Chapter 69: The Forest of Lost Paths
After that, we set out on foot for the nearest village.
Though it was the nearest, it was still a considerable distance away on foot. Ordinarily, we would have followed the main road by carriage. Instead, we had to cut straight through the forest.
…This guaranteed several days of walking over rough terrain, didn’t it?
Even after hours of travel, the forest scenery hadn’t changed in the slightest. I wiped away my sweat and looked around. The mist that had hung about us the entire time was growing thicker.
“Damn it. Visibility is getting worse.”
“This area is known as the Forest of Lost Paths. We should proceed carefully.”
“The Forest of Lost Paths?”
I frowned at the unfamiliar name and looked at Alisha.
Wait. No forest like this appeared in the anime.
“It’s said that people and monsters who enter this forest lose their sense of direction. All the trees look alike, and there are few landmarks.”
Looking up at them, I had to agree. Most of the trees were similar—no, they all looked identical to me.
Add this dense mist, and soon nobody would know which direction they were facing.
“Are we in serious trouble? This feels like one of those events where you can’t proceed without hiring a guide.”
I’d seen it in other anime. To cross this sort of forest, you needed to hire a guide.
It didn’t seem like a place we should have fled into without any preparation whatsoever…
As I grimaced, Alisha gently tugged at the hem of my clothes.
“Lloyd-sama, please don’t worry. Have you forgotten what race I am?”
“That’s right! We’ll be fine as long as Alisha is here!”
At Alisha’s words, Lilina made a small triumphant fist and smiled.
Of course. When you thought of forest guides, you thought of elves. With Alisha here, we wouldn’t become lost in the Forest of Lost Paths.
Alisha gave me a mature smile.
“Lloyd-sama, please entrust navigation through the Forest of Lost Paths to me.”
“R-right. I’m counting on you.”
My pulse quickened slightly at the smile from so close. That had to be because Alisha was one of the anime’s heroines.
Making that excuse to myself, I continued through the forest under Alisha’s guidance.
We walked for quite some time, but the mist showed no sign of clearing.
“Alisha, isn’t the mist thicker than it was earlier?”
“It is. I don’t believe we’ve taken the wrong path, but…”
Alisha touched a nearby tree and lowered her brows.
She was unlikely to mistake the path. Perhaps we’d merely entered an especially misty area.
As I thought that, Lilina’s silver ears made a tense, rapid motion.
It was the same movement they’d made each time she’d detected an enemy’s approach.
The next instant, Lilina pointed diagonally to the right and glared.
“Lloyd-sama! Alisha! Something is rapidly approaching from that direction!”
I stepped in front of them and stared where she’d pointed, but the fog was too dense to see what was coming.
Just as I reached for my sword, a sharply clawed foot shot from the mist straight toward my face.
Whoa! Fast!
“Mineralization (M)!”
When I activated the skill, my left arm below the elbow became encased in what looked like a chain of minerals.
I used it to knock away the claws.
CLANG!
“Guh! Whoa!”
The powerful foot shoved me hard enough to make me stagger.
It vanished back into the mist, but I brought my longsword down in the same direction.
“Dragon Wind (M)!”
As I swung and activated the skill, a tornado aimed its whirling center at the enemy and flew forward, gouging the ground.
The mist that had been so thick was blown away with it, greatly improving our visibility.
…I see. The mist around us hadn’t formed naturally.
Before us stood a white-furred monster resembling a bat and more than twice my size.
Five smaller white bats of the same kind fluttered around it.
I’d fought something similar before, but never a white one.
“Well, the way to kill it should be the same. Storm—”
“”Lloyd-sama, stop!””
“Gweh!”
As I tried to slaughter it with the same skill I’d used against the previous bat monster, someone yanked me hard by the collar.
I turned to find Lilina and Alisha looking troubled.
“L-Lilina? Alisha too? What’s wrong?”
“Lloyd-sama! If you fight too violently, the people pursuing us will discover our location!”
“Your skills are tremendously powerful, Lloyd-sama, but they also attract too much attention.”
Their words reminded me that I was a fugitive. Even my last strike had been excessive. My skills were so powerful that using them might announce our location to our pursuers.
Keeping my blade pointed at the monsters waiting for an opening, I spoke.
“You may be right, but what do we do about them?”
Lilina and Alisha moved in front of me.
“Lloyd-sama, you have us.”
“Please leave this to us, Lloyd-sama.”
With confident smiles, they readied their respective weapons.
Seeing their expressions, I quietly lowered my sword and smiled.
It seemed that this time I would have to devote myself entirely to Support.