Chapter 5: Makoto Takatsuki Has a Reunion
◇ Aya Sasaki’s Perspective ◇
“Gah!” I cried out as I woke up. “Wh-What?”
I’m not dead? I thought, patting myself down. My wounds...weren’t there? That’s weird—I remember getting torn apart.
I peered at my surroundings and saw that I was in my favorite spot behind one of the waterfalls. It was just outside the place where I’d been born.
“Mother! Everyone!” I shouted, running toward my home.
It had to be a dream! Everyone is still alive! Right?!
Hope welled in my chest, and I screamed, “Where are you all?!”
No one answered. The stone that usually protected the familiar entrance to our home had been broken from the inside. The cave was usually awash with excitement, but as I approached, I saw that there was no one within. It was deserted.
“Where...are you all?”
The cave seemed so different without everyone there. It felt like I was in a nightmare.
It...wasn’t a dream...
“Wah...wahhh...whhh...” Tears started to fall from my eyes.
The sight of their final moments was seared into my mind. I saw their vacant eyes and Mother, covered in blood.
Why had it...
Our cave was shielded by a spell that allowed entry only to lamiae. Enemies shouldn’t have been able to attack us in here.
That is, as long as none of our family decided to betray us.
Second sister... No, that bitch. She was the reason my siblings, our older sisters, our mother...
I’ll never forgive her! I won’t! She won’t get away with it!
I didn’t know why, but I was still alive, and I had to get revenge. No way was I dying before I did that.
Since waking up and vowing retribution, I’d spent my time hunting monsters, more monsters, and more, more, more, and yet more.
My feelings were particularly vicious any time I saw harpies. I watched them, and whenever their queen left, I tried to take them down once and for all. They could flee from me into the air though, so it was hard to do much.
Recently, those filthy beasts had started to take off as soon as they saw me!
I slept at home in our cave, but no one else was there. The entrance stone was broken, so it wasn’t as safe as before, but I didn’t know of anywhere else to go.
I’d even thought that the traitorous second sister—bitch—might show up again, but she never did. I wondered where she’d gone.
Maybe she’s dead in a ditch somewhere. But, if she’s alive...I’ll kill her.
Getting revenge on her and the harpies’ leader was the only reason I had left to live.
I was weak, though, and I needed to get strong to defeat my enemies.
Mother had once given advice on that topic, something along the lines of, “If you wish to grow strong, then eat humans. They carry blessings of the gods, and eating the strong among their number will strengthen you in turn. You’ll become just like me.”
I wouldn’t be able to beat the harpy queen as I was. For that, I’d need to become stronger... I had no choice, but...
Eating humans...?
Could I do that? After all, I used to be a human too. If that path led to me getting my revenge though, I guess I’d have to.
My heart had been blackened by my thirst for vengeance.
Time passed in that way, and I fought along the whole time.
I was napping one day when a ruckus from the lake woke me up. I leaped up from my resting spot, thinking that some enemy had arrived. However, that didn’t seem to be the case.
The monsters were in a tumult. I stared at the uproar and saw them all swarming around something.
Are those human adventurers?
There were two humans in the lake that looked like what my sisters had described. One was a girl with fiery red hair, and the other was a man wearing grayish clothes. I guess the woman was some sort of mage. She had a staff, after all.
But what about the man? He was only equipped with a dagger. Maybe a rogue?
The mage was practically overflowing with mana, and even with the distance between us, I could feel her life force.
If I attacked her... If I ate her...maybe I’d grow stronger.
But before I could try for that, I noticed some foul harpies flying around. I’d clean them up first!
As I tore my way through the harpies, I surveyed the humans.
The mage was clearly the far stronger of the two. The man didn’t feel any more powerful than some goblin. Weak, without question. I’d gain no benefit from eating him.
Well, that was my first thought, but...
No... He’ll be harder to deal with.
They were currently surrounded by dozens of monsters. The mage was frantically casting and screaming, avoiding the sea serpent and silk threads from the arachnae.
The dagger-wielding man, though... Does he have eyes in the back of his head?
When a harpy would swoop down on him from behind, he only ever dodged a tiny bit, just the bare minimum of movement to avoid the sharp talons. When the sea serpent would leap from the water, the man’s light steps always took him out of swallowing range, and he cut through the arachnae’s threads like they were nothing.
While his physical abilities were clearly nothing to write home about, he was practically dancing around all the attacks.
I don’t understand how he’s so calm...? He was constantly inches from losing his life.
Suddenly, there was a lull where he was clear of attacks, and all he did was scratch his cheek slightly like his predicament was just a minor annoyance.
That black-haired guy...he’s going to be the issue. I need to take him out first.
I focused on my prey. But the way he scratched his cheek was...almost familiar. That thought didn’t cloud my mind though.
I wondered what expression he was wearing. He was facing away from me, so I couldn’t really tell. Either way, though, looking at him felt almost nostalgic.
It’s just my imagination... I can’t have met the guy. Focus, Aya.
Quietly, I waited for my chance.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
“There’s no end to them,” I complained.
“Meteo!” Lucy’s magic sent a column of water into the air. It was the seventh time she’d cast that spell. A few monsters were caught in the blast, but there were still plenty left to take the empty places.
“You okay, Lucy?” I asked.
“Y-Yeah, I’m good on mana.”
That’s just what I’d expect from her—a bottomless mana pool from the king rank mage. However, she seemed close to her limits concentration-wise.
“Lucy, ease up on the magic for a minute and rest. I’ll dodge for us.”
“G-Got it...”
I put my arm around Lucy’s unsteady shoulders and surveyed the area.
There were more than fifty monsters surrounding us. Most of them were low to middling in terms of the threat they posed.
However, I spotted two that we needed to focus on.
The first was a crocodile-looking monster—a king crocodile. There were posters about this beast in the guild. It was the boss of this lake, but it currently didn’t seem to be interested in us and instead focused more on attacking the orcs and goblins. I decided that we shouldn’t need to worry about it too much.
The real issue was the other beast, the one that had surveyed the battle before joining in—a lamia.
I’d heard that lamiae normally hunted in packs...
Regardless, this one was on its own. At a glance, it was attacking the harpies and arachnae, apparently uninterested in us...
So is it after us?
Sense Danger was blaring constantly in my mind. I can tell...it’s crazy strong.
Most lamiae were of moderate danger at best. But this one was taking down orcs with a single punch and ripping harpy wings off like they were made of tissue paper.
Actually, the harpies had fled the instant they saw the lamia. At least we had that going for us. But I wasn’t about to become optimistic, what with how dangerous it was.
Quite a bit of time had passed since the last elemental magic I’d cast. It was getting to the point where I wanted to fire off another blast to scatter the monsters...
But with that lamia gunning for us... I don’t want to antagonize it too early. That would leave us vulnerable, and I wanted to distract it.
“Lucy,” I said.
“Wh-What?” she sputtered through gasping breaths.
“Actually, never mind.” I wanted to warn her, but she didn’t seem to have enough spare energy. I’d have to deal with this.
I purposefully turned my back, relying on the 360-degree vision that my RPG Player skill gave me.
I wouldn’t take my metaphorical eyes off that lamia.
Will it take the bait...?
I kept dodging the other monsters’ attacks for a while, always keeping my back to the lamia. I kept my dagger at the ready, waiting. Before long... Sense Danger reacted.
Here we go! The lamia had suddenly gotten much closer. So quick!
I turned and slashed, but I cut through nothing but air.
“Water Magic: Ice Needle!” I cast, using my favorite blinding spell. Needles of ice formed in front of the lamia’s eyes and shot off. No monster could avoid them from point-blank range like this.
And yet, somehow...
It dodged?! No way!
That was the first time a monster had dodged that attack.
“Damn it!” The situation was so dire that Lucy and I were stuck in hand-to-hand combat.
My eyes met the lamia’s from mere inches away. It had blue skin and eyes, and its features were framed with dark purple hair.
What a pretty monster...
Despite the out-of-place thought, I readied my dagger to protect Lucy. However, the monster didn’t attack. The lamia in front of me just stared with wide eyes.
“T-Takatsuki...”
Hang on? What did that monster just say?!
The wailing of Sense Danger abruptly fell silent.
“M-Makoto?!” Lucy screamed. “There’s a monster right there!” From Lucy’s perspective, the lamia must have happened out of nowhere.
Despite Lucy’s commotion, the lamia cried out in joy. “M-Makoto? Makoto...Takatsuki?!” The monster yelled my full name, even pronouncing it like anyone else from Japan would.
Well, that cinches it... This lamia used to be a member of class 1-A.
But what happened to her? And who was she?
Fine! There’s no other method!
“Hey,” I said, directing my words toward the lamia. “Is there anywhere we can hide? I wanna get away from the monsters!”
Lamiae lived on this layer of the dungeon, so she’d know the area far better than I.
She pointed sharply. “This way!”
“Got it!”
Following the end of her finger with my eyes, I saw a medium-sized waterfall. She was probably indicating the area beyond it.
“Lucy, hold on tight.”
“Wha... G-Got it!”
Lucy clung to my waist. The lamia looked rather miffed at that for some reason, but then...she followed suit?!
“Ahh! Wh-What’s happening?!”
“Don’t worry, Lucy, we’ll be fine.” Although, I wasn’t entirely sure about that. Was this lamia just lowering our guards like the arachne from earlier?
“Elementals! Help me!” I cried. “Water Magic: Tianlong.”
Unlike when we’d been in the arachnae’s nest, I could use as much water as I wanted over the lake. My spell launched a dragon made of water that was twice as large as the one I’d summoned before.
It raged around the lake, and the monsters surrounding us were blown away. All three of us fled behind the waterfall, sparing the beasts only a sidelong glance.
There was a wide, open area behind the falls, and no monsters were in sight. Have we gotten away?
“Phew... That was tough.”
“We...made it...” Lucy panted, before leaping back. “Hang on! She’s still here!”
The lamia was staring at us...no, at me.
“Takatsuki,” she said.
“Y-Yes?” I answered instinctively. Who is she?
“It really is you...” She started patting me down.
R-Riiight... Considering how overfamiliar she is...she’s definitely someone I know. And we must be pretty close too...
“What are you two doing?” Lucy demanded, looking aghast at us from a little ways away. I guess from her perspective it looked like a monster was hugging me.
The lamia completely blocked out Lucy and just continued staring at me. As she did, I looked into her deep blue eyes, just as her gaze was boring into mine.
Were those tears?
“Uhm, by the way...” I said, deciding to start things off. The lamia had been in class 1-A and was likely someone who had spoken familiarly to me back then. Other than Fujiyan, there was only one person I could think of. She didn’t look anything like before, but...
“You’re Sasa, right?”
I can always apologize if I’m wrong.
She paused for a moment, then asked, “Why is that even a question? Didn’t you know it was me?”
Ack, she looks super unhappy.
“Ah, well... You look completely different.”
“Oh, right. Here, human disguise.”
Whoa, the lamia turned into a human...wait just a minute?!
“Put some damn clothes on!” Lucy shouted.
Yup, Lucy was quite right—the now-human lamia was completely in the buff. I panicked a bit and turned around.
“Sasa! Don’t you have any clothes?!”
“I mean, I’m a monster,” she replied. “I always look like this.”
Has she lost her sense of shame as well?
“I’ll lend you this,” Lucy said before passing over her cloak.
“Thanks,” Sasa wrapped it around her body like a dress.
“Here, have this too,” I told her. I placed my jacket over her shoulders.
Great, now I can actually look at her as we talk.
“It’s been a while, Sasa,” I greeted.
“Takatsuki!”
Oof, what a tight hug, I thought as a soft sensation pressed into my body.
“Makoto, who’s this?” Lucy asked unhappily.
Right, I need to introduce them. “Sorry, my bad. This is Aya Sasaki. She comes from the same world as I do. Sasa, this is Lucy, she’s in my party.”
The two of them looked at each other suspiciously.
“Nice to meet you, Lucy,” Sasa spoke first.
“You too, Aya. Now get off him.”
“We haven’t seen each other in forever, so it’s fine... Wait, you’re not his girlfriend, are you?”
“I’m not!” Lucy denied.
Sasa let out a slight sigh of relief. “See, no problem then.”
“Ughhh.”
I didn’t understand the issue, but it looked like Lucy had given in.
“Sasa, what are you doing as a lamia in a place like this?” There was so much I wanted to ask.
“Takatsuki! Listen to this!” she exclaimed, holding even tighter to me.
Lucy was glaring dubiously at us.
Calm down, Lucy, I’m sure Sasa’s had it tough. Be nice!
“Listen here, I—”
“—and then...” Sasa told us the full story of her life and about struggles with the lamiae.
“I won’t let that traitor get away with it!” Lucy shouted. “I’ll blast her with my magic, Aya!”
“R-Right. Thank you...Lucy.”
Lucy was impulsive on occasion, and so her sympathy must have gotten her angry. She really was a kind girl.
“Takatsuki?” Sasa asked. “What’s wrong?”
I was honestly in shock. Sasa had been reincarnated as a lamia. She’d lived in a dungeon, fighting swarms of monsters every day.
She was playing on hard mode while I was cruising through life way easier...
Truthfully, when I’d found out my stats in the temple, I’d been sure that out of everyone in class 1-A, I had it the most difficult.
But my struggles were nothing compared to Sasa’s.
“I...need to work harder,” I muttered.
“You’ve had it tough, Takatsuki,” Sasa said, sounding sympathetic for some reason.
“You’ve had it worse,” I replied, before asking the question that was on my mind. “By the way, we want to get back to the upper layer. Do you know the way?”
“To the upper layer? I know that my sisters mentioned a path up from the lake.”
“All right! Let’s go, Lucy, we can get out of here.”
Sasa seemed anxious all of a sudden. “Hey, can...can I come with you?”
“Of course you can. Let’s go back together.”
I could hardly leave her here.
That response earned me another hug. Lucy just gave us the evil eye.
Finally, we headed off toward the upper layer.
“It’s a bit narrow,” Sasa warned us. “Be careful.”
“I wouldn’t call it narrow,” I mumbled.
“More like we barely fit...”
The way was less of a “path” and more of a hole.
“It’s easy as a lamia though,” Sasa cheered.
“The rocks are hurting my knees...” Lucy moaned.
“Sasa, how much longer?”
“We should be out soon. Here’s the exit.”
Crawling from the hole, we burst into the water cavern.
“There’s no one here,” Lucy commented.
“Well, it’s not even dawn,” I said.
Lucy seemed shocked by that statement. “What?! We’ve been down there that long?”
“Whoa, so this is the upper layer.” Sasa’s head was rapidly moving back and forth as she tried to look at everything.
“You’ve never been up here before?” I asked.
“No... I heard it was dangerous because there are so many humans.”
“So the monsters see the upper layer as dangerous...” That was pretty funny.
“Makoto, where exactly are we?” Lucy asked.
“Probably about midway between the entrance and the waterfall.”
I checked with Mapping and Scout, but luckily, I could only find weak monsters.
“Looks like we’re out safe.”
After an entire day, we’d managed to escape Labyrinthos. As we left the dungeon, the sun was just rising, signaling daybreak.
◇ Fujiyan’s Perspective ◇
My esteemed Tackie and Lucy hadn’t returned from Labyrinthos that night.
“Boss, I can go check it out if you’re that worried’h,” Lady Nina suggested.
“Hmm... There has been an announcement made of a dragon appearing on the upper level. I wager even you could not fight such a beast alone.”
“I’d manage to escape at least’h.”
I was concerned. When the guild had notified everyone about the dragon, the whole town had raised an uproar.
Ordinarily, there was a daily list of people who had gone missing. Yesterday, dozens of people had been added to that list, and I’d been shocked the instant I spied my friends’ names on it. I felt in no state to negotiate and had called a halt to all of my appointments for the day.
Even now, there was no sign of them.
“I wonder if it appeared because of the blight dragon’h?” Lady Nina suggested.
“Such are the rumors...”
There was a beast called the blight dragon within Labyrinthos. It was a blasphemous thing, such that even the monsters of the dungeon fled its presence.
Truly, it was an evil creature. It’s even said that it served the Great Demon Lord a millennium ago. The adventurers were all talking of the monsters within the dungeon, and of the beasts’ behavior becoming suddenly aberrant due to the blight dragon’s influence.
“I fervently hope that they were not unfortunate enough to encounter it,” I stated.
“I heard that it appeared around the Great Waterfalls. I think that Mister Takatsuki said he would be heading for them last night’h.”
“I certainly seem to recall that...” Worrying, indeed.
“He is someone that can remain calm even in the face of a powerful monster. I’m sure he’ll be fine’h!”
“That is true. But I cannot calm myself whilst simply waiting.”
“Then maybe we should go to the guild aga...” Lady Nina started before trailing off. But then, she began again with gusto. “Boss! I heard Mister Takatsuki’h!”
“What?!”
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
“My esteemed Tackie!”
Fujiyan thundered toward us.
“Miss Lucy! You’re safe! Oh, and who is this’h?” Nina asked. But then, her smile instantly transformed into a sharp look.
She must have noticed that Sasa’s aura felt like a monster’s.
“Oh, she comes from the same world as Fujiyan and me. It’s all complicated, so can we talk inside?”
“C-Could it be?! Lady Sasaki?!” Fujiyan exclaimed in surprise. Wow, he’d noticed right away.
I guess her human glamour included features that were quite a bit similar to her old appearance.
“You realized immediately, Fujiwara,” Sasa said. “Takatsuki didn’t even notice at first.”
“Hey, don’t say that,” I complained. I had been exhausted from fighting through the night.
We all returned to Fujiyan’s rented room and explained the whole story.
“To think...such a thing has happened,” Fujiyan commented.
“Miss Sasaki... You have suffered so much’h,” Nina added. Both of them were teary-eyed after hearing her tale, and I found myself thinking that they were all really good people. Since yesterday, both of them had been waiting for us the whole time.
By the way, Sasa had changed clothes now.
The only girls’ clothes we had on hand were Nina’s, so Sasa was wearing a tank top and shorts. Now that I was seeing her in a well-lit place, her skin seemed awfully pale. There was a slight purple tint to her black hair, but her features were the same as Sasa’s. It reminded me so much of how things used to be.
“Makoto, why are you staring so much?” Lucy interjected, poking me. That seemed to draw Sasa’s attention, so she looked our way.
Her blank face was just the same as always.
“What are you planning now, Sasa?” I asked, even if I didn’t really need to. I already knew her goal.
“I’m getting revenge for my family.”
I could feel the resolve in her voice. She always stubbornly stuck to her convictions once she decided on something.
She really hadn’t changed at all.
“But if you’re alone’h...” Nina looked at Fujiyan like she wanted to say something. Lucy stared at me the same way.
Will you aid Aya Sasaki with her vengeance?
▶Yes
No
I didn’t even need to think—she was my best friend.
I selected “Yes” on the RPG Player screen.
I had no idea what kind of enemy the queen of the harpies would be, but she’d definitely be some kind of boss. A worthy opponent!
Don’t go too far, Makoto, the goddess warned me, apparently realizing my excitement.
It’ll be fine. I promise to be careful, I thought back at her. But there was something else I needed to say. I had to make absolutely sure, for Sasa as well.
Goddess, thank you. Thanks to your guidance I managed to reunite with my precious friend.
Oh, quite right, aren’t you happy? Her voice wasn’t quite as long-suffering as she tried to make it sound.
I turned my attention to Fujiyan. “Let’s get a plan together to take down the harpy queen.”
“Hmm, we require more intel first.”
Both of us exchanged grins. That’s friendship for you—we were on the same wavelength.
Lucy seemed surprised. “You’re all fired up.”
“Of course! We have to help a classmate in need.”
“Thank you, Takatsuki, Fujiwara...” Sasa said tearfully.
“The harpy queen sounds like a rather formidable foe, though’h,” Nina commented. She showed us the guild’s wanted poster.
“Labyrinthos, middle layer. Harpy queen and children. Reward: Three million Gald (Calamity candidate).”
“Does that mean she’s strong?” I asked.
“Hmm, the swarm as a whole will probably be harder to deal with than the griffin’h.”
“Wow, even stronger than that...” Lucy muttered unhappily.
“The children don’t matter. I can take down a normal harpy with one hit,” Sasa declared, and her clenched fist was oddly reassuring. She’d apparently gotten pretty combative.
“By the way, Fujiyan, is Sasa a normal lamia?”
She seemed confused by that question. “Wait, what do you mean?”
“It’s just, you seem way stronger than an average one.”
“I am similarly curious,” Fujiyan admitted. “From your tale, you seemed to have the ability to come back to life after you thought you were dead. Perhaps this can answer our queries.”
The item in Fujiyan’s hand was a Soul Book.
“I thought that only the church could get those?” Or more accurately, that only the church could buy them.
“There is more than one way to skin a cat,” he commented with a chuckle. “Here, Lady Sasaki, hold this if you would.”
“Hm, what is it?” she asked.
“It’ll tell us your stats and skills,” I answered. As I spoke, the book lit up. Apparently, it had finished the analysis.
“So, uh, how do I look at them?”
“Give it here,” I said, tugging the Soul Book from her and opening it up for everyone to see.
Aya Sasaki: Lamia
Level: 34
Unique Skills: Transformation, Evolution, Action Game Player...
Normal Skills: None
Strength: XX
Stamina: XX
Resistance: XX
Agility: XX
.........
......
...
“She’s over level thirty?!” I yelled.
“Whoa, her stats are crazy!”
“I lost’h...” Nina was in shock. Sasa had higher stats than a gold rank adventurer.
“You got your otherworlder bonus too, Sasa.”
“Is it so incredible?” Sasa asked with a tilt of her head.
“Your stats are superb,” Fujiyan told her. “But it is your skills that are truly intriguing.”
“Uh, so I have unique skills called Transformation, Evolution, and...huh?”
That last skill was the interesting one.
“Action Game Player?” Sasa read out from the Soul Book.
“Huh, that name...” Lucy muttered. “It sounds similar to Makoto’s skill.”
“And the boss’s’h,” Nina commented.
“Let us peruse further,” Fujiyan said, peering into the book.
“Allows the use of Dash, Charged Attack, and Double Jump as basic actions... Lady Sasaki, can you do so?”
“Uh, well I think I remember suddenly speeding up during combat. Is that a skill?”
“Dash triples speed?!” Fujiyan cried out.
“Tripling Miss Sasaki’s stats would make that a rather powerful skill’h.”
That’s great, they’re simple skills to use, unlike mine.
“You hit the jackpot, Sasa.”
“Hmm, I guess so.” She looked a bit bemused.
“No, the most ridiculous skill is this,” Fujiyan said, pointing out some of the text.
“Extra Lives: ⅘ (*Activated above level 30*)” was written as a skill.
“That’s...”
Extra lives... It must be like the life system that appeared all the time in action games—the one that lets the player retry even if they die.
Seriously? She could die and come back to life?! Th-That’s OP!
“Lady Sasaki, we seem to have discovered the reason you survived the harpy queen,” Fujiyan said with a sigh.
“Huh? What kind of skill is that?” Lucy asked.
“Boss, explain please’h.”
“Hey, Takatsuki, what does he mean?”
“Come on, Sasa, you know this!” I exclaimed.
Are you a gamer or not?!
“Extra lives is a piece of terminology from our world. It means that you can retry something a certain number of times,” Fujiyan explained.
“Retry?” Lucy asked. She hadn’t quite parsed the implication.
“I’m just assuming here,” I added, “but Extra Lives ⁵⁄₅ would mean...that you can come back from the dead five times.”
“Oh, so that’s why it’s gone down to four,” Sasa said, finally understanding.
“C-Come back from the dead?” Lucy asked blankly.
“Would that be similar to the saint rank skill Revival’h?”
“Well...probably.”
Lucy and Nina both gave an eep, finally seeming to understand.
“Getting a Revival from the church costs millions...” Lucy commented.
“Being able to revive yourself is practically divine providence’h...”
Yup, our classmate’s skills are OP.
“Well,” I said, “now that we know how broken Sasa’s skills are, let’s get some rest. I’m dead on my feet here.”
“Yeah, I’m swaying,” Lucy agreed.
“Indeed. Let us retire abed and rest before we begin our strategizing in earnest.”
In no time, Lucy and I were knocked out and sleeping like logs.
◇
“Now, let us begin planning the strategy to defeat the harpy queen,” Fujiyan declared.
“Yeah!” we all cheered. Sasa was all fired up, and the rest of us offered polite applause.
“First off will be information sharing. As you slept, I informed the guild that the two of you had returned.”
“Yeah, we forgot to do that,” I admitted. That’s Fujiyan for you, paying attention to every last detail.
“We also reported the ruffians you encountered’h,” Nina added.
Fujiyan followed up. “Apparently, they have yet to return.”
“Which means...” I breathed. They hadn’t gotten away...
“Well they were bad guys, so it’s obvious!” Lucy declared.
“It hurts my soul, but at least we don’t need to worry about getting attacked again.” I thanked Fujiyan and Nina for their effort.
“Next, Lady Sasaki.”
“Me?”
Sasa seemed upbeat, even out of Labyrinthos. She’d evidently gone shopping with Nina because she was now wearing a dress of some kind.
“Here is your adventurer card.”
“Wait? You can get them outside of the adventurer’s guild?”
Probably not. No one other than the guild issued them, and getting one from anywhere else was illegal.
Well, it is coming from Fujiyan... He’d probably gotten the card through some backroom deal or the like. Fujiyan’s rueful smile just underlined my suspicions.
“Uh, it says my name’s Aya Sasaki and my race is...demi-human?”
“You would be exposed as a monster if we went to the guild to have it done normally,” Fujiyan stated.
Lucy nodded. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“Is that so bad?” I asked.
Nina was looking at me, aghast. “Mister Takatsuki...”
“Monsters and demons cannot have adventurer cards. After all, to the people of this world, they are targets for extermination,” Fujiyan explained.
“I guess that makes sense,” I admitted.
Wait, what about Lucy then? I glanced toward her, but she avoided my eyes. I’m sure she said she was half-elf and half-demon.
Lucy’s card just called her an elf. She must have gone through the back channels as well. After all, she was a big deal in her village.
“Now we just need to hide the fact that she’s a lamia.”
“Right, Miss Sasaki is pale, so if anyone asks, she can answer that she’s a mermaid’h,” Nina offered. “They only really show up in the south, so you shouldn’t need to worry about meeting one’h.”
She and Fujiyan had already thought through it all. They’d beaten us to the punch.
“Now, to business,” Fujiyan said, spreading out the information on the harpy queen along with other sheets of paper.
Everyone looked them over. All of it seemed like information about our target.
“Harpies are weak to fire magic?”
“Well, their wings probably burn well,” I reasoned. “You’re up for that, Lucy.”
“Yeah, leave it to me!” she cheered, flexing her biceps. Fire magic was great against monsters.
“How many of the harpies are there’h?”
“There were about a hundred of us lamiae, so I think there’d be about the same number,” Sasa answered.
“I would rather avoid facing such a force head-on,” Fujiyan admitted.
“Could we get them all with a surprise attack?”
“Miss Lucy’s fire magic might be able to manage it’h...”
“We shouldn’t rely too much on Lucy’s butterfinger magic,” I warned.
“Makoto! That’s mean!” Lucy complained, smacking me lightly.
From my other side, Sasa clapped me on the shoulder. I was currently sitting right between her and Lucy, and they both seemed eager to knock me around a little.
“What about your water magic?” Sasa asked. “That was incredible as well.”
“Water magic isn’t great offensively,” I admitted. “The water dragon spell I used pushed the monsters away, but it didn’t defeat them. I guess some might’ve drowned, though.”
“You mean Tianlong?! That’s ultra rank magic, isn’t it’h?!” Nina asked, shocked.
“I borrowed mana from the elementals. On my own, I can’t use ultra rank magic.”
“It is nothing to sneeze at, even so,” Fujiyan stated.
“Yeah, you were amazing,” Sasa said, tightening her grip on me.
Lucy grabbed hold of my arm and did the same. It felt pretty warm since she had a high body temperature to begin with.
“I’ll take the offense,” Lucy declared. “The problem is locating the boss.”
“I think they’ll have a similar kind of home to the lamiae,” Sasa noted, gripping even tighter. In contrast to Lucy, her skin felt cold to the touch. It must have something to do with her being a lamia...
These two were exact opposites. But forget that, I was getting pretty cramped between them like this...I couldn’t move.
“Hmm, I asked around much of the guild, but there was no information on where the harpies might live.”
“So we’ve got to find it ourselves...” Sasa muttered.
“Let’s split up then. Sasa and I will search Labyrinthos. Fujiyan, would you mind taking Lucy with you? She and Nina can ask around the town.”
“What?! Why? I want to go to the dungeon too!” Lucy complained.
“Miss Lucy, they may encounter the dragon... It’s dangerous’h.”
“Urk, that’s true... What about you then, Makoto?!”
“I can at least run away if there’s water around. I also need to talk with the water elementals every day so I can use elemental magic.”
“Do you?” Sasa asked. “That seems like a pretty harsh requirement.”
“Maybe, but I can use ultra rank magic because of it.”
“So...I just need to guide you around, right?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed, “and we can practice your skills at the same time. I think you should learn Stealth.”
“Got it. You seem like you’re having fun,” she said.
“What?” Did I?
Well, it was the first time we’d ever planned the takedown of a boss like this, and it was exciting.
“Sorry, Sasa, I should take it more seriously.”
“Nah, I’d be all depressed if I were on my own. I’m glad you’re all helping.” Her expression was far softer than it had been yesterday.
“Listen up, Makoto,” Lucy said, pinching my cheek. “You’re not allowed to do anything strange together just because you’re alone, got it?”
“What do you mean, strange?” I asked, brushing her hand away.
“You’re training with me in the evenings,” she declared instead of answering.
“Obviously I will—your magic’s the foundation of our plan.”
“Right!”
Okay, we’ve got a general strategy.
“All right, people, let’s get started,” I said. Everyone answered with firm nods.
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