20 – Strategy Meeting (2)
“···Phew.”
Shortly after devising the strategy, the saint let out a quiet sigh of relief that no one else noticed.
‘I’m relieved.’
The reason the second method of strategy was recommended was simple.
The first method was not an option due to the memories of failure from the previous timeline.
She still remembered it vividly. The surroundings filled with creepy bugs and the suffocating dark wall.
The king’s castle itself was a labyrinth, and the king himself was a monster. We, who tried to overcome the labyrinth with just determination, were crazy fools.
“This time will be different.”
The princess calmed her anxious heart with those words.
It’s okay. This time is different from the beginning.
Unlike the past life memories that ignored and isolated him, this time she will actively listen to what he says.
Thinking that way, the princess opened her mouth to induce Luke’s words.
“But if we go on like this, won’t the king notice?”
The warrior reacted to her words.
“It’s okay. This place is so much wider than you can imagine, so no matter what we do on the outskirts, we won’t get caught. We just need to catch the scouts.”
“Scouts?”
“Long-eyed bugs. They become the king’s eyes and ears. If we infuse magic into their eyes, we can ‘share’ what they have seen. It’s one of the masterpieces created by the king himself. So we must prioritize capturing this one over others.”
Urias was fascinated.
This party is considered elite. They had studied about the demon king to some extent before entering the demon realm.
Simply put, there are many people with long bag straps.
But how does this person know information that my party members don’t even know? It was truly amazing.
Of course, his trustworthiness was not great due to the curses he had.
The princess knew that all those words were true.
Of course, it wouldn’t be for others who didn’t know about their past lives.
At that moment, Lily spoke with an irritated voice.
“Hmph, nonsense. How do you know something that’s not even mentioned in the Book of Maat? Obviously, it’s a lie.”
“It’s true. Why would I lie? What benefit do I have?”
“That’s…”
“Fine, then go see for yourself. Here.”
Luke smiled and handed Lily a bug. The bug was the size of a thumb, and it had one creepy eye on its face… It was clearly a bug like the one called an “outsider.”
Anyone could tell that it was an outsider bug.
After hesitating for a moment, Lily captured the bug and let her magic flow into it.
Then, another field of view was projected before her eyes.
It was the sight of the warrior party that had been walking inside the castle until just now. Since the bug was stuck to the wall, she could only see its side view.
To see her own side view through someone else’s eyes was quite a strange feeling. In the end, Lily couldn’t help but admit it, even though she didn’t like it.
“Wow…”
“I mean it. Make sure to catch every single one of those things that you see from now on. If even one of them gets away, it’ll be a real catastrophe.”
Squish!
Luke said this and squashed the compound eye bug on his palm. It had eyes, so maybe that’s why. A clear liquid flowed down his hand.
The saint nodded fervently.
It felt like, just as in a previous life, the worst case scenario was already unfolding. If they missed the compound eye bug and it returned to Balkan, reporting what it had seen…
Then they would be surrounded and isolated by the bugs again.
In that case, it would just be a repeat of the past.
This time, they would somehow prevent such a situation.
Ulysses was determined to burn all the bugs with eyes.
*
Fortunately, catching the compound eye bug seemed like it would be resolved more easily than expected. After breaking down the principle, Adel and Lily collaborated to create a dedicated detection magic for the compound eye bugs.
When Adel narrowed down the search range and specified the object, Lily created an automatic macro magic that used that data to return.
It meant that they no longer needed to light their eyes and search for the compound eye bugs. The magic would sound an alarm as long as it was nearby.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“They really are capable.”
Even though it was simply a relatively simple magic, the fact that they could create it so quickly was remarkable. Of course, there were some hiccups in the process of creating it, thanks to Ulysses’ nagging… But anyway, it was an undeniable fact that they were capable.
In any case, thanks to them, we were able to hunt more comfortably.
Maybe it was because we were still in the outer area, but there weren’t many strong monsters.
Thanks to that, we were still growing safely.
[‘Bright Ryu Swordsmanship’ level has increased!]
[‘Mana Blade’ level has increased!]
It was a level up announcement from the system, which hadn’t happened in a while.
The skill levels that hadn’t increased even when we defeated the Minotaur finally went up. The experience points we had accumulated then finally paid off.
Swish!
The flow of magical power through the blade became smoother, and the stability of my footsteps improved.
Well, it was only a slight improvement that wasn’t really noticeable.
But I was confident that as these accumulated and grew, they would eventually become a mountain.
I keep slashing and slashing the monsters that keep charging toward us.
As I slash the Sand Worm, its slimy substance sticks to my body, and due to the humid air, my whole body becomes drenched in sweat.
After wandering for a few hours like that, we could see a mountain of monster corpses piled up.
“Wow… we caught quite a lot.”
“Indeed, the number of monsters is different… Where on earth are they constantly emerging from?”
Lily and Camilla glanced back for a moment, then sighed softly. There, all sorts of insect-like monsters were piled up like a mountain.
It seems to show how hard we’ve been working.
I hope they don’t ask us to dissect that.
“Let’s call it a day here. We need to save some energy.”
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“Okay. With this quantity, we don’t even need to dissect them, do we? They’ll pile up like a mountain again later. Let’s just focus on dismantling valuable materials.”
“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Now let’s set up our campsite and decide on a watch schedule.”
I’m relieved. No need for dissection.
Hearing that, I collapsed to the ground. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been catching monsters all day, but my entire body felt as heavy as lead.
And the slime and bug carcasses scattered throughout my armor didn’t help either; they were disgusting on their own.
At that moment, Lily stretched and said, “Phew… It was a tough day. I really want to go and take a bath…”
For the first time, I couldn’t help but retort.
“What are you saying? How are you going to take a bath here?”
“Huh?”
“Try looking around. Do you see any streams or lakes nearby? Even if you wash your face and look around, you won’t find any.”
In the early stages of the forest, there were still relatively clean water sources.
It had a high concentration of magical energy, leading to many life forms turning into monsters, but it was still a place where life existed.
But not here.
This was an environment thoroughly shaped by bugs, for the bugs. There was no clean water that she wanted.
Even though I told her the truth, Lily seemed skeptical.
“Yes, yes! What do you know? You haven’t even explored this place! There must be someplace to wash around here!”
I’ve explored every corner.
I even broke down walls trying to find hidden pieces.
As I looked at her, I thought, “It’s certainly similar to a game.”
From Lily’s perspective, someone who prefers high-end and clean things, this would be an uncomfortable environment. It’s only natural for her to be somewhat annoyed.
Oddly enough, the saint who despises bugs is keeping quiet, though.
Anyway, she seemed reluctant to believe me, so she thoroughly searched the entire place for a while. She walked endlessly through the corridors and explored various rooms that hadn’t been checked yet.
Despite her efforts, she couldn’t find anything to clean, and she frowned.
“Ugh… It feels so stuffy in here.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep purifying it regularly with my cleansing magic.”
“That’s nice, but it’s not a cure-all, you know.”
She was right.
The purification magic used by the saint could maintain a certain level of cleanliness, but it couldn’t solve everything.
The air was humid, and cockroaches and worms crawled everywhere.
It would probably get dirty soon. This was the norm in this place.
Maybe Camilla had already realized that, as she looked at Lily and spoke.
“Stop complaining and set up your sleeping bag. We need to get some rest early if we’re going to fight again tomorrow. Even if we’re tired, we should get a good night’s sleep.”
“Ugh… Can’t we just charge at that Balkan guy right now?”
I thought to myself as I looked at her.
What, you have to stay here for a few more months.
“What if you start complaining already?”
I wonder how much stress will pile up on these kids here.
I don’t know. I’m just here to observe.
With that in mind, I lay down in my sleeping bag.
A long day passed.
And it was only one day.