After defeating the humanoid type, we left the ruins and continued onward.
We walked forward while passing the trees that had been mowed down.
I was at the front now, with Eve at the rear.
Seras was behind me.
Behind Seras were Liz and Slei.
Slei had returned to her first form.
She seemed a little tired from the transformation.
The third form apparently accumulated fatigue more than the others.
Pigi-maru was cozily nestled inside my robe as usual.
"Pifu~..."
It seemed tired from the combined technique as well.
"It is quieter than I expected."
Seras spoke.
Eve, at the rear, replied.
"With the trail left by the humanoid type, it would not be strange for other monsters to come swarming... There must be plenty of monsters that witnessed it moving."
I interjected.
"It might be the opposite."
"Opposite?"
"Other monsters might be staying away to avoid the humanoid type."
In the Ruins of Disposal, there had been no other monsters in the area where the humanoid type had been.
The humanoid type was being avoided by other monsters...
Or perhaps there was some custom of yielding prey.
"Hmm... Perhaps the monsters here are not coexisting as smoothly as we thought."
"From the impression I get, there are surprisingly few monsters that move in groups."
"That could mean the monsters here have territorial awareness."
"..."
"Hm? What is it, Touka?"
"No, it is nothing."
While speaking, I was actually observing Eve.
Until a little while ago, she had still been affected by the victory over the humanoid type.
"We managed to defeat that humanoid type with only a few people."
It seemed to have been quite a shock for Eve.
When we left the ruins, she had said with slight agitation,
"I still cannot feel it as real. Even though it was thanks to your power, I saw with my own eyes that humanoid type die... Right now, my feelings are strange. Something like elation mixed with bewilderment..."
But now she had returned to her usual self.
The humanoid type.
It was not something we could let our guard down against, but it was not a despair-inducing opponent either.
It was not an absolutely perfect monster.
After fighting two humanoid types so far, that was how I felt.
Depending on how we strategized, we could fight it sufficiently.
...Well, I could not deny that the power of the status abnormality skills played a major role.
"Humanoid type, huh."
I muttered while letting my thoughts run.
It was creepy, of course, but it was also full of mysteries.
Even the knowledgeable Seras had said she did not know the details.
Violent and brutal.
Sadistic and cruel.
How were they born?
For what purpose were they born?
I took out a triple-layered hemp sack from my backpack.
The contents were still slightly warm.
While walking, I opened the sack.
Seras leaned in to peek.
"So this is used as material for forbidden arts."
Inside the sack were parts of the humanoid type we had just defeated.
Some parts were still wriggling slightly.
"The Forbidden Arts Compendium did not mention any materials that could be harvested from humanoid types... but the illustration that was added looked similar. I thought it might be usable as a substitute."
Seras looked up at me from below.
"Page 167, right?"
Even I had not memorized the page numbers.
But Seras seemed to remember them.
"I forgot what material it becomes, but—"
Seras raised her white index finger, looking a little happy.
"It is the 'amplification stone.'"
"Ah, that was it."
I scratched the back of my head, impressed.
"With how much you have been reading it, you might know the Forbidden Arts Compendium better than I do now."
I had seen her reading it diligently whenever she found time.
Seras straightened her back.
At first it was out of curiosity, but I thought it would be good if I could help Touka-dono in this way as well.
"I also plan to read it thoroughly when I have time, but there may be many times when I rely on you for the contents of that book. Is it all right to count on you then?"
Seras placed a hand on her chest and nodded respectfully.
"Leave it to me."
"Sorry about that."
"There is no need to apologize... A large part of it is because I want to read it myself."
"Even so, it helps."
"—Yes."
Her reply had a slightly lively tone.
"..."
The book-loving Seras Ashrain.
I had thought it was only a matter of time before she became interested in the Forbidden Arts Compendium.
Since entering the Demon Zone, my reading time had decreased.
Temporarily leaving the grasp of the contents to Seras would not be a bad idea.
"It feels a bit like I lured you into it, so I feel a little guilty..."
"Lured?
"A little."
"?"
Even after leaving the Ruins of Disposal, my habit of muttering to myself had not completely disappeared.
Then Seras leaned forward and peeked into the sack in my hand.
"By the way, Touka-dono, are there any other forbidden arts materials in my knowledge that could be useful—Kyaaahhhhhhh!"
Reflexively, I pulled back slightly.
"Huh?"
Seras, who had suddenly screamed (?), fell backward and landed on her backside.
The color had drained from her face.
What happened?
Even I was startled by that scream just now...
It sounded like a genuine scream.
Was the harvested part of the humanoid type that disgusting?
No...
She had been fine when she peeked in earlier.
Had something changed over time?
I looked into the sack in my hand.
"Hm?"
There was something wriggling with a different color mixed in.
I pinched it and lifted it up.
"An earthworm...? Ah, it must have gotten mixed in when I was collecting the materials."
"Touka-dono... That is quite... difficult to say... or rather... dangerous..."
What exactly was difficult, and what was dangerous?
"I understand, so first you should close your legs."
"Ah— I am sorry."
I threw the earthworm into the nearby grass.
"Are you bad with them?"
"...To put it simply, yes."
"You are fine with Pigi-maru's tentacles and the humanoid type's wriggling, but not earthworms?"
"For some reason, only earthworms are my weakness."
Pat pat.
Seras stood up smoothly and brushed the dirt off her backside.
Her expression had become somewhat dignified.
She was trying to regain her composure after losing it.
She cleared her throat solemnly.
"However... as a proud knight, this is a trivial flaw that should not exist. If I lose my composure over something like this, it would be a disgrace to my name as the former commander of Neah's Holy Knight Order—"
"Unexpected. So this is your weakness, Seras."
"—Kyaaahhh Touka-dono, please do not deliberately bring back what you just threw away! Are you sane, Eve!?"
"...S-sorry."
While being gently scolded by Liz, Eve trudged back to the rear.
Even Seras could lose her composure like that.
It might be a strange way to put it, but...
It was an unexpected scene that let me catch a glimpse of an interesting side of her.
Well, it is also important to know what your companions are bad with.
Besides, the atmosphere had lightened up nicely.
Traveling through the Demon Zone means long periods of tension.
There were currently no signs of monsters around.
Occasionally making noise like this was not bad.
I glanced at the three behind me.
"..."
In reality, the three others besides me were mentally exhausted.
They were slowly wearing down.
It was understandable.
The enemies were not only the monsters we encountered.
This was probably the Golden-Eyed Demon Zone, a place with no land of rest.
The only place that could be considered a land of rest in this Demon Zone was likely just one...
We continued advancing further.
▽
"The wind has become damp."
Seras said while holding down her hair fluttering in the breeze.
Eve looked up.
"This might bring a bit of rain."
Changes had also appeared in the surrounding scenery.
How should I put it—the color of the tree trunks and leaves had darkened.
It was probably proof that we had finally entered the deeper parts.
"...That thing that has been in sight for quite a while is also bothering me."
Beyond the rows of trees was a sheer rock face.
It could be described as a small mountain range of rock.
It spread out like a wall.
However...
I had Eve check the map.
Our gazes met.
"Touka."
"Yeah."
I had thought we were getting close.
So that was it.
We had come this far.
"Position-wise—if we increase our speed, we should arrive tomorrow or the day after."
The place where the Forbidden Witch was said to live was already near.