Chapter 123

Chapter 123

A few days away from Monroy...

Currently, we’re becoming closer to the Demon Zone .

We may arrive in the Demon Zone by tomorrow .

[Welcome back . ]

Washing clothes at a river, Seras looks up .

Just a while ago, I was shopping in the nearest village .

Currently, we’re camping lightly inside a forest .

[I’m sorry, Touka-dono . I’ve left all the resupplying up to you . ]

Basically, I’m in charge of procuring supplies .

[Well, it’s because my face isn’t identified by anyone . If I just say I’m a traveler, no one would suspect anything . ]

Wringing out the water out of the clothes, Seras smiles .

[Well, I’m not as good at acting as you . ]

[I’m just good at removing my presence and slipping into crowds . ]

Were-leopards and Dark Elves would surely stand out .

Seras certainly have that ability to change her appearance .

However, her beauty would still attract the attention of others .

Her ability to change her appearance isn’t omnipotent .

She couldn’t significantly change her appearance .

She couldn’t alter her age and gender .

She also couldn’t change the physical features of everything below her head .

She said that she focuses most of her ability on altering the shape of ears, so she could change the other aspects that much .

I gave the things I’ve bought to Seras .

[Once we enter the Demon Zone, you won’t have to use the power of altering your appearance . You should be able to sleep normally without depending on my . ]

It seems that Seras doesn’t have any compensations left that she had to pay .

If she were to use the power of the spirits, she won’t be able to sleep for a while .

However, she could sleep if I were to use my .

If you were to think about cheating, this should be considered one .

However, the spirits haven’t made any complaints even now .

[Where’s Eve and Liz?]

[They’re taking care of the horses over there . ]

Together with Seras, we went towards where the two of them were .

[You’ve returned, Touka . ]

[Touka-sama, welcome back . ]

It seems that Eve and Liz reached a point where they could pause what they’re doing .

[Pinniii~♪]

This time, Pigimaru is house sitting again .

Pigimaru is currently being held in the embrace of Liz .

It looks like they’ve become close friends,

Now then...

[How about we start eating?]

The sun is about to set and the sky is about to turn dark .

The weather has been favorable these past few days .

It was quite sunny today too .

The temperature is quite moderate and we passed our time peacefully .

We sat down in a circle .

Today’s dinner is as follows .

Broiled meat .

Some fruits .

And the main dish, stew .

We decided to use the ingredients that won’t last long today .

As for seasoning this stew, I entrusted it to Liz .

[It would be great if it’s palatable...]

I sip some of the soup .

Delicious .

[I guess I could leave food preparation to Liz from now on . ]

[Ah... Thank you very much . ]

[Pimumuu~♪]

Apparently, it also suits Pigimaru’s tastes .

However, it was quite a curious sight for me to see the soup being consumed in his body .

The color just disappears without mixing into his body .

Crouching down, Liz gently pets Pigimaru .

[Fufu... Thank you, Pigimaru-chan...]

[Pii~♪]

I called out to Seras who had begun cleaning up with haste .

[Seras . ]

[Yes . ]

[I’ll clean that up, so help Liz change her clothes . ]

I bought some clothes and equipment for Liz today .

I can’t rent someone else’s because of the difference in size .

Liz has been wearing the same clothes until now .

Most of all, we will soon be entering the Demon Zone .

Liz can’t just enter into that area unprotected .

She would need armor to protect herself in case of emergency .

[Though I said that... This is the only thing that fits Liz’s physique . ]

There are hardly any options I could pick when it comes to armor for children .

By the way, I simply measured Liz’s size along the way .

[It seems that some noble from somewhere has made her daughter wear this once, but it ended up being thrown away . It was supposed to be a gift for her, but she didn’t like it . ]

And, he said that noble has just thrown it at the village where he passed by at that time .

Seras is closely checking the equipment .

[It feels like it’s already a complete set of equipment . It looks like it puts heavy emphasis on its appearance, but the protection it gives itself is quite good . ]

This would protect Liz’s body more than the current clothes she’s wearing .

I looked towards Liz .

[...Is that armor fine with you, Liz?]

[O- Of course! Thank you very much, Touka-sama!]

[...If you don’t like it, you don’t have to force yourself, you know?]

[T- That’s not the case at all . Rather, Touka-sama had to go out of his way just to buy this clothes for me... I’m actually quite glad . ]

She’s too meek...

[Seras . ] n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

[What is it?]

[That complete set of equipment, you could take away some of the parts based on your judgement and replace them with cloth . ]

Seras giggled .

[Understood . ]

For the me right now, I can’t do anything but bear a grudge towards that noble with a detestable hobby .

▽

Our journey to the Demon Zone has been fairly smooth .

It must be because we were able to travel almost out of the sight of others .

Before, Eve and Liz said that they have travelled together .

They’ve also travelled while trying to hide from the eyes of the public .

That’s why they’re already used to travelling like this .

Seras Ashrain was a fugitive .

She also has been keeping her travels hidden from the eyes of the public .

I’ve also been travelling while hiding my identity .

The point is that everyone knows how to travel away from the eyes of the public .

Eve’s ears that could keenly detect sounds .

Eve’s night vision that gives her visibility even in the dark .

These two had also played a role in our smooth travel .

[It’s a bit roundabout, but it seems we’ve finally arrived before the Demon Zone . ]

Eve looked at the distant gentle hill .

If we were to follow the road and descend down from that hill, we would be able to enter the Demon Zone .

We’ve made some detours because we’ve been avoiding castles and forts scattered about in the area .

The people in those castles and forts were the ones hunting monsters that have come out of the Demon Zone .

There are not many instances of that happening, but there were still some rare chances that monsters would appear .

Even though that’s the case, they also haven’t covered up the whole area .

There are also some places where they were scarce .

Therefore, there are some cases where some monsters get past .

In fact, we have encountered some golden-eyed monsters before we arrived here .

Well, I hardly had the chance to make my move though .

Incidentally, we’ve released the horses in the forest before we arrived in front of the Demon Zone .

We can’t bring them along in the Demon Zone .

That was Eve’s decision .

Currently, we’ve kept our luggages to the bare minimum .

I stood next to Eve .

[It looks like a sea of trees . ]

This is the scenery I could see from the top of the hill .

There was complete darkness spreading out in a forest .

I couldn’t see the other side of the forest at all .

There was certainly a curtain of mist in the distant forest but...

From the scope of the area I could see in, it currently reflects the silence of the Demon Zone .

[That is?]

I could see a really large tree in the distance .

Obviously, it’s the only oddly gigantic tree in the forest .

[That’s the Corrupted Tree . ]

Eve answered .

[Corrupted Tree?]

[It is said that it was originally a holy tree . Currently, it may have become the symbol of the Demon Zone . ]

[The other name for the Golden Demon Zone was the “Great Ruins, right?]

[Umu . ]

There used to be a civilization in the past there huh .

You could say that there were ruins all around the world... .

Did this world already got destroyed once?

▽

We decided to take some rest before we entered the Demon Zone .

We will depart tomorrow morning .

As expected, we would need to be in tiptop shape .

After we finished setting up our camp, we took some rest .

[By the way, Eve, do you remember to find the whereabouts of the Witch?]

[I don’t . ]

[Hmm? Ah, so you have a map to go there huh . ]

[No, I don’t have such a thing . ]

Wait a minute .

[———————-]

No, it would be alright .

Eve definitely knows where the witch is .

We’ve confirmed it through Seras’ lie detector .

[Don’t worry, Touka . ]

Eve stands up .

Looking down on me, she held out her hand .

[Stand up . And then, fill it into me . ]

I stand up .

[What am I going to fill in?]

[Your magic energy . ]

[In your arm?]

[To be exact, into my right hand . ]

[...I understand . ]

Eve’s voice is filled with confidence .

This may be some kind of special way to show the whereabouts of the witch .

I held unto Eve’s hand .

Her claws kind of feels like those of a beast .

However, her hand feels just like normal human skin .

[Should I really inject magic energy into your hand?]

[Umu . Just like Elves, us were-leopards weren’t good at kneading magic energy . It takes time for us . But if you’re a human who’s knowledgeable with magic, you should be able to do it quickly . ]

No, I’m not that knowledgeable about magic though .

However, that’s the case huh...

I could read the mechanism of how this works .

[I’m going to start . ]

[Umu . ]

I started injecting my magic energy .

I remembered that time .

That door in the Disposal Ruins that opens and closes when I injected my magic energy .

My hand started to shine in a bluish-white hue .

The faint light started moving into Eve’s palm .

[Nhnn... Mhmm... The feeling of being injected with magic energy feels strange...]

[Oh?]

From Eve’s palm, an emblem started floating out into midair .

It started floating until it hovered in front of my eyes .

It looks like a holographic image .

There’s also that .

It kind of feels similar to the Status display...

Seras and Liz’s mouth were wide open .

Even Pigimaru looks quite impressed...

[Pumii~]

–as he cried out .

The emblem’s shape started changing .

[This... looks like a simple map, doesn’t it?]

That’s the first thing I thought it resembles .

[Umu . This glowing green dot over here is probably our location . ]

I could also see another glowing dot on the map .

It’s situated north of the green dot .

[That is to say, this red dot in the north is—]

[It’s probably where the Witch of Taboos is . My father told me that . ]

[I see, so that’s how it works huh...]

[It’s because we can’t make a map of the Demon Zone . But with this, we just need to move knowing that we would make these two glowing dots closer to each other . ]

[Is it the witch that taught him how to make this emblem that turned into a map?]

[That’s what I heard . ]

[Hmm? Does that mean you’ve never met the witch?]

[I haven’t . ]

I heard that the inheritance of this emblem has been restricted .

It was only inherited by the tribe chiefs and their children .

Eve explained so .

Then, Eve must be the daughter of a tribal chief huh...

Well, I won’t intrude into topics like that .

The whereabouts of the Witch of Taboos .

That means the path we have to venture has become clear .

That’s enough for now .

Although we’re still resting right now, the Forbidden Curses are steadily getting closer to my grasp .

[Alright, we’ll be taking some rest today . ]

I turn my back on the Demon Zone .

[And tomorrow, we would finally enter the Demon Zone . ]