Chapter 203
She suddenly woke up.
However, Hildegard immediately questioned her because she had no recollection of what happened earlier. She knew that she was a room in some house, but she didn't understand the meaning of sleeping in such a place.
Surely–…
"Hmm, I remember searching around with Lars and Helen…" (Hildegard)
They came to a new village, but there were no inhabitants there. And then…?
"Hmm… for some reason, my head can't remember what happened since then…" (Hildegard)
Even after excluding the fact that she was waking up, she felt that some sort of sluggishness still remained. It was as if she was in the state after fighting with all her might.
Then, she suddenly remembered. A thought had been triggered. Yes, she came to a new village and met somebody there.
That was… perhaps, it had something to do with her current state.
"Hmm… I remembered little by little." (Hildegard)
The one she met was Lina. But for some reason, Lina was full of bloodl.u.s.t and even hit her word a sword.
No, rather than that…
"It was unexpected to be cut, but… if it's that much, I won't be lucky, isn't it?" (Hildegard)
The words were directed outside.
At the moment, the outside air shook slightly. That was it for a while, but… that existence probably noticed that it was pointless. A clear sigh was heard, and a figure appeared in the front of the door that had been left open.
"Hmm… It's my fault, so let me apologize!" (Lina)
"Surely, you have apologized and I forgave you, but I was really surprised. You already asked for it, so should I say it again?" (Hildegard)
"Hmm… I know I can't refute, but that's mean." (Lina)
"Well if you are resentful, you should resent yourself for doing something careless. No matter how much you suspect us as monsters, there were four presences on the spot." (Hildegard)
Certainly, given the nature of the monster, it wasn't strange if it was lurking inside that place. In that sense, it was a matter of course to prepare weapon, but it was indeed too much to hit with it.
However, there was dissatisfaction. That was because even if Lina didn't notice about Hildegard, there were other people there.
Anyhow, that was it. To be honest, Hildegard had to praise the monster called the Shadow Eater. No matter how high the intelligence of Shadow Eater after eating hundreds of villagers, that invisible form could only be described as splendid.
In any case, Hildegard finally noticed the moment Lina was about to cut. If the Shadow Eater was agitated there and the invisible form wasn't disturbed, either Lars or Helen might have been eaten earlier aside from Hildegard.
"In that sense, you should say thank you. Oh well, that's it." (Hildegard)
"Hmm… you're mean." (Lina)
"Well, I'll talk to Soma about this later. You should get a compliment from him." (Hildegard)
"Then, it's fine!" (Lina)
"What a calculative person…" (Hildegard)
When she thought about whether this young girl was going to pout, she turned around and smiled. Yes, that was her usual. She hadn't even a small doubt about Soma's return.
Well, as for that, she couldn't even tell others, but…
"For now… I noticed that it's been a night already, so was there anything unusual in the meantime?" (Hildegard)
"No, not really at the moment. I haven't found any Shadow Eater since then." (Lina)
"To begin with, if it was just one, it wouldn't be a big problem… Aah, I remember why I fell. I see…
After Rina slashed the Shadow Eater approaching behind Hildegard, she heard, albeit roughly about it.
The reason why the villagers were going in the villages she visited was because they had been eaten by Shadow Eater. And the country knew that.
That was why they asked Hildegard. That was because she could notice at a glance, no matter what the Shadow Eater turned into.
The fact that the information was never conveyed was probably because it was really bad information. That was right. It was a matter which shouldn't be known by any chance where such a monster of Disaster cla.s.s had come to the immediate vicinity of the royal capital, and the damage had already been done.
Nevertheless, even if it was Hildegard, if she didn't a.s.sume that there was Shadow Eater, she would overlook that fact like this time. When she heard that matter from Lina, she was really surprised.
However, the country would seem to inform her soon. When Hildegard was conducting a survey of the village, people with information would join later.
However, the reason it didn't happen until now was that it became impossible. This was entirely a guess, but… that person was probably eaten by Shadow Eater before meeting her. It seemed that the whole body that Lina defeated said such a thing.
However, Lina wasn't the right person for that information. That person was investigating, but that was another matter. For that reason, he tried to inform Hildegard about that.
That was no reason to lie, and it was true. At least in that regard.
Anyhow, as for the Shadow Eater, Lina had defeated two of them since she heard about it. In other words, it was natural that Lina defeated the first, and defeated the second immediately after meeting Hildegard, but because of that Hildegard had collapsed and hadn't returned yet to the royal capital. Apparently, the Shadow Eater that appeared around the royal capital wasn't only one or two of them, but there were more.
For that reason, Hildegard 'looked' around with all her might. It was really all about using authority.
She didn't do it until now was because she couldn't narrow down the scope. However, if she knew who the bad guys were, she had no regret to know it even if it was very dangerous.
Because of that, she was so tired to the point that she was temporarily confused with her memories…
"Speaking of which… are you alright now?" (Lina)
"So far so good. Well, there is no problem since I have recovered to the extent that it's fine to say I'm alright even if it isn't full recovery yet. To begin with–…" (Hildegard)
"…To begin with? What do you mean?" (Lina)
"…No, it's nothing. I just tried to make sense." (Hildegard)
"Hmm, what's with that? I'm really worried about you…" (Lina)
"I'm sorry. Well, it's just a joke, so you don't have to worry." (Hildegard)
That was a lie.
She stopped a moment because there was a good reason. It would be hard to say 'I've looked into you' to the person who was in front of her.
It was even more so especially if there was a hidden behavior.
Well, if there was a problem, that would be another matter, but she didn't feel that sign for now. First of all, it seemed better to search around little by little.
"For the time being, I'm going to tell you now because I collapsed before I could tell you, but when I looked around, I found that Shadow Eater wasn't nearby. It seems the one that you defeated around here was the first one I had found." (Hildegard)
"Is that so? In that case, it was a complete waste of time to continue exploring this area." (Lina)
"That's what it is… By the way, what happened to Lars and Helen?" (Hildegard)
"I think they are still exploring the area." (Lina)
"…It's already night, isn't it?" (Hildegard)
"I said so, but they didn't listen to me. They said that they were going to do their best while the headmaster was resting." (Lina)
"Hmm…" (Hildegard)
There was a slight tendency to do so until now, but there were no problems. Did they start to feel impatient because they weren't unable to come up with any results since they came here? Or perhaps, was it because they couldn't react well when Hildegard was attacked by the Shadow Eater?
Either way, Hildegard was the same, but… she had these [Eyes], and it was almost certain that 'state' would be her future. Such a thing might have encouraged impatience–…
"Hmm… I was hoping that they could clear my mind even a little, but it might have been counterproductive… Goodness, they aren't used to not doing anything." (Hildegard)
"Aah… I get it. That reminds me, the other two are…" (Lina)
"Well, that's not it. I'm also worried about them, but… maybe they aren't coming back yet because they going round in circles." (Hildegard)
It was really hard.
Aside from now, if she knew what was going on, she wouldn't be able to pay much attention to them from now on. It was one thing that didn't remain.
"Well, for the time being, I've woken up and they need to stop exploring. There's a lot to talk about after that." (Hildegard)
"You're right." (Lina)
Leaving the house while saying such a thing, Hildegard and Lina headed to where the other two went to investigate.
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TLN: