Chapter 40: Hot Springs Village and the Legendary Castle 9
Hiiinnn! Hiiinnn! Hiiinnn! Hiiiiinnngg!
The Holy Sword Wave is flying around, smashing the Ogre’s stone statues one by one.
“Amazing, Martina-chan…! Ash-kun and the others are extraordinary people…!”
“But if we don’t act, this entire operation could fail…! Leave this to Tina and this old man and the others will go in!”
We have no plans to destroy The Castle Knight.
It’s a relic of a hero. The romance of history.
On the outside, this old man is a child, but on the inside, he is an old man.
In this old man’s opinion, old things should be treasured and cared for.
“T-That’s right! We gotta help Grandpa and the others!”
“Alright, “Earth Escape”!”
This old man and Donna return underground.
Then they approach the Castle Knight in a stealthy manner.
“Whoa-ohh! Oh, sh*t! What the hell just happened?! D-Don’t get any closer! Go, go, go!”
The Castle Knight, afraid of the rampaging Tina, pulls a series of ogre statues from his body and throws them at Tina.
He was completely distracted.
This old man and Donna make their way through the earth to the edge of the Castle Knight’s soaking tub.
“All right, we’re going in at once…!”
“Yeah…!”
We nod to each other in hushed voices.
Then we leap into the castle and through the windows into the interior.
The interior of the castle is made of polished stone, and the decorations aren’t particularly impressive, but it has a peaceful atmosphere.
The ivy growing on the ground adds to the image.
It doesn’t seem to match the Castle Knight’s words or actions.
“Hoho! It’s a very peaceful place… I didn’t think it would be.”
That’s exactly how this old man likes it.
“This way, Ash-kun!”
Donna guides and leads this old man.
The objective is to reach Donna’s fellow dwarves!
But…
Hyun-hun-hun!
The ivy growing along the corridor begins to move as if it has its own will.
“!Hyaaaaa?!”
Donna, who was running behind me, gets her arms, waist, and legs caught in midair and hangs.
“How…? The Ivy moves on its own!”
“It’s the guardian ivy, Ash-kun! Watch out!
Of course, the guardian ivy reaches out to this old man.
But―.
“Don’t worry! Barrage Thrusting!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
With a series of blinding thrusts, the Greatsword of Black Dragon Scales blasts the oncoming ivy attack!
“Amazing~! I can’t even see his sword line!”
Donna’s eyes were wide open.
This old man then slashes the ivy that had entwined Donna.
“Are you all right, Donna?”
“Y-Yeah, I think so… They’re treating us like enemies, which is why the guardian ivy is reacting so strongly.”
“Hmm. Isn’t it a very useful guard?”
“But it’s troublesome! Look, it’s going to try to come right back at us again…!”
Donna points to the ivy that this old man cut down; it regrows as quickly as it can.
“Mm. Get on the back of this old man, Donna!”
“W-Wha, I get it…!”
When I carried Donna on my back, she was very large, even larger than Tina, and was squeezed onto this old man’s back.
But this old man begins to dash, unconcerned.
“Donna, show me the way!”
“This way goes straight up to the corridor!”
“All right…!”
The guardian Ivy speeds up and chases after us, but this old man kicks the floor and walls, changing angles in complex ways. The guardian ivy is fooled by this and fails to apprehend this old man and the others.
I could cut them down, but we aren’t here to demolish this place.
Let’s keep it civil because we’d rather take care of them ourselves.
“Huyaaahhhhh! Ash-kun, you’re also incredibly quick on your feet, aren’t you?!”
“Because I’ve been exercising a lot!”
“I’m really sorry for slowing you down, even if it’s just to show you the way. Grandpa and the others are always chastising me, saying I’m useless except for my breasts…”
“Well, I suppose it’s worth it…”
This powerful and indestructible elasticity is a treasure in some ways.
I’m not sure about the dwarf’s perception of beauty, but Donna is undeniably attractive in human eyes, which adds to her value.
“Huh? Really?”
I must admit that I am concerned about this, but I probably shouldn’t say so.
This old man does not want to endanger Donna.
“N-No… More importantly, Donna knew she wasn’t strong enough, but she risked it all for the sake of her people, didn’t she? It’s not every day that a stranger does something nice for a stranger, is it? On the contrary, acting because you lack power requires more courage than acting because you have power. That, I believe, is what makes Donna admirable.”
“Ash-kun is such a sweetheart. You’re cheering me on, aren’t you?”
“You never know when the strength will come to encourage you. Until recently, this old man had no power. So I understand how Donna feels.”
“I-Is that so? It’s hard to believe it…”
“All this old man has to say is that you never know what life has in store for you, so don’t be corrupt. Donna is not corrupt in that sense; she is a very good girl… This old man is just telling the truth, isn’t he?”
“Ash-kun…”
“I’m willing to help Donna if she’s not corrupt, and I’m not sure how this old man could be corrupt if Tina wasn’t there. Donna’s strength is this old man’s strength, so don’t be afraid to lean on him.”
“Y-Yes, Ash-kun. Ash-kun is a boy, but he is very mature. I feel at ease speaking with you…!”
“Hoho. Donna, it’s a little early for that. We need to save her friends and take care of The Castle Knight before we can relax. Now, which way do we go next?!”
“Take the stairs to the left, then the right, and the second right!”
“Okay…!”
Donna leads this old man to a large door.
And in front of the closed iron door―
“Oh…! That’s a huge stone ogre statue!”
The number of horns, the size of its body, the thickness of its arms and legs…
It appears to be several times the size of other stone ogres.
It appears to be much stronger than the others.
“Oh no…! That’s the most powerful guardian, Gurdy! He’s keeping an eye on Grandpa and the rest to prevent them from fleeing.”
“Do you mean It’s going to move?”
“We’ll win, won’t we? If it’s Ash-kun…!”
“Leave it to me!”
Then…
Rumble Rattle Rattle Rattle Rattle Rattle Rattle
A massive hand appears from the side and grabs the boss’s statue.
The boss statue in front of the door vanishes.
From afar, a scream can be heard.
“Aaaaaaaaaargh! Let’s bring in the biggest bad boy! Gurdy-chu I chose you!”
Apparently The Castle Knight has used the boss statue here as well for the fight against Tina.
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