Searching for the Survivors
Collecting magic stones felt like searching for hidden treasures.
We even found large swords and staves.
Keuko and the others were astonished, saying, “Did you take out even an Ogre King with one blow?” But they were grateful for the easy loot.
The bodies had turned into charcoal, so we couldn’t salvage materials from them, but at least the magic stones were intact.
However, the question remained: what kind of creation were magic stones that remained unscathed even when the bodies turned into charcoal?
Despite my doubts, we needed to confirm the survival of the other adventurers first.
“This hut… seems to be on the outskirts.”
The six of us joined up to inspect the huts.
We started with the largest hut, but it only had a modest amount of treasure; there were no survivors.
We continued searching the other huts, but we couldn’t find any of the Green-ranked adventurers who were supposed to have been abducted.
Had they all already been eaten?
“It’s not easy to find them, is it?”
“That’s right. In any case, we planned to explore the settlement and destroy it…”
“Huh? Can we actually destroy it?”
“As long as we make the main buildings unusable. These Ogre huts are made of… well…”
“Oh, I see. They’re just made of rocks.”
If they were solid rock, that was one thing, but there were parts that were quite shaky.
If we demolished those parts, the huts would collapse.
The number of Ogres settling here would change depending on whether the buildings were left standing or not.
This settlement had likely been left alone for a long time, or perhaps it hadn’t been discovered at all.
“This hut is empty too.”
“Yes, it is. Keuko, what should we do?”
“Let’s use magic sensing to find survivors. We’ll rescue them and then go around destroying the settlement.”
“Got it. I’ll handle the detection…”
“Lady Lily used magic earlier, and this is my specialty, so please leave it to me.”
“Alright then, Tomoa, please.”
Tomoa used her magic sensing, and she detected a magic presence inside a hut at the other side of the outskirts of the settlement.
Since there were no other magic presences, this was likely the only place with survivors.
When we approached the hut, they couldn’t find any entrances or exits.
It was more like a solid block of rock than a hut.
But there was a magic presence inside, so what should they do?
“… There’s an air current here. It seems like this is the entrance.”
“Huh, this rock is the entrance?”
“Most likely, the Ogres used a rock as a door to prevent the captured people from getting out. In that case… Tomoa, can you use earth magic to push the rock aside?”
“It might be difficult to move it completely, but I can create enough space for a person to pass through.”
“Alright then. Tomoa, it’s up to you.”
“Yes. O’Earth!”
Tomoa directed her magic, and the ground trembled as the rock gradually shifted.
Eventually, it stopped, leaving a gap wide enough for two people to pass through.
“This should be enough.”
“Agreed. Hey, is anyone in there?”
“… Voices of people? What’s going on?”
“We’re adventurers dispatched by the Guild. Are you inside here the adventurers who were kidnapped by the Ogres?”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. What happened to the Ogres? I heard a loud noise a while ago…”
“We’ve exterminated all the Ogres in this village. Now’s the time to escape.”
“Really!? Alright, you guys, get ready to run!”
One by one, adventurers began to emerge from the hut—or rather, the rocky cave.
However, for some reason, they were all completely naked.
Men and women alike didn’t even have underwear on.
What the heck was going on?