Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Chapter 5. Trees and Iron
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Judah, who had been sprinting vigorously across the ground, suddenly stopped as if caught by a gust of wind. One step, two steps. These were the steps he had to take to halt his body, which had been carrying him forward by momentum.
"Hoo."
He let out a light breath and looked down at his body. Even after running so long and so fast, not a single drop of sweat had formed, and his body was still brimming with vitality. Even before becoming the owner of the spirit sword, his stamina hadn't been bad, but now the difference was stark. His stamina recovered at an astonishing rate. Simply running didn't tire him easily.
Judah let out a light chuckle at this body condition he could never have felt in his original world. Looking back, the vast forest was empty, as if he had rented it out entirely. Naturally, there were no signs of life.
'They're not chasing.'
Of course. He had gone out of his way to use Carpediem's <Hypnosis> to ensure they wouldn't follow, so there was no way the knights under his command would ignore their superior's orders and pursue on their own. After scanning the surroundings once more, he activated to check Arhil's location. The elf, registered as a party member, and her position were clearly marked on the map. She seemed to be resting in place not far away, not moving from her spot.
He was very late. Should he say he had experienced something unprecedented like constipation in his life? He pondered. There were elves and Arhil, gazing toward him with hoods pulled low. Arhil jumped to her feet upon seeing Judah approach slowly and strode over briskly. Her eyes were sharply narrowed, as if she was a bit angry. Eek—Judah flinched under her gaze as she came close, tilted her head up, and looked at him.
"Why are you so late!"
"The elves have sensitive ears, so to avoid displeasing them, I went far away and took my time doing my business. It'd be embarrassing if you scolded me for that after I've handled it."
She peered deeply into Judah's eyes at his words, which came out so naturally. Her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled beautifully.
"Well... elves do have excellent hearing."
No one would enjoy hearing the sound of someone crapping—pfft, splat. It was a natural bodily function, but imagining someone else hearing it was deeply embarrassing and shameful. Upon reflection, Judah had actually been considerate of the elves. She nodded slowly, as if convinced, but then continued as if that wasn't the point.
"Still! We were all worried."
"Aw, come on. You know my skills—what's there to worry about? But I'm grateful for your concern."
"Agh. Yeah, I guess I'm the fool for worrying."
Judah grinned at her bittersweet sigh and placed his hand on her head. He ruffled her fluffy hair and then walked toward the elves. She followed, smoothing her furrowed brow and mussed hair, tilting her head as if something was off.
"By the way, Judah."
"Yes."
"Am I not older than you?"
"...You are, probably?"
Arhil pouted slightly, tilting her head, and shot him a sideways glance.
"Probably? It feels like I definitely am. I'm twenty-two this year. And you?"
"...Fifteen."
Why is she suddenly asking that? Judah revealed his age awkwardly. Walking side by side, she raised her hand to her forehead to compare their heights. Their height was inversely proportional to their age difference.
"Why?"
"Oh, nothing. It doesn't mean anything. I was just curious."
He blankly watched her back as she walked on, tilting her head. After a suitable rest, they set off again. There were several large and small castles along the way, but he had no intention of stopping there. Food, water, clothing—everything was plentifully prepared in Judah's <Bag>. If he wanted, he could pull out a huge basin in the middle of the forest for a bath. Not that he planned to waste supplies like that.
'It's going smoothly.'
He checked every day and trudged along boringly. He had worried that entering the Sillan Kingdom's territory might bring unexpected issues, but it was just unfounded anxiety. They passed through almost transversely, encountering no one midway. By now, the days were so dull that he almost wished something would happen.
But this boredom was nearing its end. Crossing the large mountain range visible in the distance would bring them to the elves' forest in less than a week. Thinking they were almost there lightened Judah's heart.
"It's getting chilly out."
As they walked diligently, Arhil commented from beside him, glancing over. Instead of answering right away, he turned to her, and as if to say look at this, she exhaled—haa—. Her breath puffed white into the air. He quietly watched it dissolve into the air like cigarette smoke. Cigarette... That momentarily reminded him of Gentia in Cernia Castle. Since Jeanne said she was stopping by Cernia Castle, she would probably pass on word of his well-being.
.....
...The flow of consciousness is a scary thing. He nearly missed the timing to speak.
"Yeah, winter's coming, after all."
Judah was startled at how naturally the words came out. Winter? Had it really come already? Checking the date through the system, it was already mid-December. Partly because the weather had been relatively warm, but since killing Cain, he hadn't paid much attention to dates, so he hadn't realized time had passed so quickly.
"Winter, huh. Time flies, doesn't it?"
"Hm... Does it? Is it fast?"
Arhil tilted her head.
"It's pretty fast. Didn't we meet around September?"
"So only three months since we met? Whoa! I thought we'd been together for a year. Just that long?"
She muttered in surprise. An elf walking nearby, who had been silently listening, spoke to Arhil.
"I thought you two had been together for quite a while, but apparently not."
"Right? That's what's surprising me too. With my previous companions, it took half a year to get this close. We were all wary of each other, clashing over personality differences and such. Come to think of it... I got close to Jeanne super fast too."
Judah gave a wry smile watching Arhil chat and laugh with the elf right away.
'Winter...'
The more he thought about it, the faster time seemed to have flown. The night before, he had noticed the weather turning quite cold, and it wasn't just his imagination. When leaving Cernia Castle, he would have thought wearing a coat like this was insane, but now the season had come where he couldn't go without one.
Half a year.
Only half a year since leaving Serenia Castle. In that half year, he had acquired four fragments out of twenty-four: <Carpediem>, <Altemia>, <Yakal>, <Valentine>. He had achieved what no one else could, and almost no one knew.
Even Jeanne thought Judah only had two fragments: <Altemia> and <Yakal>. And Arhil by his side was already bound and couldn't reveal it to others.
Once he obtained the fragment [Lüsen Ardahan] in the elves' forest, it would make five. It would be nice to get it before the year ended, but sadly, they'd arrive after the year was over.
'Let me think—when was it that Duke Yes attacked the elves' forest?'
His memory was fuzzy, but around early to mid-February. Sillan attacked the elves' forest in winter when snow fell. The area was relatively warmer than others, so snow came late. The leaves of the forest trees fell later too.
Around February, the trees would be bare. Elves hidden in dense foliage were hard to spot normally, but in winter with only branches, it was different. That was Sillan's aim. ...At least according to the story Judah knew.
But with the story derailed unpredictably and anomalies occurring, his knowledge and <Memo> notes were references at best, not fully reliable.
'Anyway, about a month and a half, 45 days left?'
Plenty of time. Fifteen days to reach the forest, leaving 30 days for endless possibilities. He'd meet the high elf <Via>, famed as the Sword Saint; visit Gabriel's temple to restore Arhil to a normal saintess; recover [Lüsen Ardahan]... and incidentally warn the elves that humans were preparing for war.
Sufficient.
As he nodded to himself, something snagged in Judah's senses.
"Hm?"
He felt an unpleasant gaze from someone else. Instead of stopping and looking around, he naturally rolled only his eyes to scan the surroundings. Naturally, Arhil hadn't noticed, chattering away with the elf. Not just her—the other elves seemed oblivious too, hoods back, laughing and walking hopefully.
'I don't think I imagined it... What is it?'
The feeling of being secretly watched grew to near certainty. Judah quietly opened his demon eyes. His pupils turned red, revealing things normally invisible. Far away, on a thick tree branch, sat a magic beast watching them. A round body bigger than a baseball but smaller than a soccer ball, with bat wings. And not just one or two.
"Damn it."
He spat a curse. The sharp-eared elves immediately stopped talking and looked at Judah. Ignoring their gazes, he summoned Altemia to his left hand and hurled it swiftly. The dagger flew like the wind, piercing the large eye on the beast's body.