Chapter 24 (1/2)

Published

at 28th of November 2019 06:52:09 PM

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Chapter 24

Translator: Kell

Editor: Weasalopes

Why the Heart Moves

Forest Barbarians were three-meter tall giants that moved in pairs . They were similar to humans except they had four arms, only one eye, the surface of their body was smooth and greenish, and they didn’t wear clothes .

They were also called “Green Giants” or “Forest Guardians” – not much creative thought went into naming them .

But they posed a great threat . One could tell by their ripped body that they were much stronger than humans . Plus they had four arms . To take one down, it was standard practice to have two people with s.h.i.+elds to pin them down . That was what the book in the reference room said .

However, Paula’s party had Pia on the front lines who had a long sword as a weapon . While excellent at landing a blow at the tall Forest Barbarian, it wasn’t suited for a defensive battle . As a matter of fact, as Pia blocked the monster’s club with her sword, its other arm swung a log that hit her right in the gut and sent her flying .

「Pia!!」

「Paula, go heal her!」Priscilla cried .

「I-I know!」

Paula ran over to Pia and started chanting a healing spell . In the meantime, Priscilla drew the attention of the Forest Barbarian with her bow and arrow . The monster, however, simply shot a glance at Priscilla before charging to Pia .

「Tsk . 」

Priscilla fired an arrow at its defenceless back . It was a direct hit – or at least it was – but the tip just barely managed to stick to its flesh . It fell off immediately afterward . Forest Barbarians had tough skin . Only a powerful blow or a particularly sharp blade would have any effect on it .

「Pia, Paula, run!」

Priscilla’s warning came too late . Paula had her back turned, reciting the healing spell incantation . Pia was too hurt to move . The Forest Barbarian was behind them, swinging its club down .

「Run… Paula…」Pia said as tears streamed down her face .

If Paula didn’t get away, she would die with her . Paula knew this as well . But she didn’t stop reciting the incantation – she didn’t stop pleading to the G.o.ds for a miracle .

「………」

“You said you’d protect me, so I’ll protect you as well” was written on Paula’s face . She even smiled a little .

「No… you can’t… you must go, Paula…!」Pia begged .

Paula simply shook her head . The monster’s club swung downward— .

「…Huh?」

But the blow never came . Slowly, its arms dropped and so did the Forest Barbarian .

「H-H-How…?」

While Pia was baffled by what happened, the healing magic came into effect . This magic – the magic to bring about a miracle in someone else’s body – required a prayer to the G.o.ds . The incantation itself was long, like the so-called ritual prayers in temples . The weakness of healing magic was that the user was vulnerable while reciting the spell . In exchange, it was extremely effective .

Pia felt her crushed ribs reconnecting themselves . While healing magic was indeed powerful, Paula’s high apt.i.tude to it played a part as well . However, now was not the time to think about her injuries . How did the Forest Barbarian just collapse like that?

「You girls have been on death’s door twice now in just a span of a few days . Do you have a death wish or something?」

A boy with black hair and equally black eyes stood there . Hikaru .

Let us go back in time for a bit .

As soon as Hikaru saw the Forest Barbarian, he left the sack with the Red-horned Rabbit with Lavia and started running . He could’ve used Group Obfuscation so they could both get closer . But to kill the tall Forest Barbarian with one blow, he needed to jump . It was much faster for him to go alone . One hit at its spinal cord and the creature was dead . Hikaru felt his Soul Rank increase .

「Hikaru-sama…!」

Paula was exhausted from using her healing magic, yet she made an effort to look cheerful . She tried to get on her feet only to fall over .

「Paula! Don’t push yourself too hard . 」

「You’re the one who pushed herself too hard, Pia . 」

「Ugh… I’m sorry . 」

Priscilla ran over to them to help Paula up . Meanwhile, Lavia just made it to Hikaru’s side, breathing hard as she dragged the heavy sack with her .

「Ah, sorry you had to bring that all the way here . 」

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「Hikaru, are these your friends?」

「Uh, more like acquaintances . 」

「Hmm…」

Lavia cast a glance at Priscilla’s ample bosom, narrowing her eyes, but Hikaru didn’t notice .

「Pia, Paula, can you stand? Can you get back to Pond?」

「Y-Yeah, we’ll manage . Sorry about all this . You saved our lives not once, but twice now . 」

「You guys are too rash . Why were you facing a Forest Barba—」

Hikaru stopped mid-sentence .  A Forest Barbarian this close to town? Strange .  The girls thought it was weird as well .

「We were out to collect materials and hunt smaller monsters so we’d have money for the time being . We didn’t expect to encounter a lone Green Giant out here . 」

「Lone? It didn’t have a partner?」

「We’d be dead by now if there were two of them . 」

「So you didn’t take down one . Hmm . 」

Hikaru had his hand on his chin, thinking .

…Ah .

Then it hit him . He killed a Forest Barbarian back in the forest by the lake . It was operating solo back then, but he thought nothing about it . In hindsight, that might’ve been this one’s partner .

The forest was huge – so huge in fact that it was connected all the way to the one near the lake . The Forest Barbarian thought it was a human who killed its partner so it came all the way here for revenge .

So they were attacked because of me?!

Cold sweat trickled down his back .

「What’s wrong?」Lavia asked .

「N-Nothing . 」

Hikaru tried his best to look calm . Of course, it could all just be him overthinking things, but the guilt wouldn’t go away .

「Hikaru-sama, you may take all the materials you can get from this monster . Of course, you have the right since you took it down . 」

「N-No, I can’t . You’re the ones who fought it . 」

「It was you who killed it . 」

「That may be true… but I can’t! And that’s final . 」

「…What’s wrong? You seem to be fl.u.s.tered . 」

「I’m not fl.u.s.tered . 」

While thinking about how to refuse Paula’s offer, he looked at Lavia and at the sack she was carrying – dragging, rather .

「We already got ourselves a kill . We can’t bring any more with us . Besides, the Forest Barbarian has plenty of injuries . It won’t fetch much, so paying for someone to carry it is not worth it . 」

「Okay . How can we thank you, then?」

「It’s okay! You don’t have to do anything! Anyway, let’s go back to town . If you want to, you guys can take the materials from the monster . I only ask you to not give my name . I seem to attract trouble . 」

The girls didn’t seem to agree at first, but they gave in after what he said . The Forest Barbarian’s skin could be harvested as materials . Tough and smooth, some processing will make it easier to dye . The standard price for the skin from one Forest Barbarian was 50,000 gilans, but “standard” in this case was a deceptive term . The standard price referred to the price ceiling for a spotless skin . It was natural for monsters one fought to have injuries . Plus the girls seemed to have had a drawn-out battle with the Forest Barbarian so they would probably only get around 10,000 gilans .

Priscilla, who was relatively fine, started peeling off the skin from the back of the Forest Barbarian .

「…Hikaru-sama . 」

「Hmm?」

「Who’s that?」

「Oh, right . His name is Renclaw . My… partner . 」

Hikaru introduced Lavia to the girls (as Renclaw) . She felt just a tad bit embarra.s.sed from being called his partner, lowering her cap over her eyes .

「P-Partner… A pretty boy partner?!」

Paula was strangely excited .

The town was close, so Hikaru and Lavia went on ahead first . It was almost sundown when Priscilla finished peeling the skin off .

「Let’s hurry . Can you run, Pia?」

「Yeah, no worries . Priscilla?」

「………」

「What’s wrong? Why are you s.p.a.cing out?」

「I’m not s.p.a.cing out . 」

Priscilla was staring at the Forest Barbarian’s corpse . On its nape was a wound from when Hikaru stabbed it .

「What? Is something wrong?」

「It’s nothing . Let’s go back . 」

「If you say so . 」

The three of them hurried back to town .