Chapter 137 - Underground 3 (2/2)

“Are they enemies?!Leave them to me!”

“Wait a moment, Erick!We aren’t sure if they are enemies!”

The Dwarves, who were chasing after him, kept yelling at Erick.They wanted him not to be rash in his actions.However, it was as if the words of the Dwarves went in one ear and out the other.Erick gripped his axe as he increased his speed.When Maetel saw this, she started unsheathing her sword.However, Artpe stopped her before she unsheathed it fully.

“That guy has no intentions of attacking us.”

“Ok.Understood.”

It was as Artpe had predicted.It looked as if he was planning to chop down the party with his axe, but he slow down as he got closer to Artpe’s party.He came to a complete stop in front of them..

“Mmm.They aren’t enemies!”

A very tough and manly voice rang out from within the armor.Artpe smirked as he nodded his head.

“Yes, we aren’t your enemy.If you consider those monsters covered in Demonic energy as your enemy, we might be able to help you out.Of course, a suitable recompense would be needed in return.”

“I like the fact that you are honest!It is nice to meet you.My name is Elrick! ······ah.”

“I’m Artpe.”

The man tried to take off his gauntlet, but he reacted as if he had forgotten something.He just pushed his hand forward as is.Artpe didn't hesitate as he lightly grabbed the gauntlet for a handshake.Artpe let go afterwards.

“I’m sorry.I cannot take off my gauntlets right now.I keep forgetting about that fact.”

The man put on an apologetic expression on his face.In truth, his face was not visible, because of the helmet.At the very least, his voice sounded apologetic.

“I understand.A lot can happen in this world.”

[Nyaa-ahhhhh.]

As if she agreed with Artpe’s sentiment, Roa let out a meow.However, Artpe patted her as if to say it wasn't time yet.Roa had just finished a gluttonous feast, so she wasn’t particularly hungry.Roa assented as she gave a short cry.Then she completely disappeared into his pocket.

When the man saw a cat shake her tail as she settled into Artpe’s pocket, his voice rose in surprise.

“So this cat ate all the Shadows of the Sinners?It really is an incredible familiar.”

“That’s right.She is quite useful.By the way······ You call them Shadows of Sinners?”

When he checked it with his Read All Creation ability, he found out that they were Ancient Evil Spirits.However, he didn’t want to call them by such a strange name, so Artpe settled on calling them Shadows of Sinners.

“I learned it from the Dwarves!In truth, it hasn’t been long since I’ve arrived underground.”

The man sheepishly scratched his head.However, when he realized that his hand was just scratching his helmet, he brought it down.No matter how one looked at it, the helmet looked uncomfortable.However, the man was showing no signs of taking it off.

‘No, that’s not right.’

Artpe checked himself.The man wasn’t taking off the helmet and gauntlets out of sheer stubbornness.He couldn’t take it off.

[Light of the Fighting Spirit]

[It was an armor worn by the continent’s greatest berserker Alturk.He wore it up until his death.A curse was placed on the armor by his vindictive spirit.As a price for gaining massive power, the wearer becomes bound to the armor.]

Amongst curses, this armor was infused with the highest ranked curse.The suffering created from not being able to take off the armor was immeasurable.He didn’t want to feel sympathy, but Artpe felt sympathy for the man.

“It seems you’ve suffered a lot.”

“As expected of a magician, you recognized it immediately.”

The man nodded his head.

“I acquired this armor by chance.When I put it on, I discovered that I couldn't take it off.At first, I travelled to Paladia, but they denied me entrance to the city.I was told I looked too suspicious.Next, I went to Aedia, but the first thing those bastards did was to put a strange contract in front of me.That is why I wandered the world, and in the end, I arrived underground.I thought maybe the Dwarves had some method of getting this off.”

He had travelled all over the world for the single goal of getting his armor off.In the end, he arrived at the underground world where the Dwarves lived.Unlike him, Artpe’s party had arrived at this location through the help of the Winter Queen.They used a half-assed method to reach this place.Elrick’s story was worthy of someone that was a main character to a story.

“I’m sorry, Elrick. If our techniques were a bit better, we would have been able to take offyour armor.”

“It’s all right.It’s all right.By coming here, I found a foe that I can fight, so it wasn’t a loss.”

“Elrick, you are incorrigible!”

“That’s······ Hmm.”

It seemed Elrick and the Dwarves had a friendly relationship with each other, but it wasn’t the time for all of this.Artpe let out a small fake cough, and Elrick finally turned around.He was human, but Elrick was the representative of the Dwarves.He had to bargain with Artpe’s party!

“Artpe, it seems you guys didn’t use the same tunnel as me to reach this place….How did you arrive so deep underground?”

“When we cleared a ruin, a powerful magical energy threw us towards this place.That is how we reached this place.”

“Ah, I see.I guess that can happen.”

Artpe’s explanation was too abridged, but Elrick just accepted Artpe’s words.He seemed like a complete mess, but the Dwarves were also nodding their heads.It seemed all of them were abnormal.

“That means you guys came here by chance, and you don’t plan on acting hostile towards the Dwarves….Moreover, you want to receive a Quest from us.”

“That’s right.It seems you guys are having trouble fighting the Shadows of Sinners.I think we’ll be helpful in solving that problem.”

“It is an offer that is as surprising as your sudden appearance….All right.Wait a moment here.”

Elrick nodded his head.He turned around, and he conversed with the Dwarves.As that was going on, Artpe’s party was also whispering to each other.

“Dwarves are adorable.”

“They aren’t as strong as that man, but they seem strong.All this time such a powerful force was buried underground.”

“Interesting.Exploration is the mother of magic.”

“This isn’t something we can accomplish in a day or two.Is that ok, Artpe?”

“Yes.I was undecided until a moment ago, but I decided there is something worth acquiring here.”

He was in the territory of the Dwarves.They were a race that he had never come across in his past life.Then there was the strange monsters that was infused with Demonic energy.In the beginning, he thought they were the reason why the Winter Queen had sent them here.However, such thoughts were wiped cleaned from his mind when he saw Elrick.

‘I never expected to find the warrior of the hero’s party here.’

The man named Elrick was wearing heavy armor, and he was laughing heartily as he spoke to the Dwarves.

He was one of the original three members that had joined the hero’s party.Even when the hero’s party had reached the Demon King’s castle, the warrior had continued to be the sturdy backbone of the hero’s party.