Butcher Demon Chapter 326

size :  

                                                                                      

Desperate Elf

Butcher Demon Chapter 326 With the Ruined City Behind

prev   TOC   next

The next day, Tiriel couldn't get up due to a hangover. As usual.

However, we couldn't wait for her recovery. We laid her in the backseat of Yakky and began our journey back.

"――...Haagh!? Wh-what in the...ugh! My head hurts...!"

Around noon, Tiriel finally woke up. Her face was still pale, and she complained of a headache, but the dark circles under her eyes were gone. Probably means she had a good sleep. Good.

"Good morning, Tiriel-san. Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

When Kyo asked from the driver's seat, Tiriel thought for a moment, then said, "Um, I took a bath, and then...?" Her memory seemed fuzzy from the bath onwards. An ideal outcome.

"Somehow....I was enjoying the bath so much that, I think I.....ended up falling asleep for the first time in a long while?"

"It seems you got a bit dizzy. Gevaudan-san took care of you."

"Oh, was that so... Thank you, Gevaudan."

"You, welcome."

Well, let's call it nursing the sick. I'll keep Tiriel's embarrassing memory to myself.

While we drove slowly, a couple of orcs followed us from the back. They're the guards keeping an eye on the ancestor priest, Yakumo. Quite devoted.

Back then at the orc village, when we told them we were heading back to Hazafungi, they got pretty shaken. But, they agreed after saying their goodbyes. They think that with the spring, they believed they could easily rebuild the damaged commute.

Tiriel had a late lunch and felt more energetic. She looked into the driver's seat of the new car with bright, shiny eyes.

"This thing has so much power! It's more fun than the car I rode before!"

Licking her lips, she grabbed the steering wheel. Since she's experienced off-road driving in 88, she quickly became adept at it.

"Hey! It's dangerous! If you step on it like that, aaahhh!"

her driving was a bit wild. Looking back, even at 88, there were signs she was a bit of a driving maniac. You know, they say your true colors come out when you're gripping the wheel, and maybe that hinted at her dark side. My bad for not catching that. From now on, I'll stand ready with the syringe anytime.

"――...Hmmm?"

As we got closer to Hazafungi, Kyo leaned out of the driver's seat, peering up at the distant sky.

There was this faint smoke, like a signal fire, rising up high.

"That... could it be...?"

Kyo, with a stern expression, got out of the car.

She started running at full speed. Frankly, in this bumpy terrain, legs beat a car any day. Leaving the driving to Tiriel, I also hit the ground running, chasing after her.

Hazafungi was under attack.

The attackers were the goblin.

"Kyo, you came!"

"Is everyone okay!?"

　A man who was fighting back saw Kyou and called for help.

Even though they're subhumans, they're Mifosis folks. Even without magic, their bodies are pretty tough. They were holding their own against the goblins but were outnumbered. There were casualties scattered around the town.

"Baaaahhhh!"

"Gyaaaaahhh!"

There were loud and scary neighing, and people were thrown into the air.

Then, from the midst of the goblin group, these horse-headed monsters showed up. Two of them.

"Gevaudan-san!"

I didn't wait for Kyo to finish. I took out my butcher knife and jumped at the horse-headed monster.

Tiriel, who arrived late, began covering fire without waiting for my instructions. The orcs that had followed the car joined in.

"W-what are these guys.....!?"

Tiriel was visibly disgusted as she looked at the goblin corpses she had taken down herself.

"Gevaudan-san, I can't find Faye-san anywhere!"

Hearing Kyo's words, I noticed Faye's absence.

Preparing for possible attacks, I activated <Gaia Wraith> and quickly dealt with the two horse-headed creatures.

I scattered the clinging goblins with a single swipe and rushed to Faye's house.

Kicking the door in, inside, Faye was being restrained and assaulted by goblins and horse-faced creatures.

"Gyaaaaahhh!"

My claws, swung without mercy, slashed through both the horse-faced creature and the goblin.

I dealt with the last one assaulting her, by snapping its neck and tossing it out of the window.

"Gevaudan, thank you..."

I lifted her, covered in filthy fluids and barely conscious, and carried her outside.

The town's battle was gradually coming to an end with our assistance.

―― In the end.

Despite annihilating the goblins, approximately twenty percent of the town's residents died. It became a significant tragedy. Thankfully, no one was abducted, and Faye escaped with just being assaulted, avoiding serious injuries.

"They weren't magical beasts, so magic stones had no effect on them!"

Kyo, tending to Faye, returned to the scene and shouted angrily. Normally, she exuded a carefree atmosphere, but witnessing her enraged was a first.

"We should've moved faster. Can't stick around here any longer. Let's head to Meteor Lake."

"Even with everything going on, being subhumans should mean we can find refuge."

Tiriel agreed after hearing the talk.

So, we decided to move everyone in town to a bigger city.

"Slow. So slow."

Keeping up with the slow crew is tough if we're all acting as a big group. In cases like this, scouts need to find a safe camping spot, secure the route, and make sure the main group doesn't get wiped out. If I become a scout, I'd need to take Yakumo with me, and if that happens, I'd like Kyo and Tiriel to come too. So, we should move separately from the people in Hazafungi. That's the nuance I meant to convey.

――I was bombarded with a torrent of verbal abuse.

Because of my broken speech and somewhat clumsy expressions, it seems my message did not come across well. They absolutely refused to listen.

She said I was too egoist. She even threatened me that she would no longer be going with me.

Losing Yakky's driver would be troublesome. Reluctantly, I decided to give in.

"Everyone, together."

"Really! You should have said so from the beginning!"

"We can keep an eye on things from the sky. Let's make sure it's safe and deal with any problems as we go."

Finally, I managed to calm them down a bit. Lack of eloquence sometimes leads to conflicts like this. Telepathy. I want telepathy, Professor Lydia.

We quickly got ready to leave. The folks from Hazafungi were also getting their travel stuff together in their makeshift outfits. And, surprisingly, the orcs were dead set on coming with us to Meteor Lake. Whatever, I guess.

After a while, Faye, who had recovered, came to me as I was inspecting Yaki and bowed her head.

"Thank you again for helping me."

"No problem?"

"Yes, it was nothing... Thanks to your training the other day, I managed to endure it."

She laughed it off with a brave face and even made a pumping fist in the air. I couldn't tell if she was joking or being sarcastic. It's a bit difficult to understand her...

――Oh well, I guess mine is worse than being violated by goblins....

"I've been helped so much, but please take care of me again. I'll definitely repay you someday... Oh, would you like to use me again during the journey? Please feel free to use me anytime. I'm looking forward to it."

Saying that, Faye smiled softly. Again, I couldn't tell if she was joking or being sarcastic. I don't quite understand her...

We spent the night digging graves for the dead.

I saw Faye's funeral ability for the first time, but apparently, subhumans leave no magic stones behind. Even so, I thought she deserved people's respect as she carefully prayed for each person and poured the glowing light from her hands into the mouths of the dead.

The next morning, we left the town behind.

The town of Hazafungi disappeared from the map, just like that.

The town didn't mean much to me sentimentally. Still, seeing a silent town, with only the flame of life left behind, felt a bit sad and eerie. Maybe I've been through something similar before.

Our destination from now on is Meteor Lake.

It's the biggest city on the Hyperborea continent, and folks with skills gather there from all over Mifosis. I hope we can at least figure out where Abigail and the others are, and also find the way to Tartarus.

―― At the current pace, things won't go smoothly.

I sat in the cargo bed of Yakky, watching the black clouds unfurling over the mountains, seemingly trailing our path.

prev   TOC   next

If you like the translation, please consider sending me some ko-if.

I truly appreciate any support you can give.