Chapter 215. Narsha Haram (2)
They decided to join the members of the Cassiubia League at the north gate. It took no time for them to find their new teammates since there was a lone buhguhbu with a horn on top of his head, and the buhguhbu was easily noticeable with his great height and build. The buhguhbu seemed to have noticed them too, and he stomped up to them with his two companions.
“Are you the people Grandpa Mangil recruited?”
“Yes, I am Ru Amuh.”
“Hm, Ru Amuh… Aren’t you the only gold rank among the humans?” It appeared that Ru Amuh was well-known even among the Cassiubia League.
“That’s how I am known, but it doesn’t bear the weight it suggests. There’s someone known as the ‘legend’ among us humans.” Ru Amuh said humbly, and the buhguhbu’s mouth turned slanted.
“Yeah, I’ve heard about the man so many times that it grows rote. It’s always said that he’s the exception among all exceptions.” Dalgil stretched out his hand. “I am the buhguhbu tribe’s warrior Dalgil. I am a gold rank like you, but it will be different once I come back.”
Although Dalgil sounded provocative and appeared to have a belligerent personality, Ru Amuh took it with grace as his usual self. “I will do my best so that you can go up to platinum rank. Please take care of me.”
Dalgil gazed at Ru Amuh and shrugged before turning around.
“Hey!” A raccoon suddenly popped up and raised his hand. “I am Bogle from the Dingo tribe. Welcome, welcome.” Was it about 50 cm? Although it had brown fur all over its body, the areas around its eyes were black. And the small and round ears on the sides of his head were just like those of any raccoon. “Ehem. Let me introduce myself. As the monk who serves God Miho, I can foresee the bad and good—”
While Bogle from the Dingo tribe talked, another voice interjected. “How long are you going to introduce yourself? Move aside, you idiot.”
“What? Did you call me an idiot?” Bogle looked back with anger before turning back forward as something tiny moved past him.
“Hello!” A creature smaller than Bogle jumped up and down and greeted cheerfully.
“I am Airi from the Carbuncle tribe serving God Miho! Nice to meet you all! Are you the human heroes I heard so much about? Hm, hm?” Her voice sounded smooth like water as she circled around the area, and the hooks hanging from her waist jingled wildly as they clashed against each other.
“That’s enough, Airi.” Unable to bear it any longer, even Dalgil piped up, but it appeared that Airi had no intention of listening.
“Come on, they say they are humans! Heroes at that!”
“Although they have become rarer now, it’s not your first or even second time seeing a human.”
“But they are aliens and not humans from Liber! How could I not be curious?”
“Airi!” Dalgil shouted in a thick, rough voice, and Airi barely managed to stop moving. It was then Chi-Woo finally saw what Airi from the Carbuncle tribe truly looked like. She was smaller than Bogle from the Dingo tribe and much leaner. And she was covered from head to toe in short, sky-blue fur that looked very soft. Her three fluffy tails shook in the air, and long, rabbit-like ears twitched on top of her head. Above all, there was a red ruby-like jewel that reflected the sunlight at the center of her forehead.
‘Urgh,’ Ru Hiana groaned softly. Chi-Woo empathized with her. The same went for Bogle from the Dingo tribe; Airi was so small and adorable that it was hard to resist reaching out to her.
“Airi is our guide. Although Bogle might help us focus in the right direction from time to time, the expedition’s team’s guide will be her.” After the introductions, Dalgil looked at the humans who still seemed dazed, and Ru Amuh opened his lips. While Ru Amuh introduced himself, Chi-Woo tried to collect his thoughts. There was Bogle, who introduced himself as a monk, and Airi, who would be the guide. It appeared the two were among the countless tribes and species within the Cassiubia League.
But what drew Chi-Woo’s attention the most was the three’s clothing and equipment. First, Dalgil’s whole body was covered in thick armor like Zepar; it would be apt to call him an ironclad warrior. And if he hadn’t seen wrong, Chi-Woo believed there was a long and thick club on Dalgil’s back. It was an iron club as thick as six baseball bats tied together. Bogle was dressed more lightly. His top, bottom, and even shoes were all made from oiled leather, and he wore a clean, white cloth like a cape the way a monk would. Furthermore, he held a staff that looked like the stalks of a very twisted and tangled oak tree. And Airi was…
‘Huh?’ Chi-Woo turned around in shock. Airi was suddenly gone after staring up at him the whole time.
‘Where did she go? Huh?’ Chi-Woo looked around this way and that, and when he looked in front of him again, he was shocked. It was because Airi had suddenly appeared again.
“Are you surprised? You look surprised! Ahahaha! Look at you!” Airi laughed while jumping up and down. “Hihihi! This is my great transparent self! How is it? Isn’t it amazing?” Airi tapped on the jewel on her forehead and arched her chin upwards. It appeared she was quite the trickster.
“Airi.” When Dalgil called her, Airi stopped giggling and hid by turning transparent. Ru Amuh also seemed taken aback by her sudden disappearance, but he continued with his introduction while looking at Chi-Woo.
“And this person is…”
“Hm, he’s the hero who defeated Vepar.” The uninterested look on Dalgil’s face turned attentive for the first time. Bogle clapped while looking at Chi-Woo with an exclamation of ‘Oho’, and Airi also looked at him with her sparkling eyes, chattering, ‘Ohmymy! Really? Truly?’
Dalgil stroked his chin and gazed at Chi-Woo intently. “You defeated the ruler of the ocean… I suppose we will know whether those rumors are true or not through this expedition.”
“Boss, it’s true. It’s what Murumuru said, and you know how much half-demons loathe humans!”
“I’m not convinced by that. You do what you are supposed to do, Bogle, and take out your staff.”
“But it’s true…” Bogle grumbled and raised his staff. “God Miho!” Then he threw the staff high in the air. “Please guide us to the right path!” His staff rotated in the air and hovered. Chi-Woo wondered what they were doing before his eyes widened. As if someone had tapped the staff in the air, it suddenly stopped rotating and fell.
“…Huh?” Why is it telling us to return to the city? No, is it towards the south gate? Isn’t that the opposite direction?” Dalgil murmured and said, “…Airi.”
Airi popped into appearance again and fell from the air.
“Ahahahaha! Sorry, sorry! I just wanted to mess with Bogle a bit!”
“Y-You really…” After finally realizing the situation, Bogle trembled in rage. It seemed Airi had made herself transparent and knocked the staff however she saw fit.
“How dare you! During a holy ritual!”
“Airi, if you play tricks one more time…” Dalgil growled, and Airi quickly raised both hands.
“Ah—I got it. I got it. You know how I am. I become serious once we are outside. I just wanted to lighten up the mood before going. Hm?”
“Damn it! Why did God Miho choose someone like that…!” Bogle gritted his teeth, took the staff, and threw it back into the air again. It really was different this time. The oak tree staff fell to the ground and began to rotate like a top before toppling to one side. The staff clearly pointed north.
“Oho! It’s a blessing! A blessing!” Bogle clapped while looking at the map and said in a loud voice, “Seems like God Miho says it’s okay! It’s the same as the direction we were planning to go in!” Bogle then glanced behind him. The whole team was calm. Ru Amuh simply nodded, while Hawa appeared expressionless like usual. Ru Hiana had seen Chi-Woo throw knives to find his way when saving Hawa, so she wasn’t too impressed either. Only Chi-Woo looked at what Bogle was doing with interest.
“We finished our introductions. There’s no need for us to stay any longer,” Dalgil said with his pointy helmet dropped low to obscure his face; it had been altered to accommodate his horn. “Airi and I will be at the front. It will be quite a march, so everyone should do their best to keep up.” With that, Dalgil ran like the wind; he was swift and agile unlike what his large physique would suggest. And thus, the march began.
***
After going past the north gate, the expedition team focused only on marching for a couple of days. Although not much happened on the first day, the scenery around them began to change on the second day. Even Dalgil slowed down then. Although the ground was still full of greenery so that it could be called nature, its color was darker, changing from green to black, and the air became heavier. Of course, it was nothing compared to the time Chi-Woo and the others were in Vepar’s and Zepar’s territory, but it made them realize that they were edging closer to the Demon Empire’s territory.
Chi-Woo looked at the forest in the distance, and his head turned upwards at the rising altitude.
‘Wow.’ He exclaimed as he saw dark, tall mountains shining dimly from far away. Chi-Woo had been staring at it for a while when a sudden voice explained.
“That’s Narchaide Volcano,” said Bogle.
Chi-Woo looked back down, and Bogle cleared his throat. “It was a natural fortress that provided strong defense for a human kingdom at one point, but now, it belongs to the Demon Empire.”
Chi-Woo blinked hard. Bogle seemed to interpret Chi-Woo’s reaction as interest and continued, “Whether from the Cassiubia’s mountain range or the holy city, Shalyh, we always have to cross that volcano to attack the Demon Empire. Only then would we be able to reach their mainland.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Of course, it won’t be easy. Since those demons are no fools, I heard that they had stationed their members in many places around the Narchaide Volcano. Among them, there is the one called the young noble…” Bogle chattered on excitedly as Chi-Woo listened to him with interest. They hadn’t been able to talk because they were so focused on marching, but now that they had slowed down, it seemed Bogle’s mouth was itching for conversations.
Chi-Woo nodded and asked while smiling, “You said you were Mr. Bogle from the Dingo tribe, right?”
“Yup, that’s right.”
“Mr. Bogle, you sure know many things.”
“Haha! I didn’t even say much. It embarrassed me to hear this from a hero who defeated Vepar.” Bogle scratched his head, pleased, and cleared his throat. “Although we aren’t a high-ranking species, the Dingos are known to be wise. That’s why you should ask me if you are curious about anything.”
There were many things Chi-Woo was curious about, and he started, “Is that so? Then—”
“He says he’s wise, but how come he gets tricked every time so easily like a stupid fool?” A high-pitched voice suddenly piped up. “Hm? Tell me.” Airi had her tongue hanging out while looking at them.
“What? A stupid fool?” Bogle said angrily. Chi-Woo was becoming a bit used to this situation; he expected another person to intervene about now.
“Airi.”
“No! Dalgil! I was just telling Bogle off because it seemed he wasn’t focusing on marching!” Dalgil glanced at Chi-Woo.
“Worry about yourself,” Dalgil said and turned back forward.
“Hmph. Dalgil only scolds me.”
“It’s because you keep making problems,” Dalgil said as Airi grumbled.
“Huh? Problems? How could you say that? This is my way of showing affection!”
“I don’t need that kind of affection at all!” Bogle heaved and calmed himself down again. Then he turned to Chi-Woo. “Hm, so what did you say you were curious about?”
Chi-Woo almost wanted to laugh seeing how Bogle tried to resume being solemn. Suppressing his laughter, he asked, “What was that staff from before?”
“Oho! Are you talking about this?” Bogle smirked while stroking the oak tree staff. He seemed to have been waiting for the question.
“It’s nothing much! I told you I’m a monk who serves God Miho right?”
“Yes.”
“God Miho has many divine powers, but their most notable one is seeing the future.” Airi murmured ‘What a joke’ from the front, but Bogle paid no heed to it this time and continued, “And a monk like me borrowed God Miho’s power a bit…”
“I suppose that’s why you said you can foresee the good and bad.”
“Oh, you remember? That’s right! If the staff had pointed backward without Airi’s intervention, I would’ve stopped Dalgil!”
“Because that would mean God Miho is telling you to turn around instead of continuing forward, right?”
“Yes~ That’s right. You are smart! Isn’t it a very amazing and convenient ability?”
“As you say, it’s a very amazing and convenient ability. It’s the kind of ability that I don’t think one should use carelessly, especially for one’s own selfish reasons.”
Bogle’s eyes turned wide.
“Wow, this human’s insight is no joke. No, no. He has an understanding of this art,” Bogle said while clapping and showing his admiration.
“Yes. I can’t use this ability however I want, or else God Miho won’t tell me the future and will instead inflict me with divine punishment. This power could even be taken away from me.” Bogle trembled as if the thought of that happening alone scared him. Then he puckered his lips and said, “I’m glad you realized this beforehand though. Most people make unreasonable requests once they hear of this ability. Especially Airi…” Bogle shook his head while Chi-Woo smiled blandly.
“Anyways, Mr. Bogle, you said you were of a different species from Ms. Airi, right?”
“Hm, oh yes. If you make a distinction, that’s right.”
“How come you both serve the same god though you are of different species?”
“Ha…you…” Bogle lifted his index finger and pointed at Chi-Woo. “That’s a very good question. Very sharp. It really makes it enjoyable to talk to you!” From the way he kept chattering, it seemed Bogle truly enjoyed talking. “Our fundamental departments are different.”
“Departments?”
“Should I call it roots? Hm, to properly explain it to you, I will have to tell you the legend about a deva world from one of the six realms of desire…”
It was then the marching suddenly stopped. Bogle stopped his storytelling and looked forward as well.