Vol 2 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Chapter 2
Chapter 2, Episode 2: Village
It’s a clear day without a cloud in sight The sun hanging in the sky beats down relentlessly on the earth
There were ani across a lush plain, and the scent of the flora was riding a gentle breeze
A creature s along while kicking the ground beneath it
Riding on its back, was a young boy clad in black
(Even I can ride this… A! And it’s fast!)
The wind beating on his cheeks feels good It’s almost as if he’s become one with nature
Hiro was riding a creature he received from Tris called a 「shi+ryu」
(TL note: Kanji is “swift dragon”)
It is a foreign species which is naturally found on an archipelago called Shaitan, east of the central continent
An adventurer captured and brought a nuo, but they escaped and multiplied
「I can just race straight past Margrave Grinda at this rate!」
He has a rough map in his head which he drew froo, and the current maps which were in Fort Belk
But because his faht there was a chance of getting lost, he decided it would be better to use the stagecoach
Although there was no time limit written in the Eet there as quickly as possible
And so, he is currently heading for Links
He will likely reach the town by to at this pace
However, a journey is such because things don’t go as planned
Hiro sensed the faint scent of blood mixed into the air
(Over there, huh…)
It was drifting over frohway
Hiro dise entrance
There is a board attached to a pole pierced into the ground
It’s probably the nae On it, ritten 「Haltzna」
Hiro took one step into the village, noticed so unusual, and stopped in his tracks
Even though it wasn’t noon yet, there weren’t any villagers in sight
There were about eight log houses erected around a well in the center
There was a noticeably large building to Hiro’s right with sathered it was some sort of work cabin
(I wonder if so happened)
As he walked forward, he saw there were baskets with books carelessly scattered about, and what seeround
The signs suggested that the people here ran away fro in a hurry
So, so he stooped down and narrowed his eyes
He saw bloodstains on the ground
(Bandits? No, that doesn’t seeht…)
There’s too little blood for a bandit attack
Based on the scale of the village, there should be at least 20 people living here
(And it looks too undisturbed)
A bandit’s e They force themselves into houses to steal food and valuables
But there wasn’t a single house that was destroyed
There’s the chance that it was a kidnapping, but if the villagers resisted and caused a coht wind of it and coht away
Bandits wouldn’t do soero
us
(There has to be another reason for this)
Hiro lifted his face, and he saw a sturdy looking mansion built atop a foundation of rocks ahead
He felt a strong presence of people co there, the door of theopen
A ht
『Hey, boy! It’s dangerous there! Hurry and get over here!』
As Hiro looked suspiciously at the e shadow soon fell down from above
A giant bird had appeared overhead A pair of o down on Hiro
Its giant wings sent a rush of wind to the earth causing clouds of dust to rise up Its griht of the sun, locked onto Hiro like a predator to its prey
『What are you doing?! You’re going to die if you freeze up! Hurry and run for it!』
The villager’s face turned pale, perhaps because he thought Hiro’s legs had frozen in fear
The man would have known this if he were closer to him, but Hiro’s face was calm
The space around his waist split open, and 「Excalibur’s」 handle flew out
「You want a piece of me?」
『GURAAAHHH!』
It let out an ear splitting roar, and its talons swooped down on Hiro
However, the sharp claws siht in front of the giant bird’s eyes
In his hand, was 「Excalibur」 He lightly brandished it to the side, cleaving through the air as it whizzed by
『GOAH?!』
A single, thin line appeared across the large bird’s neck, and soon thereafter, a flower of blood bloomed in the sky
With its head severed froiant bird swirled down as it scattered blood all about
(… So’s off)
Hiro looked at it with skeptical eyes
(That was too shallow of a response)
「Excalibur」 began to disappear as it fell towards the ground, dissolving into the air
As Hiro looked on quizzically at the giant bird’s dead body, the villager from earlier had run over to him
「Hey! Are you okay?!」
「I’ I’d like to ask you—」
As he turned around, there was a sight that concerned him more so than the man
The mansion that was visible beyond the man’s shoulders— from its door, out can of life in their faces
After “seeing” that, Hiro felt like throwing up, and at the same time, a sharp pain traveled up to his left eye
「Ugh!」
He pressed his left hand above his eyepatch in an attempt to lessen the pain
「H-Hey, boy What’s wrong all of a sudden?」
The villager reached out to touch Hiro’s shoulder, as now kneeling on the ground
「D-Don’t touch me!」
He veheht hand
BAM—
A loud sound rang out throughout the village
「Eek!」