Chapter 91
“You all hurry and follow as well.”
“As you command!”
“Yeah!!”
“Yes…! Master…!”
I let out a small sigh and gave the order.
The Retainers remaining in the room also kicked off the windowsill without delay and shot outside.
I activated [Sight Sharing].
Si-Yeon’s vision floated before my eyes as if I were looking at a monitor.
She was leaping across the roofs of the Territory at an incredible speed while holding the guide girl in her arms.
“Uwaaah…”
She was definitely a girl with healthy, tanned skin, but her complexion had turned pale.
Of course, it had, as she was suddenly picked up without warning and carried at full speed.
I used telepathy and gently scolded her.
‘Si-Yeon. Shouldn’t you give mortals some warning beforehand when handling them? And please adjust your speed a little.’
- I apologize, Master.
As soon as she heard my voice, Si-Yeon immediately apologized.
And then, it happened.
Tap.
She suddenly stopped dead on the roof of a private house.
A sudden stop that lightly challenged the laws of inertia.
“Haa, haa…”
While the guide girl in her arms was panting heavily, Si-Yeon looked straight into the girl’s eyes and asked.
“Human, may I carry you and run?”
“You were already carrying me and running!!”
The girl shouted as if she had been wronged.
‘Oh my. Si-Yeon, Si-Yeon.’
I squeezed my eyes shut at Si-Yeon’s literal interpretation of orders.
But since she was an assassin who had lived her whole life in a dark guild following orders like a machine, I had to be somewhat understanding.
Still, I thought she had gotten quite a bit better by now.
She still lacked a bit of social skills when dealing with anyone other than me.
“Sorry.”
Si-Yeon apologized without any change in her voice.
Fortunately, the guide girl didn’t seem too scared.
“It’s okay. I was just surprised because it was so sudden earlier…, but it feels like flying through the sky like a bird, so it’s also a bit exciting.”
The girl quickly caught her breath and answered bravely.
“Yeah. Then guide the way.”
Only after hearing that answer did Si-Yeon hold her again and begin to leap.
“Left… Ugh, and then right…!”
The girl covered her mouth as she pointed out the directions.
‘…Are you sure it’s exciting?’
I watched the screen showing Si-Yeon running while worrying about her.
It didn’t take very long to slip out of the Territory following the girl’s directions.
Before long, they reached the entrance of a forest dense with trees.
Si-Yeon arrived at the forest entrance and set the girl down on the ground.
“H-hold on a second…”
The girl sat down for a moment, her legs having given way.
It seemed her motion sickness hadn’t faded.
Si-Yeon looked at that and asked.
“Are you okay? I reduced my speed a bit.”
“I’m okay…”
‘Still, seeing our Si-Yeon worrying about others and being considerate, I realize she really has grown!’
I’m proud of you, Yu Si-Yeon.
I praised her inwardly.
The girl caught her breath and soon asked.
“By the way, you said you were going to subdue a monster, but did you come alone?”
“They will come soon.”
“Huh? Who is coming soon…?”
As soon as the girl asked back.
Lightly,
Katarina landed gracefully.
Paat-!
Following her, Sera touched down cleanly on the ground in a superhero landing pose.
Crash!
Finally, Riri rolled on the ground with a loud noise.
“Ouch ouch…! Landing mistake…!”
“Riri. Refrain from behavior that degrades the Liege Lord’s dignity outside.”
“But Lady Katarina and Sera are too fast; it’s hard to catch up.”
When Katarina pointed that out to Riri, Riri puffed out her cheeks and protested.
At first, she was completely terrified in front of Katarina and couldn’t even make a peep. Now, Riri is actually talking back quite a bit.
It felt like watching a private first class in the army who had gained some seniority and secretly gotten close to his or her senior.
“That is why you must train harder, Riri. And eat macarons in moderation.”
“Yeah! From now on, I’ll only eat exactly twenty a day!”
Katarina shook her head, but she still personally brushed off the leaves and dirt stuck to Riri’s back.
“…”
The girl’s mouth dropped open as she looked at the extraordinary figures who had appeared before her eyes in an instant.
She knew they were high-ranking people, but she seemed to realize that they were all highly skilled individuals.
“Uh, well. About the monster that appeared in the forest.”
The girl cleared her throat and began to explain.
“They say it’s as big as a house and its cry is like thunder. The villagers said that from just looking at its footprints, it looks like several bears combined.”
Listening to the explanation, I definitely thought it seemed like a monster.
It would be nice if it were a somewhat strong guy and triggered a Mid-grade Blood judgment.
They walked into the forest for a while, listening to the story.
A path forked into two large sections appeared before their eyes.
“The path splits here. The right side is complicated, and the left side is simple, but it’s not certain which side the monster is on.”
Watching that sight, I ran some calculations in my head.
‘It’s inefficient to stick together when we don’t even have time.’
We could only stay in the Infinite Difficulty Tower for a single day.
Even now, time is continuously flowing.
Anyway, if we found the monster, I could open a [Gate of Darkness] and immediately join the forces together.
I gave instructions through telepathy.
‘Split up and search. Si-Yeon and Sera go to the right, Katarina and Riri go to the left.’
I assigned the guide girl to Si-Yeon and Sera and sent them to the right, where the path was said to be difficult.
How much time had passed since they split into two groups and started searching the forest?
Roaaaar-!!
The roar of a beast echoed out.
“Th-that sound! It’s the monster!”
The guide girl shouted urgently.
Si-Yeon and Sera immediately sprinted toward the epicenter of the sound.
Of course, the girl was once again being carried princess style by Si-Yeon.
Having experienced it once, she now had a fairly familiar expression.
…Or maybe she had just resigned herself to it.
Anyway, the monster in question was at the place they arrived at.
“Huh…?”
The girl let out a single word of question with a blank expression.
The monster that was said to be as big as a house.
It was a monster that resembled a tiger.
Its size was certainly massive, but the guy was sprawled on the ground in a terrible state.
It was already dead.
“Wh-what happened here? It’s dead, isn’t it?”
“Ah, blood…! I have to bring it to Master…!”
While the girl was shocked, Sera immediately ran toward the corpse.
Then she reached out her hand, activated her Blood Art, and began to extract red blood from the monster’s body.
“Eek?!”
The girl was startled once again at the sight of the monster’s blood being sucked out.
Meanwhile, Si-Yeon was not looking at the corpse.
Her gaze was directed toward a large tree towering on one side.
On a tree branch,
A young man was sitting there, looking down at them.
He had a face that looked to be in his early to mid-twenties.
He was a man wearing a loose black robe, with his dark purple hair tied up haphazardly.
The man lightly kicked off the branch and jumped down to the ground.
Tap.
It was a light landing.
“Hello?”
The man offered a greeting in a cheerful voice.
Then he stared at Si-Yeon as if he found her interesting.
“I had set up a Concealment barrier in my own way, but seeing as I was caught right away, you guys must be pretty strong, huh?”
The man muttered as if talking to himself.
“You don’t seem like those guys from the Holy Imperial Church. Apostle, but your attire doesn’t look like that of ordinary magic users either…”
The man’s gaze turned to Sera, who was extracting blood from the monster’s corpse.
“Aha! I know.”
Soon, he clapped his hands and smiled brightly.
“As expected, you’re the Dark magic users who participated in this war, right? You are the ones who helped Arden.”
“…”
Si-Yeon stared at the man without answering.
But the man didn’t mind and chattered endlessly.
“Wow! I didn’t expect to meet you so soon. I’m really lucky, aren’t I? I came all the way from afar just to see you!”
The man’s eyes sparkled as he looked back and forth between Sera and Si-Yeon.
“I heard you caught a Bishop-level Priest, so I thought you’d be some incredible monster. It wasn’t one person, but two.”
He pointed a finger at his own chest.
“Actually, I’m a Dark Mage too. I belong to the Picture School. Which school are you from? Seeing as you handle blood, maybe the Naspe School?”
Having finished speaking, the man held out his hand as if to shake hands.
“…”
But far from taking his hand, Si-Yeon just stood there and stared at the man.
“Haha, you must be very shy.”
The man withdrew his hand awkwardly and laughed it off slyly.
And I, who was carefully watching the situation, was racking my brain in a completely different direction.
‘Hmm. Will I level up if I catch him?’
Seeing as he called himself a Dark Mage, he must be human.
The problem was that human blood didn’t particularly help me level up.
Of course, the blood of a guy with high potential would be very delicious.
‘But blood that tastes like fish sauce could come out, just like the Bishop we caught last time.’
What should I do?
I fell into deep thought.
At that moment, the man opened his mouth again.
“Actually, there’s something I want to ask. By any chance, could I know where the corpse of that Bishop you killed last time is, Capital?”
He grinned.
“If you’re from the Naspe School, you want blood, right? I have some pretty high-quality blood. How about we exchange the blood and the corpse?”
‘…Blood?’
My ears perked up at those words.
He has high-quality blood?
He has delicious EXP.
Hmm.
Hrmm.
‘…Should I capture him first?’
Woooong - !
A purple [Gate of Darkness] opened in the air.
“Wait, what…?”
The man’s expression instantly changed to one of shock upon seeing it.
And stepping through that gate,
Katarina and Riri, who had been searching the other side, walked out.
“The Liege Lord’s call: I have received it.”
“Hello!! Nice to meetcha!”
The four Retainers surrounded the man in an instant.
I leisurely gave the order.
‘Catch him. Just don’t kill him.’
If he hands over the blood obediently, there won’t be bloodshed!