Here’s Ester reporting…

It’s been three weeks since we left the main city in the Zhanty Free Trade Zone. It’s been a very quiet journey. I remember when I traveled with my old group of friends, we traveled slowly and made stops in every town. We did that for a year until I met Raiza.

She only travels towards her goal without thinking about others.

This selfish way of thinking is new to me. We only stop to sleep or resupply. If we pass through a town, as soon as we get what we need, we leave.

Since I left Zhanty, I’ve only slept in my sleeping bag. I miss sleeping on a mattress, but we reached the border between Zhanty and the Low Countries very quickly.

At this point, we had to get rid of the carriage and keep only the earth dragon. We sold the carriage at a very low price to a merchant in the last town, along with some materials we found on the way. Raiza, even in these situations, kept making money. I wonder what else she plans to buy.

And finally, we arrived at the area that doesn’t belong to any country: the territory known as the Monster Zone.

I really didn’t want to enter there, but I think Raiza is looking for something in this area, as she was looking at some notes in a small notebook. I think I saw a map.

I didn’t ask because I know Raiza won’t tell me. She knows her mind isn’t fully healed, and at some point, I’ll have to see her other memories. I suppose she’ll tell me when she’s ready or when her psyche is about to collapse.

We advanced without problems through the monster-filled terrain. I think the main problem with these areas is their dense atmosphere; it’s somewhat difficult for me to breathe in these zones.

I remember that when I was 14, we ventured into the Monster Zone south of my homeland. But there, I had all my companions and my teacher.

My teacher taught me a spell to cover my body with a layer of purified air to avoid the miasma, but he didn’t let us use that spell at the time, as he wanted us to get used to the miasma of the monsters. Even with all the training, I really hate this atmosphere.

I asked Raiza if the environment affects her:

“No, Ester, this kind of miasma isn’t a big deal. I prefer this to the cold of the north; I never got used to the cold.”

Raiza gave me that answer. I felt her pain in those words; I really understand why she hides her feelings. I, on the other hand, let everyone feel my depression. I’m pathetic.

“Ester, stop thinking nonsense. The environment has become less dense; that’s not normal,” Raiza shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. I replied:

“It’s true; it’s much easier to breathe in this environment. This must be an environmental spell so that normal people can breathe more easily. That means there must be humans nearby.”

Raiza only says to me, almost in a whisper: “They’re not humans.”

Raiza prepares her lungs and shouts in Elven language: “Show yourself, I’m an elf!”

Then, out of the darkness, come people with reddish skin. They resemble elves, but something is different about them.

“Ester, I’m sure you don’t know them. They are forest ogres; they’re somewhat like distant cousins of the elves.”

The one who seems to be the leader of the forest ogres says: “Long time no see, Raiza. How’s that project of destroying the elven forest going?”

Raiza responds: “I never said I would destroy it. It was the foolish elves who believed those lies. Personally, I just want to hit the elf who calls himself my father. Don’t say nonsense, Gasthor.”

So that was the name of that forest ogre. The forest ogres led us to a small village with a large tree in the center. This must be the source of the purified air. I said aloud:

“This tree is very similar to the trees of the elven forest.”

Gasthor responds:

“Yes, it’s obvious. We, the forest ogres, created the elven forests. But we are a nomadic tribe; we don’t usually settle in one place for long. The elves are our descendants who preferred a sedentary life, which is why they take such care of their forests, as they lost the ability to repopulate them.”

I think aloud: “Incredible, but I don’t see what this has to do with our mission. Raiza, did you plan to meet the forest ogres?”

Raiza, elegantly taking a sip from a cup of tea, responds: “Not really. These guys are never still; it’s useless to search for them. It’s a big coincidence that they’re here... But I don’t believe in coincidences. Gasthor, I’ve noticed that your tribe is somewhat smaller than the last time we met. What happened to your people?”

Gasthor smokes some tobacco from his pipe and replies: “The idiot of your father. That’s what happened. The trees of his forest are undergoing a climate change. It’s unknown if it’s a consequence of the demonic army, but attacking gradually without leaving many traces is the demon king’s style.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter what happened. Kykoo Leiva is determined to defend his forest. He asked me to help him keep the elven forest alive, rather, he ordered me. We refused, as we don’t want to settle in the elven forest. It would be useless given the conditions of the elven forest; that angered him quite a bit.

Our pursuit began. They searched for us and tried to capture us to force us to keep the trees in their forest alive. Basically, they kidnapped people from my village to enslave them.”

I can barely believe everything these people went through, but Raiza continued to enjoy her tea and said,

“I expected nothing less from the man who left his daughter to fend for herself to defend the elven forest. That guy only cares about those stupid trees. Anyway, now I have another excuse to punch that idiot in the face.”

Then I remembered the moment when Kykoo handed his daughter over to the King of Dredprism. He didn’t seem like a bad man, but I’ve seen good men commit sins. I don’t know why, but my teacher’s image flashed briefly through my mind.

“Ester, get ready. We have company,” Raiza exclaimed.

She picked me up and started running away from the ogre village. Once we were far enough, Raiza set me down on the ground and drew her sword while concentrating her strength in her legs.

I didn’t quite understand what was happening, but even through her helmet, I could see Raiza’s worried look.

“Well, they found us, guys.”

Three figures emerged from the monster fog: a young knight who looked about 15 years old, a beautiful woman with white hair and her eyes covered by a blindfold, and a somewhat elderly and fat priest.

The three of them gave me a bad feeling, but then I recognized the young knight by the symbol on his chest: it was the royal crest of Rusthia.

“I know you. You’re the third prince of Rusthia, Carlo Dante Rusthia.”

I shouted at the three of them. Carlo Dante replied, “Don’t call me by my name, commoner. To you, I’m only the Hero of Rusthia.”

Raiza said loudly, “I think I saw something like this in your memories, Ester. Now there are a bunch of idiots calling themselves heroes of humanity.”

Raiza’s words angered Carlo Dante, who immediately drew his twin swords and leaped at Raiza to attack her.

“Shut up, ogre friend”...

As the man prepared to attack, I noticed that the blindfolded girl was casting a stat-boosting spell. Carlo Dante attacked with such force that he pushed Raiza back, but she managed to block his attack with her prosthetic arm and counterattacked, sending Carlo flying and putting him within my attack range.

So I quickly gave him a light punch to the face and backed away with my companion.

“What was that hit? You know I’m a hero, and it takes more strength to kill me.”

I responded, “I just wanted to see if you had the hero’s gift.”

Then my degenerative magic, CELLULAR DESTRUCTION, came into play, melting part of Carlo Dante’s face.

“Ahh, what did you do to me, you son of a bitch? Cardinal, help me with your healing magic!”

The cardinal tried to heal Carlo’s face, but it didn’t recover.

“Impossible. My magic doesn’t consider that damage as something to be healed. I’ve never seen a wound that my magic couldn’t heal.”

I said loudly, “I suspected as much. You don’t have the hero’s gift; that attack wouldn’t affect a true hero.”

This further enraged Carlo, who pulled a necklace with a pearl hanging from it from his chest. He put the pearl in his mouth and chewed it.

“You commoners, I really want to kill you!”

I didn’t notice when it happened, but Carlo’s hand had pierced my chest.

Thanks to my training, I was able to endure the pain and embraced Carlo. Ironically, I caught him off guard and used my degenerative magic.

“PARALYZE NERVOUS SYSTEM”

Paralyzing his nervous system, and when I realized it, Raiza, with the knife we stole from Tommy, cut off his head.

That was the end of the third prince of Rusthia, or so I thought, as when his head was cut off, the face on it changed. It wasn’t the real prince.

“Oh dear, that went wrong. Among all the prince’s look-alike candidates, he was always the dumbest,” said the cardinal.

He took the blindfolded girl and they fled at high speed. Raiza wanted to chase them, but at that moment, I simply passed out due to the massive hole in my chest…

…

You’re a monster…

…

I woke up in an unfamiliar room but noticed the air I was breathing. It must have been the ogre village.

I left the room and found Raiza cooking. The food smelled good; I didn’t think she would be such a good cook.

Raiza noticed me entering the outdoor kitchen and said, “Oh wow, you’re awake.”

She seemed a bit agitated. “Well, I’m glad to be alive. I’ve never been stabbed through the chest before, you know.”

Raiza replied:

“I doubt it. After you passed out, I tried to heal you, but it wasn’t necessary. Your body absorbed the arm of the fake Carlo Dante, and your own body used his flesh to seal your wound. It was truly disgusting. Normally, I would ask what you are, but I know you don’t know. That master of yours did something to you, and it wasn’t pretty.”

Raiza’s words left me frozen. I touched the spot where I was pierced, and there was a closed scar. The skin in that area was different from the rest of my body. I think I wanted to vomit, but my stomach was empty.

“Well, the food is ready. I made a dish my mom used to make a lot. It’s called spaghetti. I bought it in Zhanty, but I wanted to save it for a special occasion, and since you didn’t die, I thought it’d be worth eating it now.”

Before this moment, I didn’t know noodles with sauce. In my childhood, I used to eat a lot of rice, vegetables, red meat, and fruits. It wasn’t bad food, but it was repetitive. Since I started my adventure, I’ve tried several new flavors, and the spaghetti was delicious.

…

After the meal, we talked with Gasthor about the three people from the kingdom of Rusthia.

He told us that, in their pursuit with the elves, they hired slavers from Rusthia to search for the forest ogres in exchange for large sums of money, to deliver the ogres to the elves.

So, there are usually several groups of slavers searching throughout the continent for ogres, and we just happened to encounter one of those groups.

I also wonder how many doubles of Carlo Dante are out there. I suppose they do it to boost their reputation and personal achievements.

The point is that the Rusthian slavers have already realized that the forest ogres are in this area and need to look for another location. Gasthor tells us that tomorrow they will set off to search for new lands.

As for me and Raiza… “Hey, couldn’t we help them with their problem with the Rusthian ogres?”

I said to Raiza. With an indifferent look, she replied:

“I was planning to do the same, but not with your intentions. Tomorrow we’ll head to the Royal Capital of Rusthia. Let’s rescue the ogres and I’ll have a little family reunion with the man who calls himself my father.”

Gasthor takes a small orb from his pocket and hands it to Raiza.

“This is a teleportation orb. When you find my people, use it and they’ll send you wherever I am, but try to use it when you find the most forest ogres.”

She takes the orb and throws it to me, saying, “Carry this thing with you at all times.” I took the orb and stored it in my suit. That concluded the meeting.

Our goal is to free the forest ogres, although I notice that what drives Raiza the most is revenge…

…

…

…

We leave our protagonists and follow an old man running for his life.

The life of a cleric can be tough…

My name is Darwin de Angeló.

Since youth, I was educated at the Church of the Sacred Word. It was a hard path to move from collecting tithes to holding one of the church’s high positions. I didn’t desire power or money; I just wanted to bring the Sacred Word to my people. I know faith doesn’t solve people’s lives, but it can give them the strength to continue living as good people.

Although the reality is different.

Even among the high ranks, I am considered a disposable pawn, and when the King of Rusthia requested a guardian for the hero of Rusthia, my name came up in the conversation…

Now I’m in the monster zone fearing for my life, but it’s not the monsters that scare me, it’s another cleric.

That kid with glasses is dangerous. I had never seen the face of that guy, but I saw how he melted the face of the prince’s double with a punch, and I couldn’t heal him…

WOUNDS I CAN’T HEAL

If that guy catches me, he’ll kill me, and that woman who accompanied him was another monster… No matter how I look at it, I must run for my life… and on top of that, I have to protect this foolish girl, the real Carlo Dante,

“Kharla Dante Rusthia.”

The damn misogynist king can’t accept that he fathered a woman and made her pass as a man, making her the third prince in the line of succession for selfish reasons.

“Hey, Darwin, those guys had a very strange aura. The woman wasn’t human; she had an aura similar to the forest ogres or the elves I once saw my father with, but I’m concerned about the aura of the cleric. I can’t describe it, but it wasn’t human,” said Princess Kharla.

“It doesn’t matter, princess. My main mission was to keep you safe while gaining battle experience. We must report this information to His Majesty. Those guys could be a threat to Rusthia”…

At that moment, Darwin took out a teleportation orb, disappearing along with the princess instantly and leaving behind two small rabbits…

Which were immediately devoured by the monsters in the area.

image [https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/078/582/585/large/duval-saul-342434334.jpg?1722505525]