Vol 1 Chapter 25 (2/2)

“We’ll have to keep our guard up from now on,” came Slayn’s muffled voice from deep inside his hood Since the sun was at its peak, Slayn’s face was completely lost in the shadows

“True,” said Parn, and he chewed on his lip, worry showing on his face “Shall we go into the forest?”

Deedlit agreed happily

The party went along with Parn’s decision and entered the woods They could feel the vitality of the early summer forest, and the smell of the leaves was pleasant Parn was still in front,a path so that Eto and the others could easily follow him

Slayn was irritated to find that the dew on the plants was da on tree branches, too Little rips and tears opened in the fabric,Slayn realize he would need to buy a new robe soon But there probably wasn’t a single store left in all of Alania that still sold the right sort of robe

As they neared the house, the party slowed its pace and was careful not to make too much noise Even so, Parn and Eto’s metal armor clanked as they moved

“My chainmail is made of truesilver, so it doesn’t make a sound,” Ghim told Parn with pride

Deedlit, too, had put purple arlance it looked like metal, but it was actually leather that had been treated to stiffen it The chest piece had been dyed with the seeds of n was scratched into it, and it was edged with red-tinted steel Not then the armor

The house suddenly came into view in front of the party They ducked down into some low bushes and spied on the entryway

The huge ogre guarding the entrance iht the adventurers’ eyes Next to hire’s height, but a sly light shone in his eyes as he diligently kept watch The ogre carried a huge club, while the dark elf held a spear

“Okay, what next?” whispered Parn They needed to keep going in order to find out the truth, but that carried a risk of discovery by the sentinels He turned to Eto as if to say ‘I’ them?”

“We failed the last ti ogre One or two arroon’t stop theoblins in Zaxon

“Then what do we do?” Tired of hiding, Parn raised a petulant voice

“It would be good if ic would work,” Slayn inserted hihly resistant to ic”

“That’s what they gained by selling their souls to demons,” said Deedlit with disdain She had drawn her rapier and was checking the tiny dagger attached to her shoulder guard A specially er like the three Woodchuck carried, she’d covered it with a paralyzing drug Nor animals, but in this case she had prepared it to increase their chances in battle

Ghim pulled his battleaxe from his back as well, and held it, ready to attack at any moment

“There is one way,” said Slayn without confidence

“Tell us, Slayn,” said Parn by way of encouragement

“Well, ic that acts directly on a person won’t work on the dark elf Therefore, we should use ic to lure our enemies away from their post”

“Illusions, huh?” said Deedlit

“Exactly But auditory illusions only If we can get even one of theer have to fight two of the the others”

“What if both of theo?”

Hearing Parn’s words, Slayn shrugged “In that case we’ll sneak inside”

“Just so” Ghihter, but it showed on his face His beard shook happily

Slayn sent his consciousness towards the other side of the house He began to chant in a low voice and drew a small syan rustling the grass underfoot

“Slayn!” Parn cried out without thinking

But neither the sound of Parn’s voice nor the rustle of the grass carried Instead, fro noise and the sound of a voice calling “Slayn!”

The sound was barely audible to the party’s ears, but to the two sentries standing nearby, it ave a start and uttered a few orders in a strange language to the ogre The ogre readied his club and let out a little howl The dark elf checked his spear and headed in the direction of the sound

“Huh, ic is pretty useful Teachhow useful that trick would be for burglaries

“Now!” Not waiting for Slayn’s signal, Deedlit sprang into action Turning and winking at Parn, she ran towards the house with all the grace of a cat

Stunned, Parn froze for a moment

“Ô kind dryad of the woods Make of that ogrethe ancient language of Slayn’s spells It was only a whisper, but it worked

The ogre had tried to let out a big yell, but when Deedlit’s spell took effect, he stoppedwith a shocked expression His little brain probably hadn`t even registered that he was being affected byDeedlit as a suspicious intruder, she appeared to be a close friend, doubtless someone closer to his heart than the dark elf as always bossing him around

Deedlit ran full tilt at the ogre He was easily twice her size His whole body was covered with rippling muscles, and his red-brown skin was bare save for a loincloth His sharp tusks and crooked nose disgusted Deedlit

“Beurk!” ly, as she ran up to the ogre that was staring at her in shock and aimed the sharp point of her rapier at his heart Her sword sunk deep into his chest, so that the tip came out the other side

The ogre finally realized as going on The elf girl in front of hi that he was dying, the ogre wanted only to eat her

With all her strength, Deedlit pulled her rapier frore fell forward Backing away so as not to be covered in it, Deedlit turned her attention towards the direction the dark elf had gone

“Look out, Deed!” Parn’s voice cut the air

Startled, Deedlit instinctively jure, still lying on his stoht below her

Had she taken that hit square on, Deedlit’s little body would surely have gone flying Her spine ht even have been broken With a shi+ver, the elf reres possessed When she turned to look at hi to stand up

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Deedlit couldn’t even work up the courage to deal the finishi+ng blow Her body shook like a leaf in a storm

translator’s note: Deedlit says “バーク” (baaku), which is closer to bark, but I opted for beurk due to its lish word