Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 164

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Chapter 164 – A Bad Premonition

Ding… Dong…

“Mmm… Ngh! Good morning… No, morning…”

“Good morning. Loki, you’re up late. “

“No, no, I always wake up at this time. Have you been watching me all this time?”

“I was only watching because I had nothing to do.”

“…..”

A scene I’ve seen somewhere before.

When I woke up, I found Ria sitting on the chair with her legs dangling.

The door was locked, of course.

There really is no privacy.

“Yesterday the fight started and I didn’t know what was going to happen. Did Ria end up assisting me?”

“It wasn’t a fight. It was just a battle for supremacy. And I won.”

“I see… Well, thank you for your help. You’ve got hair stuck to your face. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Is it just my imagination that there are traces of her hair being grabbed?

I’m too afraid to ask her about the details of the battle to descend to the lower world.

“Hmm? It’s probably not as bad as Loki’s bed hair, so it’s okay.”

“Ah, my hair is horrible every morning too. I just wet it with water and straighten it, so let’s fix yours together.”

I’m staying at a budget inn that costs about 3500 yen for a one-night stay without meals.

They don’t have mirrors like they do on Hanfarest, so I fix my hair while looking at a mirror I brought from Earth, and while I’m doing that, I splash some of the water I made with magic on my face.

If I do it on the bucket I borrowed last night to dry off, I won’t have to go all the way to the inn’s yard, where there’s a well.

For some reason, Ria was just watching me, so I also used my wet hands to smooth her bouncing hair.

“Your hair is so beautiful and thin. I wonder what that strange hair texture is, like smooth or slippery?)”

“Are you done yet?”

“Yes, almost.”

“…Okay.”

Even though it was already fixed, I kept touching it for another 30 seconds or so, and then I had to stop moving because I wasn’t satisfied at all.

If I could, I’d like to keep touching it for about 300 minutes.

“We got cut off in the middle of our conversation, but you know what the goal is, right?”

“Yes. We’re looking for the people who didn’t come back and the axes they were carrying, right?”

“That’s right, both if you can. Oh, Ria, your Investigation level is 10?”

“It’s 10, but I have a higher Wide-Area Investigation. It’s level 8.”

“Buhyoo~. I don’t know anything about that skill!?”

She smirked.

I think she was a little smug, and her face was really cute.

I wanted to cheer her on and encourage her to do more.

Thank you, smug face. It’s a blessing to see that smug face.

“By the way, what is the range of that Wide-Area Investigation?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, that’s right! Well, let’s go for now.”

I guess there was little chance of using it in the divine realm.

I don’t know the details of skills I’m not interested in either, so I can’t say much about them.

If we experiment with different things in the secret base, the goddesses’ knowledge of skills will increase, which will be positive for this world.

I could even put the details of the skills in a book for myself.

But I don’t have that much paper.

Since it was just the two of us, we sneaked out of the inn, and Ria simply jumped between several buildings.

I put on my mask and used Flight to get to the roof of the inn, and then I figured out how to get to the location.

I had been looking forward to this moment.

The joy of being able to touch her body freely.

I never thought that we would fly out of Lipsum together, but if the goddess brings a search-type skill, then I’m in charge of flying.

In other words, we can fly while attached to each other.

Front or back?

I had to change the position of the basket depending on the answer, so I swallowed my saliva and checked which one she preferred.

I’m happy either way if it’s from behind.

But if I could, I’d like to hold her from the front.

So which one?

“From the back.”

“Tsk.”

“…..”

Since I cannot do anything, I hold the basket in front of me and empty my back.

“Here you go!”

As if to say, “Come on, get in!” I got into the position of carrying someone on my back and waited for Ria to get on.

Then I felt a strange sensation on my back.

Her hands were on my shoulders, but for some reason, I felt like the soles of her feet were attached to my back, not her chest.

What is this strange position?

Is she going to drop-kick me?

“Fly while keeping your body horizontal to the ground.”

“Huh?”

“Just do it.”

I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I knew that my shoulder would probably be torn off if I didn’t obey, so I put some strength into my legs and started to fly.

As I was told, I looked only at the ground, not forward, and I rose into the sky while lying face down.

I finally understood why Ria wanted me to be in this position.

“Hmm… that feels good.”

“I guess so. Or rather, I feel like a vehicle!”

Ria stands on my back, elegantly enjoying the wind.

I’m like a magic carpet.

To make sure her sandals don’t fall off while we’re flying, I take off her shoes and put them back in the basket.

My original plan to carry her in my arms or on my back has failed, and I’m not happy that the soles of her feet are the only point of contact between us.

In revenge, I shake her up and down and left and right as we’re flying.

If she fell, it would be a disaster, but I thought I was familiar enough with the controls to be able to pick her up if it happened.

Besides, I don’t think she would die if she fell. She’s a split body, after all.

“(Fuhaha! Enjoy the feeling of a roller coaster ride that probably doesn’t exist in this world! )”

With that in mind, I repeated the meandering and sudden ups and downs, but the person on my back seemed to be enjoying it all the time, with a kind of tension I don’t usually see.

It was a terrible story, considering I was trying my best to make her cry.

Well… in the end, as long as Ria was having a good time, I figured it was okay.

We began our search as we flew over the Biblons Marsh.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

About 30 minutes into the search.

“How’s it going?”

“There’s no response from either the axe or the name. Is Sepho, Rozzo, Amalie and then Wanze and Estelle, right?”

When I am asked this, I rummage through my pockets while flying.

I look at the piece of paper on which I’ve made a note to remind myself and tell her that there are no mistakes.

“As far as I can tell from the map and what I can see, I think we’ve pretty much covered the area called the Biblons Marsh. It’s all grassland from here on out.”

“Is it possible that they have left the marsh?”

“I don’t know. But it’s hard to imagine that a hunter would intentionally leave the route and get lost, and even if it was a high-level monster, it would usually be in the hunting grounds. If there weren’t any monsters, they wouldn’t be able to eat and get stronger.”

“Then maybe they’ve already been eaten?”

“To be honest, that’s what I think. But then why aren’t there any weapons lying around? The wife said she wanted to take at least one souvenir, so I thought I’d bring back any weapons or personal items we could find.”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Why don’t you try to go around the perimeter of the marsh?”

“I guess we should do that. If that doesn’t work, I’m sorry to the wife, but we’ll have to give up for today, as there’s no way to find them.”

Since Investigation Level 1 has a radius of 30 meters, Investigation Level 10 should definitely exceed 100 meters.

And if it’s even higher than that, with Wide-Area Investigation, it’s not strange to think that the range could be in the kilometer range.

With such a high level of skill, if we can’t finish mapping the swamp even after moving around so much, then there’s no choice but to conclude that they’re no longer in that area.

Even if they ask me for a reason, there’s no way I can understand the psychology of people I’ve never met, so I guess I’ll just have to tell Reimi-san honestly.

“Should we use other weapons for the search as well?”

“No, the other weapons are swords, daggers, and staff. These are the most commonly used weapons, so I think the hunters will be operating here soon, and people who normally carry these weapons will probably be caught.”

“I see… Oh, I found something.”

“Hmm? Did you find the axe too?”

“No, it’s Estelle and also… Amalie. They seem to be in the same place. Oh, I also found an axe, but I can’t find the name of anyone else.”

“Eh… Really? Then let’s go there first. Please guide me.”

“Okay. Just keep going straight across this marsh.”

What does that mean?

Estelle and Amalie… the only thing they have in common is their staff… and the fact that they’re both female members of the rear guard.

If that’s the case, where are the male members?

The timing of their disappearance was different, and if some of the different party members are still alive, it makes it even more confusing.

In terms of Flight time, it’s about five minutes.

The place Ria led me to was completely different from the area we were originally looking for.

If you follow the road that runs northwest from the western gate of Lipsum and turn west along the way, you will reach the Biblons Marsh.

For some reason, the location of the two people is marked on the east side of this road.

It was deep in the forest, where rocky mountains stood out and where monsters were not supposed to live.

Even from above, the view was of a jagged forest of coniferous trees, with many steep hills and cliffs with exposed gray rock surfaces.

Even at first glance, it seemed like a harsh environment for human activity.

“It is under the cliff-like place where you can see the rock surface. But it’s not outside. Inside?”

“Hmm? You mean we’re going inside the cliff?”

“I don’t know, but the reaction is deeper inside, not outside the cliff.”

“…..”

All sorts of things go through my mind.

The reaction is just for the women.

It’s a steep area that no one would notice, and it seems unlikely that anyone would come in here just for fun.

A person from another party who is in the same place for some reason――

“Hey Ria. If you try to search for ‘woman,’ do you get any other results?”

“Oh, lots. Probably over 20 in the same place.”

“Seriously?”

“Even if I search for ‘man,’ I get more than 10 results.”

“…..”

What should I do?

If my hunch is correct, I’m in for a scene I don’t want Ria to see.

To be honest, I don’t want to see it either.

But… I don’t think I can drag Ria into this and just go home.

And I don’t know how to explain it to Reimi-san.

Then, at least…

“Ria, I don’t think what lies ahead is very good, so it’s better to go back to the divine realm. Instead, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight, so let’s go eat something delicious.”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, so I’ll go alone for now…”

“…Loki, look this way.”

“?”

“Just do it.”

She’s asking me to turn my face to her, who’s sitting on my back. It’s a rather unreasonable request.

Since it’s physically impossible, I turn my body halfway and face her from the front, fitting her into the oversized basket.

“As I thought.”

“What?”

“Your face is twitching.”

“…..?”

It can’t be helped.

The ones who are most likely to become enemies from now on are those men, that is, humans.

If it were just words, it would be fine, but it could also turn into a fight.

Or rather, considering my appearance, I can’t help but think that this possibility is higher.

If possible, I would like to negotiate with them.

“You’re not willing to kill races, are you?”

“…..”

“If that happens, Loki will be in danger. Everyone told me to protect you if anything happens, so I can’t let you go alone.”

“B-but, you know? Even if it comes to a fight, I think I can suppress them, and if by chance I let Ria kill someone…”

“What are you saying? I’ve already killed countless races, you know?”

“Uh…?

“If I drop Divine Punishment, depending on the situation, a million or more people of a certain race will die. Even so, if I think this world will become a better place, I won’t hesitate. I’m much more prepared than Loki.”

I couldn’t help but gasp at her strong gaze.

But I’ll do it, too.

“…I think it’ll be okay.”

“Really? I’ll follow you either way.”

“E-even if it’s unavoidable, the goddesses can’t really interfere too much with the lower world, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, unless something really serious happens, just watch over us. If I’m going to live in this world, I’m sure I’ll run into problems like this in the future…”

“…..”

“Besides, I don’t really want to see Ria kill anyone.”

“…Yeah, I understand.”

After some discussion, we started our descent into the forest, a short distance from our destination, with Ria still in the basket.

If I’m wrong, so much the better.

If, for some reason, they’re only taking temporary refuge, then I can quickly rescue them and check on the men’s whereabouts.

With some hope for this possibility, I made my way to the cliff Ria was pointing at with her finger.

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