Ch.152Getting to Know the NPC (1)

[…Has he completely sunk?]

Naiad rose to the water’s surface after watching the gray man completely sink beneath the water in the cave.

The beast-folk elder Fermi had already left the cave, and seeing her dwelling return to silence after the brief commotion, she quietly turned her thoughts inward.

‘The Spirit King entrusted me with the trial of [Circulation]. Yet, far from circulating, he…’

Normally, those undergoing the trial would ride the flow of circulation within the pond and naturally rise to the surface.

Occasionally, there are beings whose karmic weight is too heavy to counter the flow of circulation, preventing them from rising to the surface. However, Fermi had properly risen when he underwent his trial, and Chikuyo had also risen a bit higher from where I had taken her and entered her trial.

And yet.

‘That man was too heavy for even me to hold.’

Who would believe that a supreme water elemental couldn’t bear the weight of a single person underwater and had to let go?

But in reality, I had no choice but to release that man from beneath the surface. If I had forcibly continued to hold him, I would have been dragged down by his weight and sunk below the surface as well.

If that had happened, I too would have been unable to move until his trial was complete.

[The way he believed my revelation without any hesitation, how he showed anger at what happened to someone he considered a friend despite them being from the hostile elven race, and even the way he sank due to his heavy karma—all of it reminds me of my contractor.]

Naiad’s quietly uttered words echoed softly throughout the cave, and as her voice faded away, she wore a small smile.

[…May you overcome your karma and create a new cycle. Child of humanity chosen by the Spirit King.]

[(!)Quest – [Sherpa] Bring down a trial for the mountain keeper without letting him die.]

[Penalty: All circulation will cease.]

Looking at a revelation slightly different from what Jack had mentioned, she began waiting for the human bearing the Spirit King’s fragment to complete his trial.

*

-Tap tap tap!!

-Tap! Tap!!

“Hoho, Chikuyo aside, Miho, you’ve grown remarkably as well.”

“Because I’ve been training intensely with Jack!!”

When the elder emerged alone from the cave.

Miho and Chikuyo were about to enter the cave since Jack hadn’t come out, but the elder stopped them, briefly explained the situation, and then started heading back to the village.

Upon hearing that the elven elder Green Stone was returning severely injured and that Jack had mentioned this, the two women immediately began to move.

“Still, don’t overdo it! Miho, you could have waited in front of the cave!!”

“No! That’s not what he would want!!”

She shook her head at her older sister’s shouted words as they ran quickly.

If Jack had already begun the “Chieftain’s Trial,” it was uncertain when he would emerge.

In such a situation, if she ignored the fact that someone dear to him was injured because she was worried about him, she would surely be scolded again, just like that day when she hadn’t mentioned Miss Ira.

She had already made the same mistake once, and she had no intention of repeating it.

As the three beast-folk were running swiftly.

-Ears perking up!

“Sniff!”

Chikuyo and Miho moved their ears and nose respectively to catch a scent, and instantly changed direction.

“Elder!!”

“Yes! You young ones go and bring them back! I’ll go to the village and prepare the medical team!!”

“Please also prepare the warriors!!”

As Miho and Chikuyo shouted, the elder nodded immediately and quickly disappeared.

The two women briefly marveled at how fast the elder was despite his age, then immediately changed direction and began running.

“Sister!!”

“Yes?!”

“Honestly, what do you think?! If you fought with Elder Green Stone?!”

Given the situation that Green Stone had been severely injured by someone, her sister couldn’t possibly misunderstand why she was asking this, and as expected, Chikuyo shook her head and answered.

“If we fought 100 times, I’d lose 100 times. I absolutely can’t win.”

“Then, what if you and I fought together?!”

“…Out of 200 fights, would we have a chance once?”

-Tap tap tap!!

-Tap tap!!

The conversation ended there. For a moment, only the sound of their footsteps echoed, and gradually the scent of the familiar elf and an unfamiliar elf, both overlaid with the smell of blood, began to get closer.

“Miho.”

“No!!”

“I haven’t said anything yet?!”

“If enemies are tracking them, you’re going to say you’ll handle it alone!!!”

“…The village warriors will be here soon, but someone has to do it.”

“Then we’ll do it together!”

The closer they approached, the more they sensed it.

Green Stone, another elf, and beyond that, another extremely powerful… no, a disturbingly ominous scent.

And of course, her sister must have detected this scent too. That’s why she was saying she would handle the opponent alone. But.

“Miho. I’m stronger than you, so I should—”

“Sister.”

While running, and without looking at her sister, she cut her off and continued.

“I’m not who I used to be. I’m not that ignorant, weak girl who only received protection from you while knowing nothing about the world.”

“……”

“Moreover, above all else.”

[The male called Jack said that the elven elder Green Stone is coming. He said he seems badly injured and asked us to bring him back without fail. Hoho, I wonder if his relationship with elves is bad or good…]

The elder hadn’t specifically mentioned me or my sister. However, Jack must have known that I would be the first to receive that message and act on it. Yes.

“Jack trusted and entrusted this to me. Absolutely, absolutely, together with you, I will bring everyone back safely.”

Now that I finally feel like I’m being properly recognized as a member of his group, I absolutely cannot allow only my sister to sacrifice herself or sacrifice myself in this situation, and when I speak so earnestly.

“…Sigh, it’s a sin that we’ve fallen for the same male.”

In the end, she shook her head at my words, and with a smile that even I as a female found seductive, she plucked a strand of her tail and transformed it into a sword.

“I’ll definitely make the first move, Miho. Remember when we were young, hunting wild boars at night?”

“Yes. I understand.”

Immediately grasping what my sister was talking about, I pushed off the ground and used both hands and feet to climb up into the trees.

A tactic where my sister moves flashily to draw the opponent’s attention, while I strike from behind the prey. The most basic hunting strategy: coordinated attack and ambush.

We maintained our formation as we ran to ensure the protection of Green Stone and the approaching elf.

“Elder Green Stone!!!”

“Ah, b-beast, beast-folk!! Elder!! We are fox beast-folk!! We’ve come from the beast-folk village!!”

“…Cough. Salt Non, I’m severely injured. Please be a bit quieter…”

We successfully protected Green Stone and Salt Non, who were surrounded by an extremely ominous presence.

*

The moment I entered the pond and saw the cave, I thought, “So the supreme elemental Naiad is taking me there~”

Of course, I was worried about Green Stone, who was approaching with his arm severed, but I couldn’t help thinking about the reality right in front of my eyes, right?

But suddenly, when she abandoned me in the water, I thought, “Oh no!”

Maybe I trusted them too much.

I trusted them completely and took a leap of faith, but the water pulled me down heavily, and my breath was suddenly cut off.

Honestly, it felt like, “Wait, is this actually a death trap?!”

Still, I decided to trust until the end. There was also a quest window that appeared before me, but I was in a situation where I couldn’t not believe anyway.

If I didn’t believe, I would die, so how could I not trust?

“And so the leap of faith was successful.”

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that my body, which should have been soaking wet, was completely dry, and that this place was neither the cave nor anywhere near the pond. Yes, this must be the place where I’m supposed to undergo the trial.

…Right? This isn’t the afterlife, is it?

I got up and looked around to find familiar smells and familiar scenery.

“A forest… no, a mountain.”

It feels like a space that never leaves my life, and never lets me leave it.

In this world, people are always with mountains.

There are people who live near rivers or seas, but there are always mountains nearby too. Above all, the fact that more people can’t live without mountains is the basic principle of this world.

But still. Another mountain for a trial? I’m really getting sick of this.

I unconsciously sighed and then started walking to check my surroundings. Well, since it’s called a trial, I’ll probably have to fight something or catch something, right?

Naiad said it’s different for each person so she couldn’t explain, but I would have liked to know at least the basic details. I ended up walking aimlessly. And then.

“…Wait, shit. This is…”

A curse involuntarily escaped my lips, and I mindlessly began walking quickly toward the mountain in view.

There was no path, no markers. Just a dense mountain, but somehow I felt like I knew where to go.

And the fact that I knew this began to increasingly irritate me.

After walking for a few minutes, I arrived at.

“…Life really sucks.”

A small cabin.

A place that would feel a bit cramped for three or four adults to live in. However, it was quite spacious for two children, and in front of it was a grave I knew about, and another grave that ‘only I’ would know about.

Yes, this is our h…

“Who are you? Why are you loitering in front of our house?”

“……”

At the sudden presence and voice, I turned around to see a man wearing a cloak with a deeply pulled hood, his orange eyes flashing at me.

Hmm.

“…Isn’t this our home in Ponia? I’m sorry, I must have come to the wrong place.”

I guess I was mistaken.