35 – The princess and the axe
***
around lunch the next day.
He sent an attendant to Audrit to propose to meet him, but he was rejected.
“He says he has a schedule in the afternoon and it’s hard to find time.”
“I get it. go back.”
“yes.”
After the servant left, Maru was deep in thought.
Audrit has grown up with stories of her mother’s wonderful performances since she was a child.
Up to now, I looked up to and respected my mother enough to say that she was an idol.
Her dream is to visit the Raiskan Daria Empire in her lifetime.
In the meantime, I had an opportunity to go there right away.
As a pro-imperialist, she might be weighing herself over this sweet offer.
If you choose an empire, you are just a hindrance.
Conversely, choosing herself, she has to give up her dreams.
Could Audrey be avoiding the meeting and thinking about these things right now?
“I wish I hadn’t gone.”
Nothing had been decided yet, and I hadn’t heard a definite answer from her, but a sense of loss was creeping in already.
This is all because of the trauma of being dumped one-sidedly by Kiera.
Hopefully it won’t happen twice.
Audrit would never have known that she was on the verge of being caught in a trap.
The mother threw the bait at the thought of keeping her from him.
If she snaps at the bait, she will face misfortune later.
There is no way her mother could look at her kindly as she abandoned her son and chose another man.
I’d love to tell her about this.
It reminded me of Kiera, so I decided to watch it.
Kiera abandoned herself and left, wanting money and power.
She, who thought she would never do that, easily changed her mind in front of her dreams.
What about Audrey?
I was honestly curious.
Mother is really great.
To test the nature of his female friend who lives close to his son, he created this situation far away.
It’s like saying this.
‘Now look. The women you meet are always like this. The only woman in the world you can trust is your mother.’
Maru sighed and stopped thinking and stood up from his seat.
He had the rationale that it would be better to use such energy for self-development while thinking of Princess Audrey.
The princess thought so far.
I put the one-handed ax I received as a gift yesterday into my back and left the room.
After briefly stopping by the royal library to borrow an ax skill manual, I headed straight to the gymnasium.
The taste of hunting gargoyles with a one-handed ax was so good that I wanted to experience it again.
Maybe I was addicted to the pleasure of hitting an axe.
It’s like finding a delicious restaurant by accident and then going back there and becoming a regular customer.
“hot!”
“Ha!”
When I arrived at the gymnasium, I saw people doing personal training in a spacious room.
I briefly exchanged greetings with them and walked to the training scarecrow.
Standing in front of the scarecrow for training, he opened the textbook with his left hand and held a one-handed ax with his right hand.
While looking at the textbook, I learned what ax technique was, what attack techniques were, and how to step, I learned and followed it myself.
I swung an ax in front of a training scarecrow for a long time with the intention of using all my stamina given today.
By evening, the training scarecrow was broken.
***
the next morning.
Maru was meeting with Mrs. Osmond.
“You are busy today, so it is difficult to have an interview.”
She gave a pitiful smile.
“All right.”
Maru nodded and turned away without regret.
I was thinking of meeting the princess, listening to her story, and, if possible, guiding her in a direction that would help her.
As expected, I feel like I’m deliberately avoiding the meeting.
It was pitiful.
Has her heart already gone to the empire far away?
please don’t do that
I didn’t want to lose her.
But I was also willing to let her go if she wanted to.
I returned to my room and changed into light armor.
It was light armor for ordinary adventurers whose affiliation was unknown.
There were many pockets on the arms and thighs so that several small potion bottles could be inserted.
“Floor!”
in front of the stables.
Prince Edward came running, waving his hand.
He too was wearing light armor and a long cloak of unknown affiliation.
“Doesn’t it seem like we’ve been seeing each other for the first time in a while?”
“It’s been a long time since we officially met, but it’s a setting that we met often when others weren’t seeing each other.”
“Hmm, is that so? Got it. If you have such a setting, you should adjust it! So, where are you going today? Now that the hero is leaving, I finally have time!”
Maru put on the two hats he was holding and handed the other to Edward.
“What is this?”
“I’m going to a place where there are a lot of people to practice throwing an axe. If your identity is revealed, it will be annoying, so let’s cover our faces.”
“Oh, you think we’re going to wipe out the thieves today?”
Edward put his hat on immediately.
Perhaps because it was a cap with ear flaps, he looked like a roast chestnut seller.
After a while, Maru rode a horse and headed to the barracks with Edward.
Audrit was looking down from the window at their back.
She looked at Maru’s back and smiled wickedly.
Maru stopped by the barracks before leaving the palace.
I was thinking of getting information on which area the monsters are currently inhabiting.
You could get it by going to a guild in the city, but you had to join the guild or pay a price to do so.
On the other hand, in the barracks, all you had to do was visit the headquarters and show Edward’s face.
“A week ago, a demon’s den opened near Zagohni. The whole area was not in a frenzy as the demons poured out in droves from a large hole in the floor. Right now, we are gradually finding stability thanks to the efforts of our knights and the adventurers hired by the mercenary guild, but it would be nice to have more workers. How about going here?”
It is a place where demons are constantly pouring down.
It was the perfect place to build up your ax skill.
Maru got up from his seat without hesitation.
He was about to go out with Edward, but the knight commander caught him.
“Are you two going? Can I attach an article to you?”
“Maru, maybe it would be nice?”
“No, two people are enough.”
“It is dangerous. The monsters keep popping out, so if you go for two minutes, it will be too much. You should bring about four more members of the shift so that you can rest occasionally. It is safe to operate in such a way that the three take a break while the three catch.”
“The prince seems to be comfortable alone. All you need is one porter.”
Maru responded lightly and left the barracks.
The reason she insisted on going to a dangerous place with Edward alone was not because she believed in power and was conceited.
Because of the memory of being kicked out of the warrior party, I was just reluctant to join someone’s party or create a party.
“Whoa whoa.”
Eventually, when we arrived at a place called Zagohni, dozens of tents were erected around a very large tent in a circle.
From far away, the screams of monsters could be heard incessantly.
Perhaps because it was a place where battles often took place, the smell of the air was different.
It was a bit fishy.
“Are you two here?”
The person who seemed to be the site manager asked that.
Maru and Edward put their hats on and held out the dispatch written by the knight commander.
The man read the dispatch letter and spat on the floor.
“It’s crazy to send only two people. Or are you good at it? follow me anyway The Royal Knights sent it, so you don’t have to pay extra. The corpses of monsters are free, so if you need anything, take it yourself.”
He took the two of them to a place close to the devil’s den.
“hey! you’re out! These guys will do it!”
“Have you applied? can i stop now? Heck, heck.”
“Up! Support!”
Six people guarding the street passed by Maru and Edward looking very tired.
“Good job!”
“But aren’t there too few people?”
“Is that all?”
They left while whispering among themselves, and the site manager spoke alternately between Maru and Edward.
“Stay there for an hour or three. You have to let the monsters pass you by no means. If you are in a hurry, ask the party next to you for help.”
A party made up of adventurers could be seen at a distance of about 50 meters.
There were five people in all.
“I’ll go now, so don’t die!”
After the site manager left, Maru quietly pulled out the ax he was wearing on his back.
Edward looked around.
“Look over there. The monsters are running in groups of three or four. Oh oh that man dies… Fortunately, I survived thanks to my colleagues.”
He looked back at the floor with a slightly frightened look.
“There is no priest in our party. Are you okay?”
“trust me. I won’t let anyone come near you.”
“What am I doing while you catch me?”
“If something useful comes out of the corpse of a monster, pick it up and put it in a sack. And chat with me.”
As soon as he finished his words, three monsters walking with tentacles rushed at him.
Maru reacted like lightning and struck down with an axe.
One guy’s head was smashed in that blow, and Maru quickly pulled out an ax and stabbed the other guy’s stomach mercilessly.
puck! puck! puck puck!
The ax stroke was precise and powerful.
The monster’s torso was so horribly dug that it was impossible to even open its eyes.
After easily dealing with the two, I looked back at the remaining one.
It was the car that had been stepping on the tentacle with its foot to prevent it from escaping elsewhere.
“Come on.”
After pulling the tentacle as hard as he could, Maru took the ax down again without mercy when he came along.
Puck puck puck!
The sight of blood splattered everywhere was so terrifying that Edward opened his mouth involuntarily.
“You look like a demon… ”
After suffocating the last monster, Maru smiled and looked back at Edward.
“The stress melts away. Are you feeling good?”
From then on, the massacre of Maru began.
After a while, rumors about Maru spread throughout the area.
There are crazy people who came to the devil’s den alone.
Hanom beats monsters with an axe, but his skills aren’t average.
It’s been a while since I came, but the corpses of monsters have already piled up like a mountain.
He said he came without a priest.
The people who heard such rumors and visited continued to snoop around Maru and Edward.