—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“My name is Elicis,” the red-haired woman introduced herself.
“You seem to be quite a skilled hunter.”
“Not particularly…”
“Even though you’ve caught so many monsters?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
It was only then that I realized how suspicious she was. Hadn’t she claimed to be the merchant’s daughter? A merchant’s daughter shouldn’t interrogate people like this.
While both the merchant and village chief were watching Elicis nervously, it wasn’t strange to be suspicious of her unusually friendly approach.
“So, how much can you offer for these?”
“Oh! I almost forgot about payment! Please handle this,” she said, casually handing my backpack to the merchant standing behind her. Her attitude was like someone dealing with a subordinate.
Having been raised in a country that valued courtesy, I couldn’t help but frown at her behavior. Was there no etiquette in this other world? No, that couldn’t be right, considering how the villagers usually treated their chief…
In other words, this woman must be special – special enough that no one questioned her inappropriate behavior.
‘The merchant guild leader’s daughter… no, and not a noble either.’
Though she tried to cover herself with thick clothing, the occasional glimpses of her forearms and calves revealed a well-trained body.
She was solidly built for a woman. As if her body was packed with stone…
A trained female body, interrogative behavior, cowering merchant and village chief – with just these pieces of information, it wasn’t hard to figure out who she was.
‘A knight… no, a holy knight. Regular knights wouldn’t be in a place like this.’
I remembered the holy knight I’d seen in the city. The one who smiled brightly after killing someone they claimed was a witch follower.
Was this woman the same type? I couldn’t tell. What was clear was that I was in a very dangerous situation.
“Excuse me, was it Charles?”
“…It’s Johan.”
“Ah! Johan. Are you a hunter, Johan?”
“Something like that.”
“Hmm, a hunter…”
Her eyes scanned my entire body, focusing mainly on my palms. Of course, they lacked the calluses that trained hunters and knights would have.
And Elicis pointed this out.
“But how are your hands so smooth? I’m jealous… Even with proper care, mine are still rough…”
She casually grabbed my hand as she spoke. The moment she touched me, something electric shot through my palm.
I jerked my hand away in surprise, and she tilted her head, asking what was wrong.
“…No, just static electricity.”
“Oh my. The air must be quite dry.”
Though she said that, I realized she had done something. What was it? In this world of magic, I had no idea what tricks holy knights might be capable of.
Fortunately, after touching my palm, Elicis seemed to lose interest in me.
‘What was that about…?’
While I was still wary about whatever she had done, the merchant approached with a money pouch after calculating the value of the items in my backpack.
“Here, here’s your payment.”
“Ah- thank you.”
“Do you need anything else? Our caravan has many useful items…”
“No, I’m fine.”
Eager to leave this situation as quickly as possible, I took the money pouch and quickly turned to leave.
Once I was out of the village and their line of sight, I broke into a run.
I needed to warn Master about this right away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After Johan left the village, Elicis stared after him while looking down at her palm.
‘The holy power definitely flowed through…’
The holy power she had channeled had coursed through Johan’s hand. If Johan had been a witch in disguise or a witch’s familiar, their true form would have been revealed.
But Johan hadn’t reacted. Which meant he was neither a witch nor a familiar.
‘Yet he caught so many monsters?’
Still, she couldn’t shake her suspicions. The monster corpses with their single, precise wounds – this wasn’t the work of an ordinary hunter.
This was the level of skill you’d expect from a kingdom’s royal guard captain or a church’s archbishop-level holy knight.
She couldn’t believe someone of that caliber would be out here just hunting monsters.
‘Moreover – the wounds look just like the corpses the village chief showed us… He must have killed these monsters too.’
Convinced of this, Elicis decided to follow Johan and called for her subordinates waiting in the valley below.
When the lightly armed soldiers burst into the village, the chief ran up to her demanding to know what was happening.
“We- we’ve done nothing wrong…!”
“That’s fine. We have no business with this village.”
Of course, if Johan turned out to be a witch follower or associate, they’d have to eliminate the village too. But not yet.
Elicis reassured the chief while hiding this fact, then asked about Johan’s destination.
“Tell me where that man went. Right now.”
“Y-you mean Johan?”
“Yes.”
The chief immediately revealed where Johan had gone. That there was a cabin in the middle of the forest where he lived.
Hearing that he lived alone in the forest away from the village, Elicis’s suspicions grew even stronger as she entered the woods.
Following Johan’s fresh footprints…
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Master! We have big trouble!”
“Ah, Johan. Welcome back. What’s wrong?”
When I ran to Master making an Earth-style joke, though she didn’t understand the reference, she played along perfectly.
As she patted my head, I clung to her while explaining what I’d seen in the village. About the suspicious merchant’s daughter and her questionable behavior.
Evangeline, who had been listening quietly, frowned and asked me:
“…Johan.”
“Yes, Master?”
“Between that daughter and me, who’s prettier?”
“…Master, this isn’t the time for jokes. If she’s really a holy knight, we’re in serious trouble.”
“Serious trouble-”
Hearing this, Evangeline burst into giggles. Marguerite, who had been eavesdropping nearby, also broke into laughter.
Confused, I tilted my head, and Master smiled while stroking my hair.
“You’re underestimating your master too much, Johan.”
“…Wait, haven’t you been living in seclusion in this forest because you’re afraid of fighting holy knights?”
“Afraid? What nonsense. Johan, do you avoid excrement because you’re afraid of it? No, you avoid it because it’s dirty. Those people are truly like cockroaches.”
Excrement, cockroaches. From these words, if nothing else, I could tell Master had a truly terrible history with holy knights and the church.
But even seeing Master so confident, I couldn’t feel at ease.
“…You might be able to escape because you’re a witch, but I’m not.”
Compared to the two nearly invincible witches, I was just a normal person who had awakened mana. I wasn’t confident I could win against holy knights who couldn’t even use mana.
Mana didn’t make me Superman, I wasn’t even Captain America level – how could I defeat knights who were called living weapons even on Earth, much less in this fantasy world?
“Johan.”
“…Yes, Master?”
“Even if I were captured by the church and burned at the stake, I would never let them kill you.”
“…Master.”
“And that’s why we have her, isn’t it?”
She said this while pointing at Marguerite, who had been quietly watching. Startled at being suddenly indicated, Marguerite hesitated for a moment before nodding and shouting that we could count on her.
Indeed, with these two witches around, I probably didn’t need to worry about dying.
“…But what if they followed me here?”
“Don’t worry about that either. Do you know what this forest is called, Johan?”
“No, what is it?”
Master piqued my curiosity before revealing the forest’s secret.
“The Forest of Monsters.”
The territory of the Wolf King, Fenrir.
A land of monsters forbidden to humans.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Leading her soldiers in pursuit of Johan, Elicis frowned at the monsters roaming the forest as if they owned the place.
‘He just walked through here?’
Being a military unit, they were more likely to attract monsters’ attention than a lone person. Even so, they were encountering far too many monsters.
Meeting a monster every ten steps was extreme – Elicis couldn’t understand how Johan had passed through this forest. It was enough to make her suspect he must have connections to witches, just based on this result alone.
“Hold them back! Don’t let them get close!”
And an army wasn’t well-suited for this environment. As a group of dozens, they weren’t afraid of one or two monsters. They could even handle a dozen attacking at once.
But fighting monsters always resulted in casualties. In their current situation of pursuing someone, these injuries were literally becoming a ball and chain.
Yet the monsters kept coming endlessly. While the exchange ratio might seem impressive, it was ultimately forcing one-sided attrition on their side.
‘Was this… a mistake?’
When they heard about a cabin in the forest, she hadn’t expected there to be so many monsters. It was too late to turn back now. Too many soldiers were injured.
Elicis realized her judgment had been wrong, and sensed death approaching.
“L-Lady Elicis!”
Hearing a soldier’s cry, Elicis looked up to see what lay ahead. A wolf the size of a house had appeared.
A monster that even an army would struggle to handle. Realizing this, Elicis spoke to her adjutant:
“…I’ll hold it back. Run away.”
“What!? But that’s…”
“The more quickly you retreat, the better chance at least some will survive.”
Muttering this, Elicis drew her sword and stepped forward.
Well, she could at least buy time for the soldiers to escape.
“I am a holy knight. Do you think I would lose to mere monsters?”
“…Then please, stay alive!”
Watching her adjutant retreat with the soldiers toward the village, Elicis charged at the monster.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“…Mr. Fenrir, who is this?”
[She suddenly attacked, so I swatted her with my paw and she fainted…]
I let out a hollow laugh looking at Elicis whom Fenrir had brought in his mouth. A holy knight indeed.
Since we couldn’t just leave an unconscious person lying there, I picked up Elicis and carried her into the cabin.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That’s actually funny how easily she was defeated. I also really hope that Elicis is branded as heretic by the Church.
Ugh I’m not ready for her to be all hostile and annoying, I hate tsunderes and similar characters