A monster leaped energetically out from the thicket.
It was a bipedal creature with scaly skin.
It reminded me of a lizard person, the so-called "lizardman."
Its most distinctive feature was probably its two tails.
At the tips of the tails, I could see blade-like parts.
It was different from the ominous forms of the ones in the Ruins of Disposal...
But what gave off the strangest impression more than anything was its head.
There was no lizard-like head.
Seaweed.
That was the only way I could describe it right now.
Something like seaweed was swaying gently above its neck.
It looked just like it was drifting underwater.
Hm?
Seaweed?
"..."
I pulled at the threads of my memory.
Was that... the "seaweed-headed lizard"?
Eve tightened her grip on her sword.
"This one is also golden-eyed."
The orb at the tip of the seaweed was golden...
I see, so that was its eye.
It had a bizarre form.
However, I had seen plenty of monsters with strange appearances in the Ruins of Disposal.
So something like this did not make me shudder.
Eve did not look frightened either.
She really did have guts.
The monster turned its neck.
"Agyuuun, i, i."
I could tell from the direction of its neck.
The monster had caught sight of Eve and recognized her.
"Ogyoo, o, o..."
It seemed to be observing Eve.
How did these things perceive leopard people?
I myself still did not fully understand the difference between monsters and leopard people...
The one who moved first was Eve.
The monster reacted and kicked off the ground.
"Gigiyooo! E, e, e!"
The monster leaped at Eve while letting out strange cries.
Gyoon!
The abnormally developed claws of the monster sliced through the air.
The giant claws that missed passed right over the head of Eve, who had lowered her body.
Right after they passed, the twin blades on its tail attacked Eve like spears.
But Eve quickly deflected the twin blades with skillful swordplay.
Her movements were steady.
It was worthy of the name of the strongest blood fighter.
"..."
Good.
"[Paralyze]"
Crack.
Snap—
The monster's movements came to an abrupt halt.
"E—e... Eh!? E, e...?"
"So it works properly on the monsters here too."
With my arm still thrust out, I stepped out from the grass.
"[Poison]"
"Inu, u...!?"
I approached the monster and placed a hand on Eve's shoulder.
"Good work."
"Did you achieve your objective, Touka?"
"Yeah, the first condition is cleared."
Paralysis and poison were both effective.
Of course, at this stage it was still unclear whether they would work on all monsters in the Demon Zone.
But it was a good start.
"[Sleep]"
"Zu, uu... ..."
I confirmed that sleep was also effective.
The monster fell forward.
Thud.
I could finish it quickly by adding Berserk, but—
"I will test how long it lasts with [Poison]."
First, let us check this.
Eve looked down at the monster.
"If they are only this strong, I could handle them alone, but how strong do they look to you?"
I had not used [Paralyze] immediately earlier.
It was so I could observe Eve fighting the monster.
Why?
To compare them with the monsters from the Ruins of Disposal by watching the battle.
I had wanted to see how much difference there was from the monsters in that ruins.
I answered Eve's question while looking at the monster crawling on the ground.
"It is weaker."
"Hm?"
"Compared to the monsters I have fought to the death—the strength of this one is considerably weaker."
Speed.
Intimidation.
Combat sense.
All of them were far superior in the monsters from that ruins.
What had not changed was the surging killing intent and ferocity.
The moment it judged Eve as prey, it had attacked without question.
The strength of its aggression seemed the same.
That said, the sample was still only this one seaweed-headed lizard.
I wanted to apply the same process to other monsters in the future and observe them.
But well—
"It does not seem like the monsters in the Demon Zone are all ridiculously strong, at least for now."
After waiting a while, the monster succumbed to the poison.
I drew the short sword at my waist.
I swung the blade down into the monster's body.
Stab!
It went in.
The hardness was nothing compared to the monsters in that ruins.
No acidic liquid sprayed out either.
I could not detect any strong acidity in the flowing blood.
"If they are only this strong, they are still—"
I looked at the now lifeless golden eye.
"Not enemies."
▽
Seras approached.
"Touka-dono."
"Hm?"
We had not moved from the spot where we had encountered the seaweed-headed lizard.
"What are you doing?"
Seras placed both hands behind her waist and leaned forward slightly.
With a modest smile and a reserved gaze.
Was it all right for her to call out now without disturbing me?
I could sense that feeling from Seras.
It was consideration, or rather, restraint.
She never forgot to keep a certain line when dealing with me.
She had that side to her now.
"I thought this monster looked familiar."
"Was this not your first encounter with this monster...?"
I showed her the cover of the book in my hand.
"It was my first time encountering it. But I felt like I had seen it somewhere in this book..."
I flipped through the pages of the Forbidden Arts Compendium.
Then Seras pointed to the bottom right of the page.
"Is it this one?"
A simple drawing of a monster was there at her fingertip.
The head was seaweed.
The body was a lizard person.
"Yeah, this is it."
I found it.
It was true that the encounter itself had been my first.
But I had felt like I had seen a similar form before.
I also had a memory of glancing at the name.
That was probably why the name "seaweed-headed lizard" had immediately come to mind.
"This seaweed-like part becomes material for forbidden arts items."
"Like the voice-altering stone in the fly mask?"
"Exactly."
Perhaps because the added writing beside it was small.
Seras brought her face closer to the page.
Right below my face were the long elf ears...
"Hm? The habitat is listed as the ruins of Bakuos?"
"The author probably never encountered a seaweed-headed lizard in the Demon Zone."
Its original habitat seemed to be the ruins of Bakuos, located in the southeast of the continent.
Even the great sage did not know everything about the Demon Zone.
In fact, there was a note like this on another page.
'The habitat distribution in the Great Ruins Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Demon Zone) is believed to change drastically. Unless surveys are conducted once a month and the information updated, accurate habitat distribution data will probably not be obtained. For example, the scattered ruins in each country give the impression that the inhabiting species are somewhat fixed. However, in the Demon Zone, it seems various species coexist. The overall number of inhabiting creatures is unimaginable. That said, conversely, this also suggests the possibility that all materials for forbidden arts items could be collected in the Demon Zone.'
What stood out was the last sentence.
Obtaining experience points was one of the main objectives in the Demon Zone.
But we might also be able to obtain materials for forbidden arts items.
The Forbidden Witch.
Experience points.
Materials.
If we were lucky, this entry into the Demon Zone would kill three birds with one stone.
I told Seras about the note.
"In the past, I heard a rumor about the castles and forts near the Demon Zone. The people in those castles and forts are not only protecting their territory from the monsters of the Demon Zone but also killing the monsters on the outer edges, selling the materials from their parts, and using that as funds for the country."
I recalled that monster horns and hides could be processed into goods.
"If there is a wide variety of types, the shallower areas might actually be pretty good hunting grounds."
Beside my neck, a protrusion was peering at the book along with me.
Pigi-maru had been wriggling and looking at the pages for a while now.
"Pinyu~"
It did not seem like it understood the characters.
It was probably just imitating us.
I stroked the tip of the protrusion.
"For now, the priority is gathering materials for your strengthening agent."
"Puni~!"
Seras murmured.
"This Forbidden Arts Compendium really is fascinating..."
She had always liked rummaging through old literature.
I had felt that she was interested in it for a while.
"If you are interested, shall I lend it to you?"
Seras twisted her neck and turned her face toward me.
Her expression was serious, mixed with expectation.
"Is it really all right?"
"It is fine if it is you, Seras. After all, you are the person I trust the most now after my uncle and the others."
Seras turned her face down again.
She was fidgeting with her long ears, which had turned cherry pink.
"...Thank you very much."
Anyone would be happy to receive special treatment.
Well, it was not a lie.
If I did not consciously construct the conversation, Seras would see through any lie.
I reached for my short sword to strip the materials.
But,
"Ah, I will do it!"
Seras offered.
She knelt down and skillfully stripped the seaweed head with the blade of her sword.
"You are quite dexterous."
"Fufu, I am honored by your praise."
Seras quickly wrapped the seaweed in cloth.
"Well then, hold on to this too."
I held out the Forbidden Arts Compendium.
Seras accepted it with both hands and carefully held the book against her chest.
"Thank you very much, Touka-dono."
▽
We advanced a little further.
Along the way, we encountered several monsters I had never seen before.
All of them were aggressive golden-eyed monsters.
As soon as they recognized us, the monsters immediately attacked.
"..."
There probably were no harmless monsters like Pigi-maru here after all.
The threat level of the monsters still did not seem like a problem.
The ones that attacked could be repelled in almost the same flow as the seaweed-headed lizard.
The status abnormality skills were all showing effect as well.
We also obtained one more material for a forbidden arts item.
I had brought the tools for crafting.
However, with the materials I currently had, it did not look like I could make anything yet.
Crafting required several materials.
Time was also needed.
I wanted a safe place where we could stay for a long time.
But we had not found such a place yet.
I wanted to secure a base that could serve as a sleeping spot eventually.
After advancing a while longer, we found a rocky area where we could reasonably cover our blind spots.
We decided to take a short rest there.
I found a rock that could serve as a chair and sat down.
I looked up.
The view overhead was quite open here.
So I could see the sky well.
The sky was still bright.
There was no change in the weather.
"It does not look like we need to worry about rain yet."
I checked my pocket watch.
The time was a little past 2 p.m....
I shifted my gaze.
I could see Seras flipping through the Forbidden Arts Compendium.
She was absorbed in it while eating preserved food.
Still, Seras's bites were really small.
She looked kind of like a squirrel.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Seras furrowed her brows.
She flipped through the pages energetically.
Her hand that was turning the pages stopped abruptly.
Her mouth was moving slightly in a flustered way.
What was it?
Was she turning pale...?
Eve and Liz were also watching attentively, wondering what had happened.
Her shoulders trembling slightly, Seras looked at me.
She brought the Forbidden Arts Compendium up to her chest.
Then I realized.
"Um, Touka-dono...? W-what is this...?"
In a faintly trembling voice, Seras asked.
I placed a hand on my forehead.
I had messed up...
I had not explained anything about that.
That page with the blood writing where the great sage had recorded his warning about the soul eaters.
"Do not worry."
I said.
"That is already a finished matter."
...
However, what had finished was only the matter limited to the "soul eater."
A concern in the Demon Zone.
Monsters thought to be of the same kind as the soul eater.
The humanoid types.
Probably, encountering those would be when the real test began.