Signs of Growth “Geez, what a troublesome person”
I murmur so while walking toward the inn which I can already see. Of course, while still bouncing the ball.
Well, if I have to explain what I did to that murderer, Reis, it"s actually quite a simple trick. I only deployed the miasma to surround myself and Reis in dome-shape, thus blocked his view. Since light couldn"t enter, until his eyes got used to it, he wouldn"t be able to see my presence. Since I could sense the surrounding with ease using the miasma, I could still move properly even when I couldn"t see, thus I simply pa.s.sed by the standing still Reis.
After that, to make sure that he wouldn"t come after me, until they were out of my range of control, I left several dark knives in his surroundings. Well, thanks to that monkey the amount of my miasma had increased so I somehow managed to do that, though.
“Well then, I"m— hmm? … huh?”
Upon arriving at the inn, I disperse the ball, and at the same time I can feel that the knives I left around Reis have also dispersed and are returning to me. Simultaneously, the returning miasma are also telling me that Reis" presence is still in that place.
What should I do if he decides to come to the inn later, I wonder? Should I ask Leilchan to kill him?
Ah, but that way LeiLchan"s level will increase instead… that"d also be troublesome in its own way.
“Ah ♪ Kitsune-kun, welcome back.”
“Huh? You aren"t in the room?”
“Uhhufufufufu, I thought it"s about time you come back so we decided to wait here together♪.”
When I enter the inn, the first ones I see are unexpectedly Leilchan and Niko-chan who are waiting at the entrance area. They"re seated facing each other on one of the several installed tables. When they see my figure, they both came to me.
Leilchan said that she thought it"s about time I come back, but most likely she sensed my presence through her miasma around the entrance. When I dispersed my miasma ball, I somehow sensed another miasma around after all, so most likely that"s the case.
“I see … Niko-chan, did you become a good girl?”
“I did.”
“Ahaha, what did you do?”
Nico"s telling yet another lie. Just what on earth did this girl do?… Leilchan was also with her so it"s kinda scary.
“While you were away, we were only taking a nap, right?”
“Yes.”
Instead of the fidgety and facing down Niko-chan, Leilchan gives me an explanation while making a very amused expression. I can tell from how tight Niko-chan grabbing Leilchan"s black dress. It"ll be either something embarra.s.sing, or something that"ll make her scolded, but I do not know which.
But, I can tell that they really did have a nap.
“It seems like she wet the bed♪”
“Hmmm…. I see … Niko-chan.”
“… I"m sorry.”
Since Leilchan explains the situation just as I expected, I stand up on one knee to match the height of Niko-chan"s sight. Perhaps thinking that she"ll get scolded, Niko-chan keeps hanging her head downward while quietly apologizing.
Well bed wetting is indeed embarra.s.sing, and it may also get her scolded. However bed wetting is like a physiological phenomenon for children, and since Niko-chan isn"t even my child, there"s no reason to get angry at her.
Putting my hand on Nicko-chan"s silky blonde hair, I lightly stroke it. Perhaps thinking that I"ll hit her, in surprise her shoulders shiver for a moment, but noticing that I"m just stroking her, she slightly raises her face with a slightly confused expression.
“It"s all right, because I"m not angry, okay? Or rather, it"s great that you properly apologize.”
“…yes.”
“Leila, what happened to the bed?”
“Huh? I left it as it was!”
“Yeah, that"s not something to say with a smile, alright?”
I can forgive the bed-wetting case, but you didn"t even clean it huh, Leilchan? I think she"s the one I should scold here.
“Then it"s still as it was? You should"ve at least cleaned it.”
“Eh, but I don"t even know how to do it.”
“Really, please return back to the you a while ago…”
Self-centered, egoist, moreover she won"t do anything she doesn"t want to. In my former world, such people were called something like social trash or sc.u.m. I was also called as a pervert or sc.u.m, but I am sure that was only a misunderstanding. Because I"ve been a diligent and proper young man with a very gentle heart, after all. Because I am a gentleman.
But well, leaving that aside, I have to clean up Niko-chan"s bed-wetting. Both the bed and the sheet are the inn"s properties, after all. If they"re already beyond help then I guess I have no choice but to reimburse them with money. Huh? But if it"s Leilchan"s money then it should be fine, right?
“Haa… It can"t be helped…”
Well then, I"m a bit tired after fighting the monkey, but taking care of the children is also part of my job. Not as an adventurer, but as a guardian.
◇
At the same time, the heinous murderer who was left in a state where it was impossible to move with numerous black knives surrounding him, after about ten minutes pa.s.sed the miasma knives finally dispersed.
Resting his sword on his shoulder, he heaved out a sigh of relief for being released from that strenuous situation. For a dozen or so minutes, the black knives, which he didn"t knows when they might rush toward him, were always turning their edges toward him. It might have been a short time, but for Reis it felt like tens of hours.
The heinous murderer who had killed numerous people, for the first time fell into a situation where he might get himself killed. During those moments, he felt that “death” itself was putting a blade on his neck. It felt as though his life and death was based on its whim.
“This is … … looks like we"ve laid our hands on quite a dangerous fellow, huh.”
There was no fear. It was because he was prepared to fight while putting his life on the line anytime. It was indeed the first time that his life was within other"s grasp, but it still wouldn"t stop his urge to kill.
Rather, because the opponent was such a dangerous person, he wanted to kill him more. H rank adventurer who cornered S rank criminal. And a monster (weakling) who unlike humans possessed the presence of death.
“I can chase after him, but… perhaps it"d be better to report it to master first… It"s not impossible that that monster"s party members are similarly monsters, after all … if I by any chance violate the order then this choker will strangle me to death, after all … what a ha.s.sle.”
Reis wasn"t very good at guess-working. He was a man whose brain filled with nothing but how to swing his sword in battle like an idiot. He also wasn"t good at planning, even if he knew that traps were awaiting him, he was the type of person who"d break through them with force.
Calling him idiot or foolhardy might be a bit too much, but since he still had undoubtedly survived after fighting with his life on the line for more than ten years with only a single sword, it didn"t change the fact that he was amazing.
“Well, I guess I"ll return first… let"s just kill him next time.”
However, this time Reis decided to retreat. He judged that it was necessary to ask for Duke Orba"s order as he was his master. Sighing, he turned around.
“Well, I called it death battle, but… that"s not it … It"ll be a superb feast… Kuhaha! Kuhahahaha!”
Laughing fearlessly, he walked away with his eyes filled with madness.
And then, at the same time he disappeared, the area clearance was released, and the usual lively street was returning little by little.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, when Kitsune and Reis were confronting each other, Trisha was also undergoing a fight.
Receiving a request at a quasi-guild established in the city, she headed outside the town and was swinging her sword against demonic beasts.
The requests she received was a subjugation of E rank monsters. She only became an adventurer recently so she was still of F rank. It was rank which was barely able to receive demonic beast subjugation requests. By the way, as far as rank went, magical beast subjugation request of F to D rank could be accepted just by anyone. However it was different for C rank request or above since among them there were also demon subjugation requests.
What Trisha accepted was a request one rank higher than hers, an E rank request.
The subjugation targets were— three crazy monkeys which were E rank demonic beasts.
Unlike the variant that equivalent to rank D, which Kitsune faced, the ones she was facing were the common types, demons equivalent to the rank E, their bodies were also smaller than the variant by two times .
Instead, they were moving in a group of three, it should be much easier than facing the variant.
“Haa… Haah… Haah … I am tired….”
Moreover, she had already killed two monkeys, and the remaining one was one also already wounded. Although both were exhausted, Trisha was only exhausted and had not been injured so much, as for the monkey, not just one of its arms was cut off, numerous injuries were all over its body. It was obvious which one was superior.
“Gurururururu … …!”
“But well … if it was the me from a while ago, I might be unable to even simply fight them … if this is the fatigue of growth then it"s actually pretty comfortable.”
Holding the sword horizontally, Trisha leaned her body toward the monkey.
She possessed neither special skill nor technique— No, it was more like she couldn"t use it. But then, after solely and diligently training her sword path, she eventually discovered a new possibility. An adventurer who could not become a knight, that sword was a swords art which she created unintentionally by chance, a sword art specialized at counters.
Therefore,
“Gurua!!”
“Come… I will kill you and become stronger … …!”
Looking at the monkey that kicked the ground and charger her way, Trisha didn"t move her horizontally positioned sword at all. Even without ‘Demon eye of Foresight", she had other things to compensate that so that even she could see those who were faster than her. Experiences she had acc.u.mulated. Her continuous diligent training.
It was exactly because she had lost hundreds or even thousands times, danced with hardship, and was cornered to the edge, for the sake for a single victory, she"d keep on moving forward
That was what it meant to become stronger.
“Guruaaa —- Guughha …!!”
“First off —- … … one win!”
Dodging the monkey"s fist by paper-thin gap, she entered into its chest area, and finally thrust her horizontally positioned sword to its neck. With the monkey"s momentum and the thrust sword"s momentum, with the force that was created by the two colliding momentum, Trisha successfully had the monkey"s neck — severed.
“Haa… Haa… Haa….”
Along with a collapsing sound, the monkey"s body that had lost its head fell to the ground. Then, Trisha swung her b.l.o.o.d.y sword to clear the blood, and then put it back in its sheath. While calming her chaotic breathing, she made a big gut pose on the fact that she had won her first victory on her own.
“It"s okay… I can still become even stronger…!”
Although it was only one step at a time, without a doubt she was becoming stronger. Sensing for the first time the opening of a new possibility for herself, Trisha was very happy.
The world which was impossible for her to see had she stayed as a knight apprentice, she felt that she was one step closer to it. And then she craved for more. By gaining a new power, she sought for another ones.
Her aim was to surpa.s.s her father"s back.
Pursuing another possibilities, she"d surely become stronger.