BXBX NOVEL Chapter 189 The Farther, The Clearer (3)
The "Purge" is a quest that is assigned by the Temple to erase any Demon influence from a certain area or even eradicate the alleged Demon worshippers in a certain area or territory. This is, of course, nothing more than a dirty job, which is why they hire Adventurers.
This Quest often leaves us Cursed Creations in a bad light. By the end of the Quest, just like what is happening now, they always blame us for the destruction of the territory, which, of course, we don't have a hand on.
"They are doing a better job at propaganda than us—as expected of a bunch of hypocrites," I remark as I watch the way the citizens react to the news.
Apparently, thanks to the Temple, my mask is already well known; it is just as infamous as Velucan's face. Despite being an independent village, the citizens already recognize it; so other than hiding my horns, I have to also change my mask's appearance.
Of course, all of those things can be easily done. A simple Magic could hide the horns and the mask has a special feature to change its appearance.
Still, a guy wearing a mask everywhere is just begging for attention, so the eyes are still there. The good thing about it is that I don't need to explain to people what I am because they can already tell that I am an Adventurer.
"Ah, welcome, sir. What do you like to buy from us? A weapon, a potion, a Spell Book, an amulet—"
"The strongest weapon."
I have actually been exploring the village to look for the Black Merchant in this village. No one is willing to tell me where they are and they hide well, so it took me quite a while to find them—2 hours.
You may be wondering what happened to the other 2 hours because I have been exploring the village for 4 hours. Well, the other 2 hours were used for really exploring the village, which means enjoying the food it has to offer and the scenery of the village.
"Ho-oh? Do you want it Magical or…"
"The one that kills without being seen."
The shady merchant became serious after I said that. He immediately takes me into his equally shady tent and then tells me to sit while he is taking the "item" that I want.
Learning from experience, I immediately call the merchant. I know he is going to offer me every piece of information he has, which will waste my time and money.
"I already have what I want in mind."
"Ah, is that so, Sir? That is too bad—I was just about to offer something interesting," the Black Merchant says disappointedly.
"Tell me about that when you have the information about the color of the Holy Maiden's panties," I retort calmly.
"Keuk… Sir, we don't want to mess with that side. They are as much as a player like us; we will only invite death instead of fortune if we mess with them," the Black Merchant says wryly. "Anyway, Sir, my name is—"
"Crystal. I know."
"… If you open my pants, you will know my scrotum has just wrinkled because of what you said."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I am scared, Sir."
Blinking my eyes in amusement at the Black Merchant, I wonder what kind of childhood he has. I wouldn't blink an eye if he was already an adult, but he looks no older than fifteen, which makes hearing those words from him rather uncanny.
"Anyway, tell me where Ducolles Valley is," I say as I wave my hand.
"Ah, are you looking for the exiled Princess? She is not there anymore, you know?"
The exiled Princess. Only one person in this world currently has that title—Lunea dis Cresundia, the Princess that the late Japanese Hero Yūto had sworn to protect.
She is the person who has a way to connect me to the Heroes of Antares, who is none other than my classmates on Earth. She is currently dying due to the poison she has in her body, which is why I have to find her quick.
It is unpleasant to say it, but the success of my journey depends on her. If she dies even before I meet her, it will be impossible for me to kill all of the Heroes in forty-five days.
"She has quite a lot of bounty on her head it seems. I believe it is the first time that Ducolles Valley is associated with her," I remark.
"Yes, good Sir. Many people are after her, so the price of her whereabouts is a little bit…"
Crystal is already rubbing his hands together like the unscrupulous merchant he is. I know he is going to set a very high price, but I will play along and let him taste my fist later.
"3 gold, good sir—I will give you this information for 3 gold. Ah, you can pay it with 1,500 Peculia if you don't have gold with you."
Crystal is brimming with happiness. He looks like someone who has just made a very good deal in his life.
I don't know what to feel about the situation. On the one hand, I am glad that the price is so cheap; but on the other hand, I feel bad about the kid's future.
This type of idiot will die quickly in this kind of world.
"I will give you 30, so tell me where she is," my pity wins in the end.
"T-That amount! Good sir, I am sorry; but, at most, I can only give you fella—"
"What the fuck are you talking about, kid?" I ask absurdly. "Do you want to see your head roll on the ground that bad?"
"When it happens, I won't be able to see it, no?"
The kid is irritating, but he has a point there. 'Touché,' so I remark in my head.
Harrumphing lightly, I scare the kid so much that he immediately blurts out the information about Lunea's whereabouts. He even swears upon his life that Lunea is there.
I throw him the thirty gold that I promised him and get out of the tent afterwards. I spread my Mana Sense to locate where my companions are and immediately storm off at the exact moment I find them.
"Master, from the symptoms that she suffers, it is highly likely that the poison killing that lass Lunea is Heart Eater," Teanosvera says as he shows himself. "That means, she will have three days at most to survive."
"Well sucks, doesn't it?" I remark.
"It is okay, Master. As long as we also travel during the night, we will be able to reach the place in two days."
"Well, I don't know what that Princess is thinking, but she must be suicidal. Who will go down the abyss if they don't want to die, after all?"
p
Crystal said that she was already moving from Ducolles Valley yesterday, so she would be somewhere in the abyss in three days. Given the information that Teanosvera gave me earlier, it is clear that the Princess chose it as her resting place.
She has already lost her light, her Hero Yūto and her will to live. This kind of person is really unstable; she can die anytime, so we have to hurry.
"Oh, Layland—what are you doing?!"
"Uwah, I am flying!"
"We need to hurry!"
As soon as I meet Millonia and Winerva, I immediately scoop them up and get out of the village. We attract many people's attention because of that and I believe all of them are thinking about something that is not true about us.
The moment we get out of the village, the little lizard Genelos turns into a mighty Wyvern. Carrying the girls, I hop on his back and immediately instruct him to soar to the sky.
"What happened? Did you accidentally impregnate a local woman?" Millonia asks intensely.
"D-Did you commit adultery with someone's wife?" Winerva asks shyly.
In response to their questions, I turn around, cancel my disguise and stare at them silently. This makes the two uncomfortable, so they clear their throats awkwardly and then apologize to me for saying nonsense.
"Our informant is dying," I say after the two regained their intelligence.
"Who is this informant by the way?" Millonia asks, slightly frowning.
"The exiled Princess of Cresundia."
"…"
I don't know what they are thinking; but from their deadpan look, I am sure they got the wrong idea. I, like usual, act as if I find nothing wrong—there really is nothing wrong—and turn around casually to focus on riding.
"Tch. He wants to be that knight who saves the damsel in distress, huh?"
"What a wicked person … As expected of a Demon, I guess?"
Maybe, sleeping in the same room together after a long journey has made their bond stronger than ever. It is very apparent to me that Winerva and Millonia are teaming up to annoy me.
Of course, as the competent Warrior, I am, I know what to ignore. Paying no mind to the gossiping duo, I focus on the flight.
We only spend our time on the ground once for four hours and keep flying for the rest of the time. I don't sleep; the girls ask me to take care of them when they sleep, so they don't fall.
It is rather a chore to keep them from falling, but it is worth it since we can reach the place in two days.