๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐
It takes twelve days on foot from the city of Gaillia to the ruins of Piran.
Itโs farther than going to the royal capital.
Well, thatโs just how vast the Gaillia region is. Count Doros, in other words, is a Margrave.
He plays a crucial role in guarding the border with the demon race country, the Masrur Kingdom.
Although heโs a Count, in terms of power, he can compete with Dukes and Marquises.
Thatโs what a Margrave is.
Well, thatโs why the city of Gaillia, under the jurisdiction of Count Doros, is thriving enough to be called a trading city.
โItโll be a journey along the highway to the Milt inn, and from there, about two days heading west.โ
I explain while showing the hand-drawn map to the four girls.
Itโs something I made over ten years during the [Gold-lined Butterflies] era. Itโs a bit of a treasure, you know? It not only contains information about highways and inns, but also about the ruins weโve conquered.
As part of her reading and writing studies, Iโm having Meg copy it now.
Eventually, she, the scout, will be the one to plan [Hope]โs actions.
Iโm looking forward to that day.
โCamping for two days! Thatโs less than I thought! Good!โ
Asuka is delighted.
I understand how she feels.
Not many adventurers love camping. No matter how shabby, they prefer to sleep indoors.
โI will enjoy the specialties of each inn!โ
Meisha, the foodie, says something cheerful. Itโs not a sightseeing trip, though.
The ones guarding the clan house while weโre away are the white cat, Lion King, and his wife.
They seem more like the owners than us, who canโt return for a while once we leave.
Lion King, who saw us off from the roof of the house, meowed.
It seemed like he was wishing us good luck, and everyone smiled a little.
And so, we continued our journey for ten days.
ใปใปใป
ใโ๐ผ๐ฌ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ.๐๐ค๐ขโ โ ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐, ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฃo๐ซ๐๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ โ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐จโ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐ช๐จ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐จ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค โ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จโ.ใ
ใปใปใป
It was the last night we could stay at an inn.
Feeling a faint presence, I picked up the broadsword that was leaning against the bedside.
โWhoโs there.โ
โItโs me.โ
The voice in response was Megโs.
She seemed to have sneaked in from the womenโs room.
โIf itโs a night crawl, youโre just in time.โ
Jokingly, I sit up.
At this point, I was physically fully activated. When youโre an adventurer, you tend to wake up very quickly.
After all, there are too many situations where you have to act the moment you wake up.
Like a night raid.
โI feel a strange presence.โ
Meg, who doesnโt seem to have the luxury of joking around, immediately starts explaining the situation.
She says she feels a presence, not hostile or malicious, but as if sheโs being watched.
Itโs a bit of an elusive story.
โDid you check outside the window, Meg?โ
โThatโs it, the fog is so thick I canโt see anything.โ
I see.
Then itโs confirmed.
โWake up Asuka and the others. Get ready for battle and gather in this room. Itโs the enemy.โ
Meg, standing in the corner of the room, holds her breath.
For that matter, it would be better to talk a little closer.
Wonโt they attack?
โIโm getting impatient here.โ
โWhat is?โ
โNothing. More importantly, what do you mean by enemy?โ
โIn the middle of the night, the presence of someone, a thick fog. With all these, itโs undoubtedly a lich.โ
โA lich?! The king of the undead?!โ
Sheโs freaking out.
Well, undead monsters are troublesome. Especially a Lich, itโs a high-ranking undead, on par with vampires.
But if we know itโs approaching, thereโs a way to deal with it.
Isnโt Meg, who sensed the presence, the hero of the day?
I approach the former thief girl and pat her chestnut-colored hair. Just like I do with the three girls.
โUgh! Iโll go call everyone!โ
For some reason, she let out a mysterious intimidating sound and dashed out of the door.
Did I treat her too much like a child?
She will turn eighteen (seventeen full years) next year. Sheโs joining the ranks of adults.
Being patted on the head might be humiliating.
I might need to treat her more like a lady.
I go outside with Asuka, Miliaria, Meisha, and Meg, who are ready for battle.
I tell the people at the inn not to go outside under any circumstances.
The zombies led by the lich donโt have the restriction of not being able to enter a house uninvited like vampires.
However, they lack the intelligence to open doors or break windows, so itโs relatively safe inside a building.
As long as weโre outside, theyโll be targeting us.
โNow, itโs time to show up.โ
Footsteps are approaching steadily from beyond the fog.
The king of the undead, leading dozens of the dead.
โWhat is this presenceโฆ I would understand if it was hostility or maliceโฆโ
Meg, holding oil bottles in both hands, mutters.
โItโs just resentment. The dead are envious of the living and canโt help it. Thatโs why they try to pull us in. Into the dark, cold swamp.โ
The one who answered is Meisha.
She makes a holy sign, as befits a cleric.
Meg, shrugging her shoulders, puts a tinder made of rope in her mouth.
Her red eyes spoke of not wanting to be killed by such incomprehensible resentment.
โBesides, I hate zombies! Theyโre dirty and smelly, and you donโt get a core even if you defeat them!โ
Asuka says something that doesnโt seem to have a shred of piety, but as an opinion of adventurers as a whole, this is probably closer to the truth.
They are nothing more than corpses controlled by the lich, so they donโt have a core inside them.
Even if they did, it would be hard to muster the will to butcher the corpse and extract it.
โMay I launch a preemptive attack from a distance? Mother Nel.โ
โOf course.โ
โThen Iโll shoot. Spear of Flame!โ
A spear of flame born from Miliariaโs staff flies.
Like an arrow announcing the start of the battle.
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