Chapter 213
“Nn, the goblin that carried this crystal mentioned something?” Eva asked .
“Yeah, the way he spoke sounded as if they stole this crystal ball from somewhere . And it seems they have a king . ” I answered .
“Hmm, so what are we going to do with this pretty crystal ball?” Rebecca extended her index finger, trying to touch the crystal ball, but I hindered her by moving my arm away .
“――I suppose I will first get it appraised on the surface . Since it might be a type that reacts to mana, it’s better to not tamper with it too much . ” I declared .
Right now the eye within the crystal ball has vanished… Just now it startled me really good .
Thereupon Kaldo looked at the crystal ball, saying, “It felt as if the monsters were lured by the crystal ball, but there are no new ones coming at the moment . ”
A forest far ahead of the prairie, and on the left I could see tall mountains .
“It looks like Amros’ Pearl . It’s really beautiful . ” Yui said
“I sense a great amount of mana from it . Even its hues are sublime…” Viine added .
Yui and Viine were staring at the crystal ball as if being charmed by it .
“…What a mysterious magic item . I wonder whether something’s locked up within . ” Mysty commented as she peeked into the crystal ball .
Certainly, there’s no doubt that something owning that eye is lurking within the crystal ball .
The leather bag hanging at Mysty’s waist was bulging .
“Who knows . For now I will put it into my item box . ” I concluded and stored the mysterious crystal away .
“Mysty, you have been picking up various things for some time now . Want me to put them into my item box?” Rebecca asked .
“Ah, yes, please . I looted venom glands and poison sacs from the big flies’ corpses . ” Mysty replied .
“Of course . I will put them in right away,” said Rebecca .
“The unknown poison might become a material for refined gold, after all . I looted it as well . ” Viine said .
Mysty and Viine have apparently been picking up various things .
Rebecca tactfully offered her help, grabbed the bag hanging at Mysty’s waist, and stored it inside her item box .
Afterwards we advanced through the prairie while taking breaks every now and then . We defeated a monster cow again and enjoyed a meal with its meat . While looting meat and other materials, everyone cooperated in defeating big flies, making sure to not damage their venom glands and poison sacs . I also looted the large magic stones .
It felt as if we had accepted a guild request . Yet we didn’t .
“I have more than enough for my research, I leave the rest to you, Viine . ”
“Sure . I have kept looting their beautiful wings and their compound eyes as well . ” Viine stared at the transparent wings with her silver eyes .
It looks like those will sell well on the market .
“Looking at them closely, those wings sure are pretty . I wonder whether they can be used as material for clothes or something like that . ” Mysty said with a smart look . She gazed at the beautiful feather in Viine’s hand as if looking at a playing card .
These two are…a sharp-minded duo?
We proceeded through the prairie while hunting and collecting magic stones and other materials in such style . The terrain gradually started to have an inclination . In the far distance I could see a huge cow skillfully climbing the slope . On the opposite site I also spotted a cow that had fallen over . As it udders got entangled in the fall, milk was randomly sent flying .
Aiming for that, huge mosquito monsters swooped down on the big cow . The cow had its blood sucked mercilessly and was eaten afterwards .
Namu1…
Glory to the Sutra, Amen, Big Satori Akira2, Maka Hannya Haramitashin-gyo…I prayed to all kinds of gods and deities . Though I don’t know whether there’s a next world for the cow that was eaten so tragically…
Ah, I suppose praying was out of line . It was the big mosquitoes that had launched an attack, but those mosquitoes also got attacked by a group of small flies . That’s how the food chain works around here . I’m sure those small flies are also fated to be eaten by different monsters . While repeatedly praying to the being called Great Mother Nature…I proceeded onward .
The belt of sloping land was covered with leaves that had just sprouted in all kinds of colors . In an instant, a rich number of multicolored flowers bloomed as if to bless us . Watching the blooming as the flowers unveiled their petals in real time was extremely beautiful .
And then the area turned into a grove of mixed trees . Streaks of a mysterious light paved their way from the sky through the leafy canopy . The silver light filtered by the trees was wonderful . It was as nice as the beautiful flowers . I wonder whether the gods of this world have given us their blessings?
Is the place called evil domain by Steertop actually to be found somewhere else?
The gentle inclination turned into a flat terrain . There were still trees around us, but the patches of grassland in-between grew in number, and the huge cows had completely vanished as well .
And then, I felt a moist, cool wind…different from the one which blew across the prairie . It blew through the trees which had now become sparser .
Not being able to see the cows, which had been falling over…was somehow saddening . In exchange, a single, big fly appeared in front of us .
I reacted immediately, unleashing <Tree of the Evil King> . The image I used was fly-on-skewer . No, just kidding . I created a big wood spear with a tapered point after imagining its shape .
I gripped the long spear with a strength that wouldn’t crush it . Then I pulled back the spear in my right hand across my right shoulder like those Olympic javelin athletes, and while taking one, two and then three steps forward, I used <Throwing> as I swung my right arm with the motion of an overhand throw . The wooden spear rapidly took flight with a shhwaff, and headed straight for the big fly . I think it doesn’t fall short of Gungnir which was carried by Odin according to the myths .
The point of the wooden spear hit the fly’s head, pierced through its compound eyes and its torso, and finally came to a stop after stabbing into the ground . It created a wooden spear grave marker on the grassland’s soil .
Since it was a wooden spear, it was impossible for it to automatically return into the hands of its owner like Gungnir . And we didn’t collect the fly’s materials because I had crushed its wings .
I recovered the large magic stone that had fallen out of the corpse . The wooden gravemaker shaking in the wind made me feel emotional… Farewell, monsters of the prairie . Thanks for the delicious meat .
I prayed while putting my hands together . It’s not like I threw a monetary offering at it, but I’m thankful…as if there’s a small church in my heart . After offering my condolences, I returned to everyone .
“Nyao . ” Rollodeen, who walked in front, greeted me with a meowing while sniffing the air .
What’s up? Did she sense a scent in the wind?
Next Yui extended one hand while holding her magic katana, “Look . There’s a very large forest on the left, but you can see a big lake on the right . ”
Ah, she’s right .
“Nn, there are rocks, and also a paved road . ” Eva noted .
“Is it a highway?”
“Master, it veers off from the direction on the map, but are we going to take a look?” Mysty asked curiously
“Sure, why not . ” I replied .
This is the 20th floor of the labyrinth, and also the soil of the evil domain . It might be fun to investigate the depth of that lake by swimming and diving into it, and to discover what kind of fish are living within .
Moreover…I will have everyone wear the shell bikinis along the beach…going with the vibe of AHAHAHA again…
No, we did come here for the sake of the magic treasure map . Let’s keep it at having a little peek at the lake .
“――Nn, then I will try having a look for a short while!” Eva declared solemnly as if taking a stab at my absent-mindedness .
She apparently intended to scout the area out from the sky . She went ahead while floating on her magic wheelchair .
Eva-san, the Esper . Her observation of the vicinity by making her wheelchair rotate was also cute .
Eva looked a second time towards the right, stopped moving for a bit, and immediately came down .
“――Nn, there was a settlement at the lake on the right . And, something big is moving in front of it . They might be fighting . ” She reported .
Settlement? Is it related to the goblins from just now? Or it might be part of the evil races’ army corps .
“…I guess we go closer and have a look . ”
“Nyaon . ” Rollo meowed at Eva .
“Nn, lake monster?”
“I’m curious about the settlement, but armed forces again?”
“If they are enemies, I will cut them down with Azelos . ” Yui declared .
“I will also slay them with my Magic Sword Hyuzoy . ” Kaldo chipped in .
Parent and child, who have grown accustomed to their work for the dark guild, were rather belligerent .
It might not be completely unanimous, but we all headed to the right side . As we approached the lake along the paved road, it started to rain . I call it rain even though a certain level of light is being released from the cloudy sky .
The rain gave me a feeling of a long spell of rain in early spring when the greenery would start to bud, same as it was now .
And, just as Eva had reported, I felt several magic sources . I also sensed magic sources hidden among the trees lining up along the sides of the road, but I think it’s okay to ignore these .
A huge lake on the right side, huh? The visibility has become quite bad due to the rain…but, I could see figures fighting each other .
Humanoids with four arms and three arms were fighting against a big monster with many legs and arms . The monster’s head was shaped grotesquely . It had six square eyes, its nostrils were wide, and its mouth was stretching to the sides as well . The chin area was unnaturally divided into two parts .
Once it spread its mouth open as if tearing it apart, “Giogooooooooo――,” it roared, causing the earth to tremble .
“That’s a dreadful sound even though we are quite a distance away from it…” Yui muttered while plugging her ear as she held her katana in one hand .
The monster had six arms and legs . All of the arms were long and bulky with a thickness at the level of a pillar as you could find it in the Parthenon Temple . The arms’ ends were shaped in the forms of sickles and spears .
It flourished its sickle-like arms as it pleased, mowing down the three-eyed humanoids as if swiping away trash .
A great number of leeches was clinging to its thick, white torso . The leeches were squirming and sucking the monster’s blood, I think .
I don’t know whether that monster is raising the leeches . But, the colors of the leeches were sickening .
It’s no wonder that it had many legs to support its huge torso . They were spider legs that seemed to be like thick, steel pillars as they would be used in the construction of huge buildings . The spider legs were restlessly moving around .
Going by its shape, I guess you could call it a mixed breed of a spider and a mantis . It was big and grotesque, but why do I feel like I have seen something like that before?
The huge monster owned a presence similar to a towering rock cliff . It made me feel an air of intimidation .
It thrashed around, using its sickle arms and spear arms as if to give birth to new typhoons . And the group of parallel, quadrangle eyes on its grotesque face shone while releasing rays of mysterious light .
At the same time, the monster created a squall that seemed to repel the rain on the left side .
The humanoids on that side were swallowed up by that squall and blown away . Those suspicious rays weren’t some kind of collision detection? The six mysterious rays illuminated the ground like the lights of a car driving through a wall of rain .
The humanoids, who had been forced into a hard fight, had four arms . They don’t seem to be like those soldiers who revered Shadow and fought against us . None of them wore a helmet . There were also few humanoids that you could call largely-built warriors .
I don’t think that they are demons with four eyes either . Going by their appearance, they look like humans .
“It’s a battle between that monster and the three-eyed people, but there were humanoids with three eyes in the army we met at first as well, weren’t there?”
“Those people over there don’t seem to be military forces, but I guess that they are from the same species . I can launch a preemptive attack with my bow . ” Viine offered .
“On the battlefield you get attacked without any questions asked . I’m ready to go as well!”
My chosen bloodkin said in an elated mood .
“Nn, are we going to save those people?” Even Eva had deployed her green chakrams clad by her violet mana above everyone’s heads while saying so .
Their power output seems to change depending on the metal used, but that 『chakram』 technique is powerful . However, right now they are substituting as umbrellas against the rain .
『Your Excellency, will I get a turn again?』
『No, I will deal with it personally . 』
『Okay, I will help you whenever you need . 』
『Aye, as reward――』
『Aah! nuuh . 』
Helme let me hear such seductive thoughts . Recalling the memory when I had sex with her, the area at my nether region bulges while my chest throbs .
However, right now it’s time for battle . I will have Helme remain on standby in my left eye . I won’t use the big, manly warriors, the Burning Knights, this time either .
“I will head out personally . There’s also the settlement . Maybe it will be possible to negotiate with that side . ” I announced .
Rebecca nodded at my words and wrapped her small body up in blue flames, and said while getting ready by grasping Gulphon’s Wand in her hand, “Okay, if the people with the three eyes, who appear to be the residents of that settlement, are friendly, we will just target the big monster, right?”
She donned an innocent expression .
“Aye, that’s how it is . Everyone, I’m going ahead, okay? Let’s go, Rollo . ” I said .
“Nyaa . ”
Rollodeen transformed into her black panther form, instead of her horse lion form .
I ran alongside the maintained road together with my partner, approaching the humanoids who were fighting against the large monster .
“――What’s going on? A strange being is approaching from behind!”
“Fuck, one disaster after the other since the treasure had been stolen! Even though we’re already confronting a Foolish Deidan by ourselves!”
That’s what the three-eyed people were shouting as soon as they saw me and Rollodeen . Foolish Deidan appears to be the name of that monster .
They were clamoring about a stolen treasure, but is that related to the crystal ball we picked up?