Reckless Act (5)

“It’s not even here.”

It’s my third day exploring the woodland.

The second cave I visited had monsters gathered at a fairly large entrance.

I thought I had finally found Makiella this time, so I was fully prepared.

In fact, she was nowhere to be seen and although it was the monster’s home base, she escaped without clearing it.

No matter how unlucky you are, you can’t miss it twice in a row.

I once again remembered that I have never been so lucky since coming to this world.

‘Today is actually the last day.’

Considering that it would take at least a day to return to the station, supply was tight.

I have to leave the woodland at least tomorrow, but I still haven’t found Makiela.

It would have been an option to return to the garrison and reorganize now.

In the meantime, the probability that the Demon King’s army would station the forest area was quite high.

It means that all the hard work we have done so far in dealing with the Demon King’s army will be in vain.

However, we cannot force the search even though the supply is depleted.

We had to quickly find the remaining caves and subdue them.

Is it because I’m in a hurry? Gradually, my steps became faster and my breathing began to become more difficult.

In the end, Malcolm, who was worse than me, came to my side and gave me advice.

“I think it would be good to get some rest. Everyone is exhausted.”

“…I understand.”

As soon as I came out of the cave, I was exhausted from marching without rest.

As Malcolm said, I needed some time to catch my breath.

As I sat down on a stump in a nearby vacant lot, a chilling wind passed by.

As sweat rolled down my forehead, Kayla came over and handed me a towel.

“Thank you. Kayla.”

“No. “My lord.”

As I was about to take the towel and wipe my sweat, Erina suddenly came up and snatched the towel.

He suddenly came up to me and started wiping me personally.

In the meantime, my hands were quite rough and quite awkward.

Looking at Erina’s engrossed expression, I couldn’t stop her.

“… “

As soon as we finished, Erina looked at me sullenly while making direct eye contact.

I couldn’t know what was being asked.

“Okay. Thank you. Erina.”

When I patted his head and said thank you, his eyes softened as if he was feeling better.

Maybe he doesn’t like Kayla’s help that much?

Meanwhile, Kayla slightly distanced herself from me with an uncomfortable expression.

I hesitated, but eventually got up and left.

If we fight in this situation, I will realize how much I will hate it.

It seems he stepped back to avoid getting into a fight with Erina.

Whether she knew it or not, Erina was patiently staying by my side.

“Erina. Let’s cheer up just one more day today.”

“Yes. “I don’t want to come back to a forest like this again.”

Is it because I suffered in vain in the forest for three days?

Everyone else, including Erina, was also excited.

But even after exploring two caves, Makiella did not appear.

Could it be that he is hiding somewhere else and not here?

Since the episode changed, we had to consider the possibility that Makiella’s lab location may have changed.

‘If you do something wrong, you will only suffer and not get anything out of it.’

It is impossible to stop exploring the forest area now.

Above all, if Makiella wasn’t here, I had no choice but to search the entire Demon World.

I really wanted to decline that much.

There wasn’t much time or way to explore the entire Demon World.

I hoped she was hiding in the last remaining cave.

“Seohyun. Are you okay for a moment?”

Then, suddenly, Malcolm came up to me and started talking to me.

Why did he who always stayed by Catalina’s side come to see me?

“Is something going on?”

“Oh, no. It’s not a big deal, though. “I have something I want to say.”

Malcolm flopped down on the floor with a shy smile.

Meanwhile, Catalina was fiddling with her great sword alone and looking around.

Malcolm also cast his gaze towards Catalina and lowered his voice.

“That… This is the necklace you gave me last time. Do you ever plan on taking it back?”

“Necklace?”

Malcolm’s words brought back memories of my time in the capital.

A rare necklace purchased from a magic tool store.

Instead of not being able to feel pain for a while, the effect was that after the effect wore off, the pain returned several times more.

People around me tried to stop me, and Catalina made strong demands, so I handed it over.

Now you can take it back. From the looks of it, it seemed to be Malcolm’s arbitrary request.

“Has Catalina ever used a necklace? “I don’t know.”

“Of course. “I used it twice just yesterday.”

While fighting the demon lord’s army all day, did Catalina ever use a necklace?

At least I didn’t notice it at all.

Above all, there must have been tremendous pain after the effect ended.

Catalina endured that pain and pretended like nothing happened?

Come to think of it, even now, unlike usual, I kept my mouth shut and just stared blankly at my surroundings.

“…Could it be that you wrote it just now?”

“Yes. That’s why you’re still keeping your mouth shut.”

For some reason, he suddenly said he was quiet, but he was holding back pain.

Come to think of it, I wonder if this is why my eccentricities have strangely decreased since I came to the forest area.

As someone who experienced the pain directly, I could only say that it was amazing.

“If this continues, my sister might get hurt. “Can you just take it with you?”

“I have never asked Catalina for a favor…”

“Of course they didn’t listen to me.”

I thought so. Because I always had a habit of ignoring Malcolm’s advice.

But even if I step forward, will Catalina obediently give in?

It could never have been that way.

“It’s no use saying anything. “It cannot be taken away by force.”

“Ha… Wouldn’t I suddenly collapse like that? I’m worried.”

Come to think of it, it was Malcolm who suggested we take a break just now.

It seems he knew about Catalina’s condition and asked me to do it.

Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten the necklace from the magic tool store.

Even though it is regrettable, it is something that cannot be helped.

“Let’s just watch for now. “If there is a really dangerous moment later, I will have to take it away.”

“Yes. “I understand first.”

Malcolm stood up with an uncomfortable expression.

As I slowly approach Catalina, Catalina scolds me as usual.

It looks like the pain has stopped and he has come to his senses again.

“If you’ve had enough rest, let’s move right away. “I don’t have much time.”

I picked up my backpack again, got up, and left.

There is only one remaining cave. The innermost place in the forest area.

In order to get there, we had to travel diligently.

***

A march that lasted for three hours.

As we headed towards the center of the forest area, the sunlight gradually faded.

I was barely able to reach the location of the cave by stepping on the muddy mud.

In fact, it was a terrain where even the Demon King’s army gave up on stationing there.

Not only was there a demon lord’s army in the ambush site, not even the demons could settle down.

In addition, there was a hidden cave in a location where there were a lot of bushes and where even the sunlight could not shine.

On the outside, the entrance is small and seems completely untouched by human hands.

To actually enter the cave, you will be left with a fairly large space.

In that case, Makiella would be suitable for use as a laboratory.

I entered the cave thinking it was my last hope.

“Everyone be careful. Let’s move forward slowly.”

“Yes. I will follow right away.”

As I passed through the cave entrance, the monster’s cries echoed faintly in the cave.

Soon, a significant number of test subjects popped out.

Even though hundreds of test subjects were killed and subdued, there were still so many left.

A wolf with fangs in its teeth, an orc waddling around as if only one leg had overgrown.

A truly extraordinary scene was unfolding.

‘Machiela is here.’

Unlike before, most of them are not ordinary monsters but experimental subjects.

In other words, it was no different than proof that Makiella was here.

As we moved forward, defeating the monsters one by one, the inside of the cave began to gradually expand.

And when I saw the taxidermy hanging on the wall, I was finally convinced.

“It looks like this is Makiella’s lab.”

We finally found the research lab we were aiming for.

All that remains is to find Makiella and subdue her.

Meanwhile, the sound of huge footsteps echoed from the cave.

Constant, regular steps, as if a machine was moving.

‘Did it appear as expected?’

A golem that moves its body on its own to protect Makiella.

I definitely remembered him as a very annoying boss even in the first round.

In fact, it can be considered the final boss of this forest area.