nothing left in them, and they could not even guess what the purpose of those rooms might have been.


    ¡°It¡¯s spotless. Maybe the cleaning was overdone?¡±


    When Lapis, who was walking behind, said something like that to Dia, who was walking in front, Dia turned away with a nk look on her face and started clumsily whistling a strange tune. Smiling wryly, Loren wondered if she had any better way to deflect the question. But there was another thing weighing on his mind: the thing that had made the supposedly emotionless golem back down.


    There must have been something at the end of the cave that not only triggered fear in the golem, which normally would not be frightened but also made it abandon its forward movement and move backward. But not only Loren, even Lapis, Dia, and G, had yet to sense such a powerful presence here.


    ¡°I wonder what was here? Is it gone already?¡±


    With her hands folded behind her head, G, who was walking around with a manner that showed no hint of caution, said to no one in particr. Loren thought that if something with such a powerful presence was on the move, it should have left some traces, but they hadn¡¯t been able to sense any such traces at all.


    ¡°Maybe that thing was very good at handling its power and presence?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. I don¡¯t think I canpete with it.¡±


    A being that unnecessarily exerted intimidation over its surroundings was frightening, but a being that could exert intimidation when necessary and then move on without being noticed by its surroundings would be even more so, ording to Nim. She said that this proved that the being had both a very high level of intelligence and ability, and Loren agreed.


    The group slowly moved deeper into the cave as they talked, but after some distance, Loren felt a tug on his shoulder and looked down at his right shoulder. He could not see Nig at its usual ce on his shoulder, but he saw instead a white thread attached to it. Looking at the end of the thread, he could see Nig with its a ck body stuck to the cave wall.


    Wondering what was going on, Loren walked up to the wall where the spider was, a spider thread still attached to his shoulder, and stopped when he smelled a sweet smelling from the wall, albeit only slightly.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    Seeing Loren suddenly walking towards a wall then stopped, a quizzical Lapis asked. But she immediately noticed the gaze he directed towards the wall and, raising a hand to get the others¡¯ attention, she slowly approached the wall herself and brought her face close to the rocky surface.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Something smells¡­ bad.¡±


    As Loren wondered if Lapis could smell that, G approached the wall just as Lapis did, and when he thought her nose twitched lightly, she suddenly frowned, covered her mouth and quickly moved away from the wall. That sudden reaction made him wonder if she had been exposed to poison, but G¡¯s subsequent words made his mind go nk for a moment.


    ¡°I can feel Luxuria¡¯s presence!¡±


    What came to Loren¡¯s nk mind was the image of a macho man with a split chin and a big smile on his face, his glistening skin exposed without reserve and his crotch covered by a poor excuse of a piece of cloth. He unconsciously took a step backward, but his legs failed to keep his weight and he almost fell on his back. But was supported by Dia, who was nearby, and Lapis, who had been standing behind Loren before he knew it. Perhaps Lapis had immediately tried to hide behind Loren upon hearing Luxuria¡¯s name, but when she saw that Loren was about to fall on his back, she had hurriedly supported him. He thought to himself ¡®I¡¯m not your shelter¡¯, but he guessed he should be thankful for her in this case.


    As Loren somehow managed to regain his posture, he saw Nim looking like she had no idea what was going on, and G still staring at the wall. The Evil God covered her mouth with her hand and carefully brought her face close to the wall, closely examining the rock surface for a while. Eventually, she looked away and toward Loren and the others.


    ¡°This wall is probably created by >. I don¡¯t know who did it¡­ but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s him¡­¡±


    Someone who had the presence of the Evil God of Lust, but was not Luxeria, and also used magic. Loren knew of only one person who met all these conditions.


    But if that person had been here, Loren was afraid that they had been a step toote.


    Even thought it was a long shot, it was not impossible for the Evil God of Lust, who would be leading a group of muscle-bound adventurers in the city of Kapha right now, had somehow created a wall here. But in that case, they would have to consider eliminating Luxeria, the true Evil God of Lust, in earnest. Either way, an investigation was necessary.


    ¡°Can you move that stone wall?¡±


    ¡°I can just > it¡­ Ah, but if the magic she used was as strong as mine, it might be a bit of a pain.¡±


    The person Loren and G were thinking about was a dark elf named Noel, who followed a man named Magna, a ck swordsman who had a history with Loren and hispanions.


    Loren¡¯s party had previously explored a ruin where Evil Gods had been created. There, they had encountered Noel, who had been reborn as an Evil God of Lust by a device that created Evil Gods like G and her kins. At that time, they parted without much of an encounter, but since Noel had also gained power as an Evil God of Lust, it was not surprising that she would have the same powers and dispositions as Luxuria.


    ¡°Try to. We have to look into this.¡±


    ¡°Ya¡¯ right. Give me some time, will ya?¡±


    As G approached the stone wall, Nig, who had been attached to said wall, hauled itself back to Loren¡¯s right shoulder by the thread it had spit out. Loren patted the spider on the back, who sensed the presence of something they had failed to notice and told him about it.


    ¡°Loren, it has be very attached to you.¡±


    ¡°It seems so¡­ But I wonder why?¡±


    ¡°People who are liked by insects and animals are not bad. Loren is a good child after all.¡±


    Nim smiled and pat Loren¡¯s back. Embarrassed, he scratched his cheek with his index finger.


    In the meantime, G, who had been examining the stone wall, stepped away after a while and pointed her right palm at it.


    ¡°>.¡±


    As she chanted the spell, the surface of the stone wall glowed dimly for a moment. As the light faded, what had been a solid stone wall lost its shape and dissolved into thin air. At the same time, an entrance that had not been there appeared, and Loren and the others had to turn their faces away, cover their mouths with their hands and hold their breath because of the sweet smell that leaked out from the other side of the entrance.


    ¡°My God, who honors knowledge, protect us from the forces of evil. >.¡±


    Lapis hurriedly chanted, and everyone¡¯s resistance to magic was increased. If not for that, Loren and Nim might have been hit by the sweet smell and fallen under the control of the power of lust. The smell was that strong.


    Loren, who was holding his breath so much that tears leaked out, wiped his eyes and looked beyond the entrance that G had opened. On the floor there was what appeared to be a magic circle drawn by purple light, and in the center of it was a stone statue of what appeared to be a woman.


    ¡°What is this¡­?¡±


    Nim asked, mouth still covered by a hand, and Loren wondered how to reply.


    Being a silver ranked adventurer, she must have known about Evil Gods, but it was difficult to say that Evil Gods existed right here. But then, it would be very difficult to exin that thing without talking about the Evil God of Lust.


    As Loren wondered what to do, G spoke on his behalf.


    ¡°This is a form of magic that affects the mind.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not an honest art. I think you have to be a bit of a crazy outcast like me to know it.¡±


    Loren wondered if anyone would call themselves crazy, but Nim stared at G and muttered ¡®I see¡¯ as if she was satisfied for some reason. Wondering what about G¡¯s appearance that was so convincing, Loren stared at the Evil God, who seemed to have been expecting some more difficult questions and was disappointed that none came, and found something that somehow made sense to him.


    ¡°She¡¯s not dressed like a normal magician.¡±


    A magician¡¯s basic attire was a robe and a staff. However, G was not dressed in the manner one would associate with the word ¡®magician¡¯, and her clothes were very revealing. If you were told that she was an outcast, you would ept that she could not be a normal magician with such an attire.


    ¡°I know I said so myself, but it hurts to hear you agree like that¡­¡±


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s leave G¡¯s unusual appearance alone.¡±


    Leaving G slump-shouldered, Lapis pointed to the form on the other side of the entrance.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s better to destroy that, isn¡¯t it? Maybe this is the reason why the orcs were so active.¡±


    ¡°Maybe so, but¡­ how do we get rid of it?¡±


    Loren wondered if Gua was going to use > again, but Lapis pointed to the female statue enshrined in the center of the form.


    ¡°If we destroy it, the form will not be able to sustain itself.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t go out of control, will it?¡±


    Destroying the key element of a controlled object woud certainly cause the whole system to go out of order and copse. And with its control gone, the controlled object might go wild. That was what Loren wanted to confirm, but Lapis tilted her head and said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t decipher the formation.¡±


    If it were an ordinary magic circle, Lapis would have been able to decipher it. But what they had here was a circle made by the power of an Evil God, a formation that she did not know, and she said that it wouldn¡¯t be strange if something unexpected happened.


    Even though Loren was disheartened by her words, they couldn¡¯t just leave that magic circle here. So he raised his greatswords, thinking that no matter what the statue in the center of the magic circle was made of, it would surely be broken by his sword.

 Chapter 281: From Dispelling to Advancing

    <h4>Chapter 281: From Dispelling to Advancing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren was worried that the magic circle would go out of control if they destroyed it, but they couldn¡¯t just leave it alone.


    Even if something happened, there was still Lapis, a demon, who was skilled in manipting magic, and G, who was indeed called ¡®God¡¯ even though there was a lot to say about her title. Then there was also Loren, who had Shayna, the King of Death ¨C the highest ranked undead, dwelling inside him. Not to mention Dia, the Elder. Thinking that a group like theirs could handle a few things, Loren swung his greatsword and shed at the female statue in the centre of the magic circle, which was glowing with a mysterious light.


    Loren had expected the statue to be made from some kind of very hard material, but his de passed through it with almost no resistance. As a result, he pitched forward a little after putting too much force into the swing while the statue, having been cut off at an angle, fell to the floor.


    At that moment, the magic circle on the floor immediately lost its light, and the unbearably sweet smell that had been wafting through the air vanished as if it had never been there in the first ce.


    ¡°How¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be alright.¡±


    Loren wondered what would happen, but Lapis, after looking around and seeing that nothing seemed to have changed, walked up to Loren¡¯s side and lightly poked the female statue that had fallen at his feet with her toes. The statue made a sound like something solid being tapped would, but nothing happened. After confirming this, Lapis turned to Loren, who had returned his greatsword to his back, and nodded to say that it was okay.


    ¡°With this, I guess the orcs problem is also solved now.¡±


    ¡°The golem cleaned up the mess.¡±


    G said this in a voice that could be considered either sarcastic or joking, and when Dia red at her. Just then, IT came out of nowhere.


    Loren reflexively put his hand on the hilt of the greatsword he had just put away, and Lapis got into a fighting stance. The smile on G¡¯s face disappeared, and Dia¡¯s eyes, which had been ring at G, turned away from her to the back of the cave. Nim was the only one who was surprised by the suddenly ready-for-battle atmosphere and looked around without understanding what had happened.


    ¡°Did you feel it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but only subtle and not very clearly.¡±


    ¡°Just for a brief moment, then it¡¯s suddenly gone.¡±


    ¡°But it definitely focused on us.¡±


    ¡°Loren, exnation please.¡±


    Nim tugged at Loren¡¯s sleeves, and Loren wondered what to say as he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.


    It was probably the presence momentarily directed at them that made Loren and the other three enter a state of alertness at once. As Lapis said, they reflexively went into fighting stances after sensing the presence, but it was too subtle for Nim to perceive.


    Although it was not surprising that Lapis, G and Dia could sense the presence, they were all astonished that Loren was able to sense something that even a silver ranked adventurer like Nim couldn¡¯t. They didn¡¯t show it on their faces though.


    ¡°You mean something turned its attention to us for a moment?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t seem to mean us any harm, but I sensed something very powerful.¡±


    ¡°It must havee from somewhere deeper in the cave.¡±


    ¡°The passageway seems to still continue. Shall we go on?¡±


    Dia pointed to the end of the passage and Loren nodded.


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re here to investigate, so we have no choice but to go on.¡±


    If they turned back here, there was very little to report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The fact that nearby viges had been destroyed was a matter that should have been reported to the government rather than the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and the report of an unusual orc infestation had nothing to support it now that they had defeated the orcs and cleaned out the cave where they dwelled with the flesh golem.


    ¡°Then we should proceed with utmost care.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. If something happens, I¡¯ll leave it to you, Elder-sensei.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I¡¯m confident that I can handle most things, but since this is your job in the first ce, it is a little wrong to leave everything to me, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    As they walked deeper into the cave, Dia admonished Lapis¡¯ words, but Lapis took no offense and inly said.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s part of being an adventurer to use whatever you have avable to you to get out of a tight spot.¡±


    Behind them, G nodded her head repeatedly as if to say ¡®That¡¯s right¡¯. Loren thought that if Dia was not enough, surely the next to be pushed to the frontline should be G, the Evil God.


    ¡°Hey, Nim. You could give up at some point and go back anytime. We kinda have our own terms, you know.¡±


    Loren would feel sorry for Nim and Chuck if the elf got too deep into this, so he told Nim, who was walking behind him. It would be a bit dangerous for Nim to go back on her own, but with her ability as a silver ranked adventurer, he thought she should be able to make it back to Kapha by herself. But Nim shook her head.


    ¡°Once I¡¯ve taken a job, I will carry it out properly. When it¡¯s time toe back, we¡¯ll all go together.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be a great wife, Nim, no lie.¡±


    When Loren sincerely put into words what he felt, Nim, who normally did not show much emotions, quietly looked away as a slight blush tinted her cheeks.


    Seeing the elf like that, G and Dia smiled wickedly. Loren, guessing that they were about to tease Nim, red at them a bit hard before they could and the two, realizing that they were easily found out, gave up teasing the elf.


    ¡°Loren, can you tell me the same thing too?¡±


    Loren opened his mouth to say the same thing to Lapis, whose eyes were shining with anticipation, but he stopped himself mid-sentence and closed his mouth.


    As Lapis was about to puff out her cheeks, being unhappy about not being able to hear those words for herself, Loren patted her head.


    ¡°Words don¡¯t have any weight unless you really mean it, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ll say it here casually if you want to, but do you want something like that?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm. Let¡¯s save it for the right time then.¡±


    Loren¡¯s words put Lapis back in a good mood, and she easily backed off, which caused G and Dia to start smirking again. But this time, they took one look at Lapis and immediately dropped the smiles from their faces and began to slink away. Loren reckoned that she must have stared at them with a very scary face, but fortunately for him, Lapis¡¯ face was turned toward G and Dia at an angle that was not visible to him, and Loren never had to see it.


    And like that, the group proceeded deeper into the cave where the orcs used to live.


    After some time, Loren noticed that the orcs had not set foot in the back of this cave. To be more specific, the orcs did not seem to havee beyond the area where the magic circle was located.


    One of the reasons why they knew this was that the remains of the flesh golem, which had self-destructed and turned into dust, had stopped appearing beyond the ce where the magic circle was located.


    Even though the flesh golem had retreated in response to something, they didn¡¯t know how far it had been able to advance at all. but considering the fact that Dia had ordered it to self-destruct before it could retreat too far, this cave had no traces of its passage. However, Loren thought that it was safe to assume that the deeper part of the cave was untouched, since there was no sign of the filth and smell of orcs living there.


    And the only reason he could think of was that presence, which had momentarily focused on them was in the back of the cave.


    ¡°If you really think about it, the Ancient Dragon is a strong possibility, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You mean the thing in the back of the cave? That may be so, but if so, doesn¡¯t that raise another question?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about it?¡±


    ¡°Would an Ancient Dragon allow orcs to live in the cave that leads to itsir?¡±


    Orcs were a filthy race. They hoarded a variety of things, which made the area around their dwelling very smelly and unbearably dirty. It must be quite unpleasant just to have such monsters living near you, and if you think about, it seemed very unlikely that a being like an Ancient Dragon would really allow them to live close to its dwelling.


    ¡°If any orcs settled anywhere near where I live, I would certainly incinerate them on the same day.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the dragons would tolerate something that even the humans can¡¯t seem to tolerate.¡±


    ¡°I think us elves would do everything in our power to get rid of the orcs if they were anywhere near the forest.¡±


    ¡°I am sure that dragons will not allow that either. But then, what else could be ahead?¡±


    ¡°Could it be a dragon that is tolerant of orcs?¡±


    There are many different types of people among the human race. It would be the same for elves and demons. Loren thought that if there were so many people with different ways of thinking, it would not be surprising if there were some individuals who showed some kind of tolerance toward a race that was abhorred like orcs. However, this idea seemed to be uneptable to Gura and Dia, and they snickered at him, saying what a foolish thing to say. They snorted as if he had just said something nonsensical.


    ¡°Loren is such an unusual child. Not many people think like that.¡±


    Loren was unsure whether that was apliment or not, but he decided to take it as one judging from the expression on Nim¡¯s face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t dislike that kind of thinking.¡±


    Even though she also couldn¡¯t tolerate orcs, Lapis didn¡¯t seem to negate Loren¡¯s thought.


    Although Nim couldn¡¯t be told about this, Lapis was from the demon race, a race that should be abhorred by the human race. But Loren still treated her normally, so she might think that it was not strange for him to think in this way.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not very likely, is it? I said it myself, but I can¡¯t imagine a dragon being friendly with orcs either.¡±


    If the Ancient Dragon that seemed to live here was that entric, then Emery, the Ancient Dragon living in the demon realm, who told them about this one, should have said something to them, or so Loren thought.

 Chapter 282: From Advancing to Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 282: From Advancing to Encounter</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Stopping and thinking would not give you an answer. Having decided to move forward, Loren and his team decided to take action and proceeded further into the cave.


    As they formed a line and proceeded deeper and deeper, Lapis noticed something strange.


    ¡°This cave doesn¡¯t seem to change in dimensions no matter how far we go.¡±


    If a cave was naturally formed, the deeper you went, the narrower it got. And even if this was not the case, there was bound to be a slight difference in size somewhere. However, the cave that they were walking through had remained almost the same dimensions from the entrance.


    This meant that this was not a natural formation. However, when he put his face close to the wall of the cave, he could not believe that the rock surface there was dug by someone¡¯s hand, as the wall had extremely natural irregrities. He wondered if it was a disguise to hide the fact that the cave had been artificially created.


    ¡°Did the orcs dig it?¡±


    ¡°If so, it would have been more distorted.¡±


    An artificial cave that did not change in dimensions cannot be built without the skill and knowledge to keep digging in the exact same area. Even if the orcs had dug the mountainside to create a ce for themselves to live, Lapis said that it would probably have to be aborious job, and the shape of the cave would have to be distorted.


    ¡°Then whose hand did it¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s me, Me. Can you hear me?¡±


    The male voice suddenly resounded so close to their ears that the group all stopped in their tracks and became alert.


    But no one could be seen around except for themselves.


    Loren wondered if it was some kind of telepathymunication like what was used by Shayna, but unlike Shayna¡¯s voice that echoed in his mind, the voice he heard just now definitely sounded like a real voice that shook his eardrums. And it was the voice of an old man.


    ¡°Can they hear me, I wonder? If you can hear me, please answer.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Loren asked shortly in reply to the voice that demanded a response.


    It was natural for people to be wary when they could only hear the other person¡¯s voice but could not see them, and it was impossible to know what information may be conveyed to the other person if they speak in long phrases. That was why Loren thought it would be better to keep it short and just implied that they heard the voice.


    Loren was that cautious, but when the unseen owner of the voice heard his reply, his voice was tinged with joy.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re connected atst. I see you¡¯re in range of my voice, thank goodness.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±


    The other members of the group remained silent, listening to the dialogue between Loren and the owner of the voice.


    ¡°What, you are such a bore! Did you break that annoying magic circle around here?¡±


    The only other magic circle around here Loren could think of was the one of Lust, which he destroyed just a few minutes ago. He asked if that was what the voice talked about, and it happily said ¡®yes¡¯ repeatedly.


    ¡°That was the first time I felt to be in danger since I was born. If you have removed it, I must thank you. There is no danger beyond that point. You may proceed without worries.¡±


    An adventurer who replied ¡®Ah is that so¡¯ after being told to not worry would not live long. However, Loren somehow felt that, judging from the tone of the voice he heard, it might be safe to trust what it was saying. But it was a baseless thought, and when he looked at hispanions to see what to do, they all looked troubled and seemed to be thinking hard.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a trap.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a trap.¡±


    ¡°No one would be stupid enough to believe it.¡±


    The girls seemed to have uniformly decided that what the voice was saying was a trap.


    Loren wondered if he was being too good-natured, but was relieved that he had not said anything about trusting the voice. He made a suggestion on what to do next.


    ¡°We have to keep going. And we have to keep an eye out for traps.¡±


    In other words, let¡¯s keep our guard up and continue to move forward. As Loren took a step forward, thinking that was all they could do, a voice with a tone of dismay reached his ears.


    ¡°Skeptics, aren¡¯t you? I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Where are you talking to us from?¡±


    It was a strange feeling, Loren thought, to have a conversation with someone you couldn¡¯t see. Not that there were no simrities to conversing with Shayna, but Shayna could appear in Loren¡¯s field of vision when she wanted to, and she was someone with whom it was possible to have a conversation without speaking aloud, which was different from the person talking to him at the moment.


    ¡°Sounds are sent directly to ears by vibration in the atmosphere. In other words, if my voice doesn¡¯t reach others¡¯ ears, you¡¯re just preupied mumbling to yourself.¡±


    ¡°What a bad character!¡±


    Loren was so surprised by the way the owner of the voice said it that he unintentionally raised his voice, but it seemed that the other person was really trying to make sure that no other members could hear him except for Loren. When he suddenly shouted out loud, everyone looked at him with surprised eyes.


    Loren cleared his throat and decided to ignore the voice until they met its owner. But just then, he heard more words.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I think I went a little overboard with the prank.¡±


    There was no joking tone in his apologetic words. The owner of the voice told Loren in a regretful voice that he would not make the same mistake again.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to say anything, are you? It can¡¯t be helped. I can transmit my voice by making the air vibrate, and I can even change the tone of my voice, but still¡­ If you don¡¯t talk, I will have to mess with someone else.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    With a sense of foreboding Loren whispered in reply, and the owner of the voice whispered back something ridiculous.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to whisper in the ears of everyone present here ¡®I love you¡¯ in your voice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you, you little¡­¡±


    Loren muttered in a cold, low voice to the other person, who had used polite form only for the ¡®I love you¡¯ part. Lapis and Nim, who had good ears, seemed to hear his murmur. They looked at Loren with a puzzled look on their faces. Rather than startling them, Loren¡¯s first priority was to stop the owner of the voice from pulling his prank. If he really did that, who knew what kind of chaos would ensue. Some would be overjoyed, some would be confused, and some might even get angry. If all of them were to approach him at once, Loren had no confidence that he would be able to control the situation.


    ¡°I will be thankful if you don¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°It was just a small joke. But you seem to be afraid of the people around you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared to death, so don¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°You sound honest. All right, I swear I won¡¯t do it.¡±


    The voice did not seem to be able to tell what kind of people were around him, Loren thought. With a group of Elder, demon and Evil God, which just mentioning them together was ominous enough, that was a prank one would never think to pull off.


    ¡°But walking too slow¡­ I¡¯m bored out of my mind. Can¡¯t I at least have a chat with you?¡±


    ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t ignore you, so if there¡¯s something you want to ask me, just say it.¡±


    As only Loren could hear the voice, the sight of him muttering things might seem strange to the other members of the group. However, if it was to stop the mischief that the owner of the voice was talking about, Loren was prepared to take it in stride, even if it made him look like a bit of an oddball.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask then. Are you not friends with the creator of the magic circle?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure who made it, but I have a guess, and they are not one of us.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well then, I feel a strangely potent wave of power from the area where you are. What is the reason for this?¡±


    Loren looked at Lapis and other people around him. The first thing that came to his mind when he heard the term ¡®potent wave of power¡¯ was the power imbued to the map given to Lapis by the Ancient Dragon Emery. But if they were talking about potent power, then Dia the Elder, Lapis the demon, and G the Evil God, basically everyone except for himself and Nim would fit the description. Not knowing which of these the voice was referring to, as well as thinking that it was better to avoid giving an urate answer, Loren decided not to answer.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to see for yourself?¡±


    ¡°So, there is more than one candidate for that. That¡¯s a bit frightening.¡±


    Having his intentions seen through so easily, Loren was deeply impressed. A poor attempt at wordy might instead make the other person distrustful, so Loren, reminding himself that he needed to think carefully about his answers, decided to ask some questions of his own.


    ¡°Are you the Ancient Dragon that is said to live in the vicinity?¡±


    ¡°Who told you that? I¡¯ve been living in hiding for so long that only a few people know who I am.¡±


    Loren could not imagine why an Ancient Dragon would live in hiding. There must be a good reason for such a powerful being to hide itself, but he thought it was better to answer the question than to think about it at the moment.


    ¡°We heard from an Ancient Dragon who lives elsewhere. Her name was Emery. Do you know her?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t recall that name¡­ Well, I guess her real name must be a different one. Our names are difficult for humans to hear or say.¡±


    ¡°It was a dragon living near the castle of the Great Demon King in the demon realm.¡±


    There was silence for a while. Loren wondered if the dragon had be lost in his own memory when the voice came back, suddenly lively as if its owner had recalled something.


    ¡°Emery, in the demon realm¡­ Oh oh oh, that one. I know her. I see¡­ it¡¯s not surprising that she knows where I live.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t want us to be attacked out of the blue, so she gave us something with her power in it. Perhaps that is the power you were talking about?¡±


    ¡°I see. I don¡¯t remember how long it¡¯s been since west saw each other, and I suppose her worries were justified.¡±


    How long ago was it that even an Ancient Dragon could not remember? The voice told Loren that it was probably so long ago that it was difficult for him, who only has a fixed lifespan, to even imagine.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait until we see each other to find out more. You¡¯re about to arrive at my ce of residence. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of, soe in slowly.¡±


    Loren noticed that there was a dead end in the direction he was going, and there was no other path.


    G was the first to approach the dead-end wall and began to examine it, holding up her hand.


    ¡°This one seems to be blocked by magic, too.¡±


    ¡°The guy at the end of the road called us here, so he must be able to open it, right?¡±


    When Loren said this to G, implying that the Ancient Dragon should open the door for them, the dead-end wall, as if it had been waiting for him to say this, lost its shape as if it were melting, and the entrance that had been blocked is revealed.


    ¡°What a great power. Even my eyes could not catch any signs.¡±


    Dia said in admiration as the group went through the open entrance and stepped inside.


    On the other side of the entrance was a wide hall-like space, with soft white light pouring down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire space. Various gold and silver treasures were piled high along the walls, glittering and reflecting the light pouring down from the ceiling.


    Loren and hispanions were nearly blinded by the sight, but their eyes immediately fell on a dragon in the centre of the hall, and everyone¡¯s faces lit up in surprise.


    ¡°I should say wee, should I? I am the Ancient Dragon who lives here. My name is¡­ you may call me Konin.¡±


    The dragon¡¯s mouth curved slightly into a smile as he introduced himself.

 Chapter 283: Obtaining Information

    <h4>Chapter 283: Obtaining Information</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    When Loren stepped into the chamber, he wondered about one thing.


    The chamber was shaped like a semi-circr dome, and as far as Loren could see, there was no ce to exit other than the entrance through which they had entered.


    The Ancient Dragon he had encountered in the past was veryrge, and her habitat naturally had arge opening for such a huge body to enter and exit. But there was nothing like that in this space, and Loren wondered how the dragon living here came and went in and out.


    But the question was immediately answered when he saw the dragon.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with my appearance?¡±


    The dragon, who tilted his head as everyone looked at him, was much smaller than they had imagined. He was small for a dragon, not to mention an Ancient Dragon: Sitting in the centre of the space like a dog, he was at most the size of a young horse.


    If he was just this big, he would be able to walk through the cave they had passed through to get in and out. However, it was also hard to believe that this was an Ancient Dragon.


    ¡°So tiny.¡±


    It seemed like Loren was not the only one who had this impression, but Lapis and the others also felt the same way. As Lapis unintentionally murmured those words, Loren observed the dragon, who was looking at them from a lower perspective than his own.


    Appearance wise, he looked just as what you would imagine when you heard the word ¡®dragon¡¯. His body was white, the colour so pure that it seemed to glow a little. There was not a speck of dirt on it, and every part of the body, such as limbs, ws and fangs, were in good condition.


    However, he was still too small. To Loren, he looked like the Ancient Dragon they had met in the demon realm, shrunken down to a smaller size and bleached of all colours.


    Having been stared at by everyone, the dragon thumped the floor with his tail.


    ¡°Are you admiring me? Good gracious, it makes me shy.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re surprised. Aren¡¯t you a bit too small?¡±


    The dragon named Konin looked up at G curiously when she expressed her honest impression.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with being small?¡±


    ¡°It is too different from the Ancient Dragon we¡¯ve met before.¡±


    The Ancient Dragon they had met in the demon realm was a veryrge specimen. For Loren and hispanions, who still had that image in mind, the specimen they encountered this time was much smaller inparison. Even if they were told that he was the Ancient Dragon they were looking for, they were still unable to ept that fact.


    ¡°I have been living here in hiding.¡±


    Squinting, Konin said as if he was recalling something.


    ¡°It would be inconvenient to hide if you were too big, wouldn¡¯t it? And if you don¡¯t eat enough for your body, you¡¯ll starve. With this body, I don¡¯t need as much food, so it was more convenient for me.¡±


    ¡°Why were you hiding again? If I was as powerful as you, I wouldn¡¯t have had to run and hide.¡±


    From what Loren understood, Ancient Dragons were one of the most powerful beings in the world. An Ancient Dragon was an existence that could not be countered even with an army. So, it was iprehensible that such a powerful creature would go to the trouble of hiding his existence. If there was something that tried to provoke him, he should have the power to make them yield, Loren thought.


    ¡°I am a pacifist.¡±


    Konin said this in a nonchnt manner, but Loren¡¯s eyes did not fail to notice a momentary shift in his gaze. Even without that, Loren believed that no one who imed to be a pacifist was really a pacifist. He stared at Konin in silence, and after a while the dragon muttered quietly as if to add.


    ¡°Actually, I was badly wounded by the kingdom a long time ago. I was recovering from that, and I am also a hikikomori that is scared of going outside¡­¡±


    ¡°Was it the Magic Kingdom of Nuuna?¡±


    ¡°They were very scary. They saw dragons only as a source of materials.¡±


    It was no exaggeration to say that the body of a dragon was a treasure trove of materials that can be utilized to the extent that there was no waste. Not only scales, ws and fangs, but bones and internal organs could also be used. Dragon meat could be used to make medicines, and it was also very tasty to eat.


    ¡°It is said that dragon steak was a favourite dish of the royalty of the Ancient Kingdoms, and that they hunted dragons.¡±


    Lapis said to Loren as if sharing some trivia, and Konin nodded his head.


    ¡°So, this dragon here. Is there anything to eat, I wonder?¡±


    If a dragon was as huge as Emery, the amount of meat and materials that can be obtained from it should be substantial. But Konin, the dragon in front of them, was very small. He was so small that even if you took the trouble to kill it, you might not have enough to eat, or so Loren thought.


    Konin replied in a somewhat displeased tone.


    ¡°I was a huge dragon myself until about 300 years ago.¡±


    ording to Konin, even such a huge dragon could only manage to drive back the forces of the Ancient Kingdom. Seriously wounded, he built a dwelling inside Mt. Fire Flute, where Loren¡¯s party was currently at, and began to hide there for many years to heal his wounds.


    ¡°The smaller you are, the less power you have to use to heal wounds.¡±


    ¡°Poor dragon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you understand, don¡¯t you?¡±


    When Nim said this, Konin walked up to her and rubbed his head against her chest as if he was nuzzling her.


    Nim¡¯s face stiffened at first at the experience of being nuzzled by a dragon, but when she realized that it really was simr to being nuzzled by a young horse, perhaps because Konin was being moderate in his strength, she began to stroke his neck tenderly.


    After a while, Konin pulled away from Nim and walked back to the centre of the chamber.


    ¡°Hm, somewhatcking.¡±


    ¡°Loren, can I shoot that dragon?¡±


    If voices did have temperature, the temperature of Nim¡¯s words would be the same as the Frozen Hell, one of the hells where evildoers were cast down after death as stated in mythology. Loren stopped her as she was getting her bow ready.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t do it. That bone arrow won¡¯t prate dragons¡¯ scales anyway.¡±


    In the current state, Nim might be able to shoot through the dragon¡¯s scales. But as long as Loren had information he wanted to extract from this dragon, he could not let her shoot him dead.


    ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t much, but thank you Elfdy. And thanks for destroying the magic circle. I couldn¡¯t go out because of that circle.¡±


    ¡°Was that magic circle really that powerful?¡±


    In G¡¯s opinion, that magic circle, which was probably created by Noel, was just a substitute for the continued exercise of the power of Lust, and should not have been the reason for the Ancient Dragon¡¯s actions. However, since the dragon was unable to go outside because of it, there might have been something else that even G did not know. In that case, Noel¡¯s ability must be considerable, and it was necessary to check what that magic circle could do.


    ¡°No, that magic circle itself just gave off a strange smell. The orcs that were attracted by it were the problem.¡±


    ¡°How can orcs give problems to an Ancient Dragon?¡±


    Even though orcs were not as low-ranked as goblins, individually they were not very powerful. However, should they gathered in greater numbers, they would be a force to be reckoned with. Still, they should not be feared by an Ancient Dragon at any price.


    ¡°They stunk. And the orcs under the influence of that magic circle have lost the ability to make distinction.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Ordinary orcs only attack females, but those orcs¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, forget it. I don¡¯t want to hear any more about it.¡±


    Sensing that he was going to regret it if he heard it, Loren interrupted Konin and made him stop talking.


    ¡°You¡¯re a male, right?¡±


    Loren thought that the dragon would not be a female, seeing that he had rubbed his head against Nim¡¯s chest and insinuated that it was not good enough. If the dragon was actually a female despite all that, Loren would have a lot to unpack, but his worry was for naught.


    ¡°Yeah. As a male, I¡¯ve never thought that I¡¯d be frightened of orcs.¡±


    Konin¡¯s voice trembled as he looked into the distance, perhaps he had once tried to get through the orcs¡¯ dwelling ce.


    Watching the dragon being like that, Loren was convinced that the annihtion of the orcs here and the destruction of that magic formation, which Noel must have made, was definitely a good thing.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to thank me, I have a favour to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what is it? I¡¯ll do it if I can.¡±


    With a casualness that made Loren wonder if he was being a little too hasty, Konin nodded at Lapis¡¯ words. But with ¡®if I can¡¯ being added, Loren wondered if his reply could be considered hasty at all.


    Lapis told Konin the reason why they came here. The dragon, who had been quietly listening to Magna¡¯s story and actions, and their desire for information from Konin in order to get a head start, let out a low groan when she finished speaking.


    ¡°I see. So maybe that¡¯s why they came here.¡±


    ¡°They came here?¡±


    Loren shook his head in surprise, wondering if they had already made the first move.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if they were the ones you are talking about, but there was someone who tried to open the entrance to this ce when that magic circle was formed. I didn¡¯t open the entrance because I didn¡¯t like the way they built their crazy magic circle in the corridor of someone else¡¯s dwelling, but it was probably them.¡±


    ¡°So, you haven¡¯t seen them?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see them or speak to them.¡±


    That was good information, Loren thought. At least regarding the information this Ancient Dragon had, they knew that they had a head start on Magna.


    ¡°Now, you were talking about the ruins and relics of the Magic Kingdom of Nuuna, which you call the Ancient Kingdom. Well, then, I know one thing. I have information about a relic, perhaps the most powerful relic I know. I will tell you about it.¡±


    With the air of a teacher teaching his students, the Ancient Dragon, who called himself Konin, tuned slightly and puffed out his chest in pride.

 Chapter 284: From Obtaining Information to Advancing

    <h4>Chapter 284: From Obtaining Information to Advancing</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The Ancient Dragon had gone to great lengths to describe the item as a ¡®special item¡¯. Loren thought it must be an extraordinary item, but then a question came to his mind.


    Dragons had a habit of collecting treasures, which, in addition to gold, silver, and gems, should also include powerful magic items. If it was such a treasure like Konin had said, then it should be included in the treasures piled up by the wall of the chamber where their party currently was.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s among the treasures there?¡±


    If so, it was no longer the legacy of the Ancient Kingdom, but the treasure of a dragon. Konin wanted to express his gratitude, but there was no way to tell whether he felt thankful enough to give up his own treasure.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not here. I¡¯m not interested in items I can¡¯t use myself.¡±


    With that being said, Loren looked at the hoard piled up against the wall. In addition to the coins and gems, there were also some weapons that like treasured swords or magic swords stuck into the ground, which seemed to contradict Konin¡¯s statement.


    Loren was about to ask about it, but he closed his mouth when he saw Konin walk up to the wall, held the hilt of one of the swords stuck in the wall in his mouth and started shaking his head. It seemed like he wanted to say that he could use the swords in this way.


    Taking that into ount, Loren looked at the piles of treasures again and found that there were indeed shields and swords among them, indicating that they were probably collected because the dragon could use them by holding them in his mouth.


    Regardless, Loren had no idea why a dragon, who was supposed to have scales stronger and fangs sharper than most swords, would go to the trouble of putting a shield or sword in his mouth to use it for anything.


    ¡°What are the magic items that you can¡¯t use?¡±


    ¡°Armors. I can¡¯t wear human armors.¡±


    Konin, who had returned from the wall, answered Lapis¡¯ question.


    As a dragon¡¯s body structure waspletely different from that of a human, it was true that a dragon could not wear human armor. He probably could use helmets at the very least, but it seemed that Konin had no intention of dismantling a set of armor just to use the helmet.


    ¡°There is an extraordinary item, made from the best of the best technologies of the Magic Kingdom in a ruin that I know of.¡±


    ¡°It smells of trouble.¡±


    Dia muttered as if she had some thoughts about the legacy of the Ancient Kingdom.


    Loren did not disagree with the fact that the trouble powerful goods attracted was proportional to their power. It was usually the case for things that everyone wanted, and Loren would not want to touch them unless he had to. However, with someone like Magna collecting such things and making it even more of a hassle, he had no choice but to resign himself to the fact that he would have to.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it is troublesome or not. I haven¡¯t seen it myself, after all.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen it?¡±


    Because of Konin¡¯s big talk, Loren had assumed that he had seen the actual object. However, if the dragon had not seen the actual thing himself, it was doubtful whether it was actually in the ce he said it was.


    ¡°I am sure it is there. It was written to be there.¡±


    ¡°Written?¡±


    ¡°There is a monument at the entrance to the ruin where it is enshrined. It is written there, so I think it is there.¡±


    Konin¡¯s tone was losing strength, as if he became weak when confronted with the fact that he had not seen the item himself.


    The faces of Lapis, G and Dia, which could be seen behind Loren and Nim, turned doubtful.


    ¡°A monument at a ruin? They went through all the trouble of putting up a sign that says, ¡®There is an armor here¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a strange story, isn¡¯t it? What kind of ruin is that?¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t build a ruin just to put armor in it, can they? No, can such a wasteful thing be¡­ possible? Is it possible?¡±


    Loren understood why the three of them were sceptical. Ruins of the Ancient Kingdom always served a purpose. For example, it could be a research facility, a residential facility for the people of the kingdom, or a warehouse. What kind of facility would be built with a monument at the entrance to inform the public that there was armor inside? That made the existence of the ruin that Konin mentioned became doubtful.


    ¡°Ojii-chan, you¡¯re not going senile, are you?¡±


    ¡°How rude. Both my eyes and head are still clear.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve lived a long time, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    G, with only one eyebrow raised, spoke in a mocking manner, and Konin protested, stomping the ground in indignation. Leaving the dragon to G, who provoked him with even more words, Loren formed a circle with Lapis, Nim, and Dia and began consulting with them.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it means, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a lie.¡±


    It was Lapis who responded to Loren¡¯s request for an opinion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Konin would benefit from setting us up, and since he seems to feel indebted to us for eliminating the orc threat, I think the information is fairly reliable.¡±


    ¡°Even if you take that possibility out of the equation, I¡¯m still not convinced.¡±


    Dia took over Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already known this, but ruins always have a purpose. I¡¯ve never heard of any ruins that were built to house armors.¡±


    ¡°So, with that in mind, let¡¯s let the leader decide, shall we?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words caused three of them to shift the focus of their gazes, and Nim was the centre of attention.


    ¡°M-me?¡±


    ¡°Even though it¡¯s just a formality, you are the leader of this party, Nim.¡±


    ¡°Mercenaries are a bit strict about hierarchical rtionships among ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I just went with the flow. I had no idea this elf was the leader.¡±


    In fact, Nim was registered as the party leader to be able to ept thismission, but she did not expect to be entrusted with the decision here. After looking around at the troubled faces of the three people staring at her, she looked at Loren with a sullen expression. Seeing such expression on her face, Loren put his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. We won¡¯t dump it on you here like that. But¡­¡±


    After a pause, during which his expression turned serious, Loren looked into the eyes of Nim, who was still looking at him, and spoke his mind.


    ¡°Nim, you originally joined this job because you wanted some easy money, right? I¡¯m sorry, but from here on out, it¡¯s going to be a troublesome thing that has nothing to do with the job. I can¡¯t involve you in this, so it¡¯ll be better if you turn back here. I¡¯ll ask Dia to take you back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to exclude me when things be interesting?!¡±


    Dia pressed, and Loren apologetically told her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to exclude you, but we can¡¯t let Nim go home alone, can we? Our party will continue on alone from here on, so why don¡¯t you go back with Nim?¡±


    Although Nim was a very skilled silver-ranked adventurer, Loren was not only ufortable asking her to return to Kapha alone, he was also worried that something might go wrong. If Dia escorted her back, he would be able to go to the ruin without worrying, but he knew that Dia would be reluctant to ept this proposal. That was why he made the request earnestly.


    Dia¡¯s cheeks were puffed up and she looked dissatisfied, but when Loren bowed to her, she reluctantly agreed.


    ¡°Only if the elf decides toe back.¡±


    ¡°Of course. So, what do you think, Nim? Of course, we¡¯ll pay you the money. If it¡¯s urgent, you can ask Lapis to pay right here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll lend you the money, but the interest is ten percent for ten days, Loren.¡±


    Lapis said with a smirk, and Loren, wondering how serious she was, responded with slumped shoulders.


    ¡°I¡¯m in so much debt I can¡¯t even count it, and now you want to add more to it?¡±


    Nim, who had been watching their exchange, responded to Loren¡¯s suggestion with a slight chuckle.


    ¡°I¡¯m going with you. It would be absurd to go back now. Themission to investigate the Fire Flute Mountain would not have been possible without the presence of a silver ranked adventurer, even on paperwork. I can¡¯t just leave.¡±


    ¡°It could be dangerous.¡±


    It might have been bad for Nim, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, it would be better if she left now. Even if they didn¡¯t know how dangerous the ruin or whatever Konin was referring to was, it was by no means safe, and he would feel sorry for Chuck if anything should happen to Nim, who was about to marry him.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good child, Loren, for worrying. Not only for me, but also for Chuck. But I am an adventurer. I take responsibility for the consequences of my decisions.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Loren tried to argue with Nim again, but she seemed resolute and showed no sign of changing her decision.


    As Loren focused all his mind on making Nim return safely, Dia smiled happily at the thought of not having to go back and said.


    ¡°Worst case scenario, I¡¯ll turn her into an undead while she¡¯s still alive, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Loren, this child¡­ scares me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared, too. And she really means it.¡±


    Loren said this with a sigh as he soothed Nim, who was trying to keep as much distance from Dia as possible.


    As things were now decided, they looked back to Konin, whom G was supposed to be wrangling some information from, but what they saw was the two of them fighting for some reason.


    Loren had thought that even an Evil God would not stand a chance against an Ancient Dragon, but the battle was rather bnced, although he was not sure if it was because G was putting up a good fight or because Konin had be weaker with his shrunken body.


    ¡°G, we¡¯vee to an agreement. You can stop now.¡±


    ¡°Just a bit more! Just a bit more and I¡¯ll have this lizard¡¯s life¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare make fun of me, little girl! I may have shrunk, but this is nothing!¡±


    Konin was struggling violently to escape from G, who was outright strangling his neck, and Loren put an end to their scuffle by pulling the dragon away by force. As Konin breathed heavily and gasped for air, which he had been deprived of, Loren rubbed his back and asked him to show them the way to the ruin.


    Konin, after catching his breath, tapped his paw several times on the floor where he had been when he greeted Loren and hispanions.


    ¡°The truth is, there¡¯s a reason I made this my home.¡±


    The floor opened up with a crack, revealing an entrance to a downward spiral staircase. When Loren peeked down, he could not see the bottom, just a rather deep vertical hole.


    ¡°If you go down here, you will find the ruins. It¡¯s a straight path, so you won¡¯t get lost.¡±


    Konin said that the reason he chose to live here was partly to heal his wounds, but also because this was the only entrance to the ruin he had mentioned. Even though he had been seriously wounded by the Ancient Kingdom, he had, just as expected of a dragon, sealed the ce with magic so thoroughly that even the Ancient Kingdom could no longer easily get to it


    ¡°In short, ites full circle.¡±


    Koninughed as if to say ¡°Serve them right!¡¯, but to those who heard the story, all they could feel in their heart was amazement for the level of pettiness the Ancient Dragon possessed.

 Chapter 285: From Advancing to Arriving

    <h4>Chapter 285: From Advancing to Arriving</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren¡¯s group was amazed at Konin¡¯s pettiness, but they could not stay amazed for long. As they finally got the information they needed, the group decided to go down the spiral staircase the dragon had opened for them.


    Konin was not interested in following them. He said he would block the entrance to his ce of residence just in case, and would wait for Loren and the others to return.


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried several times, but I just can¡¯t reach it.¡±


    Konin was just a little bit frustrated, but when they heard that even an Ancient Dragon had failed to reach the ruin, Loren and the others tensed up.


    ¡°Is it very dangerous?¡±


    Loren, who was leading the group down the stairs, asked, and G, who had just been in a scuffle with Konin, responded with a tilt of her head.


    ¡°I wonder. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because he shrunk or not, but he doesn¡¯t seem to have much power. Maybe he specializes in magic.¡±


    There were many different types of dragons, G said. Some specialized in physical strength, others specialized in magic, and she thought Konin might belong to thetter.


    There were also dragons that did not fall into either of these categories, but possessed ¡®blessing¡¯ as humans called it, like us.


    ¡°If he specializes in magic, then it is understandable why Magna¡¯s group could not touch him.¡±


    The entrance to Konin¡¯s dwelling was sealed off by a stone wall created by magic. Knowing the power of Magna and Noel, Loren had thought that they could at least break down the stone wall and get inside, but apparently this entrance could not be breached by simple physical means. To unlock it magically, they would have to surpass Konin, who surpassed Noel in magical strength. There was no way they could manifest a magic stronger than that of an Ancient Dragon, and that was why the two of them hadn¡¯t been able to reach Konin¡¯s residence.


    ¡°If he specializes in magic, his self-boost must also be very powerful. If he wanted to, I¡¯m sure he could be so powerful that he would be untouchable even with that appearance.¡±


    Lapis warned Loren to not mess with Konin, but he had no intention of even trying to. If he could defeat a dragon, he would certainly be called a Dragon yer, a title that would be respected throughout the continent. However, Loren could see that having such a title would invite not only respect but also trouble, and it was something he would refuse even if offered.


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s pretty deep.¡±


    Diained as she looked down to the bottom of the spiral staircase, which was their destination.


    They were inside the stairwell. The surrounding walls, probably made of the same magical building materials that weremonly used in the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, emitted a dim light that ensured visibility in the surroundings. However, their destination was so far down that it was not visible with such a source of light.


    ¡°The way down is easy enough. The ascent is the problem.¡±


    Nim said in a discontented tone, and it was not unreasonable: a long way down meant that the way back up would be long as well. The fact that going uphill was harder than going downhill was also a given, and if you had to do that after exploring a ruin, even those confident in their physical strength would feel discontented.


    ¡°How far down do you think it¡¯s going to go? It feels like we¡¯ve gone down quite a bit. I mean, the people of the Ancient Kingdom were not that smart. If they were going to build such a long staircase, they should at least make a device that can go up and down automatically or something.¡±


    Loren did not agree with the idea of using magic to solve everything, but this time he was inclined to agree with G. That was how long the stairs were.


    It was a spiral staircase, so of course the distance they had to walk was longer than the actual distance descended. But even so, there was still a long way to go despite the distance they had covered so far.


    The steps at their feet were just stone steps, and there were no patterns or design on the dimly lit walls. As he continued to walk down the unchanging scene, Loren lost his sense of time and began to feel as if the reason why they were going down this staircase, as well as their destination, had be vague in his head. He lightly shook his head to try to clear his mind.


    Behind Loren, Nim, with both hands on the walls and legs slightly trembling, looked perplexed at the changes happening to herself.


    ¡°There¡¯s a mild mental pollution trap here. Stay alert.¡±


    Loren, wondering what the hell was going on, tried to take a step forward, but couldn¡¯t find his footing and almost fell forward. Lapis, who was nearby, managed to support him and kept him from falling. Had he fallen forward on the stairs, he would have tumbled down, and there was no telling how much injury he would sustain if that happened.


    Nim, who was behind Loren, was trying to continue down by walking along the wall when G suddenly slipped her arms under her armpits from behind and ced both hands on the elf¡¯s breast.


    Nim reflexively screamed, but G was behind her, and in addition to G¡¯s stronger arms, she, just like Loren, was in a state of confusion. Naturally, Nim was just unable to shake the Evil God off.


    In the meantime, G had her hands all over Nim¡¯s chest. She released the elf after a while and gently patted her shoulders as Nim covered her chest with both arms in a defensive stance.


    ¡°Nim-chan, a girl¡¯s winning point is her chest.¡±


    ¡°Loren, can I shoot this child dead?¡±


    The bulging veins on Nim¡¯s forehead were especially noticeable, perhaps because of the characteristic pale skin of the elves. Nim was that angry.


    Loren shook his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. She helped clear your mind.¡±


    Of course, it would be troublesome if Nim really did shoot G dead, but the thing was, the violent emotional swing brought by anger seemed to have dispelled the effect on the elf¡¯s mind: her gait was much steadier than it was before G pulled the prank on her. Loren was not sure if G did it on purpose or by ident, but either way it was her who got Nim out of the trap that was affecting her mind. He thought it was alright for Nim to be angry, but shooting G would be a bit too much. Loren himself, too, had been able to clear his mind thanks to the elf¡¯s scream, so he felt he had to defend G.


    [¡®Onii-san, I can¡¯t help you with this. I could tune you into my mental resistance, but¡­ It is an ability unique to the undead, so it might be dangerous to tune it to you, who is still alive.¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s apologetic voice could be heard in Loren¡¯s ears.


    The undead had a high resistance to anything that affected the mind. However, this resistance came from the fact that they did not have a mind to be affected, or that their mind had already been manipted from the beginning. Shayna was apparently reluctant to allow Loren to attune himself to the mental resistance of the ¡®King of the Dead¡¯, the highest-ranked undead.


    ¡°It¡¯s a in nasty trap, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You remember how you get drowsy when riding a wagon across the empty ins? This trap does something like that, only a hundred times more powerful.¡±


    Lightly knocking the wall with her fist, Dia exined.


    ¡°It¡¯s a poison-like trap that gradually permeates you over a long distance. If your mind is strong, you can recover on your own, but¡­ If you can¡¯t, I can do something about it.¡±


    ¡°What do you n to do?¡±


    Thanking Lapis for supporting him, Loren moved away and asked Dia. She smiled and clenched the fist she had been using to knock at the wall tighter.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap set by the monotonous, unchanging scene. How about we break it down at ces to make a change?¡±


    ¡°No, it will copse.¡±


    Loren immediately dismissed Dia¡¯s suggestion. It certainly would break the trap, but he couldn¡¯t help worrying about the way back up if she really did do it.


    In addition, the ce where they were now was right under Konin¡¯sir. It might cause trouble for Konin, so it was a method that he could not possibly allow her to do.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Only Nim needs to be careful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, too. No problem at all.¡±


    To say that there was a problem here would mean allowing Dia to be destructive. Nim seemed to understand this somewhat, so she gritted her teeth lightly and forced herself to sound unconcerned.


    Dia stopped knocking at the wall, looking a little disappointed.


    From there on, it was a long way down.


    Then Loren, who had been walking at the front of the group, noticed that the staircase hade to an end at the end of his line of sight, and he realized that the long descent was over. Wondering where the path was, he saw only one smooth passage leading away from the end of the staircase.


    ¡°I wonder if the ruin is in that direction?¡±


    After everyone had descended the stairs, G pointed to the end of the passageway.


    Not far from where the staircase ended, a double door made from metal could be seen. In front of it was a ck monument with a smooth surface, a sight that matched the information that Konin had given them.


    Loren slowly approached the monument, and although there were indeed words carved on the surface, he could not read the writing.


    ¡°Here lies the armor that protects you.¡±


    Dia, who knew from the beginning that Loren would not be able to read, quickly came up next to him, took one look at the monument, and read out loud.


    ¡°It looks like there really is an armor here.¡±


    ¡°If ¡®armor¡¯ was not written here, I¡¯d think something very nasty was in there.¡±


    ¡°This door is open.¡±


    Nim said, gently pushing at the entrance door. Perhaps Konin, who had apparently been here before, had somehow opened the door. But then, he had said that he had not been able to reach the destination.


    ¡°This ruin is surprisingly small.¡±


    Loren unintentionally uttered, and the girls peeked in from behind him.


    There was a passageway led straight from the door that Loren had opened, and within a short distance, a golden door with an extravagantly decorated surface awaited them.


    ¡°Is there something behind that door?¡±


    ¡°Well. I guess we¡¯ll find out when we see it, won¡¯t we?¡±


    There seemed to be no traps in the straight pathway. Even if there was one, it would probably have been disarmed by Konin, who had arrived before them, and there would be no danger.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get closer and check it out, shall we?''¡±


    G said. But without being told by her, the group went through the entrance door and slowly began to examine the golden door that they reached in almost no time.

 Chapter 286: Answering

    <h4>Chapter 286: Answering</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of in bad taste, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    It was not unreasonable for G to have such an impression.


    The door before them was in a shiny gold color from top to bottom, and sparkled brightly enough to catch all eyes even with theck of light.


    ¡°It¡¯s not made of pure gold, is it?¡±


    The door was a ratherrge double door, and if it were made entirely of gold, a considerable amount of the metal would be required. Naturally, the funds required to produce such a thing would be enormous, and even though this was a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, Loren thought that at best it would be a thinyer of gold gilded on the surface.


    But his thought was quickly negated by Lapis.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s pure gold.¡±


    Loren looked at her with disbelief, and Lapis lightly knocked her fist on the door in front of them several times.


    ¡°It is coated with something, but it is probably all pure gold. It¡¯s worth a fortune, but we can¡¯t just take it off and bring it with us.¡±


    ¡°Were they insane?¡±


    Loren could notprehend the idea of using pure gold to make an interior double door in a ruin that was used only to enshrine an armor. Perhaps because the Ancient Kingdom was just that powerful, but it didn¡¯t seem to make any sense to him.


    ¡°It is human nature, as it has always been, for those in power to want to spend money recklessly.¡±


    In contrast to Loren, Lapis looked at the door with no surprise at all.


    Dia, G and Lapis, examined the door, and after standing in front of it for a while talking about how this and that was not present, all three of them finally let out a deep sigh almost simultaneously. Lapis turned to Loren and Nim, who had been watching to see if they had found anything out, and gave a short answer about the results of their study.


    ¡°It¡¯s hopeless. We can¡¯t open it.¡±


    ¡°Somehow I¡¯m not surprised.¡±


    Loren had somehow expected this, given that Konin, an Ancient Dragon, had failed to arrive at the ce, but he could not hide his surprise when Lapis told him the fact.


    ¡°It is no good. No matter what I do, I can¡¯t lift the spell sealing the door.¡±


    ¡°I was also quite confident in my knowledge of magic, but I have never seen a spell this strong before. This is the type of sealing method that cannot be opened by any means unless you know how to open it.¡±


    Dia¡¯s words made Loren and Nim tilted their heads. Lapis added an exnation, as if she thought they didn¡¯t understand what it meant.


    ¡°This door is sealed by some kind of technique. Normally, we would be able to lift it, but we can¡¯t do anything with the spell used here.¡±


    ¡°It is a contradiction, isn¡¯t it, to have a door that can be locked but not unlocked? By all means, such a contradiction should not be possible, no matter what magic is used.¡±


    ¡°There is something that is needed to make the contradiction works.¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­ a key?¡±


    After listening to the exnatory questions from the other three, Loren gave his answer, and they all nodded.


    ¡°This is the kind of lock that can be easily unlocked if you have the key.¡±


    ¡°But without the key, you can¡¯t destroy or dismantle it.¡±


    ¡°This ce must hold something of great value. It sounds simple, but actually very difficult to construct.¡±


    All three of them look frustrated that there was something that they could not dispel, even with their power. Dia, in particr, looked rather grim: it seemed like she was both frustrated and displeased at the fact that her own power as an Elder didn¡¯t work. Loren wondered if it was caused by the feeling of being defeated in a field where she had confidence.


    Loren asked Lapis, who seemed rtively easy to talk to.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the key?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. And like people usually say, simplicity is strength¡­ The key is simply a word.¡±


    Lapis said and pointed to what looked like letters engraved on a part of the door. Loren couldn¡¯t read it. He didn¡¯t even know whatnguage it was in. He looked at Nim, but she immediately shook her head as if saying it was impossible for her too. But Lapis and the other two seemed to be able to read them.


    ¡°It says ¡®Thou shalt state the answer to the question¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So, the answer is the key?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but we cannot answer the question.¡±


    Lapis shook her head as if there was no hope here, and Loren became curious as to what the question was. After all, they had an Elder, an Evil God, and a demon here. These three beings, considered as powerful beings throughout the continent, had gathered to think about the answer to that question, and still couldn¡¯t find it. As Loren thought that the question on the door must have been a very difficult one, Lapis, whose expression had turned troubled for some reason, read it out loud.


    ¡°The name of the being is the answer. They are both male and female, and they are both old and young. They are taller than the mountains, and their voice is smaller than the flutter of a mosquito¡¯s wings. You cannot take your eyes off of them when they are far away, yet you cannot see them when they are near. Look up and their head is lower than your eye level. Look down and their head is far above you. What is this being?¡±


    ¡°I have never heard of such a thing.¡±


    Nim said with honesty after hearing Lapis.


    ¡°I have never heard of it either. There are too many contradictions in the question. I have never heard of such a contradictory being in this world.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if there is hidden meaning behind the contradictions? But¡­ we¡¯re asked to answer this question while having no clues at all.¡±


    If Dia could answer the question, she would be able to open the door. Since she was unable to release the spell, she was eager to outwit those who had created it and open the door by regr means. However, the question was so cryptic that even Dia had no idea what it meant.


    ¡°Is the answer ¡®No answer¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Then my answer is, there is no such thing in the world!¡±


    As soon as G said that, her body was blown straight back.


    Because of the suddenness and force of the blow, Loren and the others were dyed in their reactions for a moment. When they hurriedly looked back in the direction to which G had been blown, they saw her sticking to the entrance door of the ruin, which had been closed before they knew it, her arms and legs spread wide. She seemed to have been hit by a considerable force. She remained stuck there for a while before eventually peeling off and falling to the floor in the same posture.


    ¡°If you give the wrong answer, you get a penalty. This is tricky, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°If you look closely, you can see that the entrance door has been reinforced with some spell.¡±


    Lapis thought bitterly that, if the entrance door was reinforced to withstand the impact of something flying in and mming into it, its creator must have been very confident of the lock on the inner door. This trap was not ced at the entrance door probably to ensure that the intruder would be killed by being caught in it at the inner door and blown back.


    ¡°Shall we give it a try again? My answer is, there is no answer to that question.¡±


    As soon as she said this, Dia¡¯s body was sent flying backward.


    Despite the fact that Dia was an Elder, one couldn¡¯t help but think that being mmed into the entrance door with such a force would cause serious injuries to her small body. Nim almost let out a small scream, But Loren moved first and caught Dia¡¯s body with his own. He was not able to kill the momentum of the blow, however, and he fell back a few steps. But because Dia¡¯s body was small and light, neither of them was injured.


    ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t think you would catch me, Loren.¡±


    Dia¡¯s body was quite smallpared to Loren¡¯s. She could easily fit in his arm.


    As if to cover up the fact that she had given the wrong answer, Dia, scratching her head in embarrassment,nded on the floor from Loren¡¯s arms, and with a face full of motivation, poked Lapis from behind, who was about to give some answer herself.


    ¡°Will you do the same if I am blown back, Loren?¡±


    ¡°Stop it. You¡¯ll hurt Loren.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that heavy.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you weigh, but even I was blown away with enough force to give Loren quite an impact. If you, who is bigger than me, were to be blown away with the same force, wouldn¡¯t the impact on Loren be iparable?¡±


    Naturally, Loren would be willing to catch Lapis if she was blown away. However, the impact he felt through the jacket he was wearing as protection when he caught Dia was quite powerful, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to catch Lapis, who was much bigger than Dia, if she came flying at him with the same force.


    Understanding Loren¡¯s thoughts, Dia stopped Lapis. Lapis seemed to be quite dissatisfied with this, although she could understand the logic behind.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it unfair if it¡¯s only Dia?¡±


    She red at Dia resentfully, and Dia responded with a nonchnt face.


    ¡°I was prepared to be mmed into that door over there, just like G was. I didn¡¯t think Loren would catch me.¡±


    ¡°Loren is a good child. If he thinks it¡¯s dangerous, he¡¯ll put his body on the line.¡±


    ¡°But I was just bounced off the door and he didn¡¯t catch me?¡±


    G said while crawling back to them, and Loren bowed his head lightly as if he had done something wrong.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You were blown away so fast, I couldn¡¯t react.¡±


    The only reason he was able to catch Dia was because G had been blown away before, but from G¡¯s point of view, that was still not a fun story.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to rest my mind until I find the answer and open this door.¡±


    ¡°Even so, who do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Do I ask the other Elders for help¡­? No, the disadvantage would be too great¡­¡±


    ¡°I would ask my tribe¡¯s elders for their wisdom, but my homnd is too far away.¡±


    While the girls were racking their brains to find a way toe up with an answer, Loren, who was looking at the golden door, slowly opened his mouth to ask Lapis to confirm one thing.

 Chapter 287: From Answer to the Conclusion

    <h4>Chapter 287: From Answer to the Conclusion</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Hey Lapis, I have a quick question.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Loren, there are a lot of smart people here. It may take some time, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯lle up with an answer.¡±


    Lapis, probably thinking that Loren was worried, said this in a gentle voice as if to reassure him. It was not quite what Loren wanted to hear, but he kept his mouth shut, wondering if it was a sign of Lapis wanting to think about it some more.


    In the meantime, various discussions were going on between G and Dia, but there was no indication that they would be able to reach a fruitful conclusion.


    ¡°What do you call a being that epasses all kinds of magical things?¡±


    ¡°Chaos? But if that is the answer, how can the Ancient Dragon not have reached it?¡±


    ¡°Then it must be some kind of religion or alchemy¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the ¡®All is one, one is all¡¯ thing? That¡¯s an idea, but it doesn¡¯t answer the question of what the being is.


    Loren didn¡¯t even understand half of the conversation between Gua and Dia, but the only thing he was sure of was that what they were discussing was not the answer to the question at hand.


    The reason Loren was so sure of this was very simple.


    ¡°Hey, I know the answer to that riddle.¡±


    Deciding that if he let the discussion continue on and on, it seemed unlikely that they would ever reach an answer, Loren opened his mouth and stated.


    Lapis, G and Dia, who had been thinking hard about the answer, froze up. Loren wondered if it was such a surprise, but what he said seemed to be very shocking to the three of them. They all looked at him as if they did not believe his words at all.


    ¡°Really? If it¡¯s true, I¡¯d like to know.¡±


    ¡°Yes? This is my answer. That is the mythical beast Quadra Cedrofiggie Elp.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words made Lapis¡¯ expression crumble.


    But Lapis, who looked at Loren with a face that clearly showed she was wondering what in the world this person was saying out of the blue, still had a better reaction than the other two. G and Dia had snickered, though small, as soon as he spoke those words.


    From their point of view, Loren¡¯s words were nothing more than a bunch of nonsense. Of course, there were tales of mythical beasts all over the world, but none of them had been verified, and they did not believe them to actually exist. To the three of them, this gesture of Loren was just like that of a child loudly dering the existence of his imaginary friend, but their faces turned from blue to deadly white as they watched the golden door slowly open as if being pushed from the inside.


    ¡°You gotta be kidding me¡­¡±


    ¡°I wonder why you don¡¯t know about it. When I was a kid, our leader told me about this fantastic beast that appears in fairy tales. When the hero gets lost, ites out and shows him the right path.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a story?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it either¡­¡±


    ¡°This is¡­ Ah, so that¡¯s how it is. It¡¯s only logical that we didn¡¯t know.¡±


    Dia, who had recovered quickly, tapped at her temple with her index finger and muttered something. After a while, seeming to be finally satisfied, she sniffed and crossed her arms. Loren, who had assumed that everyone knew about the tale of that mythical beast, had no idea what the Elder was satisfied with, but Lapis and G, who still did not fully understand the situation, continued to cling to the topic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so proud of yourself. Exin it to me, please.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If it continues like this, I¡¯m going to feel bad no matter what happens.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothingplicated. We thought the letters on the door were a riddle, but this is not a riddle at all. It was not asking for a key to unlock the door, but just a pre-set password.¡±


    A riddle was one whose answer can be deduced from the problem statement. But what was required here was not an answer to the problem statement, but a password that had been set from the beginning. In other words, the question engraved on the door was not intended to be solved, but was simply a sentence that required a password to be answered when asked.


    It was a lock that could only be unlocked by knowing the password, and no matter how hard you tried to think about the question, you would never be able to solve it.


    ¡°The name of the mythical beast that Loren mentioned is just a string of words with no particr meaning. But if you consider it a password, meaning isn¡¯t necessary. It is just a password to open this door.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible? And who is the leader of yourpany to know the password, Loren?¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so, I have no idea. I was only told by the leader that it was a fairy tale that everyone knew.¡±


    ¡°How can a story with such an iprehensible and long character name be amon fairy tale?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no use telling me that. Well, isn¡¯t it fine as long as the door is opened?¡±


    G, who felt as if she had been cheated in some way, was still dissatisfied even after Loren¡¯s exnation, but Lapis, who had recovered after Dia, had already turned her interest not to the door or what was behind it, but to the leader who had taught Loren the fairy tale. Dia seemed to feel the same way and whispered in Lapis¡¯ ear as she watched G continued toin and Loren continued to pacify her.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s worth looking into. I cannot move too openly though.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I suppose so.¡±


    Lapis nodded with a serious look on her face, but quickly changed her expression and shoved G, who still seemed unconvinced, away from behind and took Loren¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Hey?¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave theplicated things forter. Now that the door has been opened, why don¡¯t we take a look at the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s treasure, something that even an Ancient Dragon said to be of great value?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine I guess¡­¡±


    G, who had been pushed from directly behind with considerable force when she was off-guard, plunged face first into the floor of the ruin and was stuck in a prostrated posture with her butts sticking up. Loren was worried that it must have been quite painful, but he was pulled through the newly opened golden door by Lapis, who tugged on his arm.


    Behind the door was arge room. The room, which had no doors other than the golden double-leaf door, seemed to be a dead end, and considering the distance from the entrance to the room, he got the impression that it was a rather small ruin. If the only purpose of the ruin was to house some kind of armor, it was understandable that it would be small andpact.


    In the center of the room was a sunken area filled with water, and in the center of the area was a set of golden armor that was probably the reason this ruin was built, ced in the position of a knight kneeling before his lord and hanging his head. It radiated such a powerful force that could be recognized even from a distance, indicating that it must be a very valuable and powerful item.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little gaudy, but¡­ It¡¯s no wonder this ruin was built to store it.¡±


    ¡°It gives me chills even from a distance. Gaudy though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so bright that my eyes hurt.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who made it, but they had bad taste.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s destroy it.¡±


    All eyes were on Loren as he drew his greatsword and held it ready with both hands. Loren blinked as he noticed this, and when he asked if he had done something wrong, G snapped at him.


    ¡°Why do you want to break it all of a sudden?!¡±


    ¡°No, but I¡¯m not going to wear something like this. It¡¯s too gaudy.¡±


    G looked back at the golden armor. Its shape was so well formed that it must have been made by a highly skilled craftsman. The carvings and decorations on the surface were also magnificent, made from various precious metals and gems. It was definitely a wonderful item worthy to be disyed as a work of art, but when asked if it was practical to wear in battle, even though it was not exactly impractical, it would take a lot of courage to wear such a shiny, gilded piece of armor.


    ¡°But this is an armor imbued with magic? It must be quite powerful?¡±


    ¡°Then, G, do you want to wear this?¡±


    Loren pointed to a golden armor. G imagined herself wearing it and immediately shook her head. He then looked at Lapis and Nim, who also shook their heads, as did G.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I can wear it because of my height, so don¡¯t even ask.¡±


    Dia said this before Loren¡¯s gaze turned to her, and they all agreed that they did not want to use the armor in front of them.


    ¡°But I¡¯m sure Magna will wear it when he gets it.¡±


    The fully-ck te armor was also quite conspicuous. If Magna could wear it with such a nonchnt expression on his face, it would certainly be easy for him to wear this golden armor.


    ¡°Even if we put it somewhere else, the bastard will alwayse after it as long as it¡¯s there. And if we leave it here, there¡¯s no guarantee that Konin will be able to protect it forever.¡±


    ¡°If they can¡¯t open the door, we should be fine, right?¡±


    The door to the room where the armor was stored had been unlocked by Loren. Lapis thought that if the door could be locked again by closing it, it might be possible to continue sealing it as long as the name of that mysterious beast was not known.


    However, Loren denied this.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ¡®maybe¡¯. And if he gets words that we opened this ce, we¡¯ll be troubled again.¡±


    Even if someone did not know the password, it was natural to think that if they had information about someone else who did, they could get it from that person. In this case, Loren and his team would be pursued by Magna even more aggressively than before, and more trouble would await them in the future.


    ¡°So, I think it¡¯s best to destroy it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I kind of do.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to use it, but you don¡¯t want it to be used, then destroying it is the most reliable solution.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but if it¡¯s from the Ancient Kingdom, I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°Do what you want with it, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s destroy it with a bang.¡±


    With Greatsword in hands, Loren¡¯s presence increased. With the activation of the self-boost technique, the magic sent into his entire body enhanced his abilities, and Loren kicked at the floor and rushed at the armor, wind whipping around his body.


    The great sword that was swung down cut the armor that was resting on its knees at an angle from the shoulder, and the returning de further sliced through the wreckage of the armor that had been cut in two, breaking it into pieces. The surface decorations shattered with the impact, and Nig, clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, diligently gathered up the glittering fragments and gems for some reason.


    ¡°What are you collecting them for? Well, I guess they might be worth some money.¡±


    ¡°Nig¡¯s kind of spider eats minerals to harden its outer shell. Gemstones and metals are just minerals in the first ce.¡±


    As Lapis pointed out, Nig brought the pieces it had been collecting to its mouth, chewed them up and swallowed them, although Loren did not understand the logic behind this. After eating some, it stopped collecting pieces, perhaps satisfied.


    What had been eaten couldn¡¯t be traded for money; Loren shrugged, put his greatsword back on his back and turned to the others, who were watching him.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go home then.¡±


    ¡°Somehow this job ended easily, didn¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s a good thing, but it feels like something is missing to have Lorene out of this with no damages.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s strange to call this one easy. Normally, we would have definitely died somewhere.¡±


    What Nim said was probably themon way of thinking, but perhaps experiences also yed a part in such things, and as Lapis said, also Loren felt a little bit like something was missing.


    However, if he thought about it calmly, since no one was missing and no one was sent to the hospital as usual, this job must be considered a great sess, and Loren concluded that there must be something wrong with him for feeling unsatisfied. He urged hispanions, who were looking at him, to leave the ruin behind.


    Lizz: in the post script, author did apologize for how this all ended and asked to refrain from too agitated attacks in thement section ??

 Chapter 288: From Celebration to Hijacking

    <h4>Chapter 288: From Celebration to Hijacking</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The church bells rang.


    Amidst the cheers, a man and a woman with indescribable auras opened the church door and came out.


    The man had stubble, and could not be described as good-looking. Although he was wearing a white dress suit, it could hardly be said that he looked well-dressed, and there was a strong sense that he had been made to wear the suit, which was extremely disconcerting.


    In contrast, the woman was a beautiful woman with incredibly well-defined features. Her long, dagger-like pointed ears and long blond hair that sparkled in the sunlight made her look unrealistic, like a fairy or something, and the pure white strapless dress she wore added to this impression.


    Loren, leaning against the wall of another building, watched the scene from a distance as the two held hands and were congratted by the crowd waiting outside the church, and murmured quietly with a smile on his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty ballsy of you.¡±


    At that moment, a dagger was thrust right next to Loren¡¯s face. Without moving, he nced at the dagger, which was vibrating slightly with the force of impact, and was impressed by Nim¡¯s skill, who had the hem of her dress lifted and was smiling brightly at him. The way she lifted her dress, pulled out the dagger that was probably strapped to leg and threw it at Loren was so quick and natural that most of the participants didn¡¯t notice anything.


    Loren pulled out the dagger from the wall and quietly tucked it into his pocket, thinking that without Nim¡¯s skill, this would have be a bigmotion otherwise. Bloodshed was too inappropriate for such a festive asion. She did not intend to harm him as he did not feel any killing intent, but the glint of a de was more than enough to cause amotion.


    After the series of events on Mt. Fire Flute, Loren and hispanions returned to Konin¡¯s ce of residence and told him the whole story of what had happened inside the ruin. The dragon had looked very disappointed at the fact that they had destroyed the armor enshrined inside, but when he nced at Loren, he seemed convinced of something and said nothing more.


    Konin agreed to let them report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that the dragon on Mt. Fire Flute Mountain did exist. However, they would only report that they had seen the dragon from a distance and were not sure about the details.


    Even if they honestly reported that they had approached the dragon and even talked to it, it was clear that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would not believe that a group of iron rank adventurers had not only been able to approach the dragon but even talked to it. Things like the dragon was actually an Ancient Dragon, and had even got into a scuffle with G were details that no one would believe in.


    What made Loren wonder was that 40% of the adventurers who had received the samemission before them had failed to return from their exploration on Mt. Fire Flute.


    At first, he had thought that the dragon living there was ferocious and that they had fallen prey to them, but looking at Konin, it did not appear to be the case. When he asked Konin if he knew anything about it, the dragon said that there were quite a few dangerous monsters living on the mountain.


    It was hard to believe that monsters would live on a mountain inhabited by a dragon, but since Konin himself was a rather amicable dragon and ate only the right amount of food for his body, the monsters probably did not realize that a dragon was living right there.


    But if monsters were the only reason for the non-return adventurers, the return rate should have been a little higher. Konin guessed that perhaps those adventurers had been so preupied with the possibility of dragons living on the mountain that they had neglected preparations for other monsters. However, the actual reason remained unclear, as dead people could not be questioned, and Konin did not pay any attention to adventurers.


    Dia had parted ways with them at the ruin where she lived. From Dia¡¯s point of view, it had been a very meaningful way to pass the time, though the look of relief on Nim¡¯s face when she heard that they would finally part ways with the Elder was very impressive. Loren thought such a reaction was normal, but even if he was asked to have the same reaction, he wouldn¡¯t be able to reproduce it at this stage.


    Dia was in deep talk with Lapis when they parted, but Lapis didn¡¯t borate on the content of the discussion. Loren didn¡¯t ask either, since he believed that Lapis would tell him when it became necessary to.


    The cheers got even louder. Apparently, the bride and groom were offering drinks for the asion.


    They had been able to give Nim a fair amount of money for apanying them on thismission. The reward from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was not much, but G had smartly picked up some pieces of the golden armor that Loren had destroyed. As expected, the material was gold, and G took the pieces to a cksmith who melted them down and turned them into gold bars. Arge percentage of the profits from the sale of these gold bars was given to Nim as a wedding gift as well as a thank-you for apanying them on this job.


    There was a reason why the armor, which should have been quite powerful, was easily broken or cast down, as Lapis exined.


    ¡°It was probably a type of magical item that only works when someone wears it. I suppose that with no one wearing or using it, it would have been nothing more than a set of garish-looking armor made of gold.¡±


    Even though the armor had been destroyed, it was originally something imbued with magic. Loren had some reservations about selling pieces of it because he did not know what kind of power remained in there, but if they melted it down, there would be nothing to worry about. He had also thought about bringing all the pieces with them, but no matter how valuable they were, they were only one-set-of-armor worth of precious metal, nothingpared to the amount of debt he was carrying. He was happy enough to be able to give Nim a present this time.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe closer?¡±


    Loren was lost in thought when Lapis approached him.


    Their party had all received invitations to Nim and Chuck¡¯s wedding, and G had procured a dress from somewhere and attended with joy. She had always dressed in revealing attire, but she was wearing a tightly-fitted dress today, and the scene gave Loren, who was watching from afar, a sense that something was amiss. But thanks to G¡¯s nice body, the feeling of clothes-did-not-suit-the-wearering from her was less severe than the oneing from Chuck or from Nim, who wascking in volume in a certain bodily part. Still, the sight of G in that dress was unusually ufortable to Loren¡¯s eyes, and even though there were quite a few people invited to the event, the area where the Evil God was standing looked strangely empty.


    ¡°Lapis, why didn¡¯t you wear a dress?¡±


    Standing beside Loren, Lapis was dressed in her usual priest robe. There was no problem with a priest wearing a priest robe at a wedding ceremony as it could pass for formal attire, but Loren felt that since the robe was something a priest wore all the time, it was not the kind of attire to wear to a festive asion.


    ¡°I¡¯m from a different church. This is the church of the God of Business and Fortune. If Ie closer wearing this, they will treat me as a heretic.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just kidding. They won¡¯t look at me very well, but we¡¯re not at that level of conflict.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t you just wear a dress?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not in formal attire either, are you?¡±


    Both Chuck and Nim were adventurers, and many of the invited guests were also adventurers. As might be expected of silver rank adventurers, many of them seemed to be wealthy, and a lot of men in attendance were dressed in formal attire. However, there were also a few adventurers here and there who were unable to prepare formal wear and attended the ceremony in civilian clothes, although they were unarmed as a matter of course.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything formal.¡±


    Loren had also considered attending in civilian clothes, but he didn¡¯t have that many clothes. In the end, he dressed in what he always wore under his armour, which he felt too unsuitable for this celebration.


    ¡°If you had told me, I would have provided you with pure white formal wear.¡±


    That sounded kinda wrong, Loren thought. In a ceremony like this, the only man supposed to wear a pure white dress suit was the groom, not anyone among the attendants. But Loren just shrugged, feeling that it would not make much sense to tell Lapis.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t look good on me.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    When Lapis said this to Loren with a serious face, Loren was at a loss for an answer. In the end, he could not find a reply, so he just shook his head in silence.


    In the meantime, the ceremony went on without a hitch, and Loren noticed that the people in attendance were bing noisier. When he looked around to see where Chuck had gone, he saw him being mobbed by a group of strong men, probably his friends and associates.


    Loren thought that this was amon sight at such ceremonies, but for some reason, it seemed that the centre of themotion was not Chuck, but Nim.


    When he looked more closely to see what was going on, he saw Nim holding a white object in one hand and lifting it high so that the surrounding attendees could see it clearly.


    It was a bouquet made of various different flowers. It was wrapped in whitece, and Nim was holding it high so that everyone could see it.


    Loren wondered what she was going to do, and suddenly remembered that there was a legend, or a jinx, or a superstition, that whoever received the bouquet thrown by the bride at her wedding would be the next one to get married. It seemed like Nim was throwing her bouquet, and a fight over it would break out among the attendees.


    In reality, it was unlikely that a fighting scene like the one Loren was imagining would unfold, but if a crowd scrambled for something that only one person could get, he thought some scuffles would happen.


    That was why the moment Nim lowered the bouquet and threw it high into the sky, Loren tried to look away to avoid seeing the scene he thought would unfold. But before he could, he shivered at the cold air that suddenly rushed forward from his side, and involuntarily turned his attention to the whereabouts of the bouquet that had been thrown out.


    The source of the cold air was Lapis.


    Wearing an expression that would have made even Loren, a mercenary and experienced adventurer, shiver, Lapis rushed forward, her movements so strong and sharp that it was hard to believe that she was a priest. Quickly slipping between the attendees who topped down as if hit by the cold air, she stood at the spot where the falling bouquet was about to hit the ground and caught it with both hands with a soft smile, as if the coldness she had been exuding up to that point had been nothing but a lie.


    The attendees who did not participate in the scramble for the bouquet were stunned. Nim, the one who threw the bouquet, was also frozen, a smile still on her face. Lapis was the only one who looked extremely happy. Sheughed and turned to Loren, who was watching from afar, and shouted out while waving the bouquet in the air.


    ¡°Loren! I got it! Seems like it¡¯s my turn next!¡±


    Loren wondered if it was necessary to disy her abilities as a demon to such an extent that her true identity might be revealed, but if he asked Lapis about it, he would probably get the answer that of course it was. He could not understand the superstition about catching the bouquet, but he guessed it was meaningful enough for those who needed it. And so, with a sense of resignation, he concluded that there was nothing to do but feel sorry for the attendees who had lost consciousness because of Lapis¡¯ sudden intrusion.


    Watching G, who apparently waste to the party, regretfully chewing on a handkerchief-like cloth in the crowd, Loren thought that Lapis would probably not stop waving the bouquet until he showed some kind of reaction, and decided that there were worse ways this event could have ended. As he felt the eyes of the attendees turned towards him, he waved back at Lapis, feeling like he had no other choices.

 Chapter 289: Prologue: A Reunion Was Recommended

    <h4>Chapter 289: Prologue: A Reunion Was Rmended</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    As nothing in particr had been destroyed, rumors began to circte.


    In Loren¡¯s opinion, if nothing had been destroyed, then there was no reason to spread rumors. However, the rumor said that nothing being destroyed might actually be a harbinger of something, perhaps due to the recent session of rumors about the destruction of this and that here and there.


    How much people seemed to like rumors amazed Loren. Thinking back on it, he recalled that a while ago, he had been involved in amission in which several viges at the foot of a dragon-inhabited mountain called Mt. Fire Flute had been destroyed by the orcs that had gathered there inrge numbers.


    When Loren pointed this out to the gossiping adventurers, he was surprised by their reaction. While meeting his eyes head-on, they told him that nowadays, a vige or two being destroyed was not even worth a rumor anymore.


    It seemed that there had been a lot of stories of viges being destroyed in various ces, even in areas where Loren was not involved at all, with vigers being wiped out or suffering near-annihtion. The adventurers wereughing and saying that the number of such incidents was sorge that the destruction of a vige was no longer a topic of gossip, which made Loren wonder if such a situation was eptable. He parted from them with a vague smile.


    ¡°Public disorder is a good time for mercenaries to make money.¡±


    The destruction of a vige meant that the area where the vige had once stood would be left unupied, even if only for a short time. For a country with ambitions to expand its territory as much as possible, such an unupied area would be something that it would want to put its hands on immediately. However, doing that would lead to war with the country that originally upied the area.


    This was a dispute urring between countries, but in fact, even within the same country, it was not umon for nobles and noblemen to do the same thing in order to expand their own territories as much as possible, leading to small-scale battles.


    Thend held by nobles was something granted by the state, and nobles should not try to expand it without permission. But the problem here was that it was difficult to prove that a certain area from here to there was the territory of this noble.


    In other words, the boundaries of a territory were very vague, and this problem was caused by theck of detailed maps of the country.


    Although there were national maps, they were made by humans using hands, eyes, and feet, and to put it bluntly, the distances, dimensions, and scale were extremely inurate.


    This was a problem stemming from the fact that mapping technology was not well developed. Lapis, a demon girl who was working with Loren for certain reasons, had been surprised to hear that the surveying technology of the human race had stopped at that level. However, reality was reality, and there was nothing to do about it.


    Thus, the territory of the nobles were not properly defined, but were determined arbitrarily like ¡®From here to there is your territory¡¯. This was why the boundaries of the nobles¡¯ territories were so vague and unstable.


    ¡°That was how I afforded my meals, so I have no right toin though.¡±


    Loren believed that someone somewhere would do something about such disorders in the world. Maybe in time, a hero would emerge and unite the entire continent.


    If that were to happen, the mercenary business would probably cease to exist, but Loren himself had already quit the business, and as an adventurer, he had no particr thoughts on the matter.


    Rather than that, Loren looked at Lapis, who was leaning forward from her seat across the table from him, and picked up the ss of alcohol that was on the table.


    They were at their usual corner of the dining hall attached to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was lunchtime, and on the table where Loren was sitting was a te of hard bread, soup with few ingredients, and some pickled vegetables. He had originallye here for lunch.


    Even though he had given most of his reward for the investigation of Mt. Fire Flute to Chuck and Nim, a recently married couple of silver-ranked adventurers, Loren still had a good amount of cash on his hands. Considering the amount of debt he owed, it was nothing more than a grain of sand, but since he wasn¡¯t being asked to pay back the debt and there was no demand for it, he decided to eat lunch with it.


    Of course, he was not thinking of not paying the debt, but the amount he owed was sorge that it could stir an entire nation; it was hard to believe that his debtors were seriously thinking of collecting the money from Loren, who was only an adventurer. One of these days, they would probably use him for something when the time came; Loren wondered if it was alright to think like that.


    Regardless, Loren¡¯s mind switched to the issue at hand: Lapis, who was leaning forward in front of him.


    She had shown up just as he set foot in the dining hall for lunch, and as soon as she sat down in front of him, she had suddenly said, ¡®Loren, let¡¯s go north.¡¯


    Loren looked out the dining hall window and wondered what she had just said all of a sudden.


    The city of Kapha was located in the southwestern part of the continent, where the climate was mild and the temperature did not fluctuate much throughout the year. In the southern part of the continent, the climate was hot and humid all year round, but in the northern part Lapis had just mentioned, the climate was the exact opposite, with low temperature and dryness, which was not what one would consider pleasant.


    Loren had no objection to going there if necessary, but he thought this might be a bit too sudden. He broke off a piece of bread and began eating.


    ¡°Loren? Are you listening to me?¡±


    Lapis spoke to Loren, who hadn¡¯t shown any particr reaction to her words and just began to eat his lunch instead, with just a bit of harshness in her voice.


    Paying her no mind, Loren washed down the dry bread in his mouth with some nd soup, then nced at Lapis.


    ¡°Go on? I¡¯ll think about it after I¡¯ve heard the whole story. It¡¯s not something you decided out of the blue for no reason, right?¡±


    G was not here. She always appeared when they had adventurer work to do, but Loren had no idea where she was or what she did when they didn¡¯t. It was dangerous to leave G, a being called an Evil God created by the Ancient Kingdom, unattended, but that did not mean there was any way to limit her activities. Although they were now working together as fellow adventurers, if G were so much as inclined, he would end up in her stomach due to her power as Gluttony, so he didn¡¯t want to press his luck.


    ¡°I do have a reason. It¡¯s about the leader of the mercenarypany that you belonged to, Loren.¡±


    Loren suddenly recalled the information they had obtained some time ago. It was something brought to him by another member of the mercenarypany to which he originally belonged, and although he did not know how urate the information was, it said that the leader of their mercenarypany had been seen in the northern country of Justinia Empire.


    To Loren, the leader of his mercenarypany was his foster parent, sword master, andrade. He wanted to meet him again if he could. Although Loren had quit the mercenary life and be an adventurer, he still wanted to tell the leader that he had if he was still alive.


    However, if asked if he was willing to travel to the Empire of Justinia in the north just for that purpose, Loren would immediately answer no. That was how far away the northern country Lapis had mentioned was.


    After receiving the information about the leader, Loren had secretly checked the location of Justinia Empire on the continent, and found that it was located just north of the center of the continent. The central part of their continent was surrounded by steep mountainous terrain inhabited by the demon tribe, and in order to reach Justinia Empire from the southwest, it was necessary to make arge detour around the demons¡¯ territory.


    ¡°It takes many days and a lot of money just for a one-way trip. Just thinking about the round trip is daunting. Do we really need to go that far?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ answer was immediate. It was so quick and decisive that Loren looked a bit daunted, and Lapis, perhaps thinking that this was where she should push, leaned forward and brought her face close to his.


    ¡°I was convinced of it during our work the other day. We must meet with your leader and hear what he has to say.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    Loren understood, albeit only somewhat, why Lapis was so fixated on the leader.


    The door leading to the innermost part of the kingdom was locked by magic, and a word was needed to open it.


    During themission that Loren and his team epted before Chuck and Nim¡¯s wedding, they had explored one of the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom. The door leading to the innermost part of the ruin was locked by magic, and required a word to unlock it. While Lapis and the others tried to derive an answer from the words engraved on the door, Loren had managed to open the door as if it were a matter of course by speaking the words that he had been taught by the leader. Loren himself had heard it as a fairy tale known to everyone, and wondered why the others did not know about it, but the others had never heard of such a fairy tale.


    Of course, if this was only Lapis, who was a priest in appearance but actually was a demon, then it was possible she really didn¡¯t know the tale. However, one of the highest ranking vampires called Elders who was apanying their party at the time, a young girl named Dia, had secretly informed Lapis that she also had never heard of such a fairy tale anywhere throughout the continent.


    When Lapis heard this, she decided that she had to persuade Loren to meet and talk with his mercenary leader, no matter what it took.


    ¡°Why are you so reluctant? You don¡¯t want to see him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to see him¡­ I don¡¯t want to go all the way there just to see him.¡±


    Though not entirely correct, one could say that the journey would mean traveling across the continent, from the southern region to the northern region. That alone was a daunting distance, but if they wanted to avoid the demon territory, they would have to travel an even longer path.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t be in the north forever either, so why don¡¯t we wait until we hear a rumor closer to home?¡±


    Loren had had no information about where themander had been or what he had been doing since the destruction of his mercenarypany. The former member of thepany who gave Loren information about the leader might have known more, but unfortunately, that member lost his life during a conflict that Loren¡¯s party was also involved in.


    Loren felt a little down when he thought about this, but he managed to pull himself out of his darkened mood when he suddenly noticed a little girl in a dress with wings on her back looking at him with concern.


    She was the ¡®King of Death¡¯, the highest ranking undead, whom he had met in a certain incident.


    [¡®Onii-san, please don¡¯t take it too hard.¡¯]


    Loren heard in his mind the worried thoughts of Shayna, the girl who had been transformed into the King of Death, and he smiled slightly to say that he was okay in response to the voice that only he could hear.


    As a result of the battle with Loren and his group, Shayna had lost her material body and became a purely spiritual entity. If left alone, she would have had no choice but to disappear, but she had managed to maintain her existence by residing inside of Loren¡¯s spiritual body. Because of this situation, sometimes Shayna was able to feel his emotions quite directly.


    The conversation between Loren and Shayna was not something that could be detected from the outside, but Lapis, perhaps sensing this from the atmosphere, decided that it would be better to end her talk for the time being.


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t want to force you, but could you please think about it?¡±


    She told Loren and began to order lunch for herself from a waitress who passed by behind her.

 Chapter 290: From An Emergency To A Commission (1)

    <h4>Chapter 290: From An Emergency To A Commission (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    It was not very pleasant to rehash a topic that had already ended.


    Despite her conviction that it was necessary, Lapis seemed to think that it would be meaningless to make Loren feel bad, so she did not touch on the topic for a few days after she first invited him to go north.


    As for Loren, although he had given it some more thought as Lapis had asked, he still felt ufortable with the idea of traveling so far north to see the leader, and still hoped that Lapis would give him a break if at all possible.


    So neither of them had any desire to talk about it, and the time passed without either of them mentioning it, and just as they were about to forget about the whole thing, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild received an extraordinary piece of information.


    It was Ivy, a female staff member of the Guild, who received the piece of paper on which this information was written.


    The paper itself had been brought in on a fast horse. The rider, who obviously had been riding for some time, came staggering through the entrance of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and, after handing the paper to Ivy, who was working as a receptionist, had promptly fallen unconscious on the spot, perhaps exhausted from all the horseback riding.


    Ivy, after instructing the other receptionists and staff to tend to the rider, looked at the paper and immediately ran off to the back of the building, her expression slightly changed. The people at the back of the building were all high-ranking executives and Guildmasters, and the fact that Ivy ran to the back meant that she had something that required a superior¡¯s opinion.


    This happened at a branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, located in the city of Kapha. The adventurers were bracing themselves for what was about to happen when Ivy came back from the back of the building and uttered the following words.


    ¡°An urgentmission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild!¡±


    A paper detailing the details of themission was immediately added to the bulletin board wheremissions were posted, and a sort ofmotion broke out among the adventurers who saw it, indicating the gravity of the situation.


    ¡°Loren! Loren! We¡¯re in trouble!¡±


    It was in the evening, and Loren was discussing with Lapis and G about what to have for dinner in the dining hall when he felt the air around them suddenly stirred. As he dazedly watched the crowd getting frenzied, he heard a voice calling out to him and looked over to see Ivy, dressed in the uniform of a Guild official, somehow walking quickly toward him.


    ¡°Ivy? What¡¯s with the uproar?¡±


    ¡°You just said that there is an urgentmission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren knew what G was talking about even without being told. What he didn¡¯t know was the connection between that and Ivy walking towards him. He thought it would be better to wait and listen to Ivy¡¯s exnation, so he sat still and didn¡¯t greet her.


    Ivy quickly came and mmed a piece of paper in her hand onto the table where Loren and his friends were sitting.


    ¡°It¡¯s trouble!¡±


    Ivy looked as if she still hadn¡¯t lost momentum yet and was leaning forward when Loren said while pushing her face back with his palm:


    ¡°We can hear you, so calm down and exin what the trouble is.¡±


    That was when Ivy finally realized that repeatedly saying ¡®trouble¡¯ didn¡¯t exin anything. She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, then pulled out a chair from Loren¡¯s table and sat down.


    ¡°We¡¯ve received an urgentmission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡±


    ¡°We heard that, but what¡¯s the big deal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a retaliationmision!¡±


    Ivy looked at Loren as if she thought he understood, but there was still a question mark on his face as if he didn¡¯t understand what was being said, unlike what Ivy had hoped. She turned to Lapis and G to see their reactions, but G did not seem to be interested in what she had just said at all, and looked as calm as ever. Lapis also seemed disinterested; she opened the menu and seemed to think about what to have for dinner.


    ¡°Hey, everyone?! This is a big deal!¡±


    Ivy pped the tabletop with force, and Lapis finally looked up from the menu.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what the big deal is, even if you say so. Amission is something you don¡¯t have to ept, so what does it have to do with us?¡±


    The three of them believed that no matter how much trouble they were told was happening, all they had to do was to not get involved in it. Although they were prone to getting into trouble, if they kept in mind that it was going to be hard, they could just avoid it.


    However, Ivy immediately rejected this idea.


    ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t work! The Guildmaster has instructed me that this retaliationmission is one that all adventurers in the silver rank and below are obligated to participate in!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Ivy¡¯s words were absurd even to Loren¡¯s ears.


    To begin with, if they were talking about Kapha, there were currently no adventurers above silver rank, and if the condition for participation was as Ivy said, then everyone would be sent on thismission. Loren was racking his brain to think if such a strangemission was even possible when Lapis whispered softly to him.


    ¡°The Guildmasters in each branch have tremendous authority over their members. If you refuse, your participation in the guild may be revoked. But¡­¡±


    Lapis then turned her gaze from Loren to Ivy.


    ¡°All adventures from the silver rank and below¡­ the number of participants will be far toorge. Do we really need that many people?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. As far as this one is concerned, we give you the option of either providing the manpower or covering the funding.¡±


    ¡®It is written here¡¯, Ivy said and pointed to the piece of paper she had brought and spread out on the table.


    It was true that the same thing that Ivy said was written there, but Loren¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the minimum amount of money that would be required.


    ¡°Five gold coins or more, that¡¯s a hell of a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°Silver rank adventurers can probably manage the money, but it¡¯s difficult for the iron rank adventurers and below.¡±


    The conditions written there were that each person must provide either five gold coins orbor. Even if one paid the minimum to be excused from participating, five gold coins was a lot of money. Loren thought that this was too much, but after hearing Ivy¡¯s exnation, he changed his mind.


    ¡°A branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild has been destroyed.¡±


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a mutual aid organization for adventurers. If a part of the guild had been destroyed, it was understandable that the entire organization woulde together to retaliate, and it was also understandable that all members would be required to participate.


    But destroying a branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which used its organizational power solely for the benefit of adventurers and not getting involved in politics, can only be described as outrageous.


    ¡°Their staff was almostpletely wiped out, and the adventurers who belonged to them were either killed or captured, with only a few able to escape. These few crossed the border and asked for help from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of a neighboring country, and fast horses were immediately deployed to send information to all branches throughout the continent.¡±


    ¡°Neighboring country? Wait a minute, Ivy, you¡¯re talking about one branch being destroyed, right?¡±


    From Loren¡¯s point of view, destroying even a single branch would be outrageous enough. However, if they had to go all the way to a neighboring country to ask for help, it was not just one or two branches that had been destroyed, but all the branches in the territory of some other country.


    ¡°Unbelievable. Which Lord would have gone to such an extreme? What did the Adventurers¡¯ Guild have against him or her?¡±


    ¡°It was not a Lord.¡±


    Ivy, perhaps to calm herself, pressed her palm against her chest and slowly calmed her breathing, which was bing heavy, perhaps due to stress.


    No matter how you looked, Ivy, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, seemed like a typical woman with short blonde hair and a beautiful face. But in reality, just as G, she was the Evil Goddess of Envy, created by the Ancient Kingdom. Even though she had changed her looks with her own hands, there was no way she could change what she was inside. While Loren and the others looked at Ivy and wondered what had happened to make someone like her so stressed, Ivy, who had regained herposure, said in a slightly trembling voice.


    ¡°The culprit who destroyed fifteen branches of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was the Kingdom of Lombard, whose territory is at the northern part of the continent. It was the king, Lompard III, who gave the order.¡±


    It took a while there for Loren and the others to understand the words that Ivy had told them.


    The first who did was Lapis, who shook her head in disbelief. G was next, leaning back in her chair with her face contorted in surprise. Thest was Loren, who, once finally understood the situation, began to look at the paper spread out on the table and Ivy¡¯s face alternately with a grim expression.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe, because I still don¡¯t believe half of what I¡¯m saying myself. But the information I have received definitely states that branches of the Guild were destroyed by the leadership of the state.¡±


    ¡°That kingdom was unbelievable, but the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is also unbelievable. I know it¡¯s a big organization, but I can¡¯t believe they would take retaliatory action against a country.¡±


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a huge organization that had spread throughout the continent. Loren knew this, but it would be hard for it to pick a fight with the country and win. It was true that the number of members alone might beparable to the number of soldiers a country possessed, but they were scattered all over the continent and should not be a force that can be operated collectively at once.


    Thinking about this, Loren suddenly remembered something that bothered him about the conditions for participation, and asked Ivy about it.


    ¡°If it¡¯s that important, shouldn¡¯t we also have adventurers of the gold rank and above?¡±


    Even though their numbers were very small, adventurers of the gold rank and above, who were supposed to have extraordinary abilitiespared to those in the silver rank, were not included in thismission. If the situation was that serious, it did not make sense not to mobilize such forces.


    ¡°It won¡¯t work. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild is allowed to operate throughout the continent because of agreements with the countries, and one of those agreements is that adventurers of the gold rank and above are not allowed to participate in wars.¡±


    ording to Ivy, adventurers of the gold rank and above were considered a forceparable to at least several units, or even an entire army of ordinary soldiers. Such a force was able to move freely throughout the continent under the name of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild because of such an arrangement. Without it, it would be impossible for countries to allow a force that could rival an army to wander from ce to ce.


    ¡°In this case, even though it was the Lombard Kingdom that made the first move, if we mobilize adventurers of the gold rank or higher in retaliation, there is a strong possibility that the agreement will be broken.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a troublesome story, isn¡¯t it? If we keep that agreement, we cannot use our first-ss forces.¡±


    ¡°It seems that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild has decided that such an act would put the very existence of the Guild in jeopardy.¡±


    If retaliation failed and the problem ended up being confined to the territory of the Lombard Kingdom, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would suffer a considerable blow to its organization, but it would not be fatal. However, if the Guild were to break the agreement and mobilize gold rank adventurers, it would alert all the countries on this continent, which could jeopardize the continued existence of the Guild. Therefore, the Guild was unable to mobilize this force, despite the fact that it was a very effective force if used.


    ¡°Wait a minute. So that means that if we choose to contribute by manpower, we will be sent to war?¡±


    Ivy nodded at Lapis¡¯ words.


    ¡°The Kingdom of Lombard has been at war with a neighboring country, even before the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branches were destroyed. This time, we are sending our forces to lend a helping hand to that neighboring country.¡±


    If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild itself were to enter into a dispute with the kingdom, it would be very difficult, as Loren thought. But if it were to lend its forces to a country already at war, it would not be such a bad fight.


    ¡°So, which country is this neighboring country?¡±


    Ivy opened her mouth to answer Loren¡¯s question. But before she could say anything, somehow Loren already had a hunch about what was going to be said, and the words came out of his mouth instead.


    ¡°Could it be the Justinian Empire?¡±


    Ivy, who was about to speak, looked at Loren, who had spoken first, with surprised eyes. That was enough of an answer, and Loren and Lapis looked at each other in surprise.

 Chapter 291: From An Emergency To A Commission (2)

    <h4>Chapter 291: From An Emergency To A Commission (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    As an adventurer, the idea of being forced to go somewhere simply didn¡¯t sit right with Loren. However, there was something more important they needed to settle first.


    ¡°Can we make it to a country at the northern end of the continent in time?¡±


    Even if they went on fast horses, it would take them at least more than ten days to arrive if they went around the demon territory in the center of the continent. The fast horse carrying the news had reached Kapha in the shortest possible time without encountering any trouble, but it still seemed like it was already toote.


    But Ivy offered an exnation for this.


    ¡°Several of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡¯s branches are equipped with magical tools for rying information. If thiswork is used together with fast horses, information can be spread within a few days.¡±


    ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild really is impressive, huh.¡±


    ¡°But if we use a horse-drawn wagon to get there from here, it will still take more than 10 days, won¡¯t it? Since we humans can¡¯t be sent like information, we won¡¯t be able to get there in time, will we?¡±


    Ivy responded calmly to G¡¯s new question.


    ¡°There will be a special transport from Kapha to the location. It is a special thing that also amodates overnight stays inside, and can carry a dozen people at a time. The cost will be covered by funds from non-participating adventurers. We expect to be there within ten days.¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t help but feel it¡¯s toote though.¡±


    It should have been at least ten days since the incidents first happened. Even if he did not know the circumstances of the war between the empire and the kingdom, Loren thought it would not be surprising if it was settled in a few days.


    But Ivy negated this.


    ¡°The empire and the kingdom have been fighting skirmishes and major wars for a long time. It will not be settled so easily.¡±


    ¡°Loren, are you not familiar with the area?¡±


    Lapis tried to fish for some information from Loren, and Loren considered her question for a while.


    He remembered fighting on battlefields in the north several times, but when it came to which country he was affiliated with and which country he fought against, he couldn¡¯t remember. For a member of a mercenarypany like Loren, the only important thing was how to defeat the enemy in front of him; it was the job of the executives and above to think about which countries to affiliate with and which countries to fight against.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be able to help.¡±


    ¡°You are a true mercenary in many ways, Loren.¡±


    There was no exasperation or mockery in Lapis¡¯ words. The only thing her tone of voice carried was a hint of admiration for Loren¡¯s life, which had seemed to be just one continuous battle.


    As Loren was thinking that he had had no choice but live that life, Ivy turned to him with serious eyes.


    ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell you is something that really doesn¡¯t need to be told.¡±


    After this preface, what Ivy said was a bit of a surprise to Loren and his friends.


    It seemed that almost no adventurers below silver rank who belong to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha would participate in this retaliationmission. They would have to pay gold coins as an alternative measure, but this would be paid in the form of a loan from the Kapha city branch.


    The reason for this was the same as Loren¡¯s concern: the city of Kapha was too far away to participate in thismission. Forcing adventurers to participate would not do any good to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch in Kapha, so they thought it would be better for both the adventurers and the Guild if adventurers chose not to participate in themission, even if they had to lend money.


    With that fact in consideration, Ivy informed Loren¡¯s party that she wanted them to participate in thismission.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is important to the reputation of the branch.¡±


    There was arge difference in abilities even among adventurers below the silver rank. Some could be expected to do well in thismission, while some were certain to die if they participated. If adventurers from the second group were sent to participate without distinction, the reputation of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch in Kapha might be damaged. Thus, the branch had narrowed down the list of adventurers they wanted to participate, and Loren¡¯s party was apparently among them.


    Lapis seemed dissatisfied with the Guild¡¯s approach, but Loren had no particr qualms about it and urged Ivy to continue on. Being sent into unwanted battles for the convenience of their superiors was nothing unusual for a mercenary, and even if he was now a bit removed from it, it had been a daily urrence for Loren until just recently, so if he thought of it as a mercenary, he was not as frustrated as Lapis was.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a hunch, but I have a bad feeling about the kingdom¡¯s violent actions this time.¡±


    ¡°And you want to thrust us head-on into that bad feeling?¡±


    Loren grimaced in true annoyance, but Ivy, who had started the conversation, was staring at him with a very serious expression.


    ¡°This is not something unrted to you, Loren.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s another nasty thing to say to me.¡±


    Loren said with a wry smile, but Ivy continued with no regards for it.


    ¡°For one thing, this is connected to Evil Gods.¡±


    Her words caused a slight tension amongst the group. G, in particr, was staring at Ivy¡¯s face as if wondering what in the world she was saying, but Ivy continued to talk without paying her any heed, looking only at Loren.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just one. Perhaps two are involved.¡±


    ¡°How could you possibly know that?¡±


    The smile on Loren¡¯s face disappeared, and he asked with a face as serious as Ivy¡¯s. But it was not Ivy, but G who answered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not anything like a connection between Evil Gods, you know. The Evil God of Envy is always looking for something to be jealous of, and she has a nose for the location of superior beings.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know which Evil God they are, but the remaining two would be the most likely candidates.¡±


    ¡°Wrath and Pride huh¡­ The most troublesome are the ones left, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Ivy seemed to agree with G¡¯s grumble, and a somber mood began to mingle in the serious expression on her face.


    G and Ivy apparently knew the two Evil Gods, but this information was unknown to Loren and Lapis, who asked Ivy to exin.


    ¡°I just have an example, so I don¡¯t know if that is still true today.¡±


    Ivy was an Evil God who did not want to continue to be an Evil God; she had used herself as material to rebuild her body and weaken her power. A device installed in a certain ruin made this possible, and Ivy believed that it would not be surprising if there was another ruin with a simr function somewhere else on the continent. That was why she was not sure if the information about Evil Gods before they were sealed and fell asleep a long time ago was still valid now.


    With this preamble, Ivy told Loren about the Evil Gods of Wrath and Pride.


    That is why I am not sure if the information about the time before Ivy and the other evil gods entered the sealed sleep a long time ago is still valid today.


    After saying this, Ivy tells Loren the information about the evil gods of wrath and arrogance.


    The name of the Evil God of Wrath was Rage Saturnia. She was a young girl with blonde hair and fierce looks. ording to Ivy, she normally was not so bad, but once she got angry, she became out of control.


    ¡°If we simplypare the attack power, she is the strongest among the Evil Gods.¡±


    Ivy then tried to describe the Evil God of Pride, but she looked thoughtful for a moment and then looked at G instead of Loren for some reason.


    ¡°What kind of Evil God was Pride?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Ah¡­ Right, we don¡¯t know what Pride looks like.¡±


    When Loren asked her what she meant by this, she exined that the Evil God of Pride did not like to meet other Evil Gods, and that they preferred not to reveal their true faces to those they considered lower in rank than themselves. They wrapped their faces and bodies in cloths so that they could not be recognized.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a man.¡±


    ¡°His name is¡­ probably Superbia Hipride?¡±


    ¡°This is getting troublesome.¡±


    On the one hand, there was the presumptive child Evil God who, once she got angry, got out of hand.


    On the other hand was a presumably male Evil God who looked down on even other Evil Gods, who were supposed to be hisrades, and never revealed his appearance.


    Loren did not want toe anywhere near them at all.


    ¡°I think that when ites to things involving Evil Gods, even if you ask a silver rank adventurer to help you, you won¡¯t know if they will be able to return safely. In that respect, you and your team have already encountered five Evil Gods including myself, and have returned alive.¡±


    Even though this was a recognition of his achievements, it was not something Loren felt happy about at all, but he could not deny that Ivy was correct. Although it was not clear at this point how or from where the intervention of the Evil Gods that Ivy somehow sensed wasing, Loren thought that with the demon Lapis and the Evil God G by his side, it was unlikely that they would not be able to do something about it somehow.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just talk to the gold ranks and ask them to temporarily act as the silver ranks?¡±


    It was Lapis who proposed such a way out.


    The agreement that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had with each country on the continent was that adventurers of the gold rank and above were not to participate in wars. But what Lapis proposed was temporarily demoting the gold rank adventurers and having them participate as silver rank.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. The number of adventurers in the gold rank is much smaller. Most of their faces are known, so it would be easy to find out what our intentions are in demoting them.¡±


    Loren thought this was a good example of how having your face well-known could limit your actions. It was not aughing matter, however, since his party were the ones who were currently being put in a disadvantageous position by this situation.


    ¡°To sum it up, themission this time is to use the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡¯s pocket to do the job of mercenaries.¡±


    This was something that they would not have known if they had not been told. Loren thought that it must have been Ivy¡¯s sincerity that made her go to the trouble of disclosing it to Loren and the others.


    ¡°It sounds like a hassle, but it¡¯s an offer I can¡¯t refuse. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll mind, do you?¡±


    When Loren looked at Lapis and G for their opinions, Lapis gently quietly lowered her eyes and showed no particr reaction, while G shrugged and shook her head as if she had no choice.


    Having made sure that neither of them raised any objections, Loren turned back to Ivy.


    ¡°We can ept it, but¡­ I have a condition.¡±


    ¡°What is it? I¡¯m willing to take anything this time, even if it¡¯s something unreasonable.¡±


    Ivy braced herself, but Loren waved his hand in front of his face in a lighthearted manner.


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do anything unreasonable. There is a silver rank adventurer named Ritz, right? Please make sure his party doesn¡¯t participate.¡±


    Ivy¡¯s eyes widened a little when she heard the unexpected request, and she stared at Loren as if she was trying to figure out what he was up to.


    ¡°Chuck and Nim from that party just got married, didn¡¯t they? When such people go to war, they often mysteriously don¡¯te back. It¡¯s going to be a mess and we can¡¯t afford to help them, and if they die, I won¡¯t be able to sleep well.¡±


    It was a kind of jinx that was circted among mercenaries, but Loren thought that it was not to be underestimated because, strangely enough, the probability of such a situation was really high. Perhaps being married distracted them, but if one were to draw a simple connection, it was true that the probability of death was high for newlyweds who went to the battlefield.


    ¡°If those guys are willing to participate andin about not being selected, I need you to get hold of them and make them give up. Will you do it?¡¯


    ¡°Understood. We will not request their participation, and if they do apply, we promise to give them a variety of reasons why we won¡¯t ept their application.¡±


    ¡°May I ask one thing of you, too?¡±


    As Loren finished his request and Ivy agreed to it, Lapis suddenly raised her hand.


    Ivy was relieved that Loren¡¯s request was rtively simple, but when Lapis added her request to the mix, Ivy¡¯s expression stifferend again, and she braced herself.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so cautious¡­ And my request is also something very sweet.¡±


    Ivy, who was not letting her guard down, thought this was impossible. Lapis, perhaps thinking this would reassure her, smiled and winked at her, but this just ended up making her even more wary.

 Chapter 292: From Departure To Encounter (1)

    <h4>Chapter 292: From Departure To Encounter (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°I meant it when I said it was a cute request!¡±


    An exasperated Lapis swung her whip, and the horse that had been hit let out a low, discontented neigh.


    On the driver bench, Loren let out a small sigh. Lapis probably was not taking it out on the horse, but it still looked like a rather strong whip, and he felt some sympathy for the horse.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that was harsh, Loren? When did I ever do anything that would make her so suspicious of me? Don¡¯t you think that was too much, considering I¡¯ve been conducting myself like a dignified priest all this time?¡±


    Although he did feel a bit bad for Lapis, who was in a huff, Loren found Ivy¡¯s reaction when Lapis made her request valid. Since she knew Lapis¡¯ real identity, there was no way she could take Lapis¡¯ ¡®cute request¡¯ at face value.


    Of course, Loren believed that if Lapis were to say the same thing to him, he would feel a bit resigned but not be as rmed as Ivy, but only because he was Loren; to expect the same thing from someone else would be almost too much.


    Lapis¡¯ request was for their party to act independently.


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild had originallymissioned this job, so the participants had to work under the Guild¡¯s supervision. This was only natural as the Guild was their employer this time, but Lapis wanted to bend the rules and demanded the right to act on their own.


    Loren had estimated that there was a 50-50 chance that Ivy would agree to this, but he was surprised at how readily she epted Lapis¡¯ request. He didn¡¯t know whether it was because Ivy thought it was not a big deal or because she had some other agenda, but she assured Lapis that as long as they contacted the Adventurers¡¯ Guild representative at the destination, there would be no questions asked about the progress of the trip. She even provided them a carriage ording to Lapis¡¯ request as the means of transportation.


    ¡°Is there any reason why we¡¯re taking a different route?¡±


    G poked her head out of the carriage and asked. Lapis was still mutteringints in her mouth, after finally realizing that there was no point in continuing, she exhaled lightly, looked over her shoulder at G, and answered.


    ¡°Of course. Why would I make such a request if there is no meaning to it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? But if that¡¯s the case, why did you refuse to use the Guild¡¯s transportation, which seems to be veryfortable, and travel in a cheap carriage like this?¡±


    Ivy, perhaps thinking that she might getintster if she didn¡¯t let them know, had shown their party the transportation that was originally prepared by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for thismission. It was a huge vehicle with a fairly spacious living area, and ording to Ivy¡¯s exnation, it was magic power that turned the wheels and propelled the vehicle forward. Existing horse-drawn carriages were iparable to this vehicle, which had been made by analyzing magical tools excavated from some ruins and reproducing their effects using current technology.


    If the vehicle could be mass-produced, it would change the world. But ording to Ivy, it would require a tremendous amount of money and arge amount of rare materials just to make one unit, and maintaining it would cost another tremendous amount of money. It was not possible to produce enough of them to be distributed throughout the continent.


    ¡°It was rather regrettable, I think.¡±


    Lapis had an extraordinary interest in the vehicle that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had created with the best of its technology, but for some reason, she did not retract his previous request and left Kapha with Loren and G in the carriage that Ivy had prepared for them. Loren found it surprising that Lapis, a priest of the God of Knowledge and a person who seemed to be full of curiosity, did not insist on riding in the vehicle she had never seen before. There must be a reason why she insisted on taking a different route from the other participants.


    ¡°To put it more sinctly, it¡¯s to shorten the time it takes to get there.¡±


    ¡°Shorten the time? That car is really fast, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Well, they can run as fast as a horse, and for longer than a horse, but¡­¡±


    Even if the cost to run the vehicle was high, it was a device, not a living thing. It did not require any rest time, which would be necessary if horses were used. Heat and other substances did umte in the vehicle when it moved, so it was not possible to keep it running without a break, but even so, it was said to be able to operate for longer than a horse.


    Lapis looked frustrated, perhaps still feeling a little regretful about not riding the car, but she did not seem inclined to take back her own argument.


    ¡°There is a faster way to get there, so why not use it?¡±


    ¡°What way is that?¡±


    G tilted her head, but Loren immediately knew what Lapis was saying.


    ¡°There is. Others can only reach the northern countries by taking arge detour through the central part of the continent, but we can get to our destination by the shortest route.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Ah¡­ We are going to go through the demon territory.¡±


    Just by the word ¡®shortest route¡¯, G understood what Lapis was thinking.


    Normally, no one would think of reaching the northern part of the continent by cutting through the territory of the demons. Demons were not the type to chase after and deal with someone who was moving hesitantly around the edges of their territory, but they were not merciful enough to tolerate someone who tried to invade their territory unprovoked.


    However, Lapis was with them.


    If Lapis, the daughter of one of the Demon Kings of the demon tribe, apanied them, they should be able to avoid conflict through discussion or some other means, even if the demons came to interfere or deal with the situation.


    ¡°But would the time change that much?¡±


    G wondered if there would not be much difference in arrival time even if they had turned down the route the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had prepared for them and taken the shortest one, but Lapis smiled at her and said.


    ¡°I chose this because it would be different.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    The carriage that Ivy had prepared for them was rtivelyfortable to ride in, but even so, it still had the limits of a carriage. If refusing a novel and seeminglyfortable ride resulted in almost the same arrival time, G believed Lapis would not make such a choice.


    ¡°This time we will continue straight to the mountainous area surrounding the demon territory. There we will change transport, and once we do, it won¡¯t take us long to reach the center of the continent.¡±


    ¡°The center of the continent? Not the north?¡±


    Finding problems with a part of what Lapis had just said, Loren asked her about it, and Lapis ducked her head as if being found out. It seemed like Lapis had not chosen to move separately this time based solely on factors such as ridingfort and time required.


    ¡°Lapis, it¡¯s not good to keep secrets.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren, but I¡¯m not allowed to tell anyone this, even you, so I can¡¯t exin right now.¡±


    Loren¡¯s and G¡¯s faces both twitched at Lapis¡¯ apologetic words. As far as the two of them knew, there were not many people who could force Lapis to do anything, and all of those who could were people with whom you would not want to have anything to do with.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me, Lapis. Are you selling us out?!¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it¡­. What in the world do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°Some unthinkable characters ordered you to bring us somewhere again, right?¡±


    ¡°I have to keep silent! Please let me!¡±


    Loren grabbed Lapis by the shoulders and tried to get her to turn toward him. As she resisted his attempts to turn her around, he put his mouth close to her ear and shouted.


    ¡°What ¡®cute request¡¯! I knew I was in for a bad deal!¡±


    ¡°For one, it¡¯s a request from a cute girl!¡±


    ¡°¡®Cute¡¯ is not a word that goes with ¡®request¡¯!¡±


    The reins were being pulled this way and that by Loren and Lapis, who were almost fighting each other on the driver bench, and the carriage, pulled by a horse that was no longer walking straight, became unsteady.


    G, who was looking out the window of the swaying carriage and watching the two on the driver bench, muttered quietly.


    ¡°Can¡¯t deny that it was a cute girl who requested it.¡±


    ¡°Will there be a war if I deny it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that an undeniable truth?¡±


    Loren and Lapis, who had spoken two different things at the same time, stopped moving for a moment and fell silent, still in the same posture as if they were in a scuffle.


    The horse, no longer being pulled by the reins, corrected its course on its own and began to walk straight again on the path it had been on, but this soon seemed to be impossible as Lapis pulled on the reins again and began to slowly lean into Loren with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Oh? Oh?!¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that if it doesn¡¯t result in war, you will deny it? Do I understand correctly that it is Mister Loren¡¯s opinion?¡±


    ¡°No one said that!¡±


    ¡°Then what did you mean when you said so?!¡±


    The scuffle resumed, and the horse shook its head in annoyance as it was pulled by the reins once more.


    Normally, the horse¡¯s gait would sway from side to side in response to the movement of the reins, but perhaps having learned to correct its gait from the previous experience, this time its gait had mysteriously remained straight, and the carriage was no longer swaying.


    ¡°Hey, Lapis! Stop acting wild! The reins are going this way and that way! You¡¯re driving the carriage off route!¡±


    ¡°This horse is an excellent horse borrowed from the Guild, so it¡¯ll be fine! After all, it is smart enough to return to the Guild¡¯s stables in Kapha on its own once the rider is gone!¡±


    ¡°That would be a creepy sight¡­¡±


    What Loren referred to was the sight of the horse returning to Kapha on its own once its loads were empty. It might be a very good horse, but the sight of a horse-drawn carriage running with no driver and no passengers on board was nothing short of eerie.


    ¡°Anyway, if we can get to the edge of the mountainous area by the end of the day, we¡¯ll let it go and transfer to another transport!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a prettyst-minute itinerary, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t know if I can get on another transport with no exnation! If it can get back to the city on its own, it¡­¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, it won¡¯t return to town unless the carriage is empty.¡±


    Lapis looked triumphant, and Loren gritted his teeth in frustration.


    G, who was watching the exchange between the two, thought that it would take some more time for the situation to settle down or change, so she retreated back into the carriage through the window she was peeking out of and closed her eyes, thinking about taking a nap in the space she had all to herself.

 Chapter 293: From Departure To Encounter (2)

    <h4>Chapter 293: From Departure To Encounter (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    With such chit-chat, the wagon headed straight for the mountainous region. Loren and his team managed to reach the mountain range that separated the demons from the other races just before sunset.


    The route the carriage took did not reach the edge of the mountains; they had to get down at the closest-possible point, gave the horse a light push to encourage it to return to Kapah, then proceeded on their own feet. They still managed to arrive at their destination though, and Loren looked up at the being that was waiting for them.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect her to be waiting for us. I guess there¡¯ll be a bigmotion, huh?¡±


    The being to whom Loren threw such words was so huge that he had to look up at her, but for some reason, she was waiting for them with an atmosphere and posture as if she was trying to make herself smaller.


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble to hide my appearance and presence. I don¡¯t want to make a scene for nothing.¡±


    The answer came from a giant dragon.


    Loren had not seen enough dragons to be able to tell them apart by facial features, but he had met this one before, and she was acting like she was familiar with them, so he did not hesitate speaking her name.


    ¡°Emery, why are you here?¡±


    It was the Ancient Dragon that Loren and his team had met earlier when they had entered the demon territory.


    The dragon, too, seemed surprised to see Loren and the others there. Her eyes widened for a moment, but it looked like she immediately came to some sort of understanding; her expression and aura returned to normal at once.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, human.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I didn¡¯t expect to see you here again.¡±


    Emery was an Ancient Dragon that had taken up residence within the demon territory. She must have been seen flying above the mountains on several asions, but Loren did not think that she had ever been seen flying over the mountains and out of the area.


    Perhaps he had been seen flying over the mountains and in the sky on several asions, but Loren did not expect that he would indeed be able to fly over the mountains and out of the mountainous area.


    ¡°So, perhaps¡­ We¡¯ll get to the center of the continent soon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m unwilling to do so, but I¡¯ll take you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re offering us a ride?¡±


    ¡°What other choice do you have?¡±


    Emery¡¯s words came as a shock to Loren.


    Thest time they had met, Emery had never tried to carry Loren and his friends on her back. When she wanted to carry them, she had let them hold onto her legs and pretended to not see them. But this time, she was willing to carry them on her back, so easily and simply that Loren had to wonder what kind of change of heart had taken ce between the time they parted and now.


    ¡°Loren, I don¡¯t know what you are expecting, but Emery is simply being offered the job in exchange for a partial discharge of the debt she owed because of that thing she broke before. Right, Emery?¡±


    Loren wondered if something had happened to change Emery¡¯s mind about the human race, but what shattered his thoughts was Lapis¡¯ nonchnt rebuke. He looked up at the dragon, but for some reason she turned away as if to avoid his eyes.


    ¡°An Ancient Dragon running errands¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. I did destroy it ¨C that¡¯s a fact. If they say they¡¯ll write off part of the debt, I¡¯ll be willing to overlook a few things.¡±


    Emery said and, as if suddenly remembering something, brought her face close to Loren. The sight of the dragon peering straight at him made Loren feel a bit chilled, but Emery paid it no mind and asked him a curious question.


    ¡°I thought you had to pay for some of it, too?¡±


    ¡°I guess so¡­¡±


    As for Emery¡¯s creditor, it was actually the same as Loren¡¯s.


    The particrs of the amount of money were not properly known, but Loren had been told that it was a sum of money that he could not possibly pay alone. It was the result of a small misunderstanding, and he didn¡¯t know the exact amount, but he had been told that it was more than he could afford to pay by himself.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it tough? They are relentless when they ask for payment. It¡¯s a bit better if you have some savings like I do, but for a fledgling adventurer like you, it¡¯s probably quite difficult to arrange.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been asked for payment.¡±


    To date, Loren had never received a demand for the debt he owed. Although it was not an amount that he could pay even if he was asked to, he has never experienced the kind of harsh collection that Emery described.


    When Loren told the dragon this, she shook her head from side to side as she looked at him in disbelief.


    ¡°I constantly have messengers from the Great Demon Kinging to my nest, but you don¡¯t get any of them?¡±


    ¡°Well, if theye, I¡¯ll also be in trouble.¡±


    Although Loren did not know who in the world was visiting Emery¡¯s nest, if they were a messenger of the Great Demon King, they must be a powerful being in their own right, and Loren would be very troubled when such beings barge into his room at the inn.


    Emery, on the other hand, was upset that no collectors had been sent to Loren, and continued to grumble andin while splitting out thin plumes of smoke from her mouth.


    As Loren was thinking that he could understand her feelings, Lapis stepped forward and raised her voice, as if she thought that the conversation would not move forward at this point.


    ¡°In Loren¡¯s case, it¡¯s because I¡¯m the one being asked to watch over him that no one ising. In your case, there is a collectoring to collect but no one is assigned to watch over you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That is¡­ certainly true.¡±


    ¡°If you are fine with having a watchman at your nest, they can stop sending collectors. Do you want that?¡±


    ¡°You want me to let a pawn of the Great Demon King station in myir? That¡¯s not a joke.¡±


    ¡°Then, please just ept it.¡±


    Lapis said this in a calm but firm manner as if to end the conversation there, but inwardly she was gloating over the fact that she had sessfully steered the conversation.


    In fact, the biggest difference between Emery and Loren was that Emery was paying her debts, even if only a little at a time, while Loren had not paid his debts at all. Although the existence of a collector had little to do with this, Emery seemed to think that just because no collector was sent his way, she was the only one paying the debts. Before they could delve too deeply into the matter, Lapis dared toe forward and say that she was Loren¡¯s watcher in order to turn the conversation in a different direction.


    Of course, Lapis had no such role.


    It was not fun to be misunderstood, so Lapis wondered if she would have to exin to Lorenter. But when she nced at Loren, he did not seem surprised at all, and was paying close attention to Emery¡¯s movements instead.


    He was not surprised and was paying attention to Emery¡¯s movements. If we keep him waiting too long, he might say something about reducing the amount of the debt, so we¡¯ll have hime with us right away.


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s no point inining here. If we keep them waiting too long, they might say something about decreasing the amount of debt reduction, so you have to go with me right now.¡±


    Seemingly having changed her mind, Emery said this, then dropped her wings and lowered herself so that Loren and his friends could climb on her back.


    ¡°Hey Lapis, I don¡¯t know much about history, but¡­¡±


    ¡°If you are asking if there are any references about humans riding on the backs of Ancient Dragons, then as far as I know, there are only a few, in ancient documents from the Ancient Kingdom period.¡±


    If Lapis was correct, it was almost a legend, and Loren found himself getting a little nervous at the thought of such a fairy-tale experience.


    Thinking that it was only natural to be nervous because of what Emery was, Loren used the wings that she had dropped to make it easier for them to climb up as a foothold and scrambled up to her back, then sat down cross-legged.


    Lapis climbed up after him and sat down between his legs, leaning her body against his chest. Loren was about toin that she was too close when G, who had climbed up after Lapis, came up behind him and put her hands around his neck as if she was about to cling tightly to his back. He hurriedly pushed her hands down.


    ¡°Ah, Loren, don¡¯t you want me to hold on to you?¡±


    ¡°Not my neck, not my neck. At least hold my shoulders or something.¡±


    If it were someone powerless, Loren might not have felt any resistance to being held by the neck. However, G had the brute strength to strangle him to death with just her bare arms, and as long as there was no guarantee that something like that would not happen, Loren could not just surrender his neck quietly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to huddle together like that. I¡¯ll fly carefully so as not to drop you¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about, but this positioning is necessary.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t understand it, but if that¡¯s alright with you, then we¡¯re off.¡±


    As if she had no intention of listening to any answer from the beginning, Emery kicked the ground with a lightness that did not suit her huge body, and that was all it took for her to gently leave the ground. She pped her wings a few times, and her body quickly soared into the air, flying up to an altitude that would make you lose your footing if you looked down.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel any eleration at all. Dragons are amazing, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Lapis, with her back still resting against Loren¡¯s body, said in admiration.


    Loren recalled the moment when Emery flew up. Whenever a vehicle started to run, you always felt the impact of being pressed against the back of the seat, but Emery had soared up to an unimaginable height without causing any such feelings.


    ¡°I doubt very much that you will ever ride on the back of an Ancient Dragon like myself in the future, but remember this: Once a dragon decides to let you on their back, they will never fly in a way that puts a burden on you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on the back of a dragon either.¡±


    Loren immediately responded, to which Emery turned her head and red at him. She was about to say something to Loren, who did not understand how much of an honor it was to be able to ride on the back of a dragon, but before she could open his mouth, Lapis followed Loren¡¯s lead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on the back of a dragon either.¡±


    ¡°Me too. Riding on the back of a dragon? Nah I¡¯m good, thank you.¡±


    The fact is, Emery¡¯s back is not thatfortable to ride on.


    Perhaps it was because all three of the passengers on her back had given her some sort of criticism, but Emery was beginning to look a little downcast. Seeing her like that, Loren wondered if he had said something wrong, but the truth was, Emery¡¯s back was not thatfortable to ride on. He thought it would be different if they had at least a saddle, but there was no way the dragon would let them put a saddle on her back.


    ¡°Sorry for the ufortable dragon back, but bear with me for a while.¡±


    ¡°Oh, are you sulking?¡±


    As Lapis tried to rub salt into the wound, Loren lightly tightened his arms around her from behind as if he was embracing her, making her let out a small scream and be speechless. Lapis grew quiet as strength drained from her body, and Loren said to the back of Emery¡¯s head while supporting her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She got a little carried away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s just get the job done.


    Loren was not sure if Emery had collected herself or decided not to care, but she replied to him in a blunt rather than sullen voice. Turning straight toward the center of the continent, she pped her wings and flew a little faster.

 Chapter 294: From Departure To Encounter (3)

    <h4>Chapter 294: From Departure To Encounter (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Riding on the back of the Ancient Dragon Emery, Loren and his party set off for the demon territory, but the flight was not that enjoyable.


    The ride itself was not too ufortable. In fact, it seemed that Emery had really been careful about them, and the flight was not as bad as they had expected. The problem was the speed of the flight and the time involved.


    Emery¡¯s flying speed was truly fast; there was no time to enjoy the view from the sky or anything. Loren could barely see the scenery in the distance, and the ones near him and below him were literally flying by, so he quickly gave up sightseeing and just stared nkly ahead in the direction they were going.


    As for the time, due to the fast flying speed, the traveling time was greatly shortened.


    In general, Loren had a strong feeling that he was being carried to his destination before he knew what was going on, and the sentimentality of flying in the air as a human or riding on the back of an Ancient Dragon remained very vague.


    ¡°Do you see it? That is the castle of the Great Demon King.¡±


    Emery called out to Loren and the others, who suddenly noticed that their flying speed was slowing down.


    Loren, who had only been staring nkly ahead, turned his gaze from the front to the surroundings a little at her voice. Because Emery had slowed down for some reason, he was able to check out the surrounding scenery a little bit.


    As Loren gazed around at the scenery, which was still flying by but had somehow be more visible, he spotted the structure that Emery wanted to show them.


    There was a hugeke.


    It was already nighttime, and in the center of theke, which was dimly visible in the pitch ck darkness, was a floating ind, and there was a huge structure built on it that could have been mistaken for a mountain. Lights, perhaps from bonfires or magic, were lit here and there, and the structure seemed to be floating in the darkness, just barely visible. Looking at it, Loren involuntarily felt a chill run down his spine at the presence that seemed to be enemating from the structure.


    ¡°Is that it?¡±


    G, who was clinging to Loren¡¯s back, pressed her body against the area where the chill was running down, her voiceing from somewhere close to his ear. The too-close voice made him shiver involuntarily, and the motion made Lapis, who had been lyingnguidly in Loren¡¯s arms, came back to her senses. She raised his head, which had been resting on Loren¡¯s chest, and began to look around as if she had just woken up from a nap.


    ¡°Eh¡­ Ah, that. That is our destination, the castle of the Great Demon King.¡±


    Loren had guessed that it was the being called the Great Demon King who had instructed Lapis to bring him this time, judging from their talk with Emery and the fact that they were going to the center of the continent. However, when he was told once again that that was indeed the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, he could not stop the thought of having to go there from weighing heavily on his mood.


    He wanted to go home, but he could not turn back now.


    Even if he could somehow get down from Emery, he would be in the middle of the demon territory, and he didn¡¯t think he would be able to make it back to the human territory on his own feet.


    ¡°There is no need to be so nervous, Loren.¡±


    Perhaps sensing his feelings through their physical contact, Lapis looked up at Loren from inside his arms and spoke in a reassuring tone.


    ¡°This time, His Majesty the Great Demon King has summoned us personally. His Majesty is not so crazy as to harm a guest he himself invited.¡±


    Even so, Loren was not at ease at all because the other party was the Great Demon King. If he displeased him even just a little, he could easily lose his life. If at all possible, Loren didn¡¯t want to see him at all.


    But regardless of his thoughts, Emery approached the sky above the castle and began to descend slowly in a spiraling trajectory.


    ¡°Now, where should wend?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we justnd in front of the main gate?¡±


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be any fun.¡±


    Emery responded to Lapis while looking at the three of them, the corners of her mouth curved upwards. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, he could not find anything fun about going to the Great Demon King¡¯s castle. However, there was nothing to do but to leave it to Emery¡¯s judgment as to where tond, and he could only pray that thending would be as smooth as possible.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go over there.¡±


    After flying around the castle for a while, Emery seemed to have decided on anding spot, and she adjusted his trajectory to head toward the castle.


    Loren had no idea where Emery was going tond, but Lapis and G immediately knew, and he could see them panicking in his arms and at his back.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the ce for a dragon tond!¡±


    Loren looked around to see why the two of them were panicking, and he vaguely saw where Emery was heading.


    It looked like a balcony to Loren¡¯s eyes.


    For some reason, there were no lights of any kind in that area, and it blended into the shadows of the castle even under the moonlight, but Loren thought it was likely that this was where Emery was headed, judging from the direction of her gaze.


    ¡°Can you evennd there?¡±


    Emery was huge. Loren was worried about whether her body, so huge that it was worth the title of ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯, would be able to descend on a balcony, no matter how huge the castle was. But Lapis and G were more concerned about something else.


    ¡°Regardless of whether you can or cannot, won¡¯t the soldierse rushing in and treat us as suspicious?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also worried about that, but do you understand that if we destroy the balcony, we¡¯ll be in debt?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the details. Alright, we¡¯reing down.¡±


    Despite Lapis¡¯ attempts to dissuade her, Emery plunged into one of the balconies of the Great Demon King¡¯s castle at a fairly high speed, despite having slowed down her momentum somewhat.


    Loren, while imagining the tremor and loud noise such anding would make, was caught by a rather out-of-ce thought: ¡®What in the world is a balconyrge enough for an Ancient Dragon the size of Emery tond on used for?¡¯


    In the meantime, Emerynded on the balcony she was aiming for with an ease that was unimaginable for such a huge being. The maneuver was so spectacrly done that Loren and his party did not even feel any impact, but for some reason, the dragon suddenly shook them off her back. It happened so suddenly that they couldn¡¯t even brace themselves, and ended up flying through the air in a parabolic arc.


    ¡°We¡¯ll hit the wall?!¡±


    ¡°No, even worse than that!¡±


    They were not thrown at the wall of the castle, but at a huge window.


    The expensive ss in the window would be too fragile to catch the bodies of Loren and his team, and the impact of the collision, not to mention the danger of the shards of shattered ss, could have resulted in life-threatening injuries if not handled properly. Loren quickly wrapped Lapis, who was still in his arms, and G, who was clinging to his back, in his own arms and curled himself up so that he crashed into the window back first.


    However, the shock that would havee after just a few moments of floating did not hit Loren¡¯s back. Instead, after a slightly longer than expected floating feeling, his body sank into the warm water with a violent sshing sound.


    Loren wondered if they had fallen into some kind of swamp, but it was hard to imagine a swamp in the castle, and besides, it was not very deep. He immediately put his feet on the bottom and stood up. In his arms, Lapis and G were coughing violently, as if they had inhaled some hot water when theynded.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Loren asked as he released them from his arms. G was coughing so hard that she could not answer, but Lapis, who coughed lightly while wringing water out of her soaking wet priest robe despite knowing it was useless, nodded at him.


    Loren watched Lapis rub G¡¯s back, who seemed alright despite still coughing, then looked at the ce where they had been thrown out.


    The huge window they had been worried about crashing into was, for some reason, wide open, and they could see Emery turning around in the distance. It seemed that after throwing them out, the dragon had quickly moved to escape.


    Thinking that there should have been a more gentle delivery method, Loren turned his gaze to the space behind the window, where they had been thrown at.


    It was unlit and pitch ck.


    The water under his feet was probably at the right temperature for soaking, and it formed a fairlyrge watering hole. It rose to about Loren¡¯s knees, and was clear and clean, not murky.


    ¡°Is this a bath?¡±


    Loren could think of no other facility in a castle that held such arge amount of hot water. He was impressed by the expensive facilities, but considering that the ce they were in is the castle of the Great Demon King, it would not be surprising if there were one or two bathrooms.


    ¡°But if the water is this warm, does that mean¡­ someone has already bathed in it, or someone is going to very soon?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think that someone might be bathing?¡±


    G was still coughing and Lapis was taking care of her.


    The moment the answer came, Loren put his hand on the greatsword on his back, turned to the direction of the voice and readied himself.


    ¡°That Emery. I told her to bring you here as quickly as possible, but I didn¡¯t tell her to just throw you in here. It spoils my hard-earned time of rx.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    There was no light in the room, and the voice came from the far end. The light from outside did not reach the area, and straining his eyes on it, Loren could see, albeit dimly, a figure soaking in the hot water.


    ¡°That question is for greeting. I know who you are, so I¡¯m not going to ask you to tell me your name.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer the question.¡±


    When confronted by Loren, who was ready to draw his greatsword at any moment, the owner of the voice did not seem to put himself on guard, nor did he even make a move to get out of the hot water in which he was soaking.


    Just as Loren was thinking that this was not the attitude to have in front of an armed intruder, someone strongly pulled his hand from behind him.


    ¡°No, Loren! Please refrain yourself!¡±


    It was Lapis, her face tense and her voice small but firm.


    Loren, seeing her expression, immediately let go of the greatsword and kneeled down on the spot, hanging his head. He did this because he could think of only one person who could make such an expression appear on Lapis¡¯ face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to act so humble. I¡¯m sure this was force majeure, and I did tell Emery to bring you to me right away. I don¡¯t me you for putting your hand on your weapon, since it would be natural to be wary when being addressed in this darkness.¡±


    A small ball of light appeared in the darkness. Illuminated by the light, which was probably created by magic, was the face of a young man.


    His long, pure white hair was flowing in the water, and his dark purple eyes, which were looking at Loren and his party in front of him, showed a hint of interest and curiosity.


    The man¡¯s body from the chest down was not visible because he was immersed in the hot water, but from what Loren could see and what showed through the water, he was quite tall and well-trained.


    ¡°I know this is not the ce for such a thing, but let me introduce myself. I am the one who called you here. I am the leader of the Demon Kings ruling the demon tribe, the Great Demon King. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡±


    The man introduced himself and wiped his face with his palm, smiling at Loren¡¯s party.

 Chapter 295: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched

    <h4>Chapter 295: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°At any rate, let¡¯s get dressed, shall we? You can¡¯t be thinking of speaking to me while dripping wet, can you? I¡¯m not myself being like this, either.¡±


    As if he had no intention of hiding his body, the Great Demon King casually rose up from the bathtub in which he had been soaking.


    As various things were on full disy, Loren was worried about Lapis¡¯ reaction, but when he nced toward her, he found that she was kneeling in the bathtub like himself, her eyes closed and her face down, not looking at the Great Demon King at all.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have some things ready for you right away. Do not resist, as it will be in vain.¡±


    The word ¡®resist¡¯ caught Loren¡¯s attention and, wondering what kind of face the Great Demon King had on his face as he spoke those words, he tried to look up slightly to see. But he hurriedly cast his eyes and face back down when he saw girls in maid uniforms entering without a noise from what looked like the entrance of the bathhouse as the Great Demon King snapped his fingers.


    Even though he was kneeling in the warm bathtub, Loren could not stop his body from shivering from the chill. He waspletely overwhelmed by the auras of the newly-entered girls, who were probably maids judging by their appearances.


    [¡®Are you okay, onii-san? ¡­If something happens, I¡¯ll do everything I can to protect you!¡¯]


    Loren was so nervous that he could not answer the worried voice of Shayna in his mind. The thought that if he did one thing wrong and offended anyone present, he would almost certainly not make it out of this ce alive dominated his body. The girls in maid¡¯s uniforms might look cute, but the aura Loren sensed from them wasparable to that of Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and one of the Demon Kings he had met before.


    ¡°Your Majesty, these people are¡­?¡±


    As the girls began to wipe the Great Demon King¡¯s body down with a clean cloth, one of them looked down at Loren and his friends and asked.


    A suspicious group of people entering through a window while the king was bathing was, no matter how you looked at it, a criminal story; even if they did not do anything wrong, they would have been executed immediately. Even though there was the circumstance that Emery was told to bring them in front of the Great Demon King in the fastest way possible, it was up to the king to take it into consideration.


    Loren naturally felt his body tense up, but the Great Demon King, while being wiped down by the other maids, replied in a very light tone to the one who had asked the questions.


    ¡°They are my guests. These are the ones I had ordered Emery to bring as soon as possible. These men were only brought in, and Emery was only carrying out my order. Neither deserves me.¡±


    ¡°Would you have an audience with them like this?¡±


    ¡°A funny joke, but you¡¯re not serious, are you? Get them some change of clothes and rooms at once. They are my guests, and I expect you to treat them as such.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    The moment the maid bowed her head at the Great Demon King¡¯s words, the tension that had been building up in the ce suddenly dissipated.


    Loren was about to let out a sigh of relief at being let off the hook when he saw empty-handed maids running towards them and gasped at the sight.


    Without hesitation, the girls stepped into the bathtub in their maid uniforms and approached Loren and his friends, walking above the warm water. Loren, who had thought that if the maids went up to them in such a state, they would wet the hem of their skirts and would have to leave the bathtub themselves, could only stare in stunned amazement at the maids approaching without wetting even their toes, let alone the hem of their skirts.


    ¡°Now, esteemed guest, please give me your hand. Your clothes and equipments will deteriorate if you keep wearing them like this.¡±


    ¡°Is this not Miss Lapis? It has been a long time. How have you been? It is not good for your health to have your hair and clothes soaked like this. Please change at once.¡±


    ¡°Hm, is it alright if I just carry this blonde miss somewhere else?¡±


    Loren took the hand offered by the maid while listening to G protesting about being the only one who got treated badly. The maid then took his hand, and just when Loren thought she would pull him toward her, she lightly picked him up and carried him horizontally in her arms.


    He was quite heavy, including his equipment, yet here he was, being held by a maid much smaller than him in size and could not do anything about it. Loren turned his eyes toward Lapis, who was also being held by another maid. Noticing his gaze, Lapis gently shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to resist, so it¡¯s better if you do as you are told.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, our guest here has a rather impressive body, so¡­ Would you mind if we borrow a change of clothes from Your Majesty¡¯s wardrobe?¡±


    The maid who was holding Loren in her arms without even pretending to feel heavy asked the Great Demon King, who was swarmed by other maids and was in the process of putting on a bathrobe. The King looked at Loren being held in the arms of the maid with amusement, and then nodded.


    ¡°Use whatever you like. It would be interesting to see a human wearing my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡±


    The maid slightly bent her waist in a bow and said thank, then walked out of the bath and down the corridor with Loren still in her arms.


    Loren was somewhat concerned about what would happen to the other two, but he decided that he probably should be more concerned about what would happen to him. However, even if he was worried, he did not think he would stand a chance against the maid who was carrying him, and he concluded that he would have to trust her and let her do whatever she wanted. He decided to leave his body to the maid, at least making it easier for her to do her job.


    ¡°Esteemed guest, your reaction is quite favorable.¡±


    The maid, perhaps feeling the strength leaving Loren¡¯s body in her arms, told him this without stopping.


    ¡°It¡¯s easier for me to do my job if you entrust yourself to me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just used to giving up things.¡±


    ¡°I think that would be an urate assessment of the situation.¡±


    Loren thought that he would be no match for the maid who smiled at him, and he thought that no matter how he was treated in the future, it would be wise to let her do as she pleased.


    What happened from that point on was something Loren did not want to remember much.


    In the room to which he was taken, Loren was stripped naked by the maids who had apparentlye for help, and his clothes and equipment were taken away.


    Loren has a sense of shame as much as anyone else, and it was not that there were not a lot of different thoughts running through his mind, but he had decided to do as he was told, so he had no choice but to endure it.


    The maids said that they would take care of the clothes and equipment they had stripped of Loren and dry them. But Nig, who always clung to Loren¡¯s shoulders, refused to be taken away along with the clothes, and tried to stay even by using the threads it had spit out. So, Loren interceded and managed to keep it from being taken away.


    Underwear-wise, there was no problem because something in Loren¡¯s luggage had escaped getting wet. But for the clothes, one problem urred when he tried to use the Great Demon King¡¯s personal belongings: The Great Demon King himself was quite tall and had a well-trained body, but he was still somewhat smaller than Loren, and there were no clothes for Loren.


    The maids immediately gave up on trying to fit Loren into the existing clothes, and after taking measurements of Loren¡¯s body, they sewed up a set of formal wear at an incredible speed.


    ¡°Are clothes that easy to make?¡±


    ¡°As a maid working at the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, it¡¯s only natural to be able to do this level of work.¡±


    The maid answered and dressed Loren in a white and silver ceremonial robe.


    Loren, who was made to wear the heavy and extremely-hard-to-move-in robe, lifting his hands and twisting around to check his body while looking with disgust at the hem that seemed to drag on the floor and the sleeves that were too loose.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t suit me¡­¡±


    Loren had never worn such clothes in his whole life. There was no full-length mirror nearby so he could not see what he looked like, but he was sure he looked ridiculous, and the thought darkened his mood. However, the maid was looking at Loren¡¯s outfit with admiring eyes for some reason.


    ¡°I tailored it myself, but I¡¯m surprised at how well it suits you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any point in trying to tter me though. Do you?¡±


    ¡°No, no, you look very dignified. You could even im to be royalty.¡±


    Loren thought that it was too much even for ttery, but then he remembered that the Great Demon King had told the maids to treat them as guests. He concluded that she was at least trying not to make him feel ufortable, so he gave up on checking his own clothes and asked the maid, who still had a look of surprise on her face, about what he should do next.


    ¡°Your meal is ready, and you are to dine with His Majesty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just another thing that makes me sick to my stomach.¡±


    In the human realm, Loren had always found just meeting with nobles and royalty to be an immense mental fatigue. Now, with a being called the Great Demon King in front of him, it was hard to believe that he could afford to enjoy the taste of the food, and he was likely to suffer from heartburn and stomachache.


    ¡°But the ingredients are carefully selected and only the best are used, and the best chefs in the demon territory will cook.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any doubts about the quality of the food. It¡¯s just a matter of mood.¡±


    Loren answered, wondering if she would understand. Then he asked the maid a question that had suddenly urred to him.


    ¡°So, how long are we going to be staying here?¡±


    ¡°Our Lord understands that you are in a hurry. I have been told that since you have been invited to stop by, we do not intend to keep you for long.¡±


    Dinner and lodging for one night. Loren secretly breathed a sigh of relief when the maid told him that tomorrow morning his wet clothes and equipment would be dry and he would be able to leave.


    ¡°If you are satisfied, will you apany me? I will take you to the ce where you will dine with His Majesty.¡±


    Nig climbed up to Loren¡¯s left shoulder and clung tightly to it. Loren patted its back as the maid bowed and led the way. Following her, Loren left the room where he had been fitted for the new clothes, and was led down another long hallway for a while before being shown into a room.


    ¡°Loren! Are you alright? You¡¯re the only one who iste, so I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going¡­ on¡­¡±


    As soon as he entered the room, Loren was greeted by Lapis, who was not dressed in her usual priest¡¯s uniform, but in a dress that showed both shoulders and emphasized the lines of her body. The dress was purple in color, perhaps because she was a demon, and it looked somewhat alluring. But since she did not wear any makeup or did her hair in any borate way, there was a hint of innocence about her appearance, and Loren thought it suited her very well.


    On the other side of the room was G, whose dress was simr in design to Lapis¡¯ but in gold color, and her hair was set in an updo. Together with her more shapely body, she looked bewitching.


    ¡°You both dress up very prettily.¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­ really Loren?¡±


    Lapis tilted her head, staring fixedly at Loren while G, who was watching Loren from behind her, froze up with her eyes wide open, even forgetting to blink.


    Loren chuckled and shrugged, thinking that the clothes really must not suit him for the two of them to have such reactions.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t help it, justugh. It¡¯s ok.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡­ Uhm, how should I say it¡­?¡±


    Lapis stammered as if she could not choose the right words to say, but she could not continue because several maids filed in, bringing various items into the room and began to decorate it.


    A clean tablecloth was draped over arge table, and various lights were brought in and ced here and there to illuminate the room as much as possible. Four chairs with borate decorations, which Loren could not even imagine how expensive they would be, were brought in and ced in even positions around the set table.


    Loren and the others watched on to see what was about to happen, but they became a little rmed to see the Great Demon King, who had beenpletely naked in the bathroom, enter the room following the maids who were working.


    Wearing a ck garment very simr in design to the one Loren was currently wearing, the King smiled with satisfaction when he saw Loren and the others.


    ¡°You¡¯re here. Wait for a while. I would have saved us the trouble if I used the dining room I always use, but if someone sees me eating with humans and such, there will be a lot of trouble.¡±


    ¡°Dinner, Your Majesty?¡±


    Lapis asks on behalf of the group. Loren did not know what to say to the King, and he felt it would be dangerous to let G speak, but he also thought that there would be no one better suited to speak with the Great Demon King than Lapis, the daughter of a Demon King.


    ¡°Yes, daughter of Judie. Since I invited you this time, I am obliged to entertain you. It¡¯s a small thing, but enjoy it.¡±


    Loren¡¯s face twitched as he thought that there was no way he could enjoy this, but Lapis and G managed to produce something that could only be called forced smiles.


    As the Great Demon King watched the three of them with an amused smile, the maids continued to set up the room.

 Chapter 296: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (2)

    <h4>Chapter 296: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Now, I¡¯d tell you to rx, but that would be hard to do, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    The Great Demon King¡¯s said as they sat at the table the maids had prepared, and Lapis was the only one who could respond with a wry smile. Sitting at a not-so-big table with the Great Demon King and being surrounded by maids, Loren would like to meet anyone who can rx in such a situation.


    In addition, the room had no windows. Loren was feeling very keenly a sense of oppression from their surroundings, and he wanted to leave the ce as soon as possible.


    The table was crammed with a variety of dishes. Loren did not know exactly what they were, but all of them were probably of a very high quality, but this did not make him feel any better.


    ¡°I won¡¯t mind if you keep your vignce. I¡¯ve gotten what I want.¡±


    In the not-quite-bright-enough room, the Great Demon King let out a smallugh. The way heughed was so friendly that it was hard to tell the difference between him and an average young human who could be found anywhere. The title ¡°Great Demon King¡± had given Loren the image of a powerful and unrivaled monster, but now he hade to know that such a character could alsough in such a way.


    ¡°May I ask what it is that you want?¡±


    ¡°The man right there. Loren, you say? I want to see his face.¡±


    Loren frowned slightly at the answer the Great Demon King gave to Lapis¡¯ question.


    The King was a being at the top of the demon race. Why such a being would mobilize an Ancient Dragon to bring a mere mercenary, or rather a mere adventurer like him to his castle just to see his face was beyond Loren.


    ¡°As expected, he¡¯s very interesting. And he will be even more interesting.


    Loren didn¡¯t think he was interesting enough to be called so twice. Because it was the Great Demon King they were dealing with here, he could see somethingpletely different about himself, and that could be described as interesting. However, that did not change the fact that he didn¡¯t understand what he was being told.


    ¡°Where did Your Majesty hear about him?¡±


    Loren thought Lapis¡¯ question was pretty good. At the very least, the only information that was conveyed to the Great Demon King was that of Loren¡¯s previous visit to the demon territory, when he destroyed a part of his castle due to an errant shot by the Ancient Dragon Emery. It was not something that would have earned him the reputation of being interesting or anything.


    ¡°From my trusted Demon King Judie, of course.¡±


    ¡°From Mother?¡±


    ¡°You regrly contact Judie about what¡¯s going on in the outside world, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Lapis looked shocked at what the Great Demon King said. She immediately looked at Loren with an apologetic look on her face, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, the fact that Lapis had sent news to her mother was nothing to me. In fact, her still keeping in touch with her mother after being deprived of her arms, legs, and eyes and sent out into the outside world as if she had been expelled made Loren look at her in a more positive light.


    The only thing that bothered Loren a little was what Judie had been told.


    ¡°Shees here every now and then, and every time she seems very happy and keeps going on about how her daughter has found a good man outside¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Invite him to the ceremony, will you? It¡¯s not every day a ceremony is attended by the Great Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty?!¡±


    With her hands on the table, Lapis half rose up and said in a loud voice. Even in the dim light, her face was noticeably red.


    Lappis¡¯ face, which was reddish even in the scarce light, was visible as he lifted himself up from his chair, put his hands on the table, and shouted loudly.


    Loren quietly looked away from the smirking Great Demon King and Lapis, who slowly sat back in her chair with a downturned mouth as if she thought it would be disrespectful to go any further.


    [¡®The world will be surprised to know that an Ancient Dragon has been mobilized for some chit-chat.¡¯]


    Loren agreed with Shayna¡¯s mutterings, but he also thought that Demon Kings and the Great Demon King were terrifying exactly because they could do something like that.


    ¡°I was intrigued by the fact that the daughter of my trusted Demon King has fallen for a mere human. I thought I had to see him at least once, and that¡¯s how this all started.¡±


    ¡°You are being too yful, Your Majesty¡­¡±


    ¡°It was indeed just for fun. But now, I don¡¯t think so anymore.¡±


    Noticing that the Great Demon King¡¯s tone of voice had lowered, if only slightly, Loren turned his gaze to his face. It was an act that could have been called disrespectful, but the Great Demon King did not rebuke him, nor did he drop the smile from his face.


    ¡°Loren, you are an interesting being. You are a mere swordsman, or maybe a mere mercenary or adventurer, but the truth is, your existence is essentially impossible.¡±


    Loren wondered in dismay if this was aplete denial of his entire existence, but he could tell from the Great Demon King¡¯s tone and words that he did not mean it in a bad way. However, there was a part of him that wanted to ask what the King meant, but not knowing how to open his mouth, Loren remained silent.


    ¡°You seem to want to say something. I won¡¯tin about your manners, so just say it.¡±


    ¡°First of all, can I ask you something?¡±


    Loren opened his mouth, which felt rather heavy, and looked at the Great Demon King, thinking that if permission had been granted, he would not be punished for his disrespect.


    The King simply inclined his head, and Loren asked what he thought he needed to know first.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know your name, so can I just call you ¡®Your Majesty the Great Demon King¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯d forgotten about that. I¡¯ve forgotten to tell you my name since there is no one in the demon tribe who doesn¡¯t know my face and name.¡±


    Loren spoke in the same manner of speech as he had always used, and Lapis turned towards him with concern apparent on her face. However, the person to whom his question was directed, the Great Demon King himself, simply ced a hand on his forehead and smiled wryly as if he had just suddenly realized something.


    ¡°I¡¯m Foras. I can¡¯t tell you myst name, but you can call me Foras.¡±


    ¡°L-Loren! You can¡¯t really call him that, you know?!¡±


    Loren opened his mouth and was about to call the King by his name when he was stopped by Lapis¡¯ frantic whisper.


    On second thought, Loren thought that it would probably not be appropriate for him to call the Great Demon King by his name even if he was told to do so, since he was his superior. He tried to think of something that would be less offensive.


    ¡°Your Majesty the Great Demon King Foras¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s long, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s even longer than ¡®Your Majesty the Great Demon King¡¯. Foras is fine. Shall I order you to call me that?¡±


    Loren felt that it would be impolite to avoid doing something that had been permitted twice, but there was no way he could know what to do in such a situation. He looked at Lapis for advice, and she nodded with a tense expression on her face.


    Deciding that it would be okay, Loren looked at Foras again and opened his mouth.


    ¡°Foras, what do you mean when you said I was an impossible existence?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s up to me to exin that. If you need to know, you will know. I¡¯m sorry for being vague, but even without that fact, you are still interesting.¡±


    After saying this, Forasmanded one of the maids to do something with a gaze.


    The maid, who had probably been told beforehand, caught the King¡¯s eyes, bowed deeply, and suddenly held up her hands to the lights in the room. With that action alone, all the lights were extinguished, and the windowless room was shut in darkness.


    No matter how good your night vision is, it is usually impossible to see in a room with no lights at all. Except for us demons and that strange being. So, Loren. How about you?¡±


    Loren was able to see Foras¡¯s face as he asked, albeit vaguely. He was even able to make out the amused smile he was wearing for some reason.


    Loren had thought that it was the power of the King of Death residing inside of him that allow him such a vision, but after a while, the face of Foras, which had been only vaguely visible, became clearly visible, and Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in his mind.


    [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ve synchronized our vision.¡¯]


    ¡®That was strange¡¯, Loren thought.


    If the current vision he had was the result of Shayna¡¯s power, then it did not exin how he was able to see Foras¡¯ face, albeit vaguely, before that. Although it was only for a short time, Loren was indeed able to see Foras¡¯s face before the King of Death¡¯s power allowed him to see.


    If it is the case that Shena has been able to use her power to secure her vision, it would exin why she was able to see Foras¡¯s face, even if only vaguely, before that.


    ¡°In an unlit room, without the use of the other power within you, you could see my face. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°You are right.¡±


    Loren nodded honestly, thinking there was no point in trying to hide anything. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the being in front of him, the so-called Great Demon King, had noticed Shayna¡¯s existence inside Loren. Between that and the fact that he did not know how much Lapis had told Judie, he did not think ying stupid would be a good n.


    ¡°People think of magic as a power that manifests itself through spells and magical powers, but it is not.¡±


    In response to Loren¡¯s answer, Foras began to talk about something else entirely. Loren had no idea what he was trying to say, but Foras continued on.


    ¡°In fact, if you have the will to use it, you can manifest magic. Well, only we demons have such a high affinity for magic, but actually, there were also certain humans who could do such things.¡±


    ¡°Past tense?¡±


    ¡°There are none now. They¡¯re supposed to be gone.¡±


    With a cryptic answer, Foras pointed to Loren¡¯s right hand.


    Looking down at his right hand, Loren saw the ring that had been given to him by an Elder, the highest ranking vampire. It was glowing with a dull light, albeit only slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s a magical tool that even I can¡¯t easily create. If I put my mind to it, I might be able to make something simr.¡±


    The ring that Loren wore on his right hand was given to him by an Elder, and its effect was to take away the power of the King of Death of Shayna, who was residing inside Loren. The Elder who created it said that if Loren¡¯s willpower prevailed over Shayna¡¯s, or if Shena agreed to give up her power and Loren dered that he would take it, then instantly the power of the King of Death would be Loren¡¯s and Shayna¡¯s soul would be restored to her original human soul.


    ¡°It¡¯s a magic like no other.¡±


    Foras casually raised his hand. In response, the maids turned back on the lights that had been extinguished.


    In the newly-illuminated room, Foras, leaning back deep into his chair, looked at Loren with a smile on his face, and Loren met his gaze squarely with an expression that was both surprised and not so surprised.


    ¡°Your Majesty, can it be that¡­¡±


    ¡°You are starting to get things mixed up a bit.¡±


    Foras said, pointing at Loren.


    Loren, feeling the tip of the finger pointing at him like that of a dagger, could only look back at the face of the man who was called the Great Demon King without any words to reply.

 Chapter 297: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (3)

    <h4>Chapter 297: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°That¡¯s about all I wanted to talk about. I heard there was a guy who looked interesting, so I called him to my side and saw his face. That¡¯s the end of my business. Would it be easier to say that I¡¯m satisfied?¡±


    Foras suddenly said this with outstretched arms and a rather yful air, while Lapis looked at Loren with a serious expression on her face.


    What Foras had told them was not something to be optimistic about. It could affect not only Loren¡¯s life, but also his very existence. Moreover, Lapis was currently unable toe up with an effective solution to break out of this deadlock, so she inevitably looked gloomy.


    However, Loren, the party involved, looked grave for just a few moments. He then exhaled deeply, and his expressionpletely changed.


    ¡°Should I say thank you for the information, Your Majesty?¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression was the same as it had always been during normal times. He showed no signs of impatience or fear, and Lapis, who had been worried about him, stared at his face nkly as if she was let down because of hisck of reaction.


    ¡°Gratitude is free, you know. Well, if someone gives it to me, I should take it, shouldn¡¯t I? But you¡¯re quiteposed, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can do anything about it now. It is something that has helped me a lot in the past. If that is its origin, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression was unperturbed as he tapped his chest with his thumb.


    Foras, who had been observing Loren¡¯s expression, decided that there was no lie in his words and expression. Heughed at Lapids, who was bing confused about whether she should be worried or relieved by Loren¡¯s words.


    ¡°Lapis, your friend is fearless. It wouldn¡¯t be as interesting if he was a demon, but since he is a human, it is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty¡­ But I can¡¯t judge whether this matter is interesting or not.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Even your reaction is interesting.¡±


    Lapis turned her head away to avoid eye contact, and Foras looked at her with a mixture of interest and curiosity. Lapis, troubled by his gaze, continued facing away as if trying to escape from the situation.


    Foras was still trying to corner Lapis with his gaze when G interrupted and directed his attention to herself.


    ¡°So, Your Majesty the Great Demon King. I wonder how much longer do we have to wait with all the food in front of us? They probably got cold already.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice. It would be a disgrace to the Great Demon King to serve his guests with cold food. Hey, you. Take down the cold dishes and rece them with fresh ones.¡±


    At the directive from Foras, the maids who had been waiting by the wall immediately stepped forward to check the dishes on the table. But G stopped them with a nce and crossed her legs.


    ¡°There is no need to check, just prepare new dishes. It would be a shame to throw away food that has only gone cold, so I¡¯ll take care of them.¡±


    As soon as G said that, the dishes on the table disappeared with their containers.


    While the Great Demon King and the maids stared in wonder at the disappearance, G casually wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand.


    ¡°All good. Won¡¯t you prepare new dishes now?¡±


    ¡°You still want to eat more? Lapis, your friend is gluttonous.¡±


    Foras said this to Lapis in a joking manner, but both she and Loren were a little surprised to hear it, if only inwardly.


    So far, they had not mentioned that G possessed the power of Gluttony, and even though Lapis had given Judie a fairly detailed report on Loren, she did not think she had reported much about G. It was hard to believe that the information on the Evil God had been passed on to Foras via Judie. And yet, Foras had clearly used the word ¡®eat¡¯ to talk about the disappearance of the food. In other words, Foras was aware that G had somehow eaten the dishes on the table, and he ordered the maids to bring in new dishes, leaving Lapis and Loren to wonder how in the world he had known.


    ¡°We have gathered a lot of delicious delicacies. I hope you can taste them.¡±


    ¡°Well, you should have let us start when they are still fresh then.¡±


    ¡°You are right. I didn¡¯t pay enough attention. I should have talked while we were eating.¡±


    Scratching his head, Foras acknowledged G¡¯sint and apologized. Lapis, who was listening from the side, was not so happy about it though.


    Foras had addressed Loren by name and told him to speak to him casually, but he had not addressed G until now. If G did not act like one usually did in front of a king, Foras could have reproved her attitude at any time as the Great Demon King.


    Since he had stated clearly that they were guests, it was unlikely that they would suddenly find themselves in a fatal situation, but it was still a cause for concern.


    The demon race was supposed to have a significant advantage over other races in terms of physical strength and endurance, but for the first time in her life, Lapis was beginning to feel a stress-induced ache in her stomach area.


    ¡°Lapis-sama, can I get you some water?¡±


    The stress was so apparent on her face that one of the maids offered to get her some water in a concerned tone.


    As Lapis gratefully epted the offer and sipped from the offered ss of water, the table was once again filled with numerous dishes.


    The amount of food and the speed at which they were being served made you want to ask how many dishes they had prepared, but if one considered this to be a testament of the power and wealth of the Great Demon King, Loren thought that it was quite a disy.


    ¡°No more difficult talks now. You can start on them. I¡¯ll have some too.¡±


    After offering the food to Loren and the others, Foras began to take a bite from a random te nearby.


    In response, G started to work on the te in front of her, but Loren was somewhat overwhelmed by the array of dishes he had never seen before, and Lapis was not really in a state to be able to stomach anything right now.


    Still, Lapis thought it would be impolite not to try at least some of the food offered, so with a ss of water in her hand, she began to eat the vegetables and fruits that did not seem to be too hard on her stomach. Seeing this, Loren finally reached for the te in front of him.


    From the look and taste, Loren could know if a dish was meat or vegetables, stewed or roasted, but that was about it. He had no idea what the ingredients were or what were the names of the dishes. Still, he could tell that the ingredients used were of high quality and the skill of the cook was high. The food was generally tasty.


    ¡°Lapis, you don¡¯t seem to be eating well. Have you be ustomed to human cuisine?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, the only demons that can eat as usual here are the Demon Kings¡­¡±


    ¡°You are the daughter of a Demon King, are you not? And I¡¯m sure you will eventually seed her title.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ is still unclear. I think we should focus on the issue at hand first.¡±


    ¡°The issue at hand?¡±


    Foras frowned, and one of the maids softly whispered something into his ears.


    ¡°I see. Now that you mention it, aren¡¯t you going to war now?¡±


    ¡°In case you have forgotten, please remember that our visit is a side trip, and that our actual destination is there.¡±


    When Lapis said this in a low, controlled voice, Foras pped his hands together with an expression that looked like he had just recalled something.


    ¡°I did not forget, just not thinking about it. But Lapis, if it¡¯s just a skirmish between humans, won¡¯t it end when you make a move?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t tease me. A war is not something that I can go to and end¡­¡±


    ¡°Usually not, but you¡­ As I recall, about ten years ago, some Demon King started a rebellion, and you alone quelled it¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty! Please do not mention it!¡±


    The smile on Foras¡¯ face still had not disappeared. He looked like he was just teasing Lapis, but Loren felt that the Great Demon King would unlikely say such a thing in jest.


    On the other hand, seeing how Lapis rose up from her seat while trying to get her words under control with a bright red face, she could be flustered either because he was telling the truth or because that was a lie.


    However, details were just details. Even if Lapis was a strong demon, it was hard to believe that someone who was, ording to herself, 18, could have single-handedly put down a rebellion of some Demon King 10 years ago.


    ¡°Anyway. If I were to end a war of the humans all by myself, I would no longer be able to walk in the human realm, wouldn¡¯t I? I still want to gain more experience.¡±


    Lapis, who coughed several times and nced at Foras, said this to the king as she returned to her seat.


    Foras gave her a disappointing look and spoke to Loren, who was watching the situation.


    ¡°So, this war was between who and who?¡±


    ¡°It is between¡­ the Kingdom of Lombard and the Empire of Justinia, I think? I¡¯m sure you, as the Great Demon King, don¡¯t know the name of the human countries.¡±


    Loren said this, not believing that the Great Demon King would care or remember every single thing about thend of the human race, but the answer from Foras disproved that expectation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the country of Justinia, but I know Lombard.¡±


    ¡°That was unexpected. How so?¡±


    It was hard to believe that a being like the Great Demon King would have cared about human countries. However, the fact that he knew about it meant that it was a country that was worth paying attention to in its own way, yet Loren could not understand why.


    ¡°We detected a strange presence there a while back. I was curious and did a little research, so I remember.¡±


    ¡°A strange presence?¡±


    Being told that there was something a being such as the Great Demon King considered strange at the ce of their destination, anyone would be concerned. If that presence was on the Empire side, there would have been some relief, but the fact that it was on the side of the enemy kingdom was not good information for Loren and his team.


    ¡°Yes. It was simr to yours, but different. I was sure that you were there, but¡­¡±


    Foras then turned his attention to Loren. As Loren pointed to himself to ask if the king was referring to him, Foras nodded.


    ¡°It was odd that you, who were supposed to be in the southern part of the continent, suddenly showed up in the north, but Lapis was by your side, so I thought it was something she had done. As it turns out, it was someonepletely different.¡±


    ¡°May I have some information on this person, Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I stopped looking into it when I realized it wasn¡¯t Loren, so I don¡¯t have many details. The only thing I know is that he always wore ck full body armor, and there was a dark elf in revealing clothing by his side. With those details, I realized that he wasn¡¯t you, so I stopped looking into it¡­ Hm, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Taking in the face of Loren and hispanions, Foras asked with curiosity.


    Loren and the other two, who recognized and had first-hand experiences with the strange presence on Lombard side that Foras had described, looked at each other and realized that nothing but trouble awaited them. Their shoulders sagged almost simultaneously.

 Chapter 298: From Changing Clothes to Being Watched (4)

    <h4>Chapter 298: From Changing Clothes to Being Watched (4)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Wearing ck full body armor and apanied by a dark elf. I can only think of one person that fits such a description.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure that there is no one else who fits that description, but¡­ It¡¯s them, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That bastard¡­¡±


    Foras watched the three¡¯s reactions and somehow seemed to understand what effect the information he had given them had. After thinking for a while with his arms folded, he said in a light tone.


    ¡°Well, good luck.¡±


    ¡°Loren, this is a rarity you know. A pep talk from His Majesty the Great Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Just because it¡¯s rare doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s of any use.¡±


    No matter how powerful the Great Demon King may be, a single ¡®good luck¡¯ was not a spell, and would not benefit them at all. When Loren dismissed it with a weary expression, Foras¡¯ expression slightly stiffened. Worried that he was offended, Lapis turned a little pale, but Foras remained like that for a while, then uncrossed his arms and turned toward Loren.


    ¡°That is true. Receiving a useless word truly has no merit.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, Your Majesty, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked you toe here to satisfy my curiosity. It is my duty as a king to reward you ordingly.¡±


    Foras ignored Lapis, who tried to interrupt the conversation, and spoke to Loren.


    A reward from a king would be very valuable. But even though the Great Demon King was indeed a king, a gift from him was likely to be something of little use, so Loren could not be truly happy.


    ¡°Could you just give me some money or something?¡±


    ¡°How could the Great Demon King¡¯s reward be something so ordinary?¡±


    Loren tried to make a harmless suggestion, but Foras stared at him as if he was an idiot, and Loren pressed his hand to his forehead, wondering if the suggestion was a bad idea after all.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Take, for example, that spider clinging to your shoulder.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    When Loren saw Foras pointing at Nig, he pulled his right shoulder away slightly to protect Nig.


    Foras, who was moving his fingertip to point at Nig in ordance to Loren¡¯s movement, smiled wryly and shrugged as Loren watched him with caution.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to do anything bad. Wouldn¡¯t you be happy if that spider had the ability to turn into a pretty girl?¡±


    ¡°Nig is a male.¡±


    As Loren gave Foras a cold stare, wondering what this Great Demon King was up to, the king stared at Nig, who was still clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder with a slightly surprised expression on his face.


    ¡°It is this attached to you despite being a male?!¡±


    ¡°What does it matter if it¡¯s a male or a female¡­?¡±


    Seeing Foras shaking his head in disbelief, Loren thought that not many people would think that this was the Great Demon King ruling at the top of the demon tribe.


    The same thought seemed to also ur to G, who was looking at Foras with a dumbfounded expression, and it was somewhat surprising to Loren that even Lapis was looking at the king with angry and condescending eyes.


    ¡°Well¡­ Wouldn¡¯t you be happy if that spider can turn into a beautiful boy who looks like a girl at first nce?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all.¡±


    Foras asked Loren again, and Loren immediately responded without hesitation.


    Loren did not mind Nig clinging to his shoulder and even found the act somewhat adorable precisely because it was a spider. It taking on a human form would cause all sorts of problems. The power to make a spider take on a humanoid shape of the Great Demon King was indeed something to marvel at, but that did not mean Loren wanted to see it in action.


    ¡°I¡¯d much rather you help us with the preparation for our trip from here to the north.¡±


    Loren tried to move the conversation to a different direction, but Foras was having none of it.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who asked you toe, you know? It¡¯s only natural that I would make arrangements for your return trip. I¡¯ve already arranged for Emery to take you to the north tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve prepared for this¡­¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, that spider¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you so keen on making Nig humanoid?¡±


    As Foras leaned across the table and reached out, Loren, who was still trying to protect Nig, lightly smacked his hand away.


    Foras looked at Loren, with a curious expression on his face as he retracted his hand.


    ¡°Now, there¡¯s nofort in your party, is there?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Great Demon King.¡±


    Loren, horrified by Foras¡¯ words and wondering what he meant, became even more tense when hearing Lapis¡¯ and G¡¯s voices.


    Loren, who was unable to move, heard the two girls slowly getting up out of his field of vision. Being unable to look at them, he could only guess from Foras¡¯ reaction what kind of expressions and eyes they were looking at the king with.


    ¡°May I ask what you mean by ¡®nofort,¡¯ Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Do you understand that what will happen depends on your answer?¡±


    Loren could hear the girls cracking their knuckles, and he knew that they would not let Foras get off score free no matter what his answer was.


    But the other party was not just any thug, but the Great Demon King. In front of Loren¡¯s eyes, who thought that this was too difficult an opponent for the girls, Foras calmly stood up.


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®What will happen¡¯? You are the ones who need to understand the situation. I am the Great Demon King, and all the maids here are under mymand. You don¡¯t stand a chance, do you know?¡±


    After the Great Demon King spoke those words that were full of reprimanding, one of the maids who stood beside him slightly raised her hand and said.


    ¡°Sorry, Your Majesty. We are not to interfere in this matter.¡±


    Foras involuntarily frowned and asked the maid with aposed face.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°We think Your Majesty is at fault for the conversation we just had. But still, we are Your Majesty¡¯s servants. In our hearts, we are inclined to support Lapis-sama, who was told that she was ¡®nofort¡¯, but we are going to hold off on that and will not to interfere.¡±


    Foras looked around and saw the maids waiting by the wall nodding in agreement, and he realized that none of them seemed to be willing to defend the exchange. He looked thoughtful for a moment, but then his expression immediately changed to that of someone who had just had a good-for-nothing idea. He turned to Loren with a sly grin.


    Loren frantically tried to guess what the king was about to say and realized that he was going to ask some question that would put Loren in a tight spot. Just as the king opened his mouth, Loren wondered what he himself should say next.


    ¡°Then it would be most certain to ask him. What do you think, Loren? Is this Demon King¡¯s daughter, or maybe that unknown miss for that matter, enough of afort factor for you?¡±


    ¡°Needless to say.¡±


    Loren was relieved that the words came out of his mouth without pause, but upon hearing them, Foras, Lapis and G all looked at him and seemed to think very carefully about what they should do next.


    The words that Loren had just said could be taken as either a denial or an affirmation, and it was difficult to determine what he was thinking just from this one reply. However, neither Foras nor Lapis could easily go further into questioning Loren¡¯s opinions, considering what might happen if they did.


    If Loren expressed a positive opinion, Lapis and G would gain points, and the maids were very likely to side with them, making Foras¡¯s position very bad. On the other hand, if Loren expressed a negative opinion, Foras would be in a stronger position, but what awaited him would probably be a rough fight with Lapis, G and the maids who were upset with him.


    The maids who were watching over them could understand how difficult it would be for them to question the truth of Loren¡¯s words, since Lapis and G were afraid of receiving a denial, and Foras would lose his ground if Loren gave an affirmation. That was why some of the maids were admiring Loren, who gave a very vague but fair answer to the Great Demon King¡¯s question.


    ¡°I-I see. Well, let¡¯s leave it at that, shall we? Do you have any objections?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, Your Majesty. We have no objections.¡±


    Foras tried to end the conversation in a vague manner by not rifying the situation, and Lapis and G seemed to have decided to go along with him, affirming Foras¡¯ words with amiable smiles.


    Loren was about to be reassured that this would be the end of the conversation, but Foras, determined not to let that happen, stirred things up again.


    ¡°So, about the reward.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t given up yet?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t call myself a king if I forget about the reward, I¡¯m going to give you.¡±


    Foras sounded so confident that it was as if his previous fluster and hesitation had been a lie. For his part, however, Loren thought it would have been better if he had just forgotten about it. He certainly didn¡¯t feel any bit of gratitude for the reward.


    As Loren wondered if there was any way he could make the conversation go in a direction that would minimize the damage, Foras took out something from his pocket and tossed it to Loren.


    ¡°What on earth is this?¡±


    Loren caught the item in mid-air and held it up in front of him.


    It was clear at first nce that it was not one of the coins circting in the human realm. The silver-colored coin had an borate picture of a knight riding a horse on its surface.


    ¡°Is this a coin from the demon realm¡±


    Having travelled around the continent as a mercenary, Loren had some knowledge of the design of the coins circting on the continent. But he did not recognize this coin, so he could only assume that it was circting in the demon realm. He held it up and showed it to Lapis, but she denied it.


    ¡°No, it is not. This is¡­ What is it?¡±


    If it was something that puzzled even Lapis, Loren suspected that it had more magical than mary value. Just to be sure, he showed it to G, but she also shook her head as if she did not recognize it either.


    ¡°I¡¯m only sure that it¡¯s not gold.¡±


    If neither Loren, a human, nor Lapis, a demon, nor G, who had knowledge from the Ancient Kingdom period, did not recognize this coin, there was at least one thing certain about it: it was not a currency in ordinary cirction. Foras nodded.


    ¡°I told you I won¡¯t reward you with money. It is not gold, but it is precious. Carry it with you at all times. It will help you.¡±


    ¡°How about you just give me some money? Don¡¯t you see how much it would help me if you would just reduce your debt?¡±


    ¡°Loren, let me tell you something.¡±


    Foras began in a slightly formal tone. Loren¡¯s expression changed as if asking what was going on, and Foras began to speak with a serious face and voice.


    ¡°The truth is, among the Demon Kings in the demon territory, certain things are bing more and more problematic year by year.¡±


    As Loren sat up straighter and wondered what a Demon King, and even the Great Demon King, would consider a problem, Foras continued with the same seriousness.


    ¡°That is the issue of grooms and brides.¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh?¡±


    ¡°The daughters and sons of Demon Kings are always in need of a groom or bride. The greater their power, the more difficult it is to find a partner.¡±


    Loren was taken aback by Foras¡¯s words. G looked at Lapis, who had hung her head with a red face, with pitied eyes.


    ¡°As the leader of the demon tribe, I am worried about the future of the tribe.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, humans can marry demons. As for their abilities and lifespan, there are ways to manage that.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡±


    Loren uttered in a rather low and measured voice, his face gradually bing more and more stern. Foras met his eyes head-on and smiled brightly.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why it¡¯s highly unlikely I¡¯ll ever do anything to reduce your debt.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°By the way, if you make it to the finish line, I¡¯ll cancel the whole thing.¡±


    ¡°What finish line?!¡±


    Loren snapped, but Foras seemed to have no further interest in the conversation. He ignored Loren¡¯s words and not even made eye contact with him after that.


    Watching Loren, who refused to back down, G told Lapis, who had finally turned red all the way to her ears, in an indifferent tone.


    ¡°Good boss, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°¡­Please allow me to refrain frommenting.¡±


    Needless to say, G¡¯s and the surrounding maids¡¯ warm eyes focused on Lapis, who had managed to squeeze out those words then returned to hanging her head.

 Chapter 299: From Waking Up to Going North (1)

    <h4>Chapter 299: From Waking Up to Going North (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The dinner with the Great Demon King, which would not have been aforting experience for ordinary people, went on without a hitch from Loren¡¯s point of view, although the atmosphere did be a little sour and strange. After being released, they each went to their assigned room.


    Overwhelmed by the funny feeling that he was the only human who had ever stayed overnight in the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, Loren entered the room he had been allocated and immediately fell asleep on the bed.


    The next day, Loren woke up to sunlight streaming in through the window of his room, and as he opened his eyes, he noticed that the atmosphere in the room had changedpared to before he fell asleep.


    Loren had no idea what theforter was made of, but it seemed to be of a very high quality and was very light andfortable, but when he woke up, he felt a great deal of weight above him. When he stirred, he found that the bed, which was supposed to be quite spacious, was so cramped that he could not even move properly. Moreover, he heard something like irritated muffled voices every time he tried to move.


    As he realized something must have happened, Loren forced his drowsy eyes open and tried to sit up, only to find himself looking into the face of a girl with purple eyes that was peering into him from above. Without thinking, he dropped his half-raised head back onto the bed.


    ¡°Good morning, Loren-sama. How are you feeling after waking up?¡±


    The smiling girl¡¯s face was unfamiliar to Loren. However, somehow, he couldn¡¯t help but think that he had seen that face among the maids who were waiting by the wall at the dinner with the Great Demon Kingst night, though he couldn¡¯t say for sure.


    More than that, when he thought about why the girl was peering at him upside down while he was sleeping in his bed, Loren realized that what was supporting the back of his head was not a pillow but something tauter and more resilient, and cautiously asked.


    ¡°This must not be true, but you weren¡¯t on your knees all night, were you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say close to that.¡±


    Loren looked to his left and right as the girl said this, and the reason why the bed felt so cramped that he couldn¡¯t even move his body immediately became apparent.


    As it turned out, on each side of Loren was a girl in a maid¡¯s outfit sleeping, snuggled up to his body. He lifted his head a little and looked at his chest area, and there, too, was another maid lying face down with a happy sleeping face.


    Realizing that she was surrounded by a total of four girls, Loren once again dropped his head down into thep of the girl who was apparently kneeling. Her sitting posture was perfect, and the feelinging from the back of his head was quite nice, making Loren almost fall asleep again. But he held on and kept his consciousness, then asked the girl who had started to peer into his face again to exin the situation.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    When she asked him back, Loren wondered what he should say.


    After all, he was currently in demon territory, a ce where humanmon sense could not be applied. There was a possibility that what he was wondering about was somethingmon on this side of the world and did not need to be asked, and the maids might not understand his concerns.


    Still, Loren opened his mouth again, thinking that the only course of action he could take at the moment would be to ask her honestly.


    ¡°Why were there four maids sneaking into my bedroom?¡±


    ¡°Are you dissatisfied?¡±


    When asked if he was dissatisfied, Loren was once again at a loss for an answer.


    Most men would have answered that there was no way they could be dissatisfied with the situation, but for Loren, it was a situation in which he could hardly say he was satisfied.


    ¡°It¡¯s more horrifying than satisfying.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What does that mean again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a weak human, surrounded by demons, not to mention demons who are in the service of the Great Demon King. Before I can even think of being happy about the situation, I feel that my life is in danger.¡±


    It was hard to imagine from their appearances, but the maids in the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, at least as far as Loren saw themst night, possessed immeasurable abilities that made Loren think they could rival the Demon Kings. The fact that four such beings snuck into his bed while he was sleeping, unnoticed, meant that Loren was in a situation where he could be killed at any time, and he had no time to feel happy or embarrassed.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re being a little paranoid, don¡¯t you?¡±


    The maid said with a faint smile on her face.


    ¡°Then, why did four demons sneak into my bed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to entertain you.¡±


    It took Loren quite a long time to understand what the maid said.


    Then, after understanding what the words meant, he asked the kneeling maid with a surprised expression as if he had heard some incredible information.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®entertain¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Shall I rephrase it as ¡®winning some favour¡¯?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, wait. I don¡¯t understand anything.¡±


    The other parties were demons. As they were all superior to humans in terms of abilities, naturally there was no need for them to tter humans at all.


    But Loren also could not understand why the maid would go to the trouble of dering that they hade to entertain him. Amidst the confusion, he suddenly thought of an element that would make this possible and asked again.


    ¡°Did the Great Demon King send you?¡±


    ¡°I am not obliged to answer that.¡±


    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s the same as saying he did, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren thought that it would not be strange if the Great Demon King had nned something like this. After all, he was the kind of person who would summon a mere mercenary, a human, to the Great Demon King¡¯s castle just because the person seemed to be interesting. It would not be surprising if the guy thought it would be even more interesting if he set the maids, who might rival Demon Kings, after him.


    ¡°But even so, four are too many!¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know what Loren-sama likes, so we thought we¡¯d let you choose¡­¡±


    That said, it was true that the maids were all girls with well-defined faces, but their hair lengths and body types varied, and their ages also seemed to be different, even though it was impossible to tell if that difference was real or not. They are such girls that would catch someone¡¯s taste in their own way, even if they couldn¡¯t be a perfect match.


    ¡°You¡¯re notining? You¡¯re extremely powerful people, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Loren, who didn¡¯t like to think that an average demon could possess the same kind of presence a Demon King normally would, believed that the maids working in the Great Demon King¡¯s castle must be of a certain level of power even among the demon tribe. And it seemed that he was not wrong, judging from the look on the girl¡¯s face when she heard his words.


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think we are at the same level as the Demon Kings though. We are a part of the group that protects the castle of the Great Demon King, and I am proud to say that we have the power to do so.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it must be humiliating to have to deal with a dubious human like me, right?¡±


    ¡°No, that is another matter. We were willing.¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    As Loren wondered if he had misheard something, the girl who was talking with him blushed a little and began to fidget.


    ¡°Certainly, if it were just a random human, we wouldn¡¯t even consider letting him touch our bodies¡­ But Loren-sama is the one that His Majesty the Great Demon King was interested in. It is hard to consider you a mere human.¡±


    Loren wanted to say that without a doubt, he was a mere human. But judging from the maid¡¯s reaction, he felt that even if he tried to insist, it would all fall on deaf ears with just one counter-argument: the Great Demon King is interested in him.


    The maid, wondering what Loren¡¯s reaction was, put her hand on Loren¡¯s cheek as his head still rested on herp.


    ¡°Well, you were sleeping sofortably that we didn¡¯t think it would be right to wake you up. So here we are.¡±


    Loren felt like praising himself for going to sleep that quicklyst night, thinking that if he had stayed up even just a littleter, he would have been tempted by these four girls.


    He had fallen asleep as soon as heid down on the bed due to physical and mental exhaustion, and he could not say whether he would have been able to resist the temptations of the maids if he had remained conscious in such a state. Smiling wryly, Loren thought that he definitely would not be able to.


    The maid who was kneeling moved her face a little closer and said in a hushed voice.


    ¡°We still have time now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t feel like it.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s rejection, the maid reached out and lightly shook the shoulder of the maid who was lying face down on his body. That action alone was enough to wake the other maid, and she began to feel his body through theforter. But after a while, she turned a sombre face towards the kneeling maid and shook her head.


    ¡°Oh, no reaction at all?¡±


    ¡°Where was she pawing at? Have you guys no shame?¡±


    The ce where Loren was touched through theforter was a ce that he did not want to speak out loud. That was why Loren, with a reddening face, threw a steely gaze at the kneeling maid.


    ¡°I think we are all attractive in our own way, so.¡±


    ¡°Maybe so, but no matter how good you look, I just can¡¯t react to those who could kill me with one hand.¡±


    As he said this, Loren suddenly thought of a red-headed young man with whom he had worked together on various jobs in the past. The young man, us, would have been able to make love with these maids even under such circumstances. Loren smiled wryly, thinking that he, on the other hand, would never be able to do such a thing himself.


    ¡°Well, I appreciate the thought, so why don¡¯t you let me go?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. What a pity.¡±


    Apparently, the maid whosep Loren¡¯s head was resting in clearly understood that even if they continued their conversation, it was not going to turn out the way they wanted it to.


    Once that was decided, the maid immediately shook the girls sleeping on either side of Loren to wake them up, and they all quickly got off the bed so as not to get in the way of Loren getting up.

 Chapter 300: From Waking Up to Going North (2)

    <h4>Chapter 300: From Waking Up to Going North (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Your prospective groom is not quite right in the head, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, are you sure you want that to be your will?¡±


    After changing his clothes, Loren was escorted by maids through the castle of the Great Demon King and led to a room with a long table, probably a dining room. A clean, pure white tablecloth covered the table, and on top of it was an array of food that seemed a little too much for breakfast, and the maids were still bringing in more food, as if that were not all.


    Loren, back in his usual gear, scratched his head and looked around the table, wondering who could consume such arge amount of food. Just then, G, who was quietly inhaling the food at the end of the table, noticed him and looked up.


    In contrast, the Great Demon King, who was dressed in loose-fitting clothes and Lapis, who was in her priestly attire, were discussing something at a distance from G and were unaware that Loren had entered the room. Loren wondered if the maids would announce him, but withposed faces, they moved away from Loren¡¯s side and went to stand by the wall without saying anything to Foras. Wondering if this meant that he should keep quiet and watch what was going on, Loren gently pulled up a chair near G and sat down. Neither Foras nor Lapis seemed to notice him and continued their conversation.


    From the content of their conversation, they had apparently known what had happenedst night in some way. Loren listened to them more closely. It seemed like they had received a report from the maids.


    ¡°I¡¯ve selected the best out of the countless maids in the castle and sent them to his bedroom, but he didn¡¯t do anything with them. Is that guy a man or not?¡±


    ¡°He is a man. I can assure you that he had enough self-control and reason to not give in to women¡¯s advances, so can you stop denying that just because it didn¡¯t turn out the way you wanted, Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°No, but it¡¯s a pretty big deal even among us demons, you know? A mere human male would not even be able to have just a touch of their fingertips, you know? He was embraced by them, lied in theirp, and still had no reactions. Is he impotent?¡±


    G looked at Loren¡¯s face as if to ask him how he was doing.


    G had forced herself on Loren once before, and he had managed to endure a rather close call. If she had remembered that, she would have known that Foras¡¯ ims of impotency were baseless. Loren¡¯s face turned bitter.


    ¡°Be careful what you say, Your Majesty. The only body parts that I am still missing are my legs, and I¡¯m regaining a lot of my original strength. Even if I can¡¯t beat you, I can at least have some revenge.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. I will manage if you go on a rampage, but the castle won¡¯t be able to. And I did that for your sake in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°My sake? What on earth do you think you were doing?¡±


    Lapis was all smiles, but the aura she was giving off was horrifying. She tilted her head in wonder at Foras¡¯ words.


    Loren was simrly confused. He could not imagine how the act of spurring the maids of the castle on him would be beneficial to Lapis.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see? If he had gotten his hands on the maids, you could use that as a weakness.¡±


    That made Loren wonder.


    It was true that he would feel guilty toward Lapis, but he hardly believed it could be something like a weakness. If they had promised each other a future, it might be a different story. But aside from their internal feelings and emotions, Loren and Lapis were fellow adventurers, and the only rtionship they had was that of debtor and lender.


    ¡°It seems a bit unreasonable to threaten Loren with that. After all, the fact that the other party is the maids here makes it obvious that they were sent by Your Majesty.¡±


    Lapis thought that it being a ploy by the Great Demon King was a very strong excuse. At the very least, it was impossible for the human race to resist the Great Demon King, and exposing it as a ploy could very likely displease the King. If you thought about it, even if you recognized it as a ploy, you would find yourself in a situation where you had to go along with it. Even Lapis would have no choice but to show her understanding.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not all. Why do you think I went to the trouble of having different types of maid sneak into his bedroom?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because¡­ you didn¡¯t know what kind of woman Loren likes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I was after.¡±


    Foras said so with a smug look on his face, but Lapis did not seem to understand what he was trying to say. She kept tilting her head to side.


    Loren, too, did not understand what the King meant, but G, who was still eating in silence, seemed to understand Foras¡¯ intention and lightly beckoned Loren, who had a question mark on his head, to get his attention.


    ¡°Alright. There are four fruits here, right?¡±


    After seeing Loren¡¯s eyes turn toward her, G stabbed a fork into four slices of fruit from the sd on the te in front of her andid them out side by side.


    ¡°If you ask me which one I prefer, I will choose one and put it in my mouth.¡±


    G picked one of the fruit slices with the fork in her hand and threw it into her mouth.


    ¡°So, you can know what I like through this, can¡¯t you? Then, when the cook wants to make a dessert that meets my taste, they can focus on the fruit I just ate and make a dessert that doesn¡¯t deviate from my tastes.¡±


    ¡°And ? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°So, if they can find outter which of the maids who snuck into your bedroom this time was touched and how much, they can naturally determine your taste in women, right? Then, in order for Lapis-chan to be intimate with you, she can¡¯t be too different from those preferences.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I was trying to do! Gathering the necessary information to ensure that the search for a groom for the daughter of the Demon King under mymand goes smoothly! That was the n, and yet that loser didn¡¯t even touch them¡­¡±


    Foras, who had been so pleased with G¡¯s words that he raised his voice, stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Loren watching him with a cold gaze from his seat near G.


    Lapis followed his gaze to see what caused such a reaction, and it was then that she first noticed Loren¡¯s presence. She got up from her chair in a rush, perhaps to greet him, but she moved so fast that she almost fell backwards. However, the maids around Foras caught her with blinding speed, preventing an ident.


    ¡°H-hello. Did you sleep well?¡±


    Loren wondered how he should react to Foras, who raised one hand and spoke to him in a friendly manner. Should he pretend that he had heard nothing and respond normally? Or should he me, or thank the King for his ploy?


    After thinking about which of these would best resolve the situation, Loren decided that it would be safer to feign ignorance.


    ¡°I was so tired I couldn¡¯t even dream.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry to hear that. If you had stayed awake, you might have been able to enjoy my castle more.¡±


    In other words, ¡®That was why I didn¡¯t touch the maids. Sorry¡¯. That was how Loren responded to Foras. He then shrugged at Lapis, who was watching him with a grim expression.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s just the way it is when you¡¯re a human. Let us wait for the next opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, what are you talking about?¡±


    Loren made a tantly disgusted face, wondering if he was still going to try to do something. Foras didn¡¯t seem to notice, and he puffed up his chest as if Loren had said something nice. Lapis gave him a light poke.


    G watched the exchange while continuing to consume the food at the same speed. Then, perhaps thinking that the conversation was not going to proceed properly, she interrupted to take lead of the discussion while wiping her mouth with a napkin the maid had prepared.


    ¡°So, Great Demon King. You said you would help us with our trip to the north, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll have it delivered to you as soon as it¡¯s ready. I don¡¯t care whatsoever about human conflicts.¡±


    In fact, it would be a rather leisure trip.


    Other adventurers departed from Kapha, even with the special transport, would need nearly ten days to reach the battlefield in the north. But Loren¡¯s party, despite making a side trip to the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, could travel with such speed that they would read their destination in few days. If they were to ride on the back of the Ancient Dragon Emery from the Great Demon King¡¯s castle to the battlefield in the north, they would reach their destination extremely quickly.


    ¡°Once we pass the mountainous area, we will be on foot, so our speed from there on will be a bit slower.¡±


    Their carriage had been returned to the city of Kapha when they boarded Emery. It was not that there are no carriages at the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, but if they were to ride on Emery¡¯s back to the northern border, there would be no way to transport a carriage. So, once they crossed the mountainous area, they would have to go on foot to the battlefield.


    ¡°Can we make it in time?¡±


    ¡°If the map is correct, I think we can get there in two days¡¯ walk.¡±


    Without a carriage, their luggage would be limited to what they could carry on foot. Loren wondered if the provisions they had prepared when leaving Kapah would be enough, but Foras quickly dispelled his fears.


    ¡°We¡¯ll reorganize your luggage here, dispose of what is no longer needed and replenish what is needed.¡±


    ¡°That would be very helpful. Thank you for your help.¡±


    ¡°Just make sure you use up all the food and water you have before you reach your destination.¡±


    When Loren asked what was meant by this strange order, Foras answered that this time he was preparing for Loren and his group something made with the technology of the demon tribe.


    Demons had more advanced technology than humans. The same could be said for the food and water conservation technology, which would be obvious to anyone looking at them that they were not made with human technology. If their party was questioned about the origin of those items, Loren¡¯s position could be very troubled.


    ¡°At worst, we could say they were given to us by a kind traveller passing by.¡±


    ¡°Would that work?¡±


    ¡°Not that it wouldn¡¯t. After all, even though their number is few, there are demons who walk the human world like Lapis.¡±


    Foras said that it wasmon for these demons to conceal their true nature as demons as they traveled, and that it was rare for them to provide supplies when they encountered someone in need. Their items were treated as if their origin was unknown, and some people say that there might be a hidden vige somewhere on the continent with very advanced technology.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s not far off the mark. The whole territory of the demon tribe is like a hiding ce.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll let them know so that they can use that as a cover-up the next time.¡±


    But more than the fact that his suggestion was epted by Foras, Loren was surprised to learn that Foras, the Great Demon King, had a way to contact the demons traveling in the realm of the human.


    ¡°This whole continent, you know. If you guys get serious, the rulers could change tomorrow, couldn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°I can only tell you that it is not impossible.¡±


    Loren asked Lapis with a hint of tension in his voice, and Lapis answered with a face and expression as if it was nothing.


    Loren was at a loss for words as he leaned back in his chair and wondered how a world crisis could happen so easily without the knowledge of the human race.

 Chapter 301: From Waking Up to Going North (3)

    <h4>Chapter 301: From Waking Up to Going North (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Your luggage and transport are ready. Would you like to leave now?¡±


    Loren was rescued from the room that had begun to have a rather delicate atmosphere by a maiding to inform them that preparation for their trip had finished. The party, already prepared, was ready to leave immediately and decided to depart after informing the Great Demon King.


    ¡°Lapis, I await your d tidings.¡±


    ¡°I think it would be better if you shut your mouth, Your Majesty, so that our meagre allegiance would not be further eroded.¡±


    The Great Demon King decided to see them off. Trying to keep himself out of the King¡¯s sight as much as possible, Loren followed the maid¡¯s lead while dragging Lapis, who had a stiff smile on her face.


    After being made to walk a considerable distance inside the huge castle of the Great Demon King, they were able to leave through one of the exits.


    ¡°I¡¯m the only human who¡¯s ever set foot inside the castle and made it out safely, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Usually, they are dealt with before they even set foot in the castle.¡±


    As the party had this disturbing conversation, they were greeted by Emery, the Ancient Dragon who had previously helped them to get to the castle.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Now get on my back!¡±


    Emery, who was waiting for them in a crouch, hurried them along. But Loren did not immediately climb up on her back. He looked up at her face with narrowed eyes instead. Not understanding the meaning of his gaze, Emery unintentionally locked eyes with Loren, and her body stiffened slightly at Loren¡¯s words, which sounded somewhat resentful.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something else to say first?¡±


    Loren said this because Emery had thrown Loren and hispanions right in front of the Great Demon King while he was taking a bath. Although the Great Demon King himself had said that he would not hold the dragon responsible, Loren, who was suddenly thrown into the bath and then had to encounter such a being as the Great Demon King, felt that he would not be satisfied without voicing hisint, so he thought that a word of apology would be eptable.


    ¡°I think it was a pretty good surprise. Don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°We could have died.¡±


    ¡°You climbed onto the back of an Ancient Dragon and met the Great Demon King. Such an incident should be a given, shouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Is that your answer?¡±


    Loren crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept his eyes fixed on Emery. The dragon returned his gaze, thought for a moment, then bowed her head slightly.


    ¡°My prank went too far. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Be careful next time. I can¡¯t keep up with you dragons¡¯ way of thinking.¡±


    As soon as Emery uttered her apology, Loren stopped ring at her and scratched his head.


    Behind him, Lapis and G were whispering to each other.


    ¡°The dragon apologized.¡±


    ¡°She probably felt that she had gone a little too far. The fact that she didn¡¯t use brute force at this point is proof that dragons are decently intelligent.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to apologize, you shouldn¡¯t have done it in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°You see, it was all in the heat of the moment.¡±


    ¡°The two guys in the back. I wish you would stop saying it so that I can hear you. You are probably right, and that¡¯s why I apologized.¡±


    Lapis and G stopped talking after they witnessed the rare sight of a dragon being embarrassed, more by a shift in the atmosphere than by facial expression.


    Emery made a sort of coughing sound, and then spoke to Loren and the others again.


    ¡°Now get on my back. I¡¯ll take you to the ce where you can get out of the demon realm.¡±


    ¡°By the way, how much will your debt be reduced because of this?¡±


    G asked Emery as she watched Loren, who had been urged by Emery to climb up onto her back, lend a hand to Lapis, who was trying to climb up after him.


    The dragon was also looking at the two of them, but when she heard G¡¯s words, she instantly turned her head away and looked in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s a matter of pride for me.¡±


    G¡¯s face became quizzical when she was answered with such a vague term like ¡®pride¡¯, but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Loren reach out his hand to her from above Emery¡¯s back.


    G could climb up Emery¡¯s back without Loren¡¯s help. But on second thought, Lapis should also have the same physical ability, and would not have needed Loren¡¯s assistance. Still, considering that she had held Loren¡¯s hand and had him pull her up to the top of the dragon¡¯s back, G thought she should ask him to do the same and obediently took Loren¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tease her too much.¡±


    Loren said to G as he took G¡¯s hand and pulled her up.


    G tilted her head to see what he was talking about, and Lapis, who had already sat on Emery¡¯s back, continued as if to add.


    ¡°Dragons usually don¡¯t carry someone on their back, but she is carrying us on her back in exchange for a reduction in her debts. If we asked for the amount of the debt reduction, that amount would be the price of Emery¡¯s pride, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­ Can you stop having that kind of conversation on my back?¡±


    Emery said in a somewhat resigned voice to the party, who looked at each other and stopped talking about the topic. After all, she was the one who would be transporting them from now on. If they upset her, there was a risk that they would be thrown back into the castle. But more importantly, Emery¡¯s voice, which sounded like a plea, was a little pathetic.


    ¡°Take care on your way, everyone. We look forward to seeing you again.¡±


    With these parting words of the maid, Emery slowly jumped up into the air.


    Loren, while feeling the floating sensation that he didn¡¯t think he would ever get used to, waved his hand as a goodbye to the maid, who was looking up at them and waving her hand.


    ¡°The maids seem to like Loren quite a lot, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°It proves that I have a good eye for men, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just because they¡¯re curious? And Lapis, say those words when I¡¯m not around.¡±


    As they talked, the party enjoyed the unusual experience of air travel.


    On the way, they passed over several cities of the demon tribe. If an Ancient Dragon were to pass over a city of the human tribe, it would surely cause a hugemotion as a beehive was poked, but from the air, Loren was amazed that almost nomotion urred.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t an Ancient Dragon a threat to the demon tribe?¡±


    ¡°We can talk to them, and we know that they are not so senseless as to attack a city for no reason.¡±


    ¡°What about ordinary dragons?¡±


    ¡°If a dozen of them flew in, they might be a threat, but if it¡¯s just one or two, then tomorrow¡¯s meal will be more luxurious.¡±


    If it were a country or city of the human race, just one ordinary dragon would be enough to destroy it or cause a great deal of damage. The fact that Lapis answered so casually made Loren realize once again how the demon race waspared to humans.


    Meanwhile, Emery continued her flight smoothly, and just as Loren was thinking that it must be almost lunchtime, judging from his empty stomach, they arrived at the mountainous area that separates the territory of the demon tribe from that of other races. The dragon easily flew over the high mountains andnded on the edge of the forest on the human side of the mountain range.


    ¡°You seemed to fly a little slower than when we came in?¡±


    ¡°I thought you might enjoy the scenery more that way. You have time to spare, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ording to Lapis¡¯ estimation, it would take about two days to reach their destination, the Empire, on foot from the break in the mountainous region to the north. However, even if those two days were taken into ount, by the time Loren and his team arrived in the Empire, the people who were supposed to have left from Kapha would still not have arrived in the Empire territory. If they arrived too early, people would wonder how on earth they had managed to get there in such a short period of time, so there was plenty of time to spare.


    ¡°Be careful. There are disturbing signs in the north. We will see each other again when the time is right.¡±


    After lowering Loren and the others to the ground, Emery said her farewells, soared high into the sky, and flew away again toward the demon territory. After watching her figure disappear beyond the mountains, Loren and the others put their packs back on their backs, checked their surroundings, and began walking north.


    ¡°If we hurry, we should be there in about two days, but let¡¯s move a little slower.¡±


    The food and water they had from the Great Demon castle was more than enough for several days, if G¡¯s binge eating was not taken into consideration.


    Loren agreed with Lapis¡¯ suggestion, although it was not without thought that it would be better to arrive at the destination somewhat earlier, considering the situation where the Empire and the Kingdom were at war.


    ¡°Our side trip was horrible. We should settle down and rest somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I agree. The climate here is quite different from Kapha, so it might be better to take time to get used to it.¡±


    When told, Loren noticed that the wind caressing his skin was indeed different from what he had felt when he was in Kapha.


    ¡°The air is a little drier and¡­ a little cooler?


    ¡°It¡¯s not chilly yet, but it¡¯s a lot further north than Kapha. And we¡¯re going even further north, so it¡¯s going to be that way.¡±


    Loren had been told that once you reached the northernmost point of the continent, you would find and covered with ice that never melted.


    While temperatures in other parts of the continent might vary somewhat, the northern part of the continent was said to have a climate where the temperature never reached a point where ice melted at any given time. As they moved closer to the north, the temperature would naturally be cooler and the air drier, depriving their bodies of moisture.


    ¡°It would be nice to have somece like an inn town where we can rx and gather information as well. Oh, you can leave the payment to me.¡±


    ¡°At this point, I¡¯m not even worried about a dozen silver coins or more in debt¡­¡±


    Loren wondered if it was a good idea to leave the payment to Lapis, but there was no way he had enough money in his pocket to pay for lodging for all three of them.


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy if the food was good.¡±


    ¡°What is the best food in the North? You don¡¯t get to eat well on the battlefield, so I¡¯d like to try something tasty before we go.¡±


    G and Lapis chatted light-heartedly as they walked on. The atmosphere was so light that it was hard to believe that they were going to a battlefield, but considering their races, it was probably nothing to get worked up about, and Loren didn¡¯t feel the need to warn them to brace themselves. When Loren noticed that Nig, who usually clung to his shoulder, was trying to crawl under his jacket, perhaps because of the cold, he loosened the cor lightly to make it easier for the spider.

 Chapter 302: Getting More Members at The Tavern (1)

    <h4>Chapter 302: Getting More Members at The Tavern (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After parting with Emery, Loren and his group set out on foot toward the north, and were lucky enough to arrive at an inn town along the city just before sunset.


    Compared to Kapha, the temperature in this northern region felt a bit cooler, and this was even more apparent when the sun went down. As for Loren, who had been worried since around dusk that it would be a bit difficult to sleep in the open given this climate, he felt very fortunate to be able to sleep where there was a roof and walls.


    Even more fortunately was the presence of something in this inn town that made the team very happy.


    As it would be meaningless to arrive at an inn town without being able to get rooms for the night, Lapis had tried to quickly decide on a ce to stay and book some rooms.


    ¡°Are that hot springs?¡±


    Hearing the excitement in Lapis¡¯ voice, Loren looked at the clerk, who was introducing the facilities of the inn to them. The female clerk, who was smiling at the happy Lapis with a loving smile, nodded deeply in response to Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°There is a hot spring nearby. We draw hot water from there. The bathing area isrge, and you¡¯ll have to pay a little extra, but the water is plentiful, and you can use it as much as you like.¡±


    ¡°How much is it? I will pay whatever you want.¡±


    Loren nced around as he listened to the clerk exin the price and the precautions regarding bathing to Lapis, who was so eager that he believed not entering the hot spring would not be an option.


    This inn was built like any otherrge inn with the first floor being abination of a reception counter, bar, and dining room, while rooms for guests were on the second floor and above. The dining hall was crowded with customers having dinner, perhaps due to the time of day, but Loren felt a bit uneasy at the sight of them, contrary to Lapis, who seemed happy.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the long face? Are you thinking about peeking into Lapis-chan¡¯s bath or something?¡±


    Loren¡¯s frown deepened at G¡¯s whispered words.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die yet.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it will go¡­ that far.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if my life is not in danger, I will not go peeping.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not especially worried or anything. But what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    When asked, Loren subtly gestured toward the dining hall¡¯s direction with his chin. Following his gesture, G looked at the dining hall and tilted her head as if not understanding what Loren was trying to say.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡±


    ¡°There seems to be a lot of punks here.¡±


    G looked around the dining hall again at Loren¡¯s words, but after a while, she returned her gaze to Loren¡¯s face and tilted her head again.


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Is it just something so trivial from your point of view?¡±


    After all, Lapis was a demon and G was a being called Evil God. Compared to them, those slightly boorish people were probably just cute little things. Loren understood this well, but it was a fact that those people did not know.


    As if to prove him right, there were more than a few ncesing from inside the restaurant toward their party as they made arrangements for lodging, which made Loren feel depressed because he could clearly sense the ill intents behind those nces.


    ¡°War, for better or worse, brings people together. And among them, you¡¯ll find a few with gruesome deeds.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean that we should be on our guard? But who would mess with us?¡±


    ¡°If they knew who you really are, they wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    This was what gave Loren a headache.


    Those who knew who Lapis and G truly were, would never consider them targets for some nefarious purpose. But no one here knew.


    Those with a certain level of skills might have been able to guess at the hidden abilities of the two girls, but for those who do not, they must be seen as nothing more than beautiful girls. And those who engaged in unscrupulous behavior were usually those who acted faithfully to their own desires without considering the circumstances and capabilities of the other party.


    ¡°If you¡¯re with me, they wouldn¡¯t do anything, but¡­ That also depends on the ce.¡±


    If Lapis and G looked like nothing more than beautiful girls, Loren did look like a formidable swordsman. Even though he did not know the extent of their abilities, Loren believed that the girls would be fine as long as they were with him, as he had an extraordinary body and equipment to match, but there were ces where even he could not follow.


    ¡°At a nce, the town here is not that big. There¡¯s not much entertainment, so they¡¯ll be starved for some.¡±


    ¡°There are lots of sad people in this world, aren¡¯t there?¡±


    G said this in a somber tone of voice, and Loren agreed with her. If they had dealt a bad hand with Lapis and G without knowing who they really were, they would almost certainly be much better off getting beaten up by Loren.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you guys just show your true nature? That way no one will touch you.¡±


    The thought that had just urred to Loren seemed like a very good idea, so he suggested it to G, who in turn frowned at his words.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°If the people in the dining hall get scared, won¡¯t they make it impossible for us to stay here?¡±


    Demons and Evil Gods were very intimidating. If humans were to suddenly face both, who knew what kind of disaster would ensue. There might be some tolerance, but if they frightened the employees as G had suggested, they risked not being able to stay at the inn, so Loren decided to retract his idea.


    ¡°I hoped you wouldn¡¯t wipe out the inn.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not certain that they¡¯ll mess with us, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Bad predictions usually turn out to be true.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Lapis, who had apparently finished her exchange with the clerk, interrupted Loren and G¡¯s conversation. Holding the key to their room, she watched them with a puzzled look on her face.


    Loren, not knowing what to say, gave a vague smile. While searching for the right words to say, he suddenly noticed something as he looked at Lapis¡¯ hand.


    ¡°It looks like there¡¯s only one key?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll stay in one big room. Is that alright?¡±


    Lapis smiled, and Loren put his hand on his forehead. He felt like he was getting a fever, but he knew he had to say what needed to be said, so he scratched his head and told Lapis, who seemed to be waiting for a response, as if to remind her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­¡±


    Loren wondered if she was inspired by the actions of the Great Demon King, they had met in the demon territory. But Lapis unexpectedly responded by rolling her eyes.


    ¡°Three private rooms are expensive. Loren, don¡¯t tell me you want a single room for yourself?¡±


    Loren was at a loss for words.


    Certainly, it was cheaper to get arge room that could amodate three people than to get three private rooms. He did consider getting a room for himself, but in that case, Lapis and G would be sharing a room while Loren would be the only one in his own room.


    As Loren had entrusted Lapis with the payment, it was a situation that he could not say no to.


    ¡°But¡­ That¡¯s not good for a lot of reasons, is it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all, but¡­ What about you, G?¡±


    G looked very lost when asked. But after taking a look at Lapis¡¯ expectant face and Loren, who was eagerly waiting for her ¡®I do mind¡¯, she spent some time thinking it over, then asked Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to order dinner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I don¡¯t mind at all.¡±


    At G¡¯s super straightforward answer, Lapis clenched her fist on her chest while Loren¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment, as he had no way to respond. The only way to turn the tables at this point would be to offer more than Lapis had proposed to G, but Loren didn¡¯t have the resources to do so.


    ¡°Now the opinion inside the party is two to one.¡±


    ¡°Ahh ok¡­ I see, I see.¡¯


    Loren raised his hand in surrender, thinking that if there was no way to resist, it would be better to give up quickly. But Lapis¡¯ face turned a little unhappy.


    ¡°Are you unhappy? It¡¯s something many want but can never get, you know? There are a lot of men out there who would pay money to be you.¡±


    ¡°If they don¡¯t know the truth, then maybe you¡¯re right.¡±


    Loren, who was convinced that those men would 100% run away if they knew the truth about the two girls, but he knew that it might upset Lapis if he said anything about it. So, he ended the conversation there and picked up the luggage he had left on the floor when Lapis started talking with the clerk.


    Lapis seemed to be a little frustrated, but when she saw that Loren had given up, she decided that there was no point in pursuing the matter any further and began to lead Loren and G to their room, fumbling with the key the inn had given her.


    ¡°After putting our luggage in the room, let¡¯s go to the hot spring. Let¡¯s warm ourselves up and wash before we have dinner.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget our agreement earlier, okay?¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll just wait in the room, ok?¡±


    Even though the door was locked, it was dangerous to trust the lockpletely. This was a particr concern when traveling, and leaving someone in the room to keep watch was a matter of course. If Lapis and G were going to bathe, Loren thought it was his job to wait for them, but Lapis looked at him in surprise, as if wondering what he was saying.


    Loren, feeling ominous, asked.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to be out of the room for a long time, you¡¯re going to need someone to watch your stuff, right?¡±


    ¡°What do you think of me and G? Of course, we have spells to protect our belongings.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Hm. Let¡¯s go bathe then.¡±


    The sooner you gave up, the better.


    Loren, who had been telling himself this, sighed and felt even worse when he noticed a couple of gruff-looking men ncing at them out of the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Just to be clear, there aren¡¯t any mixed baths or anything like that, are there?¡±


    ¡°It looks like men and women are separated. Did you want a mixed bath?


    Lapis asked back with a smirk.


    Perhaps due to these words, Loren noticed that some of the stares he was receiving were tinged with envy and jealousy, and he heaved a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart.

 Chapter 303

    <h4>Chapter 303</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Despite a few minor hups, the group went straight to the room that had been prepared for them. Although Loren being unable to stand the staresing from the dining hall also yed a part, the biggest reason was that none of them could not ovee their desire to rest their bodies.


    The goods brought from the demon territory that were obviously not of human origin, were put away at the bottom of the luggage in advance so that they would not be seen by anyone, but Loren was careful not to let anyone other than himself touch them as he carried the luggage into the room. Once he finished the tasks, he sat down on a couch in the room and exhaled deeply.


    ¡°Loren, the bed isn¡¯t a double, is it?¡±


    ¡°What did you expect?¡±


    The room was furnished with two beds that were probably designed for one person, and two long couches, perhaps as substitutes for the beds.


    As arge person, it was a bit difficult for Loren to sleep on the couch, but he quickly upied one of them because he did not want to let Lapis or G sleep on a couch.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just let Loren sleep on the couch¡­¡±


    As Lapis said apologetically, Loren waved his hand at her not to worry about it and go to the bath first.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, just go. I¡¯ll take care of the luggage.¡±


    But Lapis gently rejected him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got some things I have to do first. G, I was wondering if you could take care of the luggage? So go ahead and take a bath, Loren.¡±


    Loren was somewhat caught off guard by the way she said that. It was hard to believe that Lapis would have some errand that she ¡®had to do¡¯ in a passing inn town.


    He was a little afraid to ask what she was going to do though. If he were to hear something outrageous, he would not be able to keep his peace of mind, but he also would have no way to stop her. So, he believed that it would be better to maintain his ignorance by ying blind and deaf unless a problem popped up.


    ¡°Is that so? G, are you ok with this? ¡­G?¡±


    Loren looked at G, who did not respond to his call, and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed unpacking with a thoughtful look on her face.


    ¡°Hey, G, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, no, I mean, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. I just¡­ feel a strange presence, or something.¡±


    G¡¯s vague words were enough to make Loren feel uneasy.


    Their party had once stayed in another inn town right before it was destroyed. Loren was thinking that something simr might happen here, but he hastily dismissed the thought. Thinking that he would be present anytime an inn town was destroyed seemed a bit too depressing, but at the same time, having such thought in the first ce made Loren wonder if it was some kind of omen.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably just my imagination, and I think you should go take a bath anyway.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that¡­¡±


    Loren decided to take a bath as rmended, feeling that if he became more cautious than necessary, it might trigger some strange event to happen. By not caring too much, maybe there was a chance that nothing would happen.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while, so I¡¯ll leave you to it, G.¡±


    ¡°Take it easy, Lapis-chan. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Although Lapis and G were talking like they always did, Loren could sense that something was amiss from the content of their conversation.


    Telling himself that it was probably just his imagination, he stuffed towels and clothes into a small bag and went to the inn¡¯s bathroom, where he let out a small whistle of appreciation for the facilities there.


    Loren had not expected much from a bathroom in a not-sorge inn in a not-sorge inn town, but when he saw it in person, he found that the dressing room was quite spacious, and the bathroom looked quite promising as well. He quickly took off his clothes, wrapped the thick cloth provided by the inn around his waist, and stepped into the bathroom.


    Although Nig was fine with being in hot water at the Great Demon King¡¯s castlest time, Loren felt that the inn wouldin about him letting Nig in, so he decided to have the spider wait on his folded clothes this time.


    It was said that in some ces, it was customary to bathe in a bathing gown, but this bath was not designed to be so formal, and basically both men and women were allowed to bathepletely naked.


    Behind the door separating the changing room from the bathhouse was an entire area made of stone, and was considerablyrger than Loren had imagined. The bathtub was also quite spacious,rge enough to amodate several people of Loren¡¯s size.


    Loren, thinking that this would be a good ce to enjoy a rxing bath, first grabbed a wooden bucket to wash off the dirt and grime from his body, only to find that there was another guest behind the steam.


    The other guest, who had been soaking in the bathtub up to the shoulders, stood up in front of Loren¡¯s eyes, not even bothering to hide their body.


    Loren himself was quiterge and muscr, but the person in the bathtub was evenrger than him, with a body that could be best described as all-muscles.


    Loren, who was watching the slightly muddy water cascade over the body of what could be described as a giant, saw the face on top of the muscr body and ran out of the ce with all the force he could muster in the next instant, forgetting his own state of nakedness.


    ¡°>.¡±


    It was probably some kind of spell. The moment the words reached Loren¡¯s ears, he felt something unnatural on the soles of his feet and lost his bnce. He would have fallen heavily on the floor of the bathroom, but he quickly regained his bnce and managed to avoid falling down by putting his hands on the wall.


    Then, therge man who seemed to have cast a spell on Loren puts his hand on the wall as if to block his way.


    ¡®I really want to praise myself for not screaming¡¯, Loren thought to himself. A sense of danger that he had never felt even on the battlefield hit his whole body, and even though he was in the warm, humid air of the bathroom, he felt like he had been thrown into an ice-cold ce.


    Therge man, his hand still on the wall, spoke to Loren in a tone of voice that seemed to say that he was not at all pleased with the situation.


    ¡°Why did you run as soon as you saw my face?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to meet someone who wouldn¡¯t run.¡±


    Hearing Shayna screaming inside his head, Loren, who was gradually regaining hisposure, answered therge man in front of him, careful not to let his voice tremble.


    ¡°That¡¯s rude, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ngh rather than that, why the hell are you here?¡±


    The man was staring straight at Loren as if trying to keep him from escaping. No matter how many times he thought about it in his head, the only answer Loren coulde up with was that the man in front of him could not possibly be here, so he looked back into his eyes and asked.


    As far as Loren knew, the man was still in Kapha when their party left the city. And even if he had left the city at almost the same time, there was no way he could have arrived in the northern part of the continent in just two days.


    ¡°Strange, isn¡¯t it? Even if your existence itself is strange, is it strange enough to distort the physical distance in the world?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? You want to do it?¡±


    Loren frowned when he saw the man licked his lips and felt the screams that echoed through his head increase in pitch and volume. Since it was not an actual sound, it was not likely to damage the eardrums no matter how loud it got, but it was still loud.


    Even though she was imperfect, Shayna was still the King of Death, yet this being was capable of frightening her to this extent. Thinking that Shayna should not be the one to feel frightened, Loren looked back at Luxuria, the Evil God of Lust, who was right in front of him and was staring at him.


    Far from what one would image of the title ¡®Evil God of Lust¡¯, the macho, jawbreakinglyrge man met Loren¡¯s gaze and, for some reason, smiled.


    [¡®Onii-san! I fear for myself! Can I use any of the skills of the King of Death with all my might?¡¯]


    Shayna seemed to have been trapped by her fear and trepidation. Loren tried to soothe her while finding a way to escape from the situation. But Luxuria was bigger than him, and he was blocking one of the escape routes with his hand on the wall so there was only one way left, and he couldn¡¯t get the timing right to move.


    Loren¡¯s eyes darted in all directions, looking for some way to escape, and he unintentionally found himself looking at Luxuria¡¯s lower body.


    Loren himself had wrapped a cloth around his waist to cover that part of his body, but Luxuria had exposed itpletely, and when the long, dangling object came unmistakably into view, Shayna again let out a scream inside Loren¡¯s mind.


    [¡®Onii-san! Peepee da-dangling! Peepee ¡®]


    Even though Loren had no idea what she was talking about, he tried his best to calm Shayna, who was probably in a state of delirium, while asking Luxuria.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t do anything strange, how are you here? It¡¯s only been two days since we left Kapha.¡±


    ¡°What a stupid child. For us, distance is something negligible. Haven¡¯t you ever seen a G disappear in front of your eyes?¡±


    Loren searched through his memories.


    The first time he met G, she was half-assimted with a chief monster, but as soon as she was released from the assimtion, she dove to the ground and disappeared somewhere. If this ability was not unique to G, it would not be surprising that Luxuria, who was also an Evil God, could do the same thing.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re here for real.¡±


    ¡°In the flesh. That¡¯s why I¡¯m lonely.¡±


    With a whispering voice, Luxuria brought his face closer, and Loren was, uncharacteristically, prepared to die.


    Of course, he was not prepared to just sit back and be eaten to death, but he was prepared to fight Luxuria without weapons or armor. Just as he was about to m his clenched fist into Luxuria¡¯s face, Luxuria¡¯s body, which was crowding him, disappeared in an instant.


    As Loren blinked and wondered what had just happened, he heard the sound of something wet mming into the wall. When he turned to look, he saw Luxuria¡¯s upside-down, spreadeagle body slid down the wall onto the floor.


    ¡°What were you going to do to Loren?¡±


    The terribly unhappy voice belonged to Lapis. Wrapped tightly in a cloth with a wooden bucket and a towel in each of her hands, she was ring at Luxuria with a steely gaze.


    Although her eyes and posture were ruining the scene in many ways, the sight of Lapis was even more pleasing to Loren¡¯s eyes than usual, especially after seeing Luxuria naked. Loren found himself calming down. As he did, he began to wonder why Lapis was in the men¡¯s bathroom and asked her as such.


    ¡°Hey Lapis, why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren, it took me more time than I expected. Especially reserving the bathrooms for exclusive use and dealing with those who might interfere¡­ But let¡¯s not talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Exclusive use?¡±


    ¡°To make sure no one elsees in while I wash your back, of course? Bribing the inn was no trouble, but I didn¡¯t expect an Evil God to be here.¡±


    ¡°And what do you mean by ¡®dealing with¡¯?¡±


    ¡°We had a discussion, but it ended in an unfortunate way. I had no choice but to roll them up in a mat and hand them over to Luxuria.¡±


    Having said that, Lapis suddenly began to fidget and said in a small voice while looking at Loren with a slight blush on her face.


    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m here to wash your back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot on your te, don¡¯t you? Well¡­ Please do.¡±


    Feeling terribly exhausted both mentally and physically, Loren had no desire to enjoy bathing or washing his body at this point. He could not even refuse Lapis¡¯ offer, so he just sat there and let her do as she pleased.

 Chapter 304: Getting More Members at The Tavern (3)

    <h4>Chapter 304: Getting More Members at The Tavern (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°I was wondering if you were the one who was giving off that strange vibe I was sensing.¡±


    G, with a look of intense dislike on her face, said this in front of a light meal in the dining hall on the first floor of the inn. Luxuria, who was poking at the ham on his te with a fork in a gesture that did not suit his body at all, responded with a look of displeasure as well.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®strange¡¯?¡±


    ¡°What on earth are you up to, sneaking around hiding your presence?¡±


    If there was an Evil God nearby, G, who was also an evil god, would be able to notice somehow. But she hadn¡¯t been able to this time seemingly because Luxuria had been suppressing his own presence. G thought that this might be due to some kind of plot, but Luxuria responded with an annoyed look on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m not plotting anything. I was just trying to participate in amission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to get involved in someone else¡¯s war?¡±


    Evil Gods like G didn¡¯t care much about others¡¯ circumstances. In G¡¯s opinion, if people wanted to go to war, they should just go ahead and do it on their own. She was working with Loren and Lapis simply because they wanted to poke their noses into this war, and also because she had found out that someone whom she considered to be her enemy seemed to be involved.


    Since they were both Evil Gods, an enemy of G might as well be an enemy of Luxuria, but G didn¡¯t think Luxuria had received the information about this person yet. That was why she didn¡¯t understand why Luxuria was willingly getting involved in this war.


    ¡°I need the money.¡±


    Luxuria¡¯s answer to G¡¯s question came as a surprise to Loren and the others.


    Luxuria resumed poking at the ham and exining the reason in a slightly reluctant tone.


    ¡°You¡¯ve met those lovely children who became my followers in Kapha, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you make them yourself?¡±


    They did not just ¡®be¡¯ Luxuria¡¯s followers, they were actively put together by Luxuria himself. They had nearly destroyed the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but Luxuria was talking about them as if they were just a result of natural progression. G red daggers at him for that, but Luxuria seemed immune to her re. He stabbed the ham with his fork, brought it into his mouth and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing.


    ¡°Those kids are making a good living as adventurers, but they still need money to pay for all the things they need.¡±


    Loren wondered what an Evil God and his followers needed. But no matter how much he thought about it, all he coulde up with was useless items, so he decided to stop thinking about it immediately. He had more important things to worry about.


    Due to mental exhaustion, Loren was unable to refuse Lapis and had allowed her to give him a back rub in the hot spring. Moreover, they had both soaked in the warm water together afterwards, and now he was regretting his reckless behaviour even more than before. The only future that awaited him now was one where he would bepletely caught up in the ns of the Great Demon King. In addition, depending on what Lapis reported to her mother the Demon King, they might be forced to retreat immediately.


    ¡°Lapis, about what happened¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know that I took advantage of you when you were at a low point, so I¡¯m not going to use this as an excuse to bind you.¡±


    Looking at Lapis, who was smiling brightly, Loren wondered how much he could trust her words. But he could not pretend that what already happened did not happen. Now he had to ept reality as it is, and be prepared for whatever wouldeter. And so, Loren decided to stop worrying about this matter.


    ¡°¡®Times change, but you will always need money. It¡¯s really disgusting.¡±


    Luxuria picked up his fork again and let out a sigh, but Loren agreed with him about the money.


    ¡°I can¡¯t send those lovely kids off to fight in a dangerous war, so I thought I¡¯de over here and make some money for them.¡±


    ¡°I already feel sorry for the enemy army.¡±


    An Evil God was an extraordinary existence, but even among them, Luxuria was different. Everyone but Luxuria thought that the Kingdom¡¯s army, who knew nothing about such a being, would have some very difficult time ahead.


    ¡°But even for the sake of those children, it¡¯s still lonely to sleep alone. So, I am very grateful for your gift.¡±


    Luxuria turned to Lapis with a smile that he probably thought was very smooth. Lapis responded with her own smile and a deep nod. But Loren, who was watching her face from the side, saw that Lapis¡¯ eyes were not narrowed because of a smile, but were firmly closed.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Please enjoy yourself without reservation.¡±


    Lapis said with just a hint of sweat on her forehead, but Loren thought that the situation must have been a nuisance. The people who were nning to mess with their party had to be neutralized, wrapped up in a mat, and pushed into Luxuria¡¯s room before Lapis broke into the bath where Loren was. Thinking of the future those people would have to face, Loren felt pity for them, even though it was their own fault.


    And Loren did not even want to imagine what would happen between Luxuria and those who were captured, but for the staff who would inevitably have to clean up afterwards, their fate would be so miserable that he could only give his condolences.


    ¡°So, are you guys going to go to the Empire right away?¡±


    Luxuria¡¯s question brought Loren back to reality from the purplish pink haze that had been filling his brain. As both G and Lapis looked at him for answers about the party¡¯s n, Loren cleared his head of all the things he had been thinking about with a single cough, then put his mind to work to answer the question.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the n?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better not. You should spend a little time around here.¡±


    Luxuria¡¯s tone was serious, and he didn¡¯t seem to be joking. Loren¡¯s group took a long look at him. Lapis discreetly averted her gaze halfway, but Loren pretended not to notice this and asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It will be tantly suspicious otherwise. If you continue north, you will reach the battlefield between the Empire and the Kingdom in just one day. And when you report that you are from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha, what do you think will happen?¡±


    It would take them only one day to reach their destination, but it would take those departed from Kapha about three more days. Loren thought for a moment that it would be a good thing if they could arrive early, but he immediately pushed the idea away.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be too early, won¡¯t we?¡±


    If they reported that they had made the journey that would have taken about ten days even with the special transport provided by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in three days, no one would have believed that it was a normal urrence.


    Had this been a normalmission, they might have simply been driven away. But this was a war, if they disyed such tantly suspicious behaviour, they might be judged to have had some kind of intention and detained. In the worst-case scenario, they could be executed without any interrogation.


    ¡°How could such an absurdity be allowed to pass?¡±


    Loren thought it was understandable that Lapis would shake her head in disbelief. She might be a priest of the God of Knowledge, but she had no experiences of wars. Even if she had, priests had very clear identity, and were treated differently from mercenaries like Loren. Even if they behaved in a somewhat suspicious manner, the priests would only be treated with a bit more caution, and would not fall into the situation that Loren thought he would be in.


    ¡°During a war, the government officials are very vtile. Sometimes they just want to get rid of all the iprehensible things.¡±


    ¡°In a war, the side that cannot keep their cool loses, right?¡±


    ¡°If everyone thought like that, there wouldn¡¯t be a war in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°It sounded like you were being very specific about the current situation on the Empire side?¡±


    ¡°I was. I¡¯ve been there once.¡±


    Loren thought that if Luxuria had been there once, it would be natural for him to know the specific reaction of the Empire. He was about to give an immediate answer when he noticed the meaning of Luxuria¡¯s words. He stared at the Evil God, who looked as unconcerned as ever.


    Noticing Loren¡¯s gaze but did not understand its meaning, Luxuria stopped stabbing the ham.


    ¡°Wh-What is it?¡±


    ¡°Did you say you¡¯ve been there once?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did. If we enter the war and make a good name for ourselves as soon as possible, we might be able to get a reward from the Empire in addition to the Guild¡¯smission, right?¡±


    Luxuria¡¯s reasoning was not so bad in itself, Loren decided. If he had actually made a great achievement, the Empire would want to extract such a talented person or maintain ties with him, and would not let him return to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild empty-handed.


    In this case, however, there was something else to be concerned about.


    ¡°So, you were a fool, or, to be more urate, you immediately identified yourself as an adventurer from Kapha.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I had to, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t get paid.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡±


    When Loren asked, Luxuria¡¯s reaction was tantly different from his previous responses. His expression did not change and he did not stop poking the ham on his te, but Loren, who had been watching, clearly noticed him turning away from his gaze.


    From that reaction alone, Loren immediately sensed that Luxuria had caused something untoward, and he red at him with almost murderous eyes.


    ¡°Answer me. It will also affect what we will do from now on.¡±


    ¡°I mean, they were terrible! I came here to help them, but they treated me like a suspicious person and tried to throw me in jail!¡±


    Luxuria was furious, but Loren and the others could not help but think that the Empire¡¯s reaction was justified.


    It was suspicious enough that he hade from the distant city of Kapha so soon after news from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had spread, but then there was Luxuria¡¯s appearance too. If there were people who were not rmed by this, Loren could only think that they must be either very stupid or living saints.


    ¡°Then what? Of course, you would be taken into custody. What did you do there?¡±


    ¡°If you were caught and imprisoned, you wouldn¡¯t be able to make any money. But if you escaped, the same thing would happen if your description was circted, right?¡±


    In terms of distinctive features, there were few people as distinctive as Luxuria. Even if someone who was not very good at describing others were to describe him, they would be able to provide information to correctly identify him. If this were to happen, it would be hopeless for him to participate in the war on the Empire side no matter how innocent he was, and he would face nothing but capture and extermination as soon as he was discovered.


    Loren was struck by a frightening thought as he wondered what Luxuria might have done to prevent that from happening. G and Lapis looked at him curiously, but then they heard Loren¡¯s muttering and immediately understood.


    ¡°You¡­ didn¡¯t have any bright thoughts like letting things cool down or give up, did you?¡±


    ¡°Why should I care about a group of humans?¡±


    Evil Gods had no consideration for others¡¯ circumstances. Luxuria¡¯s words would have caused problems if anyone had heard them, but fortunately there was no one near them, and his answer was lost in the din and bustle of the dining hall and did not reach anyone else¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Yeah, just like I thought. That¡¯s why I have a vague idea of what you did.¡±


    ¡°What on earth do you mean?¡±


    Lapis urged him to answer, and Loren tried to lower his voice to not attract anyone else¡¯s attention.


    ¡°I think he probably¡­ made it so that the troop or the fort or the base he first reported to¡­would cease to exist.¡±


    Eyewitnesses were the problem. Once they were gone, no matter how suspicious Luxuria might have been, no one would know about it. It was impossible for an Evil God, who had no consideration for humans, not to take this simple but effective measure.


    ¡°To be precise, I destroyed one fort. But it should be alright. It¡¯s a long way from here, and even though the other side took advantage of the loss, they¡¯ve managed to recover.¡±


    Luxuria saidughingly. Feeling like he was at his wits¡¯ end, Loren let out a low growl. Lapis and G, who now understood the situation, nodded to each other in silence and both kicked Luxuria in the face as he tried to pick up another piece of ham with his fork.

 Chapter 305: Getting More Members at The Tavern (5)

    <h4>Chapter 305: Getting More Members at The Tavern (5)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Regardless of the course of events or oue, Luxuria was certainly right, and Loren and his friends decided to spend three or four days in the inn town.


    Fortunately, spending time in this town, where hot springs are avable, was not too painful for the party, and they were able to spend a rxing time for the first time in a long time.


    If there was a problem, it was that Loren himself felt a sense of uneasiness about the fact that various things were being paid for out of Lapis¡¯ pocket, but Lapis quieted Loren by telling him not to worry.


    ¡°It¡¯s like interest for the debt you owe to His Majesty.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothingforting about that.¡±


    Having said that, Loren actually didn¡¯t have any choice but to rely on Lapis, and that fact left him a bit hunched over.


    There was one person who did not hold back at all in this situation though, and it was Luxuria, who hade to apany Loren¡¯s party before he knew it. The guy ordered arge quantity of food from the inn and forced the men of poor conduct, who were handed over to him by Lapis, into a room. He then stayed in that room from morning till night while consumingrge quantities of hot water and cloths. The cost of those things also came out of Lapis¡¯ pocket.


    ¡°Lapis-chan, I don¡¯t know if I should be the one to tell you this, but why do you even take care of Luxuria?¡±


    ¡°If you take your eyes off him, you never know what he might do.¡±


    Lapis seemed to think that it would be better to keep a close watch on Luxuria, even if it cost a little more, than to be in a situation where they couldn¡¯t know what he was doing.


    That said, it seemed that the staff at the inn had some detailed information about what Luxuria and his friends were doing in their rooms, and they were paid more for their cleaning services than usual.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t pay attention to his behaviour, he¡¯s a very good fighter. I¡¯m sure he can at least serve as a shield for me and Loren.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can assure you that he¡¯s not a bad fighter.¡±


    While listening to the conversation between Lapis and G, Loren suddenly looked back at his own party.


    Although he was a human, Loren had Shayna, the King of Death, existing inside him and Nig on his shoulder to support him in his activities. Lapis, their priest, was a demon who was fluent in both light and dark magic, and could also fight in meleebat. G, who is nominally a sorcerer, boasted of her Evil God powers as well as magic powers, and herbat abilities were in the realm of the ridiculously strong.


    ¡°What the heck did Luxuria register at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as?¡±


    From the way he dressed, which looked terribly ufortable to move in, it didn¡¯t seem to Loren that Luxuria was registered as a warrior. However, concluding that he must have registered as a priest or magician just from that fact seemed like a bad joke.


    In the first ce, Luxuria was unarmed, and his role was not discernible from her appearance.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask him?¡±


    Loren looked ufortable when G told him this.


    The only way to talk to Luxuria, who rarely came out of his room, was to wait for whenever he came out, or to visit his room. Loren could not talk to him right away, and he definitely would not want to visit Luxuria¡¯s room even if his life depended on it.


    ¡°He probably registered as a priest.¡±


    It was Lapis who made such an unbelievable statement.


    Not only Loren but even G looked at her with an expression ¡°was the worlding to an end?¡±, to which she continued with her usual expression.


    ¡°I think he registered as a priest of the God of Earth.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be true, can it?¡±


    ¡°It seems that his title of priest is an official one. He must have been able to obtain a position in the temple after his resurrection.¡±


    ¡°Oh God of Earth, is it alright to grant priesthood to that guy?¡±


    ¡°Well, Luxuria¡¯s existence is not in that much contrast to the teachings of the God of Earth. In fact, it can even be considered that he endorses their teachings, and I think that¡¯s why he got his approval so easily.¡±


    ¡°No way?!¡±


    ¡°Because the teaching of the God of Earth is to love all living beings in this world. There are various sects that exclude demonic creatures or demons, but none are excluded due to gender.¡±


    As far as Loren knew, the God of Earth was a benevolent and loving God of Creation, but when he heard Lapis¡¯ story, he thought that the scope of their protection was too broad.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can be a follower of the God of Earth.¡±


    ¡°The God of Knowledge always wees you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s another thing I can¡¯t do.¡±


    Loren¡¯s abrupt answer brought about a slightly hurt look to Lapis¡¯ face. For this was the God in whom Lapis believed, and used a pretence to boldly dering ¡°Because I am a priestess of the God of Knowledge¡± at every possible moment. The ability requirement seemed to be so high that Loren thought he would never be able to serve as a priest.


    And so, Loren¡¯s party rested for four days before resuming their journey to the Empire.


    By the time they left, the amount of money that Lapis had paid to the inn must have been substantial. But when the party, who could be considered as the best customers, told the staff that they were leaving, the only emotion on the staff¡¯s faces was relief.


    Loren felt somewhat sorry for the inn, thinking that they must have been quite troublesome guests. But since the most of the troubles must have been caused by Luxuria, he felt somewhat better by assuming that all the me was ced on the Evil God of Lust.


    Talking about Luxuria, he must have thoroughly trained, or maybe brainwashed, the men Lapis had captured and passed on to him. They had bepletely different from before and Luxuria came out of his room surrounded by men with sparkling eyes.


    ¡°Are you going to take them with you?¡±


    Loren asked Luxuria for a confirmation, even though he had already known the answer.


    Loren did not know, nor did he want to know, what had happened over the past few days, but the men who had been locked in Luxuria¡¯s room seemed to bepletely submissive to him. The fact that they all seemed to take supreme pleasure in doing so only creeped Loren out further.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just leave them here, can we?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well, I guess so.¡±


    Loren nodded as he looked at the staff of the inn, whose faces were coloured with despair as soon as they heard the word ¡®leave¡¯. He would like to leave them all, including Luxuria, somewhere in the wilderness if he could, but the fact that he did not know what evil shadow they would cast over the worldter on kept him from carrying out such an idea.


    ¡°And it¡¯s a good thing that you¡¯re taking us with you, you know.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to hear it, but humour me.¡±


    Loren prompted while keenly aware of the greatsword on his back, thinking that if the Evil God spouted something nonsensical like ¡®I¡¯ll tell you at night¡¯, he would do the whole world a favour and cut him down right there and then.


    Luxuria folded his arms in front of his well-developed chest and replied proudly.


    ¡°You have more people now.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so good about that?¡±


    ¡°Well, the adventurersing from Kapha wouldn¡¯t have arrived here even after we reached the Empire, you know?¡±


    Even if they were to add up the time they spent in the inn town, only about six days had passed since Loren and his party left Kapha. Adventurers traveling on the special transport prepared by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would take about ten days to reach the Empire, and even if they had made good progress, they would still be behind Loren¡¯s group, who would enter the Empire¡¯s territory in one more day.


    ¡°If only three or four adventurers showed up at the post under the current circumstances, they¡¯d beughed at and received their pay at the gate.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯sing from a guy who went to report on his own?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned from experience. Stop putting me on me.¡±


    The truth was, Luxuria was so powerful that it was hard to know how many human soldiers could be a match for him, and anyone who knew his true identity would not ridicule him if he reported alone. But if you thought about it, one or two people iming to be reinforcements would be nothing more thanughing stocks to the army.


    ¡°But with these cute children, there will be about ten of us.¡±


    Considering the size of the army, ten or so adventurers would be nothing, but they were still a decent number, and could be a force to be reckoned with. Luxuria said that it would be much easier for the Empire to ept them than if they were on their own.


    ¡°It will reduce the chance of being turned away at the door. Why not take them with us then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not free to take them with us though.¡±


    Four people would be alright, but about ten would make a rather big group. Naturally, the amount of luggage they could bring with them would increase, but the cost to prepare such luggage would also increase. This was what Loren was concerned about, but Luxuria sniffed and said:


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one paying though.¡±


    Loren was at a loss for words at this reply. He looked at Lapis as if asking for her opinion, thinking that he indeed had no rights to talk about money in any way, and she answered without hesitation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small price to pay for a wall or a shield.¡±


    ¡°Your partner¡­ She really can talk like that despite her pretty face.¡±


    Luxuria, with a slightly resigned expression on his face, said this to Loren, but Loren could only shrug lightly as he could not find anything to say in return.


    ¡°If possible, I would appreciate it if your group die nobly in the battlefield, Luxuria.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that.¡±


    ¡°Would you be willing to blow yourselves up with the enemy general?¡±


    ¡°What do you guys expect from us?!¡±


    ¡°¡±Suicide bombing.¡±¡±


    Lapis and G answered in unison, and as expected, it caused quite some psychological damage to Luxuria. As the Evil God and his followers fell silent, Loren picked up his own luggage and called out to everyone.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to get going. We have things to buy. I¡¯m sorry, Lapis, but you¡¯re going to have to pick up the tab. It¡¯s better to have enough men to get epted into the army.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. I¡¯ll give Luxuria a loan.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute?! Isn¡¯t that interest too high?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothingpared to the debt Loren owes.¡±


    ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t use me as a reference there.¡±


    Confronted with a number that was sure to be outrageously high, Luxuria closed in on Lapis, causing her to run around to evade him.


    Loren looked up at the sky in the direction of the north where they were heading, thinking that the bustling atmosphere was not a bad thing, but for God¡¯s sake he hoped they would tone down by the time they met up with the army.

 Chapter 306: From Entering the Empire to Marching (1)

    <h4>Chapter 306: From Entering the Empire to Marching (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Since Loren¡¯s team had joined up with Luxuria¡¯s group at the inn town, they had been walking north for about a day.


    Loren wondered if some deity had heard and fulfilled his wish to avoid camping out with this group of people, when they had arrived at another town around dusk after departing in the morning.


    This town was close to the battlefield, and was originally meant to be a defense base. It was built as abination of a town and a fortress, with a deep moat and high walls surrounding the town, making it a very imposing structure.


    ¡°I am amazed at how we were able to get into the town with this group of people.¡±


    It was wartime, and the soldiers guarding the town must be on high alert. Even if Loren¡¯s party did not look questionable, he thought it was pure luck that someone as suspicious looking as Luxuria was able to get through the town gates. He had expected to be stopped, but for some reason, they were able to enter the town after only a single check at the gate as usual.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can say that they were doing their jobs if they just let these guys pass.¡±


    Loren pointed his thumb at Luxuria¡¯s group, who were walking behind, without looking back at them, and Lapis and G nodded their heads in agreement.


    ¡°Maybe the standards have been lowered because they¡¯re at war?¡±


    ¡°Or maybe they could sense the trouble they could get themselves into, so they just let it slide.¡±


    They were a group of devious men, led by arge person who looked suspicious no matter how you looked at him. As Lapis said, if you tried to stop them, you never knew what kind of trouble you might get into. The question of professional responsibility might remain, but if you were a smart person, that was not a group you would want to be involved with.


    Luxuria and his men tried to raise their voices in protest at being treated like the God of Pestilence, but Lapis and G both gave them cold stares. That silenced everyone except Luxuria, who proceeded toin.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°By the way, Loren, what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Lapis! Don¡¯t just outright ignore me!¡±


    ¡°¡­Payment.¡±


    Luxuria was about to grab Lapis, but as soon as her whisper reached his ears, he became surprisingly calm and meek. Seeing that, Loren looked at Lapis with narrowed eyes, wondering what she had done.


    Lapis was all smiles as always and seemed unperturbed by Loren¡¯s gaze. But after a few moments of staring, she muttered something, as if she had given up for some reason.


    ¡°I made him write an acknowledgement of debt.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ are really reliable when ites to those things¡­¡±


    Loren was honestly impressed by the fact that she was able to restrict the actions of an Evil God with a single piece of paper. However, he also wondered if someone as powerful as Luxuria could just brush it off, but G answered his question.


    ¡°I think they made a contractual agreement. We¡¯re not very good at that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not called Evil Gods for nothing. Well, you probably won¡¯t understand it, but it has to do with the way we increase our power.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that when being under some kind of restriction, you receive something extra instead?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Lapis-chan knows that¡­ That¡¯s where she got him. Ha, serve you right, Luxuria.¡±


    G smiled at Luxuria with a malevolent smile, to which Luxuria responded by baring his teeth, yet it was the most protest he could muster. There was not a shred of cuteness in such a gestureing from a big man with a cleft chin, and Loren turned away from Luxuria while trying to look as natural as possible.


    ¡°So, about what to do now. The most logical step to take is going to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, or to the contact point of the Empire who asked for help from the Guild, or something along those lines.¡±


    ¡°I would like to gather information, but I think those would be the safest ces to do it. But Loren, do you know where the military contact point is?¡±


    It was a ce which the general poption had little familiarity with. Adventurers, for their part, also had little to do with a nation¡¯s military, so few of them knew much about these facilities. However, for Loren, it was a ce he was quite familiar with.


    ¡°I used to be a mercenary, after all. I do know.¡±


    That was where Loren used to make a living before bing an adventurer. It was true that he had never directly dealt with them since procedures and other matters were handled by the administrative staff, but he at least had a general idea of where and in what form the contact point was located.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, shouldn¡¯t we go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡±


    G, seeing that it would be fine either way, made such a suggestion.


    As Loren and Lapis looked like they wanted to know the reason for the suggestion, G pointed to Luxuria and the others who were walking along behind them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to take these guys to a military, whose current situation we know nothing about, and where a lot of problems might happen. Not to mention the number of people you¡¯re going to have to deal with¡±


    ¡°That¡­ You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°I think it would be less troublesome if we go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and ask them to help us get in touch with the army. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild might have a little bit of tolerance for these guys.¡±


    At G¡¯s suggestion, Loren looked at Luxuria¡¯s group.


    He would have liked to say that Luxuria was the only strange one, but in fact, the men hand-picked by him also looked and acted with a somewhat strange atmosphere around them. Taking them to the army as they were might cause unnecessary misunderstandings. The military was notoriously sensitive when it came to deviations from the norm, so it would not be a bad idea to have the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which seemed to have a soft and flexible approach to such things, y the middleman.


    Loren decided to visit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and tell them that they hade to the Empire asmissioned by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha, but then another problem arose.


    ¡°From Kapha? Where did you enter the Empire from?¡±


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was certainly tolerant of Luxuria and his men, and there was no mayhem. But this time, rather than the number of days it took them to get to the Empire from Kapha, they were suspicious about the route they had taken.


    If you thought about it, a trip from Kapha to the Empire would take about ten days even with the Guild¡¯s special transport, so it was only natural that they would have to cross several borders. If they had used the Guild¡¯s own transportation, the Guild would have taken care of the border crossings, but Loren¡¯s group was traveling separately and had not gone through any border-crossing procedures.


    Loren had been so preupied with the fact that he was being made toe to the demons¡¯ territory that he hadpletely forgotten this basic thing, and he felt regret about it. But there was nothing he could do about it now, so he gave a vague, ambiguous smile to the Guild¡¯s receptionist, who looked at him with suspicion.


    Lapis slips past Loren and steps in front of the receptionist.


    ¡°The truth is, there are many ways to get around the mountainous area.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There is a route that goes back and forth between the demon territory and ours which we discovered by chance, and we came here through that route.¡±


    Of course, what Lapis said was something that Loren didn¡¯t know, and it was probably as close to an unthinking bber as it could get. However, if he looked at Lapis, who had said such a thing with confidence, with doubt, they would not be able to clear up the receptionist¡¯s suspicion. So, Loren watched the receptionist¡¯s reaction while trying to keep a poker face.


    ¡°And that route is?¡±


    ¡°I can tell you the route in exchange for a fee of information if you need it?¡±


    The receptionist, perhaps judging from the fact that Lapis had not shown even the slightest hint of guilt, seemed to decide that this was a story with some credibility and called in a supervisor-like staff and began discussing something.


    Loren lightly poked Lapis, who was watching the conversation with a smile on her face, in the side and asked in a whisper.


    ¡°What route?¡±


    ¡°Not that it doesn¡¯t exist. Rather than that, Loren, could you please say something in advance before you poke me in the side? I almost made some strange noise.¡±


    ¡°None says ¡®Hey, I¡¯m going to poke you¡¯ before poking someone. What if they really want you to tell them? Is there such a thing as a shortcut?¡±


    If one took Lapis¡¯s word for it, there was a route that allowed for much faster travel than the special transportation that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild provided. This was information that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would consider of great importance, enough to make them pay an unthinkable amount for it. Loren thought that the Guild would not give up on obtaining this information, but Lapis answered with a smile on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll first warn them that we do not guarantee their safety.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    There was no way that a route through the mountainous terrain and the demons¡¯ territory would be safe. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was probably aware of this, but Loren realized that Lapis¡¯ words about not guaranteeing safety had another meaning: it implied that the route would be extremely dangerous. In other words, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would not be able to verify the information Lapis had given them, even if they tried.


    ¡°For example, I can tell you a route that will instantly kill a silver-ranked party at the entrance.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want me to tell them a route that we can¡¯t take?¡±


    ¡°If we are lucky, we will be able to pass through.¡±


    Loren decided that it would be pointless to try to warn Lapis, who was adamant that she had not lied, and prayed that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would not get too invested in the matter.


    Fortunately, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild decided that a route going through the demons¡¯ territory would be extremely dangerous and there were more pressing issues at the moment, so they did not ask Lapis for information about the route. Instead, they told their group that they would immediately send a message to the department in charge of dealing with the Imperial army.


    ¡°Basically, we are acting as a guerri attack force or an auxiliary force to the main force. For details, please follow the instructions of the Imperial army officer in charge.¡±


    The receptionist offered a piece of paper with the location of the Imperial army¡¯s contact point and the name of the officer in charge.


    Upon receiving the paper, Loren urged everyone to leave the Adventurers¡¯ Guild quickly before their cover story was blown.

 Chapter 307: From Entering the Empire to Marching (2)

    <h4>Chapter 307: From Entering the Empire to Marching (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After leaving the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in a hurry, Loren and hispanions headed for the building where they were told the contact person of the Imperial Army was located. He was in charge of military logistics and recruiting soldiers.


    The Guild¡¯s message might not have reached the military if they rushed there too quickly, so the group strolled around the town for a bit before entering. It seemed that by the time they arrived, the Guild¡¯s contact had properly notified the military, and the official in charge immediately came out to meet them.


    ¡°You are quite fast. I heard that some adventurers wereing from Kapha, but none have arrived yet, except for you.¡±


    A middle-aged soldier introduced himself as the official in charge. Seated at a simple wooden desk with a quill pen sped between his fingers, he did not give off an impression of a man who had just returned from the battlefield. Loren thought that he must be a government official specializing in clerical work, judging from his physical appearance.


    ¡°We took a different route. The sooner you join, the more you get.¡±


    It was true that they had taken a different route, though it was more of a detour than a hurried visit, and they had even taken a rest on the way. Loren did feel a little guilty about it, but he couldn¡¯t tell the truth.


    ¡°It depends on what you can do for the war. Basically, you will only be rewarded for the work you do for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but of course you will be rewarded separately from the military if you do something that affects the war situation.¡±


    Loren wondered if the official in charge was a little less than hopeful when he said this with a smile on his face. In the first ce, it was not amon urrence for an individual to have any significant impact to influence a battlefield situation, and those who could, were usually called heroes. Someone like us might think of himself as one, but an ex-mercenary wouldn¡¯t care.


    ¡°That¡¯s tough. It¡¯d be better for us to work within our pay grade.¡±


    ¡°You could say so.¡±


    The official in chargeughed, and Loren replied with an amiable smile.


    The official beckoned Loren with a little gesture, and as Loren leaned in closer, whispered into his ears.


    ¡°But the people at the back, are you sure they are alright? You are good, but¡­¡±


    Loren quietly turned his head to look behind him. Members of the group were waiting for him to finish his exchange with the official, and Loren frowned. It seemed only natural that the official would feel uneasy.


    Lapis was eptable to some degree. From the outside, even though her dress was a priest¡¯s uniform, it did not look like something to be worn on the battlefield, and its color and design made her stand out.


    In G¡¯s case, her clothes were too revealing. If anyone other than her thought of going to the battlefield in a tube top and hot pants, it could only be assumed that they were anything but a sane person.


    As for Luxuria and his followers, no words were needed. Although it could be said that the followers did appear to be decent, the aura created by their eyes and mannerism didn¡¯t look decent in any way.


    In general, it was understandable for people to wondered whether the whole party was alright, and Loren shared the official¡¯s concern. However, nothing that could reassure the official came to Loren¡¯s mind, so he went with a safe response that he managed to somehow think of.


    ¡°Well¡­ Can¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡±


    Of course, there was no way that the official would be satisfied with such an answer, but the officer seemed to reconsider, given the fact that it wasn¡¯t his job to meddle in these things. After rummaging through the documents on his desk for a while, he pulled out the item he was looking for and held it out to Loren.


    ¡°As you may have already heard from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, most of the reinforcements from the Guild will be organized into units that are in charge of guerri missions.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been told a bit, but what¡¯s the current battle situation?¡±


    As far as Loren could see, there was no one else who seemed to have any urgent business with this official. He wondered if the guy would be willing to engage in a conversation in the name of information gathering, and decided to test the waters. The official seemed to have some free time on his hands, so he readily started talking.


    ¡°We¡¯re in a standoff near the border between the Empire and the Kingdom.¡±


    The official pulled out another piece of paper, which was a simplified map of the border area between the two countries. Running his finger over it, he began to exin.


    ¡°The two countries¡¯ main forces are engaged in a standoff in the middle of the border. Several units are deployed around them, but it¡¯s a stalemate. There are also a number of small units, whose main target would be weaving in and out of the gaps and engage in skirmishes such as reconnaissance and ambush.¡±


    ¡°This is quite a nuisance, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren did not know the detailed figures, but from the experience of his mercenary time, he knew that war was a costly affair. This was true whether there were battles actively going on or not, and even just by fighting a standoff, tremendous costs must have been incurred on a daily basis. These costs should be paid out of the national treasuries of both countries, and the burden would eventually be shifted to taxpayers.


    If they were going to dere war, it would have been better to start and finish it as soon as possible, but it seemed that there were circumstances that prevented the quick conclusion of the war.


    ¡°The Empire and the Kingdom have been hostile to each other for a while, but it had been little more than a series of small skirmishes. But when we found out that we could get help from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, we sent out a serious force, to which the Kingdom responded by also sending out arge force from their side.¡±


    ¡°So, after you opened that can of worms, you found out that the forces were pretty evenly matched?¡±


    Although both sides had sent their troops to the front, a sh between two forces of nearly equal strength usually resulted in significant casualties, regardless of who won.


    The Empire and the Kingdom were not the only countries in the northern part of the continent. No matter who won this war, if a third party intervened when they were exhausted, both would fall. In such a situation where the future of both countries was uncertain, both sides had be reluctant to take action.


    ¡°Currently, the Empire is said to be slightly outnumbering the Kingdom, but since this is due to the reinforcements from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, thebat ability of the Empire is a little worse. In general, the overall strength of both sides is about the same.¡±


    In group battles, individual skill was almost like a margin of error, unless one was very skilled. Adventurers were skilled in battles, but few of them had any experience inrge-scale group battles, and it was unlikely that they would be able to coordinate with the Empire¡¯s army.


    Although the Kingdom¡¯s army was outnumbered, it was made up of soldiers who had originally been trained for group battles, and it did not include soldiers from other organizations. In other words, the Kingdom¡¯s army is superior to the Imperial Army in terms of coordination and leadership.


    ¡°The Empire began conducting reconnaissance and raids using adventurers as their main axis, and the Kingdom began sending out units to counter them, which led to small-scale battles here and there.¡±


    Loren wondered if this was actually a good use for adventurers. Someone must have thought that if the forcecked credibility to be incorporated intorge-scale battles, it would be more effective to be operated as small units to some extent.


    A guerri force was not something to be trifled with. Even if they were not much of an obstacle when fought directly, they moved fast, and it was difficult to see where they wereing from. If they were to poke a hole in a supply route or a part of the main force that was undermanned, the main force would be affected in no time at all.


    This was probably why the Kingdom sent out forces to counter the attack, but this time, the small units shed with each other, and the war seemed to have fallen further into a stalemate.


    ¡°The number of reinforcements from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is increasing as time goes by. I think that soon we will be able to ignore the quality of the reinforcements and bnce it with the sheer number.¡±


    ¡°The Kingdom is not stupid, so they must know that they could be at a disadvantage if they wait too long¡­ But the fact that they haven¡¯t started a decisive battle is rather worrisome, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°The military brass will be the one to think about that. In the meantime, could you please fill in the names of all the people on this form?¡±


    The one who took the document presented by the official was Lapis, who hade to stand beside Loren before he knew it.


    Ignoring Loren and the official, who were astonished and wondering how long she had been there, Lapis simply wrote the names of three people on the document, folded it into four pieces, and threw it to Luxuria as if throwing a knife.


    Loren thought it would be no big deal since it was just paper, but the paper flew toward Luxuria in a twirl. Not expecting something to be suddenly thrown at him, Luxuria reacted toote and was struck between his eyebrows.


    ¡°Hey! It hurts more than I thought!¡±


    ¡°Just shut up and fill in your name and the names of the others.¡±


    When Luxuria, who was pressing at the bleeding wound caused by the paper¡¯s corner, raised his voice in protest, Lapis answered in a cold voice.


    It seemed that the Evil God understood immediately that it would be pointless to protest any further. He did as he was told and began to fill in the names of himself and his followers on the paper while mutteringints under his breath.


    Loren asked the official something that had been bothering him, just to be sure.


    ¡°Do we have to write it ourselves?¡±


    ¡°No one knows if you wrote it yourself or not.¡±


    ¡®I see¡¯, Loren said, then took the piece of paper that Luxuria, who looked like he wanted to say something, held out to him and ced it in front of the official.


    The officialpared the number of names on the paper with the number of Loren¡¯s group and confirmed that there was no discrepancy. Then, he casually put the number 891, his signature, and arge seal on the paper and gave it back to Loren.


    ¡°That¡¯s all for now. The upper floor of this building is used as a lodging, so please stay there today. Show this paper to the sergeant at the entrance, and he will get you a room. There is also a dining hall, and you can have your meals there. Tomorrow, another person in charge wille to call you by this number, so please follow the instructions from there on.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d like to be assigned to some easy mission as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ If you¡¯re a clerical staff, you could be assigned to the rear duty, like I am.¡±


    No one would think of asking an adventurer to do the paperwork for them. Loren knew it was a waste of time and effort, and he was about to leave the ce with a bitter smile on his face when he remembered something and asked the official.


    ¡°By the way, I heard that there¡¯s a guy called Yuri Mutshilt in the Empire. Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°You mean General Mutshilt? If you¡¯re thinking of going to sell yourself directly to him, don¡¯t do it. You¡¯ll be treated like a suspicious person and thrown in jail.¡±


    It was the name of the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren had originally belonged.


    Loren was surprised at how quick an answer came when he mentioned the name, but he was even more surprised to learn of the rank that preceded it, which made him unable to continue the conversation. He didn¡¯t know how the official took his reaction, but the man continued with more information that he had not heard.


    ¡°The General came on the scene some time ago and has distinguished himself in the war against the Kingdom, so he may have an understanding of people like you. But it¡¯s wartime, and he¡¯s busymanding the main army here, so if youe forward and say you¡¯re actually the General¡¯s bastard son or something simr, you¡¯ll lose your head.¡±


    It was said that during wars, there were people who came forward to military leaders iming to be a child or a blood rtive. Regardless of whether the im was true or not, the situation was chaotic, and people wanted some help, no matter how little. General or whatever, Loren now had some clue now, so he decided to put off investigating and just go along with the story for the time being.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m thinking about¡­ Just that I¡¯ve heard his name being mentioned. If he¡¯s juste to the scene a while ago, isn¡¯t it too early for him to be a General?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a hero in the current war against the Kingdom, you know.¡±


    ¡°A hero¡­¡±


    Assuming that no further information was likely to be obtained from the official, Loren concluded the conversation, urged Lapis and the others to leave.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡±


    Although it was good news to hear that the leader of his mercenarypany had survived its destruction, Loren was puzzled to hear that he was now a general in an empire in the northern part of the continent. The thought that it might actually be a different person with the same name came to his mind, but the only way to confirm this was to somehow get a face-to-face meeting with the person in question. But how could an adventurer and a general of a country meet? Not knowing what to do, Loren let out a small sigh.

 Chapter 308: From Entering the Empire to Marching (3)

    <h4>Chapter 308: From Entering the Empire to Marching (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The amodations provided by the Empire¡¯s army were far from luxurious.


    Lapis and the others were reluctant to stay there until the very end, insisting that they would rather stay at an inn. But for Loren, the ce gave a sense of security as if he had returned to his old home, and he was able to sleep surprisingly well at night and wake up refreshed in the morning.


    ¡°Last night was hot.¡±


    It was Luxuria who made that statement and ruined such a refreshing morning.


    Although the quality of the rooms was poor, the army did prepare private rooms for all of them. But Luxuria had chosen to stay in arge room with his cronies all night long, and it seemed that they had been immersed in good-for-nothing acts without hesitation or consideration, which was not unexpected.


    Among the Evil Gods, Loren thought that this Luxuria should be re-sealed at all costs, but he was troubled by the question of whom to appoint as Luxuria if they were to actually go ahead with it. Of course, Loren would prefer not to have to make this choice himself, but he had the feeling that it would be very bad to ask Lapis or G to do it.


    ¡°I wonder if someone like us can manage?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    As Lorenined to himself, Lapis, who looked unhappy as if she had not had a very good sleep, overheard his muttering and asked him about it. Loren replied that it was nothing, then stopped thinking about it for the time being and switched his mind to the reality in front of him.


    Luxuria was not the only problem ¨C another one arose while they were having breakfast provided for them by the Empire.


    G was about to disy her power as the Evil God of Gluttony without regret when she learned that the Empire¡¯s army would provide their meals during their tour of duty, meaning they were free of charge. Loren had been silently watching until about halfway through the meal, but when the number of refills reached double digits, he realized that if he continued to idly stand by and watch, they would be in trouble. He forced G to stop by dropping his fist on her head.


    ¡°What ya doing?!¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to ruin the Empire¡¯s army financially through food expenses?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been ten times only! And it¡¯s free!¡±


    ¡°You should think about the consequences!¡±


    A soldier¡¯s main asset was a healthy body, and most armies provided the best food possible. Of course, depending on the war situation, there were times when food could not be considered food at all, but Loren knew from experience that the food provided by the military of any country was usually of a reasonable quality as long as they could afford it.


    It cost a considerable amount of money just to make an army operational, and food expenses ounted for arge percentage of that cost. Even just one being like G could really make the army go down because of food cost.


    ¡°Have some self-restraint, okay?¡±


    ¡°Tsk¡­¡±


    G, who had been rejoicing at the prospect of all-you-can-eat free food, looked very unhappy when Loren gave her a warning.


    ¡°Ca~n¡¯t be helped then. I¡¯ll get some on the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Saying that kind of thing in a public ce¡­¡±


    G would make a good meal out of the enemy soldiers. Loren felt a little sympathy for the enemy army, thinking that the Kingdom¡¯s army would never have dreamed that they would go against a being who saw them only as food.


    ¡°Is squad 891, Loren¡¯s party, here?¡±


    Several armed soldiers appeared at the ce where Loren and his team were on standby and called the number they had been registered with the day before.


    When Loren told them that the number and name were his, a soldier gave him amand with practiced ease:


    ¡°Get ready at once and go to the eastern gate of the city. Meet up with the rest of the men there and head for the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We¡¯re going.¡±


    G and Luxuria were somewhat annoyed by the soldier¡¯s tone ofmand. Thinking that perhaps it was understandable, since none of them were the sort of beings who would bemanded by ordinary people, Loren urged them all to follow the soldier¡¯ orders and head for the east gate of the city.


    Once there, they found adventurers who had probablye from the Guilds across thend as well as regr soldiers, perhaps to show that the unit was on the Empire¡¯s side. Loren gave his number and name at what appeared to be the reception desk, and they joined the group.


    ¡°Loren, are you sure you don¡¯t want to talk about themander for now?¡±


    Lapis asked.


    Of course, Loren was more interested in learning more about what his oldmander had been doing since the disbandment of his mercenaries¡¯pany than in participating in a war, but he was also well aware that it would be impossible to do so immediately.


    ¡°In wartime, there is no way that a man nobody knows can get an interview with a general. That¡¯s why it¡¯s impossible for now.¡±


    ¡°But if you say your name or something, they¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes to get a meeting, then the Empire¡¯s army is a bunch of fools. You heard what that official said, right? There are a lot of people who, in the heat of the moment during a war, will im to be your children or formerrades, and they are usually ignored.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡±


    From Lapis¡¯ point of view, a war between humans was of no importance. Her interest was focused on the person who used to be the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren once belonged. If she could not meet him, she would lose all motivation.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡±


    Loren also had a desire to meet with themander. He was surprised to hear that he was a general in the Empire, and was eager to ask him about what had happened to him during that period. However, the difference between the time they used to travel together and today was so great that he actually considered the possibility that the general was another person with the same name. Even so, he would have to meet him at least once to find out.


    ¡°If we work for a while and be a bit more memorable, we might be able to get a hold of someone who might be able to talk to the higher-ups. It¡¯s much more likely to go through than trying to talk to them out of the blue without any preparation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t use force, right?¡±


    Lapis said in a slightly hushed voice and made an evil face. As if in response, G and Luxuria also began to make evil faces, and Loren lightly waved his hand to urge them all to stop.


    No matter how powerful the Imperial army was, Loren thought that it would certainly be quite a task to take on two Evil Gods and one demon. However, if they were to go through with such a reckless move, the whole team would be wanted by the entire continent, and even if he was to meet his supposedmander, Loren was not at all willing to make a choice that would make his future life lessfortable.


    ¡°Only if you guys can conquer the entire continent.¡±


    If that was possible, it would not be unfeasible to solve everything by force without thinking about consequences. Loren thought it was something impossible, though, and Lapis simply nodded in agreement.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, even if we¡¯re talking about the humans¡¯ territory only.¡±


    ¡°Right? Then the only thing we can do is to be credible.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a little stressful.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, I think I can manage to conquer a country, if you don¡¯t mind the methods.¡¯]


    Shayna showed herself in his mind with fluttering wings, and Loren bit back a wry smile and told her to stop.


    If Shayna, the ¡®King of Death¡¯, were to use her power to the full, she would be able to organize an army of the dead, and she would certainly be able to conquer an entire country with her power. But what would be left after would be and of the dead, where only the dead roam, and Loren didn¡¯t even think of making such a thing happen to serve his own purposes.


    The fact that Loren and his group were engaged in such a noisy conversation went somewhat unnoticed by those around them, and they spent their time without causing amotion or attracting any strange attention. Then a group of soldiers dressed in rather high-ss equipment appeared in front of the assembled soldiers and adventurers. They were probably officers of some rank. As Loren stared at them, they stopped in front of the whole group, and one of them raised his voice.


    ¡°Listen! I am the Commander of the 45th guerri squadron. From now on, we will survey the situation around the main body and, at the same time, eliminate any units of the enemy that may be carrying out the same mission.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not very organized for an army, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    While the regr soldiers were lined up neatly and listening to theirmander, those who appeared to have been sent by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild were not lined up and did not seem to be listening as carefully as they should.


    ¡°I guess they decided they couldn¡¯t make an adventurer listen.¡±


    ¡°Mercenaries are a little more organized.¡±


    Mercenaries engaged in warfare for a living and had a certain amount of knowledge and experience in group activities, but adventurers were basically those who worked only with their own parties and were not ustomed to or knowledgeable about working in groups of dozens or even hundreds of people. If they tried to force them into the form of an army, it would naturally lead to a bacsh or breakdown, and the Imperial army seemed to have given up on thispletely.


    ¡°Of course, if the Kingdom had a decent army, numbers would not be a factor of advantage.¡±


    Loren knew that when an uncoordinated group of people shes with a reasonably well-coordinated group, the former would undoubtedly be the more fragile one. In this case, his experience had taught him that superiority in numbers could be detrimental. It was not so umon to hear of armies that became disorganized and were defeated by a small force because their number was sorge and couldn¡¯t be controlled.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this quite lousy for an organization that has someone like your old leader as the general?¡±


    ¡°Even if he is a general, he probably doesn¡¯t havemand of the entire army. The general may be a general, but he may not be inmand of the entire army. Someone else must be in charge of guerri squadrons. Or maybe it¡¯s someone else with the same name?¡±


    ¡°In any case, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be very interesting.¡±


    Lapis said this with a sigh as she gazed around at the group that had started to move after themander¡¯s speech or instructions or something like that had finished, led by the regr soldiers.


    Hearing this, Loren covered his mouth with his hand to disguise the fact that he was about to snort, but Lapis saw it.


    ¡°What kind of reaction is that?¡±


    Lapis looked offended. Loren, who was walking with the people around him, turned a troubled face to Lapis, who had followed him, and pondered for a while what to say, but eventually gathered his thoughts and put them into words.


    ¡°There is no such thing as an interesting war in this world. No matter what kind of war you get into, it¡¯s never going to be interesting.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, is that so?¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to eat living food!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to catch some cute kids.¡±


    Behind Lapis, who seemed to be convinced, were G and Luxuria and their cronies, who were in high spirits. Lapis nced back, then looked up at Loren, who was walking next to her, and said curiously.


    ¡°They seem to be having a good time over there.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t care about them whatsoever.¡±


    If left unchecked, the battlefield could be thrown into chaos. With a sigh, Loren began to think about whether he should give them a little warning while they were on the march.

 Chapter 309: From Marching to Battle (1)

    <h4>Chapter 309: From Marching to Battle (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    It took about two days on foot to reach the border from the town where Loren and his party had left.


    If the cavalry had been dispatched, they would have been able to reach the border sooner. But since the troop consisted mainly of adventurers, who were not provided with horses and some could not even ride, they had to travel to the border on foot.


    Loren wondered if they could have used wagons or something simr to transport them, but he heard from the soldiers walking with them that all such transport had been mobilized for the main group and there were none left for a guerri unit.


    ¡°I still think we¡¯re lucky though.¡±


    Said the young soldier, who talked with Loren along the way said.


    When asked what was so lucky, the soldier replied that some of the Kingdom army¡¯s troops had already broken through the stalemate and entered the Empire side, wreaking havoc and attacking units like theirs, inflicting a fair amount of damage on the Empire.


    ¡°We¡¯re on foot and so far, we haven¡¯t encountered any such obstacles. We are blessed to have such peace and quiet on the road, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The young soldierughed, and Loren could only manage a vague, ambiguous smile.


    In fact, the young soldier¡¯s fears about the Kingdom¡¯s ability to infiltrate the Empire¡¯s side of the border had already been on disy here and there around Loren¡¯s unit.


    Except Loren¡¯s group, most of the adventurers were unaware of this, let alone the Empire¡¯s soldiers, but there were reasons for this.


    One reason was that the Kingdom¡¯s forces were extremely small. There were not more than ten people in their group, and because of their stealthy activities, no one in Loren¡¯s toon, which consisted of several dozen people, noticed them joining, or if they did, they did not recognize them as the kingdom¡¯s forces.


    Another reason was that before anyone could confirm the identity of the small force, they had suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared.


    This led some of the Empire soldiers and a small number of adventurers to suspect that the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers, who were very well-trained, had invaded the territory of the Empire and were gathering information, but this was apletely off-the-wall guess.


    ¡°When a small group of people move through enemy territory and are discovered, it¡¯s like they¡¯re begging to be hunted, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    A shiver ran down Loren¡¯s spine as he watched Luxuria lick his own lips, probably believing that he was being seductive, and Lapis took up a fighting stance.


    Next to her, G was licking her own lips and murmuring in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°The taste¡¯s not very good. You haven¡¯t eaten much good food, have you?¡±


    Those words were quite innocent, but when Loren heard them, he felt another shiver go down his spine, a different kind of shiver than the one he had when he heard Luxuria¡¯s words.


    Apparently sensing this, Lapis let down her guard against Luxuria and rubbed Loren¡¯s left shoulder. Nig, who had stationed on Loren¡¯s right shoulder as always, was also tapping his shoulder with its forelegs in a regr tempo, as if it was concerned about Loren.


    The right shoulder was upied by Nig, who was tapping Loren¡¯s shoulder with his forelegs in a regr tempo, as if he too was concerned about Loren¡¯s well-being.


    ¡°You gluttonous girl. I had my eyes on that child!


    ¡°Shut up, you pervert. He¡¯d be much happier in my stomach than in your hands.¡±


    Here was what Luxuria and G were arguing about: As soon as they sensed the presence of the mysterious group, Luxuria immediately used some kind of magical tool, while G exercised her own power to capture and eat them.


    ¡°It¡¯s a girl! There¡¯s a girl! Come join my love nest~¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on! Such a rare thing should be eaten by me!¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯ll let her taste a supreme pleasure that will melt her into a puddle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the worst. You¡¯ll be caught as a sex offender.¡±


    The people around them who didn¡¯t know what was going on looked on in confusion, wondering what the two were talking about. But Loren, who knew what was going on, was so sickened and horrified that he wanted to cover his ears. He was barely able to feel the touch of Lapis¡¯ hand on his left shoulder and Nig¡¯s paw on his right shoulder forfort and healing.


    To make it short, the would-be obstacles had been taken care of by the ravenous fangs of either G or Luxuria before they could be recognized as obstacles and made into a state where they could no longer be a hindrance.


    And so, after two days of walking, Loren and his group arrived at the border where the main body of the Empire army and the main body of the Kingdom were facing each other.


    It was arge in surrounded by forests, small hills and hollows, and the two armies were engaged in a standoff across the borderline that had been set up just halfway across the in.


    Around them, troops of about the same size as Loren¡¯s were blending in with the surrounding terrain and invading the other side¡¯s territory, and Loren and his group soon found themselves in the middle of these small-scale skirmishes without a moment¡¯s rest.


    ¡°Our main mission will be to destroy the enemy¡¯s guerri forces. Be on your guard.¡±


    Themander of their unit instructed them.


    Loren thought that G and Luxuria would be able to hunt their opponents unterally without having to encounter them, just as they had done on the road so far. However, this was denied by the two Evil Gods.


    ¡°I can handle about ten people, but not dozens in an instant.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I can¡¯t take in that many people at once.¡±


    Luxuria said and showed Loren something that looked like a small box. He said that he could use it to drag the object he had his eyes on into an isted space, but there was a limit to the number of times he could do so.


    ¡°By the way, what happened to all the people you¡¯ve dragged in so far?¡±


    ¡°You want to know? I can show you how it works through real practice.¡±


    Luxuria, who said this with a meaningful smile, was silently kicked in the groin by Lapis before Loren could back away. He crouched down on the spot without a single sound.


    ¡°Loren! My toes felt something strange! Something really strange!!¡±


    ¡°O-oh. Thank you, Lapis.¡±


    Loren patted the head of Lapis, who clung to him with teary eyes, and once again felt that Luxuria really should not be left unchecked.


    With such asional disturbances, Loren¡¯s toon continued to move about the border to search for enemy units. And on the first night after arriving at the battlefield, they encountered a force that appeared to be an enemy guerri unit.


    The location was in a forest, small but very dense.


    Neither unit noticed the other until they stepped into the forest, and the next thing they knew, the other was right in front of them, and they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a battle.


    ¡°Damn it! You can¡¯t even have some starlight in the woods.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can turn on the light! We¡¯ll be a target!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and turn on the damn light! We will fight each other! It¡¯s absurd to die at the hands of yourrades!¡±


    In the darkness of the night, with the leaves growing thickly overhead and blocking the light of the moon and stars, the battle quickly became a confused affair, whether they wanted it to be or not. It was a mistake to fight in a situation where you were not sure if the person next to you or in front of you was your friend or foe, but once you had crossed swords, you could not overlook your opponent.


    In the darkness where swords shed with swords and shouts and screams flew about, Loren calmly drew his greatsword, seeing with his eyes a view that he would not normally be able to see.


    The few lights that were lit in response to the shouts were not enough to provide visibility, but Loren¡¯s eyes clearly saw the situation around him. With the power of the King of Death, Loren had an absolute advantage against his opponents, even in the current situation.


    The Empire soldiers and the Kingdom soldiers were equipped differently, and there were no adventurers on the Kingdom side. Knowing this, there was no way Loren could have identally harmed his allies. He ran through the forest, even though the ce was thick with trees, there was still enough space to wield his greatsword depending on how he handled it.


    Even if you sensed that something was moving with force, there was no way to respond effectively if you did not know what it was or what it was trying to do. Loren moved with little resistance, and in his impact left Kingdom soldiers¡¯ bodies on the ground with their heads split open, organs spilled out, or arms and legs cut off.


    ¡°What the hell? What¡¯sing through? How many down?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a monster! There¡¯s a monster!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand! How the fuck can it move?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on your side! I¡¯m on your side!¡±


    Hearing the screams of the in and the still-breathing, the Kingdom side was in chaos.


    Part of that chaos seemed to be transmitted to the Empire side, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly, even though no one was watching.


    From Loren¡¯s point of view, he could see his opponent, and it was nothing to cut them down. But from the point of view of the person being attacked, it waspletely iprehensible that they were being cut down unterally and precisely in a ce where they could not see at all. The fact that they could not understand the situation further added to the confusion.


    ¡°How many people did they kill?! What the hell did the Empire bring out?!¡±


    ¡°toonmander? Where¡¯s the toonmander¡­ Uuhhwaaaah toonmander!¡±


    ¡°What do we do?! Retreat? Advance?¡±


    Every time the de of Loren¡¯s greatsword shed in the dim light, one or more of the kingdom¡¯s soldiers fell to the ground, losing life or something equivalent. Each time this happened, the confusion on the Kingdom side grew worse, while the Empire side gradually regained control of the situation andposure.


    ¡°No damage has been done! Calm down! Our allies are defeating the Kingdom army!¡±


    ¡°Turn on the lights and get a clear view! Don¡¯t worry! Our superiority is unassable!¡±


    ¡°What? Are those adventurers? The adventurers participating this time are lower than the silver ss, right? Isn¡¯t it strange that they¡¯re all such monsters?¡±


    ¡°These guys taste pretty nice. Their food was probably different?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on fire! Really on fire! It¡¯s a buffet of young, lively kids!¡±


    Some of the shouts made Loren want to cover his ears, but Loren calmly and quickly cut down the Kingdom soldiers one after another.


    asionally, there were Kingdom soldiers who showed some resistance by swinging their swords around feverishly even though they could not see, but the swords they were swinging without proper aim did not catch Loren¡¯s body, and those soldiers also turned into corpses under the force of a single blow.


    If things continued as they were, the battle would be settled without so much trouble ¨C that was what Loren, who had cut down who-knew-how-many Kingdom soldiers, were thinking when a change urred on the Kingdom side.


    ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time! If we don¡¯t do something, we¡¯ll lose everything!¡±


    ¡°Fire the signal! Let them know where we are!¡±


    Loren could not understand what soldiers on the Kingdom side did or what happened in response to that shout. All he knew was that someone had done something, and that something white and shiny had pierced through theyers of foliage andunched high into the sky. As it flew up to a certain height, it emitted an even stronger light, and then slowly disappeared.


    It was not an attack, but merely a signal to let something know where it had beenunched.


    Seeing that, for some unexined reason, Loren felt so anxious that he tightened his grip on his greatsword.

 Chapter 310: From Marching to War To Combat (2)

    <h4>Chapter 310: From Marching to War To Combat (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    At that time, Lapis was perched on a branch in a grove of trees, looking around the forest that had be the battlefield.


    As a priest by profession, participating in the battle in a forest at night, where it was difficult for humans to have a clear view was not a choice for her. Of course, she had the confidence and ability to ughter enemy soldiers better than anyone else in the forest, but if she did, she would be looked upon with suspicion even if she called herself a priest.


    Priests were not the type who go into battles in the first ce, and even if they did, they would rarely be on the front lines.


    ¡°In this situation, an ordinary priest wouldn¡¯t be able to protect themselves.¡±


    The most obvious choice would be to flee if you couldn¡¯t fight, but Lapis couldn¡¯t run away while Loren was staying here, so she thought it would be safer to temporarily avoid danger and move to a ce where no one would be chasing her.


    However, from the way she climbed up the trunk of the tree as if she were running up it, and how she chose to sit on a branch that was long and thin, it was clear that her body movements were too well-trained for a priest. Fortunately, there would be no one to find faults with her actions in this darkness, and even if there was, she would have insisted that she was very light.


    It was precisely because Lapis was looking down on the battlefield from above that she was able to quickly notice the change in the atmosphere. But by the time Lapis became aware of the rm bells ringing in her head, some kind of presence had surged forth from a corner of the forest, and she judged that there was little time left before it triggered some kind of fatal phenomenon.


    ¡°Loren! Just a minute please!¡±


    Lapis knew exactly where Loren was. That was why she immediately jumped down from the branch on which she was sitting to Loren¡¯s side, and before he could say anything, she ced her hands on his shoulder and pulled him down to the ground at once.


    Loren was startled by Lapis¡¯ hand on his shoulder and the pressure he felt from it, but he didn¡¯tin when he realized that there must be something going on, given the strange atmosphere he had been feeling and Lapis¡¯ behaviour. He grabbed G, who was nearby, by the shoulders and pulled her down to the ground as well.


    ¡°What da hell?!¡±


    G, perhaps not noticing anything, shouted a protest at Loren¡¯s sudden action. But in that moment, their field of vision suddenly changed from darkness to a deep crimson.


    ¡°Hold your breath!¡±


    An unfamiliar tone from a familiar voice. Loren closed his eyes and held his breath, wondering what had made even Lapis feel that her life was threatened.


    With Lapis and G seemingly covering him with their bodies, Loren still felt the heat on his skin as if the air around him was on fire, and he was caught in the thought that he might die.


    If that much heat was in the air, Loren, a human, would not be able to stand it. If one¡¯s throat or chest burned, it was inevitable that one would die in agony.


    However, the heat that burned his skin quickly receded.


    When he opened his eyes, he could see Lapis and G covering him, but the scene beyond was still the same: a world where everything was dyed a deep crimson.


    Loren did not know whether to be thankful or surprised that he was not yet dead in a ce where no human being could possibly survive, but what caught his attention more than anything else was the way Lapis and G were looking in the same direction, their eyes grim.


    One must breathe to speak. Breathing could have been a fatal act in a ce where everything was dyed red by what was probably a ze, but he somehow had a feeling that it would be safe. And he would not be able to hold his breath forever anyway. With such thoughts in mind, Loren spoke.


    ¡°What the hell just happened?¡±


    Lapis, with her gaze still fixed somewhere, replied in a voice that sounded as if it were squeezed out of her mouth.


    ¡°I think something¡­ extraordinary has arrived.¡±


    Her tone of voice had returned to normal. G continued.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know why you are here.¡±


    G¡¯s tone was stern.


    Loren was thinking that something that dangerous must be just in front of them when he suddenly noticed that Luxeria was not around.


    The chance that Luxuria was dead was extremely unlikely, but that didn¡¯t mean he could remain unscathed in a situation where Lapis and G couldn¡¯t afford to let their guards down. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the Evil God defied his expectation and waspletely fine though.


    Just then, he heard the voice of a girl that seemed to be in her teens.


    ¡°What for? Do I have to answer that? G, as usual, you are a very annoying person. And why aren¡¯t you on fire?¡±


    Loren tried to raise himself up from the position he had been dragged down to, thinking that although the voice was that of a girl, the way she spoke was somewhat like a man¡¯s.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t get up. It happened in an instant, so the barrier I set up wasn¡¯t too big.¡±


    Lapis, noticing Loren¡¯s attempt to raise his body, warned him.


    Loren nodded and gently pushed Lapis and G, who were still on top of him, out of the way as he half-righted himself, and then he saw what was on the other side of the red-tinted space.


    It was a girl, just as he had sensed from the voice.


    She had golden hair that reached down to her shoulders and a slender body. She was wearing a knee-length brown id skirt and a dark blue vest over a white shirt. Over this was a frilly crimson cloak with arge brooch that fastened above her chest, giving her the appearance of a girl for whom the word ¡®lovely¡¯ was apt. However, the arrogant smile on her face was far from lovely, and the look she gave Loren and the others was not the look one would give to a living creature.


    ¡°G, do you know her?¡±


    ¡°I thought you would guess it somehow, Lapis-chan. I do know her.¡±


    G answered Lapis¡¯ question without taking her eyes off the girl.


    ¡°She is the Evil God of Wrath, Rage Satania. She¡¯s just a little kid, but she has a lot of offensive power, and is one of the top Evil Gods. As for the reason why she attacked us out of the blue¡­¡±


    As he listened to G¡¯s exnation, Loren¡¯s gaze swept around his surroundings.


    Loren did not know the reason behind this situation, but the area around them was still covered in crimson mes. The trees that formed the forest were in the midst of being consumed by the heat of the mes.


    Naturally, both the Kingdom and Empire armies that had been fighting among the trees were engulfed in the mes, and here and there, ck chunks of what might have been human bodies could be seen falling to the ground through the mes.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t join the Kingdom, did you?¡±


    ¡°What if I say yes?¡±


    The girl bent down a bit to look down at Loren and the others with her arms folded in over her chest. Despite being amidst the mes, her clothing, as well as her body and hair, did not appear to be affected by it. This was proof that this girl was the one who caused the current situation, but Loren could not link the disastrous scene around them with the smiling girl.


    ¡°Are you an idiot? I don¡¯t know why you joined the Kingdom¡¯s side, but that blow has brought down not only the Empire¡¯s soldiers but also the Kingdom¡¯s as well.¡±


    Loren looked around, horrified by G¡¯s remark. He tried to ascertain how much damage the girl¡¯s blow had caused, but the surrounding trees had all but disappeared, and it could be seen that a considerable area had been burned down in an instant. It was understandable to assume that the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers would have been caught up in the same way as the forest was engulfed in mes, unless there was something that could have carried all of them away at once.


    ¡°She burned her allies down?¡±


    ¡°Allies? Where are they?¡±


    To the mutter that Loren had let slip, Rage said in a tone that sounded like she truly wondered about it. As Loren became speechless, Rage continued from above him as if he was a fool.


    ¡°My Grandeur is the only one on my side. The Kingdom¡¯s army is just a tool for me to aplish my goals, and if they prove to be a nuisance, what¡¯s wrong with burning them down?¡±


    ¡°Well, we are called Evil Gods, so we can let that slide. But why are you on the Kingdom¡¯s side? ording to the information we have, the one on your side seems to be a survivor of that country that made us what we are. Do you know that?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, that. That¡¯s what he called himself, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s true.¡±


    Rage casually acknowledged G¡¯s words.


    G¡¯s eyes widened, and she was at a loss for words at Rage¡¯s response, but the other girl found her reaction funny somehow and burst out into a throatyugh.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in whether that ck guy is a survivor of that country or not.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only interested in living a fun life, and I¡¯m cooperating with that ck guy because he offers me that.¡±


    Loren, thinking that despite her appearance, she had quite a good personality, spoke to Shayna, who was probably watching the situation from inside his body, while keeping his body half-raised. The space outside of the barrier that Lapis had quickly put up was still dyed red, and it was not a situation where one could just rush out without any countermeasures.


    [¡®Is there anything you can do?¡¯]


    [¡®Not that there is none, but¡­ I don¡¯t think it will hold her for long. I feel a bit uneasy dealing with that Evil God.¡¯]


    Despite Shayna¡¯s hesitant statement, Loren, without much thought, asked her to y a card she had. Whether they could rely on that move was still a question, but even if they couldn¡¯t, it would still be much better than being left with nothing to do.


    [¡®Whether the mes are physical or magical, they should be able to diminish somewhat with Energy Drain, and if you protect your body with defensive magic¡­¡¯]


    [¡®That¡¯s enough. Either way, we can¡¯t even get out of here without doing something about that girl.¡¯]


    [¡®Even so, it won¡¯tst very long, because that Evil God¡¯s power won¡¯t disappear.¡¯]


    [¡®If we can get her attention, Lapis or G will take care of the rest. Probably.¡¯]


    Loren thought that this approach relied too much on others to work, but he had no other ideas about how to break through the current situation. They couldn¡¯t run if there was no way to run, so there was no other choice.


    Loren hoped that Lapis or G would make some kind of move, but in the meantime, it was his job to buy some time. He listened to the ongoing conversation between G and Rage while putting strength into the hand that held the greatsword, waiting for the right moment to stand up.

 Chapter 311: From Marching To War To Combat (3)

    <h4>Chapter 311: From Marching To War To Combat (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°I¡¯ve always thought you¡¯re bad, but to think you actually have the nerve to do it right in front of me!¡±


    While Loren was looking for an opportunity to attack Rage, the conversation between the two Evil Gods continued. It seemed that it was not only going nowhere, but was also starting to spark G¡¯s anger. Her eyes bulged and her shoulders trembled, while Wraith eyes red at her with a vicious, evil stare that was hard to imagine from her appearance.


    ¡°What part of ¡®Don¡¯t mess with me¡¯ don¡¯t you understand? Sure, that country used to piss me off, but it¡¯s gone now. I¡¯m more concerned about how much fun I can have now.¡±


    ¡°What if that ck bastard starts up another country like that one?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business.¡±


    ¡°Rage! What the hell is that answer?¡±


    G, with a hoarse voice, waved her hand.


    Rage, perhaps not expecting to be attacked by someone who was still inside a protective barrier, was slow to react. Taking advantage of this dy, the invisible mouth of G¡¯s power bit into the small slender body of Rage, and for a moment the surrounding crimson color faded.


    ¡°It hurts!¡±


    But immediately, Rage put her hand on the mouth that was biting her, and wielding what was probably the power of Wrath, she burned the mouth out.


    The effect of the burning was felt by G, who clutched her chest with her hand and exhaled a puff of slightly-ck smoke from her mouth.


    Loren did not miss this moment.


    As soon as he saw that the fire around them was lessening in intensity, he jerked up on the spot and ran out through the wards that Lapidus and G had put up into the forest that was still aze.


    ¡°Human, are you stupid? Do you want to be burned to ashes by my authority?!¡±


    There was not even a scratch at the spot where Rage seemed to have been bitten by G¡¯s power. She pointed her authority-burned hand at Loren and snickered at his action, but soon her face was colored with astonishment.


    Loren, who had leapt into a space where any living creature would have been immediately incinerated and rendered immobile, wasing at Rage with the same momentum.


    ¡°What the heck is this guy?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how I¡¯d call myself.¡±


    Thanks to Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain and the protective magic, the amount of heat Loren felt was greatly suppressed. Even so, there was still a burning sensation on the surface of his skin, and he knew he would not be able to keep it up much longer. If this was how it was, there was no other way but to move rather than thinking and go for a quick attack, and Loren swung his greatsword, which he held in both hands, as hard as he could at Rage.


    But Rage, who although looked like a young girl, was in fact an Evil God, would not be caught so easily. With a fluttering of her skirt, she quickly moved to dodge Loren¡¯s attack.


    ¡°A human?! Are you human?!¡±


    ¡°Lately, I¡¯m not so sure.¡±


    Just a few days ago, the Great Demon King, leader of the demon race, had told Loren himself that he had begun to gradually blend with the King of Death inside him.


    Feeling that his thoughts would get lost in the maze if he started to think about it, Loren shook his head lightly to chase the thought away and immediatelyunched a follow-up shot at Rage.


    The de of the greatsword swung with considerable force through the weakened-but-still-burning air. Rage ran away from the sword, trying her best to dodge it, but Loren, who was chasing her, did not have the luxury of time to spare.


    Even though the heat had been suppressed somewhat, he still felt as if his skin was being burned little by little. If the situation were to return to how it was before G¡¯s attack, the time avable for him to act would be even shorter. To prevent this from happening, he had no choice but to keep attacking and pushing Rage into a situation where she could not afford to use her authority, but there was no sign that his attacks would hit the Evil God, who was small and quick.


    ¡°How agile.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not going to get hit by that big thing!¡±


    Rage, the one who responded, did not seem to have a lot of time to spare either.


    It was unbelievable for Rage to have a human moving around in a space where her authority was in effect. In addition, the greatsword wielded by the man in front of her easily sliced through the defensive magic that she tried to use to repel it. If she were to be directly hit by such a thing, there would be nothing she could do. On top of that, the big man¡¯s attacks were relentless, and he kept trying to catch her precisely.


    ¡°What are you? G¡¯s lover?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t owe you any answer!¡±


    ¡°How can you swing such a rude thing at such a cute girl like me?!¡±


    ¡°A cute girl wouldn¡¯t burn more than a hundred people to ash without warning.¡±


    If it were only by appearances, Rage would certainly be a cute young girl. However, she was also the one who had burned to death more than a hundred people in a single instance, and Loren would never let up his attacks.


    However, even he was beginning to feel a little impatient with the fact that his attacks were being dodged without even a hint of countermeasure despite his opponent being an Evil God.


    Loren thought that another move would be necessary to hit Rage, but when he nced toward Lapis and G in between blows, he noticed that having her authority burned had inflicted more damage on G than he had expected. With a hand pressed to her mouth, she seemed unable to move, and Lapis was trying to care for her. He realized that G was not in a condition to provide support.


    [¡®I¡¯ll cover you!¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in Loren¡¯s mind.


    He wondered if it was possible for Shayna, who was protecting Loren¡¯s body while draining energy from the mes around him, to provide further support. But then, he felt something swelling up from inside him, and saw Rage¡¯s face twisted in surprise at the same time.


    ¡°What the hell?! What the hell are you?!¡±


    Thinking that Shayna had probably exerted the King of Death¡¯s power she possessed to further interfere with Rage, Loren threw another blow. The Evil God¡¯s dodging manoeuvre waste, and the blow lightly grazed her shoulder.


    Loren saw a faint red line running across the torn clothing and the skin beneath it, but the blow was too shallow and far from enough to kill Rage.


    ¡°You hurt me, you son of a bitch!¡±


    The pain from the shallow wound seemed to have ignited Rage¡¯s anger. Loren felt the temperature around her jump up dramatically. Thinking that his body would be burned despite Shayna¡¯s protection at this rate, he did not stop swinging his greatsword.


    Rage was looking at Loren with the intent to burn him to the ground when she suddenly looked down at her own feet, her gaze again tinged with surprise. Down there were her slender legs, of course, but there was also a huge, rugged hand protruding from the ground and grasping her ankle.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done so much to me, not to mention my cute children.¡±


    With a tter, Luxuria emerged from beneath the ground, covered in dirt and slightly burned in various ces. This Evil God, who had not been seen since the Rage¡¯s authority had burned down her surroundings, had managed to escape the heat of the fire by burrowing underground.


    Of course, the people whom Luxuria had tamed could not have done such a thing, and had probably been reduced to ashes by Rage¡¯s power, which apparently angered him.


    ¡°Hey, you. Where the hell did youe from?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, your panties are cute.¡±


    Luxuria smiled at Rage with a dirty, rugged face, and she hurriedly held down the hem of her skirt. Their position meant that Luxuria should be able to see all that was under Rage¡¯s skirt, but the fact that his eyes were on it while his skin was being burned bit by bit was as expected of the Evil God of Lust.


    ¡°Stop screwing around! This time burn as the whole dirt around you¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. I don¡¯t think that child is interested in your underwear.¡±


    Hearing so, Rage turned her gaze towards Loren. But by then, Loren¡¯s body was already in front of her, and the greatsword in his hand was about to be brought down. She hurriedly put together a spell to defend herself, but Loren¡¯s sword easily cut through it and plunged into her body.


    If someone as small as Rage had been struck by Loren¡¯s blow, they would have been cut in half. But as expected of an Evil God, Rage pulled her leg out of Luxuria¡¯s hand with force. Without a moment¡¯s pause, she took his blow on the left shoulder, then leapt backward despite the rather deep wound.


    ¡°Oh, what a pushover, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Are you an idiot?! Damn, I should have killed you earlier.¡±


    Loren knew that he had cut her quite deep. A human opponent would not immediately die from such a wound, but would sooner orter if left alone. But with an Evil God as his opponent, it could hardly be considered a significant wound.


    ¡°Damn it! What the hell is that sword?! There is no way a normal sword will work against us!¡±


    Rage cursed, but Loren did not respond. He silently went after her and swung his greatsword at her, but she evaded him by flying backward even though she was wounded and was losing a considerable amount of blood.


    Loren tried to chase after her, but he was caught by the intense heat that erupted from Rage as shended on the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done it. Don¡¯t think you can get away with this for free!¡±


    ¡°This is not good¡­¡±


    The aura emanated from Rage, who was holding her bleeding left shoulder with her right hand, gave Loren a sense of mortal danger, making him immediately jump back.


    ¡°If this kills you then that¡¯s it, but if not then I¡¯ll make you pay for this wound the next time!¡±


    The world turned a deep, dark crimson around Rage as she shouted.


    The color was iparable to anything Loren had ever seen before, and he fully understood that he would not get away if he got caught in the middle of it, but he also fully understood that the speed at which it was spreading, he would never be able to escape it.


    ¡°Fuck you! How dare you do this to me!¡±


    Then it suddenly urred to Loren that the greatsword he was holding was the weapon of a Demon King, and that it could manipte mes. It was not at all clear how well this would work against Rage¡¯s authority, but Loren, thinking that he would not be able to escape anyway, thrust the tip of his sword into the ground and put all the strength he had into his grip on its handle.


    ¡°Loren! That¡¯s too reckless¡­¡±.


    [¡®Onii-san! You can¡¯t!¡¯]


    As Loren squeezed his eyes shut, he was suddenly struck by a white light that he could see through his eyelids, followed by a shock that shook his entire body and a roar that threatened to deafen him, causing him to rapidly lose consciousness. Amidst all that were Lapis¡¯ and Shaya¡¯s voices, but he was not sure if they were real for just a hallucination; Loren let go of his consciousness as he leaned on his greatsword.

 Chapter 312: A Coordination in the Hospital

    <h4>Chapter 312: A Coordination in the Hospital</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The regr sounding from the table bedside lulled Loren into a sleepy stupor.


    In fact, there was nothing to do but sleep. If you were not careful, you would soon be caught in the hands of drowsiness. Loren, lying on a bed in the clinic, called out to the person who was sitting on a chair beside him, peeling some kind of fruit with a small knife.


    ¡°Why you?¡±


    The person who looked up was us, dressed in inclothes.


    The way he was lightly crossing his legs, turning the fruit in his hands, and peeling the skin without breaking it, for some reason, looked as refined as a painting, which made Loren feel even more ufortable.


    ¡°Why¡­ I¡¯m here to pay you a visit.¡±


    Unsure of the cause of Loren¡¯s unhappy expression, us deftly cut the fruit into small pieces in his hands and arranged them neatly on a te prepared atop a low table next to the bed,


    ¡°Normally, isn¡¯t it Lapis¡¯ job to do that kind of thing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s true, but there¡¯s now saying that I¡¯m not allowed to do it either.¡±


    Understanding that this was the reason for Loren¡¯s grumpy voice, us, with a grin on his face, took out another fruit from the basket he had brought and began to peel it expertly.


    Loren had not actually witnessed the battle with Rage, the Evil God of Wrath, and he was told the details on his bed in the clinic after he regained consciousness.


    Loren had lost consciousness after he tried to use the power of his greatsword to fight against Rage, who had activated her authority over the pain of her wounds, and it seemed that he had seeded to some extent. As a result, Rage gave up the battle and fled the scene.


    G had suffered extensive damage from being burned by Rage¡¯s authority, and Luxuria was burned to a crisp by the double damage from the Evil God¡¯s authority and the power of Loren¡¯s greatsword. And then there was Loren, who had poured too much power into his greatsword and lost consciousness.


    ¡®To be honest, I was thinking of dumping everyone except you on the spot¡¯, said Lapis, who had been left in charge of the clean-up.


    Loren thought that it was quite understandable for her to say so.


    G was not much of a problem, but in order to leave the ce, she would have had to also carry Loren, who was quiterge, and Luxuria, who was evenrger than Loren and was still buried underground. Even if Lapis was a demon, whose abilities were considerably higher than those of humans, it would still have been hard work for her to carry all three of them. Not to mention that one of the people who had to be carried was the lustful Luxuria. Apparently, it was quite a strain on Lapis, both physically and mentally.


    Even so, Lapis carried Loren on his back, grabbed Luxuria¡¯s and G¡¯s legs, and dragged them to the town where they had been before they left for the front, all alone.


    She then took the three of them to a clinic, and afterpleting the procedures for their treatment, she went to the Empire¡¯s army without a moment to rest and reported to them what had happened.


    Lapis was not by Loren¡¯s side at the moment because of the hearing, and Loren felt heavy at the thought of how she might have exined this incident to the Empire¡¯s authorities. He knew that Lapis would never have foolishly told the true story, but he could not think of how to exin the situation in which more than a hundred troops, both friendly and enemy, had been wiped out in an instant.


    ¡°I guess we were lucky that we arrived hereter than you.¡±


    If they had arrived at the same time as Loren¡¯s group, it was highly likely that they would have been assigned to the same unit. In that case, Loren thought that us was probably right in thinking that they would not have been able to survive on their own. After all, the unit to which Loren had been assigned had been wiped out.


    To be precise, all but four, including Loren, were said to have died.


    No matter how promising and capable us and the others were, it was highly unlikely that they could have survived in that situation.


    Loren himself would likely have been killed in the first attack if not for Lapis and G, and he considered himself lucky to have survived.


    ¡°But Loren, you were lucky to get a private room.¡±


    While Loren was lying in bed, fighting was still going on at the front line, even if it was only petty squabbles.


    Naturally, wounded and sick soldiers continued to be sent from the front lines to the rear of the city, and all of the treatment centres and other facilities were packed to capacity. It was simply not possible to ce just one person in a private room like the one in which Loren was currently staying. The only reason he was still able to stay in a private room was because Lapis had forced it.


    Originally, he and Luxuria were supposed to be ced in arge room somewhere, but Lapis was adamant in her protest to this. Loren heard that she had even told the authorities that she would not say a word about what had happened unless they agreed to her request, and after much wrangling, her request was finally granted, and Loren was now in a private room.


    Loren felt that he should be deeply grateful to Lapis for this. Being in the same room with Luxuria while unconscious was not a joke at all.


    Someone else unlucky enough had been in the same room with Luxuria in his ce, but Loren tried not to think about what was going on in the room.


    While Loren was suffering from minor burns and debilitating weakness, Luxuria was suffering from burns so severe that everyone wondered if he was really alive when he was brought into the hospital. His condition was so bad that even the medical practitioners working at the clinic were tempted to give up on the treatment, but he recovered enough to be able to move around the next day after only a token treatment, and could be discharged in two days or so.


    The opposite was the case with G, who, although did not appear to have any serious injuries on the outside, seemed to have suffered deep damage to her internal organs and was still undergoing rest and treatment.


    Like Luxuria, G was in such a serious condition that the healers wanted to throw up their hands, but she was showing signs of recovery day by day from a condition that would normally have killed someone else.


    The clinic was curious about the vitality of these two patients and asked Lapis to let them examine both in detail. However, Lapis dismissed the proposal without a second thought, and firmly told them that they would not get away with it if they did anything out of line.


    Loren was grateful to Lapis for preventing this from happening in advance, as it would have surely caused amotion if the two of them had been examined in detail and determined to be non-human.


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re trying to make up for the bad luck I¡¯ve had while doing my job.¡±


    ¡°I see. That makes sense.¡±


    us said with a bright smile on his face.


    Looking at his handsome smiling face, Loren picked up one of the pieces of fruit that he had cut up from the te on the side table and put it in his mouth, feeling somewhat dissatisfied. The taste of the fruit should not change no matter who cut it, but just the thought of us cutting it makes Loren feel that the taste was somewhat diminished.


    ¡°You should have a bit of misfortune, too. For example, you should visit the room of the big guy who was carried in with me.¡±


    ¡°Loren, I definitely don¡¯t want to do that. Not sure why, but there¡¯s a warning ringing in the back of my head that I must not go near that hospital room.¡±


    ¡°Why not? You might get along better than you expect.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean, but when you tell me to suffer some misfortune, it¡¯s a sure sign that something terrible is lurking in there.¡±


    Looking at us, who had a look of deep dislike on his face, Loren noted down in a corner of his mind that one day he would try to get Luxuria to do something to us.


    He could hear Shayna¡¯s helplessughter in his mind.


    ¡°But Loren, is that really, okay?¡±


    Loren looked in the direction of us¡¯ gaze to see Nig, who had appeared on the table where the te was ced and was in the process of grabbing one of the cut slices of fruit. Feeling the two pairs of eyes on him, the spider raised his front leg as if asking ¡®What?¡¯. Loren chuckled at his action and shifted his eyes to his arms.


    The minor burns he had received were in ces not protected by his gear, such as his face, neck, and hands. And there were some white fabrics, not bandages, stuck all over his legs where he had been burned through his trousers. The white fabric was in fact spider silk threads that Nig had spit out.


    The spider, who had survived the battle with Rage, had ced his own thread on the wounds to use as a substitute for a bandage. The threads had been removed by the healers once during the treatment, but the healers who examined him thought they would be much more effective than bandages, so Nigg rewrapped them after the treatment.


    As for the armor that protected most of Loren¡¯s body, although its surface was scorched, it had returned to its original state before long after being left alone for a while.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but think it looks like it¡¯s nesting on your body.¡±


    Nig¡¯s act of stretching threads over burns and the like was apparently seen as such in us¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. He¡¯s a smart kid. He won¡¯t do anything bad.¡±


    The mere sight of a giant spider was enough to make some people feel disturbed or disgusted. us, too, seemed to be feeling a little uneasy, if not disgusted. But when Loren said those words and patted Nig¡¯s back while the spider was still holding the fruit, he seemed to understand that it was really alright, and his eyes on the spider softened somewhat.


    ¡°But you know, it¡¯s been a long time since I started taking Nig along with me. I guess it¡¯s a littlete for you to be worried.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pay much attention before.¡±


    ¡°Well, because he¡¯s a male.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    Loren had mentioned Nig¡¯s gender as a joke, but seeing how easily us agreed, he wondered if the story would have been different if Nig had been a female. But he felt that if he asked us about it, he would receive some horrifying answer, so he forced the doubts that had begun to well up out of his mind.


    As if to ventte the strange atmosphere, Lapis opened the door of the hospital room and entered.


    As soon as she saw us¡¯ face, the first thing she said was:


    ¡°Loren, are you awake? Huh? us? Have your tastes changed?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Even though he didn¡¯t know what she meant, Loren immediately interrupted her because it sounded like it was going to be something ridiculous.


    ¡°us visiting a man in his hospital room¡­ There will be disastering¡­¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t listening, I ain¡¯t listening.¡±


    ¡°Let me at least joke about it please. Trouble is brewing.¡±


    The only chair in the hospital room was upied by us, so Lapis let out a deep sigh as she sat on the edge of the bed where Loren was lying and let out such words.


    ¡°Trouble?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Well, it can¡¯t be helped, can it? After all, we are the survivors of a unit that waspletely destroyed. From the Empire army¡¯s point of view, we are one of the few sources of information that came back from fighting against the unidentified forces of the Kingdom.¡±


    It seemed that the Empire had some idea of the existence of Rage the Evil God. However, because no soldier had ever returned alive after fighting with her, her identity remained unknown. This was the first time some information had been brought back.


    If the Empire was satisfied with Lapis¡¯ report alone, it would not be so troublesome. But they would almost certainly try to obtain information from people other than her, and that was why she said trouble was brewing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can give a good report about this.¡±


    ¡°You will have to figure it out somehow. If they decide that we have arranged our stories beforehand, the credibility of the information will be diminished.¡±


    Saying this, Lapis leaned down slightly from her position on the edge of the bed to move closer to Loren, who was lying on the bed, and waved her hand at us, who was still peeling fruits, as if she was chasing away a dog.


    us smiled wryly when he noticed that. ¡®Take your time¡¯, he muttered in a low voice, then put the fruit and knife down on the te and walked out of the room.


    ¡°Well, if we don¡¯t work things out to some extent, we¡¯re going to have even more trouble.¡±


    ¡°I can understand that, but why did you chase him away?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know where the information might leak, and if worsees to worst and someone steps in, I¡¯ll slip under the covers and scream, and we¡¯ll say we were right in the middle of it.¡±


    ¡°I think that would be more trouble than it is worth, or am I just imagining things?¡±


    While Loren said this with a disstressed look and tone of voice, Lapis had a big smile on her face.


    To Lapis, things must have worked out just as she wished, and she must have had no concerns. But to Loren, it was hard to decide if this was a good thing or not.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s start with a coordination of what we should say and what we should not say.¡±


    Loren, feeling the weight of Lapis¡¯ body as she began her exnation, and with a resigned look on his face listened to her exnation.

 Chapter 313: Prologue: From Opening to Contact

    <h4>Chapter 313: Prologue: From Opening to Contact</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    There was a rumour that some guerri units had been destroyed.


    However, the rumour was based on information gathered by the intelligence unit of the Imperial Army, so it was quite certain, and was a bit too much to be called a rumour.


    Loren thought that it would be a big deal, but from the Imperial Army¡¯s point of view, it only meant that some of the adventurer-affiliated units, which were not considered a major fighting force in the first ce, had been destroyed. The damage to the regr soldiers¡¯ force was apparently not that great, and the town where Loren and his group were located in, did not have any majormotion.


    The Adventurers¡¯ Guild, on the other hand, was in an uproar.


    After all, all adventurers who had been embedded with Imperial guerri units had been killed by an unknown force. Lapis, who had gathered information from the Guild¡¯s branch in town, told them that the damage was so great that the guild had begun to enlist additional adventurers and increase the ratio of silver-rank adventurers.


    Loren thought that their opponent was too tough.


    The unidentified force that had destroyed the Imperial guerri units was probably a girl named Rage, the Evil God of Wrath.


    However, the Kingdom also had two other Evil Gods in their ranks: a dark elf who was supposed to have the power of the Evil God of Lust, and the Evil God of Pride who had yet to make an appearance. So, it might not all be Rage¡¯s doing. But even so, any Evil God would be too much for a bronze or iron rank adventurer.


    Loren could not help but think that if their people were going to be ughtered for nothing, the Empire should just stop sending in their forces, but he had no way ofmunicating this to them.


    If it was only about Rage, it would not be impossible to exin since she was the one, they had encountered. However, should they be asked why they knew about the other Evil Gods, they would not be able to exin. There was no way they could say that their twopanions were also Evil Gods, and the best Loren could do was to pray that the Empire would get some information and find a way to deal with them before more fatalities and injuries urred.


    Loren, who had been injured in a battle with the Evil God of Wrath, suffered so much damage to his body that he could not leave his bed for several days. By the time he was finally walk again, he had begun to feel his body weakened due to being confined to bed for so long. After receiving permission to move around from his doctor, Loren began a training regimen of swinging his greatsword around in the garden inside the clinic¡¯s premises to strengthen his body.


    Wearing only his pants and boots and no clothes on his upper body, Loren was single-mindedly swinging his greatsword when he heard Lapis, who was watching him from a bench nearby, muttered and decided to take a break.


    ¡°We have always managed to fight them off or run away from them, so I haven¡¯t really felt it, but I guess Evil Gods are a troublesome existence, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Loren had been practicing with his greatsword for quite some time, ever since he woke up early in the morning. Sweat was dripping down his body like waterfalls, and in the atmosphere that was considerably cooler than Kapha, where Loren and hispanions had originallye from, steam was rising from his body, albeit slightly.


    Lapis, seeing this, stood up from the bench and offered Loren a towel that she had apparently prepared in advance. Loren epted it and used it to wipe the sweat from his neck and face.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t find any evidence that the Empire has discovered the existence of any other Evil Gods than Rage.¡±


    Loren was also subjected to the Imperial Army¡¯s questioning. He had been secretlyparing stories with Lapis in advance, in order not to reveal the fact that Rage was an Evil God, and simply conveyed the information as he saw it.


    The story of a girl burning down the enemy¡¯s and allies¡¯ armies in an instant was already too ridiculous to be believed. If the information that the girl was an Evil God was added to it, the sanity of Loren¡¯s group might be questioned before any credibility could be established.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve ever seen anything like that. But even I can¡¯t gather information from the central figures of the Imperial Army, so I can¡¯t tell what they¡¯re thinking.¡±


    ¡°Even you can¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t, it¡¯s more that I¡¯m not really interested in it.¡±


    It seems that Lapis was not so interested in whether the Empire or the Kingdom had the upper hand in this war. Even if the Empire were to suffer a crushing defeat and be destroyed, she seemed to think that she could just take Loren and run away. It was to be expected, after all, even if she looked like an ordinary priest, she was actually a demon, a race that was abhorred throughout the continent.


    ¡°I¡¯m more interested in whether I can somehow meet with the General of the Imperial Army.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ interest was not so much in the course of the war, but in one of the Generals in the Imperial Army, Yuri Mutshildt. The man was originally the leader of the mercenarypany to which Loren belonged, but since the destruction of the mercenarypany that led to Loren¡¯s bing an adventurer, his movements have beenpletely unknown to Loren.


    Loren had received information that his former leader was in the northern part of the empire from a member of his old mercenary group, whom he had met by chance on a job not so long ago. However, when they entered the Empire, they found that Yuri had be one of the generals in the Imperial Army, and Loren and hispanions, who had been sent by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, could not easily meet with him.


    Lapis was thinking that even if they could not get a meeting with General Yuri out of the blue, they might be able to use the information they had obtained this time to get in touch with someone in the vicinity. Although it would take some time and effort to meet with the desired person, it was still better than nothing, and Lapis was currently investigating who the people around the General were and whether they could meet with them.


    ¡°It would be easier if they would initiate contact.¡±


    The Empire must have received information that it was an adventurer by the name of Loren who brought intel about the girl named Rage. It would not be surprising if the upper echelons of the Imperial Army would think to call Loren to obtain more detailed information, but to date, nothing of the sort has been delivered to Loren and his team.


    Lapis was somewhat regretful that Loren hadn¡¯t been more suggestive during his inquiry, but in Loren¡¯s opinion, acting strange, even just a little bit, might trigger the officials¡¯ sense of caution if he was unlucky. So, it was best to tell the truth as it was.


    ¡°If only we could just force our way through. It would be quicker.¡±


    ¡°Can a priest of the God of Knowledge do such a thing, I wonder.¡±


    ¡°Our God approves of the use of force to obtain necessary information.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll definitely make some other priests angry sooner orter.¡±


    When Loren asked her what kind of priest would use force to deal with the guards to meet a general, Lapis¡¯ cheeks puffed up in dissatisfaction.


    Thinking that even though Lapis would surely be able to get through the Imperial soldiers and get to General Yuri if she wanted to, she should not go to such lengths in the current situation, Loren resumed his practice.


    Loren¡¯s upper body was protected by a jacket he received from an Elder, the highest-ranking vampire, but his legs, covered only by ordinary pants, had some severe burns. Even though he had recovered to some extent, he still felt a cramping sensation and a dull ache when he moved them, and he swung his sword with a grimace on his face.


    The fact that he was in such a state after being treated by Lapis and the healer made him think that his original wounds must have been quite severe, and he realized once again that it was a very dangerous thing to challenge that girl Rage head-on.


    ¡°We¡¯re going need some kind of countermeasure, or we¡¯ll be damned.¡±


    ¡°We cannot rely on our Evil Gods.¡±


    As Lapismented, G, whose internal organs seemed to have been burned through her authority, was still forced to stay in bed. They believed that G, the Evil God of Gluttony, would not die, but her condition was not so good.


    A normal human being would have died if their internal organs were burned, but G¡¯s condition was improving, a demonstration of the life force of an Evil God.


    However, the burning of her internal organs had to be kept in secret from the healers. If they were to know of this, they would have to exin how such a thing had happened and why she was still alive.


    As a result, the cause of G¡¯s damage was unknown, and she had been left to recover without effective treatment.


    As for Luxuria, who was the Evil God of Lust, something no one could guess from hisrge, muscr body, he had only surface burns, and had recovered enough to be able to move around even if he was still covered in bandages. However, he was still undergoing treatment for his burns as he did not want any scars on his skin because they would be a hindrance in the future. Neither Loren nor Lapis had the slightest desire to know what that future was, and they just left him to his own devices.


    ¡°So, the only ones who can move properly are me and you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about you being able to move properly, Loren.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, if I can use my power, you can heal faster¡­¡¯]


    Loren gently shook his head at the voice echoing in his head.


    The voice belonged to Shayna, a girl who had been transformed into the ¡®King of Death¡¯, the highest ranking undead, in a previous job Loren had received, and whose spirit had been forced into Loren¡¯s body when Loren had brought her down.


    Shayna suggested to used Energy Drain to snatch power from the beings around her, then use that power to supply Loren¡¯s recovery ability, he would recover from his burns in no time. However, the people around them in this city were the Empire¡¯s citizens and soldiers, and using Energy Drain to feed him their power was a method that Loren did not approve of.


    ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it. You were burned pretty badly.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I can feel it when I move.¡±


    If he pushed himself too hard before he was fully healed, he would only dy his full recovery, which would not be good for him. Adding Lapis¡¯s concern to the mix, and Loren began to feel as if he was doing something bad.


    Loren decided that it was good enough to be able to move his body to some extent before it became too dull. He was just about to end his practice when he noticed two figures, seemingly of a healer and a soldier, looking in his direction at the doorway leading from the clinic building to the garden.


    ¡°It looks like they made contact first.¡±


    ¡°Considering your injuries, it would have been better if it had been a littleter, but timing is everything in these things, you know.¡±


    When Loren gestured at the soldier with his chin, Lapis spoke these in a low voice and shrugged, then turned her head toward the soldier who was watching them and, with a friendly smile on her face, waved her hand in his direction.

 Chapter 314: From Invitation to Joining Forces (1)

    <h4>Chapter 314: From Invitation to Joining Forces (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The soldier who contacted Loren was, as they had expected, a messenger from the Imperial Army.


    He hade to inform Loren¡¯s team that there was a general who wanted to meet the group to ask them directly about their experiences, as their names had been listed as the only survivors in the reports of the destruction of the guerri units.


    Loren had been thinking of getting in touch with someone of high rank in the Imperial Army, so he dly agreed to an audience. After getting himself ready, he was escorted by a soldier to the building where the Imperial troops were stationed.


    As for who to bring along, there was no option at all, and Lapis was by Loren¡¯s side. Luxeria was out of the question, and G was still not in her best condition, so there was no point in forcing her to move if it would make her wounds worsen.


    Actually, Loren had considered taking us with him.


    The reason was that Lapis was a demon, and although she was currently living as a priest of the God of Knowledge without being discovered by anyone, there was no guarantee that she would not be discovered by chance. If this were to happen, the way the generals of the Imperial Army responded to the situation would be very different, and it was necessary to be aware of the risks involved in mobilizing Lapis.


    On the other hand, us, aside from his affinity for women, was a young man of good looks and a well-known adventurer, someone the Empire would not treat lightly. However, since he had nothing to do with what they were being summoned for, Loren had no choice but to give up on bringing him along.


    Of course, the option of Loren going alone did not exist from the beginning. He was not so reckless as to think of going by himself to meet a person of high rank ¨C a General ¨C in an army that he could not be absolutely sure was on his side.


    Loren had tried, but he could not get any information from the messenger about the General who wanted to meet them. When Loren asked about it, he was told that he would understand when he met him, but the messenger refused to give Loren any further information.


    Loren found the guy to be apetent soldier in a sense. Information might give them unnecessary prior knowledge or impressions, which in turn might affect the flow of the conversation. It was not a bad idea to take them to the person without giving any details beforehand.


    The question remained, however, as to how many more people would ask for them without even giving their names in the future. Loren decided that this was probably due to the difference in status between the Imperial Army authorities and adventurers. There was no need to guess which side was in a higher position in the Empire, where Loren and his team were currently located.


    The messenger took Loren and Lapis to a building that looked more like a private home or a merchant¡¯s house than a military-owned barracks. However, the fact that it was a military facility was obvious from the soldiers guarding the area. Two of them, apanied by the messenger, were led inside under the openly watchful eyes of the soldiers guards.


    ¡°Please wait here until the General arrives.¡±


    After handing over their weapons to the soldiers due to security rules, Loren and Lapis were ushered into a reception room.


    The room was not especially morous, but was decorated with furnishings that looked too expensive to be considered simple. They sat downside by side on the sofa they had been pointed to, with Loren looking somewhat ufortable and Lapis looking about curiously.


    ¡°Hey Loren, the empire is very rich, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren replied to Lapis, who was looking around the room, in a hushed voice, seemingly uninterested.


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s a country, so it must have money, right?¡±


    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s quite impressive that such a facility in a town so close to the border, which in a sense is at the very edge of the country, can be so well furnished.¡±


    Loren looked around to see if that was the case, but there was no way he could tell if the furnishings were good or bad, and he didn¡¯t have the knowledge to appraise their values.


    But Lapis seemed to be seeing a different scenery than Loren.


    ¡°The items are not showy in appearance, but they are well-built and made of materials and colors that are pleasant to the eyes. It may look in to some people, but it costs quite a lot of money to have all these items in one ce.¡±


    ¡°I am happy to hear you say so, young miss. You are quite knowledgeable.¡±


    The voice of a middle-age man resounded, in response to Lapis.


    Loren got up from the sofa as if he had been struck, and when he looked toward the entrance of the room, he saw a man standing there at the open door, looking just how Loren expected him to from his voice.


    The man was shorter than Loren, but from appearance alone, he gave a much more intimidating and dignified impression. The clothes he was wearing were probably the uniform of the Imperial Army, but Loren knew that the body hidden under the thick and lengthy garment was that of a well-trained warrior. His face was chiseled, and his long ck hair, with just a hint of gray, was pulled back. He looked to be pleased about the praise for the furnishings of the room, but his gaze was strangely sharp.


    ¡°Are you well-versed in furnishings, Miss Priest?¡±


    ¡°As a person in the service of the God of Knowledge, I am familiar with a wide range of things, but only casually.¡±


    Lapis, who had also got up and was standing by Loren¡¯s side, bowed courteously. The man slightly inclined his head in response, and Loren, somewhat taken aback, greeted him.


    ¡°Commander¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Loren. I was wondering if it was you when I found the name in the report. It¡¯s fortuitous that you survived.¡±


    The person who slowly sat down on the sofa facing Loren and Lapis while saying this was Yuri Mutshildt, the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren once belonged, before he became an adventurer, and whose whereabouts have beenpletely unknown since the destruction of said group.


    Loren, seeing the face was exactly the same as the one in his memory, sat down as if copsing on the sofa, while Lapis gently sat down next to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Loren doesn¡¯t need any introduction, but you must do, young miss. I am Yuri Mutshildt, former mercenarymander, and current general in the Imperial Army.¡±


    ¡°My name is Lapis. I am a priest in the service of the God of Knowledge, and I am currently a fellow adventurer of Loren.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you introduce yourself normally?¡±


    Seeing Lapis bowing to Yuri in an impably mannered, Loren couldn¡¯t help but say. Hearing this, Lapis looked offended for a moment before suddenly smiled like a blossoming flower and dered.


    ¡°I am Loren¡¯s bride.¡±


    ¡°Now, Loren. What have you been doing since the destruction of the group?¡±


    ¡°That should be my line, Commander.¡±


    ¡°Ah, this? I feel like things just went through very naturally?¡±


    The two looked at each other, and Lapis unthinkingly put her hand on Loren¡¯s shoulder and shook him.


    Loren did not shake her off. Annoyed, Nig raised his forelegs to intimidate Lapis, but she continued to shake Loren without caring.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not deflecting. I just can¡¯t believe that Loren, who was so out of touch with thedies to a degree that many in the group thought he might have actually gone that way, has found such a refined youngdy.¡±


    ¡°Now, where did that rumore from? Tell me the details. I¡¯ll go find the one who spread it and make him regret!¡±


    ¡°Well, who was it? I¡¯m getting very forgetful in my old age.¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression turned vicious when Yuri made an innocent face. He red at Yuri with such an angry expression that would make a weak-minded person faint if they met him on the street at night, but the man didn¡¯t seem to mind at all andughed.


    ¡°Well, almost everyone in the group was talking about it.¡±


    ¡°Fuck them¡­ Well, whatever¡­ I¡¯m not interested in that side of the road one iota, but I don¡¯t care about the old rumors.¡±


    Loren¡¯s expression was about to be even more vicious when he was told that he was the only one who did not know, but he reigned in his temper, took a deep breath and tried to change the topic.


    Yuri, who was watching him, said in an impressed tone.


    ¡°You¡¯ve learned to be patient. You¡¯ve grown up.¡±


    ¡°You make it sound like I was insufferable when I was a mercenary.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Staring at him intently, Yuri asked earnestly. Loren¡¯s face lost some of its grimness and his gaze turned away from Yuri, albeit only slightly.


    That seemed to be enough of an answer for Yuri. The smile remained unchanged and, without further inquiries, he pped a few times.


    As if on cue, the door through which the man had just entered was opened, and a woman¡¯s voice was heard from the other side.


    ¡°Yes, General?¡±


    ¡°Can you prepare tea for our guests? We have much to talk about, but a parched throat would make speaking difficult.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, Sir.¡±


    Loren muttered something like a curse under his breath and tried to calm down, and Lapis and Nig tried to help soothe him.


    Yuri looked at him in amusement, and Loren managed to calm his breathing and his feelings before he started speaking again.


    ¡°That does not matter. I want to hear about you first.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be in a hurry. The situation is not veryfortable right now, but there will be enough time to wait for the tea to be prepared. And since it has been so long since west met, don¡¯t you feel emotional? Or did you not even want to see me?¡±


    ¡°¡­How could I not?¡±


    Loren answered sulkily while turning his head away.


    Once Loren calmed down after realizing that he had been worked up by the Commander¡¯s sudden appearance, Lapis next to him and Nig on his shoulder finally showed signs of relief.


    ¡°We both have things to talk about. For now, let¡¯s have a cup of tea and rx, and then take our time.¡±


    As Yuri was saying to Loren, several women in maid¡¯s uniforms entered the room quietly without making a sound as if they were waiting for their cue, carrying trays of the tea he had requested.

 Chapter 315: From an Invitation to Joining Forces (2)

    <h4>Chapter 315: From an Invitation to Joining Forces (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Well, first of all, I would like to ask you how you have been doing.¡±


    The women in maids¡¯ uniforms finishedying out the tea and left the room as quickly as they had arrived. Loren watched them work, admiring how neat and tidy it was. Lapis, standing beside him, waited until the maids had left the room before speaking softly to Loren.


    ¡°They are all trained fighters.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re maids, right¡­?¡±


    ¡°The way they move is not that of maids. They probably have weapons hidden under their skirts, so they may have been trained as assassins.¡±


    Lapis was whispering to Loren in front of Yuri, but her voice was so low that the man should not be able to know what they were talking about. Even Loren was having trouble catching some of her words, but for some reason Yuri, who was further away from Lapis, seemed to be able to hear it clearly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what maids are supposed to do?¡±


    Yuri said this with a good-natured smile, but Loren didn¡¯t even hide the bewilderment in his voice when he replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such maids.¡±


    ¡°A maid is the person who is closest to her master. Therefore, it is only natural that she should have the skills to protect the master.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, tell me how you are doing.¡±


    Yuri asked again, his smile overpowering Loren¡¯s words.


    Loren was about to say something in response when Lapis intervened.


    ¡°I shall start then.¡±


    Loren considered himself not a very good talker. When asked to talk about himself, he had nothing to say except that he had stopped being a mercenary and had be an adventurer, and he knew that Yuri would not be satisfied with that. That was why he decided to let Lapis take care of it.


    He was about to take a sip of the tea the maids had left for him when he heard Lapis¡¯ next words, which nearly made him spit it out.


    ¡°I have had the pleasure of going out with Loren since¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute. That¡¯s not how to put it.¡±


    ¡®Going out¡¯ here meant traveling together as fellow adventurers, not going out as a couple did. But Lapis¡¯ choice of words was not so much as causing confusion, but deliberately misleading. Letting Yuri have such a misunderstanding would be troublesome, so Loren tried to interrupt, but Yuri, seemingly unaware of Loren¡¯s situation, leaned forward with his cup of tea in his hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear the details, shall we?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Commander!¡±


    ¡°When I first met him, I had a feeling that he was the one.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called fate. Hmmm¡­ that Loren¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen to me!¡±


    Loren raised his voice and his fist, but there was no ce to put his fist down. If they were at a cheap inn or a diner, he could have mmed his fist down the table in front of him, but what was in front of Loren now was a table that, although not fancy, was definitely worth a lot of money ording to Lapis.


    However, no matter how well-made the table was, it probably could not withstand the force of Loren¡¯s fist if he mmed it down with all his might. The table would most likely be smashed into pieces, and if something like that happened in an Imperial Army¡¯s facility, not only would he surely be forced to pay for his action, but one wrong move and soldiers would fly in to use him ofmitting an act of violence against a General.


    Disregarding Loren, who had stopped moving after having no destination for his raised fist, Lapis proceeded with her conversation with Yuri.


    [¡®You¡¯re in a tough spot, onii-san.¡¯]


    Loren slowly lowered his raised fist, trying to push the conversation out of his mind as much as possible, when he heard the worried voice of Shayna in the back of his mind. Nig also tapped Loren¡¯s shoulder with his front legs as if to console him.


    ¡°I see. It seems you¡¯ve had quite a time.¡±


    After a short time, which seemed like torture to Loren, Lapis finished her story, and Yuri expressed such a sentiment.


    Apart from a few unclear parts where Loren didn¡¯t know if Lapis was trying to paint a love affair or induce misunderstanding, her story was reasonably easy to understand, and even Loren, who was listening without really paying attention, could remember that such things had happened.


    Of course, Lapis did not tell Yuri her true identity, or those of G and Luxuria, who were currently traveling with them. Loren was d that he had left the talk to her. If he had been the one to talk, there was a definite risk that he would leak some information.


    Even so, the mental exhaustion was too much for Loren. He put his hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Now that you know what¡¯s going on on my side, I¡¯d like to hear what happened on your side.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not nearly as interesting as your story, though.¡±


    Yuri sipped his tea and began to tell his story, as if responding to Loren¡¯s request.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing spectacr. After the group was destroyed, I managed to escape and somehow ended up in this ce. The only thing a mercenary leader can do is to fight, and that¡¯s why I joined the army.¡±


    ¡°I understand that much. But howe you are now a general in the Imperial Army?¡±


    A General, not to mention of the regr army, was not a position easy to obtain. Even if you came from a family of military personnel, you might never be able to reach such a position. The fact that a wandering mercenary was able to hold that position was beyondprehension for Loren, but Yuri answered with a puzzled expression on his face.


    ¡°Well, you see, I used to be the leader of a mercenary group.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an exnation.¡±


    Being the leader of a mercenary group was not likely to have any weight in any way. Loren knew that much, but when Yuri told him again so clearly, he wondered if the man had been chosen for the general position because of his experience as the leader of a mercenary group.


    ¡°Even if you say so. In this Empire, which is not on good terms with the neighbouring kingdom, there is no shortage of ces to fight, and as long as you have a ce to fight, you can earn merits, right?¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°I was just fighting, and before I knew it, I had be a general.¡±


    Yuri said nonchntly. Loren almost raised his voice until he took one look at Yuri¡¯s face, which seemed to say what was so strange about this story. He remembered his own days as a mercenary in the man¡¯s group and kept his mouth closed.


    It was Lapis, who asked in ce of Loren, who had gone silent.


    ¡°Is it that simple?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m reasonablypetent.¡±


    Yuri said as if he was simply stating a fact without a hint of boasting. Lapis stared at him in wonder, and Loren told her.


    ¡°It¡¯s generally true, so there¡¯s no way to argue with that.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do much. When I was a foot soldier, I made my mark by targeting enemymanders, and when I was on themanding side, I just kept doing what the enemy didn¡¯t want me to do, and the merits would follow.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you put it, though¡±


    ¡°Since it is him, he can do it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with this trust?¡±


    Loren admitted in a resigned tone of voice, while Lapis was shocked.


    Yuri watched them with a smile on his face, but after a while his expression turned serious and he lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger to get their attention.


    ¡°Now that we know each other¡¯s situation, let¡¯s get down to business.¡±


    Yuri, who had drawn Loren and Lapis¡¯ attention to himself with just that small sound,ced his fingers together on the tabletop and began.


    ¡°It¡¯s about the girl that you met.¡±


    Although Loren and Lapis had lied about G and Luxuria, they told the Imperial Army that they had met a girl named Rage Satania, who called herself the Evil God of Wrath. The reason was that they did not know what kind of impression they would make on the Imperial Army if it became known that they were withholding information they had obtained on the battlefield.


    Loren¡¯s team had already reported the existence of Evil Gods to the Guild of Adventurers, so if the Imperial Army and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which were currently cooperating, shared information, it would not take long for them to find out that there such beings exist.


    However, as they had not reported that these Evil Gods were roaming the world, or that there were even those living normal lives like G and Luxuria, or that their origin dated back to the Ancient Kingdom period, Loren was not sure if either the Empire or the Guild would ever know such facts.


    ¡°It is reasonable to assume that she is a powerful magician wielding fire magic, but the staggering amount Imperial Army casualties cannot be exined by that alone.¡±


    Many units had been destroyed by the unidentified enemy, but the ces where they were destroyed still remained. It was clear that those areas had been burned to the ground by a powerful fire, but Yuri said that until now, the Imperial Army had not been able to find out what kind of entity could have caused such a fire.


    This time, ording to the report of Loren and Lapis, they were able to establish that it was an entity that took the form of a girl and called itself an Evil God. However, the Imperial Army apparently did not take the girl¡¯s title of ¡®Evil God¡¯ literally.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that a mere magician could have this kind of power. It is reasonable to assume that she has enhanced her power in some special way. But that is of little importance now.¡±


    Lapis wondered if the first thing to do now was to find out how the enemy was raising their power to such an incredible degree, so that they could consider imitating their methods or taking their power away from them, but Loren and Yuri had a different idea.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what the method is, we need to think of a way to deal with this girl first.¡±


    ¡°If all of the scouting and guerri units have been wiped out, we can¡¯t just go around looking for the source of their power.¡±


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but it¡¯s impossible to counter them with no n, you know? We almost died too. Even if you ask us to do something about it, we will have to decline.¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m not senile. I won¡¯t ask anyone to charge at an opponent who has caused such damage with no ns.¡±


    Yuri smiled wryly at Loren¡¯s words, who feared that they had been summoned because they had encountered the Evil God of Wrath once before and would be asked to do something about her because of their experience in returning alive.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve got a n, and you want me to take care of it, rightmander?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for speaking so quickly, Loren. You¡¯re the only one I can ask.¡±


    Loren, who had understood from Yuri¡¯s tone of voice as he looked at him that this was not something he could refuse, gave a quick nod, praying that Yuri¡¯s n would really be effective against the Evil God of Wrath.

 Chapter 316: From An Invitation To Joining Forces (3)

    <h4>Chapter 316: From An Invitation To Joining Forces (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After the meeting with Yuri, Loren and Lapis paid a visit to the clinic. The purpose was to check up on G, who was undergoing treatment.


    Loren had been a patient at the clinic until he regained consciousness, so the practitioners working there immediately showed him to G¡¯s room when they saw his face and heard him mention G¡¯s name.


    ¡°We are very sorry to tell you this, but¡­ We think it¡¯s time for you to take thatrge mister away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about this, but something happens on our side, and we may have to ask you to look after him for a little while longer.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure how this will affect the other patients¡­¡±


    ¡°We understand. It may be a waste of time, but we¡¯ll talk to him properly this time.¡±


    As the young female practitioner nervously discussed this with Loren and Lapis while leading them to G¡¯s room, Loren wondered how hard he needed to hit Luxuria with his greatsword in order to make him tone down his behaviors a little bit.


    In the hospital room, to which Loren and Lapis were taken, they found G wrapped in aforter on clean sheets, breathing heavily in her sleep.


    Looking only at her sleeping form, G was a beautiful woman with very well-defined features, and her proportions were so perfect that even through the quilt, one could see how stunning she was.


    As soon as Loren thought that he wished she would stay sleeping forever, G breathed out a puff of pitch ck smoke. The smell of something burning filled the room, and Lapis, frowning, walked over to the window and opened the slightly-ajar window fully, then began to fan the room with her hand, trying to drive the smell out of the room.


    The fire from the Evil God of Wrath that had attacked Loren and his friends was still burning in the stomach of G¡¯s authority, and no one knew its location.


    By this time, Loren did not know whether to be afraid of the authority of the Evil God of Wrath, which kept burning for such a long time, or to be amazed at how stuffed the stomach of G¡¯s authority was that it could keep burning for this long. But since this was what kept G in such bad shape, it was noughing matter.


    ¡°Hey, G. Can you get up?¡±


    Loren said in a subdued voice as he walked up to the bed. G opened her eyes a crack, then sat up when she saw that Loren was calling out to her.


    Loren gestured that she could stay lying, but G waved her hand as if to say she was fine.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°First of all, how¡¯s your stomach?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotta real bad case of heartburn.¡±


    G held her hand over her chest and frowned, ck smoke leaking out of her mouth again.


    If she had been a human being, it would not have been possible for her to survive, since the fire was still burning inside her body.


    It was such a strange phenomenon that even the medical practitioners were puzzled by it, and Loren was concerned that G¡¯s true identity might be revealed. However, since the examination showed that her body wasn¡¯t burning from inside, they were able to argue away the phenomenon as being caused by some force that no one understood at the moment.


    ¡°Nothing bad. We¡¯ve been asked to do a little something, and we were thinking of asking you to go with us.¡±


    Loren was thinking of asking G to apany them on Yuri¡¯smission. Lapis believed that she and Loren could manage it, but Loren thought that no matter how powerful Lapis was, he was just a mercenary, and the more people they could mobilize with would be the better.


    ¡°I might be able to if I push myself, but what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll exin while you take this.¡±


    Loren reached into his jacket and pulled out an ornately decorated ss bottle that looked expensive. Inside the clear bottle was some kind of liquid.


    ¡°Is it medicine? But there is no such thing as a medicine that can cure my illness, is there? No medicine can put down Wrath¡¯s fire. It would have to be some kind of elixir.¡±


    ¡°It is an elixir.¡±


    Loren replied casually, and G looked at the bottle in Loren¡¯s hand with a surprised look on her face.


    The bottle was something Loren had requested from Yuri as a necessary expense for thismission. Apparently, this valuable medicine, which cost one gold coin a bottle, was within the reach of a General of the Imperial Army, and Yuri was willing to give it to Loren upon his request.


    ¡°Can you manage with this? If not, I¡¯ll get a few more from the Commander¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°You got them from him? I might be able to make do with something on the level of an elixir.¡±


    With these words, G took the bottle containing the elixir from Loren, pulled out the stopper, and gulped down the contents without hesitation.


    As Loren and Lapis watched to see how effective the elixir would be, G, who had kept her eyes closed for some time, finally exhaled a long, thin breath of white smoke from her mouth and opened her eyes to look at them.


    ¡°Alrighty. Now I¡¯m good to go.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay? If you¡¯re having a hard time, even just a little, I¡¯ll tell the Commander and he¡¯ll give us a few more bottles.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Besides, this is expensive, isn¡¯t it? I can¡¯t drink it without feeling like I¡¯m adding to your debt, Loren.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty little thingpared to all the debts I¡¯m saddled with.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not something to be proud of, okay?¡±


    Judging from G¡¯s jab at him, she seemed to be really okay, so Loren nodded.


    ¡°I, for one, would be very happy to see Loren¡¯s debt increase¡­ But it certainly doesn¡¯t seem to make much sense to add one more gold coin to it now, does it?¡±


    ¡°You are so merciless, Lapis-chan. And using such expensive medicine to ask me to go with you, what did you take on, and from where?¡±


    Loren began by telling G, who was smiling wryly, that the leader of the mercenary group he used to belong to was now a general in the Empire, and then went on to exin the discussion they had with Yuri.


    Yuri¡¯smission to Loren and his team was to obtain the means to fight against a being who called herself the ¡®Evil god of Wrath¡¯.


    Yuri said that there was a cave further north from the town where Loren and his group were currently residing, and that there was something inside that would help them fight the Evil God of Wrath. Yuri then added that Loren was the only one he could ask to do this, but Loren could not understand why.


    It was also unclear where Yuri had obtained the information about the existence of such a thing, but the Yuri Loren knew was not the type of person who would say things without meaning it. So Loren believed that there really was something in there, and that Yuri had some kind of reason tomission Loren and his team.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we had to go on a trip.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you want me to apany you on that trip.¡±


    Loren nodded to G, who got out of bed.


    ¡°Because more people are always better, of course.¡±


    ¡°Although I would be more excited by the idea of being on the road with Loren alone, but I agree that more people are better.¡±


    ¡°What, it seems that Lapis-chan doesn¡¯t give me much of a wee.¡±


    G said with augh, and Lapis silently cast her eyes down without denying or confirming.


    ¡°I¡¯m good. What about Luxuria?¡±


    G asked, stretching lightly as if to check her own condition, and both Loren and Lapis showed their reluctance at the same time.


    They both wanted to leave him behind if possible, but as they had been told by the nurses earlier, the clinic wanted them to take Luxuria back as soon as possible. They understood that it was not possible to leave him at the clinic forever, so leaving him behind was not a good option.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to check up on him¡­ Though I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a tough call, but he¡¯s a guy I have a certain amount of faith in as an asset.¡±


    ¡°If we weigh the advantages and disadvantages on a scale, I think the disadvantages will be heavier. I wonder why he was not consumed by Miss Wrath¡¯s mes?¡±


    Lapis mumbled to herself that she wished he had been reduced to ashes. Loren nodded his head repeatedly in agreement, and Gughed as she watched them.


    ¡°Luxuria is one of the toughest ones amongst us. Well, the toughest of all must be thezy guy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s tougher.¡±


    Loren tilted his head at G¡¯s words. This was something he struggled to imagine from the name ¡®Sloth¡¯. Sloth, to begin with, gave the impression of not doing anything as much as possible. Loren wondered what Sloth¡¯s authority was, and G gave a simple exnation.


    ¡°If Sloth wants to, he will have full resistance to all attributes, plus a defense so strong that even if a dragon steps on him, he will be unharmed. In return, he must not move at all.¡±


    ¡°So he can be a superior flesh wall?¡±


    ¡°The only way he can use his authority to its full potential is to liepletely t, so he can¡¯t be used as a shield. There¡¯s another heinous effect that more than makes up for it, but whatever.¡±


    G said as she bent her body, then her elbows, and clenched her fists. She must have felt stiff after sleeping for so long.


    ¡°I¡¯m good enough to help you. As soon as we are ready, let¡¯s head for that cave or whatever it is. I¡¯ll ask Luxuria about it, and you two make preparations for departure, all right?¡±


    ¡°I heard that the Commander is taking care of all the preparations for departure and the arrangements for supplies. As soon as we are ready to go, all we have to do is pick up our supplies and transportation at the north gate of this city.¡±


    Yuri was not sloppy about making preparations. It seemed that he had already arranged for those things before he approached Loren and Lapis. Everything was ready, and all they had to do was go to the designated ce with only their own personal belongings.


    ¡°Who is this Yuri, exmander?¡±


    ¡°To me, he¡¯s just a kind old man.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s just an old man.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s an old man who used to be the leader of a mercenary group.¡±


    Lapis and G looked at each other as Loren seemed not to care much about the situation. The man hade up with a countermeasure against Wrath immediately, knew of the existence of a cave that no one else knew about, and was already prepared for departure when he approached them with a job offer. Both of them thought that this was no mere old man¡¯s work, but it was also true that Loren¡¯sment of ¡®It¡¯s just how the Commander is¡¯ seemed strangely persuasive.


    ¡°Well, is this alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have to look into him sooner orter, but for now, I think it¡¯s alright.¡±


    When G, who seemed to be feeling somewhat uneasy, asked Lapis, she answered without thinking too deeply and shrugged her shoulders.

 Chapter 317: From Departing To Travelling (1)

    <h4>Chapter 317: From Departing To Travelling (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    As Loren and his group got into the wagon Yuri had prepared for them at the north gate of the city for their travel to the northern cave, they were joined by Luxuria, who was in an unusually good mood.


    The guy volunteered to be the driver, and thus he sat on the driver bench. Behind him were Loren, Lapis, and G, sitting among the luggage on the wagon.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the long faces, you guys?¡±


    Luxuria, dressed in his usual tight clothes, looked back over his shoulder and called out to Loren and the others at the back, but no one answered him.


    To tell the truth, everyone except Luxuria himself wanted to leave Luxuria in town, but if they left town without letting him know at all, they had no idea what would happenter. G decided to pay him a visit, during which he quickly insisted that he had fully recovered, and when he heard that the group was leaving the city, he naturally offered to go with them.


    There was no way for them to refuse him.


    One reason was that they did not know what would happen if they refused, but the more important reason was, they could not bear the silent pressure from the personnel of the clinic. Loren wondered what in the world Luxuria had done to make the whole staff reject him to such an extent, but he could not ask either the practitioners or Luxuria himself about it.


    ¡°Rather than that, I wonder why you¡¯re in such a good mood.¡±


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s going out together, you know. Of course, it¡¯s fun.¡±


    Hearing the word ¡®everyone¡¯, Loren looked around, but there were only a few travelers on the street where the wagon was running, and none of Luxuria¡¯s cronies that he was worried about were in sight. Luxuria alone was already a heavy enough burden for Loren, and if the cronies that the guy had directly educated or trained were to follow him, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Loren would lose his peace of mind.


    ¡°Going out means camping at night. And everyone will stay in the same tent together!¡±


    ording to Yuri, there were originally several viges in the northern area where they were headed, but due to their rather small size as well as the currentrge-scale war, they had all been destroyed or evacuated, and no lodging of any kind could be expected.


    Near Loren, who was feeling heavy at the thought of having to deal with the menace called Luxuria in addition to camping outside, G bared her teeth and threatened the other Evil God.


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke about it. You¡¯ll be out by yourself, wrapped up in a bamboo mat.¡±


    ¡°Why?! That¡¯s discrimination! Abuse!¡±


    On the driver bench, Luxuria iled his arms and legs like a spoiled child, but strangely enough, the wagon was moving straight ahead on the street without shifting course.


    Loren thought that it would be quite a challenge for the horses to keep going straight with the reins being pulled that much to the left and right, but they kept going in an unnaturally straight line even though their heads were shaking from side to side.


    Looking around to see if anyone was doing something, Loren let out a small sigh when he saw none of his party members seemed surprised about the horses.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Lapis noticed his sigh and asked, but Loren waved his hand at her in response, then reached out and inspected the luggage loaded into the wagon.


    Yuri had prepared most of the things for them, but they had not heard much detail about what and how much had been prepared. Loren believed that themander would be thorough, but there was always the possibility that something could go wrong, so he thought it would be a good idea to have some confirmation.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s themander for you.¡±


    Yuri had said that it would take about three days to reach the cave, their destination.


    Loren asked if they had the time to make the round trip, which would take about six days, but Yuri assured him that he could at least buy them some time. The man had said that making progress would be a problem, but maintaining the status quo was something anyone could do. However, with the two armies facing each other, it could not be that easy to do.


    Thinking that they had to find the thing that could counter the Evil God of Wrath and get back to Yuri as soon as possible, Loren suddenly stopped his inspection.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Loren? Did you find something unseemly in there?¡±


    ¡°For God¡¯s sake, why would he put something unseemly here?¡±


    While being taken aback by Lapis¡¯ words, Loren pulled out the thing he had been touching from the luggage and examined it with a scrutinizing eye.


    It was a thick coat.


    The coat was quiterge, probably prepared for Loren.


    He wondered why, but after rummaging through the sacks some more, he found two other coats that were smaller than the one he had pulled out first.


    ¡°There are more than just coats.¡±


    Loren searched the area where the coats had been, and found the same number of thick, well-made sleeping bags. As tents and other items appeared one after the other, he tilted his head in wonder.


    The temperature here was certainly lower than Kapha, but it was not so low that they had to wear a coat over the clothes and equipment they currently had on. Depending on the time, the northern region may be covered in snow and ice. If they were here at such a time, they would need a lot of equipment, but as far as Loren knew, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be that cold.


    ¡°Am I wrong? Or is it getting that cold??¡±


    ¡°What are you mumbling about, Loren? Oh, coats and sleeping bags? Yuri, you must be a very thorough person.¡±


    As Loren fiddled with the things he had pulled out and muttering to himself, Lapis, who was sitting nearby, peeked in and, after seeing what he was holding in his hand, expressed such an impression.


    ¡°Do we need these things?¡±


    Loren asked, picking up a sleeping bag, which was too thick to be used for ordinary camping.


    It was not that it couldn¡¯t be used, but Loren thought that if he were to wrap himself in the sleeping bag inside the tent Yuri had packed for them, he would have difficulty sleeping well due to overheating.


    However, Lapis¡¯ reply was different from what Loren had in mind.


    ¡°I think Yuri prepared it because he knew it would be necessary from now on.¡±


    Loren had to agree.


    ¡°Does that mean the temperature is going to drop?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine a sudden drop in temperature, though.¡±


    That was what Lapis said, but they wouldter learn that her words were wrong.


    On the first night, nothing unusual happened, and the group kept watch in pairs, and the morning came without incident.


    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m paired up with Luxuria. With this line up, I can watch over the whole team by myself, right?


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s so that Loren and I can team up, and so that Luxuria and Loren won¡¯t be on duty at the same time, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. There¡¯s no choice then. I¡¯ll team up with Luxuria.¡±


    ¡°You two? I don¡¯t seem to have a sleeping bag.¡±


    ¡°You dress like you feel quite hot, so you won¡¯t need a sleeping bag. Just sleep like that.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too harsh to me?!¡±


    The first night was uneventful, despite such conversations going on and on, but something unusual happened on the second night.


    After kicking Luxuria down, who had feigned ignorance and tried to enter the same tent as G, Loren sat down next to Lapis, who was working on a bonfire and watching the situation, with a wry smile on his face.


    Looking up at the sky like this, he could see the stars twinkling in the cloudless sky.


    ¡°Has it gotten a little colder?¡±


    A sauce pan was ced over the fire, and the heat from the fire turned the water in the pan into hot water. Lapis took a scoop of the water and poured it into a cup, which she offered to Loren.


    ¡°It¡¯s not in water. There are tea leaves in it.¡±


    Loren looked into the cup. There were indeed tea leaves swaying in the hot water, which had begun changing color. This was probably not the way it was supposed to be brewed, but if you were in the middle of a camping trip, this was a good way to avoid the hassle of straining and brewing tea leaves, so Loren sipped the tea.


    ¡°But we¡¯re getting close to our destination, aren¡¯t we? I guess we don¡¯t need those after all?¡±


    Loren pointed to the tent made of thick cloth that Yuri had prepared. G must be sleeping in there, and if she was also using the thick sleeping bag, she must be feeling quite hot.


    The temperature was gradually dropping due to their trip north, so it was not so ufortable that it made them unable to sleep, but it was still stuffy enough to cause night sweats.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a misjudgment?¡±


    Lapis tilted her head. In front of her, Luxuria was about to crawl into another tent.


    Luxuria had not been provided with a sleeping bag, but the temperature was warm enough that he had no trouble sleeping in the tent without one. They would travel north for only one more day or so, and it seemed like they would not need coats at all.


    Lapis had used the word ¡®misjudgment¡¯ to refer to both Yuri and herself, but it seemed that Loren understood only one of the two meanings.


    ¡°Themander gets old too.¡±


    ¡°Would he be angry if he heard that? Or would he get upset?¡±


    Wondering how Yuri would react when he heard that Loren, of all people, was treating him like an old man, Lapis could not help butugh out loud, but herugh quickly turned strained.


    Noticing Lapis¡¯ expression stiffen as if she had seen something unbelievable, Loren looked up and squinted his eyes, just as Lapis was doing.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    At first, it seemed to Loren that there was nothing there, at least nothing that would make Lapis¡¯ expression stiffened. But after a few moments of staring into nk space, he saw something small glinting in the light of the campfire.


    Before Loren could figure out what it was, Lapis had fed a new piece of firewood to the fire, then jumped onto the back of the nearby wagon and began rummaging through their luggage.


    ¡°Lapis? What in the world are you in such a hurry for¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ice!¡±


    With these words, a thick coat was thrown at Loren. He immediately put it on, understanding that he should.


    After seeing Loren put on his coat, Lapis also began to hurriedly put on hers.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but the temperature is dropping so rapidly that the moisture in the atmosphere is starting to turn into little ice cubes! If we¡¯re unlucky, we could have a life-threatening cold waveing!¡±


    ¡°Why all of a sudden¡­¡±


    There was no sign or anything. Surprised by this sudden and unexpected change, Loren blurted out, but Lapis vigorously shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but what is happening now is all that matters. We have to put off for now the investigation of the causes and the unnaturalness of the situation, and our first priority now is to take countermeasures.¡±


    As fuel for the campfire, they had firewood, dry leaves, and a few branches, some of which had been amongst their luggage and some they had collected in the area before setting up camp. However, if a cold wave were to hit as Lapis predicted, the fuel they had might be inadequate to keep the campfires burning.

 Chapter 318: From Departing To Travelling (2)

    <h4>Chapter 318: From Departing To Travelling (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this bad? This seems life-threatening.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re better off than me! I don¡¯t even have a sleeping bag or a coat! Even an Evil God can die, you know! Will I die?! Will I be a cold body here with no one to love me?!¡±


    The cold wave, which Lapis had feared, hit their camp not long after she had first detected it. Its intensity was indeed, just as she guessed, potentially life-threatening.


    Even Loren, who had hurriedly put on his coat, felt a cold, almost painful sensation on his unclothed face and hands, making it difficult to get away from the fire. Nig, who had always maintained his position on Loren¡¯s shoulder, had hurriedly slid into his coat from the cor and was now clinging to Loren¡¯s chest to get away from the cold.


    Next to Loren, Lapis, also wearing a coat, was clinging to his arm, shivering in the cold wave that hit the camp. No matter how much more capable they werepared to humans, demons still felt heat and cold.


    ¡°Loren¡¯s body is warm. I can¡¯t help but feel happy.¡±


    ¡°Are you really feeling cold?¡±


    From the tone of Lapis¡¯ voice, Loren suspected that she was not that cold. But the tremblinging from her arms was real, and he couldn¡¯t just heartlessly pull her away. Loren scratched his head in annoyance.


    Right in front of them, G and Luxuria had been making a big ruckus about the whole thing. G was still inside her sleeping bag, but had also wrapped herself in her coat, while Luxuria was still in an attire that was entirely unsuitable for cold weatherl.


    ¡°Why is it so cold?! Did the world go through an ice age while we were sealed up?! Or did we fall into some frozen hell without knowing?¡±


    ¡°So you are aware that you are going to hell. I don¡¯t care what you do, just give me that coat!You look like a caterpir, you should have enough!¡±


    ¡°Shut up stupid! Who¡¯s going to give it to you? It¡¯s still cold! If this coates off, I¡¯ll get all stiff!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to be stiff, what about me, who doesn¡¯t even have a coat?! I¡¯ll be an ice statue! I think my ice statue will be beautiful, but no one wille to see it in a ce like this!¡±


    ¡°You should only sleeptalk in your sleep! Your ice statue is nothing more than waste material!¡±


    It seemed like those two were still alright, Loren thought. If the situation was to get really unpleasant, they wouldn¡¯t be able to argue like that. As long as their voices were stilling out, it was safe to assume that they were still okay.


    However, Loren also thought that if things continued like this, it was inevitable that they would eventually reach a dangerous situation.


    Their camp was not sheltered by anything, and waspletely exposed to the elements. No matter how hard they tried to keep warm by the campfire, the slightest breeze would cause the warmth to escape.


    Loren began to think that it might be difficult to greet the morning if they did not move to a ce where the wind could at least be kept out, when he suddenly felt a hand reaching for his coat¡¯s cor. He reflexively grabbed it.


    ¡°Lapis, what are you trying to do?¡±


    The hand Loren had grabbed belonged to Lapis. It had been clinging to his shoulder earlier, but before he knew it, Lapis had extended it towards his chest as if it was trying to creep into his coat.


    ¡°Loren, it is said that a creature¡¯s libido increases when it is ced in a life-threatening situation.¡±


    Lapis, who had inevitably moved closer to Loren as she reached for his chest from her clinging position, told him this with a serious face.


    ¡°It is a living creature¡¯s instinct to procreate, and I believe that you, Loren, are about to reach that point.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? What do you even want to do in this situation? Do you want to die?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine, Loren. I¡¯ll mainly be the one to get undressed. I see that there is plenty of room in that coat, so if you could just let me inside, I can secretly¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait wait, are you really that unaffected?!¡±


    As he pushed back against Lapis, who was insistently pushing herself closer to his body, Loren decided that it would be dangerous to remain in the same ce any longer.


    He did not have a n, but he thought the situation would only get worse if he did not move to a hollow or some other ce where he could at least get shelter from the wind.


    ¡°We¡¯re moving. Pack your things.¡±


    ¡°Now?¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t move now, we might get stuck. The horse will also be in trouble soon.¡±


    The horse was still tied to the wagon and was breathing out white breath from its mouth. For the moment, it seemed to be still alive, but if it was kept still, it might freeze to death in this cold, which even their party felt to be quite severe. Loren thought that even a little movement would raise its body temperature.


    ¡°Hurry up. I heard that freezing to death is a fairly painless way to die, but you don¡¯t want to die.¡±


    With just a little bit of anger in his voice, Loren reminded Lapis firmly. He thought about the possibility that she might have already lost the ability to make sound judgments due to the cold.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little disappointing. I was thinking that if I kept pushing it, maybe I could make it.¡±


    Loren had expected Lapis toin, but she followed his instructions and detached herself from him surprisingly readily. Her flirting had made Loren wonder for a moment if Lapis¡¯ behavior up to this point had been intentional, but when he saw that her body had not stopped shaking as she pulled away from him, he was at a loss.


    Putting off whether he was right, Loren called out to G and Luxuria as well.


    ¡°Hey, listen. You guys too, get moving, quickly. You don¡¯t want to be left behind.¡±


    The two had been quarreling right up until then, but they immediately stopped arguing at his words. As G dexterously crawled forward in her caterpir-like state, Luxuria began to move toward the wagon and tidy up the tent with such agility that it was doubtful whether he was really feeling the cold.


    After quickly tidying up the camp, the party managed to coax the freezing horse into walking, and then began moving north again.


    ¡°But what the hell? I¡¯ve never heard of a weather like this.¡±


    Loren, sitting on the driver-bench, spoke to Lapis, who was holding the reins next to him, as if asking for her opinion, but Lapis looked around and tilted her head.


    Even if one were to look around, the surroundings were still covered in the darkness of night, and with the light that G had created with her magic from inside her sleeping bag and the scant moonlight, there was no way to get a satisfactory view.


    Even so, Lapis, who seemed to be able to see through the darkness with the vision of a demon, muttered in wonder.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but where are we moving towards now?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°We had been following the map until we camped, but suddenly I can¡¯t tell where we are. I mean, was there even a ce like this before we set up the camp?¡±


    Upon being told this, Loren looked around once again.


    ording to the Great Demon king, Loren¡¯s vision, which seemed to be somewhat blended with that of the King of Death, could see more clearly than human eyes even in a darkness that was normally impossible to see through. And what appeared in Loren¡¯s vision now was a scenery that he was surely not familiar with.


    Before camping, Loren had seen an unobstructed view of a vast wastnd, but now, even though the wastnd was still a wastnd, he could also see the shadow of what looked like a huge mountain nearby.


    No matter how much Loren checked his memory or tilted his head at the unfamiliar mountain like Lapis did, no matter how hard he strained his eyes or rubbed them, the sight that did not disappear indicated that the mountain was indeed there.


    ¡°Were we closer to our destination than we thought?¡±


    There was definitely a mountain near their destination. Yuri had told them that the cave was at the foot of the mountain, so Loren wondered if that was the case. But Lapis shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not possible. We must be at least another half day or so away.¡±


    Loren thought that if Lapis said so, then it must be the case. At the very least, Lapis¡¯ opinion, which was based on the map and actual conditions, was more reliable than his own vague sense.


    If that were the case, however, it would not exin the existence of the mountain that loomed in front of them.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to go there anyway. I heard there is something that will help us find the cave?¡±


    ¡°I got this.¡±


    Lapis took one hand off the reins and pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. Waving the paper, which had some kind of pattern drawn on it, Lapis began to exin.


    ¡°It seems to be a talisman that reacts to anything that opposes the Evil God of Wrath.¡±


    ¡°Commander, why would he have such a thing?¡±


    To Loren, the thing in Lapis¡¯ hand looked like nothing more than a piece of paper with iprehensible scribbles on it. However, if what Lapis said was true, then it was a magical tool, not something that could be obtained at random.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to ask you. Who in the world is that Yuri?¡±


    Lapis asked, but Loren had no words to answer it.


    The Yuri Loren knew was really just an old man who had been the leader of a mercenary soldier corps for some years. Of course, he owed the man a debt of gratitude for raising and educating him since he was a child, but he didn¡¯t think it had anything to do with Lapis¡¯ question.


    ¡°I have a hunch that there must be a cave at the end of this road, and that¡¯s our destination.¡±


    ¡°Even though you don¡¯t know where we are?¡±


    Loren was more than a little surprised to hear this contradictory remarking from Lapis, who had just said that they were still half a day away from their destination ording to the map. But Lapis, the one who said it, did not even seem to think her words were strange or out of ce.


    ¡°I believe so because I don¡¯t know where we are.¡±


    Loren snorted a little at Lapis¡¯ strangely confident words.


    Behind him, G, still in her caterpir state, and Luxuria, who was still not wearing any kind of warm clothing, were sinking into the gaps between their luggage.

 Chapter 319: From A Trap to Freezing (1)

    <h4>Chapter 319: From A Trap to Freezing (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Some timeter, Loren saw a scene that made him wonder how it had happened.


    The wagon was going straight ahead on the road, but the road was soon cut off at the foot of a mountain that appeared in front of them, and as if in some kind of joke, the pitch ck opening of a cave appeared at the end of the road.


    Just as he suspected that they were being tricked, Lapis pulled out the talisman that Yuri had entrusted to her, which began to glow blue-white, indicating that the cave was their destination.


    ¡°See? That¡¯s just how it is?¡±


    Lapis said to Loren, not particrly proud of her predictioning true, herself. Her face was also colored with bewilderment at the unnatural way things were progressing.


    ¡°I wonder if our Commander is actually a demon or a devil of some kind.¡±


    ¡°Are you asking me? If you don¡¯t know, Loren, then how could I know? I didn¡¯t see anything out of ordinary that could hint to it though.¡±


    Loren wondered if he had been bewitched or something, but no matter how much he tried to review his memories, he had no recollection of the Commander ever being a non-human being. He had known the man since childhood, and if he had been bewitched all this time, he would have been thoroughly deceived. But Loren didn¡¯t want to doubt the Commander to that extent.


    ¡°Well, on the bright side, we¡¯ve reached our destination.¡±


    ¡°At least the cave will make the cold a little more bearable.¡±


    With this answer, Lapis steered the wagon toward the cave.


    The entrance to the cave that opened right in front of them was wide enough that Loren could swing his greatsword around freely and the de would not touch the walls. Even the whole wagon was able fit inside.


    Lapis stopped the wagon by the wall and tied the horse¡¯s reins to a protrusion. As Loren stepped down and patted the head of the horse, which looked somewhat relieved, G and Luxuria crawled out from the back of the wagon.


    ¡°Is this where we were going?¡±


    As if she thought staying in her caterpir-like state would be troublesome, G crawled out of her sleeping bag, pulled on the coat that had been wrapped around her shoulders, and shivered a little as she hugged herself.


    Luxuria was also shivering like G, but since he was arge man in a tight outfit, it only creeped Loren out. He quietly looked away, not wanting to see it as much as possible.


    ¡°If Yuri¡¯s story is to be believed, it probably is.¡±


    Lapis lifted the piece of paper still glowing blue so that G could see it and shook it lightly. G turned her gaze toward the deep end of the cave and narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°So, there¡¯s something in the back of this ce that can counter Wrath.¡±


    ¡°If the information is correct, yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, l-let¡¯s hurry up and g-go and g-get that something, s-shall we? Let¡¯s f-finish this job as soon as possible and b-bid farewell to this cold ce.¡±


    ¡°From the looks of the rock, this seems like a normal cave, so it shouldn¡¯t be tooplicated.¡±


    Luxuria walked slowly toward the back of the cave while carefully examining the cave walls.


    Loren thought that if this was the destination, rather than taking a break at the entrance, it would be better to go deeper as G had suggested and finish the work Yuri had asked them to do. He was about to follow after Luxuria who was walking in the lead with Lapis and G when IT happened.


    With a small, throaty scream, Luxuria, who had been walking in the lead, was suddenly flung backward.


    It happened very abruptly, but Loren¡¯s action was still fast. He pushed G¡¯s toward a cave wall and jumped to the opposite wall, shielding Lapis himself.


    Fortunately, the cave was wide enough to allow them to avoid Luxuria¡¯s flying body. He flew through the space that Loren had just vacated with considerable force, and shortly after he crashed into the ground head first and rolled backward several times before finallying to a halt with his buttocks raising.


    ¡°What? What happened?¡±


    ¡°Well, that was a close call. Are you okay, Lapis?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Loren. You covered for me, so I¡¯m alright.¡±


    Lapis, who was pressed up against the wall by Loren, looked at him with regretful eyes as Loren pulled away, but still said a proper word of thanks. Her eyes looked like those of a predator watching its prey, and the corners of Loren¡¯s mouth turned down while Shayna was yelling at him to please get away as soon as possible in his mind.


    ¡°What really happened? It¡¯s not normal for such a big body to be flying through the air like that.¡±


    Loren said while looking at Luxuria, who still had not moved after rolling to a stop. The guy was somewhatrger than Loren, and his weight must naturally bemensurate with his massive body. Considering the power that must have been used to send him flying, this was no ordinary urance as Loren had said.


    Not to mention that Luxuria was an Evil God.


    The fact that an Evil God was blown away without being able to put up any resistance was enough to make one think that there was something extraordinary there. But when Loren looked at the area where Luxuria was hit, he could not see anything.


    ¡°Lapis, can you see anything?¡±


    ¡°No. What about you, Loren?¡±


    When asked by Lapis, Loren looked again at the area where Luxuria was blown back, they could not see anything there.


    [¡®What about you, Shayna?¡¯]


    Inwardly, Loren called out to Shayna. He thought that Shayna, the ¡®King of Death¡¯, might be able to find some kind of sign, but her reply was not favorable.


    [¡®I am syncing my vision with you. I can¡¯t see anything that you can¡¯t see, onii-san.¡¯]


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything. That doesn¡¯t mean there¡¯s nothing though.¡±


    Loren shook his head and concluded. Lapis looked thoughtful for a moment, then grabbed the wrist of G, who was nearby.


    Both Loren and G, the one who had been grabbed by the wrist, wondered what on earth she was going to do, but it immediately became apparent to them.


    ¡°Hey now.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute!?¡±


    With a small scream, Lapis swung her hand and G, who was held in that hand, was thrown forward.


    Loren took a step forward, surprised. But right before his eyes, as G¡¯s body reached the spot where Luxuria had just been thrown back, he instantly changed his trajectory at a sharp angle for an evasive action. And just like Luxuria, G was thrown from the spot, a scream following behind her.


    ¡°She really was thrown back.¡±


    Still rolling, G mmed into Luxuria, and both of them groaned. Ignoring them, Lapis stared at the area from which G had been flung away.


    ¡°Are they okay back there?¡±


    ¡°We needed to verify it.¡±


    Although G was supposed to be lighter than Luxuria, theirnding point seemed to be exactly the same. G had mmed into Luxuria, who was still lying on the ground.


    Luxuria¡¯s body rolled back further due to the impact, but G was on her hands and knees. She red at Lapis with somewhat bitter eyes, but Lapis did not seem to notice. She was staring at the spot where the Evil Gods were hit.


    After a while, Lapis, seemingly had something in mind, tried to move forward herself this time, but Loren grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°There is surely something there. I want to verify whether it was reacting to Evil Gods or not. Fortunately, judging from G¡¯s condition, it doesn¡¯t seem to be a life-threatening contraption, and I am quite sturdy.¡±


    If we were to simply discuss sturdiness, Loren would certainly be the most fragile of all the members present. And even though this trap was not likely to be fatal, it was logical that someone who was physically sturdier should try it out, taking into ount the possibility of injuries when being sent flying a certain distance at a certain speed.


    However, whether or not it was eptable was another matter. Loren, still grabbing Lapis by the shoulders, pushed her behind himself and stepped forward himself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°No, Loren, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re going to observe the trap, I should be there, not you. Watch out for anything that might happen.¡±


    Rather than one person being a test subject and an observer at the same time, Loren thought it would be better to concentrate on one or the other. He was of the opinion that Lapis would be a better observer than he was, and that he should be the test subject.


    Lapis was about to say something about this, but Loren stopped her.


    ¡°Well, you will understand it better than I do.¡±


    ¡°That may be true, but¡­¡±


    Lapis acknowledged, though with some hesitation. He waved at her and stepped forward.


    A force that could fling people back should be quite powerful, but if you know it wasing, you could be prepared for it. And as Lapis had said, neither Luxuria nor G showed any signs of broken bones, so the expectation that it would not be serious also calmed Loren.


    That was why Loren was walking slowly forward, but it was not until a few steps past the point where the Evil Gods had been flung back that he realized that something was wrong.


    Loren had expected to be struck by now, but there was no sign that it was about to happen.


    After taking a few more steps and confirming that nothing was going to happen, Loren looked back at Lapis, who was observing his movements with a somewhat troubled expression on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Is it a mechanism that reacts only to Evil Gods?¡±


    Lapis tilted her head and muttered. But the next moment, she dexterously jumped away from her spot.


    ¡°Lapis-chan, you should try it out¡­ Uwahhh?!¡±


    G was trying to push Lapis from behind.


    However, Lapis, who had probably sensed the danger, dodged, making G lose her target. As G pitched forward with the momentum, she was pushed hard by Lapis, who had moved to behind her just in time, and fell down to the ground at Loren¡¯s feet. She lied sprawling on the floor of the cave in a big heap, and even her eyes seemed to have rolled back


    ¡°So, it won¡¯t trigger.¡±


    Lapis came to where G was and watched her. Loren considered her remark for a moment and opened his mouth.


    ¡°Could there be a limit to the number of times it triggers?¡±


    ¡°Well? I don¡¯t know for sure, but it looks like I can get through, since I don¡¯t seem to get struck either.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like it. Well¡­ we won¡¯t know even if we think about it anyway, so let¡¯s just move on.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. G, Luxuria, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Watching Loren¡¯s back as he walked away, Lapis poked G, who was still lying prone. She got up and grunted in disapproval at how badly she had been treated.


    Without paying attention to Luxuria, who sat up with a mumblingint, Lapis muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that the trap was disabled because someone who is allowed to get through got through.¡±


    The words did not reach Loren¡¯s ears, but they rang true somehow. Lapis followed Loren in a jog, wondering what that could have meant all the while.

 Chapter 320: From Being Trapped to Freezing (2)

    <h4>Chapter 320: From Being Trapped to Freezing (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Caves had different structures. Although there were exceptions because they were natural formations, most of them were simple structures that included several straightforward routes. If the size of the cave wasrge, it might be difficult to find your way back because of the many branches and paths you had taken, but in a normal-sized cave, it was unlikely that you would get lost inside.


    The cave that Loren¡¯s team entered seemed to be a straightforward type of cave, and the group were making their way along the almost straight pathway without any lights.


    Darkness was a very troublesome thing for the human eye, as it made it impossible to see anything. But Loren seemed to have gradually absorbed the abilities of the King of Death, and he could see enough to determine what was where without having to call out to Shayna.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or not.¡±


    The fact that he was taking on the power of the King of Death meant that Loren was bing less and less human. Although it was still unknown at the moment how this would end, Loren had the feeling that it would not be a story with a happy ending.


    However, he was not inclined to expel Shayna out of his mind, thinking that she would disappear if he did. He was somewhat inclined to let things be as they were for now.


    ¡°It¡¯s just an ordinary cave as far as I can see. I wonder if there is really anything here that can stand up against the Evil God of Wrath.¡±


    It was Lapis who raised such a question while looking around.


    Indeed, there was no indication that anyone has tampered with their surroundings. It was somewhat difficult to imagine that the mere depths of this cave could conceal something like Yuri had mentioned.


    ¡°There was some kind of trap at the entrance, so it can¡¯t be that no one was in there at all, can it?¡±


    ¡°The paper Yuri gave me and that fact are the only clues we have at this point.¡±


    Lapis said and waved the paper, which was pinched between her fingers. It was now emitting an even stronger light than it had been at the entrance.


    Yuri did not give any particr exnation for this, but Loren and Lapis thought that the increased light was probably a sign that they were getting closer to the desired object.


    ¡°It helps that there is only one path. I wouldn¡¯t want to wander through a maze here.¡±


    ¡°Even though the it has eased up a bit, it¡¯s still cold.¡±


    The air was still cold enough to feel chilly, although it was not unbearable thanks to the cave and the coats they were wearing.


    Loren did not want to stay long in this space, nor did he want to navigate the maze as Lapis had said.


    ¡°But what the hell is down the road?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think it must be something that can counteract the power of fire, since it is something that can oppose the power of the Evil God of Wrath.¡±


    ¡°Simply put, something that possesses the power of water or ice.¡±


    G joined the conversation from behind them.


    She, too, was wearing a coat, which hid her usual attire, and she seemed to be somehow able to withstand the cold. Next to her, Luxuria had his arms crossed as if he were hugging himself, walking haltingly.


    If he looked back at G, he would inevitably see Luxuria¡¯s figure, so Loren asked G without looking back.


    ¡°If it¡¯s going topete with that, it must be pretty powerful, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If it¡¯s some half-assed item, it¡¯ll just be burned to ashes.¡±


    ¡°Can we transport such a powerful item by ourselves?¡±


    The simple assumption was that something with the opposite attribute to the Evil God of Wrath and with equal power was enshrined at the back of the cave where they were proceeding. Loren¡¯s question was whether such a thing could be carried casually.


    G was could not answer, and Lapis responded in a light-hearted manner.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just assume it¡¯s something we can carry with us. Otherwise, I¡¯m sure Yuri wouldn¡¯t have asked us to fetch it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the Commander would have thought of that¡­¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, there¡¯s a doorway ahead.¡¯]


    Loren was speaking when Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind stopped him. He turned his gaze forward.


    With the King of Death¡¯s vision, which could see through darkness, he saw, just as Shayna had said, a metal door that was clearly man-made at the end of a long stretch of cave wall that he had previously thought was natural.


    Lapis and the others seem to have noticed it, too, and they all stop in their tracks.


    ¡°And something like that just appeared.¡±


    Because of the incident at the entrance, Lapis observed the area around the door carefully without moving from the spot, but she gently shook her head after a while.


    As was the case at the entrance, Lapis was unable to detect anything unusual around the door, even with her magical vision and knowledge.


    However, it was hard to believe that there were no tricks being yed, as it was obvious that there would be something beyond the door. As Lapis tilted her head, Loren stepped forward, acting as if he were a casual observer.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go this time. I think it¡¯s too much to ask G and Luxuria to be flicked back again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a trap that flick you back here though.¡±


    ¡°Then help me out. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Just because the trap at the entrance was equipped with a device withparatively low killing power, did not necessarily mean that the same kind of device would be used again here.


    The possibility that something with a potentially deadly power might be set here could not be dismissed, but with a demon and two Evil Gods behind him and the King of Death named Shayna inside him, Loren was optimistic that he would manage somehow. He slowly walked up to the door at the end of the cave.


    Loren was on guard to some extent, ready to deal with any situation that might arise. But with slow and steady steps, he eventually arrived at the door.


    Having arrived at the door without incident, Loren turned toward Lapis, who was waiting for him at the same position where she had stopped earlier, with a look of disappointment on his face. Lapis shrugged and walked up to where he was waiting, beckoning G and Luxuria to follow her.


    ¡°Nothing happened.¡±


    ¡°There were several signs, but none of them were triggered.¡±


    Loren had not noticed, but Lapis, who was watching from behind, had seen signs of movement of something that was probably an anti-intruder device. However, they were not triggered even when Loren passed by.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering who the hell you are, Loren. There have been a few things that have seemed a little strange to me.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so, I have no idea. I don¡¯t even know where I was born.¡±


    ¡°Once this is done, we may need to try to squeeze it out of Yuri. For now, we have to deal with the matter at hand first.¡±


    Saying this, Lapis moved her face closer to the door in front of them, being careful not to touch it.


    The metal door, which had some kind of pattern engraved on its surface, had no handle or keyhole, as far as the eyes could see. There was also no ce to put a hand on it; the door seemed to be impossible to open in any way. Lapis turned away from it to Loren and said in a somewhat dismissive tone of voice.


    ¡°If Loren pushes it, maybe it¡¯ll open?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try? There doesn¡¯t seem to be any kind of trap.¡±


    Loren then checked with Shayna to see if it was true.


    Shayna, with fluttering wings in Loren¡¯s field of vision, stared at the door for a moment, then nodded.


    If both of them had checked and found no traps, Loren thought that even if there were traps, he would not be able to tell. Without letting his guard down, he gently put his hand on the door.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want to ask.¡±


    As Loren heard the conversation of the Evil Gods in the background, the metal door disappeared as if it had never been there in the first ce as soon as he put his hand on it.


    Loren was unable toprehend the scene before him, but as if to drown out his thoughts, a gush of cold air suddenly burst forth from the open doorway, and Lapis let out a small scream and clung to Loren as the two Evil Gods began to scream in unison.


    Even though they were wearing coats, the cold air seeping into their bodies made Loren and the others wince, and their exposed skin felt only stinging pain.


    Loren feared for a moment that he was going to die as his body heat was being snatched away from him, but after a while, the wind died down, the cold air settled a little, and Loren was finally able to let out a deep breath.


    ¡°I thought my insides were going to freeze.¡±


    Loren said. He was neither joking nor speaking figuratively but felt it sincerely. He lightly tapped Lapis, who was burying her face in his arms and clinging to him, on the shoulder.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay over there?¡±


    After seeing Lapis look up, he called out to the Evil Gods behind them. G raised her hand as if to say she was okay, though she was shaking so hard that her teeth could not even chatter. Luxuria, on the other hand, was deathly pale and motionless. Loren wondered if he had frozen to death, but when he saw G, while trying to withstand the cold, put her hand on Luxuria¡¯s neck and let out a sigh of disappointment, he realized that he seemed to be alive.


    ¡°The cold air trapped inside the door burst out all at once. I thought I was going to die.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I heard that freezing to death is one of the mostfortable ways to die.¡±


    Loren had heard from someone that it would literally be like dying in his sleep, but he could not imagine that he would want to die here, no matter howfortable it would be.


    Leaving Luxuria, who was not likely to move, and G, who was watching over him, behind, Loren and Lapis stepped into the room.


    ¡°Is this it?¡±


    They hadn¡¯t proceeded much further when Lapis pointed to the end of the cave, where a single-edged sword with a slightly curved de was thrust deeply into the ground.


    Loren and Lapis approached the sword, which was glowing pale in the darkness as if it were pushing the darkness away, and stared at it intently.


    ¡°Scimitar, I think that¡¯s what it¡¯s called.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a falchion?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±


    ¡°A falchion is thicker and heavier.¡±


    When Lapis looked at the de of the sword again, she saw that it was indeed quite thick, with a weight that would make it a little difficult to handle with one hand. A bluish-white light was emitting from the de as if clinging to it, and she could see that it was an intense cold magic.


    ¡°I think this is the countermeasure he was talking about. Let¡¯s call it an ice falchion.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s ice against fire, huh? But, can it really stand up to that powerful Rage?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s believe it can. The Commander said so.¡±


    As she answered, Lapis was about to put her hand on the hilt of the sword that was stuck into the ground, but hesitated for a moment and then stepped aside to let Loren take her ce.


    Loren felt as if the sword could have been pulled out by anyone, but since Lapis has specifically given him the task, he thought that it must mean something. So he moved forward to the spot Lapis had vacated and gently put his hand on the hilt of the sword.


    The cold stung his palm a little, but nothing more than that happened, and with a light effort Loren was able to pull the sword out of the ground.


    ¡°I think there was a legend that once upon a time, whoever pulled out a sword that was stuck in a stone or something could be king.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that big a deal, is it? We¡¯ve got what we need now. Let¡¯s get out of this cold ce as soon as possible.¡±


    As the sword had been stuck into the ground, there was no sheath to hold it. Loren urged Lapis to return to the entrance, thinking it would be necessary to return to the wagon and find a cloth or something to wrap the sword with.


    ¡°What the hell?! What the fuck are you doing here?!¡±


    ¡°You followed us huh, pervert!¡±


    Just then, G¡¯s impatient scream and Luxuria¡¯s resigned voice came from the entrance.

 Chapter 321: From Being Trapped to Freezing (3)

    <h4>Chapter 321: From Being Trapped to Freezing (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The voice of the Evil Gods made Loren and Lapis quicken their steps. When they returned, they saw the two Evil Gods squaring off against a man standing opposite them.


    The man, whose body was well-defined enough for others to identify his gender even with a coat that hung down to his feet, looked at the newly-arrived Loren and Lapis while ignoring the two Evil Gods standing in front of him.


    The man had loosely wavy gray hair and a white mask covering his entire face. His sharp eyes made it hard to believe that he was an ordinary person, but what made Loren wary was the fact that he did not hesitate to look in the direction of them in the almost unlit cave, and that the color of his eyes was purple.


    ¡°Is that the thing that can counter Wrath? Well, it¡¯s certainly a good item, but it¡¯s not that special.¡±


    The man said while gesturing at the falchion in Loren¡¯s hand with his chin. Loren did not reply to him, but instead called out to G, who was bracing herself.


    ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°This presence and that mask¡­ He is the Evil God of Pride, Superbia.¡±


    G answered without taking her eyes off the man, and Loren groaned softly at her words.


    Given the circumstances of their arrival, Loren was not too sure about the location of the cave they were currently in, but as far as he knew, it was within the Empire territory, so he did not think much about possible interference from the Kingdom side. It was beyond Loren¡¯s imagination that they would be so tant that they would send one of the Evil Gods to intervene.


    ¡°Give it to me, and I¡¯ll let you go.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to just say ¡®Yes Sir¡¯ when you ask me to give it to you?¡±


    Loren replied, holding out his right hand. Superbia let out a soft sigh as if he were a teacher dealing with a naughty student.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for you. Don¡¯t make it harder for me.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see the situation? We¡¯ve got two of yourrades over here.¡±


    ¡°Myrades? What are you talking about?¡±


    Loren was thinking that since they were all Evil Gods, the greater the number, the better. But after saying it, he remembered that when they were dealing with Wrath, they could barely escape even though she was by herself.


    Loren wondered if he had chosen the wrong word, but Superbia sounded as if he had heard something very unexpected.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anyrades. I¡¯m notfortable being lumped in with them.¡±


    Loren swallowed the words ¡®But aren¡¯t you all Evil Gods¡¯ just in time. The reason was, even though G and Luxuria looked annoyed at his words, they didn¡¯t say a word in rebuttal.


    Even though Loren was aware that the situation was apparently unfavourable, he made an effort to speak to Superbia in a light tone of voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. For us, it¡¯s hard to tell the difference because you are all Evil Gods.¡±


    ¡°Ignorance is a sin, but I forgive you for once. You should be thankful that you have the opportunity to know.¡±


    ¡°He looks down on me too high, that it almost makes my ears ring.¡±


    Lapis muttered in a low voice. Loren gestured for her to keep silent and held up the falchion he was holding in his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to give you this, but I¡¯m here on business too. I¡¯d be doing my employer a disservice if I went back empty-handed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so tough on me. How did you get here in the first ce? I heard you¡¯re the Evil God of Pride, but you¡¯re also a hound of the Kingdom? Hey, Lapis, would you look after this for a minute?¡±


    Loren¡¯s face lit up with a dumb smile. He was so different from the usual Loren that Lapis looked up at him with a startled expression on her face. Loren gently handed her the falchion in his hand and continued speaking, scratching his head.


    ¡°You may not be able to rte to this, arrogant as you are, but adventurers like me make our living from this. If themission fails, my credibility will be at stake. My life is precious to me, but money is too.¡±


    ¡°Money? If I give you some money, will you give it to me?¡±


    ¡°That depends on the sum. After all, I might be out of work for a while.¡±


    ¡°Would you forfeit your life for a few pennies?¡±


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s just some pennies, then be generous, Sir.¡±


    Superbia looked a bit taken aback by Loren¡¯s banter. It was also the same for G and Luxuria, who were listening to their conversation. Both of them looked at Loren with dumbfounded faces.


    Under the gaze of these three Evil Gods, Loren continued to speak in a tone that, to those who knew him, was different from the usual.


    ¡°If you¡¯re working for the kingdom, you must have deep pockets, right? Wouldn¡¯t you let me have some crumbs?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not working under any orders. There is no one in the world who can order me around.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you so obsessed with this sword again?¡±


    ¡°I owe a debt to a man named Magna in the Kingdom. I¡¯m just helping him until I pay it back.¡±


    Superbia looked away as if he was not convinced even though he himself said it. Loren gave him an amicable smile as he quickly nced at Lapis.


    Lapis, who had received the sword from Loren, was staring at its de, but when he noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she gave a small nod.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that the Evil God of Pride owes someone a debt. What did he do for you?¡±


    ¡°He just helped me break my seal. I would have been able to break it sooner orter without his help, but he should be rewarded for helping to speed up the process somewhat.¡±


    Loren was surprised to see that he was rather righteous for someone who called Pride. Superbia gave him a rather stern look.


    ¡°Magna told me about you. He said your name is Loren. You look a little different from what I¡¯ve heard, but you¡¯ve got G and Luxuria with you, so I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to hear what you¡¯ve heard about me, but, well, I¡¯m Loren.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your feud with Magna. I¡¯m just here to ask you to give me what you¡¯ve got. If you give it to me obediently, I¡¯ll pay you some money for it. But if you refuse, I¡¯ll take it slowly after I¡¯ve dealt with you and your friends.¡±


    Loren slowly shifted his gaze to G and Luxuria.


    Luxuria remained poised against Superbia, but G, who seemed to have given up on her resistance and released her posture, gently shook her head at Loren.


    This gesture made Loren realise that even with two of these Evil Gods working together, it would be difficult for them to fight against Superbia.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice then. Lapis, is it alright if we give it to him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the second-best choice, but it¡¯s a little problematic. So let¡¯s do it this way.¡±


    Lapis replied by turning the sword in her hands over and stabbing it into the ground at her feet with all her might. She then removed her hand from the hilt of the sword, which now stood with the tip of the de buried into the ground, and told Superbia as she lightly dusted her hands.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave this here. When we leave the cave, it will be yours. Let¡¯s make that a pact, shall we?¡±


    As Loren and Lapis seemed to have given up on the sword too easily, G and Luxuria seemed to want to say something about it, but Loren stopped them with a gesture.


    ¡°You are the Evil God of Pride. You wouldn¡¯t do something cheap like a surprise attack from behind, would you?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t take too much time, then it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll wait at least as long as it takes you to escape.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Hey, let¡¯s get the hell out of here.¡±


    After seeing Superbia nod, Loren patted G and Luxuria, who looked somewhat stunned, on the shoulder and urged them to quickly leave the ce.


    G and Luxuria, wondering if this was really the right thing to do, were pushed by Loren and moved toward the exit, passing by Superbia, who was standing still. Lapis followed them, and Loren, who was still somewhat wary, was thest to pass by the Evil God of Pride in a half jog.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so rmed. I wouldn¡¯t take you guys by surprise.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but be careful. I¡¯m not as fearless as you are.¡±


    ¡°A small fry like you just can¡¯t help it. Here, your reward.¡±


    As they passed each other, Superbia spoke, to which Loren replied in a dignified manner. The Evil God then tossed him a coin, which Loren received, and after confirming that it was a gold coin, he quietly tucked it into his pocket.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Being so happy just because of such a meager sum of money¡­ You really have no future.¡±


    After returning an ingratiating smile to Superbia¡¯s mocking, Loren waved to G and Luxuria, who were running ahead of him, as if to ask them to increase their speed. He then sped up himself and asked in a small voice when he caught up with Lapis.


    ¡°How¡¯s everything?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all good. All that¡¯s left is timing.¡±


    He nodded in response to Lapis¡¯ thumbs-up, then urged G and Luxuria, who was running ahead of him, forward by a push for the former and a kick in the buttocks for thetter. When they reached the wagon parked near the entrance of the cave, he put Lapis on the driver¡¯s bench, crammed G and Luxuria into the carriage, undid the rope tying the wagon to the cave wall, then patted the horse¡¯s rump and quickly climbed onto the driver¡¯s bench himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯lle as soon as we leave.¡±


    At Loren¡¯s instruction, Lapis picked up the reins and started the wagon.


    Ignoring the cries ofints from G, who fell into the luggage due to the sudden start, Lapis raised her voice as she concentrated on driving.


    >


    ¡°Lapis-chan?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re flying, hold on tight! Answer my call!¡±


    At the moment Lapis, who had called for attention without answering G¡¯s question, said those words as if making a deration, G and Luxuria turned around with a startled expression on their faces when they felt the presence of magic power swelling up behind them.


    It was definitelying from the direction which they had just run through, and where Superbia was probably still at.


    Before they could even wonder what had happened, they were hit by a chillingly cold wind, and if they looked deeper into the cave, they could see a tremendous amount of ice sprouting up at an incredible rate, as if the atmosphere itself had turned to ice.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter! Now, if we don¡¯t break away from this ce as soon as possible, we¡¯ll get caught up and finished too!¡±


    G¡¯s surprise shout was answered by Lapis, who gave a whip to the horse pulling the wagon.


    Clinging desperately to the bench, which was rocking violently due to the increased speed, Loren looked behind them and prayed that they woulde out all right as he watched the mass of ice explosively expand its range.

 Chapter 322: From Report to Instruction (1)

    <h4>Chapter 322: From Report to Instruction (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°So, themission failed. I¡¯m sorry, Commander.¡±


    Loren reported to Yuri, sounding not very apologetic.


    It was the morning of the day after they had escaped from the mountain, arrived at the town they hade from, and rested for the night. Loren, apanied by Lapis and G, had gone to the military facility where Yuri was waiting for him, told the soldiers there Yuri¡¯s name and asked for a meeting. And when they were shown into the room, those were his first words.


    After exining what had happened, he reported their failure so brazenly that Lapis and G, whom he had brought with him, looked at Loren bbergasted.


    Yuri, who received the report, did not get angry or show any sign of disappointment, but simply responded with a few words.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    Yuri did not make any further inquiries, but invited them to sit down at the table across from him.


    ¡°You seem awfully indifferent.¡±


    Lapis looked at the General with suspicion and said, but Yuri gently shook his head as he watched them taking their seats.


    ¡°As I said, it¡¯s something only Loren could have done. If he went and failed, it would have been the same for anyone else. I don¡¯t me you.¡±


    ¡°What on earth was that ce anyway? It wasn¡¯t an ordinary ce, was it?¡±


    Thinking that demanding exnations would be more effective than asking questions, Lapis asked in a somewhat harsh tone. Yuri stared at her for a while, then gently shrugged and replied, tone unchanged.


    ¡°Well, I forgot.¡±


    ¡°Do you expect me to be satisfied with that answer?¡±


    ¡°Well, even if you say so, forgot means forgot.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s gaze shifted from Lapis to Loren as he replied in a yful manner.


    Yuri¡¯s tone of voice remained unchanged as he told Loren, who was silently watching the exchange between the two.


    ¡°I may remember sooner orter. I will tell you if I do.¡±


    ¡°Understood. It¡¯s all right.¡±


    ¡°Is it really?¡±


    Lapis seemed to be somewhat displeased. Loren ced his hand on her head as if to cate her and whispered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can get him to talk about something he doesn¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Some pain might loosen his tongue, don¡¯t you think? Shock might make you remember something you¡¯ve forgotten.¡±


    Lapis said such disturbing words with a coy face, and Loren and Yuri¡¯s expressions simultaneously twitched.


    It was understandable that Loren¡¯s face would twitch because he knew that there was nothing, he could do to stop Lapis if she wanted to do so, but Yuri should not have known this. G, wondering why his face was twitching, asked with a searching expression and tone.


    ¡°You¡¯re a General of the Empire, aren¡¯t you? If Lapis-chan wanted to use force, wouldn¡¯t you be able to stop her?¡±


    ¡°That may be so. Though I can¡¯t think of anything I can do to stop Loren, who is working with that priest, if he wants to do so.¡±


    G understood Yuri¡¯s concern.


    Yuri was indeed a General, and if he were to raise his voice, an avnche of soldiers outside the room would immediately enter the room. However, the number of people who could be in the room was limited by the indoor space. G thought that it would be difficult to hold Loren in check with that number of people, as Yuri feared.


    ¡°But it¡¯s disappointing. I thought that magic item would help us resist the power of the mes.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. At least Pride has been neutralized for the time being.¡±


    Yuri let out a sigh, and Loren responded.


    G asked Loren what she had been wondering.


    ¡°What the hell did you do when we ran away?¡±


    ¡°I appraised the transfer of ownership, then used the tool.¡±


    It was Lapis who answered on Loren¡¯s behalf.


    G, who did not understand the words, wanted a more detailed exnation, so Lapis began to exin, holding up her index finger and wagging it from side to side.


    ¡°That falchion was not an item that could be used by anyone. It was the kind of magical tool that only the owner was allowed to use. At that point, the ownership of the sword and the right to use it belonged to Loren, who had pulled it out.¡±


    However, Loren did not have the knowledge to appraise the use of magical tools. Even Shayna, who possessed the power of the King of Death, did not have the knowledge to use unknown magic tools on the spot.


    So, Loren transferred his respective rights on the spot by handing the falchion directly to Lapis.


    ¡°So, while Loren and Pride were talking, I appraised the falchion and figured out how to use it.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. Didn¡¯t you say you were going to give that sword to Pride before we escaped?¡±


    ¡°I dered that I would give it to him as soon as we left the cave, so I still had the rights to it even after I had stabbed it into the ground. All I had to do was move to the exit and release the power contained in the sword before we left the cave.¡±


    As a result, the cave was enclosed in ice. No one knew what happened to Pride, but it would not be easy to get out.


    ¡°It¡¯d be nice if he was caught in the ice.¡±


    ¡°Nah, that would be a wishful thinking, but it¡¯ll probably take him a lot of work to get out.¡±


    ording to G, Pride¡¯s authority allowed him to exert a power superior to his opponent as long as he looked down on that person.


    However, there should be only Pride in that ce now, and the authority that could be used by looking down on others would not be avable. As a result, whether caught in the ice or not, the Evil God of Pride had to use only his own power to get out, and that much power was not enough to threaten both G and Luxuria.


    ¡°Even if we can¡¯t keep him locked up forever, it might buy us some time.¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, it might not be that easy to get out.¡±


    Lapis muttered that it was not necessary to consider this as a crisis for the time being, and Yuri inquired:


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I just remembered something. That ce is a little bit special, and not easy to get in or out of. And if you used the sword¡¯s power to seal it with ice, it would be a pretty powerful seal.¡±


    Lapis was about to ask for more details, but before she could open her mouth, Loren gently stopped her.


    Yuri had said earlier that he might remember something. Loren believed that it meant aside from this bit of information, he had ¡®forgotten¡¯ everything else, and it would be futile to continue questioning him. Lapis believed that he should be hounded for answers, but she obedientlyplied with Loren.


    ¡°But even if that matter is solved, it¡¯s not going to make things any better. The immediate crisis at hand is the existence of a being called Wrath, who wields fires.¡±


    The Evil God of Pride might have been a threat, but from Yuri¡¯s point of view, he was still an existence outside of his consideration. It was not a bad thing that he was neutralized for a while, but the threat of Wrath was not something that they could manage after losing the means to counter it.


    ¡°Is there any other measure? Since you¡¯re the leader, don¡¯t you have anything else?¡±


    ¡°Not that there is no other option, but it¡¯s not something that can be done immediately. The longer it takes, the more damage we suffer, and we can¡¯t stall forever.¡±


    The situation had already progressed to the point where the Empire¡¯s force and the Kingdom¡¯s force were about to meet face to face.


    It had not developed into a full-scale confrontation was due to Yuri¡¯s efforts to buy time, but no matter how talented Yuri was as a general, he could not dy the already-developing military conflict indefinitely.


    ¡°The next best strategy, and one that requires little time to implement, would be to distribute water and ice scrolls to the army¡¯s magic practitioners andunch a simultaneous offensive strike at the same time Wrath appears. If the timing is off, the effect will be weak, and above all, there is no proof that this will work.¡±


    The Evil God of Wrath was indeed a powerful entity, but she was also an individual.


    It was extremely difficult to predict where and when this individual would appear on a battlefield, where the Empire¡¯s and Kingdom¡¯s armies were tangled. If the Imperial Army made a wrong guess, they could suffer fatal damage. But even if they made a right guess, they might have tounch an attack on their own allies.


    ¡°Individuals that can rival an army is just a headache.¡±


    ¡°I have a suggestion.¡±


    As Yuri ced a hand on his forehead and let out a sigh, G raised her hand and said.


    ¡°There is something that can be prepared in a rtively short time. Once put to work, it can probably suppress the power of Wrath, with little or no casualties. Wanna hear it?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that sound like a pipedream?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a risky move in its own way, but it does exist. If you want to hear about it, I can tell you under certain conditions.¡±


    Yuri, who had been staring at G for a while as if he was trying to figure out what he should do, finally answered in a tone of voice and air that seemed to direct to no one in particr.


    ¡°Is it money?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I can¡¯t eat the money. I¡¯m at a ce so far away from home and so cold, and I¡¯m starving, and my body and soul are freezing.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    As G spoke in a deliberate tone, Yuri removed his hand from his forehead, rubbed his chin with his finger and hummed.


    But his hesitation was short-lived.


    Yuri, perhaps having made up his mind quickly, lightly mmed his hands on the table and leaned forward.


    ¡°Alright. I promise you the best lodging and meals I can provide. But I¡¯ll hear your information first.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t take that back after hearing my information, will you? And how about for three people?¡±


    G smiled wickedly at Yuri, who had epted the deal, and held up three fingers of his right hand.


    Loren thought that they shouldn¡¯t be involved in the reward for the information that G was providing, but he stayed silent, thinking that if you were given something, you should take it.


    Both Loren and Lapis were aware of theck of Luxuria in the deal, but neither of them had the slightest intention of pointing it out.


    ¡°For three, alright? All the best. So, what is this measure?¡±


    ¡°Well, actually, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    Yuri epted G¡¯s request and immediately demanded information. In response, G began to exin her countermeasures against Wrath, but the idea was so outrageous that Loren, who was listening nearby, doubted whether it was really possible.

 Chapter 323: From Report to Instruction (2)

    <h4>Chapter 323: From Report to Instruction (2)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Are you insane? Do we even have a chance to win?¡±


    After leaving Yuri¡¯s ce, Loren¡¯s team gathered in a room at an inn that he had prepared.


    After listening to G¡¯s countermeasure against Wrath, Yuri had kept his promise and provided them with what he considered the best amodations he could offer.


    Loren wondered why an inn originally used by the nobility of the Empire was located so close to the border where the battlefield was being fought, but he was convinced when Yuri told him that the current battlefield had also been a battlefield several times in the past, and that troops were dispatched there quite frequently.


    Military service was a kind of duty for nobles, and many well-known nobles hold a good position in the military. In other words, this was an inn for high-ranking officers.


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about my head, then yes I¡¯m not in my right mind. But,¡±


    G deftly dodged Lapis, who hade at her with such force as soon as they entered the room, then jumped on the bed in the room andid down. Lapis looked upset, and G continued.


    ¡°Worst case scenario, we can just drag him in front of Wrath if we can¡¯t convince him.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it is? But I think it¡¯s a little too much to throw Sloth at Wrath.¡±


    Lapis said and sat down on the edge of another bed.


    Loren, who had been watching their exchange at the entrance of the room, finally opened his mouth and looked around the room and asked the question he had been holding in his mind.


    ¡°It looks to me like there are three beds.¡±


    ¡°Of course, there are. This seems to be a room for three.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep here too¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be eaten or anything.¡±


    While feeling that this was not the ce to be concerned, Loren thought it would be futile to try to argue with Lapis¡¯ words. He entered the room, propped therge sword on his back up against the wall, and ced the dagger he had taken out of his luggage near the pillow of the innermost of the three beds.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that usually the opposite of what you¡¯re supposed to do?¡±


    G, who had been watching Loren¡¯s actions,mented, but Loren just ignored her. Since he would never voluntarily attack Lapis or G, and in fact, the opposite possibility would be much more likely, preparation would be absolutely necessary.


    Anyway, Loren could not understand why a room for high-ranking officers would amodate three people. He thought that a noble would not go to the trouble of sharing a room with others, but then he reconsidered the fact that most nobles who join the military are men, and it might not be unusual for them to invite someone else into their room at night.


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s a good thing it wasn¡¯t just one gigantic bed for three.¡±


    ¡°I would have been fine with that.¡±


    Lapis, who overheard Loren¡¯s low murmur, said in a matter-of-fact tone. But Loren thought that if such a situation had arisen, he would have had to consider doing something about Yuri, who had prepared the room.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one bathroom, so the three of us can all go in together, okay?¡±


    Surprisingly, the room Yuri had prepared for them even had a bath. But although it was a decent size, it was still only one bathroom. G suggested this with a wry smile, to which Loren responded with a sigh and downturned mouth corners.


    ¡°Why the hell would we do that? Why don¡¯t we use it one at a time, or why don¡¯t I go in after you guys are done?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to waste the chance to take a bath with beautiful girls? Could it be that you are that type of guy? I heard that it¡¯smon on the battlefield, and I¡¯m worried about you.¡±


    G said smugly with a smirk. Loren sat down on his bed and red at her.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about anything¡­¡±


    Just then, Nig, who had been clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, quickly descended to the bed via his arm, moved to the edge of the bed, and began to spin a web. Loren, sensing that he was making a bed for himself, gently patted Nig¡¯s back as he dexterously shaped the threads, he spat out it with his forelegs, and warned him not to make anything too showy.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you give in to your desires at least once? Don¡¯t you think you are too stoic?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tease me too much. One of these days I¡¯m going to really give into them.¡±


    As Loren uttered this in a threatening tone, Lapis, who was sitting on the edge of another bed, copsed onto the bed on her back and silently beckoned Loren toe to her.


    Loren let out a sigh, covered his face with his hands, and waved his hand at Lapis as if he were chasing away a dog.


    ¡°Rather than that, what is Sloth¡¯s odd against Wrath?¡±


    Loren had only met the Evil God of Sloth once, but he had the impression that, as the title implied, the man found everything to be a chore. He didn¡¯t seem like the kind of Evil God that would be suited to a war, nor did he seem like an effective means of countering Wrath, who they had no choice but to flee from.


    However, G answered in a strangely confident tone while still lying down.


    ¡°In my opinion, Sloth is the most effective countermeasure against Wrath.¡±


    ¡°And what the hell is the logic behind that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d happily to exin it to you in the bathtub.¡±


    G said with a smug smile. Loren was about to reject her when he noticed Lapis¡¯ eyes fixed on him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it usually the man who makes those kinds of demands?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect Loren would make such an exchange offer.¡±


    ¡°What do you guys get from trying to seduce me?¡±


    Loren had never lived in a way that could be described as particrly chaste or pure.


    It was a useless thing on the battlefield, and although he did not like to talk about it, when he was old enough to be a child soldier, he had bathed together with female mercenaries from other mercenary groups. For some reason, the female mercenaries he bathed with at that time were very pleased.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing all this because of the goodness in my heart.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit curious.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re way too transparent. At least pretend to be shy.¡±


    Being liked by two girls who were worthy of being called beautiful made Loren very happy. However, if they were too open about it, it would dampen the mood. It was with this in mind that Loren responded to them.


    Lapis and G, still lying on their backs, looked at each other and began to wriggle around on their beds. The action seemed to have some meaning, but to Loren, it looked like caterpirs trying to decide which direction to go.


    ¡°Just want to ask, but¡­ What the hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just trying to be as shy as we can.¡±


    Lapis answered with a straight face. Loren, at a loss for words, looked up at the ceiling.


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a tactic or a trick, what¡¯s the point of being coy if you¡¯re not going to be honest about how you feel?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, Loren. Even an Evil God agrees.¡±


    ¡°If we have eternity, we can dance around each other as much as you like. But time is finite, you know?¡±


    ¡°But there are those who argue that this is the best part.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree, but if you like such things, then I can cast my eyes down with blushing cheeks and slowly lift my skirt while biting my fingers¡­¡±


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right there, isn¡¯t it? I mean the skirt part. I can¡¯t do that with my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Do it with your top, then?¡±


    ¡°My top? My top!? If I lift it up, we¡¯ll suddenly go straight to the main part!¡±


    While Loren was at a loss as to what to do as he watched the two girls begin to argue with each other, Shayna appeared in his field of vision, pping the wings on her back and looking at the two with interest.


    As Loren wondered what was interesting, Shayna muttered something in his mind.


    [¡®That¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it? This must be something people call ¡®girls¡¯ talk¡¯. I¡¯m a bit jealous.¡¯]


    Loren thought that this might not be the case, but he did not convey it to Shayna.


    He was not familiar enough with this ¡®girls¡¯ talk¡¯ thing to be able to say that it was definitely different, and he did not think it was necessary to go to the trouble of denying the kind of misleading thoughts that Shayna was having.


    Moreover, Shayna had been turned into the ¡®King of Death¡¯ at a very young age, and before that, she was the daughter of the head of a city-state, so it was unlikely that she would have had the chance to talk with other children her own age. Loren hoped that he could somehow get her back into a human body as soon as possible.


    Perhaps that thought was conveyed to Shayna, as she peered into Loren¡¯s eyes with a somewhat worried expression on her face.


    [¡®Onii-san?¡¯]


    Loren told her that it was nothing, then coughed lightly to attract the attention of Lapis and G, who were still noisily arguing with each other.


    The conversation stopped at that sound, and they both turned to Loren.


    ¡°Anyway, this is just the Commander¡¯s consideration. Stretch your wings when you can, and such.¡±


    ¡°Hey Loren, I just wondered if you would go with me to persuade Sloth toe along? I¡¯m the one who suggested it, but I don¡¯t really feel like doing it by myself.¡±


    G peered into Loren¡¯s face and asked. He wondered what to say for a moment, but then quickly answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m inclined to refuse if he¡¯s holing up in some strange ce, but since we¡¯re obliged to report to the Commander, I guess I just can¡¯t leave everything to you, can I?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Whether we seed or not, we will have tomunicate with the Commander, so I guess we¡¯ll have to go with you.¡±


    When Lapis expressed her approval of Loren¡¯s thought despite all the reluctance, G stretched out on the bed with a relieved expression.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I guess we¡¯d better have a meal and a bath, then I¡¯ll take you back to our ce after we¡¯ve had a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±


    ¡°I forgot to mention one condition, that is, you have to stay put tonight. If you try anything strange, I¡¯ll let you handle it on your own.¡±


    Loren put the final nail in the coffin, and G¡¯s face became gloomy. She looked extremely disappointed, but nodded after a while, perhaps havinge to the conclusion that she had no choice but to ept it, considering that she would have to go alone to persuade Sloth otherwise.


    ¡°That means only I have a chance this time.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t behave yourself, I¡¯ll leave you behind alone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too cruel. I can¡¯t allow you to travel alone with the Evil God of Gluttony!¡±


    Lapis half rose up and protested, but Loren had no intention to retract his statement. After a while, she reluctantly nodded as if she understood.


    Loren felt a little bitter about the Commander¡¯s consideration and wished that he had prepared a separate room for each of them so that they would not have to go through such troubles, but he was relieved to know that he could rest in peace to some extent.

 Chapter 324: From Report To Instruction (3)

    <h4>Chapter 324: From Report To Instruction (3)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s cruel? It¡¯s cruel, isn¡¯t it? Absolutely cruel!¡±


    It was Luxuria whoined while wriggling his body. Annoyed, Loren answered.


    ¡°Shut up¡­ The Commander was very considerate to exclude you.¡±


    Luxuria wriggled even more and tried to get closer to Loren, but pulled back in panic when he saw Loren clenching his fist.


    It was the day after Loren, Lapis and G had enjoyed a splendid room and a sumptuous meal at the inn that Yuri had prepared for them. Then Luxuria had barged into the inn uninvited.


    Thinking that it would not be good for them or the people around them to leave Luxuria exposed to the public eye for so long, Loren had invited the guy into the room they were staying, but he was already beginning to regret it, wondering if he should have turned him away instead.


    ¡°Why am I the only one left out?¡±


    ¡°I will not share a room with you, even if it kills me!¡±


    When Loren told him inly, Luxuria procured from somewhere a handkerchief and a bit down on it while turning tearful eyes toward Loren. The gesture, which might have elicited a certain amount of pity andpassion if made by a woman, was so offensive when made by arge man like Luxuria that Loren¡¯s hand involuntarily reached for the greatsword that was propped up on the wall.


    ¡°Now now now, it¡¯s time to give up like a man.¡±


    It was G who said this with a bright face.


    In the end, her and Lapis¡¯ and n to seduce Loren did not work, but G¡¯s mood was still improved after a good sleep and delicious food.


    However, due to G¡¯s appetite, which was multiple times that of an average person, it was hard to tell how much money was going to be listed in the bill that was to be delivered to Yuri. Loren thought, since he was not the one who had to pay the bill, it would be okay, and tried not to think about it any further.


    ¡°I¡¯m a girl at heart!¡±


    ¡°Such a weird girl does not exist!¡±


    Realizing that he would be beaten to a pulp if he approached Loren, Luxuria tried to approach G instead. But G, without warning, kicked the approaching Luxuria with such force that the whole room shook when he crashed into a wall, causing Lapis¡¯ face to twist in annoyance.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m staying overnight in the same room with the Evil God of Lust, so please give it up.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan, you¡¯re terrible! I¡¯m, I¡¯m going to be bad from now on!¡±


    Luxuria didn¡¯t seem to suffer much damage, despite being kicked with considerable force; he immediately got up and protested. But this time, instead of trying to close in again, he stood by the wall crying as if to invite sympathy. He seemed to be a little wary of another sudden kick from G.


    Loren sat down on the edge of his bed, wondering if this was truly the entity that had contributed to the destruction of the Ancient Kingdom. Nig, who had been swinging on the web by his bedside, came up to Loren and climbed to his shoulder via his back, where he stayed in his usual position.


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re getting paid, so we¡¯re going to work. We have to go to our den and talk to Sloth. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re leaving me alone! Of course, I¡¯m going with you! If you¡¯re going to invite everyone to our den, then you must visit my pillows of love, which I hav-¡°


    ¡°WE¡¯RE NOT GOING THERE! I can¡¯t take Loren and Lapis to such a horrifying ce! You want to drag these kids to the depths of madness?¡±


    Luxuria¡¯s face lit up, but G interrupted him in a fierce tone.


    If G, an Evil God, called the ce ¡®madness¡¯, then it must be a truly terrible ce. Loren vowed to never step foot in Luxuria¡¯s ¡®pillows of love¡¯, even by mistake.


    ¡°But how are we going to invite Loren-chan and Lapis-chan over?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    G tilted her head thoughtfully at Luxuria¡¯s question.


    ¡°We can use our usual route, but it would be difficult for Loren and Lapis-chan to go through there.¡±


    ¡°Is it too difficult even for a demon like me?¡±


    Loren was only human, but Lapis was a demon, and her abilities wereparable to those of G and Luxuria.


    In response to Lapis¡¯ question whether it would be impossible even for her, G silently reached out into the empty air.


    Her hand then disappeared as if melting in midair from her fingertips, and when her wrist was no longer visible, she stopped reaching.


    ¡°What do you think? Can you do it?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Same here¡­ What¡¯s that?¡±


    Loren was a mercenary with no connection to magic and a mere human, but even Lapis, who had a deep knowledge of magic and possessed considerable power, gave up trying to do the same thing G had done after just watching her. What G had just shown them was something that only an Evil God could do.


    ¡°What to do now? Hmm¡­¡±


    G withdrew her outstretched hand, and from the wrist down, her hand reappeared. There was no trace of anything at the ce where the hand was pulled out, either from Loren¡¯s eyes or from the King of Death¡¯s vision, which he could ess by syncing his vision with Shayna¡¯s.


    ¡°We destroyed most of the gates to our den before they sealed us.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t need them because we could get there on our own.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a gate we forgot to destroy somewhere?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let me try to remember.¡±


    Luxuria folded his arms and put an index finger on the tip of his chin in thought.


    Not knowing what the Evil Gods were discussing with each other, Loren and Lapis had no choice but to wait quietly for a conclusion to be reached.


    After a while, Luxuria let out a deep breath.


    ¡°No, we destroyed every ce I can think of because we knew they would get us into troubleter.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, you see, even if you, Evil Gods, understand each other, we have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    As Lapis said, G began to exin.


    The ce where the Evil Gods live, ording to G, was created by the Ancient Kingdom. Although she did not know the details, it was said to be in a space separated from the real world by magic. The Evil Gods themselves could travel there via the power of their authorities, but other beings could only reach them by passing through certain gates.


    During the war against the Ancient Kingdom, these gates were all destroyed by the Evil Gods, as they did not want anyone from the kingdom¡¯s side to enter.


    ¡°¡®I thought we might have left at least one.¡±


    ¡°But we were very thorough.¡±


    Even though they were Evil Gods, the Ancient Kingdom that created them was a terrible existence in its own way. As Luxuria said, they had thoroughly searched for the gates connecting them to the kingdom and destroyed thempletely.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t get to your ce without a gate, why don¡¯t you just go there, convince Sloth and bring him back yourself?¡±


    To be honest, Loren didn¡¯t really want to go to the ce where the Evil Gods lived. Or rather, he didn¡¯t want to go there if he could help it. The name gave the impression that it was a shabby ce, and if the Evil Gods of Lust, Greed, and Sloth live there, there were even less reasons to be interested at all.


    Lapis seemed to feel the same way, nodding her head repeatedly to Loren¡¯s words.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so wary. That¡¯s cold.¡±


    ¡°True feelings aside, if there¡¯s no way to get there, there¡¯s nothing we can do, right?¡±


    Whether they wanted to or not, if there was no way to get there, it was pointless to even think about it. Loren responded, and G was again pondering what could be done about it.


    But her thoughts were soon interrupted by a knock at the door.


    ¡°Who¡¯s here? Are you expecting somebody?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Wait a minute.¡±


    Rising from the edge of the bed on which he was sitting, Loren walked over to the entrance of the room and slowly opened the door.


    A young soldier peeked through the gap. The soldier then presented a folded and sealed piece of paper and told Loren the name of its sender.


    ¡°This is a letter from General Yuri. He thought it would be of help. I will leave you with it.¡±


    After telling Loren only what he needed to, the soldier bowed and quickly left.


    Judging from how quickly the soldier had left, he probably had sensed the level of danger in the room just from the atmosphere. Loren returned with the piece of paper he had received to find all eyes on him, wondering what had happened. He opened the paper.


    On it was a map of the town where Loren and the group were staying. There was a crossed-out mark at one ce, and short instructions, probably written by Yuri, attached to it.


    ¡± ¡®Go here, it will help¡¯ huh?¡±


    After reading the words, Loren handed the piece of paper to Lapis.


    After looking at the information on the paper, Lapis asked Loren.


    ¡°Who really is your Commander? Is it possible that he is watching our activities from somewhere?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit too much to be dismissed as a coincidence.¡±


    Loren wondered if Lapis was right, and the Commander or his people were watching them, but he was unable to sense any such presence when he searched for it with his senses.


    [¡®I don¡¯t feel anything either. Maybe it really is a coincidence?¡¯]


    Even if Shayna said so, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that it might really be a coincidence. But then, the timing was too perfect.


    ¡°It¡¯s very suspicious, but¡­ I can¡¯t think of any other way but to follow the Commander¡¯s instruction.¡±


    Loren asked G for her opinion, but she just shook her head. It meant that G and Luxuria did not have a n to break the current deadlock. In this case, they had no choice but to put their trust in the clues provided by Yuri at this point in time.

 Chapter 325: From Instruction To Report (1)

    <h4>Chapter 325: From Instruction To Report (1)</h4>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After leaving the inn, Loren¡¯s group went to the location indicated on the map and found themselves in an old, deserted, and abandoned church.


    It was obvious from the dirty exterior walls that the building had not been used for a long time. The windows had cracks all over, and the entrance door was swinging with a high-pitched squeaking sound, as if it was not even locked.


    It seemed unlikely that there was anything here that could help with the current situation, and Loren wondered if they were being pranked by the Commander. But he decided that he would have to properly inspect the church before making such a conclusion, so he urged Lapis and the two Evil Gods who had followed him to enter the church.


    ¡°Are you alright with going into a church, Luxuria?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that, Lapis-chan?¡±


    ¡°Because the wrath of God befalls the wicked.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say this to G, but only to me?!¡±


    Luxuria stomped his feet, and Lapis gave him a cold look. Loren thought that ording to this logic, the demon tribe, which was universally recognized as wicked, must also suffer the wrath of God, but of course he was not foolish enough to say it out loud.


    ¡°If you want to fool around, do itter. Look around to see if we find anything first.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not trying to fool around¡­ What do you want us to look for?¡±


    ¡°Just anything? Assuming, the Commander didn¡¯t send us to this ce as a joke¡­¡±


    Yuri had only said that there was something that could help them here, but he did not provide any information about what it was. Loren, who knew Yuri¡¯s character to a certain extent, thought that the man did not specify any further not because he forgot, but because he believed that they would have recognized it if they went here.


    However, Yuri was also the type to pull pranks, such as leading them to a ce where there was nothing of note. If this was the case, Loren must take some kind of retaliatory action; that was what he was thinking as he stepped into the church.


    With Lapis close behind him and G and Luxuria wandering a bit further at the back, Loren walked straight down the central aisle and stopped in front of the altar at the far end of the church.


    The only thing left inside the decaying church, aside from a crumbling bench, was the altar.


    There might have been a variety of furnishings once upon a time, but with the entrance door unlocked, there was no way to tell if someone had taken them.


    ¡°Oh, this is¡­¡±


    Lapis spoke behind Loren.


    When he turned around to see what was going on, he found Lapis with her hand on her chest, her eyes downcast, and her head slightly bowed.


    ¡°Lapis?¡±


    ¡°It seems that this was originally the church of the God of Knowledge, whom I worship.¡±


    Loren turned his eyes toward the altar, but it too had been neglected for a long time and was dirty and crumbling, so it was impossible to tell what God it was dedicated to. Even so, it seemed that Lapis, who was truly an expert in this matter, could tell.


    After offering a prayer in that posture for a while, Lapis walked past Loren, approached the altar, and began to examine it, being careful not topletely destroy the crumbling thing by a clumsy touch.


    Loren, not wanting to tamper with the altar in any way, decided that it would be best to leave its examination to a professional. He crouched down beside the nearby bench and began to examine it carefully.


    ¡°It¡¯s not umon for a part of the chair to be hollow and have something stored in it¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you like that kind of book, Loren?¡±


    ¡°Not really, but¡­ They doe in handy when I have a spare night.¡±


    ¡°Reading a book by the light of a campfire, with a sword propped beside you¡­ That seems quite ssy, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°¡­I wouldn¡¯t know.¡±


    Loren himself could not see the scene from an onlooker¡¯s point of view as Lapis described it, so he would never be able to make a judgment as to whether or not the descriptions of ¡®ssy¡¯ were appropriate ¨C Loren thought as he continued examining the bench.


    Lapis, who was examining the area around the altar, tapped on the floor and made a hard sound, drawing the attention of Loren and the others, and then beckoned them toe to her.


    ¡°Did you find something?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Could this be it?¡±


    As Loren came near, Lapis pointed at a colourful panel and a metal te that had been inserted into the back of the altar.


    While it did not appear to be concealed, it also did not seem to be a necessary part of the altar. When Loren looked closer at them, he saw that there was a sentence on the te.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Whatnguage is this?¡±


    Lapis judged it to be a sentence because there was some level of regrity to the symbols inscribed there. But she had no idea as to what the sentence said, which was the important part.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen those letters before¡­¡±


    ¡°If even a priest of the God of Knowledge can¡¯t figure it out, then isn¡¯t it hopeless?¡±


    Loren quickly gave up, but still looked into the te to see what was written.


    From either side of him, G and Luxuria did the same thing.


    ¡°Hm¡­ How to read this? Morning¡­ evening¡­ hmmm?¡±


    ¡°I know that it says something about colours, but I can¡¯t make out anything else.¡±


    G and Luxuria seemed to be able to read some of the words on the te.


    Lapis gave them a questioning look, and G exined.


    ¡°This is a type of code used in the Ancient Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Why is it here?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t know, either. By the way, the meaning of the same symbol changes depending on thebination and order of the letters¡­¡±


    ¡°We obtained some information about it during the war against the kingdom, so we can read some of it, but not all.¡±


    ¡°From the colour of the sky before dawn, we must follow the colours one by one until we reach the sky at dusk, right?¡±


    Lapis, who was wondering what to do as the two Evil Gods gave up, was taken aback when she heard Loren read out the text of the te without hesitation. The Evil Gods felt the same, as they stared at Loren, whose expression didn¡¯t even budge.


    Loren¡¯s words in response to the three¡¯s gaze made them wonder if that was the case again.


    ¡°The Commander knew how to decode it.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go check your Commander out before we check this ce out? It¡¯s absolutely ridiculous. After what G and Luxuria exined just now, you can¡¯t think that it¡¯s normal to know how to decode this, can you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he heard it somewhere else? Well, first of all, the colour of the sky before dawn is purple-ish blue, so we should start from here.¡±


    Lapis and the Evil Gods looked at each other as if to say ¡®Is that so?¡¯. Loren, however, did not care, and ced his finger on the panel of purplish-blue colour among the panels set into the altar.


    ¡°One colour at a time means to touch each colour once, and the colour of the sky at dusk is red, so this is the finish point.¡±


    Loren¡¯s fingertip traced over the multicoloured panels, touching each only once, and then stopped at a panel with a subdued red colour.


    As Loren¡¯s finger stopped moving, the altar itself slid to the side, revealing the entrance to a staircase leading to a basement.


    Loren pointed at the staircase that appeared in front of them, not in a proud manner, but in a matter-of-fact manner.


    ¡°This is how you do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great, Loren, but I still have a few unanswered questions.¡±


    Lapis answered with a very dissatisfied expression on her face. Loren was not sure why she was dissatisfied with the fact that it didn¡¯t take them too long to figure out how to proceed.


    ¡°Me too. Shouldn¡¯t solving riddles be the role of magicians and priests? Howe a warrior can solve it so quickly?


    ¡°Howe a warrior can read characters that even I can¡¯t?¡±


    It seemed that the two Evil Gods were feeling the simr frustration that Lapis was feeling, but Loren couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    Unable to think of any other course of action, Loren simply said ¡®Let¡¯s go¡¯ and quickly stepped into the stairwell.


    ¡°In times like this, it¡¯s very convenient that we don¡¯t need torches, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    It seemed that Evil Gods could see things in the dark, and Lapis could also see through the darkest of dark ces without using magic with her own eyes.


    The only one who couldn¡¯t see in the dark with his own eyes was Loren. But it seemed that the power of the King of Death possessed by Shayna, who was currently residing within Loren, was gradually mingling with Loren¡¯s own power, so he now could see things in the dark without having to synchronize with Shayna¡¯s vision.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Be careful of what?¡±


    ¡°When we¡¯re with other adventurers. If we go into a cave without a light on, it will look suspicious.¡±


    ¡°I see. It does slip your mind once you¡¯ve be used to it.¡±


    Even as she said this, Lapis began to follow Loren down the stairs without making a light.


    Loren, sensing that the two Evil Gods were following them, continued down the stairs, which were not very long, and soon led to a straight passageway. Wondering why there was such a thing in the basement of a church, he carefully followed the passageway.


    Yuri¡¯sck of warning made it unlikely that there were any dangerous traps that could threaten their lives, but Loren thought that even so, caution would never be unnecessary. However, the three following behind him did not seem particrly alert and were looking around at the walls and ceiling of the passageway.


    ¡°It seems rather in for a hidden ce. The walls are just stone.¡±


    ¡°There are no specific markers, so it¡¯s hard to tell when it was built.¡±


    ¡°The ce doesn¡¯t seem to be too humid despite being underground. There are also no signs of weathering. That¡¯s amazing in its own way, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The only thing Loren was amazed by was theirck of caution, but considering they could handle almost anything that came out or happened to them, it was understandable. He continued onward until he came upon a dead end, where a door that seemed to be made of metal blocked the way.


    ¡°Does it require a key? Or is it another riddle?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ No, it seems to open straight away.¡±


    Lapis, who walked past Loren and brought her face close to the door, shook her head in response to Loren¡¯s question and lightly pushed the door open.


    The door, which must have been quite heavy, didn¡¯t seem to take much of Lapis¡¯ effort and opened inward without making a sound.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to have traps of any kind.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    Loren, who had stepped forward in ce of Lapis, put his right hand on the hilt of the greatsword on his back and pushed at the door with his left hand, causing it to open even wider.


    Slightly leaned his upper body in through the opening, Loren immediately looked at the chamber beyond the door to see if there were any traps or attackers waiting for them. When he was sure that there was nothing, he went straight inside.


    ¡°How is it, Loren?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. There is nothing here. Or more like there is no space for anything.¡±


    The others came in as Loren beckoned them. But as he had said, the space on the other side of the door was not thatrge. It was surrounded by walls on all four sides, and if several people were to enter at the same time, they would feel quite cramped and ufortable.


    One of the walls was decorated with the shape of a gate.


    ¡°Is this it?¡±


    The inside of the decorative gate, which was supposed to be just a wall, was filled with some kind of very creepy looking light. Lapis quickly looked away, feeling as if her consciousness wavered just by looking at it.


    It seemed that Loren felt the same way; after pointing to the wall, he did not look in that direction again.


    However, the Evil Gods did not seem to mind at all. They stared closely at the gate and the light inside it, and G softly said.


    ¡°I wonder what was in this ce that we didn¡¯t destroy it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so far from the capital of the kingdom that I wonder if it was left out of our knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Then this is it?¡±


    When asked by Lapis, G nodded.


    ¡°Yes. This is the so-called ¡®Evil God¡¯s Gate¡¯ that leads to our den.¡±

 Chapter 326: From Instruction To Report (2)

    <h4>Chapter 326: From Instruction To Report (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Leave it to the professionals when ites to handling this thing, shall we?¡±


    G, without showing any particr sense of caution, jogged to the gate with the suspicious light that Loren had discovered.


    Loren wondered for a moment whether he should stop her, but then decided to watch from the side, thinking that if G was acting so confidently, there should be no problem.


    While Loren and the others watched, G jogged up to the gate, casually reached out her hand and began to run her fingers along the surrounding walls and the surface of the gate itself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ a little bit here, a little bit there, and that should do it.¡±


    After working on something for a while, G looked back at the others with a smile on her face. It seemed that the gate leading to the den of the Evil Gods had been set up or something, but as far as the eyes could see, there was no noticeable change in the gate or the suspicious light inside it.


    Loren was worried about whether it was really safe, but when he saw G beckoning him to go through the gate, he decided to be brave and plunged his hand into the mysterious light inside it without letting his feelings known.


    Behind the gate should have been a wall, but when Loren¡¯s hand was swallowed by the light, it easily slipped through without any sign of resistance.


    Realizing that it was not a dead end, Loren continued forward and went through the gate to the other side.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    Beyond the light was a ratherrge space.


    But the reason why Loren could not help uttering such words, however, was because the pallet of everything in the space was so far from what he was used to.


    It was a space that was not very easy on the eyes.


    The walls as far as the eye could see were painted in light pinks and purples, and the floor was covered with countless cushions of simr colours.


    In between the cushions were a number of white tables, which were packed with cakes and cookies in colours Loren had never seen in his life, as well as a number of other things he did not know the names of, which were probably confectionaries.


    Moreover, on top of the cushions, there were so many deformed but adorable stuffed animals that he almost got tired of counting them. The whole ce had a soft and fluffy atmosphere.


    It did not resemble the scene one would imagine from the description ¡®the den of the Evil Gods¡¯. More like, the atmosphere here was too girly to be the home of the Evil God of Sloth.


    Loren, who had stopped and looked around as soon as he entered, then heard the voice of G behind him; she seemed to have followed him in.


    ¡°So? How does it feel to set foot into the den of Evil Gods¡­ Eh, eeeehhh?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, G, is Sloth really here-?¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t look!!¡±


    As Loren was about to turn around to check with G to see if this was indeed their destination, he suddenly felt a tremendous force pulling him backward, and with a strange floating sensation, he realized that he had been thrown into the air.


    Loren wondered how he could be thrown so lightly, considering he must have been quite heavy, including the weight of his greatsword. Caught by that out-of-ce thought, he realized after a short time that Lapis had apparently caught him with a slight impact to his back and the feel of thin arms around his stomach.


    ¡°Wee back, Loren. That was fast.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    With Lapis still holding him from behind, Loren I saw a red-faced G, who hade back from the other side of the gate in a panic, and Luxuria, who had been mmed into the wall so hard that he was stuck there spread-eagle.


    [¡®I can clearly see the footprints around Luxuria¡¯s waist.¡¯]


    Loren somehow understood what had happened after hearing Shayna¡¯s words.


    Perhaps it was Luxuria who had first tried to catch Loren as he was flung back from the other side of the gate. In order to move the Evil God, who was trying to catch Loren with his arms outstretched, Lapis had kicked him with considerable force and caught Loren in ce of him.


    ¡°It was so close, Loren. If I hadn¡¯t caught you, you might have ended up making a red stain all over the wall or floor.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ Did something happen?¡±


    Loren thought that it was G who threw him out of the gate.


    Regardless of why, she had probably done it without thinking about how much force she should use, and Loren¡¯s body, thrown by the power of the Evil God, would have been mmed into a wall or rolled around on the floor with considerable impact if no one had caught it.


    ¡°You saved me. Thank you, Lapis.¡±


    ¡°If you want to thank me, you can stay like this for a while longer.¡±


    Lapis hugged Loren from behind and began to rub her cheeks against his back. Although he thought his greatsword would be in the way, he figured it would be fine if Lapis was happy with it. So, Loren left her alone for the time being and turned his attention to G, whose face was still red.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°No-nothing! It was a small mistake¡­ Yes, just a mistake!¡±


    G babbled in a fluster. Loren was looking at her as if he was seeing something unusual when Luxuria, who had peeled himself off the wall, said in a low whisper.


    ¡°She was probably too used to operating the mechanism that she identally connected it to where she lives.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that, but why did she throw me?¡±


    ¡°For that child to live in such a ce while having such looks? She¡¯s probably too embarrassed about the gap between her appearance and her inner-¡°


    Luxuria¡¯s words were cut off in the middle.


    As Loren watched on in amazement, G came rushing in at an incredible speed and, seemingly also having forgotten how to control her strength this time, she mmed her right fist into Luxuria¡¯s somewhat-smug face.


    Loren¡¯s eyes followed Luxuria¡¯s huge body as he was blown away and mmed into the wall without even a scream. He then slowly turned his gaze to G, who was still breathing heavily with fist raised in front of her.


    ¡°If you make any furtherment about this matter¡­ I¡¯ll be prepared to do the same.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I understand, so please connect us to Sloth before any more damage is done.¡±


    Loren raised his hands in surrender, trying to sound as calm as possible. G then slowly turned to face him with a determined look in her eyes, her fists clenched and her shoulders shaking. Lapis, who had been hugging Loren from behind, also pulled her hands away from Loren¡¯s stomach and waved them in the air while still hiding behind his back.


    G stared at them for a while with steady eyes, but when she saw that they really did not seem to be asking or talking any more about the matter, she approached the gate again while regting her breath.


    And as he watched her begin to operate the gate, Loren spoke to Lapis, who suddenly came out from behind him.


    ¡°This topic is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do about that, though?¡±


    Loren gestured with his chin in the direction of Luxuria, who was still stuck mmed into the wall. Lapis nced in that direction, quickly averted her gaze, and shook her head quietly.


    ¡°I think it would be just fine to leave it alone.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll probablye back sooner orter.¡±


    Loren and Lapis agreed to leave Luxuria alone as if the choice to help had never existed in the first ce, and quietly watched G work.


    Perhaps because she had failed once before, G did not perform the operation with the same familiarity as she had done earlier, but checked the procedure again and again. After that, she first poked her head inside the gate to see the state of affairs on the other side.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s good now. You can pass.¡±


    Having G¡¯s permission, Loren and Lapis timidly went through the gate after G had stepped aside.


    Praying that they would not find anything outrageous beyond the gate, they were met by a space furnished with nothing but stone tatami mats and stone walls, and the figure of a man sprawled out in the middle of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s dreadful.¡±


    Loren said, swallowing down the words, ¡®It¡¯s so different from the room I was in a few minutes ago¡¯. G gave him a scary look for a moment, then walked up to the man lying in the middle of the space.


    ¡°Hey, Sloth, wake up!¡±


    G called out and began to kick the man lightly in his side. But the man did not respond at all, and did not move an inch.


    After continuing her light kicks for a while, G, who had probably be fed up with theck of response, suddenly swung her leg back and dug her toe into the man¡¯s side with force.


    ¡°Ouchhhh!!¡±


    Normally, this single blow would have caused the one being kicked to thrash around in pain. However, this time it was the kicker, G, who screamed in pain and jumped around on one foot, holding her toes.


    Loren and Lapis watched on, not knowing what was going on. After bouncing around for a while, G, with tears in her eyes, eventually decided to stomp on the sleeping man from above. Although this resulted with a somewhat quiet boom, the man still did not show any reaction at all. Eventually, a tired G gave up and sat down on the spot.


    ¡°Damn¡­ We probably have to burn the ce down.¡±


    As G got up and lit a red me on her fingertip, Lapis interjected:


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a closed space? We¡¯ll be suffocated if we use fire magic here.¡±


    G ground her teeth in frustration, but quelled the me.


    Loren, who had guessed from the look on G¡¯s face that she had no other effective means of waking the Evil God of Sloth, thought for a moment and then muttered.


    ¡°Should we release Luxuria on him?¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, isn¡¯t that too cruel?¡±


    Perhaps hearing Loren¡¯s murmur, the Evil God of Sloth, who had shown no reaction so far, turned his head toward him, albeit slightly.


    If he had been in Sloth¡¯s position, he would have run away at once. But seeing that the guy¡¯s reaction was limited to that, Loren was unintentionally impressed.


    ¡°Is lying around more important than personal safety?¡±


    ¡°Worst case scenario, if I really use my powers, I might be able to do something about it. So, what the hell do you want with me?¡±


    ¡°Remember me?¡±


    Loren thought it would not be surprising if the guy hadpletely forgotten about it, but he brought it up anyway.


    The Evil God of Sloth suddenly rose up and turned to Loren, sitting cross-legged.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, isn¡¯t it? I said I had a feeling we would see each other again. So, you still remember.¡±


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 Chapter 327: From Instruction to Report (3)

    <h4>Chapter 327: From Instruction to Report (3)</h4>


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    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re awake, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m sure G will say something troublesome, you know.¡±


    G was about to take a bite out of Sloth, who had reacted to Loren even though nothing she had done had gotten him up. But Sloth just yawned and scratched his head without looking at G, as if he had no intention to fight with her at all.


    G repeatedly kicked him with no mercy, but Sloth¡¯s body did not even move or sway with the impact of the kicks, as if it had grown roots on the spot.


    ¡°Can we continue our talk now?¡±


    Loren, seeing that G¡¯s actions seemed to bepletely useless, interrupted her to say that the conversation would not move forward at this point.


    When Loren opened his mouth to continue, Sloth raised a hand to stop him.


    ¡°I remember you, but I don¡¯t remember hearing your name. If you¡¯re going to talk to me, why don¡¯t you start there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Loren, adventurer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Lapis. I¡¯m Loren¡¯s aspiring bride, a priest of the God of Knowledge and an adventurer, a generally unpleasant demon, Loren¡¯s beautiful partner, and the mastermind behind a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°You just made that up, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m not lying.¡±


    Hearing the self-introduction, Loren stared at Lapis with half-lidded eyes, but she met his gaze head-on with a radiant smile like a sunshine. Loren ced his hand on his forehead, thinking Sloth¡¯s endurance against external stimuli was amazing, but his mental endurance was also considerable.


    The Evil God of Sloth, who was watching them, let out a carefreeugh.


    ¡°Oho, interesting. I don¡¯t think I can top that introduction. I think I¡¯ve told you my name before, but I¡¯m Dauna, the Evil God of Sloth. Well, nice to meet you again?¡±


    Dauna, who introduced himself somewhat calmly in a rather easy-going tone, waved his hand at Loren and Lapis. Behind him, whereas G was still kicking him repeatedly from behind, but there was no sign that Dauna was having any difort about it.


    ¡°So what is it that you want from me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s G, actually. We¡¯vee to ask for your help because she thinks you might be able to stand against the Evil God of Wrath.¡±


    Loren had intended to leave the negotiation to G, but seeing howmitted G she was to kicking the Dauna¡¯s back, he had no choice but to negotiate on his own.


    However, he had no idea what kind of conditions would be required for a being called Evil God to lend his power, so he thought he would just have to be honest and tell him why they hade here. But when Dauna heard this, he clearly showed that he didn¡¯t like it with a frown.


    ¡°Wrath? Oh¡­ It¡¯s a hassle¡­ It¡¯s true I can deal with Wrath¡¯s power, but¡­¡±


    Loren could not decide whether G had realized that no amount of kicking seemed to make any difference or whether she had given up, but she finally stopped kicking Dauna¡¯s back and said:


    ¡°His authority is adversarial to not only other Evil Gods, but also to almost everything in the world.¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s also adversarial to Loren.¡±


    Lapis then added a few words to the conversation.


    Loren tilted his head, not understanding why Lapis would say such a thing. Even though they had be involved due to a previous incident, they did not know Dauna well enough toe to such a conclusion.


    Lapis muttered the reason.


    ¡°His name sounds somewhat simr to Magna.¡±


    Loren was about to agree, but then he hurriedly shook his head to get rid of the thought. It would be too much to equate the Evil God in front of them with the guy in ck armor who had been causing all kinds of troubles just because their names sounded simr.


    Dauna, who was almost ssified in the same category as someone he probably didn¡¯t even know, looked at Lapis and Loren with a puzzled look on his face. But then he looked up at the ceiling and muttered quietly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that name from somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it aside for now. We have to deal with the problem at hand first. G, this loafer¡­ no, this person? What do you mean when you say that Dauna¡¯s authority is adversarial to other Evil Gods¡¯?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got this authority called ¡®Immovable Stillness¡¯. As you can see, no matter how much we kick, punch, burn, or freeze him, he¡¯spletely impervious to it.¡±


    G dropped her fist on Dauna¡¯s head. The action created a sound that made Loren worry if the guy would really be okay, but it was G, who had to cradle her hand in pain. Dauna, just smiled to this. It looked as if he felt no impact, at all.


    ¡°Authorities that use direct attack arepletely ineffective because they do not work, physically or magically. Lust¡¯s authority is also ineffective because his mind is immovable. He finds it too bothersome to go get his things back, so Greed¡¯s authority is also useless. As for Envy, what is to be jealous of inziness? Same for Pride, how do you look down onziness in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°Sounds invincible when ites to fighting Evil Gods.¡±


    Although Dauna was a little reluctant to have Luxuria set on him, it was probably a matter of his likes and dislikes, and it did not seem to cause him any real harm. Knowing that much, he indeed possessed an ability that could be described as invincible against Evil Gods, just as Lapis said.


    ¡°He¡¯s just toozy to attack on his own though.¡±


    ording to G, Dauna, aside from his Evil God¡¯s authority, had no talent in almost any skills, be it swordsmanship, martial arts, or magic.


    When he had met Loren¡¯s party before, he had shown abilities such as crossing space and summoning slimes. But G exined that these were all abilities possessed by the Evil God of Sloth, and to him, being able to use them was just like a person being able to breathe.


    ¡°G, after hearing all that, it seems to me that this Evil God is nothing more than a hard and obtrusive figurine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re about right.¡±


    ¡°I find it hard to believe that this person could ever be a means of countering the Evil God of Wrath¡­¡±


    The Evil God of Wrath¡¯s authority was burning down an extensive area. No matter how great the protective power of the Evil God of Sloth was, if only the Evil God himself was saved and the surroundings were burned down, it was indeed hard to believe that it could be a countermeasure as Lapis said.


    If Sloth had some kind of n to defeat Wrath, then that would be a different story. But if G¡¯s exnation that he had no means of attack was true, then the chances of that happening were also very slim.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need him to cooperate with us to demonstrate the true value of his authority. So, hey there, are you willing to cooperate?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to go through the trouble if I can help it.¡±


    Dauna answered while ncing at Loren¡¯s face.


    Loren was unable to gauge the meaning of the look that was directed at him, but Dauna just scratched his head and continued.


    ¡°But, that guy there, Loren, right? I feel a little guilty about him.¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about when my seal was broken. Even though it was for the sake of my escape, I think it was a little bit too much to make the slime attack you.¡±


    Loren remembered.


    The time when Dauna¡¯s seal was broken was when Loren¡¯s party met him for the first time. It was in thebyrinth beneath a certain adventurer training school.


    When they tried to keep Dauna from escaping, he had summoned a slime to distract them. It was a very powerful slime, and an ordinary adventurer would likely have been killed by it alone.


    ¡°We were hostile too, it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Hearing that makes me feel better. After all, we Evil Gods have troubled you guys all the time, haven¡¯t we?¡±


    Loren¡¯s gaze turned to G.


    G, noticing Loren¡¯s gaze, turned around on the spot to escape Loren¡¯s gaze with considerable crity and began pretending to be unaware of it with her back turned and attempt to whistle.


    ¡°We received some help, too.¡±


    Loren said, thinking that he had to follow up that line of conversation first, and the smile on Dauna¡¯s face turned bitter.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that, but I¡¯d also like to clean up the past, if you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Letting bygones be bygones would be very suitable to my title as the Evil God of Sloth, but I¡¯m willing to exert myself this time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡±


    It was true that he had been in a very dangerous situation, but he had also been able to get through it without dying. Loren didn¡¯t even remember the story until he was told, so he readily agreed. He looked at Lapis to asked for her opinion, and she nodded her head in agreement.


    ¡°If that¡¯s alright with you, Loren, I have nothing else to add.¡±


    ¡°All right, then, I¡¯ll cooperate with you, even if it¡¯s a hassle¡­ But first, I need you to do something for me.¡±


    When Dauna casually added those few words, Loren and Lapis felt rmed at the same time.


    They thought he was trying to get them to agree to a simple condition and then use that momentum to get them to agree to something troublesome, but Dauna stretched out his hands to Loren from his sitting position and said something that neither of them had anticipated.


    ¡°I wonder if you could carry me to the site? Walking is bothersome.¡±


    ¡°You want me to¡­ to carry you?¡±


    ¡°Is that Lapis over there? I think it would be nice to be carried on a woman¡¯s back, but I¡¯m afraid that¡¯ll be much to ask.¡±


    Loren looked at G to see if the guy was serious, but G shook her head gently as she looked at Dauna with pitiful eyes.


    Loren, who saw from the gesture that Dauna was indeed serious, let out a sigh and told him.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have Luxuria carry you. Just wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°Oh, wait, I¡¯m starting to feel like forgetting my title and walking on my own two feet.¡±


    Loren had thought that maybe Dauna couldn¡¯t walk even though he had two legs, but it turned out that the Evil God could if he wanted to. When he saw Dauna standing right up, his shoulders slumped, and he wondered how this Evil God could really be of any help to them.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 328: From Instruction to Report (4)

    <h4>Chapter 328: From Instruction to Report (4)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Coming back from the Evil Gods¡¯ den proved to be no problem at all.


    Loren wanted to report to Yuri immediately, but Luxuria was insistent that they should visit his ce as well.


    Loren was not sure how Luxuria would react if he honestly told him that he did not want to see the abode of Lust, regardless of whether they had time for it or not. He turned him down politely, and Luxuria gave up at once, though he didn¡¯t seem to be satisfied.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you visit my ce? You even visit Gluttony¡¯s fancy room!¡±


    ¡°Lust, if you mention that again, you won¡¯t get away with it.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I went there. It was a nice ce to take a midday nap.¡±


    ¡°Sloth, you too, mention it again and be ready to¡­¡±


    While Loren was watching the Evil Gods, not quite sure whether they were bickering or just fooling around and wondering if he had to intervene himself, Lapis, who was standing beside him, tugged him lightly by the sleeve.


    ¡°Loren, should I make my room fancy and pastel too?¡±


    ¡°Where did that evene from?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a sly flirting technique, where one uses the gap between the ordinary and the private space to increase the charm. I didn¡¯t think G would do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Lapis-chan. Won¡¯t you have a talk with onee-san in the dark?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would use such a method aftering here, you sly Evil Fox! Dirty Evil God!¡±


    Loren, seeing Lapis and G arguing with each other, realized that it was unlikely for them toe to an agreement at this point, so he pulled out the greatsword on his back and thrust the tip into the ground. He asked Shayna to intimidate them with the aura of the King of Death, and for some reason, even Nig, who had been clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, also raised his forelegs as an act of intimidation.


    The Evil Gods and the demon fell quiet, even if only on the surface.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to themander now, guys.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, Loren, but we¡¯re in a city.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°If you spread the King of Death¡¯s aura here, I¡¯m sure there will be all kinds of trouble among the residents¡­¡±


    Loren realized what he had just done.


    It was true that the two girls in front of him would not show such a strong reaction to the presence of the King of Death, but it was a different story when ites to the ordinary citizens. If they were unlucky, they might even faint or suffer some other kind of ident. Loren thought it was a little too much, even if it was to keep the others quiet, but he could not do anything about what he had done now.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to repeat that, juste along quietly.¡±


    ¡°The Commander is going to be very angryyy~ with you.¡±


    Lapis said while looking at the quiet townscape. ¡®And whose fault, was it?¡¯, Loren inwardly cursed at her as they set off for the military facility where Yuri was expected to be waiting for him.


    When they finally arrived, it was at the scene of a fire.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting reports of people passing out in one part of town after another.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is going on?! Get a medic down here, NOW!¡±


    A stretcher was being carried out, and soldiers were moving left and right to contact doctors and healing practitioners.


    Feeling the eyes of the others fixed on him as if they had something to say, Loren walked through the scene, trying to look as nonchnt as possible, and proceeded to the room where Yuri was supposed to be.


    Perhaps it was because Yuri had informed the soldiers of the situation to some extent, or perhaps because of the chaos, but they arrived at the parlour without being stopped by anyone. When Loren opened the door, Yuri, sitting on a chair, greeted him and the others and immediately made the following remark.


    ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re causing all kinds of trouble here.¡±


    Not much time had passed since the incident at the church. Yet, Yuri¡¯s tone clearly implied that he believed Loren was the cause of all themotion.


    ¡°Are you spying on me somewhere?¡±


    Loren replied, not knowing whether to be surprised or appalled, while Lapis looked at Yuri suspiciously and asked him.


    ¡°Who on earth are you, Yuri? What do you know about Loren?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have anything to hide, but¡­¡±


    Yuri nced at Loren¡¯s face and, seeing that he did not seem to be bothered, continued.


    ¡°I think we should talk about such things in a calm and rxed manner. So, let us discuss your nextmission.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to ask us about countermeasures against the Evil God of Wrath?¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to leave that to you. I have faith in you, Loren.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you call leaving things to chance.¡±


    Loren nced at Yuri, who patted him on the shoulder with a cheerful smile, with half-lidded eyes, but Yuri brushed it off with a smile and spread a map on the desk.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be so sudden about this, but I¡¯m going to have you go here. It is the main battlefield.¡±


    Yuri pointed to a in some distance away from the city, where they currently were. It seemed that the forces deployed there were the main forces of both the Empire and the Kingdom.


    ¡°This is where the two armies are supposed to meet the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Head-on?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The main forces of the two armies will meet head-on without any tricks. It¡¯s called a decisive battle.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    It was Lapis who raised doubts about Yuri¡¯s confident words.


    Yuri looked at her as if asking what was that about, and Lapis pointed a finger at him with clear suspicion in her gaze.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that someone who went from being the leader of a mercenary group to a general of a country like you would choose a simple sh without a n?¡±


    ¡°I appreciate you thinking so highly of me. Of course, there is a reason.¡±


    Yuri, unperturbed by Lapis¡¯ question and epting it as a matter of course, began to exin the reason.


    ¡°If we were to simply fight, we could win even if the Kingdom had twice as many troops as they do now.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you just get it over with?¡±


    ¡°The reason is the existence of the Evil God that you reported. I don¡¯t have a n to use against someone who can burn down my troops just by encountering them.¡±


    In other words, in order for Yuri to defeat the Kingdom¡¯s army in a fair battle, he would first have to remove the Evil God of Wrath from the battlefield.


    However, just because Loren¡¯s team had brought the means to do so, it could not be said that they would be able to encounter the Evil God of Wrath without fail. As if they were sent out on a casual, random mission.


    ¡°For this reason, we need to create a situation, in which our opponent will surely bring out the Evil God of Wrath. Is this good enough?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re deliberately fighting head-on to ensure that the other side¡¯s Evil God will be pulled out?¡±


    ¡°The Empire¡¯s soldiers are very strong. If we just sh with them, I¡¯m sure we¡¯d get the most out of this situation.¡±


    The Kingdom knew this to some extent, of course, and Yuri smiled wryly at how hard they had been working to drag out the situation.


    ¡°If our opponent realizes that they are at a disadvantage, they will bring out the Evil God in order to turn the tie around.¡±


    ¡°If you can take care of the Evil God on the other side, we will win without any problems. There is still a chance that we will lose the direct confrontation, though. In that case, please just leave everything to me.¡±


    When Yuri looked at Lapis to see if she was satisfied, Lapis kept her silence and looked at Loren instead.


    Yuri¡¯s exnation had made sense to her more or less, but she was going to leave it up to Loren to decide whether they wanted to go along with the n.


    ¡°What happens if we fail?¡±


    Without immediately giving an answer, Loren asked Yuri. The general gave a small sniff, then tapped his finger lightly on a spot on the map that would probably be the battlefield.


    ¡°I have another n, but I don¡¯t want to use it if I can help it.¡±


    If only one strategy was prepared, the situation would be fatal when it failed. Loren was well aware of this. Impressed that the leader had another n after all, he asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°Do you mind if I ask what the n is?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. You never know where information might leak out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    There was no way to leak something you didn¡¯t know. Loren agreed that if it was a special n for the Evil Gods, surely the fewer people knew about it the better.


    ¡°But I have a n. So as soon as you decide you¡¯ve failed, you start running. Is that clear, Loren?¡±


    Yuri¡¯s tone of voice was more like an admonishment than an order. Loren looked startled for a moment, but then a broad smile broke out on his face and he responded in a tone that seemed to say that Yuri, who was staring at him, became a little bit kind-hearted.


    ¡°I have never heard such an order before when I was in our mercenary group, Commander. Have youe to value life more because you¡¯ve taken the position as a general?¡±


    ¡°It would have been better if I had remained a mercenary.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Yuri¡¯s eyes suddenly turned distant as he blurted out those few words. Loren tried to ask him what he meant, but Yuri gently shook his head and stared at Loren¡¯s face again.


    ¡°That is certainly an order. If you realize that you have failed, leave the ce immediately. Don¡¯t try to force yourself to do something on your own, and if it bes hopeless, it¡¯s alright to count on me. Remember this, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ah¡­ Well, it depends on how things go, but I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    Yuri was being strangelymendable, something Loren had never seen before when he was a member of the mercenary group. He was more than a little taken aback, but Loren didn¡¯t seem to care. The general then turned his gaze toward Lapis, who was standing beside Loren, and the Evil Gods at their back.


    ¡°I would like to ask for your support too.¡±


    Yuri said and suddenly bowed his head. Luxuria and G looked at each other for a moment, then nodded decisively. Lapis, who still had a slightly sceptical look in her eyes, also nodded in agreement to Yuri¡¯s request.


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 Chapter 329: From Departure to Confession (1)

    <h4>Chapter 329: From Departure to Confession (1)</h4>


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    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The transportation from the city to the battlefield was arranged by Yuri.


    In order tounch a general offensive against the Kingdom¡¯s army, Yuri, as the General, arranged for Loren and his team to be temporarily incorporated into a unit that would be at the front line.


    However, it was not possible to lend them horses like the cavalry, so the team was transported in wagons carrying supplies to the front line.


    As might be expected of a march apanied by a general, the number of troops involved was on another level. Loren¡¯s team, who was sneaking in among them, watched the majesty of the armymanded by Yuri from the back of the wagon, each with their own impressions.


    ¡°You can¡¯t evenpare them to the mercenaries.¡±


    Loren said, even though it was only natural that a mercenary group could not bepared to the regr army of a country.


    Luxuria, who was sitting at the back of the truck at a distance from the other members, murmured in fascination.


    ¡°That¡¯s what a strong man is all about¡±


    He sighed and ced his hands on his cheeks. The action would have been eptable if a girl had done it, but when done by a burly man like Luxuria, with a hint of colour on his cheeks no less, it made even Loren want to look for another ce in the back of the wagon to get some more distance. Even on top of the supplies would be fine.


    ¡°G, can¡¯t you just dump that deleterious substance somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan, how much easier it would be if I could¡­¡±


    With a straight face, Lapis suggested discarding Luxuria, but G¡¯s response was less than desirable. Loren secretly wondered if he was not the only one who felt that if they dumped the guy somewhere, he would probably cause as much trouble as he could beforeing back.


    ¡°But this is such a splendid army. They seem to be using good equipment, and the soldiers seem to be well-trained. I can feel their strength just by looking at them.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell how serious you are at all, Lapis.¡±


    Lapis came from the demon tribe, who were far too powerfulpared to humans. Loren smiled wryly, wondering if he could take her assessment at face value, and she looked at him with a slight tilt of the head.


    ¡°Should I add ¡®for humans¡¯ then?¡±


    At Lapis¡¯ remark, Loren held up his index finger in front of his lips.


    The person sitting on the driver bench of the wagon was a regr army soldier assigned by Yuri. Even though they were not on the wagon to prepare for departure or wait for a specific order, Loren did not think that he should say anything too carelessly without knowing who was listening, and from where.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t this actually a pretty strong army? The Kingdom¡¯s army that fights them must be pretty strong, too.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen them, so I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Although that was his answer, Loren thought that the Kingdom¡¯s army might be somewhat inferior to the Empire¡¯s army in terms of quality. If the Kingdom¡¯s army was on the same level of the Empire¡¯s army, with the help of the Evil Gods of Wrath and Pride, it would not be surprising for the Empire to have lost the battle already. The fact that this was not the case at present meant that the two sides were somehow on an even footing, even with the help of the Evil Gods.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be too rxed.¡±


    A bad decision could turn fatal.


    As Loren concluded, the order to advance rang out, and the Empire¡¯s army began to advance, albeit slowly, toward the front line in anticipation of the decisive battle with the Kingdom¡¯s army.


    ¡°Oh, this is so easy.¡±


    The journey waspletely safe itself.


    Because of the sheer number of people marching, no monsters gathered around them. The bandits were not foolhardy enough to think they could mess with a regr army, not to mention one with a considerable number of troops, so there was no trouble to impede their progress.


    However, since the army was apanied by a general, the safety of the road must first be confirmed by scouts and such. But even so, the road trip was uneventful to the extent that Sloth was overjoyed.


    And so, to the surprise of Loren and his team, they arrived at the frontline base without any incidents.


    After arriving at the base, the cargo was immediately unpacked, and Loren¡¯s team, who had no particr job to do until the battle started, decided to take a walk around the ce. That was when they noticed amotion within thepound and turned their attention to it.


    ¡°Amazing! That¡¯s Wargenburg¡¯s prized adventurer!¡±


    ¡°No wonder, he¡¯s already been promoted to the Silver rank, and is rumoured to be on his way to the Gold rank.¡±


    ¡°I guess good women do tend to gather around such a heroic figure.¡±


    Intrigued by the storm of praiseing from the crowd, Loren took advantage of his height to peer past the wall of people, but when he saw the face of the person at the centre of themotion, his eyes went somewhat half-lidded.


    ¡°It¡¯s toote. They are alreadying this way.¡±


    Before he could question why us wasing toward them, Le, the knight, came out of the crowd. Behind her was Laure, the priest and Ange, the magician.


    us was being dragged along by Le by the scruff of his neck. Although he seemed to be resisting, Le seemed to pay it no mind.


    ¡°Loren! Good timing. I need to talk to you. Why don¡¯t we go some ce quieter? Now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a feeling this is going to be troublesome, but¡­ Fine. Which ce do you have in mind?¡±


    Loren didn¡¯t want to get involved, if possible, but the look of desperation on Le¡¯s face made it impossible for him to say no, so he reluctantly agreed to join up with us¡¯ team.


    Within the crowd that Le and the others had waded through, some people were asking who Loren¡¯s team was and what they were doing, but Loren just decided to let things happen. He let down Lapis, who was perching on his shoulder, called out to the Evil Gods who were watching from the side with disinterest, then quickly left the ce.


    >¡±Sorry, we owe you one. Do you know some ce quiet?¡±


    Le whispered to Loren as they walked alongside, and Loren opened his mouth without thinking.


    ¡°The Commander might know.¡±


    ¡°There is arge tent at the east end of the base that you can use. There are snacks and drinks prepared inside, so I think you can rx there.¡±


    Loren had not said those words in anticipation of a response. But with a timing that made everyone wonder if he was lurking nearby and waiting for the right moment toe out, Yuri passed by just then, dropped the remark, then continued walking away.


    Stunned, Loren and the others could only watch his back as he walked away without being able to say anything back.


    ¡°Loren, is that mister really human?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been a little scepticaltely.¡±


    Regardless of Yuri¡¯s true identity, Loren was grateful to have a ce where they could rx, and although he still had many doubts, he decided to put them to rest and headed for the tent they had been pointed to.


    ¡°So, what happened?¡±


    Whenever they stopped, a group of soldiers would approach and try to surround them.


    The atmosphere was friendly, and Loren knew they had not done anything wrong, but when he saw Le and the others quickening their pace as if wanting to escape, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the reason.


    ¡°The short story is, we participated in a small battle against the Kingdom and yed an active role.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not bad, is it? Did you bring down an enemy general or something?¡±


    >¡±Have you heard about a fire-wielding magician who could wipe out an entire unit?¡±


    Le said it in a hushed voice. Loren was inwardly surprised to hear that, but he nodded his head, careful not to let it show on his face.


    ¡°Well, a bit. Just some stories, though.¡±


    ¡°We ran into her and had to fight her off.¡±


    Le¡¯s words had a considerable impact on Loren and Lapis.


    They had been exploring various means to counter the Evil God of Wrath, but if us and his team had seeded in doing so, then the Evil God of Sloth that they had brought with them would have been spared from the task.


    Loren quietly looked at Dauna¡¯s face to see if he was upset about losing his job, but he saw the guy¡¯s eyes lit up at the prospect and exhaled, realizing that his worries were for naught.


    ¡°If it¡¯s true, that¡¯s great. It means your team is equal to a unit. I can see why the soldiers would be all over you.¡±


    ¡°If it had been done the right way, we wouldn¡¯t have had to run off like this.¡±


    Loren thought that he should give them apliment, but he got a bitter remark from Le as the response.


    As Loren wondered what had happened, Lapis asked Le in a hushed voice.


    >¡±I¡¯m sorry if I got it wrong, but I heard a rumour that the magician in question was a girl. Could it be due to that fact?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your great perception! We fought her off once, but twice is impossible! She was so angry that she was literally breathing fire! Still, now that we had made the achievement of having repelled her once, I¡¯m sure that we would be sent out the next time we encountered her! I¡¯m still young, I DON¡¯T WANT TO BE REDUCED TO ASHES!!!¡±


    Le was so worked up that she couldn¡¯t keep her voice down any longer: she began to shout as she tore at her magnificent blond hair.


    Loren looked at us, who was being dragged away, wondering what he had really done to make the Evil God of Wrath retreat, even if only temporarily. The guy only let out a weakugh of someone, who had not yet learned his lesson.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 330: From Departure to Confession (2)

    <h4>Chapter 330: From Departure to Confession (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°So, what happened this time? Something with your residentdy man?¡±


    Loren asked Le.


    In the tent that Yuri had sent them to, there was arge table, a couple of chairs, and some light snacks and tea. As expected, wine was not avable as they were on the cusp of a battle. Loren was a little disappointed, but he sipped the tea that Lapis had brewed and picked up some dried meat and fish as he raised his question.


    Le had been dragging us with her until they arrived at the tent, but once they were inside, she tossed him to the side. She sat down on a seat across the table from Loren, epted the tea offered by Lapis, and took a sip.


    ¡°We joined up with the Empire¡¯s army here not long ago, and were immediately sent out to do some skirmishing on the front lines. We agreed, of course, because it was our job and it would make a good impression on the army.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, you are under the patronage of the Wargenburg Kingdom, aren¡¯t you? How did you get sent over here?¡±


    us, despite being an adventurer, received backing from the Kingdom of Wagenburg and was being trained by them, as they highly valued his abilities. In times of emergency, he was expected to be set up as a hero and sent to the front lines. It was very strange for the Kingdom to lend such a person out of the country so easily.


    ¡°Simple: It¡¯s all about the cost.¡±


    ording to Le, there was little advantage in doing a favour for an empire so far away. At best, there was a chance it might be useful in some way.


    If it had been a matter of sending an army as a nation, Wargenburg would have refused or ignored it from the beginning. However, this time it was only a matter of dispatching adventurers, which would not cost much and would allow them to do the Empire a favour simply by lending them the service of one of their prized adventurers. If said adventurer had achieved some sess in the war, the favour would have been even greater.


    ¡°So, we were sent here to save the Kingdom of Wargenburg the expenses.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry to hear that. But, if you were so highly regarded by the Empire¡¯s soldiers, that must mean you had done something of merit, right?¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re back to where we started.¡±


    Assigned to a unit with other adventurers, us and his team encountered a unit from the Kingdom during one of their mobilizations, and their unit identally engaged inbat with the enemy¡¯s unit.


    At first, the highly-skilled Empire¡¯s troops, led by us, who had considerablebat capabilities, and supported by the adventurers, had the upper hand against the Kingdom¡¯s troops. However, the situation took a turn for the worse when a single intruder entered the scene.


    It was the Evil God of Wrath, recognized as a magician who could manipte mes.


    The tide of the battle was turned around by this single intruder, and the Empire¡¯s army, burned and felled one after another, was on the verge of defeat.


    ¡°Then, this sex-obsessed guy realized something: the magician in question was a woman.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine, but could it be¡­¡±


    ¡°She was quite a pretty girl. So naturally us reflexively flirted with her.¡±


    Le red at us, with her tone turning bitter.


    At the moment, us was drinking and eating and chatting with the gloomy-looking Ange and Laure as if what was being discussed had nothing to do with him. But he noticed Le¡¯s strong presence and gaze, and looked in their direction with an amiable smile on his face.


    ¡°Things just go downhill from there. Despite his life being in danger, that idiot went up to the magician and began to try to feed her with a series of cringy pick-up lines.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that kind of conduct should be scorned by the soldiers? Having the guts to flirt with girls right in the middle of a battle is something¡­ not highly valued.¡±


    ¡°The sound of the zing mes and the fact that most of the soldiers had kept their distance to escape the magician¡¯s threat was a blessing in disguise for that idiot.¡±


    Letting out a deep sigh, Le ruffled her blonde hair. The look of fatigue on her face told Loren that she must be having a hard time, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, except for pouring more tea into the empty cup in her hand.


    After moistening her throat with the newly poured tea, Le continued.


    ¡°From the outside, it must have looked as if this sex maniac was trying to persuade the rampaging enemy magician or something. The truth is, the attacks stopped after he began to flirt with her.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ That child is still young, and is still quite innocent. She was never hit on by a man at all, so she must have been confused and froze up.¡±


    ¡°So innocent. Ain¡¯t she cute?¡±


    G and Luxuria, who were half-heartedly listening to Le¡¯s story from a little distance away, expressed their impressions. Meanwhile, Dauna was nodding off as if he had no interest in the conversation at all.


    Loren asked.


    ¡°If that was all, I don¡¯t see why this magician was so angry. Regardless of the situation or whether it was right to do or not, it¡¯s not exactly a bad thing for a man to hit on a woman, is it?¡±


    Loren thought that the act of flirting was not a bad thing in itself. Of course, the circumstances where the flirting happened could not be ignored, but Wrath could just turn him down if she didn¡¯t like it. It was not something to get mad over.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me that he still continued after she rejected him? If so, I can understand.¡±


    ¡°I wish she had rejected him. Of all things, this perpetually horny fool actually almost seeded in seducing the magician with just a few words.¡±


    [¡®the way she calls him just gets worse and worse, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯]


    Shayna said with a wry smile. Loren replied in his mind that it was understandable, and urged Le to continue.


    If us had almost seeded in seducing her, Loren thought that he might have been able to draw the Evil God of Wrath to their side, but reality was not so sweet.


    ¡°The magician was almost swayed. She certainly would join us if he seeded. But we were right there by us¡¯ side, you know?¡±


    Loren suddenly realized what had happened.


    As G and Luxuria say, the Evil God of Wrath had never had the experience of being seduced by a man, and had almost fallen for us¡¯ tricks. But what would happen if she were to be confronted by the fact that us was already surrounded by other women?


    When the thought crossed his mind, Loren understood what had happened from there.


    ¡°Aahh¡­ That would have snapped her out of it.¡±


    ¡°As for me, I feel a little sorry for Rage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a woman too¡­ I can¡¯t help but understand how that magician felt.¡±


    Le nodded her head in agreement with Lapis¡¯ words.


    The way Lapis looked at us was so cold that even Loren, who was not directly exposed to her gaze, felt a chill. But for some reason, us, who was supposed to be the one involved, simply looked embarrassed and scratched his cheek.


    ¡°That poor magician turned red when she realized that she had been nearly deceived.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised he wasn¡¯t killed right there.¡±


    If it had been a girl from a bar, us might have received a p. But the other party was the Evil God of Wrath. The guy should have been burned to death on the spot in anger. us must have been a very lucky man for that to not happen.


    ¡°She said she would not let him go the next time they met and ran off at full speed. Well, it seems that the soldiers in the distance did not hear that either.¡±


    Le¡¯s shoulders slumped, and she feebly continued, speaking as if spitting out her words.


    ¡°The situation seemed to suggest that even if us wasn¡¯t able to fully sway the magician, he did sessfully persuade the magician to temporarily withdraw. When we returned to our camp, he was credited with having saved the day and prevented the destruction of his troops.¡±


    ¡®The Wargenburg Kingdom might not be able to stopughing¡¯, Le concluded, her shoulders slumped.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do with someone who thinks with his lower body like him¡­ How could he even think of hitting on someone in that situation? And why did he seed? The mental exhaustion alone ages me.¡±


    ¡°I can only say that I¡¯m sorry to hear that. But if you hate this so much, why don¡¯t you just quit?¡±


    But that would not happen, Loren thought.


    Unlike the other two, Le was a knight in her own right, and although that may not be the only reason, she was working with us at the behest of the Kingdom of Wargenburg.


    No matter how much she disliked it, she had no choice but to follow the orders of her country as long as she was serving it, and she would have to leave the country before she could say she was quitting because she didn¡¯t like it. Loren thought that was a horrible situation to be in.


    But Le, with exhaustion etched on her face, said something that was totally different from what Loren was expecting.


    ¡°There are reasons why I can¡¯t quit. Partly because I¡¯m a knight, of course, but also because¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a ve of love? There¡¯s a limit to how far you can go with that, you know?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever meet a man better than us in my life.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re really in too deep¡­. But what is it you like about him so much?¡±


    Despite hermentations about us¡¯s behaviour, Le¡¯s opinion of him was nothing short of supetive. Loren thought that he might actually be a pretty good guy without their knowledge, but Le said decisively.


    ¡°His face!¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the type that is attracted to physical looks. I don¡¯t want to be anywhere near a guy whose face I don¡¯t like for even a second. That said, Loren, your face is quite good, but us¡¯ face is on another level.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay? Thank you?¡±


    Loren¡¯s response was unintentionally clipped, but the other members¡¯ reactions were simr to his, with Lapis frozen in ce and G and Luxuria staring at Le as if they had heard something unbelievable. Only Dauna remained motionless in his chair ¨C he seemed to have already fallen into a deep sleep, but Le¡¯s words had that much impact.


    ¡°us¡¯s face is exactly my ideal. No matter how many men I meet in the future, I will never find anyone better. If only¡­ he was just ten percent less of a phnder.¡±


    Loren turned his gaze away from Le, who was stressing her argument, and looked at Ange and Laure. They did not seem particrly surprised by Le¡¯s confession, as if they were already familiar with it. However, they seem to understand the shock that Loren¡¯s group are feeling; they turned away and avoided his eyes.


    The atmosphere in the tent turned strange, and Loren wondered what to do about it. As if to help him, the entrance to the tent was slightly opened just then, and for some reason, Yuri peeked in.


    ¡°Rest well today. All-out attacks will start early tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Commander, where did you watch us from this time?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about. Anyway, I told you what I needed to.¡±


    With that, Yuri left with the same suddenness as he arrived.


    With that, it was as though everything had been left in limbo. Not being able to do much about it, Loren let go of all thoughts as he decided to concentrate on tomorrow¡¯s battle with the Kingdom¡¯s army.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 331: From Deployment To Battle (1)

    <h4>Chapter 331: From Deployment To Battle (1)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Early in the morning of the next day, before dawn had even broken, the Empire¡¯s army began to mobilize.


    The truth was, Loren and his team did not know exactly what the formation would look like. They had not been informed of it.


    ¡°We do have a rough idea of what it¡¯ll be, though.¡±


    The adventurers were to work with infantry units.


    The supposed reason was because they were not as skilled with horses as the cavalry, but the truth was that there were not enough horses to lend to adventurers.


    ¡°Horses are kinda expensive creatures to feed.¡±


    ¡°Just like you, G-chan¡±


    ¡°Whatcha say, you subhuman?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t want to be lumped in with you, you bucket of leftovers. Do you want me to make you bleat?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both annoying relics, so will you please be quiet?!


    G and Luxuria got into an argument, but Lapis quickly cut them off.


    As the two Evil Gods unintentionally looked at each other and deted, Lapis turned her attention to the back. It was us¡¯ party, with us carrying Dauna on his back, walking at the rear.


    ¡°Can I be carrying a girl on my back at least?¡±


    us, who was carrying Dauna on his back like a rucksack, blurted out.


    ¡°If Dauna were a girl, I would never let you get near her. I don¡¯t want to hear something like she is pregnant after the war ends.¡±


    Even under Lapis¡¯ cold gaze, us only showed a good-natured smile and did not seem to be affected in any way. Amazed at how thick his skin was, Lapis stopped her ring and turned her attention back to Loren, who was walking beside her.


    ¡°The reason we don¡¯t know the formation is probably because the Commander decided it wasn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°Even if we knew, it seems there¡¯s not much we can do.¡±


    If Lapis and G and such were so inclined, saying there was not much they could do would be incorrect. However, there was no way they could reveal their true identities in a ce with so many people present around them, so what they could do was limited to what was the consensus, thus there was not much that priests and few mages could do.


    ¡°I guess adventurers can¡¯t be trusted that much.¡±


    ¡°Even you, Loren?¡±


    ¡°If it were just me, it might be a different story. But here, I¡¯m just one among many. I can¡¯t be singled out.¡±


    Special treatment could cause unnecessary friction and misunderstandings. In this regard, Loren thought that Yuri¡¯s decision to provide them with a tent yesterday might have been a bit rash, but it¡¯s best not to hold on to any uncertainties.


    ¡°I guess if we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, we can¡¯t answer any questions. Well, our job is simple.¡±


    As Loren said, the war itself should have been left to the soldiers of the Empire¡¯s army and Yuri, their General. All Loren and his team had to do was to survive, and deal with the Evil God of Wrath if she appeared in the middle of the battle.


    ¡°In the worst-case scenario, we can just run away. As long as the Evil Gods don¡¯te, it¡¯s easy.¡±


    ¡°Was it the same as when you were a mercenary?¡±


    Intrigued, Lapis asked, but Loren shook his head.


    ¡°When you¡¯re a mercenary, there are times when you can¡¯t run away.¡±


    ¡°Mercenaries work for money, but there are times they can¡¯t run away either?¡±


    ¡°To be precise, there are times when they are made to be unable to escape. Times when they are treated as pawns to be discarded and there is no way to escape. After all, you can get mercenaries from anywhere as long as you pay enough money.¡±


    It took time and money to train and provide for regr soldiers. Inparison, mercenaries have a wider range of qualities, but as Loren said, as long as they were loaded with money, there was no difficulty in procuring them. Moreover, if the mercenaries were to suffer harm, it would be considered their own responsibility, and they would not have to be cared for around all the time like soldiers. It was understandable why they would be treated as disposable.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there a few times, and it¡¯s the worst. You have to go through either the enemy army or your own army.¡±


    ¡°This time, since the General is your Commander, I guess we don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think the Commander would do such a thing.¡±


    While exchanging such conversations, Loren and his team moved with the Empire¡¯s troops and eventually arrived at the in that Yuri had apparently chosen as the battlefield for the war against the Kingdom.


    As they watched the Empire soldiers begin to line up their positions, Lapis suddenly expressed her doubts.


    ¡°The Empire army arrived first and is setting up positions, but there is no guarantee that the Kingdom army will be here, is there?¡±


    ¡°There must be some ns. It¡¯s the Commander we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°I simply let the Kingdom spies know that I would personally be present here.¡±


    It was Yuri who continued Loren¡¯s vague answer, as if to give it more details.


    Loren was surprised to see him appearing out of nowhere. Lapis, who was simrly surprised, mumbled as the General smiled as if he were a child who had sessfully pulled a prank.


    ¡°Me? By a mere human? Getting sneaked up on, just like that? Ridiculous!¡­ But it¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t notice anything until we were approached and¡­and¡­¡±


    ¡°Just by letting them know your location, the Kingdom¡¯s army wille?¡±


    Loren asked while gently hiding Lapis, who seemed to be quite shocked and kept muttering to herself with a stunned look behind his back.


    Yuri silently pointed to a direction beyond the in. Loren¡¯s gaze followed the tip of the finger and caught sight of countless shadows of people gathering on the other side of the in in the dim darkness. Not knowing what to say, he simply shrugged.


    ¡°Hm, just as expected of you, Commander.¡±


    ¡°You mean I never fail to set up a trap.¡±


    Yuri looked pleased with his own work. Loren raised his hands in surrender and said in a teasing tone.


    ¡°Then do tell, when this magician is going to show up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the hardest part.¡±


    Yuri said in a low growl as he crossed his arms. Ignoring Loren, who wondered whether a General in charge of an army could afford to dawdle like this, he looked in the direction of the enemy forces for a while before turning around with a shake of his head.


    ¡°The only thing certain is that she will appear when and where they are at a disadvantage. War is an uncertain affair, and I don¡¯t know when that moment wille. If I had the talent to know that much, I would have told you- ¡°


    Just then, Yuri suddenly held his tongue as if he had just remembered something.


    Loren was about to ask him if this sudden change of attitude meant something was wrong, but before he could open his mouth, several soldiers came running up to Yuri.


    ¡°General! What are you doing here right before the battle?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is looking for you, General!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I shall return now.¡±


    Surrounded by soldiers, Yuri was taken away as well as prevented from escaping, which seemed a bit crude for a general in the army. However, his action of wandering around just before the start of the battle was troublesome for the soldiers, and Loren thought that the soldiers of the Empire army were in a tough spot.


    ¡°Anyway, Loren! I¡¯ll leave that to you! We¡¯ll take care of things over here so we can win the war, and you take care of the rest!¡±


    ¡°Alright alright, just go back. The higher ups are getting antsy.¡±


    As Yuri shouted at him from inside the wall of soldiers, Loren saw him off while waving his hand as if he were chasing off a dog.


    When the General was out of sight, Loren sniffed and looked toward the Kingdom¡¯s army positioned on the other side of the in.


    ¡°Really. He¡¯s very thorough, but I don¡¯t know if he missed something or not¡­¡±


    ¡°He is very thorough.¡±


    Finding itical that someone, who hadid a trap to have the Kingdom¡¯s army mobilized, to be dragged away by soldiers like that, Loren said in exasperation. It was Lapis who interrupted him in an even tone. Like him, she also was watching the Kingdom army far ahead.


    Almost missing what she had said, Loren thought for a moment about what Lapis was trying to say and asked.


    ¡°About what, and to what extent?¡±


    ¡°Up to when your conversation was cut off, and he was taken away by the soldiers.¡±


    Lapis said without hesitation. Loren was about to let it slide when he btedly understood what she meant; he looked at her with a somewhat stiffened face.


    ¡°Is it a joke?¡±


    ¡°If so, it¡¯s not a very funny kind of joke, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Realizing from theck of denial and the tone of her voice that Lapis was not joking, Loren once again turned his eyes to the direction where Yuri had disappeared.


    No matter how much he thought about it, Loren had no idea how Yuri had slipped away from the army¡¯s executives. But if in addition to that, he had made sure that the soldiers woulde calling for him at the exact time he wanted their conversation to end, one couldn¡¯t help but wonder how thoroughly he had orchestrated the whole thing.


    ¡°That uncle, I can¡¯tprehend him at all. Even amongst us, his type is rare.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure the Commander would be pleased to hear that assessmenting from you, Lapis.¡±


    If he was evaluated as someone who could not be bested by the demon tribe, that would certainly be apliment for someone in Yuri¡¯s position.


    Loren has no intention of talking about Lapis¡¯ background even with Yuri, so at present it was simply an evaluation from a priest of the God of Knowledge, but Loren thought that perhaps Yuri would still be pleased.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to point this out to you first, Loren. Being a priest of the God of Knowledge is not a synonym for being shrewd.¡±


    ¡°Since when can you read my mind?¡±


    ¡°Your face shows it all¡­¡±


    Loren reflexively covered his face with his hands when Lapis said this. She couldn¡¯t help butugh at his reaction, but the atmosphere of the battlefield and the smell of iron in the wind immediately made her sober.


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 Chapter 332: From Deployment to Battle (2)

    <h4>Chapter 332: From Deployment to Battle (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    And then the battle began.


    In a battle betweenrge armies, it was always the archers who started.


    The infantrymen were the ones standing in front of the archers. As they advanced slowly with their spears and shields at the ready, a hail of arrows rained down on them from above in an attempt to block their advance.


    Most of the arrows missed or were blocked by the shields over their heads. But some arrows were not; they reached their targets unobstructed, and the unlucky soldiers who were hit by them fell on the spot with shrieks and screams.


    Of course, some of the adventurers working with the infantry were magicians, and they protected theirrades with shields and protection spells. However, the effects of their magic were less than dependable considering the scale of the battlefield.


    As the distance between the Empire¡¯s army and the Kingdom¡¯s army narrowed, stones were mixed in with the arrows that came flying.


    Infantrymen picked up the stones on the ground and hurled them at the enemy forces. The effectiveness of this method of attack was greater than the cost.


    ¡°Quite subdued, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis muttered boredly in the midst of battlefield, where arrows and stones were flying around.


    Next to her, Loren, who was using the t of his greatsword to repel anything that might hit him or Lapis, heard her muttering and frowned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you usually have magicians who can attack with magic on both sides?¡±


    ¡®¡±Well, in a battle of such scale that kings and emperors would appear, such magicians might apany them.¡±


    The existence of a magician was not somethingmon. Because the knowledge and skills required to be a magician were greater than other professions, only those with a certain level of education could be one. Unlike soldiers, who could fight to a certain degree as long as they were equipped with weapons and armor, the training of a magician took time and money.


    This was another reason why there were so few magicians among the lower- and working ss of poption. Moreover, beginner or self-taught magicians were not capable of immediately exercising magic on the scale that could be used in warfare, and there was no way that they could be sent to the frontline.


    ¡°We usually have a few of them guarding the main camp, but they rarelye out this far forward.¡±


    ¡°It seems the adventurer magicians are here though?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. But if they keep using magic to dodge arrows and make some attacks, they¡¯ll run out of uses and have to flee backwards.¡±


    The kind of mages, who became an adventurer were quite different from the court magician who belonged to a country. Though the adventurer mages called themselves ¡®magicians¡¯, they only had a few rudimentary skills, which was far inferior in quality to the ones who belonged to a state.


    For a magician to be deemed qualified to serve in the military, he must be at least on par with an Iron or even Silver ranked adventurers.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, but I¡¯ve heard that those who have received the title of Court Magician have powerparable to that of a Gold-Rank adventurer. If they were sent to the front line so readily, we wouldn¡¯t be able to hold our own.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d better act only as a priest, shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    Lapis had thought that if the battle was filled with a barrage of magic attacks to some extent, she would not be exposed in the chaos even if she secretly used some magic. However, considering the current situation, it was obvious that using even one spell would make her be conspicuous, and Lapis reluctantly took the use of magic out of her mind.


    As Loren and Lapis were having such a carefree conversation, around them were G and Luxuria, who were exuding a rxed atmosphere, and us with his group, who were tense because they were on the battlefield. However, the tension was rather ruined by the presence of Dauna, who was still being carried on us¡¯ back.


    ¡°Ah, uhm, Lapis?¡±


    One of the girls in us¡¯ party called out to Lapis. It was Ange, the magician.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get a chance to ask because us didn¡¯t seem to mind, but that Dauna person, I remember him from the adventurer training school-¡°


    ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong person.¡±


    Lapis stated inly without allowing Ange to continue. Ange was momentarily daunted and faltered, but she quickly regained herposure and continued to press her point.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be right¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong person. You see, this deja vu feeling you¡¯re having is a misunderstanding. You¡¯ve never met Dauna before, and you don¡¯t know who he is.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Lapis firmly gripped both shoulders of Ange, who squealed in confusion and bewilderment, and gradually brought her face closer and looked her eye-to-eye.


    ¡°It is said, that there are three people in the world who look like each other. He may look like someone you met before, but he is not the same person. Alright? Do you understand? What you are feeling is just your imagination.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all¡­ my imagination.¡±


    ¡°If us says something simr, you must correct his mistake. Is that clear? Please repeat after me. ¡®You are mistaken¡¯.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ are¡­ mistaken.¡±


    Despite hearing a hint of depression in Ange¡¯s voice and catching Loren¡¯s startled look at the edge of her vision, Lapis continued without a care.


    ¡°Good. Are you feeling better now?¡±


    ¡°Eh?! Ah? Uhm¡­ Yes. What on earth did I misunderstand?¡±


    Ange tilted her head as she went back to us¡¯ group. As he watched her go, Loren asked Lapis, who was waving her hand smilingly next to him, in a nonchnt voice.


    ¡°Can you do brainwashing or something?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Are you doing it to me?¡±


    ¡°If I were, you wouldn¡¯t be so troublesome.¡±


    Loren gave her a suspicious look, to which Lapis replied with a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a trick that can¡¯t be used on someone with such a strong sense of self like you. If it were effective on you, and if I wanted to do it, you would be saying ¡®I love you, Lapis!¡¯ by now.¡±


    ¡°Your taste is¡­¡±


    Loren reflexively took a step away from Lapis. She looked up at him with a hurt expression on her face and said.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than an example, Loren. I would hate to make you do that.¡±


    Loren thought that it would be dangerous to continue this topic as he flicked another arrow off with the t of his greatsword.


    As they were talking, the distance between the two armies was closing, and now the soldiers on the front line began to engage each other in a fierce battle with spears.


    The spears held by the soldiers were quite long, and they not only thrusted them out, but also swung them down in an attempt to eliminate the enemy¡¯s formation of spears. But the enemy also thrusted or swung down their spears, and ttering sounds echoed throughout the battlefield, and soldiers fell down as they were stabbed or knocked unconscious by the enemy.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to get to work. I¡¯m going to cut some down.¡±


    Here and there on the battle front, both armies were beginning to break apart.


    If this continued further, closebat between infantry would begin, and then, depending on the situation, other types of troops would be introduced into the battlefield.


    If cavalry were to engage, the situation would not be very interesting for the infantry. Loren decided to make some gains before that happened.


    Clutching the hilt of his greatsword with both hands, he rushed to the front line, weaving his way through the soldiers.


    Not too far ahead, there were already tips of the spears seen shing against the armour and shields.


    Some adventurers, perhaps thinking the same thing as Loren, tried to cut their way through the soldiers and into the enemy army. Some lucky ones seeded in getting through the line of spears, some unlucky ones were pierced, and still more unlucky ones lost their lives there.


    Loren, in the midst of all this, swung the greatsword he carried on his shoulder at the tips of the countless spears being thrown at him with great force.


    With that single blow, the spears of the Kingdom army were easily smashed as if they were twigs, and some of the Kingdom soldiers lost their bnces from the impact.


    Then Loren swung his greatsword in return, and several Kingdom soldiers were cut in half by the torso, their lower bodies copsing on the spot while their upper bodies spinning in the air like some kind of joke.


    ¡°What is this guy?¡±


    ¡°People are¡­ like pieces of paper¡­¡±


    Loren stepped further into the lines of flinching soldiers of the Kingdom army.


    Swung by an arm strength far removed from that of an ordinary person, his sword of unusual size was carelessly swept sideways. With that single blow, several more Kingdom soldiers were cut in half, following those who had gone before them.


    ¡°He uses that stupidly big weapon so easily¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold up your shields! Don¡¯t let him swing it around like that!¡±


    A huge weapon like the one Loren handled had to be swung with great force, and the force of the swing and the weight of the sword itself increased its power. If it could be stopped, it would take a great deal of force and time to swing it again, and the Kingdom soldiers immediately took up shields to defend themselves.


    Normally, such a strategy might have worked. However, the man in front of them is Loren, and the greatsword in his hand was a legendary item that was originally used by a Demon King.


    ¡°What a pain in the ass!¡±


    Not caring that they were lying in wait for him, Loren once again swung his greatsword.


    As the de seemed to gleam with the barest hint of light, a soldier who was trying to stop the attack had their shields and bodies cut in half horizontally.


    As the torso of a stunned Kingdom soldier was cut into three or four pieces in rapid session, someone muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a magic sword¡­ He¡¯s got a magic sword!¡±


    The word spread like a wave among the soldiers of the Kingdom army, and immediately there was a greatmotion around Loren.


    ¡°What kind of magic sword can cut through a man¡¯s shield and armor?¡±


    ¡°Hey, get away from him! If you stay within range of that de, you¡¯ll all be ughtered!¡±


    ¡°Move! Get out of the way! Let me out of here!¡±


    ¡°You fools! Don¡¯t push me!¡±


    ¡°Call the cavalry! Call the knights!¡±


    Screams and yells filled the air, and the Kingdom soldiers fell into a state of panic as they tried to keep as much distance from Loren as possible.


    Loren shrugged as he watched the soldiers drop the weapons in their hands and turn their backs to him in an attempt to be the first to flee.


    ¡°They¡¯ve got no guts.¡±


    He grumbled, to which Shayna replied.


    [¡®I think I understand the feelings of the soldiers over there.¡¯]


    A soldier with a huge, well-trained body that can unleash an indefensible attack ¨C if ordinary soldiers were to encounter such a man on the battlefield, she thought that they would have no choice but to make a run for it.


    ¡°The enemy formation has been broken!¡±


    ¡°Push in! Don¡¯t let them escape!¡±


    The Empire army, seeing the corner cleared by Loren as an opportunity, rushed forward.


    The Kingdom army, who were terrified by Loren¡¯s fighting style and were fleeing without being able to intercept any of his attacks, was rushed into by the Empire soldiers from where Loren had cleared. Stabbed and shed in the back, they fell down one after another, littered the battlefield with their corpses.


    Even though he thought that the enemy formation had be very fragile after a tile had been broken, Loren was not rxed. He had not yet seen the Evil God of Wrath, but he had overheard someone¡¯s instruction to call in the cavalry.


    ¡°The cavalry is a pain though. They¡¯re fast.¡±


    But Loren did not retreat, and continued to advance forward.


    No matter how strong Loren¡¯s power was and how extraordinary his physical strength was, cutting down nearly ten soldiers with shields and armor must have been draining. He had also used the power of his greatsword, albeit only a little bit.


    Knowing this, Shayna did not stop Loren, who was trying to advance further, but began to quietly use Energy Drain to steal life force from the surrounding Kingdom soldiers who were still breathing and convert it into Loren¡¯s strength.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 333: From Successive Battles to Sloth (1)

    <h4>Chapter 333: From Sessive Battles to Sloth (1)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    It was some time after Loren¡¯s charge into the enemy lines that a change urred.


    Lapis, who was smiling and watching from behind Loren as he continued to turn enemy soldiers into meat sacks with each swinging of his greatsword, suddenly looked into the distance and called out to him. At that moment, he was stabbing an enemy soldier, whom he had cut but failed to finish off.


    ¡°Loren, look at that.¡±


    Looking up as he was told, Loren titled his head in a puzzle when he noticed that there were strangely few dead enemy soldiers lying around. Then he saw G looking strangely satisfied a short distance away and realized what was happening. But Lapis put her hands on his shoulders and made him turn around to face the opposite direction from where G was.


    ¡°Not that way, this way.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter¡­ We¡¯re busy cutting down the enemies¡­¡±


    There were still many enemy soldiers left that needed to be cut down. No matter how hard Loren worked to back them off, there were still an untold number of enemy soldiers around him, and he knew he did not have the luxury of worrying about a battlefield that had nothing to do with him.


    Loren, who turned his gaze to said direction as Lapis pulled him along, was momentarily lost in amazement at the sight of a pir of fire rising up to the heavens at a considerable distance from them.


    ¡°Focus, Loren. Do you remember what we are doing here?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ That reminds me, there¡¯s still that matter. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve been on the battlefield that I forgot.¡±


    ¡°And what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°The Evil God of Wrath has appeared, hasn¡¯t she? How troublesome. I have to move there.¡±


    Loren grumbled. The ce where the pir of fire appeared was quite far away from Loren and his group. Loren deduced that it was no where near the main base camp, nor his own position, or the location of the Empire¡¯s main troops.


    ¡°Why did she go out there? If we consider fighting power, shouldn¡¯t she go this way?¡±


    ¡°Loren, that is what you were aiming for, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Lapis said with a suppressed smile, and Loren mmed up.


    Before the battle began, they had heard from Yuri that the Evil God of Wrath would appear in the areas where the Kingdom army was in an unfavourable situation. Loren thought that if he could create such an area, the Evil God of Wrath would appear there.


    He did not particrly want to engage her, but rather to prevent her from mistakenly appearing in the main camp, where Yuri was. It seemed that Lapis knew of his intentions.


    ¡°Then do you know why she went there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. The reason is that you, G, and us are working too hard, so the Kingdom¡¯s forces are concentrated too much on our side. Because the other side is undermanned, she has to appear there first.¡±


    ¡°What is the Kingdom doing?


    ¡°You tell me.¡±


    Looking around, it was true that G and Luxuria were defeating the Kingdom soldiers at an overwhelming rate, and us was also ughtering the enemy soldiers one by one despite still carrying Dauna on his back. The girls in us¡¯ party were also helping, but the number of soldiers around them did not seem to be decreasing at all.


    This meant that many soldiers were gathering here from other ces, and those other ces were getting into disadvantageous position much faster.


    ¡°Anyway, we have to move out of here.¡±


    The Evil God of Sloth, who had been brought along to fight against the Evil God of Wrath, was nodding off on us¡¯s back, even though they were in the middle of a battle.


    As far as Loren could see, it looked as if he had been hit asionally by flying arrows or by the spear or sword of a soldier who tried to attack us¡¯ from behind, but there was no sign of injury either to Dauna himself or to us, who was carrying him on his back.


    ¡°us! Can you break through this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m up to the task! If you can get this thing off my back, I¡¯ll try to, but if not, you¡¯ll have to do something!¡±


    us did not fight by forcefully destroying the enemies¡¯ defences like Loren; he fought by targeting gaps in their armors and inflicting wounds to take away their ability to fight.


    Because of this fighting style, he was not able to force his way through the enemy lines as Loren, and since he was carrying the weight of one Dauna, he was not likely to break through the wall of enemies.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to do the work then.¡±


    Even if they could break through the current enemy¡¯s enclosure, they would have to pass through a battlefield between the enemy and their own army in order to reach the point where another pir of fire was expected to rise up. So, it was Loren¡¯s job to lead and clear the way. He shouted as he swung his greatsword and cut down another couple of soldiers.


    ¡°us! We¡¯re moving! Follow me!¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    After getting us¡¯s answer, Loren turned to the direction of the pir of fire.


    Lapis followed, somewhat dissatisfied that she had not been called, while G and Luxuria took over the role of rear guards as they urged us and the others on.


    Around the time that Loren¡¯s group started moving, at another corner of the battlefield, the Empire army was in chaos.


    Together with the adventurers, a part of the Empire army had cut deeply into the Kingdom army¡¯s lines, and with the Kingdom soldiers concentrating at another ce, the Empire army had been allowed to fight a fairly easy battle. However, the presence of a girl who suddenly appeared had turned the scales of battle upside down in an instant.


    ¡°Damn, I was sent out here just like this. What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing with a beautiful, innocent girl?¡±


    The girl certainly was lovely, if only by her appearance, with her fluttering crimson cloak and flowing golden hair. But the words that came out of her mouth were strangely vulgar, in a stark contrast to her cute voice.


    And even though there was nothing visibly burning, bright red mes zing at a height of about waist-high were surrounding the girl. Outside the ring of mes, several people were struggling in the mes and were quickly being turned into hard, ck charcoal.


    In the center of the circle of Empire and Kingdom troops surrounding such a scene, Rage, the Evil God of Wrath, red at the Empire soldiers with an annoyed expression.


    ¡°The big guy the other day and thatdy man, you Empire army are really pissing me off. You all should be burned to ashes.¡±


    ¡°Th-this is the¡­ fire wizard of the Kingdom army¡­AAGH¡±


    The Empire soldier who let out thisment was transformed into a human torch by a single nce from Rage.


    He rolled on the ground, screaming and trying to extinguish the mes, but the mes, which never went out, engulfed his entire body and turned him into a ck, hard object.


    ¡°Who¡¯s a magician, who? Don¡¯t you dare lump me together with them.¡±


    ¡°Y-you are a member of the Kingdom army, aren¡¯t you?! Do you know how many of your allies were involved in that single blow earlier?! And you¡¯re still¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Apparently, Rage had burned down not only the Empire soldiers but also the soldiers of the Kingdom army when she appeared at this ce. A Kingdom soldier tried to criticize her for this, but he, too, was forced to suffer the same fate as the Empire soldier earlier under the re of Rage.


    ¡°My job is to burn down anything that gets in my way. If it is the Empire army, I will pursue it. If it¡¯s the Kingdom army, I don¡¯t pursue it. If you don¡¯t want to get involved and die, get the hell out of my sight!¡±


    Under the threat of a girl who looked considerably younger than them, the faces of the Kingdom soldiers drained of colour, as they began to retreat in a hurry.


    As the Empire army moved to pursue them, Rage blocked their way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me more work!¡±


    A crimson wall stood in the way of the Empire troops, which was about to advance with weapons at the ready. A single swing of Rage¡¯s arm sent the mes rushing toward them like a tsunami, swallowing dozens of soldiers in one fell swoop.


    The smell of burning flesh and the screams of burning soldiers immediately filled the area, but Rage simply sniffed in a bored manner. The Empire soldiers who had not been swallowed by the tsunami of mes attempted to fight back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close! Attack from afar!¡±


    ¡°Ordinary bows and arrows won¡¯t work! Bring the crossbow!¡±


    Since wooden weapons would be burned quickly, the soldiers immediately chose to attack Rage with crossbow bolts made of steel.


    Crossbows were immediately loaded, and several soldiers aimed at Rage from a kneeling position.


    ¡°You seem to be using your head a little, but don¡¯t be a bore.¡±


    Rage, on the other hand, did not even move from her spot. She just stared at the soldiers with crossbows at the ready as if she was looking at something terribly boring.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to that! Shoot her down!¡±


    Under the order, several bolts were released from the crossbows.


    All of them were on a deadly trajectory towards Rage¡¯s small body, and even though the Empire troops did not think that they would be able to kill her by themselves, they were sure that she would not be unscathed.


    However, before the bolts coulde close to Rage¡¯s body, their trajectories were unnaturally bent, and they flew away without even grazing her.


    ¡°What happened? Magic?¡±


    ¡°With so many mes burning and the air swirling, maybe projectile weapons can¡¯t properly hit their target.¡±


    The spurts of me ran towards the feet of the Empire soldiers, who were still in a kneeling posture, to engulf their bodies. They fell down in a heap and rolled around, trying to extinguish the mes that had caught on their bodies. Rage sent more mes to finish them off.


    The Empire troops still tried to attack Rage despite the devastation they had just witnessed, and she smiled evilly at them.


    ¡°You seem to have a lot of guts, don¡¯t you? If you¡¯re going to go along with me to relieve my frustration, then let¡¯s burn you all to ashes!¡±


    Her vicious words, unimaginable from her appearance, caused tension in the Empire army.


    As they stopped moving as if they had frozen, and just as Rage was about to step forward with a smile on her face, two knives flew out of nowhere, aiming for the side of her head, catching her by surprise.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 334: From Successive Battles To Sloth (2)

    <h4>Chapter 334: From Sessive Battles To Sloth (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Damn! I thought I had her, but she blocked it!¡±


    It was Loren who rushed to the scene and threw not one but two daggers at Rage¡¯s head.


    The daggers he threw were not his own, but were borrowed from two nearby Empire soldiers who had them hanging on their belts as spares. The two soldiers, who knew they had been picked, stared at Loren with startled faces.


    ¡°You. You are as annoying as an insect.¡±


    The daggers that Loren had thrown had definitely been on the trajectory for a direct hit despite the mes, but they were repelled by the force field that Rage had apparently set up around herself and fell to the ground.


    She stomped on the des, and as mes rose up, they burned red and melted down like candies.


    ¡°Be good and let me turn you into ashes!¡±


    Rage swung her arm, and mes surged up from it.


    Loren defended himself with the t of his greatsword. The mes only slid across the surface of his armor in a scattering of sparks, but the soldiers around him did not stand a chance. With a sideways nce at the soldiers who had turned into living torches without even time to scream, Loren brandished his greatsword and shed at Rage.


    Seeing the de, which seemed too huge to be used against a small girl like her, cut through the heated air and mes, Rage quietly clucked her tongue and moved to dodge it while shooting more mes toward Loren.


    Loren pulled back the sword, which had not hit its target, and shed at the mes that were shot at him. The scattered mes burned where his skin was exposed, the stinging pain made Loren grimace as he held his sword up once more.


    ¡°You son of a bitch! Let me slowly roast you up!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t just shoot fires however you want, can you!¡±


    Loren thought that even if Rage was an Evil God who controlled fire, it would take her some time to produce a merge enough to burn down the surrounding. Therefore, in order to not allow her that time, he tried to hunt her down without stopping his attacks. Loren¡¯s greatsword managed to asionally catch the edge of Rage¡¯s clothing, but he was unable tond a solid hit as she kept dodging, taking advantage of her small stature and light weight.


    ¡°Oh, you son of a bitch! You shredded the edge of my skirt! What if it makes me less cute?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your cuteness has be non-existent after you keep burning humans one after another!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m cute, aren¡¯t I?!¡±


    ¡°Stop spitting nonsense!¡±


    While continuing to attack Rage, who protested with a somewhat hurt look on her face, Loren wondered if he would have to finish her by himself, or if reinforcements woulde.


    He had not forgotten his previous confrontation with Rage.


    Based on that experience, Loren wanted to avoid confronting her, if possible, but running through a battlefield was a bit difficult for Lapis, G, or us and his party, who were not ustomed to battlefields, and before long Loren found himself in the position of being the only one at the front. He had also considered waiting until someone else arrived on the scene, but he could not leave Rage burning Empire soldiers to death, so he had no choice but to make a move.


    Loren wished from the bottom of his heart that she had been killed by the daggers, but he understood, even if he didn¡¯t like it, by watching G and Luxuria, that Evil Gods were not the kind of opponents who would die with a single surprise blow.


    ¡°You can¡¯t deny my cuteness!¡±


    Rage, perhaps angered by Loren¡¯s words, raised her eyes and tried to release more mes, but she was hit directly in the face by something, and tumbled backward with a small, cute scream.


    Loren, guessing that it was the priestly spell >, shouted without looking in the direction where that something hade from.


    ¡°Lapis?!¡±


    ¡°Sorry Loren, it took longer than I expected.¡±


    The voice that responded was of Lapis, just as Loren had expected.


    In addition to her white priest robe and eye-catching appearance, Lapis was a girl. She stood out on the battlefield, and seemed to have attracted the attention of the enemy soldiers. This was why she arrived at the scer than Loren. However, although she had waded through the throngs of enemies, there was no blood or dirt on her clothes or hands.


    ¡°Was everything all right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I can handle this much, and I¡¯ve mostly pushed it to G and Luxuria, so it¡¯s not a problem.¡±


    ¡°And us and the others?¡±


    ¡°They seemed to stand out more than I did, with three girls running with a man carrying another man on his back.¡±


    Holding a hand over her eyes, Lapis looked in the direction she had just run through, but there was no sign of us and the others yet; only enemy soldiers were swarming in that direction.


    As he dodged the mes that Rage was shooting at him, Loren felt slightly regretful about not having escorted them properly,


    ¡°Can you at least bring us? Not so much us himself, but the thing on his back.¡±


    ¡°us?!¡±


    Loren¡¯s question to Lapis seems to have reached Rage¡¯s ears as well.


    As if to prove Le¡¯s statement that she would never forgive him the next time they met, Rage¡¯s expression changed to one of anger, and the mes burning around her grew more intense.


    Loren was inwardly grimacing at the thought that he had made a blunder, but Lapis looked back at the battlefield through which she had run and asked.


    ¡°Can you hold on until I bring him?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Rage once again dodged the sword Loren swung to keep her in check.


    Even though she seemed to be on fire with anger, she appeared to understand that Loren¡¯s weapon was somehow dangerous, and didn¡¯t carelessly lunge at him.


    As Rage continued shooting mes while keeping a distance, Shayna continuously used Energy Drain on her from within Loren, but from outward appearance alone, he had no idea if it had any effects. He wondered if he would be able to hold out until us and the others arrived with Lapis¡¯ help.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew him!¡±


    ¡°He is totally at fault for what you are upset about. Even I know that there is no room for arguments there. It¡¯s a bit of a pity that he wasn¡¯t burned to ashes right after he made a pass at you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite reasonable.¡±


    The way Loren reacted, in which he fully acknowledged Rage¡¯s side of the story without any attempts to defend us¡¯s actions, seemed to have calmed Rage¡¯s anger somewhat, and the intensity of the mes lessened to some degree.


    Seeing this, Lapis silently patted Loren¡¯s shoulder before turning around and returning to the battlefield from which she had just exited.


    ¡°She went to call in a friend or something? You got some kind of n to get to me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡±


    ¡°I mean, do you think you can stand in front of me until those reinforcements arrive?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡±


    While Loren fixed his grip on the greatsword, Rage casually stepped forward.


    However, her action was neverpleted.


    Loren did not immediately understand what the reason was, but Rage was stepping forward when, without any warning, she was suddenly knocked down and fell forward with such force that her face hit the ground hard.


    Loren, who was looking at the fallen Rage to see what had happened, understood when he saw a small shadow moving at her feet.


    It was Nigg, who had secured Wraith¡¯s feet firmly to the ground with the threads he had spit out.


    After seeding in making Rage fall down in front of Loren, who was both surprised or dismayed to see the spider there, Nigg climbed on top of the body of Rage, who was still confused about what had happened, and began to spit out arge number of threads.


    It was often mistakenly believed that spider silk was mmable, but the truth was, even though they could be burned off, they could not catch fire. While Rage was still confused and unable to react, Nigg skilfully wrapped her body up like a package while she was lying on her face.


    When Rage btedly realized the situation, she began trying to burn off the spider¡¯s threads by emitting mes from her body, but Nigg¡¯s tough threads were not burned off so easily. The spider wrapped the threads around her body two, three, and more times, and eventually seeded in trapping her inside a huge cocoon.


    Nigg raised his front legs as if to strike a triumphant pose, then, having done his job, climbed up from under Loren¡¯s feet, clung to his shoulder at his usual spot, and stopped moving.


    ¡°Hey, I was surprised. You¡¯re amazing.¡±


    After wrapping his greatsword in cloth and thrusting it into the ground, Loren patted Nigg, who was now clinging to his shoulder, and the spider shook with joy.


    In front of Loren¡¯s eyesy a pure white oval cocoon, as tall as his waist, with what sounded like moansing from inside and mes asionally flickering out from between the threads.


    Although one had to wonder what in the world was in Nigg¡¯s body to make him able to spit out that many threads, the scene in front of his eyes was real, and this should be able to block the Rage¡¯s movements for a while. Knowing that much was enough for Loren now; the rest was rtively unimportant to him.


    He considered taking this opportunity to stab Rage, but there was no point in damaging the cocoon so badly that it would break the Evil God¡¯s restraints. And above all, the threads that Nigg spit out were strong enough that he didn¡¯t think he could manage to stab through it and finish Rage with a single blow.


    ¡°Let me out! Let me out of here! Damn it, I¡¯m going to burn these threads¡­ Hot?! The threads are melting?! Melted threads, hot!¡±


    From the screamsing from the cocoon, it seemed that Rage was trying to escape by burning it from inside, but the mes roasted the threads and melted them into a hot liquid, which then caught on her body and caused an uproar.


    Loren was once again reminded that Nigg had the power to restrict an Evil God¡¯s actions, even if only temporarily, and that even though she had the appearance of a small spider, she was still a powerful magical creature in her own right.


    ¡°It¡¯s reassuring to have you on my side. You really saved me.¡±


    [¡®I did my best too, onii-san!¡¯]


    ¡°Yes, you did. Shayna¡¯s strength helped me, too. I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do it on my own.¡±


    When Loren thanked Shayna aloud, she showed a hint of embarrassment in his mind.


    While wishing he could somehow return Shayna to her original human body, Loren looked around and saw that both enemies and allies had fled due to Rage¡¯s mes. After confirming that his surroundings were like a vacuum in the middle of the battlefield, he leaned on the greatsword he had thrust into the ground and took a moment of break.


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 Chapter 335: From Successive Battles To Sloth (3)

    <h4>Chapter 335: From Sessive Battles To Sloth (3)</h4>


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    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren waited for a while.


    Inside the cocoon created by Nig, Rage seemed to be releasing mes incessantly to melt its threads; the red color of the mes was beginning to show through the gaps in the threads.


    From time to time, Nig would jump down from Loren¡¯s shoulder to the cocoon and spit out more threads to reinforce it. But after a while, he seemed to have run out of stock and was no longer moving from Loren¡¯s shoulder, giving off an air of exhaustion.


    Furthermore, since the me-throwing Rage was now trapped inside the cocoon, no more mes were shot out, causing soldiers of both sides to be attracted back into Loren¡¯s spot.


    Loren, still wary that Rage might emerge from the cocoon at any moment, wielded his greatsword to knock down the approaching enemy soldiers while waiting for Lapis to bring us to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going tost much longer.¡±


    Loren was whining when a huge me erupted from a crack in the cocoon.


    A tear appeared on the surface, not big enough for a person to pass through, but enough for an arm to push out, and through it he could hear the curses of Rage inside.


    ¡°Damn you, you bastard! Don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll just turn you into ashes after what you¡¯ve done to me!¡±


    For a moment, Loren was lost.


    The size of the tear indicated that the cocoon was not that thick, and it urred to him that he could now plunge his greatsword through it and deliver a fatal blow to Rage.


    However, if he failed, he would only make the tear bigger and shorten the time it would take for the Evil God toe out, which would only make the situation worse.


    Just as Loren put strength into his grip on the hilt of the greatsword, the voice he had been waiting for finally called out to him.


    ¡°Sorry, Loren! Did I keep you waiting?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re just in time.¡±


    Kicking down the surrounding Kingdom soldiers, Lapis reappeared.


    Behind her was us, who was using his longsword to finish the approaching enemies, and following him were the three girls.


    ¡°Are you bringing your luggage?!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s all safe somehow. I mean, what kind of guy is he? I think I took a couple of good shots to the back, but he doesn¡¯t look hurt at all.¡±


    Loren nodded in response to us¡¯s question, while us lowered the man on his back to the ground.


    Dauna, who imed to be the Evil God of Sloth, slowly descended from us¡¯s back and casually waved at Loren while cracking his neck, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding tumult.


    ¡°Hey there, did I keep you waiting for long?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting a while, but not long enough to be fatal. Anyway, can you really do something about that?¡±


    As he rushed to Dauna, Loren pointed to the cocoon, which now had several tears and began to spout fires.


    Dauna stared at what Loren pointed at closely, then asked in a tone thatcked any urgency.


    ¡°What do you want me to do with this cocoon?¡±


    ¡°Not the cocoon. The thing inside it. It¡¯s Rage.¡±


    Loren was about to ask Dauna what kind of nonsense he was bbing, but he stopped, thinking that it would be wrong to get angry. The guy had just arrived, and there was only arge cocoon lying in front of him; he could not know that Rage was inside.


    In the meantime, Dauna curiously approached the cocoon. The moment he brought his face closer to it as if he was about to examine something, the cocoon burst open from the inside.


    ¡°I finally got out! Damn! What the hell is this cocoon?! My mes can burn it, but it takes so long!¡±


    Rage rose up from within like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.


    The figure standing imposingly with angry eyes looked not so different from before she was sealed in the cocoon by Nig, but us blurted out.


    ¡°She¡¯s covered in something milky white. Somehow, it feels like¡­ just after?¡±


    It might just be an offhandment from us, but it made Loren turn his dismayed gaze toward him when he heard it. Lapis, who was standing next to the guy, red at us with a cold, disgusted stare.


    us¡¯panions did not react much as if it was something normal to them; they simply looked at him exasperatedly. But Dauna, who had taken a few steps backward when the cocoon exploded, began tough uproariously.


    ¡°After! Yeah, that¡¯s exactly what it looks like!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯tugh! I became like this because I was melting down the cocoon from inside, it can¡¯t be helped! It¡¯s not like I like looking like this!¡±


    The angry Rage, who was baring her teeth, was indeed in the state that us had described.


    The milky white substance, however, was not what us and Dauna had imagined, but rather the end product of Nig¡¯s threads melting by the heat. But it was sticking to her clothes, hair, and face in clumps, and she was in a rather wretched state.


    ¡°I¡¯m hot and sticky all over and not half as cute as I was. Damn it. You son of a bitch, I¡¯ll never forgive you¡­ us?! YOU ARE HERE!????¡±


    Rage, who was trying to pull off the sticky residue from her body with a disgusted look on her face, saw us amidst the surrounding figures and tried to jump at him, only to be caught in the debris of the cocoon and stumble on the spot.


    Thanks to Rage¡¯s feet getting tangled in the melted threads lying on the ground, us was not attacked. He quickly moved away from Rage and, without a second thought, hid behind Loren.


    ¡°Get away from me!¡±


    ¡°No, Loren, you and I are friends, aren¡¯t we? I thought you¡¯d help me out here.¡±


    ¡°What friends? There is no excuse for what you did!¡±


    Loren tried to draw us out in front of himself, but us even made full use of his > not to get overpowered and continued to resist. It was a rather unsightly grapple from the outside.


    Gritting her teeth, Rage, who was temporarily forgotten, was about to step toward Loren and us when she noticed Daunaughing nearby.


    ¡°Huh?! Dauna?!¡±


    ¡°Long time no see, Rage. You¡¯re as stuffy as ever.¡±


    Dauna took a step forward as he answered, and Rage took a step backward.


    Her face was obviously tense, and everyone could see that Rage was not so much afraid of Dauna as she was ufortable with his presence.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Loren here, asked me to do a faaaavour for him. It¡¯s a bit of a hassle, but I¡¯m here to deal with you.¡±


    ¡°You?! Of all people, YOU?!¡±


    ¡°I think the only ones who can handle your mes are me and Envy if she is serious, aaaren¡¯t we? I don¡¯t think Loren made a bad choice.¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!¡±


    Cursing with the voice of a small girl, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Rage turned around and tried to flee the scene.


    However, the attempt was not sessful.


    Even if her footing was somewhat obstructed by the remnants of Nig¡¯s threads, since she was a so-called Evil God, she should be able to escape with little trouble if she put her mind to it.


    However, Rage was moving so slow and hardly made any progress that even Loren and his team had to tilt their heads and wondered if this was really a being who imed to be an Evil God.


    ¡°My authority is >. It affects not only myself, but also those around me.¡±


    ¡°You, son of a bitch! Don¡¯te this way!!!¡±


    As her legs were not advancing ording to her will, Rage¡¯s face contorted, and she released a me toward Dauna.


    The streak of me burned the atmosphere as it headed in a straight line toward Dauna. However, it did not reach him; its force decreased midway, and it finally fizzled out.


    ¡°Strangely enough, as something slows down, its temperature gradually decreases, regardless of whether it is a living thing or an inorganic substance.¡±


    As Loren heard Sloth¡¯s words, rm bells started ringing somewhere in his mind.


    Not knowing what danger, he was in, he grabbed us by the cor and shouted to Lapis and the others, who were watching the scene.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong! Get away from here!¡±


    Loren understood the nature of the sense of urgency he was feeling when he noticed that the movement when he took a step forward had turned out much slower than he had expected.


    Since Dauna¡¯s consciousness was focused on Rage, the effect on Loren¡¯s group seemed to be a little weaker, but it seemed that his authority was not something that could be focused solely on selected target, but the type that affected everything within its range indiscriminately.


    ¡°I can¡¯t control it once it is truly activated, but that¡¯s okay. Isn¡¯t it great to be sleeping forever in a world where nothing moves?¡±


    As Dauna¡¯s strangely contorted voice reached his ears, Loren looked over his shoulder and saw him stooping down to look into the face of Rage, who was now unable to move, her legspletely trapped.


    Of course, there were Kingdom soldiers surrounding them, but perhaps because they were less resistant to the Dauna¡¯s power than Rage, none of them made even the slightest movement, as if they were puppets.


    The mes that had been zing disappeared, and as if to rece them, the ground and the soldiers¡¯ body surfaces were slowly covered with something white.


    ¡°Everything is starting to freeze.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! That¡¯s what happens when we get caught, too!¡±


    Even from a distance, Loren could see that Rage¡¯s face, which had been confident and determined until Dauna appeared, was bing a crying one.


    Her body, down to her fingertips, could move no longer, and Dauna, with a kind smile on his face, gently touched her cheek with a palm.


    Loren, having seen this, decided that he should do everything in his power to escape and focused on running, dragging us, who was screaming in protest, behind him.


    Then, Dauna¡¯s words reached Loren¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Sleep well. Ahh, how envious. This is the perfectziness.¡±


    Loren could already feel the intense cold air on his back. Would they really be able to escape out of the effective range of Dauna¡¯s authority?


    As he wondered this, Loren, along with Lapis and the others who were running with him, just tried to move their feet and keep advancing forward.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 336: From End-Of-War To Consequences

    <h4>Chapter 336: From End-Of-War To Consequences</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Soon after Dauna neutralized Rage with his authority, the Kingdom army was forced to retreat before the attacks of the Empire army.


    The Kingdom army, which had originally been outmatched by the Empire army in terms of the quality of its troops but had been able topensate with the power of Rage, naturally was unable to defend itself against the Empire with her gone.


    The Empire army, which had almost unterallyunched an offensive this time, was not about to let them get away, and was attacking into the Kingdom¡¯s territory to pursue them, but the adventurers were not taking part in this battle.


    They were participating only under the pretext of supporting the Empire forces, who had been under attacks. When the Empire force took on the offensive role, their cooperation was deemed to be over, and the adventurers began to return to the towns and viges they were based in.


    In the midst of all this, Loren and his group still stayed in the town where the Empire¡¯s army was based, with the main reason being, to hear Yuri¡¯s stories about Loren.


    Although Loren himself did not seem to care much about it, Lapis was interested, and since Yuri himself did not say that he would not talk about it, she was nning to ask him when the war was over.


    However, this had proved to be unsessful.


    ¡°General Yuri is inmand of the pursuit of the Kingdom army and is currently apanying the troops on the front line.¡±


    When the soldier in charge of guarding the base informed Loren and the others of this, Lapis looked as if she wanted to say ¡®Darn it!¡¯, but it was already toote.


    If they wanted to try to force Yuri to talk, they would have to follow him to the front line, and if they did that, they would be drawn into the war between the Empire and the Kingdom, whether they wanted to or not.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get in touch with you sooner orter if he feels like talking. It¡¯s just how the Commander is.¡±


    ¡°Is this alright with you, Loren?¡±


    Loren thought for a moment and then asked Lapis in a slightly hesitant tone.


    ¡°Suppose I were someone else that I don¡¯t even know. Would that change the way you treat me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an unexpected question.¡±


    Lapis, who looked genuinely surprised, nevertheless immediately answered Loren¡¯s question.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if you are a mortal enemy of my family or something, but fortunately both my parents are alive and well, so that can¡¯t be it. And, Loren is just Loren, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is. Yes, it¡¯s all very good.¡±


    Lapis seemedpletely pleased with Loren¡¯s question and her own response, so that discussion ended there.


    However, there remained one more problem: Rage, who Dauna had neutralized on the battlefield.


    The authority activated by Dauna hadpletely enclosed a corner of the battlefield in ice, and all of the Kingdom soldiers that were caught up in the ice had died. Loren thought that if they could be revived from that state, they could no longer be called human, but Rage was an exception.


    As expected of an Evil God, the ice encasing Rage melted as soon as Dauna¡¯s authority expired and ambient temperature returned to normal, and although she was unconscious, she was still alive. Not knowing what would happen after she woke up, if they just left her there, Loren¡¯s team brought her back together with Dauna, who had fallen asleep.


    As for the damage to the soldiers that Dauna¡¯s authority had caused, the Empire soldiers who had seen Loren¡¯s group fleeing were mostly spared; only a few who were unlucky and unobservant werete in escaping. However, a good number of Kingdom soldiers were caught up because they were standing on the spot, and they remained standing there as cold, white ice sculptures even after Dauna¡¯s authority had lifted.


    ¡°Damn it¡­ I¡¯ve lost¡­ Let me go¡­¡±


    After regaining consciousness, Rage was in a state of utter despondency that was unimaginable from what they had seen on the battlefield.


    No one knew when she would use her power and unleash fires again, so she was imprisoned in a military facility on the outskirts of town.


    Tied with a thin metal cable to prevent her from immediately burning it off, she sat cross-legged in the center of the prison cell, her face sullen. For some reason, it was left up to Loren¡¯s team to decide what to do with her.


    ¡®General Yuri¡¯s decision¡¯ were the words of the soldiers, but Loren couldn¡¯t shake the worrying question of ¡®why him?¡¯.


    ¡°Is this going to be alright?¡±


    Loren, who had been led into the prison to see Rage, watched her through the bars and asked. Lapis tilted her head while Luxuria shrugged.


    ¡°Dauna¡¯s ¡®blessing¡¯ is very very bad, you know.¡±


    It was G who said this as she looked into the prison cell. And for some reason, us was standing nearby.


    As they were already present here, Loren and his team could not stop us froming to check on Rage. Of course, they would not tell us about Evil Gods, so they exined the authority of Evil Gods as a blessing, simr to what us himself possessed.


    Loren thought it was a bit of a stretch, but so far us seemed to be convinced without any particr doubts.


    ¡°Simply put, the blessing is to demotivate all beings within the area of effect. When something is demotivated, it tries to stay where it is. And when everything stops, that¡¯s what happens.¡±


    ¡°So, you yourself are unscathed because of your abundant tolerance. That¡¯s scary.¡±


    Dauna, the one who had caused such a phenomenon, demanded a ce to sleep after, as if he had done a lifetime¡¯s worth of work, and now upied a room at the inn where Loren and the others were staying and continued to sleep.


    Loren thought it might be a bacsh from using his authority, but G told him that Dauna¡¯s power as an Evil God had weakened somewhat because he had worked despite being Sloth, who should not work at all, so he now had toze around to regain his power.


    ¡°You mean she is still under the influence of Dauna¡¯s blessing?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s going to be like this for a while.¡±


    Loren thought that if the authority Dauna had disyed were to be used too often, it would be horrible, particrly because it was almost impossible to defend against it. Even if you tried to defend with magic, it seemed that magic itself would lose its own motivation and be ineffective.


    If there was any saving grace, it was that Dauna himself was the embodiment ofziness, and almost never made a move on his own.


    ¡°Goddamn you¡­ Remember what you did to me¡­¡±


    ¡°She is indeed Rage, still cursing this much despite being under Dauna¡¯s influence.¡±


    Loren wondered what to do with Rage, who was still continually swearing despite beingpletely listless.


    The easiest and safest way would be to dispose of her right here and now.


    Normally, they would have had to prepare for a lot of resistance, but now that she had lost her willpower, he felt that they could do it without too much trouble.


    ¡®But¡¯, Loren turned his attention to G.


    Loren expected that G, an Evil God, would not feel very good about disposing of Rage, who was also an Evil God. He could sense that G, who was peering into the prison cell, was asking him to somehow spare her life.


    He considered passing Rage over to G, but then he wondered if it would be a good idea, since she would be too much for G¡¯s group to handle once she regained herself.


    ¡°Hey, us, you did hit on her once, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a man¡¯s duty to hit on a pretty woman.¡±


    As us answered Loren¡¯s question clearly and decisively, Lapis and G red at him with disgusted eyes while Luxuria looked at him admiringly.


    ¡°This child sure has got a lot to offer, doesn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°It makes me shudder just to think that he¡¯s in the same league as Luxuria. ¡°


    ¡°I wonder if it would be possible to seal them together somewhere.¡±


    While each of them proimed their different sentiments, Loren pondered for a moment, then made a suggestion to us.


    ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you take her to your ce and take care of her?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ and G¡¯s eyes widened as if saying ¡®What are you talking about¡¯.


    Luxuria, however, pped his hands as if saying ¡®Good idea¡¯, and us, who was the one who had been told to do so, replied instantly with fiery enthusiasm in his eyes.


    ¡°I-Is it really alright?!¡±


    ¡°No, wait a minute, Loren. This is the man who was almost killed because he tried to seduce Rage.¡±


    Talking rapidly, Lapis tried to stop them in a panic, but Loren responded by pointing to Rage in the prison cell.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but she almost fell for us, didn¡¯t she? So, if he talks to her properly, it might work out better than you think.¡±


    ¡°B-but¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to take care of her, and with how things are, we can¡¯t dispose of her in good conscience, can we? So, I think it would be best to let someone who had the best chance to seed to persuade her and take care of her.¡±


    us already had the skills to turn the girls in his party into hispanions, even though they might say otherwise. Loren¡¯s argument was that, even if a fourth person were added to the group, he would somehow manage to make it work.


    The underlying reason, however, was the idea that handling it by themselves would be too much trouble and should be left to us, who seemed to be good with women. But Loren never mentioned this.


    ¡°Ange and the others will resent you for this.¡±


    Lapis, perhaps reading his thoughts, leaned in close and quietly whispered to Loren, who also answered in a whisper.


    It was not as if there was no merit; if us could sessfully persuade Rage, his party could expect a huge boost in strength. And even if there was no merit to it, Loren believed that us would not refuse if he was asked to take care of a pretty girl like Rage.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to be like this for a while. Convince her before things get out of hand.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. There may have been some unfortunate misunderstandings, but I¡¯m sure that if we talk courteously, she will understand.¡±


    As us answered with a needlessly sparkling smile, Loren looked relieved to hear the trouble had been taken care of.


    He patted Lapis, who still wondered if it was really okay, on the shoulder and looked at G, who nodded, albeit slightly.


    ¡°Hey, Rage. I¡¯ll leave it up to you whether or not you want to ept his offer. If you don¡¯t like it, you can ask G for help. You can contact her, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you what to do. It¡¯s just a favour. In any case, you lost to us once, so be a little more amodating, okay?¡±


    Thinking that she would be stubborn if he forced it on her, Loren used the word ¡®favour¡¯ instead.


    Hearing that, she stared at him through the prison bars.


    ¡°¡­I understand.¡±


    After a few moments, Rage nodded reluctantly despite being seemingly out of it.


    Although he did not know how effective the verbal agreement, they had made on this asion would be, Loren thought from Rage¡¯s behaviour that she would not revoke it.


    ¡°We¡¯re done with the clean-up here. Let¡¯s go back to Kapha. We should do some work and make some money.¡±


    Seeing that their job here had ended, Loren tried to sound cheerful, but Lapis whispered.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. And your debt is not decreasing. How about just give up and marry me?¡±


    Reminded once again of the huge debt he owed, Loren¡¯s expression turned gloomy, and he lightly poked Lapis on the head with a wry smile.


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 Chapter 337: From A Destroyed Country to A Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 337: From A Destroyed Country to A Reunion</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    A rumour began to circte that a kingdom had been destroyed.


    Loren wondered which city-state had fallen this time, but this thought was put to rest when Shayna, the King of Death spirit who was living in his soul, gently chastised him.


    Rather than a real country being destroyed, it was moremon for a city-state, which typically came into being by bing independent of a country for some reason, or by being formed by a group of people in simr circumstances, to be destroyed. However, before Shayna became the King of Death, she was the daughter of the governor of a city-state, and it was intolerable for her for such a thing to be dismissed as amon story.


    While apologizing to Shayna in his mind, Loren wondered if it would be necessary to gather more detailed information.


    They were currently in a town that was located very close to the border of Justinia Empire. Loren and his team hade to this ce in the northern part of the continent, far from Kapha, to participate in the war between the Empire of Justinia and the Kingdom of Lombard at the request of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Now that their work had finished, they were ready to return.


    Using the route they took whening meant passing through the territory of the demon race in the center of the continent, and although they had a rtively safe way to get through there, it was not a route Loren wanted to use often.


    With no reason for them to hurry back to their base in the town of Kapha, which was in the southwestern part of the continent, they decided to take a proper route for a change. They declined the transportation arranged by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and were just getting ready for the trip when this information came.


    ¡°What kingdom has been destroyed? If a kingdom was destroyed, it would be a big deal, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    They were in a restaurant on the ground floor of the inn where they had been staying.


    After cing his order for breakfast with the waitress and taking a seat, Loren asked Lapis, who was sitting in front of him.


    Dressed in a white priest¡¯s uniform with her trademark ponytail swinging behind her, the girl answered Loren¡¯s question as she poked at the meal she had apparently ordered earlier, which included a vegetable sd, a fried egg, and some hard-looking round bread.


    ¡°It seems to be the Kingdom of Lombard.¡±


    Lapis said in a very casual tone as if it was nothing, but the answer shocked Loren greatly.


    The Kingdom of Lombard was the country that had opposed the Empire of Justinia in themission that Loren and his team had received earlier, and until just a few days ago, it was a country that existed properly.


    Even if the Empire¡¯s invasion had been swift and severe, Loren could not believe that a properly functioning country could be destroyed in such a short period of time.


    ¡°Was the Commander too much for them?¡±


    In the battle against the Lombard Kingdom, the man inmand of the Justinian Empire¡¯s army was Yuri, the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren had belonged before he became an adventurer.


    Loren couldn¡¯t even imagine what the man had done to attain the position of General, a key position in the army, in the time that had passed since their mercenary group had been destroyed. As he wondered if Yuri, a man of such skill, would be able to destroy an entire kingdom by means that he could not even fathom, Lapis shredded the round loaf of bread with her hands and nced at something.


    ¡°If you are so curious, why don¡¯t you ask him?¡±


    Loren, who looked incredulous at being told such a thing, turned his head in the direction Lapis¡¯ gaze was directed.


    Thinking that there was no way this was possible, Loren saw an elderly man with a big smile on his face sitting at another table and immediately turned his gaze back to Lapis.


    He managed to hide his inner thoughts from his face, but in his mind, he could hear Shayna making a big fuss.


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Loren¡¯s words, which he hoped were true, caused Lapis to shake her head gently with a pained expression on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to think it¡¯s a joke, too. And if I am not mistaken, I am sure it is indeed him. Loren, are you sure he¡¯s just a human? Could he be some kind of variant human?¡±


    Lapis asked with a serious face, and Loren could not find any reassuring answer. Just then someone tapped him on the shoulder.


    Under the current circumstances, it could be no one else. Loren turned back with a resigned look, and sure enough, there was Yuri, who still had a smile on his face. He had walked up to Loren before he knew it and was now standing by his side.


    ¡°Do you mind if I sit with you?¡±


    ¡°Suit yoursel¡­ Wait, no. Don¡¯t touch Lapis, okay? Don¡¯t sit on herp or something just because I tell you to suit yourself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve be so cautious. I thought I got you.¡±


    Yuri said this in a rather regretful tone, and Lapis¡¯ sense of caution suddenly jumped. She red at him, watching his every move, but the man was not at all concerned. He pulled out a chair from a nearby table and sat down on the opposite side of Loren, to the right, still keeping a smile on his face.


    ¡°So, what is it that you want to ask me?¡±


    ¡°Is it true that Lombard Kingdom was destroyed?¡±


    Loren was still in a state of disbelief even as he asked this. He could not shake off the feeling that there was no way it could happen.


    Yuri neither nodded nor shook his head, but merely shrugged.


    ¡°You can say it¡¯s true, or you can say it¡¯s not true.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Loren thought that there were only two possible answers for his question, true or false, but Yuri¡¯s answer was different from what he had expected.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that it has been destroyed, but it¡¯s also not wrong to say that it is not destroyed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I mean, as a country, it has been destroyed, generally speaking.¡±


    The waitress brought the breakfast Loren had ordered. After he had epted it and thanked her, Yuri began to talk about the situation.


    ¡°You know how the battle at the border ended in a victory for us, then weunched a follow-up attack?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know. We were in the middle of it.¡±


    ¡°My expectation was that, once we had made some inroads into the Kingdom¡¯s territory, the Kingdom¡¯s army would be serious about repelling us, and after a few more battles, the war would be over with them having to cut off a certain amount of territory.¡±


    It was only natural that the Kingdom would not simply sit idly by and watch the Empire army invade.


    The forces sent to the border could not possibly be the entire strength of the Kingdom¡¯s army, and there must still be arger force inside their territory. If they came to intercept and attack, the Empire¡¯s troops Yurimanded would be forced to withdraw and retreat. That had been Yuri¡¯s prediction.


    By retreating there with little damage, the battle itself would be a great victory for the Empire, and Yuri believed that they would be able to shave off arge portion of the Kingdom¡¯s territory in the post-war negotiations.


    Reality, however, was not as Yuri had envisioned it.


    ¡°There was hardly any resistance.¡±


    ¡°From the Kingdom¡¯s side? That can¡¯t be true. Another country¡¯s army was within their territory. Regardless of what happens afterwards, there must be army reinforcements of a certain scale.¡±


    ¡°Albeit, there were none, and then some strange things happened. And that is the problem.¡±


    Yuri said that the Empire¡¯s forces had been able to advance fairly deep into the Kingdom¡¯s territory due to little resistance.


    If that were the only reason, Loren thought it would still be too early to conclude that the Kingdom had been destroyed, but Yuri went on to say that other strange things were happening in the Kingdom.


    ¡°There were no one left in their towns.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the people ran away because the Empire army wasing?¡±


    It was not unusual for citizens to be disced during a war. It was not strange to think that as long as one¡¯s life was safe, one could recover even if they lost their possessions. And as the war becamerger and more intense, the inhabitants of nearby viges and towns would all flee away from the front lines.


    ¡°Our soldiers are very well-behaved. They would notmit violence against the unarmed poption. But, well, that doesn¡¯t mean people believe us when we tell them not to run away.¡±


    ¡°I was a member of your mercenary group, so I understand, but¡­ There is more to it, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    Yuri¡¯s joking tone was light, but his expression was not. He nodded when Loren asked if there was more to the story.


    ¡°If this were just one or two towns, I would have the same thought as you did.¡±


    ¡°Well, they can¡¯t all be empty.¡±


    ¡°We have sent out scouts and advance teams to every small vige, town, andrge city to make sure that they are all ounted for. We have confirmed that more than two digits of viges, towns, and threerge cities are without a single inhabitant.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s statement changed even Lapis¡¯ expression.


    If the reports were true, it would mean that tens of thousands of people fled the country at once. But considering the time that psed between the defeat of the Kingdom army at the border battle and the invasion by the Empire army, there was too little time to manage such an exodus, no matter how deftly actions were taken.


    Moreover, considering the space, materials, and food arrangements for such arge number of people, it was hard to believe that this could be aplished in a normal way.


    Yuri seemed to share this view; his expression was gloomy beyond belief for a general who had just won a war.


    ¡°I am certain something has happened. Something big, but I have no idea what it is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not advancing the army under those circumstances, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Rather, we are pulling back our forces and sending more scouts to ascertain the current situation.¡±


    If Yuri had been an ordinary general, he might have thought it was strange, but would have continued to advance the army anyway, because they would be able to take the Kingdom¡¯s territory without resistance if they continued on.


    ¡°It is quite simple to win battle, but it is far more important not lose sight of the bigger picture.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a pain¡­¡±


    The gloomy expression on Yuri¡¯s face changed to a smug look.


    Lapis spoke up in ce of Loren, who was probably right in what he was saying, but was unintentionally crude in his tone.


    ¡°So, you came all the way back from the front lines here, to this city, the army General?¡±


    Loren¡¯s eyes widened slightly at Lapis¡¯ pointing finger.


    The army itself must have encamped within the Kingdom¡¯s territory, and Yuri, who was supposed to be inmand of it, should not be here at this moment. Since he had travelled so far from the frontline, he must have had some deeper reason in mind rather than just to surprise them.


    However, given Yuri¡¯s personality, it was possible that he really came back just to surprise them; in that case, Loren thought he should be forgiven for punching him a few times, but Yuri cut him off in a serious tone.


    ¡°We need to investigate the Kingdom of Lombard. Directly or through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it doesn¡¯t matter, but will you help us, Loren?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t mind the work, but what do you n to do about that?¡±


    Loren nodded at Lapis.


    The actual fact was, Lapis was trying to get Loren¡¯s story from Yuri, but because Yuri was out on the front line, she missed the chance.


    Now that Yuri hade back, even though the priority was certainly work, Lapis would try to extract information about Loren from him somehow. This did not seem to be an ideal situation for Yuri, who had been running away and disappearing in work.


    ¡°That, I guess we¡¯ll just have to make do.¡±


    ¡°Well, good luck with that. Lapis is in charge of negotiating the rewards, benefits, and conditions of the job.¡±


    ¡°Please be gentle with me.¡±


    Lapis was staring at Yuri, but he smiled at her with an expression that suggested he was not taking the situation too seriously.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 338: From Acceptance to Assault (1)

    <h4>Chapter 338: From eptance to Assault (1)</h4>


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    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    In the end, Loren decided to ept Yuri¡¯smission directly.


    If they aplished themission through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it would be recognized as an achievement and their statuses as adventurers might be higher, but if he had Yuri submit themission through the Guild, there was a possibility that adventurers other than Loren¡¯s party would participate.


    This could be avoided if Yuri submitted it as a nominatedmission, but that required going through aplicated process, and judging from Yuri¡¯s tone of voice, time was of the essence.


    ¡°You¡¯re not very greedy, Loren.¡±


    The next day, as they began their journey in a horse-drawn wagon arranged by the Empire army, Lapis told Loren in an exasperated tone, and he shrugged.


    Looking out the window of the carriage, Loren could see the soldiers of the Empire army that were apanying his party. As expected, even though the town they were going to, was close to the front line, Yuri did not want them to go alone, and had assigned a toon of soldiers to act as their guards.


    The soldiers, who were not theirpanions and were working under a different chain ofmand, looked more like escorts than guards, and Loren felt as if he had be a criminal in some way.


    Ads by PubFuture ¡°This is amission from a General of the Empire army, isn¡¯t it? If it had gone through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, our names would have been well known, and our achievements would have been recognized.¡±


    ¡°Not interested. As long as I can make a living, that¡¯s all that matters to me.¡±


    ¡°Are you a hermit or something? You talk like an old man.¡±


    In the wagon, Lapis upied the seat next to Loren¡¯s as a matter of course. The seat opposite her was upied by G, the so-called ¡®Evil God of Gluttony¡¯.


    ¡°As your name gets bigger, more troubles wille.¡±


    ¡°It seems to me that you¡¯re already involved in a lot of troubles.¡±


    ¡°Not that I wanted to.¡±


    When Loren objected with an offended look on his face, G gave him a wicked smile. Normally, she would have been beside Luxuria, the Evil God of Lust, but he was not here now; they had left without him.


    In a previousmission, Loren and his party had captured a girl named Rage, the Evil God of Wrath. They were at a loss as to what to do with her, so they entrusted her to a young man named us, who was famous as a promising adventurer and even more famous as a womanizer. And for some reason, Luxuria had insisted on working with us¡¯s party this time.


    ¡®I feel a vibe of resemnce with me¡¯, the guy had said and forced his way into us¡¯ party, whose members looked extremely displeased, and parted ways with Loren¡¯s party. Loren felt somewhat refreshed by his absence.


    G, however, seemed to decide to go thereter to make sure us didn¡¯t know about Rage being an Evil God, and if things escted to a certain extent, she would take Rage to the ce where she and other Evil Gods resided.


    Dauna, the Evil God of Sloth, who yed a role in capturing Rage, had been idly lounging in a room at their inn, but had disappeared before anyone knew it, perhaps having be bored. G said that he had probably returned to his den, so Loren decided not to worry about it. But Sloth was so slothful that he was a little concerned about whether he had really reached his den or not.


    ¡°But where is this wagon headed?¡±


    G, who had chosen to stay with Loren and Lapis, was following them without knowing much about the situation. Loren wasn¡¯t sure if her blind trust in him was a good thing, but G herself did not seem to mind it.


    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be heading for the nearest town in the Kingdom¡¯s territory. Uhm, what¡¯s the name of the town?¡±


    ¡°Melchira? I¡¯m not really interested in names.¡±


    Lapis, who seemed to not care about remembering things she had no interest in, tilted her head and tried to recall the name, and Loren mentioned what he vaguely remembered. It was something that Loren himself was not interested in, and he had only remembered it by ident.


    ¡°The town had tens of thousands of inhabitants, but they had all disappeared before anyone knew it.¡±


    ¡°Did some sharks fall down from the sky or what?¡±


    Loren wondered why sharks, but thinking that Lapis might be offended if he let it slide at this point, Loren gathered his thoughts for a moment before making aeback.


    ¡°If that were the case, there would have to be a dead shark left, wouldn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, they must be swimming in the sewers or something.¡±


    Lapis said, but in a tone that implied even she did not believe it.


    Loren, who thought it was just a way to pass the time while the wagon was moving, decided to go along with it since he had nothing else to do.


    ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be more realistic to say that a piper blew a pipe and took away all the inhabitants?¡±


    ¡°I know one Evil God who can do such a thing.¡±


    The conversation started as a joke, but when G suddenly threw in an information bomb, both Loren and Lapis looked at her at the same time with a startled look on their faces.


    ¡°It¡¯s you guys again?!¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait!¡±


    G protested against Loren¡¯s words, which sounded like a reprimand.


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    It was not surprising that Loren and Lapis would think ¡®Oh, no, not again¡¯ when told that one of the Evil Gods could do such a thing, but G denied it.


    ¡°I know the one who can do it, but there¡¯s no way it was him! Because that Evil God is Luxuria. There¡¯s no way he could have done that without us knowing.¡±


    Loren asked G about the details, wondering why that name hade out of nowhere.


    ¡°The Evil God of Lust can do such a thing?¡±


    Loren had hoped for something like ¡®I¡¯m just kidding¡¯, but G nodded her head firmly as if to kill his hope.


    ¡°If a beautiful girl like me was running around the citypletely naked, all the men would be chasing after her, wouldn¡¯t they? If you have the authority of Lust, you can create such a phenomenon regardless of age, sex, or gender.¡±


    G¡¯s words made Loren imagine the scene: Countless people chasing after Luxuria, who was running around the town with his oiled naked body on disy, and a look of obliviousness on his faces.


    It was a hellscape, to put it mildly, and even though he didn¡¯t have motion sickness, Loren involuntarily covered his mouth with his hand as he felt vomit rising in him.


    [¡®I feel sick¡­ I think I¡¯m going to throw up. But I can¡¯t throw up.¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s thought was shakily transmitted to Loren as he was in the midst of feeling nauseous himself. As if sympathizing with them, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren, suddenly grabbed his arm and began to bang her forehead against his shoulder.


    ¡°The image is in my brain! If I don¡¯t get rid of it right away, my mind will be damaged!¡±


    ¡°Stop, Lapis, don¡¯t shake me. I¡¯m going to throw up¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s body shook every time Lapis banged her forehead against him. Being jolted while feeling sick, his face gradually turned pale.


    ¡°Loren! If possible, please put your arms around me and squeeze me! If I can¡¯t get rid of this image with your touch, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to keep my sanity!¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about in the middle of all this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite serious!¡±


    As Loren would not give her a hug, Lapis at least tried to give one herself; she put her arms around Loren¡¯s torso and hugged him with all her strength.


    Loren felt sorry for her, but he also felt that he would truly throw up in the wagon if he was squeezed in the abdomen, so he tried to wriggle around to adjust the position of Lapis¡¯ arms around him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that an imagination of it alone can inflict this much damage on these two people. I think the theory that Luxuria is the strongest bes more usible.¡±


    ¡°Why do you look so unconcerned?¡±


    Loren asked G, who was watching him and Lapis with amusement, and G answered shortly as if it was nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve already been contaminated.¡±


    ¡°Loren, how can an Evil God be uncontaminated?¡±


    When Loren and Lapis had settled on the conclusion that this was indeed the case, G, lightly rising from her seat, pointed at Loren and shouted loudly.


    ¡°Stop talking about people like they¡¯re not normal! I think I¡¯m a reasonably sensible person among the Evil Gods!¡±


    ¡°Among. The. Evil. Gods¡­ You don¡¯t even mind admitting it. Only among the Evil Gods!¡±


    ¡°I mean, there are soldiers outside. What are you yelling about?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t protest here, you¡¯ll lump me together with Luxuria and Rage!¡±


    The wagon was well-built, and the soldiers outside would not be able to hear the conversation inside due to all the noises from the wheels and horses¡¯ hooves. But even so, if they had a sharp ear, they might have heard G¡¯s cries.


    Although Loren and his party did not exactly hide G¡¯s true identity, they also did not want to go around spreading the word openly, nor increase the number of people who knew about it.


    ¡°I already think you¡¯re the same kind as them, G, even if you deny it now.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan~! Have a talk with big sis here until we reach our destination, won¡¯t you?!¡±


    Lapis pretended to look extremely disgusted and move away from G, but then inadvertently leaned toward Loren.


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    G, who tried to grab onto Lapis, stood up in the narrow wagon and was grabbed by Lapis by both wrists, as if they were in a strength contest.


    Trying to get away from them, Loren leaned against the window sill. Nig, the spider clinging to his shoulder, lifted its two front legs as if to intimidate the two girls, who were now in a power struggle. In the noisy wagon, Loren could hear Shayna, something only he could do, sounding as if she tried tofort him.


    [¡®It¡¯s like this every time. It must be difficult for you, onii-san.¡¯]


    Shayna sounded somewhat amused, and Loren wondered if this was alright. Hoping the soldiers outside weren¡¯t too interested in the ruckus inside the wagon, he looked out the window to avoid looking at Lapis and G, who were still grappling with each other.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 339: From Acceptance to Assault (2)

    <h4>Chapter 339: From eptance to Assault (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    And like that, the group continued on through the Kingdom¡¯s territory.


    Even though they were moving through enemy territory, Loren and his party were not disturbed or harmed by any of the Kingdom soldiers, their journey proceeded smoothly.


    There were several encampments along the way, but no monsters attacked the group, and the Empire soldiers took care of all the watch shifts and camping preparations, allowing them to enjoy a very rxed trip.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that we haven¡¯t encountered any monsters?¡±


    ¡°Even though I want to say that you¡¯re worrying too much, I have to agree. Quiet and peaceful is good, but too quiet and too peaceful is abnormal.¡±


    Lapis squinted at the sunlight streaming in through the wagon window. She was reclining on her seat as if in a deep slumber, but the wordsing out of her mouth were somewhat stiff.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any sign ofrge creatures. There should have been signs of wild animals or people from some vige, but so far ¨C none.¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, I can¡¯t sense any signs of life¡­ I¡¯ve never been in a ce like this before.¡¯]


    Shayna said that when she used the King of Death¡¯s power to search for signs of life, she detected some nts and small animals, but no signs of liferger than that within the search perimeter, except for their own group.


    ¡°The scenery is peaceful, but the atmosphere is that of a cemetery.¡±


    G murmured exactly what Loren had in mind.


    One of the Empire cavalry apanying Loren¡¯s group leaned against the window of the wagon without stopping his horse. As Loren looked at him to see if something was wrong, the soldier announced through the open window in a low voice.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to arrive. The town should be in sight now.¡±


    As the cavalryman returned to his original position after saying this, Loren looked out the window and gazed in the direction they were going. Across the uneven terrain, he saw what appeared to be the roofs of some buildings.


    Almost crawling on Loren¡¯s back, Lapis also looked out, saw the same thing that he had seen, and muttered to herself.


    ¡°That¡¯s Megadeth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not Megadeth. That¡¯s Melb, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Merc. What are you guys talking about?¡±


    G quipped icily, and Loren and Lapis quickly retreated back into the wagon after exchanging a look with each other.


    ¡°So, what do we have to do in this Merc?¡±


    ¡°For the time being, we¡¯re going to do some investigation.¡±


    The Empire army had been investigating several towns that somehow had beenpletely deserted. However, the Empire and the Kingdom were currently at war, and soldiers and officers were not ustomed to conducting such investigations in the first ce. And because there was not much time, a detailed investigation was not carried out.


    The first thing Loren and his team were asked to do was to investigate whether there were any traces in the town that could exin why people had disappeared.


    ¡°I¡¯m not very good at investigations either.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s why G and I are here.¡±


    Lapis, a demon with abilities superior to those of humans, and G, an Evil God, might be able to recognize even the slightest trace, something a human would not be able to. In that light, sending Loren and his team to investigate seemed like the best course of action.


    Yuri should not have known this information, so Loren assumed it was just a coincidence, but for some reason, he could not shake off the suspicion that this was indeed the case.


    ¡°There really is no one here.¡±


    After a while, they arrived at the town they had seen and, without being stopped by anyone, proceeded on their way into the town.


    A city of Merc size should have tens of thousands of inhabitants, but as Loren and his team moved through the streets in formation, there was no one else in sight, and not even a sound could be heard.


    The streets, which did not appear to have fallen into deterioration, suggested that indeed there had been inhabitants not so long ago.


    ¡°No Empire soldiers are stationed in Merc?¡±


    If you thought about it, the town of Merc was taken from the Kingdom by the Empire army. There should have been some soldiers stationed here to keep it under upation, but there were no other sounds except for the ones their group was making. It was eerie.


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, we would certainly have put some men on the ground, but with the way things are going, the soldiers are getting a little creeped out.¡±


    The Empire cavalryman who was riding alongside the wagon heard Loren¡¯s words and said.


    ¡°Have you requisitioned the property of the original inhabitants?¡±


    ¡°No, we did not. If we wanted to, we could take as much as we wanted, but¡­¡±


    The cavalryman answered Lapis¡¯ question. The atmosphere in the town was so thick that even Loren could not help but agree with his answer.


    There were no enemy soldiers to interfere and no residents to resist, so it would have been easy for the Empire soldiers to take away all of the residents¡¯ properties if they went on a raid, but the eeriness of the situation seemed to have discouraged them from doing so.


    ¡°If some kind of bandites in here, it¡¯ll be like a treasure trove for them.¡±


    ¡°True, yet even that kind don¡¯t show themselves.¡±


    A town that was unguarded, with no inhabitants and only properties left behind, should have been a paradise for those who entered to steal. But if what the cavalryman said was true, that no one even tried to steal from the town, it only added to the eerie atmosphere.


    ¡°Is it alright if we secretly pocketed some?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t rmend it, but¡­ The General has asked us to turn a blind eye to it. Although, a certain amount must be paid to the Empire.¡±


    ¡°I see. This is very motivating.¡±


    The Empire soldiers did not want to touch anything in this creepy ce because they did not know what would happen if they did. However, if Loren and his team had no problem after touching them, the soldiers might want to collect some themselves if they could. For that reason, they would not mind if some of the money ended up in their team¡¯s pockets. That was what Loren thought as he watched the exchange between Lapis and the cavalrymen.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start our investigation with that big store. It¡¯s probably a merchant¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re totally determined to steal some, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°The property is unimed, and the circumstances indicate that it has already be a spoil of war for the Empire army. By the way, it was a good decision to bring G along.¡±


    Lapis had learned that Loren was reluctant toy his hands on other people¡¯s property. That was why she emphasized the ¡®spoil of war¡¯ and told him that if they did nothing, the money would go straight into the military¡¯s vault.


    Loren understood this, too, so he did not argue with her, and Lapis smiled.


    G, on the other hand, tilted her head when she heard her name mentioned. Watching Lapis ask the cavalrymen to keep away from the wagon so that they could discuss the investigation between themselves, Loren answered the question that G must be wanting to ask.


    ¡°We can¡¯t carry that much on our own. With you here, we can store them at your den and take our time to examine the goodster.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡±


    G could move into the space where the Evil Gods lived. Even though Loren¡¯s team could not transport that much goods left in the town on their own, not now or in the future, they could temporarily store them there. In other words, it was as if they had a warehouse with G as the counter, and with this, they should be able to recover a considerable amount of property from the city of Merc.


    ¡°We can¡¯t use it too often. It¡¯s too suspicious.¡±


    ¡°If they ask, why don¡¯t we just say we have a magical tool?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Well, the Empire army will receive its share of the money too, so no one loses. Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give most of it to my mother¡¯s boss to reduce your debt, Loren.¡±


    Loren had a considerable amount of debts.


    Currently, the creditors of these debts were Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King, and her boss, the Great Demon King, who seemed to be in charge of the entire demon race. He could pay any amount any time without prior demand, so even though he was concerned, he was not worried about it.


    The exact amount was not known to Loren, but it was not an amount that he would be able to pay off on his own. So, if he could repay even a small portion of it with the additional ie from this job, Loren had no reason to stop Lapis.


    ¡°Do your investigation, too, okay? That is our first priority.¡±


    Loren warned Lapis, who was on cloud nine, but what she and G said in response was something he did not expect.


    ¡°I already know roughly what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can already smell it.¡±


    Not much time had passed since they entered the town, and they said they already had a good idea about the disappearance of the residents without having done any investigative work. Loren was surprised, and Lapis¡¯ expression changed from happy to sullen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could have figured it out on my own though.¡±


    ¡°It was a piece of cake for me. The signs are so unique. Even after all this time, it¡¯s easy to spot.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°I guess we hit the jackpot with what we said before we went into town.¡±


    G had said she knew of an entity that could move arge number of people in a short period of time and without disruption. It was the Evil God of Lust.


    However, Luxuria was not here, so why did G say they hit the jackpot?


    Loren, wondering if it was really Luxuria who did this after all, widened his eyes when he realized there was another being who might have the authority of the Evil God of Lust besides Luxuria.


    ¡°I think Loren has realized it, too. The dark elf that was in the Lust capsule at the facility where we were created¡­ It was a dark elf, right?¡±


    ¡°Noel. Since the shiny ck presence of Magna in the Kingdom army is expected, it¡¯s almost confirmed to be her.¡±


    ¡°We still don¡¯t know where they took the people or what he¡¯s thinking. We won¡¯t know that even if we investigate this town.¡±


    ¡°My mission from now on is to pretend to investigate while conducting an enjoyable house search. Depending on the results, we may even be able to give that nasty, shiny ck thing a bit of a workout.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to let that ck bastard off the hook, are we?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also thinking that instead of killing him off, I¡¯ll leave him almost dead. He¡¯s caused us so much trouble, one after the other¡­¡±


    G and Lapisughed together in low, restrained voices.


    Perhaps sensing that the two were beginning to give off an evil vibe that was enough to blow away the eerie atmosphere in the town, the cavalry horses walking around quickly began to distance themselves from the wagon. Watching from the window, Loren was seized with the thought that these two were better not to be left alone.


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 Chapter 340: From Acceptance to Assault (3)

    <h4>Chapter 340: From eptance to Assault (3)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Look, Loren, look!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking. You don¡¯t have to be so excited.¡±


    Loren responded to Lapis¡¯ loud, joyous voice, which echoed through the quiet town, with a wry smile.


    A town without a single inhabitant was a very eerie ce. But the subdued atmosphere was blown away by Lapis¡¯ shout, brought about by the mountain of treasures that were piled up before their eyes.


    Loren¡¯s team had immediately begun their investigation after entering the town of Merc. Half way through, Empire soldiers had gathered from various parts of the town a number of properties belonging to the residents who had disappeared and piled them up. Not only hard currency of gold and silver, but also furnishings such as ornaments and candlesticks; anything that looked valuable was collected and put into a heap.


    ¡°Is this part of the investigation?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the investigation. There might be magic tools in here that might have caused this phenomenon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not what you say, but how you say it, right?¡±


    Lapis and G had already established that the person who had caused the unusual phenomenon was probably Noel, a dark elf who hade to possess the power of Lust and was a follower of Magna, the ck swordsman who had been causing problems for Loren and his party.


    Loren thought that if that was the case, there was no need for further investigation. But regardless of how much he believed this, Lapis insisted on conducting a proper investigation and asked the Empire soldiers to collect the properties left behind in the town.


    Perhaps because of Yuri¡¯s instructions, the soldiers did not seem to show any displeasure at Lapis¡¯ request, even though Loren¡¯s team was supposed to be outsiders; they quickly split up to gather the assets remained in the town and gathered them at the town square, where Lapis had taken up a position.


    ¡°The treasures of an entire town are right in front of you, Loren. It¡¯s not often one gets to see a sight like this, so you should enjoy it while you still can.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the midst of being devastated by the fact that I can¡¯t clear my debt, even with all the money I¡¯ve umted.¡±


    In contrast to Lapis¡¯ good mood, Loren¡¯s expression turned sombre as the treasures piled up.


    They had collected almost all of the goods left in the city, but even if he spent all of them, Loren still would not be able to settle the debt he owed.


    Once again being shown the reality of the burden he was carrying, there was no way he could be as buoyant as Lapis, and he simply felt his mood sinking.


    ¡°It would be nice if there was a way to clear it all at once.¡±


    The debt that Loren was carrying was caused by him identally destroying part of the castle of the Great Demon King, who ruled the entire demon race, when he entered the demons¡¯ territory in the past.


    The amount of money would not have been so out of the ordinary if it were a normal castle, and Loren still felt cheated even after all this time. But when the other party was the Great Demon King, just protesting might cost him his life.


    Moreover, even if he did try to protest, Loren had a feeling that the Great Demon King would, with a calm smile, parry his objections so perfect that he would not even be able to make a sound.


    It was promised by the Great Demon King and Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King, that if he married Lapis, the entire amount would be cleared. It seemed that they considered it the dowry, but Loren did not think it would be good to have such a rtionship with Lapis as a coteral.


    However, when he was presented with such a pile of goods and told that even this would not be enough, he wondered if he could repay the debt at his own discretion.


    ¡°Now now, Lapis-chan. Using debt to tie Loren up might seem fine for a demon, but it has turned out to be a bad move, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s true, considering Loren¡¯s character. No matter, I¡¯ll think of some other way.¡±


    Behind Loren, who was looking up at the pile of goods with a gloomy face, G and Lapis were secretly exchanging such a conversation.


    From the point of view of Lapis, who had promised to work with Loren until he could clear his debt, she had almost achieved her goal of always staying by his side by making him take on a debt that he could not pay off. However, she somehow knew from past experience that Loren¡¯s personality would not allow him to move forward unless he could settle the debt.


    But if the debt were to be settled in some way, Lapis was not certain that Loren would behave the way she wanted afterwards. In the worst-case scenario, there was a possibility that their current rtionship would end, and Lapis, who considered it unsavoury to eliminate the debt, was always thinking of ways to somehow make the ending she envisioned into reality.


    ¡°I definitely won¡¯t let him get away!¡±


    ¡°Scary. This child is really scary.¡±


    G looked at Lapis, who was clenching her fist with a new determination burning in her eyes, as if she were looking at some iprehensible being and quickly pulled away.


    Meanwhile, the Empire soldiers were faithful to their duties, and after a certain point, Lapis began to appraise the goods that had been piled up.


    ¡°Basically, we don¡¯t have to appraise the worth of items. In this case, we will sneak out more valuable stuff.¡±


    While Loren was impressed by how thorough the soldiers carried out Yuri¡¯s instruction, Lapis quickly sorted out the gold and tinum coins and carelessly moved the silver and copper ones to the side. She then stuffed them into a jute bag the soldiers had brought out from somewhere in a rather haphazard manner.


    Although coins varied in design from country to country, the proportion of metal used to produce them was the same, and unless there was something wrong with the coins, they were traded at roughly the same value in every country. Therefore, regardless of whether the Kingdom had been destroyed or not, the coins collected here would not be affected.


    ¡°I am now checking the ornaments. There is a high possibility that there are magic tools among these items. Even a shabby ring can cost as much as a mansion, depending on the magic that has been granted to it.¡±


    While G was sending the gold and tinum coins that Lapis had selected to the Evil Gods¡¯ abode, Lapis began to appraise her next catch.


    Loren looked at the Empire soldiers with a questioning look, wondering if such tant embezzlement was alright. But they did not seem to notice Loren¡¯s gaze at all, and were immersed in loading the bags containing the enormous amount of copper and silver coins onto a cart, which they had also apparently collected from somewhere.


    ¡°It seems like there aren¡¯t any good designers in the Kingdom. The designs are a bit old-fashioned or behind the times¡­ And the precious metals used are often mixed. The gemstones are also of poor quality from the many scratches they have.¡±


    The ornaments that were not suitable for Lapis¡¯ eyes were carelessly tossed aside. Those items, which Loren thought might still be worth a fair amount of cash, were picked up and stuffed into jute bags by the soldiers.


    ¡°This one, I have the feeling that it will fetch a higher price if we melt down the base and polish the gems individually. Oh, this is a magic tool. It has the magic of imbued. It is a very good item.¡±


    As she was about to throw the ring in her hand toward G while muttering the results of her appraisal, an Empire soldier gently held Lapis¡¯ wrist.


    Thinking that he was about to use Lapis of embezzlement, Loren prepared himself, but the soldier apologized for his impoliteness in touching Lapis¡¯ body before saying.


    ¡°Such magic tools will be of great help to the Empire army. Could we please have it?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then.¡±


    was an excellent spell that, when applied, would eliminate a certain amount of the damage the subject suffered.


    Whether it consumed the user¡¯s magic power or had a limited number of uses was not known, but if it existed as a magic tool in the form of a ring, it was a fine item that was coveted not only by adventurers but also by soldiers, who made fighting their livelihood and profession. That was why Lapis did not show any reluctance when hearing the soldier¡¯s request and simply handed the ring over to him.


    Loren, who had expected some resistance, looked surprised at Lapis¡¯ obedient response. Noticing this, Lapis secretly whispered to him without stopping her appraisal.


    ¡°If there is something really good, I¡¯ll snatch it away without saying anything.¡±


    Loren wondered how she would manage that, but it was clear that no one could stop Lapis from doing so.


    After all, the only person here who had the skills to appraise magic tools was Lapis. In other words, if she decided to remain silent, no one would be able to question her.


    ¡°But, do ordinary citizens have such magic tools?¡±


    ¡°There are a surprisinglyrge number of them. Many people look for magic tools at a reasonable price.¡±


    ording to Lapis, there were many people who sought magic tools besides adventurers and soldiers, such as aristocrats and merchants of big stores. She exined that even if they were not in the midst of battle, there was always a certain amount of danger lurking around them from day to day, which is why there was always a need for tools imbued with something like a magic.


    ¡°This one has effect. Here, take this too.¡±


    Lapis tossed the soldier a ne with a single green stone hanging from it. It did not look like much of a bargain to Loren¡¯s eyes, but if it healed wounds just by wearing it, it was worth a lot of money.


    ¡°The most popr products are , , and . These are the top sellers, regardless of appearance.¡±


    Although he found this to be a very bleak story, Loren thought that they should keep some for themselves. He told this to Lapis in secret, but she simply shook her head.


    ¡°I can do most of those things. And in your case, if you don¡¯t give up the greatsword on your back, you are protected to a level that cannot be matched by these magical equipment.¡±


    With that, Lapis ced a ring in Loren¡¯s palm.


    The unadorned copper ring looked like it could be exchanged for a few copper coins at a local street vendor, but the fact that Lapis went to the trouble of giving it to him suggested that it was a magical tool of some kind.


    ¡°That¡¯s an ring¡­ Loren, can you wear it?¡±


    Lorenpared his finger with the ring on his palm.


    Loren¡¯s fingers, trained to wield a greatsword, were thick and knobby. It did not look as if the ring Lapis had given him could fit.


    ¡°The high-end ones can be adjusted for size, but the ones we have here are the kind you can get for a bit of money. They won¡¯t fit you, Loren.¡±


    Loren, who had expected such a thing, offered the ring to one of the soldiers.


    As he watched the soldier carefully took it and put it away in a separate bag from the rest of the goods, he realized that beingrge could be a bit inconvenient at times.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 341: From Acceptance to Assault (4)

    <h4>Chapter 341: From eptance to Assault (4)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The sun had gone down, and it was well after dark when they finished going through the whole town and collecting all they could in the name of investigation.


    The sorting of the goods was almost finished, the bags were packed. Moving out at this hour would be difficult, yet staying in some building in such a deserted town was too creepy. So, in the end they decided on the night camp in the town square. Just then, Lapis shouted hysterically.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Loren, who had embezzled arge percentage of the town¡¯s wealth via G, was busy doing manualbour to at least help the soldiers with their work, when he heard Lapis¡¯ voice and stopped.


    Lapis was by herself at a distance, sorting through some of the remaining treasures. When Loren looked at her to see what was going on, he saw that she was holding something that looked like a doll with a metallic sheen in her hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, just that this thing¡­ I think it is a magic tool, but I have no idea what it is.¡±


    The doll-like object that Lapis presented to him had a metallic sheen, but it appeared to be made of iron or some othermon metal rather than any kind of precious metal. Although it did not look valuable, if it was a magical tool, it could not be an ordinary item, but Lapis had no idea what it was used for.


    If Lapis could not recognize it, it was a suspicious object, which warranted Loren¡¯s caution.


    ¡°Is it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m troubled because I can¡¯t figure that out.¡±


    Lapis looked at the doll in her hands from various angles and examined it thoroughly, but still could not identify it. After a while, she shrugged as if giving up and made to stuff the thing into the cart loaded with goods by the Empire soldiers.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but it is a magic tool. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to just throw it away, so I thought I¡¯d let the soldiers collect it.¡±


    Although Lapis seemed to have a point, Loren wondered if it would be a good idea to carelessly throw something that could be dangerous into their luggage. However, they also couldn¡¯t throw it away, since there was no doubt that it was a magical tool.


    While Loren was pondering what to do, one of the soldiers noticed and approached them to ask what was going on.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    ¡°We have an unknown magic tool, and I was wondering if you could keep it for us.¡±


    ¡°I see. In that case, we will take care of it.¡±


    The soldier responded very politely, and Lapis handed the doll in her hand to him.


    The doll did not look that big, but it seemed to be much heavier than the soldier had expected, probably due to the fact that it was made of metal. He failed to hold it and dropped it to the ground.


    ¡°Are you alright? It¡¯s unexpectedly heavy.¡±


    Lapis bent down to pick up the doll that the soldier had dropped.


    The moment Loren saw the soldier ced a hand on his neck and smiled wryly in embarrassment, he felt a creeping sensation running down his neck and grabbed Lapis, who was bending over, by the waist.


    ¡°Loren?! There are eyes all around you, we can¡¯t¡­¡±


    Loren, disregarding the improper words Lapis was about to spit out, kicked the ground as hard as he could and jumped backward.


    The ground was being pulled toward the doll that had fallen at the feet of the soldier, who looked dumbfounded as if he couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    He sounded extremely confused as he was pulled toward the doll together with the whole ground.


    The stones that paved the square and the earth and sand beneath it became one mass, enveloping the human figure, and the soldier, who was not fully aware of the situation, was caught in its way.


    In the darkening za, there were echoes of the earth, sounds of hard objects rubbing against each other, and the scream of the soldier who was caught up in the mass and crushed by it.


    ¡°What happened?!¡±


    Surprised by the noises, the soldiers readied themselves while the earth and sand that had gathered around the doll slowly began to take a humanoid shape as if to mimic the shape of the doll in its center until a y figure appeared, so tall that one had to look up at it.


    ¡°Is this somemon thing that an average citizen can buy?!¡±


    Loren, who was trying to distance himself from the y figure while still holding Lapis by the waist, asked, and Lapis answered with regret.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap. It must have anticipated that someone woulde to collect the town¡¯s goods and ced it here. How could such a dangerous thing be on the market?¡±


    The y doll, which had finished taking shape, swung its arm. The thick arm made from earth and stone moved with speed and crushed a cart it made contact with.


    Seeing the collected goods loaded on the cart flying about, the soldiers immediately formed a formation and faced the y figures with weapons in their hands. Their speed was quite impressive, and it was clear that the soldiers were well trained, but the y figure rushed into them with such a stance and vigor that suggested there was not a shred of thoughts about defences in its mind.


    The y figure, whose own weight alone must have been quite substantial, rushed into the soldiers with such force that it was impossible for humans to stop. The formation of the soldiers was broken, and several of them screamed in pain as they were caught in the rush of the y figure and knocked to the ground.


    Then, without mercy, the y figure stepped on them. Bright red blood sshed, and the soldiers convulsed as they were crushed by the massive figure, their limbs bent in strange angles.


    The soldiers¡¯ morale was not dampened by the fact that their fellow soldiers had been savagely trampled. They boldlyunched an offensive attack on the y figure with their spears and swords. But their opponent was made from earth and stones, and no attack seemed to be getting through properly, whether they were made by spears or swords.


    ¡°What the hell is that? What did you do, Lapis-chan?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡±


    G, who was at a distance and was not involved in the initial chaos because she was not helping with the soldiers¡¯ work or interested in Lapis¡¯ work, raised her voice, and Lapis raised her voice in protest at her rude question.


    ¡°An earth golem, huh? That thing ain¡¯t looking edible.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to intervene, just be quiet. And Loren, could you please put me down? My clothes are getting stretched.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡±


    Loren gently released his grip on her clothes, and Lapis got to her feet and adjusted her dishevelled garments.


    Meanwhile, the y figure continued to attack, and another cart was smashed by a swinging arm, sttering wood fragments and arge number of copper coins.


    ¡°First of all, >.¡±


    G called her magic, and a ball of me flew toward the y figure, leaving a red trail in the darkness of the night.


    As soon as the ballnded, it made a roaring sound and sprayed mes, scraping at the y figure.


    ¡°G! You¡¯re getting our soldiers caught in the crossfire!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡±


    Fortunately, no soldiers seemed to have been caught up in G¡¯s magic, but those who were nearby the y figure to attack it were agitated by the heat of the explosion and the mes, and they rushed away.


    In the meantime, the y figure sucked up more earth and sand from under its feet, and the parts that G had destroyed with her magic were easily repaired.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pretty capable golem with auto-repair capabilities¡­¡±


    ¡°This is not the time to be impressed.¡±


    The soldiers¡¯ attacks didn¡¯t seem to be getting through, and if the golem was repaired immediately after a casual attack, it would be quite difficult to destroy it to the point that it stopped working.


    Still determined to do his best, Loren readied his greatsword and rushed toward the y figure, which the soldiers were having trouble dealing with.


    The y figure immediately swung its arms to intercept Loren as he approached, but the greatsword Loren wielded cut off the earth-and-sand arm with such an ease that he felt almost no resistance.


    With a consecutive attack, Loren lopped off its other arm, but the y figure sprouted new arms from its torso and thrust them at Loren, who was in the middle of swinging his greatsword.


    ¡°You¡¯re a pain in the ass!¡±


    He forcibly pulled back the greatsword and cut off the third arm, but he had to stop the fourth arm, which was stretched to add to the attack, with the t of his sword, and the impact sent him flying backward.


    Even though Loren still kept his stance, he staggered involuntarily as the ground beneath his feet pulled him toward the y figure while he was trying to lunge forward again uponnding.


    The y figure, not missing an opportunity, rushed forward and swung its arm, and Loren once again caught the attack with the t side of his greatsword. He rolled on the ground and red at the y figure with a scowl.


    ¡°Damn it! This bad footing!¡±


    The y figure would suck up the ground around it at every opportunity to repair itself, making it difficult to find a foothold. And if Loren was knocked down, the y figure¡¯s arms or legs would attack him, making the fight quite challenging.


    While this was going on, one other soldier was sucked into the y figure, and another soldier who had lost his footing was crushed, spraying red blood.


    [¡®I¡¯m sorry, onii-san, but this doll is just not a good match for me.¡¯]


    Loren, unable toin about Shaya¡¯s apologetic thoughts, readied his greatsword again and shed at the y doll.


    The non-living y figure had nothing that could be siphoned by Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain. Shaynamented that even if she wanted to siphon the magic power that moved the little doll, which was probably the core of the y figure, the thickyer of sand and soil would get in the way, making it impossible for her to get to it.


    ¡°The damage is unexpectedly extensive¡­ G, can you please adjust your timing?¡±


    ¡°Arrrighty.¡±


    Lapis and G turned their palms towards the y doll.


    Realizing that they were about to unleash some magic, Loren jumped back to avoid being caught in the line of fire.


    ¡°>!¡±


    ¡°>!¡±


    A glowing white bullet and a red-hot ball of me were released from their hands, eachnding on a shoulder of the y figure and blew off an arm with a booming sound.


    Before the dust settled, Loren, who had been closing in on the y figure, dodged through the arms that it had created from its torso and sliced the torso right across, separating the upper and lower halves of the body.


    But Loren did not stop there; the floating upper body was further sliced in a crisscross pattern, and the remaining lower body was also sliced down the middle from left to right, with a small doll cut in half falling out of the disjointed upper body.


    ¡°This should stop it.¡±


    He thrust the tip of his greatsword into the broken doll fallen on the ground and breathed a great sigh of relief as the earth and sand that made up the body of the y figure copsed and formed a small pile on the ground.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been hit pretty hard.¡±


    Some soldiers were crushed and others were knocked to the ground; there was quite a bit of damage to the Empire army, including soldiers caught in the body of the y figure.


    As he watched the soldiers hurriedly carry away the injured and begin cleaning up the wrecked carts, Loren wrapped his greatsword in cloth and hung it on his back, looking up to the heavens with a sense of foreboding.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 342: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (1)

    <h4>Chapter 342: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (1)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The Empire toon had suffered such a considerable damage from the unexpected golem attack that it could not function as a military unit anymore.


    The reason was because the attack had caused human casualties, when the toon only had a few dozen men to begin with.


    The soldiers, who were trampled, were not the only ones who lost their lives. Some of those who were attacked by the swinging arms were unlucky enough to meet the same fate, and taking into ount that some soldiers were so seriously injured that they could not move, the toon strength had been severely reduced.


    When Loren asked why the soldiers insisted on continuing on despite this fact, they said it was because it would be closer to join theirrades, who had established a stronghold in the Kingdom¡¯s territory, rather than getting back into the Empire¡¯s territory from their current location.


    ¡°That was the original n, but we had to change it.¡±


    A soldier apologetically informed Loren and his team of this, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, it was inevitable, and he could not say no.


    ¡°Since some of the carts were destroyed, we¡¯ll have to leave behind many of the things we had requisitioned in the town.¡±


    From the beginning, the n was to leave a certain amount of goods in the town. It was impossible for a single toon to carry and transport the goods of a whole town anyway, even after Lapis and G had pocketed a good number of them. But the carts used to transport the goods were destroyed by the golem, which further reduced the amount they could carry.


    ¡°So does that mean what we can¡¯t carry will be thrown away?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what happens. I hope we can recover themter.¡±


    If they left the goods in a town where not even thieves and bandits woulde, no one woulde to snatch them, and normally there would be no problem sending some personnel to retrieve themter.


    However, G and Lapis were present here.


    The two of them would not miss the goods that were being thrown away, and Loren lightly poked them to make them stop their scheming as they nodded at each other with evil smiles on their faces. A considerable amount of goods had been moved to G¡¯s residence at this point anyway, and he did not think it was a good idea to be too greedy.


    ¡°Have you finished your investigation?¡±


    A soldier asked Lapis and G, who were writhing in pain while holding their heads where they had been poked by Loren, in a timid voice.


    Lapis twisted around with her hands still on her head, wondering what the soldier was talking about. But she immediately remembered the original purpose for which their team had been sent to their current location, and while she kept a calm exterior and nodded, inside she was panicking as she had almost forgotten about it.


    ¡°Ahem, yes¡­. We have gathered enough information to report to the General.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m d to hear that.¡±


    The soldier looked relieved.


    Even though they had been able to obtain a considerable amount of goods and magic tools, it would be meaningless if the results of the investigation were not favourable, given their current situation where friendly troops were suffering casualties.


    That was why the soldiers looked relieved at Lapis¡¯ answer. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, as Lapis and G had already figured out what was going on before they entered the town, there was no need for them to go to the trouble of entering the town. And if they had not entered the town, they would not have been caught in the golem trap, and the dead soldiers would not have lost their lives.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like entering the town was an unnecessary move just because we had a rough idea of who did it.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a lie. Look into my eyes.¡±


    The light in G¡¯s eyes, which were peering straight at him, seemed fake somehow, and Loren turned his face away to avoid her gaze.


    Meanwhile, Lapis kept her eyes downcast and did not make eye contact with Loren, which told the truth of the matter.


    With this exchange, Loren and his team left the town they had visited and continued on through the Kingdom¡¯s territory to a ce where the Empire army was said to have a base of operations.


    On the way, they had to make camp once, but even there they did not encounter any bandits, monsters, or wild beasts, so they had a quiet and uneventful journey.


    Thus, on the evening of the second day after leaving the town where the golem attack took ce, Loren and his team were able to arrive at one of the Empire army¡¯s strongholds.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    That was Loren¡¯s first reaction when they arrived at the Empire army base.


    Although they did not say it out loud, the others probably felt the same, as they stopped pulling the carts and stared at the other side of the road.


    Over there was a base that had certainly been built by the Empire army.


    Surrounded by a wooden fence, huts and tents were set up, a scene that would certainly suggest that arge number of people had been there.


    However, there were no people among those huts and tents.


    The first thing that came to everyone¡¯s mind when they saw the scene, where there was no sign of life, excepts hints of people leaving everything, was the image of a town that had lost its citizens.


    ¡°This was also a bit unexpected, but¡­ If you think about it, it is not necessarily impossible for what happened to the towns and viges of the Kingdom to happen to an Empire army base, is it?¡±


    No one answered Lapis, who raised her eyebrows and said something like that.


    But standing there for any length of time was not going to make the situation any better, so Loren¡¯s group called out to the stunned soldiers and stepped into the Empire army base.


    ¡°There are some signs of a battle.¡±


    Some of the huts and tents had blood stains on them, redder than the sun¡¯s rays at dusk, and some of the fences had been destroyed and burned.


    Whoever the blood belonged to, it seemed certain that there had been some kind of battle or struggle here. The size of the base suggested that only a small part of it had been involved in the battle.


    But the problem was that none of the bodies, friend or foe, that should have been left behind as a result of a battle, were found.


    ¡°Is there a possibility that they had to retreat after fighting with something?¡±


    ¡°In that case, it is strange that they haven¡¯t met up with us at some point.¡±


    A soldier answered G¡¯s question.


    The path that Loren and his team had taken to reach this base was a straight one, with no branches on the road. If the army was retreating, it was certainly strange that they had not encountered it at some point.


    Even if there had been a major upheaval within the Empire army and they had been unable to retreat in an organized manner and had fled in groups, it would not be surprising if they had encountered at least a portion of it.


    However, Loren and his team did not encounter or see any group that looked like them on their way to the base.


    ¡°Even if the worst had happened and everything had been destroyed here, it is strange that there are no bodies.¡±


    Lapis spoke ominously, but Loren thought that in war, one never knew what might happen, and that one should certainly take this possibility into consideration.


    Even so, it was indeed strange that there were no bodies left.


    If there had been a counterattack by the Kingdom army, they would not go out of their way to bring back the corpses of enemy soldiers, and would usually throw them away.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that they were eaten by monsters or beasts?¡±


    ¡°The size of the base suggests that there were too many people to be eaten up. If they were eaten, it must have been by a huge monster or arge number of monsters, but the destruction of the base was too limited for that.¡±


    Except for some parts that had been wrecked or burned, the rest of the base remained in a state that could be described as almost intact.


    It was hard to imagine that such arge-scale battle had been fought that the entire Empire army would have been wiped out, but here was a strange scene that one could not think of anything at all to exin what had happened.


    When they examined the inside of the huts and tents, they found that there was no sign of any damage, with food on the table, untouched dishes, and beds that someone had slept in.


    ¡°The Commander¡­ Nah, was General Yuri here?¡±


    Loren asked one of the soldiers, who shook his head.


    ¡°This is a ry base. The General is supposed to be positioned further ahead.¡±


    ¡°If the ry point is in such a state, the army ahead of us is¡­¡±


    G was about to say something, but stopped halfway.


    Everyone could have guessed what she was going to say, but she seemed to have read the atmosphere and deemed it to be too ominous.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but think¡­ G, what do you think? Do you smell something?¡±


    What Loren asked was the scent of the Evil God of Lust, which G had smelled before entering the previous town. If the situation was simr, the cause might also be the same, he thought.


    G sniffed a few times at Loren¡¯s suggestion, then tilted her head with a troubled expression on her face.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s a faint residue, but it smells more like flesh and blood.¡±


    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t look like there was a big battle?¡±


    Loren thought that if the smell of blood and flesh was so strong that it cancelled out the smell of the Evil God, then it would be strange if there were not more marks of a spectacr battle. It was hard to imagine that a battle that only left marks in a small portion of the area could mask the smell of an Evil God and confuse G¡¯s olfactory sense.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t think something at that scale would leave such a strong smell of flesh and blood.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean she didn¡¯t use much of her Evil God¡¯s authority?¡±


    If Noel exercised enough authority to affect all the inhabitants of a town, there should be a recognizable residue, and G would be able to smell it. If it was so slight, then it was possible that the authority was not exercised much, as Lapis said.


    If that was the case, however, it was hard to understand how they could have uprooted all the personnel belonging to a troop and moved them out of the base.


    ¡°Anyhow, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to move further now.¡±


    Loren grumbled as he looked up at the sky, which continued to darken.


    The sun would bepletely gone in no time, and it was obvious that it would be difficult to go any further.


    But if they were to camp, they would have no choice but to use the Empire army base, which had been deserted for unknown reasons, and that was eerie to say the least.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the luxury of time. It can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Mister Loren¡­¡±


    When a soldier, who could not hide his anxiety, called out to him, Loren scratched his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not being optimistic, but I think we¡¯ll be okay. Whatever happened seems to have finished, and it seems that only ces with a certain number of people are targeted, such as the town and this ce. They wouldn¡¯t go out of their way to attack a small group like us in such a bizarre way, would they?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully not.¡±


    ¡°Even if it is not so, it is too dangerous to go on from here. Since there is a base here, there¡¯s no reason not to use it. Let¡¯s just make it through the night and then figure out what we¡¯re going to do.¡±


    There were many causes for concern, but that did not mean that he had any brilliant ideas that would solve all of them at once.


    Loren, thinking that regr soldiers are not as dependable as one might think under such circumstances, half forced a smile at the anxious soldiers and began talking to Lapis and the others about preparing for the night camp using the remaining facilities of the base.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 343: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (2)

    <h4>Chapter 343: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    And then, night came.


    Loren¡¯s group prepared for the night using the tents and huts that were as close to the center of the remaining Empire base as possible. They decided to set up more guards than usual, then gathered wood from the supplies left at the base and lit the surrounding area with multiple bonfires.


    Too many lights might attract the attention of anything that could be around, but the priority was to deal with the uncertainty of spending the night in a ce where something terrible happened with unknown causes.


    There was a good amount of food left in the base, and it was not in bad condition, but the group did not touch it. The truth was, they did not want to touch anything left behind because they did not know what had happened or what kind of residue might be left.


    The soldiers were so tense and anxious that they could not sleep even when it was not their turn to stand guard, and they were so afraid of being alone that they would huddle together and wait for morning toe. In contrast, Loren¡¯s team had decided to sleep in their tents until it was their turn to keep guard.


    ¡°Loren, it is not safe to be alone. Let¡¯s sleep in this tent together, by all means.¡±


    While the Empire soldiers stood guard, Lapis tugged at Loren¡¯s sleeve with great force as she tried to secure a ce to sleep.


    Worrying that his clothes might be ripped, Loren somehow managed to resist the tugging and asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t want to, but is it my imagination that I feel like you are more dangerous than anything else?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s your imagination. Above all else, it is wrong to feel that I am dangerous. The safest ce in the world today would be right beside me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s annoying that you¡¯re not wrong, but¡­ Do we have enough sleeping bags for both of us?¡±


    ¡°No, there is only one.¡±


    Loren¡¯s shoulders slumped as Lapis told him clearly and unambiguously with a straight face. His resistance faltered for a moment, and taking advantage of it, Lapis furiously pulled him into one of the tents, and Loren began to resist again in a hurry.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the ground and you use the sleeping bag?¡±


    ¡°My goodness! Do you know what kind of negative effects letting yourself get chilled brings about?!¡±


    ¡°Shut it. If I get into a sleeping bag, there¡¯s no room for anyone else!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can force my way in there and snuggle up to you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even try to hide it anymore?!¡±


    Despite these exchanges, Loren was able to get a good night¡¯s sleep.


    Of course, if he had to share a sleeping space with Lapis, he did not think she would let him sleep at all, so he resisted and slept in a different tent.


    ¡°Loren, you¡¯re so mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Nah Lapis-chan, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t take your side this time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that in such an atmosphere of uneasiness, a sense of intimacy can be created by huddling close to each other, skin against skin?¡±


    ¡°This child is a lost cause¡­¡±


    G was amazed at how hopeless Lapis was, but she could feel that some of the tension was fading among the soldiers who were watching the exchange between them. She brought her face close to Lapis¡¯ and whispered as thetter was about to crawl into her own tent while muttering to herself.


    ¡°Did you do that on purpose?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯re half right. It¡¯s fine if I can push through, and if he rejects me, it¡¯s fine as long as I can act silly.¡±


    It seemed that Lapis had the intention of easing the soldiers¡¯ feelings by going out of her way to engage in that ridiculous exchange.


    Lapis was also looking to satisfy her desires if she could push Loren through, so it was not an entirely noble move. But even so, G gave her a slightly impressed gaze, as that was uncharacteristically considerate for a member of the demon race.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do now?¡±


    The next day, after an uneventful morning, Loren¡¯s team reconvened with the group of soldiers, who looked exhausted, and discussed their future ns.


    One of the soldiers, who appeared to be an officer, whispered something to the people around him, and then answered Loren¡¯s question on behalf of the others.


    ¡°We are going to go back from here. We thought about going forward and joining up with ourrades, but given the current situation, it would be very difficult for us to do so.¡±


    The orders given to them were only to apany Loren¡¯s team and meet up with the troops that were supposed to be at their current location. They were told to follow the instructions after the rendezvous, but now that the base troops had disappeared, this was impossible to aplish.


    If that was the case, they decided to turn around from here and return to the border.


    ¡°The only time we were attacked by anything before we got here was by the golem in that town. It might be less dangerous for you to go back.¡±


    ¡°And what do you n to do?¡±


    Loren hummed in response to the soldier¡¯s question, and after a short, sharp exhtion, he made his decision.


    ¡°I¡¯ll continue on. I¡¯m going to check how the Commander¡­ how General Yuri is doing, and if I can lend a hand, I will.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t escort you.¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll go on my own.¡±


    Loren implicitly told Lapis and G that there was no need for them to follow him. Loren¡¯s indebtedness to Yuri was his own personal problem, and had nothing to do with the two girls or the soldiers.


    However, Lapis did not seem to be aware of Loren¡¯s intentions and told him in a matter-of-fact tone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you then. I¡¯m sure we will be fine. What about you, G?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. If that ck thing is up ahead, we¡¯ll have to do something about it.¡±


    ¡°I see. We won¡¯t stop you, but¡­ Take care.¡±


    After confirming Loren¡¯s team intentions, the soldier called out to hisrades and began to prepare for the withdrawal.


    While watching the luggage being quickly put away, Loren looked at Lapis, who was walking up to his side, and tried to confirm one thing.


    ¡°Are you really going to go with me? There¡¯s nothing but trouble from here on out, and you don¡¯t care about the Commander, do you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care about the Commander¡¯s safety, but if you say you¡¯re going, then there¡¯s no reason for me to not go with you.¡±


    ¡°I owe the Commander a debt for bringing me up, so I just can¡¯t abandon him.¡±


    ¡°I have my own reasons for not wanting to miss out on a good property like you, Loren. Since you haven¡¯t finished paying off your debts to begin with, you¡¯ll be in trouble if you don¡¯t continue to work with me.¡±


    Lapis thought it was a bad move to bind Loren by the debt, but at the moment, she secretly felt in her heart that it was a good thing to do.


    She could not interfere in the rtionship between Yuri and Loren, but Loren could not stop her from following him, as long as she had a reason to do so. She also thought that perhaps she could force him to turn back or flee if something bad happened, using the fact that he hadn¡¯t paid back his debt as the reason.


    Worst case scenario, Lapis could force him to get away by kidnapping him and threw all responsibility to the Great Demon King by saying that she didn¡¯t know what to tell the King if she lost Loren, who owed him a debt.


    ¡°What about you, G?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can escape whenever I want. If I don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡±


    G waved her hand with a smile as if she didn¡¯t care, but Loren was a bit concerned.


    ¡®That ck thing¡¯ G had mentioned was definitely Magna, the swordsman in ck armor with a ck sword. She had a very strong feeling about him, and seemed to be bent on getting her revenge the next time they met. But if she lost his cool in front of Magna, even an Evil God might not be able to get away with it, and that made Loren somewhat uneasy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Perhaps reading this thought from Loren¡¯s expression, G patted him on the back with a smile on her face.


    Lapis squeezed the clothes from the other side.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to worry about me like that once in a while, you know?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why I should be worried about you.¡±


    Loren blurted out what he thought, and Lapis silently gave him a punch on the side.


    The impact hit him even through his jacket, which he had received from an Elder, the highest-ranking undead. Loren coughed involuntarily, thinking that he really shouldn¡¯t be worried about Lapis at all.


    In the meantime, the soldiers finished their preparation, and once they had packed up, they offered to let Loren¡¯s team do whatever they wanted with what they didn¡¯t take back with them.


    There was food for a few people, tents and sleeping bags that were no longer needed, and some of the goods that they had brought from the previous town but had to leave behind to lighten the load on the return journey. Loren thanked the soldiers, and G, out of the soldiers¡¯ sight, hurriedly sent them to the abode of the Evil Gods.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it for us. Good luck. And if you are able to join the General, please take good care of him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not the kind of person who needs to be taken care of by me though. But well, I understand.¡±


    The soldiers bowed to Loren¡¯s team before leaving, and Loren watched them until they were out of sight.


    Although there might be less danger, they would still have to walk through enemy territory with little fighting power, and there was no telling whether they would make it to the Empire¡¯s territory safely or not.


    If they were wiped out and did not return to the Empire, there would be rumours that the Empire army had been mysteriously destroyed for unknown reasons; Loren thought ominously. The spider Nigg raised his front legs as if he was waving goodbye to the soldiers, whose figures were getting smaller and smaller.


    ¡°You assert yourself at key moments, don¡¯t you, Nigg?¡±


    Lapis said with interest as she watched Nigg clinging to his usual position again with his raised legs down once the soldiers disappeared from sight behind the ups and downs of the terrain.


    If there was nothing going on, Nigg stayed still as if he was a part of Loren¡¯s clothes, but if there was something going on, Nigg was sure to take some kind of action before anyone knew. Loren wondered if the spider could read the signs, the atmosphere, or the flow of the situation as he gently stroked Nigg¡¯s back.


    [¡®I¡¯d like to assert myself too, but only onii-san can see me.¡¯]


    Shayna fluttered in Loren¡¯s field of vision, looking discontent.


    It was true that Shayna¡¯s presence was invisible to Lapis and G, and she was only recognized as being inside Loren¡¯s mind through his words. But when Loren consoled her, saying that she had always been more than helpful, she stopped flitting around, perhaps feeling a little better.


    ¡°Alright, we need to go too.¡±


    To give the team some directions, the soldiers had given Loren¡¯s team a map of the surrounding area with exnations written on it before they left.


    It seemed unlikely that their team would get lost, but as he looked at the road ahead, Loren wondered with a slightly gloomy feeling if they would be able to meet up with Yuri¡¯s group without any trouble.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 344: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (3)

    <h4>Chapter 344: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (3)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After parting ways with the Empire troops, Loren and his team left the deserted base behind and ventured deeper into the Kingdom¡¯s territory.


    The absence of any animals, people, or monsters created an eerie atmosphere, but if one could put up with that, one could say that the journey was smooth and trouble-free.


    ¡°It would be different if there were at least a bird flying in the sky.¡±


    Lapis, who was walking next to Loren, said.


    Loren, as if following her gaze, looked up and saw that there was indeed not even a shadow of a bird in the sky. He let out a small sigh.


    As they left the Empire army¡¯s base and proceeded deeper into the territory of the Kingdom, the presence of even small creatures had gradually decreased. No one knew whether it was because they were frightened and went hiding or some other reason, but by the second day after the first encampment, G and Shayna could hardly detect any presence other than their own group.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a dead kingdom.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look as rundown as it seems on the surface, though.¡±


    In contrast to the weirdness of the surroundings, Lapis and G¡¯s tone of voice was rxed, which instead made Loren feel uneasy. He walked along the road with heavy footsteps and a troubled expression, wary that they might be dragged into something unthinkable.


    It was almost mid-afternoon on the second day when the sound of something caught Loren¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡±


    In contrast to Loren, who was on guard the moment he heard the sound, Lapis and G seemed to notice it only after they had been told. They looked at each other and held their palms up to their ears.


    ¡°Yeah, I can hear something.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like moans, or hoarse cries. Something like that.¡±


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t seem surprised at all.¡±


    Loren wondered if they should be a little frightened or creeped out, but he understood that they were a demon and an Evil God, and that expecting a normal girl¡¯s reaction from them would be a waste of time. Still, he thought that they should have expressed some degree of surprize.


    Ignoring him, Lapis moved the hand she was holding over her ear to her forehead and began to look ahead of the path they were on.


    ¡°As far as I can see, there is nothing strange, so if anything is there, it is probably on the other side of that hill.¡±


    Although not by much, the road did have some unevenness, making it impossible to see what lies ahead from a certain distance away.


    ¡°If so, isn¡¯t it right where the frontline troops of the Empire army are positioned?¡±


    At G¡¯s words, Loren pulled out the map he had received and began topare it with the distance they had travelled and their surroundings.


    Lapis, who was peering at it from the side, seemed to have determined their current location based on this information before Loren could, and made her assertion in a very clear tone of voice.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It should be visible soon.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry then?¡±


    If their surroundings, which had beenpletely quiet until then, had suddenly started to be noisy, there must be some reason for it. And if the frontline troops of the Empire army were right there, it was very likely to be something rted to them.


    Loren unthinkingly started rushing, but Lapis held him back.


    ¡°Think about it, Loren. If the three of us participate in whatever that the army is facing, it is not likely that the current situation will change drastically. In other words, there is little point in rushing.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it more likely that we will miss something by moving too quickly?¡±


    G seemed to agree with Lapis¡¯ opinion.


    Unable to force his own opinion where two people in their party of three shared the same opinion, Loren stopped rushing and started walking forward at the same speed as before.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do, G. I would like us to turn back if possible.¡±


    ¡°I agree, but I don¡¯t think Loren would say yes. It would be impossible to stall for more time, so we have no choice, right?¡±


    Loren could hear Lapis and G whispering something behind him, but he felt so much pressure that he couldn¡¯t even hear the content of their conversation. He was still calm enough to know that even if he had started running in a hurry, there would still be a long way to the end of the road, and he would only be wearing himself out. So, he continued onward at a speed that would not exhaust him.


    And when the scene at the end of the road finally came into Loren¡¯s view, he naturally stopped in his tracks.


    Due to their height, even though Lapis and G had walked to the position where Loren was, they still could not see what he could. Still, when he stopped, they seemed to have guessed that it was something at the end of the road that caused him to do so.


    ¡°Loren?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ No, what the hell?¡±


    Loren unconsciously mumbled. Lapis, rather than asking questions, climbed up his back and sat down on one of his shoulders. In doing so she secured an even higher vantage point than Loren. Then she turned her gaze in the direction Loren was facing.


    It was a dark red wave.


    That was the only way to describe the thing that was covering the ground.


    Inside it, there was a space that was not covered, and looking more closely, Lapis could see that the space that was still safe was a so-called ¡®encampment¡¯ surrounded by a simple fence and moat. Inside the camp, arge number of people who looked like soldiers were continuing to resist the dark red wave that was surging toward them with what looked like weapons in their hands.


    Once Lapis realized what the dark red wave that was surging toward the camp was, she let out a small gasp.


    The dark red thing surrounding the camp, which was so dense that it looked like a wave from a distance, was made of humanoid figures with half-dried blood clinging to their body.


    The humanoid figures, which were neither armed nor wearing any kind of armor, continued to advance steadily but not hurriedly toward the encampment in the center while emitting a hoarse sound like a moan from a slit on their head, which was probably a mouth. That was what Loren¡¯s group had heard from a distance.


    Corpses were already piled high around the camp, and the soldiers were also fighting on top of corpses, but even with that many corpses, the dark red figures¡¯ advance was unstoppable.


    ¡°Not zombies. What are they? They¡¯re creepy regardless, but how could you intercept such arge number of them?¡±


    Compared to the size of the camp, the area of the ground covered by the dark red figures was ridiculouslyrge. If they were to rush into the camp in such numbers, it seemed that the camp would be overwhelmed at once. And yet, the camp had continued to intercept them without allowing anything get inside the fence.


    ¡°Something is wrong with them. The humanoids don¡¯t attack even if they are being hit. They are just advancing slowly.¡±


    This was probably the reason why the camp was able to continue defending itself. Even if there were soldiers within arm¡¯s reach, the dark red figures neither defended nor attacked, but simply kept walking forward.


    The fact that they were walking so slowly and that there were no attacks from them gave those who watched the scene an eerie impression.


    ¡°Inside that camp are the frontline troops of the Empire army?¡±


    ¡°Probably so. I don¡¯t know how they managed to build such a camp in such a short time though.¡±


    ¡°And what are those dark red things?¡±


    ¡°Probably some kind of flesh golem.¡±


    Golems were made from a variety of materials. The mostmon ones were wood, stone, and metal, but there were also golems made from the flesh and blood of living creatures.


    Called ¡®flesh golems¡¯, they had an unpleasant appearance that at first nce could be mistaken for undead creatures, but they were artificial magical creations.


    Compared to golems made from wood or stone, flesh golems had problems in terms of strength and durability, but it was easy to procure materials for them as long as there were flesh and bones of living creatures of any kind, and they were more agile than other golems. They were often used on the battlefield also because of their strong visual impact.


    The fact that they could not move once their flesh and blood had decayed was a disadvantage, but if they were used for a short period of time, there was very little time and effort required to create them on the battlefield, where there were plenty of corpses lying around.


    The difficulty level of making a flesh golem was low, and as long as there was a reasonable number of magicians avable, it was not impossible to mobilize them inrge numbers.


    ¡°Why are they acting like a wall?¡±


    ¡°I suppose they must have orders to do that.¡±


    Since flesh golems were sometimes used on the battlefields, it was not that they could not fight. Even if they were a little sluggish, if they were able to gather enough numbers to cover the ground, they should be able to use their sheer strength of numbers to overrun the Empire army¡¯s camp without any difficulty.


    The only reason this was not done could be assumed to be that their creator did not order an attack on the camp, but only for them to move forward.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s put off thinking about the situation untilter. We need to break through this meat wall and join up with the Empire army¡­¡±


    ¡°You want to break through this? I don¡¯t like the idea¡­¡±


    Simply put, what Loren and his team had in front of them is a wave of dead flesh. It would be quite hardbour to push through them and reach the camp on the other side.


    Moreover, since they were dealing with dead flesh, they would be sttered with all sorts of things as they pushed their way through. Lapis, who was dressed in her white priest¡¯s uniform, did not want to get close to them.


    ¡°G, please make a path for us.¡±


    Lapis, sitting on Loren¡¯s shoulder, looked down and said to G, who had climbed up Loren¡¯s back on the opposite side of Lapis and was peeking at the scene from Loren¡¯s shoulder with a big frown on her face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd. Even I will have a hard time prating this meat wall under all the watchful eyes.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, you guys, get off my shoulders and stay back.¡±


    Even though they were girls, it was hard for Loren to move if they were stuck on his body. He would not shake them off, but he did lightly tap Lapis on the thigh to ask her to quicklye down.


    Lapis easily went down from Loren¡¯s shoulder, followed by G, who also went down from Loren¡¯s back.


    ¡°We¡¯re going anyway. We¡¯re going to cut through those things and join up with the Empire army.¡±


    ¡°We have no choice. G, please take the lead.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to blow them away with normal-ish magic. It¡¯s gonna to take a lot of time, tho.¡±


    G raised her voice in dissatisfaction as Lapis urged her to do so.


    Listening to their exchange, Loren drew the greatsword from his back and, without checking to see if they were following him, started running toward the dark red wave that was rushing toward what he assumed was the Empire army¡¯s camp.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 345: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (4)

    <h4>Chapter 345: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (4)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°>l!¡±


    It started with G¡¯s magic.


    A red ming ball was released from G¡¯s palm and plunged into the swarm of flesh golems in a straight line, spreading damage with a booming sound upon impact. A cloud of smoke rose high in the air, and several flesh golems were caught up in it, their bodies torn apart and reduced to mere chunks of flesh.


    The golems around them had suffered the coteral damage. Those which were half-destroyed or burned by the scattered mes began to fall down, but other golems soon stood to fill in their ces.


    Another Fireball was shot at the same spot, but it only caused the same amount of damage as the first shot, and other golems soon came to fill in the gaps.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this endless?¡±


    G whined after the third shot of magic.


    The total number of golems surrounding the imperial army¡¯s position must have exceeded ten thousand, and even if G destroyed a dozen of them with one shot of her magic, the damage would have been negligible in the grand scheme of things.


    Even so, Loren swung his greatsword, knowing that if they did not do this, they would not be able to move forward; several golems were cut into two right across the middle and fell to the ground after a white sh passed through them.


    But the encampment was still far away.


    Despite being attacked from the rear, the golems didn¡¯t seem to be paying any attention to the presence of Loren¡¯s group. They just continued to focus on moving forward slowly, and after cutting through a few more golems, Loren quietly clicked his tongue.


    If there had been a gap, it would have been possible to force their way forward. But they couldn¡¯t because as soon as one golem fell down, another would immediately fill the gap they left behind.


    ¡°Truly a wall of flesh, these guys!¡±


    ¡°This is annoying.¡±


    A bullet gleaming with white light shot out from Lapis¡¯ hand.


    It was a beginner¡¯s level offensive technique called >. The white bullet only shattered the head of one golem, and the golem whose head had been shattered continued walking as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°It seems a little damage won¡¯t stop them.¡±


    [¡®Because they are created by magic!¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in the back of Loren¡¯s mind.


    The Energy Drain power of the King of Death was exercised, and the individuals whose power, or rather magic power, was sucked out of them fell down in session and stopped moving without any external injuries. But other golems quickly filled in the gaps where they had been missing.


    [¡®The power of their number is amazing.¡¯]


    ¡°This is not the time to be impressed.¡±


    Switching to a backhand-grip, Loren thrust the tip of his greatsword into the ground and shouted.


    ¡°Burn them down! Fiamma Unga!¡±


    Loren felt all of his power being drained from his body.


    Then mes erupted from the de of the sword in his hand, and the mes ran toward the golems swarming in front of him.


    The mes, even more powerful than the magic G had unleashed, engulfed the golems, turning them into ck charcoal rolling on the ground in the blink of an eye, but still leaving no space to move forward.


    Loren, who had expended his own life-essence in order to use the power hidden in the greatsword, almost fell to his knees unwillingly as he felt a sense of powerlessness assailing his body. But he resisted and pulled the greatsword out of the ground, then changed his grip on its hilt and swung it forward again.


    ¡°Could it be that we won¡¯t be able to advance unless we disable arge number of these golems?¡±


    ¡°Maybe so, but as long as Loren doesn¡¯t give up, we¡¯ll just have to keep trying.¡±


    Lapis pulled out a small bottle from her luggage and hurled it over the heads of the golems.


    G, who had taken Lapis¡¯ intentions into ount, cast a Fireball spell on the bottle in mid-air, which ignited the oil that was apparently inside, sending a rain of mes down on the golems¡¯ heads.


    The golems whose bodies caught fire did not immediately stop moving, but after burning for a while, they slowed down and copsed on the spot.


    Although they seeded in setting fire to a wider area of golemspared to using only Fireball, the number of golems they were able to defeat was still too small considering the total number of the swarm.


    ¡°Ahh shit! You¡¯re so annoying! Get out of my way!¡±


    Loren¡¯s greatsword, swung down through the wind, caught a golem¡¯s body, and red mes erupted. The golem turned into a human-shaped torch, engulfing not only itself but also the golems ahead of it, but Loren¡¯s attempt to move forward was blocked by the body of other golems.


    With things like this, Loren thought that he had no choice but to move forward little by little, by forcing his way through. But, perhaps reading his thoughts, Lapis raised her voice to restrain him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Loren! You will be crushed!¡±


    If Loren forced his body into a space crowded with countless golems, he would only be crushed by the swarm; no matter howrge and stubbornly strong Loren¡¯s body was, it would not have the strength to push back against hundreds or thousands of golems.


    Loren was beginning to think that what they were doing was futile, as they were unable to move forward, when he heard a faint human voice, albeit from quite far away.


    ¡°Who is that over there? Reinforcements?¡±


    It seemed that an Empire soldier, who was in the middle of intercepting the golems, had noticed Loren¡¯s group.


    Wielding his greatsword in an effort to reduce the number of golems as much as possible, Loren responded by raising his voice in the direction of the soldier¡¯s voice.


    ¡°We¡¯re rted to General Yuri!¡±


    ¡°General Yuri? General Yuri is alive and well! Can you get over here?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out!¡±


    Without any concrete ideas on how to do so, Loren cut down more golems.


    The empty spaces left by the fallen golems kept being refilled with other golems, but Loren continued his attack, thinking that the more he defeated, the fewer golems the Empire army would have to intercept, and that defeating them would not be a waste of time.


    ¡°Someone¡¯sing from the outside!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you open the way? What about the magicians?¡±


    ¡°They ran out of energy in the first interception and are having a rest! Hey there! Be careful or the golems will¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s face contorted as he heard someone scream.


    Even if the golems did not attack, if someone was engulfed by the wave of golems moving forward, they would only be crushed or trampled.


    Someone seemed to have been unlucky enough to be swamped, but there was no time toment their misfortune; the golems continued to rush in, and the Empire troops were desperately trying to intercept them.


    ¡°Fuck! We¡¯re running out of time!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve got time to whine, take out as many of them as you can!¡±


    Loren thought that they had ast minute arrival in the fight. There was not much time left before the soldiers defending the position were decimated.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re going to have to push ourselves a little bit.¡±


    Loren gritted his teeth, then flipped the switch in his consciousness.


    As he heard something click somewhere in his head and felt the power in his limbs rise sharply, Loren roared and swung his greatsword at the wall of flesh in front of him.


    Several golems were cut in half with the first swing, and with a step forward, the de of the greatsword was pulled back before smashing through the golems that hade to fill the open spaces.


    ¡°Loren?! You¡¯re being reckless!¡±


    ¡°We have no choice but to go in now!¡±


    Hearing the voices of G and Lapis, Loren took one more step forward.


    As the golems were being cut down and dismembered by his de, Loren stepped forward. The golems were cut into pieces without even being able to fill the gaps left by his attacks, which were much faster and more powerful than before.


    Two walls of me shot up from the ground in parallel as if to maintain the space that Loren had cut open, and Lapis and G ran after him in that space.


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ll ever find out how many times, we¡¯ve used magic?¡±


    ¡°I secretly set off a few spells myself, so even if they find out, the number won¡¯t be too outrageous, right?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be suspicious!¡±


    ¡°No one would be foolishly honest enough to count the number of me walls in such a confusing battle, I¡¯m sure!¡±


    The conversation between Lapis and G told Loren that they were following him.


    Feeling that it was his job to keep clearing the way, Loren continued to swing his greatsword at such a speed that made it seem as if no golems were even there.


    After attacking for the umpteenth time, Loren felt his consciousness wavering, but he managed to preserve thanks to the power Shayna had taken via Energy Drain and poured into him.


    Secretly impressed by how useful his body had be, Loren continued to attack, but as he looked ahead, he saw a soldier waving his hand at the golems that were swarming around him.


    ¡°Heey! I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d make it through this¡­ Hang in there! You¡¯re almost there!¡±


    The distance to the camp seemed to be less than a few more meters. However, the golems that were swarming around were not going to disappear once they reached the camp.


    In order to reduce the number of golems as much as possible in his current state, Loren put more strength into his limbs and let out a roar that sounded like that of a beast from his throat.


    At that moment, the de of the greatsword in his hand burst into mes.


    The roar and me of the sword reverberate through the air, burning the golems that blocked their path, consuming their flesh and blood and turning them to charcoal, then to ash, in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°You¡¯re being too reckless, Loren!¡±


    ¡°He probably can¡¯t hear you! Anyway, he cleared the way.¡±


    Loren was sure that he had been too reckless; he felt a sudden assault of weakness that almost made him fall over, but he felt people supporting him on both shoulders and carrying him.


    Loren did not know how many golems he had killed with hisst attack, but he could tell from the footsteps of the people supporting him that the path to the Empire army¡¯s position had been cleared.


    ¡°Hey! He really made an opening!¡±


    ¡°Is he okay? Did he hurt himself?¡±


    ¡°This guy¡­ Hey, call the General!¡±


    ¡°A breach has opened up! Wake up the magicians!¡±


    Loren heard a flurry of voices, probably from the soldiers.


    He was shaken violently and felt as if his entire body was being lifted, though the sensations were dim. But he had no energy to react to these sensations, and lost consciousness.


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 Chapter 346: From Awakening To Capturing (1)

    <h4>Chapter 346: From Awakening To Capturing (1)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren did not know how long he had been unconscious for, but it had been night by the time he woke up.


    Looking up, he saw that he was in what appeared to be a tent, withnterns hanging from the framework illuminating the interior.


    He seemed to be reclining in a chair, and as he looked around, he found Lapis and G sitting nearby, both of them staring at him. Looking further, he saw Yuri, with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°Not that it has been long, but you¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that unusual, is it?¡±


    In his days as a mercenary, it was quitemon for him to lose consciousness after a battle and be carried off by hisrades.


    Yuri seemed to have the same thought. But as he expressed his agreement, the smile disappeared from his face, and he bowed at Loren and the girls with a serious expression.


    ¡°I have already said this to the two girls, but let me say it again. Thank you.¡±


    Yuri said that the Empire army, which was surrounded by golems, was in a very dangerous situation. If the siege had continued, they definitely would have been caught up in the mass and wiped out.


    However, as Loren¡¯s team had managed to break through a part of the encirclement, they were somehow able to break free and escape by concentrating their forces there.


    Now, they had managed to shake off the slow-moving golems and formed a simple position at a spot where they thought they could take a breather, and Loren wasid out in the middle of it.


    ¡°Stop it, Commander. Feels bad.¡±


    Trying to move his somewhat heavy body, Loren waved his hand in a fluster, urging Yuri to raise his head, but Yuri did not respond and only looked up after a while.


    ¡°It would have been fine when you still called me ¡®Commander¡¯. But I am not yourmander anymore. If you help me, I will thank you properly.¡±


    ¡°To me, you are still mymander. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    ¡°Even when saidmander destroyed the group so ruthlessly?¡±


    ¡°I guess winning or losing is just a matter of fortune.¡±


    ¡°¡­Even if it was the result of a calction?¡±


    Yuri was somewhat hesitant, but even so, his words were clear, and Loren looked puzzled.


    Lapis and G, who normally were likely to interrupt at times like this, were silent and simply watched the exchange between Loren and Yuri, as if they had already been told in advance to some extent.


    ¡°What do you mean, Commander?¡±


    ¡°The destruction of the mercenary group happened exactly as I had nned. I intended to minimize the sacrifices as much as possible, and I think that I was able to aplish that, but even so, there is no doubt that I made unnecessary sacrifices.¡±


    Yuri spoke in a low, subdued voice without hesitation, and Loren stared at him sharply for a while. He then sat back down deep in his chair and asked Yuri, who was still staring at him, in a t voice.


    ¡°Why are you suddenly bringing this up now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been exchanging information with the youngdy over there.¡±


    Yuri pointed at Lapis.


    ¡°I¡¯m just telling him how things have been going so far.¡±


    Loren shook his head as if to say ¡®Don¡¯t worry about it¡¯ to Lapis, who looked somewhat apologetic, perhaps feeling guilty about having leaked the information without permission.


    Those was certainly not the kind of information he would want to blurt out to aplete stranger, but if it was Yuri, he thought it would not be a problem.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve ripped off our troops quite a bit though.¡±


    ¡°I think it was a fair price.¡±


    Apparently, Lapis had slipped up a bit about where the goods left behind in the town were going when exining about how they found the unupied Empire army¡¯s base.


    Loren turned his head away from Yuri, who was staring at him with half-lidded eyes, in a huff, but his voice did not falter as he answered. Instead, it was G, who was standing next to him, thatughed apologetically.


    Thinking about this, Loren suddenly realized that if Lapis had told Yuri about the destination of the goods they had swindled, she must have also told Yuri about G¡¯s true identity. As he was about to open his mouth, G, perhaps reading something from his expression, stopped him.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. This old man knew about us.¡±


    ¡°About the Evil Gods?¡±


    It would not be surprising if Yuri knew something. After all, Loren¡¯s team had already made some reports to the Guild; it would not be surprising for that information to be circted, and Yuri was in a position to gather such information.


    However, what G said next was something Loren did not expect.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s not the kind of information that you report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild though. I¡¯m trying to figure out how he knew.¡±


    This time it was Yuri who turned away from G, who was looking at him suspiciously.


    G and other Evil Gods were originally created by engineers belonging to a great country called the Ancient Kingdom when it still existed.


    When he was told that Yuri, who was originally simply the leader of a mercenary group, knew an astonishing amount about such existences, Loren feltpelled to question him, also about his earlier monologue.


    ¡°Please exin, Commander.¡±


    ¡°Thatdy asked me for an exnation before, but I thought it was too early to give one, so I just brushed it off and ran away. But after hearing this much, I just can¡¯t leave you with no exnation, can I?¡±


    ¡°Why in the world did you destroy the group?¡±


    Loren¡¯s tone of voice was filled with killing intent; it clearly showed his determination to not let Yuri get away with it, depending on his answer.


    Yuri¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Loren¡¯s face, who was staring at him. There was no hint of hesitation in his expression.


    Lapis wondered if Loren might pull out his sword at this point and naturally turned her gaze to his shoulder, but the usual greatsword was not there.


    Looking around, she saw that the cloth-wrapped sword was propped up on one of the tent¡¯s frames, probably because it had been in the way when Loren was put on the chair. Impressed by the fact that the framework was safe from such a massive sword, Lapis gently changed the position of her chair to put her body between Loren and the sword.


    Lapis didn¡¯t know what Yuri had in mind as he had said they would discuss the details once Loren regained consciousness, but whatever n the man had, she believed that she had to prevent Loren from cutting him off.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I was noticed by a rather troublesome person.¡±


    In the beginning, Yuri was hired to fight on the battlefield.


    As they became sessful and established his reputation, adventurers and mercenaries who wanted to fight under Yuri gathered to form the mercenarypany to which Loren belonged.


    Yuri had been raising Loren since before he became a mercenary. He had chosen the mercenary profession because he thought it was the only thing he could do.


    ¡°It would have been great if I could continue as a mercenary, or stay in the mercenary business.¡±


    An established mercenary group meant that its name was widely known. That meant information could reach someone who should not know it, and Yuri¡¯s name became known to someone he didn¡¯t want to know his name.


    ¡°¡®He really is still alive¡¯, I thought.¡±


    ¡°Who was it?¡±


    When a person like Yuri said there was someone to whom he didn¡¯t want to let his name be known, Loren¡¯s attention was drawn to that person.


    Yuri seemed to hesitate for a moment when Loren asked him about it, but then he seemed to regain hisposure and speak that person¡¯s name.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already met Him. It was¡­ Magna.¡±


    Before he could question Yuri¡¯s tone, which made him suspicious, Loren was startled by the name that came out of his mouth.


    ¡°That guy?¡±


    He had never expected to hear the name of the ck swordsmaning from Yuri¡¯s mouth during this conversation.


    Loren was surprised, but Yuri continued his story.


    Magna, who had heard Yuri¡¯s name spreading as the mercenary group grew, began to search for him in the mercenary groups little by little.


    Yuri realized this and believed that if the mercenary group continued to exist, it would eventually be subject to Magna¡¯s intervention. And so, he thought of destroying the group on the battlefield.


    ¡°Wait, just because he would intervene? You crushed the group just because of that reason, Commander?¡±


    It was true that Magna was a very powerful person in Loren¡¯s eyes. However, the fact that Yuri had destroyed the mercenary group simply because Magna was about to find out about his existence was something difficult to ept.


    ¡°Oh, yes. Only He could not know.¡±


    ¡°He?¡±


    Loren¡¯s eyebrows furrowed at the way Yuri addressed Magna, but as if oblivious to Loren¡¯s reaction, Yuri continued in a mumbled voice.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that He would still be alive¡­ It should have been over. But He was still alive. How unfortunate¡­¡±


    ¡°Commander?¡±


    ¡°I thought, ¡®He cannot know¡¯. If I continued to work as a mercenary, He would surely find His way to me. It was because of this thought that I¡­ decided to participate in that battle, which at first nce looked like a winning one, but in reality, I knew we would lose before we even started.¡±


    ¡°You sacrificed the guys in the group to save your own skin!¡±


    Loren¡¯s voice was, naturally, harsh.


    He did not know what had happened between Magna and Yuri, but if Yuri had sacrificed the mercenaries just to keep Magna from knowing about it, Loren had no intention of forgiving him, no matter how much he owed to Yuri.


    Loren reached for his shoulder, where the hilt of his greatsword had always been, and when Loren noticed that there was nothing there, Yuri said something unexpected.


    ¡°It would not have mattered if it were just me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°If it were only my existence, it would not have mattered if it had been known. I am sure that He would have demanded that I work for Him, but I had no intention of submitting to His will again, and it would not have mattered much even if He had killed me for it.¡±


    ¡°Even if he killed you¡­ So, what is it that you didn¡¯t want him to know?¡±


    Even though Loren had his doubts about why Yuri would be killed by Magna, he was overwhelmed when Yuri told him that it wouldn¡¯t matter at all, and he could not help but ask.


    What on earth did Yuri want to hide from Magna¡¯s eyes that he was willing to abandon therades who had been fighting for him, even though his own death would not matter?


    ¡°It was you, Loren. It was you.¡±


    At first, Loren had no idea what Yuri was talking about. However, as he slowly began to understand what Yuri was saying, the question of why arose, and Loren felt the blood that had been rushing to his head suddenly cool down.


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, Loren, you. Your existence is the only thing He must never know about. That¡¯s why I nned and carried out my n to destroy my mercenary group and make you disappear.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s gaze was filled with a strong will that said he did not care who would resent him for it.


    Loren, who was at a loss for words after seeing that gaze, could only stare at his face, utterly dumbfounded.


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 Chapter 347: From Awakening to Capturing (2)

    <h4>Chapter 347: From Awakening to Capturing (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    ¡°So, who the hell am I?¡±


    That was the first thing Loren thought about after recovering from the shock.


    Apparently, things would not end with Magna searching and finding him, and Yuri wanted to keep this matter hidden even if it meant destroying the mercenary group he had founded. No matter how he looked at it, Loren could no longer believe himself to be a mere mercenary.


    And yet, Loren had no clue what was so special about himself.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already met Magna many times, you know. I¡¯m aware that I annoy him a lot, but there¡¯s not the slightest indication that it¡¯s going to be a big deal.¡±


    If Loren meeting Magna was what Yuri was so fearful of that he did not want it to happen, then it was already toote, Loren thought.


    But Magna, even after seeing his face, did not seem to recognize him, and so far, nothing had happened that should make Yuri worry.


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ He doesn¡¯t know what you look like.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s calm words made the three of them bbergasted.


    Then, the man followed with something outrageous.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even know your name, by the way. It¡¯s not that He doesn¡¯t know you, just that He met you when you were still a baby.¡±


    ¡°When Loren was a baby? Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Loren is a human too, of course he must have been a baby at one point. I just can¡¯t imagine what it must have been like.¡±


    Loren silently thrusted his fist into the side of G¡¯s stomach, who waved her hand while saying something terribly rude.


    G was literally hit in the area where a hard-enough blow could stop her breathing temporarily, and she began to writhe in agony on the chair, bending over.


    ¡°With all due respect, how is he going to find Loren then? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a case of ¡®recognizing him as soon as they meet¡¯ here.¡±


    Lapis asked Yuri, ignoring the writhing G.


    If Magna knew neither Loren¡¯s name nor what he looked like, and if he didn¡¯t recognize him when they met, then Lapis thought that Yuri¡¯s worries were unfounded.


    However, Yuri shook his head gravely in response.


    ¡°He would have known if he had checked. Fortunately, He didn¡¯t recognize Loren, so He didn¡¯t bother to check. But as soon as his rtionship with mees to light, He will try to.¡±


    ¡°And how would he do that?¡±


    When asked by Lapis, Yuri pulled out a dagger from his inner breast pocket.


    It looked like a simple,monce object, but the sheath was borately carved, and a yellow gemstone of unknown type was iid into the hilt of the handle.


    ¡°It looks like a magical artifact, a quite old one. Is it from the Ancient Kingdom?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be. As long as it is a magical artifact that meets a certain criterion, it can be used to identify him.¡±


    Yuri answered and pulled the dagger out of its sheath, and the one-sided de with a curved body glistened wetly in the light of the tent.


    ¡°This is a dagger for self-defense that meets a certain criterion. If I sold it, it would be worth about¡­ 30 gold coins.¡±


    When Yuri stated the price, Lapis and Loren simultaneously looked at each other.


    The amount of money was unimaginablyrge for its humble appearance. It was equal to the amount of money that Loren had borrowed from Lapis through a period of time. In other words, it was not an amount of money that could be earned nice and quick.


    ¡°It¡¯s more valuable for being an antique than for its function. The function is not that great. It¡¯s just that when you grip the hilt and channel magic power, it produces lightning on the de.¡±


    As he exined this, Yuri gripped the hilt of the dagger and held it out slightly in front of him with the tip pointed upward so that everyone could easily see. Immediately, a thunderbolt emanated from the de with a cracking sound. As Loren and the girls backed away slightly, Yuri, smiling as if satisfied with their reaction, removed his grip on the hilt, then held the dagger by the de and presented it to G.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try it?¡±


    Yuri said to G, who looked doubtful, with a fond smile.


    G looked at the dagger¡¯s hilt, then Yuri¡¯s face, and seemed lost for a moment. But then, perhaps thinking that the conversation was not going to go anywhere if she did nothing, she grabbed the hilt.


    Seeing that G had a firm grip on the hilt, Yuri gently removed his fingers from the de, and in the next instant, there was a blinding sh of light.


    ¡°Eeek?!¡±


    G screamed, and at the same time, the dagger in her handunched into the air, spinning around.


    After watching Yuri deftly and quickly catch the spinning dagger and return it to its sheath, Loren looked at G, who was sitting beside him.


    G was arching over in her chair, her eyes opened wide. Thin white plumes of smoke were rising from her body, and a smell that suggested that she had been burned was beginning to pervade the air.


    ¡°I am the owner of the dagger. When that ownership has not changed, if someone touches it while my hand does not, the anti-theft function will be activated.¡±


    ¡°H-hey¡­ Old man¡­ You¡­¡±


    Even though she was gasping for breath, G still managed to squeeze out some words while white smokes were still rising from all over her body.


    Thanks to this, Loren knew that she would not die, but he shuddered to think that if the anti-theft function was capable of damaging G, an Evil God, to this extent, it would have been powerful enough to kill a normal human being instantly.


    ¡°So, here, you hold it this time, Loren.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to kill me?!¡±


    ¡°I would never do anything to make you die.¡±


    Yuri answered in a tone of dismay, but Loren, who had just witnessed the damage G had sustained, could not fully trust the man¡¯s words that such a thing would not happen.


    It might be a function that would detect the opponent and inflict enough damage to render him incapacitated, if not deadly. In that case, Loren might not die, but he would be in a simr situation to G, and he would like to avoid that.


    ¡°Come on, just grip it.¡±


    Yuri unsheathed the dagger again, picked up the de, and held out the hilt toward Loren, waving it slightly.


    Loren, looking at the swinging hilt, asked Yuri for confirmation.


    ¡°You won¡¯t kill me here just because you don¡¯t want Magna to see me, will you?¡±


    ¡°You have no trust in me¡­ If I were the kind of person who would think such a thing, I would have done it when you were a baby.¡±


    Loren agreed with that logic, but he was still unable to shake off the uneasiness he felt as he gripped the hilt of the dagger Yuri held out to him.


    At the same time, Yuri released his fingers from the de, and Loren involuntarily closed his eyes in anticipation of the shock that was toe. But no shock came from his hand even after a while, and he cautiously opened his eyes to look at the dagger, which was still in his hand and not causing any trouble.


    ¡°Is the anti-theft function not working?¡±


    ¡°There is another setting, one for those who have higher ranking than the owner.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s exnation reminded Lapis of something: In the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruin, the trap reacted and worked when other people passed through it, but it did not work when Loren did.


    At the time, she was not sure about the cause, but now, after seeing it demonstrated as an experiment in front of her eyes and hearing Yuri¡¯s exnation, she understood why Loren was not caught by the trap.


    Traps were there to prevent unwanted people from entering, not to stop those who have the right to pass through them. In other words, there was a setting for someone of higher ranking, and Loren fell into that category.


    ¡°But if that is the case, it means Loren is recognized as a high-ranking figure in the Ancient Kingdom period¡­ So Loren is actually very old?¡±


    The Magic Kingdom of Noona, which had be known as the Ancient Kingdom, was a country that was destroyed several hundred years ago. If Loren existed at the time of the existence of such a kingdom, it was hard to believe that he was a human being, regardless of his appearance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡±


    Loren¡¯s denial did not sound very convincing. He was not sure of his origins to this point, after all.


    The fact was, when the possibility of it being true could not bepletely ruled out, words inevitably be muddled.


    ¡°Loren is a human being, I can assure you of that. He is as old as he looks.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s hard to judge from appearances, but whatever. If that is the case, what kind of person is Loren?¡±


    Lapis asked, her gaze became somewhat stern. But Yuri kept his head down and refused to meet her or Loren¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t after saying all this?¡±


    Yuri stopped Loren, who was about to push for an answer, with a nce and continued.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s that I can¡¯t speak about it. I am sworn to not let ite out of my mouth. I can give out information that would be easy to guess, but I can never say a conclusive word, not a single one.¡±


    Lapis thought that it was possible to make a ¡®maybe¡¯-level guess based on the information so far. However, they would not be able to make a push for a final conclusion.


    This was because unless Yuri, who seemed to know everything, confirmed that their guess was correct, everything would remain a guess.


    Also, it was possible that what had happened with the trap and the magical artifact was just a coincidence of somebination of factors, and that Loren was not the only one they were not responding to. They could not find out the truth from that fact alone.


    The same might be true on Magna¡¯s side, but Lapis thought that with Loren being by Yuri¡¯s side and some information that Magna himself had, his guess could be a confirmed fact.


    ¡°In any case, that¡¯s all the information I can give you. If you really want to get information out of my mouth, there is only one way.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s torture, please leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Loren¡­ You have a very troublesome youngdy by your side.¡±


    Yuri said to Loren as he looked at Lapis, who pulled out a small knife, a drill, and other dangerous items out of nowhere, with a fearful gaze.


    Loren pulled Lapis back to her chair as she stood up to approach Yuri with those items in her hands.


    ¡°What¡¯s the method?¡±


    Loren cleared his throat and asked, and Yuri told him.


    ¡°You mustmand me in your full name. If ites to pass, I will have to disclose everything I know to you.¡±


    ¡°Not just ¡®Loren¡¯, you mean?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only a part of it.¡±


    As he yed with the dagger in his hand, Loren wondered if he was actually from somece good since his name contained more words than just ¡®Loren¡¯.


    The information Yuri had given them was probably true, but even if it was, he wondered how much they had to refine their guess until it became a conclusion while watching G, who had recovered from the damage of the lightning strike, take a swing at Yuri.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 349: From Escaping To Encountering (1)

    <h4>Chapter 349: From Escaping To Encountering (1)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    The next day, Loren woke up before the sun had even risen and saw two pure white cocoon-shaped things that seemed to be crying out for attention in the tent.


    He looked at Nig, who was clinging to his shoulder, wondering how the spider could have possibly made suchrge cocoons, but he could not tell whether Nig was awake or asleep as the spider did not move an inch.


    Thinking that there was no need to wake him up, Loren put his ear close to one of the cocoons. It seemed to be tightly wound, but there were some gaps, and he could hear faint sounds that seemed to be sleeping breaths, which told him that the person inside was not dead.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    Loren had asked Nig to do something about Lapis and G before he went to sleep, but he didn¡¯t expect the spider to pack them so well. He worried that he might hurt the person inside if he used a de or something to cut the cocoons open.


    Loren looked down at the cocoons with his arms folded, not knowing what to do. Just then, Nig, who was clinging to his shoulder, began to move as if he could sense that Loren had awakened.


    ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you do something about this?¡±


    When Loren pointed to the cocoons and asked, Nig suddenly jumped down from his shoulder onto a cocoon and began to poke and pierce it with the tips of his forelegs.


    As Loren watched, the spider skilfully used his forelegs to cut a slit in the cocoon he had made. When the slit reached a certain length, Lapis pushed the slit open to reveal her upper body.


    ¡°Is it morning?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but a little early. How do you feel?¡±


    ¡°I had an okay night¡¯s sleep. Your cocoon bed is nice, Nig. It¡¯s a little stuffy and sticky, but it¡¯s quiet, warm, and reasonably fluffy.¡±


    Loren, who had been lying directly on the ground, felt stiffness all over his body, perhaps from prolonged contact with the cold hard ground. He was rotating his arms and neck to improve blood cirction, and Lapis¡¯ words made him wonder if he should have asked Nig to wrap him up as well.


    But at the same time, he wondered if he should give up the idea, as he worried that it would be hard to breathe, and that he would not be able to respond immediately if something were to happen.


    As Lapis rose up from the slit and removed spider threads from her body and clothes, Nig jumped to the other cocoon and made a slit in it with the same procedure as he did with the cocoon Lapis had been in.


    Simrly, when the length of the slit reached a certain point, a sleepy-eyed G began to slowly rise up from inside.


    This cocoon seemed to have been packed even tighter than Lapis: white strings of Nig¡¯ threads were sticking to G¡¯s exposed tanned skin, and the contrast between the white threads and the tanned skin,bined with the dimly-lit tent, created a somewhat suggestive atmosphere.


    ¡°Fuwah¡­ That was a good sleep.¡±


    After a small yawn, G noticed Loren¡¯s eyes looking in her direction, and with a silly smile, she tried to wave her hand at him only to notice that her arm was covered in Nig¡¯ threads.


    ¡°Uwah?! What is this? It¡¯s a little sticky?¡±


    As if he did not care, Nig jumped down from the cocoon in which G had been in and began to climb up from Loren¡¯s feet, then stopped exactly where he usually clung to.


    In the meantime, G wasining and trying to remove the threads stuck to her body by picking them up, but the threads seemed to stick to her very firmly, and her attempts to get rid of them did not seem to be working very well.


    ¡°So, Loren, is there some reason you woke us up at this hour?¡±


    Lapis asked Loren as she opened the entrance to the tent a little and peered out through the gap.


    It was still dark outside, and bonfires were still burning. It was too early in the morning to wake up.


    ¡°Well, the truth is¡­ I¡¯ve been thinking about sneaking out of here.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is there something you don¡¯t like?¡±


    Perhaps startled by Loren¡¯s words, G tried to stand up with force. The action shredded the unremoved threads, which seemed to have been carefully attached to her clothes, and G¡¯s top and bottom slid down at the same time, putting her in a rather dangerous situation. She hurriedly crouched down in the cocoon she was trying to escape from, which caused even more threads to stick to her body.


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL?!¡±


    ¡°Keep your voice down. They¡¯ll notice.¡±


    Loren told G to keep her voice down as shemented the fact that she was almost at the starting point again. Then he made sure Lapis, who had been looking outside, looked in his direction before exining why he had woken them up.


    ¡°So, you want to sneak out?¡±


    Loren nodded silently at Lapis¡¯ words.


    He was not sure how much guilt he would feel about quietly sneaking out and disappearing without telling anyone where he was going, but he found no reason for Yuri to ept his n, and he had neither the time nor the confidence to try to persuade him.


    ¡°I feel bad for doing this to the Commander. I feel bad about not making these things clear.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re equal now, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The Commander also decided to destroy the mercenary group without exining or consulting with you, didn¡¯t he? Perhaps he also thought you would not agree, and it would be impossible to convince you, so he decided to do it.¡±


    Indeed, no matter how much Yuri wanted to keep Loren¡¯s existence hidden, Loren could not believe that he would have agreed to destroy the mercenary group even when it was exined to him. Yuri probably had the same thought, and Lapis¡¯ suggestion that this was why he took action without consulting Loren made sense.


    ¡°So, if you do something simr this time, you¡¯ll be even.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it is?¡±


    ¡°Maybe not, but I have no choice but to make a strong argument along these lines. If you insist on it, even a lie will be true once in a while. It¡¯s not anything admirable though.¡±


    ¡°In cases such as this, it is important to give a reason to convince yourself. Worst-case scenario, you can just apologizeter and get away with it, can¡¯t you?¡±


    G, who had given up on tearing the threads off her clothes and had begun to eat the cocoon itself with her Authority, spoke in a light tone, and Lapisughed as if her own words had been a joke.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to try something along those lines.¡±


    Loren said with augh, as if he had been enticed by the idea.


    Lapis, ready to take action, peeked outside again, and G, who had eaten up all the cocoon, stood up and started to pack up her belongings.


    Loren was about to lend G a hand when he heard Lapis, who was looking outside, mutter a few words.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to pull this through, then we would require a diversion.¡±


    Stopping without thinking, Loren looked at Lapis intently.


    His n was to sneak away from this tent, move while keeping themselves hidden to avoid attracting the attention of the soldiers and get out of this stronghold, but Lapis seems to have a different idea in her head.


    ¡°If we cause any injuries or deaths, it will hinder the soldiers¡¯ actionster on, so we have to think about what kind of diversion we can create.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait. Doesn¡¯t word like ¡®secretly¡¯ and ¡®quietly¡¯ exist in your head?¡±


    As Loren called out to Lapis to dissuade her from doing so, she turned her gaze at him and looked surprised. When he was thinking that he had not said anything strange, she asked.


    ¡°Loren, you want to sneak out with that body of yours? It might have worked during the night, but the day will break soon, won¡¯t it?¡±


    It was getting bright around them, albeit faintly. With visibility avable to a certain degree, Loren¡¯srge body was certainly a far cry from the words ¡®secretly¡¯ and ¡®quietly¡¯.


    ¡°I mean, with your size, it¡¯s difficult even at night, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s doable somehow with an inferior army, but since this is the troops of Yuri, who brought you up, it would be difficult.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for my big body¡­¡±


    Loren, a little offended, said in a sulky tone. G patted him on the back soothingly, and Lapis, looking like a child about to pull a prank, opened the tent entrance a little wider and slid into the gap.


    ¡°So please leave the diversion to me. It¡¯ll be alright. It¡¯s your Commander¡¯s troops, so I¡¯ll do it without causing any injuries or deaths this time.¡±


    ¡°What is it with ¡®this time¡¯? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°G, while you have the chance, please leave the base with Loren.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. But, Lapis-chan, are you sure you¡¯ll be able to join uster?¡±


    Neither Loren nor G knew at this point what kind of diversion Lapis would create for the Empire army, but she would at least do something that would throw the base itself into chaos, leaving open the question of whether she would be able to find themter as they took advantage of the chaos to escape.


    That was why G asked, looking a little worried, but Lapis answered confidently.


    ¡°If it¡¯s Loren, I¡¯m almost certain I can recognize his presence.¡±


    ¡°What kind of confidence is that?¡±


    ¡°Just get out of here when things start to happen. I¡¯ll leave the timing to you.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡±


    Loren answered shortly, and Lapis smiled with satisfaction and slipped out of the room.


    Although there was some uncertainty as to what she was going to do, Loren and G gathered their belongings and waited for the right moment, because if they missed it, Lapis¡¯ action would be wasted.


    ¡°The enemy has attacked! The enemy is here! Prepare to intercept! Get up! The enemy ising!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Why the hell are theying from the Empire direction?¡±


    A few momentster, they heard warnings from a soldier, who was probably on guard duty, from a distance, then felt a rush of soldiers around them running toward the source of the voice, weapons in their hands.


    G peeked out of the tent, checking what was happening, and quickly returned.


    ¡°It¡¯s illusion magic. Lapis seems to have cast an illusion over the entire base that makes it seems as if a horde of flesh golems were attacking.¡±


    ¡°The soldiers are one thing, but will the Commander fall for it?¡±


    ¡°Even if he doesn¡¯t fall for it, if most of the soldiers do, there will be confusion. So, let¡¯s sneak out from the other side and get away before hees.¡±


    Once he noticed that the attack was an illusion, Yuri mighte to confirm the movements of Loren¡¯s team before reigning in the soldiers. Loren did not like to think that Yuri would neglect his soldiers, but he knew that there was a possibility, and they had better to hurry to get out of there.


    ¡°Sorry, Commander. You can be pissed off as much as you want when this is over.¡±


    Loren muttered quietly; even though no one would hear him, he felt as if he had to say something like that. Then he ran after G, who had pulled the tent cloth up wide.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 350: From Escaping to Encountering (2)

    <h4>Chapter 350: From Escaping to Encountering (2)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren and G, who had left the encampment together, were soon joined by Lapis, who had followed them.


    They were worried about pursuers, but thanks to Lapis¡¯ skilful diversion tactics, no one was in pursuit of them, and the team ran along the empty streets, hoping to gain a little distance before they were noticed.


    ¡°I was worried that at the very least, the Commander would appear and say ¡®Wait¡¯.¡±


    Yuri gave off the impression of anticipating, predicting, and standing in the way of anything. Loren thought that he would appear in front of them this time as well, but his fears were proved to be unfounded.


    ¡°I guess a confused army is a weak army, huh?¡±


    ¡°No, he realized.¡±


    Lapis smoothly said these outrageous words to Loren, who was looking behind them with worry.


    Loren and G were so surprised that they slowed down, and Lapis held up her index finger as she recounted how she had escaped from the encampment.


    ¡°Yuri seemed to be the only one who thought Loren would make it out of the encampment in the chaos. He was going to go after Loren by himself, so I gave him a little push with my palm and he went back.¡±


    ¡°Is the Commander all right?¡±


    Even though Yuri was being very suspicious, as far as Loren knew, the man was a human. He wondered if Yuri would be able to survive being ¡®pushed a little¡¯ by Lapis.


    Loren suspected that Lapis had done something terrible, but without stopping, she told him in no uncertain terms.


    ¡°I doubt if he¡¯s really human, that Mister Commander. I was going to send him to the hospital, but he was the picture of health.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    Pushing someone with the intention of sending them to the hospital was usually not called a little push. Yuri was of advanced age, andpared to Loren, he was not as strong in terms of physical strength and healing capacity. Loren was worried that Lapis might have seriously injured the man without being aware of it, but he was relieved to hear that Yuri was the picture of health.


    ¡°The quickest way to get them to give up the chase is to disable the leader.¡±


    ¡°That may be true, but¡­¡±


    It was not umon for a group that has lost its leader to be a disorderly crowd. However, Loren was not sure if it was appropriate to do so to a non-enemy group.


    ¡°In the end, I did what I had to do without causing any injuries, so please give me credit for that.¡±


    Regardless of the methods, it was true that no one was injured as far as the results were concerned. Loren, who was wondering whether it was even worth praising, gently patted Lapis on the head, losing to the silent pressure of her staring at him with an expectant look in her eyes.


    ¡°Loren, if you don¡¯t let her have it like this every once in a while, I¡¯m worried something terrible will happen.¡±


    Seeing Lapis looking happy when being patted on the head, G said with an aghast look on her face, and Loren let out a quiet sigh.


    ¡°I have the same thought from time to time.¡±


    Seeing their reaction, Lapis¡¯ cheeks puffed up in disapproval.


    ¡°You two are terrible. I¡¯ll have you know; I¡¯ve been running errands for you.¡±


    ¡°Errands?¡±


    Under Loren¡¯s questioning eyes, Lapis slipped out from under the hand that was patting her head and took out a folded piece of paper hidden under her clothes, and opened it.


    As Loren had a look at what was written on it, he realized that it was a map with quite detailed information.


    ¡°Yuri told us to take it with us, as we would need it if we were to continue on.¡±


    Apparently, the scouts the Empire army had sent out to march through the Kingdom¡¯s territory had seeded in creating a reasonably detailed map.


    However, this kind of information was usually considered confidential and should be kept under wraps, and Loren wondered if it was okay for Yuri to give it to someone who was only an adventurer like him.


    ¡°He said it¡¯s just a copy, and asked me to tell you not to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°He even knows I¡¯ll be concerned.¡±


    Loren was astonished at the extent to which Yuri had anticipated and predicted the future, but the map that Lapis had brought with her indeed did contain necessary information for their group, and it was certain to be of great help to them.


    With this information, they would not have to fumble through the Kingdom¡¯s territory blindly, and it would be easier to make a n for the future.


    ¡°If that ck-armoured bastard is somewhere, it¡¯s usually in the capital, right?¡±


    With the map Lapis had unfolded in front of them, the group discussed the route they would take as they walked on.


    The bastard was, of course, Magna. Since no one had heard of his appearance during the battle against the Empire army, Loren thought it was highly likely that he was camping in a ce that could be called his headquarters.


    ¡°If we are aiming for the capital, or the best city in the country, then all we have to do is walk eastward along the road we are on now.¡±


    Lapis pointed at a location that was probably where they were, and her finger slid eastward from there.


    The city she indicated was, indeed, the royal capital.


    However, there were several cities in between, and the dots that marked these cities were crossed out, probably by Yuri or someone from the Empire army.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming that these cross marks mean that they were found to be empty.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what they mean, there seems to be few human obstacles on the way¡­¡±


    The cities on the road that they had to go through were almost all crossed out. It meant that there were no inhabitants in these cities, and no soldiers to protect them. Loren looked at the marks with a dismayed expression on his face.


    ¡°If there¡¯s no one there, then those golems must be there, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure they are there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to encounter them. They¡¯re not too strong, but their appearance is too gross.¡±


    A flesh golem was a creature that looked like it had been made into human form from a mass of flesh that had not been drained of blood.


    It was easy to guess that the raw materials for the flesh golems were probably the residents that had disappeared without a trace from the Kingdom¡¯s cities, and neither G nor Lapis tried to hide their disgust.


    ¡°I doubt the person who made them is right in the head.¡±


    ¡°He must be a nasty, obnoxious creep.¡±


    Loren looked at the map while smiling wryly at theirints, but he knew that there was no other way but to continue on this road, even though they would encounter enemies.


    It was not that they couldn¡¯t take a detour, but it was unclear whether they could avoid encountering arge gathering of golems even if they did so.


    Moreover, by taking a detour, they would be going through ces where there were no roads; if they encountered arge number of golems in such a ce, they might not be able to fight or escape.


    ¡°However, there are just too many for us to handle on our own.¡±


    Loren frowned as he recalled the horde of flesh golems that had surrounded the Empire army.


    That time, they had somehow managed to cut through and open a hole in the encirclement, but it was unlikely that they would have such luck again next time.


    And the next time they encountered flesh golems; there will be no Empire army to support them. It was unlikely that they would be able to cope with the situation by simply opening a hole in the encirclement.


    ¡°I wonder if the entire poption of the Kingdom has really been turned into golems.¡±


    ¡°They have reasonably good fighting power, and they obey orders absolutely, so they¡¯re easy to manage.¡±


    If other people¡¯s eyes were not on them, Lapis and G would be able to get serious. Even a crowd of golems might be scattered around like debris and dirt in the face of a powerful demon and an Evil God.


    But Loren was just a human being. To ask him to act at the level of Lapis and G was quite an impossible task.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll take care of clearing the path.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. In normal times, we rely on you to do everything for us, so in times like this, we have to take the initiative.¡±


    Lapis pped her own chest as if to say ¡®Leave it to me¡¯, and G patted Loren¡¯s back as if to say ¡®Don¡¯t worry¡¯.


    A thought suddenly came to his mind as Loren watched the two of them, and he asked in a whisper.


    ¡°You just want to vent, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Normally, neither Lapis nor G were able to use all of their abilities. They had to be aware of their surroundings, and could only exercise power to an extent that could somehow fit within the bounds ofmon sense while being concerned about the eyes of others.


    Loren could only imagine what it must be like to be unable to wield a mighty power, but it seemed to him that continually suppressing one¡¯s power must be a source of frustration.


    Thinking about it, on the rare asions when Lapis was able to release her power, she seemed to look refreshed; Loren looked between her and G.


    ¡°N-no, of course not.¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what the heck? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m thinking like that.¡±


    Their eyes were shifting, and they were acting suspiciously. Loren shook his head without saying anything.


    If these two wielded their powers as they wished, it was impossible to know what would happen to the Kingdom after this was over.


    The Kingdom would not disappear from the map, Loren thought, but he would not be surprised if it became an ominous ce where no one would ever be able to live again.


    ¡°Should we call the other kids? I think there really won¡¯t be any witnesses this time.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not Luxuria, I think it¡¯s worth considering.¡±


    Loren did not know how serious they were about this, but they seemed to be seriously considering it. He hoped and prayed that, even if the situation turned troublesome, they would not do anything that would involve mobilizing multiple Evil Gods.


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>

 Chapter 351: From Escaping To Encountering (3)

    <h4>Chapter 351: From Escaping To Encountering (3)</h4>


    | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | Next Chapter>>


    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    After parting ways with Yuri¡¯s army, Loren¡¯s team proceeded onward through the Kingdom¡¯s territory toward the royal capital.


    If they had been traveling with a military-qualified number of men, they would have been caught in the Kingdom¡¯s security, and would have had to engage in a number of unnecessary battles. However, Loren¡¯s group, with only three members, was able to slip through the Kingdom¡¯s security, regardless of their actual military strength.


    However, it was not possible topletely slip through the. The closer you got to the capital, the stricter the security became, and there were some battles that just couldn¡¯t be avoided.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a single actual soldier in the bunch.¡±


    Loren¡¯s greatsword swung at the humanoid lumps of flesh, slicing up and down. There was something like metal braces imnted in the flesh, perhaps to substitute for bones, but the sword sliced through them as if no such things existed.


    Surrounded by flesh golems, it should have been a difficult situation, but the way Loren handled his sword showed not the slightest hint of this.


    ¡°Do they really not trust humans at all?¡±


    Lapis did not want to get too close to the golems that were attacking them. The reason for this was the appearance of the golems, with their bare flesh that was dripping with blood. It was not that she found them disgusting or creepy; she simply did not want her white priest robe to be stained with sttered flesh and blood.


    Still, taking advantage of theck of human eyes, she was using her magical arts to smash and sh golems one after another from a distance, contributing to the reduction of the enemy number.


    ¡°Well, golems always listen to orders without fail.¡±


    It was G who did not seem to be working much. But despite how it looked, she was actually eating and killing the enemies at a speed that was almost as fast as Loren by using her Evil God¡¯s authority. From the outside, it looked as if she was just piling up branches on the ground and making a small bonfire.


    As Loren continued to desperately fight the golems, Lapis asked G with a slightly grim look on her face.


    ¡°May I ask you to exin what you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m tired of raw meat.¡±


    G answered in a nonchnt manner, and Lapis tilted her head, not quite understanding the meaning of those words.


    In the meantime, G added more wood to the bonfire she had built herself to increase its intensity.


    ¡°Whatever they are, they¡¯re just raw meat. It¡¯s about time to have some meat that¡¯s been cooked.¡±


    Hearing G¡¯s words, Lapis looked toward Loren, who was still fighting.


    His greatsword, which could cut through stone just by its own weight, was still being wielded with unbelievable force, its de slicing through the golems it touched with such ease that it seemed to be immune to any kind of resistance.


    ¡°Grilled meat is civilized, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than raw meat, I guess?¡±


    ¡°I just want to eat nicely grilled meat with a bit of salt on it!¡±


    G insisted that she was referring to the meat that formed the golems¡¯ bodies, but it was still unclear what that meat was made of. Lapis did have a vague idea about that, but even considering that, it was still an unknown type of meat, and Lapis had no desire to eat such a thing as a barbeque.


    However, it seemed that meat was meat to the Evil God of Gluttony, no matter the origins.


    G immediately brought over several golem bodies that Loren had cut down, and with a long, thick skewer she had procured from somewhere, she began to pierce them and hold them over the campfire.


    The smell of grilled meat immediately filled the air, and although the meat was unknown, it was strangely appetizing. Lapis, who was almost lured for a moment, hurriedly shook her head to clear her mind.


    The smell of grilled meat was so violent.


    At the same time, Lapis became aware that she was very hungry.


    ¡°Lapis-chan, do you want some?¡±


    G asked Lapis in a voice that was neither malicious nor evil, but purely good-natured.


    Lapis wondered how rare it was for the Evil God of Gluttony to share her food with others. The skewer in G¡¯s hand was of a ratherrge humanoid upper body. It was not a dish that could arouse one¡¯s appetite.


    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, but no.¡±


    ¡°Really? It¡¯s just meat, despite how it looks.¡±


    Lapis thought that it was all about how bad it looked, but G didn¡¯t seem to mind at all; she wondered whether it was because G had been eating humans and all kinds of things without discrimination with her authority.


    As Lapis was thinking about this, G bit into a piece of meat that had begun to cook, looking very pleased with herself.


    There was no tension at all, and the scene even had a somewhat bizarre atmosphere. Loren, without resting his sword, turned his gaze toward the two girls and blurted out.


    ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a battle¡­¡±


    Surrounded by a score of golems, the skirmish was not looking in Loren¡¯s favour. Yet, for some reason, there was no sense of despair in the air.


    ¡°Loren, please take it easy on yourself. Since there are no signs of humans around here, these golems won¡¯t be a threat.¡±


    With a flick of Lapis¡¯ arm, about ten golems burst into mes.


    The body of the golem, which had been burned by a fire iparablyrger and more intense than the one G had built, was sucked into an invisible mouth and gulped down. The joyful look on G¡¯s face became even more apparent; it seemed like being able to eat grilled meat just as she had hoped made her very happy.


    ¡°If you can get rid of them quickly, why don¡¯t you do it? I don¡¯t like doing this either.¡±


    Loren swung his sword as heined, scattering the blood sticking to the de.


    Perhaps because of its origin, the incredibly sharp de did not lose its sharpness even after cutting through golems¡¯ bones, but it did not prevent blood and grease from sticking to the de. As Loren shook them off, Lapis asked curiously.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡±


    ¡°What makes you think I do?¡±


    Loren did not consider himself a battle fanatic. He had worked as a mercenary because he thought it was the only thing he could do, not because he liked fighting.


    ¡°You look like you are having fun.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t enjoy what you do, it¡¯s a loss. You can¡¯t keep doing something you don¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Be it right or wrong, that was what Loren thought.


    Loren could tell from Lapis¡¯ expression that this was not a normal way of thinking, but Lapis shook her head and pointed her palm at the golems swarming around them.


    ¡°I like this kind of thing more than I thought I would.¡±


    In the blink of an eye, a bright red sh of light erupted in the midst of the golems. When Loren realized that it was an explosion of mes, his ears were hit by an explosive sound so loud that he thought he would go deaf, and the shockwave struck at his skin. Bracing himself against it with his arms crossed in front of his face, he gasped at the sight he could see on the other side of his arms.


    The golems had been swarming around the area, but with just a single blow, a part of the flesh wall they formed had been scraped away.


    Unlike the magic that burned the golem just a few minutes ago, Loren was intimidated by the purely destructive power of the me this time, but Lapis seemed to have a different impression.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be able to just let loose.¡±


    ¡°Hey there, priest.¡±


    ¡°You know it¡¯s just a form of disguise.¡±


    Lapis stuck her tongue out at Loren, who was about to retort, as she fired another shot of the same magic she had used earlier at the golems.


    Again, an explosion of mes erupted.


    As Loren watched the remnants of the golem being blown to pieces, he began to wonder if it would even matter whether he was there or not, but G was dissatisfied and called out to Lapis.


    ¡°Lapis-chan, if you blow them away like that, I won¡¯t have anything to eat.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough¡­?¡±


    Before blowing up the golems, Lapis had burned about ten of them. The amount of meat from a dozen ofrge golems would have been quite a lot, but G had gobbled them all up and still looked as if she hadn¡¯t had enough.


    Both Loren and Lapis were appalled, but then they realized that it was not unreasonable; G was called Gluttony after all.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I guess. I¡¯ll lightly roast them instead of sting them to pieces then¡­¡±


    Aside from thebour involved, there were plenty of materials lined up in front of them. Even if it was a hassle to adjust the spell, it was much better than having G beg for meat.


    ¡°Lapis, wait a minute!¡±


    Lapis had already started to select a magic spell to use when she was stopped by Loren. Looking around to see what was going on, she saw Loren pointing to the other side of the golems while continuing to cut down the approaching ones.


    Lapis looked in that direction, and her eyes narrowed even more when she noticed a cloud of dust rising from the earth on the other side of the golem horde.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a cavalry! Someone or something ising toward us!¡±


    Lapis also realized that the cloud of dust behind the golems was caused by the rushing of multiple cavalrymen. In other words, the human eyes that they had thought to be absent around here were getting closer.


    ¡°Should we just blow up the whole cavalry?¡±


    It had seemed like they would be able to attack without any restraints, but now they were stopped again; Loren could hear deep disappointment from the cruel words Lapis spoke.


    Loren stopped her while kicking away the body of a golem that he had sliced open.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to blow up someone you don¡¯t know if they¡¯re friend or foe!¡±


    ¡°Being at a ce like this, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re enemies.¡±


    ¡°You just want to blow them up!¡±


    Lapis¡¯ reasoning was too simplistic. Loren red at her with half-lidded eyes, and she replied firmly, though she did back down a little.


    ¡°I don¡¯t deny it, but¡­¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t, alright! We¡¯ve got people¡¯s eyes now, so restrain yourselves!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too harsh, making me step down like that.¡±


    Losing the opportunity to release her magic without any adjustments, made Lapis¡¯ mood even gloomier, but as it was still unclear whose side the cavalry was on, Loren thought that Lapis should be careful not to act in a way that could reveal her true identity.


    If the first attack that had blown up the golems was witnessed, then G, who was the party magician, would be a great excuse. Loren thinking this, hurriedly pulled the Evil God back as she was about to sink her teeth into a grilled golem.


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 Chapter 352: From Reinforcements To Battle (1)

    <h4>Chapter 352: From Reinforcements To Battle (1)</h4>


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    <strong>Proofreader: Xemul</strong>


    Loren watched the group of cavalrymenunch a charge from behind the group of golems surrounding them while cutting off the approaching golems with their greatswords.


    At least, the group looked to be cavalrymen to Loren¡¯s eyes.


    Wearing matching blue metal armor and holding long jousting spears, they rushed in from behind the golems that were attacking Loren¡¯s team and thrust their spears into the creatures without mercy.


    Golems did not feel pain and did not react to being pierced with a spear, but if they were stabbed, pushed down, and then caught under a horse¡¯s hooves, they werergely destroyed and unable to move.


    ¡°Cavalry heavily counters infantry, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis, looking unhappy, said. She was watching the battle between the golems, who did not seem to be affected at all despite being attacked from the rear without warning and the cavalrymen, who were beating them with their spears, pushing them down, and trampling over them with their horses.


    Taking advantage of theck of witnesses, Lapis had been trying to use magic without the normal restraint. But she was suddenly interrupted by the intruders, causing her mood to plummet.


    As expected, Loren had stopped her from attempting to eliminate the golems and all the intruders, so she did not carry out what she had initially intended. But now, she was simply following Loren¡¯s lead without taking any action against the golems.


    Anyone who knew Lapis could see that as cking off, but it was not so out of ce if you actually saw her as a priest. Loren did not criticize her for it and simply continued to wield his greatsword.


    ¡°They do not seem to have made any special adjustments for fighting the golems.¡±


    It was G who took an active role in ce of Lapis.


    Unlike her previous fighting style, this time she continuously destroyed golems one after another by exercising several spells. And even though she sometimes looked strangely at the sttered blood and flesh, she did not treat the golems as food in a situation where someone might be watching her.


    In the meantime, the cavalrymen who had barged in were cutting a straight line through the golem encirclement, and were about to reach Loren¡¯s group.


    Loren saw the knights manoeuvring their horses to engage the golems, and he could tell that the intruders were well-trained.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    The voiceing from the horseback was that of a young man.


    Loren could not see the other man¡¯s appearance from the ground because he was wearing a full-face helmet, but from the sound of his voice, he imagined that the man was a handsome knight with a fine nose.


    ¡°For now! I don¡¯t know about the future!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good enough that you¡¯re alright now! We¡¯ll help you soon!¡±


    The knight in the lead, upon hearing Loren¡¯s reply, began to push the golems down with double the vigor he had been using up to that point.


    Seeing that the circle of golems was about to be broken by this, Lapis tugged at Loren¡¯s sleeve.


    ¡°Loren, I¡¯vee to a terrible realization!¡±


    ¡°What is it? Just say it!¡±


    Loren urged her with a faint sense of displeasure, and Lapis told him with a very serious look on her face.


    ¡°If we were to get their help, I would have to cling to the back of someone other than Loren!¡±


    In order to get out of this ce, they would need to quickly retreat.


    The best way to do this would be to get on the horses that the cavalrymen were riding, but there were no horses avable for Loren¡¯s group, and if they wanted to escape on horseback, they would have to hang on to the back of someone else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it! I don¡¯t want to hug a stranger of the opposite sex from the back!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to hug them¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather run than do that!¡±


    Running on par with a horse was out of human abilities. There was no way he could let Lapis do such a thing, but with the battle in progress, there was no time to persuade her. Loren was thinking that, in the worst-case scenario, he could forcibly throw her on the back of one of the horses when he saw one of the cavalrymen fall from his horse to the ground with a scream. Just as he thought about this, one of the cavalrymen was too slow to pull back his spear, and the golem caught him and dragged him off.


    The cavalryman tried to stand up in a panic, but either his armor was too heavy or he was suffocating from the shock of falling from his horse, his movements were sluggish, and the golems swarmed over him.


    No matter how sturdy the cavalryman¡¯s armor was, it was no use if he was trampled by arge number of golems. Without a look for the cavalrymen, who had been transformed into a mixed mass of flesh and metal, Lapis immediately rushed to the horse that had lost its rider and jumped onto its back.


    Thinking that this should not be considered luck, Loren grabbed G, who was nearby, by the neck and lifted her up, then threw her onto the horseback behind Lapis, who began to steer the horse.


    ¡°You¡¯re treating me like crap!¡±


    ¡°What about you, Loren?¡±


    As G protested, Lapis asked Loren, who had thrown G on the horse instead of himself.


    Without responding, Loren shouted at the first cavalryman who approached him, who appeared to be themander of the cavalry.


    ¡°Get out of here! You won¡¯tst much longer!¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to run! The horse can¡¯t go fast enough if I¡¯m on it!¡±


    Loren wasrge in stature, and handled a greatsword, a heavy weapon. Thebined weight must be quite heavy. It was not that he could not ride a horse, but it would be heavy enough for the horse to be unable to run at a high speed. Loren thought that if the speed was going to be slow anyway, running through the golem enclosure on foot would not make any difference in the oue.


    Of course, there was no way he could run at the speed of a horse, but Loren figured that he would be somewhat faster than the golems, so it would not be too difficult for him to get out as long as he had an opening.


    ¡°Alright! We¡¯ve done what we came here to do! Retreat!¡±


    At themand of their leader, the cavalrymen who had been engaging with the golems manoeuvred their horses and began to gallop out of the golem encirclement.


    On the way, some of them were seized by the golems and dragged down, but most of the cavalrymen, showing what Loren could see as remarkable manoeuvring, broke through the golem encirclement and rushed out.


    Loren ran after them, and the golems chased after him, determined not to let them get away. But with their slow gait, there was no way they could keep up with the horses or Loren, who had now switched to flight mode.


    There was still a problem though, Loren thought as he wrapped his greatsword, which he did not need to use while running away, in cloth and hung it on his back.


    Golems did not know of exhaustion.


    Horses could shake them off, and they might give up the chase. But Loren could not shake off the golems for any length of time, and they mighte after him.


    Considering this, and the fact that he could not afford to cause trouble for the cavalrymen, whom he had no idea who they were, Loren desperately moved his arms and legs to keep running.


    Loren did not know how long he had been running.


    The cavalrymen easily left him behind, but he kept running frantically in the direction he thought was probably their direction, and when he finally reached a point where the group of cavalrymen had stopped, perhaps waiting for him, Loren sank to his knees,pletely exhausted.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Loren. Are you all right?¡±


    Lapis, who had been riding with the cavalrymen, pulled up beside Loren with G riding behind her, and immediately dismounted and crouched down beside him.


    Loren was confident in his physical strength, but he could not reply due to shortness of breath and fatigue. As he tried to calm his breathing, Lapis offered him a cloth to wipe off the sweat and what appeared to be a sk of water.


    Loren somehow managed to thank Lapis and take them, wiping the sweat from his neck and face and pouring the contents of the sk into his mouth without even checking it.


    ¡°Oh, is this wine?¡±


    As Lapis caught the sk Loren had thrown back at her and took a sniff of it, he coughed for a while and then looked at her with a reproachful look in his eyes.


    ¡°You should be more careful¡­¡±


    Loren thought that she should have offered water at a time like this. But one of the cavalrymen approached with his horse, dismounted, took off his helmet, and bowed to them.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we didn¡¯t have any water on hand.¡±


    Loren looked closely at the face of the cavalryman who said this.


    The man, who was probably the cavalryman inmand, had the same facial features that Loren had guessed from his voice. He had short, blond hair and blue eyes. A young man, probably not much older than Loren.


    His face, with its straight nose, made him look like he had stepped out of some heroic tale, and it seemed that if the opposite sex saw it, they would not be able to leave him alone.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who was rescued. I have no right toin.¡±


    Even without the cavalry¡¯s intrusion, it would have been easy to get through with Lapis and G, Loren thought. But even if he had honestly told this to the man in front of him, it was unlikely that he would have been understood.


    That was why he thanked him frankly, and the man smiled at Loren with a bright smile that showed no hint of dislike.


    ¡°It is our duty to save those who are in trouble in the Kingdom. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Who are you people?¡±


    What he was saying was admirable, but somehow Loren felt that he was being looked down upon. So he stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and asked the man, to which he replied with a somewhat proud look.


    ¡°We are the Imperial Guards of the Lombard Kingdom. My name is Storm Lombard, and I am the Commander.¡±


    Loren¡¯s mouth twitched as the man introduced his name, not knowing how to react.


    Since they were inside the Kingdom¡¯s territory, he had expected to encounter people rted to the Kingdom, but he had not expected to meet someone so close to the heart of the matter.


    The man who called himself Storm continued to speak to Loren, who wondered how he would respond to the fact that they had been enemies until just a few days ago.


    ¡°We helped you partly to fulfil our duty, but there is also something else I would like to ask of you. Would you listen to what I have to say? From the looks of it, I¡¯d say you are adventurers, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You mean you want to ask us for a favour?¡±


    Lapis replied to Storm in ce of Loren, who was at a loss for a response.


    Unlike Loren, who was wondering how to act, she responded in a dignified manner, showing no impatience or confusion on her face.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The fact that you were able to take on that many golems with that number of people shows that you have a lot of skills. I would like to hire you.¡±


    Storm said with a serious look on his face. Lapis nced at Loren with a thoughtful expression, wondering what to do while Loren gently shrugged without any words to answer.


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 Chapter 353: From Reinforcements to Battle (2)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    Even if the guy wanted to hire them, there was no doubt that he was not the kind of person they could offer their services to, and Loren was at a loss for a response.


    After all, they had been enemies until just a few days ago.


    Regardless of whether the other party knew about them or not, it was natural to be cautious. But considering the current situation in the Kingdom, Loren wondered if they should refuse the offer out of hand, so he decided to ask for more details from Storm.


    However, Storm decided that they would need a more rxed ce to talk, so he led them to the fortress where the Imperial Guards Order was currently based.


    ¡°Everything has gone wrong since that man arrived.¡±


    Inviting Loren¡¯s group into a room in the fortress, Storm began.


    Their team and Storm were the only ones inside the room, but there were knights and others outside, making it a bit difficult to escape in case something happened. Loren thought as he sat down on a chair.Perhaps reading Loren¡¯s mind, Lapis tapped him on the shoulder and lightly pointed at a wall, which G lightly tapped with her fist and nodded as if to say there was no problem. Loren immediately understood that in case of emergency, they were going to smash through the wall and escape.


    ¡°At first I thought he was just an ostentatious man. But somehow, through some kind of trick, the man had won the favour of the King and became deeply involved in the inner workings of the country.¡±


    ¡°What was this man¡¯s name?¡±


    Lapis asked Storm, who was talking in a rather evasive manner.


    If the guy were to find out about Loren¡¯s rtionship with said man, it could be troublesome. So, Loren decided to have Lapis stand in the forefront of the conversation and keep his mouth shut.


    ¡°He called himself Magna. He was a swordsman in ck armor.¡±


    ¡°Was he alone?¡±


    ¡°No, he had several followers.¡±


    Loren had thought that by ¡®followers¡¯, Storm meant the dark elf, but the numbers didn¡¯t add up.


    If Storm was talking about Noel, the girl who followed Magna and transformed herself into an Evil God, then it was strange to use the word ¡®several¡¯. This meant that there were others who followed Magna besides Noel.


    Loren grimaced. Just one follower was troublesome enough; hearing that there were several of them was not good news. Lapis nced at him and rebuked him for making such a face, then asked Storm to continue his story.


    Magna, after taking up the King¡¯s favour, gained his full trust before long and started doing whatever he pleased, including raising the country¡¯s tax rate and taking away many of the citizens who could not pay their taxes.


    The ministers and nobles who tried to stop him kept disappearing for unknown reasons, and eventually the Kingdom began to reach for the neighbouring Empire.


    ¡°I am a servant of my country. If the King makes a decision, I have no choice but to follow it. But this war was so senseless and ill-advised.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you defected?¡±


    If the Imperial Guards led by Storm had continued to follow the King¡¯s orders, they would have been destroyed by now because of the war, or because of the mass disappearance of the Kingdom¡¯s citizens, something Magna had apparently done. However, the number of Knights in the fortress was quiterge; if they had suffered any damage, it seemed to be very slight.


    ¡°We have not defected. Our allegiance is still to the Kingdom.¡±


    Storm responded in a low voice, as if somewhat offended by Lapis¡¯ words, and she immediately apologized to him for her slip.


    ¡°I know it can¡¯t be helped if you take it that way. If you look at the Kingdom as it is now, it is impossible for us to remain almost unscathed.¡±


    ¡°And what is the reason for that?¡±


    ¡°I have withdrawn my troops and fled here on my own initiative during the war with the Empire. If you call that defection, then I acquiesce.¡±


    Loren understood that Storm had judged that the situation was not good and had withdrawn from the war before it became fatal. It was a reasonable decision for a mercenary, but even though he didn¡¯t know how it would be taken for a knight, he reckoned it would not be with praise.


    ¡°It was a mistake to not remove this Magna from the King¡¯s circle before this happened, but it is not toote yet.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    G, who seemed to have interrupted him unintentionally, hurriedly put her hand over her mouth when she saw Storm¡¯s steely gaze, but Loren agreed with her. He didn¡¯t think they coulde back as a country when so many of their people had disappeared and mysterious golems were roaming around theirnd, but Storm seemed to have a different idea.


    ¡°As long as the King is alive and well, we will remain. We want to get rid of Magna and his clique and rebuild the country. Of course, now that we have stirred up troubles with the Empire, it will not be the same as before, but without that man, we should still be able to manage.¡±


    Loren inwardly tilted his head, wondering if that was really the case.


    Maybe Storm just wanted to think so.


    It would be fine with Loren if Storm and his men were to walk down the road to destruction with their own ideas, but it was not very amusing to be asked to y a part in it.


    Normally, he would have wanted to quickly stop the conversation and get away, but if Magna was involved, and they were talking about eliminating him, then it needed to be considered to some extent, even if the request was a bit unreasonable. Loren slowly opened his mouth.


    ¡°If only that man weren¡¯t here, you say. Is there any way to get rid of him?¡±


    ¡°Of course. If not, I wouldn¡¯t be asking for your help.¡±


    After saying all that, Storm stared at Loren as if he was waiting for him.


    Loren, taking it as a sign that Storm was probably going to decide whether or not to tell them about it depending on whether or not they would ept his request, looked at G and Lapis.


    G cast down her eyes as if she was not very interested, and Lapis shrugged as if to say ¡®As you wish¡¯. Loren, seeing that there seemed to be no opposition, told Storm.


    ¡°We¡¯ll ept your request. Let me hear what you have to say.¡±


    Whatever they were going to do with Magna, they had to meet him first. And in order to meet Magna, they would have to deal with therge number of golems, as well as Noel and his other cronies, who were probably surrounding Magna himself. Loren thought it would be a bit difficult for them to do this on their own.


    If there really was a way to get rid of Magna, it would be the simplest solution.


    ¡°You are not allowed to cancel the deal after you¡¯ve heard what I have to say.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a former mercenary. I¡¯m not going to back down from a deal I have epted. Do you want to make a contract?¡±


    Loren said in a joking manner, and Storm stared at him for a while before opening his mouth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue then. To get rid of this Magna guy, we need to get to him. But if we go head-on, we will be blocked by arge number of those golem-like creatures.¡±


    The Imperial Guards Order,manded by Storm, had retreated into the fort almost unscathed, but their forces were notrge enough to break through therge number of golems that Loren¡¯s team had encountered and reach the royal castle, it seemed.


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate, but you can¡¯t ask for what you don¡¯t have. We have to find a way to make do with what we have, and I have a way to do that.¡±


    ¡°I heard that earlier. What is this magical method?¡±


    ¡°A secret path. I know a path that leads from the outer suburbs of the Royal Capital to the Royal Castle. This is a path that probably no one but me knows.¡±


    Storm seemed very confident, but Loren, on the contrary, felt uneasy. He wondered if there really was a secret path to the Royal Castle that even the King didn¡¯t know about, but Lapis took it differently.


    ¡°Excuse me, but are you of royalty, Sir Storm?¡±


    Lapis¡¯ words reminded Loren of Storm¡¯s name. Indeed, he had the same name as the name of his country, something only royalty could have.


    ¡°I have relinquished my right of session, and I am now in charge of the Order.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, it¡¯s an escape route in case of emergency.¡±


    Loren had no idea what was going on, though Lapis seemed to be convinced. When he lightly tapped her on the shoulder to ask for an exnation, Lapis looked at him to see what was going on, and then pped her hands as if she had just realized something.


    ¡°In a ce like the Royal Castle, there are secret paths that even the King doesn¡¯t know about. Only people close to the King know about them. You see, there are often infightings in the royal family, and it would be difficult if all escape routes were blocked in the event of a usurpation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bloody story.¡±


    ¡°It is nothing rare. If you turn over the history of any royal family, you will find simr stories of blood and corpses.¡±


    Lapis said this with a know-it-all air, but Loren¡¯s expression turned sour as he was not interested in this story, nor did he want to imagine it.


    ¡°Whatever. So, we¡¯re going to sneak into the Royal Castle through that secret path, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Storm nodded his head, at a loss for words. He seemed to be slightly taken aback that Lapis, while looking like a sweet girl, talked about something so disturbing with such a nonchnt expression on her face. Since Lapis even dressed as a priest, Loren found his reaction understandable.


    If there really was a secret path that even the King did not know about, then it could be assumed that Magna, who was in some way winning the King over, did not know of its existence. If they could n a surprise attack at the Royal Castle through this secret path, the sess rate of the operation to eliminate Magna might not be so bad.


    ¡°As a strategy, the majority of the knights will set up a diversion to fight in the Royal Capital¡¯s outer suburbs. While their attention is focused on that side, a selected group will take the Royal Castle by surprise through the secret path, eliminate Magna, and secure the King.¡±


    ¡°How do you n to do that?¡±


    ¡°We have already selected the best men from the knights, and we¡¯ll do it tonight. We had originally nned to go through with it on our own, but after the way the battle went, we think the operation will have a better chance of sess if you join us.¡±


    The longer it took to execute such an operation, the more likely it was that information would leak out, or the operation would fail for some other reason. Once the decision to do something was made, it should be done quickly, and Loren believed that Storm¡¯s judgment was the right one.


    Loren opened his mouth to say onest thing that needed to be asked.


    ¡°What is our reward?¡±


    ¡°If we can get the King back, I will pay you as much as I can afford. If you can wait until the country is rebuilt, I promise to pay you as much as you want.¡±


    Loren thought this was very generous, but at the same time he understood that it was almost an empty promise. Unless the operation was a sess, they would not be paid. ¡®Until the country is rebuilt¡¯, that was a condition that mercenaries would not even consider.


    But in this case, the most important thing was to be allowed to take advantage of the secret path Storm mentioned, rather than to be rewarded.


    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll work for you on those terms.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with you. I¡¯ll treat you as knights if that is alright with you¡­¡±


    Storm said, as he offered his hand, but Loren immediately rejected him.


    ¡°Excuse me, but I¡¯m morefortable in the easy business of making money.¡±


    Loren, wondering what kind of joke it was, to be considered a knight, grasped the offered hand.


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 Chapter 354: From Reinforcements To Battle (3)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    In the end, Loren and his team decided to work for Storm. The detailed terms and conditions of the contract were left to Lapis.


    Loren himself was well aware that this was not a praiseworthy move, both as a mercenary and as an adventurer, but he thought it was unlikely that they would be rewarded by Storm, so he left it to Lapis, who seemed more articte than he was. However, Lapis ended the negotiations quite early.


    ¡°He says he¡¯ll make you a Viscount at the very least when all this is over.¡±


    Loren asked Lapis, who was beaming after her conversation with Storm, with an expression that clearly showed he did not believe a single word of it.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great deal, but¡­ Do you think he¡¯ll pay?¡±


    Loren thought that promising nobility to an unknown person was a very generous reward. That raised the question of whether Storm really intended to pay it though, and Lapis immediatelyughed off his question.


    ¡°By no means. Storm may be willing to do so, but the people around him will not allow it. I don¡¯t think a group of outsiders who know about a secret path that even the royal family doesn¡¯t know about will be able to survive after all is said and done.¡±If their team had originally been from Storm¡¯s country, the story might have been a little different, but since they werepletely outsiders, the information about the secret path Storm mentioned was too important for them to know. As long as the suspicion that the royal family might be in danger if they were not careful never went away, there were limited ways to deal with those who had learned of such information.


    ¡°So he¡¯s just going to use and discard us, right from the start?¡±


    ¡°Even if Storm doesn¡¯t want to, it¡¯s what people around him will do.¡±


    Lapisughed and said that the end of a person who discovered an insider secret was usually the same for anyone. G looked at her in disgust because of the extremely disturbing story, but Loren, who thought that this was normal, did not change his expression when he heard those words.


    ¡°Ideally, I¡¯d like to see Magna and them fall down together.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan, you are too evil¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told so by an Evil God.¡±


    The team was careful so that no one else would hear their conversation, but it seemed the quickest way to get to Magna was to ept Storm¡¯s offer.


    ¡°You have to be careful not to get stabbed in the back while also watching out for the enemy in front of you. What a hassle.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. Well, it can be said that it is always troublesome and dangerous for us.¡±


    ¡°I want a more carefree job¡­¡±


    ¡°Would you like to take over my mother¡¯s business? You only need to sit and rx in the biggest room in a big house and that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ I¡¯m sure your mother has proper things to do.¡±


    Lapis¡¯ mother was one of the numerous Demon Kings of the demon race. Loren couldn¡¯t help but get the feeling that the work of a Demon King might be something simr to what Lapis had described, but he thought that in reality, as a Demon King was in charge of a fiefdom and its people, there must be a lot of hard work involved even if he couldn¡¯t imagine it.


    However, the fact that a Demon King¡¯s own daughter said such a thing made Loren think that perhaps it really was a job that can be done by simply sitting on a throne.


    ¡°But the boss is His Majesty the Great Demon King.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks but that¡¯s a no. My delicate mind can¡¯t handle that.¡±


    After killing time with such idle chit chat, the time tounch the operation hade. Loren and his team, along with Storm and his men, started to move from the fort to the ce where the secret path that led to the royal capital was supposed to be.


    The soldiers who had been stationed at the other forts were to leave one step ahead of them and cause amotion in a different direction in order to draw the attention of the guards away.


    ¡°This is it. The entrance to the path is in here.¡±


    In the darkness of night, Storm pointed his torch to a small shrine.


    There were no houses in the vicinity, and the shrine itself was so small that if two people entered, it would be cramped to move.


    In the center of the shrine was a stone statue of something Loren didn¡¯t recognize, about a man¡¯s height. Storm and one of his soldiers entered the shrine, clung to the statue and began to put their strength into it.


    Perhaps because it had not been moved for a long time, or perhaps because of the weight of the statue itself, the statue did not seem to budge for a while. But eventually, as if it had been ovee by the force of Storm and his man, it slowly fell down on its back, making a small creaking sound.


    Under the legs of the fallen stone statue was a hole in the ground where a person could somehow crawl into. It seemed to be the entrance to the secret path.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to take quite a while just to pass through it.¡±


    G muttered to herself as she looked around at Storm¡¯s men standing by.


    Even though they were nning a surprise attack on the royal castle, Storm had only brought about ten men with him in addition to Loren¡¯s team, as he knew that the passage itself was notrge enough for arger number of people to move in.


    Including Loren and Storm, there would be a dozen or so people in total. If they went through the narrow entrance one by one, it would certainly consume a lot of time, just as G had said.


    ¡°There is no other way. We must go as fast as we can.¡±


    Following Storm¡¯s instructions, the soldiers descended down one after another.


    Lapis was about to follow when she saw Loren stop in his tracks with a frown on his face. She looked at him curiously.


    ¡°Do you think I can fit?¡±


    At the mention of it, Lapis looked at the hole she was about to go into.


    Loren wasrge and muscr. If he had been plump, he could have tried to force his way into the hole, but it would have been difficult for someone as sturdily built as Loren.


    ¡°Please take off your greatsword and give it to me. I think you can just manage to pass through then.¡±


    ¡°If I were royalty here, I would have met my end as a fool, killed because I couldn¡¯t get out through the secret passage.¡±


    Loren said jokingly as he removed the greatsword from his back and handed it to Lapis, along with the cloth that covered the de.


    Storm, looking at Lapis, who was holding the sword carefully in her arms and slipping easily through the entrance to the passageway, was both astonished and impressed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very heavy thing to carry, even for people like us.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a priest who works as an adventurer. She exercises.¡±


    Loren, inwardly chiding Lapis for not pretending a little that the sword was heavy, slid into the hole through which Lapis had just passed.


    As expected, hisrge body was stuck, but after some wriggling and bruising, he somehow managed to get through.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about going back¡­¡±


    ¡°Worst case scenario, we could blow the entrance or have G break it open for us.¡±


    ¡°Lapis-chan, public eye, public eye, remember?¡±


    Loren grumbled as he received the greatsword back from Lapis, who blurted out some troublesome words in reply, which G hurriedly interrupted.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time to waste. Let¡¯s hurry. The entrance can be closed from here.¡±


    The entrance was opened from the outsidepletely by human power, but it seemed that some mechanism could be used to restore the fallen statues from within the passageway, and when a creaking sound was heard, the entrance through which they had entered, was blocked from above.


    After confirming this, the soldiers, full of a sense of tension due to the fact that they were about to enter enemy territory, began to proceed to the end of the pitch-ck passageway at themand of Storm, who was thest one to descend.


    The passageway, which was only tall enough for Loren to stand without bending over and wide enough for two soldiers to stand side by side, was made of stone, as if to assert that it is indeed made by human hands.


    ¡°The floor is just bare earth.¡±


    ¡°If the floor were cobbled, you would hear footsteps.¡±


    Loren, impressed by Lapis¡¯ answer to G¡¯s question and wondering if someone had thought that far ahead, followed the soldiers, relying only on the light of the torches to continue onward. He was taking careful steps, knowing that it would be hard to get up if he fell, and it would be a disaster if he got someone else down with him. After some time had passed, he saw that the soldiers had stopped and stopped himself.


    ¡°Up here will be the royal castle.¡±


    At the end of the passageway, there was a part of the wall covered with an iron te. Storm manipted something on the wall, and the te opened up.


    ¡°Be careful. There might be someone on the other side.¡±


    The soldiers pulled themselves up by the edge of the open exit without a foothold because it was not very high.


    This exit was wider than the one Loren and the others had entered through, and Loren was able to pull himself up to the ground with little difficulty by putting his hands on the edge.


    ¡°Where are we?¡±


    They were in the middle of a huge coffin, the lid of which had already been opened by the soldiers who had gone first. Loren lifted Lapis, who was trying to pull up after him, while his eyes scanned their surroundings.


    The space, dimly illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through a skylight window, was lined with a number of coffins.


    Watching the soldiers standing guard in the gaps between the coffins, Loren pulled up G, who followed Lapis, and stepped out of the coffin.


    ¡°It¡¯s catbs, isn¡¯t it? There is such a thing in the basement of the royal castle?¡±


    ¡°This is the resting ce of the Kings of the past. Thisrgest coffin is said to be that of the First King, but in reality, it is an entrance to a passageway.¡±


    It was difficult to imagine that anyone, even invaders, would go to such lengths to find a secret path by ransacking the coffins in which the deady. It might be a hiding ce that vited the dignity of the dead, but if that could be ignored orpromised, Loren thought it was a very good hiding ce.


    ¡°So, what about the king who is supposed to be sleeping here?¡±


    ¡°He is entombed in one of the surrounding coffins. I don¡¯t know which one it is. Let¡¯s move on. It seems that this ce is not being watched by Magna and his people, but we can¡¯t be sure that they won¡¯t notice us at any moment.¡±


    One after another, the soldiers drew their swords. Not knowing the extent to which the people in the castle had epted Magna¡¯s rule, they had to consider the possibility that all of them were enemies. Loren also grabbed the hilt of the greatsword on his back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. While our allies distract the enemy, we must seize the King and exterminate Magna¡¯s party.¡±


    Storm said as he also drew his sword. The soldiers nodded in response and immediately began to spring into action.


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 Chapter 355: From Infiltration to Collapse (1)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    Several torches were lit.


    Loren, Lapis, and G could see in the pitch-ck darkness, so they did not need any kind of light, but Storm and the others could not. Even if the possibility of being found increased with the lights on, it would be impossible to act if one could not see anything. It couldn¡¯t be helped, but Loren thought that humans were not suited for covert actions at all.


    [¡®Isn¡¯t your way of thinking bing a little bit un-human?¡¯]


    Shayna¡¯s whisper almost made Loren let out a sound, but he held his voice in with a hand on his mouth and asked her to help him explore their surroundings.


    As the King of Dead, the highest-ranking undead, aside from granting Loren the ability to see through darkness, Shayna could also detect life forces around him with great uracy. That was why he was asking for her help, but as soon as Shayna synced her vision with his to show him the result, Loren once again had to suppress an exmation with his hand.


    [¡®Doesn¡¯t this mean we¡¯repletely surrounded?¡¯]


    There were so many life force reactions surrounding them that it was hard to believe the passage had been secret.Loren thought that they were definitely being waited for, and Lapis, who seemed to have sensed the same thing herself, muttered in a resigned tone.


    ¡°To think about it, it¡¯s so ssic to have a secret path in a catb that it would be strange not to be on the lookout for it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Probably. I think it¡¯s prettymon.¡±


    Loren, who was not very familiar with the topic of ¡®secret paths out of a castle¡¯ asked, and Lapis answered with a small shrug.


    G, too, seemed to have sensed the same thing with her Evil God ability. She let out a sigh, then gently pointed to a pir at a distance and uttered in a small, clear voice, ignoring the soldiers who were bracing themselves to see what was happening.


    ¡°Burn.¡±


    The pir of stone suddenly burst into mes, letting everyone know that she had just used magic.


    One of the soldiers, who was about to ask what she was doing when they were supposed to be stealthy, held his tongue when he saw the figure of a man roll out of the shadow of the burning pir with a scream, his body on fire.


    ¡°An ambush?!¡±


    Someone shouted, and shadows began to appear from behind the surrounding pirs. Storm and his team began to form a circle formation with swords in their hands.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t their reactions too slow?¡±


    The figures appeared from behind a pir, all holding bows and arrows in their hands without any light.


    The upper half of one of the figures, who was aiming at Storm¡¯s group, suddenly vanished without a warning, and the remaining lower half crumpled on the spot, blood spurting from its severed surface.


    Undeterred, another figure fired an arrow, which pierced the throat of the knight holding the torch and sent him falling back.


    ¡°Enemies! Intercept!¡±


    ¡°Too slow¡­¡±


    As the knights were finally ordered to intercept, G looked at them with dismayed eyes while pointing at the pirs that the figures were using as shields, one after another.


    With that simple action, the pirs, which should have been made of stone, burst into mes as if they were logs, and the figures emerged from their shadows, which were engulfed in mes, were shot down by Lapis¡¯ >.


    Loren did not just stand there in silence.


    He blocked a flying arrow with the t of his greatsword, and with his vision, which was as good as in daylight even in the darkness thanks to Shayna, he quickly closed the gap between himself and the archer and struck him with a single swing of his de.


    The archer was sliced in a straight line from shoulder to nk with little resistance, and fell down without even a scream. Not even sparing him a nce, Loren attacked another one.


    In the meagre light, it was inherently very difficult to discern the line of a flying arrow. However, Loren, who had the King of Death¡¯s vision, could easily see through it.


    He approached another archer, using his greatsword to repel the iing arrows or duck out of the line of fire to evade them, then thrust the tip of his sword into the archer¡¯s back as he was about to flee, and twisted it with all his might. That opened arge gaping hole in the archer¡¯s back, from which arge amount of blood spurted out.


    Loren kicked the body, which had lost all its strength and was hanging limp, and pulled his greatsword out. The dead archer¡¯s body, sent flying away by the kick, mmed into a pir and fell t on the back, and Loren¡¯s eyes widened when he saw it.


    The archer was wearing a light leather armour suit, as was typical for archers. The bow in his hand was also in no way out of ce. The problem, however, was the dead man¡¯s face.


    The archer was a man, but his appearance could be mistaken for that of a woman, and his skin was dark brown. His ears were long and pointed, like the des of daggers.


    ¡°These are dark elves!¡±


    A girl named Noel, whom they had previously seen beside Magna, was of this race.


    Dark elves¡¯ numbers were decreasing to the extent that they were said to be an endangered race.


    The dark elf was lying on his back with lifeless, vacant eyes wide open. Loren was surprised to learn that the dark elves, who had been persecuted by both the elves, who were simr to them, and the humans, which were said to be the most numerous in the world, were the true identity of the people who surrounded them.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, that dark elf who became Lust said that she followed Magna by her own will.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know whether they act as individuals, a tribe or a whole race, but the whole race following Magna? That¡¯s a troublesome idea, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Dark elves had appearances that let them melt easily into the darkness and eyes that could see in the dark. The situation was not the best for Loren¡¯s team, having to deal with dark elves, who had excellent physical abilities and were excellently skilled with a bow.


    As for Storm and his group, they were unable to even grasp where the dark elves were shooting their bows from, and they were getting hit one by one.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t intercept them with all our might, we could be annihted here.¡±


    ¡°If they attacked us, they probably already know we¡¯re here, so there¡¯s no need to be stealthy anymore, right?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. In that case, G, I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you do it yourself? Well, it can¡¯t be helped¡­¡±


    G, asked by Lapis, waved her hand in the air while uttering a familiar incantation.


    With that single movement, a strong light caused by magic lit up the space of the catbs.


    Illuminated by the light, the dark elves in hiding were startled. Storm and his men also began to panic at the sudden appearance of the light.


    ¡°The enemy will know we¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°They already knew we¡¯re here when we were attacked. If we can¡¯t get a clear shot, we¡¯ll be wiped out.¡±


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°The point is to aplish your objective before they have a chance to intercept you. In other words, hurry up and get rid of the shooters here quickly.¡±


    Storm protested against the shy light, but he had no room to argue against Loren¡¯s reasoning. After a small grunt, he quickly changed his mind and gave instructions to the knights under hismand.


    If it was dark, the dark elves would have had an overwhelming advantage. But once they had a clear view, the knights, who had undergone rigorous training, cut off the iing arrows and shed at the dark elves who were hiding.


    The dark elves seemed to understand immediately that they had lost the advantage of using bows, so they dropped their bows and drew their daggers and began to parry with the knights who were shing them. Although the knights suffered some casualties, they ughtered the surrounding dark elves one by one.


    When all the dark elves eventually fell, Storm quickly checked the damage to his team.


    ¡°Three men were killed by arrows, one by de.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a loss, but it can¡¯t be helped. We will start moving immediately. At this hour, the King is probably in his chamber.¡±


    Of the ten-odd members of the raiding party, four were down; the loss was quite painful. However, Storm chose to continue with the mission without taking the option of retreating.


    Loren understood that if this tactic of moving troops as a diversion and making use of the secret path failed, there would be no next opportunity, and they were not in a situation in which they could retreat. But with things having started off on the wrong foot, Loren was not so sure about the future.


    Just then, a slightly older man¡¯s voice came into Loren¡¯s ears.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do. Storm, why do you make such a racket under my feet?¡±


    Loren and the others braced themselves at the sound of the voice, which echoed through the catbs, where the corpses of dark elvesy and the smell of blood lingered in the air. Storm¡¯s face stiffened and his eyes widened as if he had seen something unbelievable.


    It was a middle-aged man, dressed in the regal regalia of a king.


    Following behind him was a ck-armoured swordsman and a dark elf girl dressed in sensual garments.


    ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡±


    ¡°My Imperial Guard, Storm, answer my question. What are you doing here, in the ce where my forefathers rest? Depending on how you answer, you may or may not get away with it, so speak with caution.¡±


    Storm and his men were shaken by the fact that their King, whom they hade to help, was now questioning them about what they were nning to do.


    But Loren¡¯s group was more concerned about something else; their eyes were on Magna, who was standing behind the king.


    ¡°He¡¯s got both his arm and his armor restored.¡±


    ¡°What a troublesome guy. If we don¡¯t kill him for good, he just keeps getting stronger.¡±


    One of Magna¡¯s arms had previously been cut off by Loren. However, his wound seemed to have been healed by Noel at the ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, and there was no trace of such a thing having happened. The ck armour he was wearing was also supposed to have been cut by Loren, but there was not even a hint of a scratch on it.


    Loren, who was exchanging words with Lapis while inwardly clicking his tongue at the thought of how troublesome the guy was, suddenly met the eyes of Magna, who was watching with satisfaction as the king¡¯s questioned Storm.


    Magna¡¯s face contorted in surprise as if he had not expected to see Loren here, and his expression grew even more irritated. He called out from behind to the king, who was scowling at Storm.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the circumstances, King. I heard that your men went outside for help. As a result, my men have suffered. What will you do about this?¡±


    Besides Magna and Noel, the only forces that could oppose Loren and his men here was the king himself. As Loren thought that it would be impossible to capture them immediately with such forces, Shayna issued a warning.


    [¡®Onii-san! We have multiple life forces approaching!¡¯]


    ¡°Storm! More reinforcements areing! What do we do?!¡±


    Loren shouted at Storm, who was stuck in the middle of the king¡¯s questioning.


    ¡°Hey King! Wake up! You have been deceived by that Magna!¡±


    ¡°Silence, Storm! It is an unforgivable act to rebel against me, against the Kingdom, and against my master Magna-sama!¡±


    ¡°Your Master?! You¡¯ve gone mad¡­¡±


    Storm had thought that he could somehow persuade the king, but the king brusquely rejected his entreaties and looked at him with a look of hatred and even disgust.


    Realizing that there was nothing he could do, Storm immediately shouted to his knights.


    ¡°Retreat!¡±


    ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll let you?¡±


    Even if they were to retreat, the only route they could take was the secret path they had used toe here. That was why almost everyone¡¯s eyes were on one certain coffin among those of the past kings, and the knights made to move toward it. But Noel pointed to that coffin, and mes engulfed it entirety; the knights who were on their way to it stuttered to a stop.


    ¡°This is getting boring.¡±


    The coffin burned with crimson mes, and it did not look like anyone would ever make it through there and into the secret path. They would have to find another way out. Loren gritted his teeth as he watched Kingdom soldiers, as if on cue from Noel¡¯s magic, rushing into the catbs through the entrance.


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 Chapter 356: From Infiltration To Collapse (2)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    ¡°Seize the knights! If they resist, kill them! But take that big man alive! I¡¯ve got business with him!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got business with you too, but I don¡¯t want to be dragged off!¡±


    Soldiers rushed in under Magna¡¯smand.


    Storm and his men, who were not willing to be captured without a fight, were overwhelmingly outnumbered, but they still managed to defeat the soldiers one after another.


    In most cases, whenparing knights and soldiers, knights were stronger. Moreover, Storm and his men were Imperial Guards, specially selected knights among the knights. There was a huge difference in training and experience between them and general soldiers, and they were iparable in terms of skill.


    The soldiers wanted to overwhelm them with their numbers, but the entrance to the catbs was not wide enough to allow so many people to pass through, and as a result, the knights worked together to defeat the small number of soldiers who entered one after another.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you put out that fire?¡±Storm shouted out as he kicked a soldier he had just cut down.


    Although the knights still had some advantage in the battle, Storm believed that even with Loren and his team, they could not defeat all the soldiers in the castle with a force of about ten men.


    Knowing that they would eventually run out of strength, they would have to think of some way to retreat from the situation, but it would be difficult to cut their way through the soldiers and reach the entrance to the catbs.


    If the mes surrounding the coffin, which was the entrance to the secret passage, were extinguished, they should be able to escape from there. But the mes, which showed no sign of dying out, were spreading such heat around that even if the knights tried to get close enough to put them out, they would be driven back.


    [¡®Shayna, Energy Drain.¡¯]


    Loren, thinking that if it was a magic me, it could be extinguished with Shayna¡¯s energy drain, called out to her. But the answer he received was not good.


    [¡®I¡¯ve already tried, but it just won¡¯t go out.¡¯]


    ¡°Loren, I think it¡¯s the kind of thing you can¡¯t get rid of without doing something about the magician.¡±


    Lapis, who seemed to have some idea of what Loren was nning, said. As he cleaved off two soldiers who were attacking him, Loren looked at Noel, the magician who was burning the coffin. She, along with Magna and the king, were on the other side of the thick wall of soldiers, so it was unlikely that he would be able to get to them anytime soon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If they only have soldiers within the castle fighting for them, I think G and I will be able to handle the situation just fine.¡±


    The soldiers rushed to Lapis, who was wearing a priest¡¯s uniform, and G, who was wearing light, revealing clothing, as they seemed easy to deal with.


    However, those who tried to approach G disappeared one after another without understanding what had happened, and those who tried to approach Lapis were unable to hit her with the weapons they brandished, and were sent flying by a single blow from her fist or foot. They mmed into the walls or even to the pirs, and fell to the floor.


    ¡°That¡¯s outrageous.¡±


    ¡°It would be a lot easier if it weren¡¯t for Storm and his men.¡±


    Perhaps thinking that the knights were too upied intercepting the soldiers to pay attention to her, Lapis was not going very easy on the soldiers. But even so, she could not afford to be too reckless.


    ¡°G too. Some moderation, please.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ll show them the best of my magic!¡±


    From the point of view of Loren and Lapis, who knew what was going on, the disappearance of the soldiers was definitely due to G¡¯s authority. But in the presence of the public, G was determined to im that it was all magic.


    There was no other way to exin it, and Loren, who was leisurely cutting down a nearby soldier in the meantime, thought that he should let her do as she pleased. He took a big step toward the soldiers who entered the catbs in an endless stream, and swung the greatsword in his hand in a wide arch. The blow sliced through a pir of stone, cutting through soldiers on its path, then easily cut through another pir, producing screams and sprays of bright red blood that stopped more soldiers following in their tracks.


    Another sh of Loren¡¯s greatsword, and several soldiers were cut down at the torso, spraying blood and flesh at the soldiers behind them. Some soldiers began to fall back, as if they were afraid of Loren moving forward.


    ¡°Let me handle these troublesome adventurers for you.¡±


    Magna came forward, pushing aside the soldiers who had started to fall back.


    After confirming that Noel was with the king, he instructed the soldiers while looking at Loren, who was squaring off against him with his greatsword ready.


    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with him. You deal with the knights and the girls.¡±


    Loren, thinking that the knights were whatever, but the girls must surely be more formidable than himself, held up his greatsword to Magna as he came forward.


    Magna, on the other hand, held a shield which he had taken out of nowhere in his left hand, and in his right hand, which he kept in a rxed stance, he held the long sword that Loren had seen several times before.


    Magna¡¯s stance was that of an orthodox shield user, but the fact that it was not unconventional meant that it was a solid stance, and Loren frowned, thinking it would be a hassle to deal with.


    ¡°Here Ie, scoundrel.¡±


    At the same time as he spoke, Magna lunged at Loren, shield at the ready.


    If it were just any shield, Loren¡¯s greatsword could have cut through it and reached Magna¡¯s body. But the sword only nced off the shield¡¯s surface, producing sparks while Magna pressed close, overpowering Loren by force.


    Loren thought that if he held his ground at this point, the sword in Magna¡¯s right hand would soone at him; leaning on Magna¡¯s shield, he jumped backwards, but Magna¡¯s follow-up attack was swift. He immediately readjusted his shield, and again rushed forward at Loren, who had jumped away.


    Loren himself had never experienced being defeated by force, at least not in a fight with a human; it was a difficult and unfavourable situation. He mmed his greatsword onto the surface of the shield again, but this time, Magna did not try to catch the blow. He slightly changed the angle of his shield in the blink of an eye as the de hit its surface and repelled Loren¡¯s blow.


    If Loren had been an ordinary swordsman, he would have been dragged down by the weight of the greatsword as he was knocked away by the mighty force of Magna¡¯s blow, and he would have been thrown off his stance. But Loren had had many years handling a greatsword; the moment he realized that he had been repelled, he pulled back the sword with just the strength of his arm. He lost bnce for a moment, but immediately caught Magna¡¯s sword, which was about to strike at him.


    ¡°You son of a biiitch!¡±


    Loren shouted a war-cry and tried to push Magna back with his de as a leverage, but he immediately felt a blow to his abdomen and was sent flying backwards.


    The moment he realized that he had been kicked, Magna¡¯s shield was again looming in front of him, and Loren, giving up on intercepting the attack, immediately threw himself down onto the floor to avoid the shield strike.


    ¡°How obstinate.¡±


    A de swung down to sh at Loren, who was on the floor. He rolled to avoid the attack, and as he got up, he spun on the spot and cut down a soldier who was trying to attack him from behind.


    ¡°That¡¯s how mercenaries are!¡±


    The soldier¡¯s body had been severed at the abdomen and turned into two lumps of flesh. Loren grabbed the upper body and threw it at Magna with force.


    The corpse flew through the air, spraying guts and blood, and headed straight for Magna, who brushed it away with his shield as carelessly as if it were a piece of trash.


    ¡°>¡±


    It was Lapis who intervened, as if she was determined not to let that happen. While dealing with the soldiersing toward them, she fired Force at the corpse that Loren had thrown at Magna.


    The impact changed the direction in which the corpse flew, and at the same time, a new spray of blood flew from the area hit by the spell, slightly obstructing Magna¡¯s view.


    Seeing an opportunity, Loren was about tounch an attack, but a barrage of spears suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked his path, making him unable to sh at Magna.


    ¡°What an absurd ability!¡±


    Magna¡¯s ability was to pull out all sorts of weapons out of nowhere. It could not be determined whether they belonged to Magna himself or whether they wereing from the armor he was wearing, but in any case, each of these sudden and unexpected appearances of weapons was very intimidating to Loren.


    By the time Loren had cleared the spears Magna had summoned, Magna had escaped from the corpse and blood spray that blocked his view.


    ¡°What a nasty woman. After I¡¯m done with you, I¡¯ll slowly discipline her.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea¡­¡±


    Magna looked quizzically at Loren, who had unintentionally given him advice, and Lapis¡¯ voice rose from behind him in strong protest.


    ¡°What do you mean, Loren?! Your beautiful partner¡¯s chastity is in jeopardy!¡±


    ¡°How do you have the nerves to say that yourself¡­?¡±


    Feeling somewhat disheartened, Loren held up his greatsword and called out to Magna, who once again held up his sword and shield, to fulfil the purpose he hade here for.


    ¡°I have a question for you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to answer.¡±


    ¡°What is your rtionship with Commander Yuri?¡±


    Disregarding Magna¡¯s refusal, Loren asked. His words brought a hint of surprise to Magna¡¯s face, but the expression quickly disappeared, and the look in his eyes changed to one of calcting as he looked at Loren.


    ¡°Are you from the mercenary group that Yuri used to lead?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am. And I was told by the Commander that you were the cause of the copse of the group. Answer me. What are you to Commander Yuri?¡±


    Loren asked again. Magna looked thoughtful for a while, then let out a low, stifledugh, his shoulders shaking.


    This time, it was Loren who looked quizzically at Magna, who, afterughing for a while, eventually nced at Loren and said in a happy voice.


    ¡°You have caused so much trouble for me. I was going to capture you alive and thank you for all you have done after I question you, but now I have one more question I have to ask you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to answer my question, do you?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. I thank you for making me feel happy. Let¡¯s try something.¡±


    Magna¡¯s shield disappeared right in front of Loren¡¯s eyes.


    As Loren wondered in astonishment where, the hell, he was really taking it in and out from, Magna held up the long sword with both hands and spoke.


    ¡°If you survive this blow, I¡¯ll tell you Yuri¡¯s story.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of confidence.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see what I mean with that body of yours.¡±


    Loren had seen Magna shoot an extraordinary light beam from his long sword with little penalties before. He began to doubt Magna¡¯s ability to think straight if he intended to use such an attack, which was something that he didn¡¯t think he could ever defend against, in this subterranean space. But Magna did not perform the deed that Loren had feared; he stepped into the gap between them with such speed that even Loren could not suppress the chill that ran down his spine.


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 357: From Infiltration To Collapse (3)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    Unlike Loren, who wore light armour, Magna¡¯s entire body was covered with heavy metal armour.


    The weight of his armour should have hindered his momentum, but Magna was so fast that even Loren was a momentte in reacting. And because he was approaching at such a high speed, Loren could not see his next attack.


    The greatsword that Loren handled was no ordinary weapon; it was originally used by Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King. However, the sword held by Magna, which emitted an incredibly powerful beam of light from its de, could not be considered an ordinary weapon either. As Loren was terrified that he would not get away if he took a hit from it, Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in his mind.


    [¡®Onii-san! From your left!¡¯]


    Even if Loren could not see the attack, it was not impossible for Shayna, the King of Death who possessed abilities far surpassing those of humans, to notice it.


    Even though he did not see where the attack woulde from, Loren thought that if he was attacked from the left side, he would be able to manage it as long as he defended that side. He was about to raise the greatsword in his hand to his left when he felt something run down his nape, and he immediately swung the sword to his right.


    From Loren¡¯s point of view, it was purely a mercenary¡¯s intuition, but when Loren swung his sword in the exact opposite direction of the information, she had given him, Shayna expressed her surprise.But that emotion was transformed into something even stronger when Magna¡¯s sword shed with the de of Loren¡¯s greatsword, making a shrill sound.


    [¡®What?! I definitely sensed himing from the left!¡¯]


    The information that Shayna had conveyed to Loren was that the sh should havee at him from his left side. In reality, however, Magna had shed at him from the right side. Shayna was surprised at this fact, but Magna was also staring at Loren from the other side of the de with a simr emotion on his face.


    ¡°Hm¡­ You defended against that?¡±


    Magna found it unbelievable, but so did Loren.


    The guy was so fast that Loren hadpletely lost sight of him, so he was not surprised that what he had thought wasing from the left, like Shayna had, was actuallying from the opposite side. Rather, he felt both miraculous and surprised that he had been able to defend against the blow, and an indescribable emotion swirled around in his chest.


    ¡°Coincidence? Or¡­ Anyhow, what an irritating bastard.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. You said you¡¯d talk if I could defend against it.¡±


    Loren said while putting all his strength into the greatsword in apetition against Magna to prevent him from pushing his de in. Magna, who did not even try to hide his annoyance, began to speak out the information he had promised to tell Loren from the other side of the des.


    ¡°My rtionship with Yuri? He was originally supposed to be my subordinate.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°There were many problems. He took on someone other than me as his master and disappeared from my sight. I have urged him to return to his rightful ce under me, but he shows no sign ofplying.¡±


    ¡°The Commander is your subordinate?¡±


    If Magna¡¯s story was true, and taking into ount what Yuri had told him, Loren wondered if the master who was not Magna that Yuri had taken on might be himself.


    And if he was right, he had to consider that he had some connection to the man in front of him, Magna.


    ¡°Who are you? If the Commander was really supposed to be your subordinate, then you must not be just a random suspicious guy.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ The word ¡®suspicious guy¡¯ is a bit of an insult. I was supposed to be the King of the world.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Is there a limit to your delusions of grandeur?¡±


    Perhaps because Loren was paying too much attention to the conversation, the des were pushed somewhat toward his side. To avoid being pushed away, he changed the angle at which the des engaged, and, while fending off the pressure from Magna, threw a kick at the guy¡¯s abdomen.


    Even if Loren¡¯s strength was extraordinary, he could not hope for much impact due to the metal armour Magna was wearing, but he still seeded in forcing Magna to move backward somewhat, and Loren took advantage of that to regain his stance and distance himself from the guy.


    ¡°I would have at least allowed him to continue his mercenary work if he had offered me his false master. But he refused. He destroyed the mercenary group and scattered its members before I could find the one, I wanted.¡±


    It seemed like the kick hadn¡¯t dealt any major damage to Magan; his expression didn¡¯t even change as he faced Loren, who again held up his greatsword. His shield, which should have disappeared, reappeared, and he held up both the sword and the shield.


    ¡°Now, I have only one question for you. Do you know of any member of the group that Yuri was particrly interested in? If you tell me his name and his appearance, I¡¯ll let bygones be bygones.¡±


    From what Loren had just heard, it seemed that Magna had not yet identified the person he was looking for. And from what Yuri and Magna had told him, it was safe to say that the person the guy was looking for was Loren himself.


    Of course, Loren has no intention of revealing that to Magna, and therefore he could not answer his question.


    ¡°Well, you know. The Commander treated every member of the group equally.¡±


    ¡°Then let me change the question. Who was the youngest member of your group? When he took him, he was just a baby. I am not sure how much time difference there is between Yuri and me, but from the looks of him, the baby must have been quite young.¡±


    From what Loren remembered, he was probably the youngest of the mercenary group that Yuri had led.


    He could not be certain of this, however; he did not know how old he really was. But judging from the atmosphere around him and the other members of the group, he thought he was probably the youngest.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about that. All mercenaries have a rough look like me, and you can¡¯t tell whether someone is young or old.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to speak honestly, do you? Well, that¡¯s all right. Once I catch you and y with you a little, your mouth will loosen up.¡±


    The gap between them was gradually closing as they talked, and Loren involuntarily stepped back topensate.


    He was aware that there was a clear difference in strength between him and Magna, whether it was because of their equipment or their own strength. Moreover, if the guy were to disy the kind of swordsmanship like the one, he had just witnessed, he knew from his past experience that this was not an opponent he could win in a head-on sh.


    The fact that he was able to defend against the attack earlier was the result of some kind of luck or intuition that Loren himself could not clearly exin, and he had no confidence that he would be able to defend against the same attack the next time it was unleashed.


    As Loren was thinking about what he should do to escape, he heard Noel¡¯s voice, which for some reason sounded flustered.


    ¡°Magna-sama! Around the perimeter!¡±


    It was not only Loren who wondered what was going on, but Magna as well.


    Both looked around warily, but the sight they saw made them feelpletely opposite.


    ¡°Loren, we¡¯re almost finished with this mess!¡±


    From the other side of the room, Lapis said with a triumphant pose. G was piling up the bodies of the soldiers they had apparently defeated at the entrance to the catbs.


    If the entrance remained open, they would really have to deal with all the soldiers packed in this castle. That was why it was necessary to stop the influx of soldiers, and that was why the Lapis and G had taken the measure of sealing the entrance with the bodies of the defeated soldiers, regardless of whether they were alive or dead.


    Loren could not imagine how they were able to do this, but the wall of flesh built from soldiers, none of whom even twitched, was packed tightly around the entrance and looked extremely difficult to break through.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got most of it taken care of over here! But¡­ are you two really a magician and a priest?¡±


    Forcing herself to ignore Storm¡¯s quizzical look, Lapis rushed toward Loren, while G nced menacingly at the remaining dark elves.


    ¡°If we can secure the King and Magna, then we¡¯ve won.¡±


    ¡°Good grief. If your pawns are weak, they will just cost you more time and effort.¡±


    Magna shrugged and said in exasperation as he watched Lapis, who hade to Loren¡¯s side and was taking a fighting stance, and the dark elves, who were intimidated by G and unable to make a move.


    Magna turned to Noel, who looked apologetic, while using his long sword to restrain Loren¡¯s movement.


    ¡°Send the dark elves back and wake that thing up. We have no further need for the castle or the king.¡±


    ¡°Magna-sama?!¡±


    ¡°No matter how many soldiers we send against them, it will be meaningless. We have no choice but to crush them with that thing.¡±


    Noel looked at Magna with some hesitation, but when she saw that he would not change his mind, she knelt down on the spot and bowed to Magna before disappearing.


    Came to think of it, G and the other Evil Gods had the ability to cross space, and Loren wondered if Noel, who had be a simr being, could do the same thing. Just then, a tremor that shook the entire castle caused him to stumble involuntarily.


    ¡°What the hell!¡±


    The tremors did not stop.


    In fact, rather than stop, they became more and more violent as time went on.


    ¡°The ceiling is copsing!¡±


    ¡°Hey, King! This way!¡±


    In the midst of the panicked knights, Storm shouted to the king, who was standing still. But as if he did not hear him, the king continued to stand there as stones began to pour down from the copsed ceiling around him.


    Protecting his head with his arms, Storm tried to move closer to the king, but the tremors under his feet were too violent for him to move forward as he wished.


    ¡°Loren! This is not good.¡±


    ¡°Magna! Do you want to be buried alive too?!¡±


    The copsing ceiling began to pour down around Loren and Magna.


    Seemingly oblivious to the falling stones, Magna smirked at Loren, who was holding Lapis close to him and protecting their heads with the t of his greatsword.


    ¡°If there were anyone to be buried alive, it would only be you guys.¡±


    ¡°Is it that armour again? That¡¯s dirty!¡±


    ¡°Say what you will. What is wrong with a man rightfully using his own possessions?¡±


    As Magna replied, a stone the size of an adult¡¯s head struck him squarely on the shoulder. But it was bounced off the surface of the armour and rolled onto the floor without even making a sound.


    With that armour, Magna probably could walk through the pouring rain of stones as if nothing was happening, and Loren once again gritted his teeth at how absurd magic-enhanced equipment was.


    The tremors became even more violent, and when Loren looked up above his head, he saw the ceiling, which could no longer withstand the shaking, crack wide open and fall down.


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 Chapter 358: From Ascending To Retreat (1)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±


    The t of the greatsword held above Loren¡¯s head was being smashed by stone shards of all sizes.


    The tremors around the area did not stop, and Loren could see the dark elves jumping up to the copsed ceiling one after another and running away. Magna, who was not affected by the raining stones, was thest one to walk leisurely over the piling rubbles.


    Unable to follow in the tremors and falling stones, Loren shouted at his back.


    ¡°Hey! What are you going to do about that king?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in what¡¯s no longer needed. You¡¯re all going to die here anyway.¡±


    Loren wondered where such confidence came from, but Storm let out a grief-stricken sound just then, and he involuntarily turned his attention to him.A huge stone was about to fall down on the king, who was covered in blood from being struck by the raining stones. Storm reached out to help, but the king did not react, and was crushed by the massive stone, sending a spray of red into the surrounding area.


    Loren was thinking that the man would not have survived the incident when Lapis, whom he was holding closely and kept shielded under his greatsword, looked down at her feet and muttered.


    ¡°Loren, something¡¯sing from underneath.¡±


    ¡°What?! What is it?¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not a prophet.¡±


    Lapis replied reasonably, and Loren held her closer, wondering if they could get out through the hole in the ceiling, the one through which Magna and his cronies had left. However, without the agility of an elf or the protection of magical equipment like Magna, he had no hope of reaching the hole in the ceiling through the falling debris.


    ¡°G! Can you manage somehow?¡±


    ¡°I can for myself, but the thinging from below, I have a feeling it¡¯s trouble.¡±


    Loren wanted to avoid being confronted by something that would be described as trouble by an Evil God, but even if he tried to escape, there was nowhere to do so.


    The original entrance had been blocked by Lapis and G with the bodies of soldiers, and the debris that was pouring down had left the area in a terrible state; it was impossible to get out through there.


    ¡°We can only hope that whateveres from below will make the castle copsepletely. Don¡¯t worry, Loren, I¡¯ll do my best to not let us die, even if we are pinned under the castle.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if you set up a protective barrier, it will work.¡±


    [¡®Don¡¯t worry, onii-san, I¡¯m here too. Even if the entire castle is reduced to rubble, I¡¯ll make sure you can get out.¡¯]


    If an Evil God, a demon and the King of Death all said so, Loren, who was only a human being, had no choice but to leave it to them and hoped that something would be done about it.


    When Loren asked them to do something about Storm and his men, Lapis and G looked a bit annoyed, but they nodded in agreement, as if they felt bad about abandoning them.


    ¡°Everyone, if you don¡¯t want to be crushed to death,e this way! We¡¯ll put up some protective barriers!¡±


    ¡°Will that help?!¡±


    Storm was stunned for a moment by the sight of the king dying before his eyes, but then, perhaps thinking that he could not stay stunned for long in the current situation, he rushed up to Loren¡¯s group with his kights in tow at Lapis¡¯ voice.


    After seeing this, G slowly began to chant some kind of incantation, and the knights were impressed by the appearance of a shimmering force field around them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s pray that this will manage somehow. There is no way we can guarantee that everything will be all right under these circumstances.¡±


    ¡°I must survive this at all costs and make sure that man gets what he deserves.¡±


    As Loren, who was watching Storm gritting his teeth, thought that this was not the time for such thoughts, he noticed that the stones had stopped falling on him before he realized.


    The tremors that shook the surroundings were still continuing, and various objects were still falling from above, but they were no longer hitting them because they were bounced off by the force field created by G.


    Loren, who had faint hopes that they would be able to manage this, was knocked off his bnce by the violent impact that came surging up from under his feet the next moment.


    It was the same for the knights and G, who were shaken to the point of not being able to stand.


    ¡°Ah, this is bad.¡±


    Just when Loren thought this was not working, he was hit by a powerful thrust from beneath his feet, and he saw the floor, walls, and ceiling blown apart.


    It was as if the castle had exploded from its foundations, and Loren almost gave up. As he felt a pressure pushing him down to the floor, he looked up to see the pitch-ck night sky through the numerous pieces of flying debris.


    Looking around, all he could see was the ck night sky, and all he could hear was the sound of the wind howling in his ears.


    Before Loren could understand what had happened, the floor crumbled beneath his feet, and he felt his hair stand on, as a new sight revealed itself between the cracks.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been blown away!¡±


    Loren¡¯s eyes, which possessed a fraction of Shayna¡¯s power, took in the distant ground beyond the darkness of the night.


    Even though he did not know how high they were blown up, he knew that they wereunched with tremendous force as he felt himself continue to elevate.


    If he had been hit by the impact that hadunched them with such force, he would not have survived, no matter how sturdy his body was. The reason he did not die from the impact was probably due to the protective barrier that G had put around them just before they were blown away, but that barrier seemed to have disappeared, and that pale glow was nowhere to be seen.


    As he hurriedly wrapped the greatsword in his hand in a cloth and put it back on his back, he wondered if it would be too difficult to stay alive when they were mmed back to the ground after the descent. Just then, he saw a huge shadow looming in the darkness of the night and strained his eyes to look closely at it.


    ¡°What the heck is that?¡­¡±


    It looked like a castle or some kind of huge ship.


    Loren wondered if it was the castle they had been in earlier, but there were no signs of destruction on its shape. After some thinking, he somehow came up with the idea that the huge structure hade out from under their feet, and that they, who were on top of it, had been blown away because of that.


    He guessed that when it came out of the basement of the castle, it somehow blew away the ground above it, and as a result, the entire castle was blown away.


    However, the fact that such an insight urred to him did not change his current situation. If he did not do something, he would fall and hit the ground, and death would be the only oue. Loren frantically thought, but even though he had done nothing, he felt himself being pulled up.


    When he looked over to see what was going on, he saw countless threads fluttering in the wind, and he saw Nigg, who had apparently spit out the threads, holding on tightly to his shoulder.


    As Loren looked on, wondering what the spider was going to do, the countless threads that Nig had spit out continued to pull Loren¡¯s body with the wind, moving him out of the debris.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nig! But there¡¯s no way we cannd safely from here!¡±


    Even if the falling debris no longer crushed him, he would still be falling from the same height he had beenunched to. Even though Nig¡¯s threads could pull Loren¡¯s body to the side, they did not seem to slow the speed of his fall. Just when Loren was thinking that it would not work, he heard Lapis¡¯ voice.


    ¡°No no no, you¡¯re doing a great job, Nig. It¡¯s not easy even for me to pull Loren¡¯s body out.¡±


    At the same time as she spoke, Loren felt Lapis¡¯ thin arms around his body, holding him close, and he peered into her face.


    As the ascent ended and the fall began, Lapis smiled when she saw Loren looking at her, her clothes and hair fluttering in the fierce wind.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that you are alright, Loren. You don¡¯t seem to be badly hurt.¡±


    ¡°You call this situation, alright?¡±


    ¡°I think we are rtively alright. Storm and his men were ttened when they crashed into the debris after we wereunched. They werepletely annihted.¡±


    ¡°What about G?!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Lapis, still holding Loren in her arms, let her gaze wander in the air. A certain point caught her eyes, and she announced to him.


    ¡°She is a little higher up than us.¡±


    ¡°Is she safe?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that an Evil God will fall and crash to her death.¡±


    Loren was about to make further arguments to Lapis, who gave him a somewhat evasive answer, but before he could open his mouth, he noticed a light shining from below and turned his head in that direction.


    He looked at the huge structure that could be seen under his feet in the distance and saw that it had begun to light up here and there, and those lights were starting to move.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be a castle, or¡­ some kind of fortress, but I think it¡¯s a ratherrge magical structure.¡±


    ¡°It was buried there?¡±


    ¡°It seems like digging it up was Magna¡¯s purpose from the start. Well, they couldn¡¯t just go and ask the king to let them dig it up peacefully if it resulted in the king¡¯s castle being blown up.¡±


    Loren was about to raise his voice in protest at Lapis¡¯ words, which seemed to show understanding of Magna¡¯s actions, when he heard the sound of something exploding, and arge object passed by near them, the impact caused by it sent them spinning in the air. He swallowed the words he was about to say to avoid biting his tongue.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°I think it was a live round that was shot¡­ at us. I don¡¯t know how long it was buried in the ground, but it still works, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What? This is no time to be impressed!¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so, we can¡¯t even escape the present situation.¡±


    While Lapis answered in a troubled manner, they continued to fall.


    Loren began to wonder if he would survive the fall to the ground at such a speed, and Lapis whispered softly to him.


    ¡°Please hold on to me tightly for now. If you make a mistake and slip out of my grip, even you won¡¯t survive. We will be on the ground in no time.¡±


    ¡°Will you be alright?¡±


    ¡°My real legs might break a little, but I have prosthetic legs now, so even if they break, it won¡¯t be a big problem.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound alright¡­¡±


    ¡°Keep your mouth closed. You¡¯ll bite your tongue.¡±


    Loren had no choice but to keep his mouth shut in response to Lapis¡¯ warning. He clung to Lapis¡¯ body, feeling somewhat pathetic.


    Just as Loren thought he heard a sound like air escapinging through the wind, Lapis¡¯ feetnded on the ground. Loren was shaken violently, and he put all his strength into his arms around her, holding on desperately so that he wouldn¡¯t be shaken off.


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 Chapter 359: From Ascending To Retreat (2)

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    <strong>Proofreader:Xemul</strong>


    The shaking from thending felt quite long to Loren.


    He was not sure how long he had actually been shaking, but after enduring it for a while, the shaking finally subsided, and he felt Lapis¡¯s hand lightly tap him.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right now, Loren. We¡¯vended.¡±


    Saying this, Lapis lowered Loren¡¯s body to the ground. Loren, while releasing the arm that was wrapping around Lapis¡¯ body, looked at her legs, which must have suffered a considerable shock, and saw the devastation they had sustained.


    Lapis¡¯ legs, which were prosthetics, were not in such a state that blood was flowing out or broken bones were popping out of it. However, the prosthetics, which until then had been no different from real legs, had been torn and shattered here and there, and strings and tubes of unknown purpose had sprung out of it.


    ¡°Taking on two people was a little too much, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lapis said with a wry smile as she watched the liquid, sometimes clear, sometimes ck, pour out from the cracks in her legs. The limbs that had lost their functionality couldn¡¯t even stand, and Lapis, who was in a kneeling position, didn¡¯t appear to be able to move from that spot on her own.¡°You can¡¯t walk with those¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. But since both of usnded on the ground alive, I guess it was a necessary sacrifice.¡±


    Laughing, Lapis said this. Some distance away on the other side, Gnded with a loud bang.


    Landing with a crack and a cloud of dust, G walked up to Loren and Lapis with light steps, as if no part of her body had been damaged when shended, unlike Lapis. She looked surprised to see Lapis, who could neither stand nor walk properly.


    ¡°Lapis-chan?! Howe I only looked away for a moment, and you got like this!¡±


    ¡°If they were flesh and blood, I could heal them, but¡­ I don¡¯t think this can be fixed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be nice if it lets us go.¡±


    Lapis said, and Loren turned his body in the direction she was looking.


    There, he could see the structure that had blown up the royal castle slowly rising slightly from the ground, probably about to turn toward them.


    The town that surrounded the castle had been smashed by the scattered fragments and the tremors that urred when the fortress-like structure emerged from under it. As Loren felt a chill run down his spine at the fact that he could not see any of the inhabitants even though such devastation was unfolding, G pointed to the floating fortress and shouted.


    ¡°This thing is no good! It¡¯s going to shoot at us!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®s


    The structure looked like abination of a fortress and a ship, with a number of cylindrical objects attached to it. Seeing several of those tubes moving toward them, Loren jumped back with a sense of foreboding, holding Lapis in his arms, who was unable to move. ?


    At the same time, a roaring sound and puffs of smoke came from the end of the tubes, and the ground on which Loren¡¯s group had been standing exploded with a huge roar.


    Loren held Lapis¡¯ head in his arms and kept his eyes fixed on the fortress as the onught of earth and sand and the impact pushed him to the ground. They were being tossed left and right like a ship in a stormy sea by the earth and sand that kept bouncing up without even having time to stand.


    The force of the upheaval was intense, and Loren, enduring the pain from the pounding ground, tried to figure out what it was that was flying at them and how to escape from its range of attack, but couldn¡¯te up with a single thing.


    ¡°G! Are you still alive?!¡±


    ¡°Well, this much isn¡¯t gonna kill me.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any way to get out of here?!¡±


    In response to Loren¡¯s question, G nced toward the fortress and watched some of the tubes roar and spit smoke, squinting slightly as if to focus her attention.


    In the next instant, however, the slightest amount of blood dripped out from the corner of her lips, and although it was not a direct hit, the impact of something hitting the ground caused Loren and Lapis to roll on the ground again.


    ¡°Not good, it¡¯s ying tricks. It¡¯s broken through my authority.¡±


    ¡°Were you attacked?! What the hell is going on?!¡±


    [¡®Onii-san, a metallic mass the size of your torso ising at us.¡¯]


    Shayna said before G could answer, and Loren looked at the floating fortress at a considerable distance away in disbelief.


    If Shayna¡¯s description was correct, Loren believed that what was attacking them was some kind of projectile.


    Loren had seen stone throwers several times during castle sieges, but he could not see anything like that anywhere in the fortress, at least from their current position.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything flying at all.¡±


    [¡®It¡¯s too fast for your eyes to catch.¡¯]


    ¡°This is getting more and more troublesome¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s get out of here! There¡¯s no way we can handle it!¡±


    With Lapis unable to walk on her own, it was obvious that Loren and G, who had only the greatsword and magic as means of attack, would not be able to mount an effective counterattack against the fortress, which attacked them unterally from far away.


    Knowing that if they just stood there, they would only be toyed with, Loren immediately called out to G and started running with Lapis in his arms, hoping to escape the attack. As if in anticipation, a number of glowing red balls were ejected from the fortress and flew over their heads.


    ¡°These are¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, they are all fireballs.¡±


    The fireballs were so numerous that one must wonder how many magicians would have been mobilized tounch them, if they had beenunched by magicians. They flew past the team in an arch andnded at the same ce.


    The resulting explosion erupted in a cloud of bright red mes, and the wreckage of houses and stores burst into mes, blocking the path of the team as they tried to flee.


    Loren turned his back to the explosion to protect Lapis in his arms from the mming impact and heat, and gritted his teeth when he felt the heat on the nape of his neck.


    However, there was no way that Magna, who was probably in the fortress, could have missed them, who had stopped in their tracks.


    The impact of the metallic mass that had apparently been shot into the vicinity again sent Loren into the zing fire. Surrounded by mes and the hot air that threatened to burn his chest, he broke through the enclosure of overbearing mes and rolled on the ground without even taking a breath.


    ¡°This is no good! It¡¯s relentless!¡±


    G, who suffered the same fate but was sturdier than Loren, began to rant and rave about the inescapable situation, but Loren had no time or energy to respond to her and began to crawl on the ground to distance himself from the fortress.


    He was hoping that the magic mes and the dust would hide him from view, but as if mocking his thoughts, Magna¡¯s voice echoed from the fortress to the surrounding area.


    ¡°You look like an insect. That suits you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your power, it¡¯s that big fucker¡¯s.¡±


    Loren, who cursed at Magna despite knowing that the guy would not hear it, was once again sent rolling on the ground with Lapis in his arms by the impact of an offensive shot fired nearby as if to silence him.


    ¡°I remember now! That¡¯s a mobile fortress, isn¡¯t it? A conquering weapon of the ancient kingdom! So it was buried in a ce like this?!¡±


    G, who was blown away by each impact, perhaps because she weighed less than Loren, yelled out the identity of the thing Magna had dug up while pulling her body from the sediment she was half-buried in.


    ¡°Even us Evil Gods were in hot water because of it! With our current equipment, we won¡¯t stand a chance!¡±


    ¡°Escaping is enough for me¡­¡±


    The fortress¡¯s attack radius was sorge that it would be extremely difficult for them to escape from the area on foot.


    Even so, if they did not escape, they would continue to be attacked unterally, and would eventually run out of strength. As Loren stood up with Lapis in his arms, Shayna¡¯s warning echoed in the back of his mind.


    [¡®Onii-san! Direct hit iing!¡¯]


    Shayna, was able to sense the attack iing from the fortress.


    Loren, having determined it was impossible to dodge an attack, which he could not even see, unsheathed the greatsword on his back, thrust the tip slightly into the ground, and crouched behind it with the t of the sword serving as a shield.


    At about the same time, a shock went through Loren¡¯s entire body, so violent that he feared he would be shattered. All he could sense was the impact and the feeling that he had probably been blown away.


    After a long floating sensation that left him wondering how far he¡¯d been thrown, Loren hit the ground and rolled a long way, his arms and legs flung haphazardly in all directions as he was unable to even take a protective stance. When the momentum finally stopped, Lapis in his arms and the greatsword in his hand were both thrown out, and hended in a heap on the ground.


    Loren knew that he was alive because he was conscious, but he had lost all sensation in his body. He was in a state he had never felt before in his life, and he thought he might be mortally wounded as he weakly spat out the hot lump that was rising in his throat.


    [¡®Onii-san! Please hang on! Your wound¡­¡¯]


    Feeling Shayna¡¯s scream cut off in the middle and realizing that he seemed to be in real danger, Loren tried to make out as much as he could of his surroundings when only being able to move his neck and eyes.


    He couldn¡¯t find G anywhere.


    In the rising cloud of dust, Lapis, with whom he had been separated from halfway through, could be seen crawling towards him using only the strength of her arms.


    Nearby, the greatsword that had apparently managed to prevent Loren from dying instantly was lying broken in various ces.


    As Loren was impressed that he had survived an attack that left a Demon King¡¯s weapon in such a state, Lapis threw herself at Loren and hugged him. cing her hands on his chest, she gently shook him.


    ¡°Are you alive?! Loren, are you alive?!¡±


    Loren tried to answer, but he could not speak, as if something was stuck in his throat. He could only hear a gurgling sound and felt a liquid, probably blood, spilling from the edge of his mouth.


    Seeing this, Lapis held Loren¡¯s head and, without hesitation, pressed her lips against Loren¡¯s, sucked up what was stuck in his throat and spat it out.


    ¡°Loren?!¡±


    ¡°The follow-up is¡­ noting. I guess he¡¯s gloating before the final blow¡­¡±


    If there was a means of attack that could urately hit them, then the current situation, with both of them stuck in one ce, should have been the perfect opportunity to strike.


    Yet the fortress was watching over them without attacking.


    Loren wondered if Magna was gloating at the fact that he could finish them off with just one more blow, but Lapis nced towards the fortress and tilted her head slightly.


    ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case?¡±


    Magna¡¯s rtionship with them so far made it hard to believe that he would show them any mercy.


    Loren nced frantically towards the fortress, thinking there was no reason not to attack, and saw the hovering construct shaking violently, its massive body tilting.


    As he wondered what the hell was going on, smoke began to rise from all over the fortress, and he could see that the whole fortress seemed to be in some kind of trouble, even if the reason or cause was not known.


    ¡°We have to get out of here while we still can!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯


    Lapis¡¯ legs were in no condition to walk. G was nowhere to be found, and Loren himself had just now been rendered unable to walk.


    ¡°If I had prepared properly, I could have used Return, but¡­ Other spells won¡¯t give us much distance.¡±


    Lapis bit her lip, thinking that she should have done more to prepare for something like this. Still, if she didn¡¯t do anything, their chance of survival wouldn¡¯t be high; as she started to prepare some spells, she noticed Nig peeking out from under the breast of Loren¡¯s jacket.


    Nig, who had apparently slipped inside the jacket at some point, moved a little sluggish, perhaps due to the attack on Loren. But even so, he dexterously used his front legs to present a coin to Lapis.


    ¡°This is¡­ Hm, I think Loren got this from His Majesty the Great Demon King.¡±


    Lapis, remembering its origin, took the coin from Nig and looked at it closely, and after a while realization dawned on her face.


    ¡°If it belongs to His Majesty the Great Demon King, then¡­ the coordinates of his residence are set.¡¯


    Lapis, clutching the coin, nced toward the fortress for a moment.


    The fortress, whose flight had begun to flicker for some reason and whose attacks had ceased, was still trying to attack them. Tubes here and there began to slowly turn towards them, and it did not seem as if there was much time left before the attacks resumed.


    ¡°Let us pray that my guess is correct.<i> Fly us through the door on high to hisnd, remembered in this item!</i>¡°


    After chanting the incantation and gripping the coin in her hand more firmly, Lapis shouted out the spell to be exercised as she put all her strength into the arms that were holding Loren.


    ¡°>!¡±


    A dazzling light filled Loren¡¯s slightly-opened eyes.


    Without knowing what kind of magic it was, Loren felt the touch of the ground on his back disappear, and he let go of his consciousness, remembering only the feel of Lapis¡¯ arms embracing him.


    If you are wondering why this novel has ended, it is because the author got cancelled. Sad that it got cancelled when it was just getting good!


    Damn it!


    We¡¯vee so far already!


    I would like for all of you to note that these chapters, at some point, are actually from the Light Novel. The Web Novel stopped long ago, and we continued with the Light Novel. There had not been anything that different though.


    But, for now, the end has sadlye.


    I would like to thank you all for your support. It¡¯s sad to see you go, but without all of you, we would not have finished this novel.


    Hope to see you in the next novel: Truth Weavers


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    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!