Chapter 30

「I’m gonna die… I’m definitely going to die……」

Because I was riding on Ruby’s back, I managed to arrive before the day ended. I thought I need at least a day and a half to reach this place, but Ruby managed to exceed my expectation and reduce the travel time into just a half of a day.

She literally ditched Lapis and Jet behind her, and probably my soul as well since she was going so fast I thought I dropped my soul along the way. Anyway, if I had to find a word to describe this part of the forest, I think the word 『Primeval Forest』 fit the best.

(TL: Primeval Forest (Wikipedia) =&ha; a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance and thereby exhibits unique ecological features and might be classified as a climax community)

「Uwaaah……」

The trees in the Beast Fang Forest had thick trunks as well, but they all pales in comparison. We still need to wait for Lapis and Jet to catch up, so I asked the nearby forest spirits for guidance. It’s important for us to not get lost.

Lapis and Jet arrived after a while, took them about 10 odd minutes to arrive after Ruby. Lapis sniffed the air for a while and dashed after gave a happy bark.

「Eh, Lapis? Wait for us!」

I followed her in a hurry.

「Ah, so this is the shrine that we’re looking for… Eh, Av!?」

A man stood right by the lakeside. Meanwhile, Lapis was right by his side. I definitely recognize his back. Hearing my surprise, the red-eyed man turned around in the same surprised manner.

「Since Lapis came here, I thought that you must be somewhere nearby. So what are you doing here, Rio?」

「That should be my line. Why are you here?」

「Just a small business」

「Oh. I’m here for a contract, by the way. Some thieves are targeting the shrine on this lake, so I’m trying to capture them」

「Thieves?」

「Yep. Umm… Apparently, some mages noticed that the barrier stretched around this shrine was weakening since about 2 months ago. Roughly a week ago, people from nearby villages witnessed that some unfamiliar person went in and out of this part of the forest. So they deduced that this guy must be responsible for the weakened barrier. His motive was probably to steal things inside the shrine. And so, 『Capture the thieves that aiming for the “Laketop Shrine”』 contract was made. I’m here to capture that thief that weakened the barrier. I also heard that the other barriers around the country are also weakening. Although, they also said that the barrier in the other place went back to normal not long after」

I explained about the contract when I noticed something fishy. 『About 2 months ago…』『Roughly a week ago…』

Nah, there’s no way it could be true. But just in case, I gave him my brightest smile and asked.

「Hey Av, when did you arrive here?」

「……roughly a week ago」

「……」

「…………」

「IT’S YOU!!!」

「The thief!? No, I didn’t! There must be some kind of… W-wait!」

I pointed my finger at him and he flustered in shock.

He’s the thief that I was looking for.

「You’re not?」

「I didn’t come to weaken the barrier. On the contrary, I came because the barrier is weakened」

「Hm? By the way, what do you have to do with this barrier?」

He hesitated a bit before he talked.

「Back then, when a demon appeared at the human’s royal capital, another demon appeared and came to several places in this country」

「Eh?」

「The guy appeared in the royal capital was just a distraction. That’s why we can’t understand his real purpose」

「The real purpose?」

「I put a barrier in this place. Not only this place, but several places in the human-part of the continent. It was originally belong to the demons to begin with. And that’s why some of the things important to the demons was placed in the human’s territory」

「Things important to the demons? Things like?」

「Like the tomb of the first Demon Lord and the other historically valuable places, of course. When I vacate the land for humans to live, I placed barriers on them so no humans can approach them」

「And this place too?」

「Well, this place is a little bit different」

「How so? What’s so different about this place?」

「It’s Emily’s tomb」(TL: ウェミリ Ue – Mi – Ri. At this point, I don’t even bother to question it anymore. Feel free to suggest better name)

「But in the end, we still don’t know what they’re after」

「Yeah. But I still don’t understand why the demon-side did it? Don’t they know that they’re in a real bloody war?」

「Maybe they’re looking for something behind the barrier……」

「And to get that something, they need some way to break the barrier」

「Un……」

We solved one mystery and found ourselves facing another wall.

「Well, it doesn’t matter what the current Demon Lord is plotting if Rey managed to defeat him」

「Rather than Rey-sama, it’s more like Goddess-sama, isn’t it? Anyway, do you happen to know what the goddess’ special power?」

「Dunno. I never met any god or goddess anyway, so how would I know? But one thing for sure, it’s bold of you humans to even borrow the title of God to refer to your kin. But if they dare to do that, the goddess must have a fitting power to deserve such name, no?」

「A fitting power… Well, as long as everyone returns safely, the success or failure of the Demon Lord Subjugation Corps means nothing to me」

「You’ve become such a lot nicer character, aren’t you?」

「Was that supposed to be a compliment?」

「Of course it is」

It’s been 2 months since the last time I saw his shuckful teasing face, so I’m going to let it slide for now and enjoy our reunion.