30. Socialites and Monsters
Mount Galant, one of the tributaries of the Barakant Mountains, located west of the Grental Territory.
Because the terrain is so rugged and monsters frequently appear, humans rarely visit areas outside of the regular trade routes.
Even the bravest hunters and the roughest lumberjacks dare not venture this far.
Five men and women were walking through the rugged mountains.
A black-haired young man wearing a wizard’s robe, a priest in his twenties wearing a robe, a knight and a woman in heavy armor, and a young girl with gray hair wearing light armor and a longsword on her waist.
The Karnak party was well-armed.
This time, I brought Lapiselle along too.
As they walked along the road, Alius whispered to Serati.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
This mission is no simple journey. It is a dangerous mission to pursue an imperial noble suspected of being a cultist, so you never know what kind of situation you might encounter.
So, up until now, in battle situations, Lapiselle had been taken separately, but this time, for some reason, Karnak brought her along as well.
“Isn’t it too dangerous for a young child… … .”
Serati responded calmly.
“Lapiselle is my disciple. Those who walk the unmanned path cannot stay in safe places forever.”
Alyss still had a worried look on his face.
“I know that, but… … .”
The way of raising a disciple is the domain of the master, and it would be very rude for an outsider to interfere. It is also very common for a knight to take his squire with him on his mission.
So, in principle, there is no problem at all.
Yeah, there’s no problem… … .
‘You’ve only been my disciple for two months? How much can I learn in swordsmanship in that time?’
It’s not just Lapiselle that’s the worry.
What if that kid gets caught and the rest of the group is put in danger?
Serati’s response to this was resolute.
“Life and death are the child’s lot, and it is my job as the master to take responsibility for my disciple. Mr. Alius, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“……All right.”
Perhaps if this was Alius’ mission, he would never have permitted it.
But this was something that Karnak had led.
Although they are externally seen as Allius’ collaborators, in reality, Allius is cooperating with King’s Order’s missions.
If such a Karnak allowed Lapiselle to accompany him, then we have no choice but to trust his judgment.
‘Yes, Sir Serati is not such an irresponsible person.’
Convinced, Alius looked at the mountain landscape in front of him again.
It was a place covered with vast mountains, rugged valleys, and beautiful forests. The scenery was truly breathtaking.
“therefore…….”
Looking back, he checked again.
“There’s a high chance that there are cultists hiding somewhere around here?”
* * *
This was the sense of alienation that Karnac felt as he looked around the County of Grenthal.
“You were too calm.”
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a problem. It’s a good thing when the territory is at peace.
But, if you think about it even a little, it’s an awkward thing.
“Why are you so calm?”
The territory of Karnak, the Barondom of Jestrad, bordered the Jaden Mountains, the border of the monster realm of Chaotic North. Because of this, during the previous lord’s time, monsters would often run rampant, causing constant damage to the people of the territory.
The damage was reduced after he discovered a copper mine and became rich.
As the quality of knights and soldiers’ weapons improved, hunting monsters became relatively easier, and thanks to this, the people were able to live in peace.
The situation is similar in the Granthal Estate.
Because it is adjacent to Mount Galant, a tributary of the Barakant Mountains, monsters would often come down and cause great damage.
The damage was alleviated after Count Hudel became lord.
It is said that Hudel ruled the territory with amazing skill and brought peace to the people.
“This is a bit strange.”
No one is missing? That’s possible. If you manage your territory well.
No one dies without a reason? That makes sense. It’s a matter of public safety.
But what about the monsters?
All the people of the county spoke in unison that since Hudel became the lord, the Earldom of Grental had not been attacked by monsters.
“How on earth do you rule a territory without monsters attacking you? Is it because a competent lord is good at diplomacy with the monsters?”
If you have been thoroughly prepared and have been able to fend off the invading monsters, this is clearly proof of your competence.
But how about making it so that monsters don’t invade at all?
This is not a problem that can be solved with competence.
“And, one of the special skills of necromancers is controlling monsters.”
Of course, it was still just an unfounded guess.
It cannot be said that Hudel joined hands with the cult just to this extent.
“But I guess we can check.”
Even if the guess is wrong, it’s only going to be a few days, so there’s no big loss.
But what if there really is a cult hiding there?
“I might tell you a pretty useful story.”
* * *
They traveled for another half day. Now the party was deep into the Galant Mountains.
Alius muttered as he looked around the dense forest.
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“We need to find the monsters’ habitat.”
After finding the nest and defeating the monsters, check for traces of fraud.
If it was related to a necromancer, it would have left traces somehow.
Karnak opposed Alyus’ plan.
“Won’t it take too long?”
Because the forest is so rugged, it is not easy to find a nest.
There are spells that float reconnaissance spheres like Observers among the magicians, but they are still useless even if you look at them from the sky.
Since the monsters don’t even build proper buildings, it’s hard to tell them apart from their surroundings until you get up close and check.
“I plan to lure all the monsters to our side.”
One way to hunt monsters was to deliberately lure them by disguising themselves as unarmed, ordinary travelers or lumberjacks.
Alys shook his head.
“That takes a long time too.”
When humans enter the monster territory, the monsters don’t appear right away. Then how easy would it be to subdue the monsters?
When a large number of humans, or an army, appears, it disappears like a dead mouse.
That doesn’t mean that a small number of people are easy to look down on.
When humans enter the area, they are first observed.
After that, once you are sure that you can hunt them, then you take the opportunity to attack.
People think that monsters are just wild and reckless berserkers, but in reality, they are much more cautious than wild beasts.
To be exact, it would be more correct to say that all the violent ones died and only the cautious ones survived.
“If we wait for them to attack, it might take three or four days?”
“That won’t be the case.”
Karnak smiled broadly.
“Because there’s good bait.”
* * *
According to the teachings of the Seven Goddesses, the world was created under the breath of seven goddesses, and three special races were created and given the authority to rule over the world.
They are the dragon tribe, the human tribe, and the fairy tribe.
But the forces of darkness invaded this world, and the evil powers corrupted this beautiful world of the goddess, giving birth to ugly beings. They were called demons, or monsters.
In a shadowy forest deep in a mountain valley.
There were several huts built with designs that were too eco-friendly to be called homes. They were the nests of a group of Stone Orcs that inhabit Mount Gallant.
Monsters, servants of darkness, are largely divided into humanoid, beastoid, and amorphous types.
Stone Orcs were the most humanoid monsters.
The height was smaller than that of a human, but the size was slightly larger.
Sometimes humans are described as hairless monkeys, but the orcs looked exactly like apes with their hair removed.
From across the forest, an orc ran into the nest and screamed.
“Kaaaah!”
It roughly meant something like, ‘A human has appeared!’
A large orc with grey, calloused skin shouted back.
“Kwaaah!”
It roughly meant something like, ‘It’s noisy. Please report quietly.’
After saying that, the leader of the Stone Orcs thought for a moment.
Human items are very useful, which is why Stone Orcs often raid human nests.
But lately, that hasn’t been possible.
The ‘very scary one’ did not allow it.
But a human appears in the mountains? Is it okay to attack it?
It seemed okay.
What the ‘very scary one’ forbade was raiding human nests.
There was no mention of not catching humans who entered the mountains.
However, it is still dangerous to let your guard down.
Among humans, there are occasionally monsters that can single-handedly wipe out dozens of orcs.
Those guys with shiny swords are like that, those guys with fire coming out of their hands are like that, and those guys who make lightning strike when they mutter something to the sky are like that.
That is why when humans appear in the area, a very careful response is required.
The orc chieftain shouted.
“Kwaaah!”
The question was, what kind of person do you look like?
The orc who brought the news shouted again.
“Kaaaak!”
The answer was that she was just a small girl. But she was also wearing a lot of nice human things.
The Stone Orcs’ eyes lit up.
Young humans are easy. Young female humans are even easier.
And human clothing, armor, and swords are what any orc would want.
It was a lucky day that came after a long time.
“Kaka!”
“Kwaaah!”
The orcs moved in unison.
Even though the opponent is only a small female human, they all flock together.
It’s not because I’m scared of girls, but to make sure I own the items.
“Kaaa!”
A stone orc roared, meaning ‘First one to strike, take control!’
And then it was immediately drowned out by the shouts of the orc leader.
“Kuaaaah!”
It meant, ‘I’ll kill the kid who hits before me!’
* * *
Deep in the forests of the Galant Mountains.
A girl was walking through a forest of bare winter trees.
He was wearing a cool-looking light armor and a long sword on his waist.
The Stone Orcs hid behind the rocks and watched the girl. And soon they felt relieved.
A fully grown human being must be on guard.
In the case of adult males or females, there are some individuals that are strong enough to wipe out a group of orcs on their own.
So even if you are unarmed or a lumberjack with only an axe, you must be careful.
On the other hand, the human girl is only as tall as a goblin and has not yet finished growing.
A young human like that can’t be strong, no matter how good his sword and armor are.
Immediately the orcs ran out.
“Kuaaaah!”
Dozens of orcs rush in, surrounding a young girl.
There is no threat or declaration of war.
The purpose of threats is to avoid unnecessary combat and achieve one’s goals.
How could monsters, for whom seeing human blood is their greatest pleasure, avoid battle?
The leading orc leader swung his club and shouted.
“Kakakaka!”
It would be something like ‘This is mine!’
And that was the bastard’s will.
Flash! There is a flash of light and the orc’s head spins three times in the air.
Blood swirls beautifully in the air, then falls to the floor.
The other orcs who had been rushing in all froze.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
It was a scene that was incomprehensible in every way.
The Stone Orc’s cervical vertebrae were much stronger than those of a human. They were not meant to be cut so easily.
Besides, the orc leader was two heads taller than the human girl. No matter how hard the girl swung her sword, she couldn’t even reach him.
But at the same time as he drew his sword, he lifted his body to match eye level, and with a lightning-quick strike, he decapitated the leader!
“Kakaka!”
“Kwaaah!”
The orcs backed away in an uproar.
It was basically shouts like, ‘Young human women should be weak!’, ‘But why are they strong?’
The ashen-haired girl shouted after swinging her sword elegantly and shaking off the blood.
“Lord Karnak! I have a question!”
The evil spirit king Karnak
