Ch.219Heading Home as an NPC. (3)

Early Morning in the Beastkin Village.

“Hoho, leaving today, are you?”

“Yes. Thank you for training with me and helping me with everything, Elder.”

The spirit tree had cost me three whole months. I couldn’t afford to linger in Siltra any longer.

It took a month to resolve the incident after arriving in Aigram, then another fortnight to reach Siltra. Add to that another month wasted because of the Grand Elder, plus the time lost due to the spirit tree, and I’ve already spent over six months. I only have half a year left in my promise with Ira. Considering I still need to go to Ponia and back, even if everything works out perfectly and I return straight to Neiti, time is extremely tight.

“Hoho, are Miho and Chikuyo going too?”

“Yes. I like Jack, so I’m going.”

“Hehe, it’s unfortunate, but we sisters have decided.”

“My, an human who’s completely charmed our cute little ones and taking them away. You might get stabbed by other beastkin someday, you know?”

“Ha! Tell them to bring it on if they’re confident!”

Honestly, with my current level and stats, no one living on this continent could be a match for me. I shrugged at Elder Perna’s words, and she slowly approached, patting my waist as she spoke.

“I’m glad to see you’ve gained confidence compared to when I first met you.”

“…I think I had quite a bit of confidence from the start?”

“Hoho, you don’t realize it yourself. Back then, regardless of your strength, you had an air about you like someone who wanted to avoid troublesome matters at all costs.”

Isn’t that common for everyone? What fool in the world deliberately gets involved in troublesome affairs? I muttered that to myself, but didn’t bother arguing with her. Well, she’s Elder Perna who knew I was a human who could see [Revelations], and had even spoken with Naiad to prepare a trial for me. Perhaps she can see something different in me now.

“Well then, we’ll be going now. When everything is settled, I’ll come visit with my sister and everyone else.”

“Hoho. I’ll make sure you taste all the specialties of the beastkin village then. You’ve been so busy during your stay. And you even gave me an ‘amazing gift’ before leaving.”

Saying that, Perna pointed at the limbless ghoul standing behind her and smiled.

It seems they must have finished their conversation properly after we left yesterday. Its chest armor and helmet are gone, and its body is dented in various places, suggesting it took quite a beating. Still, she seems to have given it monster mana stones to help it recover, since it’s supposedly her parent. But with no hands, how is it supposed to eat? Is it meant to eat with its mouth like an animal?

“Thank you for everything, Elder.”

“We’ll see you later. By then, we’ll be able to show you our babies too~”

“Hohoho, have two boys and two girls each. Having too many makes it difficult to give them all proper attention.”

“Hmm, that seems a bit few.”

“I’ll have as many as Jack wants. But personally, I’d like four of each gender…”

…Four is few? That’s eight children total!

I pretended not to hear this chilling conversation and turned away. I could hear Elder Perna teasing me for pretending not to hear, but I pretended not to hear that too.

As we waved goodbye to the beastkin village and walked some distance into the forest…

“Halt.”

“…Salt Non.”

We hadn’t told him we were leaving since he was injured, and we hadn’t gone near the hospital because it was early morning and we didn’t want to wake him. But there he was, waiting with his spear tied to his hand and wearing armor, just like the day I first met him. Someone must have helped him.

“I’m the elf who accepted you, a human, into Siltra. It’s a guard’s natural duty to check when you leave as well.”

“…If Siltra had only elves like Salt Non or Green Dol, it would have been a truly wonderful country.”

“Foolish talk. Due to the Grand Elder and other elders’ teachings, hatred toward humans was too strong. But excluding those who sold their souls to demons, the other elves are good elves too. You saw Sir Ver San of the Forest Knights’ 2nd Unit.”

And you spoke with Volle Ru too. Siltra is a perfectly good country, he said, lifting just the corners of his mouth in a smile.

Indeed, I had been annoyed because the elves kept making hateful remarks about me being human, but now, three months later, the recovered elves apologized or expressed gratitude whenever they saw me. Moreover, they were now following the instructions of Perna, an elder of another race, and preparing forces to stop the demons.

Even that female knight named Ver San had said she would continue relations with humans after talking with them in Ponia.

“You’re right. I’ll correct myself. Now that those foolish minds are gone, it will become an even better country.”

“…Yes.”

Agreeing with my words, he slowly walked toward me. Hmm, his leg seems to have healed quite well. After quickly wrapping everything up and reuniting with Ira and our ladies, I should visit ep.6 Aiti. Since the celestial realm is gone, that country now produces the best potions in this world.

*swish*

“…Haha.”

I could see his arm with severed tendons trembling, but he painfully extended his empty hand toward me, not the one with the spear tied to it. I immediately reached out and shook his hand, and he gripped mine with surprising strength.

“…Thank you, Jack. Though it was a short time, thanks to you I learned quite a lot about humans, especially their good points.”

“Hah, not all humans are like m…”

“Just as not all elves are like me and the Elder.”

Cutting off what I was about to say, he smiled and, for the first time calling me by my name, shook my hand slowly once more. I also moved my hand slowly, supporting his handshake. Ha, the elf graph really shows Green Dol and Salt Non making huge gains.

“I promise I’ll find an even better potion to heal you completely.”

“I’ll look forward to it and wait patiently. After all, I’m an elf, so I’ll live a long time.”

“You’ll be staying in the beastkin village for a while, right?”

“Yes, returning to Siltra would be… The elves who tortured me under the elders’ orders would be too concerned.”

“Hmm~? Aren’t you being too kind? Even if it was an order, I think I would have made those guys serve me.”

“I couldn’t do that. They are Siltra’s border guards. It would anger me more if they neglected their duties due to foolish guilt.”

So, I will return to Siltra after I recover. Seeing him answer Miho and Chikuyo’s questions so proudly makes me wonder why this person isn’t a knight. I bowed my head slightly to him with genuine respect…

“Heh.”

*slide*

He responded with a small laugh and pressed his body against mine. If his arms could move, he might have given me a hug, which made me cringe a little, but still, I’m lucky to have such a good elf acquaintance…

“Travel safely, and be sure to bring your sister to Siltra later. I’ll guide you to the restaurant with the most delicious dinner in Siltra then, friend.”

“!! …Yes!”

Until yesterday I was being called “human,” but now as I’m leaving, he calls me by my name and even calls me friend. My chest suddenly feels a bit tight? Come to think of it, while I’ve had women following me around, I haven’t had any male friends. Green Dol was too different in age.

Well, Salt Non is also over a thousand years older, but his behavior, speech, and mindset are youthful, so it’s fine to be friends. Aren’t elves considered young at a thousand years?

“You stay healthy too. I’ll definitely heal you.”

“Yes, now go, you said you were busy. Your departure has been confirmed by me, a guard of Siltra.”

“Take care, Salt Non.”

“Next time we meet, I’ll introduce our babies too~”

And so, passing through the same checkpoint where I was initially stopped for being human when I first entered Siltra, we now proudly headed toward Ponia.

*

“Hmm?”

“…What’s wrong, Sir Green Dol? Is the treatment painful?”

“Ah, no. It’s just that the wind blowing from Siltra, my homeland, is quite pleasant for once.”

“A pleasant wind?”

In a dark forest.

A handsome man with black hair and black eyes lay in front of a single campfire. As the woman shining a small light of holy power on him tilted her head, the man, Elf Elder Green Dol, smiled bitterly and continued.

“Ah, that friend I mentioned before, the forest keeper who’s now an adventurer, seems to have returned to the ‘road’ and is heading this way.”

“Heeh, you can tell such things from the wind?”

“No, I couldn’t before. Perhaps it’s because of your treatment, or because I was on the brink of death. I’m not sure which, but now I can somewhat sense when the wind from Siltra carries news of someone I know.”

“…It’s not because of my treatment. It’s probably due to the fierce battle that brought someone as strong as you to the brink of death. I’ve seen similar cases among forest keepers I met in Ponia.”

“…I see. Indeed, in that last battle, I truly thought I was going to die.”

At my age, after mastering the sword technique [Wind Riding], I never thought the day would come when I might die in battle. Truly, the Grand Elder who sold his soul to demons was incredibly powerful. Even now, I think he was an enemy I couldn’t defeat even if I risked my life.

“So, is this person’s arrival a good wind because…”

“Ah. That friend has a tendency to try to escape from troublesome matters, yet strangely, he never refuses to help when someone he knows is involved. He’s probably rushing after me now that he’s heard I’m heading to Ponia.”

“…Even after hearing about the Seven Deadly Sins demon?”

“Especially because it’s one of the Seven Deadly Sins.”

If it were just a story about high-rank or mid-rank demons appearing in large numbers, he probably wouldn’t worry about me at all. But when the opponent is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, he’s surely considering the possibility of my defeat.

Of course, I’m not foolish enough to think I could defeat one of the Seven Deadly Sins alone.

“…He must be quite skilled then? I look forward to meeting him.”

“Yes. He’s a very skilled friend. Surely, if he comes, he can work with you, a saint…”

“I asked you to just call me Lizerotte.”

“Ah, yes. I apologize. Working with you, a priestess, he could even defeat one of the Seven Deadly Sins.”

“Yes. If we meet him before reaching Ponia, and your arm is fully healed, we could surely defeat even one of the Seven Deadly Sins with ease.”

“Yes, I guarantee it.”

[Encounter with the Savior D-day 6 days]

[Until Ponia’s Destruction D-day -349 days]

She withdrew the holy power she had been using on Green Dol’s severed left arm and ignored the already incorrect revelation that appeared before her eyes.

Green Dol’s arm, which had been completely severed below the shoulder, had already regenerated up to the elbow. However, she still felt her power was far too insufficient.

The protagonist of this world, the saint who should have traveled and grown with the player Jack was desperately searching for, had directly experienced Ponia’s monster parade and realized her own powerlessness. She had abandoned her title of saint and was now acting as a traveling priestess.

[-Profession: Battle Saint- Level: 421 Name: Lizerotte. Age: 22.]

The protagonist, affected by the snowball Jack had set in motion, closed her eyes that night expecting not some savior who would never appear, but a skilled adventurer.