Manowa

Today"s mountain hunt ended without incident, and with the lost Dragonoid also escorted back, the White Party was now back at the inn. Night was close, with the sun already setting. Kazane had a different place to stay, so she was supposed to part from her companions here.

However, Kazane had yet to start returning to the Great Dragon Palace. She was dispa.s.sionately repeating her explanation of the prosthetic hand to Jinrai at the entrance of the inn. That was due to that morning"s prosthetic arm rampage incident.

◎ Dragonewt City, Praun Inn

「I"ve said it many times over, but Jinrai-san, make sure to diligently remove it before going to bed.」

「I know. I won"t make another mistake like this morning. It"s ok.」

Jinria spoke with a nod to indicate there would be no problems to soothe the worried Kazane.

Kazane would normally trust those words, but Jinrai had a previous conviction.

As a matter of fact, Kazane had also given warnings about the prosthetic arm to Jinrai yesterday. That included saying he should remove it when he slept. However, Jinrai had been training to operate the prosthetic arm until just before going to bed, and it seemed he fell asleep as it was.

The prosthetic arm purely reflected the user"s will. Therefore, it was dangerous to handle if the user wasn"t properly conscious. When Jinrai tried to open the window early in the morning while he was still half asleep, he activated Giant Arm, one of its gimmicks. By thinking about reaching out, the Muscle Clay would expand, and the arm that became huge like a giant"s broke through the inn.

Since Kazane was staying in her room in the Great Dragon Palace while they were in the village, she was not in the same inn as her companions. So Kazane rushed to the inn when she received the email from Yumika, and Jinrai was still doing a dogeza when she arrived.

The reason for the failure was that, as mentioned earlier, he activated the prosthetic arm while he was still half asleep. Kazane was relieved that Railgun hadn"t fired, but in order to teach Jinrai the dangers of the prosthetic arm, Kazane gave a detailed explanation about the functions she hadn"t mentioned yet.

The first was Giant Hand. That was simply changing it into a huge arm to attack. To support the expanded arm, the six legs would also support the body, so it was an excellent punch that could be released in a balanced manner.

And the other was Railgun (Thunder G.o.d Cannon), a near future weapon that would allow a middle school girl in a robot to fire a gun using only electricity.

Kazane had heard from Tatsuyoshi-kun that the US navy had already deployed it in actual combat, but naturally, it was the first time she had seen the real thing. Moreover, even an insulator like stone could be turned into a conductor and fired without disintegrating by being covered with a shield like the Thunder Chariot"s purple electrical barrier. Kazane had wondered if bringing Zexiaharts" settings without change was excessive overtechnology, but in any case, when Jinrai heard that explanation, he showed no signs of desire to hold back; on the contrary, he was in super high spirits and eager to try it out. The first use in actual combat was the mountain hunt, which had led to ma.s.sive destruction.

Kazane had also tried it out in the courtyard and knew there were no problems with the operation, but to sum it up in one word: the power was tremendous. The continuous shooting destroyed the forest in front of them, the monsters were almost completely destroyed, and the terrain also changed considerably.

While he was shooting, Kazane was laughing and excited about the tremendous power that surpa.s.sed the throwing strength of the Tatsuyoshi-kun ma.s.s production models, but when she saw the disastrous scene afterwards, her face turned white. She didn"t know before it was fired, but according to Jinrai, it was quite difficult to aim. The five legs certainly dampened the shock and kept Jinrai in place, but it seemed his aim would greatly deviate. If monsters were gathered together like this time, there would be no problems, but pinpoint aiming at fast enemies would be difficult.

After listening to that, Kazane thought that it might be necessary to reduce the size of the stones or reduce the power. Or it might be better to use small iron b.a.l.l.s as bullets.

A further problem was that Jinrai had become trigger happy. He was excited and kept shooting, and even after it was over, his unadulterated laughter afterwards made even Louise draw back.

Another problem was that Jinrai liked the prosthetic arm too much. Kazane said she would take it overnight for maintenance, but Jinrai made a sad expression like a child whose toy was being taken away, so she gave up and decided to check it tomorrow morning.

「For the time being, it can independently defend itself even when it"s removed if the Dragon Heart is activated. It"s keyed to Jinrai-san"s magical power and will resist if anyone tries to forcibly steal it, so it"ll be ok.」

Jinrai nodded and stroked the prosthetic arm as he listened to Kazane"s advice. This prosthetic arm could move like an insect by moving its six legs. The shape was an arm, but it was also a sibling to Tatsuyoshi-kun and Hippomaru-kun.

「I see. Fufufu, Cindy is clever.」

Also, Jinrai had named the prosthetic arm Cindy after his wife. Thinking about how affectionate he was towards it, Kazane was scared to imagine what kind of reaction the genuine Cindy would have if she saw that, but the person himself was pleased, so she left it alone.

「Now then, let"s tear off his left arm and attach prosthetic arm『Louise』」

Louise suggested with a smile, but Kazane ignored her and continued warning Jinrai about the prosthetic arm until the very last minute.

◎ Mount Konron, Dragon Road

「Tatsuo, you can show your appearance now.」

『Yes, Mother.』

A while after they left the city on their way back to the Great Dragon Palace, Tatsuo undid Invisible and Optical Camouflage according to Kazane"s words. The policy right now was to not let the public know about Tatsuo"s existence, so Tatsuo had to hide when they were in the city.

「Sorry, Tatsuo. There was that lost person today, so you had to hide.」

『No, Mother. I"m very sorry for getting excited and showing my appearance at that time.』

That time was the railgun time. Tatsuo was too excited by the scene and unintentionally released Invisible and Optical Camouflage as he flapped his wings and shouted.

「It can"t be helped. It seems like that person didn"t see you, so it"s okay.」

Kazane was also shouting like him, so she had no intention of blaming Tatsuo.

「Even so, Tatsuo was also very active until then.」

『Yes. I"m a little tired.』

Tatsuo certainly seemed a little tired as he answered.

Actually, they found out that Tatsuo"s Mega Beam was different from Kazane"s fixed damage・fixed Magic Power consumption specification; it seemed he could adjust it with his will. Since firing time could also be adjusted, he could fire repeatedly, and it seemed to be much easier to use than Kazane"s Skill.

「Is this the difference between Window control and control through your own efforts?」

『I"m still far from matching Mother"s Mega Beam. I must devote myself.』

Tastsuo suddenly flexed, but Kazane stroked his head and whispered「Don"t be in such a hurry to grow up. I"ll get lonely.」Tatuso cried kueee in reply. Tatsuo was still a spoiled boy.

「Well, we were able to test Tatsuo"s other Skills to a certain extent before the lost person came, so I suppose today was good enough?」

Today was Tatsuo"s first actual battle. The result was defeating 3.5 monsters.

The first thing that stood out was his biting attack. It was probably the benefit of『St.u.r.dier Teeth』; he had jaw strength beyond what they had imagined, and the monster immediately stopped moving when he bit its neck. Another monster tore him off and Tatsuo was flung away, but his injuries from tumbling were automatically mended, so they were also able to confirm that he had the Regenerate Skill.

Then Tatsuo restrained the pursuing enemy with Material Shield and escaped, but physique seemed to be important. He countered with Killing Leg, but while it caused damage, it didn"t decide things with a single blow. In the end, Tatsuo returned to Kazane"s side and defeated the monster with Mega Beam. The defeated opponent was a scout type monster called Search Pig that had the unique property of fighting together with other monsters.

「For now, should we set aside close combat until you get bigger? It"s dangerous. Shall we focus training on Mega Beam?」

『Yes, Mother.』

Actually, Tatsuo enjoyed the real combat feeling from the blood boiling flesh dancing battle against a larger opponent, but he also understood his mother"s worries. So he decided to obediently obey here.

「Yeah, good boy.」

If he did that, his mother would stroke his head. Tatsuo liked the warmth of his mother"s hands. Then he cried out from the pleasant feeling.

By the way, Kazane had hunted a Search Pig with Tatsuo and gained the『Ingredient Connoisseur』Skill, which allowed her to grasp the deliciousness of ingredients. Apparently that monster used bait to lure other monsters.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Adhesion Sword『Gum』, Spell Dagger Feather x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King"s Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring

Level : 32

Health: 124

Magic Power: 235+420

Strength: 55+20

Agility: 50+14

Endurance: 32

Wisdom : 62

Dexterity : 39

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior"s Memory』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog"s Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur』

Kazane:「Which reminds me, I got the ability to identify delicious things.」

Yumika:「How enviable.」

Kazane:「I can do things like identify the most delicious watermelon.」