episode_0066

Following the tracks of the wheels and footprints on the ground, I ventured deeper into the forest along the path.

The day was slowly starting to darken.

This is not good.

It will be difficult to follow the tracks once it gets dark.

But since Silphy went to request support from the guild, I have taken out insurance just in case.

I want to find Meruru quickly on my own before the guild sends support.

The night in the forest comes much faster than in the city.

Just when I thought the sun was about to set, the surroundings quickly darkened.

But did I really witness a humanoid other than Meruru in a place like this?

Did they say there was a shadow that looked like a humanoid standing tall in the center surrounded by monsters in a circle?

If they really saw such a sight, ordinary people would have been scared and fled without looking back.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that it was Meruru’s sister.

Humanoids are not the only race on Helvetika Island.

Although humanoids are rare to see around here, the rumor of witnessing a humanoid does not necessarily connect to Meruru’s sister.

Perhaps the two humanoids witnessed in different places were completely different beings.

No, it is more likely that they were witnessed in contrasting situations at similar times.

I understand Meruru’s desire to investigate the rumor of humanoid sightings at night alone.

Anyway, since monsters also appear in this forest, I should be more cautious as I proceed.

Darn, it’s too dark now to even see what marks are on the ground.

In this state, tracking Meruru’s trail is impossible.

I thought about using flames on my sword as a torch substitute, but that was too risky.

Ever since I acquired alien magic in Ainblad, I have not been able to control it properly.

If I were to ignite the flames of magic on my sword to illuminate the surroundings, the flames might spread uncontrollably and set the surrounding forest on fire.

I need to solve this problem someday, or it will become a headache.

It seems tracking Meruru alone was too much.

Should I go back to the guild and gather people to come back?

As I was thinking that, suddenly a light appeared in the distance from the forest.

It was quite far away, but it was clearly visible due to the darkness surrounding it.

Come to think of it, I learned something in the military.

Be careful even when lighting a cigarette in the pitch-black darkness.

In pitch-black darkness, even a small light is more visible than you think.

Although the distance was quite far, judging by the size of the light, someone had definitely lit a bonfire.

Since it was becoming more difficult to track Meruru’s trail in this situation, it was necessary to check it out.

“Shari.”

I called out to Shari in a low voice.

“Hey, do you see that light over there? Can you go take a look and come back?”

At my request, Shari flew swiftly through the darkness and disappeared.

And before Shari returned, I also moved closer to the direction of the light.

A while later, Shari returned after a quick reconnaissance and unfolded the scenes in my mind.

* * *

On the erected palanquin, there was barely enough space for one person, and it was equipped with a small iron bar that could barely fit a person.

And inside that iron bar, a humanoid girl, Meruru, was locked up, with a gag in her mouth and huddled up in a ball.

It was strange, I thought.

I distinctly remember Unoah saying that if she wore the robe he gave her, those slave-like guys wouldn’t recognize her.

Indeed, it had always been like that.

In the center of Kubele, many people knew Meruru, and with the guild there, it didn’t matter.

But once we left Kubele and went far away, Meruru always wore the old robe Unoah gave her.

Of course, before becoming a receptionist, Yunoa had a clean robe that she had bought, and there were other clothes that Tina had bought for her.

However, whenever Meruru ventured out alone to explore here and there, she always wore that old robe.

Since it was the robe that Yunoa first bought and told her to cover her ears and tail, she somehow developed an unfounded belief that if she wore that old robe, she would be safe even when going far outside the city.

A superstitious belief she created for herself.

Meruru never imagined that this strange belief would lead her into this situation.

“Hehehe! I caused a commotion in two cities in a row and got angry, but can you believe this stroke of luck! Who would have imagined! There are wandering bandits of the beast tribe in this forest.”

“Sir Sauld, you look happy.”

“Of course I’m thrilled! Hey! Do you know how expensive a beautiful beast tribe like this can be sold for? I once sold a beast tribe for 50 gold coins, and it was so ugly that I couldn’t tell if it was a beast or what, but this one is worth calling!”

A man with a thin, long beard under his nose shouted as he drank by the fire.

And the man who seemed to be his subordinate in front of him prepared to refill his glass with alcohol.

Slave merchant Sauld.

He was a merchant who kidnapped and sold expensive slaves by traveling around the kingdom’s cities.

He had discovered Meruru here while traveling west, collecting slaves that could be sold throughout the continent and going to the trading post in the capital city of Pifnel.

The underground waterway of Pifnel was home to the largest slave market on the continent.

The guests who visited there were varied, including Pifnel’s elites, nobles, and even corrupt priests.

But their commonality was that they all had a lot of money.

A slave market that included high-ranking customers could make a lot of money once a deal was made.

Moreover, Sauld was different from the common, mediocre slave merchants around him.

“As expected, sir! There was a reason you said you would abandon the path of a silver adventurer and become the king of slave merchants! I will trust and follow only Sir Sauld!”

At his subordinate’s flattery, Sauld lightly slapped his subordinate’s head with an empty glass.

“Hey! Not silver. It’s just before gold. I didn’t want to become one, so I didn’t. If I had just set my mind to it, I would have become the greatest and strongest adventurer on the continent.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, sir!”

“But you know, being an adventurer doesn’t make money. Haven’t you all realized at some point while rolling around in guilds or mercenary groups that doing dangerous things doesn’t make money? If you work hard, you can become a great slave merchant like me, so watch and learn.”

“Yes, sir!”

Sauld laughed satisfactorily and drank his alcohol again.

This slave merchant group consisted entirely of former adventurers.

That’s why, unlike other slave merchants, they had their own combat capabilities, which allowed them to continue this work for a long time.

“Damn, if it weren’t for that monster boar, we would have arrived at the next village by now.”

Sauld said as he looked at the cart with iron bars where Meruru was trapped.

Originally, he had a carriage, but it was destroyed by a monster attack in this forest, and the horse died.

So, using the parts of the carriage, he reluctantly made a cart to transport Meruru.

Once they arrived at the next village, he planned to buy another carriage and head straight to the capital.

“Ugh, I’m getting drunk. But… that beautiful beast tribe is truly a sight to behold. It’s a shame to just sell her off.”

“I’ve never seen anything like her before, sir!”

“Shall we play with him a little? It’s also a job to check if there’s anything wrong with the goods.”

“Hyung-nim! Can I touch him too?”

At the subordinate’s words, an empty glass flew straight towards his head.

“You idiot! Of course, you can’t. Well, it’s okay to just watch. It’s not like anything will wear out from seeing someone naked.”

“Thank you! Hyung-nim!”

Sauld, with a flushed face from the alcohol, slowly turned towards the iron bars where Meruru was trapped.

Meruru listened to their conversation and trembled, bowing deeply.

* * *

Finally, I found Meruru.

Among the scenes shown by Shari were people who looked like slave traders drinking while sitting around a bonfire, and the sight of Meruru trapped behind iron bars.

“Hmm, that’s right….”

It was fortunate that I found him not too late.

Meruru was locked behind iron bars, carried not in a proper carriage but in a shoddily made cart for some unknown reason.

If he was being transported in a proper carriage as a slave trader, he might have gone too far and it would have been too late.

Through Shari, I learned that there were seven people in the slave trader group: one who seemed to be the leader and six subordinates.

They all had weapons, but they were probably just slave traders.

They wouldn’t be a match for an adventurer like me.

Approaching the campsite faster and faster, I drew my sword and started running.

And the moment I arrived at the campsite.

“Hehehe!”

“Uwah! Uwah!”

Along with the unpleasant laughter of the man who seemed to be a slave trader, an incredible sight unfolded before me.

They were taking Meruru out of the iron bars and stripping him of his clothes.

Meruru, with a gag in his mouth, couldn’t resist properly and his clothes were being torn off.

His ears folded weakly and his limbs twisted in an attempt to free himself from the grip, which was pitiful.

I immediately rushed forward and with all my strength, pushed away the perverted slave trader clinging to Meruru.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The slave trader, hit by my kick, made a strange noise and rolled on the ground.

I immediately stood in front of Meruru to protect him.

“What, what is it!”

“Sauld Hyung-nim! Are you okay?”

The perverted slave trader called Sauld got up and glared at me.

“What are you, alone?”

I didn’t answer and adjusted my sword.

Fighting against a human instead of a monster made me feel a strange reluctance to just cut them all down with my sword.

Should I just incapacitate them all and hand them over to the guild?

While thinking that, Sauld burst into laughter.

“Hehehe! An adventurer, huh? Ah, I see. You’ve been commissioned by those beastmen. But to come here alone, you must have some guts. We’re just merchants, you know. Are you scared of adventurers?”

“Sauld Hyung-nim! You’re okay! You’re truly the best! What should we do about this brat?”

“What should we do! Get rid of him!”

As soon as Sauld gave the order, his subordinates surrounding me all rushed at me.

I filled my sword with magic and quickly parried the weapons of the approaching subordinates.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After a few metallic sounds, the weapons of the subordinates that hit my sword all broke and flew away.

There were too many openings, and I could have easily slit their throats several times, but for now, it seemed better to incapacitate them one by one.

I punched each of them in turn, causing them to kneel and make sounds as if they were about to vomit.

Some of them even vomited on the ground.

Those who had lost their strength in their legs could not get up and fight again.

Now, only that Sauld guy is left.

After quickly taking care of his subordinates, I glared at Sauld.

Then, Sauld raised his sword and rushed towards me.

Clang!

I tried to block Sauld’s sword just like I did with the others.

“Hmm?”

But this guy’s sword didn’t break.

That meant Sauld had infused considerable magic into his sword.

“Die!”

Sauld twisted the sword he was facing me with and aimed for my chest.

I quickly moved back and narrowly avoided the attack.

It was an attack I wouldn’t have normally fallen for, but I didn’t expect the opponent to use this level of magic.

It was my mistake for being too careless.

I had made the mistake of thinking that just because the opponent was a slave trader, they wouldn’t use magic as strong as an adventurer.

Why does this guy have such talent but instead of being an adventurer, he’s a slave trader?

But now that I’ve avoided the attack once, I won’t fall for it again.

Although the magic in Sauld’s sword was impressive, it felt far inferior to me.

I’ll finish this in one go.

I took a step forward to subdue Sauld, but at that moment…

Thud!

An unknown black shadow fell rapidly behind Sauld from the sky.

With a tearing sound, Sauld’s head flew off, spraying blood everywhere.

Sauld’s body collapsed weakly without his head.

What in the world just happened?

Is it a monster?

As Sauld’s body fell, the identity of the shadow behind him was revealed.

There was a woman who resembled a fox, with fox-like ears and a rich tail.

She was wearing a light fur outfit that barely covered her chest and lower body, exuding a tremendous wildness.

“Merfolk?”