Ch.38To the Dwarf Kingdom (3)

After cutting off the Ogre’s arm, I slowly examined the fallen party members on the ground.

The first ones I checked were Spica and Canon.

I was worried they might have retired after colliding with each other, but it seemed they had each managed to handle the situation in their own way, as they were staggering but regaining consciousness.

“Hurry and help Leon… you thieving cat…”

As Spica said this while gripping her staff and drawing up her holy power, her already shimmering golden hair began to shine like starlight.

At the same time, I could see light pouring onto Canon’s wounds, healing them at a rapid pace.

“I know that already, don’t be so noisy… sparkly…”

As her body seemed to recover somewhat, Canon immediately turned her red eyes toward us, intending to rejoin the battle.

“Huh?”

She seemed momentarily stunned when she saw me standing there with the Ogre’s severed arm.

‘Even though they bicker, they’re each doing what needs to be done. Their recovery speed isn’t bad, and the healing is top-notch.’

After evaluating those two, I turned my attention back to Leon.

Leon, who had been trying to draw the Holy Sword, seemed completely unable to process what he had just witnessed with my sudden entrance.

However, that was just his mental state. Physically, he still appeared capable of continuing the fight.

‘He clearly lacks absolute experience.’

In my assessment of the current situation, there was no need for Leon to draw the Holy Sword yet.

No matter how strong the Ogre was or how difficult it might be to defeat alone, if he had just held out defensively to buy time, Canon would have rejoined, and Spica would have followed shortly after.

“Hmm…”

I had planned to claim the Holy Sword if possible, but if it already had an owner, I had no intention of coveting it.

Still, even without attachment, I couldn’t stand seeing such an important item as a Holy Sword abandoned in the mud.

What would be the best approach?

While I was contemplating this, a monstrous roar came from behind me. The Ogre whose arm I had severed had already regenerated and was charging at me.

“■■■■—!!!”

“Behind you..!”

Seeing this, Leon shouted a warning, and I once again cut off the Ogre’s arm.

This time, to make it take longer to regenerate, I also severed its other arm and a leg.

“I’m thinking, so just focus on regenerating.”

I pondered why the Hero’s mentality was so pathetic, and I quickly reached a conclusion.

Why was he like this? Simple—because he had a magic wand that would solve problems whenever he drew it in dangerous situations.

Combat requires the determination to fight until the end, but having the Holy Sword had made him weak, ready to draw it at the first sign of trouble.

I examined Leon again.

Black hair, black eyes, and apricot-colored skin. He had quite an Asian appearance.

He looked so much like the stereotypical hero that I wondered if he might be Korean or Japanese.

‘Well, that’s not important.’

What mattered now was his condition.

Despite not being dyed, white strands were visible among his black hair.

I couldn’t be certain without having used a Holy Sword myself, but those white hairs emitted an energy similar to the Holy Sword—clearly a side effect that anyone could recognize.

“Alright, first we need to fix that mentality. Form up in combat formation again.”

I called together Leon, who was still kneeling on one knee, and the other two who had finished recovering behind him.

“Eh? Is another enemy coming, nya?!”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case…”

At my order to prepare for battle, Canon looked around, thinking the Ogre had already been defeated, while the quick-witted Spica raised her staff.

“Hero, you too. And don’t even think about drawing the Holy Sword.”

“How did you know…!”

“If you want answers, defeat this first, then ask.”

I pointed to the Ogre sprawled behind me. Despite having its limbs severed, it was stubbornly continuing to regenerate.

It was regenerating faster than I expected, likely to be fully recovered within minutes.

“Rest for now. When that thing gets up, you’ll need to fight until you’re sick of it.”

“Nyaa… I have a bad feeling about this… Can’t we just quickly finish it off and rest, nya…?”

Canon tried to weasel out of it as she sensed what future awaited her, but surprisingly, Leon boldly drew his sword.

“Let’s do this. Experience fighting such a powerful enemy isn’t easy to come by.”

“So your mind isn’t completely rotten after all.”

It felt strange being treated as some kind of opportunity, but I was satisfied with his answer.

And thanks to that satisfying answer, a proper hell was unleashed upon the hero’s party.

* * *

“Kuhurk..!”

“Again.”

* * *

“It hurts, nya!!”

“Again.”

* * *

“I’m… running out of holy power… but…?!”

“There are plenty of mana recovery potions. Stop dawdling and do it again.”

* * *

“Khaak… I’m exhausted, nya… My fingers won’t move, nya… I’m hungry, nya…”

“Urgh… I’ve drunk too many potions… I can’t take anymore…”

“Everyone… good work…”

This hell finally ended after the sun had completely set. The battle had started around noon, so they had been at it for over 8 hours.

Still, their efforts had paid off, and they had finally defeated the Ogre with their own strength, making it a meaningful time.

Though it seemed I was the only one who thought so, as Lilly, who had been waiting, spoke in a voice that suggested she was bored to death.

“Yaaawn… Is it finally over? How long did it take to deal with just one Ogre?”

“Beyond defeating the Ogre, reducing dependence on the Holy Sword was more important.”

I was checking the Ogre’s corpse while talking with Lilly.

The Ogre had finally fallen with its head severed by the Hero’s sword. Despite its abnormal regenerative abilities, it seemed to share the same weaknesses as others of its kind.

‘If beheading hadn’t killed it, I would have had to step in, but fortunately that wasn’t necessary.’

I cut open the Ogre’s chest and removed its heart. Even separated from the body, the heart was still beating strongly.

At that moment, Leon, who had finished resting, approached me. He seemed curious about me extracting the heart from the Ogre’s body.

“Are you going to use it as an elixir?”

“This can’t be used as an elixir.”

Clearly, I could use the Ogre’s heart as an inner core, just as I had extracted one from the Owl before.

But this heart specifically couldn’t be used. I split the heart in half.

Inside was a jewel that glowed with a blood-red light.

“This must be the work of the Lich I dealt with before.”

The jewel emanated strong life force, but at the same time, I could sense even more vengeful spirits.

It seemed designed to gather the life force and vengeful spirits of all living beings the Ogre had devoured.

‘I could use it if I wanted to, but…’

It felt unsettling. Using such an item would risk mental corruption.

Besides, I could clearly see that Lilly would disapprove if I used it.

With a crushing sound, I completely destroyed the jewel using my power. Only then were the trapped entities freed to return to where they belonged.

Leon, who hadn’t expected such a thing to be inside the Ogre’s heart, stared wide-eyed at the remains of the jewel.

“To think something like this was being created… I…”

Even at a glance, one could tell there had been numerous victims. Leon bit his teeth hard, as if blaming himself.

After a moment, having apparently made some decision, he bowed his head to me and spoke.

“As you probably already know, I am the Hero who seeks to drive out the Apostles from the world and save it.

But I’m still lacking. Would you join me in saving the world?”

“I decline. I’m not the type to belong anywhere.”

I do intend to save the world too. It would be an extremely personal revenge, but the result would be the same.

However, just because our goals align doesn’t mean I want to join anyone. My temperament doesn’t suit it either.

Besides, if I were to form a party, I’d form my own—why would I join someone else’s?

“But…”

“I can help with swordsmanship and party coordination until we reach Gagap.”

I threw the Ogre’s hide that I had just skinned to Leon, who looked dejected at my refusal.

“Gagap is not only the country of dwarves but also a country of craftsmen. No one would refuse Ogre hide.”

“Thank you…!”

I felt strange seeing Leon now looking at me almost like his master, but having him owe me a debt might prove useful someday.

“Well, it seems the coachman has prepared dinner, so let’s head back.”

I turned my head toward the sweet aroma of food wafting from a distance.

There, Canon was already seated and eating, crying out about being hungry, and even Spica, whose stomach was full of potions, had taken her place for the meal.

‘This quality of food during camping… impressive.’

Naturally, it’s difficult to have a proper meal while camping. There are issues with ingredients and equipment.

Yet amazingly high-quality food had been prepared, which was quite surprising.

‘Yesterday’s food was pretty good too, but today they really put in effort…’

When Leon and I returned, the coachman handed us our prepared meals and said:

“Thanks to you, I survived. I hadn’t heard about monsters appearing on this road… If I had gone alone, I might have died.

I made plenty of food, so please eat as much as you want.”

“Coachman! I want another bowl, nya!”

Canon, who was inhaling food nearby, had already finished three bowls and was eyeing a fourth.

At this rate, it seemed she might steal the portions meant for Leon and me.

Because of this, I also started eating a bit faster than usual, while Leon looked at the Ogre’s corpse with a puzzled expression.

“They said monsters don’t appear on this road, but that Ogre seems to have been here for quite some time… What’s going on here?”

“Maybe we just had bad luck and our paths crossed, nya?”

Canon dismissed it as bad luck, but Leon still looked puzzled, staring at something in the air.

‘He doesn’t seem to lack perception… Is he looking at some kind of quest window?’

The Apostles’ quest window was created by the Evil God. If that’s the case, the Goddess could likely do something similar.

Considering his statement before facing the Ogre about something he needed to do, there must be something going on.

“It probably stayed in this area for a long time. Ogres are territorial monsters to begin with.”

“Then why hasn’t it been exterminated until now…? Merchants and adventurers would be exposed to danger every time they travel this road.”

“Ogres don’t need to eat much. They stay quiet for a while after killing just a few people.

And most wild animals and monsters avoid entering an Ogre’s territory.”

Merchants who had been active in this area for a long time probably knew about the Ogre’s existence. But they likely didn’t bother to exterminate it.

If an inexperienced adventurer or merchant died, the rest would be safe. Plus, the Ogre took care of other threats as well.

“They probably thought it was much cheaper than hiring adventurers to guard against potential threats.

When a culture of not hiring adventurers develops in an area, you even get a situation where adventurers who should be getting paid end up paying for rides instead.”

Although releasing a mutant Ogre might have been the work of an Apostle, ironically, it was the humans here who failed to deal with it.