Alesya (3)
Chapter 13
As Alesya ran down the slope, her hair stood on end at the horrifying sound coming from behind.
Amidst the thunderous noise of trees splintering and the ground being gouged, the cries of a beast could be heard intermixed.
In an instant, as the source of the cry drew near, Alesya turned between the dense trees, tears streaming down her face.
‘How can it chase so directly? Is Ray alright?’
Even if the situation had come to this, Alesya hoped that Ray was safe.
The thought crossed her mind that perhaps Ray had been pierced by the Wildboar’s tusks without a chance to resist, but she forced herself to forget such possibilities.
‘Beasts find it difficult to run downhill,’ Alesya recalled information from a book as she relied on it while running downhill and continuously changing directions.
Alesya’s judgment itself wasn’t wrong.
Indeed, the Wildboar was slower going downhill than uphill and once it gained speed, it couldn’t change direction easily.
However, despite these disadvantages…
The Wildboar was significantly faster and more agile than Alesya.
“Krrrrk!!”
“Hiiik!!”
At the sound behind her, Alesya screamed in panic and turned around.
The Wildboar, with its long tusks leading the charge, was already right in front of her.
Reactively, Alesya rolled to the side.
The Wildboar swept past where Alesya had been running and collided head-on with a thick tree.
Kwa-ga-jak!!
The tree, so large that an adult man would need to stretch his arms wide just to encircle it, shattered instantly and fell to the side.
Alesya, who had gotten up from the spot, clutched her wobbling legs.
There was no escape.
Even with good luck managing to avoid collisions a few times…
Her fragile body would undoubtedly be pierced through by the beast’s tusks within minutes.
“Hic! Hic!”
If there was no way to flee, then what remained for her?
At best, she could conjure a small fire magic.
Could that insignificant flame magic drive away such a massive beast?
She didn’t know. She had no idea.
While fleeing down the mountain, Alesya realized she had no choice when the beast’s hot breath tickled her scalp.
Mana vibrated.
Despite her blood pressure skyrocketing enough to make her vision go white, Alesya completed the spell with the intense focus granted by the extreme situation.
Turning around, she faced the beast charging toward her.
“Fire!”
“Krk?”
The Wildboar, with its left rear covered in flames, frantically shook its head as its black fur began to burn.
That small movement slightly altered the course of the Wildboar’s charge.
The massive body of the Wildboar narrowly missed Alesya’s frail form.
Tuuung!
“Kyaaack!!”
Though it merely grazed her, an enormous impact was transferred to Alesya.
Flying through the air, Alesya tumbled across the ground until colliding with a tree, after which she could not rise again.
The searing pain coursing through her entire body caused Alesya to bury her face into her knees and moan.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
The Wildboar slowly approached, sensing the helpless prey’s plea.
Enticed by the truly alluring scent of the prey, the Wildboar continued to sniff the air.
With the ground rumbling and the sound of the Wildboar’s breathing reaching her ears, Alesya covered her ears and muttered.
“Ray… Where have you gone leaving me here?”
“Krrr…”
The Wildboar opened its mouth wide, revealing its huge and sharp teeth.
Simultaneously.
Two thin cracks appeared in the space surrounding the Wildboar.
“Krk?”
Kwa-ga-ga-jak!!!!
A sword aura descended from the sky.
By the time the Wildboar noticed something amiss, the ground beneath it was already exploding in all directions.
Overwhelmed by the power of the sword aura, the Wildboar’s belly was torn open, spilling half of its innards outside.
In excruciating pain, the Wildboar let out a deafening roar.
“Kraaaak!!”
“There’s no better defenseless target than a predator distracted by its prey.”
Having returned the second sword to its sheath, Ray gripped the remaining sword with both hands and aimed it at the Wildboar.
“Monsters are beasts after all.”
*
When Ray found Alesya deep in the mountains, he was already quite exhausted.
He had chased the traces of the Wildboar to reach Alesya before it was too late, even using up the little mana he had left.
He no longer had the energy to unleash several sword auras to fight the Wildboar.
The power and stealth of the Leaping Sword Energy were remarkable, but Ray couldn’t control the delay as it leaped through space.
The Wildboar, sensitive to mana, would surely react to Ray’s presence the moment he unleashed the sword aura.
Ray couldn’t predict how the Wildboar would act upon detecting the sword aura, nor did he have confidence in hitting the wildly thrashing enemy with the Leaping Sword Energy.
Thus, he used Alesya as bait.
It was a risky move, but unavoidable.
“Not bad.”
Alesya was still alive, and the sword aura had struck the Wildboar.
Inwardly, Ray hoped the Wildboar would simply flee. Of course, the possibility of the ferocious monster obliging him was extremely slim.
“If you’re coming, come quickly.”
A faint blue light flowed from Ray’s sword.
Still fixated on Alesya, the Wildboar finally focused entirely on Ray.
“Krrk, Kraak!!”
Charge.
Even as it trailed its intestines, the Wildboar charged forward with glowing red eyes.
Ray moved his weary legs.
The duration he could maintain the sword aura was only 30 seconds.
Regardless, he needed to finish off the beast within that time for safety.
“Don’t get excited. The creature’s movements are simple, and I’ve already burst its toughest hide.”
Keeping an eye on the Wildboar charging straight at him, Ray timed his move.
The moment their distance closed to less than two meters.
Ray elegantly spun his body.
Though it seemed like he was turning in place, Ray had already stepped out of the Wildboar’s path.
Realizing too late that it had exposed its flank, the Wildboar tried to turn by kicking the ground, but Ray’s sword had already pierced through the split hide.
Pooook!
“Krrrrk!!”
The Wildboar began to thrash about, foaming at the mouth.
Hanging onto the tough fur of the flailing Wildboar, Ray swung his remaining hand to reverse grip his sword.
Continuously battered against trees and rocks due to the Wildboar’s struggles, Ray mechanically thrust his sword into the creature’s wounds.
Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
The initial firm feeling of the organs grew softer with each thrust.
Until the last flicker of the sword aura’s light, Ray did not rest his arm.
And thus, after 30 seconds.
When the amount of intestines spilled outside far exceeded what remained inside its body.
“Krr…”
The weakened Wildboar collapsed on the ground and breathed its last.
Kuung!!
Only after the massive body fell sideways did Ray touch the ground.
Rolling his body once, Ray sprawled out in a ‘大’ shape.
“Huff! Huff! Huff…”
For a while, Ray panted heavily.
The relief of victory made him feel like his consciousness might fade any moment, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
“I must get up. I have to get up.”
His heaving chest gradually calmed.
Coughing up blood, Ray rose and began to repeatedly stab the dead Wildboar’s belly.
Not for any other reason than to erase some of the ‘sword aura cuts.’
Since immediate recovery of the corpse was impossible, he planned to handle it later with the family’s help, but this was a precaution in case it was discovered by a third party.
‘I don’t know if it will work, though.’
Covered in blood from head to toe, Ray sheathed his sword.
The battle ended well. He won, so it was fine; he saved her, so it was fine.
Ray walked towards the spot where Alesya had curled up.
Covered in dirt all over, Alesya startled at the new sounds and trembled violently.
But soon.
Realizing the approaching footsteps were human and not a monster, Alesya cautiously opened her eyes.
Through her blurred vision, a familiar figure limped closer.
Speechless for a moment, Alesya soon burst into tears.
“Wahh… Wahhh… Wahhhh…”
Seeing Alesya’s disheveled face, Ray smiled.
“Alesya, do you know who I am?”
“Waaa… Uneducated commoner…”
“This girl hasn’t come to her senses yet.”
Giving her a light slap, Ray brushed off the dirt clinging to Alesya.
She seemed somewhat injured, but fortunately, nothing appeared broken.
After a brief moment of thought, Ray sighed and offered his back.
“Let me carry you.”
“Wahh… Wahhhh….”
Clutching tightly onto Ray’s neck and waist, Alesya buried her face in his back and continued to cry.
Though Ray was also utterly exhausted, they needed to move quickly.
If another monster came along here, Ray doubted he could protect Alesya as well.
“We’ll head towards Dinor. Not really Dinor, but the village with the orphanage is closer than the Manor. We need to get out of the mountains as fast as possible.”
“Waaaa…”
“Hey, are you listening?”
“Uneducated commoner… How dare you use me as bait… There’s no noble who’d be used as bait by a commoner…”
What? Did she find out?
Shuddering slightly, Ray cleared his throat and scolded Alesya unnecessarily.
“For one, who told you to wander around recklessly?”
“All commoners are liars…”
“Hey, I’ll really leave you here.”
“That can’t happen…”
Sniffling, Alesya clung even closer to Ray’s back.
*
Dawn broke.
Jack, while organizing his fruit stand for today’s sales, stopped mid-task and was startled to see two bloody figures walking towards him.
At first, he thought some ghost had appeared, but upon recognizing the face of the bloody figure carrying another, he sighed in relief.
Throwing an apple at Ray, Jack asked,
“Is that your blood?”
“Huff, huff… Mostly beast blood.”
Arriving at the fruit shop, Ray set Alesya down.
Even with her feet touching the ground, Alesya kept her face buried in Ray’s back.
Ray signaled with his hand.
“Apple juice.”
“Crazy bastard.”
Muttering under his breath, Jack nonetheless handed over a cup of apple juice.
Every time Ray brought an orphan here, giving them a cup of juice had become part of the routine.
Watching Ray console Alesya while feeding her the juice, Jack rested his chin on his hand and asked,
“So, where did you pick this one up?”
Upon hearing this, Alesya flared up.
“Watch your tongue, commoner. I am Alesya, the only beloved young miss of the Philips family!”
“…”
Still resting his chin, Jack received a comment from Ray.
“She hit her head, so she thinks she’s a noble. Just laugh it off.”
Jack pondered for a moment.
What were the chances that this ragged-looking girl was actually the young miss of the Philips family?
Probably about as likely as getting struck by lightning twice while walking down the street and surviving.
However, considering that the person who picked her up was none other than Ray…
Jack instinctively realized this kid could indeed bring home the young miss of the Philips family. Leaving the stall, he knelt on one knee.
“Forgive me, my lady, for my ignorance as a commoner who knows nothing of etiquette.”
“Hmm, hmm. Very well. It seems your eyes aren’t completely askew.”
Believing firmly that she was emitting a ‘noble aura,’ Alesya nodded approvingly.
Ray pleaded earnestly with a grimace.
“Could you keep this a secret for now?”
“Well… Sure. You don’t seem to have kidnapped her or anything. But what happened?”
“Saved her from almost dying after she climbed the mountain recklessly. The juice was delicious.”
“Alright. And take this. My wife said to give it to you, thanking you for helping the orphans.”
It was apple jam. After bowing slightly, Ray lifted Alesya back onto his back.
*
Ray took Alesya to the orphanage.
Unlike Jack, Adel immediately believed Ray’s claim that “she hit her head and thinks she’s a noble.”
Although Alesya threw a tantrum refusing to separate from Ray, she reluctantly entered the orphanage under Adel’s insistence for wound treatment.
Just as Adel was about to guide Alesya inside, she briefly looked back.
“Are you okay, Ray? You seem quite injured.”
Looking at Ray’s face, torn horizontally under the blood, Adel slowly nodded.
“Come by this afternoon. If you neglect it further, you’ll scar.”
Expressing his gratitude, Ray left the orphanage.
Heading straight to the office Jimmy once used within the red-light district, Ray found a bird with blue feathers.
Known as a Bridge, this bird with blue feathers was much smarter than ordinary birds and classified as a spirit animal.
Capable of distinguishing human faces and clothing accurately, it was used as a messenger bird in this world.
Considering that the person who gifted this Bridge to Jimmy was none other than Count Philips, it was evident that Jimmy wasn’t just any leader of the dark guild in the count’s territory.
“To the count… What should I write… Ah, my focus isn’t clear.”
Just keep it simple.
The count would understand the context of having his runaway daughter protected.
On a side note, Ray had searched the entire day in the mountains, exhausted his mana and strength fighting the monster, and spent the night bringing Alesya to the orphanage.
Lacking the ability to compose a proper long sentence, Ray created the most concise message in his dazed state.
[The runaway Alesya is in my care.]
“…”
Though the nuance seemed slightly off, Ray stubbornly proceeded to the next line.
His handwriting was wavering between appearing as one or two characters, and he couldn’t hold the pen much longer.
Charlotte would have conveyed the previous details anyway.
[You can find her at Jimmy’s orphanage. If you visit directly, bringing a mage would be appreciated.]
Given the current situation, Ray intended to invite a mage to the orphanage to observe if any child caught the mage’s eye.
Requesting a mage since he’d helped find the runaway daughter wasn’t excessive, but writing it in the letter instead of asking in person indicated Ray wasn’t in his right mind.
[From Jimmy.]
Typically using Jimmy’s name, Ray attached the letter to the Bridge’s leg.
The moment he sent the Bridge flying, Arno burst into the office.
Respecting Ray due to his long association with Jimmy, Arno refrained from treating him casually.
“Hey, Ray. Your face is a mess. Your originally dirty look has gotten worse.”
“It’s… nothing serious. Rather, can you assign a few discreet family members? There’s a body… no, wait, a demon corpse that needs retrieval.”
“That’s going to be tough.”
Arno tapped the equipment tied to his waist and continued.
“It’s an emergency situation right now.”
“Emergency…?”
“Following Jimmy’s notice last evening, all family members except essential personnel have headed to the Manor. The soldiers too. From what I hear, it’s a search operation. Since things aren’t going well, they’ve called even the last remaining officer, me.”
Stopping his movements, Ray groaned.
“Search operation?”
“Yeah, a search operation. Don’t know who they’re looking for, but there’s talk of searching the Sigini Mountain Range. Dangerous place.”
“You might want to skip it.”
“What?”
Without answering Arno’s question, Ray sat in the chair and stared out the window.
The Bridge had already soared high into the sky and disappeared from view.
“Ugh, maybe I should’ve signed with my own name.”
Considering that Jimmy and the entire family were mobilized, it seemed the situation had escalated more than expected.
Thinking about Jimmy being summoned by the count amidst searching the Sigini Mountain Range, Ray hung his head.
Kuung!
“Eh? Ray? Ray! Snap out of it!”
Seeing Ray collapse onto the desk, Arno rushed over immediately.
