Isekai ni Kita Boku wa Kiyoubinbode Subaya-sa Tayorina Tabi o Suru Chapter 116

“I said it was an orc nest, did I?”

“Yeah . ”

“That was a lie . ”

“A lie…”

Daniela said after we had finished our water and lunch .

“More accurately, it would be their frontline base . It should be up ahead . The nest is likely on the other side, beyond the hanging bridge . And that would make it quite far . ”

“I see . You wouldn’t want to fight right after walking a long way . Perhaps normal orcs wouldn’t care, but an evolved being might be cautious of such things . ”

I had an idea of their intelligence through my interactions with Beowulf and the assault kobold . I didn’t know how this orc would be, but they were hiding in the mist as they moved . It wouldn’t hurt to be cautious .

“Well, we’re done resting now . We should move on . ”

“Yes . I will gather the barrier tools . ”

As Daniela got up to collect them, I put away the other things we had been using . I just had to toss them into the hollow bag and it was finished . Daniela put the barrier tools in and we extinguished the lantern’s fire . All set .

“Alright, but let’s be careful . ”

“Yes . ”

I used Nighteyes and Daniela used Presence Detection as we moved up the gently rising tunnel . While faint, I could feel a current in the air . A chilly breeze brushed against my cheek .

“Are there wind spirits here?”

“No, I do not see any . It must be some other spirits, considering where we are . Maybe they are telling you what lies beyond here?”

“How considerate of them . ”

I couldn’t see them, but would they help? They must have hated that this path was even made here . They were living here quietly until someone stomped into their homes with their filthy shoes . Of course, they were annoyed .

“So, intelligent orcs can make hole moles obey them?”

“It is hard to believe… But this hole was dug perfectly to fit their purpose, so it must be true . Perhaps they lured it with food . ”

“What do those things even eat?”

“Ore . And even rocks if they are hungry enough . ”

“Right…”

So that’s why there were no remains of dug up dirt anywhere . I guess they never ran out of food then?

“Ah, so that’s why it’s ore . ”

“They give it as a reward for digging . ”

And so they used these hole moles to dig a tunnel near the village . And they even made a base nearby as well… I wonder what kind of ore they were giving to make them work so much . And also, what was so special about this village to make them go to such lengths?

“I was not able to learn much about this village . But I did learn two things . ”

“Oh?”

“The first is that is was a village of women . ”

“A paradise for orcs . ”

“And for you as well, I presume?”

Don’t be silly . I don’t need anyone else but you .

“Hm…well, as for the other thing…”

“Yeah?”

“There are ruins near this village . It is supposed to be an ancient temple . ”

“Ruins?”

I immediately thought back to the ancient elven ruins… But Daniela shook her head .

“This one is different . There was nothing inside of it . The village would have developed a lot more had those ruins had had any value to researchers, but many years of searching had brought up nothing . It is just an old, withered carcass . ”

“Hmmm…So it is just a boring village . ”

“Even with the women?”

“I’m not an orc . But I can be one for you . ”

“I, I see…hehe . ”

I wonder if there are any other couples who would fool around in a dark subterranean hole like us in existence? I highly doubted it .

After about half an hour of climbing upwards . We came out into an open area . I quietly peeked inside, but there were no signs of anyone being there . I turned around but Daniela shook her head to signify that Presence Detection had not found anyone . I try using it too, just in case, but the result was the same . There were no traps on the floor or in the walls . This was a completely empty space .

“So this is the base you were talking about . ”

“I believe so . Look over there . ”

Daniela lit the lantern and walked in front of me as she carefully checked for traps . As I followed her, a wooden chest appeared under the light . I gulped and then used my sword to knock it over . Nothing happened . The wooden lid had just fallen off . We approached it slowly and Daniela shined her light into it . I gasped .

Inside, it was painted with blood .

“Wh-what is…??”

“Hmm…They must have kept their food in here . ”

“What? Food…?”

“Aye . They would have put animals they killed inside of here . ”

“Ahh…it’s animal blood then… I was afraid it was going to be dismembered people that had been inside…”

“It is your imagination that is frightening . ”

I calmed my breathing and then used Nighteyes to scan the rest of the area . There were several other wooden boxes lying around . The others contained the bones of animals, which proved that they indeed had been used to store food .

Aside from that, there were bloody swords and broken shields lying around as well . They were likely damaged equipment that had been abandoned after the fight . I picked some up for inspection and saw that they were shoddily made . Equipment that the attacks of villagers could have easily penetrated . Even if it was a village of women, there would have been warriors . I hoped they were still alive…

“Let us hurry on . ”

“Yeah, alright . I can see another hole over there . That’s probably the path that leads to the surface . ”

I pointed at the hole that I discovered through Nighteyes, and the two of us entered it . We continued to be wary of traps, but there was nothing . If it were me, I would have anticipated humans entering this place and set up traps, but I guess the orcs had not thought that far ahead .

“They were likely just told to rest here and organize before striking the village . I doubt they were able to think further than that . ”

“So you’re saying the abnormally evolved being stayed in the nest?”

“It is not unusual for leaders to do that . Leaving the hard work to capable subordinates . ”

I see… Well, we were certainly gaining a clearer picture of these enemies .

This orc who had evolved, had decided to attack a village while evading the eyes of humans . He gave the order to his underlings, who advanced through the valley and used the hole moles to get close to the village . Once they rested at the base, they would attack in full strength . The captured women would be taken back through the mist and to their nest .

And two days before the village was attacked, in other words, nine days ago, they were seen moving through the valley . And two days later, seven days ago from today, the village was attacked . They were seen moving through the mist several times after that as well . Which meant that it took multiple trips to bring the stolen goods and women back with them .

The women were likely suffering under their hands even now . Now that I had a clear picture, the rage began to boil inside of me . These people had nothing to do with me, but the fact that there were victims was frustrating to think about . There was nothing right about humans submitting to monsters .

Perhaps there were some good ones . But the truth of the matter was that this attack happened, and so these orcs were ‘evil . ’

“There are no traps . Let us move quickly from here on . ”

“Alright . Daniela, hold onto me . I’m going to run!”

Daniela nodded as I picked her up and activated Legs of the Forest Wolf . By adjusting my current skills, I would be able to move through the dark tunnel without bumping into any walls .

Once I was ready, I charged, and in the blink of an eye, we burst out into the open air of the surface .

We landed on flat ground after coming out of the hole . There was just enough rocks, trees and bushes in the area to hide us . No one would see us unless they came close…

The sky was a gradation of red and blue that showed it was almost evening . We had gone down in the morning, so quite some time had passed . It must have rained too, as the leaves and grass glistened wetly on the ground .

“The village…I do not know which direction . Let us look from above . ”

“Alright, hold tight!”

I kicked the ground and launched myself into the air . I was getting used to using this skill… The silver and green wind went well with my magic .

We looked down from above and saw burned houses towards the north . I see . This tunnel was dug so they could attack the village from the back . Considering that there would be visitors from Replant, the entrance would have been made towards the north side . People wouldn’t visit from the rocky mountains anyway . And so creating a path between the mountains and the village would make their assault so much easier . Crafty bastards…

“Can you see anyone?”

“Hmm…wait a moment, yes, several of them . They are…searching through the houses, I think . They are likely the Adventurers . ”

“I guess we should go join them then . ”

With our plan of action decided, we made a straight line towards the southern village, like a comet over a sunset sky .

Chapter end