A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 167



Only Noblemtl

Episode 167. Unexpected Companionship

Chiiik-

As I breathed starlight into the sword, the blood and bodily fluids of the demons on the blade evaporated.

The starlight went very well with the silver sword.

As the pure white silver sword was covered in twinkling starlight… … .

It was like seeing a holy sword that itself radiated divine light.

The divine light that drives away darkness.

Are you saying I was a knight of light?

I aimed my holy sword at the darkness and muttered devoutly.

“The light will guide the way.”

[He’s acting crazy.]

The devil broke the contraction.

I examined the silver sword, which had been cleaned and disinfected by starlight, here and there, then put it back in its scabbard.

“So, what do you think? How did you feel about your first encounter with a demon in Maya?”

Cheonma, who was staring blankly at the fallen demon in front of him, expressed his appreciation.

[… … It’s trivial.]

“hmm.”

[He may be big, but his actions are truly outrageous. Who would stand up to such an ignorant attack? If only his power was stronger, I wouldn’t say anything.]

I couldn’t really raise any objections.

As Cheonma said, this guy was not worth his size.

It’s just that it’s a little big, but it’s not that smart.

It would probably be around a C grade.

This is a guy I can handle on my own before he falls off the cliff.

However, the only difference is that back then, you had to rush in with all kinds of preparations and the resolve to die, but now it’s not like that.

I suddenly felt that I had become stronger.

Suddenly, he felt excited and drew his sword again to dance around, but he held back because it seemed that Cheonma was in a bad mood.

I comforted the disappointed Cheonma by kicking the demon’s corpse with my foot.

“Master, it’s too early to be disappointed. As soon as we enter Maya, something like this pops out. What if we go deeper?”

But Cheonma already seemed to have lost interest.

[Tsk… … I guess that Sphinx guy was better back then. Let’s go beat that guy up later.]

“Don’t be disappointed yet, because there are many more cunning and stronger guys.”

I walked over to the fallen demon’s body with one arm raised and stuck my hand near its heart.

Phew!

Cheonma frowned.

[What are you doing?]

“Wait a minute. This is where it should be… … Ah, I found it.”

In the hand he took out again, he was holding a magic stone that shined like a jewel.

[What is that?]

“This is called a magic stone.”

I went to a nearby stream and washed my arms and the stone while explaining.

“When a demon dies, the remaining mana in its body gathers and its heart hardens like a jewel. That was taken out.”

[Hmm. It’s some kind of internal strife.]

I muttered as I looked at the roughly washed magic stone under the moonlight.

“Hmm… … The color is dull and not very shiny.”

[Is it good?]

“Not bad. It’s about a C grade.”

The classification of the grade of magic stones is the same as that of magic beasts.

It would be natural if the purity of the magic stone is determined by the level of the magic stone.

I took the magic stone and walked slowly towards the carriage.

Normally, you could collect its teeth, claws, leather, etc. and sell them.

It was annoying and I didn’t have the time to do that, so I just took out the magic stone.

Because magic stone is the most expensive.

As we returned to the carriage, Shushuruta looked this way with his ears perked up.

“Are you done?”

“It’s over.”

If it was Shushuruta, he would have heard it from far away, so there was no need to explain it to Katabuta.

I said, throwing the magic stone at the guy.

“I’ll take care of it when I get to town later.”

Shushuruta took it, looked it over, put it in the carriage, and returned.

Meanwhile, I broke off a branch and threw it into the fire.

Knock knock knock

Sparks flew and embers flew.

I stared blankly at the flickering flames for a moment.

Because I think I see some shape in it.

Then suddenly, I felt eyes on me and turned my head.

There was Shushuruta staring at me blankly by the campfire.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

“Ashvan.”

“what.”

“What is the Sherwood Mercenary Company to you?”

I turned my gaze back to the campfire.

He opened his mouth, staring at the shapes swaying within.

“……family?”

“family?”

Shushuruta tilted his head.

“Is that different from a colleague?”

“Well, I guess it’s similar.”

Shushuruta asked cautiously, wringing his hands.

“Then… can I join the Sherwood Mercenaries too?”

I looked at Shushuruta with an absurd gaze.

“A thief wants to join the mercenary group?”

“Isn’t that possible?”

“what…….”

Come to think of it, that Dauphin was also a retired assassin. His hobby was stealing.

There are two thieves in the mercenary group.

But I gave up because I didn’t think it mattered whether it was one or two.

“… … It doesn’t matter.”

Shushuruta’s face brightened.

“Is it good?”

“good night.”

“What’s good? What would a thief do with a mercenary group?”

Shushuruta said it as if it were absolutely obvious.

“How could it not be a good thing that I have other colleagues besides you?”

“Oh my.”

He was a bandit who, because he didn’t have enough of his own, joined the mercenary group and planned to steal the hearts of the other members.

There was no such thing as a fearsome thief.

This guy is really consistent.

It’s a colleague’s complaint, then and now.

But since it’s better to be selective about who you make friends with, I warned the guy.

“There are only weirdos out there with one screw missing. Don’t give them your heart.”

Shushuruta looked at me.

“There can be no one stranger than you.”

“What the heck?”

“If he were your colleague, he would naturally be as strange as you. If he were ordinary, that would be disappointing.”

“… … .”

“And, since he’s your colleague, it might be strange, but it won’t be bad. Don’t worry.”

How can you trust someone so easily without even seeing them?

I sighed.

“I’m worried about you, you punk.”

Shushuruta laughed, saying, “What’s good?”

“What are you laughing at?”

“It’s nothing.”

I stared at the shushuruta splitting into pieces for a moment, then lay down.

“tight.”

“Yeah. You too, sleep well.”

Knock knock knock

I lay down and looked up at the sky.

The moonlight was a bit dim, perhaps because of the clouds.

He said to Shushuruta, who was giggling quietly next to him, “What’s good?”

“Grow up. I’ll wake up at dawn and leave.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

I closed my eyes to the sound of the crackling campfire, which sent sparks flying out of the air, as a lullaby.

* * *

It’s been three days since I entered the Kingdom of Maya.

It was a journey of about a week by carriage to Schirnberg, so we were halfway there.

I sat on the roof of the carriage all day, eating breakfast… and sometimes, when a demon appeared, I would deal with it like a whirlwind and come back.

“Nice to meet you, Masu. Short for Ban-ga-masu.”

-Keeeek!

Most of the demons I encountered were E and F grade.

F-class creatures pose no particular threat to humans. Examples include small rabbit-like creatures or creatures that resemble mice.

E-grade means larger ones, but can be defeated by an average man alone. Among them, I think I saw some beasts that resembled deer or raccoon dogs.

But just because they aren’t a threat doesn’t mean they aren’t harmful, so they killed both F-class and E-class.

I just killed them all when I saw them.

That’s because if you leave it alone, there are cases where it goes up to D or C grade.

In fact, there were cases where a small lizard grew to become a B-grade, and there were also cases where a large locust suddenly appeared.

So, in many ways, it is better to kill them as soon as you see them.

In Maya, there were a lot of demons roaming around, so a lot of research was done on them… … .

There are several hypotheses as to the cause of the occurrence of demons.

The most plausible hypothesis among them is that a beast soaked in polluted mana becomes a demon.

Since the devil is basically in the shape of a beast, I think this is the most plausible.

I don’t really know what contaminated mana is or why it gets contaminated, but that’s what it is.

One day, contaminated mana sticks to the beast.

It is said that it directly dominates the brain, making it violent, and further contaminates the heart, mixing the contaminated mana into the bloodstream that is sent throughout the body, causing physical transformation.

Of course, I didn’t look for anything like a thesis, it was just what my older sister told me.

My older sister knows everything, that’s what I’m saying.

Of course, the thieves didn’t leave us alone.

A carriage. Your mouth must be watering.

At that time, either the torch was held again, or Shushuruta came back for a while.

While I was killing demons and thieves, talking nonsense, and having useless thoughts, the carriage continued on.

Of course, the rest of the time was spent pouring everything into breakfast.

A man who indulges in unkijoshik whenever he gets the chance. A unkijoshik addict. That’s me.

As usual, I was concentrating intensely on my morning meal, not even minding the shaking carriage…

I heard Shushuruta, who was sitting next to me, talking.

“Ashvan.”

I slowly opened my eyes and asked.

“why.”

Shushuruta looked up at the sky and said.

“It’s a big bird. It looks like it’s flying this way.”

I blinked and followed Shushuruta’s gaze.

In the distance, a black dot was growing rapidly.

Immediately afterwards, a cry that was presumed to be that of the bird was heard.

-Keeeek!

A roar rang out, and soon a giant monster appeared in the sky.

The bastard flew in from the front in an instant.

It was a big enough creature to snatch a person with its claws.

In an instant, a dark shadow covered the carriage, blocking out the sun.

Cheonma muttered as if it was a miracle.

[There are flying beasts too.]

I nodded.

“It’s rare.”

Linda also called me in an excited voice.

“You devil, you big bird!”

Shushuruta took out his dagger and spoke in a casual tone.

“I will handle it.”

This guy.

At first, he was quite surprised to see the real-life demons from Maya, but now he was acting as if he had no interest in them.

“No, I will.”

Meanwhile, the monster was descending at an incredible speed.

It looked like it was going to grab me and Shushuruta by one foot each.

You’re such a greedy bird.

-Keeeeeek!

The bastard’s cries could be heard from nearby.

I muttered, keeping my eyes tightly shut and holding the hilt of the sword at my waist.

“I’m sorry, sir. I decided not to pick you again… … .”

It seemed like I could feel Shushuruta’s pitiful eyes.

But I didn’t care and continued.

“Cry, you damned devil… …!”

The moment he shouted that and was about to draw his sword.

Wedge!

Something flew like a ray of light and pierced the monster’s head.

-Keeeek!

The orbit along which the asteroid was descending was distorted.

If it were normal, I would have just barely passed over the carriage and caught Shushuruta.

The guy fell next to the carriage at the same speed he was flying at and crashed to the ground.

“this guy!”

Then a roar like the force of a wall was heard, and a man quickly ran towards the monster that was lying on the ground, writhing and making a fuss.

“Linda. Stop.”

I gave Linda the order and then jumped out of the carriage.

The man approached the squawking monster and immediately cut off its neck.

puck!

However, it was not cut off in one stroke, so it had to be struck several times before its neck was completely cut off, and the decapitated monster could no longer struggle.

“hmm.”

The process was quite clean and skillful.

As I approached the man, clapping, he looked back at me, wiping his forehead.

One of his eyes was covered by a black blindfold.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

I looked at him blankly and then answered.

“Thanks to you.”

The man let out a long sigh, then suddenly became angry.

“Are you crazy? Riding around in a carriage without any escort. Are you really out of your mind? Have you ever seen such a crazy person? I almost got in big trouble. Do you understand?”

“… … .”

They were harsh words, but in reality they were words of concern.

Contrary to his impression, he seemed like a rather kind man on the inside.

I quickly observed the man.

He was a man who looked to be in his mid to late thirties. Perhaps his bushy beard made him look even older.

He carried a large bow on his back, and a quiver and a scabbard hung on each side of his waist.

With an eye patch covering one eye, a bushy beard, and thick facial features, he did not look gentle at all.

In a word, he’s just like a hunter.

The hunter put down the sword he had used to decapitate the monster and reached out his hand first.

“My name is Camus. I’m a mercenary.”

“Kami?”

“Camus, not Kami.”

“Kamui?”

“Because it’s Camus. Camus.”

“Camus.”

“Yes, Camus. That’s right.”

“That name is hard to pronounce.”

I grumbled and shook his hand.

Why does Bok-sil come to mind?

“… … .”

Was my reaction strange?

Camus looked at me strangely for a moment and then asked.

“What about you?”

“Ashvan.”

And he pointed to Shushuruta, who jumped out of the carriage after me, and Linda, who had stopped the carriage and was peeking out.

“Those are my sisters.”

Camus nodded at Shushuruta, then tilted his head at Linda.

“That guy has green hair?”

“I picked that guy up.”

“ah.”

Camus, who was soon convinced, asked me.

“Where are you going?”

I answered obediently.

“I’m going to Schirnberg.”

“That’s a good thing. If you carry that demonic bastard, I’ll protect you. For free.”

Then he took out a silver medal from his bosom and showed it to me.

“It seems like it’s your first time here, Maia. You should have hired three or four mercenaries. It’s too dangerous. If it weren’t for me just now, it would have been a disaster. Do you understand?”

“hmm.”

“You must be a swordsman, judging by the sword you’re carrying. If you came with your sister, you should be alert. Even if flying demons are rare, how can you just sit there without any preparation? Huh? How can you just sit there and not notice when a demon is right in front of you? Are you really crazy?”

I stared blankly at Camus, who suddenly started getting angry again.

He was a man who poured out all his worries into anger.

The man who had been venting his anger paused for a moment, looked at me quietly, and then clicked his tongue.

“Tch. This won’t do. Let’s just do this. I’ll get lost on the way. What am I talking about with a crazy guy?”

“… … .”

Camus took out a huge sack, folded the demon’s wings here and there, and stuffed it inside.

It was amazing to see that huge demon fold up and fit into a sack.

Camus slung the sack over his shoulder and trudged towards the carriage, loading it onto the carriage.

Then, naturally, he got into the carriage and shouted at me.

“What are you doing? You’re not riding.”

“… … .”

I had an unexpected companion.