Early morning the next day~
"We're here. Shortly, we'll meet someone who'll guide us to meet the others."
Clare said calmly, glancing around at the townsfolk, who didn't seem particularly surprised to see a Claymore.
Most were already preparing to begin their day, going about their morning routines as if the arrival of a Claymore were nothing unusual.
She then turned toward her companions, only to be met with a rather strange scene.
"Ghk—Hrrk!"
"Oi, Raki! Hold that shit in! We've arrived, so I'll put you down now! Don't you dare get any vomit on my clothes!"
Seth said hurriedly, fear evident in his voice as he saw the pale-faced Raki gagging, both hands covering his mouth as his cheeks puffed out.
Villages and cities were scattered across vast regions, meaning that for the average person, traveling from one village to another could take several hours, if not an entire day.
The journey between cities could take even longer, sometimes requiring multiple days of travel.
For Claymores, however, such distances were considerably less troublesome.
Although they couldn't constantly expend yoki to maintain high speeds over long distances, their enhanced physical abilities allowed them to travel much faster than ordinary humans.
Their superior strength, endurance, and speed could significantly reduce the amount of time required to cross the same distance.
This was taken even further with Clare, who now had access to her full yoki reserves, and Seth, whose near-limitless stamina and constantly increasing strength allowed him to maintain an even faster pace without much difficulty.
Raki, on the other hand, was simply a regular human.
His body wasn't remotely equipped to handle traveling at such speeds, and he was currently suffering from a particularly revolting case of motion sickness.
Seth eventually decided it would be best to put him down and let him recover for a moment.
He carefully began lowering Raki toward the ground.
However, just as Raki's feet were about to touch the street, Seth noticed something slipping between the boy's fingers.
A strange liquid.
Seth's eyes widened.
"…Oh, hell no."
His survival instincts kicked in.
Without thinking, Seth abruptly let go.
"Guh—!"
Raki nearly landed on his side, barely managing to catch himself with his hands.
Wait…hands?
That's right.
For the next few seconds, Seth and Clare simply watched as Raki stared down at the hands supporting his weight.
His eyes slowly widened as realization dawned on him.
Then—
"BLAAAGH!"
With nothing covering his mouth and his body still stuck in such an awkward position, it was hardly surprising when he immediately vomited all over the ground.
His entire body trembled as his stomach finally gave in to the relentless nausea that had been building up throughout the journey.
His entire body trembled as he emptied all of last night's meal.
Seth recoiled a few steps. The putrid scent assaulted both his and Clare's sensitive noses, causing Seth's face to twist into an exaggerated expression of disgust.
"Ugh…"
Clare, however, remained relatively unfazed as she looked toward Raki.
"Are you alright, Raki?"
"Stay back, Clare! This guy's got a loaded gun!"
Clare blinked.
"What's a gun?"
Her eyes shifted from Raki to Seth, confusion evident on her face.
Seth stared at her for a moment before sighing.
"…Never mind."
He waved the matter off and looked back toward Raki, who was still hunched over on the ground.
"You feeling better now, Raki?"
Raki didn't answer immediately.
Seth glanced around at the townspeople, several of whom were now watching them.
"Best we get a move on before we draw any more attention to ourselves."
The townspeople were looking at them, their faces a mixture of admiration, disgust, and contempt.
If one looked closely, they might notice several other expressions among the crowd—curiosity, amusement, concern, and even fear. However, none of that concerned Clare or Seth at the moment.
Raki slowly lifted his head.
His face was still pale, but the nausea had been replaced by something far more dangerous.
Pure, murderous fury.
His eyes locked onto Seth.
"You…"
"Huh, me?"
Seth pointed at himself, his face filled with genuine confusion.
What did I do?
"Yes, you, you bastard! Why the hell did you drop me?!"
"Uh, I was gonna put you down slowly, but then you went and leaked. I had to get rid of you before you could cause any damage…"
Seth paused as he watched Raki slowly stand up from the ground and wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I guess I panicked. Teehee."
"Teehee my ass!"
Raki angrily pointed at the mess at his feet him.
"Look at what happened because of you! I had it under control, and if it wasn't for you, I woul—Hrk!"
His cheeks instantly puffed out.
Seth raised an eyebrow.
"Another one?"
"BLAAAGH!"
Raki immediately tilted his head downward and vomited once more onto the street.
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of Raki's miserable retching.
It was almost comical.
Almost.
Seth watched him with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.
"…You really shouldn't have eaten that much last night."
Clare simply watched in silence.
Raki remained hunched over for several seconds, waiting for his stomach to finally settle before slowly raising his head again.
This time, however, his previous anger had completely vanished, replaced by pure exhaustion.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and took a shaky breath. The lingering taste made him grimace.
"Can…can we at least not travel that fast, please?"
His voice was much softer this time, almost pleading.
Scratching his cheek, Seth contemplated his response for a moment.
"The only times we actually travel that fast are during missions. Otherwise, there's really no reason for us to move at that speed, so getting used to it is probably your best option."
"Oh… Is that so…"
"It's your only option—if you want to stay alive, that is."
Seth's tone became more serious.
"Unless something changes, you'll eventually end up getting yourself killed."
If simply traveling at their normal pace was enough to leave Raki in such a miserable state, then he stood little chance of keeping up once things became genuinely dangerous.
Seth and Clare would certainly do their best to keep him out of situations where his life was actively at risk—outside of the occasional problem caused by their traveling speed, of course.
But doing their best was not the same as being able to guarantee his safety.
There is bound to be a situation where they won't be able to control the flow.
Like the situation Clare said before; a group of claymore.
But not knowing this and hearing Seth's blunt words, Raki's shoulders slowly slumped.
There was no lie in Seth's words, either.
What could he even say? He could only lower his gaze and stare silently at the ground.
Clenching his fist and biting his lip in frustration, he forced out the words:
"I'm… just holding everyone back, aren't I?"
"Pretty much."
Seth's response came swiftly and without the slightest hesitation.
Which made Raki's head hung even lower, his eyes growing misty at the blunt answer.
Seeing this, Clare glanced at Raki before exchanging a look with Seth.
"Hey, Raki."
Raki didn't respond.
"How about this?"
His voice was noticeably lighter this time.
"What if I told you I might have a way to make you stronger?"
Raki slowly raised his head.
His misty eyes widened slightly.
"…Stronger? You mean it?"
Seth nodded.
"Yep."
The word immediately caught Raki's attention.
Seth continued.
"Strong enough that you won't be nauseated again moving at our speed."
Raki's expression shifted.
For the first time since they had arrived, the exhaustion and frustration in his face began to give way to something else.
Hope.
"You… really think you can make me stronger?"
Seth grinned.
"I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't."
"Although you won't be as strong as me or Clare, you'd still be able to fight with a Yoma or two on equal grounds."
Seth spread his arms with a confident grin.
"So, how about it? Wanna give it a go?"
The young boy sniffled, his eyes widening.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh." Seth nodded. "Though it might come with a few minor trade-offs…"
He was about to elaborate, but Clare interrupted before he could continue.
"We should hurry. The others are still waiting."
She turned and began walking down the street, leaving the two boys behind.
Seth blinked before looking at Raki.
"Guess we'll talk about it later."
Raki quickly wiped his eyes and hurried after them.
"Wait for me!"
"…"
They quickly caught up with Clare, and the group continued along the path leading deeper into the town.
After walking for a few minutes, they spotted a figure standing off to the side of the street.
The man was dressed entirely in black from head to toe, his clothing making him stand out against the ordinary townsfolk passing by.
Ermita.
Once the group approached him, Ermita's eyes immediately settled on Seth.
He took a moment to quietly appraise the young man, studying him from head to toe.
So this is the boy Galatea found noteworthy?
Ermita's gaze lingered for another moment.
Other than his appearance and physique, he couldn't see anything particularly noteworthy.
Whatever Galatea had noticed about him, Ermita couldn't identify it at a glance.
Still, he didn't bother voicing his thoughts.
"This way."
Turning around, Ermita began walking.
Clare followed without hesitation.
"What a creepy dude, right?"
Seth glanced at Raki before shrugging and following after them.
Raki hurried along behind the two, still occasionally wiping his mouth as the unpleasant aftermath of their journey continued to linger.
Arriving at the designated meeting place, they entered the building.
The moment they stepped inside, Seth's eyes swept across the room.
Three women were seated at the far end, all dressed in the familiar uniform worn by Clare and the other Claymores.
The three were sitting quietly, their auras restrained as they waited for the others to arrive.
Seth immediately spotted a familiar face among them.
A grin spread across his face as he raised a hand in greeting.
"Hallo~! Long time no see, Maiden Miria. You look splendid as always."
Miria sat between the other two Claymores, her legs crossed and her arms folded across her chest. Her expression remained as composed as ever, though her eyes shifted toward Seth.
She stared at him for a moment.
"…Seth."
Her tone was flat.
Seth's grin widened.
"Still as serious as ever, I see."
Behind them, Ermita closed the door.
Without saying another word, he promptly excused himself through another exit, leaving the group alone with the three Claymores.
Once he was confirmed to be out of the area, Miria chuckled lightly. Her voice, lighter than before, was surprisingly pleasant to the ears.
"We saw each other just yesterday, so 'a long time' is a bit of a stretch. But I appreciate the compliment."
She rose to her feet and sauntered toward him, stopping directly in front of Seth.
"I take it you got my message last night? I hope I didn't interrupt anything. That would be a bummer, right?"
"Yes, I did." She smiled. "I was surprised when I heard she'd been added to the squad for this mission as well. It is fate, wouldn't you agree?"
Miria gave him a small smile.
"Eh? A-ah, I suppose it was a pleasant surprise…"
"Very much so. Makes this meeting considerably more interesting."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Miria then acknowledged Clare, who was standing beside Seth, earning a polite nod in return.
One of the Claymores sitting beside Miria then stepped forward.
"Is this the guy you were talking about, Miria?"
The Claymore had short hair parted down the middle, with the right side tucked neatly behind her ear. She wore a curious expression as she looked Seth up and down, undisguised eagerness evident in her eyes.
Miria had already informed both her and the other Claymore about Seth's abilities. She had even demonstrated her newfound abilities and provided them with firsthand evidence that she had been healed.
Because of that, Helen's usual overbearing personality had been overshadowed by something else entirely.
Curiosity.
She was looking at the very person who possessed the ability to heal a Claymore.
Like the rest of her fellow silver-eyed goddesses, Helen currently lived with the ever-present risk of awakening.
And since she had evidence that Seth could eliminate that risk…
Well, who was she to question her great fortune…
"And who is this?" Seth asked, turning toward her.
Before Helen could introduce herself, Miria decisively took the reins.
"That's right, Helen. Helen, this is Seth Donovan. Seth, this is Helen."
Miria then pointed toward the other Claymore, who hadn't moved from her seat since they entered.
"And this is Deneve."
Deneve had pale-blonde hair styled in a pixie cut and carried herself with a calm demeanor—a complete contrast to Helen.
She met Seth's eyes for a moment before giving him a small nod.
"Rank 22 and 15 of the 135th generation of Silver-Eyed Witches, respectively."
"Nice to meet you both." Seth smiled.
Chapter 32 end.