Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~-Chapter 320，Part2: 2 - Drifting Road of the Divine Tree

We abandoned the carriage and moved forward as fast as possible while kicking off the swarming Battle Ants and other monsters.

The only thing that changed for me was whether I would ride on the carriage or on top of Mimic-kun, but now that we didn’t have the big luggage that was the carriage, there is no one who could stop the Anthem and the others.

They are brave and courageous. On top of that, this time we even have Lapis and the others who know a lot about forests. No matter how many troubles come my way, there is no way it would become that problematic.

As I watch from behind, *unun* nodding my head at my childhood friends who are going on a rampage, I suddenly hear a loud sound, and Anthem’s body, which has been leading the way, sinks to the ground.

“!? Anthem Onii-sama!?” (Tino)

“………… Aaaah, a pitfall, huh…………” (Cry)

In an instant, Anthem is buried head-deep in the ground and Battle Ants *zorozoro* appear in droves.

Apparently, they dug a hole ahead of us in the direction we were going and were waiting for us. There isn’t just Anthem, so just dropping him alone wouldn’t help them, but they are really clever Monsters.

Powerful soldiers appear, each with a weapon in their hand. For a moment, the place is filled with silence.

However, it is soon broken by a roar.

Mimic-kun *bakkon* takes a step backward as if it was under pressure. 𝚋ｅｄｎ𝚘𝚟ｅｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

The ground trembled and a giant jumped out of the hole with tremendous force. Anthem jumped.

He looks and is indeed very heavy, but he allocates most of his Mana Material to physical strength (His healing powers are also top-notch, but it is due to his efforts). He is by no means slow.

It is impossible to stop him with a pit. You can’t even bury him. Proof is, he has been buried before.

You can hear the *gushari gushari* crushing sounds of something hard being crushed.

Anthem jumps out and tramples the swarming ant soldiers, then swings his arms sideways and kicks the ants.

Neither the swords and spears of the swarming ants nor the rain of arrows shot from the shadows of the trees could break through his impenetrable defense.

I really don’t know which one is the monster anymore……

Even if the other party is sacrificial soldiers, as Sytry said, there are things in this world that can’t be managed with willpower alone. Well, there are some that can be managed, tho’――.

After knocking them down in one fell swoop, Anthem resumes his march as if nothing had happened. As expected, the Members of 《Starlight (Hoshi no Seirai)》 are shocked by this scene and their faces are pale.

When I suddenly look behind me, the road I passed is piled up with a large number of Monster’s corpses.

I kinda don’t want to go down this road when going home…………

When I am thinking about that, Anthem, who has been advancing without stopping until now, stops.

Eliza approaches me, who is straddling Mimic-kun.

She has a calm tone. Her somewhat absentminded eyes are looking at me.

“Kuu, we’re here……” (Eliza)

“Let’s see……” (Cry)

Eliza is the new girl in 《Strange Grief (Nageki no Borei)》, and although I didn’t specifically ask her to do this, she always puts me forward as Party Leader.

Well, it is not often that I accompany her on her adventure tho’――.

I get off Mimic-kun and head toward the direction Eliza is indicating. A large amount of rocks is at the other end of her finger.

No, they are not just rocks. It is clearly artificial. Although they are covered with moss, they are molded.

Eliza pulls out the guide from her chest and holds it up in front of her. The guide, tied to a string, spins around and points toward the gate, which had collapsed.

Lapis asks with a frown.

“We have finally made it here. So this is the gate of the Drifting Road of the Divine Tree…… It is falling apart――No, what happened to the pickup party in the first place?” (Lapis)

“I don’t know. They were supposed to wait for us here…… But in the first place, this…… It’s collapsed. It’s not normal.” (Eliza)

Eliza looks at me. What does she want from me?

If she was my childhood friend, I could imagine what she is thinking, but there are still things I don’t understand about her thoughts.

While I am making a thoughtful expression, for the time being, Kruz frowns her well-shaped eyebrows and says.

“However, if the gate collapsed, we wouldn’t be able to get in, right? Desu. Hey, Yowaningen?” (Kruz)

“No problem. The gate is just a landmark. As proof of that, the guide is pointing forward.” (Eliza)

“I’m glad we didn’t waste our time, but………… We are meeting someone, r’ght? What do we do? Cry-chan?” (Liz)

Well, that’s………… Something I have no idea of.

“………… Hu-Human…… No matter how you see this, this is your――” (Starlight Member 1)

One of Lapis’s companions behind her let out a shaky voice. Well, that’s normal to think that, isn’t it…… When I am thinking about that, Lapis stops her with a voice that sounded even worse than before.

“Stop it. Did you forget? As long as we belong in his Clan, we will show respect to the Clan Master――In other words, this man.” (Lapis)

“………… I know. My apologies, human.” (Starlight Member 1)

Her fellow Spirit People go silent in a huff. Lapis…… So you are still concerned about this.

But it is true that I did something wrong. I don’t know if the destruction of the gate and the absence of the pick-up party is the result of my mistake (Because there shouldn’t be any reason to destroy the gate), but we need to check the situation as soon as possible.

I take the guide that Eliza is holding, look around at everyone and say.

“……………… Anyway, let’s go inside.” (Cry)

However, Eliza and the others’ reaction to my badass declaration is unexpected.

With her eyes wide open, Eliza murmurs in astonishment.

“……………… Kuu……” (Eliza)

“Yo-Yowaningen, that’s――” (Kruz)

“!? Nii-san, wh-what did you do this time!?” (Lucia)

“Eh………… ??” (Cry)

Everyone’s eyes are on my hand. As I blink my eyes, I check the guide I have just taken.

The guide, which until the moment I took it had been perfectly still and stationary, is now *kurukuru* spinning around despite not having any wind.

I involuntarily stare in wonder.

“!? Huh? Why…….?” (Cry)

“As if we know, desu!” (Kruz)

Not knowing what to do, I return the guide to Eliza, but the rotation doesn’t seem to stop.

Don’t tell me………… It is broken? Even though I just hold it in my hand?

“………… Th-This is a very serious situation.” (Lapis)

“A-As expected of you, Cry-san……” (Sytry)

“Uuumu……” (Anthem)

The ever-smiling Sytry twitches her cheeks, and Anthem groans in resignation.

I, did I do something wrong? No, I did not. I, who do not have any talent to begin with, should not be able to do anything even if I tried to do something.

“………… Th-That must be a natural phenomenon, you know. Don’t they say that a compass can go crazy when you are in a place with a lot of mineral resources?” (Cry)

“That’s not a magnet, desu!” (Kruz)

No, well………… That’s right. In the first place, it was still until a while ago.

I let out a small sigh and take out the Compass-Type Relic from my pocket.

Then, after opening the lid and checking inside, I let out a deep sigh.

I knew it, the needle is pointing toward the gate………… Moreover, with the atmosphere right now, it is not like I cannot not go. On the contrary, I will die if I am left behind.

And either way, we have to go there to save Luke……

“Oh well, let’s get going right away. What shall we do about the formation…………” (Cry)

The road we are about to take is said to be a magical one. The ant Monsters will not appear either, so it might not be a good idea to let Anthem go on a rampage.

That said, I don’t want to leave it to Liz…… Our members, who love the unknown and often run out of control.

As I was about to start working as a Leader for the first time in a long time, Eliza steps forward and declares with an unusually serious expression on her face.

“………… Kuu, I’ll lead the way. This is not a game.” (Eliza)

Thanks for reading!

So Anthem has already been buried once… I wonder who tried to do that.

And Sasuga Cry, just taking the guide broke it. It couldn’t handle his destiny alteration power!

Tchao à plus!