Appraiser's Job

「Ice Arrow!」

Focusing on the Crawler, Little Yuri chanted the magic incantation. A small, pebble sized ice shard hurled toward the Crawler.

Now, if we were to speak plainly, Ice Arrow is a spell that can pierce and freeze its target, but——the ice shard bounced against the Crawler’s surface and was repelled.

The Crawler stood up. It’s mouth began to stir restlessly. It’s head undulated and swelled.

The next moment….an agitated white powder filled our field of vision. It flew forward, as if to cover us.

Was that…..thread!?

I took a step back in panic. Little Yuri and Ms. Kornia also realized this and immediately flew back together, distancing themselves from that place. The thread rained down on the place where we had just been standing. We were saved by how slow it flew toward us. If that hadn’t the case, we would’ve be caught by those threads by now. I’d be sorry to be covered in such an unpleasant thing.

Ms. Kornia ran forward, sword out. “Gaah!” Her sword slashed at the eyeball pattern on its left side, leaving a shallow cut. That doesn’t mean she was going easy on it. This was the best she could do with her strength.

“So tough….!” Ms. Kornia’s hand trembled as it held the sword.

The Crawler hissed and bared its fangs before approaching her. Ms. Kornia evaded it’s lunge by leaping behind it.

This looks bad.

She also seemed to vaguely sense that. As she resumed her fighting stance she yelled at Little Yuri, “Yuri! Please use your magic! Anything is fine!”

“On it!” After giving that boisterous reply, he drew a circle in the air with the tip of his staff.

「Fireball!」

The small light that he created flew toward the Crawler. It poofed into extinction as it met with the Crawler’s skin. The flame was just too small.

The Crawler turned to Little Yuri. Even if it was such a small flame, it seemed it still felt something when it was. .h.i.t. With its current upright position, it wriggled forward bit by bit toward Little Yuri.

“d.a.m.n!”

「Fireball! Ice Arrow!」

Little Yuri fired off his magic one after another. When the produced flame hit the Crawler, it served to do nothing more than attract its attention because of its extremely miniscule power.

The Crawler was already right in front of him. Little Yuri clenched his teeth.

“Grrr! Ugh,” he raised his voice as the Crawler bent backward. Little Yuri bashed his magical staff against its head with all his might. “Kornia! Lend me your sword!”

As he distanced himself from the Crawler he extended his left hand toward Ms. Kornia. That expression as though something had broken through was refreshing.

Still confused, Ms. Kornia handed Little Yuri her sword. Little Yuri pushed his own staff toward her as he turned to face the Crawler.

The sword flashed toward its head. Little Yuri cut deeply into the Crawler’s head with his flurry of blows. Thick liquid oozed out of the wounds and fell to the ground. The Crawler’s body writhed.

“Now! Aim for the head with your magic!”

“.....!” Ms. Kornia pursed her lips as she pointed the staff toward the Crawler.

「Fireball!」

The smell of dust and burned flesh filled the air. The flame Ms. Kornia summoned scattered sparks as it directly hit the Crawler. A vigorous pillar of flame rose up and roasted the Crawler’s head.

The Crawler struggled noisily with what could be its fatal wound before its body toppled over and ceased to move.

The flames vanished. Its blackened head appeared in front of the two.

Still vigilant, Little Yuri pushed the blade into its head. The Crawler didn’t move.

「....Appraiser’s Eye」

I released my appraisal magic toward the Crawler. “.....It looks like it’s been defeated, somehow or another.”

“We...we did it.” Little Yuri sank to the ground where he was. He turned his face to Ms. Kornia and laughed, “It’s been defeated. We defeated the monster with our own power…..!”

“..........” With a complicated expression, Ms. Kornia looked down at the staff still in her hand. “Even though I’ve honestly never practiced any magic.”

“That’s the talent you were born with.”

I approached the Crawler and verified the corpse’s current condition. The head was burned black, but the body was still in good condition. It seems if I can get this one transported back to the adventurer’s guild I can get it butchered.

“Appraisal magic doesn’t lie. The results of this fight should confirm that, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I never thought that…..I’d be a swordsman.” Little Yuri laughed suddenly. “It’s just like Mr. Io said, I’m best suited toward becoming a warrior.”

“.....Me too, I’m best suited toward becoming a sorcerer.” Ms. Kornia visibly relaxed as she clapped the staff against her palm with an audible pop. “I’ll become a sorcerer. I hope Yuri will help me with that,” she said to Little Yuri. “Yuri, I’m giving you my armor and sword. And I’ll take your robes and staff in return. We can buy new equipment when we have the money for it.”

“That’s right. Let’s do that as we return to the road.”

We laughed together. It seems they realized on their own what it is they should really be doing. From now on they’ll devote themselves to cooperating with each other as they aim for the other’s dream adventurer. Hmmm, I thought as I clapped my hands together.

“Since we cannot take the Crawler’s thread as it it, let’s get to processing it. Using fire magic we can dry it out enough so that we can unwind it.”
 

“If that’s the case, then I guess it’s my turn. Leave it to me.”

As I watched Ms. Kornia’s retreating figure head toward the trees the thread was wrapped around, I sent my magic out to the Crawler’s corpse.

「Compression」

The Crawler’s dead body quickly shrunk. When it had reduced to the size of my palm, I picked it up. It felt nice, like that of  a cotton-stuffed doll. I wonder how many coc.o.o.ns we’ll be able to get after all this. I’m really looking forward to it.

“Kornia, I’ll help you, too.”

“Your incompetent magic isn’t helpful at all. I’ve got it, so please wait patiently!”

The waning sunlight shined down gently upon us. Today’s also peaceful. That’s the kind of afternoon it felt like.