Life in Another World With Narration - Life in Another World With Narration chapter 67
67 – Meruru, Disappearing
The werewolf woman who suddenly appeared and blew off Sauld’s head.
She disappeared from my sight in an instant without giving me a chance to speak.
A werewolf who looks similar to Meruru’s race.
Could it be…
Before my thoughts could reach a conclusion, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.
I felt a presence above my head.
As I looked up, a werewolf woman descended from the darkness, ready to strike me down.
It’s dangerous.
Immediately, I raise my sword and assume a defensive stance.
And in the next moment.
Crack!
With a tremendous metallic sound, my body sways greatly.
She had swung my sword with her hand while in mid-air.
The impact was so strong that I almost lost my grip on the sword.
Without even realizing it, I visually confirm that the sword is not broken and still intact.
The sword, filled with magic power, wouldn’t break so easily, but it was strong enough to make me think it could break.
Immediately after she swung my sword, the werewolf woman steps on my blade and spins her body backwards, landing on the distant ground.
Her eyes, shining red like a beast in the darkness, gave me a chilling glare.
Fast.
And strong.
I sensed that she was not an opponent to be fought without killing, like the lowly slave traders here.
Although I was able to block her attack with my sword just now, the impact still lingered in my body.
It was clear that I had no choice but to confront her with all my strength in order to survive.
But…
“Just a moment! There seems to be a misunderstanding…”
In a state of heightened alertness, I try to speak to the werewolf woman.
But before I can finish a single word, she lowers her stance again and charges at me fiercely.
Is this a pointless question and answer session?
Damn it, if that’s the case, there’s no choice but to fight.
Seeing that communication is not possible, isn’t Meruru’s sister after all?
I tried not to use my skills because my magic control is incomplete, but at this rate…
Then it happened.
Meruru, who had been speechless all of a sudden, untied the sword that had been tied to her mouth and hurriedly blocked my path, spreading her arms wide.
And she shouted.
“Siiiiister!”
It was a voice so loud that it could make the forest leave.
The movement of the mermaid woman who had been rushing towards me like an arrow suddenly stopped.
She lowered her posture and her hands were dripping with her claw-like nails.
If Meruru hadn’t stopped, she would have rushed at me and struck me with her hand.
“She is Aruru, my sister! Stop fighting! She is my friend!”
Meruru shouted, her ears and tail standing up.
The sudden appearance of the mermaid woman indeed confirmed that she was Meruru’s sister.
Her name is Aruru, right?
Being Meruru’s sister, she definitely looks much more mature.
But her appearance was a bit strange to simply attribute it to the age difference.
If Meruru was like a pet dog, Aruru had a feeling of being the leader of a wild wolf pack.
She exuded an atmosphere closer to that of a beast or a monster than a human.
Seeing that Meruru had stopped attacking, it seemed that she could understand what I was saying.
“Sister! I came all the way from the Helvetika Island to find you! Let’s go back together!”
Meruru desperately shouted to her sister, Aruru.
But Aruru didn’t respond and just glared at me with her crimson eyes, then slowly straightened her hunched body.
And she stepped back slowly.
“Meruru! I missed you so much!”
As Meruru tried to get closer to Aruru, Aruru spoke for the first time.
“Step back.”
“Why are you doing this? We’re going together, Meruru!”
“I can never go back. And you, don’t get involved with humans. Go back to the island.”
Aruru said firmly to Meruru.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t Aruru not want to see Meruru?”
“……”
Despite Meruru’s desperate cries, Aruru didn’t respond further.
Then she turned around, stomped on the ground, and leaped up like an arrow, disappearing into the tall tree.
“Aruru, a member of the Sui race and Meruru’s sister, had demon blood flowing through her.
While traveling alone on the continent, she had received a transfusion of demon blood for some reason.
Meruru, who was unaware of this fact, could only be confused by her sister’s unfamiliar appearance.”
“A demon….”
What on earth happened to Aruru?
If Aruru had truly become a demon, it would be impossible for her to return to Meruru’s side in the current situation.
She probably knew that too, which is why she said she could never go back.
Anyway, I was relieved that I could avoid fighting her sister in front of Meruru.
Aruru’s attack was only once, but it was so threatening that it sent shivers down my spine.
If Meruru hadn’t intervened, I might have even used Ainblad’s uncontrollable magic power.
If that had happened, either Aruru or I would not have come out unharmed.
But Meruru…
“Meruru, are you okay?”
After Aruru disappeared into the darkness in an instant, I asked Meruru because I was worried about her.
Meruru, paying no attention to her torn clothes and her exposed body, was staring in the direction Aruru had disappeared, absentmindedly.
“Meruru…”
Meruru’s ears and tail drooped weakly.
And after a while, I could hear her sobbing softly.
“Sob… Hic… Sob….”
The sobbing soon turned into crying, and Meruru began to cry like a little child.
“Uwaaah!”
Meruru’s loud crying echoed through the dark forest.
I could only watch and support her from the side until she stopped crying.
* * *
After crying for a long time, Meruru finally stopped crying, and I tidied up the surroundings alone.
They rekindled the nearly extinguished bonfire and gathered Sauld’s unconscious subordinates in one place, tightly binding them.
Meruru quickly draped the tattered robe she had picked up while following the trail over her body, hastily covering herself.
For now, the plan was to wait until daylight in this state and then return.
They roughly managed Sauld’s decapitated corpse and tossed it next to where they had tied up the subordinates.
The subordinates were horrified to see their leader’s headless body lying beside them, but they paid no attention.
After Meruru stopped crying, she hardly spoke a word.
She simply stared at the dying bonfire with a sad expression.
Seeing Meruru, who had been killed like that, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
From Noble mtl dot com
By the way, are they demons…?
I had been to the Demon Realm before and had received help from the Mushroom-headed Karia tribe.
That’s why I didn’t have such a strong prejudice against demons as a whole.
Unless they were like that Bloodstain, leading monsters and invading the kingdom directly under the Demon King, I was willing to resolve things through conversation rather than resorting to violence.
But contrary to my thoughts, most demons and humans had different perspectives.
Even I wouldn’t have made it out of the Demon Realm alive if I hadn’t been a pure-blooded ghost like Shari.
And it was the same for demons, they couldn’t survive in the kingdom.
Did Meruru know why her sister said such things?
There was no way for me to know what she was thinking.
Anyway, now that Aruru had become a demon, the normal reunion of sisters was no longer possible, that was the reality.
Meruru really needed to pull herself together.
After a long wait, daylight finally arrived.
When Sylphy’s requested support arrived at the guild, she explained the situation and handed over all the slaves to the guild.
I returned to the guild separately from the guild members, riding the carriage with Meruru.
* * *
The next day, when I visited the guild, Tina settled the expenses for the constant requests.
“Here, the settlement for 30 gold is complete. You did well.”
“Yes, thank you….”
As I received the money, I looked bitterly at the still empty reception area for the different races.
Meruru came back safely, but she had a big incident and was also mentally shocked, so it seemed that Alcott gave her a vacation.
“Meruru, are you okay?”
I asked Tina with concern.
“It will take some time. Don’t worry too much, I go and take care of her little by little every day after work.”
“Tina, you’ve been through a lot.”
“These days, I have some spare time, so…”
Tina smiled as if she were cool.
Certainly, her dark circles, which were once deep, have almost disappeared now.
Under the influence of Philstone, she seemed to have become a master of her work, struggling in the field.
While I was having a simple conversation with Tina like that, the door to the guild master’s office opened.
“Yunoa, come here for a moment.”
Alcott called me to his office, so I went inside.
She would have a rough idea of the overall situation as well.
Is there something to say?
“Well, it’s about the humanoid species that is presumed to be Meruru’s sister.”
As soon as they sat down at the desk in the office, the conversation began immediately.
“Yes.”
“It was said that the humanoid species was the one who killed Sauld in one strike.”
“That’s correct.”
Algott’s expression became serious.
“Yunoa, do you know about the humanoid species on the island of Helvetika?”
If it’s the humanoid species on the island of Helvetika, it refers to Meruru’s race.
Since Meruru often saw them while wandering around the guild, could it be said that she knew them well?
She knew at least that they had the ability to find plants underground using strange senses.
“Typically, humanoid species have the ability to mix animal and human bodies. The humanoid species that inhabit the continent usually resemble characteristics of wild animals, so they are generally stronger than ordinary humans.”
“I haven’t seen any other humanoid species besides Meruru.”
“Most of them live deep in the forest where human footsteps rarely reach. So it’s naturally difficult to see them unless you actively search for them.”
“I see.”
“But the humanoid species on the island of Helvetika is different. Unlike the humanoid species on the continent who gained combat abilities for survival, the humanoid species on the island of Helvetika, like Meruru, mostly have below-average physical abilities.”
Upon hearing Algott’s words, Meruru recalled the memory of her being buried and captured by the Blue Slime.
“Indeed, Meruru does seem a bit different.”
“The problem is that humanoid named Aruru. She decapitated a slave merchant with a skill of Silver rank or higher in one strike… It’s a power that can’t be attributed to the same race as Meruru. Yunoa, you said you were attacked by her too, right? How was it?”
Algott’s question sharply dug into the truth.
According to the report from the guild, it would have been hard to believe that Aruru had become a demon.
As of now, I was the only one who knew for sure through the narration that Aruru was a demon.
“I was only attacked once. It would have been tougher if it wasn’t for Meruru.”
“Do you have any suspicions?”
“……”
I hesitated a little.
Would it be better to honestly tell Alcott that Aruru was a demon here?
Even if I didn’t say anything, he might already have some expectations and ask questions.
What worried me was the possibility of a punishment order from the guild towards Aruru.
The Halle Berry Forest where Aruru appeared is not the demon realm but the human land.
It was only natural to punish demons that appeared in human lands.
I didn’t want to be punished without even having a proper conversation with Meruru’s sister.
As I hesitated to answer, Alcott smiled slightly as if to relax the tension and said,
“Yunoa, have you been to the demon realm before?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Have you met other demons there?”
“That’s……”
It was a question that I hesitated to answer.
It felt like he was trying to confirm if I was on the side of the demons.
After staring into my eyes for a moment, Alcott let out a small sigh and said,
“For now, let’s leave this matter aside. But I am not the person you think I am. I believe there will come a day when we will talk about this issue again. I understand your caution. I feel the same way.”
“……”
“For now, please take care of Meruru. Since the specialized reception center for the homunculus has become useless.”
“……Understood.”
I couldn’t read Algot’s thoughts and intentions at all.
Why is she saying these things to me? What is her intention?
I wished Naresse would tell me, but as always, I remained silent at times like this.
* * *