Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 145.2
Zilgan’s words were a warning. But with his actions and words, I felt I could see the guiding principles of Hogloss Trading Company.
Never take sides, but if you did not get in their way, they would not be aggressively hostile. That was enough information for now.
Leaving Hogloss Trading Company, we toured the town and restocked our rather pricey groceries and gear, returned to the inn, and the next morning, after being assured that Elena had regained some of her strength, we left town and made our way towards the ruins.
“Elena…are you okay?”
“Yes, thank you, Aria.”
Elena’s pale complexion was not only due to the desert climate and her physical condition, but also because she had seen too many people die since she arrived here.
Death is everywhere in a town like this. There was no mercy for enemies. However, around Elena, even though there had been death so far, it had happened on the other side.
That’s why I took her outside, but Elena looked at me and shook her head quietly.
“It’s okay, Aria, it’s all my… it was my own decision.”
“…I see.”
She was pushing herself too hard. Still, if that was her decision, I would respect it.
Elena was not just a doll to be protected. She was a human who stood up by her own will.
The reason why we spent half a day from early morning when it was still dark to go to the ruins was not to defeat the demons. Of course, if there were demons, I would defeat them and collect materials, but the main purpose was to obtain valuable materials found in this region.
The flower called Deathroot, which was used in this region as an advanced recovery medicine, were materials that could sometimes be found in graveyards in the desert. Master mentioned before that the dry desert climate and “miasma” were necessary to obtain this precious material.
There were various theories as to the nature of the miasma, but it was said to occur in places where there were negative emotions and the stain of death, and to be the source of power for undead monsters and demons.
I was not certain why Deathroot blooms in places where there was miasma, but I thought that if I were to search for it here, the ruins of Reiz Veil, where many undetected undead monsters are found, would be a good place to look for it.
Of course, there were dangers. Zombies and skeletons that could be physically attacked would not be a problem, but an incorporeal monster like the Wraith would be an enemy that would be difficult for ordinary adventurers to escape from.
But not for me and Elena. Weapons like Magic Iron, though not as powerful as Mithril, could be used against Wraiths, as it could be enchanted with Attribute Magic, but even more than that, Light Magic [Clean] could eliminate the miasma that was the source of the undead.
“Aria, are the ones I harvested okay?”
“Yes. Well, I would only use the petals, so I simply need to cut off just the flower.”
“Okay.”
Elena was picking the Deathroot flowers with a serious look on her face. As I had expected, it was surprisingly easy to find them if I used my eyes to find the dark magic pools and searched behind buildings.
I didn’t want her to touch it if possible, but Elena insisted that she would like to pick it for me.
We did not collect at the same time. One of us would always be on the lookout for the appearance of Wraiths.
Even so, perhaps because the sun was still high in the sky, we did not yet see any undead monsters, not even skeletons. Perhaps, including the fact that there was a lot of miasma in the dark miasma pool, there might be something in the light element, which was its opposite attribute, to suppress the miasma.
I store the Deathroot petals in [Shadow Storage], which I was able to collect in reasonable numbers, as no one comes to a place like this to look for them beyond what they could find with their eyes.
“Elena?”
Elena, who finished picking Deathroot flowers, looked over the wall with a curious look on her face.
“Ah, well, I was thinking earlier, but I felt something like a vibration coming from the other side of the wall…”
“Vibrations?”
At Elena’s words, who looked unsure of herself, I moved closer to the wall, and after confirming that I felt nothing in my detection skills, I gently touched the wall with my finger.
After a few seconds…maybe 30 seconds, I did indeed feel a slight vibration. I wondered if Elena noticed it because she was near the ground to pick flowers. I put my ear on the ground to further confirm the vibration and guessed that it was the sound of a battle.
“There was a fight going on. What should we do?”
Maybe there were dangerous monsters in the area. But someone might be under attack.
If it was an adventurer, it was their own responsibility, and my role was to protect Elena. But if someone was really under attack, and Elena would feel uncomfortable about abandoning them, then I could at least confirm the situation first.
When I asked her this with my gaze, Elena looked back into my eyes, weighing herself and my safety…and the weight of the mission.
“Let’s just check. If we don’t know who they were, we won’t be able to respond the next time they come.”
“Understood.”
I left the building of the ruins and went towards the path where I could feel the vibration. Taking care not to stray too far from Elena, I gradually approached and noticed a figure on the other side of the road being attacked by a dozen or more beetles and caterpillars.
Was it a civilian or an adventurer? I strengthened my eyes with physical enhancement to check them out, and for a brief moment, I could see that they looked familiar.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s that duo, the Cruz guy and the Dark Elf guy.”
I returned and reported the situation to Elena, who gave me a puzzled look.
They were probably adventurers. If adventurers were being attacked in Cleydale, I would have helped them, but I had no obligation to put Elena in danger to save them.
As for Elena, the two of them told us that we were in danger, but I guess it was just because we didn’t know how much the inhabitants of that town could believe in us.
I was about to abandon them on my own if she couldn’t decide, when I saw a cloud of dust approaching from the other side of the road.
“Is that…?”
“Another monster?”
Coming from the other side of the road were several giant beetles. But that wasn’t all. I also saw two beastmen running in front of them. And I frowned slightly at the scent, which I detected faintly in the wind.
“It’s the smell of insect traps.”
“…Huh?”
I once used something similar to gather monsters in the dungeon when I was making a trap to one of the Northern Frontier Branch of the Assassin’s Guild member.
Could that beastman set a trap for them? If they and the boys were enemies, I would have no reason to stop them. But if it was just a robbery or a grudge crime, I would interfere, but there was no way to determine that.
“Elena.”
There was no “law” in this land. Power was the law, and the power of the organization determined the law.
That was why we had to decide for ourselves what was right.
But it would be meaningless if we made decisions at random. I let Elena decide what we should do. I asked her about her decision as a princess, and in a few moments, Elena, who had put together the situation, her feelings, and everything else, turned her attention to the approaching beetle and beastman group and quietly said aloud.
“Let’s wait.”
Elena said, as she stood in the road and watched the beastmen, waiting for their reaction.
If they were decent people, they would not be willing to involve others and would react accordingly. If there was even just a shred of conscience, that would be more than enough for us to intervene.
But–
“Aria!”
The moment the Cat-beastman spotted us, he threw the bag he was carrying toward us without warning.
What he had thrown was a scent bag. The beastman smirked after doing so and tried to climb up the ruins near us.
“What!”
“–[Phantom Pain]–“
Stiffened by the phantom pain, the beastman slid off the ruin he was climbing, and the man, probably more concerned about taking care of the witnesses, sank into the swarm of beetles attracted by the scent bag that had fallen nearby, leaving behind a desperate scream.
“Let’s help the two, Aria.”
“Certainly, Elena.”
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