Traveling with Adventurers
"Squeee..." Thud. The orc, beaten again and again, finally collapsed without strength and drew its last breath.
"Already over, huh. The orcs from Ragna Castle would've lasted twice as long."
Elsid sheathed the two swords he had drawn back at his waist while looking at the fallen orc.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three adventurers watched in silence as Elsid stared at the orc's corpse with a dissatisfied, almost regretful expression.
"Excuse me?"
Elsid waved his hand in front of Rain, who stood at the front of the group, and spoke.
"Ah! Th-thank you. For saving us..."
"Don't mention it. It was just a single weakling anyway."
Rain, finally coming to his senses, bowed his head in gratitude, and Elsid replied that it was nothing.
"Hmph, we wore it down first, so of course you could finish it off."
The middle-aged archer spoke up, trying to salvage his pride.
"Robin! The priestess girl called the middle-aged man's name and scolded him, but Elsid didn't take offense.
"No, he's right. Thanks to you fighting first, it was much easier for me to take it down."
After nearly losing a comrade right in front of them, a remark or two that didn't quite make sense was understandable. It seemed like the words of someone frustrated by their own weakness. Though, honestly, it was a bit rude.
"Haha, please understand. We almost ended up as corpses trying to complete this worthless orc subjugation request because of me, so his mood's probably not great."
The very man who had nearly become a corpse was laughing as he said that. Was this what people called being good-natured, or just optimistic...?
"By the way, since we received your help, if it's not too rude, your name is..."
"It's Elsid."
Realizing he had jumped in without even introducing himself, Elsid gave his name.
"What brings you all the way out here, Elsid?"
Rain asked, using his name.
"I... got lost."
After a brief pause, Elsid answered honestly. Lying to save face would only make him seem more suspicious, which would be worse.
"Puhaha, how old are you to get lost in a small forest like this? There's a limit to being directionally challenged!"
Robin burst into laughter and teased him. The earlier remark about pride hadn't bothered Elsid at all, but this laughing jab made irritation rise. Was it because they were both archers? Even though Robin was much older, something about him reminded Elsid of his childhood friend Beth from the village—always talking too much and earning a beating.
If they weren't strangers, Elsid might have thrown a punch right then and there. The resemblance was uncanny.
Thwack!
"Robin, didn't you clearly say it was rude earlier? Are my words not registering with you?"
The sound rang out, filled with exactly the sentiment Elsid was feeling. The priestess girl, who had been quiet until now, had smacked Robin on the head. Her face was smiling, which somehow made it even more terrifying.
"Ughhh, Arke... Your hand is still merciless as ever."
It looked like a pathetic middle-aged man getting beaten by his grown daughter. Thanks to that, Elsid's irritation completely vanished, and he silently thanked the now-named priestess, Arke.
"If you don't mind, may I ask where you're headed?"
Rain, who had been watching the scene, shook his head vigorously to regain his composure and asked Elsid once more.
"I'm planning to go to the trading city of Nao."
Since there was no reason to hide it, Elsid answered truthfully.
"Oh, perfect timing. We also need to stop by the Adventurer's Guild there to report."
Rain smiled brightly at Elsid's words. Coincidentally, their destinations matched.
"If it's alright with you, how about we travel together?"
Having realized this, Rain extended his hand and suggested they accompany each other.
"I'd be the one asking for your help."
Accepting the offer, Elsid shook his hand. And so, Elsid began traveling with the three adventurers through the forest.
Robin, the archer with the map, guided them from the rear, so there was no worry of getting lost again. The only potential issue was the occasional orc appearing, but...
"Let's see how long this one lasts."
Muttering that, Elsid dashed ahead faster than anyone else and overwhelmed both unarmed orcs and orc warriors with weapons using nothing but his bare hands. He did it before Arke could even cast her defensive blessings or physical enhancement prayers. And without allowing a single wound.
"Who was it that said something rude about us wearing it down first?"
"Whistle whistle..."
Arke asked that after witnessing the scene, but Robin simply turned his head away, avoiding her gaze, and whistled instead.
"Yawn~ This isn't even a warm-up."
Completely unaware of the conversation happening behind him, Elsid yawned with a bored expression. It was truly a peaceful march.
"You only use aura when clashing weapons?"
Perhaps because of that, Rain—who also wielded a sword—asked like a student questioning a teacher, and they ended up spending even more time on this Q&A session.
"Yes. That way, I can maintain aura longer than using it constantly, and it has the added effect of making the opponent let their guard down. Of course, the difficulty is high, so it's a bit hard to master."
"Heh, I see."
Rain nodded repeatedly, listening intently to Elsid's words. If he had a notebook and pencil, he would've written it all down without missing a single character, like a model student.
'A bit hard to master... What nonsense. That's practically a miraculous technique that ordinary aura swordsmen couldn't even attempt.'
Listening from behind, Robin—who was a higher-ranked aura user than Rain—realized in real time just how absurd the man named Elsid was.
Weapons wrapped in aura generally became stronger, but the degree of increase in cutting power, piercing power, and destructive force varied greatly depending on the type. Using aura only in response to the opponent's attacks sounded simple, but it was extremely difficult to execute. One had to instantly gauge the power of each incoming strike and match it with the appropriate amount of aura at the perfect timing. Using aura only at the moment of impact was like walking a tightrope where even a single mistake was unacceptable.
'Excluding aura quantity, his skill in manipulating aura and his swordsmanship might be at least at the level of an Aura King...'
Thinking that, even the sight of Elsid overwhelming the orcs without a single scratch now seemed like nothing more than a glimpse of his true power.
While Robin was lost in his own thoughts, observing Elsid from behind, Rain's questions continued.
"By the way, you're an aura swordsman, right, Elsid? If it's not rude, may I ask what level you're at?"
"Yes, that's correct. And if I had to answer, I'd say I'm around the Aura User level."
"Eeh?! The same as me?!"
Rain, who had been listening attentively, cried out in surprise.
"I thought you were at least at the 'Aura Ghost' level like Robin, where you can properly use aura techniques..."
Looking somewhat disappointed, Rain trailed off and lowered his head.
"Ah, but why are you heading to Nao, Elsid?"
Then, quickly raising his head again, Rain asked another question. Whether he was trying not to show his disappointment or was being considerate, he hastily changed the subject.
"There's someone I need to find. The clue is in Nao, so I'm going there."
Accepting the topic change, Elsid stated his purpose, which wasn't particularly difficult to reveal.
"And you three are going to report the orc subjugation request, correct?"
Now it was his turn, so Elsid asked about something he already knew.
"Yes, and while we're at it, we probably need to find a few temporary party members. If you hadn't shown up, things would've gotten really bad."
Rain scratched his head and gave an awkward smile. Honestly, that was true. He was smiling now, but if Elsid hadn't appeared, the other two might have been fine, but this blond young man named Rain would definitely have died.
Just thinking about it made Elsid's blood run cold.
"Hey, that's enough chatting. We can finally get out of this damn forest."
Robin said that, stepping past Rain and Elsid to point in a direction with his finger. Light flooded the area ahead. While they had been talking, they had reached the exit of the forest.
"Follow me properly. Unless you want to get lost again."
Robin, who had been at the rear until now, took the lead and spoke words that clearly showed who they were directed at. After exiting and walking a bit further, they came upon a wide road where people were passing by, and the four continued walking along it.