Chapter 61 – Assault (2)

The situation, which had almost reached a breaking point, was fortunately resolved easily thanks to the caravan leader and the dim-witted guy recognizing each other. I just found out that this idiot’s name is Merosi. Not Merona, not Merci, but Merosi, what is that? Is he a Merci who eats Merona?

After apologizing for suddenly grabbing him and knocking him down, the caravan leader graciously accepted, and the group, now united, cautiously continued their escape.

▶ Where are you now?

The semi-transparent cursor blinking in front of my eyes doesn’t move. Is she still sleeping?
Right after the attack, I sent a whisper to Cha Hyewon, but there’s no reply. Well, even if she did reply, it wouldn’t be of much help in the current situation.

This game world is based on medieval Europe, so there are more unexplored lands than places touched by humans. It’s not strange that as soon as we leave the imperial road, we’re immediately in the wilderness. I guess it’s fortunate that it made it easier to escape the pursuit.

“Let’s rest here for a bit.”

After walking for a while, the enemies’ torches are fading… I guess it’s okay here.
Only then did the tension ease, and everyone, who had been keeping their mouths shut, began to complain about being exhausted. They were hit by a bolt from the blue in the middle of the night and wandered through the dark forest, so it’s understandable that they’re tired.

Looking at the situation, the caravan leader also seems depressed about the mysterious attack. I don’t know if he really doesn’t know anything or if he’s acting. Should I try to probe him? What should I start with? My head is a mess.

As I was about to get up, Merosi came running over and handed me something. What is it?

“Here, have some, some water.”
“I’m fine. Thanks, but you drink it.”

I thought he would back off, but he actually came closer. He looked around suspiciously and then came right up to me, which was unpleasant, but I let it go to see what he would say.

“Actually… this is the high-quality wine that the caravan leader cherishes. I secretly took it before the attack, so only you, angel, should drink it. I’ve only had one sip myself.”

Then he suddenly handed me the water pouch and ran away. …I don’t need it. Someone else’s water pouch, and it was a guy who drank from it, giving it to me. Is this some new kind of provocation? This is… being too pretty in disguise is a problem. This popularity of mine.

Diana seems amused by this scene and giggles softly. Even though she’s disguised as a man, the way she covers her mouth and smiles is very feminine. Look at that eye smile. How is that a man’s disguise?

Anyway, he gave it to me, so I’ll use it well. I took the empty water pouch from Diana and transferred the wine Merosi gave me into it. I was too lazy to think about what to say, so this worked out well. But I should change the packaging, or else they’ll notice if I give them the same thing.

Merosi was nowhere to be seen, so I approached the caravan leader and handed him the water pouch.

“Here’s some wine. Have some of this.”
“…Thank you.”

It feels like giving a mobile coupon I got as a birthday present from a friend to someone else. Regardless of how I feel, the caravan leader immediately lifted the water pouch and gulped it down, which was quite refreshing.

“Ah, this tastes familiar and is very good. I feel like I’m getting my strength back.”
“That’s good. But… why were we attacked? Were you carrying something important?”
“That’s impossible. We’re just a medium-sized caravan, so there’s no reason for such a large-scale attack. I’m going crazy. Who on earth, what kind of person, would do such a thing?”

I stared intently at the caravan leader’s face as he drank the wine with a gloomy expression, but there was no sign of him being uneasy or hiding anything.

I pride myself on having the ‘acting’ trait and a good eye, but if I can’t notice anything even when I’m right next to him, then this old man is an actor who rivals an award winner. If he’s that good at acting, then I can’t help but be fooled.

“Ah, my. I drank too much. I’m sorry. The wine was so good that I couldn’t help myself…”
“It’s okay. You can drink it all.”
“…Then I won’t refuse. It’s hard to endure without even alcohol.”

He quickly finished it all and smacked his lips, saying, ‘It tastes familiar,’ which I quietly ignored. When I returned to my spot, Diana’s blue eyes were staring at me. I lightly shook my head, and she nodded as if she had expected it, without any sign of disappointment.

How frustrating. As I was spinning Merosi’s empty water pouch that was lying on the ground where I was about to sit, he came sneaking up to me.

“You drank it all!”
“…Ah. Yeah. Thanks.”
“I, I’ll get you more next time!”

Next time? I don’t want to see you again next time. But he had such a bright expression that I just let it go.

▷ Near the Magic Tower
▷ Aren’t you still sleeping? Go to bed earlier
▷ What are you doing at night?

Cha Hyewon? Is she not sleeping, or did she wake up? It’s so great to see the semi-transparent letters floating in front of my eyes.

▶ We were attacked
▶ I don’t know who they are
▷ Attacked? Now?
▶ Yeah. About… 7-8 days away from the Magic Tower? It’s been a while since we passed the city of Camilon, so it should be around there.
▷ Camilon. Camilon. Wait, I’ll check it out!
▷ Oh! Are you safe?
▶ For now. Don’t worry too much.
▷ I’m not worried

Is she a tsundere too? Like Irian?
I chuckled and was about to close the semi-transparent window when a few more letters appeared.

▷ Be careful. Don’t get hurt

Hmm. I guess she’s not the one either? Could she have said this and be behind the attack… no, right?
As Diana and I were resting back-to-back, I heard a strange sound from afar.

“…A dog barking?”

Six or so torches flickering in the distance. And the faint sound of barking. …We need to move.

The chase resumed. But this time, it wasn’t easy to shake off the pursuers. No matter how much we used the darkness to escape, it seemed like they were tracking us using their sense of smell rather than sight. The number of torches gradually increased, and soon there were about ten torches following us.

“Huff, huff, they seem to be getting closer! We’ll be caught like this!”

The oldest of the caravan leaders was already breathing heavily, as if he was about to collapse. Can this old geezer run any more? The two guards who escaped with the caravan leader also seemed exhausted, as they were running with their armor and weapons, even though they were wearing leather armor.

Leather armor is lighter than metal, but armor is armor. And running with weapons is hard even for a healthy adult male.

“J-just a moment. Let’s rest for a moment. Huff. Huff.”
“…Get on my back.”
“W-what, what? On, on your back?”
“Quickly!”

Why are they looking at me like that? The caravan leader, as well as Merosi and the guards, are staring with wide eyes, which is annoying. Do I look that weak… oh, right. I’m in disguise.

I thought it was strange that they were glancing at Diana even while getting on my back, but Diana was disguised as a man, and I was disguised as a woman. …This is getting ridiculous. Diana, who looks like a man, is staring blankly, and I, who look like a woman, am carrying the caravan leader and running, so it would be quite a funny sight for anyone watching.

Regardless of how ridiculous it looks, the sound of dogs barking and the sight of torches getting closer are quite threatening, so everyone silently moves forward.

Wandering through a dark, untouched forest is very difficult. The scenery is similar everywhere, and if you don’t find a good place to step on the pathless ground, you could easily twist your ankle. There are also many insects and bushes blocking the way.

Fortunately, it’s almost winter, so the lushness has decreased. If it were the middle of summer, it would be like a jungle.

“They’re getting closer. It’ll be hard to keep running like this.”

I had already expected it, even without Diana’s whisper. It’s inevitable that the pursuers, who are moving with torches, are faster than us, who are struggling through the darkness.

“Let’s ambush them instead. If we keep running, we’ll be caught when our stamina runs out.”
“A-ambush, huff, huff, ambush?”

There are four combatants: me, Diana, and the two guards of the caravan leader. The caravan leader and Merosi don’t seem to be of any use in combat, so excluding them, it’s not a small number. The problem is that the enemy is much more numerous.

I stopped for a moment and stared at the torches that were getting closer. Since the forest wasn’t dense, it wasn’t difficult to distinguish the number of torches chasing us from afar.

“Nine. There are nine torches. About 30-40 people?”

When I looked at the campsite before entering the forest, there were 3-4 people carrying one torch each, so it’s probably around 40 people. That’s more than I thought. Did they all come this way?

“We can take out five or six people with a surprise attack, but we can’t stop the sound. Then we’ll be surrounded by enemies from all sides. Are you still going to fight?”

One of the caravan leader’s guards, a man with messy hair, frowned as if he was displeased. The enemy is numerous, and our allies are few. It’s a situation where I have to appease even the complaining allies, so I suppressed my annoyance and explained to him.

“We’ll be caught anyway if we keep running. They’re getting closer. It’s better to fight when we still have stamina.”
“I understand that. So, are you saying we should fight and die? Are you saying we should fight dozens of enemies with just this number of people?”

If I could, I would just punch him and tell him to ‘do as I say!’, but if he ran away or betrayed us, it would be a big problem, so I decided to explain it calmly.

There’s a withered tree nearby. I drew my sword, and he tensed up, probably scared. I didn’t care what his reaction was and approached the withered tree and swung my sword.

The two guards’ mouths dropped open when they saw a tree the size of a child’s torso being cut down in one swing.

“Okay?”
“…B-but, you can’t fight all those people alone…”

Diana quickly cut down an even thicker tree in one swing.

“Two people. Okay?”
“…Y-yes. I’ll trust you.”

As expected, it’s all about the gear. It’s satisfying to see how easily the unique item cuts down trees like they’re straw. It’s a bit short, so it’s hard to get the spacing right, but I carefully put the ‘Frostfire Dagger’ back into my pocket and quickly looked for a good place to ambush.

Irian should be leading in this kind of situation. He was trained as a paladin, but it was mostly physical training, and he never learned about good places to ambush. Of course, Diana is the same. …Let’s change perspectives.

If I were the pursuer, where would be the most difficult place? Where should I pop out to smack the backs of the guys following us? The most surprising space for a surprise attack is… is it this place? The classic surprise attack is from above.

“You two, go up those trees. Caravan leader and Merosi, go up over there.”

The two guards silently climbed the trees. They wouldn’t notice unless they looked up carefully. The caravan leader and Merosi… I’ll have to help them.

It’s admirable that they’re trying to climb the tree, but they’re struggling after barely getting a handspan off the ground. I helped the caravan leader and Merosi up the tree, and then Diana and I climbed up nearby trees and hid.

It’s a series of tense moments. The sound of dogs barking is getting closer, and the torches lighting up the dark forest are gradually approaching. Soon, the murmuring sounds became audible, and my heart started pounding like crazy.

Calm down. They’re just small fry. It’ll be okay as long as we don’t get surrounded by dozens of them. Quickly take out the closest ones first, and then deal with the ones approaching.

Diana and I attack, and the two guards defend.
The two of us quickly take out the enemies, and while we’re doing that, the guards will block the new enemies that appear and buy us time.

“Diana. As you know… try to refrain from using divine power as much as possible. Buffs are okay, but you shouldn’t use divine power in a way that’s visible.”
“Okay. Be careful, Yurian.”
“Who are you to say that?”

Diana’s breath, as she whispered, tickled my ear. I couldn’t stand her staring at me from the side, so I turned my head slightly, and our lips met as if she had been waiting for it.

“They’re coming.”

The suppressed cry of the tense guard was heard.
A long-awaited kiss. Diana’s tongue eagerly forced its way between my lips and stirred around inside my mouth. She does whatever she wants when she kisses, and she ends it however she wants too.

Diana’s face moved away. I could feel the enemies approaching nearby, and as I turned my gaze, I saw her licking her lips with a seductive look.

‘……Am I mistaken? Why is Diana giving off such a decadent vibe…?’