The Survival Strategy of the Contract Duchess - Chapter 94

The two of them sat slightly apart, maintaining a distance. And beyond the pavilion, at a distance where they appeared as small as fingers in each other’s view, Dylan stood. The direction the two of them were looking, and the direction Dylan was standing and looking, were both towards the mountain range.

“Could you maybe hold it instead of defeating it if it comes down?”

“…Still with that.”

Sasha pouted. Kyler had said he would only check for signs of the monster coming down and leave. Dylan would take care of it, and in the meantime, Sasha would be held in Kyler’s arms and leisurely escape the forest.

That was his plan, but Sasha’s plan was completely different.

“Hmm, I wish it would come quickly. It’s nice sitting here with Kyler, but…”

“Wouldn’t it be better if it didn’t come?”

“If it doesn’t come, we don’t know how long we’ll have to wait.”

Sasha spoke cheerfully again, not wanting the tense silence. In reality, her heart was pounding like a pestle in a mortar.

And while she was chattering and appealing about what she could do, Kyler’s ears were increasingly filled with a sharp, nerve-wracking sound like nails scratching.

This woman in front of him was smiling so brightly and beautifully, but what on earth was the reason monsters were gathering towards her?

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like there were many. The sound was getting louder as it approached, but it wasn’t multiple. It had been a long time since he had felt the details of the sound like this, but he was grateful for the detailed transmission, especially today.

Kiiiiiek!

It came.

They were looking in the same direction, but both of them could feel the other person’s tension. And Dylan in front immediately drew his sword.

“Wow, it really came?”

“The confirmation is done. Let’s go.”

Kyler jumped up from his seat. And he tried to grab her shoulder to lift her up. But Sasha put strength into her body and stopped as if stuck to the spot.

“Sasha!”

“Just a moment!”

Kyler shouted, but Sasha didn’t back down either. Sasha watched the monster falling with a whooshing sound. The monster, which had crashed to the ground with a bang, flapped its wings and instantly blew Dylan backwards.

“Sasha! We have to go!”

Kyler shouted, blocking her way, but Sasha stubbornly clung to his body and craned her neck to the side.

The monster was chasing after Dylan, who had retreated, so the monster was also getting closer.

It seemed much larger than the one that had appeared in front of Sasha last time. Looking at the creature making a grating, sharp cry, it didn’t feel as scary, perhaps because she was behind Kyler or perhaps because she really felt something.

The monster was larger than expected. If it had been the usual monster they had seen, Dylan would have been able to subdue it safely, even with people to protect behind him. So he was ahead but relatively close, and they had concluded that Kyler would take care of Sasha and he would face the monster alone.

But the monster that had come down now was larger than imagined. It was at a level that only someone like Kyler could subdue alone.

The timing to run away with Sasha had become ambiguous, and seeing Dylan struggling alone, Kyler drew his sword. Could he protect both of them if he went out now, or was it right to leave Dylan and protect Sasha completely?

In a fleeting moment where one choice would determine everything, a brief worry flashed through Kyler’s mind as he drew his sword.

“Stop itttttt!”

It was then.

Kyler, who was about to jump forward after finishing his contemplation, inhaled sharply at the loud shout that erupted from behind him.

Sasha was screaming forward from behind him.

Kyler didn’t know what she was thinking, and even Dylan, who was fighting hard in front, flinched.

Sasha had a determined look on her face, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes tightly again, shouting.

“I said stop!”

Sasha’s voice, which had eaten up the monster’s kiiiek sound, echoed loudly in the forest. Kyler stopped as Sasha had shouted, and even Dylan almost stopped.

But a truly amazing thing happened.

Kiii…

The claws at the end of the wings, which had been slamming down on Dylan, clanged against Dylan’s sword and bounced off, and just as it was about to slam down a second time without giving up. Suddenly, the monster’s wings were stopped in mid-air as if someone had pulled them from behind.

And the monster, trembling, slowly turned its head.

Kyler flinched when he saw the monster turning its head to look at him. He had to make a quick decision because he wasn’t alone now. Should he run away at this point, or should he trust the noise that was scratching his ears and rush out to deal with that monster?

But whether Sasha had attracted attention or not, the monster had stopped moving and was looking this way. Kyler’s hand, holding the sword upright, tightened.

Then the monster’s head slowly began to move to the right. The moment he frowned, wondering what it was looking at, Kyler felt a chill down his spine. The presence of Sasha, who was holding his waist and standing behind him, was moving.

The direction she was moving was exactly the direction the monster’s head was moving.

“Okay! Now, tell me!”

“Lady Sasha!”

Dylan shouted loudly, but Sasha didn’t hide back behind Kyler and the monster’s attention couldn’t be turned away either. The monster seemed to have its mind completely focused on her, its gaze already fixed on her.

Kyler just carefully went and stood next to Sasha. After all, the monster was focusing all its attention on her. He stuck as close to Sasha as possible without provoking it. Dylan also read Kyler’s movements and slowly moved his body, which had been blocking the monster, slightly closer to this side.

While the two of them were securing distance to prepare for the monster’s sudden movements, the monster took a step towards this side.

Sasha felt like her heart was about to burst.

Even she could see that it seemed like a tough opponent for Dylan. It seemed like it would be over quickly if Kyler ran over and helped, but he was being cautious, perhaps worried that another monster would block Sasha’s path while he was fighting, like last time.

It would be nice if she could prevent it from attacking as fast as lightning as soon as it appeared in front of people…!

It wouldn’t hurt to try, Sasha shouted loudly with a hopeful heart. Last time, when she saw the monster crying kiiiii at her, she had mumbled that she wasn’t scared, but that she couldn’t understand what it was saying.

She figured that if a monster was actually making such a sound in front of her, most people would be terrified, saying ‘the monster is crying,’ and wouldn’t think like her.

She wondered if it was possible that even to that extent, there was communication.

And surprisingly, the monster stopped all its movements at her voice. She shouted again, wondering if the twitching monster had simply stopped at the sound, and the monster really stopped moving and even turned its head to look at her.

She could feel Kyler and Dylan tensing up. Sasha moved her body, which had been hiding behind Kyler. And seeing the monster’s gaze following her, she was convinced.

“You! Go back!”

She said that in the clearest, loudest voice possible. There was no sound in the forest. To be exact, only the forest’s natural sounds, the babbling of water and the rustling of leaves, flowed.

Kiii-!

The monster cried slightly. It felt as if it was replying to her with the words ‘but…’ Was it just a feeling? Was it just a guess that it would answer like this because she had said that?

Kiek, kiiiii.

The monster made sounds as if it was really trying to say something. Kyler, who was standing close to Sasha, and Dylan, who had retreated to this side enough to see the monster’s body at a glance, also read the subtle atmosphere.

It felt like it was trying to communicate rather than just making animal sounds.

“But, but… I’m sorry! I don’t understand what you’re saying right now! You’ll die if you stay here! Go back to the mountain range!”

But Sasha didn’t seem to understand the meaning clearly either. Sasha frowned and drooped her eyebrows, listening to the monster’s fading kiii sound.

She could tell exactly when she faced it directly like this. She could feel that the monster wanted to talk. She felt like she could understand simple actions, but she couldn’t communicate clearly.

Maybe it was saying that it wanted to talk to her?

But she couldn’t even guarantee that. She just felt like she was talking through feelings. What she could guarantee in the meantime was that the monster was understanding her words, and that it wanted to talk to her.

Kiiiiek!

The monster took another step towards this side. Sasha, who was getting impatient as Dylan showed signs of grabbing and swinging his sword again, shouted again.

“Not here! To the mountain range! Go back to the mountain range!”

She waved her arm and shouted, pointing to the back, the direction the monster had flown from.

Kyler and Dylan tightened their grip on the sword hilt while listening to Sasha’s shout.

The two of them, who had foreseen that the monster would jump out soon, were taking a stance to attack without Sasha or the monster noticing.

But then.

Kiek!

The monster cried loudly, tilting its head towards Sasha, and spread its small wings with all its might. Flap, the wings, which she thought were small compared to its size, spread out and struck the air once, and its body flew up into the air.

“Okay! Go!”

In the meantime, Sasha didn’t forget to say goodbye, and the monster spun around in the air and disappeared towards the mountain range at an incredible speed.

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