Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Pursuit and Search (1)
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“Sis, did you find anything?”
In the forest beside Luis Village.
Luis Forest was known for its peacefulness, with the only monsters that appeared being slimes.
No monsters, no requests.
Just as peace didn't suit adventurers, Luis Forest held no appeal for them at all.
But contrary to that common knowledge, an A-Class adventurer and a C-Class adventurer were now scouring the area with bloodshot eyes.
“Ugh.”
Cecilia walked along the verdant forest path, staring intently at the ground for a long time.
She had searched everywhere with fiery determination, but found no traces whatsoever.
Rosa's anxious question seemed to desperately hope for a positive answer. But Cecilia could only shake her head.
“Sorry, Rosa. I didn't find anything.”
“Ah......”
As an A-Class adventurer,
even Cecilia had no idea where the monster had gone. She hadn't found a single clue about what happened to Piona and Amy.
“No, sis. Why should you apologize? I'm truly grateful you helped.”
“......You sure you're okay?”
Cecilia asked with a worried expression.
“Yeah, of course. I'm fine.”
Rosa's voice was resolute. But Cecilia could tell it was a voice forcing back sorrow.
She wasn't fine at all.
The sadness, anxiety, and impatience in Rosa's eyes were all too easy to read.
It was only natural. Two of her comrades had gone missing, and all traces had vanished.
It had been almost two days since the 'Garto Brieu' sets bought by Rosa, Piona, and Amy had shattered.
When they had first dashed into the forest from the restaurant, they quickly spotted traces, which felt promising.
She had assumed rescue would follow easily, but strangely, the monster was nowhere to be seen.
- Huh? Th-there's no monster?
- Yeah, where the heck did it go?
The tracks looped around the forest in circles.
Normally, that would be good news.
If the tracks stayed within the forest, it meant the monster was still inside.
But it wasn't.
There were no signs of the monster leaving the forest, yet it was nowhere to be found no matter where they looked. It was utterly baffling.
Moreover, the tracks were all somewhat old.
No fresh ones had turned up.
They could infer it used a cave as its main lair and roamed around from there, but the cave interior was empty.
Had it sunk into the ground? Flown into the sky? It was maddening.
- ......Maybe it's a flying monster?
A few hours earlier, Rosa had voiced her suspicion hesitantly. Cecilia recalled the conversation.
- A flying monster? It's not 0% possible, but that doesn't explain the unbroken ground tracks.
- Right...... But if not that, how could there be no traces at all?
- Yeah, exactly?
No matter how she thought about it, it was a mystery. Where on earth had the monster gone?
There was one possibility.
'The valley.'
If it had moved through the valley, the lack of tracks would make sense.
- Or maybe...... it went through the valley?
Rosa had asked that when the vanishing tracks defied explanation.
But the monster through the valley?
Why?
It was hard to imagine.
Of course, monsters could enter valleys like humans. The water wasn't poisonous, and they needed it to survive, so it was natural.
Considering every possibility, Cecilia had searched 10 km up and down the valley.
In case the monster had swum through and exited the forest far away.
But after covering a full 10 km in both directions, no signs of it leaving the valley appeared.
That meant the monster had deliberately traveled over 10 km along the valley.
That was truly unimaginable.
It implied the monster understood human tracking and had plotted a route to evade it.
- Nah, no way that's possible.
- Y-yeah, it doesn't make sense, right?
Rosa knew it logically too.
That a monster couldn't devise such a route.
Yet, even hours after that talk, her intuition kept whispering.
'The valley.'
The monster had fled into the valley, and heading that way would lead to Piona and Amy.
Rosa's intuition had never been wrong before. So she kept staring across the valley.
Honestly, she wanted to explore the valley with Cecilia. But......
'That would be too much trouble for her.'
Cecilia had already done more than enough as a big sister figure.
She couldn't impose further, especially not for an uncertain, time-unknown valley search. It would take nerves of steel.
A-Class help was invaluable, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.
“Sis, thank you so much for helping. I think I'll head out now.”
“Huh? You're just leaving?”
“Yeah, staying longer feels like a waste of time.”
“......Alright.”
Rosa thanked Cecilia sincerely and parted ways.
But she didn't return to the city.
She headed straight to the adventurers' guild, withdrew some of her savings, and began recruiting with generous terms.
'I have to find them. Piona and Amy.'
Rosa gritted her teeth. Her two comrades were irreplaceable.
“Hm! Miss, you want to find your comrades?”
Hakapia territory, adventurers' branch by Amus Lake.
Rosa's posted request was for tracking, subjugation, and rescue.
The pay was double the usual rate—exceptionally generous.
Money attracts people. The response was swift.
A three-person adventurer party and one solo adventurer approached, eager to accept.
The leader of the trio was a middle-aged man with a bushy beard.
He rested a pot-lid-sized fist on his hip, with an axe as big as a person's torso slung across his back.
“Yes.”
As Rosa nodded, he boomed heartily.
“Leave it to us! With our 'Blue Axe Adventurers,' we'll find your comrades in no time. Hard to believe there's such a powerful monster in Luis Forest...... Haha! We'll give it our all!”
“Thank you.”
Rosa bowed her head.
Next was the solo adventurer. She wore a hood that shrouded her entire body, along with a mask. A mysterious woman covered head to toe.
Her only visible feature was her eyes—beautiful and striking.
“I'll...... take the request and help.”
Her voice was ambiguously pitched, clear yet so calm it blended into the air.
“Thank you.”
Nod—
The woman nodded slightly at Rosa's response, prompting the trio's leader to ask immediately.
“When do we set out?”
“Right now would be great, if possible.”
“Hahaha, the sooner the better! Since we're on the topic, let's head out!”
Thus, a strong party of three C-Class adventurers and one B-Class solo joined Rosa.
Gender ratio: three men, one woman.
The all-male party was chatty, making info-sharing easy, but the solo woman was so taciturn it was awkward.
Finally, Rosa spoke up.
“Um, excuse me.”
“?”
“Could I ask your name?”
The woman glanced at Rosa and murmured softly.
“......Yuri.”
“Ah, Yuri. Pretty name.”
Adventurers could register aliases at the guild for anonymity.
In fact, she was listed as 'Silver Blade,' so her real name wasn't known.
“......What is it?”
“Huh?”
“If it's about the request...... I've heard it all, so no worries.”
“Ah, okay......”
Rosa backed off awkwardly.
Normally, you'd chat with same-gender party members to build rapport, but her aura made it hard to approach.
She shared her name but not her personality.
At least the trio was outgoing and easy to talk to.
Rosa and the adventurers entered the forest promptly. She suggested following the valley upstream first.
“Hm! Upstream, not down?”
“Yes.”
Her intuition pointed upward along the valley. She felt sure Piona and Amy were that way.
'But why do I feel so uneasy......'
One B-Class and four C-Classes including herself.
That force could handle an orc tribe easily. Even a small village could be wiped out without variables.
Rescuing Piona and Amy would make it one B-Class and six C-Classes.
Yet, her premonition was bad.
Something about meeting them upstream didn't feel right.
That sticky feeling from accepting the request lingered—like sinking into an abyss.
“Gaidun Mountains! Sounds good. Let's go.”
But backing out now was impossible.
The leader nodded and ascended the valley at a brisk pace, scanning for tracks. The rest followed suit, with Yuri searching quietly.
Rosa watched, suppressing her anxiety.
'Yeah, what could go wrong? It's just nerves. Piona, Amy! I'll save you for sure!'
Rosa's eyes burned with determination.
With the Blue Axe Adventurers and solo Yuri, she dashed along the valley side.