Volume 10 Chapter 4 Continuation Of The Pursuit
"The ambush was a miss. In the end, I thought the magician would come this way, but he flew off toward Roland Village."
Al said this to the two with a disappointed look. There was no lie in his feelings. However, deep down, he also felt relieved that he didn't have to cast a spell on a human. In the past, he had used attack magic to kill during bandit hunts, but that was always to protect someone or stop a crime, so he didn't feel much guilt. But using a spell on someone who was flying and caught off guard still felt wrong to him.
"I see. That's too bad. What should we do? It's definitely dangerous to chase after him."
At Joanna's words, Al nodded. To be honest, he wanted to run away. But he didn't want to abandon Guildmaster Levy or Naresh. If they could buy some time, they should do it, and he also wanted to assess the enemy's strength. Still, this was a remote area. It was a dangerous place to camp. He had planned to stay overnight in Roland Village, but that was becoming difficult.
"Wait!"
Al suddenly raised his voice.
"I remember hearing that there are some ancient ruins near Roland Village and Oakley Village. I've always wanted to check them out. For now, let's go to Oakley Village, gather some information, and if there's a big ancient ruin, we might be able to stay there."
Ancient ruins often only have the remains of buildings, but sometimes parts of the structures are still there. In such places, there might be spots to camp. Even if there aren't, leaving behind information about these places could confuse our pursuers. While doing that, they might get another chance to ambush or gather information.
"Hmm... If it confuses the enemy, that could be good. For now, instead of staying in Roland Village, we'll go to Oakley Village. I think that's a good idea. What do you think, Princess?"
Joanna was a bit surprised by Al's sudden enthusiasm compared to earlier, but she still asked Patricia for her opinion. It seemed she agreed with getting Patricia's thoughts.
"Uh? Y-yes. I think it's a good idea. Sir Al... But about Ms. Glee..."
Oh right, He had forgotten about that. Al had left her with Patricia. He wondered if she had talked to Patricia about something.
"Ah, yeah..."
Al quickly explained about Glee, mentioning it was similar to what he had discussed with Malachi before. He talked about his younger sister, who had died during a Barbarian attack, and how their grandfather had comforted him afterward by giving him a pendant. Since then, Al had kept the pendant, drawing courage from it while remembering his sister.
He also briefly shared how, with the help of his "Magic Power Control" spell and Malachi�s assistance, Glee was now able to communicate with anyone who touched the pendant.
"Back when he was so little, Sir Al was with the Barbarians... Ms. Glee is the nickname for Sir Al's twin sister, Ms. Ingrid, who passed away at that time. Her soul might be in this assistant device... that's what it means, right?"
Al nodded.
"Please tell me more about your sister. I'll return the pendant. But, can I talk to Ms. Glee when you have time?"
At Patricia's words, Al nodded again.
"Got it. For now, let's go to Oakley Village. There's a chance the magician heading to Roland Village might come to Oakley Village. I want to gather information before that."
Prompted by Al, the two sat back in the 'Carrier' chair. Joanna looked a bit tense, and her face was pale, but Al pretended not to notice and used the 'Fly' spell to soar into the sky again.
* * *
Oakley Village was a pioneer village, and there were no inns or shops selling goods, but the magic bag that Guildmaster Levy gave them had not only food but also blankets, tents, and cooking pots for their stay, so they were able to spend the night safely.
They stayed alert the whole time, but that day, neither the magician heading to Roland Village nor any other magicians came to Oakley Village.
According to what Al heard in Oakley Village, there were 4 places nearby that seemed to have ruins. However, only one of them had any buildings left, while the other 3 just had huge stones arranged in a circle on the ground or had small hills surrounded by a kind of ditch. Al and the others asked about the location of the building and headed there as soon as the sun rose the next day.
"Is that it?"
Al pointed to a stone building about 3 stories high, covered in green. It was almost square, measuring about 50m (� 164ft) on each side. This area didn't have much dry land and seemed to be covered in mud and swamps. From the mud grew trees with roots as thick as a person's arm, called mangrove, twisting up into the air and covering the building.
"Such a big building... It must be, right?"
"..."
Patricia stretched a bit to see what Al was pointing at and replied. Joanna still seemed nervous, tightly closing her eyes.
"Being this close to the water, I bet Lizardmen are around."
Lizardmen are Barbarians with gills and webbed feet, able to move in water just like on land. This kind of place would be an advantage for them.
Al floated in the air, carefully getting closer. He could see what looked like entrances on the north and south sides, but the northern entrance was half submerged in muddy water, while the southern side had the stone part exposed. The building itself probably leaned to one side.
"It looks better from the south side. I'll go down for now."
Al gradually lowered his altitude.
* * *
At the same time, there were 2 people leaving Milton City. It was Orson and Lippi. Lippi was sitting on the driver's seat of the usual donkey cart pulled by Rosinante, wearing a blonde wig.
The two of them had left the border city of Lester 3 days ago.
It was the day after Al decided to escape with Patricia. Al thought it would be better to pretend he wasn't involved in this incident, following Guildmaster Levy's suggestion. So, he decided to make it look like he had urgent business back in his hometown, Channing Village.
Of course, when they left the border city of Lester, Al was with them, saying goodbye to some familiar guards. After that, Al secretly returned to Lester, but Orson and Lippi continued their journey. Since parting with Al, Lippi had been wearing the blonde wig and calling himself Al. They were planning to go to their hometown, Channing Village, via Outis Town, carrying a letter and some items that Al had given them.
"Mr. Orson. The weather looks nice today."
"Yeah, that's good to hear."
At Lippi's words, Orson leisurely looked up at the sky.
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