Chapter 69 - The Creeping Shadow
I woke up in the midst of a sweltering heat.
It was now past August, and it was getting hotter and hotter. Just sleeping made me sweat.
The towel I had laid on the bed was soaked with damp sweat, conveying an unpleasant humidity to me.
I immediately got out of bed and opened the window I had kept closed.
When I opened the window, the cool morning air entered the room.
The incoming breeze lightly lifted my bangs and stroked my skin.
The wind, which lowered the heat of my sweaty body, felt good, and I narrowed my eyes and let my cheeks relax.
However, it was depressing to think that in another hour, this pleasant breeze would become a hateful thing laden with heat.
Well, there was no point in thinking about that now.
I shook my head as if to brush away the thought, wiped my sweat with a towel that was hanging nearby, and began my morning preparations.
After washing my face, fixing my bedhead, and dressing, I left the room and went down to the first floor.
Having resigned as a teacher at the Magic Academy, I had left the Kingdom of Abalonia and come to Legacy, a village in the northwest of the Vespania Empire.
Normally, going straight west would be the shortest path, but since there were movements to track me as I left the royal capital, I took a detour just to be safe.
Taking a long detour in this heat was extremely troublesome, but it couldn't be helped since I didn't want to be followed and cause trouble for Aldo.
I was a mage and shouldn't have been highly skilled in techniques for shaking off tails or pursuers, but this time I realized that I had incredible ability, perhaps due to being part of Keel and Aldo's training.
I would intentionally enter forests with many monsters to evade pursuers, or use magic to create makeshift traps to stall them. I blocked paths with magic or used magic to provoke monsters and set them on the pursuers.
Keel used to say, "This much is natural. You have magic, so you have to use it effectively," but I thought it was far too ruthless.
I even felt a bit sorry for the knights and adventurers who were ordered to pursue me.
In that way, I forcibly drove away the pursuers who fell upon me, and for those who came by indirect means, I had reliable adventurers obstruct them, so there was no sign of pursuers at all.
It was likely because they couldn't move around conspicuously in the territory of the Vespania Empire, and because I was persistently passing through rural villages.
I hardly entered territories where the power of nobles was great or towns where inspections were strict. If I entered such places, I didn't know from where information about me might leak. The fame of the Dragon Slayer was no joke, and if I entered a town carelessly, the name Kurune would spread in an instant.
If that happened, pursuers might come again.
That's why I was traveling through rural villages that wouldn't catch the eyes of pursuers or interested parties.
In rural villages, I had a sense of the land since I had traveled around them extensively during my adventurer days. I also knew shortcuts that only woodcutters and hunters knew, and I knew of shacks for resting, so I had no trouble camping out.
"Oh, good morning, Kurune-chan."
When I went down to the first floor, the proprietress of this inn, Hanna-san, greeted me with a smile.
"Good morning, Hanna-san."
Having come down the stairs, I also returned the greeting with a bright smile.
"I'm sorry for intruding late last night."
"It's fine. I owe you for protecting me from monsters, Kurune-chan. This much is an easy task."
Three years ago. When I stopped by near here, Hanna-san had been attacked by monsters in the forest. We happened to pass by... or rather, Aldo sensed it with his incredible detection ability, and we rushed over to defeat the monsters.
Hanna-san remembered that and had agreed to let me stay without a second thought when I visited late last night.
"I-It wasn't that big of a deal."
"No, if it weren't for you all, I would have died three years ago. My life today is thanks to you. I can't thank you enough."
"Y-You're welcome."
Hearing Hanna-san's heartfelt voice made me embarrassed. However, I thought it wouldn't do to brush it off with shyness or embarrassment, so I decided to properly accept those feelings of gratitude.
It was purely happy that she was still grateful for what happened three years ago.
"Ufufu, you're cute when you're embarrassed. I can't believe you're one of the party members who killed a dragon."
Hanna-san chuckled as she saw me getting embarrassed.
"Ah! Does Hanna-san know about that too!?"
"Lately, I've been hearing rumors. That Kurune-chan's party defeated a dragon."
When I asked Hanna-san for details, it seemed that the A-rank adventurer party 'Black Silver' from the Kingdom had defeated a dragon. It was only to that extent, and specifically who they were hadn't been accurately transmitted as far as the rural village of Legacy.
The names and appearances were also a mess; Aldred's name had become Andrew.
That was so funny I couldn't help but laugh.
"But, not just the name, the moment of the kill is strange too, isn't it? A dragon is a monster larger than a big building, right? It's impossible to cut off the head of such a dragon with a sword, isn't it?"
"...A-Ahaha."
Hanna-san laughed merrily, but I could only give a wry smile.
Our Aldo did indeed chop off the head of a dragon that rivaled a building. It's strange, isn't it? Even with a special sword, it's not something a normal person can do.
He says the sharpness increases if you channel mana, but a dragon isn't so soft that it can be cut with just that.
In fact, everyone besides Aldo tried channeling mana into their swords and slashing at the dragon's corpse, but not a single scratch was made.
Hanna-san and I continued to talk for a while about rumors and casual things about life.
Since I had been traveling while avoiding contact with people lately, a conversation with someone I could be myself with felt very fresh.
"Hanna-san! Food!"
A while later, guests other than me came down from the second floor.
Apparently, we had been talking for quite a long time before I realized it.
"Oh, we've talked for quite a while. I'm sorry."
"No, no, not at all. I also enjoyed being able to chat after such a long time."
I had actually wanted to leave before the sun rose too high, but I heard various interesting rumors, so I had no regrets.
When I get to Nordende, I'll tell Aldo about the exaggerations added to his rumors. He'll surely either writhe in embarrassment or make a grim face.
"Are you leaving already, Kurune-chan?"
"Yes, I'll depart after I eat breakfast."
"I see. I wanted to talk more, but it's a pity."
While we were talking, the hungry guests at the tables started grumbling, "Is the food ready yet?"
Hanna-san hurriedly replied to those guests and headed for the kitchen.
"Ah, Kurune-chan. I'll make you a lunch box, so please take it with you if you like."
"Yes! Thank you very much!"
I replied and then sat in an empty seat.
At the surrounding tables, travelers, merchants, and rookie adventurers were having fun conversations while waiting for breakfast.
"What should we do today?"
"I heard the neighboring village is in trouble because monsters are ravaging their crops."
"Then, shall we go there?"
"Are we finally being released from gathering quests!?"
The sight of a peaceful traveler's inn, which felt nostalgic, made my cheeks loosen.
It was like that when I was adventuring too.
Though, in my case, it was hard because Keel and Aldo would bring in difficult quests with exquisite timing. It was common for us to go to distant countries just to fight strong monsters, regardless of profit.
I really thought I was going to die when we went to defeat a monster called the Mage Slayer to increase my ability.
I ate breakfast while listening to the rookie adventurers' conversation and remembering old quests.
After finishing breakfast, I had Hanna-san give me the lunch box and left the inn.
As I walked out of the inn, the summer sunlight beat down on me.
While feeling a bit fed up with the air laden with heat, which was different from early morning, I set off.
If I keep going like this, will I arrive at Nordende in a month?
I hope this heat has eased up a bit by then...
◆
Around the time Kurune started walking from the inn in Legacy.
In the shadow of a house across the street, a man in black was standing.
Even though the midsummer sun was beating down, he did not take off the black clothes he was wearing, and he had his hood pulled all the way over his head. No skin was exposed at all, and he wore black gloves on his hands. It was as if a shadow had materialized as it was.
He was a presence that stood out terribly and did not blend into the common rural scenery, but while he was in the shadow of the house, he was completely assimilated with the shadow.
Therefore, Kurune did not notice his presence.
"...That is the mage who was in Aldred's party..."
His closed mouth slowly opened.
It was a terribly cold and low voice, but it contained a faint emotion of joy.
"Clark's information wasn't necessarily a lie. It was the right choice to go around the rural villages."
The man in black muttered so and started walking soundlessly in the direction Kurune had gone.
If she were to head further west from here, her destination would be the Kingdom of Sylphide.
Even if he were to lose track of the mage, for the man in black who knew the numerous quests Aldred had completed, the destination was as good as derived.
"...Aldred. I won't allow you to get away with a win."
The man in black's voice, which resembled a curse, was drowned out by the sound of the wind blowing through the village of Legacy.