Chapter 017:
Defiled Hero
The Gryphon, the Little Girl, and Sometimes Lilia, Part 3
I still don"t know what inherent magic 【Beast Manipulation Arts】 is. And what is the inherent t.i.tle 【Beast King】 supposed to mean.
King of beasts, in other words, something like the king of monsters? The king of demons is the demon king. The king of evil spirits is Darkness Spirit Tsukuyomi. And the king of monsters is Tear.
If that"s the case, then this is pretty bad.
Astrea, the details of 【Beast Manipulation Arts】, please.
『Okay okay, I got it.』 (Astrea)
【Beast Manipulation Arts】
The ability to freely manipulate contracted monsters.
The ability to speak with monsters that are not contracted.
The monster must understand that the tamer is much stronger than it before contracting.
Monsters can be manipulated, and furthermore can be conversed with. Understanding the difference in strength, if a contract is made, I might be able to obtain an unbelievable fighting force.
「I just thought of something better.」 (Izayoi)
「It can"t possibly be something good...」 (Lilia)
「With their power, I might be able to rule the world.」 (Izayoi)
「Isn"t that scaling it up too much?」 (Lilia)
There"s no time like the present. In order for me to make Tear the strongest little girl in the word, I begun to act.
「Alright, first is to observe physical strength. Copy my movement.」 (Izayoi)
「...Yes.」 (Tear)
There"s a training area inside the guild. Though there were several adventurers there already, they shrieked and screamed when we entered, and had gathered a short distance away at the edge.
We both held knives, and I took a stance, slicing the air horizontally.
「Try it.」 (Izayoi)
「...Ok.」 (Tear)
Tear swung the knife, mimicking my movement. With her center of gravity unsettled, the weight of the knife made her unsteady, and Tear fell on her b.u.t.t.
With relaxed movements, Tear stood up.
「...Ok.」 (Tear)
「But it"s not ok.」 (Izayoi)
Tear was not accustomed to moving her body. I feel it"s going to be hard, but there"s nothing to do about it but train.
「Tear is a tamer though, is she not? What meaning is there in her training?」 (Lilia)
「What are you, stupid? Because she"s a tamer, Rigolo being able to fight is definitely important, but that doesn"t mean that the tamer should be dead weight. Of course I"ll be giving Rigolo special training as well. It"s important for Tear to learn how to not be a hindrance on the battlefield.」 (Izayoi)
「Is that so. I understand, but... training the gryphon? It is an A-rank monster, you know?」 (Lilia)
「You won"t be able to survive in this world if you"re afraid of an A-rank monster. You haven"t fought a gryphon, so you don"t know their strength.」 (Izayoi)
「Are you living in a different world from me? By that reasoning, we"re alive only because swordmaster King Zenesys and four Emperor cla.s.s individuals became inhuman, however...」 (Izayoi)
Four Emperor cla.s.s people. Five years ago there were four people. Has it increased? Well, I don"t know how the people from before are faring.
「Then, is it Rigolo"s turn for special training?」 (Izayoi)
「*Kuke!*」 (Rigolo)
Tear is already completely worn out, and is sitting on the floor breathing heavily. It"s not good to make them overdo it, but there"s not much time, so for now I"ll have them build up physical strength. As if waiting for Tear to become bored of the special training, Rigolo raised a sound and came in front of me
「To Rigolo... don"t... don"t... be strict.」 (Tear)
「Relax. I won"t hurt him.」 (Izayoi)
「You didn"t say you wouldn"t be strict though...」 (Lilia)
Now for Rigolo"s training. What should we do? Fighting would be easy, if it weren’t for the usual Formless Sword that hung on my back not being there.
It"s not that I forgot it, but this morning, I went around the town buying food and other things as a reward for Rigolo and Tear coming with me to town.
Holding the letter of introduction to Blacksmith Bogan from the guildmaster, I left the Formless Sword with him to be repaired after it was damaged in the fight against the Phantom Dark Knight.
There are several weapons in warehouse Astrea, but because there are only a few Emperor-cla.s.s weapons in the word, they can"t be used in public. The only other weapons were a small knife and a dagger.
The inexpensive knife and dagger won"t stand up to Rigolo"s beak and talons.
「Alright, bring it on, Rigolo. If you can hit me once, you win.」 (Izayoi)
「Uh, are you fighting bare-handed!?」 (Lilia)
「What? Is there a problem? I see. Then I won"t use my hands.」 (Izayoi)
「That"s not the issue here!」 (Lilia)
「What kind of response is that. Now you"re being noisy. Let"s forget that and start, Rigolo.」 (Izayoi)
「*Kukeke!*」 (Rigolo)
We faced off. The head, wings, and forelegs of a falcon. A living creature from myth, with the lower half of a lion, well known in legend.
With a spread of the wings, the wind began to dance.
The large, unfurled wings were quite intimidating.
Kicking off of the ground strongly, Rigolo flapped his wings, rushing at me with his talons.
I"ll be sliced in half if I take that 120 kilogram ma.s.s head-on. Bending my body a little, the rending claw pa.s.sed by above.
Having avoided the attack, another one came instantly.
Despite being large, Rigolo moved quickly thanks to the strength of his wings.
Despite being attacked with tooth and nail, I"ll never be hit.
「That"s your limit, Rigolo. It"s about time for me to fight back, so prepare yourself.」 (Izayoi)
I limited myself by prohibiting the use of my hands. Therefore I"ll use my feet instead. I had been avoiding attacks with the bare minimum movement required, and now it"s my turn.
Putting strength into my legs, I dashed forth like a spring. I got behind Rigolo instantly.
「Quite slow at giving chase. Is that as far as your natural intuition takes you?」 (Izayoi)
「*Kukeke!?*」 (Rigolo)
Sending a light kick towards his rear, he quickly withdrew. He somehow read my movements, but none of his attacks landed.
His combat sense isn"t bad. He fights well for an A-rank monster. I"ve understood his strength. Is this good enough for today?
Rigolo didn"t give up and continued to attack me. I slipped through Rigolo"s oncoming claw, latching on to his neck with my legs.
With his neck between my legs, Rigolo floated in mid-air after my backflip.
He then crashed into the ground behind me.
「...Ichayoi, Rigolo...」 (Tear)
「He only fainted. There"s no problem.」
Worried about the defeated Rigolo and his rolling eyes, Tear ran over to him. Looking around, a crowd of people had gathered before I knew it.
The news must have spread, but whatever. I"ve proven that I"m stronger than the gryphon. Knowing that, they should be put at ease, but I don"t know if there will be any idiots who want to fight me.
「How long do you plan to be knocked out. You"d normally have been eaten by now, Rigolo.」 (Izayoi)
「...*Kuke? Kukekeー?*」 (Rigolo)
Though he woke up, he seemed to have forgotten what just happened.
「If this is all it takes, you won"t be able to carry out your mission to kill Lilia. Concentrate.」 (Izayoi)
「Wait, am I that strong of a character? I have zero fighting ability you know? I think I can seduce though...」 (Lilia)
「Hey, did you hear what she said Rigolo? ...At this rate, she"ll have the tables turned on you.」 (Izayoi)
「*Kukekei...*」 (Rigolo)
「Turning the tables, do I really have that much strength?」 (Lilia)
「It"s dangerous. Let"s back away.」 (Izayoi)
「...Got it.」 (Tear)
「*Kuke!*」 (Rigolo)
「Wait a second! Don"t run away from me as fast as you can!」 (Lilia)