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TL: ALT
Chapter 69 – Day 14 of Exploration
Monsters are sensitive to sounds and smells.
If I think back, it’s usually when I’ve made a loud noise that monsters or plants have attacked me. It wasn’t until recently that I started worrying about smells when I was exploring.
“Even when we went to the desert, monsters attacked us, right?”
“Arachne is scary.”
It seems that Chel has a slight trauma.
“I want to do an experiment to see if we can avoid being attacked by monsters if we move around without making any noise and try to eliminate our smell.”
“Huh?”
Chel doesn’t seem to understand.
“In other words, if you adjust your body odor to the smell of the forest as much as possible and move while the wind is blowing, the monster won’t notice you, right?”
“So you’re saying you want to become the wind?”
Hel asked.
“Well, something like that.”
“Makyo, you want to become the wind?”
“That’s a very boyish way of thinking. It’s like a boy dreaming of becoming an adventurer.”
Chel and Jennifer laughed mockingly.
“O-oh, the man who said the same thing has turned to ashes.”
Sylvia said something frightening.
“What exactly are you doing?”
Only Hel seemed to have a sense of “what if…?” and asked.
“First, you smear green leaves all over your body and rub the sap into it. Then you sense the wind and use your magic to interfere with its power…”
I spread my arms to feel the power of the wind. I add a little magic to it and direct it to my body.
Whosh!
The wind pushes me all over, and the ground disappears.
When I look back, Chel and the others are looking up at me. It seems like I’m in the sky somehow.
I had a faint hope that I might have found a way to fly.
The next thing I knew, I felt like my heart was floating, and I fell to the ground, bouncing off the branches of nearby trees. My arm was bent in a direction it shouldn’t have been. I also had trouble breathing.
“Are you okay? Makyo, you’re risking too much for a joke.”
Chel came running over and sprayed me with a healing potion.
“Phew, that was close. I thought I was going to die!”
I managed to catch my breath and stand up, and everyone watching was astonished.
“Oh no, the experiment failed. It was my fault for gathering the wind. All I had to do was change the direction of the wind.”
I scratched my head and said, “I’m screwed, I’m screwed,” but the other girls, except for Chel, just stood there with their mouths hanging open, looking at me.
“Did I fly that far?”
“Yeah, you disappeared for a second, and then you were back in the sky.”
I think I went a little too far.
“But if you can practice and blend with the wind, you can control smells and sounds, so I think it would be useful.”
“Are you still going to do it?”
“I will. I want to make a map of the desert.”
Hel crossed her arms and looked worried, “They say making magic is trading life for life, but is that what they mean?”
For now, Chel and I will go to the southern forest to practice covert action magic. Hel and the others go to the stream at the entrance.
“Today’s a bust.”
Chel seems annoyed that she has to follow me.
“Is that so?”
“I think everyone doesn’t really understand Makyo’s abilities.”
“I don’t think it’s such a great ability.”
“I think it’s normal.”
I used my magic to interfere with the gentle breeze, making it blow in the direction we were going. I didn’t think I was interfering that much, but it turned into a storm. Nevertheless, Chel and I moved south at the same speed as the storm.
“Could you weaken your magic a bit more?”
“Yes, about this much.”
We changed the direction of the wind in the trees, making it blow toward us. At first, the dead leaves and dust were horrible, getting in our ears and eyes, but we made some fine adjustments and blended in with the wind.
We easily passed the ruins of Lamia and the Golden Bat Cave and continued on our way south.
“My goodness, was the desert that close?”
Chel asked as she looked at the distant sandstorm. Behind us is a lush forest, and in front of us is the desert. The environment has changed completely.
“Maybe it’s because we haven’t met any monsters.”
“Still, it’s a bit early.”
“I think so. When we were exploring, it seemed like it would take forever to go through the whole place, but if you don’t pay attention to anything, it seems like the demonic land is actually quite small.”
“I guess exploring does take time.”
In the desert, if you interfere with the wind, there is a possibility of a sandstorm, so it is not possible to practice blending with the wind.
“So it’s forest-only magic. Still, it’s good that we haven’t met any monsters.”
“How about trying it in the marsh where the ruins are?”
“That’s a good idea too.”
Pyuiii!
A falcon monster flies through the desert sky. The sun is low in the sky, and there is still time before noon.
“Do you want to eat lunch?”
“No, it’s too early. Shall we go to Sky Island?”
“We can’t come back if we don’t know the direction.”
We need a bird monster to act as a compass.
“So, shall we eat?”
“It’s still morning.”
“Shall we go back?”
“Since we’re here, let’s make a path.”
At Chel’s suggestion, we decided to make a path through the dense forest.
When we looked back, the trees had moved. The grass on the ground was also slowly moving.
“Hey, isn’t that the same as when we came here?”
“It’s Treant. The grass is also some kind of monster. It must have started moving because it’s getting warmer.”
Small scorpion and scarab beetle monsters fled into the forest along with the trees and grass.
“Is it cold at night in the desert?”
“Yes. Look, the border between the forest and the desert is moving even though we’re standing still.”
The whole forest seemed to be receding, and we felt like we were being left behind in the desert.
“Why?”
“I think it’s because the temperature difference between night and day is so extreme in the desert, so it spreads out to collect moisture from the air in the morning.”
“I see. I don’t understand at all.”
“The forest we saw was inhabited by monsters from the very beginning.”
Whoa!
Sand is flying in the distance.
When we look, we see that a large monkey-like monster is being eaten by a swarm of scorpion-like monsters.
“It is no surprise that the forest monsters, who were too slow to escape, are now being attacked by the desert monsters.
“Makyo, why did you buy such a place?”
“When people are desperate, they make bad decisions. Even if we make a path here, it’ll be different tomorrow. Let’s go back to the cave while we still know which way to go.”
“That’s a good idea!”
Just as I was about to read the wind and use magic to interfere with it, the sand in front of me rose like a fountain. The sand took on the shape of a person in front of my eyes. It looked like an elf with long ears. It looked like someone I knew.
“Is that Hel?”
The sand melted in the desert wind at the sound of my voice.
“Hel! Is something wrong?!”
“Let’s hurry back!”
Chel and I put all our magic into our legs and ran north at full speed. We dodged the monsters that attacked us, smashed the Treants that blocked our way and headed straight for the cave.
We reached the cave before noon, but no one was there.
“It’s strange that they haven’t even prepared lunch.”
“What about the stream at the entrance?”
Chel and I went to the entrance of the demonic land, being careful the whole time. We climbed the hill, went through the maze, and bypassed the field of sleeping flowers. There were almost no monsters or plants to attack us.
Hiding in the shade of the grass, I peered out to see what was happening at the entrance to the demonic land and saw that Jennifer was being held captive on the other side of the stream. More specifically, she was trapped in a mound of earth with only her face visible.
The people holding Jennifer were the peasants and the elves in tattered robes. “So these are the East Kenyan peasants and the elf slaves.”
I whispered to myself, and Chel nodded.
Hel and Sylvia, who were on this side of the stream, shouted in annoyance.
“W-w-we gave you what you wanted! P-p-please give us back Jennifer!”
In front of the farmers was a pile of weapons made by Sylvia, including the failed ones.
“What we want is not these bone weapons but a staff! And if Sylvia-sama doesn’t return, the people won’t come together!”
“E-E-Even if I returned, East Kenya wouldn’t change! M-m-my ‘vampire clan’ perished in the demon land! Give up!”
“You are here alive! We won’t leave until you return!”
It seems that the farmers of East Kenya want Sylvia to return and rise up in armed revolt against the current lord.
“Are they taking Sylvia away?”
Chel, hiding in the shade of the grass, asked anxiously.
“She doesn’t want to go, but isn’t Sylvia the only one left from the former lord’s family?”
“Does Makyo mind if Sylvia leaves?”
“Eh? It doesn’t matter either way. She can live as she likes. The demonic land is a dangerous area to begin with, so I won’t force her to stay. But it will reduce the number of inhabitants.”
Chel looked at me like I was a useless person.
“That’s why I’m telling you to ask the lord of the demonic land, right?”
Hel shouted to the elven slaves on the other side of the stream.
“When will he come? Helgen?”
“I don’t know. Makyo is trying to create magic that is different from ours. I called him as you asked, but I don’t know when he will come.”
After saying this, Hel spoke to Sylvia in a low voice.
“Helgen. No, my apprentice. This man named Makyo may be the lord, but that is not our concern. There are only two options: to cooperate with us or not.”
An elf with a long beard asked Hel.
“You were my master only for a short time while I was in prison. The apprentice-master relationship has already ended. And if it’s only a choice between these two options, then probably not. Makyo isn’t really interested in other regions. If you want to live in this demonic land, go ahead. But you should be prepared to pay rent.”
“Even if it’s just a little, this Makyo is the lord, right? Doesn’t he think about expanding his territory?”
The elf with the long beard asked Hel a few more questions.
“Probably not.”
“Hmm… Then you don’t care what happens to that girl?”
He pointed at Jennifer.
“Oh, I don’t care. Or rather, the fact that you hold her like that is something that this girl, Jennifer, does as a hobby. It has nothing to do with me or Sylvia.”
“That’s not true! Please help me! Aren’t we all inhabitants of the same demonic land?”
Jennifer, who was buried in the dirt, shouted, but her voice didn’t sound urgent. She probably just wanted to play the role of a tragic heroine or a prisoner.
“Jennifer, it’s daylight, so Sylvia and I are going to leave. If Makyo comes back, we’ll tell him that Jennifer is in such a shameful state.”
With that, Hel and Sylvia left for the forest.
“Wait! We won’t give up!”
“Please wait, Sylvia-sama!”
The farmers and elves shouted, but Hel and the others didn’t stop.
“Hey.”
I called them as they came over.
“What, you came back?”
“Yes. I saw the notice and came running, but… is it over?”
“The elven criminal slaves came to me for help. I think the spirit medium probably located my position. You can ignore them, Makyo.”
Hel spoke as she walked towards the cave.
“I see. Is that okay?”
I asked Sylvia.
“E-E-Even if I go back to East Kenya, nothing will change. T-t-the army is only guarding the castle area and the border. The lord’s guards have been bribed in various places in East Kenya.”
“Bribed? That fruit shop?”
“Y-y-yes, that’s right. T-t-the Zamurai family is buying up the guards and adventurers one by one. To counter this, wealthy merchants in various regions started hiring private armies. T-t-that’s why the farmers, who have no money, were lured by the elven criminal slaves and came to the demonic land.”
“I’m sorry. Among the elf criminal slaves, there are political prisoners who are magicians, and there are spiritualists who have caused the collapse of entire cities. There’s nothing we can do about it because they think they’re saving the farmers from the situation in East Kenya.”
Hel apologized as a fellow tribe member, but Sylvia shook her head and said, “No, no, no.”
“East Kenya seems to be in a lot of chaos. Won’t Makyo help?”
Chel asked, tilting her head.
“Who are we going to help?”
“W-who are we going to help, you ask?”
“There are soldiers in East Kenya, and there are soldiers of the Zamurai family. Then there are the private armies of the wealthy merchants, and then there are the criminal slaves of the farmers and elves. No matter which side you take, the confusion is only going to grow, isn’t it? Well, that’s the way it is for the weapons merchants, I suppose.”
“T-t-they don’t want weapons!”
Sylvia shouted in frustration. She must have been frustrated because the weapons she had made were “not wanted.”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
“Yes, that’s right! It’s a waste of time to deal with elven criminal slaves.”
Hel has forgotten that she herself is a runaway slave.
“What are you going to do with Jennifer?”
Chel asked the three of us.
“Well, Jennifer is fine. Are elf magicians really that strong?”
“No, Jennifer’s defense is better. They were the ones who were too afraid of the Green Tiger at the entrance to cross the stream. No matter how you look at it, Jennifer won’t die.”
“She’s going to brainwash the farmers with mental magic…”
Our general secretary looks like she’s having the most fun.
“I wish they would become the inhabitants of the demonic land.”
“Where will they live? Our cave is full.”
“The Golden Bat’s cave, then?”
“There will be a pile of corpses in one night.”
Hel cut me off, rejecting my idea.
“They can train in the training facility before entering the demonic land.”
“The army hasn’t even set foot in the demonic land yet?”
“Don’t worry. Everyone was weak at first.”
“If we weren’t exiled, we wouldn’t be here.”
When you put it that way, it’s true that the only people living in the demonic land now are those who have nowhere else to go.
“If you’re going to leave, it will be after you’ve reformed and are able to rejoin society. Everyone, you’d better get ready to rejoin society soon.”
“Don’t worry. There are no plans for that yet.”
“We also have to take care of Makyo.”
“Y-y-yeah, that’s the hardest part.”
Jennifer returned to the cave in the evening, covered in mud. It seems that the farmer and the elf criminal slaves had used magic to build a hut and started living in the forest.
“I was told I wasn’t even worth taking as a hostage, so I returned in shame!”
“I’m glad Jennifer still has some sense of shame. I’m more worried about the fact that they built a hut in the woods.”
“We should just kick them out and turn the place into a trading hut.”
“T-t-that forest monster is pretty strong. T-t-they’ll leave on their own.”
“Dinner is ready!”
I hear Chel calling everyone. It looks like there’s soup with lots of meat and vegetables today. Chel was making the soup stock from the monster’s bones, so the aroma drifted into the cave.
“It smells good. Speaking of smells, the wind magic I made today might be good. We didn’t encounter any monsters in the desert. Right, Chel?”
“Yes, the desert is pretty close.”
But the other three don’t seem to believe it.
We should go to the desert tomorrow for a picnic.
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