Chapter 44 The Talking Monster
――The poison created under the guidance of my mentor was used much sooner than expected.
It happened when Petra, Radmila, and Julia, the three girls, were relaxing and chatting under a big tree behind Petra's house.
Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound from the bushes behind them. When they turned around, they saw a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness.
――It was a monster.
The three girls looked startled. The closest to the monster in a straight line was Radmila.
Without thinking, their feet started moving. There was no time to feel fear. It felt like they were being controlled, moving with unwavering determination as if it was someone else's problem in a distant place.
"Radmila, run!"
I stood up and pushed Radmila's back, and at almost the same time, a monster jumped out from the bushes towards me.
In an instant, a sharp pain pierced my right shoulder. Before my brain could figure out that it was from the monster's claws digging in, I quickly threw the poison I kept in my left pocket towards the monster, almost dropping it on the ground. Whether it was my animal instinct for defense kicking in, or perhaps I was programmed by a god (creator) to do so, the movement was unbelievably fast and smooth.
There was a sound of breaking glass, followed by a pungent smell that hit my nostrils. Then came a terrifying sound of the monster's skin melting.
"Laura!"
"I need fire! And go call the weapons shop owner!"
My words were quickly understood by Julia, who dashed out faster than anyone else. Perhaps it was because she was the oldest among us, but she remained the calmest among the three.
Startled by Julia's sudden dash, Petra, who had been behind me, seemed to help Radmila, who had completely lost her nerve and was dragging her feet. Petra, born in a village surrounded by forests, was a strong girl who had gone to work alone. Despite her agitation, she was able to act appropriately in this situation without hesitation.
After confirming that Petra and Radmila had distanced themselves from the monsters, I quickly returned my gaze to the monster in front of me. Its skin was grotesquely blistered by the poison I had thrown.
"Ugh, ugh..."
(It's not a cry... more like a groan of a person...)
――A monster that spoke human language.
That thought crossed my mind.
"Laura!"
I heard that voice clearly, it was from my childhood friend.
I almost turned around instinctively, but managed to stop myself by putting more strength into my legs. Facing a monster - one that I had actually injured - showing my back would be too dangerous.
Suddenly, I felt like I was enveloped in warm light from behind. In that moment, a familiar crest appeared at the feet of the monster in front of me. ――Ah, yes, this crest is exactly the same as the one floating above Lukas's left eye.
A pillar of light rose towards the sky from the crest that appeared on the ground. The brightness was so intense that I involuntarily closed my eyes. The monster's anguished death cry pierced my eardrums.
I stood there dumbfounded. Where the column of light that struck the monster was interrupted, the monster lay charred on the ground.
The monster that seemed to be on the brink of death turned out to have a charred head that was still moving. As I instinctively took a few steps back, wondering if it was still alive, Lukas stepped forward to shield me. Even though it was through the back of my childhood friend, our eyes met with the resentful expression of the monster, and then...
"You, impressive..."
――Without a doubt, the monster "said" that. It wasn't an auditory hallucination or a coincidence that I heard the monster growl like that; it was clearly speaking human words.
Lukas's back trembled with unease. However, he quickly grabbed his sword and aimed it at the monster.
"Disappear!"
The monster shouted and attacked Lukas. It was probably a last-ditch attack with all its remaining strength, but Lukas effortlessly deflected it with his sword and thrust the sword into the monster's chest.
The sword slipped out of the monster's body with a sound... and this time, the monster, who had undoubtedly met its end, collapsed to the ground as if being slammed down.
"Laura, are you okay!?"
Lukas turned around and took my right arm. Looking at the shallow wound oozing blood, I grimaced in pain.
To be honest, it's not as painful as it looks. No, maybe it's because I'm more concerned about something else, the pain has eased considerably.
"I'm fine. Luka, about that power..."
"I've started to get the hang of using it a bit."
Furrowing my brow, I said while stopping the bleeding on my right shoulder. Although I thought a healing potion would fix such an injury in an instant, I was happy that my childhood friend was worried.
Lukas seems to be getting the hang of using the Hero's power. Come to think of it, the last time I saw him use that power was on that day — the day "I" awakened.
"Hey, Lukas, that monster earlier..."
"It was speaking human language."
Lukas hesitated for a moment, then spoke clearly. Just when it seemed like he might stop there, my childhood friend continued speaking.
"It easily crossed over the magic barrier... and it's the first time I didn't defeat the enemy in one blow using that power. They must be stronger than the monsters I've faced before."
The monster that spoke the language seemed to be a stronger individual compared to the others.
It was something "I" had almost been certain of from my memories, but Lukas seemed to have noticed the difference firsthand.
However, would such an event have been mentioned in the play "Last Brave"? I remember lines from NPCs like when Lukas repelled the attack on Emme Village with the power of the Hero, but...
Still, it's quite surprising that the second monster who speaks a language was sighted in the distant land of Emme Village. From a meta perspective, it's a world where events — troubles and abnormalities — occur around Lukas, the future Hero-sama, as if they are being managed like flags. It's not an impossible story — rather, it's quite strange why the first monster appeared in Platonovena and why Arnold and the others were the ones to confront that monster before anyone else.
"The magic cast over Emme Village isn't that strong..."
It's about a magic barrier surrounds the village to keep monsters away. However, the magic was poorly cast by an unknown magician. It's rare for a magician to visit such a remote village, and Emme Village doesn't have the resources to hire a powerful magician. The barrier, more like a charm than true magic, has been somewhat effective until recently, as monsters are naturally averse to fire and tend to avoid human settlements.
However, with the demon king's revival approaching, the strength and ferocity of the monsters have increased. In this situation, even with Lukas around, there may soon be casualties due to the weak barrier.
I clenched my fist tightly, but then relaxed the tension in my body. I managed a faint smile and spoke to my childhood friend, who still had a stern expression.
"Next time, let's ask the magician at the royal castle. Maybe they can cast a stronger magic spell for this place."
"You mean Arnold-san?"
Without missing a beat, Lukas asked me. I blinked a few times rapidly.
The term "magician at the royal castle" I mentioned didn't refer to a specific person. It was just a simple choice that came to mind because the royal castle housed powerful magicians, making it a reliable connection to explore. I was surprised by Lukas specifically mentioning Arnold, but I hadn't really thought much about it, whether it was good or bad.
As I was stared at with blue eyes, I chuckled. However, Arnold was indeed one of the reliable magicians, so I nodded slowly, albeit hesitantly.
"Well, I guess he's one of the candidates."
In response, Lukas visibly clouded his expression.
Arnold is currently one of the top magicians in the royal castle. Honestly, if we can rely on him, I'd like to ask for his help. With his much stronger magic, he should be able to protect Emme Village better than now. However, it might be difficult to ask Arnold, who is busy with his days, to come all the way to Emme Village.
Lukas probably understands this, yet he doesn't hide his bitter expression. Indeed,
"Hey, Luka. Do you not like Arnold-san?"
"I don't know him well enough to dislike him. But somehow... I feel like we just don't click."
The expression he wore was a wry smile.
When Lukas first met Arnold, he didn't seem to like him much. Arnold, on the other hand, often responded with cold words and actions, even though Lukas had thanked him recently.
Lukas and Arnold had only met about three times. Despite that, it was clear to me that they didn't really like each other.
There wasn't any specific reason for this, at least not that I know of. It's just one of those things. Sometimes people just don't click with each other. Maybe Arnold is like that for Lukas, and probably Lukas is like that for Arnold too.
In the future, I think these two will probably cross paths in some way. For Lukas, Arnold is like a close brother. It's not necessarily important to build a good relationship with him, and he doesn't feel like telling Arnold that directly. It's rare for Lukas to show discomfort towards others, so it makes me smile wryly.
"But Arnold-san is also a busy person, so I'll try talking to other people too."
With that added, Lukas, my childhood friend visibly relaxed.
――By the way, this is my third encounter with a monster. And it happened right after learning how to make poison, which is somewhat good timing.
Being targeted right after synthesizing the poison makes me feel like it's the God's intention. Maybe the event of me learning how to make poison was a flag for this event — such game-like thoughts cross my mind.
When being close to the future Hero-sama Lukas, it was expected to be somewhat involved in events as a setup for the main story, but encountering them three times seems a bit too much. Also, the incident with Platonovena seemed to revolve around Arnold. In fact, Arnold's name became well-known because of that incident.
Considering his high specs, it's possible that Arnold could become an important character in this world.
It's hard to say for sure. Anyway, let's enjoy this holiday for now — there might be some events happening, but let's make the most of it.
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