Chapter 125

“Hey, hey. Have we arrived too late?”

A somewhat rough looking, slender man was walking as he dragged an orc corpse and glared.

He had the look of a sadistic thug.

“This is…astounding.”

This was muttered by a woman with white hair. She reminded me of a school prefect.

“Damn it. I rushed here by Virgil’s orders. And for nothing!”

Said a girl who carried a large axe.

“Indeed, it seems like we might as well have not come… Surely he can deal with it alone…? What a waste of time…”

Said a sharp-tongued woman as she sighed. She was the gothic lolita type.

“…”

And there was a large man who remained silent. He seemed like the kind of brute who would rather fight with his fists.

The last person in the group was a handsome woman. Daniela.

They were the group that Virgil had sent. I thanked them for coming all this way before saying:

“Well, aren’t you a colorful group of characters!”

Of course, I didn’t include Daniela in that observation.

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I had assumed that things would move much more quickly with these six additions, but that wasn’t really the case. They orcs had struggled enough when I was their only enemy, and now there were more of us. The orcs started to retreat when they saw this, and we had to chase them as they frantically fled to the other side of the valley. The orcs had prepared a new bridge by bringing several logs. This time it was much wider, and it was evident that it was prepared so that they could attack in much larger numbers than before.

“So, what should we do?”

Elena, the prefect-like girl, asked me. Well, I assumed she was, as she was looking towards me. But I didn’t have any authority here. It was Virgil who made decisions.

“Why are you asking him? It is Virgil who decides. Are you stupid?”

I was happy to have someone come in with the same opinion that I had, however, I did wonder if she couldn’t speak a little less venomously. Of course, I was talking about Beatrice, who was the gothic lolita one. She was currently twirling a black parasol over her head. It was a moonlit night.

“Well, let’s return then. Come on, Drake.”

The sadistic thug, also known as Dante, was silently obeyed by the large man called Drake.

Having so many newcomers at once made it difficult to keep track of things… But I suppose it didn’t matter, as long as I knew Daniela. Yes. That’s it. Daniela was everything.

“Perhaps we should just confirm the direction that they headed in.”

Charlotte, the girl with the battle axe, said as she stretched her neck to gaze at the other side of the valley. Then we all made our way back. Though, I too memorized the location.

After that, I took the rear as we walked through the forest. There were dead orcs everywhere. Cut, shredded, gouged, burned, buried, mangled… It was the kind of sight that I could only describe as a kind of hell. If this was their work, I might as well just hide in Daniela’s shadow like a cat and wait for this battle to be over. It was quite frightening.

“Hey, Asagi. You seemed quite capable on your own?”

Charlotte said to me, as she walked backward.

“Well, yes. Ultimately I was fine being alone. But I was glad that you all came.”

“Hah! You flatter us. But I don’t doubt your intentions. He’s a good one!”

She pointed a finger at me. I bowed slightly in thanks to her approval.

“But perhaps you could have told us in advance? I had wished to stay within the fort, but was forced to come out here. I would not have wanted to fight these filthy orcs.”

“Then why are you here at all? Wasn’t it to participate in this orc hunting quest?”

Elena heard Beatrice’s complaint and did not ignore it. She really was the prefect-type. She must hate things that she didn’t consider proper… But really, this had nothing to me. And so I silently wished them luck and talked only to Daniela.

“Daniela, are you sure that you should have left your magician group?”

“Aye, it is fine. I put a very capable person there in my place.”

“I see. Well, they must be doing well to be able to spare you.”

“Yes…I hope so…”

Even if she said it was alright, there seemed to be a little anxiety. She was even walking a little fast.

As the forest grew thicker, we got closer to the fort. The number of orc corpses also grew, and we could see how savage the fighting had been here as well.

There were several light-armored Adventurers cautiously moving in the area. Either they were searching for survivors or they were scouting. I waved a hand at them and they waved tired hands back.

It was bittersweet, but we were happy to see that they were alright.

Shortly after, the walls of the fort came into view. There were now thorns poking out from the walls. Strange. I would die if I fell on one of them.

“Hmm…it must be the work of one of the users of earth magic. It will be harder to attack the walls now. You won’t remain unharmed if you got close.”

“Ah, yes. It’s very intimidating to look at, but there is a logical utility as well.”

Well, they were rather extreme. These worshippers of Daniela. These methods revealed much about their personalities.

The entrance of the fort had two piles of orc corpses in front of it, almost as if a bulldozer had driven through the snow. We passed the bodies and entered the fort in order to rest. Those who saw us return waved to us happily. It was a bit like a triumphant return, and I felt quite good about it.

And it was with such feelings that I headed for Virgil’s tent, when an Adventurer ran up to me. It was Lauria, my first ever fan.

“Asagi, welcome back!”

“Ah, thanks. I see you’re also safe.”

Lauria laughed happily. A good girl.

“Oh, but you are drenched in blood again! Cleaning!”

Her magic cleansed me of the orc blood that was soaked in my hair and clothing. It really was impressive… Beatrice and Charlotte, who were walking with me, also widened their eyes in amazement.

“Thanks, Lauria. You’ve saved me again.”

“Oh, this is nothing. But more importantly, Virgil’s been searching for you. He’s in the tent with Angelica.”

With Angelica. That meant the search was to begin.

“Got it. I’ll go at once. Thanks.”

“I-I’m just delivering the message! See you!”

She said quickly and then ran back to her tent. An upright person. Perhaps having fans like that would help improve my bad reputation.

“Ohh…that was amazing. That magic.”

“It was… But she could have helped us too…”

My companions were still filthy. They looked at me a little reproachfully, but it was hardly my own fault. Now, to see Virgil. …But first…

“Thank you for coming. I hope that we can fight together again.”

I said. I had not been able to see too much, but they were all brilliant. Very skilled.

Elena’s abilities with the sword were so advanced, that some of her victims continued to run for a bit before falling apart. Beatrice fought with a spear, not her parasol, and pierced the hearts of orcs with precision. Not much needed to be said of Charlotte’s axe. But there were no orcs who could successfully avoid those heavy blows.

The Dante and Drake pair was also frightening to watch… the slicing, shredding, choking and bashing… They must have been fun playmates as children.

“Hmph. We were the most unnecessary reinforcements. But, well, I enjoyed it.”

“Yes. He was just as the rumors said.”

“You do not get called Silvergreen for nothing. I am quite jealous.”

They said. And I suppose it meant that we were on generally good terms now. Well, maybe not with Beatrice.

“I am going back to the magician group. I will see you later.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Daniela.”

“It was nothing. I belong in the place that you happen to be in. I was only returning.”

She said, then turned away. Ah, she really was so cool… Alright, I would have to continue to work so that I wasn’t an embarrassment as her partner.

I said farewell to the other three and headed for Virgil’s tent.