Chapter 97 – Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (5)The forest was building up and surrounding the rice fields.
The trees were spreading along the houses and the fences on the side of the road, and several branches crossed the road.
“The forest is dense around here.”
“Yeah… I can"t see anything.”
Gasaraio murmured.
He looked over the surroundings and lowered his magic bazooka from his shoulders to your hands.
Kusaka, who responded to the voice, shrank back and looked up into the sky.
“Kusakkun. Don"t leave Kazamachi-kun"s side, okay?”
“Yes.”
Kusaka nodded to Officer Doggy and approached me.
I already threw away the rake, my only weapon, so I was also empty handed.
It was already one step away from snapping.
Officer Doggy took out her pistol from the holster on her waist and aimed the barrel upwards.
“The visibility becomes bad beyond here, so be careful. Tell me or Riot-kun if anything moves. My gun is a magical pistol with no killing power, so it"s not very powerful, but it can keep them in check.”
A magical pistol officially adopted by the police.
I once heard from a police officer in protective custody before.
Introduced by interacting with the demons, this gun shoots compressed air instead of a metal bullet.
The wind bullet reflects the user"s intention to some extent and can change its size and power.
The magic seems to be very simple, ma.s.s production is possible, and maintenance is also easy.
It"s ideal for j.a.panese police who absolutely want to avoid killing the criminal, it seems that they decided to adopt it in no time at all.
There was an official long winded name, but I don"t remember it.
“Isn"t it less than a kilometer from here to the community center?”
“If we go straight, I don"t think that Tusk Crag"s magic stone recognizes small roads, so it may be blocked.”
It doesn"t seem like a high performance magic stone.
“Our big brother"s schedule today is to patrol in this vicinity. It was our job to search for the dragon apart from the large-scale survey. I couldn"t reach him since a while ago, but I"ll try calling again later.”
What a troublesome job.
“Is your big brother that sloth?”
I don"t remember much because I"ve only seen him once, but I felt that he wasn"t reliable.
I remember the big gray sloth talking slowly.
“Ah, don"t judge my brother by appearance. He"s one of the dragon killers that there are less than 10 of in j.a.pan. A genuine first cla.s.s hunter, ya know?”
“He killed a dragon?”
I reflexively put myself on guard.
Aoi"s dragon form is huge and powerful. If this guy"s big brother can win against that, is he a monster?
I"m already someone on the dragon"s side.
I"ve never met a dragon species other than Sky Dragon, but I feel related to them.
I"ll be bothered if they"re killed.
“Are you an idiot? Dragons rarely appear and can"t be killed. Those who have said they killed dragons in the past were usually swindlers or braggarts. "Dragon killer" is a t.i.tle used among treasure hunters. It"s an honor for hunters who are strong enough to kill even a dragon. It seems that there were people who really killed dragons during the beastmen war, but it"s questionable. I know because I saw a real dragon. They"re an apex existence. You can"t win. Well, you"re an idiot so you probably don"t understand.”
“You were crying.”
Must have been desperate.
“I"m really gonna beat you up, ya scoundrel!”
“It was the truth furball!”
He seized me by the collar, so I grabbed him. To the end, my compatibility with this b.a.s.t.a.r.d is the worst.
“Stop it!”
Officer Doggy came in between us.
Her temple was twitching and her lips were cramping.
“Jeez, Kazamachi-kun, you normally aren"t so quick to anger! Wasn"t Riot-kun also obedient and quiet in custody a while ago?”
With her golden fluffy tail standing straight up, Officer Doggy lost her temper.
“Because this b.a.s.t.a.r.d is irritating!”
“This delinquent is asking for a fight!”
Officer Doggy sighed while tapping her forehead with the gun.
“…You guys are kind of similar. Please stop fighting. Even if not, it"s a delicate time for both of you.”
No way!
I"m not like this guy!
“Delicate? I know me, but what about this delinquent? Is he under probation?”
“Shut up. It doesn"t concern you.”
“Bullseye, buha!”
How irritating.
Certainly, this guy just came out of the detention center last month, so he can only walk in this town under the supervision of Officer Doggy.
In my case, it"s the twins and Aoi.
My position is different and the reason is different, but it is really annoying to be unable to say it back.
“Hmm?”
Another incoming call from Mik.u.ma.
I took out the smartphone from my chest pocket, tapped the screen and held it to my ear.
“H-h.e.l.lo?”
I nervously answered the phone.
I don"t want to be cruel.
It should be fine if I pick up the phone at this speed.
“Kunpei-kun! Hurry and run!”
“Hah?”
That fl.u.s.tered voice was definitely Mik.u.ma Yunno.
“Escape to a nearby evacuation shelter or nearby treasure hunters!”
“What happened, Mik.u.ma. Please calm down.”
Even if I was suddenly told to run away.
“I checked the information of the district evacuation shelter online! It came out!”
“What did?”
Kusaka and Officer Doggy could hear her through the speakers on the top of the phone.
Gasaraio was also listening to my smartphone with me.
“There are successive sightings of the strange bird Ruten! Hurry and run!”
“Geh!”
Gasaraio made a voice like it was preposterous.
“That guy shouldn"t be able to leave the top floor of Tusk Crag!”
“Strange bird Ruten? Somehow…”
I"ve heard of that name before.
I"m sure that was…
I remember those eyes that emitted a bright red light.
Their rock bodies filled the pa.s.sage with no room to spare and makes miserable cries…
“…Ah!? Those Rock Griffons!?”
The upper half of the body is made up of rock, and a bushy lower body, the boss monster of Tusk Crag!
That guy!
“A lot of tweets and images are being posted! Apparently, they"re flying around looking for something! Please hurry and escape!”
“Kyaaaaah! Guoooooo!!”
It was then that we put ourselves on guard as we heard the strange sounds from the sky.