Inside Sherwood Forest.
"Ugh! How cruel! Uuu I can't believe Sherwood rejected my proposal just like that! 'Yo dude we just met you know?! I dun wanna leave this place, bro' or something! Damn it, I was THIS close to getting a shiny p@kemon for my party…"
Now I have to walk alone inside these dangerous woods again. I hope that freaking huge bear-like monster isn`t looking to avenge it`s lost eye…
Well, technically I'm not really alone, since these green spirits are always with me or something like that…
But either way, I lost all of our loot and supplies, and most of my equipment. All I have left are a broken armor and gauntlet… Well, maybe my cosmos might burn even stronger now…
…
But seriously now… What worries me the most is that I lost my precious companion… It hasn't been long since we got together, but the bonds we created are forever…
"Argh! This sucks---!!!" I was screaming inside the woods, without any other care in the world.
I would like to give a piece of my mind to the culprit of all of this…
Truly, I had already gotten used to having her by my side. Is she all right? Did someone get their dirty hands on her? Even though I'm the only one who should be allowed to touch her! Is this what it feels like to be NTR'd…?
I hadn't even noticed when I`d reached our camp, or what remained of it.
"Huh---!?"
It was then that her slender figure, laying over the grass, took me by surprise.
"I can't believe it---!" I quickly ran to her side. And once I confirmed it was truly her, I couldn't help but hug her as I rolled on the ground!
The pain of losing my newly bought sword, a dream I`ve had since childhood… It was gone, just like that… But now she came back to me---!
"Tsubame-chaaaan!!! You came back to me!!! The Goddess really does exist!"
My precious sword, that I thought had been stolen, was back to the place where it fell during the fight.
Looking around, I also noticed that my waist pouch and the other bags were also there, with everything still inside them… Except for the snake's bodies. They're really gone…
But most importantly. Helping me through this entire ordeal, giving me precious advice and help, and keeping me company on this dangerous journey…
"The Starting Adventurers Guide is also here! Thank Goddess! I was wondering how I would be able to sleep at night without reading it!!!"
Surprisingly, holding that soft covered handwritten book, containing innumerable years of history, actually served as a sure way to calm me down.
"I see you are quite content on receiving your items back. But isn't it odd that you don't seem to be missing your companion on the slightest?"
!?
"Holy sh---!!!"
Out of nowhere, the Goddess was standing beside me, with her pale shine and sweet voice.
It was a beautiful and unexpected appearance, which almost gave me a heart attack.
She came here in person!? W-why, would she…? Did she finally figure out I'm the Demon Lord and decided to end me herself!?
Calm down, I can't let my surprise show…
"H-hello there… I wondered if you would send someone to talk to me in case I passed your test. But I never expected you would show up here in, huh, person(?)…" Is person the right term to refer to a god? Whatever… "Is it alright for a God to spend this much time on someone?"
I made a small provocation in order to try to place myself on the same level as her, after she caught me by surprise… But, well, it`s also what I really think.
How did I know this was all a test from the Goddess? Elementary my dear reader.
An unreported monster of that rank at a beginner's area; Akane's sudden disappearance; all of our equipment stolen. All of that couldn`t possibly be just my bad luck. The culprit had to be someone with the power to screw us up like this after we just left town. And the odds weren`t in our favor after we even refused her proposal… There`s no way she would just leave us alone to do as we pleased.
The 'person' in question raises her head and stares me down in amusement. It's like one of those head tilts that might give you a stiff neck, from a popular anime studio.
Did she get impressed by the fact I knew it was a test from her? Heh, I bet even the readers got impressed by my sudden smartness and deductive skills.
Well, in truth it was Sherwood who told me about it. Something along the lines: 'Oh, by the way, there was an assassin following you guys. And she stole your stuff while you were passed out. I`m almost sure she was a servant of the Goddess… That Goddess sure does like to give tests to the new heroes, to determine their qualities or something like that. Anyways, tell me more about this pudding thing... What's with the surprised face?'
Please don't say such important information with that kind of 'offside comment' vibe!
Either way, let's continue with the bluff and see where it goes.
"You`re the ones who took the Akane, correct? You wouldn`t even go through the trouble of mentioning her, if she hadn`t already been approved."
Honestly, I have no idea. But there`s not much I could do for her now. I hope she`s fine.
The Goddess' eyes finally give some sign of life, and she shows an interested smile.
"How peculiar, indeed, hero. I certainly thought you would be different, after discovering your connection with the spirits. However, this… Aren`t you quite the perceptive one? When is it that you noticed it was a test, given by me? Did you assume that by yourself, or could it be that the spirits had a hand in this observation?"
She just called me a hero, which means she isn`t here because of the Demon Lord thing. Nice.
But she hasn't mentioned anything about Akane.
Either way, now I could confess that Sherwood told me that info, or…
"As if I would need help to discover something this obvious… You sent someone to follow us from the moment we stepped out of the castle, right?" Right…? If Sherwood was simply messing around with me, then I would seriously lose face now… "That doesn't matter though; I believe you came here to discuss something more worthy of your time."
Damn it! She's so--- So pretty! It's really distracting when talking to her!
"My, my… I like your style, hero. You have the courage to take that tone in front of me, even though your face clearly shows fear."
Heh, it doesn`t matter whether I`m talking to a God or a human, I would still be nervous as hell either way! Don`t underestimate my aversion to social interaction!
Besides, it`s even harder for me, without any experience with girls, to be talking to my ideal woman right here, ok!?
"The reason I came here… Is precisely because of you. You managed to cross over to the spirit dimension and now the spirits are clinging to you… This kind of power is very rare. And…" Her eyes turn sharp. "It is also often associated with demons."
Well, fu---
Does she suspect something…? Is she going to kill me?
Wait. She gave herself the trouble of coming all the way here, just in order to interrogate me… If she had decided to kill me already, she would`ve probably sent her soldiers to do the dirty work for her, right? Or did she figure it would be easier if she did it herself…?
In the first place, could there have been previous cases in which she summoned the Demon Lord, or someone somehow else related to the demons? Or could it be that she really has a way of knowing that the soul is within me? But, then why did she just call me a hero? Only to make me drop my guard? No… She is probably unsure herself. She must have some sort of suspicion, but she`s uncertain and wanted to come herself in order to get a better grasp on the situation.
I should play it safe right now, focus on defending myself… And the best kind of defense is to go fully on the offensive!!!
"Is that so? So is the reason why there is so little knowledge on spirits at your city because the spirits often associate themselves with demons, and rarely help the goddess race---? Huh, your race. Or is it that you dislike demons so much you don`t even want your people using a power you might then consider 'demonic'? Or could it really be that you simply dislike spirits and thus do not want them near you? I noticed you`ve been shooing them away for a while now…"
She slightly frowns her eyebrows for a second, before returning to her usual deadpan. That was cute too!
C-Caham, I mean, it seems to be working so let`s keep at it.
"Besides, I`ve read about it already (on the adventurers guide). There are some heroes who used the spirits to fight, such as the elemental master Rosalina; or the hero of unity Clementine; or the Sh@man King Y@h (wait, oops, wrong book)… C-caham! And they were described as really powerful, so I am unsure about the reason why you would forbid any interaction with the spirits."
"Hah…" She looks down and sighs. Does she also breathe or is it just an ingrained habit? "If you already know that much, then there is no point in trying to hide it anymore… Yes, I dislike the spirits since just as the demons they… No, I'm digressing. Despite my dislike for these little things, I do recognize they are not as bad as the demons."
How are spirits and demons connected…?
"However, who is this 'Yoh' you mentioned?" Though her face remains expressionless, she tilts her head slightly to show confusion.
Oops, she noticed… B-but hey, is it okay for her to say that without any censorship!? As expected of a goddess…
"It would seem that you included someone who does not belong to the past heroes on that list, and forgot to mention the most important hero, instead."
I might have gotten a little excited while I spoke, but Rosalina and Clementine are the only ones I`ve read about so far.
"Well, maybe there just aren`t any sources for you to know about him in such manner… Whatever the case, it does not matter. What I meant to point out is that all of them had something in common, that is, their dangerous ideas. Have you any inkling as to what I mean?"
'Dangerous ideas', is it? Certainly, they did have something in common on their ideals…
"You mean how they believed that the goddess--- your race and the demons could coexist?"