Ossan Saikyō Chapter 13 Part 18
I decided to go to the Grand Spirit Shrine alone and sent the other three back to the inn.
When I spoke to the guards at the gate of the Grand Spirit Shrine, I was shown to the main hall almost as if I were a regular.
Inside the shrine, many priests were rushing about busily, and it was clear that they were struggling to deal with the series of incidents that had occurred since the day before yesterday.
I thought that perhaps I wouldn’t be able to meet the Great Shrine Head Maiden under these circumstances, but when I spoke to the priest in charge of receiving visitors, I was immediately shown to the her office.
In the office were Lady Miona, Shizuna, Seina, and several priests.
When I entered, Lady Miona stood up from her chair and welcomed me with both arms spread wide.
(E/N: 😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏)
“Oh, Soushi-dono! Thanks to you, so many of our people were saved! Everyone is saying that you and your companions truly must be messengers of the『Spirit Queen』!”
“Thank you. Please, from my perspective, I simply did what I should have done as an adventurer at the scene.”
“Indeed, as expected of the man recognized by the revered Spirit Beast. Still, Orz has received more kindness from you and your companions than we could ever repay; from recovering Seina and our national treasure, to defeating that ‘Devil’ and saving so many of our people.
…
We shall certainly provide you with a fitting reward, so I humbly ask that you wait a little longer regarding that matter.”
“Understood. I believe our highest priority right now should be settling the urgent matters in the Capital. Please don’t concern yourself with us.”
“I apologize, but I shall take you at your word. Now then, I hear you have something urgent to discuss. What might it be?”
I sat in the chair she indicated and got straight to the point.
“Actually, we received a request from the Adventurer’s Guild, and〈Saul's Guidance〉has been tasked with investigating the traces of the ‘Devils’ from this incident.
…
I would like to ask for permission to investigate the mountain where the ‘Devils’ are believed to have appeared.”
“If it is a request from our great benefactor, Soushi-dono, then of course I shall grant permission. If you conduct the investigation, will Shizuna be accompanying you?”
“Of course. She is a member of〈Saul's Guidance〉, after all.”
When I answered, Lady Miona nodded and exchanged a few words with a nearby priest. Apparently, things were going more or less as I had expected.
“In that case, would you permit us to become involved in the investigation as well? The country will also issue〈Saul's Guidance〉a formal request to investigate, so we would like you to report the results to us through Shizuna.”
“If it is an official request from the country, it will also count toward our achievements, so we will gladly accept. If possible, I would like to begin the investigation tomorrow morning.”
“Understood. Shizuna, you shall return to being an adventurer starting tomorrow. I shall have the request delivered to the Guild immediately, so I ask that you take good care of it.”
“Thank you. In that case, I have preparations to make, so I shall take my leave.”
When I stood up, Lady Miona quietly approached me.
“By the way, Soushi-dono, Shizuna can be somewhat careless at times, but I pride myself on her good nature and qualities. If you should find her to your liking, would you consider keeping her by your side?”
“Huh...”
By “keeping her by your side”, Lady Miona clearly meant, in every conceivable sense, “taking her as your wife”.
(E/N: Thank god Ossan is a "Huh…" guy and not a "Huh…?" guy, iykyk🤣)
I was suddenly whispered something outrageous, and I was left speechless.
When I looked at Shizuna, she was watching me with an ordinary expression, so apparently even she had not been told about this. More importantly, the timing of this was...
Surely this isn't supposed to be one of the rewards, is it? I really hoped not.
“Well… such matters involve the personal feelings of those concerned...”
That was all I could say as I did my best to escape the situation.
◇◆◇
The following morning, we of〈Saul's Guidance〉accepted the request to investigate the Devils at the Guild and headed toward the western mountains in a carriage prepared by Lady Miona.
After 30 minutes of being jostled around in the carriage, we reached the foot of the mountain. The road leading there was well maintained, apparently because the mountain was an important source of timber, medicinal herbs, and other resources for the Capital.
The mountain rising before us was probably less than 500 meters high, but its ridgeline stretched a long way from north to south, making the mountain range itself quite large.
At this rate, there were probably more mountains extending farther into the distance.
The slope on this side was relatively gentle, and trees resembling cedars stood densely packed together, making it clear that the mountain was well suited for logging.
Looking closely, I could also see that reforestation was being carried out, giving us a glimpse of Orz’s advanced approach to environmental conservation.
The problem was that there was a single “road” running up that slope.
By “road”, I simply meant a trail of trees that had been knocked down all the way toward the summit, but it was obvious that this was the path taken by that rampaging demon.
“We’re going to follow these tracks, Soushi-sama?”
Freynil’s eyes as she looked up at the mountain seemed a little excited. Before, she probably would have looked anxious. She must have grown as an adventurer as well.
“Yeah. The investigation might be easier than I expected. Though that depends on what’s waiting at our destination.”
“Does that mean another ‘Devil’ might appear?”
“That’s one possibility. There might also be a lair where the ‘Devils’ live, and we don’t know how far these tracks continue. In any case, let’s proceed carefully.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
We had bought enough food for 10 days. We should be able to travel for 5 days each way, but I could only hope these tracks didn’t continue that far.
“All right. For now, we’ll go as far as we can. Fray, make sure you’re constantly sensing for any presence. We’ll also be relying on Rani and Sphenia’s senses. I’m counting on you.”
“Okay. Leave the smelling to me!”
“I’ll take care of watching for anything.”
I also checked on Mariane and Shizuna, then stepped into the mountains.
“I mean, when you’re with Soushi, all sorts of common sense just falls apart, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed. The rubble removal the other day was the same. There are hardly any adventurers who could use an【Item Box】like that.”
Rani and Sphenia were saying that behind me.
The reason was that I was putting every tree the Devil had knocked down into my【Item Box】as we advanced.
It was convenient that the rampaging demon had made a path for us, but in the end, it was just a path formed by trees being knocked down, so it wasn’t something humans could actually walk through.
The fallen trees were simply too much of an obstacle. That was when I came up with the idea of putting every tree in front of me into my【Item Box】as we went.
“The trees you’re collecting can also be used as lumber. As expected of you, Soushi-sama.”
“Ah, right... They might come in handy.”
I answered Freynil, who never seemed to tire of praising me, while continuing to climb the slope.
◇◆◇
No monsters appeared, and we reached the summit in less than 2 hours.
“Ugh, the mountains just keep going!”
Rani groaned when she saw the view from the summit.
Spread out before us was an enormous mountain range extending as far as the eye could see. Almost all of it was covered in green, making it look at first glance like a vast, rugged jungle.
It was green as far as I could see, but there was a clearly defined line running through it.
It was the path connected to where we were standing, right on the trail left by the rampaging Devil.
“Sphenia, can you see how far this path continues?”
“Yes... It seems to continue as far as that ridge, but it doesn’t appear to go beyond it.”
Sphenia pointed toward a ridge that lay about 300 meters up after descending the mountain once more. In a straight line, it was probably around 10 kilometers away.
“So that means the place where the ‘Devils’ appeared is probably beyond that ridge?”
“I believe that is highly likely.”
“Looks like it’s closer than I expected. That’s a relief. All right, let’s take a short break and then head out.”
After taking a short break to drink some water and eat some food for the journey, we began descending the mountain toward the next ridge.
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E/N:
So creepy, to imagine that Devil tearing a trail through forested, mountainous terrain… Not to say how creepy these Devils themselves are…
They're better dead, spattered against Ossan's speed breaker (the Indomitable Bastion) 😂!
Stay tuned!
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