Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 129.1

Forest of the Dead Part I

*Whish! 

“What are you playing at?”

I asked her again with the same words, and she laughed thinly with a dark face.

“May I join you? You know, I have my own sources of information, not as far as the dark side, but I knew Aria would be able to figure out what was going on.”

“…”

[Carla Lester][Race: Human Female][Rank 4]

[Magic Power: 425/530] [Strength: 27/53]

[Total Combat Power: 1030 (Sorcery Attack Power: 1648)]

With all her magical attributes, Carla’s combat power was close to Rank 5 even at Rank 4, and she was as strong as me with her multiple skills in melee and sorcery.

However, because of all her attributes, Carla’s physical strength was only about that of a child, and that value always recovered to only half, I felt that the [Gift] of magical power enhancement that Carla had gained was continuing to drain her life.

Carla’s body was far from healthy, even though she could move enough to avoid the knife I threw and fought back, and even though we were having a normal conversation. Her complexion was as pale as paper, and the life force emanating from her body was as weak as that of a ghost.

However, in inverse proportion to the weakness of her perceived vitality, the enormous amount of magical power emanating from her entire body exceeded even that of the phantom beast Coeurl.

Perhaps her body, which should already be incapable of moving properly, was being moved forcefully by magic power and sorcery. Even though Carla knew that this was an act that would further shorten her lifespan, she would not stop her efforts.

“I didn’t hear anything about this.”

At the very end of that dungeon, our paths diverged when Carla wished for the power to destroy this country instead of prolonging her life.

Carla’s path would one day collide with Elena’s, who mourned this country. And that path was a bloody path where we would kill each other head-on resulting in the downfall of one of us.

Carla would never change her mind. I would never distort my beliefs either. So I knew that one day we would kill each other.

Perhaps she knew that I was going to settle the score with Grave and was waiting for me to make my move. I did not know what Carla was going to do there, and I was not interested in the reasons why.

All I wanted to know was how she had the nerve to show her face in front of me when we were destined to kill each other someday, and I wanted to know the reason for it.

“You feel like dying here?”

“That’s lovely… but for once, without me, your princess will be in trouble, you know?”

Carla stepped forward as she said this, pushing the edge of the knife forward and touching her brow, red-black blood running down her pale face like a line, and her bright red tongue licking it away.

I could kill her now. We stared at each other for a few seconds, looking at Carla’s quietly dwindling strength values, and then her lips spoke the words.

“I’m cleaning up after those I brought in when I was still weak. I don’t need them anymore and I don’t want them getting in my way.”

“You think they’re with my enemies?”

“I don’t like it when fools use things I’ve thrown away without my permission.”

“Suit yourself.”

With that, Carla smiled as I pulled back the knife, and Nero, who fought her last time and was about to kill each other, snarled in frustration. I exhale softly, stroking Nero’s neck with my fingers.

“Give her a ride, Nero. if we leave her alone, she’ll eat even our prey.”

[Grrrrrrrrrr..]

“I’m not ravenous enough that I would snatch your prey from you.”

“Liar.”

I jumped on Nero’s back and held out my hand to Carla, who gently approached me.

“Carla, who is your enemy?”

I asked, and Carla smiled a brutal, distorted smile and subtly shifted the direction of the conversation as she took my hand and rode on Nero’s back, who didn’t like it.

“Come to think of it, have you heard anything about this news Aria? I heard that in the last few months or so, several small villages in the west that aren’t even on the map have suddenly disappeared. Hmm.”

***

I allowed Carla to accompany me, even though we knew we would kill each other someday.

This fellow was going to kill her enemies on her own anyway, even if I left her alone. I didn’t have a problem if she died because of that, but it would be troublesome if Grave withdrew because of her move.

If it was too much trouble, Should I kill her here, I would have to have a “reason” to kill Carla though, the Crown Prince’s fiancée, as I was currently employed by Elena. I would have to wait for Carla to explicitly antagonize me or my employer to give me the order.

Carla also seemed to think that her prey would be taken by me, but more than that, I think she simply wanted ‘Nero Transport’ that was faster than a horse-drawn carriage. I suppose I could have also left it to Nero to try to kill her again, but then again, I doubt that it would be easy, knowing what Carla was like.

However, several days had passed since our departure, and I wondered why Carla had not died yet, riding on the back of Nero, which would almost kill an ordinary person just by riding on its back, that could not even be compared to a nobleman’s carriage.

It would take Nero a week to reach our destination, the Marquis of Kendras, on his legs. Naturally, we would not stop at any towns, but would have to push through forests and mountains, so we would be forced to camp in the woods at night.

“We’ll camp here.”

When I decide to do so, Nero would go hunting for prey on his own and would bring in a wild boar or bear. Carla, too, was scraping off the burned meat with a knife, and she was eating it without complaining.

Meals were just a form of nourishment. I think the same was true for Carla, who was exploring the labyrinth on her own. But rather than that, why do I find the sight of Carla eating like a human being so strange?

As we continued our forced march, Carla’s strength sometimes dropped to a single digit, but even so, I could not imagine her dying in any way other than by being killed directly.

“I am a human being, too, you know?”

“You’re the only one who thinks so.”

“Then we are all the same, aren’t we?”

Hi, everyone. We have launched patreon for this novel. It will help us pay the translator-sama and hopefully hire an editor this novel.

Thanks for your time. See you in the next chapter.