CH 137

Episode 137 – Rumors of the Purple Troll

“So… you and Byrne seem to be pretty beaten up. Just what monster did this to you? In the battles taking place outside the city, I didn’t see any monsters that would be capable of giving you and [Iron Gear] a hard time.” (Edward)

After we both finished introducing ourselves, we changed topics, speaking about what happened today.

“It was a purple Troll. Apparently, it was a Commander in the Demon King’s Army… Do you know anything about it, Edward-san?” (Lewin)

“Hoh, a Troll that was purple… In that case, it may have been a Venom Troll.” (Edward)

“A Venom Troll?” (Lewin)

“Yes. I’ve only heard rumors about them, but they were apparently artificially created by the Demon King’s Army. The rumors say that they possess poison-resistant antibodies, regenerative powers, brute-like strength, and intelligence far beyond that of an average Troll.” (Edward)

Just from what Edward said, the description of the purple Troll that we had fought and the Venom Troll that he talked about sounded very similar. Or rather, they were pretty much the same thing.

“It fits that description very well. I think it’s highly probable that the purple Troll that we fought was a Venom Troll.” (Lewin)

“Could it be that there was some kind of poison that was released after we defeated it?” (Lewin)

“Ah no, it’s nothing like that. As I briefly mentioned earlier, the Venom Trolls were a monster species that was rumored to be artificially produced. In other words, it’s now very likely that this kind of monster can be produced at any time.” (Edward)

After hearing him explain it in a simplified manner, I finally understood why Edward said it wasn’t good news. The Demon King’s Army would always be capable of producing those Venom Trolls that the five of us were just barely able to defeat. In the worst case scenario… they could possibly produce a nearly limitless number of them. When I realized that fact, a chill ran down my spine.

“If that’s really true… wouldn’t that be absolutely terrible for us?” (Lewin)

“It seems that you get what I’m saying. Well, we don’t know exactly how they’re made and haven’t confirmed for sure if they’re really artificially-produced monsters or not, so it’s hard to say… Either way, there’s no doubt we need to look into this matter as soon as possible.” (Edward)

The Demon King’s Army… I was astonished at the scale of this organization after I fought the Venom Troll, but it seemed that they were even bigger than I thought.

After that, I talked to Edward a bit more about the Demon King’s Army and told him the story about the fight that took place earlier. Before we knew it, we were finally able to return to Grezesta. Byrne was brought to Elf’s Tears, and I was accompanied by Edward to the rundown inn.

“Edward-san, thank you so much for carrying me back to Grezesta. It was very informative to hear so many interesting stories!” (Lewin)

“Hohohoho. Don’t worry about it. You went to Seykoll to provide aid without any compensation and even defeated the commander of the enemy army, Lewin. I’d be happy to give you a piggyback ride any time just for that,” Edward said with a smile. I still had tons of things I wanted to ask Edward, so I hoped to see him again some time and express my gratitude for today… and maybe get some pointers on combat from him.

“Anyway, thank you so much for your help! I’d like to visit you another day to express my gratitude.” (Lewin)

“No need to thank me. When I offered to carry you on my back, I was just being nosy after all… More importantly, you’ve accumulated fatigue to your utmost limits right now, so you need to get a few days of quiet rest.” (Edward)

“Yes, I will take my time and rest for a while. Thanks!” (Lewin)

Thanking Edward one last time as he left, I climbed into bed and fell asleep like a log, eager to sleep off the fatigue from the hard-fought battle against the Venom Troll.

★　　　★　　　★

AD

………….? Is someone there?

After I returned home to the rundown inn, I slept for a long time as if I was dead, but I suddenly opened my eyes when I heard some sounds in my room.

Somehow managing to drag my aching body out of bed, I looked around the room, bleary-eyed, trying to see if anyone was there. It was pitch black in the room, making it obvious that it was still the middle of the night. If someone were to come into my room at this time… it might be a thief.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and started searching my room as I fumbled around in the dark—when I suddenly saw the shadowy figure of a person in the doorway with their back facing me, looking as if they were trying to leave the room.

For a moment, I almost shrieked in terror… but I managed to recognize the silhouette of the person in time and barely managed to stop the scream in my throat.

“…………Kirty-san?” (Lewin)

“……Sorry. I knocked many times, but there was no answer. I tried to turn the doorknob and it wasn’t locked, so I went and entered,” Kirty said with an apologetic expression on her face.

Well, it was my fault for not being able to respond to the knock, so I guess it’s fine for you to come in, but… I kinda wish you didn’t try to run away when I woke up, you know?

I really thought it was a thief, and my heart was still pounding in my chest.

“It’s just you, Kirty-san, so I don’t mind, but… please don’t try to run away. I totally thought you were a thief.” (Lewin)

“I’m really sorry. I heard you waking up when I came in, and I panicked.” (Kirty)

“…Well, it’s my fault for not noticing someone was knocking on my door, so it’s alright. Anyway, for you to come see me in the middle of the night, is there some urgent business or something?” (Lewin)

“Urgent business… I mean, I saw that you had collapsed in the city of Seykoll, so I was worried and wanted to come see you. And while I was at it, I wanted to talk to you about today,” Kirty said this while fidgeting bashfully, completely unlike her normal self. Her face was very red, so she must have been quite embarrassed that I caught her when she was trying to run away.