Chapter 38

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"Hey, what's going on? The person from the guild who was with us just left with a red face..."

Vaiz pointed to the entrance of the guild and asked me.

"It's, uh, nothing..."

In truth, a lot had happened with Asaha, but now wasn't the time to talk about it.

"Are Cyan and the others going to join the extermination team?"

From what Asaha told me, the Ogre monster seems to be quite strong.

It's not just Cyan and the others; this time, it's the same for the other adventurers. This is different from the Goblin extermination team we participated in before.

There's a high possibility of facing the risk of death. Still, will they join the extermination team...?

"......I'm going."

After a moment of silence, Cyan answered in a small but determined voice.

"I'll go too."

Gail followed.

"......Ha, if you two are going, I can't stay behind, can I?"

Finally, Vaiz.

"Alright, then everyone's in. First, it seems the Ogres are split into three locations. The forces might be uneven, so we should split into two groups and join the respective extermination teams."

"That sounds good."

"Then, Vaiz and I will go together, and Gail and Cyan will go together. From now on, let's prepare our equipment individually."

After saying that, I pulled Vaiz out of the guild.

Gail agreed with my suggestion, but I had a different plan. My real intention was to go to the Ogres' location without arousing suspicion.

"Vaiz, I said I'd go with you, but I actually need to go to a different place alone."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Actually, the number of Ogres the city can handle at once isn't three, but two. So, I was asked to go and stall one of them."

Vaiz is one of the few who knows about my true healing magic abilities, so I didn't need to hide the 'Black Savior' from him, which is why I made this arrangement.

"Are you going alone?"

"No, I plan to bring one more person. Since I don't know much about monsters, I need someone to give me instructions during the battle."

Aura, who is particularly quick to learn at the Adventurer Academy, has been memorizing the characteristics and weaknesses of monsters. This time, I plan to have her put that knowledge into practice.

"Can that person fight?"

"Um, no, that's not possible. I thought they could give instructions from a distance during the battle, but it might be too difficult."

If that's not possible, I'll have to fight the Ogre without any information.

"Yeah, Ogres are surprisingly smart, so it could be dangerous."

"......In that case, I guess I have to go alone, huh......"

Indeed, if I bring Aura and she gets attacked, it would be a disaster.

I can heal minor injuries immediately, but if she receives a fatal attack, that's a different story.

I might be able to handle it if I practice avoiding attacks at the Adventurer Academy, but......

"In that case, I'll go with you. I can move pretty well, and I can protect one person while running away."

When I was wondering what to do, Vaiz said this.

But indeed, if he comes with me, I can get stable instructions and reduce the risk. Plus, since Vaiz already knows about me, I don't have to worry about my identity being revealed.

"......Okay, then can I count on you?"

"Got it."

......

......

"......So that's why you came to me."

"Yeah, that's right. I actually don't know much about Ogres......"

After hearing that Mist had gone home, I ran back and explained the current situation to Aura.

"Then why did you take on such a dangerous task!!??"

"Well, I thought it would be for the good of the town......"

...Sorry, that's a lie. I just couldn't refuse after what Asaha said.

"If that's the case, I guess there's no choice...... But if Nest dies, what will happen to us, his slaves......?"

Aura, who easily believed my lie, immediately looked down.

"It'll be fine. You know my healing magic, right? Plus, I've trained to avoid attacks."

Indeed, if I die, I would have to spend the rest of my life as a slave without a master.

"Then, I'll release you from slavery now. The slave trader said that once a slave is contracted, the master can release them."

"......"

Aura seemed to lift her head slightly, and that must have been the reason.

"Then, if something happens to me, you'll be fine, right?"

Thinking this would help move things forward, I looked at Aura's face, but I didn't understand what was happening.

--- Aura was crying.

She looked at me with a dazed expression, and tears continued to stream from her eyes.

"A, ah? Why am I, no, it's nothing, really nothing at all..."

Aura, wiping away the tears with her sleeve, muttered, but it was clear something was wrong.

"Hey, is something wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"

But I couldn't think of any reason other than that.

She was desperately trying to stop the tears by rubbing her sleeve, but they wouldn't stop, and the stain on her sleeve just kept getting bigger.

"......Sorry, I can't do it right now. I'll try again later...... I'm sorry..."

...With that, Aura left the house. The open door clearly showed that something had happened to her.

I don't know how long "later" will be, but it will probably be difficult to get instructions about the Ogres.

...I might have never seen Aura cry before.

Aura, who usually speaks her mind freely to me, her master. She does have a slightly strong-willed side, but she's always bright and popular with the townspeople.

For Aura to cry, something must have happened, but I can't think of anything that would cause it.

Besides, being released from slavery should be a good thing for Aura...

...But I can't just keep thinking about this now.

First, I need to deal with the Ogre issue. Then, when I have time, I'll talk to Aura directly.

I took out the black cloak I wear as the 'Black Savior' from my room and headed to the meeting place with Vaiz.

Sorry, it ended up being incomplete...

I'm really sorry m(_ _)m

And, I wrote the dialogue on a whim, so it's probably a bit off, but

I might make some corrections later m(_ _)m