READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 4 - Mysterious Request
The two of them welcomed the dawn of the next day inside a shared carriage.
“Hey, wake up.”
“Hmm? Oh, right. We should be getting close now, huh?”
“No, you’re the guide here, remember?”
With a gentle shake, Luct roused the still-sleepy Remri. He let out a small sigh. The content of her “request” had been rather unusual.
—
“Thank you very much.”
As the shared carriage that had brought them there departed, Remri waved and expressed her gratitude. Luct, standing beside her, focused on the forest ahead.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, it is. Well, this is just the entrance. Our actual destination is deeper inside.”
“…”
Luct, his expression a mix of confusion and doubt, didn’t try to hide his skepticism.
“How far are we walking?”
“About an hour and a half on my legs.”
“That far, huh?”
“What’s with that expression, Luct? Are you not confident in your stamina?”
“It’s not about that.”
This place, an hour and a half walk into the wilderness, couldn’t be entirely safe. Those concerns remained unspoken in Luct’s mind. Before he understood Remri’s true intentions, he didn’t want to say anything unnecessary.
“Shall we go for a pleasant stroll then?”
With a light tone, Remri began to walk without hesitation down the rough path.
Under the clear, sunny sky, they continued their journey.
—
The dense forest didn’t stretch too far. Soon, their view opened up, revealing a landscape along a river valley scattered with large rocks. However, the terrain proved treacherous and difficult to traverse.
“It’s not like anyone comes around here, huh? It’s not developed at all.”
“Of course not.”
Luct replied briefly, his gaze fixed on Remri ahead. The estimated travel time of “an hour and a half” appeared to have drastically changed. Her footsteps didn’t seem ordinary; she wasn’t exceptionally physically fit, but it was as if she knew every inch of this place. It was evident that she had visited this remote and unexplored location several times.
Keeping up with her pace without falling behind, Luct pondered Remri’s “request” once again.
—
“Guardian Protector?”
“Yes. I want you to defeat the one guarding the entrance to the cave.”
Remri’s request to Luct was quite unexpected.
“Which cave is it?”
“It’s located at the northern border of the Lamaseth Kingdom. It’s close to the border, so it’s relatively nearby from here. You could probably get there in about a day if you use a shared carriage.”
“Who or what is this Guardian Protector?”
“It’s not a person.”
“What? So it’s a demon?”
“Similar but different. It’s a stone golem created by a skilled demon adept in magic.”
“A magically animated golem…?”
Luct frowned at the words.
“Are there such advanced creations still around nowadays? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Well, nobody else knows about it.”
“Why do you know about it, then?”
“I’ll tell you about that later.”
“…”
Luct’s questions about this dubious request remained unanswered. But at this point, he had no reason to decline. So, he shifted the topic to something more practical.
“What’s the reward?”
“Success-based compensation.”
“No upfront payment?”
“Considering my current state, do I look like I have money?”
“Well…”
Luct was momentarily taken aback by the oddly persuasive response.
“Then, what’s the success-based compensation? How do you plan to pay?”
“Inside the cave that Guardian Protector is guarding, there’s valuable treasure.”
“Treasure?”
“Yes! If you manage to get inside and retrieve it, you can have the treasure as your reward. How about it?”
“What do you mean?”
Despite the strange request, Luct couldn’t find a reason to refuse at this point. So, he agreed.
“All right, I’ll do it.”
“Really?! Great!”
“But you better be telling the truth. If it turns out to be a lie, I won’t let you off.”
“No, it’s real! Thank you, Luct! Let’s go right away!”
“Hold on, we need breakfast first.”
“Oh, right. Let’s find a place to eat!”
“Do you have money?”
“Sorry, can you cover it?”
“The shared carriage fare?”
“Sorry, can you pay in advance?”
“…”
Is she just trying to freeload? Luct couldn’t help but feel suspicious. While he pondered that, Remri walked away with a confident stride.
And that brings us to the present.
—
“We’re almost there.”
After approximately one and a half hours of walking, Remri announced their arrival. The original road had long disappeared from view, and they had ventured into the nearly untouched wilderness. Still, it wasn’t densely forested.
The towering rocky cliff ahead was bathed in sunlight.
“Once again, just to be clear, the Guardian Protector won’t attack me. So you don’t need to protect or shield me during the battle. Just focus on defeating it.”
“…Is that really true?”
“Of course. I want you to give it your all in the battle. That’s why I mentioned it. No need to protect me.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, that’s settled then.”
After a moment of silence…
“Now, there’s one thing I want you to promise.”
“What is it?”
“After you defeat it, you have to give me a proper explanation.”
“From the beginning.”
“That was my plan all along.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
With the promise in place, Luct could only focus on the looming confrontation ahead.
—
Finally, Remri stopped a bit before the towering cliff.
“We’re here.”
“Is this it?”
Luct looked around, but there was no sign of the cave.
“Where is it?”
“The entrance won’t open until you defeat the Guardian Protector.”
“What?”
Remri approached the edge of the cliff and turned back to face Luct.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
Luct responded, drawing his longsword.
“When you try to open it, the Guardian Protector will attack you immediately. Please be careful.”
“Understood.”
“Then, good luck.”
She turned to face the cliff, touching a certain marked spot with her hand.
“…?”
Suddenly, Luct realized that a shadow had fallen over him and quickly leaped back.
In an instant…
BOOOOOM!
The ground shook violently, and where Luct had been standing moments before, a massive crater had formed.
“Give it your best, Luct-kun!”
While Luct was caught off guard by the sudden attack, Remri cheered him on, her attention unwavering. In front of him stood the literal rock giant, the Guardian Protector.
It had appeared without warning and attacked without hesitation, a massive figure of stone, several times Luct’s size. It was entirely composed of rough, haphazardly assembled rocks and wielded a gigantic, black, ore-like club.
“So, this is the Guardian Protector,” Luct muttered, gripping the hilt of his longsword.
This was evidently an opponent that meant business, requiring no words or discussions.