Voices from the Past
[I can’t tell if they’re human, but there’s definitely more than one.]
“Three…… no, five maybe.”
[Should we keep going?]
“Monsters, perhaps.”
[We could always circle around.]
Judging only by the distant presence, it was hard to say whether they were people or a pack of monsters.
But I could tell they weren’t far.
Three hundred meters at most. Close enough to see if the trees weren’t in the way.
I’d tried to train my senses, but detecting presences was usually the domain of physical fighters. People with intellectual classes like mine tended to have duller instincts.
“Let me down for a moment.”
I stepped off Rai’s hand onto the ground, stretched, and calmly checked the compass again.
As expected, it pointed straight toward the source of the presence.
Since I wasn’t changing direction anyway, I might as well go take a look.
“Let’s go. Just in case they’re human, transform into a wolf.”
[Yes, ma’am!]
“Nobody’s going to want to play with me if I’m traveling with a monster that has the highest danger rating.”
Ogres were notorious man-eating monsters—the perfect embodiment of terror to make people faint on sight.
I’d chosen an ogre as my mount only because nothing else lurked near the demonic energy lair. I hadn’t had a choice. If there had been a horse, I would’ve used that instead.
The ogre I’d been riding, over three meters tall, melted into molten metal in an instant and shrank into the shape of a wolf before I could even blink.
[Ready!]
Already used to the transformation, I followed the compass without hesitation.
***
[Master.]
Rai, who had been walking a few steps ahead, suddenly stopped.
I realized why a moment later.
[Arrows incoming.]
“Eek!”
Say it like it’s urgent! Not in the same tone you’d use to announce “Hamburgers are ready!”
The moment I spotted the gleaming arrowhead flying toward me, I ducked at superhuman speed.
At the same time, I grabbed the back of Rai’s head and yanked it in front of me like a shield.
Clang. Clang.
[M-Master…… Aaaagh!]
Arrow after arrow struck Rai’s face and narrowly missed its ears before bouncing off.
“Adore!”
[It’s Adore, not Ador!]
“Shut up and use Lightning Dance!”
I summoned Adore, the fastest attacker among my spirits, and the moment it appeared it started complaining about its name. Like we had time for that in the middle of an ambush!
[Tsk, tsk!]
The lightning spirit clicked its nonexistent tongue but moved with flawless precision.
A crackling ball of electricity flashed through the trees, and people began dropping from the branches one after another.
Lightning Dance. A technique that delivered rapid shocks to every enemy in range. It wasn’t particularly powerful, but it was perfect for stunning multiple targets quickly.
[Found one!]
“Aagh!”
[Another one here!]
It didn’t take long for Adore to locate and zap every hidden attacker. After all, it was the fastest spirit I had—maybe even faster than any other spirit in existence.
[Any more? More!]
Impatience was its other specialty.
Whether it was because of some warrior bloodline or not, Adore always hungered for battle. Even now it was zipping around, searching for the next target.
“Adore! That’s enough. Just guard the area around me.”
[Not nearly enough!]
“Anyone watching would think a black dragon was rampaging through here.”
I stepped forward with Rai in front and examined the ambushers. Lightning Dance was a relatively weak attack, so none of them seemed seriously hurt. The injuries from falling out of the trees looked worse.
Rai lifted its nose and sniffed.
[They look like locals from around here.]
“Seems that way.”
That didn’t mean I was going to forgive them for shooting arrows at me the second they saw me. I wasn’t feeling particularly friendly toward them. With one hand resting on Rai, I approached the armed woman whose leg was broken, leaving her no choice but to glare up at me. She had been closest.
“……You. Outsider! This is our land!”
The injured woman bared her teeth at me, eyes wary like a cornered beast. Her Common Tongue was clumsy but understandable.
As I drew closer, more tribeswomen gathered around me, quickly surrounding me with clear killing intent. All of them were women, their skin various shades of brown and their hair uniformly gray. They looked ready to tear me apart at the slightest provocation.
“Oh my.”
Before I knew it, every single one of them had weapons pointed at me.
I was just passing through, and now they want to kill me? My mood just went from slightly annoyed to extremely annoyed.
[They’re in the way. Shall I kill them, Master?]
“Hmm.”
It was tempting. If they tried to kill me, I’d have no choice but to kill them first. That was the law of the jungle.
“Wolf…… big. Threat. Cannot pass!”
“Ah.”
[Hehe, I am pretty big for a wolf, aren’t I?]
“That wasn’t a compliment. They shot at me because of you!”
[Gyah!]
When I yanked on its ear, Rai made an exaggerated show of pain. It couldn’t actually feel pain, but it always pretended when it thought I was angry. Which only made it more annoying.
Maybe I really should make it bald.
“Jeanie?”
I was still tormenting Rai when a familiar word reached my ears.
For a second I thought I’d misheard. Maybe it was some similar-sounding local word……
“Huh?”
I turned toward the voice on instinct. It had sounded so gentle.
Among the tribeswomen stood one whose expression was especially clear as she stared at me. Her face was familiar. Very familiar.
Memories I’d buried deep long ago surged to the surface.
Only then did I realize who the compass had been pointing to all along.
Tall stature, silver hair faded like an old silver bowl, healthy brown skin showing off smooth muscles. The thirty-something woman looking at me with a face full of joy bordering on awe was unmistakably—
“Arnel…… unni?”
[Oh, it’s the woman we saw the other day.]
Nine years ago wasn’t “the other day.” By that logic, Magi was “just now.”
I pushed aside the urge to scold Rai and turned toward Arnel.
We both reached out at the same time, pulling each other into a tight embrace.
“Jeanie, is it really you?”
“Unni!”
The wave of happiness was so strong that I completely forgot how angry I’d been moments ago.
Well, it made sense that they’d shoot arrows and try to kill strangers trespassing on their territory.
“Goodness. I almost didn’t recognize you! You’re all grown up now.”
Arnel hadn’t changed much. Still warm-hearted, she spoke fluent Common Tongue and took my hands in hers. She looked at me with disbelief, almost tearful, and gently touched my cheeks and forehead.
How could I ever forget Arnel? Nine years ago she had saved my life. She’d been my role model, the one who showed me a new way to live.
And these people who had just tried to kill me seemed to be from the same tribe.
So they were the Silver Wolf tribe. The ones famous for being excellent dual-sword wielders. Which meant this was the tribal nation of Moran. Far from Dmitry.
Questions piled up one after another, but the joy of reunion came first.
“Of course. It’s been nine years. I’m already nineteen…… I thought I’d never see you again!”
“I thought the same. I’m sorry, Jeanie. I never imagined the intruder would be you…… I’ll apologize for the attack.”
“It’s fine! I’m not dead, so it’s okay!”
And thank goodness I wasn’t. We’d come within a hair’s breadth of killing each other.
“But how did you end up here?”
“Ah, I got a little lost.”
“Lost……? This is pretty deep in the mountains……”
“Come on! Don’t worry about the small stuff! More importantly, what happened to your mercenary work? Did you quit?”
Technically I was kidnapped by a dragon and ended up here after being released. Hehe.
Obviously I couldn’t say that, so I changed the subject.
Arnel still looked dazed by the reunion.
“I quit quite a while ago. Not long after we parted ways.”
“I thought you’d be a mercenary for life! It really suited you.”
“I thought so too. But……”
“But?”
“I had a child. A cute little girl who looks just like you. So I had to return to my homeland.”
I could only stare at her, speechless, eyes wide.