The mountain where the god Kusanagi’s shrine was located was called a sacred mountain in Yamato.
It was a mountain of a height Rio and the others had never seen before. Moreover, it was surrounded by vast forests.
They had received a map from the king of Yamato, so there was a path, but since hardly anyone used it, it was little more than an animal trail.
“We have to get through this forest and climb that mountain?”
Dominique, who lacked confidence in her physical strength, was in despair. The forest stretching before her was no ordinary forest. Tall trees grew densely, completely rejecting human presence. Moreover, incessant cries of what could be animals or monsters echoed from within.
“Yeah, that’s how it is. By the way, the people of Yamato Country said this forest is called the Great Sea of Trees. If you get lost, you might never come out, so be careful, okay?”
Trao spoke casually, but Dominique’s face contorted upon hearing this. Why did they have to enter such a labyrinth-like forest?
She had been worried about Rio, but now there was a possibility that she might die in this sea of trees as well.
“L-let’s do our best!”
Lilith tried to encourage her dejected companions, but their expressions remained gloomy.
“Well then, Rio, wear this,”
Trao said, taking out a small pouch from his item bag and handing it to Rio.
Rio accepted it without thought, but her face twisted at the smell wafting from the pouch.
“What is this?”
“It’s a scent bag. It has the effect of attracting monsters. Go ahead with it. Lots of monsters will come out. Do your best to defeat them,”
Trao answered cheerfully.
(Why do we need to fight monsters by luring them?)
Rio thought this but silently tied the scent bag to her waist.
Rio had been prepared when Trao told to “try your hardest as if your life depends on it,” and she was aware that leveling up was essential to defeat the Demon King’s army.
Lilith and Dominique began casting support magic on Rio without a word.
Trao said,
“That scent bag is quite expensive, so take good care of it, okay?”
(I wish you’d care more about my life than the scent bag.)
Swallowing these words, Rio put on a helmet she didn’t usually wear and advanced fully armed.
As she stepped onto the narrow, treacherous path of the sea of trees, the presence of monsters immediately drew near. Rio unsheathed her sword, preparing for battle.
There was a rustling sound overhead. Not just one or two.
(Here they come!)
Something leaped at Rio from the treetops.
At first glance, it looked like a monkey, but its size was close to that of a human.
It was a monster called the Yamato Ape. Rio was aware of its existence from information she had been given beforehand. It was a monkey-type monster that inhabited Yamato Country in large numbers. It had no special abilities but was strong and quick. And it moved in groups.
Rio swung her sword, cutting down the Yamato Ape that had leaped at her.
The fallen monster’s body was covered in short, gray fur, with a ferocious bright red face and sharp, large hooked claws.
Looking back, she saw Trao and the others being attacked by Yamato Apes at a distance.
Trao was easily defeating the Yamato Apes attacking Lilith and Dominique, as if shooing away insects. As expected of an S-rank adventurer, even if he was a merchant. His skills were impressive.
(I have to do my best too!)
The Yamato Apes were lurking in the forest, so their numbers were unclear, but it seemed they were completely surrounded. Multiple threatening screeches could be heard.
After a brief tense moment, the monsters attacked all at once.
Rio desperately swung her sword. However, undeterred by her sword, the evil apes relentlessly attacked with their hooked claws. Some of them grazed her armor, making an unpleasant high-pitched sound.
Rio was wearing lightweight, highly defensive Mithril armor. If she had been wearing her previous leather armor, she might have already taken considerable damage.
For this journey, Garnet had completely renewed their equipment. Trao had unusually not been stingy and bought new equipment.
“I don’t want to get kicked out of the party because of secondhand equipment again,” he had said.
It seems even a stingy merchant can reflect sometimes.
(Good equipment really does make a difference.)
The sword he was wielding was also made of Mithril, and it was engraved with ancient characters, imbued with magical power. Thanks to this, he could cut down the Yamato Apes without exerting too much strength.
(I can do this! At this rate, I might be able to defeat all these monsters…)
Just as Rio was confident of victory, the screeching voices multiplied, echoing from all around.
More Yamato Apes had gathered, attracted by the sounds of battle. Perhaps the scent bag was having an effect too.
(There are… too many!)
Rather than attacking, the monsters now seemed to be enveloping Rio.
Right in front of her face, a Yamato Ape bared its fangs. The indescribable stench of the beast assaulted her nose.
Rio spun her body like a spinning top, blowing away the apes, then kicked off the ground and leaped. Staying in one place would be disadvantageous.
Deciding she couldn’t involve Lilith and Dominique against this number of monsters, Rio advanced further and further down the path.
Rio repeated a pattern of slashing and running, slashing and running.
Rio couldn’t remember how many she had cut down, nor how far she had run. Rio didn’t even know how much time had passed.
But there seemed to be no end to the monsters. In this vast sea of trees, there might as well be as many Yamato Apes as there are stars in the sky.
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Rio fought on with all her might. Her body seemed to move on its own now. The Yamato Apes also began to fear Rio, becoming hesitant to approach carelessly.
But suddenly, she felt an impact on her head. The pain was felt even through her helmet.
A stone had rolled to her feet.
It was a thrown projectile.
The Yamato Apes, realizing the disadvantage of close combat, had started throwing stones from the treetops.
(This is…)
There was no way to counterattack. All she could do was keep moving to avoid being an easy target, but she had already reached her limit of fatigue.
Even if she tried to hide behind trees to wait it out, stones rained down from above the very trees she hid behind.
It was like a nightmare.
(Am I going to die here?)
The thought of death flashed through Rio’s mind.
After aiming to defeat the Demon King, was she going to die fighting monkeys? In the first place, if she was going to lose to monsters like these, there was no way she could have defeated the Demon King.
As her spirit began to break, strength drained from her body. Even avoiding the stones became a chore.
(This might be it for me.)
Just as he was about to give up, he caught sight of Trao at the edge of her vision.
“Senpai…”
Trao picked up a stone from the ground and threw it towards the treetops.
It looked like he had thrown it lightly, but the stone cut through the air with a whistling sound, flying at incredible speed. Then, with a short scream, a Yamato Ape fell from the treetop.
It was bleeding from the head. The stone must have hit it directly.
Trao picked up more stones and threw them one after another. And from each place he threw, Yamato Apes fell in succession. His control and power were incredible.
This was the skill of an S-rank. Rio had heard that in place of using magic, Trao had trained to use all kinds of weapons and tools, but she hadn’t expected him to be able to handle mere stones to this extent.
Sensing the danger from Trao’s appearance, the Yamato Apes began to flee in panic.
“Senpai!”
Rio embraced Trao.
“You came to save me, didn’t you?”
Calmly thinking about it, this situation was brought about by Trao, but Rio was still happy that he had come. Above all, experiencing Trao’s strength up close had strengthened her feelings for him.
What a reliable person. There could be no mistake in following this man.
Rio’s arms tightened around Trao. She felt she never wanted to let go.
However—
“That’s not it,”
Trao said cheerfully.
“…Huh?”
“I thought you might be tired by now. So I brought you a potion.”
In Trao’s hand was a potion that could heal injuries and restore physical and mental energy. It was also rumored to dispel sleepiness, making it a top-grade item among adventurers who said it allowed them to fight for 24 hours straight.
///
///
“If you drink this, you should be able to fight for a while longer, right? Do your best, okay?”
Rio couldn’t quite understand the situation. Or rather, her mind refused to understand it.
Rio stared blankly at the potion handed to her.
“Um, am I supposed to drink this and fight again?”
“That’s right. To get stronger in a short time, you need to do at least this much. I don’t usually buy this potion because it’s not cost-effective, but…”
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