Chapter 128 Discussion
After changing clothes and taking a breather, I explained to Lukas and the others how I got here. My incoherent explanation was met with Vake's response, who was the first to speak up.
"I knew it. Wentle did as he pleased, after all."
"That's right, isn't it...?"
Diona agreed with a wry smile.
Meanwhile, Vake nodded slowly, looking convinced.
"But, well, it's possible that young lady is qualified. She's the most knowledgeable, after all."
"Uh, it's an honor to be trusted, but I've only been to that place a lot and received spiritual water..."
This time, I was the one who smiled wryly at the green-eyed gaze directed at me. I told Wentle-sama and the others, but honestly, I'm just someone who's visited that place many times, and I don't understand the spirits' words at all.
――Anyway, what's done is done.
"More importantly, is it safe for you to go outside, Ampère? I heard that monsters are targeting you."
Arnold suddenly changed the subject. It was Marta's bright voice that responded to his question, not Wentle-sama or the spirits.
"That's not something we should worry about, is it? We're in the same boat, after all. It's easier to protect each other... Ah, but if the village she's hiding in is discovered, that would be bad."
'Then it's okay, since we came through the space-time gap.'
A green, round light suddenly appeared from nowhere――Wentle-sama was circling around Marta. If we believe what Wentle-sama said about the narrow passage of time, then we can rest easy on that point, but――
"The space-time gap?"
Arnold didn't hide his confusion at the unfamiliar term.
Wentle-sama proudly explained in a lively tone that the spirits' dwelling had an entrance, and that all entrances around the world were connected to the narrow passage of time, and that they had come through that place this time as well――but what came out of Arnold's mouth was not a word of praise, but a deep sigh.
"It's too dangerous. Do spirits not have common sense?"
Arnold's words earned a slight nod of agreement from me. If I had let my guard down in that place, I wouldn't be here now.
Marta chimed in with a "well, well" as she touched Arnold's forehead with her finger.
"Laura's safe, so it's all good."
"That's not the point..."
Arnold let out a deep sigh, and then glanced at me with a hint of curiosity, so I responded with a gentle smile, implying that I was fine. But for some reason, he let out another sigh.
After a brief silence, Lukas called out to Wentle-sama in a slightly harsher tone than usual, his voice floating up like a bubble.
"Anyway, you're lucky to have made it out unscathed this time, but next time, let's discuss it beforehand, Wentle."
Wentle-sama, who had been scolded even by the Hero, sounded like a sulky child, but nodded honestly with a "yes".
Now that the conversation had reached a conclusion, it was time to discuss what I should do next. Should I head back to the village right away, or...
Diona was the first to propose an idea.
"Since you're here, won't you accompany us to the spring? It's better to stick together to protect yourselves from monsters, too."
Vake quickly agreed with a nod.
"That's a good idea. I'm in favor of it too, but... since the sun is already setting, let's do it tomorrow."
As Vake spoke, I glanced out the window to see that the evening sun was already illuminating Flaria city. Marta, who had seen the scene, began to prepare herself in a hurry.
"Well, we'll go shopping then!"
As Marta said that, Vake put on a traveler's cloak and covered the lower half of his face. Was he a porter or something? And why did he need to hide his face?
I was wondering about it when Marta asked me cheerfully.
"What's good for dinner? Laura will decide, okay?"
"Uh, um, then... how about sandwiches?"
I blurted out my favorite food, sandwich. Marta grinned, showing her teeth, and said "Okay!" before quickly leaving the room with Vake.
Before I knew it, the conversation had progressed, and I was shocked. I asked Diona,
"Is it a turn-based shopping system?"
"No, Marta is... we're leaving it to Marta. The porter takes turns carrying the luggage. We're being watched by the Demon King, so..."
Being watched by the Demon King. Those words finally made me understand why Vake had been hiding his face. And with that, I also understood why the Hero's party was wearing traveler's cloaks.
Just like how I was attacked by a monster, Marta and the others, except for Elvira who was at the experiment site, might be "wanted" by the Demon King among the monsters. To avoid involving the city people, they must be taking every possible precaution on their journey.
"So Vake-san was hiding his face. But can monsters recognize human faces?"
"I don't know. But it's not impossible. We should take every possible precaution. We can't let other people get involved along the way."
I nodded in agreement with Arnold's answer, "That's right..."
From a monster's perspective, their sense of smell might be sharper than their sense of sight. Of course, they must be taking precautions against that as well, I thought ―― and remembered the floral scent when Lukas wiped my body with his cloak.
"That means Marta joining us was a big help. We would've been a suspicious group of 4 with hidden faces... But Marta can show her face and shop normally, right?"
Lukas laughed, "Haha." It wasn't my achievement, but Marta's joining the Hero's party was the right decision.
"Marta has a friendly personality, so she quickly becomes friends with the shop owners. Thanks to her, our information gathering has become much smoother."
Diona continued with a gentle expression. As the mood maker, she was supporting the Hero's party not just in battle, but also mentally.
"Vake-san is famous, so if he talks to someone new, it's gonna be a big deal when people find out, and we're not really good at talking to people we've just met, especially Arnold-san."
"...I won't deny it, but you can't talk about other people either, right?"
――I was surprised. Lukas and Arnold were chatting like old friends, exchanging light banter.
Arnold's expression, which was somehow hard to describe, was funny, and I couldn't help but laugh. When I looked, Lukas and Diona were laughing too.
The atmosphere among the 3 of them was really calm. They've been on a tough journey, always on the lookout for monsters and hiding our faces, but it seems like they're building good relationships with each other. They'll continue to support each other and form even stronger bonds.
Suddenly, Lukas's blue eyes turned towards me.
"Thanks to the healing potion Laura sent, I've been feeling a lot better. Even back at the volcano, if Laura's potion hadn't healed my burns, it would've been really tough."
"Yeah, really. And that antidote you made before was a big help too."
It seems like my past life's memories are coming in handy too.
"That's great, then."
But up until now, my past life's memories had been useful, but it doesn't seem like that's the case this time. The Drinking Water of the Spirits existed in "Last Brave" too, but there were no spirits living in that place. So, of course, I don't know anything about the spirit stones.
I wonder if my past life's memories will be useful only up to this point――and then I remembered that I hadn't asked about the location of the remaining spirit stones.
"By the way, do you know where the other Spirit-sama's dwellings are?"
"It seems they're located near the Likerland Canyon and Platonovena."
Diona's straightforward answer made me go "I see" as I searched my memories.
Likerland Canyon. The name didn't immediately ring a bell, but when I thought about the word "canyon," I somehow remembered that there was a dungeon like that. And I remembered that there was a spirit with a strong personality living there.
And――Platonovena. There's no memory of spirits living in that land. However, in this world, it's a familiar place name.
My friend Emiliana-san, and her husband Alex-san. I wonder if they're doing well. Lately, our exchange of letters has decreased significantly, but if I'm definitely going to visit them soon, it might be a good idea to leave a letter with Lukas as well.
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