episode_0121

“Mr. Johanna?”

Seeing that familiar face, my eyes widened.

It was partly because I felt quite uncomfortable spending time alone with Fana, so the first emotion I felt when I saw her face was joy.

Of course, I felt relieved that she was safe.

However, that joy soon disappeared.

It was because I realized that this situation was not very good for me.

It’s better to show off your skills in front of people you don’t know, but it’s even more awkward to show off your skills in front of people you know.

In other words, it was no different from saying that it was becoming more uncomfortable than before.

“… It looks like there are no injuries.”

Johanna looked at me here and there and said that with a slightly relieved expression on her face.

“I’m glad that Johanna seems to be okay too.”

Johanna also had no visible wounds at all.

It would be natural if she came here through the same level of barrier that Fana and I met.

Johanna’s skills are not at a level where she can be hurt by a few golems.

“What about the other party members?”

“I don’t know. When I opened my eyes, I was alone.”

“I see.”

The symptoms she experienced seemed to be the same as mine and Pana’s.

After that, Johanna and I had a brief conversation, and through that conversation, I realized that she had gone through the same process as me to get to this point.

However, there was one difference.

“You didn’t meet anyone else in the maze?”

“Yes.”

It seemed like she didn’t encounter anyone else in the maze.

Although I found that somewhat puzzling, I soon understood it.

There is no guarantee that this space was created so that everyone goes through the exact same process.

Even if there was a slight difference, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Anyway, I’m organizing information by having various conversations with her.

“Looks like we know each other?”

Fana, who had been quietly watching our conversation, intervened.

Only then did I realize that it was a mistake.

Even though it was nice to meet someone I knew, it wasn’t polite to continue talking without her.

Johanna’s gaze naturally turned towards Fana.

“You… … .”

“This is Fana El Kurtan.”

Johanna’s eyes widened slightly after hearing that introduction.

As a member of the group, I knew that Johanna originally knew her name.

However, judging by the reaction, it seemed like this was the first time seeing their faces in person.

“… Johanna Peirin.”

However, the change on Johanna’s face disappeared in an instant.

After getting over the surprise in an instant, Johanna also revealed her name.

And with that, their conversation ended.

“… … .”

I felt a subtle stiffness in their attitude toward each other.

It doesn’t feel like we are displeased with each other.

It would simply be close to having no interest in the other person at all.

I was well aware that Johanna had that kind of personality, but compared to the way she was now, when she always spoke to me first, even though we were just meeting for the first time, it felt somewhat unfamiliar.

Maybe this is Fana’s usual appearance.

The rumors I heard about her at camp were close to this feeling.

If we look at it that way, her attitude toward me should be seen as unusual.

And I had a rough guess as to what the source of that unusual attitude was.

‘interest.’

There was clear interest in Fana’s gaze towards me.

She was curious about the human being I was.

Perhaps, that interest started because of something that happened when we first met.

Guessing that fact, I internally blamed my own foolishness.

If you’re going to act, you have to do it perfectly, but I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone around me, and that led to this situation.

Promising to myself that I would be more careful in the future, I decided to focus on the reality in front of me for now.

“What do you plan on doing, Johanna? Are you going to find Mr. Max or Mr. Hector first?”

Although I joined, my purpose still does not change.

Go through this tomb and reach the end of the tomb.

So, if Johanna’s goal was to join the group, I was going to do everything I could to leave her behind.

Johanna, who knows me as just a rookie mercenary, won’t understand at all and will be suspicious of me, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Because preventing the ‘organization’ conspiracy is more important to me than avoiding suspicion.

With that in mind, I’m waiting for Johanna’s answer.

“No. I plan to give priority to progress rather than joining.”

Johanna gave an unexpected answer.

To be honest, I thought her top priority was to join Max, Hector, and the rest of the group.

However, her answer was different.

Judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn’t saying anything he didn’t mean while examining his face.

In the first place, Johanna wasn’t the type to do something like that.

‘… … .’

Now that I think about it, I have a question.

Why did she reluctantly accept Max’s offer?

She is a mercenary with a high level of recognition in Darbil.

If she had wanted to receive a request, she would have been able to obtain a request that would have earned her a lot of money in just a few minutes.

However, she did not do so, but accompanied our group for which she received no special compensation.

At first, I thought she was interested in the Hero’s Tomb itself like Max, but after looking at her during the journey so far, it seemed that she was surprisingly not interested in the Hero’s Tomb.

There didn’t seem to be much interest in the hero’s sword, which was the flower of the hero’s tomb and in fact the biggest motivation of those who gathered here.

There’s nothing to say if it’s because she doesn’t usually reveal her true feelings, but I didn’t think that was the case.

I just felt like she really wasn’t interested in the place called the Hero’s Tomb.

So, if what I felt was true, why did she come here?

He even turned down a request that could have made him a lot of money, and went through a lot of trouble at the tomb of a hero he didn’t necessarily have much interest in.

I was curious as to why.

“… Then, let’s proceed together.”

I didn’t necessarily say that out loud.

So, although it wasn’t our intention, our group became three people.

***

How long had it been since I joined Johanna and headed back through the forest along the path?

I began to feel a subtle sense of strangeness.

And that feeling of strangeness was coming from the forest itself.

At first, I thought it was just a misunderstanding.

But, no.

“Something… I have a strange feeling.”

Pana, too, was looking closely at her surroundings as if she felt something.

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

On the other hand, Johanna did not seem to notice the strange sense of difference that Fana and I felt.

It wasn’t really something to blame Johanna for.

Pana and I just felt a sense of difference, but we didn’t know exactly what was causing it.

However, we cannot let ourselves be held back by a feeling of strangeness whose cause we do not know. After stopping for a moment, we resumed our walk.

“I finally made it outside, but it’s not much different from inside the maze.”

While walking again, Fana suddenly spoke.

“… That’s right.”

Until now, most of the time I had responded appropriately to what she said, but this time, I gave an answer that came from the heart.

It’s good to be out of the maze, but to be honest, the flow so far wasn’t much different from inside the maze.

Because the same scene kept repeating itself.

In fact, only the scenery changed, but what was happening was no different from a maze.

No, rather, the quality could be said to be poor.

In the maze, you occasionally encounter golems, but there hasn’t been anything like that here yet.

The only good thing about it is that compared to the stuffy interior, the open forest feels more comfortable.

However, did you say that words become seeds?

“… Wait a minute.”

Fana suddenly stopped in place.

I, too, stopped walking as soon as those words came out.

Even though he didn’t say it, I already knew.

Finally, the first customer appeared.

I glanced to the side and saw that Johanna was also looking ahead with sharp eyes.

The eyes of everyone in the group turned to the bushes in front of them.

How long has it been like that?

The bushes shook quite violently, and something emerged through the bushes.

“That… … .”

“Alternative… … .”

When Fana and Johanna saw ‘that’, their faces frowned at the same time.

I thought it was worth it.

Because I was like that too.

No, whoever was here would probably have had a similar reaction.

That thing that suddenly appeared had an appearance that aroused people’s instinctive discomfort.

If I had to describe its appearance in words, it looked like a tattered monster made of black slime.

“Ugh… … .”

To make matters worse, he even let out that bizarre, unpleasant moan.

“… Verhaville, it seems you have worse tastes than I thought.”

Fana added quietly.

I didn’t agree.

Because I was still thinking that this place was not created by Verhaville.

It was a car expressing deep condolences to Berhaville’s reputation that had been unexpectedly tarnished.

“I will handle this.”

Saying that, Johanna stepped forward.