Merlin SIDE

It looks like Temma has gone to bed.

I think. Temma, you were yawning so hard as soon as you got out of the carriage.

　We found a good spot to camp and had an early supper together, but Tenma kept yawning during the meal.

"I slept in the bath and slept after I came out and I'm sure he was very tired," he said.

''That's right. Besides, you exterminated the wyvern of the frontier county's territory in a martial arts tournament, and even built a fort, if you're a normal person, you'd have fallen down a long time ago due to overwork. And on top of that, it's Kukri Village...

　Chris said and looked worriedly at the tent where Tenma was sleeping.

'I'm not sure if it's right to take Tenma to the village of Kukri now, but I don't think it's what Tenma would want to do if she came all the way here and turned back.

''I think so too. If we leave tomorrow morning at the usual time of day, it's far enough to reach Kukri village in the early afternoon... and there are still Ricardo-san and Shelia-san's graves in Kukri village, right?

'Hmm. After the incident, we waited for Tenma, who challenged the dragon zombies, to return, but due to the state of the wounded and the state of mind of everyone, we needed to move to the city as soon as possible, and we couldn't leave the corpse of the dead villager forever. Most of them, including Ricardo and Ciria, were spouses of those who were born and raised in the village of Kukri, or had been born and raised there. Some of them took the remains of their deceased family members with them, but we buried two of them near the graves of their parents in Shiroumar.

　I wanted to take their remains with me, but I was too injured to make such a decision, and Mark and Martha were confused by their deaths and by Tenma's disappearance, so it was inevitable, but.... I still regret that fact, and it still remains with me.

Temma-kun, I'm sure you're going through a lot of things, but I hope you'll get over it.

You're right. We may not be able to do much, but we have to have faith in the strength of Tenma first.

　I don't know what kind of change the current Kukuri Village will bring to Tenma, but I have decided to do what I can to help her as much as I can.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Merlin SIDE finished

Grandpa, there's an adventurer up ahead. They come from the direction of Kukri village.

　Yesterday I fell asleep as soon as I finished getting ready for the encampment, and the next thing I knew it was morning. I heard that someone other than me had been assigned to guard the camp at night, and I've been taking over for them in the morning.
　We were about two or three hours away from leaving the encampment, when we spotted a party of several adventurers heading in the opposite direction from Kukri village.

This is the first time we've seen other adventurers since we came all the way from Shellhide," he said.
'Yes. At any rate, I have an appointment with the frontier count, so I'll call on him.

　As we advanced the carriage in the direction of those adventurers, the other party seemed to notice us immediately. The closer we got, the more cautious the adventurers became, but they seemed to think that if they ran away from the carriage, they would be quickly caught up with or become suspicious, so they didn't move from the spot where they had noticed Raiden, but were looking at us intently. The adventurers were a group of five people, all of whom seemed to be younger than me. They probably came to the 'Grand Old Man's Forest' to collect some herbs.

We are from 'Shellhide', are you guys returning from Kukri village?

　Not wanting to alarm them too much, I stopped the carriage at a little distance from the adventurers and called out to them, to which one of the adventurers replied, 'Yes.

'We have been asked by the frontier count to watch out for adventurers operating in the vicinity of Kukri village.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of this project.

That's why it's best to stay away from Kukri village if at all possible.

　When I told them that the number of missing people in the vicinity of Kukri village has been increasing recently, the adventurers turned pale and began to talk among themselves, saying things like "I knew it" and "I've been getting some strange vibes".

What do you mean by 'I knew it'?

'We all grew up in a village like Kukri Village, where the forest is right next to us. So although we're new to adventuring, we're confident about the forest. So when we found out that the medicinal herbs in the 'Grand Old Man's Forest' were being hired for a high price, we came to gather them... but it was kind of weird, so we turned back.

　They had planned to go to the "Grand Old Man's Forest" in the early morning to look for medicinal herbs, after moving to the vicinity of Kukuri village in the middle of the night to take a rest. When they started gathering medicinal herbs in the "Grand Old Man's Forest" as planned shortly before the sun rose, they felt an unpleasant atmosphere that was different from the ordinary forest, so they decided to cut off the gathering in the middle of the day and returned to the forest.

I think that's a good decision, but we've encountered a pack of goblins twice and a pack of orcs once before coming here. There may not be a pack of demons in the direction you guys are going, but you'd better be cautious on your way back.

　Hearing my advice, the adventurers' faces were pale. They didn't seem to be a party that was confident in combat, so they must have imagined what it would be like to be attacked.
　After that, we parted from the adventurers, exchanging information about the route that Grandpa knew was relatively safe (but it was a long time ago, so it was only comforting) and the recent information about Kukri Village. The adventurers left the place quickly, as if they wanted to get as far away from Kukri Village as possible before dark.

''I think it's better to think that something happened in the Grand Old Man's Forest,''
''That's right. We only talked briefly, but those adventurers seemed to know quite a bit about the forest, so it could be true that they felt a strange presence, and I'm also concerned about the fact that they encountered a bunch of demons three times before coming here.

　Based on the information we heard from the adventurers, we decided to set up today's encampment not in Kukri village as we had originally planned, but in the "fort" outside of it. I've been told that the walls are quite broken, but the moat is still intact and is often used by adventurers who visit Kukri village as an encampment.


''We're finally here.
No.

　After meeting those new adventurers, we arrived at Kukri Village as planned without encountering any other adventurers or demons. No, it's better to say the place where Kukri Village was located.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of the buildings I remember of Kukri village, most of which were destroyed by the zombie invasion during the riots or by our magic, and the only church that remains is the one that was made of stone. Most of all, even though it remains, it has no roof and is in a half-destroyed state, so it would be dangerous to enter it, let alone use it for camping.

That's where my house used to be, isn't it?　Next to it was my aunt and uncle's house, and that's where we used to have parties in the village.

　Many other memories came back to me, including the house my grandfather used to sleep in and the place where he first used his magic. But the place where I pointed out the memories that should have been there is nowhere to be seen, and it is only barely discernible by the few remaining pillars, floorboards and flower beds.

''And this is my room........''

　Looking at the slowly changing village, I reached the place where my home was, and remembering the old days, I walked into the house from where the front door was and came to my room.

Really, it's all gone...

　I was hoping that maybe there was something that had been used in the past, but there was nothing left.

'Could these burn marks have been a bed?　So that's a chair and that's a desk?

　Even if there was anything left from the fight with the zombies, the adventurers who came afterwards would have taken everything that looked like gold.

''Temma. Is it time we went to Shelia and Ricardo's grave?
Yes.

　I was reminiscing about the old days when my grandpa called out to me. It's just me, my grandpa, and Slarin and the others here. Everyone else seems to have refrained from us and is preparing to camp at the fort.

'There. "There they sleep with the victims of the village.

　We moved from where our home was, and we walked through the village for a while before arriving at our destination.

'Isn't this place near Shiroumaru's parents' grave?'

　The grave of Shiroumaru's parents is a short walk from here, though it is a burnt out area.

Yes, that's right. This place was originally covered with trees, but Temma's magic turned it into a flatland. And this place was chosen because it was large enough to bury the victims.

　He was not well enough to move at that time, and the survivors built a grave in this place. When he left Kukuri, he visited the grave with the help of his uncle Mark.

This is the place. This is the tombstone for Shelia and Ricardo.

　There was a stone about forty centimeters across where Grandpa had stopped, and on the stone were the names of his father and mother dug into it.

'Long time no see, Dad, Mom.......'

　I clasped my hands together to let the two of them hear about what happened after I defeated the dragon zombie, and finally took out the last thing I had made for this day. It was a tombstone with Otori's last name engraved on it behind their names.

"They will be happy to see it, won't they?
I hope so.

　After we finished visiting my mom and dad's graves, my grandfather and I joined hands with the other villagers and cleaned their graves one by one. Because there were so many of them, Chris and the others came to look for them in the middle of cleaning the graves, but when they saw what we were doing, they joined us in cleaning the graves.
　After we finished cleaning, we went to the fort where we had made camp, and just as the adventurers we met on the way to the fort had said, most of the walls were broken due to the battle and weathering, and the moat was covered with broken walls and grass.

''For now, I thought we'd make camp at that spot, so I made preparations.

　Chris chose to camp in a place in the fort that he thought was used by other adventurers. He didn't have to do much with it, as there was a hearth that was probably made by an adventurer who had used it before, and an earthen wall to protect him from the wind.

'Jeanne and Aura made the meals, and the only thing left to do is decide on the order of the guards.

Before that, though, I think I'll leave the village of Kukri in the morning.

　My grandpa was surprised by my statement, as he had said he was going to stay in Kukri Village for a few days for a long time.

'I don't know what's going on in Kukri village right now, but I'm sure something strange is going on. That's partly because of the increase in the number of missing people around Kukri village, and partly because of the signs that the adventurers I met when I was coming felt. Truth be told, I think we could turn back now, but if we don't feel that we ourselves are part of the cause or a strange sign, there's no way to report it to the guild either.

　Fortunately, there are many influential people here right now in various fields, so if one of us reports back to them with first-hand experience, we can organize an army and send them in to investigate.

You do have a point.
''Well, the guild won't believe me if I just leave and report back. Instead, they might think you're a coward?

　Even if there are missing people, the guild is likely not to accept it as a report to the extent that it might, since some of the guilds generate money (and make money) by sending adventurers and are able to run their organizations.

'I'm fine with it. I'd like to know what's going on in Kukri village, too.

　Grandpa and Chris-san agreed, and with Rion agreeing with them, everyone else nodded their heads. Originally, no one except my grandpa and I had any feelings for Kukri Village, so we could say that there was no reason to oppose the shortening of our stay.

The first group is Chris, Albert and Cain, the second group is Grandpa. The second group is my grandfather, Leon, Amur and Leni. How about me, Jeanne and Aura in the last group?

　As for the first group, Albert and Cain will be able to faithfully carry out their orders if Chris-san takes command. The second group would be safe with an experienced grandpa in it, and while I'm still a little nervous about putting Rion and Leni-san together, I don't think there will be any problems with the two of them, grandpa and Amur. The last group is actually the most full of strength, as Jeanne and Aura will be underpowered in a time of need, but with me, they'll have an extra (Slarin and the others) to go with them.
　It's a good idea to swap the second and third in order, but when I thought about preparing breakfast and preparing Raiden, I thought it would be better for me to be the third.
　I even explained that to them, but they all agreed with me before I said it. However, as for the concerns about Rion and Leni, I decided to tell only Grandpa and Amur about them and ask them to keep an eye out for them. Incidentally, all three of them seemed to know the reason for putting Chris-san in Albert and Cain's group, even if they didn't say so.

　After that, we had a meeting to discuss the changeover time and how to deal with emergencies, and after that, each group had a discussion, and then we had free time until dinner. However, we decided to refrain from going alone because we didn't know what was going on and to stay away from the "Grand Old Man's Forest" as much as possible.

　Jeanne SIDE

Well, good night.

Okay, good night. Sleep well and have a nice breakfast.

　After greeting Chris and the others who were getting ready to stand guard in earnest, I climbed into the carriage that was being used as a place for women to stay. When I crawled under my own bedding, being careful not to wake Amour and Leni-san who were sleeping first, I found that Aura, who had entered the carriage a short while ago, seemed to be asleep already.

(Come to think of it, Temma was fast asleep again today.)

　The closer we got to Kukri village, the more restless Temma was becoming, even from my point of view. Even I had noticed it, so everyone except Aura would have long ago noticed that Tenma was acting differently than usual.

(It's been a while since I've been on watch with Tenma, but Aura and I won't be able to be a force to be reckoned with in a time of need, and since Slarin and the others are there, I'll just have to get the golem out and immediately wake everyone up and run away to the carriage.)

　As I lay down and meditated, I went over and over in my mind the things I had to do when I was on guard.



'It's cold...'

　Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep and was awakened by a sudden chill I felt. I decided to put my jacket on, which was hanging on the chair, to try to get out of the cold for now. The one I had left in the pocket of my jacket made a clinking noise as I put it on, but I was too sleepy to take it out.

'Water....'

　Feeling thirsty, I got out of the covers for the jug of water that must have been left on the table.
　There was no sign of Amour and Leni, who had been asleep when I entered the carriage, and Chris was lying down instead, so I knew that the second group was in charge of guarding the carriage.

'How much longer do we have to take turns?'

　Depending on how much time left until my shift, it might be easier to stay awake.
　With that in mind, I looked out the window, trying to judge by the darkness...

"Temma?

　Wobbling, I saw Temma walking towards the forest(...).

'Why isn't anyone stopping me!

　I thought about going after Tenma, who was obviously acting strangely, but I decided it would be better to wake Chris up first, so I shook him. But she didn't wake up at all. I thought of Aura, so I patted her on the cheek a few times, but she didn't wake up either, just like Chris.

''Why!''

　They were both breathing properly, so they weren't dead, but they didn't seem to be in a very normal state.

'What about everyone out there?'

　I hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and ran to everyone who was on guard, but they were all asleep in their sitting positions.

'Master Merlin!　Temma!

　Merlin-sama, who I thought would be the most reliable, was the same as Chris-san and Aura, and no matter how much he shook himself, he didn't wake up.
　In the meantime, Temma had gone a long way off, and by the time I decided to chase after her on my own, she had already entered the forest.


'He was definitely walking in this direction, though.

　As soon as I entered the forest, I lost sight of Tenma. When I started to chase him, I thought, 'I know it's a long distance, but Temma's dizzy as a sleeper, and if I run, I should be able to catch him!' But when we entered the forest, we found that the forest was more difficult to run in than we had expected, and because we were not used to the forest, we fell down several times.

'Temma, where are you...'

　I've lost sight of Tenma, and the situation in the dimly lit, eerie nighttime forest, not knowing when the demons will attack me, is just terrifying to me. But I couldn't leave Tenma alone, and more importantly, I wasn't sure of the way back. That's why I had no choice but to keep going in the direction that I thought Tenma was walking.

'Temma........there he is!

　I continued to wander through the forest and came out into a slightly open area. When I got out there, I looked around and saw Temma a long way from my place. It seemed that Temma had come out to this place at about the same time as me. The reason for the distance between us is probably because we were heading in a slightly different direction as we were chasing Temma. We were extremely lucky to find Tenma in this place. If I hadn't been able to go out to this spot, I would have been heading in the wrong direction and would have gotten lost.

Temma!　Why is this........bad!

　The moment I ran up to catch Tenma, I saw what Tenma was aiming at (...). What Temma was aiming for, was a creepy monster (...) that hid its entire body in a hood.
　It might be strange to judge it as a creepy monster since it was far away and its entire body was hidden by a hood, but it had an atmosphere that could only be described as such. Most of all, the hand that was extended to Temma was bone.

　I intuitively felt that I shouldn't let Tenma get too close to that monster, and I thought about using magic, but with my control, there was a good chance that I would hit Tenma.

'How could I... that thing!

　I thought of a stone if magic didn't work, but the moment I hesitated, thinking there was no way I could reach it with my power, I remembered the 'Sling Shot' that Temma had given me.
　It was the one I had left in my pocket when I put my jacket on. It was such a good play that I wanted to praise me for not taking it out at that moment.

'Now........yikes!

　I set the pebble lying at my feet on the sling shot and pulled it as hard as I could to send it flying at the monster.
　The pebble suddenly changed its course upward, hitting a tree branch that was growing above the monster and changing its course again, hitting the temma.

　When the monster realized that something was flying towards him, it realized that the culprit was me and thrust its hand out towards me.
　I couldn't move an inch, even though it was clearly trying to exercise some kind of magic against me. It's partly because it was a spur-of-the-moment event, but most of all it's because I saw the face of the monster from the front. The face of the monster, as I had imagined when I saw the hand, was not a human one, but a human skull.
　The next moment the monster took a step towards me, who was standing there, the monster was blown backwards. I unleashed my magic, of course....

Jeanne, are you okay?

　It was Temma.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Jeanne SIDE End