My Reincarnation Skills Are “Playing With Dolls” and “Playing With Clay”, but What Am I Supposed to Do With These? C219

Episode 219: And then there was no one left... except us. 

I don't know what happened, and I don't know who appeared. 

It would be too dangerous to just head towards Gotham and the others in the dark. 

"Master, Carmilla is going alone. It's safest."

However, since Carmilla said so, Lucien seemed to be thinking the same thing. 

"Wait, I'm sure you won't find me in the darkness either."

It was Eva who said it. 

I see, there's a skill called "dark assimilation"... but. 

"No, I'll have Carmilla, who has turned into a wolf, carry Scout's Lina doll. If the situation arises, I will turn Lina into a life-sized wizard, so please return to human form and hug me. Then the two of us can teleport."

"Sure, that's good. Without Shiro to organize the party, I can't carry the two of you and fly."

As soon as Lucien agreed, Carmilla changed and jumped out, holding Lina in her mane. 

"It's not that I don't trust Eva-san."

I will follow Nolte as well. 

"It's quickest to run Carmilla in her wolf form, and I've had that duo do some dangerous infiltration several times, so I'll also ask Eva to do some other forms as well."

Fortunately, Eva doesn't seem to mind. 

"No, I'm the one who made you worry. Everyone has different skills, and I quickly learn each other's special skills."

"I'm scared of the spirit... It's flying through the sky, and it seems like it's going away."

At Lucien's words, I took out Comorin and released it into the night sky. 

These poor flying homunculi are unintentionally called bats and flying squirrels, but how well can they grasp the situation at night? 

However, after Comorin took off, my map skill began to show information other than what Carmilla and the others sensed when forming a party, so it certainly doesn't seem like I can't see anything at all. Do you have good night vision? 

The skill map shows at least one white dot in the direction where Gotham's tent should have been. 

And...this is it! A large red dot is moving away at a considerable speed. 

As it moved, the small red and white dots scattered around it... monsters and animals, I guess... started to move away from it, as if in a panic. 

The big red dot soon disappeared from the map. 

(Shiro! There is a survivor, only one person knows)

"Lina, there's only one white dot on your map skill. If you can cure it, treat it. There's no big red dot nearby anymore, so tell the monk to 'dress up'!"

(Okay, let's start the rescue operation.)

Who was saved? 

While making sure there were no more enemies around, we conveyed our understanding of the situation to Willem, who was able to communicate with us by long distance. 

After treating the person who could be saved, I was able to turn Lina back into a wizard, so I used ``Return to Home'' to collect her, reorganized my party, used teleportation magic, and joined Carmilla who remained at the scene. 

"Master, it's this way. Female mage, it's okay, you're awake."

What I was guided to was not the burnt remains of a tent, but the shade of a large tree about 100 meters away. 

When I rolled the "Thunder Element" around and used it as a light, I saw that all I was wearing was carbonized rags stuck to my body, but the bleeding had been stopped and the life-threatening injury seemed to have been healed. . There is also consciousness. 

However, he still hadn't recovered from the shock and was in a daze. 

I took out a water bag from the item box and gave it a drink. 

At first, my hands were shaking and I kept spilling it, but when I put my mouth to it and managed to swallow it, I finally took a deep breath. 

"It's okay now, the monster is far away."

Nolte speaks softly. 

The female mage seemed to have regained her composure a little after being talked to by the small and young-looking Nolte. 

<Kristen human female 39 years old magician LV13>

Her long brown hair was tied up when I saw her during the day, but now it's spread out. 

It wouldn't be strange for people around 40 in this world to have grandchildren if they were young enough, but apart from the fact that they look like they're about to die and are haggard, they look quite young and triumphant. 

"Ah, thank you. Isn't that the monk over there?"

Seeing that Lina is now in wizard mode, she seems confused. 

"Ah, this is Lina, she's one of our members, but she's a little special so don't worry about it."

That's not an explanation. But there are things more important than talking about it. 

"My members..."

That's right. 

"It's unfortunate, but we were able to confirm that he was alive..."

"As expected... you don't need to be careful. I was the only one who managed to escape by teleporting over a short distance."

There was silence for a while. 

"Bart...my ninja yelled for me to wake up, and I was in the tent next to him, so I jumped up right away. I knew it was going to be dangerous right away, so I put up a barrier, but it didn't seem to have any effect after that guy found me." .In fact, it probably attracted attention due to its magical power, so it came towards me.''

Once the female mage began to speak, her words were specific. 

"Everyone jumped out of their respective tents, and when they saw Balto shouting about it, there was a huge fireball? No, I can't really describe it in words. Anyway, it was engulfed in flames in an instant, and even while Gotham was buffing up... If I didn't have that, I wouldn't have had time to form a party since Balt is a former adventurer."

"However, my magic shield barely made it in time. After all, even though I was mowed down, I wasn't instantly killed."

　

"But the two slaves who couldn't fit into the shield were blown away in an instant."

"Gotham was screaming and we wanted him to treat the burns all over his body, but when he started screaming, we saw that he had lost an arm and we couldn't even stand up, but then it came back again. Or, once again, more crimson flame than before erupted, filling my field of vision... "Organize! ” he shouted, but Balto was trying to hide, and even though he couldn't see it and it didn't make any sense, he was still upset... 

"I've been transferred. That's why it's just me. Forsake everyone..."

At the end, he smiled bitterly, mocking himself. 

"So... what was that other person?"

We asked what everyone wanted to know most. 

Kristen's face instantly twisted in fear. It was as if uttering those words would bring forth another disaster. 

"At first it was dark and all I could clearly see was the flames, but then I saw him land in the distance for a moment, groaning in pain as he metastasized...I wondered what he was doing... Then, it swallowed the burned slaves whole and immediately flew away. So, I did see a dragon. There was no doubt that it was a frighteningly large one, like an ancient dragon."

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Kristen gave the same explanation again to the guild party that had joined us, and Lina's long-distance message informed the Kuretski and others' party who were awake but preparing to move in the dark. 

When we investigated the ground around the tent, we found the remains of a sword and a torn arm belonging to one of the lizardmen, and the area around it had caved in unnaturally. Does that mean a dragon landed here? If so, it's really big. 

Much better than the Earth Dragon we defeated in Parthea's Labyrinth. 

Then, Kristen rested in our tent where there were a lot of girls, and I took out my solo tent and went back to bed with Dog as my companion. 

As dawn broke, everyone searched for Gotham's bodies, or rather, their remains, dug a simple grave, and buried them. 

Combined with Kristen's testimony, it seems that the first breath was not good enough, and was intended to be burned to death in order to be eaten. And the second time, mercilessly, to turn those who remained into charcoal. 

Even if you rise to the level of a senior adventurer, if you run into one misfortune, the end will be a disaster. 

The hatred and hatred of the guy in Gotham was really unpleasant, but after seeing it like this, I realized that I should not do anything beyond my ability, and be even more careful so as not to die prematurely. There was a part of me that felt strangely satisfied with it. 

After praying, Willem suggested canceling the investigation. 

The party that was supposed to be the main force and had multiple senior positions had collapsed, and no one was against it. 

"Then, as soon as we're ready to evacuate, let's pull up."

After saying that, we went back to packing up our respective tents. 

"Shiro, are you okay?"

It was at that time that Lucien and Carmilla spoke to me. 

Nolte and Eva are folding up the tent. 

"Hmm? What happened?"

"Carmilla says she remembers it."

“What do you remember?”

Unusually, the werewolf girl, who always seems so natural, has a look on her face like she doesn't know what to say. 

"You know, Master... Carmilla, I'm not exactly sure."

I feel like Carmilla's verbal communication skills have improved considerably since she leveled up the other day. 

"I think I know that smell."

"What's the smell?"

"The smell of the dragon remained..."

If the monster Kristen was talking about was really a dragon, it would have landed for a moment, and its scent would have remained on the ground around it. 

“I thought that was the dragon that attacked Carmilla and her group, and killed the chief and mother...”

　What!? ? 

"But...the scent of a dragon might be similar. The only other person that smells is that earth dragon. But I'm sure that dragon. Carmilla's, I think."

Carmilla's eyes looked unusually determined and sad. 

A dragon that can instantly destroy a party of senior officials. Perhaps it's comparable to or even better than the Demon King's followers or the Vampire Queen? It might be a monster. 

That's what parents do... 

But the story wasn't over yet. 

“Carmilla, isn’t there another one?”

Carmilla was startled when Lucien poked her. 

"That's right. You see, Master, there is something else important."

“Is it important?”

"Yeah, I think it's a werewolf."

"Eh?"

　I suddenly couldn't see the story. 

"Hey, Shiro, another party has been attacked..."

Lucien sent out a rescue ship. 

Before I knew it, Eva and Nolte also stopped and gathered nearby. 

"By any chance, the one who attacked the adventurer school group's party first?"

"Yes, it smelled like a werewolf. It might also be the smell of a werewolf I know..."

It doesn't seem to be certain, but maybe Carmilla will finally have a chance to be reunited with her own kind, or even an acquaintance. 

It's hard to understand that they attacked humans, but at least they didn't kill or eat them, and they didn't seem to have any intention of doing so, so the possibility of them forming a friendly relationship is not zero. 

Besides, if they attacked and killed local residents, they might be targeted for subjugation, but so far, the ones causing damage to the settlers are fire breath dragons, not werewolves. 

The only people the werewolves hurt were adventurers who came of their own volition to earn money, and it can be said that the adventurer business comes with risks to life... 

Now, what kind of story should we talk about with Willem and the guild group? 

In the end...we parted ways with Willem and the others just before noon, and headed further east along the old road. 

To begin with, we are adventurers belonging to the Elzark Kingdom. 

I was introduced to this quest by His Royal Highness Alfred, the grandson of the Emperor, and since it was in the same direction as returning to my homeland, I joined it. And since the guild declared the end of the investigation quest, I decided to head back home...that's the logic behind it. 

Even if by chance, while returning home, I encountered a monster related to the completed quest, that would be a different story. 

We haven't been asked to find the culprit who hurt the adventurers. Maybe I'll come across it by chance. 

"However, there is a very high possibility that we won't be able to pass through the old road. Is that okay? Shiro."

“If you want to return to Erzark by any other route other than this route, you have to pass through the southern countries that are at war, so it can't be helped. I'll even ask for permission to let you pass among the crowds.''

"Well, if that's the case...be very careful."

With that said, Willem and the rest of the guild pulled up together with the injured Kristen and Kletski's party. 

It seems that the daily prorated reward will be transferred to the guild account with some color. 

It can be said that the investigation by the adventurer's guild had a certain degree of success, as we were able to obtain important information about the appearance of a huge fire-breathing monster that looked like a dragon. 

And then, there was no one left... except us.