Chapter 160 – Episode 160. By the Demon King.
“… Is this the place called Demon King’s Territory?”
By the time I got out of the fort and came ashore.
Celica held her breath at the overwhelming feeling of the scenery in front of her.
Even in the state of memory loss, knowledge remains, so I know the concept of a forest, but the scale far exceeds the expected scale.
As if they were dwarfs standing here.
“Yes, as explained before, from now on we intend to cross this place and seek out someone who can heal you.”
Verdia immediately gave an explanation to Celica’s astonishment.
But even she kept her cool, she couldn’t suppress her face hardening.
The gigantic forest spread out in front of her was so large that it surpassed even the biggest forest she had ever seen in her life.
‘To feel astonished as soon as you arrive at the deepest part of the Demon King’s Territory, I guess you can’t be proud of your experience.’
Since it is a place deeper than the front line, is it natural that I didn’t even know about its existence?
However, even though they came inside so much, the Demon King’s army did not follow up with a single trace.
With that alone, I fully felt the strategic utility of a mobile fortress capable of diving, but as the fortress’ help was only this far, I shouldn’t relax now.
“… Can we do it well?”
Feeling such uneasiness, Celica began to tremble.
Verdia, who read her feelings, put a hand on her shoulder and said firmly.
“You don’t have to worry, Celica. The people who will travel with you from now on are the most carefully selected and reliable people among mankind.”
“Ah, yes… Verdia-san is that, the 10 strongest? Did you say She’s one of the strongest people in humanity…”
“I’m not the type to brag about myself, but to erase your anxiety, I’ll have to show my confidence this time.”
Saying that, Verdia confidently tapped her armored chest.
After that, her toughness as a warrior began to stand out in her two eyes that were calmly opened.
“…Then, let me introduce myself once again.”
“I am Verdia, a knight who protects the human union and a priestess who serves Valkarian, the god of war. And from now on, it will become a shield that will do its best to protect you.”
Yes, from this moment onwards, she is about to carry out her mission as a knight to protect those in front of her.
The determination she saw at this moment was accompanied by a greater determination than her oath to live as a warrior by dedicating her life.
No matter how much you grow strong for the cause, there are only a limited number of people you can save.
However, only one hero who has the possibility to save everyone can be protected by himself.
“Please, may the blessings of Valkarian be with you who have been on this journey together.”
She, who had lived solely for that, felt that her efforts shined through as she faced the person who would now own her.
Even if the mind of the person in front of me is not intact.
Because I firmly believe that at the end of this journey, I will surely save everyone.
“… Whoa, who would know how invincible he is?”
But maybe you don’t like that attitude?
After escaping from the fortress, Ymir, who had followed behind, vomited sarcasm at Verdia and immediately began to approach Celica.
“Ah, sister Ymir.”
Celica expresses her joy towards Ymir.
“Yes, sister, you bastard.”
Ymir responded to Celica with a sharp voice and brought a shoe to her shin.
Although the power was small enough to make a loud noise, the moment it accurately stabbed what could be called a vital part of the leg.
“What’s wrong!?”
“What? See how your body shrinks after being hit? How far is the road ahead, but can I write it if I close my eyes with this?”
“Ah yes. Sorry, sorry… Do.”
“Sorry, I have to wake up soon. Aren’t your shoulders bleeding? Ok?”
“Yes, yes!!”
Celica bursts into bloom at her threat.
Confusion was preceded by the completely different appearance from her first meeting, but even after reading those feelings, Ymir did not change her sharp attitude.
“… Seriously, the more I look at him, the more I hate him.”
The moment she let out her true feelings, Celica tensed up and put her hand on her pounding chest.
“Did I, did I do something wrong…?”
“I was wrong. If you think about why we came to such a dangerous place in the first place.”
“So don’t be excited just because you’ve come to a strange place, just follow me quietly. If you go out and endanger us all, I won’t let you go.”
“Yes, yes. Got it…”
Serica tries to answer Yumir’s words even though she is intimidated.
At that moment, Verdia stretched out her hand in front of Celica and put a stop to her apology to Yumir.
“… Ymir. What are you doing?”
It was because he did not like Ymir’s attitude at this moment.
However, Ymir was not intimidated by such an attitude, and only raised his glasses that hid his eyes.
“What are you doing? From now on, we are giving mental education in advance to make sure that an idiot who will make us tired will have an accident.”
“As I said before, Celica has now lost her memories! If you treat it like you normally do, and something big happens like before…”
“Oh hey, this lady is starting to nag again.”
“Ah, aunt… !”
“Okay, if you have something to say, come over here. Don’t crumple your image in front of a kid for no reason.”
Yumir points a finger at her as if it’s okay.
Seeing him, Verdia clenched her fists as if indignant, then looked back at Celica while keeping her cool.
“Serica, please stay here with Heira for a while.”
“Ah yes.”
Verdia leaves her side before even hearing her answer.
Afterwards, she followed her Yumir far away and tried to express her frustration, but she sighed deeply and said with her head down.
“… Are you okay with this?”
A worried voice.
Yumir responded by raising her glasses and bursting out with a smirk.
“Haha, are you worried that I will be hated by that kid now?”
“… It’s natural. Ymir, you are also a colleague who will share life and death with us from now on.”
“Don’t worry. Even while you were gone, it was something I did to my heart’s content.”
Emotions are, in the end, a consumable resource.
If you disperse the object of your anger to yourself, you may be able to prevent the situation in which your mind collapses due to resentment and fear as before.
Yeah, I’m not sure, but it’s better than nothing.
“If I had to play the villain at this party, I would be the right person. I whip you, you give me carrots… Isn’t it easy to understand and nice?”
“… Huh.”
Verdia sighed deeply at Yumir’s words and clutched her forehead.
It was an unwelcome way for Verdia, who values ties, but she had no choice but to accept it in the end as the situation was the situation.
No matter how carefully the party members were selected from the human race, they had no information about the depths of the demon lord.
If you want to travel with someone who possesses that information, you will need to take this level of preparation.
“… It’s important for Dave, but don’t overdo it.”
“I know.”
At the end of Verdia’s nod, Yumir raised her glasses and turned her gaze to Celica.
She had just come down from the fort, to the masked and hooded porter standing in front of her.
“Ah, there…”
A tall man carrying a huge luggage bag covering his entire body without a single hole.
While Celika was nervous at seeing her for the first time after coming to her senses, Celika, who was seated next to him, immediately explained to Celika.
“He’s our party’s porter.”
“… A porter, you mean?”
“Yeah, literally the one who lifts the load. Besides that, I do chores like cooking and laundry.”
After that, the introduction to the porter continues through Heira’s mouth.
But for some reason, his face had a very gloomy color. Contrary to how he expressed his delight in the first meeting, as if there was something unclear about the man standing next to me.
“… Nice to meet you. Mr. Celica. I am a porter who is in charge of the party’s chores.”
A man who doesn’t care about such an atmosphere and introduces himself right away.
Faced with that greeting, Celica immediately lowered her head and prepared to reach out her hand toward him.
“Ah yes. Nice to meet you, Mr. Porter… No, we will be together from now on, but it would be rude to call you a porter, right?”
“…”
“… He, can you tell me your name?”
A porter who is still silent even after being asked for a handshake.
The answer came after a considerable amount of time had passed.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a great name to introduce.”
Just talking like that and just passing by.
“I’m just a porter carrying luggage at this party. It’s just a part of this party…”
“Yes? But…”
“Then I will take the lead with Mr. Heira to open the way. I hope the three of you will follow carefully.”
I have to say it ends with it.
Afterwards, when he left the seat with a blunt attitude, Heira quietly bowed her head to Celica, who was embarrassed, and followed him.
“…Dave.”
The speech opened after a certain distance.
Dave, who stopped at Heira’s call, stopped there and listened to the words that followed her.
“Serica, I didn’t recognize Dave.”
“… That’s right.”
“Really, I forgot what happened before. About Dave, and what I felt while watching Dave…”
“That is fortunate. At least, as long as I don’t see your face again, there’s nothing to be excited about.”
A gaze fixed on the road that still wants to move forward.
Heira asked cautiously, staring at Dave’s back hidden by the luggage bag.
“Are you going to keep hiding it from now on?”
“…”
“… Dave.”
I stopped when I went behind the tree.
Heira, ahead of Dave, who had advanced so much, lowered her head and began to shed gloom.
“I hate this. If we get to know each other like before…”
-Thud!
The moment the luggage bag on my back fell.
The luggage inside might have broken under its own weight, but Dave didn’t stop.
“… Dave.”
“Are you okay.”
He hugged Heira’s body as it was.
She rested her forehead on that shoulder.
“Once this job is over, I’m sure it will be all right.”
The calmness in his voice taught him that he was really taking this situation lightly.
As far as the voice.
However, Heira is a person born with more sensitive senses than humans.
He seemed to be pretending to be calm, but the trembling I felt as he hugged me at this moment taught me that he was enduring many things.
Responsibility for Celica becoming like that.
The frustration of not being able to reveal herself in front of her, and the anxiety of whether she will really return to her original state at the end of this journey.
And above all…
With all of her memories back, she felt certain that she couldn’t maintain a relationship with her like she had before.
“… Huh.”
But even though Heira felt all of that, she finally agreed to his words.
Because nothing has been confirmed yet.
In an unknown future, wouldn’t it be too harsh to say that the only thing waiting for is tragedy?
“Surely, everything will be fine.”
That’s why, at this moment, Heira hoped that the anxiety she felt was just for nothing.
Please, as if you were saved.
He hoped and hoped that salvation would come to the man he fell in love with as well.
***
That way.
Alexei, the commander of Atlas Fortress, who was watching from the deck as the warrior party finally disappeared to the other side of the Demon King’s territory, turned his back on the spot and took off his mask.
Realizing that now is the time to return to the king of Argentin, the owner of the fortress, not the temporary commander.
“Did you leave the warrior party?”
A carefree voice was heard at that moment.
It seemed like there was no manners at all, but Arhen decided not to pay attention to that.
It is not a person who can be controlled by putting on a leash in the first place, and the opponent is also a person who has the strength to do so.
“Okay, now we have to do our job.”
“Heh heh, no matter what, seeing that he dragged them to such a gigantic fortress, it must have been very determined and prepared.”
Whoa, the continent’s top 10 strongman who exhales smoke from the cigarette in his mouth.
A man who was once called a legendary adventurer confidently asked in front of the king.
“Once I heard that he was doing something in the Demon King’s Territory, but I followed him… What did His Highness come all the way here to do?”
There was no courtesy to be found, but there was something that could be called loyalty in that attitude.
From the clear smile facing yourself.
Because he felt more mad than himself, who was called a renegade.
“Bardos, from now on, I’m planning to aim to become an executive in the Demon King’s Army.”
Yes, as the king himself, casually mentioning crazy things that even people in the shadows would not dare to dare to say.
Wouldn’t it be natural for a wicked person to feel respect?
