65. Poison Specialist (6)
65. Poison Specialist (6)
I prepared to go out and waited for Nishia. To point out, Sally even made a flyer to promote my store, but the promotion was delayed for a while. Well, I’m planning to go out with Nishia today. In order to enjoy the maximum publicity effect, it would be better to have the day attached to the store.
“Senior, where are you going?”
“It’s a bit dangerous, but I’m going to go there because I have the necessary items. Nishia, I decided that you should visit that place soon, so I invited you to go with me.”
“Um, I don’t know where you are, but if you go with senpai, I’ll follow you unconditionally.”
Nishia said that and smiled. She accompanied her through her market, buying her boots and rubber gloves, and her supplies, including fishing rods and bait.
“At this level, it seems that you are ready to some extent. Then let’s go right away.”
“Are we going fishing?”
“Right. But the fishing spot will be a little special. Have you heard of the gray forest?”
“If the gray forest… It’s a forbidden area, right?”
Nodded. Then she bought a packed lunch from a store she found and put it in her bag.
“If the gray forest… It would be impossible to get in.”
“I know a secret passage that is not blocked, and I have enough knowledge to work without danger. I’m asking just in case, don’t you want to go?”
“No way.”
“I knew it.”
Nishia looks happier than ever. She and he did, too. The Ashen Forest, the destination this time, is a place where entry is prohibited. Prohibition. Wouldn’t it be human psychology to want to go more if it was banned? It was all the more so because there were rumors that it was easy to gather hard-to-find materials in the Ashen Forest.
“I never thought the day would come when I would go to the Ashen Forest.”
“I will go there quite often in the future. And if you and I grow impotent, we can stare at the treasure.”
“Bo, treasure? Is it money?”
“It is a precious material for alchemy and magical engineering. In the future, we will recruit magic engineers and blacksmiths to our shop, and then we will be able to get items they can use. Ah. And there is also a cave where the legendary sword is stuck.”
Nishia, who heard me, starts to twinkle her eyes.
“Bo, Treasure! Let’s go get the treasure today!”
“If you and I go as we are now, will our names be on the list of missing people tomorrow?”
“So, is it that dangerous?”
“Yes. Demons and cryptids. Dangerous enemies that cannot be dealt with at our level are teeming with them. Also, listen to Nishia, there is something you must protect today.”
I stopped and looked back at Nishia. There is a fact that Nishia must be aware of in order for us to work safely without getting caught up in dangerous things today.
“I’m going to move to the secret passage in the Ashen Forest. There are a few things you must keep in mind while traveling. If you violate… We could both be in great danger.”
“Just say the word.”
“Yes. It’s called a passageway, but it’s a forest that doesn’t let in a single light. Until you leave the forest, never try to look out of the forest through the trees.”
“Out of the woods? Why?”
“… You’d better not listen. What… do you want to be okay If you look outside, you will be hunted by demons.”
As if interested, Nishia’s face turned bright. If it’s Nishia’s personality, there’s a possibility that she’ll deliberately come into contact with her ghost, so we should definitely tell her about the danger of her ghost.
“I will tell you just in case, she must never come into contact with ghosts. Not only you, but also me.”
“What if I get caught by a ghost?”
“It’s okay to get caught. It is difficult to be targeted. You are taken to a haunted house, but it is a labyrinth. Even if I go out of the mansion, when I wake up, I’m in the mansion again, and that’s how it is.”
“The labyrinth… “
“Yes, there are a few other caveats, so listen carefully.”
Me and Nishia continued our conversation as we walked back.
“A ghost may ask you a question. At that time, you just have to answer the opposite of what you think. Got it?”
“Okay.”
“Sometimes there will be times when I ask a strange question. Who do you think made this world? Same question. Answer that question unconditionally. Finally… There are times when ghosts disguise themselves as people close to you and approach you. Keep an eye on him then. You will see an inconsistency somewhere.”
“Contradiction?”
I nodded her head to Nishia.
“The floor is muddy, but the shoes are clean. She was in the rain, but her hair didn’t get wet. The contradiction that the clothes are older than usual. Take a good look at me before entering. If you find a contradiction, just turn your back and close your eyes.”
“Yes. Then I will observe, so stop.”
“I don’t need to see it right now—”
“I’ll see!”
Following Nisia’s words, I stopped. She starts to circle around me and observe me.
“What are you doing?”
“Observation.”
“…… “
Nishia pushes her face, and she looks into my eyes. I grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her body so that I could look in front of her.
“There is no time. When the sun goes down, it becomes more dangerous, so we have to go quickly.”
“Oh, I see. But where are you going?”
“There is an entrance to a secret passage near the Forest of Quest. Follow me.”
The place is a large cave that can be seen if you go about 15 minutes further from the place where Sotia and the wasp were caught the other day.
“Is there an entrance to the cave?”
“Look carefully.”
After entering the end of the dark cave, I picked out two mushrooms growing on the floor, changed the position of the mushrooms, and planted them again. Then there is a creaking sound coming from the wall and the door opens.
“This is the entrance. If you enter through this way, you won’t be caught in the barriers you’ve set up for your safety.”
“Ohh, ohhh… “
“Before entering. What I told you earlier Be sure to keep it. Got it? It may be scary at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll think it’s no big deal. No matter what happens, don’t stray from the road, okay?”
“Yes!”
“Yes. Then let’s go in.”
*
Nishia von Orisha followed Woros Blood and entered the secret passage. The inside of the secret passage was a little strange. Both sides are blocked, but a strong wind blows as if it were open.
“Senior, this is a bit strange.”
“I will. Nishia is now a place where ghosts come out. I forgot to tell you, but you must never talk to me when a ghost is talking to you.”
“Okay.”
She finally came out of the cave. It was definitely time for the sun to rise, but as Mr. Woros had told me, the forest was as dark as night.
“Senpai, what happened? It doesn’t even seem dark because the trees block the light… Senior?”
“…… “
“Senior Woros?”
“…… “
Woros doesn’t answer and just walks forward. She wondered if maybe he was talking to the ghost Worros said. Then, as I was about to look around him, I remembered his words never to look through the trees, so I lowered my head.
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It was when I was walking along, looking at Woros’s back.
ㅡ『Do you know my name?』
“… !”
A woman’s voice is heard. It’s not like I heard it with my ears, but it feels like the voice has permeated into my head. I’m sure Woros senior told me to convey opinions that were contrary to my thoughts to the ghost.
ㅡ 『You know who I am? Okay? Have you ever written a will?”
“…… “
ㅡ 『Have you ever written a will? Did you write it down when you came here?”
“…… “
ㅡ『That’s unfortunate. A man walking in front of you. That man and you I want to take one of them, but who should I take?”
“… !”
ㅡ『You… Man in front? No, take both? What are you talking about? I can’t. Wanna see me?”
A slowly turning head. I barely came to my senses and turned my gaze forward. Never look through the trees.
ㅡ 『What happened? Do you know about transcendent beings?”
“…… “
—-『You don’t answer. I’ll change the question. If I enter your body and kill the man in front of you, do you think you will be sad?”
“…… “
ㅡ『Actually, I mean. I-』
“I have arrived.”
Just as the ghost’s voice became more and more frightening, Warros, who was ahead of her, opened her mouth. Although she has arrived, nothing has changed about her. A straight path with trees on both sides. Why is Woros-senpai talking like this all of a sudden?
“Nishia, don’t go!”
“Seo, senior?”
“It is a trap. You must never go!”
Woros-senpai’s voice came from behind. When I turned around and looked at him, the Woros Blood I knew was standing there. Then who is in front? It was a confusing situation, but I found a contradiction in Woros’ appearance.
Woros was wearing a light green cape, which meant that he was a student of Shiza, but the Woros behind him was wearing Arisha’s red cape. It’s a contradiction. As Woros said, it is clear that the ghost came in disguise.
At times like this, I told them to turn around and close their eyes.
“Nishia! I’m fine now, so open your eyes.”
“…… “
“Are you okay?”
“…… “
When I said it was okay, I slowly opened my eyes. Then the sunlight dazzled my eyes, and I covered my eyes with my hands without realizing it. What is it? I had been in a dark, damp forest a while ago, but the place had suddenly changed.
It seemed like there were trees planted on both sides, but they weren’t as densely planted as before. In addition, bright sunlight was shining around, and the sound of babbling water and the sound of birds could be heard.
“Nishia, you endured well. I was worried that I couldn’t pay attention to you because the ghost was persistently talking to me, but it went well.”
“Haa… You arrived. However… Has the place changed?”
“Yes, once you come out of the aisle, your view will change at once. Beware the Nishian snake.”
“A snake?”
Woros points to a tree. As he looked where he pointed, a snake the size of his forearm was hanging from a tree, flicking his tongue.
“Oh, that’s huge.”
“Yes, this is the beginning of the Ashen Forest, so unless we attack, there are no dangerous creatures. In the case of snakes, if you accidentally step on them, you can cause an accident, so you have to be careful.”
“Oh, I see. This is the Ashen Forest… Rather than gray… “
If the forest in District 3 had a gloomy feeling with only the same trees growing, the gray forest feels a little more full of life. Of course there are pretty flowers growing. Colorful birds are flying around, and delicious fruits are hanging from the trees.
“It’s a beautiful place. It’s even prettier at night. Fireflies and glow-in-the-dark plants brighten up your vision. But at night, beasts appear and ghosts are more active, so you have to be careful.”
“That ghost… Does it stick when we go back?”
“I will. But that’s all the eccentricity I just showed you. It’s not dangerous if you follow the rules. This is Nishia.”
“Stop, senior!”
Woros grabs my hand and pulls me towards him. Although he was taken aback by the sudden action, he soon understood why he had acted this way.
“From here on, there will be crocodiles, so be careful.”
“Oh, an alligator? This must have been a crocodile’s tail…
Because I was walking carelessly and almost stepped on the tail of a crocodile. Wait, crocodile?
“Ah, a crocodile comes out—”
“It’s okay. This crocodile will never attack a person as long as the precautions are followed.”
“Yes?”
Follow Woros out of the forest. Then you see a large lake. In that lake…
“Uh… what?”
“It’s a fishing alligator”
“A fishing alligator?”
There was a crocodile. The problem is that the crocodile is walking around standing on two feet. It seems to be about 2m tall. Compared to the developed feet, the arms are extremely short, so it seems attached rather than attached. There are dozens of crocodiles, and this crocodile is standing on the lake shore, with its tail submerged in the water.
“Seo, you are safe, right?”
“Yes. If you follow one rule, you won’t attack. I’ll show you a demonstration, so watch it.”
After saying that, Woros approached the crocodile dipping its tail in the lake and held out his hand, showing the palm. The crocodile looks at Woros like that, and shows his short hand. As he stretches out his short arms, the crocodile’s body naturally leans to the side.
“Seo, senior, what is this?”
“How many fish did each angler catch? The water is not good today. A greeting like this is basic courtesy. If you follow these basic courtesies in this lake, you will never be attacked.”
“Uh, uh… Is that so?”
“That’s it.”
Saying that, Waros settles down in front of the lake and puts the bait bag on the floor. Then several crocodiles approached and held out his hand.
“Now, do as Nishia told you.”
“Uh… Like this?”
Like Woros did, show the palm of your hand to the crocodile. The crocodiles that greeted me lowered their hands and walked to the lake to dip their tails into the water.
“Uh… what?”
To be honest, I was dumbfounded, so I had no choice but to stare at Woros preparing for fishing with blank eyes.