186 Chapter 12-5 Bones

Merlin SIDE

"Tenma seems to be asleep already."

"Looks like it. Tenma, as soon as I got out of the carriage, I was yawning."

We found just the right place for the camp and we all had an early dinner, but Tenma yawned again and again during the meal.

"I slept in the bath, and I slept even after I came out... I'm so tired."

"Right. Besides, I built a fort for the martial arts tournament to exorcise Wyburn from Borderland, so if you're a regular person, you've been working too hard and fell a long time ago. Besides, it's about Kukri Village..."

That's what Chris said and looked worried about the tent where Tenma was sleeping.

"I'm worried about taking the current Tenma to Kukri Village, but getting here and turning back isn't what Tenma wants."

"I think so too. Tomorrow morning, if we leave at the usual time, after noon, it's like getting to Kukuri Village... and Kukuri Village still has the graves of Mr. Ricardo and Mr. Shelia, right?

"Mm-hmm. After that incident, I waited for the return of Tenma, who challenged the dragon zombies, but because I needed to move to the city early because of the condition of the injured and everyone's mental state, and because I couldn't leave the carcass forever... because most of the villagers who died, including Ricardo and Sealia, were born and raised in Kukri village or became the companions of those who were born and raised. Some of them took the remains of the deceased family, but they were buried near Shiloumal's parents' grave."

I really wanted to take the remains of both of them, but the injury was so bad that I couldn't make such a decision, and Mark and Martha, in addition to the death of both of them, were confused by the fact that Tenma was gone, so if I had no choice, I would say so... the matter still remains as a remorse in me.

"Tenma, you have a lot to think about too... hope you can get over it"

"Right. There may not be much we can do, but first we have to believe in the strength of the temper."

I don't know how Kukuri Village is going to make a difference in Tenma, but I decided to do everything I could to Tenma.

Merlin, SIDE.

"Grandpa, there's an adventurer ahead. Looks like he's from Kukri Village."

Yesterday, I fell asleep when the camp was ready, and when I realized it was morning. He said he turned the night watch outside of me, and instead, he's been doing your thing since morning.

After we left the camp, we discovered a couple of adventurer parties headed from Kukuri Village to the other side in about two to three hours.

"It's not the first time you've come all the way from Shellhide to meet other adventurers."

"Right. I can't help it, I have a promise to make to Uncle Borderline, and I'll try to speak up."

As soon as they moved the carriage in the direction of the adventurers, they noticed us. As we approached, we found the adventurers on alert, but we stared at this one without moving from where we noticed Ryden, whether he thought he'd be caught up immediately or just suspicious if he ran off to his carriage opponent. The adventurers were a five-man group, all of them seemed younger than me. Maybe he even came to collect herbs in The Great Forest.

"We're from 'Shellhide', but are you guys coming home from Kukri Village?

One of the adventurers replied, "Yes," when he stopped the carriage a short distance from the adventurers to speak up, not to make them too alert.

"We have been asked by Uncle Borderline to pay attention to adventurers working near Kukri Village."

When Uncle Neighborhood asked me to do it, the adventurers stepped up their guard because the boulders couldn't believe it, but when Lion showed me the flag with the family crest of Uncle Neighborhood from behind me, it seemed suspicious to hear about it.

"For that reason, you should stay as close as possible to Kukri Village"

Lately, when I told him that there were more missing persons near Kukri village, the adventurers began to talk with their faces blue, "I knew it" and "There were strange signs," among their peers.

"What do you mean, after all?

"We all grew up in a village with woods right next to us, like Kukri Village. So as an adventurer, I'm new, but I'm confident when it comes to the woods. So I came to collect it knowing that the 'Great Forest' herbs were being picked up at a high price... it was kind of creepy, so I turned it back."

Listening to the story, they were planning to travel to near Kukri village in the middle of the night to take a break and find herbs in The Great Forest early in the morning. And a little before the sun came up, I started collecting herbs in "The Great Forest" as planned, and they cut up the collection on the way back because there were unpleasant signs unlike normal forests.

"I think that's a good decision, but we've run into a bunch of goblins twice and a bunch of oaks once by the time we get here. We don't necessarily have a bunch of demons on your way, but you better watch your way home."

Taking my advice, the adventurers' faces were blue. Seems like it's not a party I'm confident in the fight, so I guess I even imagined when they attacked me.

Later, he broke up with the adventurers by exchanging information on the route his grandfather knew seemed relatively safe (although it was a long time ago, so it was about resting) and the recent Kukri village. The adventurers left early on this occasion, wanting to get as far away from Kukri village as possible before sundown.

"You'd better think there was something strange about this in The Forest of the Elders."

"Right. I just spoke lightly, but those adventurers seemed pretty familiar with the woods, so maybe it's true that I felt strange, and I'm curious that I ran into a bunch of demons three times until I got here."

I couldn't help but decide to make today's camp a 'fort' outside of the village of Kukri, which was originally planned, based on information I heard from the adventurers. The fort is said to be left as a site for what used to be a caged castle when fighting zombies, and the walls and the like are fairly broken but the moat remains, and the adventurers who visited Kukri village often use it as a camp.

"You're finally here."

"Right."

After meeting those new adventurers, they arrived in Kukri village as planned without encountering any other adventurers or demons. No, you should say where Kukri Village was.

The Kukri Village buildings in my memory were mostly broken by zombie invasions during that commotion or by our magic, and there was only one church left that was stone built. Most of all, even though it remains, it is semi-destructed without roofs or anything else, so it would be dangerous to go inside instead of using it for camping.

"That's where my house was, isn't it? Next door was my uncle's and aunt's house, and that's where I used to banquet in the village."

Various other memories came back, including the house my grandfather used for his sleepover and where he first used magic. However, the places of memories that should have been where I pointed out were now gone from the shadows I saw, and only to such an extent that I could barely discern by the columns, floorboards, and flowerbed marks that remained.

"And this is my room..."

Looking slowly at the unusual village, I reached the place where my home was, and as I remembered the old days, I entered the house from where the front door was, to my room.

"Really, nothing's gone..."

I was hoping maybe there was something I used to use, but there was nothing left.

"Was this burning shake maybe a bed? So that's the chair, and that's the desk?

Even if there was anything left in the battle against the zombies, the adventurers who came after them would have taken everything that was likely to be gold.

"Tenma. Shall we go to the tombs of Seelia and Ricardo?

"Right."

When I miss the old days, my grandfather called out. Me and Grandpa are the only ones on this scene, plus the slurrins. Everyone else seems to have shunned us and prepared for camp at the fort.

"See you there. There they sleep with the sacrificed villagers."

Moving from where we had our home, we walked around the village for a while to get to where we wanted to be.

"Isn't this place near Shiloumal's parents' grave?

It's a burning field, but a short walk from here is the grave of Shiloumal's parents.

"Um, yeah. The place was originally planted with trees, but burned to the ground by the magic of the temples. And because it was big enough to fill the victims, this place was chosen."

That's when Grandpa said he wasn't in a bad condition to move, and he built a grave in this place with the surviving people. Still, when he left Kukri village, he came to the grave with the help of Uncle Mark.

"Not here. This stone is the tombstone of Sealia and Ricardo."

Where Grandpa stopped, there was a stone about forty cm in size, on which the names of his father and mother were dug.

"Long time no see, father, mother..."

I put my hands together to make the two of you hear what happened after I defeated the dragon zombie, and finally I took out what I was making for this day. It's a tombstone with Ootri's surname inscribed behind their names.

"Both of you will be happy."

"I hope so."

After I finished visiting my father and mother's grave, my grandfather and I joined hands with the graves of the other villagers, cleaning them one by one. Because of the high number of boulders, Chris and the others came looking for us on the way to clean the tomb, but when they saw what we were doing, they all took part in the cleaning.

When I finished cleaning and went to the fort I was camping in, as the adventurers I met along the way had said, the walls were mostly broken by fighting and weathering at that time, and the moat was also broken by broken walls, grass, etc.

"I couldn't help but think of camping in that place and I'm ready."

What Mr. Chris chose for camp was where he thought other adventurers were using it inside the fort. They didn't have to get a lot of hands on some of the pieces that the adventurers used before made, or the windswept dirt walls.

"Jeanne and Aura made the meal, and the rest is enough to set the watch order."

"Before that, but I'm leaving Kukri Village tomorrow morning"

Grandpa was also surprised by what I said because he had been trying to stay in Kukri Village for a few days.

"In Kukri Village right now, I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure there's something strange going on. That is also true of the increase in missing persons around Kukri village, and there are indications that the adventurers we met felt when we came. Truth is, I know we can turn back now, but we can't even report to the Alliance that we don't feel any strange signs of being one of the causes."

Fortunately, there are so many influential people on all sides of the scene that if one of us reports it as a practical experience, it is possible to form an army and send it in for an investigation.

"That makes sense too."

"Well, if you keep going home and just report it, the guild won't believe you. Rather, they might think you're a coward?

Even if the missing person is out, the Alliance will likely not admit it as a report to the extent that it may be because sending adventurers generates money (making money) and is able to run an organization.

"I don't mind. I want to know what's going on in Kukri Village."

Grandpa and Chris were convinced and Lion agreed, and the rest of us snorted. Originally, Kukuri Village is not thoughtful except for me and my grandfather, so I can also say that I had no reason to oppose a shorter stay.

"So, in order of watch, the first group is Mr. Chris, Albert, Cain. The second group is Grandpa, Lion, Amur, and Leni. What about me, Jeanne and Aura?

As for the first group, Albert and Cain would faithfully carry out their orders if Mr. Chris took command. The second group would be reassuring if my experienced grandfather let me in, and I would still have some anxiety about putting Lion and Mr. Leni together, but I don't think there would be a problem if I had two grandfathers and Amur. The last group is actually the most powerful because when Jeanne and Aura are in trouble, they run out of power, but when I'm around, it comes with (the slurrins) as well.

As for the order, I could have replaced the second and third, but if I thought about preparing breakfast or Lyden's schedule, it was the result of thinking that I should be in the third.

I even explained the matter, but everyone convinced me before I said it. However, I only told Grandpa and Amur about Lyon and Leni's concerns and decided to keep them somewhat careful. It should be noted that he seemed to know why he put Mr. Chris in the group of Albert and Cain without having to say all three.

Then we all had alternate time and emergency response meetings, and then we talked about it in each group, and then it became free time until dinner. However, I decided not to act alone because I didn't know what was there and not to get as close as possible to The Great Forest.

Jeanne SIDE

"Well, good night then"

"Yes, good night. Sleep tight and have a delicious breakfast."

I greeted Chris and the others, who were genuinely ready to watch, before boarding a carriage that was a place for women to stay. When I dived into my futon, careful not to wake Amur and Leni, who were sleeping first, Aura, who entered the carriage some time ago, seemed to be already asleep.

(With that said, Tenma slept fast today)

As I approached Kukri Village, Tenma had more time to be restless from me. Even I had noticed, so everyone but Aura would have noticed that Tenma was different than usual.

(It's been a while since I've been on watch with Tenma, but me and Aura won't be a force for battle when it comes to having trouble, and there's the slurrins, so I just need to get the golem out and wake everyone up right away and get away in the carriage)

As I lay down and meditated my eyes, I did many times in my head to make sure I had to do what I had to do when I was on watch.

"Cold......"

Soon I was asleep and woke up with a sudden cold feeling. I decided to weave the jacket I was wearing in my chair in an attempt to overwhelm the cold. What I left in my jacket pocket was making chatter noises when I weaved my feathers, but it was troublesome to take them out because I was asleep.

"Water......"

Feeling thirsty, I was from the futon in search of a water drain that should have been on the table.

There was no sign of Amur and Leni sleeping when they entered the carriage, and Chris was lying down instead, so it turned out that the second group was in charge of the watch.

"And how soon is it going to take turns?

Depending on the time left to take turns, it may be easier to stay awake.

With that in mind, I looked out the window to judge by the darkness...

"Tenma?"

I could see the flirting and the tenma walking towards the woods (...).

"Why won't anyone stop me!

Obviously, I wanted to go after a strange tenma of things, but I rocked Chris' body by deciding I should wake him up first. But there was never any sign of waking up, then I thought Aura and slapped her on the cheek several times, but Aura didn't wake up either, just like Chris.

"Why!"

They weren't dead because they were both breathing properly, but I didn't think they were in a very normal state.

"What about everyone out there?

I jumped out of the carriage in a hurry and ran to everyone on watch, but they are all asleep sitting still.

"Dear Merlin! Tenma!"

Merlin, who thought she could count most, was just like Chris and Aura, and never woke up no matter how much she rocked her body.

While doing so, Tenma had gone a long way, and by the time she decided to chase herself, she had already entered the woods.

"Sure, I was walking this way."

I went into the woods early, and I lost sight of Tenma. When I started chasing him, he said, 'There's a distance, but Tenma's flirty as she's sleeping, and if you run, you should be able to catch up!' I thought, 'but when I went into the woods, it was harder to run in the woods than I thought, and I fell over and over because I was unfamiliar in the woods.

"Tenma, where..."

I've lost sight of the tenma, and in a dim, creepy night forest, a situation where I don't know when demons will strike me was nothing but fear to me. But I can't leave Tenma alone, and most importantly, I'm not sure I'm on my way home. That's why I had to go even further in the direction that Tenma thought she'd walked.

"Tenma...... there he is!

As he wandered through the woods, he went out to a slightly open place. When I got out there, I looked around and there was a tenma a long way from my place. Tenma seemed to have come out to this place at about the same time as me. The place is away, probably because it was heading in a slightly different direction as we were chasing Tenma. We are so lucky to be able to find Tenma in this place. Anyway, if I hadn't been able to get out of this place at this time, I would have gone straight in the wrong direction and been shipwrecked.

"Tenma! Why are you like this... HI!

The moment I rushed over to catch Tenma, I saw what Tenma was aiming for (...). What Tenma was aiming for, it was a creepy carbide (...) that hid his whole body in a hood.

On top of being away, hiding his whole body in a hood, he had an atmosphere where he could only say yes, although it might be strange to judge him as a creepy monster. Most importantly, the hand that was stretching out to the tenma was bone. Thin and bone-like...... not a metaphor, in the sense of it as it is.

I felt intuitively that I shouldn't let the tenma get close to that sculpture and thought about using magic, but with my control I was more than likely going to hit the tenma.

"What can I do... that's it!

The moment I hesitated to say that if the magic didn't work, though I thought it was a stone, there was no way it could reach me, I remembered the 'slingshot' that Tenma had given me.

That was what I left in my pocket when I wove my jacket. Good enough to want to compliment me for not taking it out then.

"Now... hey!

I set the pebble that was rolling at my feet on a slingshot and squeezed it full of force to fly through the carbide hanging. Pebbles flew straight to the line, as I thought they would... until on the way (...)...

The pebble, which suddenly changed course upwards, hit a branch of a tree that was stretching over the carbide to change course again, hitting the tenma directly.

When I realized that something had flown toward me, I realized that the killer was me and stuck my hand out toward me.

I couldn't move a single step, apparently trying to exercise some kind of magic against me. That's because, although it was a trivial event, I saw the face of the monster from the front above all else. The face of the monster, it wasn't human, as I had imagined from the time I saw my hands, it was human skull.

The next moment when the carbide took a step toward me that stifled, the carbide was blown backwards. Of course I unleashed magic...

"Jeanne, are you all right!

It was a temper.

Jeanne, it's SIDE.