We reached Mariot mountain late at night, we decided to cross the mountain as it was. Oswald-kun said that because there seems to be some border guards, it is better to leave the kingdom secretly because of the darkness. Fortunately, everyone including me is good at night. Even at night there is no inconvenience to sight. However, it is not as ordinary as it is said to cross the mountain. No-one ever use the mountain, so it doesnât have any road to walk or climb. There are many places where the slope is steep, the ground is raised up and down. Besides, the soil is soft and slippery. Mariot mountain seems to be a mountain that consider as the countryâs border, and it is not a place to come casually. To avoid people cross border illegal they donât make mountain road. It was truly difficult to cross the mountain while ride on Neguseo, I and Kuzuha-chan got off of him and was moving in the mountains.
âArge-san, please watch your feetâ âThank you, Kuzuha-chanâ âIf clothes get caught on the branches of the tree and it is torn, I will fix it properly later so please do not hesitate to ask meâ
Kuzuha-chan is walking ahead, she already change back to human form. She seems to be accustomed to mountain walking. She will tell me if there are obstacle or slope. According to her instructions, we begin to cross mountain little by little.
âIs Neguseo-san okay?â âAre you OK? Neguseo?â âNo problem with just this slopeâ âIt does not seem to be a problemâ âEven so âŠâŠ It takes more time than I expectedâ
Kuzuha-chan looks up at the sky. Follow her, I also look up, I saw a soft red color in the sky. It is a pale light that is different from orange and red, dawn will coming soon. We donât have much time before the sun rise.
âDoes the night end?â âIt seems like that, it is dangerous to cross mountain in daytime. We will be spotted. Let find some place to hide and rest until evening.â âWell ⊠Iâm sorry, I am walking slowâ
The reason why we are slow is obviously me. I did not sleep this time. Although I was a bit disappointed that itâs impossible to ride Neguseo cross the mountain. It would be ineffective and dangerous if we forcibly ride and fall. I feel troublesome and reluctant but I did walk properly.
Itâs take time until I am accustomed to mountain climbing. When I just started climbing Mariot, Kuzuha-chan is going with a cool face. I try walking the same way and I nearly fall. Walking in the mountain is difficult and different from the forest. The forest I met Oswald-kun was the same as Maritat about no road and there were roofs of trees. But it was still flat and the ground was harder than here. The mountain is just too hard to walk.
⊠Itâs really hard, mountain.
The mountain is also foggy, the speed of travel was slower than walking and I got tired. I can change to bat form and flying away. But I canât leave Neguseo and Kuzuha-chan behind. As a result, I make everyone go slower.
âPlease donât worryâ âBut ⊠kyaâ âOh ⊠that was dangerous. Here, give me your hand.â (See translator corner)
And now, I hold hands with Kuzuha-chan. Kuzuha-chan is smiling like she doesnât care. Look like I make her worry again. However, the apology has been denied just now. Rather than repeat an apology here, it should be said like this.
âThank you, Kuzuha-chanâ âYou are welcome, have you both got tired yet?â âNeguseo, arenât you tired?â âOh, no need to worry.â âHe seems all right, I am fine as well.â âI am told that this area is near the top of the mountain, so you can go down the road a little early. Both of you, please do your best for a while.â
When we trying to descent from the mountain according to Kuzuha-chanâs guidance. I felt something wrong with the sense of smell. It is neither a smell of wood nor a scent of soil. It is also different from the smell of beasts. Well I knew this smell, yet it is this place â a scent that gets a sense of incompatibility in the mountains. This sweet scent is the smell of human.
â⊠It is a human smell, is not it?â
When Kuzuha-chan turns around, she obviously frowns and says such a thing. It seems that human body odor is a bit unpleasant for Kuzuha-chan. On the contrary, I feel that this smell is âsweet and nice smellâ. Is it also because Iâm a vampire? I thought that the difference between me and Kuzuha-chan from the same smell is a little funny, but I can not afford to think deeply. Because this smell drifts is evidence that there are humans in the vicinity.
âThe direction is over there ⊠⊠straight, it is heading to us, is not it?â âWhat are you doing, Arge?â âWell ⊠Please leave Neguseoâs saddle and rein to me, in case of emergency, Neguseo acts like a wild horse, Kuzuha-chan puts the baggage somewhere and becomes a fox. I can become a shadow.â âI understandâ âUnderstood!â âLetâs take some distance and avoid them, doing that way is better than hiding.â
It was okay to wait for the other party to pass by, but it is troublesome. we better get off early. <b>Neguseo and Kuzuha-chan nod to my word, and start to move.</b> Collect the saddle and rein equipped in Neguseo to the Blood Bag. We made it faster and we started going down the mountain. Carefully descend the slope and go different direction from human smells.
â⊠âŠ!â
I notice from the clearance of the trees that the morning sun pass through, there was an abnormal light reflection. Iâm usually lazy, but if it is necessary I will respond and move quickly. Both Neguseo and Kazuha-chan are here so I canât just evade it. Clearly something is flying toward here. Understanding that, my body moved.
âWow âŠ!â
I take out the sword from the Blood Bag and parry the incoming object. I can handle sword. Because Kuonâs family teach such things to children. A hard sound is made, and the thing which flew here is knocked down.
âŠThat was easy
Even Iâm not âexcellentâ with sword and I donât practice for many years. I can not believe I was able to do it well. However, while moving, my feed was in a slope and Iâm fallen on my buttocks.
âFront!â âArge !?â âItâs all right, Iâm not hurt âŠâ
The one that flew was a knife and the trajectory was low. The other party is aiming at us.
I take up Kuzuha-chanâs hand and stand up. I wanted to sweep the fallen leaves on the butt, but it seems thereâs no need for that.. The smell is getting darker and steadier. It is obviously getting closer as soon as possible. Moving between the trees, yet it is a light movement. Itâs not as fast as Chrome-san, and there is one thing different from her. This precise movement is a movement that is clearly accustomed to a bad road. They are getting speed with technique, not with physical ability. If you observe carefully, you know that the number of opponents is three. And three people, each emerged from the gap between different trees. Three people jumped out of different places, they gathered in the same place and decided each pose. I remembered that figure. With a familiar voice, the three begin to speak to the mouth.
âI am the chain and sickle, Chihuahua!â
âI am the explosive, Dachs!â
âAnd finally thereâs the amazing me, the knife thrower, Terrierâ âââ All together we three are the Terrier Bandit Troupe!! âââ
I saw a similar play before. I say that because I saw it. The bald head with the cap attached like when I first met, as usual the nose hair which is still stick out a little, somehow the last one already shaved leg hair but still visibleâ
âThe entertainer came ⊠!â âââ Who is the entertainer Trio!! âââ
The answer as expected resounded in the mountains.\n<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_7309" style="width: 228px"></figure>