Special Chapter XI - Undead Demon Tiger (part 1)

The very point of being hidden is to not look suspicious.

But, this is just taking that rule a little overkill…

They are... horrible at hiding in plain sight. Ten thousand Jules if they are the one causing us to get caught.

Gajah came out from our hiding spot and walked towards the knights group. The captain turned his fearsome gaze towards Gajah, scaring him completely. But when the captain recognized the face, he quickly changed his expression.

"Oh, Gajah."

Gajah walked closer, still quite bewildered.

"Everyone else is... waiting..."

Gajah peeked at the other knights. They didn't have large muscles like the captain, but their muscles are definitely big.

All the Mazino knights that came here… none of them are skinny. Those round shiny muscles, the shape of their packs, and their fearsome glares. 

Gajah is absolutely jealous. The captain turned his face in front of Gajah, waking him up from his doze.

"Where are they?"

The knights followed Gajah and grouped up with our group on the secret part of the beach. One of Gajah's friends is watching over the walls to guard, just to see if anyone is coming.

And while he was busy guarding there, he glanced towards our direction a couple times. Most likely because he is interested in the current topic.

"Well, well, well! What do you think?!"

The captain said as he flexed his muscles at me.

I don't know what his intentions are, but I can't help but admit those muscles are huge. If I trained hard everyday, I might have muscles as big as him. But in the end, they won't matter thanks to my abnormal magic energy.

"They are well built, but you still won't beat me in an arm wrestle."

I jokingly answered, and the captain only looked so confused.

"… For real?"

"C-Captain!"

Gajah shouted from the left, and his eyes were full of hope. The captain changed his expression from being disappointed to being confused.

"P-Please teach me… H-How to be... Strong!"

After hearing Gajah's intentions, the captain laughed. He placed his hand on Gajah's shoulder and spoke with a really wise tone.

"You do not need my teachings, Boy. The only thing that you need… is the motivation to keep growing your strength!"

Hearing the captain's sudden change of tone, Gajah also followed and changed his tone.

"Yes. Captain."

The two grinned and gave each other a thumbs up. Everyone else around us nodded while agreeing. Meanwhile, my patience has grown thin.

"We should really get to the point."

I said aloud after witnessing the friendship created between the knight captain and the leader of the rebellion. Everyone cleared their throats and turned to me.

"Gajah. Where exactly is the location of the conjurer?"

I asked Gajah, but he shook his head.

"Nobody knows for sure about that. But, it was detected that his magic is somewhere around this beach.

Which is why for now, we only need to be on the lookout. Check every inch of the beach, even the outer parts. If we are lucky, we might find his hideout."

Gajah explained to everyone, and they all noted. For now, our plan is to check out the beach, and investigate every inch. That sounds like a terrible plan, but it's not like we have any other option.

The captain pondered over what we needed to do, then he came up with an order.

"All right, then. Go around the beach. Try making friends with people who might have an idea about anything. If we can't find anything, return here by sundown. And if you find anything, report to the others. Clear??"

""Yes sir!""

The captain ordered everyone, and the knights under his care started moving immediately.

"We should get going as well."

Gajah said to his friends, and they all nodded.

"I'll be in the shadows."

I said to them, and everyone nodded.

"Okay. Let's meet back here at sundown. Try not to check out the location alone if you somehow found something. Simply come back and get back up."

""Okay.""

After the captain's orders, we all went our separate ways.

Using magic energy, I enchanted my legs and leaped really high. I leaped to the top of the cliff behind us, while Gajah and the captain, along with their friends, went to the main part of the beach to gather information.

We really had nothing to go with aside from the intel that says the conjurer is close to the main beach. So, we can only ask for information from the people around here.

Looking from a higher spot, the beach seemed to be crowded. People from all over the continent came here for some refreshment. In this continent, there are only two locations for a recreational beach. The first is right here, on Veldon, and it's the most crowded one. While the second is incredibly far away on the west, the kingdom of Naverne.

Though the one at the west is much bigger and wider than the beach here, it's way too far away from the other kingdoms. The path there is quite hilly, added to the long distance, travelling there can take multiple weeks using a carriage.

I stared at the view below me, searching for anything wrong. But so far, nothing is weird. It's just people having their holidays.

I can see children running at this wide sandy beach. A lot of people are sunbathing, and another group of people are playing around in the waters.

The time still shows morning, which means the water is still rather cold. It might be bad for your body to go to the cold waters right now, but for a bunch of trained warriors, it can be counted as training.

I tried heightening my senses multiple times and looked for any oddities, but so far I found nothing.

Aside from those people at the beach, there are the knights from Veldon wandering here and there, looking for any trouble. They are all armed to the teeth, but the people here didn't mind their presence and continued having fun.

And so far, nothing is happening.

I kept my eye for another fifteen minutes until I got bored. Then I leaped away and tried to keep an eye much closer.

The sun had already lifted quite high. Judging from the position of the sun, it's somewhere around 9 am.

It has been three hours since we came to the beach. And so far, nothing is happening, and I began to grow bored.

I can see the captain down there along with some of his knights having fun with a group of other men in a contest of strength. Gajah is also a part of that group, hilariously. His body stood out the most among the captain's group, since he is the one with the small muscles.

From afar, I can see Kirene talking with a group of young handsome boys. From their expressions, it doesn't seem like they are having fun.

On another section of the beach, Belmar and his friends are playing around with a group of ladies. And from their expressions, I can tell they are doing something good.

While everyone is enjoying themselves, I stayed up here above a giant rock on the top of the cliff, watching for any mysterious movements.

And so far... nothing.

It's just people on the beach. What oddity can I possibly find?

I started to think that the conjurer on the beach was a false alarm, and I began thinking about going back home and eating barbeque chicken with Eva and Lyona. That would be nice.

But after a while, I can see some progress. Kirene left the boys and headed towards the captain and his group. After talking with Kirene, Gajah separated from the group and did something odd. 

He left the beach by himself...?