episode_0109

So Max, I, and Johanna left Darville and went into the forest, but our mood didn’t change.

Well, the surroundings were still very noisy.

Even before leaving Darbil, the number was such that it would be appropriate to say it was crowded.

Even now that we entered the forest, they were still filling the area around us, without decreasing significantly.

“I don’t know if this thing came into the forest or went on a picnic in the garden in front of my house.”

Looking at the scene, Max muttered with a subtle look on his face.

This happened because the departure time of the mountain of people gathered for the purpose of the warrior’s tomb was also similar.

It would be unusual for this many people to gather in Darbil, so it could also be described as a rare sight in the sense that it may never be seen again.

“Thanks to you, I won’t have to encounter any monsters… This is really annoying as is.”

Max clicked his tongue with a shocked expression, as if he didn’t like this sight.

I also agreed with that.

This is because I am the type of person who does not like places with a lot of people in the first place.

It should be safe if they move around like this, but this is a group that doesn’t need to worry about safety in the first place.

The opinion of Johanna, another member of the group, did not seem to be much different.

She didn’t say anything, but her expression wasn’t that bright either.

“Well, it will get better later.”

Max added.

As I said, this situation would not last forever.

Even though the destination is the same, the path taken during the process may be different, and above all, the speed of progress is bound to be different for each party.

In other words, the number of people would decrease as time went by.

After gathering our thoughts, we continued walking through the forest.

***

Rather than worrying about danger during our journey, we hoped that nothing troublesome would happen.

It’s unlikely that a monster would approach a group of people like this, so the next thing to worry about is people.

Those who know the forest well will know that they should not act rashly even in situations like this, but most of the people heading to the Tomb of the Hero this time were from outside.

I don’t know much about the dangers of the forest.

As it is an unfamiliar place and is often said to be dangerous, it would be convenient to be careful about your actions, but honestly, I did not think that the possibility was high.

That’s right, because most of the people gathered here were unmanned.

As Anton also said, most unmanned people are people with strong pride.

And, that usually happens the better your skills are.

Everyone gathered here has a certain level of skill.

By gathering these people in one place, there is a low probability that problems will not occur.

Sure enough, trouble arose.

“Just talking about a topic you have no skills in.”

“Your eyes look like knotholes.”

Not long after leaving Darbil and entering the forest, there were warriors fighting right away, and now fights were taking place everywhere to the point where it would be appropriate to say they were frequent.

Fortunately, thanks to the painstaking efforts of the mercenaries leading each party, it had not yet escalated into an act of force, but it was clear that it was noisy anyway.

“What, they’re fighting again.”

Max frowned and looked at the two fighting men.

“Why are they fighting this time?”

“Well. But what… Even if you don’t listen, you can probably guess.”

Although I didn’t hear the details, I could roughly guess why the two warriors were fighting.

At first glance, it seems like there was an argument over something that wasn’t that big of a deal.

To give a specific example, you might say that you don’t like the way you look in your eyes or that your way of speaking is rude.

I could say that it was nothing more than speculation without any basis, but I was confident that the possibility was quite high.

Because that was the reason for all the fights that had happened around us so far.

“There is no quiet day.”

Johanna looked at them with an expression of disapproval.

“Well, it’s still okay as long as it stops being noisy.”

With that said, Max took his mind off the ongoing argument and started walking again.

Johanna and I followed behind him.

As Max said, this was still okay.

The surrounding area became noisy due to various issues, but it was literally just noisy.

Because our group wasn’t directly caught up in it.

However, was it a problem to have such thoughts?

“Oh. I didn’t know there was such a beauty.”

It wasn’t long before we found ourselves caught up in the trouble.

One warrior began to talk persistently to the group.

And the target was none other than Johanna.

In a way, it may have been planned that something like this would happen.

Among this many people, there were very few women, and among them, Johanna’s appearance was enough to stand out even in the crowded city center of Darbil.

Since there are no monsters and the forest is not as dangerous as I had heard, it is natural to pay attention to the surroundings.

And it could be said that it was only natural that Johanna caught his eye when he turned his gaze like that.

In response to the man’s persistence, Johanna, the person involved, did not respond and simply ignored her.

It’s as if they don’t even have any intention of dealing with him.

It was an expression of refusal that left no room for doubt, but the man had no intention of backing down, as if he had an indomitable will.

If there had been a mercenary hired by the man, he would have recognized Johanna and been frightened and stopped his actions, but for some reason, there was no mercenary in their group.

Only a few unmanned people who appear to be his companions are visible.

A thought crossed my mind: Maybe they didn’t hire mercenaries?

It was a ridiculous idea considering what could happen in the forest and how dangerous it was, but I also thought that it was quite possible for the man in front of me.

Being obsessed with a woman in this situation was an action that I didn’t quite understand.

They may have been overly confident, or they may have thought that since there were so many people, they could just follow them, so they didn’t hire mercenaries.

Anyway, the man was persistent and never gave up.

As the situation continued for quite a while, I turned my attention to Max and asked.

“Can I leave that alone?”

“Leave it alone. If it’s annoying, he’ll clean it up himself.”

These words are quite calm despite the fact that the same group is suffering.

However, I thought it wasn’t wrong.

Since Johanna is neither someone who needs to be protected nor a child, it might be right to let her do her own thing.

Rather, interfering for no reason may be an act of disrespect for her.

Thinking that Max was right, I decided not to speak any more and just quietly observe the situation.

However, as if she had finally reached the limit of her patience, Johanna frowned and opened her mouth to speak for the first time.

“Turn off.”

Very concise words.

Those firm words and force were enough to make a normal person turn away immediately.

“This is a woman with a unique charm.”

The man seemed to be different from ordinary people.

“I like you even more because you not only have good looks, but you also have this kind of charm. Well, how about joining our group? I can serve you very comfortably.”

“… Haha.”

Johanna sighed softly.

It was a clear reaction that showed that she did not like this situation.

However, despite that reaction, the man did not stop talking.

“Looking at the faces of your group, it looks like their skills are not very good, so the path there will be dangerous. So, come join our group—”

puck!

The man’s mouth, which had no way of stopping, suddenly stopped after a light hitting sound rang out.

And the man… … .

Whisper─

Suddenly, he rolled his eyes and laid his body down roughly on the floor.

“Uh, huh? Hey!”

The group who saw this hurriedly came over and grabbed the man’s body.

And, looking down at them with irritated eyes, Johanna said:

“Take him and get out.”

“… … !”

The man’s companions opened their eyes wide.

From those words, I understood why the man fell.

The blow was so fast that they couldn’t even see it.

Fortunately, the man’s companions seemed to have the brains to understand it and quickly retreated, taking care of the man.

Then he completely disappeared beyond the crowd.

““… … .””

And the people around were watching the series of scenes.

Of course, most of their eyes were directed at Johanna.

“It will feel more comfortable now.”

These were the words Max left while looking at that scene.

And it actually happened as Max said.

After that, people who were hostile towards Johanna stopped appearing often.

It’s not that it never happened, but every time she did, she ended up being exactly like the first man, and after that happened a few times, no one came close to her.

So the group regained peace, and we continued to move forward.

As we progressed through the forest, the number of people around us gradually decreased, as expected.

Because the road diverged and some people were slow.

However, there were still a lot of people, so no monsters attacked us, and no major incidents occurred.

While I was thinking that it would be nice if things stayed like this until I reached the grave, an incident finally occurred.

This was the first death among the group.