Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga – Chapter 57

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Scraping the last of the stew and filling our stomachs heartily, we went through a brief preparation and began to move according to plan.

Having set out a bit early, we all checked the observation points around the abandoned dungeon, then followed the path in the forest where I had wandered when tracking the guys heading to the village, and only split up after identifying the position to prepare for the ambush.

It was insurance so that someone other than Gaendal or I could act as a liaison in case the plan went awry by any chance.

Thanks to that, it took quite a lot of time, but like skilled adventurers, the party members thoroughly learned the difficult forest path.

“You ran on this path and reached that observation point in just 30 minutes?”

“I just used aura moderately to conserve stamina, it’s not particularly difficult.”

Judging from Yekaterina scratching the back of her head and shaking it, it seemed to have been a wise choice to allow leeway in the return plan.

“Besides, I have learned skills. From an elf, no less.”

“I may not have lived long, but it’s the first time I’ve heard that you can learn such skills from an elf. How the hell did you manage that?”

“Let’s just say we saved each other’s lives.”

It wasn’t like I could say I stabbed about six thieves to death as a child, saved an elf, and made a contract.

Even if there was a 15-year-old kid in front of me spouting such nonsense in front of me without knowing anything, wouldn’t I slap the back of their head and tell them to stop reading so many novels?

No matter how much I had accomplished and directly demonstrated skills as an adventurer, it was hard to imagine someone who was a complete stranger to unconditionally trust a story that could be considered absurd.

Since it was a topic that could only be beaten around the bush no matter how long I talked about it, I gave an appropriate roundabout answer.

And perhaps considering that I had my own circumstances, Yekaterina showed the consideration of not asking further questions.

After that, it was a time of waiting that was utterly boring.

Even though we knew there would be no problem talking for a bit, after finishing our weapon maintenance and reconfirming the ambush plan, we maintained silence.

While I could pass the time by practicing mana control, Yekaterina’s composure and patience surprised me once again.

Like a predator eyeing its prey, she stared at the path motionlessly with an expressionless face, to the point where it was scary for me.

It felt even more unfamiliar, because her cheerful laughter occupied most of my impression of her in a short time.

In the end, after passing some time, unable to contain my curiosity, I ended up watching to see how long she could maintain the same posture.

“They’re coming.”

And after nearly two hours of showing no movement other than blinking, Yekaterina opened her mouth, ending my observation with admiration.

“Right?”

“Exactly.”

What appeared at the end of the path she had been staring at were the demon worshippers, staggering at the height of drunkenness.

The pocket watch I took out indicated a time of around 5:20.

Judging from their gait, it was clear they had set out much earlier than we had expected.

Even though they had gathered people who weren’t even adventurers, the fact that they acted and thought with the bond and sense of duty like soldiers became evident.

I couldn’t help but inwardly applaud the person who had educated them to that extent.

Well, the only thing we could give them was Yekaterina’s hammer blows and my sword slashes.

“How do I endure another month or so… huh?”

Yekaterina’s action was so swift that it was hard to believe she couldn’t use aura.

As if not feeling the weight of the hammer at all, her long blonde hair fluttered as she burst through the undergrowth, like a lion.

However, the carnage created by the war hammer she swung was so gruesome that even a lion couldn’t compare.

-Kwaaang!

What remained in my ears was the heavy impact sound of hitting the ground, but there was definitely an intense bursting sound as if something exploded in between.

It was an incomparably horrible sound of death, even more dreadful than the miserable bursting sound I had heard in my previous life when someone’s small pet dog was crushed under the wheel of a passing car due to the owner’s stupid negligence.

My enhanced nerves and thinking barely made me turn my eyes away from the situation just before a person was crushed, as if pressed by an industrial press.

If I had reacted even a moment later, that bizarre death might have remained as long lasting trauma.

In that urgent situation, I charged to strike the side of the guys who were standing dumbfounded, unable to even react.

“Denny?”

The war hammer that had turned one person into a bloody pulp was lifted to the waist in an instant, as if it had never struck the earth.

Even at that moment when it was swung down at an unbelievable speed toward the two guys who couldn’t come to their senses in the face of death, the word they uttered was the name of their comrade whose form had already ceased to exist.

Their deaths were certain, so I paid no further attention to them.

There was no choice but to have their faces shattered if that anvil-like war hammer pierced through.

Instead, I thrust a straight punch into the eye of the guy who was closest to me, drawing the sword he had at his waist, slashing the neck of the guy next to him, and threw the sword at the guy who was furthest away.

The coordinated movements that had become all too familiar went in perfectly, without fail.

While I was rushing toward the guy with the sword stuck in his solar plexus, the final survivor, who had finally come to terms with the whole situation, widened his eyes and wandered between Yekaterina and me.

In the time it took for his trembling hand to barely reach his waist, fumbling around, failing to even grip the sword properly, I had already pulled out the sword that was stuck in the solar plexus.

Yekaterina was preparing a full swing toward him with a fearsome momentum.

“Uaaah!”

The guy let out a scream filled with terror, but with his drunken body and mind, he failed to draw his sword.

Due to the extreme tension, he couldn’t even properly place the sword and scabbard, resulting in an absurd situation where the half-drawn sword got caught in the scabbard.

“No, no, no!!”

The moment his gaze, startled by his own mistake and directed at Yekaterina, shifted to the sword and scabbard he was holding, the situation was already as good as over.

Still, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I swiftly cut off both wrists of the guy who was kneeling diagonally, grasping his sword.

Yekaterina’s full swing erupted.

-Puh-uhng!

With a final sound of a literal explosion, not even a kwang or a thud, the battle ended.

I heard the sound of something sticky hitting and sticking to nearby trees and the ground, but I deliberately avoided looking at that sight.

Just by standing up while stabbing the neck of the guy who was trying to get up, staggering while clutching the crushed eyeball I had hit, the surroundings that were already a living hell entered my view.

Shredded flesh, scattered human remains.

Yekaterina, who had created a sea of blood that seemed impossible to clean up, released her beast-like expression with a single sigh and grinned at me.

“As you said, they really couldn’t even react properly. Thanks to you, I learned something good, Eldmia.”

Even though it could be a quite terrifying scene, all I could feel was admiration for her skill and the reassurance of having her as a comrade.

“Tell me honestly. You can use aura, right?”

“Hahaha! Good! Praise me more! Praise is always good to hear!”

Without any exaggeration, it’s a monstrous strength that transcends common sense, even by this world’s standards.

Swinging that lump of iron, easily weighing at least 40kg just for the head, like a two-handed sword?

It’s understandable why she doesn’t bother using weapons like axes or two-handed swords.

Why would she use such precarious blades when she can swing that war hammer with that much speed and precision anyway?

“Could it be that your hidden surname or name contains ‘cement’ or something like that?”

“Huh? What does that mean? The nuance seems like praise, but still.”

“Well, there is. A tremendous warrior wielding a hammer that could be called a siege weapon without any shame.”

“That’s great! They must be a legendary figure! I really like it, but unfortunately, it has nothing to do with my name!”

In the midst of a sea of blood and corpses that I wanted to escape from right away, she laughed sincerely and heartily, truly a possessor of this world’s sensibilities.

“Phew! This isn’t the time for that. Let’s quickly go back and take care of the rest.”

“Since it ended in an instant and we have some leeway, let’s find those bastards’ money pouches in this mess before we go.”

“Oh?”

“They wouldn’t have been stingy with money for these guys to play and drink, right?”

If Cheryl had seen it, she might have given a coldly disapproving look, but my and Yekaterina’s sensibilities were thoroughly those of adventurers.

In a short time, we quickly found the money pouches and headed towards the abandoned dungeon.

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