Sisyphe

　The next morning we leave the Kingdom of Arum.
　There is no place for people to live beyond this place.
　So we have to prepare a lot of things.
　Preserved food, drinking water, and tools for camping. We have to take these things with us into the forest.
　Since we had to carry all these things, we had to use a lot of energy.
　The most important thing in this outdoor activity is the ability to make decisions.
　You must never overdo it.
　Even if you think you can still do your best, if you push yourself too hard, you will die sooner or later.
　The most reliable person in this outdoor activity is Nora.
　She is from the Oreiad clan, known as the Mountain Elves, and is very good at outdoor activities.
　If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have thought of doing any outdoor activities.
　Nora and her sister Keina lead the way through the forest. Then me and Maddy. Finally, it's Miss Leiria and Novice.

'Maddie. Can we go?

　I talk to Maddy, who walks next to me. Maddy, the sorceress, is the least strong of all of them.

'It's okay, Siz. Besides, you won't get any real knowledge if you're this frail,''

　Maddy says with a laugh.

'As I recall, you can't gain true knowledge by reading only books?'
Yeah. Shizu. You can't just stay indoors. You can't get true knowledge unless you actually go out and see and hear things, not just read books. That's why you have to get used to outdoor activities.

　With that, Maddie walked briskly.

'And Siz. It's a lot easier to walk here than I thought it would be.'

　Maddy is certainly right. It's easier to walk than I thought it would be.

'That's just as well, Siszfe and Maddy. A lot of people must have come and gone in the last few days. The path is easy to follow. It should be easy to walk.

　He must have heard the story. Nora, walking in front of us, turns around and says

'A bunch of people? What is this all about, Mr. Nora?
'It's like I said, Sisyphe. Probably a warrior, the way you walk.
"Warrior?　Are you from the Kingdom of Arum?
'I don't know about that. But we keep going back and forth to the same place. I'm sure there's something up ahead.

　Listen to Nora and think about it.
　What does it mean?
　Bormos says that there are only the ruins of giants down the road.
　I hear that there is nothing to be paid for in that place. Is it enough of a place to go there again and again?
　I don't know what to think. We rush ahead.
　Perhaps it is because of the good weather, goblins are unlikely to be encountered. If it had been cloudy or rainy, the goblins might have shown up.
　However, we shouldn't be caught off guard.
　There are demons that are active even in the daytime, and wild beasts such as wolves.
　Wild beasts don't use magic, so they're not as dangerous as magical beasts, but that's just in comparison.
　We don't want to encounter wolves or bears.
　On the way, we pause for lunch and we reach the ruins of a giant.
　It's not yet evening, but it's not safe to act at night.
　We can't push ourselves, we'll spend the night here.
　The ruins of the giants are the places where the giants are said to have once fought against the gods.
　Most of the structures, built of huge stones that could not be carried by humans, are broken, but they remain enough to keep out the wind and rain for humans.
　Once inside, we built a fire and prepared to make camp.

'Thank goodness we have a good place to light the fire,'

　Ms. Leiria says, unloading her bags.

'Yes, Mr. Leiria. It's important to have a place to build a fire when you're making an encampment. There won't be any green men here.'

　When you camp in the forest, you have to be careful with fire.
　Where these trees are plentiful, green men can live in them.
　Green Men are similar to humans in shape and form, but instead of hair, they have leaves on their bodies.
　Some are about the size of goblins, while others are as large as giants.
　They live in places where trees are plentiful and are very quiet.
　But if you make them angry, they will not forgive you and will always try to kill you.
　They are very strong and use powerful magic. Humans will not be able to defeat them.
　In the past, there were countries that tried to cut through the forest to create cultivated land.
　However, the forest was inhabited by green men (green men).
　The country incurred the wrath of the Green Man, who raided its habitat, and all of its citizens were cursed with the curse of the parasitic tree and perished.
　It is said that even today, if you go to the site of that country, you will find the carcasses of the people who grew the trees lying around.
　And one of the things that pisses them off is the use of fire near where they live.
　So you have to be careful when you use fire in the forest.
　The inside of this giant's ruins is not overgrown with trees. As expected, there will be no Green Man.

'I'm back, guys, I got some nuts. We can use them for dinner.
And you guys!　There's a spring near here, man!

　Nora and her sister Kayna, who had been on their rounds, return.

'Really?!　Then I'll go wash up for a bit.

　That's honestly nice to hear.
　I've been walking and sweating all morning. I need a wipe down.

"Bathing. I don't care.

　Novis, who is lying down, says.
　Novis doesn't need to wash up for about three months, apparently.

'Oh God, Novis!　You should wash your body when you can!　You are sooo good. It stinks sometimes!

　I scold Novice.

'Hey, hey, what are you talking about? Sisyphe. If you're a top-notch warrior, you'd better get used to not washing your body. They can be outside the walls for days at a time, you know. Bathing is a luxury, man.

　Novis responds with a flutter of his hand.
　He certainly has a point. Sometimes you can't bathe for days at a time in outdoor activities, as we are doing now.
　So you should get used to not being able to wash yourself.
　However, in Novice's case, I have a feeling that he just doesn't like baths.

'Well, that's good, Siszfe. Let's go take a bath.
Hey!　Sister Kena!　Don't get naked in front of Novice!

　Kayna's sister takes off her clothes.
　My sister Kayna likes to spend time naked.
　My sister Kayna and I live together, but most of the time she doesn't wear anything when she's in her room.
　She doesn't listen to me when I warn her, so I've been leaving her alone lately.
　It's probably better just not to be naked outside.
　But now I have Novice. He's not allowed to show his nakedness to any man other than my husband.

'I don't mind if it's Novice. I've shown him before.
！！！！

　Kayna sister says and Novice blurts out.

'Already, sister Kayna. That was when you were a kid. It's not the same now, you can't. Come on, let's go.

　It's not the same as it was when I was a kid, and that's okay.
　I pull my sister Kayna to the spring.
　I wash up and prepare dinner, and soon it's nighttime.
　The dinner was something I got in the Kingdom of Arum. Naturally, everything is preserved.
　Dried bread, dried fruit and cheese. Dried bread is hard, so you have to boil water to soak it up a bit to eat it.
　This dried bread is not very tasty, but a warrior should be able to be one.

Now that we've finished eating, let's take turns resting.

　When you rest, someone has to take a turn to keep the fire going.
　Besides, there's always the possibility of an attack from a demon.
　Just in case, I made a simple alarm system.
　It's a system of ropes strung around the ruins, so that if anything passes through it, it will make a sound.
　I'm sure it will be fine with Nora, who has a high level of sensory ability, but just in case.
　We'll draw a lottery to determine the order of rest.

'Well, I'll take a break then.

　As soon as Novis lies down, he starts snoring.

'Great. I'm already asleep.

　Maddie looks at Novice admiringly.

'It's another talent, isn't it: ......

　Rest when you can, the irony of being a warrior.
　Novice is definitely a warrior's talent. He eats everything and doesn't complain about not being able to bathe like I do.
　I could learn a thing or two from him.
　We'll take shifts.
　After the time is up and I take my turn, Leiria takes over.
　And it was time to lie down and doze off.
　A tree branch I had tied to a string begins to crackle.

'Ladies and gentlemen. Please wake up!

　Leiria's voice wakes us up.

'What's up?　Leiria?
We heard a noise. Mr. Caina. Something may have come in.

　We look at Ms. Nora.
　Nora shakes her head.

'I didn't feel anything. But you'd better take your weapon. Maybe that thing got in. If so, it's not good.

　Nora's face is serious in the light of the fire.
　We take up our weapons. We don't have time to put on our armor, as expected.
　We are wary against the wall.
　That's when it happened. We feel a strong wind.

"It's coming!　Sizfe!

　Nora shouts.
　I hold my shield towards the wind.
　And the next moment, I fall over with a strong impact.
　When I look, I see a black dog-like demonic beast as big as a calf biting into my shield.

''Black Demon Dog (Black Dog)!　You've been magically distracting me!

　Nora shoots an arrow at the Black Demon Dog (Black Dog).
　The black demon dog (Black Dog) lets go of his shield and flutters back and ducks the arrow.
　It moves fast.

''Konnyaro!　How dare you Sisyphe!

　Kaina's sister approaches Black Dog with her quick movements.
　She should be able to keep up with Black Dog's movements.

''Watch out!　Kena!　He controls the shadows!

　Nora urges her sister Kayna to be careful.
　But it's a step too late, and a black haze shoots out from the Black Demon Dog (Black Dog).
　The black haze attacks the upper half of sister Kayna's body.

''d*mn! I can't see!

　Having lost sight of the target, sister Kayna's spear pokes through the empty space.

''Look out, Kayna-san!

　Ms. Leylia defends her sister, Kayna.
　The Black Demon Dog attacked the blinded sister Keina.
　The Black Dog hit Leiria and was blown away along with her sister Kayna.

''Magic Wind!　Be the shackles of bondage!

　Maddy shoots a spell at the Black Demon Dog (Black Dog).
　However, she doesn't seem to be particularly restricted in her movements.

''Lie!　They resisted!

　Maddy screams.
　Her strength, quickness, and magical resistance are high. She's a formidable foe.
　But there must be a way.

Nora!　Please, lead them to the wall!

　I exclaim.

'You have a plan!　I get it!

　Nora fires a series of arrows.
　The Black Demon Dog (Black Dog) goes to the wall, avoiding the arrows.

'Novice!　Go ahead and shove it!
Hey!

　Novis raises his greatsword and lunges at Black Demon Dog (Black Dog).
　Naturally, Black Dog will try to avoid it.
　But I'm not going to let him do that.

''Lady Raina!　Blessings!

　I create a shield for Lady Raina in the direction of the Black Demon Dog's (Black Dog) escape.
　The shield becomes a wall, blocking the Black Demon Dog's (Black Dog) escape.

''Gaaaaaaaah!

　The Black Demon Dog (Black Dog) shoots a black haze at Novice, but it's useless because there's nowhere to run when you block your view.
　As it is, Novis's great sword pierces the Black Demon Dog (Black Dog).

''Ooohhhhhh!

　Novis lifts the Black Demon Dog (Black Dog) up with his sword stabbed into it and slams it to the stone floor.
　Sister Kayna and Ms. Leiria get up and join them, raising their spears and mace.
　The black demon dog (Black Dog) moves around, but the three of them attack him and he doesn't move.

'You managed to win: ......'

　I say, looking at the alarm system.
　It was a close call. I can't believe I'm cheating on Mr. Nora's ability to detect it.
　If I hadn't noticed, we would have all been killed.
　But even though he's a monster beast, he's still a beast. They didn't seem to notice the alarm system.

"There's this kind of hexenbiest. There could be more of them.
No, Sisyphe. Black Demon Dogs don't act in packs. And they're territorial, so there won't be any other Black Demon Dogs (Black Dog). If we defeated this one, then it should be safe in reverse.

　Nora says as she looks down at the Black Demon Dog (Black Dog).

'That's what I'm talking about. Let's get some rest now.

　Novice lies down as if nothing had happened.

'That's right, Sisyphe. It ain't worth worrying about, man.'

　Sister Kayna yawned and lay back down too.

'How can you two sleep with the corpse of a monster beast?

　Maddy says with a gasp.

'Yes, I'm jealous. But you're right, it's no use worrying about it. We should take a break too. 'Maddy,'

　I said and Maddy nodded.

'And by the way, this is a black demon dog that can also be a witch's errand boy, I've never seen one before.
The witch's errand boy?

　Maddie says something that's bothering her.

'That's right, Ciz. Witch's messenger. According to the book I read before, witches sometimes use black dogs as their messengers. They mainly use it as a guard dog. So when you go to the witch's house or castle, you need to be careful of the black dog.
Yes, they're used to guard dogs: ......

　Hearing that they are going to be used as a watchdog is concerning to me.
　That could lead to the heart of this case.
　I rested again, thinking about that.




◆Sizfe again.

　The next morning we leave the ruins of the giants.
　We must proceed while there is daylight.

'According to the map, we're almost to our destination.

　Nora, walking in the lead, says.

'We're closer than we thought. It only takes one night's camping to get there. The Harpies should have kept them in a more secluded area, but they're idiots.
Absolutely, my sister. But it's easy.

　My sister Kayna and Novice's easygoing voice.
　But me, Maddie and Mr. Leiria don't float.
　Sister Kayna is right. A harpy would be able to catch them in a more secluded place.
　This is so close to the Kingdom of Arum. This is just asking for help.

"Shizu-chan. This road is easy to walk on.
Well, you look like someone who's been there before.

　I say, looking at where I'm walking now.
　Without a doubt, someone had been here before.
　And it seems that those people had camped at the ruins of a giant. There was an encampment before us.
　And they didn't seem to have been attacked by the Black Demon Dog.
　And why is that?
　We walk.
　Eventually, we emerge at the bottom of a sheer cliff.

A dead end?
No, it's not, Sisyphe. Look up.

　Nora tells me to look up.
　There is something made of wood in the middle of the cliff.

What is that?

　Miss Leiria tilts her head.

'Perhaps they're being held there?'

　I nodded at Nora's words.

Mr. Phineas!　Could he be in there?!

　I shout out loud.

'Is there someone there?'

　Then there is a reply from the wooden assembly. A small voice, but I could certainly hear it.

'It's from Mr. Salmula!　I've been asked to help you!
From your mother?

　Then someone emerges from the wooden assembly.
　It's far away from here, but it's definitely a human boy.

'I'm coming to help you!　Wait for me!

　I say and look at Novice.

'Yeah, I've got the rope right here.

　Novis takes the rope out of the pack on his back.
　If it were this long, it would reach that far.

'Wait!　Sisyphe!　Something's coming!
　Nora's panicked voice.
　Then there is a gust of wind.
　After the wind stops, something is standing on top of an object assembled in a tree.
　It looks like a human woman, but its arms and lower body are eagle-like. Definitely a harpy.

"My name is Kellaiah. "My name is Keleia, son of the great wind. The great wind goddess is trying to take our prince away. Who are you people?