NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 75
At that moment, in the territory of Count Odrone, ‘Rigret.’
“It’s an honor to meet the Saintess.”
“I’m glad to meet the Count as well. Although he’s not here, I’m sure Sir Cesar Cross, the commander of the Knight Order, would have wanted to meet you too.”
“I feel the same way. I’d like to see who’s stronger, my sword or her spear.”
“I’ll push for that later. But let’s get straight to the point.”
“…That was quicker than I expected.”
“I’m curious about everything, it’s just my nature.”
Saintess Yan Diere handed over a piece of parchment in front of Count Odrone.
“The Village of the Holy Sword. The only survivor. Your daughter. Droniel Odrone.”
“…Aren’t you being a bit too blunt?”
“I don’t like to beat around the bush. Your daughter, right?”
“That’s right. And… I know the reason why the Saintess is looking for my daughter.”
Count Odrone calmly sipped his tea while choosing his words carefully.
“If you’re looking for the Hero wielding the Holy Wind Sword, it would be meaningless. He didn’t even know my daughter was an ‘Odrone.’”
“You’re not trying to cover for him, are you?”
“I swear to the Goddess, it’s no lie.”
“Hmm…”
Swearing to the Goddess in front of the Saintess.
Where else could you find such an assurance of faith?
“I actually want to find that man even more. Since he had a close relationship with my daughter, isn’t this a great opportunity to strengthen Count Odrone’s territory even further?”
“The Hero…”
“I know. The Order of the Goddess is trying to make contact first. But it’s not about creating a relationship from scratch; it’s about solidifying the one that already exists between my daughter and the Hero.”
“I didn’t think you were the kind of person to use your daughter to get a Hero.”
“No parent can defeat their child. If such a situation is going to happen anyway, wouldn’t it be better to steer it in a direction that helps Odrone?”
Saintess Yan could no longer press Count Odrone for answers.
“Perhaps this was a wild goose chase.”
“You’re speaking quite frankly.”
It seemed like there wouldn’t be any fruitful outcome.
“I apologize. It might not be much of a reward, but I will stay for about a week before I leave. Personally, I’d like to meet Droniel.”
“I will serve you with utmost sincerity, Saintess. That—”
BEEEEEEEEP—
An alarm pierced their ears.
The expressions of Count Odrone and the Saintess tensed simultaneously.
“An attack from the Demon Race…?”
*
“How terrifying.”
The number of Narag Poison Bugs outside the village was truly horrendous.
It looked like black fog darkening the sky, but if that fog came to life, it would evoke an indescribable terror in humans.
“S, Sensei!”
It was so bad that even Lucius was nervously fiddling with his ring.
The Holy Sword’s detoxifying effect wouldn’t threaten their lives, but the very fact that Lucius was considering using it was proof he was seriously on edge.
“Relax. If you act all scared in front of the ladies, they’ll genuinely be disappointed, you know?”
“N-no, it’s just…”
Lucius looked at me with a bewildered expression, but with my calm demeanor, he swallowed hard and steadied his breath.
“…It doesn’t seem to be a dangerous situation for now?”
“Yeah. For now. You’re getting used to it, huh?”
“Since you, the Master who deals with everything, isn’t nervous, then I shouldn’t be either…?”
“Right. That’s the spirit. Baby Lucius can just rely on his Master.”
And the others as well.
“AAAAAH!!”
The villagers screamed and gathered in the plaza.
In the panic of running away, they instinctively ran to where they could find someone to protect them.
“Sorceress!!”
Some were searching for me, but most were looking for the village’s Sorceress.
“Magic, eek?!”
Those who had entered the Sorceress’s house came rushing out screaming.
Lucius blocked my way and drew his sword, while the townspeople hurried towards us.
“Ugh, ughhh….”
“See that, Lucius? If you get stabbed by a Narag Poison Bug, you end up like that.”
It looked like every blood vessel in their body was about to burst.
A large swelling, the size of a person’s head, protruded from the Sorceress’s neck.
“Tsk.”
I was actually quite happy to chat with the Sorceress after so long, but given her condition, it seemed she had secretly caught a Poison Bug for research and ended up getting bitten.
‘No need to play dumb.’
It was pretty obvious when a Sorceress couldn’t resist their curiosity and caused a major disaster.
Sorceresses.
A curious race.
They always think, ‘I’ll be fine,’ but they only realize what a mistake they made when it’s already too late.
“Ugh.”
I aimed my staff at the Sorceress.
“I need to burn it out—”
Swish!
Before I could take action, the Sorceress collapsed, blood splattering everywhere.
“The, Knight!!”
The one who struck down the Sorceress in one hit was the Black Lotus.
She decisively eliminated the Poison Bug-bitten Sorceress, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the strike.
“Clean move.”
The poison-affected area was untouched, yet the Sorceress was taken down for sure.
If she did that on purpose, she was definitely capable; if not, it was just luck.
“Step aside. That swelling is a poison bomb.”
“!!”
Black Lotus flinched and stepped back.
“Clean.”
After washing away the blood that stained her body with Clean Magic, I quickly aimed my staff at the Sorceress’s swelling and sent a fireball flying.
Crackle.
The poison within the swelling was instantly consumed by flames.
“Even though it’s called poison, it’s different from regular poison. It forcibly expands the blood, and if it reaches the heart, it bursts. Then you have a human blood bomb going off.”
“W-why is there such a Poison Bug…?”
“Who knows? They might have caught it for research. The problem is, those guys…”
Crack.
I ignited the tip of my staff and scraped at the corpse’s neck.
The corpse of the Poison Bug that had been hiding inside the swelling revealed itself, and the people turned pale at the sight of its stinger embedded in the Sorceress’s neck.
“W-what the hell…! How can there be such a monster…?!”
Its size was almost that of the swelling itself.
It was practically the same size as what had been hiding in there.
“Village Chief. Has there been anything like this before we arrived?”
“N-no, there hasn’t…!”
Seeing that they thought I would be their hope, the Village Chief immediately pointed at the Sorceress.
“The Sorceress always handled it whenever livestock died! She would sprinkle Sacred Water and bury them in the ground…!”
“Hmm…”
If I pushed too far into my expectations, I might get misunderstood.
In that case,
“Everyone gather around me! The advance party of the Poison Bugs might have entered the barrier!”
“Yes, yes…!!”
The villagers quickly clustered around me.
In times of crisis, they seek a god or a hero.
It’s a basic human instinct, and I don’t think anything bad about it.
It’s only natural for an intelligent species living in groups to rely on strong beings.
‘Usually, most would seek the Goddess.’
“O Goddess…!”
‘But what happens when they realize the Goddess’s blessing doesn’t work?’
“W-who knew the Poison Bugs could do this?!”
“Wait…! I’ve heard of this! This is a Poison Bug that divine power can’t affect!”
‘Correct, village folks.’
It was a relief that I didn’t have to explain everything myself.
“Crazy! These bugs are from the Demon King! I saw it in history books!!”
“What?! Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”
“The larval form wasn’t in the bestiary of cursed monsters!”
The ‘evil deeds’ of Demon Lord Belphegor remained thoroughly intact, and among them, the notorious Narag Poison Bug was documented in the monster bestiary that had lasted until now.
So why didn’t anyone know until now?
That was due to the span of 500 years.
“Are they trying to parasitize a human and drain its bodily fluids to regain their form from 500 years ago…?”
Everyone gasped at my words.
Simply muttering it as if to myself sent the humans into a panic.
“W-what should we do, Witch?!”
“…Calm down.”
What do you expect me to do, Rosmas?
“Witch, please help us!”
“Don’t worry. It should be safe for at least three hours.”
“T-three hours…?”
“Yeah. The ones outside.”
It was a relief that I could be somewhat at ease while still holding onto a bit of tension.
I pointed toward the Poison Bugs slowly descending upon the village.
“Look at that.”
KIIIII!!
The Poison Bugs were just circling the village, making no move to come down recklessly.
“They might be invisible to human eyes, but you can see them with the eyes of mana. Right now, there’s a defensive barrier spread out over this village.”
“A barrier…?”
“Yeah. I put it up just in case. Thankfully, the barrier’s upkeep was done yesterday, so it was well-timed.”
I winked at Lucius.
The reason the villagers weren’t suspicious of the barrier was that I’d kept Lucius with me while setting it up.
“Could it be that what you did yesterday…?!”
“I was hoping for this outcome. However.”
Just as the timing aligned perfectly,
I noticed some suspicious movements from the Poison Bugs that were just going around the barrier.
“Occasionally, there are those who try to forcibly break through the barrier.”
KIIIII!!
The organized movement of the bugs formed a pattern.
“Is that…?”
“Lance formation?”
Like a sharp-tipped horseman’s lance, they lined up and aimed their stingers at the fault lines of the barrier.
“It looks like they’re trying to target the weak points of the barrier?”
“Ugh, ughhh?! Then—”
“Everyone dies.”
Screech!!
The Poison Bugs surged into the barrier all at once.
They searched for the loosest gaps in the barrier, like a physical shield, and tried to push their bodies through.
But those gaps were traps that had been intentionally created.
KIIIII!!
What appeared to be a hole in the barrier was actually another entryway flanked by a secondary barrier.
“The barrier should ideally be set up in layers.”
Crackle!!
A red magical circle glimmered in the once-transparent air, snatching the bugs like a net.
The bugs that had penetrated inside were sucked into the enormous magic circle, and they were reduced to ashes by the flames roaring from within before falling down.
“Flame Nepenthes to ensnare them.”
A flame net that could not be penetrated even by an insect the size of a grain of rice.
“Isn’t it splendid?”
The effect was remarkable too.
Tears were welling up in my eyes.
The Narag Poison Bugs.
Since I had used that magic against humans, I had ensured that humans could never benefit from the Narag Poison Bugs.
“Wow, it’s so easy to catch them. They’re bugs that don’t even produce magic stones.”
Aah.
Why am I tearing up?