Chapter 194.2
“Let’s give it a shot . We don’t have any other leads anyway, so instead of dawdling here, we might as well try that hypothesis of yours . ” [Sein]
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“Good timing . Shin and the others came back . ” [Peiron]
We rendezvoused with the other three members of the Wharf of Shikumu .
“Let’s go!” [Sein]
“Hah?” [Kai]
“What are you talking about?” [Kei]
“Sein? Can you give us an explanation?” [Shin]
“We’ll talk while we walk . For the mean time, let’s just go to the eastern part of the forest . ” [Shin]
“I’m going too!” [Ryouma]
Although the three members didn’t know what was going on, we took them with us and went to the eastern part of the forest .
By the time we got there, the sun had completely set and the forest was completely dark .
“A secret place to catch okuta would have to be deeper in, I think . ” [Kei]
“Agreed . Okutas tend to be timid, so they can usually be found in places away from people . ” [Shin]
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Kei-san and Shin-san narrowed down where the okutas could be found .
“I see . What about the rule that we can’t go any further than this?” [Sein]
“In that case, let’s go until the ‘Protruding Rock’ . ” [Shin]
“That’s the place where a part of the cliff facing toward the lake is overhanging a little . ” [Peiron]
“We’ll go deep into the forest quickly . Ryouma, it’s hard to see here, so make sure you don’t get lost!” [Kai]
Sein-san and Peiron-san gave some new information, and then Kai-san led our charge into the forest .
We relied on light magic to light our path as we pushed our way through the forest .
“! Did you hear something?” [Ryouma]
“What? …Is that true?” [Kai]
“I heard it too . I don’t know if it’s Niki, though . ” [Kei]
“It could be a monster . Let’s proceed cautiously . ” [Shin]
We followed Shin-san’s warning and cautiously walked toward the source of that sound . We sharpened our ears as we proceeded, and before we long, we knew what it was .
“This voice… It definitely belongs to a goblin . There should be about 5 of them, but they seem really agitated for some reason . ” [Ryouma]
The light should have stood out within this darkness, but they haven’t shown any signs of approaching us .
Instead it seems as if their attention is taken by something else .
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“Agitated? Are you telling me that kid is in there?” [Kai]
“…I don’t hear a child’s voice though . ” [Kei]
“Please don’t be there…” [Shin]
“…Either way, we can’t leave goblins near the village . We’re going, right?” [Sein]
“It’s a good thing that we equipped ourselves just in case . ” [Peiron]
The five of them drew out their weapons, while I equipped my iron slime katana .
We proceeded further in until we could make out the goblins .
“GIGI!” [Goblin 1]
GIi! GIi!” [Goblin 2]
“They’re coming! Don’t let your guard down!” [Kai]
“Yeah!” [Everyone Else]
The goblins had surrounded a tree that was especially thick even in the forest . When the goblins noticed us, they turned around . But they were unarmed, and the Wharf of Shikumu wasn’t so weak that they would struggle against some goblins .
…Because of that the battle lasted for but a moment .
The goblins collapsed into a pool of blood and the forest became quiet again .
“…That appears to be all of them . ” [Kei]
“Where’s Niki-kun?” [Shin]
“Hey! Niki! Are you here!?” [Sein]
Sein-san raised his voice .
“…Ah…” [Kai]
“Hey, just now . ” [Kei]
“Ahh! I definitely heard him just now!” [Shin]
“But from where?” [Sein]
“Come out! …Say something!” [Peiron]
We looked around us and at the trees above us, but there were no signs of a child hiding anywhere .
Still, we definitely heard a voice .
If they’re not around us or above, then maybe…
” ‘Earth Sonar’ …!!” [Ryouma]
I used the spell I invented before to search underground areas .
It might be because the ground isn’t purely earth but mud that the spell can’t get very far, but…
“What?” [Kai]
“Ryoumkun, what’s the matter?” [Kei]
“I checked with my magic . There’s a big cave under the tree . ” [Ryouma]
“What did you say!?” [Kai]
“A cave? in that case, there has to be an entrance somewhere . ” [Kei]
“! There’s a hole here!” [Shin]
“Seriously!?’ [Sein]
“It’s too tight . I can’t get in . I can’t see that far inside, but…” [Peiron]
“Switch with me . I should be able to fit . ” [Ryouma]
What Peiron-san found was an opening in the roots of the mangrove-like tree .
Within the entangled roots protruding overground was a space where the mud had been scraped out .
I peeked into that hole that looked like an animal burrow, and inside I found that it led to a narrow cave .
Despite my child-sized body, I just barely fit through the hole .
There wasn’t any room for me to raise up my head, so I could just crawl forward .
“Come to think of it, there was a time when I had to undergo SDF training too, didn’t I?” [Ryouma]
There was a time when people suggested that companies in my previous life have new employees undergo SDF training as a part of their employee training regime .
In order to test that, I was ordered to participate in the training during my day off . The SDF didn’t really have anything to do with my original job, but to be honest, it was actually a lot easier than my original job .