Chapter 507 The Taciturn Book Hero

A voice came from beside her.

Flip—

The motion of turning pages stopped abruptly.

The girl turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting the curious gaze of the elven girl.

“I’ve been watching you for an hour, Ika. You haven’t moved at all. Is it really that interesting?”

“……”

Her blue eyes held no surprise, no emotion whatsoever.

She simply nodded lightly.

“Ehh, really? Then—”

“Can I take a look?”

Ika stared silently at the elf girl.

After a short while,

she finally spoke in an almost inaudible voice.

“You may.”

She then opened the book and shifted a little closer to Prarlulu.

“Thank you, Ika~! My name is Prarlulu Phil. I’m a Hero just like you—we’ll be friends from now on!”

The elf girl sat down right beside the blue-haired girl, pressing close to her without hesitation.

“……”

Ika froze for a moment,

but said nothing in the end, simply burying her nose back in the book.

Prarlulu paid it no mind, leaning in to read alongside her.

And then……

her head spun.

Thud.

Prarlulu fell backward, dazed and lightheaded.

What…… what in the world was this writing???

It was filled with indecipherable symbols and strange phrasing—

like a book written in a language no mortal could understand.

How could something like this……

possibly be fun?

It was utterly bizarre!

Though the “friend” who’d asked to read with her had collapsed,

Ika still held the book half-extended, turning the pages slowly.

It was as if she hadn’t noticed the other girl had stopped reading at all.

At that moment,

several figures approached.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Prarlulu, so this is where you two are.”

“……Mmmh?”

The dizzy Prarlulu tilted her head back sharply, seeing three familiar figures upside down.

“Hulim.”

“What are you doing here?”

“We didn’t see you or Ika back at camp, so we came to check. Speaking of…… what on earth are you doing?”

Hulim Heyerar studied Prarlulu, who was staring at them in a strange, awkward posture.

“……Nighttime performance art?”

“No! I was just reading with Ika!”

“Reading?”

Her gaze shifted to the girl absorbed in her book, completely oblivious to those around her.

Ika did not react at all to their arrival.

“Yeah! Ika’s been reading this nonstop, so I thought it’d be something fun. But it’s just a book I can’t understand at all—”

“Ugh.”

Prarlulu suddenly clutched her head with both hands, her eyes rolling.

“I feel like those symbols are still swirling around in my head. My brain…… my brain’s gonna explode……”

“No way, a book that powerful?”

Miko Kedar stepped forward skeptically.

A few seconds later,

the white-haired cat-beastfolk stumbled back, dizzy and disoriented.

“Wh-What……? I didn’t understand a single thing, meow?”

“Miko!”

Hena moved quickly, catching Miko in her arms.

She then glared “angrily” at the book in Ika’s hands.

“Book, bully Miko! Hena, hate it!”

A few more seconds passed……

another beastfolk girl collapsed, eyes spinning.

“……”

Hulim stared wordlessly at the total rout.

What in the world was going on here……

Her gaze slowly settled on the book in Ika’s hands.

Could it be some cursed book that made fools dizzy just by looking at it?

No—

“This is……”

She leaned closer, her eyes falling on the pages. Profound runes met her gaze—but Hulim understood their meaning perfectly.

The Book of Heroes?

Flip—

The page-turning stopped suddenly.

Ika, who had ignored the world around her until now, lifted her head at that moment.

Her blue eyes stared calmly at Hulim, a faint glimmer deep within them.

It was barely noticeable, but Hulim caught it.

“Was that your ability just now?”

“……”

Ika looked at Hulim with an expressionless face.

After a few seconds, she nodded lightly and whispered two words:

“Insight.”

Insight?

Some kind of detection ability……

But just how much could it see?

“What did you see?”

“Strong.”

“Huh?”

“You.”

Flip.

The sound of pages turning sounded again.

Ika lowered her head once more, her focus returning to the book.

“Stronger than anyone I have ever seen.”

“……”

Flip, flip……

Beneath the starry sky, the soft sound of the girl turning pages returned.

After watching Ika quietly for a long while, Hulim looked away.

Heroes truly grew at vastly different rates, she thought.

Flip, flip, flip—

“……We should head back.”

With that,

Hulim turned around.

She lifted Prarlulu by the back of her collar with her left hand, and grabbed Miko and Hena by their tails with her right.

She dragged all three back toward camp.

“Ugh…… Ehh? Ow! Hulim??!”

“What?”

“My chin!”

Thud—!

“It hurts, meow——!”

“Bear with it. This is the easiest way to carry you.”

“Ehh——!?”

Thud!

“It hurts…… Sniff, can’t we have Ignir carry us, meow……?”

“Don’t be childish. Ignir returned to Mirnabith long ago.”

With the coming war, a figure as conspicuous as Ignir would not survive.

Hulim had no intention of bringing him to the battlefield. She had sent him back while the Dwarven Legion was still providing relief in the Northern Wastes.

But now that she thought about it, should she have kept him a little longer……?

If he were here, the group would have reached Windrock City by now.

No, never mind.

It would be no different from sending him to a certain death.

Lost in thought, Hulim quickened her pace unconsciously—

making the journey even more miserable for those she dragged along.

“Sniff……”

Thud!

“Ow——”

……

Witch Hills.

The frontline between the Allied Forces and the Demon Lord’s Army.

An imperial scouting team moved through the dense forest, gathering intelligence.

The jungle’s humidity had soaked their clothes through with sweat,

yet they did not dare make a sound, lurking carefully among the trees, terrified that any loud movement would draw danger.

Sector 23 clear. All teams respond. Failure to check in on schedule will be deemed KIA.

Copy. Sector 12 clear.

Copy. Sector 9 clear.

Copy. Sector 16 verifying.

Copy. Sector 20……

Silent coded signals passed through the woods.

Without speaking a single word aloud, the scouts completed their sweep of the area and retreated safely to friendly lines.

“Phew~!”

One scout loosened his tight uniform and fanned himself.

“Finally done with today’s mission. Lucky none of us died this time~!”

“Stay sharp. We’re not out of danger until we’re back at camp.”

“Captain Zieg, no need to be so careful……”

The scout shrugged dismissively.

“Our defensive line is right nearby. Those demons wouldn’t dare come this far just to die, would they?”