translator: mii
editors: sleepchaser, ASplashofMusic
[Attention]
The end of this chapter hints at a slightly dark scene in the . Please take caution if you’re not good with such things.
Our group trudges up Black Shadow Mountain with Lian acting as our guide.
The path we’re taking hasn’t been cleared of wild shrubbery, so we clear the branches and ivy in our path ourselves, either pushing them to the sides or cutting them.
After a while, we hear several people calling out Mite’s na. We give chase in that direction.
Following the voices, we manage to find Cheddar-san’s search team, consisting of Cheddar-san, Gouda-san, and three other villagers. And without a hitch too.
Just like what Lian had told us before we set off.
For a mont, Cheddar-san’s team looks happy to see us, but their expressions once again darken in the next. We glance at Gouda-san, situated a little farther away from the rest of the group.
In Gouda-san’s hand is a thin, light blue ribbon, dirtied with soil. His eyes are red and swollen, like he just wept his eyes out.
That ribbon’s familiar… Ah.
That’s Mite’s favorite ribbon. She often uses it to tie her hair.
Though I don’t wish for my prediction to be true, I have no doubt that Mite has been taken to the depths of this mountain.
When Lian tells them he has an idea where the monsters are, the faces of Cheddar-san’s team slightly brighten, and they request to join our group.
Lian nods at Cheddar-san in response, relief washing over his features. Then he mutters, “With this, everyone has gathered.”
I’m probably the only one who heard this.
After all, I have sharper ears than the average person.
Although I’m happy that we managed to et up with Cheddar-san’s team, sothing about the way Lian worded that statent feels strange to . Out of reflex, I tilt my head down and look at him. He shakes his head with a smile, silently reassuring that nothing’s wrong. His smile looks fake though.
Then before I can ask him anything, Lian walks away, distancing himself from .
I wonder why.
I feel like he’s trying to avoid . To avoid any questions I may ask him.
Filled with an indescribable feeling, I sigh as I watch Lian’s figure shrink in the distance.
anwhile, Gouda-san continues to stare at the light blue ribbon in his hand, his sobs unceasing. He stumbles forward, as though his legs were made of lead.
After walking toward Gouda-san, Cheddar-san slaps Gouda-san’s back with all his might, eyebrows furrowed. “This brat! Seriously, get a hold of yourself, Gouda! We’re not sure that Mite’s dead yet, ok? Don’t give up until we see her ourselves! If you, her father, is the first to give up, then what about us?!”
Gouda-san sniffles. “You’re right, but… Ughh, I-I understand Brother…”
“Man…” said Cheddar-san. “I heard from my buddy that at the start of last month, a fang rabbit destroyed his potato field, even though they rarely show up around there. An old man also made a racket after catching sight of a red-eyed bird, sothing people find a symbol of bad luck… And now, bloodclaw bears, which rarely leave their mountain, have appeared. I have a bad feeling about this…” He lets out a sigh, slight worry crossing his face. A rare sight coming from Cheddar-san. “I hope it’s just my imagination.”
Walking behind us with a hoe held to his chest, a villager timidly adds, “Hearing that made rember sothing too… A long ti ago, back when I was still a kid, my grandma told , ‘Be careful when the normally quiet demons make a ruckus. That’s a sign of an incoming disaster.’ I wonder whether that’s true…” His soft voice sohow adds to the dark atmosphere of his story.
“H-huh?! Stop that! Don’t say sothing like that here! Are you trying to scare us?!” yells another villager.
“T-that’s right! That’s just a superstition among the elderly! Just a superstition!” Then the rest of the villagers start pulling his cheeks and hitting his head.
“Ouch! Ouch!! I-I hope you’re right…”
Co to think of it, I’ve heard sothing like that too. Back in my interdiate magic techniques class.
Demons are susceptible to energy and magic power due to their unique physical constitution. That is, half of their bodies are made up of either magic or ether.
Once an imminent large-scale war starts brewing between two parties, a huge amount of negative emotions, energy, and magic is released into the atmosphere. This results in a change in the demons’ behavior and incites them to go on a rampage.
Just like an on.
As such, if demons appear in front of us when it’s not within their habits to do so, we have to take extra caution. That’s what the old teacher told us in the midst of laughter.
At that ti, I also dismissed it as a superstition since the teacher is an old man, and the elderly tend to cling onto those types of beliefs, but…
I look toward the west.
Beyond the mountains is the large western country. Farther to the west, the large southern country.
Those two countries have been keeping a close and wary eye on each other. Several skirmishes have also broken between them before.
If what that old teacher said is true, then does that an a huge war is going to break out in the near future?
Judging from the hostile relationship between those two countries, that’s certainly possible.
Nonchalantly, I turn to Lian, but he’s similarly looking toward the west.
The shadows have returned to his face and eyes.
Maybe… since Lian took that sa class with , he rembered that old teacher’s story too.
I grow sowhat curious. So I approach him and ask, “Do you also think that’s just a superstition?”
Lian shoots a sidelong glance, then smiles, saying, “Who knows?” Following that, he walks away from again.
Just like what I’ve heard, it’s dark as night on the mountain even though it’s the middle of a hot sumr day. I look up. Tree branches and large ivy leaves cover the sky.
Below, the soil is damp and muddy, its surface covered in rocks. The trunks of several rotten trees have also fallen to the ground, stacked upon each other.
And maybe because the mountain is covered with plants and rocks, and the wind is only able to circulate within the mountain, the air here is sowhat fishy and stuffy.
The other distorted branches and ivy leaves obstruct our view, making it extrely hard to properly examine our surroundings.
In such a dark environnt, people can lose their way back to the base of the mountain if they’re even a bit careless. However, Lian shows no hesitation and unease in taking the lead, marking the tree trunks we pass by with his knife.
Every once in a while, he stops at what looks to be forks in the path, before eventually stepping between so dark trees, continuing deeper into the mountain.
One ti, we encounter a swamp. It spans the entire width of the path ahead of us, so it seems like a dead end, but Lian is neither surprised nor discouraged. Eventually, he manages to find a traversable path underneath several fallen trees and rocks. After this discovery, he calls us, then walks ahead.
In the swamp, we find one of Mite’s small shoes.
While everyone is shaken and frightened by this, Lian picks it up in a calm manner and nods, the picture of confidence.
Along the way, we co across several marks pointing to the previous presence of demons in the area. But in so sort of miracle, we have yet to encounter one.
Maybe it’s thanks to the enchanted necklaces Lian gave everyone before we entered the mountain?
Or just plain dumb luck?
Or… I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but it’s like…
How should I say this?
It’s like we’ve been taking detours around any nearby demons.
The people on our team express their praise and admiration for Lian’s overly perfect guiding skills. But all I feel is this inexplicable chaos and unrest filling my chest.
Following Lian’s lead, we arrive at a place halfway up the mountain with incredibly uneven ground. Rotten tree trunks and large, pointy rocks lie scattered everywhere, even tumbling down the slope.
We also spot a cave there.
And inside the cave, in a place where the cliff has partially collapsed and looks to be on the verge of collapsing even further, is a hole. Just large enough for an adult to enter.
Standing in front of the entrance of the cave… are two bloodclaw bears.
They may be belligerent and ferocious demons, but we have more than ten people on our side.
We have Lian and I, prepared and ard to defeat demons, the knights and the escorts, as well as Cheddar-san and Gouda-san, who are experienced in slaying demons with their bare hands. The villagers have their hoes and axes with them, also ready to fight.
The demons pounce at us the mont they see us, but defeating them isn’t a problem for us at all. I even feel sowhat disappointed at how easy the fight is.
Now that we’ve defeated the demons blocking the entrance, we enter the cave to search for Mite.
It’s there that we spot a reddish lump in front of that hole we saw earlier, mostly blocked by rocks and fallen trees.
The red lump slls of iron… Blood.
From afar, it seems to be around the size of a human child. We gulp, a bad feeling arising in our stomachs.
Oh, Lian… Please don’t bla yourself too much… It’s not your fault…
Also, I have an announcent to make! The BL novel I said I was going to translate before has been picked up by soone else~ Thankfully, the current translator is super kind! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ They let use my translation of chapter 1 and 2 since I already stockpiled to that point~ Thank you again, hasr! It’s about a corporate slave who got transmigrated into another world and worked as an accountant there~ The plot is super interesting, it’s one of the novels I checked every day when it’s still ongoing! The translator looks like they’re committed to this project, so I’m really glad they picked it up. You can read it here.
Bye bye~ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ
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