27
Chapter 27
The moment we safely escaped the underground without a hitch.
We encountered the Moss Giant standing right in front of us.
The guy stared down at us blankly.
It seemed to be a Gatekeeper of sorts, guarding the entrance.
I panicked for a moment, but quickly regained my composure after seeing the Moss Giant's attitude.
This guy...
Does it have absolutely no intention of attacking?
Intruder detected, eliminate Intruder.
It wasn't even uttering words like that.
Creak.
The sound of stones scraping against each other.
The Moss Giant's head turned.
It merely gave us a passing glance before staring straight ahead again, as if uninterested.
What is with this guy?
Is it a docile Moss Giant?
No, I don't think that's it.
Perhaps it didn't perceive us as enemies since we came from inside.
Tsk, tsk. What a stupid monster.
The woman was still full of vigilance.
Without a word, she stealthily picked me up and held me tightly in her arms.
Then, she carefully began to step to the side.
Snap. The sound of something breaking rang out.
Looking down, I saw that the woman had stepped on a branch.
Startled, she immediately took a stance to sprint away with all her might.
"......."
However, the woman didn't run.
It was because the Moss Giant still wasn't paying any attention to us.
The woman tilted her head.
Why isn't it attacking us?
She must be harboring such doubts.
Of course, she didn't let her guard down until the very end.
Without taking her eyes off the guy, she continued to back away very carefully.
The Moss Giant gradually grew farther away.
Before we knew it, the guy had completely disappeared from our sight.
What a relief.
To have gotten through this without a hitch once again.
***
We wandered through the forest for a while.
We moved blindly without a clear destination.
Naturally, I slipped out of the woman's arms and walked on my own two feet.
While doing so.
Something very familiar caught my eye.
It was none other than the tracks of a massive object having rolled through.
Aren't these the tracks left by a rolling Slow Stone?
No matter how I look at it, it seems correct.
Ohh! What incredible Luck this is!
To unexpectedly return to our starting point!
...It was too early to rejoice like that.
Because I couldn't be entirely certain just yet.
Even if these were the tracks of a rolling Slow Stone, they could potentially belong to a different Slow Stone passing by.
As I stared intently at the tracks, the woman said something with a questioning look on her face.
I had no idea what she was saying since we didn't share a language.
I could only guess she was asking something along the lines of what was wrong.
There really is no way to explain this.
I stood in place and looked up at the woman.
My plan had just been formed.
For now, I decided to follow these tracks all the way.
What are you going to do from now on?
If you plan to return to the Human camp, we will have to part ways here. I cannot go there with you.
I asked those questions internally, but...
I doubted she would return to the Human camp.
After all, she had betrayed the Humans.
Then what will she do now?
It was only a guess, but unlike other Humans, the woman's goal didn't seem to be exploring this continent.
Perhaps.
She might be looking for a place where she could safely live alongside her Baby Doll.
If so, she could just go with me.
Good Human lady!
Please tell me your plans and goals!
I attempted body language by waving my arms wildly.
However, the result was exactly as expected.
The woman just kept displaying her confusion.
Phew. I'm dying of frustration since we can't communicate.
It was then.
Thump, thump.
Out of nowhere, the sound of heavy footsteps reached our ears.
Startled, the woman and I swiftly turned our heads to look in the direction of the sound.
Two massive monsters were approaching us.
Huh? Are those guys High Orcs?
Belatedly, I realized it.
Behind the High Orcs, far off in the distance, their village sat faint and small.
A village undergoing restoration after suffering ruin and Destruction.
It was definitely that same village I saw last time.
Wait a minute, then these tracks.
Are these really the tracks left by the Slow Stone I was riding?
I couldn't rejoice.
Because the current situation wasn't exactly one to be happy about.
"What Luck. To think we'd find prey in a place like this."
"This one alone will be enough for our share today."
The two High Orcs captured us in their sights.
I don't think they recognized me.
But the fact that we were enemies hadn't changed.
Because the bastards were currently treating us as prey.
Miss! Please run away first!
I'll act as bait and lure these bastards away!
This is repayment for saving me earlier!
...No, wait a minute.
I paused right before taking Action as bait.
Those Orc bastards aren't even looking at me?
The High Orcs appeared to be exclusively targeting the woman.
They were staring piercingly at her, licking their lips.
It felt as though the Baby Doll and I weren't even on their minds.
Do they not even consider us as prey?
Are they ignoring me just because I'm a Doll?
"■□■□...?"
The woman picked me up.
Although she couldn't understand what the guys were saying, she seemed to have noticed that the looks they gave her were far from ordinary.
The woman turned around.
And immediately began to sprint.
Following along the path carved by the tracks of the Slow Stone.
Excuse me, Miss.
I wouldn't mind if you just let me go.
The only one they are aiming for is you.
I didn't go out of my way to escape the woman's embrace.
After all, I had planned to travel along the path she was taking to escape anyway.
"She's running! Catch her!"
"Stop!"
The High Orcs did not let the woman off easily.
They chased after her with fierce Speed.
As you know, the woman was incredibly fast.
Far faster than my Rolling Speed, even after it was upgraded.
And yet, the distance between us and the High Orcs hardly widened at all.
Wait, what's with those guys?
They're way faster than the previous High Orcs, aren't they?
They are at a level where their Speed doesn't fall far behind this woman's.
Are they High Orcs specialized in Speed, who weren't in the village before?
The woman never once looked back.
She just ran, and ran some more.
All to avoid being caught by those bastards.
***
She ran for quite a long time.
The place where the corpse of the Slow Stone used to be did not appear.
This meant only one thing.
This was the opposite side of the High Orc village I had reached last time.
In other words, it was the direction heading back to my home.
Even so, I couldn't rejoice.
Because the pursuit of the High Orcs was still ongoing.
Gasp, gasp.
The woman's breathing grew ragged.
It seemed her stamina was gradually reaching its limit.
Her Speed was incredibly fast, but she seemed to tire out just as quickly.
"■□...!"
Breathing heavily, the woman coughed up blood.
She didn't cough up blood because she ran past her limits.
It was an attack from a High Orc flying in from behind.
It was because her side was pierced by it.
Are you okay?!
No! There's no way she could be okay!
Half of her side was completely gone!
It was an injury where it wouldn't be strange if she died right now.
I looked up at her face with worried eyes.
A face that looked like she was forcibly enduring the pain.
Clenching her teeth, the woman increased her Speed even more.
Despite being injured, her Speed got even faster.
She was truly running with all her might.
From behind, High Orc attacks flew in periodically.
Fortunately, she didn't get hit again.
Since the first attack, everything had missed.
While we continued to flee like that.
A steep incline heading upwards appeared far in the distance.
Seeing that the tracks left by the rolling Slow Stone were connected to it, it seemed like a path leading to the mountain range where I originally was.
The woman sprinted straight up the uphill path.
Isn't it hard to build up Speed on an uphill path?
That was a needless worry.
The woman's Speed did not drop.
Maintaining her fast Speed, she continued to climb the mountain.
I figured it was probably the function of the Soul Weapon Long Boots.
On the other hand, the Speed of the High Orcs following behind slowed down significantly.
I thought she made a wrong judgment because she was frantic, but she had chosen the uphill path on purpose.
***
After continuously climbing the mountain.
The High Orcs chasing us were no longer visible.
We finally succeeded in shaking off the pursuit.
I couldn't be happy about this either.
Because the woman's life was in danger due to the injury inflicted by the High Orcs.
The woman's Speed gradually slowed down.
Thud- The woman eventually collapsed forward.
In the moment she fell, I had instinctively slipped out of her arms and landed on the ground.
"■□□...."
My reflection was cast in the woman's eyes.
The woman stared at me while gasping for breath.
In that gaze, desperation and despair seemed to be mixed together.
"......."
The woman's lips trembled.
In the end, she couldn't speak.
Her gaze shifted slowly.
To the Baby Doll in her arms, and then back to me.
Then, with trembling hands, the woman held out her Baby Doll to me.
I hesitated for a moment before carefully taking the Baby Doll.
At that moment.
Thump.
The woman's arm fell weakly to the ground.
The woman lay there without a single movement.
No more sound of breathing could be heard.
The unstable aura of Mana I had felt from her finally stilled.
.......
...Ah.
She died....
I had forgotten.
That Humans seem to have tenacious lives, yet they also die more easily than expected.
In fact, it didn't even make sense that she had stayed alive this long with a Human body.
Since half her torso was missing.
Because Humans in this world can wield Mana, she had simply managed to stave off death with the power of Mana and sheer willpower to endure until now. Even while maintaining top Speed.
All while holding the Baby Doll.
I silently stared at the woman's corpse for a while.
...How strange.
The sadness isn't as great as I thought it would be.
Did my emotions dry up a bit as a side effect of going through Evolution?
Or has it been like this since my Reincarnation?
Even if I am a Doll.
I do have something called emotions.
The emotion of sadness certainly exists, too.
I was indeed feeling sadness even now.
However, that sadness wasn't deep.
Meaning it wasn't to the point of wailing or being in shock.
I've lost a Human who could have become a friend, what a shame.
It was a very shallow sadness, exactly to this extent.
Is it because she was a Human I hadn't known for long?
Maybe there just wasn't enough time to grow attached yet.
Surely it wouldn't be like this if I witnessed the death of Jjokkomi or Tosuni.
Anyway.
First, let's at least make a grave for her.
I should show proper respect to my benefactor.
Thank you for saving me.
I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life.
Don't worry about the Baby Doll you entrusted to me.
I will take responsibility and care for it until the very end, so please close your eyes and rest in peace.
After expressing my condolences while looking at the woman's corpse, I briefly set the Baby Doll down to dig into the ground.
Right at that moment.
"Phew, hah... Here she is. Did she die because she couldn't endure the injury?"
"Gasp, huff... She ran away better than expected despite suffering such an injury. She'll be a catch worth eating."
Two High Orcs came up the mountain, gasping for breath.
Tenacious bastards.
Were they continuing to follow without giving up?
The guys ignored me and the Baby Doll.
They only looked at the corpse of the woman, their prey, with greedy eyes.
It looks like making a grave is out of the question.
Of course, I have no intention of just running away.
Because I don't want to hand the corpse over to the High Orcs.
So, I decided to change the funeral method.
To cremation instead of a burial.
I plan to run away immediately after burning the corpse.
No matter how fast those guys are, they must be very tired by now, so they won't be able to keep up with my Rolling Speed.
Just as I was about to activate my flame skill.
"...Huh?"
"Gasp...!"
Suddenly, the High Orcs' eyes grew wide.
The guys began to back away as if terrified.
At the same time.
From behind my back, a voice that I seemed to have heard somewhere before rang out.
"Teddy Bear, so this is where you were."
[Vampire lv.40]
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