Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~-Chapter 319，Part2: 2 - Guidepost ②

Bad luck is always unreasonable. Incidents always come suddenly.

For example, a dragon carcass suddenly falls by the side of the road, a criminal who happens to be there mistakenly thinks you are one of his friends, or you suddenly crash into a legendary Treasure Shrine when you are just flying in the sky――And finally, begged by a Spirit People who is not supposed to be there and gave her the jewel you just received from Eliza.

After the break, we move forward as fast as possible.

Because the carriage was going at full speed on a rough road, the swaying of the carriage was already at a level where I couldn’t ride comfortably without my Relic.

I changed into my 『Perfect Vacation』 and pretended to lead the group atop the carriage.

The atmosphere among the group was terrible. Especially the line of sight from 《Starlight (Hoshi no Seirai)》, except for those of Kruz and Lapis, is the worst.

From their point of view, I handed over the treasure(?) of Spirit People to someone who appeared out of nowhere, so it is inevitable that they would stare at me.

I thought I could relieve some of their frustration by getting out in the open, but it doesn’t seem to be particularly effective.

Kruz, who is running alongside the carriage, says in dismay.

“Yowaningen, you really do crazy things out of the blue, don’t you, desu?” (Kruz)

“N-No…… I’m sure that was a Spirit. She called me human, and there is no way there is anyone other than us in a place like this.” (Cry)

In the first place, I got that from Eliza at the entrance to the forest. Who else would know about that besides us?

Alternatively, it could be interference from Yggdra’s Spirit People. I have heard that quite a lot of Spirit People who haven’t gone to the outside world hate humans, so how can I be sure that it is not a conspiracy of a small group of Spirit People?

Above all else, I tend to get caught up in conspiracies, aren’t I……

“Anyway, it will be bad if something happens, so let’s hurry up.” (Eliza)

Says Eliza, who is running alongside Kruz.

Eliza didn’t seem to be particularly angry at me even though I had lost the thing she had kindly given to me in a strange way. I feel as if she has already given up on me.

I guess she is used to it since I already showed her my uselessness when we first met.

I really always keep troubling everyone. I need to do a little self-reflection――.

The other party disappeared from the way we came. Even if we assume she is an enemy, it shouldn’t be difficult for us to reach Yggdra before her. We even have Eliza, who is actually communicating with Yggdra, with us.

Maybe because Anthem is leading the way and blazing the trail, no one approached us. Although he doesn’t have Liz’s speed, his physique stands out in the Party.

When he runs, the ground trembles, and dust rolls up. He can even go through the forest, knocking down the trees as he goes. But it is so violent and looks so evil, it is usually kept in check.

“………… But, is 《Immutable Permeance (Fudo Fuhen)》 …… Really human, desu?” (Kruz)

“This isn’t even him being serious.” (Cry)

“………… Eh?” (Kruz)

After all, he still seems to be careful not to destroy his surroundings…… When he really rampages, no one can get near Anthem.

Then, at that moment, Liz, who is looking in the direction where we are going and is standing on Anthem’s shoulder to avoid being stepped on by mistake, turns around and shouts.

“Cry-chan, something seems to be coming!” (Liz)

“………… Eh?” (Cry)

Something is coming……? What is coming?

Anthem is mild-mannered and sincere, but now that he has grown to such a huge size, he looks like a monster at first glance. The reason he has not caused a commotion in the Imperial Capital is simply because he has grown in proportion to his achievements since he came to the Imperial Capital, so everyone knows about him. Still, there are times when people from the outside make a fuss about him.

What in the world would come close to him when he is running like this? I could still understand if it was some Phantoms as they have no regard for their lives, but is there a Treasure Shrine around here?

………… No, is it the pick-up party? I am sure Eliza would have informed the other side about Anthem’s characteristics――.

“Anthem, stop here. Maybe they are the welcome party.” (Cry)

“Umu…… Hh.” (Anthem)

I shout loudly at Anthem. In response to my sudden request, Anthem lowers himself and brakes with agile movements that did not seem to fit his huge body.

The sudden stop leaves huge *zuruzuru* lines of footprints on the ground. The trees that were hit make a loud noise and fall down.

As usual, the scale of his movements is terrific.

When I nod admiringly, the trees and plants shake violently and the 『Welcome party』 appears.

What appeared is a strange creature.

It wears seamless navy blue armor and holds a sword in its hand. It is bipedal and has two large eyes on its full-face helmet-like head.

Moreover, it has compound eyes. Sytry frowns and mutters in a small voice.

“A Battle Ant……” (Sytry)

Indeed…… Now that you mention it, it certainly looks like an ant. Then, is the armor looking like thing its skin?

Anthem, who has stopped, and a Monster apparently named Battle Ant stare at each other. Behind it, several more Battle Ants appear.

They all have compound eyes on the top of their head and a hard and smooth epidermis. All of them are equipped with similar swords and uniformed armor.

Their appearance is different from any Monsters I encounter after entering this forest. Their appearance reveals both a fighting spirit and a certain intelligence.

No, is it really okay to call them Monsters――I hear that the Spirit People have a friendly relationship with the animals of the forest. It is possible that they are Yggdra’s guards, although they look pretty unusual……?

Just as I was thinking about this, the ant soldiers suddenly look at me. Even though Anthem is a better target, and Lucia and Eliza are also between me and Anthem, they are still looking at me, so after all they are the welcome party, huh.

I take a deep breath and speak from the top of the carriage with a big smile on my face.

“………… Thanks for coming, I have been waiting for you……” (Cry)

“…………” (Battle Ant)

“Huh? What do you mean by waiting, desu?” (Kruz)

Kruz opens her eyes widely. The *kirakira* sparkling compound eyes of the Battle Ants look at me.

And just as I was enthusiastically getting off of the carriage, out of nowhere, something flew out of the bushes behind the Battle Ants. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠

I couldn’t react at all. In front of me with wide-open eyes, Liz, who suddenly appeared in front of me, says while having an arrow and *purapura* twirling it.

Apparently, this is…… If my guess is correct, it looks like I was shot.

“Cry-chan, can I attack them? It seems there’s a lot of them. That’s what you mean by welcome party, right?” (Liz)

………… Huh? Could it be that they are just simple Monsters?

While a strange atmosphere is flowing around, Battle Ants appeared not only from the bushes in front of us but also from the bushes on all sides. It looks like we are surrounded.

The members of 《Starlight (Hoshi no Seirai)》 let out a small scream. I don’t know their exact number because the visibility is bad, but it seems there are at least several dozen of them.

Apparently, it is a Monster that forms a herd. Well, the Monsters do look like ants…… But they are very brave and daring ants to come close to us even though we have Anthem.

The Monsters slowly shrink the circle. After clearing my throat, I sit back down and say.

“Of-Of course, it’s fine. Anthem, it is just the right time, get serious and kick the crap out of them.” (Cry)

Thanks for reading!

Seeing a Battle Ant and thinking that it is the Welcome Party.

Well in a way, it is a welcome party

Tchao à plus!