Raising Paladins

Episode 118. Tira and the Temple of Demons (3)

“It’s amazing that it flows to the island on its own once it arrives at a certain location.”

Tira said while looking at the stars reflected in the night sea.

Tira and Hanson were floating on the current in a small sailing boat that the innkeeper’s son had lent them.

In preparation for an unexpected situation, he left all the metal fittings that could shine in the starlight and moonlight at the inn.

Thanks to that, Hanson didn’t have any weapons.

“It is interesting. However, if it is really an evil spirit leading a scapegoat to the island, then the word curse would be appropriate.”

An evil spirit dwelling in a ruined temple.

It would be terrifying if the evil spirit manipulated the wind and waves around the island to attract people.

It was a scary story, but Tira rather smiled.

“What if it were the other way around?”

“Are you against it?”

“What if we go and drive out the demons and build the Temple of Dawn over the ruins? Then, wouldn’t the sun god bless these currents and sea breezes that lead people to the island?”

“Hoo… … .”

Hanson nodded admiringly.

“That’s right.”

Tira, with her innocent face, would sometimes give out such unconventional opinions.

Hanson pondered what Tira had said.

‘Because they said there is no temple of the Sun God in the Pinas Islands.’

A temple in the Pinas Islands that was completely destroyed by the Harpy Pirates.

What if we exorcise the evil spirits dwelling here and build a new temple as Tira said?

This could be a very famous religious tourist destination.

A temple automatically guided by the tide and sea breeze as long as you get close to it!

It is truly the mystery of the sun god itself.

It was surprising that the same fact was reversed, but the fact that it had the exact opposite meaning.

“People on the sea often say things like that, that if you turn the boat around when you encounter a headwind, it becomes a tailwind. So I tried it once, hehehe.”

“… … I see.”

Tira, the daughter of a farmer who grew up with parents who grew carrots and occasionally raised blueberries.

Looking at such a flashing insight, she seemed like the daughter of a scholarly family who had studied a lot.

“Shh, I see a fire over there.”

Hanson put a finger to his mouth.

Tira, who was about to say something, quickly shut her mouth.

As Hanson said, I saw a bonfire on the sandy beach of a small island that was getting closer.

“There are five of us. It must be the Harpy Pirates, right?”

“It will.”

Five menacing men sit around a bonfire.

Everyone is wearing a weapon.

A lot of big wooden crates around them.

The intention seemed clear.

“I don’t have the courage to move things into the island, so I guess they’re waiting for the porters to come around dawn.”

“That is what I think. A full fight is inevitable.”

“Wait a minute, Hanson.”

“… … ?”

Tyra whispered softly into Hanson’s ear.

Hearing that, Hanson nodded.

“Let it be.”

***

“Damn it, other guys are drinking beer at the inn, but what are we doing!”

“It’s a harpy’s order, be patient.”

Pirates basking in a bonfire on the shore of a ruined island.

They didn’t look very good.

It’s annoying to work alone when everyone else is having a good time, but the place is a cursed island of ruins!

I didn’t go near the ruins of the temple because I was afraid of evil spirits, but I was equally scared.

“Ho, by any chance, the evil spirit won’t appear here?”

One pirate said with his chin twitching.

“You idiot, don’t evil spirits have houses too? Why would you go all the way to the salty beach? If pirates are too timid, tsk tsk.”

“Is that right? hahahaha… … .”

A pirate who hides his fear with an awkward smile.

However, the other pirates had the same intention.

From nob le mt l dot com

Just yesterday, one of the pirates’ leaders who visited this island went crazy and hanged himself.

Everyone who stopped by the island met a miserable end, especially those who carried their belongings to a shelter near the temple.

As his subordinates continued to die, Henry Morgan issued a special order.

Hire labor from the villagers to move the treasure.

The pirates were waiting for the residents to appear at dawn.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t the natives try to steal it if they found out that there’s a treasure buried here?”

“You fool, this is an island of ruins! No matter how desperate they are for money, will they come to the island of the evil spirits? The harpy has chosen a good place to hide the treasure.”

“Right, harpies are really smart!”

The pirates nodded.

“Damn it, I have nothing to do, so let’s have a drink. Get some bottles out of that box and see.”

“Is that a storage item?”

“With so many of them, would you notice that a couple of bottles are gone? Besides, if you bury it today, you never know when it will come out.”

“That’s right, hehehehe.”

A pirate got up and opened the chest with a crowbar.

I took out two bottles of wine from there, uncorked them, and quenched my thirst with one sip.

“Big… … It’s fine wine. If we weren’t pirates, would we have tasted such expensive wine?! Ha ha ha!”

I was very thirsty from the sea breeze, and even fear of evil spirits.

The pirates quickly emptied two large bottles of wine.

As always with alcohol, the more you drink, the more you drink.

The pirates, whose faces were drunk, began rummaging through other boxes.

“Chit! This is what happened, let’s drink all the wine in this box. Find something to snack on.”

“If you don’t have one, let’s catch some fish and bake them.”

“That would be nice, did you bring a fishing rod?”

“Probably on the ship, I’ll look for it.”

“good.”

Pirates who want to engage in drinking in earnest.

From nob le mt l dot com

Just then, a scream was heard from the other side of the sandy beach.

“Kyaaa!”

A woman’s cry!

The startled pirates froze in place.

“Ser, can’t you?!”

“Is it a demon?!”

Fortunately, it was not an evil spirit.

One of the pirates pointed to a woman running down the sand.

“What are you, a person?”

“Ah, I… … .”

“But why are people here? Even in the middle of the night?”

The question that appeared on the pirates’ faces.

However, that doubt quickly disappeared when he saw the woman running towards him.

A rather cute-looking girl is running toward the campfire with her breasts half undone.

“gulp!”

Originally, they were horny pirates, but they even drank a lot of wine.

The pirates who saw the girl had lustful energy in their eyes.

“Help me too! help!”

A girl running, clutching at the loosened apron.

There was a look of desperation on his face, which still had youthful energy.

When she pointed her finger far behind, the pirates’ eyes naturally followed.

“I-that person made me… … !”

Under the moonlight illuminating the dark seashore, something of such enormous size that it was difficult to tell whether it was a man or a bear was running.

“Is it a monster?!”

Chaechaechaeng!

The pirates pulled out their swords in unison.

Then, the girl who ran here, Tira, quickly dug in between the pirates.

“Please help me! He forced me on a boat and brought me here! Sobbing… … .”

The pirates quickly exchanged glances.

‘What did you do to catch this girl!’

‘But the woman escaped!’

‘Let’s have fun after mincing him into a piece of meat!’

‘Ehh!’

Have you ever heard that bad thoughts are contagious?

The pirates who understood each other’s intentions in an instant smiled sinisterly.

“Don’t worry, we will protect you!”

“Ah, thank you!”

The identity of the huge thing that ran across the sandy beach was soon revealed.

It was Hanson, a man wearing a traveling outfit and a thick cloak that could be used for multiple purposes.

“Bastard, you’re filthy big!”

One pirate shouted.

An enormous Hanson appeared, but they showed no signs of fear.

It was thanks to confirmation that there was nothing in Hanson’s hand.

On the other hand, the pirates have all drawn their swords!

No matter how big and strong you are, you can’t survive if you’re hacked to pieces by five swords.

The pirates immediately attacked Hanson.

No, I was going to.

Quick-!

“… … hmm?”

A pirate looks back with a blank face.

Soon after, blood trickled down the back of his head, and he collapsed.

Tira picked up the firewood and hit the back of the head hard.

“What, what?!”

“You b*tch!”

A slender deer who jumped in asking for help hit a colleague in the back of the head with a burning firewood.

The pirates were taken aback by Tira’s sudden change of attitude.

With that, the fight was over.

It was because he had lost sight of Hanson, a veteran fighter and now able to handle divine powers freely.

puck-! Furbuck-!

“Keugh… … .”

The four pirates slam their faces to the floor in an instant.

It was the moment when five pirates with murderous records and weapons were subdued by two bare-handed priests.

“It was a good operation.”

“Is the acting okay?”

“hmm.”

Hanson nodded.

Even if Hanson fought alone, he would have enough to subdue five people, but it was obvious that he would have allowed at least one knife in his arm or leg.

It would have been a different story if he had his favorite large steel shield.

But now Hanson is completely naked.

Tyra was credited with subduing five armed pirates without a single scratch.

‘It might be a waste to stay as just a healing priest.’

Of course, the captain, Carlos, must also know this aspect of Tira.

Because he is smarter than anyone else and quick-witted.

By then, Tira was rummaging through the pirates’ stuff.

“Oh, I have something to eat. Hanson.”

Tira was opening the wooden boxes one by one with a crowbar lying nearby.

She tied several pouches full of jerky and dried fruit to her waist.

“Why are you taking that?”

“You might get hungry after chasing evil spirits.”

“… … .”

He seemed like a very clever kid when he came up with the anti-piracy strategy a while ago… … .

Hanson tilted his head.

“Wow, this is the one I sold to the trade association in Derdrang before, right?”

Hanson approached the pile of crates.

Inside a wooden box Tira opened.

There was a lot of top-notch werewolf hide and fangs.

Even at a cursory glance, it could be hundreds of megakrons.

Tira and Hanson nodded simultaneously.

“I think this is Treasure Island.”

“Looks like it.”

A place no one goes to because of rumors of frightening evil spirits.

Chests full of valuables are stacked on the shores of such places.

There are as many as five pirates guarding it.

It was clear that when the recruits arrived around dawn, they were going to move these boxes somewhere.

“Now we just need to find the location where we hid the treasure.”

“Shouldn’t we find the evil spirit first?”

“Um… … .”

Hanson picked up one of the large grains from the pirates’ dropped weapons.

“It would be nice to chase away the evil spirits and build a temple later. First, let’s find the evil spirits and drive them away.”

“yes! But Hanson.”

“hmm?”

“What do you exorcise evil spirits with?”

“… … Wasn’t there a way for you? I thought there was a way because you insisted confidently.”

“I thought Hanson was fighting and exorcising demons?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

A moment of silence passed between the two.

“If I had a captain, I would have given you the answer.”

“Yes, I guess we are still lacking in many ways without a knife.”

“… … What are you going to do?”

“Since you came this far, let’s bump into each other! If you look at the divine power, the evil spirit might run away!”

“That looks like a possibility. Then find the ruins of the temple where the evil spirit dwells… … .”

It was then.

Gyaaa

A strange sound echoed from the island hidden by the bushes.

Two people looking at it at the same time.

said Tira, her complexion pale.

“I don’t think you need to look for it, ha ha ha ha… … .”