Volume 7 - CH 16

Rumor has it that a large amount of rare magic stone deposits lie dormant in the Dark Ore Mountains.

Even the sand of the river flowing at the foot of the mountain is mixed with a wide variety of magic stones. It seems that there are many rumors among charlatans about how much wealth they can obtain if they can find even one of the ore veins by trespassing into the unexplored interior.

Very few people put it into practice.

But most of the time they don’t come back.

The fact that a large amount of magic stones are lying there means that it is also full of magical power.

Here in the Dark ore Mountains, many troublesome monsters other than the hydra appear.

“Oh!”

Amiyu hurriedly dodged the flames spewed by the Pyrolizard.

Ifa’s wind magic blew away the crimson lizard that had turned its head around and opened its mouth again. The chimera assaulted the relieved Ifa from the sky this time. However, the arrow Rurumu shoots pierces it’s wings, instantly covering it with ice and sending it crashing to the ground.

In front of him, Nozuro broke the hobgoblin’s savage sword and kicked it away. Mabel’s battle ax pulverizes the armored Skeleton Knight as it tries to attack from the side. At the same time, she threw a sword and pierced one of the two goblins that were trying to escape towards Rurumu. The other one has already been showered with Amiyu’s flame bullet fireball.

The battle is quite hectic.

“Haa, haa… Is this all? What is it!”

“Th-so many monsters appear…”

After confirming that the horde of monsters had stopped, Amiyu and Ifa couldn’t help but spill.

“No wonder. The number and types of monsters here are far greater than in Lakana’s dungeon.”

“Regardless of the hydra, you can’t just start mining in a place like this, can you? It’s too dangerous…”

“Even so, if you’re a strong adventurer, you can manage it. Even if mining isn’t easy, you can defeat monsters and collect materials…if you don’t meet the hydra.”

A sub-dragon with multiple heads that breathes poisonous breath.

No one, including adventurers, wants to enter the Dark ore Mountains because of this monster, which is said to be ruthless once encountered.

If the hydra can be subdued, this mountain will become a resource-producing land for humans.

The remuneration that is by far the highest is probably because it can be expected to generate profits in the future.

But… nevertheless, this request remained on the guild’s bulletin board for many years.

This fact speaks to the difficulty of subjugating the Hydra.

*******

A few days had passed since we entered the mountain.

We still haven’t found the hydra to subjugate. Even if the shikigami flew as far as possible, I couldn’t even find any traces of it.

Since it is a large mountain, I was prepared to some extent, but at this rate, the deadline will come. If it doesn’t work for the next two days, it looks like we’ll have to return to Keltz.

It was late at night when the two moons were shining brightly when I slipped out of my simple bed.

I wanted to talk to Yuki in a place away from everyone.

The supernatural power that Kangitsune uses is different from all human techniques. To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for Yuki’s power… but i wanted to ask her to search for the enemy in advance so that I could at least raise our chances.

Walking in the meadows of the mountains at night.

The surroundings are quiet.

I have a wide barrier around here, so monsters can’t get close. That’s why we don’t normally set up a lookout.

Since the battle is left up to them, I should be able to do this much.

And, at that moment―――― I heard a faint sound of water.

I stop.

Sure enough, there was a beach nearby.

However, not only monsters but also beasts should not approach this area.

“…”

I could have sent the shikigami, but after some hesitation, I decided to go by myself.

Sometimes it’s quicker to see directly than through the eyes of birds and beasts who have poor eyesight and can’t see the flow of power.

I continued walking, and before long—the sight caught my eye.

A pure spring made from spring water.

In the center of it was a shadowy figure.

Naked body that draws a supple curve. Although she is thin, you can see a rich bulge on her chest. Long black hair. Her moonlit skin was dead white, and…she had black tattoo-like lines running all over her body.

The divine demon woman suddenly caught me with a sideways glance.

“What? Peeping?”

I hurriedly turned around seeing Rurumu frown.

“No, sorry… I heard the sound of water, so I came to check it out.”

“Hmm. I don’t mind.”

Chap , chap, chap

Rurumu swims in the spring, and you can hear the faint sound of water.

“…But what are you doing in such a place? Late at night like this.”

“Bathing!?”

“You don’t have to do it at this time of night. ……”

“I didn’t want to be with those girls.”

I could hear Rurumu laughing faintly.

“Because to humans, our appearance would be terrifying.”

“…..”

It was only then that I realized.

Neither Rurumu nor Nozuro had ever dropped the dye that hid the patterns on their bodies in front of us.

There are few demons living in this country.

They are one of the races that were once the most fiercely hostile to humans.

If her true identity is exposed, it will probably become quite troublesome.

Since she didn’t know when, where, or who was watching, she probably couldn’t do anything careless.

“Though, it seems that there are some curious people who come all the way to take a peek.”

“……, you seem to be enjoying yourself more than ever.”

“That’s right. I wonder why? Maybe it’s because I never thought you’d do something like this.”

“…”

“I thought you were a strange person, but you have a surprisingly boyish side to you. Hmmm…”

Rurumu chuckled.

I was completely teased.

She looks less than twenty, but she’s a long-lived species, so she may live much longer than that.

“By the way, I think you should take a bath soon. If you don’t want them to hate you.”

“Well, I’ll think about it. Then…”

“in addition”

Rurumu said to me as I was about to walk away.

“Even the monster above your head might escape.”

I stopped walking.

Without even looking back――――Invisible Hitogata was secretly placed in the air while facing Rurumu.

“Don’t look so tense”

To me, who turned my back on her, Rurumu said in the same tone.

“If you kept it a secret, I wouldn’t tell anyone. Not to those kids or Nozuro.”

“…”

“Hey, what kind of monster is it? Can you show me?”

“…”

“Se, Seika-sama…”

I sigh and tell Yuki, who is writhing in her hair.

“Say hello, Yuki.”

“Yes…”

Yuki sticks her head out from above my head.

“Um, my name is Yuki. Hello…”

“……eh!?”

Rurumu let out a surprised voice along with the sound of water splashing.

“Wa…so cute!? What’s more, you understand language!?”

“Hey…”

“What kind of monster is that? Your pet?”

“Pet?…well, something like that.”

“Se, Seika-sama…”

“Sorry, but I don’t feel like answering any more questions.”

“yes”

When I said that, Rurumu simply withdrew.

“Then, can I pet her next time?”

“If there’s an opportunity.”

“Eeeeh…”

“Fufu”

Rurumu laughed slightly.

I look back at the divine demon woman.

Rurumu seems to have submerged her body in the spring and is lying on her back with her eyes closed.

“How did you know?”

“I can see something like a hint of power.”

Rurumu slightly opens her eyes and explains.

“The power that flows through the land, the power that is contained in objects… and of course, the power that monsters and humans are born with.”

“… Does that mean that you can understand magic?”

“I understand magic.”

“…”

The ability to see the flow of dragon veins and spells was commonplace in my previous life.

If you have some talent, you can learn it through training. Anyone who dealt with astrology, such as a feng shui master, could do this. But I’ve never heard of it in this world.

Rurumu probably didn’t know what she could see because the research on power hadn’t progressed.

“That’s how I found out about your pet, too. I thought there was something different about it, although it was small and I didn’t see it at first.”

“Oh, I see…”

“that’s why”

Rurum said quietly.

“I know another secret you have.”

“…!”

I braced myself with agitation.

Rurumu continued with a slightly guilty look.

“I don’t mean to threaten you. Those kids don’t know either, right? I swear I won’t tell anyone about this either.”

That being said, she is not very reliable

I don’t know what she noticed. But… depending on the content, she may have to be erased.

If i don’t do well, i could end up with the second dance of my previous life.

“I think I should have pretended not to know. But… I really wanted to find out because it might be related to the person we’re looking for.”

And then Rurumu said.

“Seika. You’re carrying the blood of a divine demon, aren’t you?”