Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

「The surviving Striges….」

I glare at Reiji with an expression that’s as cold as possible for me.

But Reiji's showing a nonchalant face while ignoring my glare.

Even if he notices it, he's not the kind of man who cares about the ill intention of others.

I want him to at least notice it, though.

「Yeah, the corpses of goblins and orcs that were already turned into zombies had gathered around the rampart just yesterday night. So, it might have something to do with the surviving Striges, right?」

Striges are demons that possess a form that crosses between a human woman and an owl.

They should have been exterminated by us around one month ago.

At that time, we made use of Nao’s perception ability to search for their survivors inside their nesting place.

Currently, only the undead made by them as intercepting force could be found in that tower.

Could it be that that undead has come out of the tower?

But the undead shouldn't be able to move without its master command.

When I think about it, maybe it was because there were no Striges in that tower at that time we searched or they might have hidden from Nao’s perception with some kind of means.

In the first place, those Striges were the ones in the wrong.

However, from Reiji’s story, it seems it couldn't be concluded whether the culprit was really those Striges.

「What shall we do then?」

So I coldly enquired him.

「Ah, let's beat those Striges for the sake of this kingdom」

Reiji's smiling while saying so.

「Humph, for this kingdom huh…. Then I assume that it's a request coming directly from princess Almina, right?」

Reiji nods to my question.

It seems that Reiji was sauntering around with Almina to enjoy the festival when we were enjoying the hot spring.

Thereupon, she asked him to take care of the zombies’ matter during that time.

But, I know that it's just a lie. There's no need to hide his whereabouts if he was just enjoying the festival with her.

It'll make you even guilty. Thus, I can imagine the general situation. That is the reason why I'm looking at him with such a piercing cold glare.

「Look at me, where do you think those Striges are right now? 」

「Who knows?」

Reiji is raising his hands to make a gesture indicating that he does not know the answer.

「Youuu….」

I place my hand on my forehead.

The one at fault during the previous incident is definitely the Striges. Their nest location is also well known.

But we don't know whether the Striges are the culprit in this incident.

「Geez…. We really can't do anything unless we know who the real culprit is」

I can't believe it, this man received such a request without knowing the situation just because it came from a princess.

Maybe we have to start from looking for the culprit first? Please stop making such unreasonable promises since we are occupied with the Diehart matter already.

「Well, we'll be able to do it somehow」

Reiji is smiling confidently.

I'm staring daggers at Reiji.

「Reiji-kun, be more serious about this matter, you're basically the one who’s responsible for this」

「I'm always serious you know」

Reiji retorts so in a nonchalant tone.

He doesn't seem to be serious at all.

「But then, I don't feel like searching for the culprit」

Reiji is surprised upon hearing that.

「Searching?」

I nod after hearing what Reiji asked in a questioning manner.

「You won't search the culprit?」

Reiji nods.

「Why？」

When I ask him for the reason, his reply is as follows:

「Because they'll show themselves sooner or later. It seems they're making use of those zombies. I'll make my move at that time」

I understand what his plan was after listening to his words.

「They definitely will show themselves….」

They're definitely that type. They're bound to cause some sort of incident.

Maybe it's faster than scouring for the culprit one-by-one.

It seems Reiji’s answer has few meanings.

Reiji hates simple jobs such as gathering information and investigation.

He never even considers the option of preventing the incident; he always makes his move after the incident has happened.

In exchange for that, he moves as soon as the incident happens.

The problem lies in the fact that there might be some victims if he moves after the incident has happened.

Not choosing to prevent the incident but to settle it after the incident has happened. Maybe his actions are just like a hero in a certain meaning. At any rate, he’s praised by everyone for that kind of action.

「Thus, let's take our own time until it happens」

I think "Is that so?" in hearing his words.

「Hey, Chiyuki-san. If it's about Striges…. There's that tower, isn’t it?」

Shirone suddenly interrupted my conversation with Reiji.

The tower she’s referring might be the tower where those Striges made their nest.

「Well, the culprit might be there but….」

「In that case, we should try searching in that place」

「Certainly, it's better if we investigate this matter faster」

I reply with slightly evasive words.

「They are quite the troublesome people…. It'll be a different story if we demolish that tower, though」

Reiji responds with such extreme words. Though Reiji will have no trouble in destroying that tower with his power, it's way too barbaric.

「Reiji-kun. We won't know whether there are Striges or not in that tower if you end up demolishing that tower. If you're going to do that, do it after proper investigation」

Will this incident be solved as long as that tower is demolished?

So, we should investigate this matter properly. But that tower itself is bothersome since the inside resembles a labyrinth. Moreover, I don't want to approach that place due to those loitering zombies.

In fact, that is the reason why I'm hesitating to investigate that tower. Moreover, the result of our investigation might end up being completely unrelated to this incident. Honestly, this matter is annoying.

Though it's not Reiji, we might as well demolished that tower the last time we went there.

「Shall we travel to that tower tomorrow?」

Shirone suggests that.

「Shirone-san, I think it's better to leave the investigation part to Nao-san」

Shirone isn't that good in terms of investigating. If it's for investigation, Nao and I are better choices.

When I glance at Nao, she shakes her head indicating that she doesn't want to go. Well, I don't want to go, too.

「We will only look at the situation for a while. Beside…. I want to swing my sword a bit」

It seems that's her real intention. After losing the way to return to our world on top of losing to Diehart, Shirone fell into a slump. Maybe she wants to vent her stress out.

「I see, that sounds good to me」

Reiji agrees with her, too.

「In that case, please lend your hand, Shirone-san. I think you won't meet any danger, but run as soon as the situation becomes dangerous」

Though there might be no danger, just in case.

「Yeah, just call my name if you ever encounter some dangerous situation, Shirone. I'll come to save you right away」

Reiji asks Shirone to call for him if needed.

Though he can't use normal transfer magic like me, he can use stalking move magic. This magic can be used to teleport toward the position of the people that become the magic’s target.

What makes it different from standard transfer magic is the fact that it can only transfer one person and will fail if the target resists it.

Reiji always saves us from danger with this magic.

The exception was when Diehart raided the temple. It seems that dimension freezing magic was applied to prevent any transfer magic inside the temple during that time; thus, he couldn't save Shirone.

But, it seems that Reiji will go to save Shirone no matter how far the distance is as long as there’s no dimension freezing magic.

「Yeah, I understand」

Shirone starts smiling after hearing our words.

「He~y, are you done with this topic」

When I look toward the source of that voice, I could see Rino puffing her cheeks.

「If we don’t finish this, our meal will become cool!!」

The already prepared meal is placed on top of the table in front of us. These dishes are cooked by Sahoko and the Rox Kingdom chef.

「Yeah, it's the dishes that were painstakingly made by Sahoko-san. Let's enjoy it」

Eventually, though Reiji doesn't make a decision about what we have to do, we felt that things usually played in this manner.

I do a kampai with everyone.

That was the beginning of our small banquet.

「What's the matter, Almina? 」

When walking alongside with Almina, I feel that her behavior is rather strange since a while ago.

「It's nothing…. I am just a bit tired」

Almina was accompanying the hero and just relieved from her duty. So it's normal for her to feel tired.

That hero-sama might be in the middle of a banquet with his wives right now.

So, it's natural for Almina to not participate in it. With respect to that, Almina responded that there's no way she could fit between such beautiful girls.

Which reminds me that such things are natural since Almina has no place around such level of beauties. Gallios is worrying too much.

「Ooh, it's Rember, isn't it?」

As we are meandering like that, Gallios’ couple approaches us.

「Nee-san, senpai. Are you guys sightseeing the festival?」

「Who knows. We just don't feel like entering our house right now….」

「Eeh, so that's it. It's just a bit, you see….」

Gallios and Peneroa reply with a sly grin on their faces.

What just happened?

「Come to think of it Rember, how about that matter? 」

He is referring to the incident that happened to the temple knights.

This evening, we found five temple knights collapsed in the back alley of the west street.

Since the one who discovered first was a man with wounds on his shin, he told Gallios about this matter, avoiding the palace guard.

After Gallios and that fellow carried those temple knights to doctor Orua living closest to that place, he informed me and the villa of the hero about the incident.

Maybe Gallios is just curious about what happened later.

「No problem. They were moved to hero-sama’s mansion」

「I see.  But then, I feel uneasy about the one who defeated those temple knights」

Gallios is pondering while touching his chin.

That's also one of my worries.

The temple knights of Holy Republic Lenaria are said to be the best in the eastern continent.

Each one of them is a master of martial arts. Moreover, a majority of them are magic users, too. Even Gallios and I combined won't be a match against them, that’s just how powerful those temple knights are.

Someone who can beat those temple knights is currently in this kingdom. So, it's just natural for us to worry about such things.

「It's certainly a worrisome matter…. But we can do nothing even if we ponder about it」

「Sure, that’s true」

Gallios laughs heartily on hearing my words.

What can we do against an opponent who can easily dispatch those temple knights?

Moreover, it seems that the one who attacked the temple knights isn't a dangerous person.

If one were to ask for the reason, it was because all of the attacked temple knights received nothing but minor injuries. The culprit also didn't steal anything.

Maybe that person just gave them a little lesson.

And, if the culprit is a dangerous existence like a goblin, they'll surely aim for the lives of the temple knights.

I'm worried about what that guy will do to me.

We then separated from the couple.

「Let's go, Almina」

「Yes, Rember」

We continue our stroll.

Nevertheless, I wonder who’s the culprit of this incident. The reaction of the maid when we carried those guys to the villa of the hero was weighing on my mind.

If I'm not wrong, that maid is called Kaya-sama. She's a beauty yet hardly displays any expression; I even wonder whether her beautiful face is just a mask.

The expression of the maid called Kaya changed ever so slightly when she saw the injury on those temple knights.

Could it be that she has a clue about the culprit of this incident?

Even then, I can't help but worry about such things. Well, I just want to enjoy my time with Almina right now.

「Reiji-kun. You are still drinking liquor!! 」

I lost track of how many times I warned him about this.

Reiji's drinking his liquor. Moreover, it's a distilled liquor.

「It's okay, Chiyuki. Oh!! This new product is great, isn't it?」

「Uhm, it seems it's to your liking, Rei-kun」

Reiji and Sayoko continue to enjoy their drinks while having such a conversation.

It seems they're blatantly disregarding my words.

Surely, Sahoko dishes are delicious.

It's possible to recreate Japanese food as long as one uses the fish sauce made from a fish resembling sardine in this world.

It seems that Sahoko has made Reiji’s favorite dish using that fish sauce.

「Don't worry, Chiyuki-san. If it's Reiji-kun, he'll be okay no matter how much liquor he drinks」

Shirone is comforting me.

But, I can detect a slight smell of alcohol from her breath.

You're drunk, too. I wanted to retort to Shirone like that.

But it's as Shirone says, Reiji’s never drunk no matter how much liquor he takes. Just like back in our home world. Frankly speaking, Reiji’s physical power was just too abnormal.

It became beyond abnormal after coming to this world. It's already not at the level of a heavy drinker anymore.

In fact, our bodily functions have become abnormal ever since we came to this world.

It seems that we won't suffer from acute alcohol poisoning no matter how much liquor we drink. I think the way he drinks right now is his way to get revenge since he still conducts himself properly back in our home world.

Not just in terms of liquor, but also in terms of food. We won't gain any fat no matter how much we eat.

A wound will be healed immediately. Our skin has become glossy; our health’s also top-notch.

We became even more beautiful after coming to this world.

Considering such circumstances, I might just be needlessly anxious about this matter.

The reason why a minor[Miseinen] is forbidden from drinking liquor as it'll cause harm to their yet-to-mature body. On the contrary, it's okay to drink liquor as long as it doesn’t harm your body.

Moreover, there are people who drink liquor at our age in certain countries outside Japan.

Naturally, there will always be an exception. Take Kyouka for example, it seems she is also not really good with liquor even in our original world. These pair of siblings are the exact opposites of each other. In short, the difference is in their body metabolisms.

Our physiques also have slight differences based on our individual abilities.

But it seems that Kyouka is worried about something.

There, I noticed a slight change in her when Kaya isn't with her.

Kaya never eats her meal with us. Could it have something to do with their master and servant relationship? It seems she has her meal alone after everyone has finished their food.

In other words, she's not beside Kyouka side only during her meal. But now, she has left her seat. Where are you?

「Hey, Kyouka-san. Where's Kaya-san? 」

So, I ask Kyouka about Kaya’s abnormal behavior.

「Kaya is at the place where they treated the temple knights who were carried here」

「Ah, at that place….」

The temple knights Lucullus was worried about the discovered unconscious today’s evening.

It seems they were defeated by someone. The defeated temple knights carried to this mansion were neither able to move their body nor speak.

It seems Kaya heard from those temple knights that they were defeated by someone.

After returning, Kaya explained the situation.

「How's the result, Kaya-san? Did you find something?」

Kaya fixes her gaze at me.

Kaya is wearing her usual noh mask-like expression which makes it hard to read her emotions.

「It seems the person that caused the previous incident is currently in this country」

Everyone focusses at Kaya after her words.

「What are you talking about, Kaya?」

I want to hear the details from her.

「From the condition of the wounds, the person who defeated the temple knights seems to be a skilled martial artist. Maybe even I am no match for that person」

Then, Kaya narrated the state of the temple knights.

The temple knights were defeated to the point that they won’t die; in addition, it seems that person in question can skillfully adjust his power – a difficult task even for Kaya. There are traces of being beaten but no noticeable wounds. It seems one of the temple knights was able to move right after receiving recovery magic.

And then, it seems Kaya came to a conclusion that someone who can do that much should only be the person of that incident.

「U~hm, the person that Kaya-san mentioned about is the one who groped Kyouka-san’s breasts, right…?」

Kaya nods to Rino’s question.

「It's highly possible」

Everyone is showing a surprised face.

「It's normal to think that he is following after us, right….」

Shirone is asking that question with a troubled face. To be honest, I'm in the same predicament as her.

「It seems that cosplay strategy has proven to be a success….」

「Yeah, it seems so…. To think that such a strategy actually proved to be effective….」

I am visibly surprised.

It seems a pervert was summoned to this world. Moreover, that person’s skill is equal to Kaya’s.

「What shall we do about this? 」

Kaya asks everyone for the next action.

「Naturally…. Looking for him, tomorrow….」

Everyone voices their displeasure when I answer so. I don't want to meet that pervert too, you know.

But, we must find a way to return to our original world.

「Uhm…. Can I not participate in this search? I have to go to the tower tomorrow」

Shirone's saying so with a timid voice.

To be honest, it looks like she's trying to run away from this, but the search for the pervert is taking highest priority and the severity is low.

In this case, I don't think that Shirone who’s bad at searching will make that much difference anyway.

「Well, it can't be helped then….」

I agree to her.

「Ah, so cunning!!」

「Shirone-san is too cunning!! Then I'll go to the tower, too!!」

Rino and Nao are voicing their complaints.

「Don't run away. It's not like we are going to find him tomorrow immediately. Nothing will change since Shirone will be participating in our search from the day after tomorrow」

We couldn't find him even after looking for him throughout Holy Republic Lenaria. You might say that this will be a drawn-out battle.

Moreover, we have confirmed that the pervert is actually near us. Quite a harvest we got there.

「Don't worry, Rino, Nao. Since I'll beat that guy if he appears before you」

Reiji is showing a daring smile.

「Reiji-kun….」

「Reiji-senpai….」

Rino and Nao are moved upon hearing his words.

Honestly, did he know that our goal is not to beat that pervert?

「By the way, Kaya-san. Did those temple knights take a look at that pervert face?」

I noticed a slight change in Kaya’s eternally impassive face after that question.

「Well, it seems someone has fiddled with their minds」

I'm slightly surprised in hearing Kaya’s words.

Speaking of magic to fiddling with the mind, there's ruling magic, memory manipulating magic, and memory loss magic.

With the easier one being memory loss magic and the hardest one being ruling magic.

「Does that mean their memories have been erased?」

Kaya is nodding at her words.

Could it be that the pervert erased those temple knight’s memories about himself after beating them?

「That’s the most likely. Though those temple knights can move their body, it seems they lost memories of an entire day」

Kaya is saying so as if troubled by it.

「Uhm, it's probably memory loss magic, but….」

I can't be sure about it since memory manipulation magic and ruling magic have similar symptoms.

Ruling magic and memory manipulation magic are far more difficult than the fairly simple memory loss magic. It's a magic that will distort the memory of the other party but won't work very well unless the user has higher magical power than the target.

That's why I can't determine the magic used to erase their memories.

But in case it's memory loss magic, there's a high possibility that the temple knights saw the face of their opponent.

Could we do something about that information?

「Maybe we have no choice but to rely on Rino-san….」

I direct my gaze toward Rino.

Rino can infiltrate the mind of the other party using her mind dive magic.

And then, she can extract even forgotten information as long as she dives deep enough.

「E~h, don't wanna….」

However, Rino isn't agreeing to that idea.

It seems she's not that fond of those temple knights. Then, we have no other choice.

Mind dive magic tends to strongly influence the magic caster. Especially in Rino’s case who has that strong tendency, she vehemently refuses to enter deep into the mind of someone she hates.

Though I hear that mind dive is more toward emotional aspect…. It seems that it’s closer to sexual intercourse. It seems she doesn't want to do that unless it’s someone she loves.

Thus, we won't be able to scour for memories containing that pervert.

「Well, it can't be helped if Rino-san doesn't want to do it. Let's search for him manually, then」

Mind dive is the most effective method, but I guess we have no choice since the person in question doesn't want to do it.

Nevertheless, I wonder what kind of person that pervert is? For what reason is he hiding?

And then, where and what are you doing right now?

The night keeps flowing on as I am unable to comprehend the situation.

The night ended and the morning dawned.

When I open my eyes, I realized that I can't move my body.

The reason is that someone’s body is lying on top of me.

The one lying on top of me is a goddess with a beautiful face and brilliant hair.

And then, my face turns red on recalling last night’s events.

This goddess then opens her eyes.

「Fuu, Kurok–…. EH, WHY?」

To be honest, I don't even dare to look at her face.

Because I recall the abnormal state between Rena and me last night.

「U~hm…. AAAAAAAAAAAAH! ! ! ! 」

It seems she finally sobered up. She is groaning with a flushed red face.

「Uhm, Re— BUGYAA!?」

She suddenly landed a hit on me when I try to speak to her.

I can't deal with this sudden turn of events.

I sneak a glance at the bewildered Rena while stroking my face that was just punched by her. She's glaring at me.

She suddenly draws herself closer to me.

「L-LOOK INTO MY EYES, KUROKI!!」

「E-EH!!!」

With my head still in a chaotic state, I look into her eyes as she told me.

My eyes met with her beautiful and ebullient eyes.

Her eyes are shining. That light then enters into my bodies through my eyes.

Though I knew that she tried to use some sort of magic, I simply couldn't resist her.

「PPPPPLe~~~ase For~~Get~~~EVERYTHING! ! ! ! ! 」

Rena's screaming.

Memory loss…. Magic?

I finally know what sort of magic she's trying to use on me.

My consciousness dimmed.

「FUEEEEEEEEEE! ! ! ! 」

Though I heard Rena doing something while weeping, I'm already unable to do anything.

We welcomed a rare visitor the first thing in the morning.

Before my eyes is a person with wings on her back.

An angel.

The angel race rarely comes down to the ground. That's why this person is a rare visitor.

I was woken up by this visitor.

「Sorry for bothering you in the morning, Chiyuki」

This angel doesn't seem to be feeling sorry judging by her tone.

The angel race’s a beautiful race with wings on their back, but I couldn't bring myself to like them since they are haughty creatures that look down on humans.

「Well, it doesn't matter…. So, what's the matter, Nier?」

To be honest, I have no choice but to accompany her since it seems like an urgent matter despite my sleepiness.

Nier is a female angel who’s the captain of war maidens that serve under Rena. I met her once in the past.

The matter of meeting Nier started from that point. I wonder what matter it is.

I can hear the fuss in the vicinity of the mansion. It seems the one making such sounds are the angels who descended to the ground.

I really want to have the ability to hide even if it's just a little. This kind of fuss is so unbearable.

「It seems Rena-sama isn't visiting this place?」

Nier is asking in an interrogative tone.

「Eh, Rena what?」

I never met Rena ever since I arrived at this country.

「The truth is, we lost contact with Rena-sama since last night. We assumed that she came here, but….」

Nier's saying so as if she’s troubled by the situation.

「That Rena? She never came to this place, you know」

When I reply so, Nier’s face becomes pale.

「Don't tell me, something happened to Rena-sama….」

Nier is trembling. It seems she is imagining quite a worrisome situation.

She's just worrying too much, it's only one night. Moreover, it's not like Rena is a kid.

「Why did I not search for her immediately!!!」

「Uhm…. Nier….」

I'm trying to calm down the panicky Nier.

That time, I felt a powerful magical power coming from the outside.

When I look through the windows, I saw a light object flying in the sky.

「Eh, Rena-sama!!」

Nier shouts aloud.

The light object keeps flying toward the direction of Elios.

「WAH!! We have to chase after Rena-sama!! Chiyuki!! I'll leave the aftermath to you!!!」

After dumping the tasks, Nier left my room through the window to chase after the light object.

I was left alone in my room.

「What on earth just happened? 」

When I woke up in the morning, my face is stinging with pain.

Moreover, why did I sleep in this place?

I was lying on my bed.

When I tried to recall what happened last night.

「Eh!! What happened last night?」

I can't remember what happened last night.

「That's right. I was suddenly kissed by Rena…. E~h, then…. I can't remember anything….」

I remember the beautiful face of Rena approaching mine.

I writhe in pain remembering that event.

Could it be that she drugged me with a sleeping drug when she kissed me?

And then, did she try to do something while I was asleep?

Rena had already left this room.

I feel that something important was lost when I did not see Rena’s face.

Though I don't know the reason, Rena’s face simply won't disappear from my head.

Someone, please tell me what just happened?

「I HAVE NO IDEA~A!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD JUST HAPPENE~~D!!!」

I roll around on my bed while holding my head.

When I rolled around like that, my body stumbled upon something.

「Eh？」

On a closer look, a small bottle is present on my bed.

「What is this?」

The content of that small bottle seems to have been already emptied. It seems that the entire content was spilt on my bed.

Maybe Rena dropped it by mistake.

Though it seems like it’s a magic potion, I don't know what kind of potion it is since it’s already empty.

Maybe it has something to do with what Rena wanted to do.

I search around for more evidence.

I'm looking around inside the room. My room became slightly disordered.

「Crap…. I don't know what happened but…. If I don’t tidy the room….」

When I’m about to clean the bedsheet with magic, two things fall when I raise the sheet.

First is some kind of cloth.

When I look at that cloth, I realize that the surface area is scarce.

That cloth is related to a certain something.

「Let's keep this for now…. And carry it with me」

For some reason, my instinct’s telling me to do so.

The other one is some unusual metal.

I'm trying to pick it up.

It's a necklace with a black gem laid in the center.

「What the heck is this necklace?」