NOVEL WEB Chapter 69
69. If We’re Going Together, We Need To Know Each Other’s Strengths Isn’t It?
After enjoying Jitaro’s daring jokes, we departed from Golden Dawn.
“Raidoc, what route are we taking?”
“West sounds good.”
I see. Heading west sounds like a plan.
To the north of Golden Dawn is a vast river with no visible opposite bank, while the situation to the east and south is somewhat discernible.
By the way, the old Golden Dawn, Zaido Settlement, lies to the southeast.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea too.”
“Agreed.”
The granary area is somewhat to the south and slightly west, and since that area is open, there’s no urgent need for investigation.
Based on this situation, we cut straight through the forest extending to the northwest.
In simpler terms, we’re going through a forest that hardly anyone enters or exits.
“We’ll leave the forest to me! Hey! Camille-san! Let’s lead the way together!”
Jitaro immediately called out to Camille, the second daughter of the Casper Sisters, a silent swordsman.
Unrestrained or tough, whichever you prefer.
While the eldest sister Eva gave Jitaro a cold look, Camille silently nodded and stepped forward with Jitaro.
She’s a daughter whose emotions are hard to read.
“Then shall Leifan and I take the rear?”
Sorrel, the ranger and Raidoc’s lover, invited Leifan.
“Yeah!”
Leifan cheerfully replied, and Raidoc addressed the remaining members.
“Alright, Moira and I will take the lead, so let’s make sure the magic users stay in the center.”
“Understood.”
With that, we set off, but Eva soon raised her voice.
“Hey! Wait! You’re going too fast! Please slow down a bit!”
“Huh? Don’t you have Stamina Potions?”
“There’s a limit! Running at full speed like a horse is tough!”
“Oh, I see. You haven’t stayed in Golden Dawn long enough to train your body.”
“Do you always move at this pace!?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh, right, I forgot.”
I, who was near Eva since the magic users were clustered in the center, answered her, but it seemed like it was too fast for her.
Eva breathed a sigh of relief, but I wanted her to know Golden Dawn’s standards, so I added to her dismay.
“We usually move even faster.”
“Huh!?”
Stamina Potions allow you to move without fatigue as long as it’s regular exercise or moderately strenuous activity.
But if you try to maintain exercise close to your limit for a long time, you’ll feel fatigued.
And recently it’s been discovered that at Raidoc’s level, Stamina Potions are less effective. Specifically, the potion’s recovery power can’t keep up with the fatigue from their advanced techniques.
“If it’s just Raidoc’s party, they should be moving even faster.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m serious.”
Eva was speechless, but she still asked Raidoc to slow down. Even then, it seemed a little fast for Eva, but using this much stamina would quickly bring adventurers closer to Golden Dawn’s standards.
“But still, at this pace in the forest, won’t we have trouble spotting enemies?”
“It’s okay because Jitaro is here.”
“Huh? Him?”
“Yeah. His first impression might not be good, but he’s a reliable guy in the forest.”
As I said that, I looked at Jitaro.
“…It’s like saying my arrow dealt the finishing blow to a dragon, not an exaggeration!”
“…”
“…”
Unaware of Eva’s icy glare, Jitaro continued to lead confidently while appealing to Camille. Sorry. He really is reliable. Probably. Hopefully.
As I wondered if he would ever redeem himself, Jitaro suddenly stopped.
“Enemies.”
With Jitaro’s words, we, who had been proceeding with a picnic-like atmosphere until then, tensed up instantly.
Raidoc immediately instructed everyone to gather.
“Jitaro, please.”
“Leave it to me.”
Jitaro disappeared alone into the depths of the forest.
“…Is it okay?”
“Well, let’s see.”
After a while, Jitaro, who had been cautiously scouting, quietly returned.
“There are six ogres ahead.”
“Ogres!? We haven’t even been a day away from the city yet… Oh, I mean, we’ve actually gotten quite far, haven’t we? My sense of distance is getting weird. Anyway, what should we do? Should we still try to avoid them?”
Ogres are dangerous monsters with a demonic appearance and bulging muscles. They’re not as formidable as cyclops, but they often appear in small groups and have a fierce temperament.
Although their magic stones are of good quality, the lack of other valuable materials makes them unpopular for subjugation requests.
For novice adventurers, they’re definitely enemies to run away from.
Although Eva looked anxious, Raidoc casually nodded.
“Huh? We’ll just defeat them, right? It’s just ogres.”
Eva’s expression suddenly became grim at Raidoc’s overly casual response.
“…So, are you leaving it to just the three of us?”
“Yeah. You all know each other’s strengths, but it’s better if you know ours too, right?”
“That’s true. But…”
“And if Raidoc and the others are so confident, they’ll help us when we’re in danger, right?”
“Of course.”
Although Raidoc nodded reassuringly, Eva’s expression somehow became even more severe.
“…Got it. We’ll show you our strength. Camille, Marilyn, let’s go.”
“Just the three of us? Wouldn’t it be better if everyone went together?”
The priest Marilyn stood leisurely in front of Eva.
“The adventurers in this town might be getting a little too arrogant just because they defeated a dragon, don’t you think? Comrades who can’t assess their own strength become a hindrance.”
“Hmm…”
Although she knew we could hear her, Eva clearly revealed what she had kept hidden.
Raidoc and I exchanged glances but just shared a wry smile.
Actually, it’s helpful to know their strength at this stage.
“Got it. Then we’ll leave the ogres to Casper’s group. Is that okay?”
“Yes. Let’s go. Both of us.”
“We’ll do our best!”
Only Marilyn responded, but Camille also nodded and took the lead.
It seems she’s also serving as a scout.
She’s a swordsman, but she’s probably leaning toward being a ranger. She even uses dual swords for her prey.
“Craft.”
Raidoc whispered to me.
“They have the ability, but it’s a bit precarious. Jump out if something happens.”
“Yeah. Leave it to me.”
I picked up a new potion bottle and followed behind them.
◆
“[Inferno Burst]!!!”
The first attack came from the mage Eva.
A scorching fireball hit the largest and strongest-looking ogre head-on.
Eva’s magic skills were impressive. With that one shot, she inflicted enough damage to incapacitate the ogre. It seems the rumors about the three sisters are true.
“Hn!”
And then, out came Camille, of course.
Taking advantage of the confusion caused by the sudden magic attack, she dealt a powerful silent blow from behind to one of the ogres. But it’s an ogre after all. It didn’t go down from that one hit. Although she inflicted a deep wound to its neck, it wasn’t a fatal blow.
“Hn, [Shadow Dance Execution].”
An unknown sword technique created countless cuts on the raging and screaming ogre’s body. It’s a series of wild attacks, but each one is deep. It was quite a powerful technique.
The ogre hit by the attack stumbled and fell to the ground. Camille ignored that target and moved on to the next one. It was quite a skillful move.
Ogres are by no means weak enemies. Rather, they can be considered formidable opponents.
Facing them without fear and dealing with them like this shows that their strength is indeed beyond rumors.
The next ogre targeted noticed Camille charging in despite its confusion and swung the huge club it held in its hands.
Immediately, Eva chanted.
“[Thousand Needles]!!!”
Hundreds of magic needles surged toward the ogre’s face.
While the power wasn’t overwhelming, it’s a spell that can be activated quickly and covers a wide area.
Camille wasn’t going to let the stunned ogre off the hook.
“[Falling Leaves Flash].”
She quickly followed up with another technique, inflicting a deep wound on the ogre.
However, the ogre swung the club it had raised randomly, and it accidentally hit Camille’s left arm.
I was about to throw a healing potion, but a spell flew out faster than that.
“[Rapid Recovery].”
Marilyn, with the priest’s emblem, immediately activated a healing spell.
Pretty fast! I was impressed by Eva’s magic, but being able to cast a difficult healing spell so quickly is a considerable skill.
The power was also sufficient, and the bleeding from Camille’s left arm stopped immediately.
I see. So these are the Casper Sisters!