Chapter 33: Noroi Town’s Strange Guards

"Don't you think I should get some basic adventurer gear before we go fight a general?" I asked nervously as we walked to our next big battle.

"Don't worry about it! You have us, right? Besides, we don't have any money! How do you plan to pay for a sword or shield or whatever?" Mari asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. I mean, I haven't really been the one fighting in the past…"

"There ya go! You'll be just fine! Just stay behind us and you won't get hurt! Easy, right?"

"As much as I don't like it, I agree with Mari. You know you're not a fighter, Hana. Just let us handle this," Yuri added.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Akino exclaimed, skipping ahead.

I sighed quietly to myself. I wanted to be useful. I thought this would be my big chance since I could easily learn some skills so I wouldn't be a burden to everyone. Maybe I could buy some equipment with the reward money…

"So, what are we going to use the reward money for? We're only here to defeat the Evil King and learn more about the universal disturbance, right? Why do we need this planet's money?" I asked, hoping to get a good answer.

"We'll need money for food, water, and shelter. We're going to be traveling a lot more than we have before, so I'll take care of the finances," Touwa replied, acting like our secretary.

She made a good point, but I really wanted some equipment so I could be of some use! I was afraid to say something about it because I figured Mari would reiterate her previous argument.

"How much money do you think we'll need to set aside for supplies?" I asked Touwa.

"I don't know anything about this planet's currency yet so I can't give you a definite answer. Why are you so concerned about the reward money? That's not like you, Hana."

"N-no reason."

Touwa gave me an uncertain look, but didn't ask. I sighed to myself, glad to have dodged a bullet. We continued on the road to Noroi Town. Strangely enough, we didn't run into any monsters as we walked closer and closer to the cursed town. Maybe the Evil King's general was enough to scare them away. If that was the case, we could be in trouble, even with multiple archwizards. As I thought about this, the others stopped abruptly.

"According to the map, this is Noroi Town. It's strange though. I didn't think we would see kids playing in the street since an evil general has taken over the town," Touwa said, thinking out loud.

I looked towards the town. Though we were still a ways away, the view from the hill we were on showed a town similar to Kaishi Town. Like Touwa mentioned, there were kids running around in the street like nothing had ever happened to their village.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go kick some general *** (butt)!" Mari shouted, running toward the seemingly peaceful town.

The rest of us followed, most of us shaking our heads at Mari's enthusiasm for violence. When we made it to the town's entrance, some hooded guards stopped us.

"Stop right there!" one of them said in a gruff voice.

"What business do you have in this town?" the other said, his voice booming.

I looked up at the giant guards nervously. Strangely, I couldn't see faces from under their hoods.

"We came here to kick the general's *** (butt)!" Mari said plainly.

I winced. Considering that we didn't know much about this town, I had a feeling we should have kept our true intentions hidden. Oh well. So much for that.

The guards seemed taken aback for a moment. Finally, they responded.

"W-we cannot let you in this town! Now, leave before I call my master over!" the bolder one proclaimed.

"You leave us no choice then," Yuri sighed.

"Yaaah!" Mari charged with a war cry.

In a matter of seconds, both guards were down on the ground. It almost seemed too easy…

"P-please have mercy! W-we were f-ahh!" the bold guard screamed in agony before falling silent.

"Is he dead?" I asked, concerned.

Shitai bent down and checked the limp body of the guard.

"Yes! He died!" she replied happily.

Something about his death bothered me. I know Mari didn't hurt them enough to kill them so why did he die?

"I'm curious. What's hiding under the hood? It's strange to me that the guards would be wearing hoods," Touwa said, also analyzing the situation.

When Shitai uncovered the guard's face, we all gasped in spite of ourselves. His face looked split between a human's and some type of ogre-like creature's. Everyone instantly saw why the guard died. Where the faces met, there was a huge gash. With a head injury like that, no one could survive.

"There's no way I did that! All I did was punch their lights out! I didn't use a blade of any kind!" Mari exclaimed, horrified.

Yuri turned to Shitai.

"Can you check and see if the other guard is still alive? Maybe we can learn what happened to his comrade."

Shitai nodded and went over to the other guard.

��He's not dead," she sighed after inspecting the body.

"Is he conscious?"

"Barely."

We walked over to the other guard and took off his hood. He looked similar to the other guard except for one major difference. This guard did not have a huge gash splitting his faces.

"Can you tell us what happened to your comrade?" Yuri asked him gently, kneeling down to him.

The guard shook his head violently, his eyes wild with fear.

"We promise not to hurt you."

The guard hesitated, deeming our intentions to be nonviolent. After thinking for a minute, he shook his head, unwilling to speak.

Yuri stood up and sighed.

"I don't think we can get any information out of him. We'll have to find out the hard way, I guess."

It was time to enter Noroi Town.