Chapter 21

The unpleasant odor grew stronger as we drew closer to Dortranfur.

No one had explained the cause, but it wasn’t hard to imagine.

Mel-san and her group must have finished subjugating the zombies and burned the remains.

A nauseating stench—a blend of scorched flesh and rot—hung heavy in the air.

By the time we reached the village, Mel-san and the others were already gone.

They were likely following footprints in the snow to scout the dungeon’s location.

At the edge of the village, Fiene picked up their trail.

“I found tracks of a group of six heading north. It looks like they’re heading down into the valley.”

“That is undoubtedly Mercedes. Let us move out.”

We began our pursuit, and thirty minutes later, we discovered signs of a struggle within the forest.

Footprints were scattered in every direction, and three carcasses of what looked like monsters lay sprawled on the ground.

Mel-san’s group must have taken them down.

Was this a monkey?

No, it looked more like a large baboon than a monkey.

However, it was slightly different from any baboon I knew.

Small black wings were growing from its back.

“It is a Shreckt-Parbian. The magic stones have already been taken from their foreheads.”

Fiene, who was inspecting the carcasses, informed me.

As expected of a hunter, she was well-versed in monsters.

In most cases, a magic stone was located in the center of a monster’s forehead.

If I managed to defeat a monster myself, I had to make sure not to forget to harvest it.

I needed to recover as much as I could to offset my piling expenses.

Generally, in this region, monsters only existed inside dungeons.

It was extremely rare for them to wander the surface.

Throughout a long history of conflict between humanity and monsters, humans had succeeded in confining them within these dungeons.

The fact that monsters were roaming the surface was nothing less than proof that a new, unmanaged dungeon had appeared.

“Stay vigilant. Be ready to react the moment a monster appears.”

As we descended the slope of the ridge, we came upon a dry creek bed.

It seemed to be a wash where water didn’t usually flow.

It likely only turned into a river during heavy rainfall.

The footprints continued upward, following the path of the creek.

“Kota, could you take a look at the surroundings from a high vantage point?”

“Understood.”

I found a suitable tree and used “Gecko Hand” to climb to the top.

Since it was taller than the surrounding trees, the view from the peak was excellent.

Shading my eyes to look over the terrain, I saw the dry creek bed curving sharply, extending for about a kilometer.

The details were obscured by scattered trees, but the dead end of the creek appeared to be a steep slope.

If there was a dungeon, it was probably around there.

Oh?

A faint haze, like smoke, was rising from between the trees.

Could that be a campfire from Mel-san’s group?

“Clara-sama, it seems they are close. I saw what looks like smoke from a fire up ahead.”

“I see. Let us hurry.”

Clara-sama seemed to be sensing the presence of monsters as well.

As we continued following the tracks, it didn’t take long before we heard the sound of human voices.

It sounded quite hectic, though…

“Everyone, on guard! There is a battle occurring up ahead. Rush to the scene!”

Leaving our luggage where it sat, we broke into a run.

The clashing of blades was now clearly audible.

“Push them back! Do not let any more monsters out of here!”

That voice belonged to Mel-san.

“We’re trying, but there’s too many of them! And this guy is just too damn big!”

The one scolding the young soldier’s whining was Petra-san.

As we burst through the trees, we found Mel-san and her group engaged in combat outside the dungeon.

They were in the middle of trying to seal the monsters inside, preventing them from escaping to the surface.

The creature giving Mel-san’s group such a hard time was a monstrosity over three meters tall.

“Fiene, what is that?”

“It’s a Troll. It is quite a formidable foe.”

Because the Troll was holding the front line so stubbornly, smaller monsters were able to leak out from behind it one by one.

Equipped with a massive club and a giant shield, it seemed they couldn’t land an effective blow.

“Akito, can you block the dungeon entrance with earth magic?”

“I can’t do it unless I get closer.”

“Fine. I will handle the Troll. Seal it when you see an opening.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Kota, just for a moment is fine. Stop the Troll’s movements with Paralysis magic!”

“By your command!”

I had always wanted to say that at least once. It had a nice ring to it, didn’t it? Very knight-attendant-esque.

“I shall provide support! Clear the way!”

Clara-sama’s voice rang out, followed by a fierce thrust of her spear aimed at the Troll. Come to think of it, this was the first time I had actually seen her fight. I suppose a Valkyrie might look something like that…

She was incredibly strong! And beautiful! Even to my amateur eyes, it was obvious she was the most powerful person on the field. Moreover, what was that blue light…?

Every time Clara-sama’s strikes connected with the Troll’s shield, the shield and the arm holding it began to gradually freeze over!

“Amazing… so this is how a Knight fights…”

It seemed Fiene was seeing it for the first time, too. Wait, this was no time to be entranced. The Troll was completely on the defensive—now was my chance!

I manifested the largest Paralysis Ball I could manage above my palm. Last time it had been about the size of a ping-pong ball, but this time I managed to make one the size of a softball.

Under the weight of Clara-sama’s assault, the Troll’s guard dropped. The moment of victory had arrived.

“Take this!”

The oversized Paralysis Ball struck the side of its head, and the Troll’s spine snapped straight as if it were standing at attention. Clara-sama did not miss that opening.

With the speed of a lightning bolt, her spear swung in a peerless arc, piercing the Troll exactly between the eyes. The massive body collapsed, shaking the very earth.

“Now! Push them back all at once!”

Everyone responded to Clara-sama’s commanding voice with a roar of triumph. With the enemy’s heavy hitter down, our morale soared. The tide of battle had been decided.

All that was left was to block the dungeon entrance with earth magic and install a temporary gate afterward. I think everyone had that same sense of complacency in their hearts. I know I did.

I thought it would be a simple matter of mopping up the enemies that couldn’t move due to my paralysis magic. That was how I was looking at it.

At that moment, Akito Yoshioka was clearly within my peripheral vision. He was right in the middle of deploying his earth magic near the dungeon entrance. Once the entrance was sealed, no more enemies would come out.

Just get it over with quickly, I thought, watching like it was someone else’s problem.

But in the next heartbeat, I felt as if my heart had been seized by a cold hand.

A baboon monster…

A Shreckt-whatever…

“Yoshioka! Behind you!”

Why…? Why wouldn’t my voice come out?!

“YOSHIOKAAAAA!”

My scream finally tore loose, a split second behind my conscious thought. Yoshioka turned around, looking at me with a bewildered expression. I frantically hurled a Paralysis Ball at the Shreckt-Parbian, but…

It was no use. I wouldn’t make it in time! The winged baboon’s overhead strike was about to split Yoshioka’s head open.

.
.
.

Fresh blood dyed the dungeon entrance crimson.

However, it wasn’t Yoshioka’s blood. It was Petra-san’s, who had shielded him.

I used a hatchet to crack open the head of the Shreckt-Parbian, which had frozen stiff after being hit by my Paralysis ball. When I turned back, Yoshioka was trembling, cradling a blood-soaked Petra-san.

“Good grief… we only did it once… and I went and… got attached…”

“Petra-san…”

“Well, dying in the arms of a man I’ve shared a bed with… for someone like me… that’s a fine way… to… go…”

“Yoshioka! Recovery magic!! Now!!”

“Ah!!”

Yoshioka’s dazed mind finally kicked into gear. His fingers glowed with a green light, and the wound on Petra-san’s head began to heal. I could feel a level of magical power unlike anything I’d sensed before.

“Th-this is…”

Petra-san’s consciousness seemed to clear as well.

“I won’t let you die… there’s no way I’m letting you die…”

As Yoshioka continued to cast recovery magic through his tears, Petra-san gently wiped them away.

“Heh. In that case, you’d better be prepared. Tonight… I’m not letting you sleep.”

Without me noticing, the sounds of battle in the surrounding area had ceased. Finally, Yoshioka’s first battle was coming to an end.