Act 1-5 - Bandits Gang① |
Accompanied only by the clanging of the full metal armor, Lambert walked into the forest. No need to mention demons, there weren’t even any animals or insects nearLambert. And, even if he happened to sense some animal mana close by, they disappeared right away as if they were running away from him.
Strange…. This area is too quiet. Just what in the hell happened during my death…
Lambert thought, anxious as he strengthened his vigilance to his surroundings. As far as he knew, the demons, animals, and insects, all of them fundamentally had sharper instinct than humans had. As such, he expected that they wouldn’t approach a dangerous place by their own will.
Lambert’s theory was half-right.
He was right about the fact that they wouldn’t approach a dangerous place. He just didn’t realize that the so-called ‘danger’ they were avoiding was none other than himself. What he didn’t realize was the fact that the demons were hiding themselves as soon as they felt the pressure that came from his mana that leaked out of his body.
Of course, the leaked pressure was not only limited to Lambert. Animals also released a tiny amount of mana from their body, but…demons, especially the undead race, released far greater amounts of mana from their bodies, which created a large pressure depending on the amount leaked. And, as long as he didn’t deliberately concealed his mana, his pressure would always persist.
And, in the case of demons, the miniscule amount of mana that was automatically leaked from their bodies was called Miasma. It would induce fear and discomfort. Depending on the demon’s type, the miasma would even cause a disease.
For undead, especially Lambert, who had regained his human ego, whose specs clearly far surpassed his race, whether as a human or as an undead, was unaware of the miasma that was leaking out from his body in spades.
Good grief, I didn’t sense any humans at all…….instead, since a while ago I only keep finding demon-like presence without meeting one. But! They didn’t appear when I expected them to! At this point, I'm fine even if it's just meeting another ogre……
Soon enough, the night end, and replaced with the morning sun.
When Lambert looked at the morning sun with a sidelong glance, he realized that he didn't get tired at all despite running for a whole night.
Undead never got tired, nor do they need sleep. When Lambert recalled that fact, he felt a slight nostalgia that he could no longer do those activities.
He wasn't a living being. He was a distorted life. A deadman walking. He kept reminding himself of that fact. After he sorted out his own feelings, and pondered over his new body and status, he ended up astonished by what he found.
This body…… doesn't need sleep nor it need rest huh….to be in a battlefield with this kind of body is a fortune. I mean this body will always move at its top gear, so there will be no need to rest. If we're still in the middle of war, we'll be extremely fortunate to have this kind of body; even if we have to discard our physical body. If all of the four demon generals of Regios kingdom turned into undead, we can take down a castle with just the four of us.
Lambert who was wholeheartedly devoted to his kingdom, completely discarded his own feelings, which was slightly off from what a normal person would feel. And knowing that he didn’t have to worry about his own stamina, he changed his mind and decided to run through the forest at top speed.
…. And yet, I didn't even see a single animal on my way. Don't tell me that I've yet to enter the territory of demon even after running for half a day! The demon boss of this area must be a tough nut.
In the end, Lambert still failed to notice that he was simply misunderstanding the situation.
After running for a while, Lambert finally sensed the an animal’s mana. It was different from the animals that he had sensed so far. This source…seemed to be fixed at one place. So, Lambert decided to go and meet the owner of that mana for the time being.
However, what he found when he got closer to the source of mana was a thin and malnourished girl sitting on a rock. With pale complexion, sunken cheeks, and arms that were as thin as a dry branch. Who knew how many days since she had last ate something?
But, the bow and quiver- the fallen bird with an arrow lodged into its body by her feet, judging by the scene, she seemed to be in the middle of hunting. Yet…she didn’t eat the bird she had hunted, even though she could just do it. She didn’t even look like she wanted to dismantle her game.
She merely stared at the ground with a sorrowful look on her face.
Taking these facts into mind, Lambert went and stood in front of that girl. The girl raised her face and looked up at Lambert from her sitting position.
Compared to other animals, humans were lacking in terms of sensing miasma and mana. That's why the girl didn't notice the miasma released by Lambert.
「Oi, the girl over there. What is the year of Regios right now? And I want you to tell me what you know about what happened in the war with Makyuras kingdom.」
At that, the girl looked at lambert, eyes opened wide, slightly fearful due to the little miasma she could faintly sense that leaked from Lambert’s body. Also, since she had never seen someone who wore full body armor like him, it increased that fear. But, it also gave a little bit of hope in her heart, making her stand up and walk towards Lambert.
「U-Uhm…. Could it be that you are the army of earl Aubock? If so…the others are…」
「… Aubock? No, I don't know that name. Moreover, I'm just by myself.」
The expectation and delight that colored her face slowly vanished.
「That…… Must be it, right. Please leave this place immediately」
「What？ 」
「The truth is, my village was occupied by thieves…. They took my sick mother and younger sister as a hostage and forced me to hunt for them everyday…. Though some adventurers come to our village to check the situation since the contact from our village suddenly get cut off… They were caught immediately. You too, please run before you got caught by them…」
Hearing that, Lambert finally grasped her situation. He now understood why she didn’t touch her game despite clearly starving. And she might have mistaken him as part of the Earl’s private army who had come to save her village after he heard their situation.
「But still…. I've never heard about any village in the forest that was so close to the national border. On top of that…. Your pronunciation is slightly strange. AAAh, I see now….. It seems that I unconsciously ended up running deep into the Makyuras kingdom.」
「National…. Border? Makyuras…. Kingdom? Uhm, what are you talking about just now? 」
「What？ 」
「This is Regios kingdom, moreover, I think we're on the closer side of the capital…」
「W-W-W—-WHAT DID YOU SAY! ? 」
Lambert shouted loudly, shaken to the core of his being. In the time being, the girl was surprised by his sudden loud noise and twitched in (annoyance)?.
T-This place is around the capital of Regios kingdom? Then…. Her majesty Aurelia had finally united the entire westerd continent after the war with Makyuras kingdom! Moreover, the fact that there's a village in this place, could it be that…. More than 20 years had passed since then? Then…. That means this is around the age where her majesty Aurelia….should already have a grandchild. I…. I…….. I never expected that twenty years had passed since then. It seems…. I have to brace myself.
At least, that was what Lambert thought of when he’s given that information. What he didn’t know was the fact that it had been more than two hundred years since Glyph had pushed Lambert to the bottom of the cliff. He didn’t know that the story of Makyuras Kingdom was regarded as an old story. And, he didn’t know that Aurelia, who had complicated feelings of love and hate for Lambert, had long since passed away from old age.
「Uhm………..」
So, even though he didn’t know his full situation at the moment, he still regained his composure after he was flustered for a while when the girl called him.
「… Come to think of it, little girl, do you remember seeing this armor before? 」
「N-No, my apologies, i haven't….」
「I see ……」
When he heard her words, he felt that it was only natural for her to have no knowledge about 『Regionix Orgaziera Armor 』. After all, she was born in the peaceful era. And, although he felt rather lonely with such a generation gap, it couldn’t be helped.
In fact, the four demon generals title might've long cease to exist too, and even if the title still existed, it might’ve changed so much from what he’d known.
That being the case….It's better if they don't know about my identity. Using my identity as Lambert, the former four demon general might be a hindrance to my attempt in information gathering. That news might even reach Glyph’s ears. Though I might be able to win in our next battle….. It's not like I want him to die. [ED: Meanwhile, I’m particularly glad to have him die…at your hand. I might be a tad bloodthirsty, but…] [PR: i second this]
On a side note, Lambert’s former best friend, Glyph, was one of the four demon generals. He had the same rank as Lambert himself. And, he had passed away a long time ago. [ED: At least, make sure there’s a sidestory of his afterlife…where he ‘enjoys’ his stay in hell.]
It seems that this girl wasn’t aware of that fact yet due to her young age, but… Maybe I have to get a normal set of full plate armor so that I don’t stand out in a crowd.
The current mainstream equipment for protectores were focused on maneuverability and light weight as such leather armor or breast plate that protected only one’s vital spots were all the trend. A full plate armor like the one he wore was extremely conspicuous in a bad way. However, Lambert had no way of knowing it.
「Uhm, since the village is close by… This place is dangerous. You should be able to escape if you go toward that direction… Uhm, please help me to inform Earl Aubock-sama about our situation! If I leave the village, they're going to kill the hostages, including my mother and little sister…. Please help us to inform Aubock-sama! 」
The girl plead Lambert desperately. Wishing to save and be saved.
「No, that's unnecessary.」
「EH……」
「Even if I look like this, I was a former knight. I have no reason to just ignore the citizens of Regios kingdom who suffered from thieveries. Let me take care of those little thieves.」
Despite Aurelia’s incomprehensible treatment toward him, Lambert would not forget the patriotism for his own country. Because, by his very own nature, Lambert had an extremely powerful sense of justice.
「P-Please don't force yourself! There are more than thirty of them! 」
「I fear not the likes of untrained bandits like them, no matter how many there are. Lead me to your village」
「B-But……」
Yet, the girl, who knew what sort of suffering would befell her family should she lead Lambert to the village, hesitated. She didn’t know whether he could easily defeat those thieves or not, but she knew what the consequences would be. So…she couldn’t take such a reckless action. Not on someone who she was not sure of. Someone that’s not even in a group.
But, Lambert felt quite irritated at her hesitation. From his perspective, he couldn't understand why this girl was so obstinate and didn't entrust the punishment of the thieves to him.
To him, they were just a gathering of rogue with no training, no proper leader, nor a goal to aim for. That was the definition of thief in Lambert dictionary.
Besides, as one of the four demon generals, Lambert was hailed as humanoid weapon in Regios Kingdom. To him, the likes of the thieves were nothing but annoying bugs to be squashed.
Lambert thought that even if the girl couldn't recognize his Regionix Orgaziera Armor, at the very least she still believed in knights. It could be easily seen from the shine in her eyes when I mentioned that I was a knight.
The belief that thugs could never defeat military personnel, who had been trained to the limits of humanity, regardless of how many they were was extremely deep rooted back in Lambert’s era. And, in this era where safe living was possible, the chance for a superman like the people from Lambert’s era was extremely close to zero. As such, while the belief that knights would fight the thugs for commoners still existed in the girl’s heart, she couldn’t fully trust a lone knight for something she perceived would need a group accomplish.
Since Lambert and the girl had different life experiences, they couldn’t reach an understanding.
「Do not make me repeat myself. Lead me to your village.」
Due to his irritation at the unchanged situation, Lambert’s body involuntarily discharged thick miasma. At a density that was dozens of times more powerful than what he passively discharged. The density was so thick that the girl with her dull perception toward Miasma could feel it.
The girl’s face paled, as she shivered in fear. Unable to withstand the pressure, she fell on her butt.
Despite clearly facing against a strange man, whose whole body was covered in armor, she felt like she was facing against a gargantuan demon beast instead. She felt that he was a predator, and she was currently his prey. Unknowingly to both party, Lambert’s undead miasma had instilled the difference between their power to the girl’s mind.
――He's going to kill me.
The overwhelming intimidation from the miasma that Lambert unconsciously expelled made her feel that way.
「A…. AAAH….」
She couldn't speak no matter how hard she tried to. Seeing the dread the girl felt, Lambert also felt shaken. He had never expected her reaction.
「I-It seems like I accidentally threatened you here. M-My bad, I…… I am just bad at dealing with children.」
Falling into a panic spell resulted in parts of his metallic armor clanking against each other as he waved his arms. Lambert, who thought that his helmet armor had accidentally unfastened, held it down with his hands in panic when he saw the girl’s reaction.
Y-Yup…. It should be alright now…
Though he wondered why the girl was so frightened.
Now that he knew that her reaction wasn't because she saw his face, Lambert who had managed to calm himself felt something was overflowing from inside of his undead body. Therefore, he turned his conscious toward his own body to inspect himself.
D-Don't tell me, my body is…… Releasing miasma? I…really am reduced to a mere demon.
He finally realized that his body was constantly discharging miasma. And with the realization that he had completely become a demon kin, he hung his head down, heartbroken of his current status.
After realizing that, he kept in mind that he had to suppress the amount of miasma that was discharged by his body to a bare minimum.
It felt itchy, it was as hard as trying to stop oneself from sweating. However, the result pleased him very much as he couldn’t feel the miasma that was overflowing from his body anymore.
The damage had already been done though for the girl was stiff still as she hung her head down.
Her body refused to move due to fear.
「…. H-How's that? Have you calmed down a little? 」
Lambert, who felt that suppressing his miasma should be able to relieve the girl from her fear, called her again. When he did that, the girl raised her face, eyes wide open as she looked at Lambert. Her originally fearful eyes now was filled with bewilderment instead.
「Ah…. M-My apologies…just now, I lost my cool…」
When the powerful killing intent she felt just a while ago suddenly vanished into thin air, it left a gap that resulted in relieving the girl’s fear somehow.
「U-Uhm… B-But, I really am telling the truth…. About their number you see! 」
「I know what you mean, but… Uhm? 」
Lambert suddenly felt humans mana coming from behind. And there were more than one source.
「Three people, is it. It seems we were wasting our precious moment while talking here.」
「EH! ? 」
Lambert looked over his shoulder toward the source of the mana.
「Oioioi… How did you know? 」
「Good grief, thinking about sneak attacking us, is it.」
「Cut the chit-chat and make that armored idiot into a porcupine with arrows. Especially, your arm. Let's beat the hell of this guy and drag him.」
Three men appeared from the forest. Each of them wielding a blowgun, a sword, and a scythe.