CH 127

Chapter 127

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : After The Storm, Part 3 — Those Who Gather In The Meadow

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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A boy emerged from the ground in a burned-out prairie. When he appeared, he took out a seed from his pocket and began to roll it all over the area. When he was almost finished winding, he put one hand on the ground and mumbled a long chant.

「I guess this is fine.」

After a short while, he was about to leave the place when he noticed someone approaching. He hastily used a magic spell to block recognition, and hid in plain sight, peeking out to see what was going on.

After the boy disappeared, three girls appear a short distance away. They had apparently walked across the prairie, and when they came near the edge of the burned prairie, one of them screamed.

「Uhhyo—! This is amazing. It’s really a burnt-out area, Ria Shade.」

「You’re being very gracious, Cerro Grace. Totally ungraceful… Onee-sama always tells you to behave gracefully, doesn’t she, Hamnet?」

「…Either way. She’ll work faster than that. I’m going home.」

All three girls wore elegant dresses, and their fabrics, decorations, and tailoring indicated that they were of considerable first-class quality. But strangely enough, each of them is carrying something on their backs that does not match their dress. Can they call it a cooking utensil? But the size doesn’t fit at all with regular cookware.

The girl called Cerro Grace is wearing a long dress with a green-based design and a large mortar on her back for some reason. Moreover, it is made of steel, so it might be better to call it a metal rod rather than a mortar. She looks the most ladylike of the three and wears her long green hair in twin-tails, but her tone of voice is foul and she spits in the air at every opportunity. No wonder Ria Shade frowns every time he does this, it’s so unbecoming and unbecoming.

Ria Shade has two long kitchen knives at her waist. The blade of the knife is about 50 cm long, so it is a kind of “two-faced” kitchen knife. Ria Shade has a big head of blue hair, and her dress is blue, but the hem is short and above the knee, and the chest is wide open. Despite their tone and polite language, they are very revealing.

Hamnet who’s the last had a long red dress, but it was mostly knit and mostly transparent. Naturally, even their underwear is visible, but due to their uneven physiques, they do not look sensational at all. And with a large frying pan on her back and knives like knives wrapped in belts all over his body, she was more aptly described as an assassin than a cook. Her hair is unique and naturally curly, and it looks as if it has been slept in, as if there is no way to set it. The sleepy look in her eyes is probably unnecessary. And perhaps mistaking it for a bird’s nest, a bird perched and chirping at her head.

In this prairie overrun by wild beasts, three unique girls, who at first glance seem almost maniacal, make a lot of noise on their own.

「I’m not surprised at all. Onee-sama said,『I want to take on the Flame Beast,』so we came here to hunt and this is what we got. What happened here?」

「This must be magic. It’s reasonable to assume that the Flame Beast did it… but I’m more concerned about who Flame Beast had to do all this work for.」

「I’m interested in it, too.」

「Heeh～ It’s rare that Hamnet shows interest. But what are we going to do? If Onee-sama knew that you couldn’t eat the Flame Beast, she’d be very cross, wouldn’t you?」

「You mean we don’t have a choice? Well, it is reasonable to assume that the Flame Beast is dead, but there is nothing we can do about what is no longer there. Do you know how many years it took us to hunt the legendary Kraken, which may or may not live in the sea, on Onee-sama’s whim last time?」

「If I remember, 23 years.」

「And the first word out of your sister’s mouth is,『No good』…she can’t do it at all.」

「It can’t be helped, Onee-sama can’t move from the mansion. Isn’t that why we are going around the world like this? I think we’re pretty much free to do what we want, albeit with supervision.」

「Yes, but only about the size of a Gigantosaurus, then it’s not crunchy.」

The other two agree with Hamnet’s opinion.

「I know, right? If we poke them with this stick for a minute, they die. They weren’t tough at all!」

「I wouldn’t call hitting someone so hard that the ground deforms『slightly.』」

「I don’t care about the small stuff. Oh, and don’t go wild.」

「But we’re due, and we’re close. If we don’t go home, she’ll get angry.」

「I guess so. How about we just annihilate the 200 or so Cuckudoo herds we saw earlier and bring them back?」

「Great, grilled chicken. But what would Onee-sama say?」

「She’s a bad eater anyway, she just needs to fill up her stomach, and after eating a hundred of them she’ll be satisfied and go back to sleep.」

「Well, come on, then, let’s go. This place, it’s not so good.」

「What is it, Hamnet?」

Cerro Grace asks.

「There are a lot of people coming around. I’m getting surveillance, and we’re getting a lot of stares.」

「Oh, my, isn’t it nice? It’s so thrilling to be stared at by a gentleman.」

「Don’t be ridiculous, Ria Shade. It wouldn’t be good if they saw us. We’re not supposed to leave the mansion, after all.」

「Well, Cerro Grace must have a small liver. Those of us with a little bit of brains know that that’s just a front. Still, we have to keep quiet about us. Right?」

「Hah, you usually pretend to be submissive and this is what you get, you whore. Before you point out my tone, do something about your less than whore-like attire.」

「…What did you say?」

Ria Shade pulls out her knives in a row.

「Take it back, Cerro Grace. Now get down on your knees and lick my boots and I will forgive you.」

「Like I’ll do that. I’d rather stick my head up a Gigantosaurus’ ass than apologize to you!」

「…Well said. Then die!」

「Try it!」

Ria Shade and Cerro Grace are suddenly deadly, and just when you think their weapons are about to cross—— Hamnet stands between them, holding a knife to their throats.

「I am not, interested in fighting amongst, ourselves. Stop.」

「Tch!」

「…I don’t have a choice.」

The three meekly reign in their weapons. Then each looks at each other and sighs.

「So, are we going to hunt the Cuckudoo?」

「Yes, that’s correct.」

「Then, over there.」

The three turned around in the direction Hamnet pointed. The three of them left again, each complaining to the other.

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The boy who disappeared was watching the scene from relatively close up, but there were others who were watching from afar.

「Is that『Four Sisters of Sophias』just now?」

「Yeah, I’m sure I’m right. I’ve never seen them before either.」

「Heh… Which is stronger, us or them?」

「Hahhah! Who’s stronger than us!?」

「You are quick to say that again. Well, I don’t think there are many stronger than us, but those four sisters are exceptional. It’s better not to fight them. Isn’t that right, Zemus-sama?」

But the young man called Zemus only smiled and said nothing.

「Well, when the order is given to take someone down, they’ll hunt them down.」

「So it’s Phalanx this time.」

「Correct. It’s a pity that we couldn’t fight after all the enthusiasm we came here with. Shall we destroy a suitable tribe somewhere to relieve our sorrows?」

「Like when we came to the prairie a few years ago?」

「Yes. We can go on a rampage here and no one will see us. What do you think, Zemus-sama?」

「Let’s see…」

Zemus seemed to think about it a bit, but eventually nodded slowly.

「Hyahhoo! Zemus-sama has given his blessing!」

「Fufu, I’m looking forward to it.」

「Let’s do as much as we want, shall we, folks?」

「I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…」

Zemus speaks slowly. His tone is quiet and calm. But he is extremely cruel.

「It’s no fun to just kill them… make the men immobile and break the women right in front of the men. Let the children live.」

「It’s merciful of you to show mercy to children, isn’t it? Normally you’d kill them all.」

「No, no, this is more cruel. Because how long do you think a child can survive left out on the prairie like this?」

「…So be it. It’s funny to watch those damn brats squirm in front of the beasts on the prairie.」

「The due date is long this time. We still have a couple of weeks to spare.」

「Then we can enjoy it for a long time!」

「But you also love it, don’t you, Zemus-sama～ You just annihilated a swarm of Iron Hedges a while ago, and you still haven’t seen enough blood?」

A mage-like young man looks at Zemus with dismay. But Zemus still smiles and said,

「Oh, he’s depressed too. If he doesn’t vent it in a place like this, he’ll be ragged when we get back to the city, right?」

「Well, you’re the『hero』the world expects you to be, aren’t you?」

“Gahaha,” laughs the ungraceful warrior-looking man. But this time, Zemus only smiles thinly, says nothing, and turns to leave. Seeing this, his companions follow Zemus. And then a fellow monk-like woman turns around and one returns.