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TL: ALT
Chapter 216 – The Vampire and Elf Cleanup Part 2
In the early morning hours, as Makyo emerged from the cave onto the platform, Hel shot an arrow.
Despite being completely off guard, Makyo yawned, grabbed the arrow, and tossed it aside.
“What the hell?”
Despite Hel aiming for the back of his head and swinging a double-handed axe down at him, Makyo simply grabbed the blade and laughed.
“You’re full of energy this morning. Hmm…what’s up?”
As if nothing had happened, Makyo began walking down the slope and washing his face in the swamp.
“Gyaaah! My eyes!”
It seemed Hel’s poison had finally taken effect.
“Let’s finish him off.”
“Yeah.”
We attacked simultaneously with swords inscribed with the same magic circle as P.J.’s knife.
Thwack!
Makyo’s body wavered for a moment.
The next moment, Hel and I were both flying through the air. I didn’t know what he’d done, but with Makyo in that position, attacking was our only option.
I hurled the bone knife, charged with magic, at Makyo, who was standing on the swamp’s surface.
Makyo, with his eyes still closed, didn’t even dodge. The knife bounced off his body. He was probably rotating his magic to block it.
Hel’s whip wrapped around my body and lowered me to the water’s surface. We had both mastered the method of standing on water that Chel had taught us.
Although Hel couldn’t use magic, she could wield magical power now. I alone had witnessed her training every night, sweating blood.
We nocturnal types said we’d train where no one could see us. Yet, before we knew it, the two of us were often sparring or practicing hand-to-hand combat.
Alongside our own training, we observed Makyo’s movements. We were told that observing monsters was crucial, but we couldn’t understand it at all. We even hunted a rock crocodile, dismantled it, and verified the range of motion in its bones ourselves. That’s why I grew attached to the rock crocodile.
However, what we learned from dissecting monsters was the sheer abnormality of Makyo itself. After observing it, Makyo would evade the monsters’ attacks precisely within their range of motion the next day, finishing them off with the absolute minimum movement and magic power.
Despite our repeated dismantling and pondering, Makyo seemed to grasp what we’d only roughly understood through trial and error. It was as if he’d known it from the start.
Calling Makyo a genius insults any other genius mentioned in the same breath.
Even now, with his eyes closed, Makyo deflects every single one of our attacks.
My blood dripped from the axe I kept swinging into the swamp.
Pfft!
The next instant, a pack of rock crocodiles attacked Makyo.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Their jaws couldn’t reach Makyo, and they were blown away in all directions. Water sprayed up, and Hel, her magic drained, sank into the swamp. I channeled my magic into my bone axe, too.
Living in the demonic land, feelings of jealousy, astonishment, envy, craving, regret, and joy just naturally overflowed.
Makyo stood before me, having washed the poison from his eyes with water.
“Ah, I see. Returning home, are you?”
Something vanished from Makyo’s body.
“Well then, shall we properly face each other?”
Immediately after, Hel burst forth alongside the Rock Crocodile and wrapped herself around Makyo.
“Now!”
Without hesitation, I swung an axe larger than my own body down, aiming for Makyo’s skull.
CRACK!
“Your downfall was pouring too much emotion into the fight. It’s best to separate feeling from power.”
I saw Hel’s body get blown away. I knew my body was spinning at high speed, but the scenery turned completely red.
When I tried to get up, I saw that my entire body was coated in healing potion.
I was lying on the edge of a swamp. I stood up and bathed in the swamp water to wash off the potion.
I wasn’t injured, but my stomach felt itchy. Maybe a rib was broken.
Hel, who had been lying next to me, also woke up.
Despite losing, she was smiling.
“We’re both completely naked.”
Come to think of it, we weren’t wearing clothes. Had Makyo’s attack blown them off?
Next to where we had been lying, there was a pile of things: thick cloths for wiping ourselves down, undergarments, and a robe.
“Jennifer would be the one to think of something like this.”
“Could be Katan.”
“It’s possible.”
The sun was already setting. It was our usual waking time.
As I put on my robe and climbed the slope, Makyo happily ate the chestnut bread that Katan had made, exclaiming, “Delicious, delicious!”
“Ah, you two woke up? Are you hurt?”
“Thanks to you.”
Our belongings were already packed. We had gathered Arachne cloth for trade, a bag stuffed full of magic stones, and even raw materials like monster bones, meat, and fur.
It seemed like we were told to take as much as we could carry.
“In the southwest village. Ka-Ryu built a lighthouse. It was completely shrunken and dangerous. But now, we should be able to trade with the Sealing Clan, too.”
“I see.”
“The harpies from Cliff Garuda didn’t have desert clothes, so I gave them some robes. They’re still just starting to survive and are still running from monsters, though.”
Makyo seemed to have already finished his work.
“Yeah.”
Hel and I listened to Makyo while stuffing our backpacks with as much as we could. Hel seemed to be taking healing potions and poison as well. She had crossbow bolts, too, so her backpack must have been heavy, yet she lifted it with one hand. It seemed her body had completely adapted to the specifications of the demonic land without our noticing.
I couldn’t say anything, though, since I was stuffing my backpack with what looked like twice my body weight.
“It’s autumn, you know. Don’t let your body get cold. Want some chestnut bread?”
“Yeah.”
Katan’s cooking is always delicious.
“Just asking, but what are we going there for?”
“Makyo was summoned to East Kenya. But I think Makyo shouldn’t negotiate. We should just protect the demonic land.”
“Oh, I see. Sorry about that.”
“Hel too?”
“I’m just going to assess the damage and tell them about the secret passage. I’ll also look into the White Deer God if I can.”
“Ah, I’ll leave that to you.”
I headed for the forest entrance, while Hel went north, aiming for the Elven Kingdom via the secret passage. I had learned how to navigate the demonic land.
“All right, I appoint both of you as special envoys to the demonic land.”
“Is it okay to tell reasonable lies?”
Hel asked teasingly.
“Like what?”
“Like being the fiancée of the lord of the demonic land?”
“You can say whatever you want, but I think it’s better to stick to lies that won’t get you in trouble. Make sure it’s a lie that won’t come back to bite you later.”
“Okay.”
I stashed a few weapons inside my robe and slung my backpack over my shoulder.
“Are you leaving?”
Katan gave us lunch boxes.
“Uh, yeah. It’ll be lonely not eating Katan’s cooking.”
“Please come back having tasted delicious things from your hometown. You two look a little thin.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Preparations complete. I bumped fists with Hel, promising to meet again “in a few days,” then started running.
“Have a safe trip!”
Makyo doesn’t seem to think that I won’t return to the demonic land.
I don’t think I have the option of going to East Kenya and not returning.
I don’t know why, but I feel like the demonic land has already become my home.
“Trade?”
As I crossed the small stream at the entrance, an elf guard called out to me.
“Y-yeah. To East Kenya.”
“Sorry. The road’s only partially finished yet.”
“It-it’s fine. No one can work as fast as Makyo. Take your time.”
The elf guards looked surprised but wished me well.
As I rode through the forest at a leisurely pace, observing my surroundings, I realized that the plants and monsters moved more slowly here than in the demonic land. Actually, plants hardly move at all. I’d forgotten that.
“Maybe I’ve been too immersed in the demonic land…”
Crossing the mountain pass, reaching the village in the foothills, and stepping onto the main road only made that feeling more real.
The carriage was slow. The horses, which I had thought were large, seemed small, and their gait appeared feeble.
I had come here before with Makyo, but back then, I was consumed with bringing the dwarves.
Observing the horses anew, I marveled at how delicate they were. Their sensitivity to magic must be high. They seemed to sense the driver’s feelings.
As the sun began to set, people vanished from the road.
We passed through orchards and continued along the road.
It was midnight when we finally reached the castle town of East Kenya.
When I showed my face to the guards, their eyes widened.
“Sylvia-sama!”
“I am currently the envoy from the demonic land. Finding lodging now might be difficult.”
Since it was my family’s home, I had no reason to be nervous. If there was no lodging available, I planned to sleep outside.
“We’ll open the Merchant Guild for you. Please wait a moment.”
Four guards waiting at the gate escorted me to the Merchant Guild.
“I don’t need an escort.”
“No, if you were to be accosted by drunks now, we’d have to behead them.”
With that, the guards surrounded me all the way to the entrance of the Merchant Guild.
The drunks were watching us, too, but it seemed more like they were stunned by the size of my backpack than by the fact that guards surrounded me.
Upon entering the large building, the guards explained my situation to the merchants. They were summoning Marchia.
“No, it’s late at night. No need to go out of your way. These are trade goods from the demonic land. It’d be a huge help if you could appraise and buy them. From East Kenya, I’d like fruit, and wheat would be good, too.”
I should have asked what goods they wanted from the Magic Stone-exporting Meiju Kingdom. Maybe there’ll be a surplus of wheat this winter.
“Also, could you arrange a place for me to sleep? Anywhere will do.”
“Right away!”
The merchants woke up and immediately began appraising the trade goods. I was led to a large guest room. The big bed was adorned with more furnishings than necessary.
If I were still living in East Kenya, I might have found meaning in each piece. But now, looking at the furnishings, I only wondered if they could be used as magical tools.
I took off my robe and changed into ordinary clothes from the dresser.
I polished the knives and pickaxes I had stashed away.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock at the door.
“It’s Marchia.”
“Ah.”
When I opened the door, Marchia was standing there, looking tired.
“You could have waited until morning to greet me.”
“The magic stone lamp was lit.”
“I’m nocturnal. I sleep during the day.”
“Quite the vampire clan, aren’t you?”
“Marchia looks tired. Here, take this sleep potion from the demonic land. Sleep well.”
I handed Marchia the sleep potion from my robe.
Marchia stared at the potion, her expression serious.
“It’s fine. Sniffing it won’t kill you. It’s potent, so just smell it or dilute it before use.”
“Understood. I was wondering if you might come trade with me.”
“Ah, I’d completely forgotten about Makyo. The Lord of East Kenya summoned him. Did something happen?”
“Hostile nobles, arms smuggling in the orchards, pressure regarding entry from the Elven Kingdom, the establishment of the mercenary guild… There are so many problems, I can’t keep track of them all.”
“I see. You’re having a tough time.”
“How is the demonic land?”
“It’s undoubtedly become a complete mess. Breaking the Devil’s curse, altering the flow of the Earth’s veins, and confronting disasters—do you understand what that means?”
“No, not really…”
“I figured. That’s the gist of it.”
“It’s been six months.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since we invaded the demonic land…”
So Marchia was on the invading side, too.
“Ah, right. If you invaded the demonic land now, I think it’d be over in two seconds.”
“Is that so?”
“If the monsters are about the same size as the buildings on these grounds, you can count on me to handle them.”
“…Understood.”
Marchia took a while to process it.
“Would you like some tea?”
“Yeah, please. I’ll probably be up until morning, so I’d like to go buy some food later. But I don’t want to wake the guards near the entrance. Would it be okay if I went out the window?”
“Go ahead.”
“Good.”
Once Marchia left, it grew quiet. No monster cries or strange screams could be heard.
“Somehow, it feels like I’ve wandered into a special place.”
I’ve grown too accustomed to the demonic land, after all.
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