CH 47

Chapter 47 – High Orc Nest (1)

The question from the saint was the reason of my mother’s death.

There was no way I could tell the saint what I didn’t know, so I kept silent as was my natural right. The saint looked a little sad but did not pursue the matter any further.

After that, we spent the night in a village near the labyrinth. Separately for men and women.

The next day.

At the entrance to the village, we said a brief goodbye to the guardian and proceeded on foot. If we successfully completed the labyrinth, we were asked to collect the remains of the body and their belongings.

We proceeded along the road with our backs to a slightly deserted village. We were told that the livestock in the village had been severely damaged, and that it would be difficult to survive the winter at that rate. If the livestock were to disappear, people would be next to be eaten by the demon. How frightening it would be to spend the night in fear of the demon’s presence.

We walked.

And kept walking.

Then we came across the labyrinth we were looking for.

It was more like a temple than a labyrinth. It was a religious building with moss growing on it. There was a collapsed church in the center, surrounded by more collapsed stone walls.

“That’s the several hundred year old temple over there. It’s said to have originated from an indigenous belief that has no connection to the Moon religion.”

The saint explained to us.

The chief of the village where we had spent the night told us that the labyrinth was inhabited by a variety of demons. From goblins at the lowest level to high orcs at the highest. He also told us that the high orcs sometimes go out to look for a “feast” and the human race suffered the damage.

“The village chief said the underground was their favorite place.”

A vast underground corridor used to exist. The demons were expanding it wildly to create their dens. Paths connect to each other, creating a complicated labyrinth-like structure.

As I was about to enter the entrance to the underground corridor, I was stopped by the saint.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll cast a holy magic spell to assist us.”

When the saint chanted [Holy Veil – Sacred Robe], I felt as if my body was wrapped in thin silk. This was a simple physical and magical barrier and a spell to increase our resistance to curses. Very helpful.

I turned on the lantern and lowered it to my waist.

We descended the stairs one step at a time, the darkness overwhelming us. I was in the front row, followed by Claude, the saint, and Sareha. The healer, the lifeline of the party, was positioned in the middle, where it was safest.

The light from the lanterns illuminated the dust flying around, and a slightly musty smell reached my nostrils. It wasn’t a good living environment. I wonder if demons liked this kind of place.

“Do you guys think there’s any traps?”

“I don’t think so, it’s an old temple site. If there were, I’m sure every adventurer who’s ever been through here would have already disarmed it.”

I would agree with the saint. I wouldn’t want there to be vicious traps like the dungeon in the territory. No matter how many lives I had, it wouldn’t be enough.

But still, we proceeded cautiously. There was no guarantee that the ceiling of the straight path we were on wouldn’t collapse, and there was also the possibility that demons would be lurking in the darkness.

As we continued on, I suddenly noticed that the sound of shoes hitting the ground had decreased. When I turned around, I saw Sareha with a piece of leather paper in his hand, writing something down.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m drawing a map of the labyrinth. I’m writing it quickly so I don’t fall behind.”

“A map……? What’s that for?”

“I’m writing down the terrain, the location of traps, and places where we can rest. Thor-san taught me how to do it.”

When I looked into the paper, I saw that there was a line drawn on it. The path we had just taken was drawn over the lines. There seemed to be room for various information to be added in the future.

“If there are any bodies and belongings, we’ll collect them later, so make a note of that as well.”

“Yes, nii-sama.”

After receiving a reply, we proceeded further.

After a long passage, we reached the hall.

Stone pillars were everywhere, supporting the ceiling, and we could even see some Orcs. They didn’t seem to notice us, so we hurried to extinguish the lanterns.

“Their number is……five. There are no high orcs, only regular orcs. I’ll take the left side of the hall. Claude will take the right.”

“Got it.”

I communicated with them in a whisper. I also explained to Sareha and the saint what we were going to do. We waited for our eyes to adjust to the darkness.

I moved from stone pillar to stone pillar, attempting to hide my body while enduring the unpleasant smell peculiar to demons. Claude also moved in the same way, while keeping his posture low.

“Buhhihi, buhhihi, buhhihhihihi”

The orc was humming. They were completely unaware of us.

“Buhhihihhi, buhhihihhi, buhhihihhihi–”

I looked over to Claude for the timing. Two lone orcs. We had to hunt them one by one at the same time. The timing for this must be exactly the same.

Claude pulled out a knife from his waist.

At the same time, he drew his sword from his waist.

We suppressed the sound of our footsteps. Minimizing our breathing. Approached the orcs from their blind spot.

Then we slashed the orc’s back with all our might.

The orc that had been cut in the back let out a weak cry, but before it could alert its comrades of the danger, it stopped its vital activity. A few moments later, the half of the orc that had been cut in two diagonally fell to the ground.

At the same time, Claude jumped on the orc from behind, restrained its mouth, and slashed its neck with his knife. The blood that spurted out like a fountain soaked the ground.

The remaining three orcs hadn’t noticed us yet. I look towards the entrance and saw Sareha chanting his magic according to the plan.

“Aer (chant), Infirmus (weaken), Lux (light), Pila (sphere).”

A feeble ball of light emerged from Sareha’s chanting. It illuminated the surroundings and headed towards the center of the hall.

“Buhyi?” ”Guu~a?” ”Gu~augu~au!?”

The orcs were puzzled by the sudden ball of light and approached to see what was going on. Then all three of them gathered in the same place and looked at each other questioningly.

“Aer (chant), Quattuor (quadruple), Stone (stone), Wall (wall).”

Four stone walls rose out of the ground and trapped the orcs. The strong stone walls became a cage that trapped the demons, blocking their movement.

“Take this! [Force (Shock)]!”

The saint’s chanting caused an impact sound to echo within the stone walls. The orcs’ screams and the sound of flesh popping reverberated, but the saint continued to chant without minding the sound.

“[Force (shock)] [Force (shock)] [Force (shock)]”

The shock, which had nowhere else to go, made an explosion sound. The stone wall cracked slightly, and then flesh and blood flew from the top of the wall.

I didn’t even have to look inside the stone wall to see that the orcs were wiped out.

Our first party battle turned out to be a good one. We tried stealth, combat, and magic coordination. The chemistry was not bad, in fact, it was actually heinous.

“That Saint-sama’s a little scary. Oi.”

“Don’t say that too loudly. I agree with you, but……”

The saint killed the demon without hesitation. The Moon Religion did not encourage killing, but demonkind was different. This helped us as well. I couldn’t stand it if the demons were taught to be benevolent against.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Ah…I was careless–”

— The locket pendant fell out of the saint’s hand with a clang. It bounced off the ground a few times and came close to my feet.

“You dropped it, Saint-sama. Here.”

“Yes. In it is a portrait of a certain person. Don’t open it.”

“I won’t open it. I’ll give it back.”

I held it in my palm and handed it to the Saint. I didn’t know why, but the saint looked unhappy.

“Wasn’t that supposed to be in the flow of you giving in to your inner urges and opening it up?” 

“I don’t understand what are you’re talking about…Here I’m giving it back” 

“Try opening it.”

“Eh … I understand.”

While disbelieving the nonsensical Saint, I opened the locket. Inside, as she said, was a portrait.

Long gray hair. She was smiling. A woman.

“Mo…the…r”

“Okay, that’s enough! Please give it back!”

The face of my mother, which I thought I had forgotten. But the moment I saw her, I remembered everything. I remembered what her face looked like, how she smiled.

Then, the locket pendant was ruthlessly taken from me, and Saint looked at me with a frown.

“She is my second mother. It’s a copy of a portrait of Marie-sama.”

“Ugh…can I see it again?”

“She has nothing to do with you, right? So I won’t show it to you.”

The locket pendant snapped shut. The saint dusted it off and hugged it carefully to her chest.

“Ash Swordsman-sama…… I just want to say one thing. I still own a memento of Marie-sama. Do you know what this means?”

“How…….”

“I want to be in a partnership with you. We will reveal everything to each other and work hand in hand. To do that, you need to tell me what you know.”

The saint was now getting her revenge for me not revealing my true identity.

“You guys are quite friendly, aren’t you? Don’t…you…care about the orc corpses around you…?”

I heard Claude’s disgusted voice.