Chapter 426 – Reunion
Hestia looked around.
‘The three knights were cut by cutting weapons…’
The two were able to see that they had fallen under the magic of the demon while running away.
Somewhat small traces of bleeding and vibrating magical energy.
It is a characteristic of magic that utilizes the blood unique to demons.
All circumstances indicate that they were attacked by demons.
‘What about Bark and Karen?’
Their bodies were not visible.
‘Did you get hit by a demon while looking for them? Is Bark further away? Or not…’
“…”
‘They were attacked by demons while chasing Bark. Is this really a coincidence?’
Hestia felt her suspicions about Bark, which had been completely submerged, creeping up.
And if demons are roaming around here, we cannot guarantee the safety of Bark and Karen.
Hestia took out a round bead-like object from her bag next to her own battle horse.
A mysterious pattern was engraved on the surface of the bead. This bead was an emergency communication artifact provided by Terra Bridge.
As Hestia grasps her orb and infuses it with her divine power, a soft light flows into the pattern.
After confirming that the artifact was activated, Hestia began speaking to her orb.
“Alma, we found traces of demons on the road leading to Ramona. I would like you to request assistance and dispatch personnel to investigate. Just in case, I will go to Ramona. I will contact you again when I arrive at Ramona’s temple.”
As Hestia finished speaking, the beads in her hand became light, scattered, and soared into the sky. And the beam of light flew in the direction of Crea.
That light will quickly convey Hestia’s story to Alma, the high-ranking priest at Crea’s temple.
Hestia rode the war horse again and headed to Ramona’s territory.
*
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*
After leaving the road, Karen and I took a rough forest path to avoid meeting anyone.
I didn’t go into the deep forest.
They moved at a distance from the road that people could barely notice.
Although monsters occasionally appeared, they were not difficult opponents for Karen and me.
Right now, it was safer for us to be in the forest without people than on the road.
The original travel plan was to rest in a small town on the way to Ramona, but I gave up on that too.
We continued to sleep in the forest to avoid being seen as much as possible and headed to Ramona.
Has it been about a week?
We left the rough forest path and set foot in the meadow.
On the grassland, a city surrounded by a castle was visible.
It was Ramona, the central city of Ramona territory.
Ramona is a territory south of Crea.
I roughly heard that it is a larger territory than Crea.
Just looking at the size of the castle wall from a distance, it looks bigger.
‘If we’ve come this far, wouldn’t we be able to feel at ease to some extent?’
Even if Little Lord Krea has bad feelings towards me, she cannot interfere with other nobles’ estates other than her own.
I presented my knighthood medal to the guard guarding the castle gate.
“Are you… Sir?”
The guard’s gaze on the two of us is full of suspicion. If I roughly interpret it, I would say it’s a look of ‘Is this an article?’
I understood why the guard had this attitude.
In the first place, it was a bit unseemly for the engineer to certify with a certification medal.
Originally, knights usually wore expensive armor and rode horses, so they got a free pass without having to show such proof.
I’ve experienced that before too.
Although he was not a knight at the time, he passed through the castle gate without any restraint because he was wearing magical armor.
Although I washed up constantly in a place like a stream while coming here, I can’t hide the feeling of weariness from the long trip.
Moreover, to anyone who sees me wearing leather armor, I look like an ordinary mercenary, so I had no choice but to do something like this.
The guard’s gaze moves to Karen standing next to me.
“She is my squire.”
Karen also nods her head firmly as if what I am saying is correct.
“Is that so…”
Anyway, the gate guard was shocked, but he let us through.
Ramona felt crowded compared to Crea before her. Is it natural that the city is big?
*
*
*
I managed to get a room at an inn that seemed to have good facilities.
It was nice to see the roof and bed after a long time.
I couldn’t help but feel glad after spending over a week sleeping outside.
Karen seemed fine on the outside, but she must have been quite tired.
More than anything, what I wanted most was a shower.
Even if you come here by washing in a valley or stream, the mustiness of long-term homelessness is inevitable.
I took a refreshing shower with Karen and changed into light clothes. And then I went down to the restaurant to eat.
There, I was able to find a person who showed off his presence more than anyone else in the inn restaurant.
“Hestia…”
Hestia was welcoming me with an awkward look.
“Bark… It’s been a while.”
Long time no see?
Well… It’s not wrong since it’s been over a week since I last saw you, but it was an unexpected and quick meeting.
Why does he come out here?
“Bark… Is it inconvenient for me to come to you?”
Rather than simply asking if it’s uncomfortable, Hestia’s eyes are full of signs of examining something else.
I remember those eyes…
It was similar to when I first met her.
“Hmm… That can’t be possible… I met a reliable paladin friend, so why would I feel uncomfortable?”
*
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*
I met an unexpected person, but he was someone I couldn’t criticize.
I’m a little curious about how she came to find me, but I figured it wouldn’t be that difficult if she was capable.
The promise that I would buy food someday came true rather quickly.
“Hestia, I didn’t expect to see you here… What happened?”
I feel like I know roughly why I came, but of course I can’t pretend to know that.
“Hmm… Somehow it happened like that.”
“Did you really want to eat the food I bought? Or… Did you have feelings for me? I’m just being honest, but my heart is ready to accept you at any time.”
“… That’s not it!”
Her face is a little red… I don’t know if she’s embarrassed… Or angry, but she looks a little cute.
Hestia immediately looked straight and asked me.
“Bark, this is not the time for jokes. Why are you only now arriving at Ramona? I haven’t been able to find you. I wonder… Did something happen on the way here?”
It may be an ordinary question, but I thought this was the beginning of an interrogation.
“Hmm? What happened? Karen and I walked into the forest the whole way here, and we just arrived in Ramona. We don’t know much about the news outside yet.”
“You moved to the forest…? Why did you do that?”
“I decided to take Karen as my squire. I moved to the forest to also train Karen, who was still lacking.”
“Hmm… I guess so…”
It was an excuse to make if someone asked about it. I didn’t know it was Hestia.
It was also true that while going into the forest, he trained Karen to deal with her monsters.
“Bark, actually I arrived here a few days ago.”
“… If you were going to come anyway, shouldn’t you have told me? Shouldn’t you have accompanied me?”
If I had left Crea with Hestia, those knights wouldn’t have attacked me like that, and a more comfortable trip would have been possible.
“At that time, I had no intention of coming to Ramona.”
“Really? Then why…”
Hestia put on a serious expression, brought her face closer to me, and quietly opened her mouth.
“A serious incident occurred.”
“… Serious incident?”
“A demon has appeared.”
“… Demons? In this city?”
She instinctively knew he was talking about what happened on the Crea Road, but she pretended not to know and kept her poker face.
“No, it was towards Crea territory. Five knights of Crea were found dead by demons on the road leading to Ramona.”
“Have you dealt with that demon?”
“No, his whereabouts are unknown. The temple is still diligently searching for him, but… This is the first time he has disappeared so neatly.”
“A demon has appeared in Crea Territory, why are you here?”
“That… Made me suspect that the demons might have moved this way.”
“I thought you came here because you missed me so much… Wasn’t that true?”
“Hmph. That’s not it.”
“There’s nothing to say so firmly.”
“Hmm… Don’t be so disappointed. Although I came because of the demon’s investigation, it’s true that I’m glad to meet you again.”
I barely got rid of it, but we meet again like this…
This is all because of Crea So Young-ju.
But I can’t reveal my uncomfortable feelings in front of Hestia.
Looking at the sharp look in her eyes that she often gave me, I knew once again that it was a wise choice to go out of her way.
If she had walked down the street as usual, Hestia’s attitude would not have ended like this. Otherwise, she might not have been able to escape the Crea territory.
“Hestia, do you plan on staying at Ramona?”
“I plan on doing that for a while. Bark… What about you?”
It wasn’t very good news.
“I plan to stay here for a while. I was planning to take a break from my travels for a few days and stop by the mercenary guild. Hestia, if you want to buy me food, you can come by anytime.”
“… Okay, I understand.”
Hestia laughed and responded to my shameless words.
