Chapter 503
Chapter 503: Travel by Land
In a certain place in the Dwarf Kingdom Alliance, on a certain road――
“Where are the vampires?!”
“Come out and face us, you coward!”
“Annihilate! Annihilate! Annihilate!!”
“Wooaarr!!”
“Die, die, die――!!”
The sound of murderous intent echoes mightily.
Even in death, the Vampire Hunters are bursting with energy.
For a long time, they had been desperately searching for the elusive vampires, bloodshot eyes filled with determination. Now, with the sudden windfall of confirmation that “If we keep moving this way, we’re sure to find a vampire,” their motivation hit an all-time high.
――Of course, after learning about Odigos’s powers, the Vampire Hunters couldn’t just sit still.
Naturally, they requested guidance to the “closest vampire,” and Odigos obliged. Fortunately (?), just as he had fallen to guide me westward, they continued onward in that direction—thank goodness the paths aligned; it would have been complicated if he had toppled the other way.
So here I am, the Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias, now traveling as Hero Alex with my lively companions.
“Rather than lively, they’re ferocious…”
My ferocious yet lively companions… The ones using the magic of “Speedrun” to trot alongside me, including Liliana, could only smile wryly at the Vampire Hunters’ ferocity.
By the way, we’re moving on foot—well, technically running—without Leila riding. With the aid of “Speedrun” and Liliana’s constant healing miracles, we were moving at quite a speed, effectively expending little to no stamina.
While running at a pace akin to Leila, who probably struggles the most in her human form, I noticed the sun had risen quite high. We had left Detox Village early in the morning, making it a few hours of a strenuous journey now…
Thanks to Liliana’s help, it didn’t feel strenuous at all, though.
“Shall we take a break soon?”
“Yes, indeed.”
At my suggestion, Orderju glanced at Leila and nodded. Though not physically taxing, it seemed that Leila wasn’t used to running for long periods, visibly relaxing her shoulders in relief.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? Running is harder than flying.”
If Leila were in her dragon form, it might have been a different story…
…or would it? I can’t imagine a dragon running around on the ground. Faravgi, despite being wingless, displayed remarkable agility in battle, but that was purely burst speed…
Regardless of whether in dragon or human form, neither is well-suited for long-distance travel on land, which adds a weird humor to the situation.
“Perhaps flying might have been easier for Leila.”
That could be true.
But flying while carrying not only me but also Liliana, Orderju, and Helena seemed tough for Leila, who was still in her growth stages as a dragon.
On top of that, using the air for travel has its downside. That is――
“Is it break time?! Then it’s essential!!”
“Confirm! Let’s check things out!”
“We just passed a village!”
“Maybe it was that village!”
“Die, die, die!!!”
The Vampire Hunters were clamoring in excitement. “I got it, I got it,” I chuckled, nodding as I looked at Liliana.
“Here you go.”
Liliana presented what appeared to be an ordinary wooden staff—Odigos.
“Oh, how wonderful it is!”
With a hop, Odigos stood upright, trembling with emotion.
“—Has there ever been a time so fulfilling?! What a great guide this is…! So, what shall I show you?”
“Vampireee!!”
“I shall show you the right path!!”
Clang, rolling…
Odigos fell down again, still heading west.
“Head this way, it is good.”
“Yosh!!”
The downside of traveling by air: while carrying Leila, we couldn’t use Odigos’s guidance!
“I’ve been doing it this way for ages, so saying to change now is a bit much.”
A long time (thousands to tens of thousands of years).
Odigos himself had never considered it before, but it seems like showing the proper path with “Guidance” requires contact with the earth.
And since Leila’s flight is ultra-high-speed, we might just zip right past the destination shown by the guidance. To avoid that, we’d need to land frequently, have Odigos tumble around a bit. However, with settlements scattered everywhere, there is a danger of being seen even using “Concealment” magic.
Taking all this into account, it seemed that starting the run from the get-go would be faster.
“How about I make us some seating arrangements?”
“In that case, I’ll go pick some fruit.”
“I’ll fetch some water. Want some?”
As soon as we took a break, Orderju piled up some soil along the roadside into a nice little bench. Helena vanished into the depths of the forest, and Liliana conjured up pure water for us.
How convenient…!!
“I appreciate it.”
I dropped my load and took a breather. Filling my cup with Liliana’s water, I gulped it down.
Delicious! It hits the spot.
Oh, and by the way, I was back to full condition, so I took on my human form as a young man. It’s reassuring to be always ready for a fight. Leila looked a bit lonely seeing me grow from child to adult.
Also, I had rearranged my face to resemble my past life. Liliana was all excited, saying, “Wow, it’s just like before!”
“Oh, so that’s what you looked like in your past life. Quite the change in impression,” Arthur added, observing with interest.
“Indeed, certainly rather… intimidating.”
“Yeah, the image is very different, huh?”
“Definitely a sword over a pen kind of guy.”
“Seems quite resilient.”
I got evaluated like that by the Vampire Hunters. Barbara nodded along at the resilient part.
You all can be honest with me, you know?
It feels like I’m way more handsome in this life than I was in my past life…!
“The magic of transformation is truly something. It would be chilling if you weren’t on our side,” Orderju remarked with his solemn face. The fact he said it out loud implies he’s somewhat trusting of me…
“Ah, no, typically you can’t change your facial features or body shape…”
Leila said modestly.
“If it’s Alex, it’s probably because of his past life that he can do it.”
“Now that you mention it, I suppose that would be impossible for me.”
Liliana nodded, switching between her High Elf form and human form with a look of admiration. I might have seen Liliana fully transformed into a human for the first time… Her skin color changing like that was quite entertaining.
“Hmm… but I get the face change due to your past life, but why did you revert to a child’s form…?”
“That’s probably because I’m actually six years old.”
“Oh, I see…”
Leila and Orderju turned to me in unison. Before the current me (a young man resembling my past life), Orderju’s eyes were clearly saying, “This is six years old…?”
“Transformation magic, huh? It’s an interesting thing.”
“How about you give it a shot?”
Odigos was intrigued, and suddenly Ante popped out from within me.
“Can demons learn it too?”
“I’ve done it before.”
“Oh, really…!”
Odigos was all ears, but um, is it necessary to drink Leila’s blood…?
Can you manage with that nearly staff-like body of yours?
Like soaking in Leila’s blood…?
However, if it’s just for disguise, it seems better to hide inside Liliana or pretend to be a staff. Since even if transformed, being a demon means regular holy magic would just burn me up.
“…………”
Leila was poised with her dagger, asking, “Do you need my blood?” but I shook my head slightly. Since Leila was also taking a break, I hesitated to take her blood.
It’d be better to wait until we have a chance to settle things down a bit. Odigos would benefit from having more cards to play and options, so it’s worth a shot.
“I found some nice peaches. Let’s eat!”
Helena returned with a bunch of peaches, so I gratefully decided to share in the moment.
Having a high-ranking Forest Elf as a travel companion really makes everything so comfortable…!!
Though, the one handed to me was the smallest. No complaints since I’m grateful for it. It was quite sweet.
After quenching my thirst with magical water and peach juice, we set off once more.
