Chapter 217 – 217. The First Reunion of the Other World Summoner (2)

– One –

“Heo-eok, hee-eok, hee-eok… Do you have any water?”

“None.”

“Sir…”

Two beggars walk across a wide field without a single tree.

The scorching sun of early summer seemed to dry them off.

Perfectly soaked in dust and dirt, they were Huchi and Slammer.

“If I dipped my head in fucking cool ice water and counted from one to one hundred, I wouldn’t have any wishes…”

“With your meager lung capacity, you’ll be a corpse before you even count to one hundred.”

“… Just put your nose out.”

“Hmm. I’m going to be frozen bald.”

“Kyaaaaagh! I’m not bald! I just became this way because the Regal’s hounds, who don’t mind pounding their cocks in a mortar, got tired of it,”

“I remember that it wasn’t that rich originally.”

“… You bastard.”

Food.

Hooch places a hand on Slammer’s shoulder.

“If you have the strength to grumble, save it and add it to your walk. I don’t know how much further I have to go yet.”

“I’m sick…”

Slammer is silent.

Then he trudges his steps.

Because there was no wrong corner in Huchi’s words.

“Look, Hooch.”

“Hmm… Why, Slammer?”

However, it did not seem to be boring at all to move the steps.

In fact, he had been walking for three days, looking at the unchanging sight, and his boredom had almost reached horror.

“Is the river we see in the distance really the river we know where water flows?”

“It will.”

“If we don’t reach there by tomorrow, we’ll die here, right?”

“I guess so.”

“…But how can you be so calm?”

Food.

Huchi laughed softly.

Slammer looked at Hooch’s back with incomprehensible eyes.

“He should have died long ago, but he is living as a bonus thanks to coincidence and luck. So how can you be afraid to die right away?”

“… Is it.”

Slammer somehow felt sad in his words.

Slammer thought that his lethargic life in the past might have originated from a deep skepticism about his life.

The reason why he has recently changed his will is probably because he found an opportunity to turn his life around.

And it will definitely be in contact with their journey.

Otherwise, Huchi wouldn’t have been so active.

“What the hell do you have to do with them?”

“Well. Should I see that as a fate or a bad relationship…”

Huchi was initially completely excluded from the contact schedule with the saintess.

He was hired as an instructor to train troops under the imperial faction in the rear, where he was fully adapted.

From then on, Hooch had maintained an attitude of complete lethargy, no different from that of living under Baron Gotthick.

He lived as if he had let go of everything, doing his duty without any motivation.

He gets paid, trains recruits, gets the next month’s pay, and instructs recruits.

He has lived such a perfectly ramshackle life.

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“Maybe. No, no. It just doesn’t mean much to mention. Neither to me nor to you.”

His life changed drastically right after the crown prince was kidnapped.

The Imperial Faction simultaneously tried to rescue Canin and broke through the siege of the island, and at the same time promoted the work of supporting the promised supplies as allies to the saintess’s party.

But none of them worked, and they had been at a standstill for weeks.

The cause of all that was because of the fake rebels who besieged the system.

“Then just tell me this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can we reach that riverside you see there within today?”

“Well…”

The imperial faction requested the dispatch of the imperial army to rescue the crown prince through Clarence’s home, but they could not just wait for the crown prince’s rescue.

That’s why they constantly changed their manpower and clashed with the rebels besieging the system.

However, neither the agents of the Imperial Central Intelligence Agency, nor the members of the imperial special forces, nor the guards of the aristocrats residing in the system, were of no use.

Even Hooch’s freshly trained recruits were oxidized.

The imperial faction has now put a lot of manpower into the siege, to the point of falling into a temporary military vacuum.

The result was only the killing of a few hundred insignificant fake rebels, who still could not break through the siege.

And all of them were oxidized fleetingly because of the members of the supernatural power unit under Regal.

“…Please do so.”

“If that’s any consolation. We’ll be sure to make it to the riverside there before the sun goes down today.”

Hehe… That’s good.”

Huchi didn’t even know that, and trained new recruits as requested by the imperial faction.

And those young people died.

He trained again and died again.

At some point, Huchi could no longer accept new recruits to train.

This is because rumors spread widely within the system that if volunteers volunteered for the imperial faction, they would order the rebels to forcefully charge as soon as they finished training.

Finally, Huchi went to visit Viscount Uweboll.

“The water flowing in the river over there is definitely clear enough to drink, and must be cool enough to make your teeth ache.”

Hehe. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t have a wish. No, it’s okay to be lukewarm, so it would be nice if I could drink water without a wish.”

He heard about the current situation through Viscount Uwebol.

Sparks flew from his eyes.

No matter how eagerly he taught, he felt great indignation at the fact that all the young men he had taught were fleetingly dead.

Huchi suppressed his anger and volunteered to break through the siege.

Around that time, Viscount Uwebol and Marquis Caymus had given up on rescuing the crown prince on their own.

He just hoped that the Imperial Army, which Viscount Dylan had requested to summon, would rescue the crown prince as soon as possible.

So, Viscount Uwebol put a slammer on Huchi and entrusted him with delivering the promised supplies to the saintess’ party.

The work has not yet failed.

Not yet.

“Viscount Uweboll said that this area is a place with dense forest.

“Hmm… That seems unlikely.”

Hearing Slammer’s question, Huchi looks everywhere with sharp eyes.

Ever since he entered this plain, he had constantly felt a sense of incongruity.

He marched for several days, trying to uncover the identity of the discomfort, but so far he had not been able to find a clear cause.

However, after hearing Slammer’s question, something came to mind.

“Let’s rest for a while.”

“…Is that so?”

Dump.
Thud.

At Hooch’s offer to rest, Slammer immediately lies down on the floor.

It was scorching sun with no shade, and there was no place to rest comfortably anywhere.

If you just put your back on the floor, it was this plain where it would be a resting place.

Fortunately, there were a lot of soft plants on the floor, so it wasn’t too much trouble to lie down anywhere.

‘This… It’s definitely strange.’

Huchi’s forehead is drenched in cold sweat.

It was clear that the surrounding area was covered with shrubs that were many years old, but they were not even taller than his knees.

‘Why is there only one type of plant growing so much in this vast field?’

If the same plant is growing to such an extent, it must be a naturally occurring colony of that plant.

If so, it is natural only when there is something large, small, new, or dying.

However, all the plants I saw on my way here grew to a similar size, as if they were standardized.

‘Is it possible that the same kind of plant of the same size covers all the plains this wide? Is that natural too?’

Although he couldn’t figure out the identity of the plant with his knowledge, he could clearly feel the sense of incongruity emanating from it.

Five bright white petals were reminiscent of the shroud of the dead.

It was terribly ominous.

‘Everything is unnatural. As the Viscount said, if this place was originally a forest, it is clear that someone created this space artificially!’

Goosebumps all over Huchi’s body.

He broke out in a cold sweat and shuddered.

“Hey, hey. What’s up, Hooch?”

There was no way the astute Slammer would not have noticed it.

When Hooch seems to be extremely wary of his surroundings, Slammer is also very nervous.

“… Slammer. Surely, you did that. They say that among the saintess’ group is that barbarian-born serf, Monohorn.”

“Eh. Viscount Uwebol also said that the saintess and him were together. Why? Did you see him?”

“No.”

Huchi had to choose words carefully.

“You said he had the ability to manipulate plants, right?”

“That’s right. Even his wife knows how to do it. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and Viscount Uwevol has said that he treats plants more than limbs.”

“… I don’t think it’s just that much…”

Huchi looks around with a tired face.

This artificial plain must have been the work of Monohorn.

He must have created this space with a purpose.

And it must be related to war.

“…Has he become a god…?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Hearing Hooch’s murmur, Slammer sits up on his back.

Recognizing immediately that the situation was not as dangerous as he had thought, he regained complete peace of mind.

“Look back the way we came.”

Huchi extends a finger and points behind them.

Slammer turns his head and looks into the distance.

“… Mother, mother-in-law. It’s fucking far away. Can’t you see only the horizon and the sky? It’s amazing. The ground, the grass, the sky, there’s nothing else… Huh…?”

Only then did Slammer begin to feel something strange.

His face turns pale

“Is this possible?”

“Is it possible naturally?”

“…So, that damn bastard did this?”

“No matter how you look at it, there seems to be no other answer. What do you think?”

“Damn it…”

Only then did Slammer fully understand the horror Hooch felt.

A space with a diameter of several tens of kilometers, maybe more than a hundred kilometers, was created by one or two people for one purpose.

It was reborn as this space by removing the thick forest, not even a vacant lot.

This was a miracle far beyond human realm.

“Well, at that time it was just a bit scary, but it wasn’t like this…”

“…You mean when you tracked him down?”

“Yes. At that time, it was just to the extent of tearing up the ragtag children, but it was never at the level of artificially plowing such a large area.”

“There is no doubt that their abilities have improved in the meantime, but that level has reached the point where they look down on the Great Mage or the Great Sorcerer…”

“Oh my god…”

The realm of human fear is self-evident.

The fear of death and the fear of natural disasters are feared because they are left as unknowns that have not been completely conquered.

The fear they felt was the same.

Since the miracle that Monohorn seems to have done has reached the realm of incomprehensibility, they can’t help but feel fear beyond awe.

“…Are they a collection of monsters…”

“Sir, no way… The saintess is there too, but it’s a little bit…”

“Doesn’t the saintess also perform miracles close to monstrous in a sense?”

– It’s not that much of a monster.

Suddenly, a clear voice sounded in Huchi’s ears.

“Who are you?!”

Slammer shrugged his shoulders,

Chakang!
Clap.

Hooch drew a dagger in his left hand and a crossbow in his right.

Puck!

“100 million!”

Then he immediately kicked the slammer to the ground.

Slammer didn’t even think to protest against Hooch, and he flattened himself even more to the floor.

“If you want to talk, show up!”

Huchi shouted ferociously, wary of the owner.

His back was wet with cold sweat.

– I want to show up, but please understand that I can’t.

“Why?”

– Because he’s not there right now.

“… Where the hell are you talking to me?”

– About 30 kilometers further north of there.

“… Goddess…”

Took.
With Tang.

Hooch lost the weapon in his hand.

For the first time in his life, he was facing the moment when common sense was destroyed.

It shook his inner world more dramatically than anything he could have imagined.

– Are you the envoys of Viscount Uwevol?

“… That’s right.”

Huchi nods his head as he stretches out his dry face.

He seemed to have lost all strength in his voice.

– That’s right. Now our comrades are heading to you.

“… Is that so?”

– Yes.

“Did you talk to me to tell me that?”

– No. I have no reason to reveal myself to you in particular, but to you Huchi,

Startle.

Hooch had never revealed himself, but he felt great horror that the owner of the ringing voice knew his name.

No.

In fact, I felt frustrated.

– I had something to say, so I revealed myself like this.

“What do you have to say to me?”

– A warning, to be exact.

“What…”

Huchi’s face goes pale.

He quickly looks back at Slammer.

He was looking up at Hooch with dumbfounded eyes.

There seemed to be no sound in his ears.

It was because Slammer was looking at Huchi with the eyes of a psychopath.

– You don’t have to look back at him. Right now I’m only talking to you.

“… Uh, what do you want to say?”

– I already know that you came here with bad feelings for my husband.

Oh so so so so.

Goosebumps all over Hooch’s body.

It is only now that Hooch realizes that the monster who can see him from 30 kilometers away and recognize his name and his past is his wife.

‘Then… What a terrifying monster he has become… !’

Huchi couldn’t even let go of his anger by gnashing his teeth, so he had to save himself a lot.

Because his wife was omnipotent.

I don’t know if she’s omnipotent, but she does these ridiculous miracles casually.

Such ultra-long-distance detection and ultra-long-distance message transmission can never be accomplished alone, even if the great mage implements it through magic.

In particular, message transmission magic, as far as he knew, could only be a medium for a single archmage to deliver messages.

While chanting magic to transmit the voice of others, the archmage can never utter another word.

It was a problem of body structure, but it was also a problem related to the concentration allowed to humans.

Even reading the past was an area that neither the great mage nor the great sorcerer could properly reach.

Because she knew that fact from her long mercenary life, Huchi had no choice but to be overwhelmed by her.

– And I know roughly what you decided to do and set out on this road.

“…”

On the other hand, she clearly conveys her message to herself while grasping her own movements in real time.

If there were no special magic tools around for monitoring and voice transmission, she would definitely do it alone.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no possibility that he was using magic tools to convey such a warning to himself.

Her voice was heard only by him, and it was clear that she had read her own past.

– So I’ll warn you. Whatever you want, it’s really easy to stop any of us from stepping up.

“…”

– Even killing one of you and then burying you silently is something any of us could do with no difficulty.

“Is it…”

Hooch murmurs grimly.

Slammer looks at him and quietly rolls his remaining eyeball.

He must have noticed that someone was talking to Hooch.

– So stick to your mission. I’ve told all of my comrades to shoot you immediately if you try to stir up any fuss.

“Um…”

– We want to kill you right now to get rid of the aftermath, but the reason we can’t do that is because you are a subject under Viscount Uwevol.

“…”

– But that’s a line that can be followed because you haven’t harmed my husband ‘yet’. If you try to do any harm to my husband, or to any of us, we will immediately kill you and break off our alliance with Viscount Uweboll and the Imperial faction. Do you understand what I mean?

“… I understand. I will follow your words.”

– Then don’t strain yourself and quietly wait for my colleague to arrive. I’ll get there in an hour at the most.

“Okay.”

Hooch droops his shoulders.

Dump.
Took.

And then he lays flat on his back.

Cook, Cook Cook.

Slammer stabs him in the thigh with the prosthetic leg attached to his left leg.

Huchi showed no reaction.

When he doesn’t respond, Slammer finally opens his mouth cautiously.

“Muh, what’s going on?”

“They say they are coming to meet us here.

“It’s all good! It was so hard that I almost gave up, but now I just have to wait here?!”

“Yes.”

After that, Huchi shut his mouth.

The quick-witted Slammer had noticed long ago that Hooch had had some additional conversation with someone.

But I also noticed that he didn’t want to talk.

Slammer was curious about it, but he couldn’t even express it.

Because it was obvious that Huchi was extremely depressed.

“Eh, I don’t know!”

Even the slammers were spread out on the floor.

The early summer sky was burning bright blue.

He decided to congratulate himself on having succeeded half of his mission.

Throwing away all remaining worries toward the blue sky.