Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 132.2

She laughed, her strong, maniacal purple eyes shooting at me with a ferocious grin. Calmly judging, even if I used “Iron Rose”, I would not be able to match Carla’s Gift. Carla’s Gift was so well suited to her abilities, and I was not yet fully proficient with the “Iron Rose”.

We returned to the encampment in silence, without further conversation.

Carla asked for strength to take everything with her to her death.

And I made a mental note to become even stronger to put her out of her misery.

A few days later, Nero, Carla, and I arrived at our destination, the Kendras Estate.

The Kendras Estate faced the Kondo Mine, one of the largest mineral deposits on the continent, was a very active town with many prospectors doing manual labor, not only human but also physically gifted beastmen and rock dwarves digging for iron and copper, and merchants gathering to buy weapons and other crafts made by the dexterous mountain dwarf craftsmen.

We did not stop there, however, but headed straight for a town along the border. Like the former city of the Northern Frontier Division of the Assassins Guild, there was a large church in the mining area to mourn the accidental deaths of those who died there. It used to be an area ruled by a Baron family related to the Kendra’s family, but the family line was severed about ten years ago and the area now fell under the direct control of the Marquis Kendras.

In that castle, where the barons once lived and now no one but the caretaker should be living, that man…Grave was waiting for me.

The dark side people sacrificed a lot to find out where Grave was hiding. But this information gave me a glimpse of Grave’s intention to call me.

I did not understand why Grave was with the Marquis of Kendras, an aristocrat who used to be an enemy of the royal family. Did Grave, who believes that the royal family should be strong for national security, and the nobleman Marquis of Kendras, have something mutually beneficial in mind? Did they think that abolishing the Crown Prince and having Elena as a puppet to do the bidding of the aristocrats would help the royal family? But that was not relevant. If Grave wanted to block the way for me and Elena to advance, I would overcome it and move on.

“Well then, I’ll be leaving you here.”

“Okay.”

Carla, whose goal was to find the Evil Races, left us halfway through the trip. According to Carla’s story, Undead like Vampires were supposed to be found in the catacombs, beneath the chapel.

Even Carla, a Gift holder, could never be too careful with a high-ranked Vampire. But Carla, like me, would never stop moving forward.

Carla had her own battle to fight. I had my own battle to fight. We looked at each other for a moment, then turned our backs and walked towards our own battlefield.

This city, once home to tens of thousands of people, was now inhabited by only a few thousand. Was this decline due to the loss of the lords who ruled it, or was it because of the vampires that lurked in the area? 

The vampire clans of the Evil Race had not yet made any major moves. As they did in that mountain village, they wouldn’t come out to the public until they had a certain number of forces in place. Even if their main army was in the catacombs, and as Carla indicated, it was unlikely that they would not be in the castle at all.

Avoiding the city, Nero and I headed for the castle located in the woods, and as soon as the sun rose, we began our assault.

[Gah…]

–Forest–corpse–

Suddenly, Nero’s tentacles conveyed an electric signal of will.

“Are there any defective ones in the forest?”

–There is–

Perhaps they lurk in the woods as a precautionary measure, a bunch of defectives who could move even under the sun. I did not know how many of them there would be. Even if they lack combat skills and their fighting strength was only that of an ordinary soldier, they would rush into the castle if there was a commotion in the castle.

If I had a big weapon like the rainbow-colored sword Dalton or Feld and could use the Combat Skill of Cleave, I would be able to deal with them, but it would take time to deal with a large number of enemies with my weapon. Then I should eliminate the outside of the forest first, but if I took the time to destroy the scattered enemies, I think the Vampire would come out as night fell.

At that moment, Nero stepped forward soundlessly in front of me as I stood still, and waved the tentacles extending from his ears in the direction of the castle.

–advance–

“…You want me to go on?”

I said, and Nero turned slightly, his mouth changing shape as if to smirk.

“Thanks,”

[Gah].

We nodded to each other and we parted ways in the forest and started moving again, Nero must have a grudge against Grave, too. But Nero put priority on me settling things with Grave and volunteered to work behind the scenes.

There was no hesitation in making the choice. If I took too long to decide, Nero’s thoughts would be wasted.

I ran through the forest in the morning darkness, trying to hide my presence, and when I reached the stone wall of the castle, I hung the Sickle Type pendulum on the protruding stone wall and climbed up as if I were running.

***

Inside the castle, all the windows were closed, and curtains covered with boards after being hammered down to deny outside light.

The size of the castle, which could be said to be inappropriate for a baron’s family, was a remnant of a fortress that was originally built along the border to expand the territory of people during the time of the former Duchy of Dandol. The walls of the castle were unnaturally thick compared to those of today’s castles, and the smell of mold and blood was faintly perceptible inside the castle, which refused not only light but even the outside air.

There was no sign of life in the castle. The only people in the castle were the Undead, who were not even breathing, and their failed ones, but there was still a little light, because of the failed ones, who could not see in complete darkness, and the only “human being” that existed.

In a hall that would have once attracted many men and soldiers, a man sat alone on an old, decaying sofa, shaking a glass of blood-red fruit wine in the candlelight from a candelabra.

“It seems a prey has wandered in. A stray, or perhaps a secret agent from somewhere…. Can I use you as bait as usual?”

“As you wish.”

At the man’s reply, the Dark Elf woman gave a thin smile, then disappeared back into the darkness with her fangs peeking out from her lips. When the presence disappeared completely, the man leaned back against the couch, a smile on his face for the first time, and crushed an expensive glass with his artificial hand on his left arm.

“…You’re here, Aria.”