TEOCH 80

The night in the clearing was unbearably long.

The party members were all exhausted. Not only Rohan, who had been captured by the harpies and had to endure hardships, but the other companions who had rushed to save him were also drained. They had managed to draw out their energy thanks to the tension while confronting the harpies, but after they left, even that was gone, leaving them even more drained.

Rehas was the same. He had resolved to scold Rohan immensely and nag him about his reckless behavior as soon as things were over, but when it came time for dinner, he was so tired that he didn’t have the energy to do so. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason…

‘I’m sorry for making you worry, Rehas. I think I acted too autocratically back then. It would have been better if I had listened to you instead of rushing in hastily.’

In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, Rehas, unable to sleep alone, tossed and turned in his blanket, recalling what happened after dinner. Hearing such words come out of that thick-headed young man’s mouth, he must have been truly sorry himself.

Of course, Rehas had no intention of being genuinely angry with Rohan either, so the two exchanged slightly awkward apologies, and Rohan went into the tent shortly after and fell asleep as if he had fainted. The other companions also fell asleep quickly like Rohan, but Rehas was still wide awake.

‘Well, what’s past is past… But I’m worried about tomorrow.’

Rehas was quite worried about whether those harpies would let them go peacefully. Of course, the harpy named Charon had shown a rather cooperative attitude, but it was difficult to have hope based on that alone. His actions could be called favorable, but they were hard to see as rational, and it was obvious that the other sisters seemed to agree with the silver-haired harpy named Irene.

Honestly, Rehas even thought that Irene’s attitude was more rational. He didn’t know why the island had collapsed, but in any case, the monsters were furious, and a scapegoat would be needed to appease that anger. The humans, being perfect outsiders, would fit that scapegoat role perfectly.

“Huu, Mr. Rohan, Mr. Rohan…”

“This fellow is at it again.”

Rehas got up and wiped the forehead of Damian, who was drenched in a cold sweat. Damian had been having nightmares continuously since a while ago. In his nightmares, Rohan died, Rikiel also died, and sometimes someone whose name he didn’t know died as well. Judging from the context, it seemed they all lost their lives in the fight against the harpies.

Rehas had brought him to a corner of the tent to sleep so he wouldn’t wake the other companions with his sleep-talking, but with him continuing to talk in his sleep like this, it was hard for Rehas himself to get any proper sleep. He thought about waking him up, but Damian wouldn’t wake up no matter how much he shook him. It was a pitiful sight, but it was a bit tiring from Rehas’s perspective.

Still, Rehas could somewhat understand Damian’s feelings. Rehas was also anxious in a situation where his life was not guaranteed for the next day. He usually showed a rather calm and cool-headed side, but perhaps because he was a young man of only twenty, he was quite cornered mentally.

“By the way, how come you never call my name even once? So heartless.”

Tristan hadn’t called his name either, but Rehas didn’t notice that fact and was only upset that Damian didn’t call his name. Still, he brushed Damian’s messy hair back and properly covered him with a blanket. Though it was a rather fruitless effort as it went back to how it was before after Damian tossed and turned several times with his groans.

“Ah, it can’t be helped.”

In the end, Rehas laid Damian down right next to him and lay down beside him. It was with the thought that he would have to look after him all night. As he gave him an arm pillow and gently patted his back, Damian’s sleep-talking finally subsided. Of course, he would probably start sleep-talking again in a few minutes, but it felt like he could live now that it was quiet for even a moment.

Of course, being quiet wasn’t always a good thing.

‘If we end up fighting the harpies tomorrow, will we really be able to win?’

As the surroundings finally grew quiet, this time, gloomy thoughts buzzed around in his head like flying insects. No matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think they could win. For one thing, they were underprepared, but if it had been a situation where they could win by fighting, that prideful Rohan would never have bowed his head and pleaded with the harpies to let them pass. This was proof that the current situation was that bad.

If they were to fight, who would die first? The thought was so grim that Rehas flinched without realizing it. It was because he kept imagining the sight of his dead companions. Rohan’s body, stiff as a block of wood, sprawled on the ground, Rikiel’s body becoming a nest for some unknown parasites, blood bursting from Damian’s body which was torn in two… It was merely a delusion created by fear, but it had a strangely realistic aspect to it, and Rehas became frightened.

Of course, Rehas knew he shouldn’t be scared. Even if he were to die, it would be alright if he died first instead of his companions. At least he wouldn’t have to see what he couldn’t bear to see. Of course, even that wasn’t a very hopeful thought. It would hurt to die. Even if his wounds could be restored by putting a parasite in his body, he would die if he was injured too severely. No, maybe he would become a parasite nest and suffer without even being able to die…

‘Ah, let’s stop thinking like this and just sleep.’

Rehas muttered that to himself over and over while patting Damian’s back. Of course, it wasn’t for Damian’s sake but for Rehas’s own. Comforting someone was an act that stabilized not only the other person’s heart but also one’s own. It would be much better to be conscious of the presence of his companion sleeping next to him now, rather than the imaginary pain that didn’t even exist. It’s okay. No one will die. Everyone, everyone will be okay…

As he muttered to himself like that, sleepiness soon settled heavily on Rehas’s eyelids. Ignoring the gloomy thoughts floating in his mind, Rehas fell into a deep sleep, relying on Damian’s body heat.

—Do you want to live? Do you want to get out of this area?

Before he fell completely asleep, someone’s voice seeped into his mind like a dream, but Rehas did not notice it.

—Herus’s …is coming. It is a … made too hastily, so the vision in its right eye is incomplete, but … you will not be able to face it with your power… …eat. …to survive, flee…

—This is all because of… The existence of the ‘second playthrough’ will cause … errors in the world… Hurry and … the Demon King, and if the … hero is not … from this world…

Of course, even if he had noticed, he wouldn’t have known what it meant.

Rehas, who had already fallen into a deep sleep, slept soundly until the next morning without even dreaming.

• =

Unlike the hero’s party, where everyone had long been asleep, the harpies who had returned to their nest were still not asleep even though it was the middle of the night. The moonless sky was just black, and the island without a single lantern was equally dark, but the darkness was no problem for the harpies, who had good night vision.

They had been discussing for a long time how to dispose of the humans. But their situation was practically no different from being asleep, because even after talking for several hours, no conclusion had been reached.

—I don’t know what to do, Lethe unnie.

—I know, right. The eldest unnie is being so stubborn, we can’t ignore him, but I don’t want to let those humans go either.

Lethe and Hezel, who had come out of the nest to cool their heads, were grumbling to themselves. They too were guardians, so like the other sisters, they took this problem seriously, but unfortunately, the two monsters were not the type to enjoy complex thoughts like the other sisters. As they preferred physical attacks over magic, they were much simpler and more hot-blooded, and they believed it was better to crush beings that disturbed the stability of this area with their own claws rather than engage in negotiations.

They could just kick those humans and throw them off the island, so why on earth had things gotten so complicated? The two of them genuinely thought so. Of course, that didn’t mean they wanted to ignore their eldest brother’s opinion…

—Charon unnie must have some thought in mind, Hezel. He’s much smarter than us.

—What’s the use of having a thought? He doesn’t tell us.

—Isn’t there some reason why he’s not telling us? I don’t think Charon unnie is doing that out of mere stubbornness. Nor do I think he’s doing it because he’s ignoring the monsters in our area or the guardians of other areas, like Irene said.

—But there’s a lot of truth in what that kid Irene said, unnie. What if we go to the trouble of sending them to the next area and they lay it to waste? Besides, to soothe the grieving monsters whose island was destroyed, we’d have to cut off those humans’ heads and show them around, wouldn’t we?

—Hmm, that’s true. Even if we say we just sent them to the next area because of circumstances, the dim-witted monsters probably wouldn’t understand.

—Can’t we just send them away and then lie that we killed and ate all the humans?

—Why do we have to go that far? Damn it, the spot where I was hurt by that damn human brat is still throbbing…

Lethe grumbled and shook her right wing. The wound from the arrow shot by the red-haired human was now healed, but she was hurt in her pride by the mere fact that she had been wounded by the arrow of a mere human. She could have laughed off and deflected an ordinary arrow, so she had let her guard down a little, but who would have thought it was a cursed arrow. Of course, Lethe had retaliated by blowing off the blue-haired human’s right arm, but that human not only regenerated his right arm with a parasite but also set Lethe’s hair on fire…

—Well, putting that aside. What are we really going to do about this? We have to decide whether to persuade Charon unnie or to follow his will.

—I know. We can’t just rudely charge at him like Irene.

The two monsters looked at each other and sighed. In fact, the reason the harpies had stopped their discussion was because of the friction between Irene and Charon. When Charon kept failing to explain the real reason, an angry Irene had defied him, and though the flustered other sisters had torn Irene away, the atmosphere was no longer suitable for discussion.

No matter how much they disliked Charon’s opinion, he was the eldest who led the harpies, and Lethe and Hezel could not go against his will without a just reason. All they could do was either follow Charon’s will or try their best to persuade Charon to change his mind. The youngest, Irene, however, sometimes ignored such things due to her fiery temper.

In fact, Lethe was hesitating between following Charon’s opinion and Irene’s. Of course, thinking rationally, it seemed better to follow Irene’s opinion, but Lethe still believed in Charon’s insight.

She didn’t think Charon would suggest letting those humans go without any reason. Perhaps he had circumstances he couldn’t speak of? Even if he didn’t tell her the reason right now, if she trusted him now, the day would come when he would tell her the reason. Surely…

—What do we do, Lethe unnie? We have to make a decision by tomorrow.

—Don’t be so anxious. There’s still time before the sun rises, so there’s no need to rush.

—But I…, huh?

The two monsters who were talking suddenly raised their heads. It was because they had detected a strange flow of magic power from the north side of the island. There weren’t many occasions to feel this kind of magic on the harpies’ island.

—This, it’s a communication from another area, isn’t it?

—Looks like it. Shall we go see?

On the north side of the island, there was a magic mirror for communicating with other areas, and it seemed that magic power was flowing out from there. The two monsters looked at each other and then nodded with sour expressions. It wasn’t that strange for a communication to come from another area, as it was natural for guardians to communicate with each other from time to time.

But the timing was not good. The communication had come in a situation where there were humans asking to be sent to the next area, so if the guardian of the next area was the one who contacted them, they were worried about how to answer. Of course, the communication could be about issues other than the humans, but there was always the ‘what if’ situation… They suppressed their anxiety as best they could and immediately flew towards the north side of the island.

However, unexpectedly, someone was already in front of the magic mirror in the north.

—Oh my, Irene?

—Looks like that kid arrived first.

—Putting that aside… wait a minute, that person beyond the mirror? Why is that person contacting us?

Lethe and Hezel halted. The strangely-eyed boy reflected beyond the silver mirror, which must have been about two meters tall, was not one of the other guardians they frequently communicated with. He was a much stronger and nobler being. One who stayed in the Demon King’s castle and directly assisted the Demon King, and who could claim influence wherever there were insects, even in the areas outside the Demon King’s castle…

—It must be a big problem for you all too, for the island to collapse… It won’t take very long to solve the problem. Do not worry.

—We will be in your care, Mr. Herus.

—Yes. Inform your other sisters of my message.

The two sisters flew towards the mirror in surprise, but it was already too late. The father and mother of all insects, Herus, gave Irene a silent nod and then instantly disappeared from the mirror. Irene looked at the mirror that reflected nothing with a bitter expression, and then, feeling her sisters’ presence behind her, she turned around with a start. As Lethe and Hezel approached Irene, she spoke hastily, as if making an excuse.

—I-I’m sorry, unnies. I was going to call you, but it just happened…

—No, that’s fine. By the way, that person just now was Mr. Herus, right? For what purpose would someone like that contact us?

Normally, when the youngest received this kind of communication, the rule was to call the other sisters, but Lethe decided not to make an issue of it. It took less than five minutes for Hezel and Lethe to feel the flow of magic power and fly to the north. Considering the time it took for Irene to come here from the nest, the spare time would be at most between one and two minutes.

There was no way a significant conversation could have taken place during that time, and all Irene could have done was probably listen to the message sent by Herus. If that was all, there was no problem even if she didn’t call the other sisters. Besides, didn’t Herus himself want Irene to deliver the message to the other sisters? Irene hesitated for a moment before speaking.

—W-well, it seems… His Majesty the Demon King has found out about the island’s collapse. He seems to be wondering why it happened, and he said to solve what we can on our own and to contact the Demon King’s castle if we need support. He said he would send personnel to restore the island too.

—Ah, really? That’s a relief!

—It really is a relief. We were in a bind because it was difficult to restore the collapsed island with just our own power, but thanks to this, we can restore the island much faster.

For some reason, Irene couldn’t look her sisters straight in the face, but Lethe and Hezel didn’t pay it much mind. It was because the news was so welcome.

Things had taken a strange turn, but Lethe thought to herself that it had turned out well. If they restored the island with support from the Demon King’s castle, the monsters’ anger would also be appeased, and then there wouldn’t be a big problem even if they let the humans go. Of course, those humans might cause trouble in the next area, but Charon would take care of that somehow. Surely he wouldn’t be stubborn without even that much calculation…

—…Lethe unnie, Hezel unnie.

—Yes?

—I’ve cooled my head and thought about it a bit, and I’ve come to think that it would be best to follow Charon unnie’s will. I’m sure he also has some reason for deciding to let those humans go.

—Huh? Really, Irene?

Hezel’s eyes widened as if he found it strange. For Irene, who had been so stubborn until just a moment ago, to suddenly bend her will was quite strange not only to Hezel but also to Lethe. Since Irene had a rational basis for her arguments, she had thought that she wouldn’t be persuaded by just any story, so why? It was a relief for the sisters since there was no more reason to fight, but still.

—Yes. How about we open the passage to the next area for those humans? As soon as possible, I mean.

—Hmm, are you serious?

—Yes. I think it would be good to send those humans to the next area around noon tomorrow. Let’s send the humans away quickly and contact the Demon King’s castle to receive support. Maybe they’ll also investigate the cause of why the island collapsed.

As Irene suddenly changed her attitude, Lethe felt a sense of suspicion, but she couldn’t explain exactly why Irene’s attitude was strange, so she decided to let it go for now. The three sisters, who had somehow reached a consensus, decided to return to the nest and convey Herus’s message and Irene’s decision to Charon.

The back of Irene, flapping her wings high in the sky, looked carefree, as if she had set down a heavy burden for some reason.