episode_0163

000

How long has it been since I welcomed an ordinary morning without any appointments or any work?

It was past noon the next day when Kleon, who had returned to the mansion last night, quietly went back to his room, and fell into bed as if he had fainted, opened his eyes.

Perhaps it was thanks to Galatea and Caliban, who were holding his hands on either side of Kleon, as they fell asleep.

After learning such shocking facts as last night, he was able to break away from the routine of having nightmares that night.

However, apart from that, there was a voice that lingered in his head and would not disappear.

`Break the statue.`

The throne and statue seen in the illusion shown by Phoros.

Resia. The golden warrior was subordinate to the throne as the world’s guardian and adversary.

“Damn it.”

A curse flowed from his mouth without him knowing.

It was cursing himself for even thinking for a moment that he wanted to break the statue—the world—for Resia.

If he did that, how would he be different from Rail?

“There must be another way….”

Phoros was only telling him what she knew, to the extent that she knew it.

It was hard to believe that a mere human knew everything about the world.

As she herself said, she and he were just insignificant beings in the world. Humans with no great difference in value from an ant.

-As he rationalized himself that way and got up, he felt a little lighter, thanks to a good night’s sleep after a long time.

He had been working himself to the bone, but eventually realized that humans need rest, so he came out of his room and went down to the first floor.

“Ah, Mr. Kleon! Did you sleep well?”

Sasha greets him happily.

Why does his mind naturally become peaceful when he sees her unchanging bright voice and smiling face?

Her orange hair swayed, and the pointy dog ears above her head twitched.

The moment she made eye contact with Kleon, the furry tail behind her waist wagged from side to side, and he felt an urge to mess up her hair and hug her without realizing it.

`No. That’s how you treat a pet.`

He stops himself like that, stopping at just raising his hand to greet her.

“? What’s wrong?”

Sasha tilts her head and asks Kleon as he awkwardly averts his gaze.

“No, it’s nothing. More than that-”

Kleon answered appropriately, then turned his gaze to the outfit she was wearing and spoke.

Sasha’s outfit as an adventurer, which he hadn’t seen lately.

Blue light armor, a ribbon in her hair. A dagger on her leather belt, and a bow slung over her back.

He almost forgot because she was wearing a uniform at the academy and casual clothes in the royal capital, but she was also a great adventurer.

She had been working in a party in Elesia, but with her skills, she could easily carry out simple requests on her own.

“Are you going out on a request?”

“Yes. There was a request this morning that a demonic beast that greatly threatens humans has appeared in the forest near the royal capital. It seems like they are short on staff, so someone from the Adventurer’s Guild came all the way here.”

Sasha said that, adding that the person had described them as a kind man with a refreshing appearance.

`Lampert, is it.`

He had already told him to some extent what had happened to Eustace.

At least Kamala’s store was destroyed, so he could prevent the number of victims from increasing, but it would take time for the adventurers to return to normal.

In order for the Adventurer’s Guild to regain its function, the Ishtal’s spell must be disguised.

As Sasha watched Kleon ponder like that, she carefully opened her mouth.

“Um…. Would you like to come with me, if you’re okay with it?”

“To the forest?”

When Kleon asked back, Sasha nodded energetically.

“The request won’t take that long… Lately, you seem to be busy with various things, Mr. Kleon, so I haven’t been able to bring it up often… but when your head is complicated, running around in the forest or plains might relieve some stress.”

When Sasha said that, Kleon quietly nodded in agreement.

“…Haha. You’re right. Lately, it’s been mostly about plots and dealing with people…. I’d rather deal with demonic beasts or monsters than that.”

Dealing with people is tiring. Especially if they are humans with ill intentions.

People who treat him with good intentions were definitely grateful people, but.

After breaking up with Albein in Elesia, he had been exposed to their malice in a series of people, people, people, without properly carrying out adventure requests.

Or demons, the embodiment of such malice.

“Then. I’ll be shameless and accompany you. It’s been a while since I hunted with Sasha.”

“I, it’s not shameless! Rather, I would be incredibly reassured if you came…”

Sasha waves her hands in embarrassment at Kleon’s words, but she couldn’t hide the tail wagging with excitement.

To meet the expectations of such a cute girl, Kleon asked for understanding and went upstairs to pack his equipment.

001

The area around the royal capital is now a plain, but in the past, there was quite a lush forest stretching across the area.

In the past, during the height of the empire, those who began to develop the area to escape their oppression created the current kingdom.

That was also hundreds of years ago, so there were few traces of the forest left.

However, even back then, the concept of `environmental protection` existed to a great extent.

Thanks to the trend that it was virtuous not to reclaim more than necessary, forests that still maintained their natural form remained scattered a little away from the royal capital.

“Among them, this place. The Forest of Virtue has an excellent magical power circulation environment, so there are many high-quality timbers and animals. Humans who start fires, cut down trees without permission, or hunt here are severely punished by the kingdom’s law.”

“Hee~ I see!”

Kleon said that as he followed Sasha, who was leading the way.

At first, Sasha was following Kleon, but after entering the forest, Kleon told Sasha to let her lead the way.

`I’ll follow Sasha Sensei in the forest.`

That’s what Kleon said. He recalls Sasha making a somewhat embarrassed expression and twitching her mouth when she heard those words.

It wasn’t that Kleon was putting Sasha in danger, but rather that he trusted her skills.

Kleon is a magic swordsman and knows the rules of exploration in the forest, but Sasha was still a superior hunter when it came to tracking prey.

The original of the hunter’s mark she possessed had much better performance than Kleon’s, providing not only enhanced eyesight but also a kind of synesthesia that allows her to see other senses such as smell and hearing through her eyes.

And, in addition to that, even more developed senses. The ears on her head. The tail on her waist quickly reacts when it senses a presence or sound, notifying Sasha, the owner, of the target’s location.

Even in a forest where the view is easily blocked by trees, bushes, and rocks, hunters can find their prey by functioning like a radar all over their bodies.

When Kleon and Sasha simultaneously look at the bushes at the rustling sound, they saw the figures of wild beasts running away, having lost their will to fight.

Was that silhouette just now a wolf?

“How pathetic~”

Suddenly, that voice popped out of Sasha’s mouth, and both Kleon and Sasha herself were startled.

Of course, it wasn’t Sasha who was speaking, but the god of hunting, “Ruben,” inside her, who was speaking by borrowing her body.

“Ru, Lord Ruben. Please give me some kind of signal when you’re going to use my body to speak…!”

“Isn’t this okay? This much. But good job, Sasha. You seduced Kleon into the hunt, wooeup!”

Sasha, who was talking to herself, blocked her mouth before Ruben could say any more unnecessary things.

Another personality, or rather, a divine spirit, exists within her body.

The god of hunting, Ruben, tries to control Sasha’s body at every opportunity, but considering that she prevents Sasha from turning into a beast any further,

Should her existence be called a necessary evil? A kind of curse and a blessing?

Wild animals seemed to recognize the presence of Ruben inside her and all ran away.

Even if they weren’t particularly aggressive carnivores, herbivores such as deer and squirrels were the same, so Sasha was a little disappointed, but being able to avoid unnecessary fights wasn’t such a bad thing.

“Ruben. Do you have any idea what kind of demonic beast is in this forest?”

“Kuhuhu. I can feel the presence, but I don’t know what it is. But, I don’t feel like it’s something to be so wary of.”

When Sasha took her hand away from her mouth in response to Kleon’s question, she answered with a meaningful smile as always.

“In the first place, demonic beasts can occur naturally at any time. The Marang in the Marang Forest where I reigned was a demonic beast from birth. The bear demonic beast we saw in Elesia was an individual that had evolved by adapting to magic over a long period of time.”

“I know that. A demonic beast is just a name given by humans, and it’s actually a being close to a spirit.”

Ruben lengthened the end of his words, saying “Hmph” to Kleon’s answer.

“But humans, even knowing that, try to subjugate demonic beasts as a priority when they appear. The strong who appear in the natural world are a threat to human life.”

If demonic beasts are creatures that have endured numerous adversities in order to survive within the laws of the natural world, and their bodies are trained and imbued with magic to evolve,

They evolve in order to survive, and then, because of the strength they gain, they are considered dangerous to humans and are subjugated by them.

It’s a cruel and selfish story, but it could be said that it was unfortunate for them that humans had become too strong in the struggle for survival.

“Kuhuhu. It’s the same with humans. If one of them gains too much power, they treat them like monsters and persecute them. It’s not just something that beasts experience, so the oppression caused by the fear of the strong is human instinct.”

Kleon thinks that Ruben’s words make sense. Because humans hunting humans had happened countless times in history.

He thinks that it’s inevitable to keep a check on beings with more power than necessary, but he doesn’t intend to understand justifying their actions by attaching names such as demons, witches, or monsters to them.

“Isn’t that the kind of gaze that magic swordsmen like you receive?”

“Well. It seems a little different from that.”

The reason why magic swordsmen receive bad looks is primarily because of the existence of the scumbag known as the “Magic Sword Emperor.”

Next, they are beings that are opposed to the Holy Sword Warrior.

And, due to the nature of magic swords, the fact that there are many dark and gloomy people makes the gazes toward them negative.

“But… Mr. Kleon and Ms. Rubera too. If you talk to them directly, you can tell they are kind people.”

When Sasha said that, Kleon was silent for a moment. Is that really so?

That’s to some extent because Sasha is close to both of them. As for Kleon, they have even mixed bodies.

“…I’m not that great of a human, Sasha.”

“That’s not true! Mr. Kleon is-”

The moment Sasha said that much, a rustling sound was heard from above.

When the two of them simultaneously grabbed their bows and raised their heads, there was-

“…A spider?”

“Arachne…!”

A life form with the lower body of a huge spider and the upper body of a human female with a beautiful appearance growing from where the head should be.

The purple highlights in between the brown hair were like the protective coloration of a spider.

The upper body was naked, but swaying hair came down and barely covered the important parts.

At first glance, it could be mistaken for a half-human, half-animal monster such as a centaur or minotaur, but the case of Arachne is a bit special.

She is classified as a “demonic beast” that has evolved from a spider over a long period of time.

Researchers have made many speculations as to why spiders take on human form as they evolve.

The most influential theory was that the gods commonly worshiped by humans and spiders were involved in their evolution.

The spider-shaped goddess who unravels the threads of fate, “Utu.” Now, thanks to the strength of the Order of the Holy Guardians, the number of people with faith has decreased a lot, but.

Traces of her being an important god at one time remain in ruins all over the continent.

Like Ruben, who was worshiped in closed-off tribes in the frontier, she was a god who was moving away from her past glory and declining.

“Ah~ A subordinate of Utu. I knew it.”

Sasha—no, Ruben said that.

She was looking at Arachne with a slightly disappointed, no, unamused expression.

“Humans. This place is the domain of Utu. Return to your homes.”

Arachne, speaking quietly in a beautiful voice, looked down at Kleon and Sasha with purple, jewel-like eyes.

In particular, she seemed to be very wary of Sasha, who was possessed by Ruben.

In mythology, there are many stories about Utu, who protects the home, and Ruben, who has a tendency to be an invading god, fighting each other, so that must have been the influence.

“…I’m sorry, but we came here to hunt you. You attacked the humans who came into this forest, right?”

“…Humans. They ignored my warnings. They dug up Utu’s relics. I was just punishing them.”

Kleon and Sasha opened their eyes wide at her words.

“Is there a relic of Utu in this forest?”

“I, this is the first time I’ve heard of it. The person who came to us didn’t say anything like that….”

“…The clients were hiding it from the beginning.

In this case, the situation becomes complicated.

Of course, the Adventurer’s Guild wouldn’t want to communicate with a demonic beast and listen to her justification.

But the fault also lies with the humans.

Judging by her attitude, the humans who were harmed must have initially intended to end it with a warning.

Just by not attacking first even after experiencing the same thing, it could be seen that this Arachne was an individual that avoided unnecessary conflict with humans.

“What should we do…? Mr. Kleon.”

As I said before, the Forest of Virtue is also a place that is quite valued in the kingdom.

If it becomes known that Arachne has a nest in such a place, it wouldn’t be difficult to predict that they would lead an army and come to subjugate her.

“I warned you. …Any further. If you come inside and disturb my territory. You will be punished too.”

After saying that, Arachne turned her body and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Both Kleon and Sasha silently looked at her back for a while.

It was Sasha who opened her mouth first.

“…Should we go back and report?”

“No. Not only Arachne, but if the existence of that relic is revealed to humans, a large-scale subjugation force will be dispatched.”

“That’s…”

Kleon hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“…Let’s chase after her. Even if we don’t fight, there’s definitely a way to resolve it.”

“Just because you can talk to them doesn’t mean you can be sure that you can communicate and understand each other, Mr. Kleon.”

Ruben speaks once again by borrowing Sasha’s body.

“But I don’t intend to give up from the start. You were the one who said that demonic beasts are a part of nature. She’s not a threat to humans, not yet. Right? Sasha.”

“…That’s right. We were trying to hunt demonic beasts that threatened humans, not demonic beasts that were trying to protect their bodies and territory.”

Sasha also nodded and agreed with Kleon.

Then, Ruben let out a big sigh.

“Like master, like subordinate.”

Soon, she submerged her consciousness deep inside Sasha and didn’t open her mouth anymore.

“Let’s go. Sasha.”

“Yes…!”

For some reason, Sasha looked at Kleon with a slightly happy face.

She was thinking that what she was going to tell him earlier was definitely not wrong.