Chapter 139: 125

Before heading north, I made two quick stops.

For the first,

I went to Gladvain-sama's dormitory to check on Shuna.

A reptilian beastkin I knew led me to his room.

When I knocked, I heard a faint reply.

Since we’re both men, I went into his room without hesitation.

It was a rather simple room. There was only a bed and a rack for keeping weapons and armor.

His favored weapon was carefully placed on it.

The rooms here are just places to sleep in after a day of training. The study of martial arts is their highest pursuit. As a result, they don't have the habit of keeping unnecessary things in their own rooms.

They don't, but sitting in the corner of his room are some familiar-looking cans of spam and cup noodles. As well as some picture books meant for children.

I suppose this much is but a modest measure of comfort for a boy of his age.

Even though I had a dark childhood, I had always been surrounded by more forms of entertainment than this.

「How are you feeling?」

「I'm already all better. Gladvain-sama is just being a little over-the-top」

Shuna was sulking in his bed.

The blanket he's covered by looks pretty thick. It's cold in his room, but as long as he has that, he should have no problems keeping warm.

「Hey, what the heck?」

Just to be sure, I put my hand on his forehead.

His temperature is lower than Ea's. I guess it's really just Gladvain-sama being over-protective.

「Do you have your strength back?」

「Somewhat」

The fact that he's acting more composed than usual is probably a sign that he isn't back to his best yet.

For now, I'm relieved. A few more days of rest and he should be back to normal.

「Shuna, I'm heading south right now. It's just a simple request I need to deal with」

「What kind of request is it?」

「I'm supposed to broker a friendship with the fishmen living in the swamps there. It's nothing special. As he knows the area well, Otou-san is also coming with me」

「………Hmm, how long will you be gone?」

「Six days at the most. In the meantime, I want you to rest and recuperate」

「I'll get rusty if I rest that long」

「If you get rusty, you just need to re-train yourself. And grow stronger than before. You have the time for that」

「Souya, are you really just going there to make friends? There's no danger, is there?」

「None」

「Okay. Just for a second, I had the same feeling that I had back when the thing with Irvin happened. It’s only for a second though」

I smiled in order to gloss it over.

I should have fooled him. If I don't think like that, I won't be able to go on.

「Well then, I'll be gone for a bit」

「Yeah………be safe, got it?」

「Of course」

After that, I left the room without even looking at Shuna's face.

Since I was there, I went to see Lys too, but she only gave me a curt "Oh, is that so?"

My second stop was Tyutyu’s store.

I hadn't seen her since the snow started falling, but I did wonder what would happen to her little outdoor store.

「………………」

It was covered thickly with snow.

In a manner of speaking, there was a roof that was made of tattered cloth to provide shelter from the snow. But it only covered one corner of the store. Only one table.

And seated at that one table was Barfuru-sama.

「Oh, Souya, what's up-nya?」

The blonde cat beastkin who was the owner of the store called out to me.

However, beastkin sure are adaptable to their environment. Even though it's freezing cold, Tyutyu is still dressed as lightly as usual, with only a jacket thrown on. Most of the beastkin I saw on the street were dressed like that as well.

「I wanted to hand over the reward Barfuru-sama got for driving off the dragon」

I had nearly forgotten about our agreement.

While I'm at it, I would also like to reclaim the weapons and armor that were taken as collateral for his tab.

「No need for that-nya. Barfuru-sama got a year's supply of ale and wine from the Guild and the merchant companies-nya. And then he gave it all to Nya, so his tab is all paid off. I even polished up his old and battered weapons and armor, and gave them back to him-nya」

「Mmm, she did indeed return all of it」

Said Barfuru-sama with a nod.

Quite unusually, he wasn't drinking today.

「No, but this reward is yours. Please take it, Barfuru-sama」

I placed a small pouch on the table. Inside sat the hefty sum of 60 gold coins.

It's a portion of the money I saved from not having to buy a house. It's not exactly a small amount of money.

「Tyutyu, take it」

Barfuru-sama pushed the pouch to the corner of the table.

「But-nya, I don't need this much money-nya. I have no use for it-nya」

「In that case, Tyutyu, how about leaving it with the proprietress of the Mansion of the Sleep Demon?」

That person is Otou-san's wife. She can be trusted. She knows about my relationship with Tyutyu, so she won't betray my trust.

「Oh, that sounds good-nya. The other girls do that too. But Barfuru-sama, are you sure about this-nya?」

「I'm sure. Besides, I'm heading north. It's finally time for me to fulfill the mission I've been waiting so long to fulfill. I have no need for gold anymore」

「Eh, really-nya? In that case……」

Tyutyu went to the back of the store.

She came back with something she had taken from the shack.

「I found this in my mother's belongings after she passed away-nya. According to the proprietress, she had been mending it little by little over a long period of time-nya. Does this belong to you, Barfuru-sama?」

She unfolded a thick, gray cloak. I could see the remnants of the once grandiose embroidery. It was old, but it hadn't come unraveled anywhere. The cloak's clasps were all worn smooth and none of its original design remained.

I wonder why.

I feel a little unsettled.

Is it because the cloak has something to do with the Endguard?

「This is………I didn't know she had hung onto this. That Toto, I had assumed that she had thrown this away long ago」

「For some reason~, I had a feeling, so I got it ready yesterday-nya. Come on」

At Tyutyu's urging, Barfuru-sama stood up.

She stretched and draped the cloak over the hero's shoulders.

「It's kinda been a long time」

She fastened the cloak's clasps to his left shoulder.

The cloak was designed to leave the wearer’s right arm free.

「You’re looking more like the real deal now」

「Shut up」

The beast-head bared his fangs at me threateningly. Somehow, his intimidation seemed almost happy to me.

「Souya, please look after Barfuru-sama-nya」

「Oh, sorry, Tyutyu. I'm heading south. I'm doing a different request」

She had jumped to conclusions.

She's not wrong though.

「Oops. I thought for sure that the two of you were traveling together-nya. Well, Barfuru-sama is the kind of person that definitely won't die-nya, so there's no point in worrying about him-nya」

「Well, if there's anyone who can kill me, then it has to be a hero of great caliber」

「Barfuru-sama, why would you be killed by a hero-nya? Did you do something bad-nya?」

「You don't have to be a bad person to be killed by a hero. Besides, that's just a metaphor」

「That doesn't make any sense-nya. Anyway, just go and come back quickly-nya」

「Mmm」

Barfuru-sama lifted a sack onto his back.

I could hear the clanking of heavy weapons and armor from inside it.

「Goodbye, Tyutyu. Be well」

「Yeah, yeah, like I always say-nya, if you come back too late, I won't leave a seat for you-nya」

「You don’t have any customers other than me though」

「That's not true-nya. I'm trying to recreate my mother's soup right now-nya. If I succeed, I'll have lots of customers-nya」

「That again? Isn't it about time you gave up? You should learn to cook something else to attract customers」

「………Hmpt, you have no idea how I feel-nya. Go on, be it north or south, get a move on-nya!」

Tyutyu kicked Barfuru-sama in the butt.

It's hardly the way to send off a hero, but these two must have said goodbye to each other in this way many times before.

Everyone has a past.

A past I don't know of.

These two people have a mother-son relationship. I imagine that they share a deep trust and connection with each other. It's almost like they're really parent and child.

It's a bond that has no place for me.

For me to be a little jealous, does it mean that my caliber as a man is small, I wonder?

We have six more days until the Gilster Knight Order at the nearby port calls for reinforcements.

Once that call is sent, their army won't be stopped by the "It's safe now" nonsense.

If the king's fears are correct, they will use some trivial excuse to send their army into Lemuria and seize control of it.

The truth is, this country has too many things that cannot be looked into.

The fake numbers regarding food distribution reported by the Margrave, who is complicit.

The incident involving a man who killed a representative hero[^1].

The supposedly dead prince hiding among the armies of the Myriad Kings.

Elysium may have become weaker due to the corruption in its own government, but the fact that it has the most powerful army in the world hasn't changed.

Especially since their expeditionary force has been losing to the black elf's army due to a combination of clever tactics and military strategy, Elysium would love to score a victory right now.

A small country plotting to betray them would be the perfect target.

We must hurry.

【148th day】

A horse-drawn carriage drove down the snow-covered road.

Its destination, the abandoned city of Rossian.

The captain of the guard was driving the carriage, and sitting in its covered back was the very drab all-dude lineup of me, Otou-san, and Barfuru-sama

Maybe it's because I'm used to having a party with a high percentage of women, but this feels so frigging miserable.

There's nothing to feast my eyes on. I mean, there are only beasts and old guys around.

In a lot of ways, this environment is really hard to bear.

A little past noon on the second day.

The weather was dark and cloudy.

「This is as far as I go. Medimu-sama, please take it from here」

「Yeah」

The captain of the guard got off the carriage and Otou-san took over as the driver.

I helped to unload supplies from the carriage.

We were at the border between Rossian and Lemuria. The remains of a checkpoint still stood nearby. The captain of the guard was supposed to get off here and wait to hear from us.

And in the event we got infected, he would be responsible for killing us.

「I wish you all the best of luck」

He stood there, watching us leave, until he was a speck in the distance.

The carriage went on for another six hours.

The sun was setting when we finally made it into the streets of Rossian, just in time for the vampires to become active, if the stories could be believed.

From what I can tell, Rossian is about the same size as Lemuria.

But it's a city of a dead country. Needless to say, it lies in ruins.

Most of its city walls, which looked similar to Lemuria's, had collapsed. I suppose they could have collapsed due to the passage of time. But I noticed clear signs indicating that they had been attacked.

Whether it was magic, siege weapons, or whatever, the marks left on them told of great destructive power.

The houses that had once lined the street had been reduced to just their foundations, and very few retained any semblance of their original appearance.

After years of being buried under snow, and when it got warmer, buried under grass and vegetation, all signs of civilization would gradually disappear.

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Eventually, there would be nothing left but dust scattered by the wind.

「This looks like a good spot」

Otou-san stopped the carriage.

We were on the main street of the city. After clearing away the ankle-deep snow, I could see the cobblestones lining the street.

「I'll wait for you guys here」

「Otou-san, take this」

「Hmm?」

I handed one of the silver stakes to the father of adventurers.

「If I get turned into a vampire, drive that through my heart」

「Alright, leave it to me」

I wouldn't have minded if he had hesitated for a moment, but he accepted it immediately.

It's just like him though.

Barfuru-sama lifted the sack full of equipment onto his back, then got off the carriage.

「Souya, let's clear out the Knight Order's headquarters first. We may have missed a couple last time」

「Understood」

With one hand, he held up his weapon.

It was an over-sized sword made of bone. The edge of the blade wasn't straight, but it was sharp. However, it was more of a crushing weapon than a cutting weapon. Its weight and volume were more than enough for the task

I took out the Lycan bow and nocked Agathion to it.

Barfuru-sama will take the role of the vanguard.

I'll be the rearguard.

I still don't fully believe what Barfuru-sama said about it not being contagious. The safest thing to do is to avoid any contact, simple as that.

On the way here, I had asked Barfuru-sama about "the vampires of the alternate world", and he had confirmed that they're generally no different from what I'm familiar with.

They're weak against silver.

They're also weak against the sun.

They come out at night.

They increase their numbers through blood.

They aren't afraid of garlic, and they don't transform into bats, dogs, or mist. They're always hungry and thirsty, and they will attack the living to satisfy those needs.

They're immortal beings of the night.

No, their illusion of immortality can be broken by pulverizing them until nothing remains of their original form, or by crushing their hearts.

「We're off then. Stay safe, Otou-san」

「Don't worry. If a vampire shows up, I’ll simply slay it without getting any of its blood on me. It's no different than usual」

I'm putting my trust in you.

It would be an absolute nightmare to finally make it back here after everything only to find that you've turned into a vampire and have to fight you.

We made our way through the streets cautiously.

Walking through an abandoned city with a beast-headed man. It’s very much a scene straight out of a fantasy.

Speaking of fantasy, there are three gleaming moons hanging in the sky above us.

Upon a second look, they look almost like a person's face.

Two small, round ones which look like eyes. One big one that's showing a thin curl of a smile.

According to Rana, the moon that's in the place of the left eye, which never waxes or wanes, was called the "moon of misfortune" in olden times. It was so named because bad things always happen whenever it is missing from the sky.

Luckily for us,

It's not missing at the moment.

「………………They’re here」

Barfuru-sama’s ear twitched.

I drew the bow.

All I need to do is aim it in the general direction. Agathion will do the rest.

「How many are there?」

「One, but a lot」

I heard the clacking of bones.

And it wasn't just a clack or two either. They sang out like a chorus.

And then, a bone giant appeared out of the darkness, its horrifying form illuminated by moonlight reflecting off the snow.

It resembled the bone giants I had encountered in the dungeon previously, but the one in front of me was a giant formed from the bones of normal people.

It had no head. The most striking and disgusting thing about it was its belly.

It was swollen like a pregnant woman's and was densely packed with skulls.

Kata kata, kata kata, kata kata, went the nearly hundred clattering skulls.

「Barfuru-sama, don’t tell me that’s a vampire?」

「Don't be ridiculous. This guy is just one of the spirits of the dead that haunts Rossian. The spirits haunting these ruins must have been awakened by the blood of the living」

Right after Barfuru-sama uttered those words, the giant attacked us.

It swung the mass of bones that was its arm, mowing down everything in its path.

I felt the massive rush of wind as it closed in.

「Is this all you got?」

However, the man who had broken the dragon's wing blocked it easily.

Using the sword he held with only one hand.

His counterattack was a crude blow that seemed almost too casual.

With a thunderous crash, he smashed the giant's large belly in, snapping its body into half.

The giant's upper body spun around and flew off into the distance. The remaining lower half of its body turned to dust and vanished like an apparition.

It had been defeated with stupefying ease.

「If there are spirits of the dead here, then there must not be any vampires around」

「Why’s that?」

「All evil beings are at odds with one another. They don't possess the sentiment of coexistence. Once they get a whiff of each other, they’ll fight until one of them is destroyed. And there's no way a vampire can be defeated by an opponent of this caliber」

I'd say that this giant is already quite formidable, but to think that the vampires are stronger than it……

「Change of plans. Follow me, we're heading straight into the catacombs」

「It feels like we'll be more likely to run into spirits of the dead there though」

「Of course we will. Lots of them at that」

Urgh.

I already feel like going home. I've seen more than my fair share of skeletons on the previous floors of the dungeon. I don't really want to go through that again.

「――――――――――――」

「Huh?」

Suddenly, I heard a cry from the darkness.

「What's the matter, Souya?」

「I thought I heard a cat just now」

「A cat? I didn't hear anything」

Nya~, came the meow again.

It didn't sound like my god's voice. It had a heavier and deeper tone.

「There, I heard it again」

「I don't hear anything. You're just hearing things」

Barfuru-sama went on ahead.

I had Yukikaze tag him so that I could track his location. Feeling a bit rash, I headed in the direction I had heard the cat's cries come from.

After walking a short distance, I caught sight of the giant's upper body. It was in its death throes. By the time I reached it, it had vanished completely, leaving only a pile of dust on the snow.

However, there was one thing that had remained intact.

The skeleton of a baby.

「………………tch」

It's hard to describe how I felt at that moment.

Knowing full well that it was a hypocritical and futile act, I stabbed one end of the Lycan bow into the ground and then started digging using Agathion. Both the snow and soil were soft. Digging a hole to bury the baby was easy.

I buried it and put my hands together.

This reminds me of Ashtalia.

A country engulfed in flames and covered by ash.

In many ways, this place resembles that country. Is it because they both have the same air of desolation? Or is it something else?

「You there」

I heard a voice and the soft tinkle of a bell.

I saw a pair of eyes glinting in the darkness.

A pitch-black cat with a hooked tail emerged. It was carrying a small bell in its mouth.

「Thank you for putting the baby's soul to rest. Even though he had become like that, it would still be sad if he were to be treated poorly」

「And you are?」

It's the second talking cat I've seen.

Is this one also a god of some kind?

「I'm merely a gravekeeper, one who has long since forgotten his own name」

Right then……

「Hey!」

……Barfuru-sama grabbed my shoulder from behind with a furious expression on his face.

「Don't wander off by yourself in enemy territory! What are you, a little child?!」

「Oh, I'm sorry. But that one there……」

I turned to the cat.

But Barfuru-sama……

「What are you talking about? You're not mourning a spirit of the dead, are you? What a complete waste of time. They're like the pests that infest plants. Even if you bury(get rid of) them, they'll keep coming back」

「Yes………sorry」

……couldn't see the cat.

I had a bit of a bad feeling about that.

「Don't be alarmed. We can only be seen by those whom death awaits. More importantly, take this」

The cat came up to me and placed the bell in its mouth at my feet.

「If you're going into the catacombs, you should take this with you. This gravekeeper's bell will lull the dead to sleep」

I picked it up and held it in my hand.

It was no illusion. I could definitely feel it.

Barfuru-sama yelled, "Come on! Hurry up!" before turning away angrily.

As the cat disappeared back into the darkness, it said.

「Kind person who smells of the night, heed my advice. Do not trust that beast. Those who deny death are but people obsessed by nightmares and delusions」

There wasn't just one cat.

Deep in the darkness of this sprawling city, I saw dozens………no, hundreds of gleaming eyes.

The cats whispered one after another.

「Be careful. To be gripped by a nightmare is like being trapped in endless darkness」

「You’ll be sealed in ice, just like that land」

「Just like the poor Lord Blue-Scale」

「Just like those with noble blood」

「So that you don't end up like them. Be careful」

「The smell of nightmares attracts them」

「The emissaries of the moon of misfortune will come forth」

「The white beasts will come」

「Be careful, kind person. Nightmares feed on the kindest of hearts」

A gust of wind blew past.

It whipped the snow up into the air, blinding me. When that momentary blizzard died down, there was nothing but the quiet darkness of night stretching across the abandoned city.

All of this felt like an illusion……

（――――――Don't ever forget）

……but ever so faintly, I could still hear the cat's voice.

[1] The last time this term came up, it came with an explanation, so I didn’t say anything back then, but it’s been a while so this is just a reminder. Each of Elysium’s Popes has their own hero who is meant to do things in the Pope’s place. After all, you cannot expect the Popes, the ultimate leaders, to leave Elysium to perform tasks or lead armies as they’re too valuable. Hence, the heroes can be said to be their Pope’s “representatives”, and so the author coined the term “representative hero” for them, and yes, it’s not a common term at all.

I don’t know if you all have realized, but there are some hints/foreshadowing the author left that I don’t draw attention to as I can very easily cross the line and end up spoiling the story. Yes, I have kept quiet about a lot so far. XD Anyway, just know that there is something in this release that will reveal a tremendous secret should you connect the dots, which is doable considering you already know everything you need to do so.

On a lighter note, the author purposefully used the gender-specific version of “mother-child”, which means that Tyutyu is the parent here lmao. Also, those who are sharped-eyed and have a good memory have probably realized that Tyutyu’s literal words were, “He won’t die even if you kill him.” XD

“Those whom death awaits”, huh? That can be taken a few ways, can’t it? Is it saying that Souya going to die? Or does it mean something else? Yeah, it took me a while to figure out how to get the right amount of vagueness in it. XD

I feel like I don’t even need to say this, but this volume doesn’t have the same feel to it as the previous volumes, don’t you agree? We’re definitely stepping into the thick of it in this one, so stay tuned!

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