Episode 29
"E-excuse me..."
"...There's no time to chat right now! We need to escape from here quickly!"
Having untied the whip that was tightly binding Irina's legs, I grabbed her arm and began running toward the outside of the cave.
"W-wait... ugh...!"
Caught off guard, Irina started running alongside me, but soon stumbled and fell over.
"H-hurry and get up! If we don't escape from here quickly..."
I tried to urgently hurry her as I helped her to her feet, but...
"How am I supposed to properly escape or not when you haven't removed this blindfold and the whip binding my arms!!"
"...Ah."
Finally understanding Irina's words, I wore an expression of realization as I undid her blindfold and the whip binding her arms.
"...W-where is this?"
Irina, who had been furrowing her brows for a moment, soon wore a flustered expression and began looking around.
"...This is where Frey's secret hideout is located. Normally, monsters lurk here, so it's a place no one approaches."
".........."
After giving her a brief explanation, I was about to continue on our way when suddenly Irina glared at me sharply and asked a question.
"...Who are you?"
"........"
Looking at her for a moment, I answered in a low voice.
"...I'm a nameless maid belonging to the Starlight family's shadow unit."
As I said this, I was thoroughly hiding my appearance with a white mask and black robe, and using star mana, I was making my voice as frail as possible to maximize the elimination of any masculine qualities.
Still, since there was a possibility that the experienced Irina might see through my identity, I was holding my breath, but Irina tilted her head and asked another question.
"...Someone like you, why are you helping me?"
Seeing that, it seems Irina didn't recognize me. It was a good decision to wait until everything was plunged into pitch darkness.
Of course, not being able to secure visibility would become somewhat dangerous, but to maximize the efficiency of the black robe I was wearing and deceive Irina, moving at night was the best choice.
"Well, you see..."
Thinking such thoughts while internally breathing a sigh of relief, I began telling Irina the scenario I had prepared in advance for this moment.
"...Actually, I'm also a victim."
"A victim...?"
"Yes... While being a member of the shadow unit... I've also been serving that loathsome Frey every night at this secret hideout..."
"T-then that means... Frey is here right now...?"
When she asked with an expression of horror, I hung my head powerlessly and spoke.
"Yes... Frey planned to kidnap you during the recent sparring match, and used the shadow unit to switch the recovery scroll Ariadne was going to use to help you with a teleportation scroll."
"W-what...?"
"Unaware of that, Ariadne tore the scroll to help you who had collapsed... and thanks to that, Frey and you ended up arriving here."
"Then Ariadne is...!"
"Yes... Ariadne, who fell into the trap, will likely receive a severe punishment. Of course, Frey, who came here with you, will have safely entered his secret hideout and will be expecting only us to be captured before the search team that tracked the magic arrives."
Hearing those words, Irina began trembling and muttering in a voice filled with anger.
"H-how disgusting... How can a person be like that...?"
"Yes... You're right... When I was first captured and brought here too..."
Sympathizing with her words, I trailed off and hung my head weakly, and then Irina cautiously began asking me.
"Then... the reason you're helping me is...?"
"Yes... After seeing a woman who was trying to escape today being killed, I made up my mind... That I had to escape this place somehow..."
"Ah..."
"So when I was trying to escape, I happened to find you at the cave entrance and brought you along. I would have liked to bring others too, but they were all chained up..."
As I continued speaking in a trembling voice, Irina, who had been biting her lip tightly, approached me and spoke.
"Thank you, truly. I won't forget this favor even if I die..."
"Hic...!"
When she tried to embrace me, I urgently stepped back and cried out.
"N-no!!"
"Ah..."
And for a moment, an awkward silence flowed between us.
"I-I'm sorry... I have trauma..."
"........"
If Irina embraced me, my body type might be discovered, so I made up an excuse on the spot, and Irina, hearing that excuse, began looking at me with an expression full of guilt.
"...Sorry."
"No, it's fine. Then let's start making our way out of the forest... hmm?"
Accepting Irina's apology with a calm expression, I was preparing to leave the forest when I suddenly sensed a presence from behind and turned around with a sharp expression.
"Kirok...! Kiruruk...!"
"Gueeh..."
What came into my view after turning around was a group of goblins corrupted by magical energy, approaching us while licking their lips.
"B-be careful...!"
Seeing that sight, Irina urgently stood in front of me and ignited mana flames from her hands, but those flames withered away powerlessly in less than 3 seconds.
Quietly watching that sight, I readied a decent sword I had found from a pile of skeletons inside the cave, while Irina began whispering to me in a sunken voice.
"I'll handle things here... so first you..."
- Slash!
"...Huh?"
But having already rushed forward, I cut off the head of the lead goblin in a single stroke, and she stood with her mouth agape, staring at me.
"Kreeeeek!!"
"Ki, kiruuk...!"
Meanwhile, seeing the goblin group starting to flee desperately after losing their leader, I glanced back at Irina who was still staring blankly at me and spoke.
"Let's go quickly. Agents several times stronger than me are lying in wait at the hideout."
"Oh... okay..."
Thus began our perilous adventure.
.
"Hah... hah..."
"E-excuse me... are you okay...?"
For a while, only weak monsters appeared, so we could manage somewhat, but... eventually, a few hours after leaving the cave, we encountered a group of Drakes, which were quite powerful monsters.
Thanks to that, I had to deal with all the Drakes rushing at us from all directions while simultaneously protecting Irina, and as a result, my body reached its limits.
If only there was no penalty... I would have somehow endured it. What a shame.
"I-I'm sorry... It seems we need to rest for a moment..."
At least fortunately, since I had drunk plenty of highest-grade mana generation potions with the intention of transferring lots of mana to Irina, star mana was overflowing.
Because of that, unlike usual, there was no particular strain even when modifying my voice with star mana for such a long time.
"I-I see... let's rest a bit... your condition right now is terrible..."
While I was thinking that, Irina pointed at me with a trembling voice.
Wondering why, I looked down at my body, and the state was indeed terrible.
My shoulder that had been bitten by a Fenrir earlier had turned bluish-purple, there were cuts and scratches all over my body, and having vomited so much blood, blood was seeping out from between my mask.
"...Please don't worry too much. It's still a hundred times better than the terrible things I suffered at the secret hideout."
I tried to reassure her by forcing a smile, but Irina looked at me and began trembling and muttering.
"When I get out of here... I'll somehow kill him... Frey... definitely..."
'...Did I just dig my own grave?'
Thanks to that, my spine felt a bit chilly, but concluding that all of this would soon become my villain points anyway, I quietly closed my mouth and sat down on the ground.
"Ugh...!"
But as soon as I sat on the ground, a stinging pain suddenly began to be felt throughout my body.
Whether it was because the tension was released in an instant, or because I changed my posture, I don't know, but the pain only grew more intense.
Thanks to that, I was trembling for a while when suddenly Irina approached me.
"E-excuse me, if you're okay... I'll cast healing magic... My mana doesn't gather well, but if my hand touches your flesh directly, it might reduce the pain even a little..."
"D-don't touch me!"
I urgently pulled away from Irina who was trying to cast healing magic on me, and she showed a surprised expression for a moment before lowering her head.
"Just how... terrible trauma do you have... for a strong child like you to tremble like that...?"
".........."
"...If you hadn't saved me, I would have suffered such terrible things too, right?"
She muttered to herself for a moment, then raised her head and showed me a sad smile as she spoke.
"Um... what's your name?"
"...Liana."
When I gave a fake name that came to mind after thinking for a moment, Irina looked at me with determined eyes and began speaking.
"Liana... when we escape from here... hide for just a while."
"...Yes?"
"Just wait a little... good news will come. So when that time comes, you can live in peace."
"By any chance... are you going to kill Frey?"
When I cautiously asked, she nodded with a resolute expression and spoke.
"Yes... I'll somehow kill that bastard. Even if it means crawling under his crotch and playing along, I definitely will."
"...Are you returning to the Academy?"
"Yes... honestly, I want to quit the Academy, but... if I do that, my childhood friend and her sister will be in danger."
"...I see."
"Yes, so once I enter the Academy... I'll let Frey tame me like a dog. If he tells me to crawl under his crotch, I'll crawl. If he tells me to self-harm, I'll self-harm. If he tells me to serve him at night... I'll have to serve him at night."
".........."
"Like that, I'll pretend to be completely submissive to him, terrified by this incident... and the moment an opportunity arises, I'll somehow beat that bastard to death with my own hands. So until then, I'll have to endure any humiliation."
Seeing Irina speak with venomous voice about the plan to kill me right in front of me didn't feel entirely pleasant, but knowing that her spirit hadn't been broken yet, a smile naturally formed on my face.
"By the way, I'm curious about something..."
"...Yes?"
"Why are you wearing that mask?"
"........"
But that smile vanished when Irina started finding my mask strange.
Actually, aside from the Succubus Queen who is now suffering in Purgatory, no one has seen me wearing this mask except that little kid I gave a lucky ring to in the past.
Of course, Klana and Perlotche have seen me wearing a mask, but at that time, everything was plunged into pitch darkness like now, and the mask was also a masquerade mask distributed at the auction house, so it's probably within the safe range.
However, if Irina finds the mask itself strange, that's a bit problematic.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to show my appearance to others..."
"...Why?"
"...I was beaten too much, so I'm all swollen."
"........."
In the end, I had to sell my infamy again, and then Irina showed an understanding expression and deliberately turned her gaze away.
Honestly, I thought she would suspect to some extent, but my infamy must be quite strong.
"Then, let me close my eyes for a moment..."
- Rumble...
"...Ah."
As I was thinking that and about to lie down, suddenly a rumbling sound was heard from somewhere.
"...Ugh."
Wondering what sound it was, I tilted my head and looked around, then realized that Irina was blushing and holding her stomach.
"...Are you hungry?"
"N-no... not particularly..."
- Rumble...
".........."
Irina, who was desperately denying the fact that a rumbling sound came from her stomach, bowed her head deeply when another rumbling sound was heard from her stomach.
'...Well, she would be hungry.'
At this point in time, Irina would be quite poor.
Because of that, she would be resolving her daily meals cheaply at the commoner's cafeteria in the Academy.
For her to get caught up in such an incident, use a lot of mana, and not even have a meal... being hungry is natural...
- Rumble...
"I-I'm sorry...!"
When the rumbling sound was heard again, Irina urgently apologized to me. But this time, the sound wasn't from her stomach.
'...Come to think of it, I went through quite a lot too?'
It seems that after suffering so much recently, I've become too insensitive to such situations.
Anyway, since it's come to this, I need to fill my starving stomach somewhat.
To restore depleted vitality, eating well and resting well is the best, after all.
"...I'll go get something to eat."
"I-I'll help too...! Even though I look like this, I'm confident in survival on the battlefield... or rather, anyway...!"
"Then, don't go too far... look around this vicinity. If something happens, definitely scream."
"...Understood."
Thus, the operation to find food to fill our starving stomachs in the middle of the night began.
.
"Y-you... how did you catch that...?"
Irina, appearing at the promised location with her arms full of tree fruits, began showing an expression of shock upon seeing the Giant Boar I had caught.
"...With a sword."
"No, that's... sigh, never mind."
So when I answered calmly, Irina, who was about to say something, eventually shook her head and put down the tree fruits on the ground and asked.
"I've been thinking since earlier... you're really strong, aren't you?"
"...Yes."
"Then... why couldn't you do anything against Frey?"
"...Because agents several times stronger than me were swarming the hideout."
When Irina started suspecting again and I answered nonchalantly, she seemed to recall the man I had acted as earlier, frowned and nodded.
"And... until recently, my younger siblings were held as hostages."
"...Hostages?"
"Yes, it's a dirty trick Frey always uses."
"Right, that bastard specializes in using such dirty tricks."
Eventually, Irina, who strongly empathized with my additional explanation, frowned and began muttering to herself.
"But... 'until recently' means..."
She muttered to herself for a moment, then looked at me with a gloomy expression and closed her eyes tightly, muttering.
"Why am I making so many mistakes today..."
Of course, she didn't make a mistake; I'm acting. So Irina is not at fault at all.
'By the way, am I becoming too much of a trash? Is this okay?'
Leaving behind Irina who was sinking into guilt and picking up my sword while looking at the Giant Boar, I suddenly started worrying that I was becoming too much of a trash... but thinking about it, it's no different from the evil reputation that was already spread, so I shook off the worry and began preparing the Giant Boar.
- Crack... crack...
And after a while, when the Giant Boar meat I had prepared began cooking in the campfire, Irina started glancing at me.
"...Irina, you can eat too."
"R-really?"
"I caught it to share with you in the first place..."
"B-but... I only gathered tree fruits..."
"Ah, these are Ice Dragon fruits that I like? I really loved them when I was young..."
"...What?"
I picked up one of the tree fruits she had gathered so Irina wouldn't feel self-conscious about eating the meat, and took a bite, but suddenly Irina frowned and began looking at me.
"Why do you ask?"
"No, it's nothing..."
"Hmm... delicious... this fresh taste really is the best..."
"............"
So I wore a happy smile and began pushing the tree fruit under my mask, and Irina, who had been watching me for a while, also quietly picked up the meat from the campfire and took a bite.
Thus, the sound of eating echoed in the forest for a while.
.
Having finished their meal, the two decided to take turns sleeping for one hour each.
"Then... I'll sleep first...?"
"...Yes, understood."
Eventually, Liana, who won the rock-paper-scissors, fell asleep first, and Irina quietly stood watch beside her for one hour.
".........."
However, even though the promised one hour had passed, Irina did not wake the woman who introduced herself as 'Liana' and quietly watched her.
"Snore... cool... mnya... mnya..."
"Good..."
After quite some time passed and Liana started snoring, Irina began cautiously approaching her.
"...As expected, I need to check once."
Finally reaching right in front of her, Irina began reaching her hand toward the mask she was wearing... and just like that, the moment her hidden face was about to be revealed...
"Yaaawn...!"
"Hieek!"
Liana yawned largely, stretched, and suddenly sat up, causing Irina to fall backward in surprise.
"...Hmm? Irina? Why are you like that?"
"N-no... it's nothing..."
"Come to think of it, it's time to switch. You must have worked hard all day today... rest your eyes for a bit."
"...Yes."
When Liana proposed switching, Irina answered with a deliberately calm voice, bit her lip, lay down, and closed her eyes.
".........."
And Liana... no, Frey, watching that sight for a moment, quietly breathed a sigh of relief and muttered.
"...That was close."
Thus, Frey began standing watch beside Irina, thinking it was good he hadn't slept for the one hour and had stayed awake with his eyes half-open.
"...Mnya."
As the price for not having his identity discovered, he was nodding off drowsily.
.
Wanting to let Irina rest even a little more, I stood watch beside her for a generous 1 hour and 30 minutes, then began breaking through the forest again with her, who woke up on her own.
As we continued through the forest, morning started to arrive, but the Ash Forest, true to its name, was a place that maintained pitch darkness until noon, and thanks to that, I could efficiently hide my appearance from Irina until we reached the exit.
"Irina, look over there! The end of the forest is starting to come into view!"
"...It really is. Thank goodness."
As the morning sun began to brighten, we finally reached the forest's exit.
For some reason, monsters in the area suddenly vanished, so with that luck following us, we arrived at the exit several hours earlier than expected, and we looked at each other with bright smiles.
"Then... is it time for us to part ways?"
"Yes... I'll go beg Frey for my life like a dog... so you hide somewhere."
"...Yes, I understand."
"Oh, and... I will never forget that you protected me today. So, if life becomes difficult later, come find the Imperial Mage 'Irina Pelliad'."
She stopped speaking for a moment, then smiled and opened her mouth again.
"...If remembering the name is troublesome, just find the strongest Archmage in the Empire."
"...Yes, I understand."
Waving my hand at her with determined eyes, I concentrated star mana in my ears and began eavesdropping on Irina's words muttered from behind.
"...Should I launch a surprise attack now and remove the mask?"
And realizing she was still suspecting me, I quickly started heading toward the exit, but...
- Kwoooooooooh!!!
".......!"
Suddenly, something massive rose up from the exit area, and I froze in that spot.
"T-that's...!"
And Irina, who had experienced the previous iteration, was the same.
Because that's...
"...Shit, so that's why all the monsters in the area disappeared."
It was the Dark Golem, the final boss of the 'Academy Monster Invasion Incident' that would occur much later.
- Target recognized... setting goal...
The giant golem that instantly rose from the ground quietly glared at us and began making a crackling voice.
- Extermination beginning...
And the moment that voice ended, a black beam flew toward us.
Somehow, it seems we're screwed.