Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Chapter 132: L I G H T
Eve finally finished tying our luggages to Slei’s body with a leather belt .
Currently, Slei was in her second form again .
The third form consumes a lot of MP .
On the other hand, she could transform into her second form with just 1000 MP .
And this form is already enough if we want to just leave our luggages to her .
I touched the perfectly fixed luggages .
[You skillfully did this . ]
[I’ve already had quite the experience in travelling after all . Well, I think even Seras could do this . ]
I still have a long way to go with these kinds of things .
I don’t have that much experience with travelling .
I really need to remember things like this later…
However, I will continue relying on my comrades for this for the time being .
[You have a special power that only you could use . In exchange for relying on that power, we would be making up for your weak points… Therefore, I think you don’t have to do everything by yourself . ]
[…Did it show on my face?]
With a muffled laugh, Eve simply said .
[It’s unusual . ]
It seems that it’s usually difficult to read my thoughts .
We continued our venture into the Demon Zone .
The sunlight illuminating our path was being blocked by trees and branches of the numerous trees in our path . Even the places we could see have been getting dimmer and dimmer .
On the way, we found some places that we could camp on .
If there’s no good place that looks great to camp on, we would go back and set up our camp around sunset .
Even so, having Eve’s map with us is really great .
Thanks to that, it was easier for us to grasp the location of our destination when we were turning back .
Making landmarks when we were going to return were also minimal .
If we had no map, it should have been necessary for us to create a map while we proceed .
In that case, it would have a considerable effect on the speed of our advance .
Liz is on Slei together with the luggages .
That girl didn’t utter any complaints, even when she was carrying our luggage while we walked .
However, it was quite clear that the one with the least physical strength here is Liz .
I’m quite thankful that Slei joined our little group because of this .
However… Liz is quite good at understanding as usual .
Although I could see that she’s still being reserved, she knows when something is appropriate or not .
Only she was the one riding the horse .
Liz was initially being reserved about it .
However, she immediately accepted .
She probably understood that it would just waste our time .
I understood it from her expression and the tone of her voice .
Looking at the other’s situation, that child is trying to determine what action she had to take .
She had an ability to naturally grow while always watching out the complexion of her so-called “guardians” .
She’s a child who puts others first before herself .
I moved beside Slei .
[Liz . ]
[Ah- What is it, Touksama?]
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[It was often said that it was a bad habit if someone only looked at others . ]
Liz silently listened .
[However, it could be useful sometimes too . If you were to steadily look at others, you may be able to learn various things from them . ]
[… . Yes . ]
Liz loosened up .
[Nevertheless, it’s not good if you always endure everything . If you really want something by all means, be sure to properly say it . It would be alright, we wouldn’t deny something without hearing the others first . ]
I lightly pat Liz’s small back while she’s on the horse .
Pat .
[Am I clear?]
[Thank you for looking after me, Touksama…]
[Also, I’m going to rely on you regarding Eve . ]
[Eh?]
[She’s dull, after all . ]
[I could hear you, Touka . ]
I grinned at Eve who glanced back towards us .
[Well, I said it knowing that you could hear it . ]
Hehe—
Riding on the horse, Liz smiled .
[Yes . Then, you could leave that part of Big Sister to me . ]
Eve looked at Liz, astonished as her mouth were hanging open .
[L- Liz…]
We continued encountering monsters as usual .
I could have easily disposed of it with my Abnormal State Skill, but Eve suggested .
[I want to fight strong monsters and temper my battle instinct . ]
Fighting against strong opponents will always be the most effective way to train .
Especially, actually having to experience battles where that could decide whether you live or die is a powerful source of experience .
Seras also agreed with her suggestion .
She wants to fight monsters unless the difference between their strengths were absurdly far .
She also wished for that .
[However, we will let Toukdono have the finishing blow as much as possible . ]
[I understand . ]
I can’t really do anything but help them improve their fighting ability .
And if they look like they’re struggling in their fight, I could stop the monster with my skill .
Seras fought with the monsters while cooperating with Eve .
It seems they’re trying to build up their combination .
Seras’ footwork and the way her body moves reminds me of an elegant dance .
Her movements were smooth and there wasn’t any wasted steps .
She easily evaded the monster’s fierce attacks .
Her forte is her ability to properly interweave the power of spirits within battle .
Also, she would sometimes use her Regalia of the Spirits when she could see that she’s fighting against a strong enemy .
She wants to test out how much strength a monster could have before she would use it .
On the other hand, you could say that Eve moves like a ferocious warrior .
Even when she looks like a wild beast as she fought, you could see that her movements were thoroughly refined .
Compared to how Seras fights, her way of fighting has a tinge of severe wildness in it .
Once she swings her sword, her slashes will severely cut through the monster’s flesh .
Strength, agility, reflexes, technique, and a wild perception…
There is not a single fault among those aspects .
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You could even say that she’s a true warrior gifted with natural talent .
Even if I were to take them as my master to improve my combat abilities from hereafter, all I could say was that the ability of these two doesn’t have any shortcomings anymore .
For three days, we went on with our search for the witch’s home .
We still haven’t encountered any Human-Faced among those times .
We arrived in a ruined area filled with debris all around the place .
It seems that there were some buildings built in this ruins back then .
The building has been destroyed after countless years of standing in this place .
There’s no roof on the top of the building anymore .
Only the walls scattered about in the area were left as proof that they existed .
Though I say that, it was enough protection for us .
It seems that this is good enough to include as a place where we could camp in for the time being .
Looking up to the sky, I could see that the skies had already been light dyed in a tinge of red .
A plain that was surrounded by an area filled with trees that blocks the sun .
However, we should also be careful since this area isn’t obstructed from the sight of the monsters lurking within the forest .
Though I say that, there’s no presence of any monsters around at the moment .
Sitting down, I checked Eve’s map .
[It seems like we’ve considerably drawn near towards her . ]
[Umu . It seems that we’ve already travelled two-thirds of the distance we need . ]
I glanced at the black horse that’s eating grass beside Liz .
The speed of our advance had greatly increased when Slei joined us .
Moreover, Slei has never been scared of monsters .
It has quite the courage huh .
Or is it because Slei doesn’t regard those monsters as a threat because of her third form?
Anyway, our concerns regarding that have disappeared .
That’s only for now though .
[It seems that we’re pretty close to the witch’s home . ]
With her hands on her knees, Seras is leaning forward and peeked at the map .
Sitting next to me with her hand propping her chin, Eve nods .
[Umu, we should be able to arrive there in one go from here . ]
I looked towards the sky .
I also checked my pocket watch .
[For the time being, let’s advance for another one or two hours today . ]
Eve stands up .
[Touka, I’ll be scouting a little further . ]
[Be careful . ]
[Umu . ]
Eve melts into the dark forest that has begun to be filled in dusk .
She has the ability to search just like a sensor and that’s why she’s good at scouting .
Seras wryly smiles .
[Fufu, Eve is quite energetic—]
Thud .
Seras trips forward .
She immediately pressed against the wall beside me and stopped her fall .
On the other hand, I look like I was about to hug Seras .
Our faces were close to each other that our noses almost touched .
[…It looks like you suddenly staggered, are you alright?]
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[Y- Yes… I’m sorry . ]
Seras calmly smiles .
[H- However, I’m alright so…]
[That looks like a lie . ]
[I- I certainly am a bit tired . ]
It was my blunder .
I didn’t notice Seras is fatigued already .
I was just paying attention towards Liz’s physical strength .
I found out that Eve’s physical strength wasn’t a problem .
She is easy to read based on her face and behaviour .
If she is tired, I could immediately recognize it .
And I myself probably hardly get fatigued thanks to the status correction .
However, Seras doesn’t have that much physical strength .
[My bad… I should have looked at you a bit more . ]
Seras almost usually look quite composed .
However, she is also quite good at keeping a poker face .
Just like Eve said that it was hard to read my emotions .
Unexpectedly, Seras is also the type whose emotions were hard to read .
[It should be no problem for me if it was just an hour or two—]
[That’s no good . ]
Grasping both of Seras’ shoulders, I lightly push her back as I stand .
[We’re going to rest here for the day . ]
[…I’m sorry . ]
[Don’t apologize . It was my fault that I didn’t notice it . It’s unacceptable as the leader of our group . However—]
I pat Seras on her shoulder .
[Don’t overdo it . Okay?]
[…Yes . ]
[How is it?]
My lips distorting to a smile, I asked .
[Were you impressed by your Captain-sama’s kindness?]
Seras’ eyes were filled with happiness as she looked down and placed her hand over her chest .
[Yes, very much so . ]
It was just a joke to lighten the atmosphere though .
It seems that she’s too tired that she couldn’t understand a joke .
[Touka . ]
Eve finally came back .
[What is it?]
[A few distance from here, there’s some kind of huge ruins-like building . ]
Passing through the area filled with large trees again, I could certainly see a huge ruins standing before us .
Probably because of the large trees blocking it .
We didn’t see it even when we looked at it from a distance .
[That’s really large . ]
There’s hardly any destruction around .
The shape of the building kind of resembles a pyramid .
That’s right, it would be that .
It’s like the ruins of the Mayan Civilization .
Its appearance kind of reminds me of that .
I could see a door on the end of the long staircase .
We began climbing the stairs .
Slei skillfully climbs along with us .
It’s almost time for the sun to set .
If we can’t camp in this place, we would go back and camp in that ruins earlier .
We finally arrived on the top .
I look towards the surroundings .
If there weren’t these huge trees around the area, I could have seen far on the distance .
However, the curtains of the night is already falling down .
Therefore, the darkness began encompassing the skies .
I then turned towards the door .
[This is—]
There was a jewel on the door .
Ah, it’s the usual jewel huh .
I then noticed something .
[Hmm? There’s some magic energy filled in the gauge already…]
[Actually, I’ve tried injecting my own magic energy before I called all of you . ]
Eve could also inject magic energy .
[However, this was all the magic energy that I could accumulate . It seems that I have to ask you to do this . ]
[Leave it to me . ]
Status Open .
I displayed my MP .
You could say that we’re on a high ground .
It would be troublesome if a monster approaches if this jewel were to illuminate .
Turning towards Seras, I asked for a large piece of cloth from our luggage .
I then covered the jewel with the cloth .
This should minimize the amount of light that leaks out of it .
Touching the jewel, I started pouring my magic energy into it .
Loud rumbling rang out as the door began opening .
[As expected of you, Touka . ]
Seras steps into the building and illuminated the front with the power of the Light Spirit .
[Hmm… It doesn’t seem to be that spacious inside . I also couldn’t feel the presence of any other creatures nearby . ]
[Then, we could use this place to stay on tonight . ]
With Seras leading the way, everyone stepped into the building .
I incidentally looked behind me .
In a far away distance, I could see a flickering light .
That light flickered several times .
At this distance, I think that place should be within the Demon Zone but…
What is that?
Are those just monsters killing each other?
I remember our location based on the map .
If Urza is in the south, the direction where the light was intermittently flickering about came from the northeast .
Ah, so that’s how it is .
Now I remembered why I strangely felt nostalgic .
Now that I think about it, that direction is where—
[—The f*cking goddess I hated so much lives . The direction pointing towards Alion huh . ]