Episode 279 Tell Me (9)
“…It’s heavy.”
“it’s okay.”
“It means that it would be impossible to carry her because we need to go as quickly as possible…”
Richa did not back down despite my protests. Instead, he approached me, who was half-leaning against a tree, and knelt down.
“What?”
In an instant, my body rested on his shoulder—pulled from there—and in that state, Mr. Richa stood up. It wasn’t long before my body was lifted up like a sack of sacks.
My impression of wanting to see something was ‘Huh? It changed to ‘Huh??’
“…You seem heavier than I thought.”
So what is this called? Shoulder method? How to transport alcohol? Military style carrying?
Well, at least it’s not a princess hug. I was sweating profusely while being carried horizontally on his shoulder. If she moved even a little bit, if she even tried to get off, Richa’s back would hurt, so she couldn’t flop around.
“It looked skinny.”
That’s why it looks like it’s because the clothes are tailored to the height, so there’s a lot of room left in the body… In reality, the body weighs over 100kg. So maybe?
Unless you’re significantly underweight, you’d be around 90 based on height alone, but I’ve also gained muscle.
Anyway, it is a fact that I am heavy. It would definitely be difficult for someone smaller than me to carry it on my back up the mountain.
“let’s go.”
However, Richa remained stubborn until the end, and I was dragged into that situation. It was the end of a man who was worried about his opponent’s back because he could not be persuaded with words and actually rebelled.
“Cough.”
“…Hold on just a little longer.”
It was a problem because Richa had a hard time, but it wasn’t a bad thing for me either. It is true that my body and head are already feverish and I am not in a good condition to walk.
“…!”
“I killed him, so don’t worry….”
In addition, it is easy to protect this person in this way. I hurriedly ran over and nearly ran into us, but I pierced the demon with my magic spear, killing it and spitting out some blood.
Just try to reach Munmund in this condition. Just like the Archmage once did, he will lie down sick and say that he will never be able to fight because his insides have been crushed due to excessive use of magical power.
They said that the side effects caused by excessive use of magic could not be cured even with divine power—to be exact, they said that if you put divine power into already muddy water, it would become even more complicated—so there was nothing to fret about.
I vomited some more blood, determined not to fake an illness.
“…it’s a castle.”
After waiting for an hour or two, maybe more, the castle appeared.
“Are you the devil?!”
Naturally, the guards on the castle walls were extremely wary of us. It was only natural that the two of us passed through a forest full of demons alone.
“Pull it up first! “Investigation later!”
Nevertheless, there is only one reason why we were able to go up. It was because of someone’s decision to let him in and interrogate him rather than leaving him outside the castle walls and letting him be killed by the devil out of suspicion.
“Don’t move. “If you move, I’ll kill you.”
Of course, just because we were raised above the castle wall does not mean that the questions facing us have decreased. Richa and I were slowly observed, surrounded by soldiers’ spear blades.
“…I think I need an antidote to demonic energy before answering questions.”
“Then… thank you.”
However, the first thing that was noticed during the process was Richa’s black veins. One of the soldiers fell back and came back holding a small pouch.
“thank you.”
The pouch was delivered hanging from the spear blade. No water was provided.
“…water. Would you like.”
“it’s okay. “If you say something carelessly here, you will be more misunderstood.”
That’s… I guess so. I decided to stay quiet, remembering the case as a tightly sealed curse jar. Meanwhile, Richa chewed the medicine raw and swallowed it.
“Priest.”
“…For now, I don’t feel anything.”
“Hmm. So are you really a scout? What is your affiliation?”
Is that the end of the minimum measures and minimum confirmation – whether it is the devil or not? We raised our hands and answered their questions one by one.
The focus was mainly on confirming Mr. Richa’s identity, but since he was originally from here, the questions and answers were conducted very smoothly.
The hostility of the guards has eased slightly due to the firm identity.
“Then the young man next to you…”
“Move over for a moment.”
At that time, someone squeezed out, pushing the soldiers aside. He was a man whose equipment was more luxurious than that of the soldiers, and his dark blue hair was shiny.
I think he must be a very high-ranking person. I was able to gauge the opponent’s location with my keen sense.
“…Atya?”
Even that failed due to a word that came out unexpectedly.
“…I guess my nephew and I really look alike.”
“….”
More than that, what kind of person is Atya really, so much so that she even knows people who look like nobles just by looking at her? I questioned that and grabbed my arm at the same time. It really hurts. As much as 2/3 of the pain I felt in the cabin.
No, not as much pain as that time.
“…Wizard?”
“Huh…”
“Wizard?”
Mr. Richa, who was holding up his hand, urgently grabbed me. I don’t know when my hand went down. Everyone around me looked at me with puzzled faces. Even that was quickly forgotten.
“It hurts…”
The pain felt like my whole body was being pounded with a pestle.
‘What are you doing.’
And then I heard laughter. Who is laughing?
‘The restraints are shaking, kid.’
I fell sideways, forgetting to brace my body. In the tilted world, several words rang out in a muffled form. “Jeong──ryeo.” Her vision became blurry and Richa cringed.
‘Either that.’
And in the corner of that distorted vision, someone stepped forward.
‘Have you finally thought about letting me out?’
The skull bones of a mountain goat were visible.
Pitch darkness came.
* * *
“You don’t plan on coming today either.”
Knight Walter muttered as he looked at the scene in the distance. His field of vision is filled with the extremely desolate realm of demons and swarms of skeletons moving about above it.
“Maybe they’re thinking of saving up more to come.”
“Well, is that really the case?”
However, the number of them was far too small to lament, ‘Is this the end?’ and strangely too many to consider ‘safe.’
It was difficult to move hastily or to leave it completely alone.
“It seems to me that they are just a ban to prevent us from moving too hastily.”
How long will this strange confrontation continue?
Are those damn devils really just trying to drag on time? Or is it just that they are hiding the troops they have gathered for a surprise attack?
It was really a question that I couldn’t know the answer to until they came in from the other side.
“…It’s frustrating.”
“I agree.”
Of course, when judging including information coming from other cities, the answer is most likely the former.
After all, how easy is it for a devil to do something like that? Both humans and demons were in the same position as there were no troops to charge across the entire Eastern Front. The standoff that lasted for hundreds of years was proof of that.
If there were any troops left between them, they would have destroyed the other side in an instant.
So the pressure they are putting on now is ultimately only temporary. This would not have been possible if the southern front had not been suddenly abandoned or if the troops had not been mobilized one step earlier.
They will only be released once the human southern forces reach the east.
“Is it really a place on the Eastern Front that they are targeting?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Now that I think about it, it’s a bit strange. If they were really going to target one place in the east, it would have been more effective to gather secretly and attack all at once with the intention of concentrating on attacking only one city, rather than putting pressure on the whole city and raising alertness… They will attack the east as if they were attacking it. They’ll attack here, so focus here. Doesn’t this seem like a protest?”
“Hmm….”
There is no problem in formulating a strategy for one battle, but there is no talent for a grand strategy that covers multiple regions.
So Walter racked his brain for a moment to understand his friend’s words.
“It seems like that when you say it like that… I don’t think it’s anything strange.”
“Is that what you hear?”
“But where on earth are you aiming after investing so many troops on the Eastern Front?”
“Well… that’s the problem.”
The southern front, which must have been somewhat weakened by sending reinforcements to the east?
What is the reason why the southern front has been maintained so loosely since ancient times? It was because of that damn desert. The desert, where both humans and demons can die without food, is the biggest obstacle to advancement.
“Hmm… did you send the skeletons there? “Why don’t skeletons function without eating?”
“It’s not like I haven’t thought about it, but… probably not. Why don’t skeletons need a corpse to be created? “In order to keep us in check and at the same time form a sufficient number to attack the southern front, we would have had to supply a large number of corpses… Is that possible?”
“I see….”
“Unlike our side, which can be crossed in a day, the southern desert is too wide, so… it would be fortunate if we could get to the front of the castle wall.”
In addition, skeletons are demons that do not need food, but can only function by steadily absorbing demonic energy from the surroundings.
If it were the central area of a demonic area overflowing with demonic energy, it might be a relatively sparse desert – the more you cross it, the thinner it becomes – but in the case of the desert, you would not be able to cross it, but would die on the way.
It’s not a skeleton either.
“Then the North…? No, that can’t be possible. That is a place that will never be penetrated. Isn’t the West also… a place with mountain ranges as rugged as deserts? “There’s even a Daesinjeon shrine there.”
However, Walter lost his doubts after hearing his friend’s words. This is because the reality is that there is no easy place to target.
“I think… it would be best to just aim for the East.”
“I guess that’s true too.”
“There… do you know anything? “Actually, they were planning to target us, but they couldn’t come because of that black thing that appeared on the first day.”
So Walter grinned, trying to change the subject.
Something that momentarily dyed the horizon black. What flashes through his mind is a scene from a few weeks ago.
“But what if it attacks us?”
“Ha, if you were going to attack me, you would have come sooner. What kind of enemy uses such an attack on allies rather than enemies? “The priests say it wasn’t even a sacrificial ritual.”
Of course, it wasn’t just a sacrificial ritual; it was something made of demonic energy. This is certain because all the priests who witnessed the scene at the time trembled.
“I’m not sure if it was infighting or something… but I think it was a bit of luck.”
But in the end it didn’t cause any harm to the city. Rather, it eliminated some of their enemies. Wouldn’t that be enough?
“This opinion is even more so considering that our junior Guderian has returned.”
Even more so on a day when the horizon was dyed black. To be exact, after that night. In front of the castle gate, there was the remains of a Dullahan lying neatly.
It was also the body of Guderian, a knight who had died 12 years ago and heir to a knightly family that was once famous in this city.
“What if it’s a trap?”
“well. “All the priests rushed in to clean it up, and it wasn’t like there was an attack when they were clearing it up.”
It is unknown who brought it to the castle. Because they left during the night, there were not even a single eyewitness.
Is it really a coincidence that the body of the knight who could not be recovered because he could not kill anyone came back at the right time? Is it really that that pitch-black thing came back right after it dyed the desert and slaughtered the demons?
“…I hate to think that the devil showed such kindness.”
“I agree with that.”
…It’s unlikely that the devil gave it back. It shouldn’t be.
Because I don’t want to receive a favor by returning it to the person who killed Guderian. Because the blood and flesh accumulated between them is too deep to be resolved by the good intentions once shown by the other person.
“But isn’t there some luck in this world that exists without reason?”
So it’s just luck.
“Or maybe you were just drawn in by my kindness, haha!”
As a young man with wheat-colored hair said, the kindness he showed to the knight candidates was returned to his juniors.
“What does kindness mean…”
“Oh, those are the words that the young man who stayed at my house for a while said sincerely.”
“That young man needs to improve his perspective.”
“What are you talking about? “He even wore glasses to see the world clearly.”
“Then I guess you took off your glasses and saw it.”
Walter hit the back of the head of his friend who was making fun of him. “evil! “If this crazy guy hits the helmet—!” I also felt such regret.
“Oh, I made a mistake. “I should have told you that good luck would come to you too—ugh!”
“It’s revenge, you bastard!”
Regret, which was too late to last even a beat, hit his back with his friend’s palm.
“All knights are summoned!!”
“huh?”
And then came the news that made me forget all that.
“This is a request for support from Munmund! “The Great Devil has appeared!”
It was news that made me forget everything about praying for someone and the possibility that someone was even discussing.
“…What they were targeting was Munmund.”
Also, the news was not only delivered to the city of Mannhafeld.
“Fortunately, it hasn’t been long since we went south. If we head north now, it might not be too late.”
The Inquisitor sighed while stroking the bridge of the nose of the horse that the Demon Knight once rode.
“…I’m going full speed ahead.”
The wheel of chance and fate began to roll.