Chapter 42
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: I Am a Special Spirit
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My gaze stopped on the one woman who looked the most joyful.
'My mom looked happy when she cooked, too.'
The woman had both hands plunged into a large wooden tub, kneading something.
What filled the tub was the grain that Requiya and I had ground while they slept.
She scooped out some dough, spread it thin, and baked it on a flat stone slab.
The man assisting her beside her added finely chopped meat and seasonings, then rolled it up.
The young woman then cut it into small pieces and fed them to the children and the elderly.
The kids' cheeks bulged as they chewed away happily, looking utterly content.
'What crime did those kids commit? Those damn bastards.'
【They would've turned into bandits if they'd grown up here!】
'Probably.'
【Long live Holy Knight Kalruk!】
Requiya mingled with the villagers, drinking and tearing into meat.
He even created a magical light source to show off to the kids, but he looked more excited than the children watching.
'In this world, demons are just a race. Demons are one race.'
Night deepened.
We cleaned out the bandits' barracks and let the villagers rest there.
Requiya stayed in the clearing with the hippo, warming themselves by the bonfire.
I put all the beggars on watch duty.
Kruuk, whom I'd appointed as my adjutant, meticulously looked after both the villagers and the bandits.
I waited until our eyes met, then beckoned him over.
"Yes, Boss."
"Four of the guys who went hunting are missing."
"They might've been killed by monsters or run off."
"What kind of monsters are around?"
"Ogres live in large numbers near the Brad border. They prefer remote mountainous areas. Some say Brad's walls are tall and thick because of the ogres."
"Was that axe-wielding brute rampaging at the pass an ogre?"
"Yes."
Before, ogres hadn't been able to rampage.
The one now called a disaster had fought the ogres while protecting the Brad area.
Due to some incident, Luke subdued it, and with its natural predator gone, the ogres started rampaging again.
People suffered as a result, and Brad's western side was practically abandoned.
How abandoned must it be for bandits to live like beggars?
Luke hadn't added more details about the chain of events.
He'd only shown pity for the disaster.
Luke probably didn't know the full story either.
"Do you know much about ogres?"
"A little."
"Tell me what you know."
"They usually don't travel in groups and are rare to spot."
I nodded.
When I scanned the surroundings with Blue Eye, I saw axe-wielding ones rampaging, but only one or two.
"But they say groups of them appear north of Brad."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Probably few people do."
Kruuk scratched the back of his head.
'I wonder why.'
【Just ask them when you meet!】
Oh, right.
Just meet an ogre and ask, 'Why do you thugs travel in packs like street punks?'
Pretty simplistic answer from the Insight Ability.
Kruuk looked at me with fearful eyes.
"Are you planning to hunt ogres, by any chance?"
"If necessary. Why?"
"To take down ogres, you need lots of archers. Their hides are thick and hard to pierce. Close-range concentrated fire is the only way to win."
It sounded plausible.
"Have you hunted many?"
"We caught some occasionally because their tendons, hides, and bones are useful and valuable. But with our current numbers, we can't."
That was enough info on ogres.
No particularly helpful tactics for me.
"Got it. Any other info on the runaways?"
I stared straight into Kruuk's eyes.
He seemed to be hiding something from me, but since he wouldn't say, I had no way to check with 'truth or lie' discernment.
"Actually..."
"It's fine. Isn't it better to bravely speak the truth than lie and die?"
I stayed still, but Kruuk shrank back.
"If the runaways went to Brad, Ratrap might come."
"Ratrap? A person?"
"Yes, the one Fetchan paid tribute to."
"Who's Fetchan?"
I asked, and Kruuk pointed to the empty pass.
Ah, so the boss guy's name was Fetchan.
"Tribute was women, kids, and looted goods, right?"
"Yes."
"What did you get in return?"
"Weapons, armor, booze, and various other things."
"Got it. You're a true bandit."
"I'm a Holy Knight adjutant now."
"No. You're the bandit boss's adjutant. Don't aim higher."
"Yes..."
"Guard the barracks so the villagers can rest easy."
"Understood."
Kruuk bowed at the waist and withdrew.
【Kalruk keeps stirring up trouble!】
'And you hate that?'
【No! I love it! It's not boring! So exciting!】
'Mapping routes and making plans. What's ahead on my path, why these things happen, how I navigate them.'
【Strategy formulation!】
'Yeah. I never lived very planned before. But now I can't just wing it.'
【Why ask about ogres!】
'Gotta scout what enemies might show up.'
【Asking where the disaster sleeps! To wake that guy, right!】
'Yeah. You'll help, right?'
【Only! Silver Star! Can break the seal!】
Luke borrowed power from Insight Ability to seal the disaster.
He lacked the ability to activate the seal on his own.
In exchange, Silver Star gained the right to unseal it.
This much was from Luke.
'Felt like he was asking me to do it. Luke, I mean.'
【To release that guy! Because it's pitiful!】
'Yeah. He didn't say it outright, but you know how it is.'
【Right! Kim Jang-gun Kalruk loves chocolate pie with marshmallows!】
While Silver Star rummaged through my memories spouting nonsense, I revised my short-term plans.
'First, check when and how many Fiore guys are coming.'
Sentries from the watchtower aren't enough.
Blue Eye's range still isn't wide.
Sending scouts risks losing the bandits I've just absorbed and tamed.
'Bandits or not, treating the lives of those who surrendered to me like consumables would make me trash too.'
Something popped into my head, so I looked up at the sky.
Probably more than 10 to the 64th power.
I'm talking about the stars in the sky.
More than drops in the ocean.
Under those drops, things circled the sky.
'Birds...'
【A woman's name! Sara Corner!】
'No. Birds. The feathered kind.'
Requiya wrapped himself in his cloak and lay down, blinking.
Having napped together earlier, he probably couldn't sleep.
'I know exactly how you feel.'
The hippo kept jumping like a puppy near the charred bonfire.
It was trying to catch the fireflies of embers rising with its tongue.
With those short legs, it was a hopeless endeavor.
'Short-legged beast of sorrow.'
【Heavy-bodied, struggling hippo!】
I pulled the dagger from the pig, sliced off a generous hunk of well-cooked meat.
Piled it on a wooden tray and gave it to the hippo.
"Eat up."
Kuuuuwuuu-.
Delicious? Thank you?
Either way, the hippo looked pleased.
Chewing the meat with a smiling squint left no doubt.
'A beast smiling with its eyes.'
Silver Star can translate sometimes, allowing conversation.
Hmm, animals, conversation.
The thought chained together.
Among the captains under the 1st Holy Knight Order that Luke commanded, one had the ability to command birds.
'Name was Bivar or Bizarr?'
【Bizarr!】
Gold Realm Holy Knight Bizarr wears crows like a coat.
Besides crows, he uses owls, eagle owls, eagles, and various birds as scouts.
What about Luke then?
Luke could communicate with animals without such an ability.
What does that mean?
First, his divinity reached a level where he could communicate with other spirits.
'A realm I can't even imitate.'
【Yeah! No way!】
High divinity doesn't guarantee spirit communication.
The other two Crystal Holy Knights prove it.
From my info, they can't talk to animals.
In Hellite, only Bizarr, Saintess Ravina, and Luke Seid could communicate with animals.
'So, no point fixating on realm. Need to change methods.'
【Exactly!】
So, the method I came up with on the spot?
Spiritize myself to make plants and animals follow.
'Just a delusion for now.'
【Delusion!】
I figure Ravina and Luke romanced that way too. Pure speculation, of course.
'Worth a shot, right?'
【Choorai! Choorai!】
Back to the birds...
Those guys are spies from Hellite tasked with monitoring me.
No other explanation.
Whenever the sky was visible, they were always in my sight.
Even now, a few circled overhead, others perched high in trees watching me.
When our eyes meet, they pretend otherwise.
Detestable beasts.
'But... no matter how I think about it, something's off.'
【They know exactly where Holy Knight Kalruk Andre Bong Seid bandit boss is, but don't grab him, righteous torture him, and tear him apart!】
Hey, don't say scary stuff in that baby voice.
Still, Silver Star nailed the point.
'At Negaf Arron, wasn't Asferan there to rescue me?'
【That scary-looking grandpa!】
'Otherwise, it doesn't add up.'
【What if he stepped in because the Fiore small fries might harm Hellite figures! I'm Hellite's enforcer! Only I can rip that bastard to shreds!】
'Hmm...'
Too plausible; I could only sigh.
When chased by Fiore cavalry, the birds vanished, and I speculated the same.
'Captain's away, so they're focusing on Hellite defenses and just tailing me.'
Even assuming that...
Better not let my guard down.
Carelessness won't end with a tap on the head.
'My precious heart.'
Assumption of coming to rescue me: canceled.
Hellite Holy Knights.
With their mobility, they could catch me anytime if they wanted.
So, just tailing makes sense.
Frustrating that Insight Ability can't read their high-level intentions.
'If only I could command those birds.'
【Tasty too!】
I sat in a dark spot away from the fire pit.
Slowly calmed my breathing until even I couldn't feel it.
'I am a spirit.'
Mana, divine power, what else?
All powers drawn from nature's vitality.
Except me, gaining divinity through starlight. I'm special. Ahem.
Anyway.
All those powers ultimately come from pure spirit force.
Mana cultivation starts by perceiving oneself as a spirit.
【So Kalruk can't spiritize, so can't gather mana! No, that's not it!】
'Not talking about that now. Be quiet.'
【I'll be quiet!】
If I can fool myself, I can fool others.
Easier to fool birdbrains familiar with spirits than humans who judge by sight.
'Let's fool them.'
I am a spirit.
I am a special spirit.