episode_0095

“Eup… … !”

After seeing the corpse, El turned her head with a pale complexion.

It was a very strong reaction, in contrast to the sight of monster corpses that I had only been surprised by until now, and which I had soon become accustomed to.

However, such a reaction was also completely understandable.

Because there is no way the emotion of looking at a human corpse would be the same as that of a monster.

Even considering the environment in which she grew up, the probability of seeing a corpse in person would be low, and the probability of seeing a corpse in such a terrible state would be even lower.

So it is natural to react like that.

No, even if she had been familiar with corpses, her reaction might not have been much different.

Even if you were that kind of person, the scene before your eyes was so gruesome and cruel that you couldn’t help but turn your head away.

“… I need to take a look at this.”

Charlie said with a sinking face.

This probably means that it is a sight that even he, a skilled mercenary, cannot easily overcome.

After finishing speaking, Charlie immediately stepped forward and began looking around at the corpses.

Meanwhile, Elle was looking somewhere else and catching her breath, and Dorothy was watching her by her side.

As for me, I didn’t get close, but I looked at the corpses from afar.

At this distance, it was possible to obtain sufficient information by strengthening the eyesight using magical power.

Just like that, time passed with Charlie inspecting the scene on a large scale and me inspecting the scene secretly.

Charlie, who had been kneeling down to survey the scene, finally got up after a long time.

“It looks like it was a monster attack.”

That was Charlie’s conclusion.

“It is not a trace made by human weapons. So, it must be seen that it was a monster that created this tragedy.”

As said, the traces left on the corpses were not made by weapons or magic.

At first glance, most of the wounds looked like they had been carved by long, foreign fingernails or toenails, and some even looked like bite marks.

Humans cannot leave traces like this.

Claw marks can, of course, be imitated with a similar weapon, but bite marks are difficult to imitate in that way.

In other words, the natural conclusion is that the beast is a monster.

I also came to the same conclusion as Charlie.

“Did you find out the identity of the monster?”

Dorothy asked Charlie.

At this, Charlie shook his head left and right.

“No. I can guess the type of monster that roughly matches the characteristics… There are differences in size and shape of the traces. I have never seen traces like this before. It’s either a species I’ve never seen before, or… … .”

After a pause there, Charlie opened his mouth again with a heavy expression.

“It may be a mutation.”

Either it is a species that Charlie, a skilled mercenary, has never seen before, or it is a mutant that suddenly appears.

Either way, it wasn’t a positive story.

This is a ‘forest’, and creatures that we don’t know much about are literally a bunch of variables.

“What should I do…? ?”

El, who had somehow managed to control the confusion, approached me with a look that was still not good and asked.

“Well, you don’t have to worry too much. I’m worried about the presence of monsters, but if they’re the ones that haunt this area, they won’t be that dangerous.”

“Okay… ?”

At Charlie’s words, L lowered her head with a look in her eyes that seemed a little relieved, but her worry did not go away.

And then, her gaze turned to the corpses in a miserable state.

“I… Shouldn’t people do something too… ? At least it announces death… … .”

“Yes. That should be it. I will find a suitable marker.”

Charlie bent down again and began searching through the corpses.

When meeting a dead person in the forest like this, it was common to take some kind of sign that would identify the person and take it to Darbil.

Anyway, it can be said that all who enter the forest pass through Darbil, and most of them are mercenaries, so if you can verify the identity of the mercenaries in that way, you can also immediately confirm the identity of the client.

Not necessarily, but it was a kind of unspoken rule passed down among mercenaries and adventurers.

“… … .”

I stared at that figure and thought in my head.

There is nothing strange about Charlie’s judgment.

There is a possibility that undiscovered species or mutations exist, but there is no guarantee that they exist, and even if they do exist, there is a high probability that they will not be that powerful if they are monsters from an area that has just entered the field.

However.

It wasn’t that there wasn’t anything that bothered me.

Now it has become a cold corpse, and its vitality and magical energy have been scattered and blown away, but it is possible to roughly guess its state during life through the remnants of its magical energy.

It’s easier said than done, but for me it wasn’t that difficult.

After looking at the people who had become corpses, I realized.

The skills of those who died so miserably were not at an average level.

It’s not comparable to me, and it’s definitely inferior to Dorothy and Charlie, but at least it’s not like I’m going to die here.

Not one or two of these people, but as many as five were annihilated.

That meant only one thing.

The guy who created this horrible scene is no ordinary person.

***

The mood of the group that passed the scene was clearly calmer than before.

It wasn’t a strange thing.

I witnessed such a tragedy.

Charlie, he had worked as a mercenary for quite some time, so he wouldn’t be shaken by such a sight even if he wasn’t used to it, but the other two were different.

Elle’s face clearly showed tension and fear, and Dorothy also looked more nervous than before.

I came to realize it by seeing the devastation.

What a dangerous place the forest is.

You probably knew it in your head before.

Before you came to Darbil, and even after you came, you must have heard so much about the dangers of the forest that your ears prickled.

However, there is a difference like heaven and earth between knowing and seeing with your own eyes.

Of course, you must have felt it to some extent when you encountered a monster.

However, even those vicious monsters have not been difficult to defeat so far.

So the threat would not have reached the heart.

The corpses of the monsters may have been gross and horrifying, but the appreciation would have stopped at that level.

But the tragedy is a different story.

It’s not a monster’s corpse, but a human corpse.

It has become so terrible that it is difficult to even open your eyes and look at it.

The two have finally realized it for real.

The danger of the forest.

Maybe, they could end up like that too.

That’s why they were both nervous.

If the tension continues for a long time, fatigue accumulates.

Considering that I would have to stay in the forest for quite a long time in the future, accumulating fatigue could not be said to be a good factor.

However, it definitely had its advantages rather than being a bad thing at all.

The point is that you become more careful about your actions.

In any case, it is certain that the level of risk has increased, and the fact that the party, especially L, is careful about their actions in such a situation has the advantage of being able to prevent unexpected events.

However, despite the tension, nothing happened right away.

No, rather nothing happened.

For some reason, I stopped encountering monsters that I had often encountered until now.

“… That’s strange.”

Charlie, narrowing his eyes as if that fact bothered him, stopped walking and said.

“Yes? What is it?”

Immediately El picked up the horse.

“There is no monster in sight.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“If you look at it simply, it’s a good thing… It cannot be said that it is always a good thing.”

Charlie’s expression sank.

“This is outside the early part of the forest. Even so, I haven’t gone deep yet… At this point, the number of monsters increases considerably. Even if we can’t do it, we meet at least once a day. When you look at it that way, it’s definitely strange that monsters don’t appear to this extent. At least I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“… Something happened in the forest?”

“Maybe. And, there is a high probability that it is not an ordinary thing.”

“Yes… That’s right.”

There was a heavy atmosphere among the group.

“Well, there isn’t much left until we reach our destination, so we’ll just continue like this. It’s too bad to turn away now.”

As Charlie said, it wasn’t long until we reached our destination.

There was a high probability that something had happened in the forest, and it could cause a crisis for the party, but it was too much of a waste to think only about the possibility and return.

The thought of all my efforts going in vain and having to come here again makes me lose my appetite.

Looking at their expressions, it seemed that Elle and Dorothy’s thoughts were not much different from mine.

So the group continued through the strangely quiet forest.

Since then, monsters have never appeared before us.

Of course, I couldn’t meet anyone.

For a while I walked through the forest in such an eerily peaceful and quiet time.

“Finally… !”

We finally arrived at our destination.