196 - - unexpected circumstances

The time he was stunned was probably less than ten seconds.

Thor managed to pull himself back to consciousness when he felt his body suddenly tilt to the side.

Garudo, who was sitting next to him, seemed to be in the same state and shouted in a panicked voice.

"Oops!　Hey, are you okay?"

"Sorry~, I'll fall if I get caught in the fog~. Just hold on a little longer.

With a slight apology from the rider, the load was now pushed strongly downward.

It seemed that the flying dragon had begun to soar.

Thor and the others, who no longer had time to look out of the boat, got down and clung to the floor, holding each other's hands.

Their bodies were shaken up and down and from side to side, and their ears were filled only with the sound of the dragon's heavy breathing and sharply cutting wind.

This time it lasted for about 30 seconds.

Suddenly, the force that had been shaking my body disappears, and the sound of the wind becomes calm.

Thor wakes up and breathes a silent sigh of relief while hugging Moo, who is still clinging tightly to his chest.

"Wow, that's amazing!

Thor and the others turned at the sound of Sola's voice and gaped at the view behind them.

The land, which had been nothing but black mud, was now covered in a magnificent white mist.

In a very short time, the colors have completely changed.

Thor gazed at the scene from his flying dragon boat as it moved away from him, as if he was simply overwhelmed.

The flying dragon returns to the ruins of the fort and slides down to the solid ground.

As Thor stepped on the ground, he felt the firmness of his feet and once again let out a deep breath.

The journey in the sky, which lasted less than ten minutes, was too much of a shock.

Perhaps it was too much for the child, who was still crying in Thor's arms.

"Mumu, this way please."

Moe looked up at Ulil, who held out his hand to her, as if sensing something, and she jumped on him, sniffing and sniffling.

Thor finally realized why his leather armor was warm and damp.

Apparently, the child had wet himself.

Accompanied by Thora, who had rushed to the scene, Moe was taken to the carriage to change.

I Thor's wet armor, but there was nothing I could do about the underwear that had nothing to do with the monster.

I could have gone to erase the result, but the possible time had already passed.

Unaware of Moe's condition, Thor could only scratch under his chin in silence.

Then Garudo comes to him and puts his hand gently on his shoulder.

"It's better for male parents to be a little insensitive. Don't worry about it.

"She's not my daughter, though."

Thor smiles wryly at his old friend who distracts him.

Garudo deftly lifts the corner of his lips, but then suddenly confirms it in a hushed voice.

"Hey, is that,...... that, that thing?"

"...... yeah, I'm sure that's it."

Thor, covering the corner of his forehead with his hand, replied to Garudo's words in a muffled manner.

The words that he had uttered so casually until now had a completely different weight when they actually existed.

However, the woman who jumped down from above his head easily said it out loud.

"How was it?　Witch."

"............After all, that's what they call a witch?"

"I don't need to be told, they look just like each other. But, you really are here. ......"

Thor frankly questioned Chita, who shook the feather on his head in a proud manner.

"I'm well aware that there's a monster deep in the swamp that produces a miasma. But what does this have to do with your brother's story?

"Well, let's see...if you defeat the giant, the fog will be even worse than it is now."

"You've picked so many I have no idea what you're talking about. What do witches and giants have to do with it?"

"Yes, they are all children of witches!"

Thor felt that his answer had cleared up a question that had been secretly nagging at him.

A spirit monster is a natural phenomenon that has been infected with a miasma.

However, after entering the swamp, the only phenomenon that seemed to be related to the mud was a thick fog.

This place is far from the kind of environment where evil spirits and giants occur in such large numbers.

"I thought the miasma was too thick to be easily generated, but ......"

"Have you seen the witch's head?"

"There was something that looked like hair. ...... could that be it?"

Thor recalls how the long, slender mud extending from the witch's head hung down to the ground and assimilated with the swamp.

Then he noticed that they were much shorter but very similar to the evil spirit of the sorcerer's mud that he had just defeated yesterday.

"That's right~. They are all born of witches.

"A monster that spawns monsters. A real monster.

"I don't mind the hair that falls out, just like people do, but when the hair gathers together to form a giant, I seem to get attached to it~."

Specifically, when the mud-poison giant is defeated, it is said to sigh mournfully and repeatedly with a miasma sigh.

However, it is said that the direction of the wind and humidity conditions determine whether the mist drifts to this side of the swamp or not.

Also, the interval between spitting out the fog is getting shorter and shorter as the number of giants defeated increases.

Even if we wanted to fight, we couldn't.

It was here that Thor finally realized the true meaning of Razzel's words.

"If that's the case, what does Chiru propose?"

"The fog won't get inside the prison, you know..."

"I see. As long as we get up to the Kongo class quickly, it doesn't matter what happens after that."

It may be strategically correct in that it can obstruct the following shipments.

With , we can read the extent of the spread of the troublesome noxious fog, so we can pick a safe day and head for the dungeon.

"That's a crazy story, isn't it? The Adventurer's Bureau must know something about that. If that's the case, why don't they change the conditions for promotion?

Thor shook his head at Garudo's angry tone.

"It's going to cost us a lot of money to get more A-level adventurers," he said. Besides..."

"Oh, that thing you were talking about."

He must have remembered the story of the relics we had talked about in the airship.

Frowing his eyebrows, the bearded shieldman continued his words as if to spit them out.

"So adventurers are treated as pawns after all. What a stupid way to play!"

Thor nodded his head and asked Chita a question.

"I understand what's going on, but why did you tell us about it?"

It was an act of near betrayal to her own people, but the maiden horsewoman quickly gave her reasons.

"I'm happy just to ride her and fly in the sky. I also want to thank you for making me stronger the other day.

"Well, that's just the way it is."

It seems to be a hearty counterattack by the younger sister, who has been included in the fixed dungeon search by her brother.

At Thor's words, Chita smiles and pats the flying dragon's leg.

"Actually, there is one more thing, but it is still a secret. And for more information about witches, just tell them you saw that thing in the swamp at the bureau counter.