Chapter 572 – The Dolls’ First Battle
Tauro and his party were making their way at their usual pace toward the village at the foot of the Antas Mountain Range.
Partway there, Tauro, who was walking at the front, suddenly reacted.
“Seth and the others have arrived at the village. I’ll have them deploy to a distance so they can observe the place without alarming the villagers.”
Since Tauro was sharing vision with the child-type autonomous golem Seth, he looked as though he were simply staring blankly into the sky as he spoke.
“That was fast. So what’s the damage like?” Ankh asked.
“Hmm… The whole village seems to be surrounded by a fence, but… parts of it are broken. Wait a second—let me switch to Adam and Eve’s vision.”
Muttering things like “Oh! That’s convenient!” and “Seth moved them? Nice call!” Tauro began speaking animatedly to himself.
Apparently, Seth had, on his own, decided to split up Adam and Eve to different places in order to observe the village from multiple angles
“Lord Tauro, what does it look like?” Zion asks about the state of the village that only Tauro can see.
“Oh, sorry. Seth’s observing the village from outside right now… Hm? Two monsters I don’t recognize are approaching? Which ones? Ah… those. They look like wolf-type monsters at first glance… but I’ve never seen fur like that. A black wolf with red streaks along its back… I’ve never heard of one like that.”
As he answered Zion, Tauro gradually became absorbed in communicating with Seth, turning into someone who looked like he was enthusiastically talking to himself.
“…Tauro, this ability makes you look really insane. Don’t use it around people other than us,” Aeris sighed, looking at Tauro as he was drawing in the air and talking to himself.
“We’re heading there right away, but I’ll leave it to your judgment for now, Seth. —Hm? Aeris, did you say something?”
Tauro seemed to have cut off the mental link, as he now responded properly.
“Never mind. A monster’s appeared in the village, right? Let’s hurry.” Aeris somehow grasped the situation from Tauro’s mutterings and responded.
“Right. Everyone, Seth and the others have encountered monsters. Let’s move!”
Tauro held out his hand.
“…We’re not doing that again, are we?” Ankh grimaced.
“Please tell me you’re joking, Tauro…” Aeris added wearily.
“…How about we just enhance our agility with magic and run?” Ragune suggested.
“Y-yes! Tauro-sama, I can boost everyone’s speed with my magic!” Zion chimed in.
“Guys… you really think I’m going to use Instant Teleportation the flying-and-falling way again? This time, I’m using Seth’s shared vision of the village as an image reference. It’ll be safe.”
He smiled wryly at their desperate expressions.
By sending Seth ahead and sharing his vision, Tauro could form a clear image of an unfamiliar location—making teleportation far easier and safer.
“For real?” Aeris asked again.
“Seriously?” Ankh pressed.
Ragune and Zion nodded in agreement.
“Enough already—grab hands! Seth and the others are engaging in combat!”
Tauro hurried everyone to form a circle, they held hands, and rushed to the village by “teleportation”.
“…Nice, Seth.”
They arrived in the forest just outside the fenced village—the last location Tauro had shared with Seth.
Before them lay the aftermath of battle.
At the feet of Seth, Adam, and Eve were two large wolf-type monsters, each pierced through the throat by swords.
“Let me appraise them with True Eye before hearing the details… Hm. Bloodsucking Wolves? a new species of monsters forcibly created that feeds on blood and flesh… This is also a new species. So how was it Seth?”
Seth can also share his thoughts with Tauro, so he began a mental exchange with him.
Seth’s animated gestures as he explained were oddly adorable.
“They used illusion magic on the villagers? I see… According to Seth, these two Bloodsucking Wolves entered the village, cast illusion magic to prevent the villagers from escaping, and were about to attack. They intervened, coming to their aid. After fighting, when the wolves realized they couldn’t win and tried to flee, Adam and Eve—who were waiting outside—finished them here. Is that right?”
Seth nodded vigorously.
“Seth, that’s amazing!” Aeris exclaimed, hugging him.
“For a first battle, that’s an outstanding result,” Ankh said, ruffling Seth’s head.
“At this rate, we won’t have any work left. Hahaha!” Ragune laughed in admiration.
“I won’t lose either!” Zion declared, oddly competitive.
“If they use illusion magic, that explains why all the Adventurers’ Guild reports were inconsistent.”
Tauro had already considered that illusion magic might be involved when reviewing the guild’s documents. It was strange how none of them had any common factor.
“So they’re the illusion-type monsters Ragune struggles with, huh?” Ankh teased.
“I told you I’ve already overcome that weakness!” Ragune snapped.
Ragune had once struggled with illusion magic, but during their training in the Dragon’s Den, she had been the first to overcome it.
“Ankh, stop it. That’s in the past,” Aeris—who had once been injured due to illusion magic, cuts in to defend Ragune.
“Alright, alright. Still, since Seth’s a doll, status-effect magic doesn’t work at all. That’s a huge advantage.”
Ankh apologized, thinking he might’ve taken the joke too far, and returned to praising Seth.
Seth puffed out his chest proudly.
“Haha! Alright, everyone—let’s cure the villagers affected by the illusion magic and wrap up this quest.”
With that, Tauro led the group toward the village.