Chapter 35 – Preparation (1)

Long ago, there was a war between the gods of the high heavens and the horned monsters. The reason was simple. It was a dispute over territory.

The two groups fought fiercely, leading their respective followers. It was a scale where the earth shook and the sky fell. It was natural that a countless amount of blood flowed.

In the end, the gods won the war, and the monsters and their followers were imprisoned deep underground.

The humans who stood on the side of the gods cheered. The elves also smiled. The dwarves also danced. Finally, peace had come to the continent.

Since then, a long time had passed. The horned monsters were called demons and gradually began to be forgotten from people’s memories.

They were only passed down through old books, or by oral tradition to scare crying children.

However, within the past few months, an anomaly occurred. The locked gate of the underground opened without warning.

The demons cheered.

Just for the reason that they had lost the war, they had been stuck in the abyss for hundreds of years. Naturally, they could not help but have immense hostility toward the creatures on the surface. That was the same for the five leaders who led them.

The monsters called archdemons, wielding formidable authority. They were also the fiends that Velloc now had to deal with.

Velloc and Cara fell into their own thoughts. The witch felt anxiety about the gradually expanding scale of this journey, while the knight was racking his brains to achieve his newly emerged goal.

“I am back.”

Prrr.

Soon, that worry ended when Adel brought the warhorses. It was not two, but three horses. She had prepared one for Cara as well.

The saddles were thick, looking as if she had packed even the camping gear and daily necessities needed for the trip.

Was it because she wanted to cast off the worries filling her head? Cara made an exaggerated fuss while looking at Adel.

“Oh my, the squire lady is also delicate! Is it because she takes after her master, after all?”

“The city must have been chaotic in many ways… You are quite resourceful.”

Velloc, who shared Cara’s feelings, also smiled warmly. Adel glanced at Cara, who was standing side by side with Velloc, and then shook her head.

“It was nothing.”

It really was nothing. People were distracted due to the sudden monster crisis. Moreover, the lord who was supposed to manage the chaos had died, and the majority of the soldiers and knights had also died.

Under such circumstances, taking one more masterless horse and sweeping away goods from a general store was an easy task.

Strictly speaking, it was looting. However, Adel had nothing to feel guilty about. If not for her master and Cara, this city would have been finished.

The lord, deceived by the demon, would have continued to burn people, and the demon would have used them as sacrifices to cast a stronger curse.

Since they had prevented that, it was only natural to take rewards as heroes who saved the city.

“Anyway, good job. Though I would like to rest here for today…”

Having praised Adel, Velloc trailed off while looking at Cara. Although she was trying hard to act nonchalant, her physical condition must be a mess.

Because as soon as the harsh torture ended, she had immediately fought the demon and engaged in a spell duel. However, this was not a good place to rest.

Cara must have thought so too, as she smiled and waved her hand. That smile looked quite strained.

“I’m fine. Maybe because I drank a potion before leaving the lab, it’s tolerable. I’m actually looking forward to eating beef jerky grilled over a bonfire with the moonlight as my companion.”

Velloc nodded heavily.

“Then let’s leave the city for now and camp. I would like to avoid getting stabbed while sleeping.”

The three immediately mounted the horses. The horse carrying Velloc shrieked under the heavy weight of the greatsword, but Velloc coaxed and urged it to run. This was not the time to be considerate of the horse’s situation.

The party had certainly killed the demon and saved this city. At the same time, they had also killed the lord and bishop of this land. Even if the guy’s true identity was actually a demon and the lord was a ruler deceived by him, it was still true that they had killed them.

Of course, some people who witnessed the fight with the demon, including the soldiers who were with the bishop, might prove their innocence. But they could not entrust their lives to such weak consciences.

‘Maybe they will vent the anger of losing their relatives on us.’

People are sometimes irrational. That is why they are human. Chewing over the thoughts rising in his head, Velloc continued to ride.

Neighhh.

Amidst the pouring moonlight, as the horses snorted roughly, Velloc’s party was exiting the interior of the city.

People sitting on the ground with devastated expressions. People weeping while hugging dead ghouls.

People glaring at them through windows where candles were placed. Countless groups of humans passed by the party.

The party’s appearance did not look like the procession of heroes who saved the city, but rather like the escape of cowards.

It was different from when they left while receiving the cheers of the citizens as in Loben or Oker Village. Was she displeased with this situation? Adel, on her horse, frowned deeply.

“Do they not know because of whom they saved their lives just now?”

Cara understood Adel’s heart. At the same time, she also understood the hearts of the citizens who had lost their families and homes. Thus, she looked at the city she had belonged to, which was now ruined, with a more bitter expression.

“We will experience many things like this in the future. Good deeds are not always rewarded with good deeds. Moreover… what we did could not be seen as the best way…”

Perhaps there was another way? Couldn’t the damage have been minimized? Couldn’t the cursed people have been treated as well?

The witch had such thoughts. Hearing this, Velloc smirked. Brooding on a running horse. Quite romantic. Even these kinds of emotions were a luxury they could afford only because they had survived.

Velloc mumbled. Fortunately, he did not bite his tongue this time.

“In the end, it was all just the result of choices. The quick-witted lord pointing his spear at us, him being deceived by the demon despite having such wits, and those people who stayed here because they lacked the courage to escape the city where the fire-burning ritual was taking place.”

‘My falling into this world is also just the result of a choice.’ Velloc, swallowing the last words inside, shut his mouth. He did not want to chatter anymore. If he did, he felt like he would really bite his tongue this time.

It was not a very persuasive statement. However, the witch nodded.

“Yes. Ultimately, it is the life they chose. If someone gets caught up in a storm raised by another and dies… then that means that person’s capability only went that far.”

Adel did not say anything. Because to her, her master’s words were always right.

She just glanced back. Inside the receding city gates, it would be filled with corpses.

‘The rats will have a feast.’

Under Velloc’s guidance, the party continued to run in the moonlit night. That this was possible was entirely thanks to Cara’s help.

Because the light emitting from her staff blended with the moonlight to illuminate the path. However, the movement soon stopped. This was because Velloc’s thoroughly exhausted horse began to froth at the mouth.

The party eventually dismounted and prepared to camp. It was a spacious empty lot near the main road.

Velloc and Adel walked around to gather dry firewood. When Adel tried to light the fire with a flint, Cara stopped her.

“Wait, you. What do you think of me as?”

Adel frowned at Cara, who had interfered with her action.

“A witch with big breasts?”

“Hmm? I am indeed a bit bigger than you. No, maybe not just a bit?”

“…Are you picking a fight right now?”

Adel, scowling fiercely, glared at Cara. Even so, the witch shook her head with a broad smile.

“No, I’m saying you have a mage in the party now, right? I meant you should make use of me.”

Thrusting the staff in her hand toward the pile of firewood, Cara chanted a short spell. In an instant, flames surged, and a bonfire was created.

Colorful shadows were added to the three faces that had looked pale.

“Magic is indeed convenient.”

‘Is this the birth of a human burner? I won’t have to struggle to start fires now.’ Velloc, who was rummaging through his backpack to pull out a pot and foodstuffs, admired. The witch smiled slightly and shrugged her shoulders.

“Combat is not all there is to magic. It can be widely used in daily life as well.”

As her master showed interest in the witch, Adel’s expression grew even worse. She did not know why. She just… felt bad. So Adel gave the witch only a tiny portion of the stew boiled over the bonfire. It had no solid ingredients, filled only with pale broth.

“You’re only giving me this much? Hey… I’m a patient, you know?”

When Cara, holding the bowl, wore a crying face, Adel snorted.

“Didn’t you insult me first?”

“That was just a joke…”

“Have you never heard the saying that words can kill a person?”

“Was it that shocking to be told your breasts are a bit small?”

“You… witch!”

Watching the two of them bickering was quite amusing. However, as Cara said, she was a patient. She needed sufficient nutritional intake. Velloc spoke with a slight smile.

“Adel. Isn’t it a bit wrong to behave like that over food?”

“I am sorry.”

At Velloc’s words, Adel immediately bowed her head. Soon, she filled the bowl to the brim with stew and handed to Cara.

“I had a hunch since we were in the church. Truly… such devotion.”

Cara looked at the two with a sour expression before eating the stew.

As the night deepened, the bonfire also crackled. Insects attracted by the light dashed into it. The owl, grass insects of unknown identity, the grass fluttering in the wind, and various other sounds tickled their ears.

The party sitting around the bonfire chatted endlessly. Of course, it was Cara who occupied most of the conversation. Contrary to her quite prim-looking face, she was talkative. Her lips, as crimson as her hair, kept moving busy.

Talks about how magic worked, which village’s pumpkin pie was truly delicious, or how the city of elves said to exist at the southern edge of the kingdom was extremely beautiful.

It was right around the time when Velloc and Adel thought, ‘Are mages originally this talkative?’

“…So we are now going to catch the archdemon, right?”

Cara’s voice tone lowered slightly. Velloc realized that this topic was the main point she truly wanted to discuss.

‘Is she the type to relieve tension by talking?’ Velloc looked at Adel. The two had something similar. Turning his gaze back, Velloc said.

“Yes, Astaroth. I plan to go catch him. Why? Are you afraid?”

Cara slowly shook her head. However, perhaps due to the flickering light, her face looked quite troubled.

“I still don’t know for sure. Should I say it lacks a sense of reality? Maybe it’s because he is a monster that only appears in legends.”

“But since the demon said to be his subordinate also existed, he must be a real monster too.” While Cara was lost in thought, twisting her hair, Adel asked. It was because she had not seen the goddess’s revelation while bringing the horses.

“Were we going to catch the archdemon now?”

Velloc asked his squire the same question.

“That’s how it turned out. Are you afraid?”

Adel smirked and swept back her hair. Scabs of monster blood fell pattering down.

“I will only follow wherever you go. And I will no longer… be afraid.”

Adel, clenching her fist tightly, spoke with shining eyes. Somehow, a reddish energy seemed to burn within her eyes. It might be the goddess’s holy power. Right, come to think of it, Adel was now a Paladin.

‘It will be of great help in dealing with demons in the future.’

Velloc handed the goddess’s gift, which he had put in his bosom, to its original owner.

“This is…”

“It is an object left by the goddess.”

Adel opened the book. Soon, she frowned fiercely. It was tightly filled with words praising the goddess. It was harder to look at than a knight’s education books.

“Do I absolutely have to read this?”

Would the goddess have thrown away something useless? Velloc nodded.

“By reading and memorizing it, you will become stronger.”

“Then it will be more helpful to you too, Lord Velloc?”

“Correct.”

“Leave it to me.”

Adel immediately opened the book and began to read it down. She checked meticulously in case there was any part she missed.

It was filling up faith and doctrine not for the goddess, but for her master.

‘Truly, a loyal squire.’ Smirking at that sight, Cara asked Velloc.

“Come to think of it, I also have something I’m curious about.”

As Cara was about to rummage through her backpack, Velloc spoke first as if he understood.

“The Galdrabok?”

Pulling out a thick book, Cara nodded.

“Yes, this thing you said is a great magic book. Now would be the perfect time to hear the story. Can we know how to break the seal? Because if it is a journey to kill the archdemon, we will need whatever power we can get.”

Velloc stared intently at the book. This was to recall old memories for a moment. The walkthrough guides consisting of text he had observed from beyond the monitor. Although the future had already changed due to his altered actions and the demons, the location itself would not have disappeared.

‘That place was a bit tricky.’

Finishing his thoughts, Velloc blurted out.

“The Flowing Forest.”

“Huh?”

“We are going to the Flowing Forest. If we go there, we can break the seal of that book. As a bonus, we will also be able to obtain the relics needed to catch the archdemon.”