episode_0067

Suddenly appearing, the beastwoman who sliced off Sauld’s head.

She disappeared from my sight in an instant without giving me a chance to speak.

A beastwoman who looks similar to Meruru.

Could it be…?

Before my thoughts could reach a conclusion, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.

I sensed movement above my head.

As I tilted my head up to look, the beastwoman was descending from the darkness, poised to strike at me.

Dangerous.

I immediately raised my sword in a defensive stance.

And in the next moment.

Clang!

With a tremendous metallic sound, my body was thrown off balance.

She had struck my sword with her hand while in mid-air.

The impact was so strong that I almost lost my grip on the sword.

I unconsciously checked with my eyes to see if the sword was still intact.

The sword, filled with magic, was not easily breakable, but the strength behind the strike made me consider the possibility.

After striking my sword, the beastwoman immediately landed on the ground, stepping on my blade and spinning her body to land far behind.

Her eyes, glowing red in the darkness like a beast’s, sent a shiver down my spine.

Fast.

And strong.

I sensed that she was not an opponent to be underestimated, unlike the lowly slaves present here.

Although I had managed to block her previous attack with my sword, my body still felt the impact.

It was clear that I had to fight with all my might to survive.

But…

“Wait! There seems to be a misunderstanding…”

In a state of heightened alertness, I tried to speak to the beastwoman.

But before I could finish a single word, she lowered her stance and charged at me fiercely once again.

No room for discussion.

Damn it, looks like I have no choice but to fight.

Seeing that communication was futile, I realized that she was likely not Meruru’s sister.

I had intended not to use my skills due to incomplete magic control, but at this rate…

That’s when it happened.

Meruru, who had suddenly freed herself from the gag, rushed in front of me and spread her arms wide.

And she shouted.

“Sister!”

Her voice was so loud that it seemed like the forest was shaking.

The beastwoman, who had been charging at me like an arrow, abruptly stopped in her tracks.

Lowering her stance and clenching her hands like claws, she stood still.

If Meruru hadn’t stopped, she would have continued to rush at me and strike me with those hands.

“She’s my sister! Stop fighting! She’s my friend!”

Meruru shouted with her ears and tail raised.

The identity of the beastwoman who had appeared out of nowhere was indeed Meruru’s sister.

Her name was Aruru.

She looked much more mature than Meruru, but her appearance was somewhat strange to simply attribute to age difference.

If Meruru seemed like a pet, Aruru gave off a vibe of a wild wolf pack leader.

More akin to a beast or monster than a human.

Seeing that she had stopped her attack upon seeing Meruru, it seemed she could understand words.

“Sister! I’ve come all the way from Helvetica Island to find you! Let’s go back together!”

Meruru desperately shouted to her sister.

But Aruru remained silent, glaring at me with her crimson eyes, then slowly backed away.

“Meruru! I can never return. Don’t get involved with humans and go back to the island.”

As Meruru tried to approach Aruru, she spoke for the first time.

“Step back.”

“Why are you doing this? We’re going together, Meruru!”

“I can never return. You shouldn’t get involved with humans either. Go back to the island.”

Aruru spoke firmly to Meruru.

“What are you talking about! Did Aruru unni not want to see Meruru?”

Meruru’s desperate cries did not elicit a response from Aruru.

Turning back and kicking the ground, she leaped up like an arrow, disappearing into the large tree above.

“Aruru, a member of the Suiin clan and Meruru’s sister, currently had demon blood flowing through her veins.

Traveling alone across the continent, she had received demon blood transfusion for some reason.

Meruru, unaware of this fact, could only be confused by her sister’s unfamiliar appearance.”

“Demon blood…”

What had happened to Aruru exactly?

If Aruru had truly become a demon, it was impossible for her to return to Meruru’s side in the current situation.

She must have known that she couldn’t come back forever.

At least, I was relieved that I could avoid fighting with her in front of Meruru.

Although it was a one-time attack, Aruru’s attack was so threatening that it sent shivers down my spine.

If Meruru hadn’t stopped her in the middle, she might have even used uncontrollable Einblad’s magic.

If that had happened, one of us wouldn’t have come out unscathed.

But Meruru…

“Meruru, are you okay?”

After disappearing into the darkness in an instant, I asked Meruru if she was worried about her.

Meruru, not caring that her clothes were torn and her body exposed, stared blankly in the direction where Aruru had disappeared.

“Meruru…”

Meruru’s ears and tail drooped weakly downward.

And shortly after, a faint sobbing sound was heard.

“Sob… sniff…”

The sobbing sound soon turned into crying, and Meruru began to cry like a child.

“Waaaaah!”

Meruru’s loud crying echoed through the dark forest.

I could only watch over her until she stopped crying.

After crying for a while, Meruru finally stopped crying, and I cleaned up the surroundings alone.

I rekindled the almost extinguished campfire, gathered Sauld’s unconscious subordinates in one place, and tied them up tightly.

I roughly draped the tattered robe I had picked up while following the trail over Meruru’s body to cover her in a hurry.

I planned to wait until dawn in this state and then return.

I threw Sauld’s headless body aside after tidying it up next to where I had tied up his subordinates.

The subordinates were terrified to see their leader’s headless corpse lying next to them, but I didn’t care.

Even after Meruru stopped crying, she hardly spoke.

She just looked at the dying campfire with a sad expression.

Seeing Meruru like that, I felt uneasy as well, as it was the first time I had seen her cry like that.

But demon blood…

I had been to the demon realm before and had even received help from the mushroom-headed Karia clan.

Therefore, I didn’t harbor much animosity towards demons as a whole.

If it weren’t for the pure-blooded demon ghost Shari, I wouldn’t have been able to come back from the demon realm.

And demons couldn’t survive in the kingdom either.

Did Meruru know why her sister said such things?

I had no way of knowing what she was thinking.

Anyway, now that Aruru has become a demon, the normal reunion of the sisters was no longer something to expect.

Meruru should really try to calm her heart.

After a long wait, the day finally dawned.

With the support requested by Sylphy from the guild arriving, I explained the situation and handed over all the slave merchants to the guild.

I returned to Kuber separately with Meruru, riding a carriage.

* * *

The next day, when I visited the guild, Tina settled the regular request for me.

“Here, the settlement of 30 gold is complete. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes, thank you….”

As I received the money, I looked sadly at the still empty reception area for mixed-race specialists.

Meruru had returned safely, but she had also been in big trouble and had suffered mental shock, so it seemed that Algot had given her some time off.

“Meruru, are you okay?”

I asked Tina, worried.

“She probably needs some time. I’ve been taking care of her little by little after work every day, so don’t worry too much.”

“Tina, you’ve been through a lot.”

“These days, time is all I have left, you know.”

Tina smiled as if she were cool.

Indeed, her dark circles, which had been so deep, were now almost gone.

Under the Philstone regime, she had become a master of her work, having struggled with the bureaucracy.

While chatting with Tina, the door to the guild master’s office opened.

“Yunoa, come here for a moment.”

Algot called me into the office, and I went in.

She probably knew the general situation.

Was there something she wanted to say?

“It’s about that mixed-race individual who is presumed to be Meruru’s sister.”

As soon as we sat down at the desk in the office, the conversation began.

“Yes.”

“It was said that the mixed-race individual killed Sauld in one blow.”

“That’s correct.”

Algot’s expression became serious.

“Yunoa, do you know about the mixed-race individuals on the island of Helvetika?”

If it was about the mixed-race individuals on the island of Helvetika, it meant the same as Meruru’s race.

Since Meruru was always seen coming and going to the guild, she probably knew well.

She knew how to find underground plants using some strange sense.

“Usually, mixed-race individuals have abilities that mix the bodies of animals and humans. Most of the mixed-race individuals living on the continent usually resemble characteristics of wild animals, so they are generally stronger than ordinary humans.”

“I’ve never seen any mixed-race individuals other than Meruru.”

“They live deep in the forest where human feet rarely reach. It’s natural not to see them unless you go looking for them.”

“I see.”

“But the mixed-race individuals on the island of Helvetika are different. Unlike the mixed-race individuals on the continent who have gained combat abilities for survival, the mixed-race individuals on the island of Helvetika, like Meruru, mostly have below-average physical abilities.”

As I listened to Algot’s words, I remembered the memory of Meruru burying her face in a blue slime and struggling.

“Indeed, Meruru does seem a bit different when you look at her.”

“The problem is that mixed-race individual named Aruru. She beheaded a slave merchant with skills above Silver grade in one blow… It’s a power that can’t be thought of as belonging to the same race as Meruru. Yunoa, you said you were attacked by her too, right? How was it?”

Algot’s question sharply pierced the truth.

The fact that Aruru had become a demon through the guild would not have been easily accepted.

At this point, only I knew for sure through the narration that Aruru had become a demon.

“I was only attacked once. It would have been more difficult if it wasn’t Meruru.”

“Do you have any suspicions?”

“….”

I was a little hesitant.

Would it be better to honestly tell Algot here that Aruru had become a demon?

Anyway, even if I don’t say it, they might already have some expectations and be throwing questions at me.

What worried me was the possibility of receiving a punitive order from the guild to subdue Aruru.

The Halberi Forest where Aruru appeared is not a demon realm but a human land.

It was only natural for punishment to be meted out to demons appearing in human lands.

I didn’t want to be punished without even having a proper conversation with Aruru’s sister, Meruru.

When I hesitated to answer, Algot slightly smiled as if to ease the tension and said, “Yunoa, have you ever been to the demon realm?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Have you met other demons there?”

“That’s… ”

It was a question that I was reluctant to answer.

It felt like he was trying to confirm whether I was siding with the demons.

After staring into my eyes for a moment, Algot let out a small sigh and said, “Let’s leave this matter aside for now. But I don’t think you’re the kind of person you’re thinking of. I believe there will come a day when we will talk about this issue again. I understand your caution. I am the same.”

“…”

“For now, please take good care of Meruru. Our carefully established crossbreed specialized reception center has become useless.”

“Understood.”

I couldn’t read Algot’s thoughts and intentions at all.

Why was she saying these things to me?

I wished the narration would tell me, but as always, I remained silent in times like this.