CH 93

Separated from their companions, two figures walked quickly along the mountain path leading to Lingen.

One was a dark-haired, dark-glassed magician in a dark gray business suit.

The other was a Familiar of the Cait Sith, a dark-haired, neutral-looking man who maintains a human form and a slim tailcoat.

The road was a little muddy from yesterday’s heavy rain, but the weather was starting to improve. The sun was beginning to shine brightly in the eastern sky.

“I didn’t think my master to be one of the six heroes, the Silver Rei! …… Why did you hide it from them? No, you’re still hiding it from Mistress Mia, aren’t you?”

“I told you it was an assignment for you …… What we thought was good then may not be the best thing now.”

“Hmm …… So the Master does not think well of the time when he was a Silver Rei.”

Soya frowned annoyedly at Shamil, who talked to him with a bright tension.

“If you understand what I’m talking about, please stop talking about it …… By the way, Shamil. You are much lighter than I imagined. Rather, you seem to be a completely different character from last night. I preferred the bold attitude you had of last night, but is this your true character now?”

From the atmosphere I sensed last night, I assumed Shamil was a mature old cat, but from his current appearance and demeanor, he may be a young Cait Sith than I thought. I felt as if I was dealing with a subordinate at work who was a chatterbox.

“…… Last night’s was an imitation of the previous Master. I had intended to follow in the footsteps of the deceased hermit of Mount Iskar, after all.”

“…… So it was it an imitation of the hermit of Iskar?”

“Yes. Yes, he was just like that. I think it would be disrespectful to think of it as a master-servant relationship, so I thought I’d stop for now …… Well, I didn’t think I’d be serving a new master in a few months.”

Souya looked disappointed at Shamil’s matter-of-fact explanation. The hermit of Mount Iskar, whom Shamil used to serve. I really wanted to meet him once while he was still alive.

If he was who Shamil said he was, he would be an old hand and a bit of a prankster, with a sense of humor and a sense of duty. And an eccentric who hates the common customs. This Cait Sith was also forced to buy liquor, so he could have shared a drink with him.

Souya then turned back to Shamil and decided to say something that had just occurred to him as a concern.

“Even if I die, please don’t imitate me.”

I wondered how my current attire would look like twenty years from now, when I was approaching my 60th birthday. After all, it may seem like another embarrassing black history. If that’s the case, then this masked persona of Souya, who pretends to be a gentleman, is essentially the same as the Silver Rei, who was the height of youthful indiscretion.

At that time, the end was already decided. Souya dreamed of a future of seclusion in the middle of nowhere, like the hermit of Iskar, whom Shamil had served.

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The two of them continued along the mountain road.

On the way, they found the body of a man covered in mud on the road. He had a sore face and burnt clothes. The burns may have been fatal.

“…… It could be a resident of Lingen.”

“There’s no time for sentimentality. Let’s hurry ahead now.”

Souya felt a little sorry, but decided to hurry ahead, avoiding the body. Shamil followed suit.

(…… Now that I think about it, we never passed any travelers coming from Lingen during our escort. I’m sure there’s not much traffic to begin with, but it could have been a sign of something unusual.)

In a world where satellites don’t exist, visual information is very valuable, and what you can’t see, you have to guess with your mind. Souya was still not completely used to this kind of freedom.

This is the reason why I decided to welcome Shamil as a familiar, first of all, to help me rescue Lingen, but also because I hoped that he could play a part in the missing network. Souya decided to ask Shamil if he could handle the role.

“Shamil, is it true that the Cait Sith’s can make cats obey them?”

“You know very well. I am a phantasmal beast and the King of the Cats, after all.”

“I see. I’m thinking about what I’ll do after this Lingen rescue. If you are able to hear the story from the wildcats, I may be able to use them in the future. It would be a great help if you could stay in Ilstadt and keep in touch with the stray cats in town. You’re as good as the Thieves’ Guild.”

According to Seran, the village of Lugina, two dates southwest of Irstadt, was destroyed by the Red Horn six months ago.

And this time, the city of Lingen, two days to the southeast of Ilstadt.

The mountainous area in the south of Ilstadt that connects them. There was a possibility that the Red Horn might be using the mountainous region as their stronghold. If Shamil is able to get to know the wildcat, Souya thought that he might be able to get some information.

“I see. If that’s the case, please leave it to me …… Oh, Master. It seems that there is a welcome over there.”

Shamil’s cat eyes became sharp. The golden odd-eye in his right eye shines brightly.

The road in front of us is once again blocked by a huge body of about three meters in length, with a demon-like appearance and bronze skin. It was a bronze demon called the Colored Bronze Demon.

Unlike the encounter in the light rain, he was not accompanied by several small demon imps, but in his right hand was a familiar red and black sword.

“…… I don’t have time for interrogations. Let’s get rid of it. Just one thing. The sword’s spirit power of fire causes a strong explosion. I’m not sure if it’s when he’s about to die, letting go, or if there’s a key word that triggers it, but once it starts, we need to deal with it with magic …… I’ll leave the handling to you, Shamil.”

It might be a good opportunity to see what this young Cait Sith is capable of, while making sure they work together before entering Lingen.

Souya took out the Mithril Saber from the dimension box and drew it. 

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