Chapter 106 – Card
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Connection.
I had used this Arts before in order to communicate telepathically with May in her qilin form, but I learned something new from being connected with Sophia like this.
「This is──tougher than I imagined.」
I had the ancestors’ Arts active. And then, Sophia had also been added into the equation.
It felt like my field of vision had increased by one.
Using the Second’s Arts, I could sense the movement in a wide range centered around me like the back of my hand, and at the same time I also received information that was sent from Sophia.
It was tough even for me, who was routinely using multiple Arts.
It must be even tougher for Sophia.
In fact, she was breathing really hard.
「T-this is tougher than I imagined──uh!」
Sophia pressed her hand on her mouth. She fell on her knees there and vomited.
It seemed the amount of information entering her head was too much.
I tossed away my already battered saber and snapped my right hand’s fingers. Then a magic circle formed on the ground.
Two new sabers flew out from there. My hands caught one each and I swung them hard.
The sabers’ sheaths came off and their blades appeared.
「Sophia, rest for a bit.」
「M-my apologies.」
She used her battle axe like a cane to stand up somehow. I narrowed down the information I sent to Sophia to decrease her load.
This Art was really useful, but it was dangerous to use it at the crucial moment without preparation beforehand.
Time was needed to master the usage of this Art.
Sophia had worked hard enough in such a condition.
But, the enemies were still coming out from the forest one after another.
Every single one of them was wearing similar equipment. They were also wearing the same collar.
「Is that the trend among monsters recently?」
I tightened my grip on my sabers and broke out running, then magic flew out from inside the forest.
Red flame became a fireball and flew out from inside a bush. Although it surprised me, I immediately bisected the flame into two with my saber.
I immediately searched for the perpetrator.
「That’s reckless, doing that inside a forest.」
Even monsters would refrain from using magic that would burn the forest.
And yet, the magician──goblin mages that showed up from within the bushes were using fire element magic without hesitation.
「Are you planning to burn yourself too!?」
The forest would be torched if I didn’t hurry and defeat the goblin mages.
I leaped forward, but the orcs attacked me in order to protect those goblin mages.
I dodged the orcs’ weapons within a hair’s breadth and then slashed with my saber.
However, their armor got in the way and I could only deal a shallow wound.
「Kuh!」
The sabers I’m using are only good for several hits. Their sharpness also wasn’t great.
They immediately became chipped and worn out when I used them.
「I should have bought better weapons.」
I was regretting it at this late hour. But then the ancestors were recommending their weapon as though there was no better time than this.
『I told you that a double-edged sword is better, just as expected. Even when they lost their edge they can still become blunt weapon.』
『Lyle is dexterous, so a short sword and the like would be better for him. You can also bring a lot of them, and you can also throw them.』
『──I think a gimmick weapon is also nice.』
『If you’re a man then use a spear! An axe! Actually, the halberd that combines the two of them is the strongest weapon!』
『This is the age of the gun. Lyle, it’ll be easy to obtain a gun in Beim. You should collect them.』
The five of them were each recommending their own favorite weapon. They hadn’t changed from the beginning in this respect.
I tried defeating the orc by stabbing it at the throat with one of my sabers, but the blade snapped before I could pull it out.
Its quality was worse than I thought.
I threw away the saber with only its handle left and then defeated the other orc as well, but the goblin mages had finished their preparation at that time.
The magic was fired inside the forest and the forest caught ablaze.
「T-this is bad!」
I could hear the flame’s crackling sound.
The goblin mages were also starting to fire even more magic at the surroundings.
「These guys, they’re planning to bring us down with them?」
Just what in the world were they thinking?
I tried stopping the fire immediately, but a wind cut apart the spreading flame.
I jumped back in a panic. The ground where I was standing at had been gouged by a wind slash that left a scar on the ground.
A single line was carved on the ground, and then I heard the sound of a branch getting stepped on.
A man clad in a black robe came from the place where the flame had been cut apart by the wind.
There were monsters around him. They were equipped with uniform armor──and collars.
The man was wearing a mask.
「Good grief──what a flashy battle. Do you know how much damage you’ve caused?」
That man was undoubtedly a human.
At the beginning I sensed there was one person inside the forest who was surrounded by monsters.
I thought that it was someone who was late to run, but it seemed this guy was the culprit.
「Who are you?」
It would be lucky if he answered──I asked with such a thought, but the masked man only chuckled.
The man’s mask was designed to look as if it were laughing.
「Do you think I’ll tell you?」
「That’s too bad.」
The man pointed his hand toward me──and then sharp needles flew out from the ground under the man one after another.
The needles were heading towards me, so I thought of jumping to the side, but I immediately cancelled that thought, discarded my saber and put both my hands on the ground.
A large earth wall appeared in front of my eyes and blocked all of the needles.
The man spoke with an impressed voice from behind the wall.
「So you can use magic? You’d surely have become a famous adventurer if you only didn’t meet them at this place.」
It was then.
The Fifth muttered with a cold voice.
『──How does this guy know that Lyle is an adventurer?』
We should have only met just now.
It was possible that he judged we were adventurers from our appearance, but it sounded like he had already known from the start.
I took some distance away and the magic that the man fired hit the earth wall that I created.
The large fireball scorched the ground and blew away the wall.
At the same time the fireball burst and splashed at the surroundings.
「Oi oi, are you screwing around?」
He was burning the forest.
He didn’t even care about that at all.
「I’m also working over here. My bad, but I’ll have everyone here die.」
So, he didn’t intend to let us escape.
Then, I guess it wouldn’t be a problem even if I got a bit violent.
I quietly calmed my breathing.
The flame was spreading even now. It was painful to breathe due to the smoke and heat.
I watched the opponent’s movement amidst that.
The masked man in the black robes looked at the defeated monsters in the surrounding and shrugged.
「Good grief, even though these things cost a lot of money. Well, I guess facing somewhat stronger opponents like this is also a good test for this guy.」
Behind the masked man──from inside the forest, an ogre that was bigger than even the orcs came out.
Its hands were holding two greatswords.
Its black skin and collar were the same as the other monsters.
A large horn was growing on its head. Its long white hair was springing out thornily, like a mountain of needles.
The large orcs that I needed to look up at were something like children compared to this thing.
「This thing is really big, huh.」
The masked man showed his composure in response to the impression that I muttered.
「I shall recognize your courage for being able to speak calmly like that even after seeing this guy. This guy is the strongest monster even among all the monsters that we enslaved at this present time. It’s several times stronger than a normal ogre. ──Now, kill him!」
The monsters obeyed the man’s voice. They attacked me with the ogre at the lead.
As I thought, this man was undoubtedly the one controlling the monsters.
But, he was showing too much composure in front of me.
「It’s too early for you to feel triumphant!」
The masked man was a bit surprised seeing me crouching on the spot.
But, I shouldn’t be the one he was focused on.
Behind me, there was Sophia with her battle axe held at ready.
She twisted her body to the limit. And then she swung the battle axe at full strength with blue flame enveloping her body.
The blue flame was swaying following Sophia’s movement. The swirling flame spread out in a spiraling shape.
「-AAAAA!」
Sophia threw her battle axe. It rotated in the air while passing above my head.
The battle axe was clad in blue flame. It looked like a blue ring when rotating at high speed like that.
The battle axe passed through the monsters that were rushing toward me. Then, black blood splattered the surroundings.
The blue flame enveloping Sophia──and the battle axe was the First’s Arts that was recorded inside the Jewel, Full Burst.
The monsters’ blood showered the blazing trees and created sizzling sounds *juuuu*.
The battle axe was still rotating even now and attacked the monsters in the surroundings.
The masked man panicked seeing the battle axe that was trailing the enemies.
「A homing Arts! You guys!」
The masked man immediately tried to retreat from there. He tried to withdraw behind an orc that was carrying a large shield.
But, he couldn’t escape like that.
He had been locked-on by the Second’s Arts, Select.
The battle axe would continue pursuing the enemy until it stopped rotating.
Sophia’s battle axe sent the shields of the orcs trying to protect this man flying. It gouged through flesh and passed through. Then, it cleaved through the masked man’s left arm before piercing into a large tree.
The masked man pressed his hand on his severed left arm.
「GAAaaaAAaaaa!!」
I rushed toward the masked man that was screaming in intense pain and stabbed his leg with a saber that I immediately took out, pinning him to the ground.
There was a tree root at the spot I stabbed. The saber wouldn’t come out that easily.
After capturing the man, next I faced the ogre that was heading toward me.
This guy didn’t try to protect that man.
Was it only following the order it was given?
「Sorry, but I have no time. I don’t plan to let this area turn into a burnt field after all.」
The whole forest might get burned thanks to the flame that the masked man launched.
I turned my back on the approaching ogre and ran toward the battle axe that pierced a large tree. I took it in my hand.
Blue flame resided inside my right hand that was holding the battle axe. That flame was transmitted through the battle axe and its blade was enveloped in flame.
「This kind of weapon is better against a big guy like you!」
I dodged the downswing of the ogre’s greatsword and cut off its arm.
The ogre immediately tightened the grasp of its opposite hand and swung his sword, but I cut off that arm too.
The ogre lost both its arms, but its eyes showed no fear.
It didn’t even show anger.
The Seventh was perplexed.
『Really, just what are these things!?』
It seemed even the ancestors had never faced anything like this.
However the Fourth was calm.
『There’s no need to panic. We already understand that this monster only acts in following orders. That’s all there’s to it. It change nothing on what we should do.』
They were troublesome opponents but, they had no will to fight by their own initiative.
They only obeyed the order, and they had no explosive burst of power──no drive even when they were cornered in a desperate situation.
The ogre tried to bite me, but I swung down the battle axe and finished it off.
It ended too easily.
I stabbed the battle axe into the ground and walked toward the masked man.
The masked man was in pain.
「You talked too much. Thanks to that we were able to prepare flawlessly.」
「P-prepare? What are you saying?」
It looked like he couldn’t understand.
But, I certainly managed to finish my preparation with Sophia.
We were connected with Connection, so to speak──the voice of our hearts? Anyway, with that I and Sophia finished our preparation without the masked man noticing and switched into a counterattack.
When I looked back toward Sophia, she was smiling at me even while looking pained.
「I-I’ve done my best.」
「You did great for your first time, Sophia!」
「I-I don’t want to improvise right at a crucial moment like this anymore though.」
The blue flame enveloping Sophia’s body was gradually turning smaller and vanished.
Sophia sat down on the spot and coughed from inhaling the smoke in the surroundings
We needed to extinguish the flame spreading in the forest.
I turned my gaze to Novem who was fighting the other monsters, protecting the two people we resccued.
She blew away the last of the monsters with magic. With that all the enemies were defeated.
It seemed Novem guessed what I wanted to say. She lifted up her staff and fired magic into the sky.
「──Water Bullet.」
Several water balls were fired from her staff with that. They burst in the sky and rained down on the surrounding area.
The spreading flame was extinguished and only a burnt scent was drifting in the air.
With this we didn’t need to worry about forest fire.
I looked at the masked man who was lying in pain on the ground.
「Now then, let’s have you talk about what’s going on here.」
However, the eyes of the man that were looking at us from the holes on the mask glared briefly──and then they rolled back.
I heard tsking voice from inside the Jewel.
『Poison huh.』
The Sixth’s words made me remove the mask immediately. Blood flowed out from his mouth as soon as I took off the mask.
Novem saw that and immediately ran toward me who was turning pale.
「Lyle-sama, get away from there immediately!」
「Eh?」
Then, the man’s chest started to shine.
『Lyle, jump back!』
I swiftly reacted at the Third’s voice and tackled Novem who was running toward me to get down on the ground.
At the next instant, an explosion thundered from the spot where the man was at.
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──Shannon who was hiding inside Porter was scared by the sound of battle from the surroundings.
「Why does it always turn out like this!」
Trouble would occur at quite a high probability since she followed Lyle.
It even made her worried that he might actually be cursed.
Clara was also inside Porter. She talked to Shannon.
「The number of monsters has decreased. Looks like it’ll be over soon. Shannon-chan, can you check the situation out a bit?」
Shannon was often entrusted with the task of searching for the enemy because of the mystic eyes she possessed.
She turned toward the driver seat even while feeling scared, and then she checked the situation outside.
She could hear the voices of Aria and others from outside.
「Eva, cover me properly!」
「Shut up! If I take my eyes off of you for a moment you’ll be gone in a blink, so it’s hard for me to give cover fire here!」
She could hear Aria and Eva arguing with each other.
Aria was using her Arts to rampage all over the place. Eva was giving cover fire for her──however, Aria was so fast that Eva’s cover didn’t make it in time.
Eva got on Porter’s ceiling and aimed her bow from there.
A goblin jumped at Porter and climbed to the ceiling to attack Eva there.
Porter’s ceiling became noisy with a clattering noise.
「This damn bastard!」
She heard Eva cursing with dirty words and then a goblin was sent flying with a kick.
On the other hand, Monica looked like she was dancing even though she was on a battlefield.
The skirt of her red maid uniform fluttered lightly in the air when she twirled on the spot.
Monica’s twintails were fluttering behind in a slight delay, but that sight looked completely mismatched in the battlefield.
However, the large hammer that Monica was holding looked really suited for the battlefield.
「Ha~, I’m not good with this kind of cleaning. But I can’t cut corners. Because──I’m a perfect maid!」
She said that while sending monsters flying one after another.
Shannon’s eyes that were watching the situation around her were gradually shining golden. Shannon’s eyes that could see mana could see the movement of the monsters inside the forest.
「──I think almost all of the monsters inside the forest have come out.」
Clara was troubled at Shannon’s vague words.
「Can you describe in more detail?」
「I don’t know myself. It’s not like I can do the same thing as Lyle. More importantly, what’ll become of the quest this time?」
「The monsters have come out from inside the forest. We’re going to go with a wait-and-see approach for the situation after we get through this.」
Miranda created several golems around Porter and defeated the monsters one after another.
The villagers were hardening the village’s defense at the rear.
Shannon was complaining about May who wasn’t here.
「Even though it’ll be easier if only May is here. She’s useless even though she’s a qilin.」
It looked like they would be able to protect the village somehow──.
.
Inside the forest.
I slowly stood up after the masked man blew himself up.
「A-are you injured, Novem?」
Novem stared at me with a terribly shocked expression.
「Why──why did Lyle-sama protect me?」
「No, my body moved before I could even think.」
「Lyle-sama shouldn’t do anything like that!」
I would be troubled even if you told me that.
「But both of us are unharmed.」
「That’s simply the outcome. Please don’t do anything like that anymore from now on. If something happen to Lyle-sama, I──I won’t be able to live.」
I tried to laugh it off as her exaggerating too much, but Novem’s face was extremely serious.
I thought that it would be bad to joke around here and apologized「My bad」, then I checked whether I had any serious injuries. Novem herself also looked fine, so I dusted myself off.
Sophia approached us.
「Are you two alright!?」
「Yeah, somehow.」
When I looked at the spot where the masked man was at, there was nothing remaining after the mighty explosion.
The Seventh was on his guard from that.
『The enemies are really thorough. We encountered a troublesome bunch. There’s also still the duo that was pursued by them.』
I turned my gaze toward the pair that we rescued.
An old man and a woman──at first I thought they were parent and son, but they didn’t seem like ordinary people based on their conversation and their pursuer.
The two noticed my gaze and expressed their thanks.
「I thank you for rescuing us.」
The woman stood up unsteadily and took off her hood to show us her face.
She was a beauty, but there was this atmosphere around her that was more than that.
The old man was also the same.
「We were saved thanks to you three. I would want to express my gratitude if possible, but we don’t have any capacity to do anything right now.」
The Third muttered after seeing the old man.
『──For now, let’s hear their story.』
We also had to check the surroundings. We took a break for now.
「Novem and Sophia, protect these two. I’ll check the surroundings.」
Novem grabbed my arm.
「No. Lyle-sama should rest. I’ll check the surroundings.」
「But」
「It’s also important to ask the two of them the situation. Besides, Lyle-sama is also tired, right?」
Certainly I had forced myself a lot. I couldn’t even use Arts satisfactorily right now, so I wanted to rest for a bit.
「Got it. Don’t go too far from here. Just check whether there is still fire remaining.」
「Yes.」
Novem left. I led the three to search for a place to rest.
A nearby tree’s roots looked like they were easy to sit on, so we sat down there and I asked them their situation.
「How about you two tell me about what’s going on.」
The old man──Gastone-san was reluctant at first.
「You’ll be unable to withdraw if you know the situation. It’ll endanger your life.」
「We’re already involved.」
「──It can’t be helped.」
Gastone-san gave up and started talking. He introduced himself to us.
「Please allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Gastone──a former high priest of Zayin.」
「High priest?」
It was an amazing title, but I didn’t really get just how high the position was.
The ancestors were also the same.
『That title’s role and naming differ depending on the country. It’s troublesome.』
There would be a lot of difference in a role’s name and status depending on the country.
The Seventh also had the same opinion.
『Although he called himself a high priest, that kind of role is usually held by relatively many people in a country. If you include those self-proclaimed high priests then it’ll be even more.』
This time the woman was the one talking upon seeing my confusion.
「Please think of the position like that of a prime minister. Gastone is someone who has been assisting me for many years. And then, I am Thelma──Zayin’s former saintess.」
Sophia’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly hearing that.
「I thought that you two might have come from Zayin, but by saintess you mean the one with the highest position in that country, isn’t it!? E-err, is it normal for the saintess to be in this kind of place?」
She was unable to believe that such a big shot was in this place.
It would be more convincing to think that these two were trying to trick us.
However, their color that was shown in the Sixth’s Arts was blue──they were allies.
They harbored no hostility. Rather, they were harboring favorable impressions toward us.
「Why are such distinguished people in this kind of place?」
Gastone-san hung his head down in frustration when I asked that.
「We were in the middle of running away. We were heading toward Beim.」
「To Beim?」
Thelma-san nodded.
「We were fleeing to another country.」
The ancestors inside the Jewel immediately understood「Something happened」 when they heard that.
『Oh ho, isn’t it amazing if they’re the real thing?』
『I think the possibility is high. I can understand why those monsters and that masked man were sent if their targets are so high profile.』
『Zayin huh──the situation there right now might be developing into a civil war, wasn’t that it?』
『Yes! The discontent toward the saintess and high priest who has been holding authority for many years is worsening there, if my memory isn’t mistaken──this situation, it came. This is a big prize!』
『Looks like helping others is really something that you ought to do. I never thought that we would catch this kind of big fish, of all things. Lyle, great job!』
Why were they rejoicing?
Didn’t they conclude just a little while ago that we couldn’t get involved with Zayin’s situation?
In the first place, why was it that important that we had saved these two?
For some reason the situation ended up like these two had entered our protection, so for now let’s keep them close at hand.
I talked to the two of them while the inside of the Jewel was getting noisy.
「I’m an adventurer from Beim. My party came to a nearby village because of a quest. If you two are also heading to Beim then we can take you along until there.」
Gastone-san rejoiced hearing that.
「That’ll be a great help for us. But, is it really alright? If we stay together with you, then you will get targeted again along with us, you know?」
It would certainly be dangerous, but the ancestors didn’t show any sign that they would let the two of them get away.
『You won’t get away! Lyle, you absolutely mustn’t let them escape!』
『Let’s make them completely indebted to us here so they understand that we are their ally. Lyle, you need to treat them courteously.』
『That’s right. After all──they’re one of our important cards.』
『This is getting fun! To think that a chance will fall into our lap like this. I never even dreamed it! Lyle, you’re really lucky just as I thought!』
『Lyle, don’t let our just cause get away. After all──we’re going to make them cooperate with us.』
──Surely they were scheming something with wicked faces right now.
Or rather, what did they mean, just cause?
Even if these two were speaking the truth, they might actually be bad people deep down.
The ancestors were getting excited without end.
The Third’s tension was through the roof.
『Yep, this is great. It’s great! This is getting fun now, Lyle!』
──It didn’t feel fun at all.
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