บท 35: Seiko Sotomura - A Hero's Method
"And so I punched the damned troll in the face, then with a boom and bam I just destroyed the entire cave of trolls. That's how the legend of Twilight spread so quickly. I wish they changed my title though. It's too embarrassing."
"Don't you think you are too noisy?"
Seiko whispered to the girl at his side.
"Eh? Too loud? Really? But that doesn't matter!"
Seiko let out a tired sigh then pulled out a device. This device projected a map for the girl to see. The map was shaped like a dragon curling itself attached to something else, but the map didn't show beyond there.
"You see where we are right now? It's called Larm."
The young man pointed at their current location on the map. Jasmine had her finger to her lips as she observed the map curiously.
"I've heard of Larm. They told me not to pass through this forest."
She stated nonchalantly.
"Yes. That's because Larm is a very dangerous and uninhabitable place for humans."
"Why?"
"Because of powerful creatures called Tyrants. These Tyrants rush in to kill any who enter their sides of the forest."
"Seriously? Then what the hell are we doing here right now?"
"If we took the normal route, we wouldn't have been able to make it to the Dhijan Nation in time."
"Um… but, isn't this the Dhijan Nation?"
She asked pointing at the country that was two nations from where they were.
"Yes."
Seiko answered sharply, his patience running.
"Then why did we move from Keimen? If we proceeded through Keimen we would have had only one nation to cross through!"
"Uwaa. I told them I didn't want to be paired up with retards."
"What was that?!"
"If we took that route, we wouldn't have made it in time. The conference is taking place in about a month or so. Traveling through those nations would take too long. Especially with the ongoing war preparations. So we will take the simple route of entering the Scerendia Teleport Gate that's pretty close to here."
Jasmine froze. She scanned the map several times, but then she was still confused.
"What is it?"
"According to your map, there is no place called Scerendia."
"Uwaa~. How much knowledge do you actually lack? Scerendia is an ancient city that was wiped out long ago by the Great Destruction Dragon. It's located in the south side of Larm, close to the Dourean Desert."
"Eh? Seriously? But, if the tribe was wiped out by something that sounds so scary, how is that teleport gate still active?"
Seiko put the device in his pouch and took out one of his guns.
"It's only rumoured to have been destroyed by such a being. So far all proof of that being's existence is negligible. So there are theories that the clan actually died to starvation."
"Starvation?"
"You… you never went to a university, huh?"
"Nope."
"Did you even go to school?"
"Not really."
"Uwaa~. I'll explain this to you once we're done with those guys."
Seiko looked up at the carriage approaching them. Jasmine grinned and brought out her daggers.
"You two! Who are ya?!"
The driver questioned.
Jasmine's eyes glowed a faint purple.
"Seiko-kun. They have captives in the caravan."
'A honorific?'
"How do you know – in fact that doesn't matter right now. Captives, huh? Are they human?"
"Nope. Not even one. All females of different ages and races."
The caravan driver overheard their conversation and whispered something into the caravan. Five men descended from the caravan, all holding weapons.
"You guys got a problem?"
One of the men asked. Jasmine licked her lips and went into a fight stance, her legs wide apart, one arm on the ground and the other behind her.
"Jasmine, can you see the states of those girls?"
"They are wearing shackles and are sick. I doubt they can even use any abilities from the looks of things. Some look like they are starving. Oh?"
"What is it?"
"One of them is pregnant. One of the men must have been using them."
Seiko was a completely apathetic being. Even now, he was thinking of just ignoring this incident since it would be a hindrance to him with no advantages. He was just about to return his guns to his pockets when Jasmine pounced on one of the men.
The man slashed at her neck, but she simply hit his wrist, disarming him, then kicking his legs to get him off the ground, then flipped him over. On the ground she jabbed his face, knocking him out cold.
The others charged at her, but a beam of light sent one of them flying into the carriage.
"Uwaa~. I really don't like the troublesome types. Stand down Jasmine."
He ordered and the girl lost her crazy grin.
"What?"
"This is a waste of time. We need to hurry up."
Seiko grabbed her cloak and lifted her off the man.
"I truly apologise for her rude attitude towards you."
Seiko bowed and forced Jasmine to do the same against her will. She was surprised by how strong he was, easily forcing her head down without giving her the chance to resist.
"Tch. You are from the New Kyoto Empire?"
"Yes."
The men then backed away after hearing that. Their faces showed obvious frustration and fear.
"Now if you'll excuse us, we will be leaving."
Seiko grabbed Jasmine and flung her over his shoulder. They simply strode past the men. After finding out his origins, the men suddenly felt like dwarves before his presence. That was natural since he was already taller than every single one of them. Still, the status of being a Kyoto Imperial Citizen was like being a noble in weak countries. That was just how much influence that Empire held.
"Ah! What are you doing? What about the captives?"
"You have to know when and where to fight. Especially when you are a paladin."
"What? Because I'm a paladin I'm not allowed to beat up obvious slave traders?!"
"That's not what I'm saying."
"Then what are you saying you damned coward?"
Seiko sighed. This girl was really a headache for him. He made a note to never get married to loud girls or have loud children. In fact, when he got to the meeting, he would request a switch in partners.
"Look in the caravan."
"Eh? What are you… talking… about… EH!?"
When she looked at the carriage, she noticed that the slaves were slowly getting off the carriage and running away into the forest. Their chains had been been destroyed and there was a ticking sound coming from the carriage.
When one of the men went to check the caravan, the ticking sound stopped and then the caravan was set aflame with a loud boom, blasting the men away. They kept on screaming in a almost comical manner.
"Paladins aren't supposed to be such ruffians. Use your head a bit more and battles will be won in the easiest of ways without any sort of collateral."
Jasmine looked at Seiko. With the bleeding daylight from the trees bouncing off his dark skin, she suddenly noticed the heroic aura the young man exuded. Sure, he mostly never smiled and was always sighing with lazy eyes, but the fact that he was one of the very few paladins in the world meant he was talented and exceptional.
"You can let me down now."
She said and Seiko dropped her. She cleared her throat before apologizing to him.
"I apologise."
Seiko barely glanced at her while thinking to himself.
'Lady Veronica will have this girl's head at the conference.'
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