Nightmare (5)
The sun had not yet risen, but the sky was beginning to brighten ever so slightly in the predawn morning.
While organizing the sleeping bag she had used the night before, Er asked carefully, “Ain, you haven’t come back?”
Ain, silent as she asked, nodded his head.
If she had returned, he had thought he might say something, no matter what. In the end, the meaningless musings of last night were shaken off by the man who spoke in a low voice.
“So we’ll have to go together, then.”
“…Wouldn’t it be better to look for Er?”
“After all, we have to move separately anyway. No need for that.”
Just as he finished speaking and rose from his spot, a villager’s voice echoed from the entrance to the clearing.
“Adventurers! Please gather at the village entrance!”
The adventurers, gathering their belongings in a hurry in response to the villager’s voice, stood up.
It was still dark, before dawn, but by the time they had all gathered, the sun would soon begin to rise.
Ain also slung his bag over his shoulder and rose from his spot, followed by Er.
The entrance to the village, as if touched by human hands, was a flat expanse of open ground, where the village chief Rozo, just like the day before, spoke with the same unchanged voice.
“When everyone is gathered, we’ll depart immediately. The orc village is only one mountain away, so do not slow down and follow me!”
A distance of one mountain meant a very high likelihood of encountering orcs on the path to the village.
The orcs, who needed to eat and survive, would hunt as well, and in the meantime, they would naturally wander the mountains for breakfast.
The adventurers, who heard these words from Rozo and began fiddling with their weapons to prepare for battle, caused Er, who felt a sense of unease, to ask in a low voice, “But Ain, the villagers here didn’t know about the village until the orc settlement was built a distance of one mountain?”
“At first, there might only have been a few. Then, in the blink of an eye, they multiplied like mushrooms, right?”
“We heard there were no orcs around here originally. If there had been orcs in the area, they wouldn’t have built a pioneer village.”
“Well… it could be orcs who have been driven out from their group and settled here, or some prankster who intentionally released them.”
As he said this, Ain recalled the rumors that had been silent in the adventurer guild lately and added, “It seems that strong monsters emerging from places they weren’t supposed to appear has become common. For example, lizardmen or werewolves…”
“…That sounds like a personal story.”
“Indeed, not intentional.”
Ain, his expression uneasy, was about to speak when a group of people emerged from inside the village fence.
The bronze plates hanging from their necks were proof of their abilities.
Among them, some were iron-rank adventurers mixed in, making the group seem larger than expected.
Perhaps they were the party that Rozo had mentioned, the warrior extermination party. As he glanced around with that in mind,
“Ain.”
“…I’m looking too.”
Among the tough bronze-rank adventurers, someone unusually looked delicate.
With her sparkling blonde hair and eyes sparkling like jewels, the female swordsman was so bright that one might even be deceived into thinking it illuminated the surroundings.
However, as if not caring about such things, she was turning her gaze around with a rigid expression, and that was the moment her eyes met Ain’s golden ones.
“You dodged my eyes just now, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Startled, Er turned her gaze away, and Ain, furrowing his brows, muttered, “So this is how it is? Fine, then I’ll also think of something…”
“Ain, it looks like we’re starting.”
The adventurers who remained in the village confirmed that they were the last ones, and Rozo, who had led the way toward the orc village, set off in front.
Dozens of adventurers followed his back on the mountain trail, and Ain and Er were no exception.
Ain, tearing out the grass roots that got caught on his feet, said, “Hey, I have something I’m curious about.”
“What is it? My three-size? If it’s something like that, I’ll tell you anything…”
“No need!”
“Ahaha, so you already know?”
“I don’t know anything like that! I don’t want to know!”
Shouting like that, Ain took a deep breath and said, “You, did you say something weird to Er?”
“U-uh?”
“Look, it seems real.”
“Ah, ah, no?”
Ain, unable to meet her eyes while saying that, furrowed his brows and asked, “What did you say?”
“Ah, ah, I didn’t say anything!”
“I won’t get angry, so tell me.”
“…Really won’t you get angry?”
“You girl, what exactly did you say!!”
“Traps, how low of you!!”
Saying that, Ain grabbed Er’s neck as she tried to pull away and continued, “What did you say!”
“T-that, that’s…”
“About my sister?”
“…”
Ain’s question, with no answer, and Er, who closed her mouth without saying a word, then nodded her head.
Ain, glaring at her with narrowed eyes, sighed and released the hand he had been holding.
“Don’t do that, really…”
“T-that! It was an accident…!”
“What? Accident?”
“…No, I was wrong.”
Noticing the irritation overflowing in Ain’s golden eyes, Er lowered her head and spoke.
Ain, staring at her, shook his head and spat out a voice mixed with a sigh.
“Somehow Er was watching my every move. So that’s what happened when I heard strange things.”
“N-no, it’s not strange…”
“Bullshit. You were probably thinking something like I can’t forget my sister or whatever.”
Ain laughed as if it was absurd.
“Originally, it was your misunderstanding. I didn’t like that person that much.”
“…”
“…Even my teacher and you. I don’t know why you think that way. I was just… close because I don’t like talking much.”
“Ain…”
“Really.”
As he said that and shook his head, it was the moment he was about to add something more.
At the front of the group, the voices of the adventurers heading toward the village with Rozo echoed through the forest.
“Orc!”
“Ain, it looks like orcs have appeared.”
“Er…”
As he said that and turned his gaze toward the front, Ain saw Er swinging her shield and sword forward and closed his mouth.
“Perfect, stick close to Ain’s back! I’ll take them all out!”
“Yeah, but if you get hurt, I won’t heal you even if I die.”
“U-uh?”
“I won’t let you get hurt on purpose.”
As he said that, Ain gave Er a light smack on the head.
“That’s only a few times; if it keeps happening, you’ll be in trouble.”
“U-uh…”
“But what are we going to catch? They’re already dying one after another.”
As Ain looked at the front, the orcs they encountered in the line were being thoroughly butchered by the front adventurers.
The orcs’ howls, similar to the sound of pigs being slaughtered, rang out several times.
Before the adventurers in the rear, including Ain and Er, could do anything, the orcs facing the front had all rolled on the ground, and some had even had their magic stones removed and become empty shells.
Ain, watching the skilled adventurers’ handling, swallowed dryly and said, “…Hey, if we’re not careful, we won’t even make back our investment.”
“…We need to be careful.”
●
Kreeeeer!!
An orc, having discovered the human group, let out a roar and rushed forward.
The orc, stupid enough not to even think of retreating, lifted its axe and let out a battle cry, no matter how many opponents there were.
Er, facing it, swallowed dryly and thrust her sword.
“[Pierce]!”
With blue mana gathering at the tip of the sword, a hole appeared in the orc’s forehead as it charged.
A sure strike that pierced the forehead.
The orc’s thick body, unable to withstand the charge, rolled on the ground and scattered blood.
One strike.
Watching it, Rozo said with a surprised voice, “You’re skilled. You can handle mana too? It’s a bit too much for a bronze-rank.”
“…Thank you for the praise.”
As he said that and was about to sheathe his sword, a presence was felt from a little distance away.
Thinking it might be Ain, he turned his head, and what was there was a woman with one arm, hurriedly turning her back and retreating.
Jane, who had been accompanying a bronze-rank adventurer from the warrior extermination party as a porter, had not said a word since they reunited at the chief’s house.
However, since she had been caught stealing several times like this, she had been constantly worried.
As she watched Jane’s back retreating like that, it hit Ain that he had actually defeated an orc.
So fearful, yet when he actually faced it, it was nothing special.
Had she, who had been such a hero, really had to suffer such a fate for her comrades?
Why in this blood-red hell—
“Wait, are you okay?”
“…Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.”
“Be careful, it looks mostly sorted, but it could pop out again anytime.”
As he said that, Rozo left to check the rear of the line, and Er, standing in front of the orc with a hole in its head, sighed and took out her butchering knife.
Lightly once, and then straight.
Er, who had been active alone before meeting Ain, was about to pull out the orc’s magic stone with a simple gesture and put it in her pocket.
“…Ah.”
Sighing as she saw the completely black magic stone that was already in her pocket.
Thinking about it, she hadn’t sorted this out yet.
In any case, it seemed like she had to talk to Ain.
With various thoughts, Er bit her lip slightly and put the magic stone in her pocket and tied it tightly.
Recently, thanks to Ain taking on the porter and odd jobs, it had become rare for her to collect magic stones herself.
Although he couldn’t drive a sword into living monsters, he could at least cut corpses, so Ain had taken on the task of collecting magic stones.
When he grumbled that if they couldn’t even touch the corpses, they couldn’t eat the meat, Er couldn’t help but chuckle.
The line at the front began to move forward again.
The adventurers who had gathered the orc’s spoils took light steps in contrast to their heavy loads, and others following behind did the same.
The orcs they had faced, as expected, were just a small group, probably having come out for morning hunting.
If they went a little further, the orc village would appear, and more orcs would emerge than what they had caught now, so there was no reason to be greedy now.
Many, including those stocking up for the future rather than a few magic stones right now, were in the middle of the line, including Jane’s party.
Otherwise, Jane, who was also a porter and odd job worker, wouldn’t have had the leisure to follow Er.
Thinking about such things, Er brushed off the blood on the tip of her sword and walked with a rigid expression.
No matter what, it seemed like after finishing this request, she could end it.
The nightmare that tormented her, she didn’t know.