“Thanks to the hard work of Nina and the others, we were able to escape from this clearing. And according to Yudit, there is a village to the east. But I don’t know what kind of village it is, so I think I’d like to go there with the combat group first to see what it’s like.”
After lunch, most of them nodded at my suggestion.
“Big bro. Can’t we all go together?”
“That’s right. I want to go with big brother, too.”
“No, there’s a good reason why I’m only going with the combat group.”
I explain to Nina and Nora, whose lips are pouting, why we can’t all go together.
First, the end of the cave is not a cleared area, so there is a possibility that monsters other than shadow wolves may appear, and the stone wall will not be effective.
Second, it is a long distance and it is not a good idea to move with a large number of people.
Third, we do not know if the inhabitants of the village are friendly. Worst case scenario, we could be attacked out of the blue.
“Mmm. Nina would have preferred to be with big bro.”
“I’m sorry. If it turns out to be safe in that village and on the road, let’s go together.”
Nina and the others agreed, and the team members who were going to the village from the cave were decided.
The four of us, Me, Ellie, Monica, Sakura, and Yudit, who would go to the cave to confirm our location. And Sakura’s doll, Sarah, was to accompany us as contact personnel.
“My doll is eleven years old, but her training started before that age. She will not slow us down.”
“Those who remain, in the worst case scenario, will fill the cave and defend it together …… No, it’s just a worst-case scenario. Don’t worry. I promise you, we will all come back in one piece.”
When I told them that it was only a possibility, and that if the worst happened, Sarah would contact Meilin and ask her to fortify the defense …… I was embraced by Lydia, Nina, and the rest of the remaining members of the group.
I explained that I had a back-up plan and that this time we had Yudit, who could use sacred magic, so I wouldn’t fall down and get stuck like before, and we finally decided to leave.
“I’m off, then. For now, please continue with your own work as before.”
With that, we left the rest house and were escorted to the cave that Nina had dug for us.
After a long descent …… we arrived at the stone wall at the end.
“Everyone ready? There is a high possibility that unknown monsters will appear from here. So, please proceed with caution.”
I said that, and first used my paladin’s defense skill on all of them, so that I would shoulder the damage.
A sacred magic that temporarily increases everyone’s agility.
I heard that, like me, she can only use mid-level Sacred Magic and not high-level magic.
However, unlike me, she can use some buffs and enhancements.
After all the preparations had been made…
“Let’s go, then. [Stone Wall].”
The wall blocking the cave was removed, and everyone went outside.
As we had agreed in advance, Sakura led the way, followed by me, Ellie, Yudit, Sarah, and Monica.
Sakura keeps a lookout ahead, while Sarah leaves a mark for us to return to our original location.
…… However, it seems to be a mark that only Shinobi can see, and we can’t see it at all.
At first, we didn’t encounter any monsters, but after a while, just like what we could see from above, there was only bare soil, but…
“…… We’re starting to see some grasses.”
“Yeah. It’s normal, but I’ve been in the demon territory for a while, so it feels very strange.”
We begin to see short grass underfoot.
“Master Alex, it’s a monster. That’s …… a snake called a rock python.”
“That snake is not that strong. I have killed it many times in the cave.”
We encountered other monsters on the ground beside the Shadow Wolf.
“I see. The fact that the monsters that appear underground in the demon territory and the monsters that inhabit this area are the same means that they must have been covered with soil from above.”
“That may be so …… At any rate, I’m going to defeat it. [Middle Freeze].”
As soon as Ellie easily defeated the monster that we encountered, Sakura and Ellie proceed to eliminate more and more of them, probably because the monsters that appear are not that big of a deal.
As we continued on our way through the meadow, trees began to appear around us…
“I see it, Alex. We are almost at the village.”
Yudit, who had flown over to confirm our location, told us that the village was right there.