Chapter 263: Summary of Cultists (5)

Chapter 263: Summary of Cultists (5) On the first day, I took a short walk near the altar and came back.

It was really just a walk because I knew there wouldn't be anything anyway.

There wasn't anything particularly enjoyable, but sometimes times like this aren't bad, right?

The forest here was fairly sparse. Even though I was in the forest, the sunlight shining through the leaves was dazzling.

I was glad to see the wild animals that I occasionally saw, as it felt like it was nature.

Goblins were often seen respawning wherever there were no people, but they can no longer be found.

I pack a lunch in the morning, set down a place in a suitable clearing in the forest, and eat the lunch while chatting with friends.

A forest picnic, which would have been fraught with troublesome things in reality, becomes an ideal picnic just as you imagined in WM.

Because it is set to 'convenience', there are no bugs sticking around.

Before returning, I stopped by the altar and returned after confirming that the cult members who had fallen into suspended animation were still there.

"I heard you couldn't find it today... "

Of course, the hunter made it clear that he was in great trouble.

At first glance, it looks like it is troubled that a threatening element remains near the village, but since we have already guessed its identity, it is obvious that it has other ideas.

And the second day.

"Isn't this here?"

"What. "Look where you are."

"Here, it's cut in half."

"What happens with this?"

"Well?"

We investigated near the altar.

The epic operation we planned for three days.

If there was one thing I missed while planning the operation, it was that I didn't decide how to spend the extra time I had over the three days.

So on the second day, we investigated the altar and found out what kind of puzzle it would have been if it had been solved according to the original gimmick. It was simply out of interest.

I found a few decent ones, but none of them worked properly because I destroyed them with force.

On this day, I came back after killing some time.

"You found something on the altar! "You are adventurers after all!"

Still, he was a hunter who liked it and was pleased to hear that there was some progress.

"Ah. You couldn't solve the puzzle... "

When I heard that that was all, I felt down again.

It seemed like he was trying to hide his expression, but his inner feelings were clearly revealed through his restless attitude.

It would have been quite cute if it weren't for the man with shaggy hair (suspected to be a cult member).

No, no. Anyway, if the suspicions are confirmed, I'm the type of person who will just brush it off. It's better not to get attached for no reason.

I'm glad it's you!

Third day (3rd day).

There was a lot to prepare on this day, so I wasn't bored.

According to my sense, there might be some movement around this time.

After preparing what I needed to prepare and installing what I needed to install, I just inspected it and came right back.

The village said they couldn't find anything today either.

And finally, on the third night, now.

We sneaked out of the room and were flying over the forest.

"I think it was like this... "

"Ah. There it is. "Over there."

After wandering around for a bit in the forest at night, which looks different from the forest during the day, I was able to join the sylphs of Asil.

I hid it near the altar during the day in case it couldn't find its way at night.

Perhaps because she was a little upset about being left alone, the sylph who had joined her held Asil's hand and spun around, causing Flora's flight magic to wear off, but it wasn't a big deal.

At most, Asil experienced a free fall from about 11 meters.

It was brought back up again before it hit the ground, so it was right that nothing happened.

"Me. "I feel a stinging pain from being scratched and stabbed by a tree branch."

"It will be better if you apply saliva to that extent."

"That can't be possible."

"Is it better?"

"Eh? Flora?"

"It is known that spirit body fluids have a weak recovery effect. "If it's just a scratch, it'll be fine."

"Look at that!"

"No, why is this real?"

This was resolved by temporarily calling in Undine to increase recovery.

Because Asil can't touch his own body. If I could, I would like to see her a little.

After going through some happenings, she finally arrived at the altar.

We held our breath and began to watch the altar.

I already knew that there was a suspicious movement in the village. If the suspicious movement is related to this altar, the suspicion will be confirmed.

And some time passed.

– Rustling...

How long did I wait? It was a small sound, but it was clearly audible.

A human being is approaching by harming the grass.

It was not a monster or beast. There was no doubt that it was a person.

It was late at night, so I woke up Flora, who had been dozing off in her hiding place.

– Crispy!

The human being, which was slowly approaching with a rustling sound, finally broke through the grass and appeared.

It was a dark environment with the only light being the moonlight coming down through the leaves, but it was enough to make out who the person was.

Because it was a somewhat familiar face.

Anyone would have expected this at this point.

The person who came to this hideous place called the cultist's altar this late at night was a hunter from the village. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"... For some reason, isn't that guy the only one who keeps appearing? "Are there no people in that village?"

"Because not everyone becomes a hunter. "I guess it's a role that a person with some level of skill can take on, or something like that."

Because Flora's soundproofing magic had been installed in advance, she was able to talk while hiding her appearance.

Flora, who had actually used magic, was desperately trying to shake off her drowsiness by rubbing her eyes.

The hunter looked around, but he couldn't find us, who had been hiding in a good place for several hours.

After checking the surroundings, I quietly approached the altar and looked somewhere.

It was one of the puzzles we had figured out while examining the altar a day earlier.

It was clear that he knew in advance that he was able to find a puzzle that would have taken us tens of minutes in one go in the dark.

And what that meant was clear.

"This is a scam."

"Yes? Skip... ?"

"Ah. Flora. No, this means that it is certain."

"I teach my child good things."

"Ugh."

This time, even Asil had nothing to say.

Only Flora, who was treated like a child, puffed out her cheeks.

"But you know, you're not really surprised? "You said 80% or 90%."

"That's the first day. "I saw the reaction yesterday and today. Will it be the same as then?"

The suspicions we had were already confirmed, and all that remained was to catch the rest, but we chatted a little more while looking at the hunter.

This is because it was fun to see the hunter trying to solve the puzzle to go underground, but kept failing because we destroyed it.

Fun is important.

In fact, half of this operation was planned for fun.

The operation was like this.

If you keep searching for several days and find nothing, someone will go to the altar to check the basement.

As I said, there is no summoning spell that lasts forever.

There are a lot of monsters that have been summoned thinking that we are coming, but if we find the underground late and find them after the summoning spell's duration has expired, they will just break through.

So either tell them we're lost, or get ready to use the summoning spell again. Either way, it was clear that someone would head underground to make contact.

The time of three days was calculated by calculating the duration of a typical summoning spell.

All we had to do was find the site and confirm that the person who visited the altar was from that village.

As a bonus, I also enjoy the image of the hunter wondering whether he should go to the altar and take the risk of being discovered each day as he passes by.

There were a few more details of the operation, but the general outline was as follows.

And as you can see the result.

In the end, as I saw the hunter turning around in a huff, unable to open the door to the basement, I began the final step of subjugating the cult.

Even if it was the last thing to do, it wasn't that great.

All you have to do is wait a little.

◆

A little late for lunch the next day.

When the Paladins invaded the seemingly peaceful village, the disguised peace came to an end.

The villagers were also cultists, but their role was to supply or kidnap passing travelers and offer them as sacrifices. In terms of combat power, he was no different from ordinary people.

The cultists, who had no idea that they had been caught by our perfect plan, were unable to even put up a proper resistance and were all captured in the blink of an eye.

They desperately insisted that it was not the case, but when the symbol of Drippert hidden in the basement of the village chief's house came out, they were completely cornered.

And our party was just as shocked.

I was the one who contacted the cult last night as soon as I was convinced that this village was a cult village, but I didn't expect it to arrive so quickly.

It was about two days away on foot, so I expected that if I rode a horse, I would be there in less than a day.

But I didn't expect it to come in half a day.

In order to do that, you would have to start preparations and leave immediately after receiving my call, but thinking objectively, our work was not that urgent and important.

But, it actually came.

What is it?

In my experience, it would be difficult to get things done this quickly unless you have significant connections...

At that time, I somehow felt eyes on me, so I turned around and made eye contact with a woman who was protected among the Holy Knights.

She was looking at me, took off her hood, smiled happily, and waved her hand.

It was a saint whom we met once when we lifted the curse that Wirdi had placed on us.