Chapter 116 – Ascension of Souls

It was literally a death march.

Roel sobbed, Selka got scared, and Custo started muttering something ominous. The march was carried out in such an atmosphere like a fairy tale village in a dream village.

Doing this reminded me of when I was in the army. The night march in the pouring rain at that time was also such an atmosphere. The only difference is that there are no reliable comrades here.

“The atmosphere has become so bad.”

At this level of atmosphere, he didn’t know that there would be a big obstacle in carrying out the quest. It’s only now that we’ve succeeded in putting the party on the right track, so wouldn’t it be troublesome?

“Hey, Selka.”
“…Why but.”

I called out to Selka quietly, and she looked back at me with her completely tired face. At the same time, the march of the party was also stopped. Custo and Roel also trembled and looked back at me slowly.

“No, what’s wrong with your expression?”
“…”

No, did I kill anyone?
It’s so pitiful.

“Sweet, okay. You seem to have come to your senses now. From now on, I hope you don’t ignore people you’ve never met with preconceived notions of being a barbarian or a swordsman. Okay?”

Instead of talking, they swallowed and nodded. It wasn’t a very satisfactory answer, but there was no need for a verbal apology anyway. He had no intention of ripping off money since he had already done the quest.

Just go ahead and that’s enough.

“Anyway, I need to vent this atmosphere.”
“Wow, welcome… Kiyo…?”
“Yeah, it’s not like the atmosphere won’t work.”

Custo was starting to get anxious. There seems to be a big misunderstanding about me, but I don’t intend to do much. Shouldn’t I reap what I sow?

As much as the tension of the party members was lowered, it was necessary to raise it again.

“Hey, Selka. Anything is fine, so try singing a song.”
“No, you mean the song?”
“Okay.”

That way was to sing.

I sing when I’m tired, when I’m happy, and when I’m sad. Seol Woo-do’s compass.

Songs I sing when I’m happy make me more happy, and songs I sing when I’m sad comfort me. When I’m tired, I get strength. So I like the song Because when I sang, I was able to forget the hard life in another world.

“Ah, there’s no song I know…”
“There won’t be one.”

There was no bastard who said this and didn’t know the real song.
I wanted to hit him for lying again, but let’s put up with it for the sake of the atmosphere.

“I-I really am. Above all, I can’t sing. It wouldn’t be fun to listen to it…”
“Haa, fucker. Really.”
“Boo, I’m calling! I’m calling, so calm down!”

Selka, who struggled and cleared her throat, began to stance.

Let’s try to calm her mind and body her while listening to her song her. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had someone sing for me since I was in the army.

“…Then let’s begin.”
“Okay. Let’s get started. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Ah. After clearing her voice, Selka started singing her song her.

“—-Who is being pulled by the swaying wisp’s beam of light?
When the child enters the forest, the festival of good harvest begins.
Put on a mask to hide her sister her, rather take the kid next door.
A swaying wisp of light—”

The song that started with a trembling voice eventually found a stable rhyme with a calm and low voice. Her voice was as good as it looked, but the meaning of the song was unknown. I was started by the lyrics that seemed to imply human sacrifice.

“What is this fucking song. What happens to a kid who goes into the woods?”

When a child is led by the light of a wisp into the woods, a harvest festival begins? Sacrificing a child to summon a good harvest? To my question, Selka answered while avoiding her gaze at her.

“…I don’t know. It’s just a folk song from my hometown.”
“Sir, that’s embarrassing. You don’t sing from now on. Hey! Let’s go!”
“…”

So we started marching again.

At least I felt a little better after singing a song and leaving. Roel sat down again as if he had lost his strength in the middle. He ordered Selka to carry it, and Custo stepped in to help.

If it’s hard, you can take a break.

In the end, it was well past noon because of Roel, and we arrived at our destination.
The scenery where we arrived was a little strange.

“This is a distant plant.”

Long, curly plants were growing instead of trees, and it seemed that this place literally contained otherworldly mysteries. They were very exotic plants.

It’s a bit far, so there’s a place like this.

“Roel. Is this where the konpeito trees grow naturally?”
“…Yes. I don’t know the details, but if you explore this place, you’ll probably come out.”
“I see. Then let’s go in. Selka, guide me from the front.”
“I get it.”

Selka, who was in the lead, pushed the plant and moved forward.

We went in following her path she would make. First of all, Roel, who is the most expert here, instructed us to set the direction. There was no conversation at all throughout the walk. Of course, it went very smoothly as these crazy bastards closed their jaws. It was also good to set the mood. For mad dogs, sticks were medicine.

Even if you want to do a carry, wouldn’t it be necessary to make it human first?

—Sureuk, sureuk.
—Sureuk, sureuk.

“Stop.”
“That… Thing…?”

As we entered for a while, we heard the sound of something other than us breaking through the bush. Did you say it’s a place with a lot of monsters? We immediately stopped and took a combat posture.

—Sureuk, sureuk.

I stayed silent and focused on the sound.

It might be in a situation where the identities of the enemies were all revealed in a completely open place like before, but you shouldn’t be vigilant in a terrain with many bushes like this. The sound got closer and closer. It seems to be approaching us.

I looked around, but saw nothing. Is it a short monster? Goblin? Play? Kobold? Finally, the closer sound made its appearance. That.

“It’s a mushroom head.”

ㅡWhoosh, whoosh. Hiss.

The identity of the monster was a quadrupedal monster that looked like a large mushroom. They were walking toward us at a slow pace. Seeing that, Selka strode away, probably thinking of punching her in the fist.

“Wait.”
“Why but?”
“Fuck you if you hit them. Those bastards explode spores when they get hit.”

It’s a monster I’ve seen before.

I don’t know the exact name, but when you hit them, spores burst out of their large caps. If it gets into your eyes, it won’t go away and it will hurt like hell. If you roll around like that, other monsters will come. This is because spores have the effect of attracting other monsters.

At least, the only thing approaching was giant bats or something like that, but I didn’t know what kind of monsters were in this place. A long memory came to mind.

“Then what should I do?”
“Grab it and lift it slowly.”
“Are you trying to catch this?”
“Uh.”

Except for the spores, it wasn’t a very threatening monster.
Monsters I’ve ever caught.

Hearing my words, Selka picked up the pillar of the mushroom monster with an anxious expression and slowly lifted it up. It was like hugging a huge doll.

ㅡshhhhh. Hiss. Hiss.

Then, the mushroom monster’s bizarre-looking four legs began to struggle. It was like a combination of a mushroom and a spider’s leg. I pointed the knife at the guy’s buttock. You can kill it easily by sticking a knife under it and slowly slicing it.

“It’s not a very ferocious monster, so don’t worry. The spores don’t explode as long as you don’t get a big shock from the blow. Hey, Custo, Roel. You guys are holding on to the rest of them well.”
“Ugh…”
“Ah, ok… Ok…”
“Why did I…”

ㅡShhh! Shhh!

I stabbed the knife straight through the bottom.

It started struggling seriously, but as expected, the spores didn’t explode. He calmly moved the stabbing knife and sliced ​​away at the flesh inside him. Alas, liquid flowed. After probing the inside, I drew out the knife.

“Now put it down slowly. Calm down.”
“…Okay.”

Selka slowly put the struggling bastard down.

The one who was lowered down was unable to stand up and continued to struggle, pouring out internal organs through the perforated base. The shaking started to subside, and then it stopped completely.

“Did you see it? If you see something like that, don’t touch it.”
“I get it.”

The remaining two mushroom monsters were also dealt with in the same way.
How good is it to hear you say so well?

Had it been like this from the beginning, this quest would have been something like a fun and happy dreamland picnic with the legendary Teletubbies.

“Serka. Start again.”

After that, I just searched and searched for places where Konpeito might be. Indeed, there was a reason for the high reward of the quest. Finding something is quite difficult.

Especially when it comes to magic ingredients like konpeito.

“Kat… Katt-sama… I took a break, I took a break… Is it okay if I go…?”

How much time has passed, Custo said. I nodded. Along the way, I decided to find a place to rest and take a rest. The ongoing search was a bit exhausting for me as well.

“Hmm.”

I was wondering if the three of us would organize a party, so I brought Selka over to me. I don’t know about Custo and Roel, but she could have done something evil if he was with him.

“Serka, come here.”

More than anything, this kid was the most comfortable in my standards.

“… Is there a reason?”
“If you come, come, you bastard.”

It’s break time anyway, so I think we can take time off by talking.

I sat down on a suitable rock, and Selka told me to sit a little further away. However, a minimum distance should be maintained.

As I tried to make eye contact, Selka fidgeted and tried to avoid his eyes. I asked her

“Hey, Selka. There’s something I’m curious about.”
“…Something.”
“Why do you hate prosecutors so much? Did they stab your mother to death?”

It’s not a pad lip, but I really genuinely questioned it. Even though it is a barbaric world where racism and occupational discrimination are rampant (the earth is the same), I couldn’t understand why they were pouring out such blatantly discriminatory words in front of my eyes.

It’s natural to get angry at something you don’t understand.

“It’s not like that… My mother is alive.”
“As a prostitute?”
“No, that’s it.”
“What?”
“…Right.”
“Okay, that’s over. For what reason anyway?”

I hadn’t had a chance to ask those guys in the meantime, but I finally got it. I decided to solve my long-standing question through Selka. I think I can talk to Roel after a while.

“…Swordsman, no. Swordsmen use swords.”
“It’s not convenient.”

She shuddered, as if trying to organize her thoughts of her, and then spoke in a calm tone. Judging by the way he speaks, he must have been educated in his own way, but his way of speaking his was just spectacle.

“I have learned and experienced that it is very cowardly and against morality. The only ones who actually use swords are pathetic and despicable scoundrels who can’t even open their eyes. Thinking that the sword is their strength, they form gangs and commit robberies. That’s why I hate swordsmen.”

Wouldn’t it be possible to say something like this without my head exploding? I spat out the words as I thought.

“Why are you talking about yourself all of a sudden?”
“…Your story?”
“It’s fucking amazing to think about it. Well, that’s okay. Say more. It’s rather amazing. Are you doing that on purpose?”

To briefly explain her words her, it was that most of the guys with knives were fuckers, so it was only natural to regard them as fuckers.

It seemed like he was saying something rationally, but in reality, it was a typical representation of Naero Nambul to leave out what he said and explain it. It was an otherworldly way of thinking.

“True strength only means the power of one’s own body without weapons. Of course, it is right for a person to train his body as well as train his mind his. But for swordsmen, that is…”
“Is a mental practitioner insulting me like that? I don’t know anything about each other, but with that kind of prejudice?”
“That’s you…”

I blocked Selka’s words as if she wanted to say something.
After seeing my actions that had already been taken place, I thought, ‘As expected, I did well.’ Because it didn’t make any sense whatsoever.