Ch. 12 Let’s Go to Radellia (3)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 12 – Let’s Go to Radellia (3)
We froze at Ruan’s words. Something was attached to Linda’s back…?
“W-What are you talking about?” Linda instinctively tried to feel her back, shrinking in fear. “W-What’s stuck on me? Is it a ghost or something?”
“Ruan, tell me exactly what you see.” I asked Ruan seriously.
Ruan, still holding the spirit tightly, bit his lip and spoke in a trembling voice. “I don’t know how to describe it. But… there’s some kind of black shadow clinging to Linda’s back. It’s like… it’s sucking something out of her.”
“Sucking something out…?” Claire narrowed her eyes, staring at Linda.
Linda turned pale and clung tightly to Sion’s arm. “Wait, hold on… Am I… am I okay? Is something really stuck on me…?”
“Linda, stay still.” Sion said, trying to calm her. “We’ll check it out.”
I gathered holy energy at my fingertips and activated a spell. “Lumino Vision.”
My vision brightened as I scanned Linda’s surroundings. And… I saw it clearly. A faint, wriggling black shadow was perched on Linda’s back, clinging to her shoulders. It looked like a living creature, latched onto her body.
“Damn… it’s a mana parasite.” I muttered through gritted teeth.
“A mana… parasite?” Linda asked, her face filled with terror. “H-Huh? Is that something horrible stuck on me? Eek… please get it off me, please…”
Linda’s frightened face and her dialect felt oddly cute, but the situation was far from cute. I looked at Sion and said, “Hold Linda still. I need to remove this.”
“Got it.” Sion said, firmly holding Linda. Linda, meanwhile, kept fussing.
“Wait a second! Is it going to hurt? Can you do it without hurting me?”
“It won’t hurt, so stay still.” I reassured her, raising my hand. “Alright, here we go. Don’t move.”
I focused holy energy at my fingertips and aimed at the parasite on Linda’s back. “Holy Flame.”
A sacred flame shot from my fingertips toward the shadow clinging to Linda’s back. The moment it touched the parasite, it let out a bizarre, screeching sound, as if screaming. But it wasn’t over yet. The parasite, as if making a last-ditch effort, tried to burrow deeper.
“Go away!” I poured more holy energy into it. “Lumino Purge!”
Linda flinched and cried out. “Owowow! It’s a bit warm! What’s this? You said it wouldn’t hurt me!”
“It won’t hurt you, so stay still!” I shouted at Linda, continuing to pour energy into the spell.
Finally, the parasite let out a final scream and detached from her body. It disintegrated and vanished into the air. I took a deep breath and checked on Linda.
“It’s over. You’re safe now.” I said, letting out a sigh of relief.
Linda slumped to the ground, wiping her forehead. “Ha… ha… that was so scary… I hate monsters… why does this always happen to me…”
As Linda gradually calmed down, we prepared to move again. But Ruan still wore an uneasy expression.
“Ruan, what’s wrong?” I asked quietly.
Ruan turned to look at me and said, “That shadow… it’s not over yet.”
His words made my heart sink. “What?”
“The shadow… it didn’t disappear. It went somewhere else.” Ruan’s voice trembled.
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We fell into silence at Ruan’s words. If the shadow didn’t disappear but went somewhere else… it meant the situation wasn’t over.
“First, let’s reassure the caravan.” I said, trying to stay calm. “We don’t need to make them panic.”
Sion and Claire nodded in agreement. We returned to the caravan and briefly explained the situation, trying to give the impression that everything was safe.
“The problem has been resolved.” I said calmly. “You don’t need to worry anymore.”
The caravan leader relaxed his tense expression and said, “That’s a relief. But we’re still not out of the forest, so we’ll stay alert.”
He paused for a moment, then added, “It might be a good idea to regroup when we reach the next village. We can also restock on supplies there.”
“The next village?” Claire asked.
“Yes, it’s called Rivertern.” the leader replied. “It’s a quiet village at the edge of the forest. But lately, there’s been a strange rumor. They say the villagers are avoiding outsiders.”
“Avoiding outsiders?” I repeated.
The leader nodded. “Yes. I’m not sure why, but some merchants who visited said the atmosphere felt… cold.”
I nodded at his words. “Understood. We’ll keep an eye on the situation as we move.”
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When we arrived at Rivertern, it didn’t take long to realize the leader’s words weren’t an exaggeration. The village looked peaceful and quiet on the surface, but the villagers glanced at us and quickly averted their eyes or went inside and locked their doors.
“What’s with the cold reception?” Claire muttered under her breath.
“Yeah, this is weird.” Sion agreed, looking around. “Even for outsiders, this level of avoidance is strange.”
After a moment of thought, I noticed an elderly man sitting near the village entrance. His clothes were shabby, but he had a sharp, observant look in his eyes.
“Let’s ask that old man.” I suggested, gesturing toward him.
We slowly approached him and greeted him. “Hello, sir. Could we ask you a few questions about this village?”
The old man looked us up and down for a moment, then slowly nodded. “You must be part of the escort caravan, coming all the way here.”
“Yes, that’s right. But it seems like the villagers are avoiding us. Is there a reason for that?” I asked cautiously.
The old man sighed and looked around. Then, in a low voice, he said, “Don’t stay here too long. Outsiders aren’t welcomed in this village.”
“Why?” Claire asked, tilting her head.
The old man hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Not long ago, there were rumors of a strange ritual taking place on the outskirts of the village. Some outsiders were seen doing something suspicious near the village.”
“A ritual?” Sion frowned and asked.
“Yes. Some say they saw strange lights and bizarre magic circles.”
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Hearing the old man’s words, I felt a sense of doubt and asked, “But sir, how do you know it was a strange magic circle?”
The old man hesitated for a moment, then nodded and replied, “When I was younger, I studied magic. I never became a proper mage, but I can recognize basic magic circles and structures.”
At his words, we exchanged glances. Claire raised an eyebrow and asked, “Then, do you remember what kind of magic circle it was?”
The old man let out a deep sigh and said, “It’s been too long to remember exactly… but it looked like ‘forbidden magic’. Such magic is usually related to life or souls—techniques that are strictly prohibited.”
“Forbidden magic…” My heart sank at his words. “Then, did you see who performed the ritual?”
The old man shook his head. “I didn’t see it myself. But if what the villagers say is true, they were likely outsiders. That’s all I know.”
I nodded at his words and replied, “Thank you, sir. That’s valuable information.”
The old man slowly stood up and said, “But be careful. If you hear any strange rumors while you’re here, it’s best to leave as soon as possible.”
With that, the old man walked slowly toward the center of the village. We watched his retreating figure and fell into silence.
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Linda, who had been quiet until then, climbed down from the caravan and stretched. She walked over to us with a half-asleep expression and said, “Wow… I don’t even know how long I slept~. So, what’s everyone talking about?”
Claire burst out laughing. “You were sleeping like a log this whole time? We were wondering why you hadn’t said a word.”
Linda rubbed her eyes and said, “Well, I was just sleepy, so I took a nap~. You’re all so impatient. Did something happen?”
“Sigh…” Sion crossed his arms and said, “Anyway, Linda. Have you ever heard of forbidden magic?”
“Forbidden magic?” Linda tilted her head and replied. “I’ve heard of it. But isn’t that like the ultimate taboo among mages? Where did that come up?”
When Claire briefly explained the situation, Linda’s eyes widened. “Huh… so something like that happened near the village? Then maybe it’s still around?”
“That’s why we need to investigate.” I said, looking at Linda. “As a mage, can you sense any traces of it?”
Linda rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before saying, “Well… I can try. But if it’s too old, it might be hard to detect.”
“That’s good enough.” I nodded and replied. “Then let’s head to the outskirts of the village first.”
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As we headed toward the outskirts, we discussed the situation. According to the old man, the ritual had definitely taken place near the village, and there was a possibility that traces of forbidden magic remained. Linda, still half-asleep, followed us while grumbling.
“Ugh… I really wanted to sleep more. I’m so tired~.”
“You were wide awake when you were being chased by that monster earlier,” Claire teased.
“Well, that was a life-or-death situation! Now it’s safe, isn’t it?” Linda retorted with a pout.
“Linda, focus.” Sion said to her. “We can’t afford to miss anything.”
“Alright, alright~” Linda shrugged and replied.
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When we arrived at the outskirts, we began our investigation. Linda focused her mana to detect any magical traces, while Claire and Sion kept watch. Ruan quietly followed me, holding the spirit and observing our surroundings.
“Hmm…” Linda said, a faint light glowing at her fingertips. “There’s something here… but it feels like an old trace.”
“So it’s still lingering?” I asked, and Linda nodded.
“Yeah. It doesn’t seem like it’ll disappear anytime soon. The ritual must’ve been pretty powerful.”
“Then… if we follow this, we might find some clues.” Sion said, gripping his sword.
We followed the traces Linda detected, moving deeper into the forest. As the energy grew stronger, a sinister aura began to envelop us.
And then…
Suddenly, a bizarre sound echoed from the forest.
“Eek… help!!!!” Linda screamed.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Yeah… first of all, the old man’s explanation contradicted what he just said. Second of all, doesn’t that seem like quite a 180 in personality change?! I guess they got familiar in the ride, but this is all happening too fast!!No hate to the author though, but I still have ptsd over the last shotgun story…
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