Chapter 374

To Fuscus

I left the room and joined Daniela, and we entered the large room where we had dined the previous night. And there before us, was a feast that I could hardly believe was supposed to be breakfast.

Yamato sat at the head of the table, and there was a beautiful ogre next to him that I had not seen before.

“Good morning, Mister Yamato.”

“Morning. I don’t think you’ve met her yet. My wife, Kushina.”

He introduced her, and she greeted us.

“Good morning. So you’re Asagi. Thank you for bringing the vajra back to us.”

“Not at all. Besides, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Daniela.”

She then took Daniela’s hands and greeted her with a smile.

“Ah, to think that I’d be meeting an elf this morning. It’s a wonderful day.”

“And I am surprised to be having breakfast with ogres.”

“Hehe. We don’t like to go out much.”

And then we sat down to a pleasant breakfast. Miss Kushina was so pleased to have met Daniela, that she talked to her throughout the whole meal. She had a very soft voice, and it was hard not to feel a sense of comfort while listening to her. On the other hand, it also made me a little sleepy.

“Asagi. I’ve been giving it some thought since last night, and think that we should follow you.”

“We? Do you mean all of the ogres?”

“Of course. We all want to fight the Nova. No one will object. We had always planned to do it once we got our hands on the vajra. However, this is no longer our age. We cannot run wild like we used to. But a leader like you might be what we need to adapt?”

“Well, I’d like to think I have some authority…”

At least, within the world of Adventurers…

“I brought some ogres with me! It’s as simple as that.”

“I don’t know about that… But there’s no use in worrying.”

Yamato continued to eat his rice as if the conversation were suddenly pointless. And so I followed suit. It really was delicious.

After we ate, we took Yunagi to Rachel’s house, as per my suggestion. We needed to rope her in. And having an ogre there would make it easier to explain everything. Since Yunagi had been to the town many times in order to gather information, she was chosen to accompany us.

“You will go for us and meet this Rachel.”

“Mm.”

She mumbled with annoyance. Maybe she was getting to be that difficult age. She didn’t look like a child, but the races that lived longer were just like that. I think.

As the three of us walked together down the main road, the other ogres looked at us oddly. But they weren’t looks of distaste. Their eyes were filled with an expectation, as if they had been waiting for us for a long time. The relic had returned. And we were the people who delivered it. Perhaps they all knew about it now. I felt a little embarrassed.

“Asagi. Daniela. There’s just one think I want you to be careful about. Alright?”

“Sure.”

“What?”

Yunagi suddenly turned around with a serious expression when they reached the entrance. This atmosphere reminded me of when we first met.

“…My attitude and speech will change drastically when I go outside. Here and out there…I am a different person. Alright?”

“Right. …Heh.”

“Don’t laugh!”

Sorry, but it was hard not to.

“Do you also think little of country folk!”

“No, it’s just that the difference is amusing…”

“Damn, you idiot!”

This whole exchange was rather comedic…I wondered what region the Hero who had influenced them so much had come from?

“Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. Let’s go.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

And with that, we left Yakshashtat behind us.

□ □ □ □

One of the branching paths in the tunnels connected to the surface. Once we escaped the expertly hidden cave, we came out on the side of the mountain.

We brushed the dust off of our clothes while looking down at the red and blue roofs below. Then Daniela muttered something as she drank her water.

“I wonder if Rachel will really help us…”

“Hmm… I’m not sure. She’s kind of twisted and stubborn. It might be difficult.”

“Who yer talkin’ about?”

“Oh, the bumkin’s back.”

“Don’t call me that, baldy!”

“I’m not bald!”

We sat down on a boulder and I started to turn over Daniela’s concern in my head.

Rachel was a cynical woman who was also a God Wolf. However, she had helped us a lot up until now. She was my teacher.

And in a way, she was also a victim. Her soul had been taken and forced into the body of a wolf. Even if she liked her life now, she likely still holds a grudge… I thought.

And so we descended the mountain, passed and entered Fuscus in order to pull her into the battle.

“Rachel’s house…where was it?”

“I think it was back down this street.”

“Was it? I can’t remember. Yunagi. Are you following us?”

I asked while walking behind Daniela. That’s when something jabbed my ribs, and I groaned. She had been invisible ever since we were out of the mountains. I understood that she couldn’t talk, but she could still be gentler.

We reached Rachel’s house in no time. Daniela had a very good memory. She even remembered the room number.

“It is I. Open up.”

But she was horrible at visiting people. So it was no wonder that Lehaty opened the door with a nervous expression.

“Oh, it’s you, Miss Daniela. And Mister Asagi.”

“Sorry for the sudden visit. Is Rachel here?”

“Oh, she’s in the other place…”

Lehaty said with an apologetic expression. By other place, she meant that place made with dimension magic.

“I see. Well, I suppose we better go there then. That would be fine, right?”

“It should be alright. She had work related to Lambrusen.”

“Her work as a palace magician… I forgot that she has a job.”

“Ahaha. She isn’t unemployed…”

In any case, we knew where she was now. And so I took out the key from the hollow bracelet and inserted it into the air.

“Thank you, Lehaty. Do you want me to tell her anything?”

“Oh, if you could tell her that we should eat out tonight. That would be nice.”

“Sure, I’ll do that.”

“Thank you. Goodbye, Miss Daniela.”

“Aye, you too, Lehaty.”

Daniela patted her on the head. Lehaty looked a little bashful as she smiled. She had had a rough time at first, but seemed to be quite happy now. It made me a little sad that we had to take Rachel away from her for a while, but this was important. We couldn’t go against ten thousand Automata without her.