While on the way to the border, we came across a squad of what looked to be soldiers desperately fighting against strong-looking Orgres.
They looked like they were having a lot of trouble even staying alive, which spurred Ariana into action.
"No hesitation, huh? Even when they're humans?" I chuckled at Ariane's cute, heroic spirit and jumped in after her.
Ariane performed an Earth spell which stunned the three large ogres, leaving me to finish them off with a single slash of my whip sword, cutting all three in half.
"Eezee game!" I exclaimed.
After making sure all the soldiers were fine, they thanked us profusely.
"We just happened to be passing through on our way to the Eastern Empire." I shrugged.
"Is that so, Ms. Swordswoman? You'd better be careful then… There's been nasty rumors about the Holy East Revlon Empire." One soldier claimed.
"Oh? What kinda rumors?" I asked, just as Ariane walked to a tree a few meters away.
"Just some reports of an influx of monsters. Some of them are abnormally huge. So, please be careful on your journey!"
It seemed like the soldiers were in a hurry, so I saw them off and turned around to see Ariane crouching in front of a tree.
"Whatcha doin', Aria?" I call her by a nickname the same way she calls me one.
Ariane lifted a shiny rock with a grim expression on her face. "Look at this… It's a Cultivation Runestone."
"A cultivation rune? Sounds like a special type of the runestones monsters have."
"It's very similar, but this is just a piece, a fragment of a Cultivation Runestone."
The Runestone Ariane held was the size of a baseball, so the actual Cultivation Runestone must be massive.
"Unlike the runestones found in monsters, Cultivation Runestones are artificially packed with mana. One of their uses is crushing it up and spreading it over your fields to improve crop quality…" Ariane looked at me with her brows furrowed.
"… Only Elves know how to make them. And if you leave a piece like this out in the open, it throws the mana in the area out of whack, attracting all sorts of monsters."
"I see…" My tone deepens as the realization hits me.
"Someone's trying to attract monsters to certain areas?"
Ariane shrugged her shoulders. "I can't say. It's certainly a big possibility."
I gripped the handle of my sheathed sword. "If that's a stone only Elves can make… Think we'll find any Elves nearby?"
"Maybe… But, Limbult is trading these with other countries." Ariane reasoned.
Limbult is one of the few cities that trade with Elves, with Cultivation Runestones apparently being one of the products sold. It's not out of reason for a Runestone to be in a town close to the border.
I take the stone from Ariane and crush it in my hands, releasing the particles into the wind. "I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this. Let's just continue on to Bordertown Kaysehk."
••••••••••
Soon we entered the Border Town of Kaysehk, and I marveled at its size. It was more like a city, but I guess it's also a stronghold, so the size makes sense.
"Trying to find the buyers the Viscount of this town resold slaves to is gonna be tough with a tow this big…" I sighed.
"Looks like we'll have to subtly ask around. Let's split up and regroup at the Inn at sunset." Ariana suggested.
Since I don't have to worry about Ariane since she's strong enough I agreed. We walked our separate ways and started our information gathering.
Soon, I became more and more disheartened at the fact that I didn't get any valuable information. I stopped by a candy shop and bought some sweetened nuts for Inari.
"Kyuun!"
"Hehe~ You sure like sweet stuff, huh? Inari."
I didn't learn much about any slaves, but I did learn that the guards posted in the Western Fortress were on high alert because of a high increase in monsters at the border.
"And also some people have been hearing strange cries coming from that border area, too…"
The increase in monsters could be blamed on someone planting those Cultivation Runestones. But the most troublesome news is an increase in missing person cases.
"Haaah~! I never like info gathering missions in games, either~! It's so boring and even more so when I get nothing on my Target!" I complained.
I stood up, carrying Inari like a child in my arms as she munched on the candied walnuts. "Let's just go back and meet up with Ariane."
"Somebody…! Help me!!" A shriek stopped me in my tracks. I turned heel and ran to the alley where it came from.
There, I saw three men snickering to themselves. "Hold up. Let's at least have some fun with her."
"Yeah! She's just gonna end up monster food any—"
I interrupted their assault, grabbing the scum closest to the woman by the arm and twisting it behind his back.
"Owwww!!"
"Disgusting." I spat.
"Ow ow! That fuckin' hurts! Leggo, damnit!"
"This little fucking girl thinks she can mess with us?!" The other two men immediately charged at me, but I effortlessly beat them to the ground.
I wiped my hands together and shook my head. "You're lucky I can't just kill you since I'm in a town…"
The woman in an expensive-looking dress, who was nearly assaulted, dived into my arms. At a closer look, she was dirty and scuffed up. It appears she was running for a long time.
"It's okay… You're safe now." I patted her head as I heard her begin crying into my chest.
"…Thank… you… so much, for saving me…!!" She whispered in between sobs.
I hugged her shaking body tighter and continued trying to soothe her, trying to ignore her large breasts that were pressing against my abdomen.
"That must've been scary, huh…? It's alright now."
"There you are!" I heard Ariane call out.
"Hey, 'Stolfo! I found someone who had great info for us! Hehe~ You won't believe who—"
I turn my head to her, just to see her happy expression frozen in place as she stared at the woman in my arms.
"Uh… Aria! This woman was nearly assaulted by those men over there, so…!"
Ariane simply walked up to me, her face still showing me an eerie smile. "Do you always rescue people like this?"
"Well, I'm not just gonna ignore someone that's in trouble." I pouted, knowing full well Ariane is acting jealous.
She put her hands on the woman's shoulders, still smiling, "Seems like you're none too worse for the wear. You'd best go home and rest!"
The woman, who had calmed down, wiped her tears and shook her head. "But I haven't even thanked her properly for saving me…"
Ariane inched her face closer, her apparent smile looking scarier by the second.
"Don't worry about that. Just go home. Okay?"
"O-Okay!!" The woman seemed to understand Ariane's true meaning behind her words and quickly left the scene.
"U-uh…?"
Ariane just looked at me with a disappointed pout, turned away, and stomped in the direction of the Inn.
"Aw, come on, Aria!" I called out, chasing after her.
"I'm not jealous!" She shouted.
Ah, so she is aware of her attitude? I'm definitely not letting her forget this.
"Fufu~ The first time Aria got jealous at another woman for hugging me?"
Ariane bared her teeth at me, her face red with embarrassment, "Not jealous…!" She uttered.
I laughed and grabbed her hand. Even though she seemed a little mad at me, she still gripped my hand as hard as she could.
"Don't worry, Aria! I'll let you hug me close all you want later tonight~!"
She simply turned her face away at my statement, but I could still see the tips of her ears all red. "Sh-shut up, Stupid 'Stolfo…"