Chapter 538:
Not the Village Watch, Too!
ASURO’S INNKEEPER SENT US OFF with a wave, but he still looked exhausted to me. Meanwhile, Zinal was beside me with a smile on his face, excited for the day ahead. Fische looked a little tired but also in high spirits.
“You guys…” My father looked from one to the other and sighed. I started to feel bad for the innkeeper. I got the sinking feeling Zinal had shoved a bunch of responsibilities on him so they would be free to go out with us today.
“For the last time, it’s all good. It’s not a big deal.”
I didn’t exactly know what was “not a big deal,” but one look at the innkeeper told me it was not “all good.” Was it really okay for us to take them off on a field trip?
“It’s okay, we promise. They’ve been through much worse—it’s not a big deal.” Fische gently patted my head.
…Well, I guess this is okay, then?
“Ivy, why do you feel uneasy when I say something, but you seem okay with it when Fische says the exact same thing?”
“Maybe it’s based on my learned experience?” I answered honestly.
My father burst out laughing. Zinal didn’t look entirely satisfied by my answer, but looking back on everything that had happened, I think I was in the right.
Wait a minute… Maybe I could have phrased that more tactfully. It seems like I’ve internalized Zinal as somebody I can be casual with. Funny, since he’s much older than me.
I looked up at him as he walked beside me with his lips pursed out in a pout. It made me feel less inclined to worry about hurting his feelings.
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
I feel like I’m falling under Zinal’s spell. You know, the way he just sneaks in and makes you feel relaxed around him…and yet I don’t really mind. What a strange person.
When we passed through the village gate, the gatekeeper gave Zinal and Fische a funny look. And I was sure they noticed, but neither of them reacted. I assumed that meant we should just ignore it. After we’d walked for a while, my father turned to Zinal and Fische.
“Was he an enemy?”
Zinal made a sour face. “Looks like we’ve got some fools on our side, too. There’s been a leak, probably from the bottom.”
So I take it this means some information was leaked from one of the lowest-ranking members of Zinal’s team… Is everything going to be okay?
“What’s the plan? Is the enemy going to make a move?” Fische asked, looking over his shoulder.
Zinal thought for a moment. “Y’know, no time like the present. Let’s go fishing.”
Fishing?
“Think he’ll take the bait?”
Oh, metaphorical fishing. Still, with the obviously antagonistic way he was acting back there, would he even bother trying something?
“But the gatekeeper knows we’re on to him. Do you really think he’d try something?” I asked.
The three smiled sheepishly. Why?
“You noticed the way the gatekeeper was acting, didn’t you, Ivy?” my father said.
I was confused. Of course I’d noticed. Who wouldn’t?
“The poor gatekeeper was trying his hardest not to let his emotions show, though,” my father said with a smirk.
That was suspicious. Was he really trying not to show his emotions? The guy whose eyes bulged when he saw Zinal, and who pulled back a little when we walked past him and unnaturally looked away so we’d think he didn’t care? Him? Mr. Heart-on-Sleeve?
“Well, Ivy is very perceptive,” my father told them.
Am I? Huh? I sense a presence following us from not too far away.
I looked up at my father and he nodded back. That was my father for you. He couldn’t read auras, but he still noticed. I think he deserved the label of “perceptive” more than I did.
“What’s the plan? We can’t meet up with the serpents if we’re being followed,” my father said.
Zinal looked a bit flustered. “Let’s split into two groups. They’ll probably… Sorry.” Zinal cut himself off midsentence.
Two groups? If we do that, whichever group I’m in is definitely the one getting attacked. I mean, look at me.
“Ivy, you can say no to the plan,” my father reminded me.
“It’s okay. Let’s just get this over with so we can meet up with the serpents.”
The serpents wanted to tell us something, and I can’t stop wondering what.
“Sorry about that, Ivy. Who are we dealing with, amateurs? Or are they acting incompetent on purpose?”
Fische frowned thoughtfully. It was a fair question. There were six of these people following us at a distance, and since they hadn’t masked their auras, they were very easy to read. Did people ever leave their auras on full blast when chasing someone? Of course not.
Which means the group of six is a decoy and somebody else is tailing us? High-level adventurers have faint auras, so they’re difficult to pick up on. But you can still read them if they move, since their auras move with them. And I’ve been scanning the area just in case of that possibility…but I sense nobody. So either this person is really good at masking their aura, or they’re using a magic item.
“Think they’re using an aura-masking item?” I asked.
“There are magic items like that, but they require a lot of magic energy to operate,” Fische explained. “Not to mention they’re expensive, so I doubt anyone would use it on small fry like us.”
“Anyway, let’s split into two groups,” Zinal said.
I nodded, just as we happened to reach a fork in the road that led to the dump one way and a cave the other. My father and I headed for the dump while Zinal and Fische made it look like they were taking the cave route. I was a little nervous to see who our pursuers would follow.
“Is it just me…or are our friends slowing down?” I asked.
“…It isn’t just you,” my father answered.
Right where we parted ways with Zinal and Fische, I sensed hesitation in the six auras. My father and I craned our necks in confusion. Something was off.
“Are these people really our enemies?” I asked.
“Well…somebody else could be using them,” my father suggested.
So they’re pawns. Yeah, that could be.
“Ivy, are there still no other auras around us?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s have Ciel go on ahead of us.”
I opened the lid of the bag Ciel was in. Ciel jumped out immediately, went back to adandara form, and disappeared in the treetops.
“That’s our Ciel… Lightning fast,” my father marveled.
“Yeah. It’s a bit shocking.”
Ciel’s movements were just so pristine we couldn’t help but stare at the treetops in wonder.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” my father said, quickly returning his focus to the dump.
I suddenly realized it was stupid of us to let ourselves be distracted by Ciel’s gracefulness and stare at the treetops. We were basically signaling to our pursuers that something was up there.
“They’re heading our way,” my father announced.
“They sure are.”
Finally, the six auras began closing in. It happened right after we stopped staring at Ciel, which came as a relief. We slowly made our way to the dump.
“They’re being extremely cautious,” my father remarked.
“I know. If they really wanted to be careful, they should have just masked their auras.”
Their actions confused me to no end. They were just too odd. And why were there six of them? I searched for auras when we passed through the gate earlier, and there were six. Surely not all six of the people who’d been there when we passed through the gate decided to chase us? Obviously not. Gatekeepers were like a fortress protecting the villagers from the dangers of the forest. Why would everybody leave the gate? They wouldn’t…would they?
“Freeze.”
Oh, thank goodness. They finally caught up. If they’d taken any longer, we’d already be at the dump.
“Turn around.”
Wait, are all of them in the same spot? We could totally just run away.
We turned around to see six people, all with nervous expressions. Their swords were drawn and pointed at us, yet I wasn’t at all scared. They were clearly scared, not out for blood.
I was right. Something’s off.
“Just who do you expect to hurt with that weak-ass stance?” my father asked.
They trembled.
Huh? They’re all…young. In their teens, still? Everyone knows that gatekeepers need a certain base level of experience… Is that not the norm here?
My father, probably realizing the same thing, looked at them in confusion.
Something’s off. From what I can tell, these aren’t bad people. Could it be…they’re acting under duress? Come to think of it, young adventurers were bound by those contracts, weren’t they?
“Are you, by any chance, bound under contract?” I asked.
Tears filled their eyes. So the corruption had spread from the adventurer guild to the village watch. My father sighed and raised his arm. Then I sensed Zinal’s aura approaching us in the distance. When he showed himself, the six watchmen’s faces tensed in fear.
“Ahh, it’s okay, guys. I know what they did to you.”