Chapter 57 – Karahan (3)

“Noah, can you see exactly where it is?” Rubia asked.

“Ah… uh… yes… it’s… here.” I carefully pressed my finger where I saw the small stone, just to the left of the woman’s navel.

And then—

Shunk—

Without hesitation, Rubia drove the knife in.

“Ahh! What…!” Hephaestus, standing nearby, let out a horrified scream, her face twisted in shock.

“R-Rubia…? Is everything… alright?” I muttered, equally startled. Even though I knew it was necessary… seeing her do it so… calmly?

But Rubia didn’t even flinch at our reactions, and began twisting the knife inside the woman’s abdomen.

“Yes, I’ve gotten used to this. It happens more often than you’d think. Some beasts even lay eggs inside people’s bodies. So I’ve learned how to cut and heal without causing long-term damage,” Rubia explained in her usual calm tone, though her hands worked mercilessly.

“The method might seem a bit rough, but it’s effective. As long as they’re unconscious, they won’t feel phantom pains or trauma,” she added nonchalantly.

Shunk-shunk—

The sound of blood spurting and tissues being sliced filled the air.

“I’m worried about how much blood she’s losing, but it’s still better than being caught by them again, wouldn’t you agree?”

The woman’s body convulsed violently with each movement of Rubia’s knife.

Unable to bear it any longer, Hephaestus ran off to the corner to vomit, while I let out a quiet groan and loosened my grip on my sword.

Then, suddenly—

“Ah, found it,” Rubia’s voice rang out, sounding a bit brighter as she pulled out the knife.

I cautiously placed my hand back on my sword’s hilt, thinking it was over, and carefully asked, “It’s… over?”

“No, not yet. I’ve only taken it out; I haven’t closed her up yet.”

“…Ugh…” I squeezed my free hand into a tight fist instead. Opened and closed…? Is a person’s body really that simple…?

After what felt like an eternity of gruesome work, Rubia finally sighed.

“Phew… It’s done now. Fortunately, it hadn’t been activated yet.”

I immediately gripped my greatsword’s hilt and checked on the woman’s condition.

“She… looks fine…?”

Other than her heartbeat being slightly weaker, she seemed to be okay. In fact, it looked like her healing was progressing even faster than before.

“Of course. I’ve treated worse wounds than this recently.”

“W-well, I think… Ugh—” Hephaestus, who had been staggering back from behind the rock, glanced between Rubia and the woman, before rushing to vomit again.

“We should move the campsite,” Rubia suggested. “They probably haven’t tracked us yet, but we can’t be sure… and those bodies too.”

“Agreed… Definitely agreed!” Hephaestus nodded vigorously, immediately beginning to pack up.

“Umm… but could we just… skin them a little before we go? I mean… Minotaur hide is really, really expensive… and their horns too…” I pointed to the bodies behind us.

“Horned Wolf pelts are… super warm in the winter… a-and… their horns…! I heard they make great nutritional supplements if boiled…”

It just feels like such a waste to leave them behind… I mean, I’ve killed plenty of goblins and orcs before, and those are common enough that I don’t mind skipping them, but… Minotaurs and Horned Wolves! The pelts, the teeth, the horns—just the money from that alone…! It’ll take some time, sure, but still!

“Hmm… fine, but only until we’re ready to leave.”

“Oh… you don’t need me to help pack?”

“I’m fine!”

“Me too!”

“R-really?”

Rubia and Hephaestus both nodded firmly.

“T-thank you…!” Grabbing the skinning tools from Hephaestus’s pack, I rushed over to the Minotaur’s corpse. “Heh-heh-heh!”

***

“This place looks good,” Rubia said as we looked at the new campsite on the map.

We’d chosen a cave-like spot, though it was too shallow to be a proper cave. It wasn’t quite one thing, nor was it quite another… a bit of an odd place.

“Okay, I’ll set up the tent,” Hephaestus said as she carefully laid down the woman she had been carrying.

“Sure. And Noah, just like earlier, keep watch for us, okay?”

Rubia sighed softly as she dropped the large pack she had been carrying.

As for me… I wasn’t carrying anything. I was too short to carry the woman, and I couldn’t wear the pack because I needed to focus on the battle, so I came along empty-handed… Even the materials I gathered from skinning were all packed in Rubia’s bag…

I felt so awkward, I almost wished a beast would jump out just to give me something to do, but not even an ant appeared.

But now, they’re asking me to do nothing but keep watch again!

I feel so useless!! I’m not just some freeloader!

“Hmm… I can keep watch while working too…”

“It’s fine. Hephaestus and I can handle it, so just rest.”

But Rubia was adamant in her refusal.

“…Alright…”

Feeling sulky, I sat down beside the unconscious woman. She had been dressed in spare clothes we brought and was wrapped tightly in blankets.

According to what Rubia told me on the way here, it seemed like she had been kidnapped. The organization responsible was called Red Scorpion. The name sounded ridiculous, but apparently, they were a notorious crime syndicate in Ursphere.

They looked weak, but several adventurers and knights had failed in their attempts to root them out, despite many missions to do so.

The one distinguishing feature of the group was that all its members had a red scorpion tattoo somewhere on their bodies. However, Rubia said this woman didn’t have one.

Given all the scars on her body, it’s hard to tell if it had been removed or not… but I doubt she’s part of them. She’s clearly been through some terrible times… Rubia even said her experiences were worse than those of a slave.

But… Rubia didn’t explain exactly what those terrible things were. She said it was too early for me and Hephaestus to know and promised to tell us when we were older.

Maybe it’s fine for Hephaestus, but I’m an adult! Why can’t I hear it? I’m 20 years old here, and back on Earth, I was… uh… how old was I again?

Anyway. I’m an adult too… I already know plenty of things…

“Sigh…” I sighed and kicked at the dirt while sitting there.

Suddenly—

“Ugh…” A hoarse, cracking voice came from the woman’s throat. Her eyes slowly opened.

She’s awake!

“Uh, hey… are you… okay…?” I leaned forward, making sure my face was in her line of sight to let her know I was here.

“Wh-who…”

It seems like she still couldn’t see well. But what should I say if she asks who I am? Telling her my name won’t help her recognize me.

Hmm…

“Oh…! I’m a Gold-ranked adventurer…!” Heh, that’s right! I’m a Gold rank now! Pretty impressive, right?

But… that still feels a bit strange, doesn’t it? Maybe I should’ve said something more like, ‘I’m the one who saved you. You’re safe now,’ or something like that…?

“A-adventurer…?” While I was mulling over my lines, the woman’s hand weakly grabbed my clothes.

“T-thank… you…”

Her voice trembled as she lifted her head to look directly at me.

“H-huh… Ah! A-ack! A demon… a blood-drinking demon!”

She suddenly started mumbling strange words and then went into a fit.

“Uh, uh… huh? Rubia!!”

“Noah? What’s—oh, she’s awake… but why is she—”

Rubia quickly rushed over and checked on the trembling woman. She sent a soft flow of divine energy into her and took off her robe.

“Haa… huff… S-save me… Oh… P-priestess…?”

“Yes, it’s alright. You’re safe now.”

The woman slowly began to calm down, clutching Rubia’s hand tightly.

“Noah, what happened?” Hephaestus asked.

“Uh… she saw me and… freaked out…” She did call me a demon… a blood-drinking demon… Didn’t she mention my nickname?

“Uh… I think it’s because of my reputation… or… something like that.”

“Huh? Your reputation? Hmm, but would that really be enough to make her react like that? I mean, unless she’s seen you in action.”

“Yeah… I don’t kill people though…” That’s true. No matter how scary the rumors are, it’s not like I go around killing people left and right. At most, I’ve only killed a few beasts…

Hephaestus, who had been staring at me with a strange expression, suddenly snapped, running her hand through her hair.

“Ugh, this is ridiculous. Noah was the one who found her in time to save her. It makes me angry seeing her react like that after being saved.”

Her face twisted in irritation, and her voice was filled with frustration.

“Seriously, I’m going to explain this to her—”

“Ah, no, no, Hephaestus… calm down.”

“Why? Shouldn’t she know exactly who saved her? Isn’t that fair?”

“Y-yeah, but… let’s wait until she’s calmed down…”

While I struggled to calm down the excited Hephaestus, I heard Rubia’s voice in the background. It seemed like their conversation was coming to a conclusion.

“Noah. Could you come over here for a moment?”

She waved her hand to beckon me over. But should I really go…? What if she freaks out again when she sees me?

I stood there, gripping the hilt of my sword, hesitating. When I didn’t move, Rubia helped the woman up and walked toward me.

“I-I’m sorry… I was so… out of my mind… To speak so rudely to the one who saved me…”

I quickly ducked behind Hephaestus, afraid she might panic again, but then she suddenly apologized.

“Uh… uh…”

“I’m truly sorry… I… I couldn’t forget what I saw in Roholand… and I just…”

Roholand? Ah… so she saw me back in Roholand.

“Oh… I-it’s okay…”

As I nodded and accepted her apology, I heard Hephaestus mumble softly behind me.

“Hmm… if it was that scene, then I guess it makes sense…”

Wait. Wasn’t I pretty cool back then…?

“When you killed that wizard who was causing trouble… even I was a bit shocked.”

“Uh… wizard…?”

“Yeah, the one who was shooting arrows at us from behind—”

“Oh, oh… that one?”

“Yeah, that one…?”

The three of them looked at me with odd expressions. I didn’t quite get why they were staring at me like that, but I continued.

“That wasn’t a person; it was a beast.” It was a beast that had dared to target Rubia.

“So… I made sure to kill it extra brutally.”

I guess non-adventurers get pretty freaked out by scenes like that, even if it’s just a beast being killed…

Hmm… I should keep that in mind.