episode_0074

After the business hours ended, Algot opened the door of the adventurer guild with a key and entered.

As I followed him inside, Algot locked the door again from the inside.

It was the first time I had entered the empty guild interior at such a late hour.

Feeling strange seeing the counter where the receptionist always stood empty.

Entering the office with Algot, I was thinking about everything in my head.

She had said it was time for me to repay the “small debt” that had arisen in exchange for teaching me how to suppress my magic outbursts.

Although she reassured me that she wouldn’t ask me to do anything unreasonable, this uneasy feeling was just not going away…

“At this moment, Yunoa wished someone would tell her the future.

But such wishful thinking would not yield any answers.”

Should I ask her to tell me? She wouldn’t just ignore me after giving me the medicine, right?

…but by the time I thought about it, it was already too late.

From my experience, if it came to this, the narration would never give me the answer I wanted unless Algot held a knife to my throat.

Well, she might ask me something unexpected after all.

Mentally preparing myself to not be surprised by anything, I sat facing Algot in the guild office.

Algot immediately spoke up.

“It’s about Meruru’s sister that was found before.”

“You mean Aruru…”

“I did some personal investigation after that day. And I am certain now.”

Algot looked at me seriously.

“Aruru… seems to have received the blood of demons. In other words, she has become a demon.”

“…”

“Did you know?”

It wasn’t a question.

It was more like a statement thrown with the certainty that I already knew.

Since I found out that Aruru was a demon, I tried not to tell anyone if possible.

Honestly, Algot seemed to have suspected it since then, but just in case, I didn’t tell her either.

“As you know, the place where she was found is within the kingdom’s territory. And demons should not be roaming around this area.”

“So…”

“Of course, it can be handled as a request. But it’s not good for demons to appear in the kingdom, not in the demon realm or unclaimed land. It would cause people to be anxious.”

“…”

“Yunoa, you must have suspected that Aruru was a demon, right? You met her in person. That’s why I want to ask you to handle Aruru. I want to handle this matter as quietly as possible.”

“Are you telling me to deal with Aruru?”

“Yes.”

Algot said without hesitation.

Of course, as the guild master, it was only natural to handle demons appearing within the kingdom.

But isn’t there a way to resolve this without subjugating her?

I had just met Meruru on my way here.

And now I was being asked to subjugate Meruru’s sister.

I felt something was wrong, but I couldn’t defend Aruru as a demon to Algot.

“Is that the ‘debt’ I have to repay?”

“That’s right. This is a private request that I am entrusting to you. I have already located Aruru. Regardless of whether she is alive or dead, if you manage to capture her, do it discreetly to avoid attracting attention. Of course, killing her as a demon would be quicker, but it would be better if we could gather information.”

“Aruru is Meruru’s sister. I mean, she’s…”

“And a demon.”

Algot’s attitude was firm.

I had no grounds to refuse, and if I did, Aruru would be more likely to be subjugated.

I remembered when she asked me about demons before.

What did she want to know back then?

“How about it? I hope you can handle the job right away. If you accept, I’ll tell you the location immediately.”

“……”

“Why are you hesitating? Is it because the target is Meruru’s sister?”

“Yes… I guess a little……”

“I see. Then let’s find someone else who can definitely take care of Aruru.”

“No, I’ll take the job.”

I replied reflexively to Algot’s words.

After answering, I felt a bit strange.

A strange sense of discomfort that I had been feeling since earlier.

She felt like she wasn’t just trying to eliminate the demons appearing in the kingdom.

It felt like she was insisting that it had to be me.

It was also difficult to refuse by emphasizing the ‘debt’ to me.

Of course, it could just be my resistance to the request to deal with Aruru.

Algot strongly stated that she could not tolerate demons roaming the kingdom’s land.

But she also attached conditions like ‘regardless of life or death’ and ‘bring her back if alive’.

I wondered what information could be obtained by capturing Aruru alive.

At most, I could find out who she received the demon’s blood from and why she was staying here instead of the demon world.

It wasn’t very important information.

From the guild’s perspective, if demons appear in the kingdom, killing them without question is the most convenient and hassle-free solution.

But Algot deliberately left room for capturing her alive.

Of course, there was nothing certain, and I just vaguely thought of something strange.

The only thing certain was that she entrusted me with the task of dealing with Aruru, and only she would know what she really wanted.

“Alright. Then let me tell you the location.”

Algot stood in front of a large map on the wall.

I listened to her words with a complicated feeling.

* * *

Aruru’s hideout was said to be underground in the Halberry Forest where she appeared.

She dug the ground and made a hideout underneath, covering it with branches and leaves for concealment.

Since I was instructed to quietly resolve the request without letting anyone else know, I came to the Halberry Forest alone.

The request was to subdue or capture Aruru.

Although Algot had set the atmosphere as if killing Aruru, considering she was a demon, was natural, she left too much room for capturing her alive.

Algot provided me with a specially made unbreakable leash.

Furthermore, she had set up a base in the Halberry Forest, and if I managed to capture Aruru, I was supposed to bring her there.

Was it really necessary to go to such lengths and leave room for capturing her alive?

I felt like I was being tested, but right now, I had no choice but to trust my instincts.

There was no clear evidence on the surface.

But I vaguely guessed why Algot had assigned me this task.

She said it didn’t matter if it was life or death, but by assigning me this task in this way, wouldn’t it be unlikely for me to kill Aruru?

Algot wouldn’t have assigned me the task without knowing that.

She was even waiting for me to come out with Tiana after meeting Meruru.

I couldn’t know the details, but Algot, the guild master, wouldn’t be a typical psychopath if she had assigned me the task with the intention of killing Aruru.

I had to believe that Algot, whom I had seen, was not a bad person.

Aruru’s hideout was deep in a forest where human footsteps could hardly reach.

It was filled with dense bushes that were difficult to move forward without clearing the way with a sword, and the ground was rough and uneven.

Is there really a hiding place in a place like this?

Why does Aruru live here instead of in the Demon Realm?

Wouldn’t it be much safer to live in the Demon Realm if she became a demon?

With many questions swirling in her mind, Aruru raised her Dragoknight sword and pushed through the bushes in front of her.

After a while, the location pointed out by Algort on the map appeared.

There was no visible hiding place to the naked eye.

But knowing the location, she used her sword to probe the ground under the large tree, clearing away the debris covering the entrance.

“Is this…?”

There was a spot where the sword sank deeply.

Stepping on the solid ground, she swung her sword a few times to clear away the clutter covering the ground.

Soon, the entrance to the underground tunnel leading to the hiding place appeared.

She thought there might be just a small space underground if it was dug to create a hiding place, but it turned out to be a proper tunnel.

Did she dig this tunnel all by herself?

Well, Aruru’s strength that she encountered before was impressive.

Her physical strength was so great that if she had let her guard down even a little, she could have been seriously injured.

If she set her mind to it, she could easily dig a tunnel like this.

She entered the tunnel and followed the path inside.

Since no light was coming in, she used her magic to ignite flames on her sword.

Thanks to obtaining the Dragoknight sword, she had become more adept at using magic.

As she advanced through the tunnel, illuminating her surroundings with the flame sword, suddenly…

Swish!

A sharp stone flew from somewhere, narrowly missing her body.

Looking in the direction the stone came from, she saw a shadow with fluffy ears.

It was none other than Aruru.

Aruru was wearing a skimpy leather outfit that barely covered her chest and lower body, glaring at her as if to kill her.

“Hey… you’re Meruru’s sister, right? Since I’m close with Meruru, let’s talk…”

She attempted to start a conversation.

But instead of responding to her words, Aruru suddenly disappeared from her sight.

“…!”

Thud!

Aruru, who had disappeared from her sight, suddenly appeared above her and swung her nails at her.

She managed to block the attack with her Dragoknight sword, but felt a tremendous impact on her body.

She had forgotten.

Aruru was a formidable opponent who had defeated a man with Silver-grade skills in a single blow.

If she let her guard down, she would be in trouble.

Still, she wanted to capture Aruru alive somehow.

If she killed Aruru here, she wouldn’t have the confidence to face Meruru again.

Thud! Thud!

With lightning-fast movements that were almost invisible to the eye, Aruru alternated between striking above and below with her nails.

She was barely blocking her attacks and slowly being pushed back.

Thanks to the Dragoknight sword, there was no limit to the techniques she could use.

But if she used her skills to subdue Aruru, she might end up seriously injuring or killing her.

Was there a way to capture her without causing her harm?

“Ugh…!”

Aruru launched a fierce attack as if to kill her.

She was hoping that talking about Meruru would help, but it seemed futile.

She was struggling to block Aruru’s attacks while pondering how to capture her without causing her harm.

Thud!

As she blocked Aruru’s charging attack, her body was pushed back.

What kind of monstrous strength was this?

Meruru was at the level of struggling against a Blue Slime.

Even though she had become a demon, this was an incredibly strong power.

Nevertheless, she felt that she could easily defeat her if she set her mind to it.

Aruru’s attacks were undoubtedly fast and powerful, but they were also simple without any complex techniques.

If Aruru’s attacks had come with magical techniques or unpredictable trajectories, she might have been in danger as well.

However, separate from her powerful strength, her attacks were so simple that as long as I didn’t let my guard down, I could somehow manage to block them.

Thwack!

Once again, Aruru’s claws were blocked by the Dragnight sword.

Utilizing her own swift movements, she relentlessly unleashed attacks in various trajectories, but they were not difficult to block.

To be honest, there was a noticeable gap in combat prowess.

The destructive power was impressive, but her fighting style could be described as amateurish.

I don’t have any remarkable combat skills or experience myself, but I could calmly deal with an opponent like Aruru who recklessly charged at me.

However, despite the difference in skill, I couldn’t defeat her with the sword.

I wanted to apprehend Aruru without causing any harm if possible.

After blocking a few more attacks,

I slowly began to gather the magic power needed to subdue Aruru.

Not the magic power gathering in the Dragnight sword.

The magic power was gathering in my fist.

As Aruru distanced herself and then rushed towards me frantically again.

I intentionally swung the Flame Sword widely, causing the sparks of magical flames to scatter like fireworks in the air.

The moment Aruru’s attention was drawn to the dazzling sparks.

Thud!

I swiftly struck her abdomen with my fist.

I didn’t want to harm Aruru, but this was the best option.

It was a stomach punch, also known as a breadbasket punch, used when making a variant of Mandrake that knocks people around.

“Argh!”

Aruru, struck in the stomach by a fist full of magic, let out a gasp as she doubled over in pain.

And then, trembling with pain, she bowed her head deeply and started drooling.

Did I hit her too hard?

I feel somewhat sorry for some reason.

But still, it’s better than being disabled by a sword.

I immediately grabbed Aruru’s hands, subdued her, and forcefully brought her down to the ground.

Then, using a specially made restraining rope provided by Algot, I tightly bound Aruru.

* * *