CH 149

Chapter 149

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Archfiend Workshop, Part 4 — Infiltration Preparation

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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At that time, on the ground——

The『Dog』and Elsa and Eliza had joined them. Although they had never met each other before, Elsa and Eliza were taken aback by the『Dog’s』 appearance. The『Dog』is probably a man, but his face is so wrapped in bandages that they cannot see his expression at all. He was smaller than Eliza, and they couldn’t even tell how old he was.

「You’re the『Dog,』isn’t it?」

Elsa asks, but the Dog only nods and doesn’t even speak. Elsa asks the Dog, which doesn’t move until instructed to do so, a question as if she were troubled.

「This may be quick but, where is this entrance you found?」

Without answering her words, the Dog slowly points behind them and urges them with his chin to follow. For a moment, Elsa felt a hint of arrogance in his attitude, but she didn’t see anything special in pointing it out, so she meekly complied.

She walked around the corner and immediately saw a natural cave that opened up into the underground. The entrance is narrow, and at most two people can pass through.

Eliza peeked in, but she couldn’t imagine how far it went.

「Over here?」

The Dog nodded again in response to Elsa’s question. Elsa feels suspicious about his attitude.

「Why don’t you at least reply? Or can’t you speak?」

「I can… speak… but… It’s hard to… hear …listen… you know? I’m burned… badly… all over…」

Elsa and Eliza are surprised at his terrible hoarseness. Indeed, with a voice like this, it makes sense that he doesn’t speak.

「Okay, I’m sorry I pushed you. So what are you going to do now?」

「They… tell… me… to… follow… your… instructions… and… do… what… you… tell… me… to… do.」

The Dog answers falteringly. So Elsa ponders for a moment and then sends instructions to the Dog.

「Your voice is not good for signaling at a moment’s notice. Since you don’t have to join the search, could you please take this ticket and go to the nearby Arnelian church? Just bring your allotment ticket and we’ll automatically be able to talk to you. They should already be ready to go.」

Elsa then produced a ticket from her chest and handed it to the Dog, who received it and ran away from the scene without saying a word. After watching it go, Elsa spoke to Eliza.

「Then we should get ready too. This is already hostile territory. Stay vigilant around the perimeter.」

「Yes.」

The two unload their luggage and take out only what they need to explore. Elsa removes her Sister clothes and changes into shorts and a short undergarment with a tight-fitting top. So her girth and legs were exposed, and shoes were changed to simple boots for ease of movement. She also wears long, black gloves on her arms that reach almost to her elbows, and she’s also equipped with knuckles made of a special metal called mithril.

Then Elsa stands in a relaxed posture and takes a light deep breath. Then Elsa’s body glowed dimly and faintly, and then the light disappeared immediately.

「Okay, today’s looking good.」

Elsa’s fighting style was close-quarters, which is unusual for a Sister. What she lacked in striking power because she was a woman, she made up for with her mithril knuckles, which could easily add magic. Also, the reason for the light clothing is to make it easier to engage in combat.

People around her said that she might easily get injured when wearing light clothing, but she uses magic to protect her entire body, so she boasts a reasonable physical and magical defense even in the areas where she has no clothing. That’s exactly what an average person would do, but she would only hurt her knuckles if she hit someone. Of course, it was a trick she could do because her stance was far more than the average sister.

Eliza, on the other hand, unloaded her luggage and ended up carrying something long and wrapped in cloth that was more than her height. Already outfitted from the lodging facility from which they left the day before, preparations were instantaneous.

Then, after repacking some simple refreshments and some luggage for the search, they each put it on and nod to each other to confirm that they’re ready to go.

「I’ll make one final check before we go in.」

「Yes.」

Eliza’s words make her look even more serious.

「The first objective is to investigate. Our priority is to avoid combat as much as possible and to find out what is going on inside the company. If I don’t think we can go any further, feel free to turn back. If we die, there’s no way we can make it back.」

「Understood.」

「Furthermore, I have a job to do, and if there is a battle, you are to take the lead. Basically I will stay out of it, but if you need me to, I will make the decision. Until then, you’ll do your best to fight it alone.」

「Understood.」

「I will also basically give the signal to withdraw. However, there are times when your judgment is more correct than mine. So if you think you can’t help it, blink twice with your right eye. Okay?」

「I’m not very good at winking.」

「…You should at least manage that much.」

Elsa sighed. Is it Lazaar’s blood that makes her look so serious and yet somewhat slack-jawed?

「Do you have questions?」

Elsa asks.

「I wonder if the gains on my back were a mistake.」

「It’s your trump card, isn’t it? Keep it with you just in case. It’s probably bigger inside.」

「There is no lookout. Is this really the right place?」

「I’ll take care of it. After all…」

Elsa has been feeling the deadly energy coming out of the cave since a few minutes ago. No mere beast could emit such a vicious killing spirit. Elsa’s instincts told her so.

Eliza probably knew that, too, but even so, she thought it would be a good idea not to have a lookout outside.

「Either they don’t think they’ll be found without a lookout, or they’re confident in the protection they have inside.」

「I thought they were slacking off.」

「…You, you have some interesting things to say.」

「It’s a joke.」

Elsa is a bit taken aback by Eliza’s words. She was concerned about Eliza’s lack of nervousness in any way, but if she looked at Eliza closely, she could see that she was shaking a little.

「I hope you’re okay, you seem to be shaking.」

「Please don’t worry. I would say I am half warrior, half fearful.」

「I wonder if you’re that nervous. I’m sure you have some battlefield experience here?」

「I can at least tell you that it is an order of magnitude different from what we have been dealing with in the past. So Albert told me to skip one of my jokes before heading off to the battlefield…」

She thought it was a bit too much for Eliza, but she was nervous, too. No wonder, even Elsa, a veteran of many battles, is tense and nervous.

Elsa, too, is aware of this and puts her hand on Eliza’s shoulder.

「We’re going to get out of here alive. That’s our primary mission, don’t get me wrong.」

「…Understood. We’re good to go.」

「Okay, then. Oh, yeah-yeah. I’ll have to do a trick or two before we go in.」

「?」

Erza then pulled out a white, fingertip-length, stick-like object from a bag at her waist.

＊＊＊

And this is Lifeless. Lifeless left one of his eyes to the bird, his messenger, and always kept an eye on Alfiris and the others. Alfiris’ group and Aerial have separated, and for a moment, the messenger wonders which one to pursue, but since his primary target is Alfiris, he keeps his eyes on Alfiris’ group and Aerial.

After leaving Mutrio, Aerial and Euthy were ahead at full speed on her beloved horse, Sylphide, to transport the seriously injured Nia to Euthy’s hometown, after Alfiris and the others had left Mutrio.

Meanwhile, Alfiris, Miranda, Lisa, and the Kunoichi are taking a short break at the meeting point with Kaede. Miranda seems to have gathered the Kunoichi together and is giving them some sort of instructions, but the hastily created messengers have limited hearing and cannot hear what is being said.

「…Tch, this could be a nasty turn of events… If the fairies were there, that means we’re headed to the Settlement Of Wind…」

Settlement Of Wind—— It’s also Euthy’s hometown, a village ruled by the Higher Spirits Of The Wind. Spirits usually don’t have a clear will, at least not the will to talk to humans, but the higher spirits are different. Many of them are fairies sublimated after a certain number of years, and they relate to living beings with a clear intention.

However, since their nature is similar to nature itself, they are rarely aligned with any one force, with a few exceptions. Lifeless can also negotiate with spirits, since spirits lend their power regardless of the nature of the creature, as long as negotiations are concluded. Magic that solves the problem of negotiating with spirits is called Spirit Magic, and it is far more efficient and powerful than simply collecting atmospheric elements from scratch with one’s own power. The disadvantage of this is that when one becomes intimate with a particular spirit, it becomes difficult to negotiate with other spirits.

Since Spirits are close to nature, attacking them is tantamount to spitting in the face. Even Lifeless, thinking about the future use of magic, was hesitant about the option of making enemies of the higher spirits. Most of all it’s the same for any mage. That is why, if Lifeless were to kill Alfiris, it would be before she entered the Settlement of Wind or just after she left.

「…I… will not be able to get there in time… I will not have enough magic power after transferring the Archfiends… Then it will be right after…」

It was very hard to focus on the target immediately afterwards. It would’ve been nice if they had returned to the Prairie, but if they had gone further into the Marshlands, it would have been nearly impossible to track them. The marshy area was also deeply forested and dark as night even during the day. It’s also inhabited by a large number of unidentifiable natives and Magical Beasts, and the land is no more known than the Prairie.

Even Lifeless was no stranger to the Marshlands.

「…Hmm… 」