Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 226
Chapter 226: The Oni Princess’ Pursuit
We arrived at Ichi Village, the village where Kuro’s parents had been earlier.
The villagers looked at me with puzzled expressions, wondering why I had returned so soon. Then, noticing Setsuna beside me, their eyes widened in disbelief.
Well, their reaction was understandable. After all, the princess of an Oni race, someone who reigns at the very top, had suddenly appeared in their midst.
A man who seemed to be a representative of the Oni race sprinted towards us as fast as a professional sprinter, then dropped to one knee in an impressive and dynamic bow.
“P-Princess Setsuna, it is an honor to have you visit our humble village!”
“No need to be so formal. I am not here to inspect the village.”
“Y-Yes, understood. Then, may I ask what brings you to our village…?”
“I am simply accompanying these adventurers. Pay me no mind and go about your daily lives as usual.”
Hearing this, the man looked puzzled, as if to ask, “Why is the princess herself acting as a guide?”
It was a perfectly reasonable reaction, but Setsuna refused to explain, shooting him a glare that silenced him instantly.
Not wanting to anger the princess, the man quickly covered his mouth. Once the conversation was forcibly concluded, he bowed apologetically and retreated to the largest mansion in the village.
Setsuna snorted softly and turned to me.
“So, what’s the plan from here?”
“Hmm… I guess the first step is to gather information.”
The quest details displayed before me instructed us to collect information about Rasetsu from the villagers.
We needed to question at least twenty people, but not just anyone. Only those with a “?” icon above their heads.
It was a classic information-gathering task often found in search missions like this. Fortunately, since we were in a party, we could split up to cover more ground.
Thus, we decided to divide into two groups: one with me, Kuro, and Setsuna, and the other with the remaining four members. Each group would inquire with the villagers about Rasetsu.
Inori looked dissatisfied with the arrangement, but Shio managed to persuade her, and she begrudgingly agreed in the end.
With that settled, we split up and began searching for the target villagers.
“Well then, let’s start looking for the ones with quest markers.”
“They’re not easy to spot at a glance.”
“Quest markers… I don’t fully understand this celestial language, but in essence, we’re looking for those who might have traces of knowledge about Rasetsu’s whereabouts, correct?”
“Hmm, yeah, more or less. I don’t necessarily need to look with my eyes, though—I can use a combination of my perception skill and Insight skill to pinpoint who in the village has a marker.”
“You… possess the legendary Tengan!?”
Tengan—commonly referred to as the Celestial Eye—denotes a supernatural vision capable of perceiving things beyond normal sight. Sometimes called the Clairvoyant Eye, it doesn’t allow one to see everything, but its effects come remarkably close.
Now that I think about it, this skill was considered legendary. Hearing such an exaggerated reaction makes me feel a bit self-conscious…
With that thought lingering, I extended my perception and located someone distinct from the others.
In this world, players appear as “blue,” residents like Setsuna appear as “green,” and monsters as “red.” Quest-related targets, however, are marked by a green icon with an exclamation mark hovering above it.
Spotting one nearby, I told the other two, “This way,” and took the lead.
Setsuna initially muttered, “No way, that can’t be right…” doubting me. However, when she spotted the employee, a woman who, from Setsuna’s perspective, seemed to be surrounded by a strange aura, she stared at me as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“This is astonishing… You truly possess the Tengan…”
“Let’s move past that for now. First, let’s hear what she has to say.”
Approaching the woman working at a clothing store, we asked if a suspicious girl had visited recently.
The shopkeeper recounted seeing a girl a few days ago who appeared to be in distress and had her face covered. The girl had purchased clothes with a Hide effect and left shortly thereafter.
When I inquired if the girl wore any peculiar equipment, the shopkeeper said she hadn’t noticed any foreign armor or accessories.
We thanked her and moved on to search for the next icon-bearer.
After speaking with about five others, the information we gathered was consistent. They had seen a girl shopping, but nothing particularly noteworthy.
The girl’s purchases included food, healing potions, and other everyday items. Other than the Hide-effect clothes from the first shop, her transactions were ordinary.
While waiting for Shio’s group of four to finish speaking with the last icon-bearer on the opposite side of the village, I pieced together the clues we had gathered to speculate about Rasetsu’s situation.
“Hm… Based on the information so far, the likelihood of Helheim or the Dark Believer being involved is slim. More likely, Rasetsu is possessed by the Calamity of Gluttony.”
“Wait a second! If that’s the case, then what was that monster we took down with those knights!?”
“I didn’t see it myself, so I can’t be certain, but it could have been the lingering grudge or soul of the defeated enemy.”
While grudges are one thing, I do have firsthand experience with souls, like the one I encountered in the Dragon Kingdom:
??The presence of Alice’s mother, the late Queen.
If such phenomena are possible with humans, they could conceivably occur with monsters as well.
Why this is happening now, I’m not sure, but this seems to be our strongest lead.
Hearing this, Setsuna’s face turned pale, and she appeared deep in thought.
“So, that’s what’s happening… Yes, if that’s the case, then…”
“Sounds like you might have an idea. If we can identify the cause, we might be able to save her.”
“Rasetsu… can be saved…”
It must have been beyond her imagination.
When Setsuna uttered those words, she stared blankly at me, her expression frozen.
When I gave her a firm nod of reassurance, the princess of the oni seemed on the verge of tears and quickly turned her back to us.
She really must have been pushing herself too hard.
Back at the castle, I’d already noticed a strained look on her face. She was likely bearing many burdens: a mother bound by prayers and unable to act freely, a father collapsed and incapacitated, and the responsibility of filling their roles. On top of that, she was grappling with the weight of chasing her sister, who was being hunted as a criminal.
Looking at her stiff figure with her back turned, I instinctively reached out and gently patted her head.
“Don’t treat me like a child!” she shouted angrily, brushing my hand away.
After wiping the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, she glared at me with a pout, her face slightly flustered.
“So… that’s your trick for winning over other princesses, huh? But as a proud oni, I will never let my heart waver!”
“Oh wow, it’s rare to see someone resist Sora’s head pats like that,” commented Kuro with a smirk.
“Hey, that’s not why I did it!” I protested.
Despite my denial, Setsuna kept her distance like a wary cat. Meanwhile, Kuro jabbed me lightly in the ribs and watched the situation unfold with a bemused expression.
Later, when our group reunited, my companions asked about Setsuna’s mood. I tried to explain the misunderstanding, but—
“Wait, isn’t she completely right?”
Everyone unanimously sided with Setsuna.
“I already have a girlfriend! Why would I do something so improper?” I retorted.
Shio chuckled. “Well, in that case, you might want to stop casually patting other girls’ heads.”
She had a point. From now on, I should probably avoid touching other women so lightly, even if it’s unintentional.
When I looked at Kuro apologetically, she smiled back warmly. There wasn’t a hint of jealousy in her expression, just her usual trust.
While it was reassuring, it left me with mixed emotions. Should I feel happy or conflicted? Looking to the evening sky, I tried to compose myself.
The sunset bathed the world in golden hues, and with everyone gathered, I summarized the information we’d collected from the quest markers.
“As for Rasetsu, we didn’t uncover anything useful. The only thing we’re sure of is that she’s not in this village.”
“We heard pretty much the same,” said Shio. “Maybe if we head to the second village, we’ll learn more.”
“That seems to be our best bet. Let’s keep moving forward.”
“I think I’ll return to the castle for now,” said Setsuna. “I can’t leave my mother alone indefinitely while chasing after Rasetsu…”
“Since we’ll probably have to visit every village eventually, making the castle our base isn’t a bad idea,” I suggested.
The villages formed a route resembling a hexagram, so it made sense to return to the castle after each stop. Though different from my experience in the Dragon Kingdom, the quest fundamentally involved tedious, large-scale travel.
Since the carriages were unavailable this time, we’d traveled on foot, but with Setsuna’s authority, we managed to secure carriages for future use.
After splitting into two carriages, we headed back to the capital. Once there, we logged out, deciding to head for the second village the following afternoon.
Thus, we left the first village behind us.