episode_0088

For a moment, the fighting entered a lull.

They were busy observing each other’s movements, keeping an eye on each other. Glenn clicked his tongue in regret for not being able to land a valid hit, and carefully observed his opponent.

First of all, it was slender. It was difficult to judge accurately because only the silhouette was visible, but it was definitely human-shaped. Because both arms and legs were clearly visible. And judging by the bow-like shape equipped on both arms, Glenn judged that close combat would be advantageous and approached. Since he was holding a bow, if he approached quickly and made a surprise attack, he could subdue or destroy it in an instant.

But the fact that we couldn’t even subdue it…

‘Either the opponent was strong, or I’ve become weaker than before. It’s one of the two. Damn… The monsters are weak, too, so I can’t even hit them with a single punch, and that guy Opperspelle is so skilled that it wasn’t hard to subdue him… Fortunately, we didn’t end up fighting the Beastmen… I’ve just been lucky up until now…’

Yes. Up until now, the threats that had been posed to Glenn had been strangely weak, or there had been opportunities to avoid them. Now that Glenn had finally met a real strong man, he couldn’t help but lament his own fading skills.

At the same time, my heart was pounding with a slight thrill of joy at having met a proper opponent.

“You, what are you…”

“Huh?”

I was startled by the sudden voice. The other person, that figure, was speaking. What, can you talk? A person? No way…

However, it was a rather sinister and unidentifiable voice. However, judging by the slightly thin voice, it seemed likely to be a woman.

“Where the hell did you come from… Why are you interfering!”

“…”

“Answer me…!”

In a rather agitated voice, the opponent aimed his bow again. There was no obligation to respond, so Glen remained silent and observed his opponent’s movements carefully.

He had already lowered his posture sufficiently and was ready to approach at any moment, so he did not feel threatened. Instead, he waited cautiously. The most appropriate time to jump out would be the moment when the opponent let go of the bowstring.

“This guy, that guy… They only hurt my feelings and don’t listen to me… Even a guy like you, whom I’m meeting for the first time, gets in my way!”

“…”

“If you don’t answer now… I will consider you an enemy and shoot you!”

What are you talking about when you’ve already blown it? Glenn waited, watching his opponent babble almost nonsense. Come on, blow it. That moment is your memorial day…

However, things in the world did not work out as easily as Glenn had expected.

“What…!”

Suddenly, the dark figure released its bowstring. Or at least it seemed so to Glenn. And, the figure approached Glenn at a rapid pace. Glenn quickly pulled back, lowering his body. With a whoosh, something flew into the air where he was. It was swinging its bow.

‘If you get hit by something like that at that speed, you won’t even have a bone left!’

Glenn stuck out his tongue as he swung a rather large longbow. However, he had no time to admire it. In an instant, Glenn caught the foot flying towards him to kick him and moved his right arm.

“Ouch!”

“Ugh…!”

Glenn, who had blocked the boot(?) that was about to kick his stomach, groaned weakly at the pain that was being transmitted to his arm. However, if he wasted time feeling pain, it would be the end.

Instead of blocking with my right arm, I swung my left arm. The opponent retreated. My arm flew into the air with a whoosh. If I stopped there, I would cry as a high-level adventurer.

Phew!

“Kwak!”

It was a more human scream than I expected.

Glenn took two steps towards his opponent who had stepped back and accurately struck his opponent’s chin with his left foot.

No, it just brushed past. The opponent didn’t collapse, as if he didn’t inflict much damage. Instead, he quickly moved his feet and gained some distance from Glenn.

Damn. He’s so damn quick-witted. Despite his harsh tone, his opponent seemed to have considerable judgment. He was definitely skilled in combat, judging by the fact that he could easily gauge Glenn’s destructive power in close combat, even with just a graze of his chin.

“Magic enhancement…? You’re not an ordinary martial artist… I heard that it’s extremely rare even among humans… Why is someone like you getting in my way!?”

Judging from the way he was talking about humans, he didn’t seem to be a human. Well, it was a judgment that went against common sense to treat such a vague and dark figure as a human.

Let’s find some information. Glenn finally opened his mouth, which had never opened before except to groan and scream.

“I’m the one who wanted to ask that question.”

“what?”

“Who are you? You don’t seem human… Your archery skills, and even your body movements…Are you a demon? Or a fallen being with the power of the Demon King on your back?”

“You don’t even have eyes, do you? You can’t figure out my identity even after seeing me…!”

Even if you have eyes, you probably wouldn’t know.

He seemed to be shaking his arms in anger, but Glenn couldn’t even guess who it was. In the first place, what good would it do to tell him who he was? He could be lying.

So Glen decided to move on to another question.

“Are you the cause of all this?”

“Shut up! You have no obligation to be nice to the guy who helps that disgusting bitch!”

“Damn bitch?”

“Yes, that abominable bitch… that hypocritical monster… the bitch who calls herself a saint!”

Glenn’s forehead twitched, and the veins stood out. This kid…

“Would you like to say it again? Okay?”

「Ha! I’ll tell you hundreds, thousands of times! That disgusting… bitch who steals a man’s heart just by smiling in front of him… and enjoys manipulating his heart! With such skills, you’d risk your life for a bundle of hypocrites! A human who’d only need one arrow to hit her neck and bleed to death… You’re just like all the other stupid men… Kyaaak!」

“Shut up.”

Glenn didn’t tolerate it.

It was much faster than before. In an instant, it dug into the figure’s embrace.

And then he struck. The fist, properly wrapped in reinforcement, struck the area that was presumed to be the abdomen. This was harder to get over than any of the insults he had heard so far.

The figure seemed to have suffered a major blow from the fist that had been properly reinforced. What had already been a silhouette was becoming increasingly blurred, as if it was becoming difficult to materialize in this world. It looked as if the elements that made up the body would scatter into the air at any moment.

Of course, for all his feeble and sympathetic appearance, Glenn’s anger was not easily quelled.

“I don’t know where he came from to do such a thing. But, if it’s because of a grudge against some kind of saint…I’ll throw away all the effort to find out the cause and make this place so dustless.”

“Ha, what can a mere human do…!”

“Was that human’s fist a little sweet? The next one will be a fist with a lot less mercy than before. If I keep talking…!”

The only thing that kept Glenn’s sense of reason was his rational judgment as an adventurer.

Besides, a sound was heard from behind. It was the sound of two people cautiously approaching. It was easy to tell who it was.

Immediately afterwards, a voice confirmed the accuracy of Glenn’s judgment.

“Glen…what are you… suddenly charging in…?”

“Hey, hey, Mr. Escort! What if you just run off like that… Hey, but… who are you…? ”

Milishia and Sieta, who had approached through the grass and trees, were speechless at the sight before their eyes. Glenn’s ominous demeanor and the dark figure hesitating.

At first glance, it was clear that the figure was the one who had fired the arrows at them.

However, in Glenn’s eyes, both of their expressions were strange. It was as if…

“Ha, I talked too much… Allowing access all the way here…”

“This, the voice…is a little noisy…but…no way…”

“Wh, what…I clearly saw you lying in bed…”

The saintess’s face was pale, and Sieta was unable to speak, pointing her finger at the dark figure with her jaw open.

What the heck, who the hell is this… Is it even possible to tell them apart by their appearance and voice?

Glenn asked, with a little bit of hostility in his voice.

“Millie, this person…what is this being…do you know who it is…?”

“That, that…if my eyes weren’t wrong…but…”

“Uh, that….Can’t you see it? I, I can see it now because I’m looking at it up close…but…why…”

Whose identity are you sharing anyway?

Glenn’s frustration only grew due to the two people’s attitudes that were still astonished and unable to continue speaking. Glenn rolled his eyes and looked back and forth between the Militia and the unidentified enemy. In the meantime, he was anxious that if the opponent decided to run away, it would be even more of a headache.

However, the dark figure stood there with a rather calm demeanor as the two people appeared.

At least, that’s what Glenn guessed, as the silhouette no longer revealed any signs of instability.

“Yes… finally… you both figured it out… saint… sister…”

What, what did you say?

Glenn didn’t want to take the voice coming from that figure at face value. It was an unbelievable title. Huh? Now that he thought about it, the voice sounded a little familiar. It was a unique voice that he had heard somewhere before.

But who is it?

And then, two people with holy power simultaneously shouted the name, relieving Glenn’s curiosity.

“Vidia…!”

“Vidia…my sister…!”

Huh? Who? Vidia Dreamside?

At the names shouted by Milicia and Sieta, Glenn almost screamed in shock.

The reason I endured it all winter was because there was an enemy right in front of me. But how on earth did the two of them figure out his identity with such a blurry silhouette?

And Glenn couldn’t help but be shocked by the words that came out of the two people’s mouths.

“It’s gray, but… those facial features… that outfit… that bow in your hand… I can’t believe it… why are you here, little brother…!”

“Vidia… I heard you were asleep in the mansion… Why are you standing here armed?”

Hey, over there?

Glenn wanted to express his dissatisfaction with the two men who were now describing the vague shapes and their clothing and appearances with such precision.

However, the flow was not in his favor. However, a voice that seemed to resolve the doubt rang out.

“As expected…the two of you recognized each other…even the secret techniques of the Demon Tribe couldn’t hide your identity…as expected of the masters of sacred magic…”

The Demon’s…secret recipe?

But before Glenn could demand an answer to his new riddle, Sieta and Milicia were there first. Sieta now openly let her guard down and approached the figure.

For a moment I thought I should stop him, but it was already too late, Glen.

Sieta, who had grabbed the arm(?) of the dark figure, opened her mouth in disbelief.

“Vidia… It’s you after all… But, how on earth are you here! I clearly saw you sleeping in your room because you were tired…!”

“Vidia…I didn’t know we would be talking to each other like this…Why are you here?”

“Hehehe… Hehehe…”

However, the dark figure, the being called Vidia, did not respond. No, to Glenn’s eyes, it seemed as if it was avoiding answering the two men’s minds.

“Ah, little brother…ah?”

And then, at the sight of Vidia(?) shouting while shaking off Sieta’s arm, Glenn frowned without thinking.

“Put aside your abominable sympathy, Sister… and, Saint…”

“Vidia, sir…?”

“Why are you here? Why did you appear in front of the two of you? Why… am I bothering the two of you? Why… am I trying to kill you? Do you really want to hear that answer? Then tell me!”

No, I never said that. Glenn was desperate to point that out again, but the tide was still not in his favor.

“I accepted it. That voice… that voice that called me… that voice that wanted me… that gave me the opportunity… to take revenge on you all…!”

“Voice…?”

“Vidia, sir? A voice…what is that…”

“Ha, ahahahahahahaha…!”

Suddenly, like a madman, a madman burst out.

No, actually, the energy spread around Vidia. It was enough to make Sieta and Milicia retreat.

Glenn, who felt he couldn’t just stand still, stepped forward. He grabbed Sieta’s arm and forcibly pulled her behind him.

“Hey, escort knight! What the…”

“Please read the mood, priest! That’s the enemy. What do you mean if I take his statement at face value?”

“Ha, but…”

Sieta hesitated at Glenn’s point, and Milicia, who had been behind Glenn and could have been protected, defended her instead.

“Glen, that person is probably… the elven princess Vidia Dreamside. Although her color is dull and gray… her appearance, hair, and even her clothes… are very similar to her days as a member of the warrior party…”

“Yeah, third party, get out! You little brat… You’re a dirty, spicy guy with a fist…!”

what?

Glenn was furious and wanted to give it another beating, but he couldn’t do that because the saintess had come out to prove the figure’s identity. However, questions remained.

“Milli, how can you be sure of that? Just because they look similar, are they really the same person? It could be a trick of the demons to use their form to deceive us. Above all, Priestess Sieta just said that she ‘saw the last of them lying on the bed’. ”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Milicia trailed off, seeming to half-agree with Glenn’s opinion, but Sieta didn’t seem to agree.

“Of course, I was the one who saw my brother lying on the bed in his room until the end. But, looking at that outfit… I don’t think it’s a fake that only borrowed the appearance.”

“Huh?”

Sieta didn’t answer Glenn’s question, but moved a little further forward.

No, I said it’s dangerous, this priest for real!

As Glenn was contemplating whether or not to capture this elf, Sieta raised her voice and spoke to Vidia(?).

“Vidia…my little sister…you’ve achieved ‘soul separation’ like when you communicate with spirits?”