Chapter 204 – One Step.
“That voice…”
The woman recalled the knight she had encountered in her forge, and she was lost in thought. Because his voice was so similar to her that he had engraved her unforgettable pain. She knew it couldn’t be, but could it really be him? She was wondering if she should go back and check.
“Rachel.”
She might have gone back to check it out if it hadn’t been for the one person who came up to her and quietly lowered her head and spoke to her.
“What happened?”
When she asks, he whispers quietly.
“The King of Parz tells us to stop by the inner district.”
“You mean now?”
Even though she had arrived quite a while ago, she frowned at the behavior of the king, who had left her in the outer quarters, let alone the inner ones. She didn’t, but she needed to stay long to maintain and check the cathedral here, but it was even reprehensible that she had left them alone while they were still celebrating.
“Looks like we’ve been quite easygoing.”
I think it can’t be helped because it hasn’t been long since they took possession of the Holy Land, but this is too much. Before returning to the cathedral, she looked around the smithy once more.
“…”
Although it could not be denied that she was more wary of the knight because her voice was so similar to the one she knew.
“If by any chance a child with yellow blond hair comes to the church with bandages wrapped around her body, please ask for special attention.”
Even after the blue woman left, Krikaliev, who had been looking for things in the forge for a while, brought several plates that seemed to be made of leather.
“Is this a protective gear?”
He had tried on protective gear, but what he was carrying seemed a bit different from what Usher knew. If the protective gear he had originally known was a thick top and bottom with a lot of thick leather added to the necessary parts, what he was carrying looked like small shields made of separate leather.
“It’s called a protective plate, to be precise.”
It was awkward for him to still speak someone else’s voice, but Usher accepted the protective plate he held out.
“Isn’t that too light?”
It was quite hard because it was covered with a lot of leather, but no matter how many pieces it was divided into, the leather part felt thinner and lighter than Usher’s original protective gear. If you try to block the attack a few times, the leather will be torn off.
“I think you’re talking about leather armor. This one is a little different.”
Then he lifted the same protective plate he had given to Usher and showed the back. There was a wide piece of cloth wrapped around the body, probably used to tie it to the body. Soon after, Krikaliev put a small protective plate on Usher’s elbow and wrapped it around it. Then, the protective plate attached to the top of the bandage as if it had been originally looked like a protective device when viewed this way.
“Because this is an item normally used by hunters.”
“Come to think of it, I said I was going hunting.”
I wondered if that would really help save Belka, but I decided to follow it. Because I couldn’t see any other way.
“The thickness is thin and the iron plate inside is ambiguous because it only feels like an assortment, but one of the conveniences will be superior to other armor.”
“It’s definitely comfortable to move around.”
After putting on all of the padding he gave me, he felt much less of a hindrance to his movement than the one he was wearing. At least the protective plates that only covered the chest, shoulders, elbows and knees were questionable in their usefulness, and moving was really comfortable. But the other part was the problem.
“How long do I have to wear this uniform?”
Usher was still in his uniform. With protective plates added on top of the uniform, it became a clothes that I couldn’t understand what to say.
“Hmm, sure it’s a little bit like wearing a uniform all the time. I’ll have to stop by the clothing store.”
Usher cheered inwardly at the thought of finally being able to change out of this loathsome outfit. I’d have to pay him back for the clothes later, but anyway, it was important to take off these clothes. How uncomfortable have you been because people’s eyes have been bothering you?
“What’s this!!?”
But the joy was short-lived. I bought a protective plate at the smithy and went to a clothing store, but what Krikaliev bought at the clothing store was a skirt that felt like a uniform.
“You’ve been doing that for a while, aren’t you used to it? It’ll be more comfortable when fighting.”
“That’s not the problem…”
Usher lamented that he should have followed him into the clothing store. Since he had already left the clothing store and was near Jeremiah’s house, he couldn’t say anything. In the end, Usher had no choice but to change into the clothes he had bought and put on a protective shield over them. Feeling the familiar wind between my legs made me feel uncomfortable, so I wrapped the bandage tighter for no reason.
“So what are you hunting?”
“Once you see it, you’ll immediately get a sense of what you’re trying to do.”
Krikaliev, who had returned to his original voice, handed Usher a long one-handed sword and a dagger that he had given him before.
“Is it okay not to bring arrows and spears?”
I could understand even the dagger, but when I asked if it was normal to bring a bow or spear when it comes to hunting, he thought about it for a moment.
“If you tried to challenge me with something like that, I would think you were cowardly and would really kill you.”
“What the hell are you hunting for, so you even consider that?”
After hearing his words, I wondered if it was right to go hunting animals in the first place. Either that or not, Krikaliev grabbed a bag and started walking toward the forest, and Usher had no choice but to follow without saying anything. The mangrove forest he entered was still unfamiliar to Usher. Branches and leaves that stretched upward blocked the sunlight, but the roots of the trees were even more spooky, showing their roots extending like branches above them even though they were in water up to his knees.
In a place like this, no one would see it anyway, but the feeling of the damp water riding up to a place that was wet and heavy made me think that I should have taken off my bandages before coming. It didn’t seem strange that something was passing under the water, so I felt something rubbing against my leg, and when I left, Krikaliev stopped walking.
“Did you find something?”
He asked him if he had found his prey, but all he got back was the sound of something sharp tearing the wind. Before Usher could react, the sound stopped with a splash near his leg.
“Tsk, did you put any kind of aphrodisiac on your body to see Pacitilla already targeting you?”
“Yes?”
As Usher wondered, Krikaliev came over to him, reached into the missing sound, and pulled out something.
“What is it?”
It was the first creature Usher had ever seen. It looked like an earthworm with a white skin that seemed slippery to look at, but it was thicker than Usher’s forearm and as long as Usher’s height.
“It is a monster called Pacitilla that grows wild in Parz.”
“A monster?”
“I don’t know if you look at it this way.”
He grabbed the guy’s body with his other hand.
“Usually, he swims under the water like he does now, but when he finds a target.”
And the red body that was revealed immediately after taking off the white skin of the guy was familiar to Usher as well. The thing that looked like a man’s thing was too foreign to think that such a creature would have it, so it taught me that it was a monster.
“I’m digging right in and restraining you. However, since you’re a man this time, I guess you were going to drag me into the water, drown me, and then eat me.”
“You think that’s all over here?”
He got goosebumps at the fact that something like that was slithering and swimming beneath the surface where he had walked casually until now.
“You don’t have to worry too much. About two months ago, I had an affair and hunted all over these guys and subdued them, so it won’t be too crowded.”
“The fact that such a thing exists is horrifying.”
Usher felt goose bumps running through his arm, when Krikaliev opened his mouth.
“But you have to run away first.”
“Yes? Why?”
“Don’t talk, just jump out!”
He then grabbed Usher and started running. Usher wondered what the hell was going on, but he soon figured out why. For behind them came so lingering that white things, apparently the same ones Krikaliev had just killed, could be seen swimming on the water.
“…He said it was less! He said it was less!! He said it was less!!!”
“That’s too small if you look at it as a whole! I didn’t know that now is the breeding season!”
It was surprising that even that was a small number, but the next words bothered me.
“I mean, you should know about the breeding season of monsters in advance!”
“Normally, it doesn’t matter! Some of the women get hurt or go missing after entering the city, but they don’t target men so aggressively!”
I thought that was also a problem, but now their problem was important.
“Then why are you doing that now!?”
“I don’t know!! Have you ever applied something like a real monster’s aphrodisiac?!”
“I’ve never worn anything like that!!”
Donard had heard of monsters using them, but he couldn’t understand the idea of applying them.
“Can’t we go up there?!”
Then, what they discovered was a land made of sand and wood chips piled up between the roots of mangrove trees. I wondered if I could go up there.
“They’re amphibious! Come up on land for a while!”
There was no answer to that either. If so, I was at a loss as to what to do. It seemed that even a knight would get tired if he kept running like this. That was the moment.
– Woo woo woo.
I heard an ear-piercing cry from somewhere. Usher was afraid of being a monster again, but Krikaliev rather started running in the direction of the sound.
“What are you doing right now!?”
“What are you doing! I found a way, so I’m not going!”
Then he runs faster. It was so fast that the headwind was stinging. But that was only for a moment.
“Okay, we’ve arrived.”
“Ugh, have you arrived?”
When they opened their eyes to the undisturbed voice of his, they were still in the mangrove forest.
“Where do you arrive!”
The water was still at their feet and it seemed that something even darker had entered deeper. Even the number of white figures that appeared to be pacitillas increased somehow, and I saw a few looking around with their heads stretched out above the water, as if looking for them in the distance.
“Run away quickly! Yes? If you keep going like this, you’ll really be eaten!”
Usher hastily urged him on, but Krikaliev was still holding him up.
“Don’t worry too much. If you have to, you can use it as a last resort.”
“What the hell is that?”
However, Usher couldn’t wait to ask for more water, and when he saw one of the pacitillas looking around on the surface, they spotted them and went under the water all at once. He really doubted whether he could stay like this, but since he said he was also a paladin, he thought that there would be something wrong and stayed still. Still, it was a time when he was contemplating whether he could really run away from the approaching guys.
– Woo woo woo woo!
There was a very loud cry that rang in the ears that I had heard just before, and at the same time, something fell on top of them. Cooong! The ground shuddered with a clatter, and with the impact, the white sand and water mixed and rose high, and I could see their white bodies being swept away in pieces.
“Wow! Whoop! Ugh, voila! What the hell happened?”
Looking at it, I asked after shaking off the sand and salty taste that had entered my mouth.
“Look up.”
Looking up without any explanation was questionable, but Usher finally found it.
“What is that?”
Huge and long hair that reaches to the ground, huge molars that curve inward like a sword held in reverse, blue-grey skin and a body that completely covers the sky. It was arguably the largest creature Usher had ever seen. The darkening of the forest was not simply because they entered the depths of the forest.
“Giga notogetus, one of the few that feeds on pacitilla.”
They were now under the belly of the giant creature.
“…You didn’t come here to hunt that, did you?”
“Are you crazy?”
