Looting the Corpses

“Forgot? What do you mean?”

A spirit losing its memory. She’d never heard of such a thing. It would make more sense if this spirit simply didn’t want to reveal anything about himself. Honestly, if he had just said so, Rosalia would’ve accepted it. She was understanding enough not to pry into someone else’s past.

“No, it’s not like that. I really did forget. I can recall a few things, but I feel like something is missing from my memory. For example, I don’t remember how I suddenly ended up here.”

“I see… If you don’t mind me asking, where were you before?”

For now, let’s listen to him.

There was no harm in hearing him out. Rosalia chose to understand El’s situation to figure out more about what was going on.

“Do you know about the Untouch Territory?”

“The Untouch Territory? You mean the area at the far west of this continent?”

Rosalia was surprised to hear that term. If asked whether she knew it, she absolutely did. That place…

That’s actually the place I wanted to go.

After running away from her home, Rosalia had been considering where to hide. The Untouch Territory had been one of her top choices.

“Hm, I’m not too familiar with this continent’s layout. But the place I meant is covered in thick miasma and isn’t suitable for living.”

“Y-Yeah. That matches the place I know. This continent is divided into several countries. At the far west lies what’s known as the Untouch Territory.”

In truth, the term “Untouch” was a bit misleading, since the area could still be reached and entered. Rosalia had once been confused why it was called that. People had been using that name since long before she was even born into this world.

El seemed to pause, deep in thought.

“Rosalia, you seem to know a lot about that place. Are you planning to go there?”

“Yes. You’re right.”

Rosalia nodded in confirmation. She felt a small ray of clarity.

“I didn’t expect such a coincidence.”

El seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“Do you have some connection to that place?”

“I do. That place is the last thing I remember before losing my memory.”

Memory loss and the Untouch Territory…

Rosalia tried to piece together the information she had.

It all seemed suspicious, far too convenient to be mere coincidence. Yet regardless of that, the fact that El was a spirit somehow contracted to her was something she couldn’t deny.

“El, how confident are you that we can actually reach that place?”

Rosalia finally chose to compromise a little. She felt completely stuck. If El truly was on her side, it would be a tremendous help. But if he wasn’t...

“As I said, I’m not too familiar with this continent’s current state. But if you leave the route planning to me, I can at least guarantee your safety.”

“Do you understand what kind of situation I’m in? Why are you so confident?”

Her situation was desperate, she was fully aware of that. After months of facing death constantly, she felt a little offended by how casually El seemed to treat her circumstances.

“I don’t know the full picture. But I can guarantee this one thing: if you follow my guidance, I can at least ensure you won’t be killed.”

It felt like making a deal with the devil, that was the feeling Rosalia got from El’s offer.

“If I follow your guidance, I can escape? Escape the ones trying to kill me?”

“Let me be clear. When I say follow my guidance, I mean without question. Some of my instructions might sound irrational. But if you want me to protect you, you’ll need to obey all of them.”

Rosalia blinked for a moment, staring at El with a flat gaze, as if evaluating something.

“How confident did you say you were again?”

“I can guarantee it one hundred percent.”

El replied firmly. Rosalia paused, then nodded.

“Alright. I’ll follow your instructions.”

Her firm words made El go silent for a moment.

“You’re not suspicious?”

“Oh, I am suspicious. Very.”

Rosalia didn’t deny El’s question in the slightest.

“That’s a relief. You’re my contractor, your life is my life as well.”

Rosalia nodded, agreeing with El’s statement.

“In that case, what’s your first instruction?”

There was no trace of hesitation in Rosalia now, as if all the worry and fear she had felt before were nothing but lies.

El remained silent for a moment, still not giving any instructions even after being asked. That made Rosalia tilt her head in confusion.

“Alright. First, let’s loot those corpses over there.”

“Hmm… That’s a reasonable instruction. I was thinking the same thing when I saw them.”

Rosalia turned toward the bodies.

When she reached them, she paused and observed them carefully, assessing their condition.

She could clearly see how destroyed the bodies were, they looked like eggs dropped from a great height.

Every one of them was in the same condition. So mangled that if any had survived in that state, Rosalia couldn’t imagine the level of pain they would be experiencing.

Despite the gruesome scene, Rosalia felt neither disgust nor hesitation.

“Their bodies are really crushed. Would I have ended up like this if I hadn’t awakened the Saintess power?”

“Absolutely. Even if you had coated your body in protective magic, the impact alone would still have destroyed you.”

Protective magic was meant to defend against magical attacks.

Physical attacks often lack functions such as shock absorbers. Rosalia agreed with El’s analysis.

“Now… what might they be carrying. I hope they at least have medicine.”

Rosalia approached the first corpse, ready to loot it while hoping to find some form of medical supplies. During her journey, she had suffered a fever and had no medicine, an agonizing experience.

She also avoided towns or villages, fearing her presence would leave a trail.

“I know some recipes for emergency medicines. If we can find the right ingredients, I might be able to make them.”

“Really? That would help so much!”

Rosalia was thrilled to hear some good news from El.

The cliché of surviving in another world using modern-world knowledge was common.

Unfortunately, Rosalia wasn’t like those reincarnator. Though she had read many otherworld-themed novels on Earth, her general knowledge was practically zero.

She didn’t know how to make Gunpowder or process raw oil.

She didn't even know how to build an airplane or how a diesel engine worked.

If I had known I’d really reincarnate into another world, I would’ve spent more time studying those things.

It was too late now. There was no point in regretting it anymore.

“Hm, nothing useful in this one.”

After rummaging through the first corpse, Rosalia still hadn’t found anything she considered useful.

She found a small weapon like a surgical knife, some needles, and a few coins. The first items might fetch a price if sold, but Rosalia wasn’t keen on that idea.

“Ugh. Hey, instead of just watching me like that, can’t you help?”

Seeing El simply floating there doing nothing, Rosalia couldn’t hold back her complaint.

The black orb wobbled slightly, perhaps trying to mimic a headshake.

“I can’t. I can’t touch anything in this form.”

“Well… you do lack hands.”

Rosalia finally realized El didn’t have hands, but El shook himself again.

“No, that’s not what I meant. My current form is a pure spirit. I’m not in a physical state.”

“Eh?”

Hearing that, Rosalia paused what she was doing. She stared at El, surprised, and then stood up to check for herself.

“I-It’s true.”

After trying to touch El with her fingertip, her finger went straight through his round body as if he were a shadow. Rosalia tried several more ways, but nothing worked.

“With this, you’re even more mysterious. Are you really a spirit?”

Rosalia started to doubt El’s identity again. There were just too many suspicious things about him.

El didn’t respond, only floated higher and farther away from Rosalia, who was still trying to touch him.

“Does this mean you won’t be able to fight alongside me?”

Seeing El had risen just high enough to be out of reach, Rosalia slumped her shoulders. She was disappointed, maybe El wouldn’t be able to fight at all like other contracted spirits.

“We’ll talk about that later. For now, just finish looting these corpses.”

Rosalia pouted in displeasure, but she agreed with El. She felt she had already stayed in this place for too long.

This was another world filled with magic and spirits. Naturally, that meant monsters existed here too. And with these blood-soaked corpses lying around, it was only a matter of time before they attracted unwanted attention and began swarming the area.

Choosing to set her questions aside for now, Rosalia moved on to the next corpse, determined to search it thoroughly and see if there was anything useful she could scavenge.