Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, Mr.Bones bringing another chapter of my fanfic The One Who Came Back.
Lupusregina will follow the Traveler and learn a lot about him and herself.
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 36: Oh Day! Oh Misfortune!
"Hehe! That was fun," Mr. Talbot said. "Well, thank you again for the offer, but I don't intend to spend the night in the town. I'm looking for something, some ruins. Do you happen to know of anything like that in the forest?"
Everyone became serious.
"In the forest?" Enri whispered in a frightened tone. "You want to enter the forest at night?"
"Yes, but don't worry, I can take care of myself. So, about the ruins..."
"Hmm, some hunters mentioned something deep in the forest, about two days' journey away. If you know the way, but they warned us to never go near it. They said it was a forbidden place, and only those seeking death would enter," Jugem cautioned, remembering Lupusregina's warning and how she smiled throughout.
"That must be what I'm looking for. Could you point me in the right direction? Thank you very much for your help, Mrs. Enri, little one, sirs."
"Are you sure I can't convince you to give up? At least go during the day. Today is the new moon, there won't be any light, not that it makes much difference. The forest remains incredibly dangerous even on these days."
"Thank you for the warning, but I really need to go. Time is of the essence. But don't worry, all I need is a little luck," the Traveler said, winking at Nemu.
The girl, though young, knew he would never return.
"Goodbye, Uncle! My name is Nemu, and I won't forget your story."
The man didn't know if she was referring to what he had told or to himself. He smiled and headed towards the forest.
The forest's edge was only a few kilometers from the town. As he entered the woods, the day ended, and the light vanished instantly. Despite that, the Traveler continued confidently. Lupusregina followed tens of meters behind, with her stealth ability, she was virtually invisible, and with her night vision, it was as if she were looking at the Traveler on a clear day.
"Ainz-sama. This is Lupusregina reporting."
"Proceed, Lupusregina."
"As informed, the Traveler arrived in the village, introduced himself as John Talbot, asked for directions, and headed towards the Tob Forest. He is heading towards the fake Nazarick."
"As I suspected, he will likely attempt to make contact there. I cannot follow him with remote viewing inside the forest. Keep tailing him and do not interfere for now, but be cautious. We don't know what powers he possesses. If you need support, Aura is in the forest conducting some last-minute exploration."
"As you command, Ainz-sama. Lupusregina signing off."
Strangely, despite the darkness, the Traveler advanced without difficulties. Not only that, he quickened his pace. Nothing seemed to hinder him, not branches, vines, thorns, nor even the animals bothered him. At one point, a monstrous bear passed just a few meters from him. It didn't see, hear, or smell the Traveler. Such a thing was impossible. He didn't even stop to hide. When he crossed paths with the bear, he was passing behind a tree, in perfect synchrony.
Lupusregina had already noticed how strange the Traveler appeared. For starters, he had no scent. Everything has a scent, no matter how faint. Living or dead beings smell of sweat, urine, diseases, pheromones, or hormones. Plants have specific fragrances and odors. Manufactured objects smell like their materials and the people who carried them. Even elementals have a smell, they smell like nature. But HE, he had no scent, not even cleanliness. This absence was disconcerting.
Another detail was that he didn't get dirty, at least not as much as he should. The mud that would trap the feet of an experienced hunter simply fell off and didn't soil him. He didn't even leave footprints, not like a human would. Elves were the beings that left the lightest footprints, in the snow, they would barely disturb the surface. But he left even lighter marks in the forest. Although his feet sank into the moss, as soon as he moved away, the spot almost returned to normal. The same happened with the soil. Could he be a ghost, a specter, or a spirit? The problem of the scent arose again, he didn't smell like something spectral.
Thirdly, he knew where to go. It wasn't just as if he could see in the dark, but he avoided obstacles as little as possible, moving in a straight line at a brisk pace. After a few hours, it became obvious that he didn't tire, eat, or drink. Solution had already mentioned this peculiarity in their conversations over the past two months.
And lastly, the strange sensation he emitted. It was something different. Angelic or abyssal beings had specific auras, while other beings like the undead or even paladins emitted auras based on their karma. But he, there was nothing coming from him, yet Lupusregina had this feeling. Something primal inside her warned her that her instincts were missing something she didn't understand.
Despite all of this, she still seemed to have a growing dislike for him. His nonchalant attitude, his carefree way of speaking, the way he navigated through the dangerous forest as if on a leisurely stroll if he started whistling, she might not be able to handle all this irritation.
"Who does he think he is? Walking around like that, speaking to people as if he knows them, talking to my Enri in that manner. She is mine... my plaything" , the maid thought as she followed him.
What would take an experienced adventurer over a day to travel, the Traveler completed in just six hours of walking. He arrived at the fake Nazarick Tomb, an exact replica of the exterior area of the true Great Tomb. After the experiment with the workers, it was left as bait in case someone sought it out a trap for the prideful.
The Traveler stopped right at the threshold of the premises. He looked at the pillars of the portal, kicked some dirt, paced back and forth. Was he suspicious?
"Ainz-sama wants him to enter the fake Tomb to trigger the traps, test him, and teleport him to one of the most dangerous rooms in Nazarick. That's why there are no guards in the courtyard. But why doesn't he enter?"
The Traveler then did something strange. He looked up at the sky, glanced at his own wrist as if something were stuck to it, and tapped it twice. Then he wet his finger with saliva and tested the direction of the wind. He took a piece of paper out of his coat, wrote something, crumpled it up, and threw it on the ground. After that, he headed in another direction, moving away from the fake Tomb.
'Ainz-sama, the Traveler didn't fall for the trap.'
'Hmm, what did he do then?'
'It seems that he lost interest as soon as he saw the entrance. He performed a strange ritual and threw away a piece of paper. I will retrieve it and continue following him.'
'Well, that was expected, Lupusregina. The paper he discarded could be a clue, but it could also be a trap.'
'I know, my Lord, but it is my duty to investigate.'
'Good luck, Lupusregina.'
'The paper is crumpled. I will unfold it. It has symbols written on one side, and on the other side, it says 'I'm sorry.'' Then the talisman burned, there was no glow or magical circle, nothing to indicate that it had any effect.
'Ainz-sama, I don't see any effect on me. Ainz-sama?' - Nothing.
Her communication had been cut off. Lupusregina took out another message scroll and burned it, attempting to contact her master, but the spell failed. She tried again, attempting to communicate with Aura, and the spell connected.
'Aura-sama!'
'AAAAaaaah! WHO'S TALKING TO ME!' exclaimed an old voice.
'Who is speaking?'asked the maid.
'WHO ARE YOU, SPIRIT? WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?!!' shouted the male human voice.
Lupusregina ended the failed message and realized that something had been done by the Traveler. She couldn't communicate with her allies, she was alone now, and she smiled.
"Now it's just the two of us." She sprinted through the forest, but after running a few hundred meters, she realized that she had lost the Traveler's trail.
"Clever, he was going straight until now. He probably changed direction somewhere back there, knowing he would be followed." Lupusregina then returned, paying closer attention to the path, trying to locate the subtle trail. It was taking more time than she wanted, but finally...
"AHÁ!" Lupus exclaimed in victory, something she shouldn't have done, as she accidentally hit a massive Black Bee hive with her head.
Despite having extremely dangerous stingers, the Black Bees did not harm Lupusregina. Her skin was capable of withstanding even stings in her eyes without discomfort. However, this had been a particularly productive year for these insects, and their hive was filled with golden and viscous honey.
The contents of the hive spilled all over Lupusregina, who tried to clean her eyes. With a misstep, she slipped and fell into a patch of Wild Mint.
This particular variety was very rare and had such a strong odor that a few crushed leaves could permeate an entire area. Lupus slid and struggled to regain her footing but failed. She rolled out of the patch and, when she managed to stand up, she looked more like a creature made of plants than the familiar Battle Maid.
"Damn it! I have to catch up to him. A cleaning spell along the way, and I'll be cleanAhhhh!" This time, Lupus tripped over a root, something that had been impossible just a minute ago, and it was now happening for the third time.
She was propelled toward a ravine, rolling and hitting dozens of vines along the way. At the bottom of the ravine, she was completely entangled.
Strangle Vines were part of the carnivorous plant species. They were as strong as steel cables and continued to tighten even after being cut, squeezing their victims.
Dizzy and disoriented, Lupusregina was about to free herself when she saw the creature standing above her head it was large and hairy.
"Fenrir! Aura's wolf," she thought, as her mouth was covered by one of the vines. The wolf sniffed her, making a strange sound as if it indicated that it didn't know what this leafy and vine-covered thing was.
When Lupus thought about freeing herself, she was caught by Fenrir's jaws and carried away. Her mistress, Aura, would know what to make of this.
Lupusregina tried to escape, but every time she attempted to break the fragile vines, the wolf tightened its grip. She couldn't free herself without harming Aura's beloved pet.
"I have failed! I HAVE FAILED, AINZ-SAMA! Please forgive me, Ainz-sama!" a resigned maid whimpered.
After a few hours, Fenrir arrived at the heart of the Great Tob Forest. Aura was investigating the massive lake under her master's orders, so she was surprised to see her wolf returning. She had sent it to assist Lupusregina if necessary.
"Hey, boy, what are you doing? You had a mission!" The wolf lowered its ears at the reprimand and then released its load.
"What is this? Lupus!?"
Lupusregina began to free herself, in a comical scene of her trying to pull off the vines that insisted on clinging to her hair.
"Lupus, what happened?"
"Hello, Aura-sama, I... I... I FAILED AINZ-SAMA!!!"
"Calm down, calm down, explain everything that happened to me."
The maid then recounted all the events while Aura tried to put on a serious face.
"...so that's how I ended up here."
"It's a good thing that Fenrir found you, Lupus, good job, boy." The giant wolf wagged its tail frantically.
"Why? He dragged me through half the forest, I was hit by every branch along the way."
"That's exactly why, Lupus, I think you've been cursed, it could have been much worse."
"How? I'm a Cleric, I can tell when someone is cursed and I'M NOT"
Lupusregina shouted, pounding her fist against the tree, causing several rotten fruits to fall on her head.
"Okay, I'm cursed."
Aura tried to contain her laughter, almost without success. It didn't come from the irony of seeing the sadistic maid getting a taste of her own medicine. Aura wasn't that kind of person. It was simply the slapstick comedy scene she had witnessed.
"Please don't laugh" said Lupusregina, falling to her knees in defeat "I don't like being laughed at."
"But you do the same thing to everyone, always playing pranks on people."
"BUT THAT'S HOW I WAS MADE!" she cried out, her voice filled with tears "I was made this way.
Aura approached and placed her hand on Lupusregina's head. Lupusregina is a werewolf, and on this New Moon night, she was in the lowest phase of her animal instincts. Still, the elf tried to console her in the only way she knew, by patting the fallen maid's head.
"It's alright, it's over now. Let's clean you up, and you'll be ready again. No one is angry. You can cast Cleanse to break curses, right?"
"Sniff... Yes, but I don't know what the curse is. I can start with Lesser Purification and move up to the strongest one if it doesn't work, or I can use Divine Purification right away, but in both cases, I'll end up with very little mana."
"I think you should use the strongest one, let's save time."
"Okay" said the maid, sniffling "and what if it doesn't work?"
"I'll take you to Ainz-sama, and he will heal you."
"He will be mad at me for failing."
"Don't worry, Ainz-sama knows you did your best, he will understand" comforted the little elf.
"Alright" Lupusregina stood up "DIVINE PURIFICATION!"
A pillar of light appeared over the maid, enveloping her, and just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
"How do you feel?"
"The same, I didn't feel anything different before either."
"Alright, then, here, catch" Aura said, throwing a mango towards Lupusregina, who caught it but it exploded in her hand, not doing much else.
"I think it worked!" said the elf happily.
"No, not completely, I would have been able to catch it mid-air without it getting destroyed like that. I think I need to cast the spell again, but I don't have enough mana right now."
"Well, it's good enough for me to start running."
"Run where?"
"Well, after that traveler, of course! Fenrir is faster when we're together, and I can track him much more easily. Come on, hop on, we don't want you to get hurt while you're not at 100%."
Joy seemed to have returned to the maid's face, and together they sprinted through the forest at a dizzying pace. It took them half the time to return to the fake Nazarick, and Aura almost immediately found the trail of the Traveler.
Following the new direction, they reached the edge of the forest as dawn was breaking. There was a road, with wagon tracks in both directions, and beyond that, a vast meadow.
'Ainz-sama, Lupusregina reporting' said the maid after burning a new parchment while crossing her fingers.
'Proceed, Lupusregina. I was worried when we lost contact, what happened?'
'As you suspected, it was a trap, and I ended up cursed. I lost the trail in the forest, Lady Aura found me, and we followed the signs to the edge. I can go in one direction, and Lady Aura can go in the other.'
'That won't be necessary, return home. I want your report along with the others who are already arriving. Don't worry about this Traveler, I know exactly where he is heading.'