Chapter 178: Grasping Forces


    It’s been four hours since we departed


    Firo’s status decrease is being suppressed by Atla


    Firo’s Lvl. points are declining steadily


    The Lvl. down speed have decreased but it’s still a severe situation


    Naofumi: “Atla, Do you know where the power is going?”


    Atla: “Yes, Firo tells me which direction it’s heading”


    Naofumi: “Okay”


    Firo: “Haaaa…. Haaaa….”


    Atla: “Firo-chan?”


    Atlas is riding Firo’s back and I entrusted driving the carriage to Melty


    Rat and Taniko puts the situation in order, Sadina is watching the back


    Firo is getting considerably exhausted


    It’ll be dangerous if we don’t make it there fast


    Motoyasu’s beloved Firo is in a great pinch


    Where and what is that fellow doing at such a time


    Raising a flag is now impossible


    That guy isn’t even around when you needed him


    Naofumi: “Where on earth did he intend to fly?”


    Atla: “I can sense that he is somewhere over there”


    It’s still midnight. The sun will rise eventually, but it’s still far.


    Naofumi: “Worst case scenario, we have to get rid of Gaelion, Do you understand?”


    I told Taniko directly. Taniko was the closest one to him. Even though Gaelion is mine, I think that I have to say it


    Taniko: “…..uhhnn”


    Naofumi: “It is strangely logical, I thought that you’d refuse it more”


    Taniko: “it’s not like we’re giving up just yet”


    Naofumi: “Well, I know”


    Taniko: “I understand that it is a bad decision to make. However, I refuse to consider not doing something about it”


    Naofumi: “Is that so… then I will get rid of any hesitation”


    Taniko: “I get it! It’s our last resort! But we absolutely have to help Gaelion”


    I’m trying to be as casual as I can be about this matter


    I understand that Gaelion is what’s tormenting Firo


    Gaelion is a huge asset for us, Ofcourse, getting rid of him is going to be our last option. I want to avoid that as much as possible


    Taniko: “I hate the Hero”


    Taniko sheds tears and she kept on crying all the while


    Naofumi: “I’m used to being hated”


    Taniko: “It’s not you”


    I can somehow sympathize with Taniko, It is something unlikely a Hero would do but not me.


    but the one she is thinking of…. is it Itsuki? Saving people half-way, the barbaric Justice.


    But this feeling is something different


    Who exactly have I become?


    Where would such a thing fly anyways?


    Naofumi: “Rat.. Where do you think did Gaelion go to?”


    Rat: “If I were to predict it, I think it would probably be the East of Melromarc”


    Naofumi: “East huh?”


    If I remember correctly east of Melromarc is where we fought the rotting dragon…. Ah right


    Naofumi: “It’s the area where we faced the rotting dragon”


    Rat: “I see.. It is merely going back to his own territory, right?”


    Naofumi: “I think so too”


    Sadina: “What should this Onee-san do?


    While I was talking with Rat, Sadina answers from the back. I still can’t come up with a solution, there’s also a probability of encountering monsters at this hour.


    Actually, there are several monsters that are following from behind


    But Sadina is intercepting them with magic and harpoons


    The front is being manage by Atla, Firo and Melty. But Firo can’t fight because she is already struggling on pulling the carriage


    It’s unreasonable to force yourself


    I also used Meteor shield to protect Atla and Firo at the bare minimum


    Naofumi: “I’m thinking of a way to return Gaelion back to his sense. You should be more vigilant of your surroundings”


    Sadina: “Y-yes….”


    Naofumi: “If you have other ideas to help Gaelion then spit it out. And make it faster”


    Rat: “……. Then maybe”


    Rat: “Can’t we just pin him down and take it out of his mouth by hands? But we need to use a tool that he cannot bite through”


    Naofumi: “It’ll be alright. My defensive power is no joke”


    Rat: “Well, we don’t have to worry about the Count”


    Naofumi: “Rat, can you suppress Gaelion using your drug?”


    Rat: “Do you even need to ask me that?”


    Rats shows me a syringe with the drug in it


    Rat: “This drug is quite strong. It is strong enough that even a dragon cannot move for a while”


    Naofumi: “I see, then I’m counting on you”


    Raphtalia is not here, but the Lvl. around here is not very high


    Gaelion’s Lvl. is increasing little by little and status is getting really high because of the shield’s correction


    Draining Firo’s status indicates his status


    It’s like fighting a dragon-shaped Firo


    I think I’ll be fine but the other slaves will be in trouble if they were to receive an attack


    If a god exist, it seems he wants to see me suffer


    Naofumi: “First, let’s have a meeting. Rat, It’ll be good if you weaken him even if it’s just a little”


    Rat: “Okay. Will do”


    Naofumi: “Sadina I will approach Gaelion and you will be on guard with enemies getting near us”


    Taniko: “…. And me?”


    Taniko is shaking while asking


    Naofumi: “Can you fight?”


    Taniko: “errr… If I do Gaelin will be badly injured and it’ll be dangerous”


    This strong sense of responsibility


    Naofumi: “What can you do?”


    I don’t know how Taniko fights as well


    Back then I saw her holding a stick but what is she doing now these days?


    Taniko: “I’m good with magic attacks, among everyone else this is something that I can take pride in”


    Naofumi: “Hooo… What kind of magic?”


    Taniko: “I don’t really understand. But as for the woman who’s teaching me magic, she said that the magic that I’m use is different”


    The magic shop owner taught the slaves various kinds of magic. I did ask her to do that but what kind of magic did she teach Taniko?


    Naofumi: “I don’t understand. You, what kind of magic are you using if you don’t understand what you are using?”


    Taniko: “I’m using the one that I learned from my father”


    I have a feeling that it is some kind of a unique magic


    I don’t understand even a little of it. Maybe I’ll understand it better if we go into battle


    I don’t have to the power to understand the slaves’ ability


    In MMO there’s a function that lets you monitor the guild member’s current status when you are raising them


    In Raids and Castle wars monitoring your allies will be your lifeline. In MMO I can choose my allies by considering their job and Lvl.


    But I can’t evaluate them if I don’t see how they fight, Failure will occur again and again if the party is not organized


    There’s also a means where they could learn by letting them experience it first hand


    Pairing them with people they know to teach them the strategy is a sure fire way of doing it


    This is the evil truth because rules don’t apply with it


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    This is the very reason that I feel like this is still a game


    Naofumi: “If I pair you with Atla, can you cooperate with her?”


    Taniko: “Uh yeah”


    Naofumi: “What about Melty?”


    Taniko: “That girl? What kind of magic is she using?”


    Naofumi: “Isn’t it water? I think that’s what it is”


    I think Sadina is really suitable with Melty’s strongest magic. Afterall Sadina is an Aquatic type of Beastman and has a high perception with magic that is close to her habitat


    Naofumi: “How about you Sadina?”


    Sadina: “Well, I can do both melee and magic”


    Then Rat is the one who understands Demon ecology and Gaelion’s abnormal condition


    Naofumi: “Well then, I’ll be the vanguard and those who are good with magic will be at the rear and Sadina…”


    Atla can’t fight because she’s suppressing Firo’s curse.


    I need more assistance given the situation


    Naofumi: “Sadina, Please attack from the rear with your harpoon”


    Sadina: “Yes.. Yes..”


    Melty: “Understood”


    Taniko: “Uh yeah”


    Naofumi: “We don’t have any choice but to go by this strategy”


    I just noticed, but this party has a high number of females in it


    Although I’m not bothered with Raphtalia, Firo and Occasionally with Rishia. I think that this is a kind of party that Motoyasu would make


    I should treat Fohl more kindly. He may be a SisCon but I’d like a male companion.


    Rat: “Count, Are you thinking of something strange”


    How do you know that I’m thinking about something like that? Do the people in this world also have sixth sense?


    Or is that what you would call a Woman’s Intuition? Just kidding.


    Furthermore, Several hours have passed and we’ve arrived at the east village. The sun also began to rise.


    The means of transportation through Firo is really fast but Gaelion’s flying speed is something else


    The mountains in the Eastern Village is covered in clouds… It’s really dark(Note: just to clear he meant that the mountain side is covered in clouds.. not the entire eastern part…)


    Villager: “Oh… It’s Saint-sama”


    Village: “It is the Shield Hero-sama”


    The villagers spotted us and approached us… For some reason Taniko covered her whole body with a sheet of cloth


    Villager: “This morning a Villager heard a cry from dragon that came from the mountains”


    Naofumi: “It’s is true that there is a dragon that escape and ran over here, we are here because we are chasing after it”


    Villagers: “”Uwaaa!””


    I didn’t say that it came from our village because our reputation would be affected


    But the villagers who can somehow understand what’s happening fell silent


    Naofumi: “Just…”


    I looked at Atla and Firo’s situation


    They seemed really tired


    I was able to pinpoint the location where Gaelion ran away


    Naofumi: “We haven’t taken any rest since yesterday, go and take some rest for a while”


    Melty: “…but”


    Naofumi: “if you are not in your best condition, we may not be able to win. Overdoing it is unacceptable so please agree and wait a little bit”


    Melty: “U-understood”


    I registered the Village into the portal shield and it would be better If I leave a message to the Village(Note: He’s referring to the leaving a message to the demi-human village)


    Naofumi: “Alright, It’s best if we could return to the village when something bad were to happen. Portal Shield!”


    Ofcourse, I memorized the location and went back to the Village to check if Raphtalia and the others have returned


    … I can warp 7 people including me


    It says 6 people but I’m not included in it


    In short I can warp 7 people including me


    I suck at explaining things


    Let’s just say 7 people in total


    Or is it based on 3 people + my Lv / 20 kind of condition?


    Firo and Atla is leaning against the wall and is resting alternately


    I reconfirmed her status


    Firo’s Lvl. is still decreasing little by little. This is dangerous


    Naofumi: “Please rest more until it’s time”


    Melty: “Understood”


    Naofumi: “Please understand that I can’t make medicine strong enough to suppress it”


    Firo: “uhnn”


    Melty: “Firo-chan…here’s some water”


    Firo: “Thank you Mel”


    I asked if they’ve seen Raphtalia but the results are not good


    I explained our escape with the portal shield and the cooldown


    I hope that Rapthalia gets back soon so we can start immediately


    Time is the problem


    Judging from Firo’s condition she won’t even last for half a day


    I can’t do anything but pray that Raphtalia and the others gets back from their training soon


    Naofumi: “I guess it’s impossible afterall”


    The cooldown has finished but Raphtalia isn’t back yet


    We don’t have a choice but to stop Gaelion with this people


    We just have to prepare for the worst


    Naofumi: “ Atla and Firo please rest in the village”


    Firo: “Please Master”


    Naofumi: “We don’t have to travel long distance anymore. Travelling is just a stone’s throw from here. Don’t overdo it”


    Firo: “But…. I want to go”


    Naofumi: “Stop it.. If you force yourself, you would only be too much of a burden. You can barely move yourself, you’re already at your limit”


    Firo: “no… no”


    Naofumi: “I said Atla and Firo”


    Atla: “I understand. Firo, Let’s just leave it to Naofumi-sama”


    Firo: “But Firo…”


    Atla: “Naofumi-sama is saying that taking Firo along is too much of a load to take. But even if he doesn’t say so I will still stop you”


    Firo reluctantly nodded in Atla’s every word


    Atla who has some trouble speaking because of her illness and Firo having the same situation because of the curse. This approach may become effective


    Naofumi: “How about you Melty?”


    Melty: “If it’s for Firo I would do anything”


    Naofumi: “Don’t force yourself. Because you’re the next queen.”


    Melty: “I understand but this is something more important than being a Queen”


    Can’t be helped they are close friends after all


    After I leave and return to my own world Firo would probably stay with Melty


    Melty: “Firo!, Please wait a moment”


    Firo: “Mel….”


    Melty: “Please rest quietly in bed”


    Firo: “uhnn”


    I held Firo’s face and then she cried because of the feeling of helplessness


    This is the first time that I did such a thing


    This is too much to bear


    Naofumi: “It’s time to leave. Portal Shield”


    Then we came back to the east village and have begun to walk towards the mountain filled with dark clouds.