What unfolded before my eyes was a forest. A space that has lost its vitality and where desolate shadows have settled everywhere.
A gloomy, damp, unpleasant place that makes you instinctively refuse to approach.
Bare trees with only branches remaining. Bizarre flowers of a form I have never seen before.
It looked like a withered arm hanging limply.
When I was young, there was a scene that suddenly came to mind when I rode a car with my father.
On a night when darkness fell, the trees outside, seen through the window, looked bizarre, like a human with only bones remaining dancing. The scenery enlarged through the child’s imagination changed its appearance at will.
hear the wind No, it changes every moment as if they are laughing at what they thought was ‘the sound of the wind’.
―It sounds like a human cry. It sounds like a child laughing brightly, but it sounds like a woman screaming desperately, and it sounds like a beast crying, but it sounds like an old man screaming.
square. square.
I couldn’t smell it because I lost my sense of smell.
On the contrary, I feel fortunate now. It was because I was sure that if my nose had been fine, I’d be reeling in nausea now.
We continued walking without saying a word. It wasn’t that he didn’t say anything for some reason.
It was just that, overwhelmed by the dreary atmosphere, none of them could open their mouths hastily.
It was Eden who broke the silence.
“It’s a spookier place than I thought.”
I nodded.
“… I have a feeling that maybe it’s a relief that the sense of smell is forbidden.”
Eden smiled brightly.
“ha ha ha! I don’t know if that’s the case. By the way, does the plant called Mandrake really exist?”
Charlotte replied.
“of course. I don’t know about a commoner like you, but I’ve seen it myself.”
Seeing him constantly looking around while he was answering, it seemed quite frightening.
“Then do you know where it grows?”
“hmm… . A damp, damp place?”
I looked at her with a puzzled face.
“… … .”
That’s because the whole place is damp and humid. Perhaps she recognized that fact, too, she turned around with annoyance.
“There must be something! I felt it earlier than that, isn’t there something strange here?”
At that time, Frey, who was walking in the lead, suddenly stopped.
“What, why did you suddenly stop?”
Frey looked at the party with a serious face and said.
“… It seems that we are always hovering around the same place.”
Charlotte asked, disgusted.
“Fray, really… ?”
She nodded.
“yes. Do you see that tree over there?”
Her finger pointed to a tree to the right. It had the shape of a human face.
“What did you say?”
“It is a strange-looking tree.”
“Is it a human face tree? .”
“That’s right. I felt something strange from earlier, so I counted in my mind every time I came across that tree.”
Charlotte gulped and swallowed.
“We encountered that tree a total of seven times. In other words, it is already hovering around the same spot for the 7th time.”
I looked at the human face.
‘what? Is it an illusion?’
It seemed that his expression had changed just now… . As if they were laughing at us… .
“Kiyaah Ahhhhh!
It was Charlotte who screamed. She pointed somewhere with a white face and shouted.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey!”
All the trees surrounding it were in human form.
It was not an illusion either. The corners of the mouths of the trees that were looking at us all at once split into half-moon shapes.
The back of my neck felt chilly at the horrific sight, but it wasn’t time to just watch.
Frey drew his sword and charged forward bravely. Eden followed suit.
“I will stop you!”
“I will help too!”
I walked up to the terrified Charlotte and shouted.
“charlotte! What are you doing? Get out of your mind!”
The year that was so full of confidence was now on the verge of fainting. She shuddered like a frightened puppy and grabbed my collar.
“I do not know. I don’t know! You guys, what do you do with those things!!”
I kind of expected it.
Growing up as a flower in a greenhouse, she lacked practical experience compared to her talent.
But more than that, it didn’t seem immune to fear.
“Papa, quick! Get it out of my sight quickly!”
I suddenly became annoyed. At this rate, it would only be a stumbling block, not a help, throughout the exam.
In this case, the classic method is best.
-match!
smacked her cheek I thought I had adjusted my strength, but her lips parted and her head snapped.
“—!”
From noble mtl dot com
She looked at me with a surprised face. He looked like he couldn’t believe what had happened to him.
“You, go like you, dare… !”
She was so shocked that she couldn’t even say a word.
However, there was no time to accept the foolishness.
“If you whine one more time, I’ll rip that mouth out, so shut up and listen.”
My next words were even more shocking, and now she even hiccups.
“ぅ!”
“Everyone except you is struggling like a dog right now. With the f*cking taboo suggested by the old woman. But what are you doing? Are you going to keep trembling here like a frightened mutt? If you want to take the top spot, show the appropriate behavior.”
Her face turned red like a ripe apple. He seems to feel quite ashamed.
“… you. wait and see.”
With a ferocious face and pursed lips, she stood up.
My hands were trembling. It wasn’t because of fear, but because of contempt and anger.
I knew the target of my anger was me, but it didn’t matter. For now, it was more important to use her as a force.
“charlotte. Use fire attribute magic.”
“shut up! I’ll take care of it, so don’t give orders!”
Naturally, wood was vulnerable to fire. Even wet firewood is just ashes in front of overwhelming firepower.
Charlotte closed her eyes and concentrated.
Reddish mana rose from her body like a haze. Four rings blooming above the head.
It was the mark of a 4th circle wizard.
I shouted at Eden and Frey, who were buying time from the front.
“Eden, Frey! That’s it. Come back!”
The two of them seemed perfectly fine. Freya said that, but Eden was a stronger man than I could have imagined.
he said with a bright smile.
“Ugh, it’s the worst that trees with human faces are moving. I thought I was going to die from disgust.”
“… I agree. Eden.”
Frey, too, had a rare aversion to his face.
At that time, Charlotte, who had finished all the preparations, quickly began to memorize the incantation. A serious, solemn voice that contrasts with the usual harsh voice.
“O wind that flows through my will. The flames of hell will burn the enemies who stand in my way.”
However, shame was my share.
“—Windfire.”
Her eyes flickered like sparks. The air flow has changed.
Grabbing the fluctuating mana, he moved his hands gracefully like a conductor conducting an orchestra.
The wind that followed her hand gradually intensified, and soon it covered all sides and oxidized into flames.
-Roaring!
The bodies of the numerous trees surrounding us caught fire.
The flame, which was only a small ember, gradually began to grow in size and became a fire demon, consuming them in an instant.
-Tadak. tadak.
Many human face trees were reduced to ashes in an instant.
Indeed, it was a great talent, befitting the lineage of the Meiji family.
I, relatively lacking in magical power, was a divine skill that could not even be imitated.
I approached Charlotte. Perhaps because he had consumed a lot of mana, he looked tired.
His legs gave way and he grabbed her as she tried to fall over.
“Are you okay? It was great workmanship. As expected, the lineage of the best magician families in the empire is different.”
Charlotte glared at me incredulously.
Well, it was only natural that the person who had been slandering him until now suddenly pretended to be friendly. she said, pushing me hard.
“Get your hands off me! you… . If you leave here, I won’t let you go.”
Instead of answering, I just shrugged.
Looking closely, her cheeks were swollen and red. Frey looked at us alternately and asked.
“What happened to you two… ?”
Before I could say anything, Charlotte punched me.
“Oh no! Nothing happened!”
Then, glaring at me, he muttered with his lips, “I’ll really kill you if you tell me.”
I smiled and nodded. Frey, who had no idea what was going on, just watched the scene with a sullen face.
‘I’m sure you know it’s embarrassing.’
Just in time, Eden intervened appropriately.
“Charlotte! Awesome! How the hell do you manage mana so that you can use magic that neatly? I was really shocked! Despite the combination of the two attributes, I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the undisturbed appearance. After all, there is a reason why the Meiji family is called the most prestigious mage family in the empire!”
Charlotte crossed her arms and said, perhaps feeling relieved by the endless compliments.
“Hmm. commons. Do you know how to see?”
I tried to pretend that nothing was wrong, but I couldn’t help but smile.
“If I get a chance, I want to learn a few things too.”
“Well, let me think about it.”
“thank you!”
Suspiciously friendly and suspiciously powerful. Perhaps feeling my gaze, Eden looked at me and smiled.
“ruler! Enemies have been defeated, so let’s go strong again! I will lead this time.”
Following Eden in the lead, we entered the woods again. We continued walking along the endless forest road.
“Since the face tree is gone, you are no longer lost on the road!”
As he said, we no longer hang around the same place. However, I didn’t feel like I was going right because the surrounding scenery was so similar.
At that time, Frey, who was staring blankly at his hand, muttered curiously.
“It’s amazing. Since the sense of touch is forbidden, you won’t even feel pain.”
Come to think of it, even when he slapped Charlotte on the cheek, he didn’t feel anything.
Charlotte also slowly caressed her swollen cheek, as if she was aware of that fact.
“that’s right. I was also scratched by a branch of the face tree earlier, but I didn’t feel any pain. I think it’s rather beneficial to forbid the sense of touch… . for a moment… . Zile! Could it be that you chose the sense of touch after calculating all of this? I was amazed again! To possess not only military power but also wisdom, this is the lineage of a hero!”
Looking at it now, he was just a guy whose hobby was to make a fuss.
Naturally, I didn’t choose my sense of touch by calculating this.
I just thought it would be much better to exclude the sense of touch rather than the sense of hearing or sight.
However, others seemed to believe that I had calculated all of this and made my choice.
There was no such thing as a very windbreaker.
“Zile. Your insight is truly amazing.”
Even the stubborn Charlotte seemed to agree.
“… … Not bad.”
Now, even if you say no, you lose your shape, so you just pretend to be like that and say it.
“It’s true that I chose tactile because I thought it would be the most efficient, but it’s not just an advantage. Not feeling pain is, in other words, not feeling a crisis. Because they do not feel pain, they may die without even realizing that they have been injured. You have to be careful about this.”
“I see! I will keep that in mind.”
We started walking again. There was only one road, so I just looked ahead and walked.
Even while walking for a long time, Eden did not stop talking for a moment like a madman talking.
It made me wonder if it would have been better to have my hearing banned.
Just when he thought his ears were about to bleed, Eden stopped.
“commons. what’s the matter?”
Eden pointed to the floor.
“Look here.”
[There is a horse, head, and woman in front of this.]
A familiar phrase that seems to have been seen many times.
‘It wasn’t once or twice that I went through hardships because I was hooked on a phrase like this.’
Charlotte frowned and read aloud the inscription carved into the ground.
“In front of this. word. head. female. there is? What do you mean?”
“Is this a word of warning?”
I looked ahead. The thick fog that covered it gave off an ominous aura.
-It was then.
A mournful cry was heard somewhere.
Black. Black. Black. Black.
Sounds like a woman wailing.
At this, Charlotte freaked out and grabbed the hem of my clothes.
“Eh, what is this time again!”
The sound gradually got louder. At first, the sound that had been heard from afar seemed to be getting closer and closer.
It felt like it was coming this way. A song that sounds like fingernails scratching a chalkboard.
I felt like my eardrums would tear as I continued to listen.
My heart beat irregularly at the unpleasant sensation. Eden, who was always cheerful, now shouted urgently as if he had lost his composure.
“What are you going to do!”
After thinking for a while, I said.
“Let’s go forward.”
Anyway, other than that, there was no good option.
We went into the fog. The fog that covered all sides was so thick that only the figure in front of me could barely be seen. Fortunately, the creepy tune was no longer heard.
Charlotte, who grabbed my sleeve from behind and followed me, trembled and asked.
“Uh, uh, how long do I have to go?”
“Everything has arrived.”
The fog slowly dissipated and the air began to open up in all directions. Frey and Eden, who were walking in the lead, stopped at the same time as if they had promised.
Their gaze was directed forward, and their complexion was not very good. He looked pale, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen.
Charlotte and I also shifted our gaze.
“… word?”
A black horse and a black armored knight riding on it.
The knight had no neck.
So what is that thing looking at me right now? No, should I consider it an eyeball in the first place?
The knight’s right hand held his head. Pupils painted black all over and mouth ripped right up to the side of the ear.
– Headless Rider.
Charlotte, whose legs were weak, sat down as if collapsing.
“… Dullahan.”