Dry Drowning - Chapter 43

“Let’s stop here for a moment.”

It has already been three hours since they entered the forest. Claude’s words at the forefront eased the nervous air. It was only after arriving at the stream where the sound of water was heard, that everyone looked relieved.

“Take a break and re-examine the procession.”

“Yes!”

“Wet your throat moderately. If you tell me nonsense about some urgent business* in the middle, I will leave you as it is.”

[*T/N : If you guys can’t understand what the urgent business is, then let me tell you, he is talking about taking a leak AKA peeing. (≧▽≦) He is saying not to drink too much water so that they don’t need to go for some urgent business.]

The members who ran to the water because they were thirsty folded their arms. Being left alone in the forest only means you have no choice but to die or be eaten. It would have been a joke if Schwartz had said it, but Claude was different. However, everyone was able to get rid of their thirst by moistening their throats.

“Hah, I’m dying.”

“I think it’s going to be a waste of time today, again.”

Keeping an eye on every direction without a break was much more exhausting than a normal march. The members, who collapsed in their seats, turning their stiff necks around, began to open their mouths one by one. It was itchy because they had been quiet for hours.

“But is that true?”

The attention of the surrounding members was focused on someone carefully asking a question, while examining the situation. With a face that seems to be asking what he meant, he said, “That prince,” as if frustrated. Claude and Ian were a little away from the pack. He lowered the volume just in case they could hear it.

“He said he saw it, not a derivative.”

“What?”

“Shh. He’ll hear us. He has really sharp ears.”

That was true. They realized why the Grand Duke included Ian in the search party in the previous three hours. He turned his head first even at a small sound, and even if it smelled a little strange, he stopped walking and looked around quickly.

He was so skilful that it made no sense to worry that he would be an obstacle to the search. Ian, who doesn’t show off as much as the trained knights, or perhaps even more than that, seemed quite familiar with this situation.

“Ha, does that make sense? I can’t believe he cut off the derivative all by himself.”

“I know. I can’t imagine it.”

Two days ago, after Ian returned with Shyu and collapsed, Schwartz immediately set up a search party. Looking back on the way Ian came from, what they saw at the end was a derivative with a slit ankle and neck. The situation was clear because Fred’s sword was covered in blood.

He didn’t think he could swing a sword properly.

Even if they glanced at Ian in the distance again, everyone’s thoughts remained unchanged. It was difficult for them to change their thought that such beauty in such an atmosphere is not immune and tends to be weak, which hinders self-esteem.*

[*T/N: It basically means that the knights always saw Ian as someone delicate and weak, so admitting that he is actually immune in this atmosphere and isn’t weak at all is hard for them as it hinders their self esteem.]

“I find it strange too. I haven’t seen the Grand Duke since yesterday.”

“But why? He used to be like that. I’m still surprised sometimes. The sudden appearance and disappearance without notice is horrifying.”

“Hey, be quiet. Let’s talk somewhere else.”

It was a credible story. The crew, who unknowingly kept their mouth shut, sighed and muttered.

“Haaa. I swear, we’re the only ones who can’t even speak ill of our superiors behind their back.”

“The salary includes the price. Ailee said so.”

“This fellow’s cursing.”

“Either risk your life or try it.”

As the Grand Duke became the subject, the story quickly went off-topic. To talk about  things that made them feel unfair and angry, it wasn’t even enough to stay up all night. The reason they couldn’t do that was because they thought they’d be hearing it all somewhere else. In fact, even years after joining the Knights, no one knew the full extent of the Archduke’s abilities.

“But everything went well. Far from where the derivative was dead.”

“………”

[T/N: Ahem… don’t ask me anything guys… these knights’ conversations are making me confused too… they are just shifting topics from one to another…(ー_ー゛)]

The atmosphere, which had been playful with the words of the crew who first talked about it, quickly cooled down. They were the ones who retrieved the armor, so there was no way they didn’t know what it meant.

“Isn’t that strange? The prince killed one derivative completely by slicing it up to its neck.”

“…..”

“But why did he run like that? Like being chased by something.”

He looks fine now, but at that time, he was curled up on the floor, unable to breathe properly. Something was off when they thought of it. Ian did not change his expression even after seeing the search party with their arm cut off.

The crew member with a doubtful expression paused a beat and opened his mouth again.

“I think…”

“There. What are you doing?”

It was Claude who cut off the words that followed.

He was watching with a blank expression from a short distance from when they came.

Argh! He looked down at some members falling behind as if they were pathetic. Gathering in one place and talking was suspicious from a distance. He wondered what they were talking about.

“We would be leaving in five minutes. Check your armor again when you have time for useless chatter.”

It was a magical sentence that made the gathered members scatter in an instant. They didn’t know when they could rest again if they started again. In fact, they were lucky that they reached the riverside right away like this time.

It was when each of them was preparing in a hurry.

A member of the crew, who had been hesitating for a while, opened his mouth.

“Hey, I’m going to finish some business.”

“What? Do it here.”

“You s*ht… there you go.”

Ian was at the end of his fingers. The flowing hair must have bothered him, so he swept it up with his hand and looked over there. Seeing him looking at them looking at him, the blushing knights hurriedly grabbed their sword and turned around pretending to look somewhere else.

[T/N: UwU the knights blushing too. (≧▽≦)]

“Are you really going to go?”

“There is the water. It won’t come this way, so it’s okay.”

Most derivatives had hydrophobic characteristics. It was also the safest near the water as it’s hard for the main body to find humans by smell.

It was true, but feeling strangely uncomfortable, the knight next to him told him to hurry up and go. But the man did not return until the five minutes Claude said had passed and all the men finished their preparations.

“One is missing.”

It had already been quite a while since Claude noticed that.

Are you crazy? Do you want to die? 

This was disciplinary because personal action was strictly prohibited during the search. He wanted to leave it as it is, but unfortunately, he was in a situation where even the loss of one head was regrettable.

He could roughly predict why he did something he hadn’t done before.

Claude sighed briefly and asked the crew who had talked to him for the last time.

“Which way did he go? First…”

It was then. Ian, who was standing behind him, moved. Ian approached Claude and was two steps ahead, staring at one place. It was exactly the direction pointed by the member who pointed his finger slowly exactly by half a beat.

“……”

Instinctively feeling a strange atmosphere, the knights also began to put their hands over the scabbard one by one. Claude also pulled a spear out from behind and focused on the sound. Ian was already holding a sword in one hand. There was something beyond the eerily quiet forest.

Ian moved his lips without even looking at Claude, who glanced at him.

coming.

Kirrruk.

It was a large beast well beyond human height that appeared through the trees with a boiling sound of phlegm. It was similar to a wolf approaching slowly with shiny eyes. It looked different from the last time, but the reddish white veins were the same, and Ian could see that that was also a derivative.

“Rick!”

It was the members of the crew that screamed.

It was only then that he seemed to realise what the dark red beast with its muzzle had been biting.

“Damn it, spit it out right now!”

Rick, who was dragged with his upper body bitten, had half his armor peeled off. Whether dead or unconscious, the drooping body crawled helplessly on the floor.

“All in their respective positions. They might be in a bunch. It may not be just one, so be careful.”

The crew began to move at Claude’s instruction, without a moment’s agitation. When they took out their weapons and formed a formation, the beast spit out what it had in its mouth to the floor. They couldn’t run right away despite the miserable appearance of their colleague who had been laughing and talking until now.

Kurrruk!

The beast, who cried loudly as if laughing at it, rushed at the same time. It was a very quick paced that didn’t match the large size. In an instant, it came close to their nose and swung its toenails, and one of the knights at the forefront floated into the air.

It was Ian who silently approached the back of the beast raising its head as if to snatch it with a hook. A sharp-edged sword was inserted exactly into the thigh, drawing a parabolic arc. When he tilted it down with force on the handle with both hands, the hard flesh opened up. The amount of blood poured out was considerable.

Kaaaaak!

There was an ear-splitting cry followed by a back kick. However, Ian removed his hand from the sword as if he had expected it and quickly stepped back and rolled around.

He thought then, it wasn’t just a smell of blood. Ian stood up from the rotten smell and roughly wiped his blood-stained hands on the pants.

Will the smell go away even if I wash it with water?

It was when he regretted it for five seconds as he didn’t think it would.

“…….”

He raised his head to the sudden silence.

Before he knew it, the red eyes of the beast that had come closer were looking at Ian.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

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