Chapter 67

Summary of the previous chapter:

Parting with Kanhi

13

After parting ways with Kanhi, we retraced our steps along the road to Seratta and headed south.

The journey was smooth and uneventful. When we traveled north, the large group slowed us down and we often encountered monsters, but this time, there were no such issues.

We didn't stop at any settlements except for resupplying, so the travel time was about two-thirds of the outbound trip.

I was somewhat worried about Shiran, who was shocked by the dissolution of the knight order, but it turned out to be an overreaction.

By the end of the day we parted with Kanhi and the other knights, she had regained her composure.

In fact, she seemed invigorated by the mission to lead me to the pioneer village. When we spotted a monster from a distance, she was the first to rush out and quickly defeated it.

Shiran's sword as a knight remained unsullied. I felt relieved by this fact and also found her determination reassuring.

We reached a large inn town where the roads intersected in all directions, though not as big as Seratta. After purchasing supplies, we set our course westward.

To the southwest of the Laurence Earl's territory lies Cedros, one of the Five Northern Kingdoms.

The rugged Kitrus Mountains run along the border between the Laurence Earl's territory of the Empire and the Kingdom of Cedros. There are several mountain paths, but they are old.

During the past campaigns between the Empire and the Alliance, the two armies clashed and fought here, but now they are rarely used.

The location near the forest increases the risk of encountering monsters. There are no merchants willing to make the perilous journey over the mountains to reach the remote small country, as there is no need for it, and thus, monster hunts are rarely conducted.

As a result, the Kitrus Mountains have become a dangerous area teeming with monsters.

However, for me, leading the monsters, this is, in a sense, a comforting fact. The fewer people around, the better.

I was driving the carriage slowly on the driver's seat.

The road, winding through the trees, was narrow. The carriage's jolting was due to the poor road conditions.

Unlike the road to Cheria Fort, which had a military character, the roads branching off from it were laid to transport supplies to the pioneer villages at the fringes of the human world.

It's inevitable that they would be somewhat inferior to the main roads. Listening to the creaking of the wheels, my mind naturally drifted to thoughts.

The face of a friend I parted with ten days ago came to mind.

...How are Kanhi and the others doing?

They should have reached Seratta safely. From the place we parted, it's half a day to the inn town and another half a day to the city. They might encounter monsters if their luck is particularly bad, but with two Alliance knights and Kanhi's current combat ability, there's no need to worry.

If they successfully joined up with the captain, they might be on their way to the capital from Seratta by now.

Given Kanhi's sharpness, it's possible that in the inn town, he also recruited other transferees like Sanpei Taichi, who stayed in a different place from us.

"Ah, Master, isn't that it?"

Lily, sitting next to me on the driver's seat, keenly spotted a fork in the road and alerted me. It seemed we had arrived at our destination.

***

Before entering the Kitrus Mountains, I decided to visit a certain pioneer village.

Unlike the village along the road connecting Cheria Fort and Seratta, which had a military presence, this was a small village without any.

According to what we heard at the previous village, this was the closest settlement to the mountain path.

There were no villages beyond this point. This would be our last resupply before the mountain crossing, which would take a considerable amount of time, so we wanted to secure as much food as possible.

"I hope we can get what we need. At the previous place, even though we had money, they wouldn't sell to us..."

"There are reasons on their side. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't work out. If it comes to it, I can hunt for a day."

"But I'd rather not go back to a diet of just Fire Fang jerky..."

To resupply, I, Lily, and Kai decided to leave the others with the carriage and walk to the village.

Among our group, the combat strength ranked as Gerbera, Shiran, Lily, and Rose. Of these, only Shiran and Lily could blend in without drawing attention.

By splitting these two into different groups, we could repel monsters without worrying about being seen.

Kai came along because she was the only one besides Shiran who could use the translation magic stone. She followed us, deeply hooded, behind us.

I should learn to use the translation magic stone, but since it takes time to master and we're not in a desperate situation, it has been put off.

"Hey, Master, someone is running this way."

The incident occurred as soon as we parted with the others, hiding the carriage in the forest along the road, and stepped onto the narrow path leading to the village.

We spotted a man running towards us with a desperate look on his face.

"Oh, oh! Are you travelers? To come here at such a time...!"

He was a villager, and upon hearing his story, he and his companions had left the village to cut down trees in the forest when they encountered a monster and barely managed to escape.

This area is just a regular forest without magical properties, but since it's only about an hour's walk from the forest, encountering monsters is not uncommon.

After persuading the man to run and urging us to hurry, we saw a giant 'Wild Ogre' towering over three meters tall.

It had a gorilla-like build with small legs and long, muscular arms, but its well-built body was sparsely covered in fur, exposing green skin, and its lower body was wrapped in animal hides.

Its head, bald and small in proportion to its body, resembled a human's. Its ears were pointed, and the lower canines in its large jaw protruded from its mouth.

The Wild Ogre was prowling around the village, looking for an opening in the defenses, occasionally charging at the village's defensive walls.

Each time, concentrated magic was cast from atop the stone walls. While each spell was of the second tier and relatively ordinary, when combined, they were powerful enough to injure and intimidate the Wild Ogre.

Arrows were constantly being fired from the village walls, gradually damaging the Wild Ogre.

However, they were not enough to deal a decisive blow.

Compared to the Green Caterpillar, the Wild Ogre is a much stronger monster, one of the top-tier monsters in the forest's upper layer.

If it were to abandon the attack and leave, that would be ideal, but if it were to lose control in a fit of rage and charge the village, even if we could eventually defeat it, there would likely be casualties in close combat.

Even without that, the village's lifeline, the defensive walls, were being damaged by the trees it broke and threw, and there were already injuries.

Although we had no connection to the village, we couldn't just leave it be.

"Lily, it's a bit of a distance, but can you do it?"

What I implied was, "Don't get too close."

Lily wouldn't be seriously injured if she jumped into the rain of arrows surrounding the Wild Ogre, but it would be too conspicuous.

"Sure, I'll give it a try."

Lily nodded firmly, understanding the unspoken part, and twirled the spear in her hand.

"What are you planning to do...?"

The villager who had guided us this far looked puzzled at Lily, who had readied her black spear in a reverse grip.

"Anyway, you should run..."

"It's okay. Don't worry."

A magic circle appeared in Lily's right hand as she reassured the man.

—A second-tier wind magic.

It wasn't a third-tier spell because, considering that the highest-level magic humans in this world can use is third-tier, she decided to keep it low-key in front of people. Of course, in an emergency, that wouldn't apply.

In other words, Lily judged that this was sufficient for the situation.

Lily took a couple of steps as a run-up and then lunged forward.

"Yaaah!"

She threw the spear in her hand.

The spear, already powerful, was guided by the wind and surged toward its target.

The wind-enshrouded spear deflected the arrows and flew straight, striking the Wild Ogre's face with a perfect hit.

A piercing scream echoed. The sharp tip pierced the eye, and the wind blade surrounding the shaft tore the face.

Blue blood spurted out like a fountain. The Wild Ogre, blinded and severely injured, staggered.

The villagers, who had been stunned by the sudden attack, quickly realized it was an opportunity. They shouted and armed men rushed out.

The villager who had guided us, who had witnessed the entire event from close by, was in shock. Looking up, Lily made a peace sign to me and smiled.

***

The villagers were grateful for our help in fighting the monster attacking their village.

As a result, we were able to obtain the supplies we needed. We bought potatoes and dried meat, and it was a relief to have some food replenished.

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. It helped us too."

The elderly man who served as the village chief saw us off to the village entrance when we said we would leave immediately.

"However, I never expected that such a powerful strike would come from such a delicate young lady."

The village chief, with a kind smile on his wrinkled face, praised Lily's arm multiple times.

He was the most welcoming among the villagers. His talkative nature was charming, but it extended our stay longer than planned. We got more than we expected, though.

Supplies were one thing, but information was even more valuable.

According to the chief, he had used the mountain path we were heading to when he was younger.

He was able to provide us with landmarks along the way. While they might not have survived for decades, it was better than nothing.

Additionally, he mentioned that the mountain path occasionally had a particularly dense fog.

The chief himself had never encountered fog when he used the path, but he had been warned by his predecessors.

He said, "Be careful when there's fog on the mountain path."

...Well, that's obvious when you think about it. It's dangerous to proceed on a narrow mountain path with poor visibility.

Of course, it's helpful to be informed about such a place in advance.

So, in a way, it's understandable that he might satisfy his curiosity a bit as a form of payment.

"Excuse me, but are you from the north... perhaps the capital?"

The chief lowered his voice slightly, as if sharing a secret.

I didn't ask why he was asking. Since we started our journey in the human world while hiding our identity as transferees, this wasn't the first time we had been asked such a question.

"...Something like that."

When I responded, the chief nodded deeply, as if satisfied.

"I thought so. You must be of the 'Bloodline of Favor.'"

We are not, but I had a reason for my expression, which was somewhere between a polite smile and a wry one.

The 'Bloodline of Favor' he mentioned refers to the descendants of transferees.

We call the unique abilities of transferees 'cheat abilities,' but in this world, they are known as 'Favor,' an old term.

The 'Bloodline of Favor' is a term derived from this.

Transferees appear in this world in a hundred-year cycle. Some of them fell in battle without leaving descendants, but others lived to a ripe old age. Naturally, their descendants still live in this land, especially around the capital.

As you know, our faces are different from those of the people who originally lived in this world. However, among the past heroes, there were also people of East Asian descent. Thanks to this, our identity was not revealed by our appearance during our journey.

Moreover, the information about the current hero's appearance probably hasn't reached such a remote area yet. They likely wouldn't expect the hero to be traveling with a small group without a large entourage.

"Still, to come all the way to such a remote place. Why...?"

The chief, who had started to speak, suddenly seemed to realize something and swallowed his words.

"...No, never mind. I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you."

It seemed he had misunderstood something. I smiled wryly.

Many of the 'Bloodline of Favor' are nobles with titles.

The hero themselves have no rank or office, but they often interact with people of high status, and the imperial nobility have been proactive in incorporating their lineage. As a result, a high proportion of the heroes' descendants are nobles.

In reality, there are also many who are not, but in such remote areas, it's rare to encounter the 'Bloodline of Favor.'

It's not unreasonable to equate the 'Bloodline of Favor' with nobility.

Perhaps they thought we were 'people of high birth who, for some reason, are traveling incognito.'

If they believed that a noble who received advanced combat training from a young age, or a guard protecting such a noble, could naturally possess the skill to strike the Wild Ogre, it would save us from having to lie.

Being mistaken for nobles is not a pleasant experience, but compared to being hailed as heroes, it was a relief.

"Well, it's about time for us to go."

Seeing the right moment, I ended the conversation. If we kept them waiting, Gerbera would complain. It's better to be scolded than to have her sulk.

"Alright, let's go. ...Hmm?"

I called out to the two who were with me and noticed that Kai didn't react to my call.

"..."

She was looking at something with her hooded face turned to the side. When I followed her gaze, I saw the corpse of the Wild Ogre that had been brought into the village.

The villagers were digging a hole and piling straw next to the half-buried corpse of the Wild Ogre.

Evil must be burned and purified. Based on this belief, the corpses of monsters are promptly disposed of according to a ritual.

While the specific practices may vary, this is a common custom in settlements in this world. In reality, if the fur or meat can be used, it's not always the case, but the Wild Ogre is not one of those exceptions.

This shouldn't be a particularly unusual sight for Kai.

"...Kai?"

"A, yes."

When I called her name again, she finally turned to me.

"Sorry, I was just spacing out."

She showed a slightly flustered expression, perhaps thinking she had made a mistake. A forced smile appeared on her youthful face.

Her face then showed a hint of surprise.

Without warning, a small boy ran towards us.

He was probably around five or six years old. His parents, who should have been looking after him, were likely busy disposing of the Wild Ogre's corpse. He ran towards us with sparkling eyes, looking at me and Lily.

His footing was unsteady and precarious. As I thought, it happened.

"Ah!"

There was no time to warn him. The boy tripped over something and fell.

"Are you okay?"

Kai, who was closest, rushed to him.

Kneeling down, she lifted the small boy and helped him stand. I thought he might cry, but he didn't. Perhaps fundamentally, the children in this settlement are different from the five-year-olds I know.

Still, a child is a child.

"Thank you, big sister."

Looking up at the hooded Kai, he smiled and thanked her innocently—

"Huh?"

—His eyes suddenly widened.

He turned his head in confusion, looking at the Wild Ogre's corpse.

"Huh?"

He turned back to Kai, who was standing close by, and peered at her face hidden under the hood.

"Big sister's ears are weird. They look just like a monster's."

The innocent words froze Kai's smile.

***

After leaving the village, we resumed our journey. We didn't reach the mountain path that day, so we started preparing for a night camp before it got dark.

"...I'm sorry,