Chapter 16
Chapter 16: We won’t change our main policy!
“Mhm. I was being careful. I didn’t draw too much blood. Honestly Eric-chan, aren’t you the one going overboard here?”
“As if! I only used destruction magic on the space around them, they were just knocked out by a sound bomb.”
“I see, well that’s good.”
With a slick sound, Carol pulled her mouth away from Gercel’s nape.
Gercel seemed to be scared silly— no wait, he just passed out.
Seeing his pathetic figure, Carol muttered in a low voice..
“ I really hate the taste of this half-baked blood. In the end, Eric-chan’s the best after all.”
“Stop saying scary things like that. There’s no way I’d let you suck my blood if it wasn’t for the healing.”
“So in other words, If you were to be injured…”
“Now it’s getting even worse!”
Her eyes were sparkling brightly along with the teeth glistening with blood.
Now that I think about it, my former colleague is actually a terrifying person…!
Ayrad and Olmann who were in front of me were so frightened to the point that they showed no resistance at all, even went as far as to beg for their lives.
But if we were to return them back to the guild right now, our cover will be blown completely.
For the time being, Gercel and Olmann seemed to be unaware but Ayrad already knew of our names.
Heroes’ side seemed to have uncovered even the names of those who were mainly in charge of logistic support; like myself and Carol.
However, judging by the reaction of the trio earlier, our appearances still haven’t been fully exposed yet.
Even so, the intelligence gathering capability of the heroes’ side is not to be underestimated.
And now, these guys already know what I look like.
If they were to return and leak this information to the heroes’ side, then my peaceful life as a hero would all crumble in one fell swoop.
Honestly I feel sorry about doing this, but I'm going to have to leave it up to Carol to decide what to do with these guys.
“... Fuu…”
Carol had a dissatisfied expression on her face as she tied up the members of [Shaltz] together with a rope made of blood.
“The second incursion huh?”
If the information from [Shaltz] is correct, Galfa Castle would be the first target.
Even though they barely managed to survive the raid from three years ago—.
“Alright then, I’ll be going back with these children for now. We have a lot to talk about that next major incursion. I'm sure we can take better countermeasures than the previous raid.”
“... And Odel Knights will be caught in the crossfire again?”
“Eric-chan, stop saying naive things. Forget that place, a 1000 year long balance is at stake here. If the heroes’ side really want to devour our land that badly, then all those unwritten rules and whatnot won’t have any relevance to them at all.”
A pair of black wings emerged from her back as she finished tying up the three heroes.
Although she wasn’t capable of the flight ability of the pure blooded, carrying three people didn’t pose any challenge to her.
“...I guess so.”
I couldn’t possibly rebuke that statement..
— And at that exact moment.
“Oof! Ouf!”
“... Grurururu…!!”
A familiar sound was heard from the surroundings.
Along with the sound of rushing footsteps, two dogs suddenly appeared.
“Wait, What’s going on— Kell-chan, Bell chan~!?”
And a girl appeared following after the two dogs in panic.
“Hmph”
Carol immediately threw the trio into a nearby bush.
“Eh? Eric-chan… how come you’re here?”
Kell-chan and Bell-chan growled at Carol threateningly
“... Uhh kind of… playing around on my day off, I guess.”
I took a quick glance at Carol.
Carol quietly muttered as she gazed at the two Cerberus alongside Nasha.
“... This child must be Eric-chan’s companion.”
“Are you an acquaintance of Eric-chan?”
Carol’s frigid expression broke into a sweet smile at Nasha’s inquiry.
“Well he was for a little while, some time ago. Okay then! Eric-chan, good luck with everything. I’ll be taking care of rest.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, Carol disappeared using her teleportation ability.
Nasha stared at the space where she had mysteriously vanished in wonder.
○○○
The heroes and the Demon King’s army.
The never-ending struggle between two races has been going on for over thousands of years. No, it’s more accurate to say it still continues on, even after thousands of years have already passed.
As both parties realized the hidden merits in war, more and more people started to make a living out of this continuous conflict between the two sides. Thus, the war persisted over the course of 1000 years till now.
“Eric-chan, is there something wrong? Are you feeling alright?”
“Were you overthinking about what to do on the holiday until your brain popped off?”
“I should have invited you to visit the church with me—. Were you reminiscing about the old days at the front-lines just now?”
I finally heaved a sigh after returning to the guild, [Qualidia].
As it won’t be long until that time, throngs of people kept going in and out of [Gardener]. I wonder if those three are being tortured by Carol and the Division Commander right now.
… Well, I can only offer my sincere condolences.
“There’s rumors going on about a next major raid against the demon army. Apparently, their target is the Galfa castle. It looks like Dorgo village will get caught in the middle like before.”
Suzette muttered dejectedly.
Nasha also wore a sullen expression on her face.
“Dorgo Village…? Did it also get attacked 3 years ago?”
“Yes. The main battleground, Larcus plains was just right next to the Dorgo village. Ambush attacks, stray bullets, stray monsters, all in all it was heavily damaged by a lot of things combined.”
“Well, that’s not a surprise. It was an important transit point for the demon army. And that’s the reason why Nasha was supporting that place so much.”
“... I see…”
Dorgo village certainly did suffer through being trampled on quite a few times.
It had once turned into a battlefield and was devastated by the actions of fickle demons—.
“I hate war.”
Nasha made her intentions clear.
“Those who want to wage wars should just do it on their own without involving the other people. I will never allow them to selfishly involve these innocent people in their own fights.”
Suzette and Louise smiled wryly at Nasha’s solemn declaration.
“Well, in the first place, we don’t know if these rumors are even real.”
“But I heard that they have already started summoning the skilled heroes from the capital. So I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared early on.”
“We, [Deared], will not participate on the second major incursion. Let’s just keep doing our regular missions in [Qualidia] as we have always done.”
Two girls candidly nodded at Nasha’s words.
“Eric-san, are you still okay with our policy?”
“Yeah… it’s actually the best one yet.”
I also nodded while looking at their faces.
Surely, this is the best option.
At least, that’s what I've been telling myself so far.
CHAPTER 15 │ CHAPTER 17
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