Levelmaker

A few meters away from us, a lion with the tail of a scorpion and the face of a human woman.
The Manticore doesn"t seem to be vigilant of us and is watching from a distance.

「Oh no… that bug monster has brought its parent, it"s like it told it about us… we shouldn"t irritate them, alright? It"ll be the end of us.」
「Wha… What do we do…. The Hand-san… What do we do」
「Is this the end…?」

What should we do, this may be the end for us.
The Hand-san says that the Manticore is strong, it uses physical strengthening magic, healing magic, attack magic, and the scorpion-like tail contains fast acting poison that numbs and paralyzes.
It"s far more powerful than any other monster that we have encountered so far.
The first time I saw it, I was extremely lucky.

「What do we do, The Hand-san… I…」
「…this will be an all or nothing gamble.」
「Eh, there is a way for us to escape from this situation? The Hand-san」
「Hm… well, it will be tough.」

He answers hesitatingly.
Seems it will be a last resort.

「There are two ways」
「Two…?」
「Ah」

In such a situation, to think up two plans, high ranked are different.
The Hand-san is an amazing person, although his face is scary.
I have some respect for The Hand-san.

「The first method, is to leave me and run away. I can earn 10 minutes against the Manticore and weaken it to some extent」
「No way! Absolutely not! If The Hand-san is left behind, I will stay behind with him! 」(Margo)

So the first is desperation… but, then we don"t know if we can get out of this forest safely, and above all, Margo-chan wont accept it. No, this method is not possible, as she said she would rather stay with him.
Then, what is the other method?

「Yea. The Hand-san, if you and Margo remain, then I will also remain with you. That method is no good. 」(Gog)
「I know, I know, that method is a last resort. The second method is for us all to single mindedly run…」

Eh, just too single mindedly run? That"s it?
That"s not possible…

「The Hand-san, as expected…」
「Who told you to run away?」
「Eh?」

As I thought, there was more to it than that.
What is it?
While I was thinking that, The Hand-san suddenly put me on his shoulders.

「Okay, Mika, hold on tight. Hey, Gog! Margo! Get your spells ready, and then get on me! 」
「Eh? Get on you…? 」
「No way, The Hand-san, you"re going to run while carrying three people…」
「Yes, That"s right!」

Wow…. he is going to do something amazing…
It sounds good to say that he is manly, but this is unreasonable…

「So, Gog, Margo. Hold on tight and cast strengthening magic and swiftness magic on me! 」

Strengthening magic to carry three people, and swiftness magic to run on foot, I see.
This has a chance of working.

The two look at each other and give a nod, and then curl up together.
The Hand-san then holds the two.

Oho, is it my imagination that Margo-chan looks a little happy?
The Hand-san addresses the two.

「Hey, Gog. Cast swiftness magic on me 10 times.」
「… stacking them!? About that, The Hand-san…」
「My stomach may be turned inside out. But it"s better than dying here, right?」
「Th…that"s right, but…」

It seems that if you stack effects, there are side effects. But The Hand-san has a determined face.

「Please」
「A.. Alright」

While being held, he recites the swiftness spell many times.
After 10 times, The Hand-san begins to run.

「Hey you two. If that guy approaches, can you use magic to make a smoke screen? Got it? 」
「Uu… yes」
「Got it.」
「Alright, shall we go?」

Upon saying that, The Hand-san suddenly begins to run at an incredible speed.
If I don"t hold on firmly, I will definitely be shaken off.

The Manticore seems to have noticed us trying to escape and gives chase.

The Manticore is fast. Certainly, we are moving away from the Manticore, but the distance has not changed much.

It has certainly used speed increasing magic. But it appears as they only once.

The Hand-san thought that he couldn"t keep the distance as is and asked Gog-kun.

「Gog! Explosion! Cast an explosion before its eyes!」
「Y…yes!」

A number of explosions occur around the Manticore"s face.
The Manticore stops for a moment due to the poor visibility.

The Hand-san made a sharp right turn, and then after a while turned back, and continued running at full speed.

How long have we run… to the rear, to the side, all around, we do not see the Manticore anymore.
It looks like we may have escaped.

But, The Hand-san does not stop running.
And so, he continues to run for 10 minutes.

We pa.s.sed through the forest and arrived at the entrance.

At the entrance there is a carriage that looks like it has just stopped.