Ch.218Chapter 218 – The Masked Woman (2)

There was no need to worry about how to get to the volcano.

As soon as I had that thought, Lorona showed me a gate scroll.

“You’re thoroughly prepared.”

“It’s nothing special.”

Lorona answered with a smile.

“Is it okay without the Dwarf royal family’s permission?”

“I’ve already taken care of all that.”

I’m starting to wonder what the royal family’s purpose even is.

Of course, Lorona didn’t seem to care and just kept smiling.

“There is lodging prepared where you’re going, but I recommend leaving your beast and carriage there and heading straight up the mountain.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t go up with the carriage. The mountain is too steep.”

That was an obvious reason.

Just because we have a carriage doesn’t mean we can go everywhere with it.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

“I thought you’d see us off until the end.”

“We’ll see each other again there anyway.”

Lorona smiled as she answered the masked woman’s question.

Then the masked woman replied curtly.

“Not that I particularly want to see you again.”

“You say that, but you’ve already grown fond of me.”

I felt like I saw a faint blue light from inside the mask.

And Lorona giggled as she said:

“Well then, I entrust the escort to you, Miss Mask.”

“Mask?”

“You told me to call you that, so let’s just say that’s your real name.”

Though her exact expression wasn’t visible because of the mask, her lips twisted slightly, suggesting she wanted to object.

But Lorona just smiled and walked out the door.

At the same time, the scroll she was holding flew toward Mask, who caught it easily. Mask took a deep breath, then exhaled loudly and said:

“Tch, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“…I’m sorry about that.”

I apologized instinctively at her displeased tone. Mask stared at me blankly for a moment before smiling.

“Well, it seems I’ve been too irritable in front of someone I just met. I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

The corners of Mask’s mouth turned up slightly.

“I should apologize. I was being rude.”

Mask bowed her head politely.

It seemed her earlier sharp attitude and irritation were entirely because of Lorona.

I wondered what had happened to make her so annoyed.

While I was pondering this, Mask showed me the scroll and said:

“I think it would be fine to leave a day later… what do you think?”

“Didn’t they ask us to come right away? Is that okay?”

“We can be a little flexible. Even after reaching the village, it will take about two days to get to our destination.”

Then we should distribute food supplies separately.

Mask let out a small chuckle.

“Don’t overthink it. Our host is an ancient being that has lived for thousands of years. To such creatures, a day or a month feels about the same.”

“I get the gist of it.”

She meant that long-lived beings have a different sense of time.

So even if they asked us to come immediately, there was actually some leeway.

‘I hadn’t considered that perspective.’

Still, there was no need to be too leisurely about it.

“Even so, I’d like to depart right away since it’s their request. I’d rather avoid being called out for it.”

“That’s a wise choice too.”

I wanted to avoid unnecessary arguments that might arise from ignoring their request, even if it might have been fine.

“Then I look forward to working with you.”

I extended my hand toward Mask.

She nodded vigorously and said:

“You’re a polite one.”

Mask took my hand and shook it.

Her hand looked delicate, but when I grasped it, it felt strong.

After the handshake, Mask smiled and said:

“Oh, but don’t be too formal with me. I don’t like stiffness.”

“I understand.”

“Ahem.”

For a moment, the corners of Mask’s mouth turned up as if slightly annoyed.

I nodded and said quietly:

“Got it.”

“That’s better.”

Mask’s expression immediately changed to one of satisfaction.

“Since we’re being casual, I’ll speak more comfortably too. Is that okay?”

“I don’t mind.”

I prefer speaking casually now anyway.

And it seemed she did too.

“Let’s get going then. We can introduce ourselves properly on the way.”

She turned around, dramatically swishing her cloak.

Just then, Chris called out:

“Um, wait a moment, Miss Mask.”

“What is it, Sister?”

Mask looked at Chris and added, as if just remembering:

“I forgot. I must be quite uncomfortable for you, Sister.”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Despite appearances, I’m a half-demon.”

Mask said it casually.

“Is that something you just blurt out like that?”

“There are surprisingly many half-demons in the world… or rather, their descendants.”

Mask said with a smile.

“Most of them live in hiding, but I don’t want to live unnecessarily concealing who I am.”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask.”

Mask thumped her chest once and said:

“Because I have nothing about myself to be ashamed of.”

Mask answered with a smile.

“From your perspective as a Sister, you must feel uncomfortable since you can sense the demonic energy in me, right?”

“No, that’s not…”

Chris was trying to say something more.

But Mask gently put a finger to her lips and said,

making a shushing gesture.

“I won’t eat you, so don’t worry. Okay?”

“No, I… that’s not what I…”

But Mask had already turned away, considering the matter settled.

“I’ll go down first and wait.”

“We’ll get ready and come quickly.”

At my response, the corners of Mask’s mouth turned up again.

Then she walked out the door.

“Take your time~.”

From outside the door came a voice that sounded strangely pleased.

“What an interesting person.”

“And quite bold too.”

Sera and Beatrice quietly commented toward the door.

Then Eve approached me and said:

“She doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“You think so?”

Eve nodded.

“Let’s get ready then. Mask is waiting.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Perry nodded at my words.

Everyone immediately started packing up again.

“Um, that person just now…”

Only Chris seemed bothered by something, hesitating as she moved.

+

After passing through the warp gate, we found ourselves at the lodging Lorona had arranged.

The dwarf innkeepers processed our check-in without much talk, as if they had been informed by Lorona in advance. We left Moo and the carriage at the inn, distributed our luggage, and began preparing for the mountain climb.

“We’ve divided all the food, so let’s get going.”

Mask said, holding her portion of food.

We had distributed two days’ worth of emergency rations to each person.

Besides that, everyone was carrying their own sleeping bags and other personal items.

“I’ll carry the men’s tent.”

“Thanks.”

Perry nodded with a smile.

According to him, as a blacksmith he had good stamina, and since he couldn’t directly help in combat, this was the right role for him.

And we had already decided who would carry the women’s tent and our main food supplies.

“You can count on me!”

Lara said with a smile as she shouldered her backpack.

Just like when we first met her, her backpack was enormously bulky, but she showed no signs of strain.

“As expected of a dwarf. Reassuring.”

Mask said with a smile.

Then she looked at me and said:

“But is that girl really okay?”

“…She says she’s fine, so…”

As I answered Mask, I looked at the person she was referring to.

And there was Sera with her familiar backpack.

“Do we need anything else? I still have plenty of room in my backpack!”

“Um, Sera…”

Sera looked at Chris and smiled comfortably.

Her backpack was greatly bulging, presumably because it was packed with many items, but Sera was moving around lightly.

I had known about her incredible strength for a long time, so I was well aware that there wouldn’t be a problem.

Still, I should probably say something now.

“Sera.”

“Yes?”

“…Let’s remove the pot.”

Just like when we met before, she had put a pot in her bag again.

At first, Chris and Beatrice tried to dissuade her, but Sera insisted she was fine and forcibly packed her pot into the bag.

“But Kay, we’ll need this to cook comfortably, won’t we?”

“Even so…”

We had already distributed cooking utensils among ourselves, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

There was no need to cook with a pot specifically, yet Sera had packed one.

‘She was being sensible for a while, but why is she doing this again…?’

I pondered how to persuade Sera.

But Sera had a rather serious expression.

“It’s fine, please trust me. I’m sure it will be helpful!”

“Hmm…”

I felt I should stop her, but seeing Sera’s determined face, I finally sighed.

‘She’s so stubborn about the strangest things…’

She had become more sensible, but now she was back to this. I could understand why.

Unlike our previous long journey, she probably thought we wouldn’t be able to borrow a pot when climbing the volcano, so she was bringing it as an essential item.

In the end, I gave up trying to persuade her.

“Just tell me if it gets too heavy. I’ll help carry it.”

“Yes!”

Sera responded with a bright smile to my answer.

Looking at us, Mask smiled awkwardly and said:

“Well, if there’s no problem, I guess it’s fine.”

Her attitude suggested she wouldn’t worry about it anymore.

Soon she smiled and said:

“Let’s depart right away. This way.”

We started walking, following Mask.

Not far ahead, we saw an entrance guarded by armed dwarves, but as she had said, they made no move to stop us.

Soon, the smell of sulfur began to waft through the air, and it started getting hotter.

At the same time, I could feel an overwhelming presence.

‘…Dragon.’

The aura of the being that ruled this volcano and Ferrarius.

And through that presence, I sensed something else.

‘It’s calling me.’

Now that we were closer, I could tell.

It was definitely calling for me.

“It’s hot around the volcano.”

Beatrice said nonchalantly.

The rest of the group was gathering around Beatrice and Asam.

“It’s cool here?”

“That’s because I’m using magic to lower the air temperature around me since I’m hot… but with so many people crowding in, it’s getting hot again.”

“Just hurry up and lower the temperature. It’s hot.”

Beatrice spoke as if annoyed, but she seemed to be in a good mood somewhere.

And looking at her, Asam smiled and said:

“Share it with me properly, Bea.”

While most of the women gathered around Beatrice and Asam, Mask smiled and spoke up.

“First, let me explain our route.”

She pointed upward with her finger and said:

“Since you all seem to have guessed who the master of this place is, I’ll be direct. We plan to enter the lair through a hidden entrance in the middle of the mountain, over today and tomorrow.”

It seemed Mask had noticed that we had figured out the master of this place was a dragon.

“The middle? There’s a separate hidden entrance?”

“It’s for guests. The real entrance to the lair is inside there.”

The place Mask pointed to was the top of the volcano.

“It’s in a hard-to-find location.”

“Well, lairs are built with concealment in mind.”

Mask stared at the volcano’s peak for a moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just remembering when I first found the lair.”

Mask chuckled and said in a slightly lower voice:

“Really. I thought I was going to die falling into lava. I was terrified.”

“…How did that happen?”

“Teleportation failure… I’ll just say it was because I desperately jumped into a hastily created warp gate.”

What on earth happened to this masked woman?

Mask soon waved her hand dismissively and said:

“Forget it. Actually, considering I could have ended up buried deep underground or at the bottom of the sea, falling from the sky into lava was relatively decent.”

“How is that ‘decent’ in any way?”

People usually die when they fall from the sky, you know.

How did she survive?

“I survived because it was me. Anyone else would have died.”

This masked woman.

She’s tough.

As I was dumbfounded by Mask, I suddenly heard a sound.

-Grrrr…

The growling of dogs.

Mask, who seemed to have noticed as well, spoke up:

“Hmm, it seems our host has sent a welcoming party.”

As I looked around at her words, I saw large dogs with black skin growling at us.

Small flames flickered around their mouths.

“They’re called Hell Hounds. They breathe fire.”

The rest of the group also noticed the dogs surrounding us and prepared for battle.

Mask asked in a calm voice:

“Need any help?”

“Not at all.”

-Woof!

The Hell Hounds all charged at once.

The battle began as I swung my halberd, shattering one hound’s waist.