Chapter 54: The Witch's Forest (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 54: The Witch's Forest (1)
"Does that mean these people are the plunderers from earlier?"
Brown nodded at Hikurod's question, which made the situation perfectly clear. It couldn't be a coincidence that the people proudly looting on the third floor happened to end up where we were while being chased by a monster.
"I don't know who they are, but it's clear they are deliberately targeting us," I said.
"Although we don't know the reason why. They're probably pretending they're being chased so they'll be able to join our group," Brown agreed, throwing in his own two cents. I had had the same thought.
"T-Then what should we do now?" Missha asked.
What was there to do? Thanks to Brown, we had been able to see through their tricks in advance. "We should take advantage of this opportunity."
Missha cocked her head. "Take advantage of it?"
However, there wasn't enough time to explain in detail. It seemed they had already arrived.
"L-Light! It's a light!" At one man's cry, two men and one woman covered in blood hurriedly entered the radius of our torchlight.
"If you're not a confident actor, just sit back and watch," I whispered under my breath, making eye contact with Brown. He nodded slightly. I swear, this guy understood me so well. Even Hikurod, whom I had been a bit worried about, seemed to understand exactly what I meant.
Then, shall we get started?
"Do not come closer." As they ran up to us, I immediately grabbed my shield, walked forward, and stood in their way.
"H-Hey! Our team was wiped out. Help us! We'll pay you back!" He was wearing a desperate yet urgent expression. This guy was good at acting, too. I guess that was par for the course for a plunderer.
"Put down your weapons."
"B-But there's a monster—!" The human man in his mid-thirties pointed behind him. A group of orcs was watching us from beyond the torch's perimeter.
"Ch-chwiik!"
Since there were more people now, they were unable to approach, but we couldn't be sure how long that would last.
This guy seemed to want to say, "So hurry up and let us in," right? But so what?
I once again spoke firmly. "It is your choice. Either put down your weapons or get lost."
They did not readily respond to my demand. Of course, I was sure there was a lot to consider. In the labyrinth, your weapon was your life. They were possibly realizing at this point that we were somewhat suspicious of them, but it didn't matter. Whatever choice they made, we had nothing to lose.
"...We will." The mustached man made his decision and dropped his weapon to the ground. The other two followed suit.
Have you decided to be greedy?
That decision was both satisfying and worrying. They would really take on this much risk to come after us? I didn't even have a guess as to why.
"Okay then, walk this way, but slowly. And stay as far apart from each other as you can."
"T-There's no need to go this far, is there? We just want help..."
"If you want help, do as you are told."
"Okay."
Then, as they arrived one by one as instructed, Brown approached them and checked for hidden weapons. "...They don't have anything that seems like a threat."
"I see. Hikurod, you watch them."
"A-All right!" The dwarf stiffened and nodded his head, then marched along with his arms and legs completely straight like a North Korean soldier. A sigh escaped me then. Fortunately, judging by the looks on their faces, it seemed that the other group didn't pick up on the awkwardness of his actions.
"Ch-chwiik..."
"Chwiik, chwiik, chwiik!"
After I left Hikurod with the trio of plunderers and returned my attention to the orcs, the monsters soon turned around and left. It seemed even they considered it too much of a risk to fight such a large group of people.
Those monsters are clever bastards.
Well, they were nothing compared to human bastards. In any case, avoiding a pointless battle was good news for us. Given our newest problem, having to focus on a battle with the orcs would be very draining.
"Ugh, I thought I was going to die..." As soon as the group of orcs disappeared, the woman in the group slumped to the ground. She came back to her senses a beat later, then did a double-take, stood up, and bowed politely to us. "Ah! My name is Elisa. Thank you for saving us!"
Her ripped shirt revealed her chest, and the dwarf coughed and turned his head. "Ahem. I'm Hikurod Murad." It didn't seem like he was pretending to be innocent, though, considering the fact that his head was turned, but his eyes were still riveted to one particular area.
"So your name is Mr. Murad! And how about everyone else?"
"Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"Oh, I see!" The woman who introduced herself as Elisa came up to me and grabbed my hand, then bowed her head again like last time, of course, accentuating her chest. "Ha, thank you all so much! I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't run into all of you..." Her panting breaths and voice that seemed to caress the ear were icing on the cake. Now that I was thinking about it, that was likely the reason that her shirt was the only one particularly ripped out of all of theirs...
"Bjorn! Your eyes are glazing overrr!" Missha muttered, clearly misreading my reaction.
I made no effort to correct her right then; I'd have an opportunity to do so soon. "Give us your names, one by one." To set them at ease, I started with a simple roll call.
The first one to introduce themselves was the mustached man who also seemed to be the leader. "Hans Argo."
What? "...Hans?"
"It's a common name. Do you know another?"
"Uh, um, well... Something like that," I said with an awkward nod. Hans A had had his head smashed in by my shield. I met Hans B by coincidence at a tavern, but I never saw him again after the advice he gave me. I could see Hans C, the mustached man, following in the footsteps of A today. Anyway, next person.
"My name is Irita Taison." Irita was a tall, blond spearman. He was in his mid-twenties and had no other distinguishing features. If I had to pick something, it would be his polite attitude. "I thought I was going to meet my maker just now, but thanks to you all, we lived to tell the tale. I want to thank you once again."
When Irita bowed 90 degrees, Elisa started gushing in her distinctly innocent tone. "It's true! If it weren't for you guys, I don't know what would've happened to us... This must've been a blessing from Reatlas!"
"Reatlas?" Brown stiffened at that particular word, then carefully asked, "Could it be... that you are—"
"Oh, I haven't told you my last name yet. My full name is Elisa Behenk. As you can see..." Elisa trailed off and looked down at her clothes with a tearful expression on her face. They were torn and covered in sweat and dirt but would have once been white. "I guess you can't really see. But I currently serve Reatlas!"
"I see. Hikurod, you watch them."
"A-All right!" The dwarf stiffened and nodded his head, then marched along with his arms and legs completely straight like a North Korean soldier. A sigh escaped me then. Fortunately, judging by the looks on their faces, it seemed that the other group didn't pick up on the awkwardness of his actions.
"Ch-chwiik..."
"Chwiik, chwiik, chwiik!"
After I left Hikurod with the trio of plunderers and returned my attention to the orcs, the monsters soon turned around and left. It seemed even they considered it too much of a risk to fight such a large group of people.
Those monsters are clever bastards.
Well, they were nothing compared to human bastards. In any case, avoiding a pointless battle was good news for us. Given our newest problem, having to focus on a battle with the orcs would be very draining.
"Ugh, I thought I was going to die..." As soon as the group of orcs disappeared, the woman in the group slumped to the ground. She came back to her senses a beat later, then did a double-take, stood up, and bowed politely to us. "Ah! My name is Elisa. Thank you for saving us!"
Her ripped shirt revealed her chest, and the dwarf coughed and turned his head. "Ahem. I'm Hikurod Murad." It didn't seem like he was pretending to be innocent, though, considering the fact that his head was turned, but his eyes were still riveted to one particular area.
"So your name is Mr. Murad! And how about everyone else?"
"Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"Oh, I see!" The woman who introduced herself as Elisa came up to me and grabbed my hand, then bowed her head again like last time, of course, accentuating her chest. "Ha, thank you all so much! I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't run into all of you..." Her panting breaths and voice that seemed to caress the ear were icing on the cake. Now that I was thinking about it, that was likely the reason that her shirt was the only one particularly ripped out of all of theirs...
"Bjorn! Your eyes are glazing overrr!" Missha muttered, clearly misreading my reaction.
I made no effort to correct her right then; I'd have an opportunity to do so soon. "Give us your names, one by one." To set them at ease, I started with a simple roll call.
The first one to introduce themselves was the mustached man who also seemed to be the leader. "Hans Argo."
What? "...Hans?"
"It's a common name. Do you know another?"
"Uh, um, well... Something like that," I said with an awkward nod. Hans A had had his head smashed in by my shield. I met Hans B by coincidence at a tavern, but I never saw him again after the advice he gave me. I could see Hans C, the mustached man, following in the footsteps of A today. Anyway, next person.
"My name is Irita Taison." Irita was a tall, blond spearman. He was in his mid-twenties and had no other distinguishing features. If I had to pick something, it would be his polite attitude. "I thought I was going to meet my maker just now, but thanks to you all, we lived to tell the tale. I want to thank you once again."
When Irita bowed 90 degrees, Elisa started gushing in her distinctly innocent tone. "It's true! If it weren't for you guys, I don't know what would've happened to us... This must've been a blessing from Reatlas!"
"Reatlas?" Brown stiffened at that particular word, then carefully asked, "Could it be... that you are—"
"Oh, I haven't told you my last name yet. My full name is Elisa Behenk. As you can see..." Elisa trailed off and looked down at her clothes with a tearful expression on her face. They were torn and covered in sweat and dirt but would have once been white. "I guess you can't really see. But I currently serve Reatlas!"
"Ha!"
While the dwarf just let out a brief exclamation, Brown closed his eyes and drew a brief cross in front of Elisa. "You really are a priestess." Wow, this guy was good at acting. "May the blessing of the twilight star be with you."
Elisa smiled brightly and made a cross as well. "Yes, may the blessing of the twilight star be with you." She probably thought her plan had worked. After that, the suspicion in the air seemed to dissipate in an instant. Well, at least that was what it seemed like to them.
Since we all know that she can't possibly be a real priest—
"Lady Elisa, would you be able to look at my wound?" asked Hans.
What?
"I'm sorry! I should have helped you with that first thing..."
Wait, was she a real priestess? While I flinched at this unexpected turn of events, Hans C rolled up his sleeve to reveal a stab wound. Then Elisa chanted a prayer and brought her white, glowing hand to the wounded area.
Would you look at that?
Swaa...
The wound healed instantaneously. Although I had watched the whole process with skepticism, there was no doubt that this was truly divine magic. How could I be sure if I'd never seen it before, you may be asking? For one, it sounded different from when a wound was healed by a potion, and there was also Hans C's expression to take into account. Peaceful, without the slightest bit of pain.
"May the blessing of the twilight star be with you..."
This was a shock to everyone else, too. Brown froze for a moment, then moved to make the sign of the cross like a sinner who had just witnessed a miracle right before his eyes. His reaction seemed a bit exaggerated to me, but in truth, it was probably the normal reaction for someone to have given the structure of this universe. Just as other races grew up in their respective holy lands, most human children learned to read and were taught at the temples from an early age. The weight of the word 'priesthood' was different to them.
"Ah! So can we have our weapons back now?" Elisa asked casually as if she had just remembered she didn't have hers. Perhaps showing off her divine power was her way of paving the way for this next part. This must have been why they had made the bold decision to toss aside their weapons earlier.
But, uh-oh. "That's not going to happen."
"N-No?"
As her expression grew puzzled, I made sure to act natural. There was no need to reveal that I already knew her identity. "I see that you are a real priestess. But what about it?"
I was a barbarian who believed solely in my ancestors. The clergy had never done anything for me, so it wasn't strange for me to react in this way. Elisa smiled awkwardly and looked at Brown and Dwalkie, who were both human. It seemed like she was trying to get help from them, but I firmly cut off any chances of that at the pass.
"We will return their weapons on their way out after we receive compensation."
"C-Compensation?"
"Why are you surprised? Priestess or not, you're an adventurer as long as you're in the labyrinth. You have to follow convention."
"Ah, yes... I've heard of such a custom. So... How much should we give you?"
I pretended to think for a moment and then said, "About two million stones should be sufficient."
"...W-What?" Elisa asked to make sure she didn't hear me wrong, but I stood firm.
"That shouldn't be an unreasonable request." On the contrary, that was almost nothing. I'd heard of bad guys even taking equipment in return for their victims' lives. "Think about how much your life is worth."
"But... We don't have that kind of money."
That, I already knew. Who carried cash into the labyrinth? Now that the response I expected had been put out there, it was time to switch tactics.
"I'm not asking you to lower the price. At least let us pay you outside—"
"No. I don't believe the words of anyone other than my own people. If you don't have the money, pay with your equipment."
"...Equipment?"
"Hmm, that man's armor should do it."
When I pointed at Hans C with my finger, the man frowned. However, after exchanging a few looks with Elisa, he let out a deep sigh. "Ha... If it's in return for my life, that's not a loss. However, I have a condition. We will stay with your group tonight until we recover our strength."
"Fine." I nodded readily. Their intentions were obvious, but I wasn't going to keep the promise anyway.
"Irita, can you help me?"
"I will."
Hans C took off his heavy armor with the help of the spear guy next to him, then handed the equipment to Brown. Nice. Now that we'd stripped one bastard of their armor, we'd taken everything we needed to at this point.
"Now then. We've paid the price, so will you return our weapons?"
I decided not to wait around any longer and let myself smile brightly. To be honest, I hadn't thought things would work out this well.
Hans C's expression hardened. "...Why are you laughing?"
I didn't answer, just like I hadn't corrected Missha for saying my eyes had glazed over while looking at Elisa earlier. They were going to figure it out soon, anyway.
"Uh, Mr. Yandel? We really can't afford to give you more than—"
"Ah, there's no need for that," I replied moments before I struck Elisa in the head with my mace.
Smack!
"L-Lady Elisa!"
No matter what game you were playing, cracking the healer's head open first was a universal rule.
"Ha!"
While the dwarf just let out a brief exclamation, Brown closed his eyes and drew a brief cross in front of Elisa. "You really are a priestess." Wow, this guy was good at acting. "May the blessing of the twilight star be with you."
Elisa smiled brightly and made a cross as well. "Yes, may the blessing of the twilight star be with you." She probably thought her plan had worked. After that, the suspicion in the air seemed to dissipate in an instant. Well, at least that was what it seemed like to them.
Since we all know that she can't possibly be a real priest—
"Lady Elisa, would you be able to look at my wound?" asked Hans.
What?
"I'm sorry! I should have helped you with that first thing..."
Wait, was she a real priestess? While I flinched at this unexpected turn of events, Hans C rolled up his sleeve to reveal a stab wound. Then Elisa chanted a prayer and brought her white, glowing hand to the wounded area.
Would you look at that?
Swaa...
The wound healed instantaneously. Although I had watched the whole process with skepticism, there was no doubt that this was truly divine magic. How could I be sure if I'd never seen it before, you may be asking? For one, it sounded different from when a wound was healed by a potion, and there was also Hans C's expression to take into account. Peaceful, without the slightest bit of pain.
"May the blessing of the twilight star be with you..."
This was a shock to everyone else, too. Brown froze for a moment, then moved to make the sign of the cross like a sinner who had just witnessed a miracle right before his eyes. His reaction seemed a bit exaggerated to me, but in truth, it was probably the normal reaction for someone to have given the structure of this universe. Just as other races grew up in their respective holy lands, most human children learned to read and were taught at the temples from an early age. The weight of the word 'priesthood' was different to them.
"Ah! So can we have our weapons back now?" Elisa asked casually as if she had just remembered she didn't have hers. Perhaps showing off her divine power was her way of paving the way for this next part. This must have been why they had made the bold decision to toss aside their weapons earlier.
But, uh-oh. "That's not going to happen."
"N-No?"
As her expression grew puzzled, I made sure to act natural. There was no need to reveal that I already knew her identity. "I see that you are a real priestess. But what about it?"
I was a barbarian who believed solely in my ancestors. The clergy had never done anything for me, so it wasn't strange for me to react in this way. Elisa smiled awkwardly and looked at Brown and Dwalkie, who were both human. It seemed like she was trying to get help from them, but I firmly cut off any chances of that at the pass.
"We will return their weapons on their way out after we receive compensation."
"C-Compensation?"
"Why are you surprised? Priestess or not, you're an adventurer as long as you're in the labyrinth. You have to follow convention."
"Ah, yes... I've heard of such a custom. So... How much should we give you?"
I pretended to think for a moment and then said, "About two million stones should be sufficient."
"...W-What?" Elisa asked to make sure she didn't hear me wrong, but I stood firm.
"That shouldn't be an unreasonable request." On the contrary, that was almost nothing. I'd heard of bad guys even taking equipment in return for their victims' lives. "Think about how much your life is worth."
"But... We don't have that kind of money."
That, I already knew. Who carried cash into the labyrinth? Now that the response I expected had been put out there, it was time to switch tactics.
"I'm not asking you to lower the price. At least let us pay you outside—"
"No. I don't believe the words of anyone other than my own people. If you don't have the money, pay with your equipment."
"...Equipment?"
"Hmm, that man's armor should do it."
When I pointed at Hans C with my finger, the man frowned. However, after exchanging a few looks with Elisa, he let out a deep sigh. "Ha... If it's in return for my life, that's not a loss. However, I have a condition. We will stay with your group tonight until we recover our strength."
"Fine." I nodded readily. Their intentions were obvious, but I wasn't going to keep the promise anyway.
"Irita, can you help me?"
"I will."
Hans C took off his heavy armor with the help of the spear guy next to him, then handed the equipment to Brown. Nice. Now that we'd stripped one bastard of their armor, we'd taken everything we needed to at this point.
"Now then. We've paid the price, so will you return our weapons?"
I decided not to wait around any longer and let myself smile brightly. To be honest, I hadn't thought things would work out this well.
Hans C's expression hardened. "...Why are you laughing?"
I didn't answer, just like I hadn't corrected Missha for saying my eyes had glazed over while looking at Elisa earlier. They were going to figure it out soon, anyway.
"Uh, Mr. Yandel? We really can't afford to give you more than—"
"Ah, there's no need for that," I replied moments before I struck Elisa in the head with my mace.
Smack!
"L-Lady Elisa!"
No matter what game you were playing, cracking the healer's head open first was a universal rule.