Moving on.
“Aria… you really just left your master behind and came back alone. After that, a scout returned on horseback with information, and I took advantage of the chaos to escape as well, but you shouldn’t show your face at the guild in that town for a while. Oh, and I got the Magic Stone payment.”
“Yeah, sorry. Thanks.”
It seems like things got complicated after all. I passed on the information and mostly dumped it on them because I couldn’t just not tell them, but it seems the scout in that town was competent and quickly reported the Orc extermination.
“The lord and the guild are going to be busy now.”
“Sounds like it’s none of your business. But well, it’s better than being attacked, I guess.”
Viro and I, who had been waiting at Galbas’ workshop, are adjusting our plans for the future.
I’m not in top condition, and Viro says he’s going to pick up another member, so we decided to meet in three months in Haerlton Dukedom, west of the Kingdom of Claydale.
Even if we take that much time, Grave might move, but in that case, he said he would leave a message for me at the Adventurer’s Guild in a large city like Dandole.
Now I have time to visit my master…
“This request, is it from that ‘organization’ after all?”
Just to be sure, I ask, and Viro crosses his arms lightly, his face unusually serious.
“Are you still suspicious of that organization? I don’t know why Grave betrayed us, but the organization didn’t order your assassination. There’s no reason for them to, and Grave’s reason for attacking you doesn’t make sense in the first place.”
“Grave said at the time that it was because a noble became interested in me. And that I got too close to the royal family. What does that mean?”
The royal family thing is probably because I got too close to Elena. As for the noble… are there still members of my bloodline looking for me?
“That… I don’t know. Sera might know, should I ask her?”
“No, thanks. I’ll stop being wary of the organization for a while, but I’ll keep my distance. Is that okay?”
“Well, I’m not a member of the organization, so it’s not up to me. But can I at least let Sera and her son know you’re alive?”
“I guess… yeah, that’s fine.”
“Also. If you continue to associate with the Princess, be prepared to deal with that organization. I’m telling you this now, but that organization is the ‘Shadow Unit’ of this country. Even if you intend to live as an Adventurer, if you’re as skilled as you are, you’ll eventually get involved.”
“…Understood.”
I expected it with Elena, but it’s the Shadow Unit, the intelligence agency of this country. The Shadow Unit, with its nationwide information network and the power to exercise authority on the surface, is more troublesome than the Assassin Guild if you were to antagonize them. At that point, the only option would be to flee the country.
…It’s about time to make up my mind.
I’ve been running away until now, but I’ve decided not to run anymore. Even if there are people involved in that “Otome Game” or family members looking for me, I will eliminate them with my own power.
If I don’t have enough power… at that time, I’ll be prepared to give up my life rather than live as a “doll.”
I need to get stronger, even if only a little, by then.
My fate is mine and mine alone.
I received the Black Dagger and the re-sharpened throwing knives from Galbas, promised to meet in three months, and parted ways with Viro.
The member Viro is going to pick up is apparently a retired former party member.
Come to think of it, I heard that a Magician retired and they were looking for a replacement. If he’s going to pick up that person, they haven’t found a new Magician yet. Still… I think he retired because he was old, is he going to be okay?
There are two main reasons why I’m going back to my master’s place, besides the fact that my body isn’t in top condition.
I made the Pendulum threads two years ago, but after using them in various battles, I only have the two tied to the Pendulum left. I have four new Pendulums, so I want twice that amount, including spares.
Also, I want to ask about the last technique I used to defeat Golgol – the “Primordial Combat Art.” Normally, using it is a life-or-death gamble, but I thought my master might know something about it.
From this Barony to my master’s place, going through Taurus County and Dandole, it would take more than a month even if I hurried, and from there to Haerlton Dukedom, where I promised to meet Viro, it would take another month and a half.
The place where Viro is going to pick up his companion is the Marquisate of Wancarl, about two weeks from the Royal Capital, so I don’t think they’ll be late for the meeting, so I can’t afford to be late either.
…I need a means of transportation after all.
At this pace, I can only stay at my master’s place for about a week. So, to shorten the journey, I decided to go through the dangerous forest.
The direct line from this Horace Barony to Seyles Barony, where my master is, is a deep forest infested with Monsters.
The area north of there is a Monster Habitat, but that place is not part of the Kingdom of Claydale. But the fact that the border line is drawn to that forest and it’s part of the territory means that someone explored that far and applied a magical boundary that serves as the border.
Since there’s a border, it’s not an unexplored land. If there are people who have gone that far, I figured there must be a “path” along the border, at least one that people can pass through.
I bought extra salt and sugar in town, and also bought a spare cloak. Viro received the Magic Stone payment for me, so it helped a lot that I wasn’t held up.
By the way, the Orc Magic Stone was 2 Silver Coins. The Soldier’s Magic Stone was 2 Gold Coins, and the General’s, Golgol’s, Magic Stone was 3 Large Gold Coins.
In total, it was almost 5 Large Gold Coins. It’s a considerable amount of money, but if I could have recovered the materials, it would have been double that. The stupid reason I left them behind without recovering them was that I couldn’t carry them all, and I wanted to leave some rewards for the other Adventurers.
My stamina and Mana haven’t recovered to more than 70% yet. But that’s enough for now. If I’m just trying to get through and not going to fight, I can manage in my current state.
Finally, I bought some good-looking dried fruits and nuts at a stall, stored only the mold-prone items in the sterile Shadow Storage, left the town, and headed straight east.
I start running at about 60% speed while using Stealth. If I adjust the amount of Mana and use Body Enhancement moderately, I should be able to run more than 60km a day without overdoing it.
However, that’s only if there’s a flat road. If I enter a deep forest, there will be fewer flat terrains, and the speed will drop dramatically.
Before that happens, I’ll use Mana Control to train Body Enhancement.
Like when I used that “Primordial Combat Art,” I remove the attributes from the Mana Particles and suppress the Mana Particles that are about to go out of control with the power of my will.
If it doesn’t go out of control, Body Enhancement will only exert its normal power, but training Mana Control is never a waste.
What I’m trying to do now is to increase the fluidity of Mana Particles, thereby increasing the efficiency of Body Enhancement with less Mana.
Still… maybe it’s because I’ve gotten too used to using Mana Particles in my body, but even though I’ve grown taller, my arms and legs haven’t gotten thicker.
It’s not that I don’t have muscle strength. I have muscles all over my body, but my legs are still thin, and my abs don’t look like they’re ripped. What’s going on?
Even if my muscle tissue is “Monsterized” on the premise of using Mana Particles, Orcs and Feld were so muscular…
Leaving the main road and entering the forest, I move as before, jumping over rocks and fallen trees without stepping on the leaf-covered ground.
I don’t touch the Goblins and Magic Wolves I find along the way. In the first place, the Monsters didn’t even notice me because I was using Stealth.
I don’t have a hobby of killing living things for no reason.
I kill animals to “eat” them.
I hunt Monsters to make them a “source” of growth.
I kill people because it’s the most “rational” way to solve problems.
That’s why I don’t “think” anything when I kill an “enemy,” I don’t kill others with emotion, and there’s no reason to show mercy.
That’s why I don’t hesitate to live.
I run through the deep forest as a Shadow, eat only the fruits and preserved food I find, and take frequent naps in the trees when I feel tired. I don’t know the exact location of the border, but as I progressed through the forest, I was able to find traces of “people” on large rocks and cliffs.
That’s the “path.” This path leads to a place where people live.
Still, perhaps because it’s close to the Monster Habitat, I saw several strong Monsters.
An Ogre, a Rank 3 upper-tier Monster. A Trent, a Rank 4. A Griffin and a Troll, Rank 5.
I was able to avoid the Griffin in particular because I found it first, but if it had found me first, the probability of death would have been higher.
“…I see it.”
After escaping the dangerous forest where death lurked around every corner, I was able to see a wide lake through the trees from atop a rocky area after about ten days.
That was the lake on the border between Count Bash’s domain and the Baron’s domain that I had passed through before. It’s the only large lake in this area, so there’s no mistaking it.
I headed straight for the lake from the rocky area and then went north. After finally entering a populated area, I stayed overnight in a nearby town and then spent four days reaching Seyles Barony for the third time.
The Seyles siblings are probably old enough to be attending the academy now, so I wonder if they’re both in the Royal Capital? Maybe the older sister has come of age and returned, but either way, I have no plans to go see them.
The “Weirdo” problem that was plaguing this area has been resolved, so there’s no reason for me to see them.
Even so, this place was where I fought Grave and was defeated, so it was a memorable place for me.
“…………”
Grave… you tried to kill me because you thought I was a danger to the royal family. But this time, I’m going to hunt you down as a threat to Elena.
No matter what your reasons are, I will eliminate you as my “enemy.”
It’s been almost a year since I last showed my face to my master, when I returned to report the destruction of the Assassin Guild. When I arrived at my master’s hermitage with a large amount of salt and spices as a souvenir, the herb garden had grown a little larger, and unknown wild grasses had been planted.
“I’m back, Master.”
As I entered the familiar, chemical-smelling hermitage and unloaded my luggage, my master, who came out of the alchemy room in the back, raised her face with her lustrous black skin, characteristic of Dark Elves, and grinned.
“You’re late, Taciturn Disciple. I was “preparing” for your return, but it almost went to waste.”
“…Preparing?”
My master didn’t seem flustered, as if she had foreseen my return. She put the potion bottles she was holding into a box and then approached me and gently hugged me.
“You’ve grown a little bigger again. But haven’t you lost a little weight? Welcome back, Aria.”
“Yeah, I’m home, Master (Serejula).”
And so, I returned to the “home” where the only person I can call family in this world lives.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the master (the real one).
Aria respects Viro properly, but he’s also a lot of trouble, so she treats him roughly (laughs).
Next time, what was Serejula preparing for?
The next update is scheduled for Sunday.
I’ll also post a map. This time, the movement was on the north side.