Chapter 1005 – Yap, Be Safe

000

The next day.

Leona left the village again early in the morning to hunt the demonic beasts halfway up the mountainside.

There was no problem with her food, but for her, hunting was her routine to keep her skills from rusting, and at the same time, it was like training for her growth.

In her case, she was complaining that there were almost no worthy opponents in this mountain.

Even Seth was quite surprised by the fact that she had not awakened her magic sword yet.

Anyway, while Leona was away, she had work to do for Seth as well.

‘Is there anything else I need to do after I just do laundry today?’

Seth mumbles like that, puts the laundry lying around in the house into the basket one by one, and then heads out.

To prepare in advance for the sunlight that will be shining outside, try to shade your eyes with one hand-

“…”

At the entrance to Leona’s house, there was already a shadow.

That shadow was a shadow created by a huge human body.

“Kajdolph?

When Seth called the name of the person who created the shadow, the silent giant looked down at Seth without saying a word for a moment.

He was holding nothing in his hands and was wrapped in tattered robes that looked damp as always.

From the first day until now, we have never had a conversation, and when walking around the village, at some point, I felt like people were watching me.

It would be better to think that they are quite wary because they are strangers.

Even so, it was the first time he came to my house like this.

Seth tensed at his gaze and looked around, but the only people there were him and Kaidolph.

“… If it’s Leona, she’s not home right now. She left early in the morning.”

When Seth spoke like that, unable to bear the silence, Kaidolph remained silent for a moment before answering.

“I know. In order for him to leave the village, he has to pass through the entrance to the village I am watching. I have business with you, not with him, stranger.”

Kaidolph will say that in a quiet voice while making eye contact with Seth.

“… Is it me? I have to do laundry, so let’s keep it short.”

When Seth answers, feeling uneasy in his voice, Kaidolph sighs.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t a short story, stranger.”

“What on earth are you talking about…”

Seth looks dissatisfied, as if he has nothing to talk to him about, but Kaidolph speaks without changing his expression.

“Do you know that disasters so great that they destroy the race themselves occur periodically to the Black Demon clan?”

“…”

At Kaidolph’s words, Seth’s expression hardens.

Those words flashed through Seth’s head, and if they were repeated a few times, it would be a disaster.

… The destruction of the Dark Demon’s clan, brought about by none other than himself.

When Seth didn’t respond, Kaidolph continued talking to Seth.

“The unreasonable trials were repeated so many times that it seemed more reasonable to think that they were hated by God. The Black Demon’s clan was on the verge of extinction.”

“… I’m a bard too. I know because I heard that a clan of dark horses appeared and disappeared on the continent several times. According to the knowledge I heard and learned while traveling around the continent.”

And, perhaps because he thought he would be suspected if Seth didn’t answer, he answered like that.

However, it didn’t take long to realize that it was the worst move.

“Yes, bard…”

Kaidolph muttered like that.

With an attitude as if it was laughable that Seth uttered the word bard.

“… What is it? If you have something to say, please say it clearly.”

When Seth questioned his attitude as if he couldn’t understand it, Kaidolph let out a laugh for the first time.

“Kkkk… No, it’s hard to think that such a coincidence could happen in this world.”

That laughter wasn’t really because the situation was funny or anything, but it seemed like a laugh that came out of embarrassment.

“It is said that whenever the Dark Demon’s clan is in danger of extinction, a ‘bard’ appears near them. A servant of Adam with golden hair.”

“…!”

Seth gasped at Kaidolph’s words and dropped the laundry basket he was holding.

At Seth’s reaction, Kaidolph took a step forward as if he was convinced and grabbed Seth’s wrist.

“Ugh…! This—!”

“That face, you must be the bard. Adam’s minion…”

Seth’s wrist was gripped with strong force. Seth tried to free it, but he couldn’t easily escape his restraints.

That’s why, even though Seth almost strongly said to him for a moment, ‘Let go of this!’, He silenced himself.

If he had ‘ordered’ him now, he would have let go of his hand, but after that it would be immediately restored to its original state.

To get away from him, I needed to give another command.

“Since when…”

“I suspected it from the moment I first saw you. But I couldn’t be sure. That’s why I needed time to check by looking at various documents on the Dark Demon’s clan.”

Kaidolph said this to Seth calmly.

With each and every word he continued, the grip on Seth seemed to get stronger.

“Was it 100 years ago that the last time a great disaster struck the Black Demon clan? After that, they somehow survived, and came here in pursuit of those who had escaped to a place where no one could reach.”

“That’s…”

Seth couldn’t give a proper answer to what he said.

Because what Kaidolph said was not wrong at all.

That is the purpose for which Seth was created and the meaning of her existence.

“Should I finish the work while Leona is gone?”

“Tsk…!”

When Kaidolph said that and tried to move his hand, which was bigger than Seth’s face, Seth must have thought that he had to do something right now.

Naturally, she raised her voice towards Kai Dolph.

“It is forbidden to use violence against me!”

When the voice that spread through the air echoed around Leona’s house, Kaidolph’s body, which was holding Seth’s wrist, flinched and trembled and stopped.

It was an ambiguous command to set the period of ‘from when to when’ or where ‘violence’ was designated, but it was inevitable in order to restrict his movements right now.

Moreover – look at his rock-like body, even if he were to move roughly and hit Seth, it would be treated as outright violence.

At the same time, when Kaidolph’s hand that was holding Seth gradually lost strength, Seth quickly pulled his arm out of that hand and tried to escape from him.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t get caught now. And I won’t try to destroy the Dark Demon’s clan anymore…!”

Once you have widened the distance without looking back, you can use magic to run away.

While thinking that, I was about to run out.

Boom!

“Smash!”

With a strange sound, Seth hit her head first against the invisible wall and fell backwards from the impact.

With his numb face, Seth couldn’t tell what had happened.

Kai Dolph, who had walked past her, was looking down at her, holding in her hand a stone with the ‘Rune of Barrier’ engraved on it.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve already put a barrier in place. It’s a good thing I set it up in advance.”

After hearing Kaidolph’s words, the next thing Seth saw was Kaidolph gathering magic power in his hands.

Seth, who realized that it was a sleep spell, had no choice but to look up at him with a shocked expression.

“Well, that… You look like a martial arts fighter everywhere you look… But you were a wizard…”

With those words, Seth’s entire body lost all strength, and she quietly fell asleep on the spot.

Kai Dolph looked down at Seth, he knew she wouldn’t be listening, but she would talk.

“I’m sorry. I am a druid.”

After saying that, he carefully lifted the fallen Seth, picked her up and moved her somewhere before the eyes of the villagers were focused on her.

001

Today’s hunt was able to end much faster than usual, perhaps as a reaction to yesterday’s lengthy hunt.

At other times, I would have returned to the village when the sun had already set on the horizon, but I was able to cross the entrance to the village before the sun had even reached the horizon.

‘Seth will be happy too.’

Leona walked through the entrance of the village with light steps, thinking of the face of her housemate waiting for her at home.

Behind her, there was the corpse of a game, a dragon, tied with a rope and dragged along.

“Hey, Kaidolph!”

And, Leona called the name of Kaidolph, the village gatekeeper.

It was Kaidolph’s role to show and record the game he had caught.

In addition, the whereabouts of the subdragon were one of the few things that Kaidolph was curious about.

There were many cases where he disagreed with the stiff Kai Dolf, but his help was definitely needed in areas such as making rune stones, so there was no need for him to pretend.

Because of this, Leona thought that sometimes she needed to earn his favor, and she was about to hand over the entire subdragon she had caught today, but Kaidolph did not show up.

“… What? Where have you gone, so I can’t see you?”

Normally, this guy would come out without even calling me and make me report on where he hunted and how many he killed. There’s no way he couldn’t smell the dead dragon.

I thought there was nothing I could do, so I approached the house where Kaidolph was staying and knocked on the door, but there was no sign of anyone inside.

“… Did you even go out? It’s no big deal.”

He does not usually leave his house, but the only times he goes are when he is called by elders or when he needs to perform a ritual and goes to his place.

Leona looked a little worried, but then she scratched her head and decided to leave the dead body in front of Kai Dolf’s house.

“Well, I guess I’ll take care of the cleanup.”

She may be worried that a demon that smells or finds traces of blood might come to the village, but a barrier has been set up to prevent such demons from entering the village.

Well, even if there is no barrier, the one who can sense the presence of Leona, who has reigned as the top predator of this mountain, does not come close to the village unless he is crazy.

With that said, it was time for Leona to walk down the road through the center of the village to return to her home.

“Leona.”

When she heard her call her name, she stopped and turned around to see the old woman she had fought with just a few days ago, standing near the entrance to her elders’ house, looking in this direction. Br〉

“Geck…”

Leona crumples her face with the same expression as she tries to nag again.

“Are you going back home?”

However, she, who usually nags Leona when she sees that face, quietly asks where she is going.

“Of course. … What else? You’re not talking about becoming a couple with a boy from the village like you said last time, right?”

“… Of course, if you say yes, we won’t have to worry, but right now we need to talk about something more important than that.”

The elder responded to Leona’s words by shaking his head.

For reference, the boy in that village is only 10 years old.

He was younger than all the other children that Leona had rejected so far, and although she was friendly with him, she was definitely not a child that could be considered a companion.

“Important story… Well, what kind?”

But if it’s not about her becoming a couple, what else are you trying to say to criticize yourself?

When Leona spoke with a look of disgust on her face, the elder closed his mouth for a moment and looked at her.

“The future fate of our dark horse clan. It is a story about ‘existence.'”

“…?”

At the elder’s words, Leona suddenly couldn’t help but make an expression as if she was saying something stupid.

And then the elder spoke to her again.

“… You need to know about the existence called ‘Adam’.”

002

“Ha, ha…!”

Leona ran.

In the center of the village, in the opposite direction from her own home – the ‘ceremonial hall’, the highest location in the village.

The open sky, and brightly burning torches lighting up the dark space as the sun has already set.

Between those torches, there was a magic circle set up by a druid who helped build this village a long time ago.

Most important events that take place in this village, including the couple’s bonding ceremony, are held at this location.

Leona, who was moving, climbed all the way up the stairs and stopped her running feet.

There was a passenger in a place that was usually just there.

“… Kajdolph!”

When Leona called the passenger’s name, he quietly turned around.

Seeing that intimidating appearance, Leona couldn’t help but flinch and tense up for a moment.

Kai Dolf, wearing a mask made of wolf skin, was holding a dagger with red liquid in his hand.

Even without looking closely, I could tell that what was on the dagger, which was regularly dripping red liquid onto the ground, was not just dye, but blood.

Although Leona was embarrassed by the appearance of Kai Dolf, which she could not normally see, she shifted her gaze and looked at the ‘thing’ lying on top of the magic circle.

“…!”

There was ‘Seth’.

‘Seth’ is lying down with his arms and legs covered in red liquid and his eyes closed.

Exciting…! And Leona’s heart jumped loudly.

“… It’s coming back sooner than I thought.”

Kai Dolph said this as he checked on Leona, and as Leona felt her blood rush, she raised her voice at him.

“Kajdolph, you…! What did you do to Seth!”

“Are you still worried about this guy..? Haven’t you heard from the elder?”

To Kai Dolf’s question, Leona would have answered by clenching her fists.

“I heard from my grandmother! Seth is the one who came to destroy us! Is that true!?”

To Leona’s question, Kaidolph answered while looking down at Seth.

“Yes. It’s true. This guy is a minion of a guy named ‘Adam’ who does not tolerate the existence of you clan of dark demons.”

Kaidolph answered, and Leona stumbled behind her as if in shock, but then shook her head.

“… Answer me. What did you do to Seth?”

“She was a danger to us. So, she needed to make her ‘safe’, you see.”

When Kaidolph shakes his head and sighs, he raises the dagger in his hand.

What that meant was that Leona could only accept that she had ‘murdered her’.

“Kaidolf…!!”

The next moment, Leona leaped forward in front of her, holding two swords.

Then, Kai Dolf opened his eyes straight at the explosive speed and blocked Leona with his dagger and magic.

“… What are you doing?”

“Why did you do that to Seth? We could have understood each other!”

“…?”

At Leona’s cry, Kaidolph shook her head as if he could not understand, and then used the wind rune to push Leona behind her.

“Calm down, Leona. She had to do this. Only then can we all be safe.”

Kai Dolf tried to stop Leona by saying that, but Leona seemed to not hear him and her fighting spirit burned even more.

“Noisy! No matter how much you did it for the village, if you sacrificed Seth…!”

And, in response to Leona’s heightened emotions, her magic sword trembled.

Kai Dolf must have opened his eyes even wider in surprise when he saw that.

‘Awakening here…!’

Because I knew that it was a sign of the awakening of the Demon Sword.

Kaidolph thought that if he continued like this, he might get cut by Leona.

But─

“Ugh…”

At that time, a voice came from Seth, who was lying on the ground.

“…”

Then, Leona would have looked at Seth with a dumbfounded voice saying, ‘Huh?’

After a while, when Seth got up from where he was lying, she yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes with her hands.

“Oh. I… I’m sure at home…”

And while looking around her, she was very surprised to see red liquid on her arm.

Next, I was surprised again to see Leona in a battle stance and Kaidolph wearing a wolf skin.

“What!? What are you trying to do to me, you barbarian wizard!?”

“… Ka, Kaidolph… Didn’t you kill Seth?”

“What…? No, I didn’t mean to do that.”

Kai Dolf sighed and shook his head.

Instead, he’ll point at Seth.

“I just disconnected this guy from Adam.”

“Huh?”

“…”

To those words, Seth reacted blankly, and Leona had no answer.

“… You said you made it safe.”

“Well, that’s it… I’m sorry…! I misunderstood…!”

Leona immediately apologizes to Kaidolph.

But-

“What, what did you do, you bastard!?!”

Poop!

A cheerful sound rang out.

On the contrary, Seth got up from his seat and threw a great uppercut towards Kaidolph.