The Hero's Journey That Never Ends (1)
“I thought it would take you a bit longer to get here. You walk fast for a hero.”
She said that as she leaped down from the tree.
Her robe fluttered around her, intensifying that fragrance from before.
For a split second, the ornate, beautiful red dress beneath revealed her stunning figure.
The moment she landed, her shapely legs caught my eye…
Wait!? High heels while jumping down!?
Crack.
See? She twisted her ankle.
It was loud enough for me to hear. Is she okay?
Oh, she's walking fine.
Good thing it doesn't seem too serious.
“Um… are you alright?”
“Hngh… kh. So it was you, Kirgil. I had no idea back then.”
She's pretending it didn't happen. Out of respect for her desperate effort to hide the pain, I'll play along and pretend too.
“Yes, it's me, Kirgil. Fancy meeting you here again. Though this hardly feels like a touching reunion, given the circumstances.”
I pointed at the orcs starting to rush toward us from the outpost, one by one.
“No matter. I have no intention of letting them pass.”
I don't know why, but it seems she's planning to protect me.
It only makes sense—she's traveling alone through these deep woods, so she must be no ordinary fighter.
Still, why? She's just someone I chatted with briefly back in Agnes Village.
“Um… beautiful lady with the lovely fragrance, why are you protecting me?”
“Lovely fragrance… You certainly know how to please others.
That's why. Because you pleased me, I shall aid you.”
“…I don't get it.”
“This is not an act I do to seek your understanding. I do it because I desire it.
And while I am pleased by the title you gave me, you know so little of me.”
Well, I figured it was a fake name, and I didn't want to pry, so I erased it from memory. You can't remember and casually call out to every random person you bump into.
“Pa… na. Call me Pana.”
“Got it. Pana, the beautiful lady in the lovely dress with the enchanting fragrance. I'll remember that.”
“Hahaha! You have a mischievous side after all!”
In the meantime, axes and stones began flying our way one by one.
While we chatted, dozens of orcs had gathered.
Damn, that's a lot of them.
Shit! An axe is flying straight at me!
“Pana!!”
"Here, I shall establish my dignity."
Thud!!!
The axe was blocked by some kind of barrier and clattered to the ground.
Probably a magic shield like the ones Ashushikara puts up.
“Go, Kirgil. We shall meet again someday.”
“You sound like you've heard some divine revelation or something.
Of course, I'll be looking forward to it.”
“No revelation. It is because I desire it so.”
“Anyway, thanks.”
Pana, right? She looks like a top-tier mage at a glance.
I can probably trust her to cover my back while I run.
“Oh, right. One last thing before I go.
You said their kingdom is built on strength and revenge. Well, there's one more thing.”
“Is that so? What might that be?”
“From what I see now, they have loyalty too. More advanced than you described.”
“……”
No response, but she'll accept it.
Recalling our past talk, she's the type who gets intrigued by new knowledge or insights, even if not quite like Agnes.
“Heh, you truly please me. You are worth more than I expected.”
Hearing that, I started running again.
Soon after, it seemed Pana's forces clashed with the orcs.
“Graaah!! What the hell!? Who dares block us!?”
“Don't stand in the way of our honor!!”
“Kill it!! Kill that bitch too!!”
“Heh, I have watched all through Katona's eyes.
I hear you lot care deeply for the king's words. Thus…”
"Here, I proclaim!"
Boom!!!!
A flash of light erupted behind me, followed by a massive roar.
"To all, I proclaim!!"
Boom!!! Boom!!!
Again. Flashes and thunderous booms echoed through the darkness repeatedly.
White lightning was striking the ground around Pana in rapid succession.
The orcs were being fried and flung back in front of her.
Whoa. If this were a game, the genre just completely changed.
Mine was a nerve-wracking stealth action game, but Pana's turned it into full-on Dynasty Warriors.
I was a little worried about her, but now I'm starting to feel bad for the orcs.
I can hear their desperate cries as they scatter in all directions to escape her.
“Sniff sniff!! That smell!! The scent of death!! Retreat!! It's the scent of death!!”
“Graaahk!! Run!! Death's stench is coming from her!! Death approaches!!”
“Keeek!? Scent of death!? For real!? Flee!! Retreat!! Run!!”
Whatever it is, not just the orcs—even the goblins who were just watching—are panicking and fleeing every which way.
Pana's definitely fine.
Now, time to focus on my own stuff.
“Hoo… hoo… haa. This should be safe enough.”
With Orio slung over my shoulder, I headed straight for my backpack. I grabbed it and ran some more before setting up camp in a spot with good sightlines for watching the surroundings.
Orio's out cold right now after I spanked her ass so hard it drew blood.
Carrying both luggage and a person is exhausting as hell.
The sweat, the heavy breathing… whew….
My backpack held not just survival rations and water, but also the emergency meds and tools from Agnes.
I had no choice but to hit her that hard—the blood soaked through her dress visibly.
It really was unavoidable…
Ugh… really… totally unavoidable…
Unavoidable, but I vented a bit too…
Screw it!
Anyway, it worked out in the end!!
I'd seen Suu nearly die from hiding a small wound not long ago. I couldn't just ignore an obvious injury like this.
I lit a fire nearby, then lifted the unconscious Orio's skirt, pulled down her undergarments, and exposed her buttocks.
“Oof… that's bad. Really bad.”
Bruised doesn't even cover it—it's burst open.
I did it, but… damn, it feels good.
Hmm…
Better keep my mouth shut about this. Ahem.
I dampened a clean cloth with water and carefully wiped the blood-crusted area.
“Grk… kh.”
Even unconscious, the stinging must be making her groan.
I'm not some pervert getting excited over a woman's plump ass smeared in blood.
Besides, she's Ferio's mother.
No antibiotics in this world. No Ashushikara here either.
Need to clean, disinfect, and treat it fast before infection sets in.
So I pulled some medicine from the bag and carefully applied it to the exposed wound.
“Gr… kyaa… aak!?Kyyaaaaaaaah!!”
Ugh… yeah, intense reaction as expected.
Par for the course with Agnes's special brew.
Burning, stinging, and on top of that, scorching hot.
Anticipating this, I'd prepared another clean cloth and gagged her mouth like a bit.
Can't have her screaming at night and alerting enemies or beasts to our position.
Her limbs are still bound too—no time to untie, and even if I did, she wouldn't be any help.
Anyway, Orio thrashed wildly, so I had no choice but to straddle her and pin her down.
“Mmmph!! Mmmph!!”
“Ma'am, bear with it. The wound's serious—if we don't treat it now, you might die before we get home.”
“Mmmph!! Mmmph!”
She was thrashing too hard, so I had to press down harder. Damn, lugging her here was killing me already, and now she's wearing me out to the end.
She wouldn't stop, so I gave up on careful application. Just slathered a handful and smeared it roughly over the wound.
Smack!
“Mmmph!!”
If I wasn't holding her down, she'd have curled up like a shrimp.
Oh, crap… sweating buckets here.
Hey, ma'am, if you keep squirming like that…
“!!@#!@#!$!%!%!@#!@#!@#”
Oh no. Without the gag, that would've been an inhuman screech.
Kerry said once she wanted to rub Agnes's meds into her boss's asshole.
Should tell her how effective it is next time I see her.
She's thrashing so much the ointment's getting gooey and dripping down further…
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? @#!@#!@#”
Whoops, not my fault.
Plenty of medicine on now, so I'll pull the skirt back down.
Hmm, better skip the underwear.
Hard to say it, but it has to be done.
Right now… just a tiny bit… a tiny bit of guilt.
Ughhh… her eyes are rolling back, whites showing.
Eee… no way it's that bad…
Ahem… can't look away, it's like…
“Filthy…”
She must've heard my slip, because Orio's eyes flew wide open and locked onto me for a moment.
“……”
Then she passed out again.
She didn't die, right?
Phew, breathing. Time to remove the gag.
The ropes…
Better leave them on tonight, just in case. Cut them tomorrow.
A mix of satisfaction and guilt—strange feeling.
No regrets, though. Honestly, it feels great.
Like a cool blue energy settling in my chest and spreading out, refreshing.
Anyway, I saved someone who was about to be dragged off and executed.
Her condition's rough, but I already told Ferio—I'd keep her alive and spank some manners into her.
Wasn't planned, but it worked out that way.
Deep in wild woods on the frontier, enemies could show up anytime. No one to swap night watch with, so even sleep has to be light and tense.
But.
With Orio twitching now and then beside me, I have a feeling I'll sleep like a baby despite myself.