IDDYD 14

Chapter 14

Aiden, who had been looking over the list next to her, nodded at Alice’s words.

He tilted his head slightly to the side and spoke.

“It must be that person, right? The outsider who stayed at the inn briefly.”

The outsider he was talking about was the person Emma had mentioned when Alice asked if there had been any suspicious individuals.

“I suspected him at first. He was a guest who stayed at our inn about two weeks ago. On the first day he arrived, he was busily going somewhere, even going outside the village. But after the knights started staying at the inn, he just holed up in his room.”

“So you’re saying he didn’t go out at all after the knights arrived?”

“Yes, and then once the knights left, he came out again. He even asked my husband if he could get a ride in our carriage since they were going the same way. Up until then, I thought maybe he was just afraid of the knights. But after that day, when my husband didn’t return, I started to think this man might have done something.”

“…….”

“Ah, but since that person left the village, people have continued to disappear, so I thought maybe I was unfairly suspecting him. He might be a victim like my husband too…….”

Even though Emma said that, the most suspicious person at the moment was that outsider.

“There might be an accomplice who helped that outsider cause the disappearances.”

Alice, crossing her arms, tapped her own arm with her finger.

Finding out who the culprit was important, but the biggest problem they needed to solve now was how this disappearance incident was carried out. Even if there was an accomplice, taking someone outside the village without anyone noticing was nearly impossible, according to common sense.

“……What if they weren’t taken out directly?”

Then, an idea flashed through Alice’s mind. The village of Sierre was very close to the Saint Mountains, which were said to have a sense of demonic energy.

Demonic energy was a very dangerous substance that clouded people’s minds, causing them to slowly face death within it. What if the missing people were lured by the demonic energy of the Saint Mountains…?

Having finished her thought, Alice looked towards the mountains spreading behind the village and spoke.

“We need to go to the Saint Mountains right now.”

* * *

“Do you know why no demon beasts have come from the Saint Mountains until now?”

Alice said as she walked towards the mountain range.

“Holy power emanates from the Saint Mountains themselves.”

“……Really?”

“Yeah. Demons are originally vulnerable to holy power, right? So they can’t withstand the holy power coming from the mountains and run away. Of course, the holy power from the mountains is probably less than that of a priest, but it’s enough to repel a demon. That’s why the Saint Mountains are also called the blessed land. But why were traces of demon beasts found there…? Ah.”

Alice, who had been diligently explaining the characteristics of the mountain range, suddenly realized something and looked back at Aiden following her.

“What about you? You’re a demon too. Even if a demon beast appears, as long as the holy power of the Saint Mountains remains, you’d be affected too……”

No, wait. If Aiden is affected by holy power, wouldn’t that actually be good? Alice stopped, remembering her own goal of sending demons back to the demon world.

Aiden, who seemed to have guessed roughly what she was thinking, let out a disbelieving laugh and said.

“‘We absolutely will not do anything that threatens each other’s safety.’ You haven’t forgotten our contract, have you?”

“I was just thinking. Just thinking.”

Alice avoided his eyes as she answered. Finding her expression both absurd and amusing, Aiden let out a stifled laugh. Returning to a serious expression, Alice muttered.

“Why don’t you stay here instead of going up the mountains? It could be dangerous for a demon.”

“I’m fine.”

“What is? Being affected by the mountains’ holy power?”

“Not that. Actually, I can handle being exposed to a certain level of holy power without much problem.”

What kind of statement was that? Seeing Alice’s bewildered expression, Aiden tapped his sword and added.

“I’m a Sword Master.”

Does becoming a Sword Master also grant the power to withstand holy power? She had never met a Sword Master in person, so she wasn’t sure, but if he said he was fine, then so be it.

Alice nodded, saying she understood, and started walking again.

“This is the Saint Mountains.”

Alice spoke as they arrived at the foot of the mountains. In her hand was the rough map she had received from Neil.

“Traces of demon beasts were found around here… So we should go this way.”

Alice walked forward while comparing the rough map to their location. The place where the demon beast traces were found was near the center of the mountain range, so they had to walk a bit more from where they were.

“I still don’t sense any demonic energy or anything.”

Alice tilted her head. To suppress the holy power of the Saint Mountains, there would need to be equally strong demonic energy, but right now she couldn’t even sense a subtle flow of it.

Aiden asked Alice.

“What about the mountains’ holy power?”

“Well… I think a priest would have to come in person to know.”

Holy power was almost the exclusive domain of priests who devoted themselves to the temple. It was difficult for her, a mage, to detect if there was anything wrong with the mountains’ holy power.

However, they couldn’t just wait for the temple’s investigation team to come all the way to the mountains, so Alice decided to continue investigating a bit more.

Finally arriving at the location marked on the rough map, Alice put the map into her spatial ring and looked around.

On the rock in front of them was a large mark, as if something had scraped past it.

“So this is what Captain Neil was talking about.”

Alice muttered as she ran her hand over the rock.

“I still don’t sense any demonic energy. Captain Neil couldn’t have been mistaken. Could it have disappeared because of the Saint Mountains’ holy power? That’s strange. There’s no reason for a demon beast to appear in these mountains unless someone deliberately released demonic energy here……”

“Look out!”

Suddenly, Aiden shouted at Alice and pulled her arm.

For a moment, Alice was held in Aiden’s embrace, but her surprise was short-lived as a massive tail slammed down where she had been standing.

Alice looked up, her eyes wide with shock, at the owner of the tail.

“A demon beast…!”

A demon beast, larger than a carriage, looked down at them. It looked like a rhinoceros, but with horns sprouting all over its body and a thick tail, it was clearly not a creature from the human world.

“The mark on the rock seems to have been left by this guy.”

Aiden said warily, watching the demon beast’s swaying tail as he drew his sword from its sheath. Alice, freeing herself from Aiden’s embrace, asked.

“I’ve never seen this kind in the demon beast compendium.”

“Really? Maybe it’s never been summoned to the human world. These guys usually don’t act violently because they aren’t interested in others. But when they’re hungry, they’ll charge at anyone, friend or foe…”

Before Aiden could finish his explanation, the demon beast charged at him. Aiden swiftly twisted his body to the side and said.

“…But it seems hungry now?”

“Then can’t we just give it something to eat?”

“It’s carnivorous, so it would eat people.”

“…Let’s deal with it right away.”

At the shocking answer, Alice adjusted her stance. If a demon beast like that went down to the village, it could turn not just the village, but the entire northern region into chaos.

The demon beast attacking them was violent, but its massive size made its reactions slow.

Aiden dodged the demon beast’s attacks while glancing towards where Alice was.

Alice, with light movements, climbed up a tree to observe the demon beast’s movements. Being a mage, she was more confident in long-range attacks, which is why she chose that spot.

Confirming her position, Aiden smiled and looked forward again. Seeing that she knew what to do on her own, it seemed he didn’t need to worry about her separately.

Aiden put strength into his legs and swiftly moved forward. The demon beast followed his movements with heavy thuds.

While Aiden distracted the demon beast’s attention, Alice aimed at its back and released magic power from her hand.

**Boom!**

A large cloud-like dust storm billowed up in the space where Alice’s magic hit. It was a strong enough attack to take down most demon beasts in one shot.

“What’s that?”

At that moment, Alice, who noticed something within the dust cloud, frowned.