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Chapter 29: The beginning of the escape (Part 1)
He knew by the sound that the carriage had a key.
Ren carried Licia up and tightened his grip on the iron magic sword.
His body was heavy as he lifted his arm.
Still, it was fortuitous that he was able to move his body.
In fact, he had been in a coma for four days, so it was only natural that he Shouldn’t move at all.
(As I recall, there was something about potions.)
That’s a different concept from my previous life, an item that plays a part in fantasy.
In the game era, in addition to restoring physical strength, it helps to get rid of abnormalities.
In addition to this, I may also be affected by my physical ability UP (small). ……
(Whatever it is, it helped.)
Ren cleaves the iron sword horizontally without making a sound.
Then, in a single vertical flash, he cut the carriage lock in two.
Then the carriage door cracked and Ren removed it while holding it down so as not to make a sound.
(…… It’s all right. He’s not awake.)
He leaned outside and found the beast master sitting in the governor’s seat, but fortunately, he was asleep with his arms crossed without waking up.
Relieved, he looked around and found himself in a forest in total darkness.
He had no idea where he was.
But Ren, who had made up his mind to run away, took a step forward.
He was determined to escape and took a step forward.
“Grrrghh』\
It was at that moment.
A voice came from a towering tree nearby.
Ren looked up in that direction and saw the two maneaters using a thick branch as a bed.
The maneaters were glaring at him, their eyes glowing crimson as they writhed about in an eerie manner.
“—-How did you escape?”
The Beast master woke up and got out of the carriage, approaching Ren.
The maneaters also raised their body and spread their wings.
“The sword was supposed to be by my side, why is it in your hand?”
“…… It’s my sword, so what does it matter?”
“Oh, it’s certainly not my sword. But don’t do it. If you stay quiet, you’ll be safe and you’ll see your parents again.”
“But I don’t know what will happen to the young lady.”
“Such beautiful loyalty, It dazzles me.”
The beast master said with a sneer.
“This is your last warning. If you don’t return to the wagon yourself, know that it’ll be a painful journey.”
He intimidates Ren with his ruthless voice.
The two maneaters are already floating behind him. If the beastmaster doesn’t receive  the answers he seeks, the two maneaters will wield their power over him.
Licia’s voice reaches Ren’s ears as he watches for an opening.
“…… alone…… run away…….”
When did she wake up?
“No, if I’m going to run away, we’re going to do it together.”
These words were the signal.
The beast master in front of them snapped his fingers and gave the order to the maneaters.
The two monsters flapped their wings and approached Ren from behind.
The sound of “Geeee!” was the cry that filled the forest.
Ren, clutching his iron sword, took a deep breath and pushed himself forward.
“Heh! You’re young and naïve! Did you think you could win with a sword when you’re up against a beast master!”
“I wonder!”
As Ren steps forward, the maneaters close in on him.
The first thing it did was to stretch out his neck to bite Licia that Ren was carrying.
Ren’s heart still rages at the sound of painful breathing coming from his back.
In the midst of all this, Ren abruptly changed the direction of his body.
He went behind the wagon and avoided the maneaters who were closing in behind him.
He swung up his sword without slowing his momentum and smashed the carriage from behind.
Ahead of him, he saw the face of the beast master behind a gap in the wood.
Ren threw the iron magic sword at his face.
The beast master tried to avoid it by twisting his body.
The iron sword scratched his neck slightly and the necklace that was decorating his neck danced in the air.
“Hmph…… you’re a fool to throw your weapon— What!”
The iron magic sword disappeared without a trace shortly after passing right next to the beast master.
Instead, the wooden magic sword in Ren’s hand caused the earth to rise, and brought out roots of a tree that extended and restrained the beast master’s feet.
Ren saw this and jumped from the back of the carriage.
In doing so, he saw the dagger Weiss had given him and retrieved it.
He also grabbed the necklace that flew from the beast master’s neck.
The necklace had a broken chain and the pendant was shattered.
(Don’t try to defeat that guy! Don’t be greedy!)
Maybe I can beat him.
It’s not easy to say, take a life, but if he could take the life of the beast master, the maneaters could disappear at the same time.
But now that his strength was depleted, there was no certainty that he would be able to defeat him, and he couldn’t make up his mind.
“You’re doing great! But that’s enough!”
The beast master picked up a white wooden staff.
At the tip of the staff, a ball of light in a variety of colors begins to wriggle.
“……Make it!”
I don’t know what he’s trying to do with the staff, but it’s disturbing.
A moment after he takes the staff, Ren summons the thief’s magic sword himself and waves his arm.
“Wha- my staff…..!”
The staff disappeared from the astonished beast master’s hand and instead it was in Ren’s hand. Luckily, he was able to take it from the beast master.
But there was no relief.
One of the maneaters was coming right at Ren, and the remaining one was right in front of the beast master.
“Graaaaaah!”
Ren ducked once in mid-air and hit the maneater with the staff he had taken from its master.
He also hit the coachman’s seat in rapid succession.
The impact shattered the part holding the horse in place and the cane also shattered due to Ren’s physical strength.
The horse, startled by this, rushed forward and Ren reached out his hand to force the horse to ride.
“Without a staff….that power is …… after him!”
Hearing the voice of the beast man, the maneaters flapped both wings more strongly than ever.
At this time, Ren, who had never ridden a horse before, was struggling to get on the horse.
Ren had returned the thief’s magic sword and instead used the wooden magic sword he had summoned to create vines to bind himself and Licia.
Making sure their bodies were never separated, they rode through the thickly overgrown forest.
“Demon beast master! I know your weakness!”
“Weakness……?”
“You know it yourself! That’s why you’re in such a hurry!”
The beast master let out an exasperated voice.
“Monsters that dwell in the forest! Listen to my voice!”
After the distant echo of the beast master’s voice, the sound of movement could be heard everywhere in the forest.
Numerous Monsters passed over Ren’s head and right beside him as he rode his horse.
They were beasts that reminded him of little boars, or monsters that looked like giant beetles.
“Gigi gigi! 』\
“Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii』\
The high-pitched voices of the maneaters pierced my ears.
However, as ten or twenty seconds passed, the Maneaters began to lose momentum, and by the time a few minutes had passed, the distance between them and the Maneaters was almost too great.
The same was true for the monsters nestled in the forest.
“……Are we safe now?”
After another dozen minutes of riding, Ren was confident that they were safe.
(I guess distance is still his weakness.)
This was the true meaning of the words he had told the demon beast master just a moment ago.
Besides summoning the maneater, the user can only command monsters that are weaker than himself.
However, all of these orders had the aspect of being less effective when they were away from the beast user himself.
(Here’s the problem.)
I’m happy that I was able to use the knowledge I gained from the legends of the seven heroes.
However, I can’t let my guard down, because I have another major goal waiting: to escape the strange forest and find a human settlement.
Still, just when I thought I had reached the end of my quest, I felt a sudden surge of exhaustion.
“I’ll get the medicine for you, ojou-sama, I promise.”
When I told Licia in my usual tone of voice, she uttered in a faint voice, “I’m …… sorry.”