CH 111

Chapter 111 - Divine Possession

“Merylou-kun. You served your duty as a leader in a situation where you lacked strength. Wasn’t it? My going to Lingen was merely me personally pushing through my selfishness.”

In a slightly stern tone, Souya reproached Merylou for her attitude, which could be seen as self-deprecation.

It was not that she had done anything wrong or that she had made a mistake in judgment. It would have been a problem if she had left her client at that place and been accompanied by her, and there was no way he could have made a decision other than to act alone.

“…… That’s not it. I couldn’t help but get scared. I could have gone with Souya instead of Shamil.”

“Substitution would be a strange option. It was only natural for the master to have the Familiar accompany him, and Merylou-kun did her duty as the party leader.”

“Even if they had ordered me to go to Lingen right then and there, I’m sure I couldn’t have done ikt …… Besides, if we had reached Lingen a day earlier, we would have ……”

She was probably afraid to say anything beyond that. Merylou’s prone body trembled, and the tears in her eyes welled up.

Wood elves are a race created by Yggdrasil, the tree of life, and are instinctively averse to fire.

Of course, they were not affected by something as small as a bonfire, but they were particularly poor at handling the spiritual arts of fire, one of the four major attributes of fire, water, wind, and earth. She recalled how she was a little nervous when she witnessed a pillar of fire blowing up during the battle with the Bronze Demon on the road.

This was not cowardice on her part, but rather an instinct that Yggdrasil, the tree of life, had imprinted in the genes of her household Wood Elf, a forest elf species, for the purpose of self-preservation.

“Timing is the difference between life and death. Such things are commonplace and consequential, you know. Considering what happened in Lingen, I can’t say I’m glad I wasn’t there.”

Souya pauses for a beat before continuing.

“The fears you have, Merylou-kun, are correct. It’s a gift that makes for a good adventurer …… You don’t have to think about the Red Horn. They are nastier than you can imagine.”

Souya stroked Merylou’s head and sweetly pressed her face into his shirt. He could feel the fabric wet with tears and saliva on his skin, but he didn’t care at the moment.

She’s completely vulnerable, but I don’t think she’ll never recover. She regrets her cowardice, but it was the right decision and there are plenty of opportunities to recover. She is young for a wood elf, but she is a gem that can summon the wind spirit Sylph, and there seems to be plenty of room for growth. She should have the potential to eventually reach the Platinum-class.

“……Souya-san, are you planning to fight the Red Horn?”

Mia’s voice. When I looked up, she was clutching the cleric staff and looking at Souya with a serious gaze.

“Mia-kun. What makes you think that?”

“You told Merylou-san that you don’t have to think about it. So …… Souya-san is planning to fight it?”

Then she asked again, this time as if to confirm. Apparently, he had unconsciously used a phrase that could be taken as a statement of intent.

She has a keen intuition and can be stubborn at times. In light of this, I had to choose my words carefully, but I was already expected to be involved in the subjugation of the Red Horn. It was not a good idea to be misleading.

“I am still the one who has been entrusted with the title of the Demon Slayer. If I’m expected to do so, I have to prove that I’m not just Demon Slayer for nothing. I don’t want to show off my abilities unnecessarily, but it would be a matter of pride for me to be insulted if I bluffed my way into the name.”

Mia did not laugh at all at the remarks, which I dressed up as best I could.

And the strong look in her eyes behind her anxious expression made Souya want to turn away.

""

“…… I can’t do anything about it at this stage. The enemy has hidden out of sight. Mia-kun, you don’t even have to think about it too.”

“Souya-san …… can’t I help you? …… It may be difficult with my current abilities.”

“You remember the four-armed Silver Demon that plunged us into despair at the old fortress, don’t you? …… I want you to think that was a cute thing. I think Louise-san and Seran-kun will be going on this one. We also know that there are adventurers in Ilstadt that we can count on, like Siren-kun and Phyllis-kun.”

When Souya gave Mia a look, she lowered the cleric staff, and looked down in regret.

If she is told in a roundabout way that she is unqualified to fight against the four-armed Silver Demon, she has no choice but to give up. He doesn’t want to do anything to discourage her strong will, but this time we’re up against a difficult opponent.

Even though he envisioned taking on the challenge in his mind along with the platinum-class adventurers who had rushed in to search for Lingen, he could not form the image of a winning strategy.

However, I once sensed strong qualities in Mia. It was a case by the lake in the Thrail Forest.

The sacred art [Salvation] and the conversation with the spirit, which she shouldn’t have been able to do. That incident was an event that clearly negated the fact that she was an ordinary person, and it is one that is strongly, strongly etched in Souya’s memory.

(No matter how many times I think about it, I can only believe that it was a divine possession. (No matter how many times I think about it, I can’t help but think it was a divine possession. A union with the Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela. If so, she is… no.)

Souya shook his head and sighed heavily as if to deny the speculation.

I don’t want to make assumptions that would burden her and put her in danger by relying on God’s help. A single evil goddess is more than enough to rely on.

“For now, let’s talk about it when things calm down again …… Merylou-kun. Are you alright now? I’m going to have dinner now.”

“…… Okay. I’ll pay for it. It’s for Souya’s safety celebration.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

When I let go of Merylou, whose face was still buried, she looked embarrassed, but had completely stopped crying. Perhaps she wanted to let out her feelings of regret for Souya, which she had been feeling since they had parted at the lodge.

Souya was sure that in a few days, things would be back to normal.

But it would not be business as usual. I had a few preparations in mind to make sure that I would be able to hunt him down and finish him off without missing a beat.

If they were to miss him after hunting him down, he might never appear in the neighborhood of Illstadt again. That might be fine with Ilstadt, but Souya did not want to settle for that. There was also the matter of Seran’s revenge. Therefore, I had to hunt him down more carefully than the cautious Red Horn and make sure to finish him off.

In the autonomous city of Illstadt, the Adventurers’ Guild and others would soon come up with countermeasures. Souya, as a Demon Slayer, was thinking of doing what he could do personally.

(– I’ll go to the bar and buy a bottle of whiskey. I’ll need his help.)

Souya made plans to visit his old friend’s house again tomorrow.