Concerto of Explosive Flame and Gale Wind
The Demons that were blacking out the sky, they fell down to the earth all at once.
With tall and pure-black figures, round orbs that were like blood-red comets, several of those spheres were buried in their faces.
On their back grew large muscular wings. With a slight whimsical flap, it generated a strong wind capable of creating a dust cloud.
With a spine-like shape that was lean and muscular, the wings resembled that of a Bat’s.
Perhaps to support their ma.s.sive bodies, their legs were warped and bent.
Their height was about 3 meters. Their arms were long, almost like a crane; they wildly stretched down to the floor.
Rather than living creatures, they seemed artificial―― If they were molded by something mechanical.
Almost like they were a certain Model No. 1 that was painted black[1], I suppose can say they looked that way.
This once calm and quiet clearing, all of a sudden changed into a h.e.l.lscape.
Unbeknownst to me, the soldiers gathered in the clearing starting shooting out low-grade fire and water magics. They tried to intercept the demons using lances and swords.
Perhaps the demons were weak to flames, the fireb.a.l.l.s that the soldiers shot out of their hands left hideous burns when they came in contact with them, only leaving behind painful looking scars.
It may have looked that the soldiers were putting up a good fight, but with these numbers, their giant size was the problem.
It seems like to take down a single demon you needed at least 5 soldiers.
The remaining demons were tearing apart the soil, even sometimes sinking their fangs into their own comrade’s backs.
Maybe they have a low level of intelligence.
「Silver Storm!」
A voice like a ringing bell echoed out, the Silver-Haired Crimson-Eyed Librarian, Primevere, leapt into the air.
Nay, it wasn’t just a simple leap.
Just like she did when she went from bookshelf to bookshelf, Primevere was using wind magic to slowly fly through the air.
But unlike her usual movements, as if protecting her body, a thin wall of wind formed a shield around her.
「Crash Wind!」
While dancing in mid-air, Primevere began to use a new magics.
The direction of the wind shifted.
A thunderous roar came crashing down from the sky, at the same time the demons began to retreat back.
Their already bent legs became even more warped, they started to shake and tremble.
They were being pelted by a strong gale that came down from above, it was the type of wind magic that was meant to flatten your opponent.
The magic textbooks that I read in the library also mentioned this magic. Because it uses up an excessively large amount of Od, if a normal human were to use it then their Od reserves would plummet down to zero in an instant. An extremely powerful magic.
Even for a Half-Mazoku like Primevere who has a high level of Od purity, it was impossible to maintain this spell for an extended period of time.
「……Kenja…Sama…Please, Hurry……Please escape……」
Holding both hands up while controlling the wind’s direction, I could hear Primevere’s sorrowful voice.
A tear drifted from the corner of her eye, desperately clenching her teeth to stave off the pain.
Why is she trying so hard, why is she exhausting herself just to let me escape.
Even though we have just met. Even though only two days have pa.s.sed.
Only because I called myself a Kenja.
The thing she always admired, the occupation of Kenja that she always dreamed of becoming.
「You heard her, Hurry up and run away」
Since a battle broke out all of a sudden, my mind was suspended in thought.
While I was in a trance, words filled with disdain were abruptly thrown my way.
When I came to my senses, behind me stood a single soldier. He glared at me as if looking down on a piece of trash.
One time when we were training for a school marathon I collapsed from anemia and was allowed to sit under the shade of a tree. The scowls of my sports-minded cla.s.smates, the soldier’s gaze looked exactly like theirs.
A hate-filled gaze that felt like it was saying “I don’t expect you to have to same abilities as everyone else, but don’t be a nuisance to other people”.
As if looking down on an existence that was far inferior to yourself, a look of scorn.
「Useless people should should hurry up and turn tail, let’s get your a.s.s out of here」
「……If you want to run away then go ahead and do it by yourself. Even though you’re suppose to be a s.h.i.tty soldier, if you came up from behind me then doesn’t that make you a bigger coward」
Sorry to say, but I’ve encountered guys like you countless times.
Even though a you went through the trouble of finding a quiet place to enjoy a nice book, he’s the same type of person as those bullies who come up and hara.s.s you by saying “what the h.e.l.l’s so amusing”.
When they see someone weaker than themselves, I’m sure they feel it’s safe to hara.s.s them.
Before feeling hatred towards them, you think to yourself, “Can these people do anything besides annoy others?” You end up pitying them.
In reality those people are the most pathetic.
Opening the Magic Textbook, I placed my left hand on the ground and grasped it firmly.
Utilizing the Mana sleeping in the Earth, a method to use Fire Magic.
What I practiced a number of times on my trip across the plateau, I was only able to produce a small flame from a rock, But this time is different.
Thanks to the several days I spent reading in the library, I arrived at a brand new possibility.
Using Hut-Creation magic as an example, complicated magics that specific series of instructions, it was necessary to implement the use of incantations and magic circles.
Up until now, in order to activate precise magics, I thought that the use of incantations and magic circles was an absolute necessity. But, based on my conversation with Primevere, I am confident about one thing.
To limit the consumption of Inner Magic Power, Od, incantations and magic circles are probably used to reduce the amount of wasted Od.
Even among similar fire magics, a magic that releases a single fireball versus a magi that unleashes a blazing flame that spreads out over area, the difference is that the latter consumes more magic power.
If you went around randomly shooting out magics, then you’ll be in trouble when you run low on Od.
That’s where incantations come into play. If you make a mistake then you might accidentally use a magic that uses up an unreasonable amount of Od, that is probably the reason why incantations are used.
Certainly, if you sprinted headlong into a battlefield, if you had to keep in mind the scale and precise size of the magic―― Then I bet it will be difficult to make minute adjustments in those circ.u.mstances.
During a fight you could rapidly recite an incantation, although I’m not entirely sure which would be easier.
The same could be said for me. If I don’t make use of incarnations and magic circles, then I wouldn’t be able to use magic to construct a hut through the use of Mana.
But for things like Fire and Water Magic, it’s an entirely different story as long as you had enough Mana to use as a magic source for your high-level magics.
Unlike the inner magic of Od, here you could use a limitless amount of Mana.
「……Primevere-san」
「Kenja-sama! You must hurry and escape, or else――」
「The soldiers that are being swarmed by demons, please send all them to somewhere save」
「Wha――」
Primevere was about to say something, but looking at my dead serious expression, or perhaps she saw the magic power ama.s.sing around my right hand, her beautiful eyes were blinking in complete bewilderment.
She was probably surprised and was about to say “What, Why?” but she quickly returned to her senses. She replied back in a lovely voice.
「Understood, but……Why, what is the point in that?」
「I’m going to Annihilate All the Demons」
Along with the sensation of the Earth’s energy being sucked up, my left arm grew hotter.
The siphoned Mana swirled around in my body, and pointed forward―― Forward to where my right hand extended, forwards the place where the demon’s were crowding together. The energy gradually kept on growing.
The heat in my right hand escalated and reached it’s peak. The tips of my fingers were painfully stinging.
It was possible to fire at any moment.
「Primevere-san! Get all the soldiers to a safe place!」
「Understood! Silver Storm!」
A phenomenon like a tornado suddenly came forth, all the soldiers that were fighting by the demons’s feet were swiftly swept up into the air.
I confirmed that all the soldiers were blown high above the demons’s heads, and then,
I activated the Fire Magic. From my right hand came an incredible amount of flame and an explosive force shot out.
The surrounding were dyed the color of amber, an unbearable heatwave a.s.saulted my forehead and blew away all my sweat.
The once beautifully cut lawn was now burnt to a black crisp.
While thinking meaningless things like, “I might have to do some explaining to the old man caretaker for this place,” I casually shifted my gaze to in front of me.
Burned by the blazing h.e.l.l-flame, before me were the melting bodies of demons.
Since their skin was black to begin with I couldn’t tell if they were being burned or baked, but with the demons in a ma.s.s panic, it doesn’t look like they plan on retaliating.
The flame continued to emanate from my hand for a while longer, and during that time the bodies of several hundreds of demons all lined up in a row were completely and entirely incinerated.
I thought that there would be some cinders left of them, but that was a bit of a long shot. Not to mention their corpses, but not even their bones were left. The only thing left was a burned lawn. Not being able to comprehend what just happened Primevere and the soldiers that were blown into the air were all staring with their mouths gaping wide open.
「……What the h.e.l.l was that. You, what in the world are you……」
The Female Soldier that treated me like a fool earlier, unable to put strength into her legs, was looking upwards to me from the floor.
With her body occasionally shaking and convulsing, with an「Aaa」there was a sprinkling sound as the ground became wet.
She had a rather overbearing tone in her voice so I thought for sure she was a man, but looking more closely she is apparently female.
In any case, you really did train your body huh.
Just maybe, she wasn’t able to move because she tried to save me instead.
Sorry about calling you a s.h.i.tty soldier before. *Tehe Pero*[2]
「I, am a Kenja. Just your normal, everyday Sage-sama」
With a bright smile, I casually combed my bangs to the side.
With a face that said “what’s up with this guy”, she drew her eyes back in disgust. Why is that.
「Wonder what we should do with this」(Ayame)
Looking at the clearing that now became a burnt field, I looked away with my eyes half open.
It was a good thing that the demons were annihilated without a trace, but paying for the damage done will be a bit expensive.
I could easily extinguish the magic by sucking up the Mana so there’s no problem there, but the lawn and plants burned by the fire will never come back.
When fellow elephants fight against each other they often damage the surrounding gra.s.s and vegetation, I think I heard something like that somewhere, but this scene looked exactly like that.
Although I’m not particularly remorseful towards the plants, in it’s current state this place probably can’t be used as a field for a while.
The number of places the boys an girls can play also decreased, and, above all else.
「Looks like there’s no longer a nice sunny place to read books huh……」(Ayame)
Surrounded by lush green landscape, I was kind of looking forward to reading while underneath the warm sun, but……
How unfortunate.
Still, I might have been very fortunate in this battle.
For fear of having to deal with a fire all by myself, while I was on the plateau I never let a flame larger than a small touch.
Therefore, being able to bring worth such devastating power like that, it was merely something I theorized in my mind.
Being able to bring that mental image to life, I was able to properly confirm with my own eyes that it could be activated.
My body did not tire at all, nor did I feel in any bad condition.
If you consider that I was able to save people while experimenting at the same time, I guess you could say it turned out all right.
「Aya, Ayaya, Ayame-sa……No」
Turning around, I found that Primevere was behind me.
She was shaken and tripped over her words a bit.
I guess that was natural. She thought that I was completely useless in battle so she desperately tried to let me escape, but instead I ended up easily disposing of the threats.
「Ummm…… My apologies, I must have startled you. Even though you tried to give me an opportunity to escape, I ended up fighting as well……」(Ayame)
「Exactly what I expected of Kenja-sama! That was amazing! How did you do that? It must be that, right? By keeping the Od consumption to a bare minimum, you were able to use a high powered magic with a low cost, is it something like that? Just as expected, Kenja-sama!」(Primevere)
She hugged me.
Real tightly.
Behind the monochrome colored work outfit, I was a.s.saulted be a warm elastic sensation.
It was soft and felt good.
「What, so he was a Kenja?」
「I thought for sure that he was some sort of skilled magician or something……」
「And he’s of the human race, to think that there would be someone who could use such intense magic like that……」
The soldier-sans that Primevere blew up into the air earlier, they were looking me while causing a commotion.
Rather than whispering some bad rumors, It seems that they are praising me.
Makes me a bit happy.
「Kenja-sama, and also Librarian-sama. Today you both have saved the capital from danger, for that I humbly offer you my deepest grat.i.tude」
Among the commotion there was a single person. The soldier-san who had the most luxurious armor out of the entire group, he took off his helmet and knelt to the ground.
Is he their commanding officer?
Although, He doesn’t have a mean look in his eyes, so I can’t really imagine him as one.
As Commander-san (?) got down on his knees, all the soldiers behind him simultaneously placed their hands on their chest and gave a salute.
Their movements were so sharp and crisp that I ended up swallowing my breath.
I thought it would be best to straighten my posture and reply back, but the librarian-san was currently tightly restricting me so I couldn’t move.
Is this really all right, Listening to what they have to say while having b.o.o.bs stuffed in my face.
I think it’s a pretty important conversation though.
「No, I have done nothing praiseworthy. All of this, it was all the due to the accomplishment’s of the soldiers and Kenja-sama」(Primevere)
「Why are you saying it like that. If Primevere-san wasn’t there, then I wouldn’t be able to do anything either」(Ayame)
Since my accomplishments were so highly elevated, I tried seeming a bit self-important.
One of those “Because you were there I was also able to do my best”.
If I went with your typical j.a.panese manners and said something like “No no, I didn’t do much,” then I would definitely seem like a sarcastic type of guy.
Maybe they haven’t completely adapted to the situation yet, with their light glances floating about, the soldiers watched over us with soft, warm expressions.
Being hugged by an older big-breasted Onee-san, was a young man fl.u.s.tered and embarra.s.sed.
From the sidelines, I wonder what it must’ve looked like.
At the very least, we probably didn’t look like an equal pair of lovers.
The Commander-san stood up from the ground, and cleared his throat with a *Kohon*
「This is somewhat of an unsightly topic but…… Well, it is about the reward」
I accidentally let the sound in my throat ring out.
If he is talking about the reward for subjugating monsters, then it will probably be a cash reward.
Being a person who couldn’t treat a girl to a single afternoon meal, I might be able to reverse my current situation with this.
It was like a shining ray of light cutting through the clouds.
「As we are soldiers, we have received subjugation wages from the country. Truth be told, in today’s demon subjugation, several tens of adventurer-samas are partic.i.p.ating, you see」
「Adventurer-samas, is it?」(Primevere)
By adventurers, you mean ‘that’ right?
Traveling across several countries and continents, people who aim to make it rich. Wayne from that murder novel and the Main Protagonist of the propagation tale, They were a Wizard and a Hero, but they were also adventurers.
By diving into labyrinths and defeating powerful monsters, they were people who made a living by receiving rewards from the country or the guild.
As a means of insurance, after pa.s.sing a few evaluations anyone could become an adventurer, is what was written in the books.
Finally letting go of me, Primevere was restlessly looking about.
Similarly I also shifted my gaze around, but I didn’t see anyone who looked like an adventurer.
「Although it was a mission to defeat the demons, our top priority as soldiers is to protect the safety of the capital’s citizens. As for the adventurer-samas, in the event that demons appeared in the shopping district or the residential areas, they were asked to be on the lookout at strategic locations to make their job of protecting citizens easier」
Continuing on, the Commander scratched his cheek while adding in “Although, they were told it was fine to go after and defeat the demons if the chance arrived”.
「Tentatively, in the event that the adventurers were able to defeat a demon, then it was promised to them that they would receive 1 Gold Coin for every demon 」
「For each demon, 1 Gold Coin……!」(Primevere)
Primevere was astonished, and quickly glanced over at me.
Although I don’t know exactly how much a Gold Coin is worth, if I remember correctly then 2 Gold Coins should be enough to purchase an accessory with a gem in it.
The number of demons we defeated just now, roughly a hundred――maybe around two hundred of them.
a.s.suming that there were 200 of them, then that would mean 200 Gold Coins, in other words.
「How many Silver Coins would that be?」(Ayame)
「Huh, in Silver Coins? For the gold coins currently circulating around the royal capital, each one is worth 100 silver coins, so―― It would be roughly around the 10,000’s」
I nonchalantly confirmed the value of gold coins.
100 silver coins is worth the same amount as a single gold coin. That would mean, I wonder if that amount of gold coins would enter a different level of currency.
In any case, it’s good that I was able to find out how much gold coins were worth.
「When the army returns, we will properly retrieve the reward for Librarian-sama and Kenja-sama, so as such―― Please wait for us at the Guild. Including the portion for the other adventurers, the reward will be handed out in a separated room within the Guild.」
After the Commander-san said that, he swiftly took lead of the soldiers and they withdrew from the clearing.
In any case, I ended up getting my hands on an undeserving amount of money.
Taking into consideration my remaining funds, I can now say good-bye to living the life of a poor man.
There are plenty of things that have yet to be resolved.
Along with the fox-eared onee-san’s mismatched conversation, there is also today’s battle.
Unless you could utilize the external magic of Mana that is dispersed everywhere, there’s probably no one out there who can easily use such explosive magic like I did earlier.
However, Primevere and the soldiers, they were able to make use of the power of Od that was stored inside of themselves.
Even for the magic textbooks that were in the library, none of them had magics that made use of Mana.
In other words, the magic I used would probably be categorized alongside Secret Arts and Concealed Magics.
「If that’s true, then what in the world is this Magic Textbook that I have?」(Ayame)
This Iris Colored Book, it isn’t a textbook.
If it wasn’t a textbook, then What exactly is it?
――To begin with, why was I transferred to a different world in the first place?
Well, I guess it’s fine to leave the thinking for later.
Piece-by-piece, if I learned more about it just a little bit at a time, the that should be good enough.
There’s no need to rush things after all.
「Kenja-sama, shall we depart?」
Primevere’s sweet voice rang against my ear, and her beautiful silver hair flowed as it was carried off by the wind.
Looking at it I was somewhat captivated, and I chased after Primevere from behind.