NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
“…Nothing but monster corpses…”
“And they’re all charred…”
Rud and I had been growing increasingly frustrated with the charred corpses that had been piling up since a while ago. Because they were charred, they were practically worthless and couldn’t be sold for even a single yen.
Furthermore,
“…I can’t use my detection spell anymore.”
As we went further into a certain area, we suddenly couldn’t sense any monsters. The reason was probably that we had entered a “Barrier of Hindrance,” but there definitely hadn’t been anything like that two years ago. Well, there had been something like it in the game, but it shouldn’t exist now…
“I have no idea what’s going on. We should meet up with the spirits and ask them about it.”
“Jin-sama… This is most likely the work of a high-ranking fire spirit, so they might be nearby, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, probably. If it’s them, they tend to be rather careless and might have caused this mess.”
I recalled the faces of the spirits I had met two years ago. I hadn’t seen them at all recently, but they were probably living their lives as usual.
As I was lost in thought, suddenly…
…BOOM!
An explosion rang out from deep within the forest.
In that instant, Mea and I started running.
Because we had a pretty good idea of who was responsible.
The epicenter of the explosion was closer than I had expected, and we arrived in just about 30 seconds. Unlike what we had seen before, there was a crater on the ground, about a meter deep, but similar charred corpses were scattered around. And nearby, I saw the familiar figure of the high-ranking fire spirit that we were talking about earlier.
“Hmm? Oh… it’s been a while, Jin. Have you come back again?”
“For me, it’s been two years, so it’s been a while. That aside… I heard that monsters have been appearing around here.”
As I asked, knowing that spirits were generally lax about time, the high-ranking fire spirit responded solemnly.
“…That’s right. Lately, I’ve been seeing monsters a lot. I’ve been defeating them whenever I find them, but they’re not decreasing at all. In fact, they’re increasing. The likely cause is…”
“The cause is?”
“…The sanctuary of the Spirit King.”
Those words were the worst kind of news for me. I was shocked, and at the same time, Shade, who was also a Spirit King, came out from within me and exclaimed in surprise.
“What happened!? What about my big brother and big sister!?”
“This is the Dark Spirit King…? but as I said, it’s true. We higher-ranking spirits cannot get close to the Sanctuary, but the miasma is leaking from it.”
I had a sinking feeling based on the spirit’s words. This massive outbreak of monsters in the Spirit’s Forest resembled a key point in the game’s storyline. It was caused by the overflow of miasma from the sanctuary. This catastrophe traced its origins to the experiments of a secret organization that had successfully generated miasma artificially.
Realizing that extracting magical energy from humans was inefficient, they turned to harnessing the power of the spirits, particularly the Spirit Kings. However, they couldn’t control the overwhelming power of the Spirit Kings, resulting in the current monster outbreak in the Spirit’s Forest—a scenario straight out of the game.
There should have been at least another year of respite before this disaster. Unless… Cynthia starting school early because of me accelerated this timeline. If that were the case, it explained why things had escalated to this point.
Damn it… why is it that the protagonist is never around when you need them?
“Jin? Are you there?”
“Huh? Sorry, I was lost in thought. What’s up?”
” Jin-sama! Let’s head to the sanctuary right now! Everyone is worried!”
“Jin, I earnestly request you as well. Please, can you save our king?”
Shade and the high-ranking fire spirit asked me for help, but to be honest, I didn’t really want to go. I had already earned plenty of money, so there was no real incentive for me to go.
However, it was partly my fault that the scenario had progressed so quickly. Well, it was more the fault of the protagonist who challenged me.
“…Fine. I’ll go now. But Cynthia, Rud, and Mea, you’re not coming with me.”
“!?!”
My words surprised the three of them. While Cynthia and Rud didn’t argue, probably thinking their abilities were lacking, Mea had a different response.
“Jin-sama, I am your maid, so protecting you is part of my job. Besides, I won’t go down easily.”
“No, it’s not happening.”
I immediately rejected Mea’s offer.
In fact, I didn’t want her to come because it would be dangerous. I’d prefer if she didn’t even come to the forest today. I mean, if Mea got hurt, I’d… well, let’s just say it wouldn’t end well.
“Mea, safely escort the two of them out of the forest in my place. This is a direct order as your master.”
“…Understood. Good luck, Jin.”
With only those words, Mea swiftly disappeared from the forest with Cynthia and Rud in tow.
“Now, let’s head towards the center of the forest.”
“Yeah!”
“Got it.”
I, along with Shade and the high-ranking fire spirit, made our way to the sanctuary.
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