Chapter 22 (1/2)

Episode 22〜 He that Fights and Runs May Live to Fight Another Day

Weeds and flowers growing along the river side a buried underfoot

The popobu plantsa footprint

The wind and weather is good

A refreshi+ng wind is wrapping around us

Approaching a small hill near the river, the view spreads out more

A branch of the Haym river

I am able to confirm to confirm the area around and see stones of various scattered around and covered in ether to form the steam

-N?

As I enjoy the scenery I detect a ic essence

There arefrom the river

Because I detectedI back away from the Haym river cautiously;

Co down from her favorite place on the back of the popobues into her panther form to be safe

It feels like they’re jump out at any time

I can hear bubbling sounds co from the river

The sound becoer

Cautiously, the source of the sound appears

It is a large crab

With bubbles foa out of its mouth it rises out of the river

The source of the bubbling must be this…

At the ends of five pairs of crab legs are twin pincers

It looks like it will hurt if I get hit by that

Before long, one of the bubbles floats towards me

I on popobumu, the attack natural does not succeed

There’s an evaporating sound in the place where the bubble lands

A rotten sulfur smell drifts up

Poison type? I don’t want to receive that bubble…

Only one of the big crabs is releasing bubbles and is approaching from the side

A bitcloser

“Rollo, separate that crab from the river a little”

Rollo res her tail to say “Got it”

I watch the condition of the big crab as it walks away from the river

Then Rollo attacks it stomach with her feeler bone sword

When her attack lands there is a busu sound like soft leather being punctured

From the hole a bit of fibrous white crab meat protrudes

The big crab desperately resists as it tries to repel Rollo’s bone sith its pincers but the bone sword penetrates its body multiple times

The grab see draard Rollo

Haha, stupid crab

I get down fro crab

I thrust out the black spear fro distracted by Rollo

From a normal stab-<thrust>

It received my attack, but there is little response I felt soft to the touch

Going by the sensation I was able to stab the big crab’s body twice, but it is still able to move

With bubbles gushi+ng out of it mouth it twists around with its pincer hands

Without bother to aiht, but because I ae claws its attack fails

Again Rollo’s feeler bone sword pierces the body of the giant crab

The bubbling f

rom is directed in Rollo’s direction but she simply jumps out of the way and they are only harmlessly scattered about

The big crab tries tomotions

This crab is tough; it is a good thing it is stupid

Again, it is being drawn in by Rollo

Now, should I aim for the mouth? I hold up my left hand I eject <chain>

The chain cuts straight through the air Through the bubblingcrab it penetrates out the back of the crab’s shell

The grab twitches and falls back

I run there fiercely

I juth-wise

All of the pincer are severed and a huge part of the head is cut into A yellow past like fers down from the section

Ooh, isn’t like miso mixed with crab meat

The claws are filled hite flesh

It looks tasty

But, as I saw the poison spurting out I will leave it be…

While thinking about the poison Roll hoith a “Garururu”

She reveals the shi+ning fangs in her ins to tear into the leathery stoiant crab

Thus she begins to energetically consume the white crab meat

“…O〜i, is it tasty, Rollo?”

Hearing me Rollo turns around to face oes “Nya, nyaa”

“Well then, I too…”

Taking one of the giant claws in my hand I pull out some of the whitemy teeth I take a bite

Mu I chew and taste it This white meat is yummyyyyy It is crab meat Okkasan, this is white meat is crab (TL: Don’t knohy he says mom here”

The tension goes up and even though it is strange this is proper soft crab sashi+mi (TL: Sashi+mi means the meat, normally for sushi+ type dishes, is thinly slice It has more to do with the presentation, I think, so this doesn’t make sense to me)

It hasn’t been boiled, but honestly…it is really good… and there is a slight saltiness

But because there is so much I won’t be able to finish it

Chewing on the soft crisp meat, it is really tasty

“It’s good, but I want soy sauce…I really wish I had soy sauce…but I’ll have to bear with it”

Holding onto the crab claith both hand I am sure to eat all of its slim contents

Rollo seeunk and her lips have turned yellow

Because there is so much white meat I am full in no time

It see and is now repeating the action of washi+ng her face

“Will you eat this, popobumu? Will you eat some of the white meat?”

I return to the popobuaainst its mouth

Then, with a big snort it stretches out its head and takes a big bite

Mogureen eyes look bright and pleased

We who have finished eat the big crab we caught hang around for a little while like this before we begin to head south again

We travel across the grassland and hills while keeping the Hayht

After eating the crab meat, the popobu “bubobubo”

The scenery changes frorass-covered plains to dirt fields

I can see a “person” plowing the field, and some sparsely dotted houses are visible

The first hu- A human (TL: It only took about two years)

They look like a farmer

There are a feooden hills too

And olddoith a book as he looks over the scenery

Do they work on days with fine weather and read on days with rainy weather?

This area seee

I see children playing ooden sticks to the side A cow that looks like a lunga is pulling a rind flower

There do not seem to be any monsters or bandits in the area

After I pass the quiet fare wheels

The dirt here is appropriate for a highway As I travel down the highway on popobu farm products

In the carriages I can see hu

The coacher beast eared elf, there is a lot of variety I prompt the popobumu to hurry up

I get a strong ier beastman

He has long whiskers like a tiger and tawny hair that looks really bushy

The hu short sleeves and a hat, and to be honest, because he is driving the cart to scene is a bit odd

With the head of a leopard or tiger, well I a novel

I continue to travel down the highway as I watch people coo

I am able to increase the speed of the popobuoes

The road follows alongside the Hayht

When I cross over a hill, the river spreads out and becoh the cross

When I cross the shallows I can see a part of a big town

And as the clouds clear up and I can see a high tower come into view

A, such a tall tower

With ht I take a look at the tall tower The tall tower seems to reach the heavens

Is it one of the dungeons? Possibly a space elevator? It looks like the Tower of Babel, but…It is extremely tall

Possibly, is it higher than the Maheie?

My eyes look over the tower and I remember, I cannot seem to find a castle wall

Maybe it is not visible from here

On the map this is dom

When one reaches the tower are they at the center of the capitol? The nuets to it, and I can see pedestrian traffic is able to coo freely

As I look up at the tower I push the popobumu forward, when suddenly, I hear a hard h male voice

There seeht somewhere

I get a reaction from presence detection too

However, because there is a lot of ic essence appropriate for people in the area it is hard to distinguish

When I activate <smell secretion=”” technique=”” pheromone=”” touch=””>…I am over whelmed by the smell of blood

It seeerous

A human with a draord and a beast person with a bloody axe are walking

The body of the beast person is quite large

His whole body is covered in hairy armor

I remember a character from a famous sci-fi movie

As I pass by while observing their figures, sure enough, I can hear the voice a wo attacked

Should I help?

I hurry and make the popobumu face the direction of the sound

However, everyone is gone, so it seems the victim was take somewhere

I do not pursue too far I just advance

And in the evening, the traffic dwindles down to very little

It is already night I look for an inn…but there doesn’t seem to be one

I walked around, but there doesn’t see like an inn Only private houses and abandoned buildings everywhere…

Trying to find one is hopeless

There are traces of the ruins of a large estate Crossing the threshold, I’ in

The grounds of the ruins have a lot of weeds and trees growing in the back

It was adjacent and connected to the highway

I hide the popobumu under a tree and stop here

I give it so soh skin of its neck

Then, I explore the mansion a little

I go into the ruins with the black cat Rollo

-There is no one

Since there is no one here I conteht here

After exploring thean open space between some pillar I decide to make my bed there

I spend the night cal jerk (TL: He’s so cool)

At htly-there’s a reaction on presence detection, I detect nature as well as footsteps

“Rollo, shhh…”

I place a finger to esture for Rollo to be quiet

I check with my

skill

Multiple hu

Rising quietly, I watch from the shadows

Roll ju to my instructions she waits quietly

Thethe mansion are hooded robes so I cannot see their faces

So with the people

Is that light ic?

The people cloaked in hoods look around the room

Fortunately, they don’t co

Those who have finished patrolling gather in the hall

“This is the home of a noble faht”

A man speaks with a voice that carries the feel of an apprentice and pulls back his hood

The face isfrom the side of his head, the man is clear cut and his eyes are sunk into his cheeks

He is wearing hide arhtly stained around the neck

Then everyone follows the man’s lead and re steel helmets

The young soldier opens his mouth

“Captain, may I invite those people here?”

“Ah, make it so …Please mind that you are courteous?”

The leader with the chiseled features reminds the subordinate soldier to pay special attention

Courteous? Are there big shots here, too?

“Yes”

The young soldier nods and disappears into the darkness outside of the mansion

After a roup of people inside Everyone is wearing a hood like those who entered earlier were

However, judging from their attitudes and appearances they are clearly different fro soldiers

They are delivering orders in a distinguished manner

The soldiers respond to their orders and search the hall for a table and chairs before returning and setting them up

When a desk is set up, one of the bossy people re their face

The person has blond hair and blue fox eyes A man with handsome features

Tall and good looking

His clothes look expensive, the fridge of his old thread (TL: The RAWs say he is wearing a タブレット which translates to tablet, and the closest thing I can think of that makes sense is some kind of mantle)

A fur cape is wrapped around his shoulders, and a black scarf substituting a tie is wrapped around his neck

So shi+ny is also attacked to his chest

When I look closer at the shi+ning object I can olden hand-shaped broach

A high-class accessary

After the blond-haired ikemen sits down on the stool his subordinates prepared he taps his finger several times on the table

And, raising his blue fox-eyes he begins to glare at the captain for before

“Oi, Jared! Isn’t this different from what you said before?”

The blond-haired ikemen calls the captain Jared (TL: His naht it was kind of funny)

Thebrown hide-armor seems to be named Jared

Jared lowers his head in apology

“Hai I am sorry There are circumstances…this was an order his Excellency’s ‘royalist faction’ tothe communication From his Excellency… be extremely cautious, once here ‘all of you,’ stand by until you receive an order”

Hearing this the ikeed

“What? Do you understand the circuh the court came from Samaria… there is no banquet, we meet in these ruins… Am I not one of Marquises of Samaria? Who does Prime Minister Zamdo think he is?”

Not only is that ikemen a noble, he’s a marquis?

He is definitely a big shot That explains why there are so many soldiers

Thereupon, a suitably showy person takes down their hood and sits on another stool

Long, swaying pure blonde hair Judging from that appearance, a woman?

“Shall we hear the circumstances? You are suspicious”

“Chardonnay You say so We, the secret bureau of the royalist faction, have already understood everything if that is the case…”

“Maa, ne This is natural So, is there any reason for us to be here? Pri The subordinates of such a person…”

Prime Minister Zamdo?

The eyes of the noble woe

“Fu, surely, surely all of these guys can be used including for work so”

The blond-haired ikemen talks arped cheeks

Jared’s co blamed by the two nobles

“Hewso, do you really need to torht not think so, but he is a subordinate of Terradom’s Prime Minister Zamdo”

The Marquis’ name seems to be Hewso

And then, the Prime Minister…

“That’s right We are certainly in a different country, and then, although the arinally we are enemy nations”