Chapter 353

Reunion with Arthur

“Hello. Is Arthur here?”

“…Aaarthhur…is…out…hunt…ing…”

I hadn’t really expected a reply, but asked anyway. And so this was rather surprising. So monsters were able to learn to talk…!

“…I see. Do you mind if we wait here?”

“Not…at…all…”

As I was too surprised, Daniela had spoken for me.

“Sorry…”

“I was surprised as well. I suppose Arthur has been teaching them.”

Indeed. But it was also a relief to see how successful they were. Arthur was a good king.

Just then, Pochi, who was standing behind us, growled in a low voice. I turned around, wondering if he was being antagonized. But he appeared to be talking with an orc. Like most orcs I had seen, this one was grunting incomprehensibly. Still, it was amazing that they could understand each other. Just then, all three of Pochi’s faces turned to me.

“He says that Arthur left in the early morning. He should be back soon, if he keeps to his usual schedule.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Pochi had sensed that we weren’t experienced with talking to monsters, and so questioned them for us. What a nice, perceptive Cerberus.

The orcs all returned to whatever work they had been doing, and we waited outside of the settlement for about fifteen minutes. Then I was able to sense a number of monsters through Presence Detection. One of them was quite large. It was likely Arthur.

When I looked in that direction, I saw four orcs that were carrying deers on their shoulders as they walked towards us. They were talking and laughing, just like any human hunters you might see.

And one of the orcs was white.

“Hmm. He looks well.”

“Yeah. It’s great to see.”

One of the orcs pointed towards us after noticing that we were standing there. I waved and all four of them waved back. While they would have seen that we were humans, it seemed that we were still too far away to be recognized… But then, Arthur started to run.

“I’m almost scared…”

“It is not every day a large orc comes running to you at full speed.”

As we talked and waved our hands, Arthur reached us while panting.

“Haa…haa… Am… Am I dreaming?”

“Not at all.”

“It has been a while.”

“Aye…it seems like such a long time ago…”

He seemed very pleased to see us. Compared to last time, he seemed healthy. Bigger. But he also had more scars… I didn’t want to think about how difficult the road to this place had been.

“I’m glad that you are here. Welcome to my small kingdom, Camelot!”

Well, why I am not surprised… This connection was getting even stranger…

In any case, we had reunited with Arthur. We really had traveled quite a distance. We had traveled through different routes but arrived in the same place. Now, it was time to relax and catch up.

□ □ □ □

And so due to our unexpected arrival, they decided to throw a feast. However, there was one problem.

“Hmm. There isn’t enough meat.”

Arthur muttered as he looked down at the deers that they had caught. They had only got enough for the residents.

Well, there was an easy solution for that. And so I decided to get my own meat.

“Alright, I’m going to go out and hunt then.”

“No, we can’t ask a guest…”

“Leave it to me. I’ll get a nice fat one too.”

“Really…? If you insist…”

I patted Arthur on the shoulder and went running off.

Well, aside from not wanting to increase their burden, I had another reason for wanting to come out here. It was to make some skill adjustments. I had tested out a little during the night, but it was quite a different thing to make use of it during combat. And so there was a need to make adjustments through Jack of all Trades, Master of None. With some practice, I should be able to use it in combination with Legs of the God Wolf and Eyes of the God Wolf.

And so with the hollow bag on my back, I put White Blade – Tenko on my belt. It was lighter than the demon armor sword and I was just used to it. Maybe it was in my blood. And the ranged attack would be quite useful. Daniela had called it a natural god of destruction. She would likely be angry if she knew that I used it in a place like this.

“Hmm? Are you going somewhere?”

Once I was finished preparing, I activated Legs of the God Wolf and was about to take off. But then I heard Daniela’s voice. She was chewing some fruit that someone had given her. I saw that a few orc children were following her too. Orcs and elves…

“Ah, these children. They seem to have taken a liking to me.”

“Well, they should.”

“So, where are you going?”

“Just a little hunting. They don’t have enough meat.”

Daniela thought for a moment. I knew what was going on in her head.

“Hmm. Should I accompany you?”

“It’s fine. You should stay with the kids.”

I was not so cruel as to tear her away from them now.

“I see. Well, I am sure you will hunt twice as hard without me.”

“I’ll try.”

Of course, I would. I waved at them and then floated up into the air. The children were amazed and cheered. When I waved at them, they waved back with excitement. Very nice. Children could be so pure.

“See you later.”

“Be careful.”

And so I turned away from Daniela and shot towards the field.

□ □ □ □

After a few minutes in the air. The vast fields of grass spread out below me. There were groves scattered about, where animals could rest in the shade and eat the plants.

“Well, there are a lot to choose from, at least…”

That’s how many there were. Well, at least for now. I wasn’t sure how big this country was going to get. As long as it was just them, perhaps there was no need to worry about extinction.

Regardless, I wasn’t going to hold back today. I found one that I wanted, and then I watched it carefully while closing in.

My prey looked a lot like a gazelle. It was busy eating grass. And I intended to catch it from behind. However, I also needed to test my skill.

And so I put my hands together in prayer for the life I was about to take, and then unsheathed my sword. From above and behind it, I activated Shadow of the Deep Wolf. A shadow shot out in a straight line, and then from the tip, the clone emerged. It swung the Tenko, and the gazelle frantically ran forward.

While following them, I activated the skill again so that a shadow would appear up ahead. The gazelle bounded through the grass and trees until my shadow jumped out of the ground right in front of it.

This seemed to surprise it greatly, and it slammed on the breaks while trying to turn around. But its feet slipped on the grass. It fell on its side and its legs thrashed wildly. That’s when I sent magic into the Tenko and swung it in the direction of the gazelle.

The platinum blade shot towards it, cleanly cutting off the head. The body seemed to jump once before becoming completely still.

“Thank you.”

I put my hands together and then landed on the ground. My shadows were gone now. I was all alone.

It was oddly sad.

I grabbed its legs and levitated with Legs of the God Wolf in order to drain it of blood before quickly removing the organs and then stashing it away in the hollow bag. This process was repeated three times before I returned to Camelot.

It was still bright outside, but the sun would start to set soon. I didn’t want to be late for the feast.

“Still…a feast in Cath Palug and a feast here… I guess this was what it was like to have a great social life…”

I had never been to university, but I felt like I was getting a taste of campus life. But it was like this every day for them, wasn’t it? I would go crazy.

Well, it was nice, either way. They were celebrating just for us.

“I better hurry…”

I put the sword away and adjusted my backpack before activating Legs of the God Wolf and shooting off into the sky.

“Ohh…”

Perhaps I had gotten carried away a little, as I lost my balance. That hadn’t happened in a while. And so I calmed down and decreased the strength of the wind until I was stable again.

“Carried away, huh…”

It was like water suddenly coming out of a clogged faucet. Perhaps Pochi’s skill had messed me up. I would have to do some simulations again with Jack of all Trades, Master of None…

□ □ □ □

I returned to the village, and then with Daniela and the children, headed to where they were cooking the food. Here, Arthur was butchering the meat, and so I added mine to the pile.

“Ah, this is good stuff.”

“Right? Let me help you.”

“Thank you. It will make things easier.”

There was no point in waiting around just because we were the guests of honor. They were preparing this for us. So of course, I had to help. Daniela was doing her part by taking care of the children. That was important too. It allowed the mothers to concentrate on the cooking.

And so I took out the Ashikirimaru and got to work skinning the animals. If I did it cleanly, they would be able to use it for clothing. It was a valuable resource.

After that, we separated the parts. It was hard to tell what was what at a glance. And so I just cut off the limbs and head and then cut the body in half so it would be easy to cook. Then it was finished.

It was harder than it sounded. And by the time that we were done, it had started to get dark.

“Did you stop by a beastkin settlement on your way here?”

“Yeah. That’s where we heard about you.”

“They had a hard time as well. But we helped each other…”

After that, the mothers seasoned the meat and started tossing it into the huge bonfire. I stood next to Arthur and watched.

“I taught them to make houses like you said, and we lived together for a while. I met the Snow Cat a few times as well. They are my friends for life.”

“Same with me and Daniela. Of course, we consider you to be our friend as well.”

“Thank you. …Ah, it really was a long road. A hard journey. But we made lifelong friends and gained a safe haven. It was all worth it. That’s what I thought.”

“You thought?”

Arthur looked at the fire with gentle eyes.

“Aye, it isn’t the end. Our new life begins. Well, I should have seen this coming.”

“Haha. I guess. A new life in this paradise…”

“We lost many of our friends. But that was the cost. And so I intend to protect this place until I die.”

I doubted any humans would come here. You had to get through the sea of trees and the mountains.

I was quite sure now that this place was some kind of experiment ground for the ancient elves. Perhaps it was to preserve certain species or plants. But they weren’t here now. So no one could complain if the orcs settled here. They had stopped attacking humans. Surely they should be allowed to live here in peace.

“Well, the feast will be starting soon. Eat as much as you can and enjoy yourself.”

“Yes, of course.”

The sun had gone down, and the world was bathed in the color of fire.