Chapter 197

What are those guys? Human-shaped monsters with octopus heads?

A small race different from dwarves was fighting against the octopus monsters .

『Those monsters are strange . Their two arms and legs are the same as those of humans, but tentacles are extending from their fingers and mouths . It looks like they are encroaching the minds of the small ones with those tentacles . Ah, it appears another one had its mind eroded and turned into their p.a.w.n . 』

Certainly, they are weird . Those octopus monsters are a type of brainwas.h.i.+ng monster, aren’t they? Maybe they are connected to the evil G.o.d Hyuriox?

There were only two monsters, but the small people were struggling .

『Don’t these monsters seem to be good personnel?』

『I can’t tell definitely, but they might be related to the evil G.o.d Hyuriox . That or it’s also possible that they are connected to the spirit world…』

In short, I simply don’t know . If there was a beauty among them, I would rescue them right away, though…

Since I have the opportunity, I will take a closer look at the faces of the midgets…

I took the beam rifle out of my item box, set it up, and peeked through its scope . I looked at the appearance of the fighting midgets, shown in my visual field of framed displays that got zoomed up as if using a telescope .

All of them covered their heads with black hoods . Their mouths were covered with black masks . Given that they were wearing a black leather type of brigandine on their upper bodies, it was difficult to make any judgments . On their lower half they wore a black leather type of cuira.s.s and boots .

Their faces seemed to have structures close to those of humans and dwarves, but…beards were protruding out from beneath the black masks .

Aren’t there any women…? Just when I started to believe so…oh! Isn’t there one with them?

Her golden eyebrows were thin, and she had blue eyes . It looked like she even used a light blue eyeliner . Since she also wore a black mask, it was difficult to tell, but given that her chin line appeared to be slender, I could antic.i.p.ate that she was a woman .

Her armor was a faint silver half-plate armor . Black-dyed leather arm guards with a l.u.s.ter that blended black and silver hues together were equipped from her shoulders to her arms . She possessed a small bag which was attached to the black belt at her waist . A great number of throwing knives, which had been furnished with a socket, peeked out of that bag .

I’m pretty sure she’s a type of light warrior .

She used with a dagger while performing a somersault, making the dagger hit an octopus monster .

What magnificent throwing technique .

The octopus monster that was stabbed by the dagger made its eyes s.h.i.+ne in anger and extended the sword in its tentacle hands, performing a thrust against her, but she precisely repelled it with the top part of the magic scimitar in her slender hand by making the monster’s blade slide off it . Traces of a yellow afterglow were left in midair .

The midgets facing the octopus monsters were a group based on the color black, thus they might be soldiers or a unit of some country .

However, one of them fell, the second fell, and the third had his head covered by tentacles which had been extended from a monster’s mouth . Once his mind got eroded, his eyes became empty, and he went over to the monsters’ side, apparently brainwashed, and confronted his former comrades .

Since there’s a pretty girl among them, I have a reason to rescue them . Now then, there’s the option to finish the fight by sniping from here, but I want to deliver a blow with my Magic Halberd .

I stored the beam rifle I had used for its scope in my item box .

『Helme, come out . I will carry you in my arms . 』

『Yes!』

Helme answered happily . Once she was emitted out of my left eye, she manifested while clinging to me .

I put my arms around her waist just like that, and hugged her . The sensation of her big b.o.o.bs directly pressing against my arm was pleasant .

“Your Excellency, this place is somewhat hot . It’s a bad place for me . ” Helme said without vigor . I looked at her face closely . Her long eyelashes that retained glossy cuticles were coiled upwards, giving her a strong, s.e.xy impression . The contrast of the blue, bluish black, and black hues in her eyes was truly beautiful…

“…You want to go back inside me then?” I asked .

“No, since it’s a rare opportunity, I will fight together with you, Your Excellency . ” Helme replied .

“Alright, then we’re going to save those midgets . After all, I found one beautiful girl among them . ” I declared .

“Fufu, how typical of you . ” Helme said with a smile .

“Right? Let’s go then . The opponents are the octopus monsters . Ignore the midgets that have been brainwashed . ” I instructed her .

“Yes . ” With her confirmation, I headed in jumps towards the battle site by using and my blood chains while carrying Helme at the waist in my summer-version blood chain armor .

I arrived in the sky above the battleground .

“I will handle the left octopus,” I specified .

“Then I will deal with the right one,” replied Helme .

After we nodded at each other in the air, Helme separated from me .

On the spot I activated the water attribute’s intermediate spell 《Ice Arrow》 . Next I shot out the from both my wrists at the same time .

I won’t turn myself into a blood spear like a while back .

The two headed for the octopus’s head, exceeding the spell’s speed . Seemingly having sensed the activation of magic, the octopus humanoid deployed something like a barrier, distorting the s.p.a.ce above its head .

Hee, what amazingly fast reaction .

However, the two chains easily broke through the barrier without any jarring sounds, and neatly penetrated the octopus from its head through its torso to its feet . The chains’ tips got deeply stuck into the ground .

With a delay, the arm-sized ice arrow pierced into the top of the chunk of meat, which used to be the octopus’ head, freezing it in an instant alongside a part of the tentacles growing out of its mouth .

Without using , I activated . Creating a foothold with the distorted mana hand in midair, I powerfully kicked that hand, dashed through the air towards the octopus monster, and swung down the Magic Halberd while swooping down .

The red axe blade, which made use of the gravity, pa.s.sed through the torso while destroying the frozen chunk of meat by melting it . I defeated it by completely bisecting what used to be its head, and landed .

At once I turned my eyes towards Helme . It was just the moment when she put the whole body of the octopus humanoid into ice with her magic .

Helme moved the ice sword in her right hand from the left to the right in a flash, cleaving open the neck of the octopus head which couldn’t move as it was frozen . The severed octopus head flew high into the air .

“――Ooooh, the quezunarl were defeaaated!”

“Oooooh!”

The midgets screamed and roared in delight .

So those octopus humanoids were called quezunarl?

And then the midgets, which were manipulated, collapsed to the ground .

I wonder whether that saved them .

Putting away my weapons, I checked the situation, and then the midgets, who saw my face, petrified with their mouths trembling .

“…A magul?”

“That means we were saved by a magul?”

“――A magul and a weird woman . ”

“…Why is a magul here!?”

“Captain, this guy’s face is flat . Is he an enemy?”

“Idiots, there’s no way that someone who defeated a quezunarl would be an enemy, right!? We were rescued by a magul…”

Oh, the girl I discovered some time ago is their captain?

“H-How could that be…?”

“Gununu . ”

“A highly skilled magul, huh?”

“To encounter a magul in the deepest depths of the earth…surely Halfmalida-sama and heaven’s cover-sama have done something mysterious . ”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen one, a magul…”

“…Me too . If it’s dark elves, I have already seen them, though . ”

The midgets gathered . It looks like it’s better to make a greeting here .

“h.e.l.lo, my name is Shuuya . ”

“What! The magul talked gnomis.h.!.+?”

“Ooh, it’s the same p.r.o.nunciation as ours . ”

They started to kick up a fuss .

So they are gnomes, huh?

“――Be quiet, you guys!” Once the female captain hurled an order at the midgets, they became silent .

“Shuuya-san, my name is Amu . Thank you very much for having saved us of the Religious Organization Halfmalida from the quezunarl of the Demonoid Empire . ” Amu said .

Demonoid Empire…ah, it’s one of the underground countries Viine mentioned before, isn’t it?

“…No, not at all . Those monsters from just now are called quezunarl?” I asked .

In response Amu showed surprise on her face . But, it was difficult to read her expression . After all the midgets, including her as well, were hiding their mouths behind their black masks . The black masks were bordered by faintly white, spiraling patterns . They might be special, protective items, seeing as I could sense mana from them .

“…That’s correct . You don’t know about quezunarl?” Amu replied .

“I don’t . Coming here was a coincidence, and I just happened to pa.s.s by . ” I honestly answered .

“…To travel…to this place…” The gnomes’ captain widened her eyes in surprise once again .

Everyone, including the gnomes who looked after their collapsed comrades, started to whisper among each other in surprise after hearing my words .

“Yes, Amu-san . Is there anything weird about that?” I asked .

“Traveling the Big Cave of Heat Waves that’s infested with various monsters such as elite hobgoblins, high orcs, war jailor ugra, earth dragons, fire drakes, turtle sharks, bag ogres, white rock ogres, glanbar, h.e.l.l fire dragons, darkness dragons, darkness tigers, darkness lions, and bug sharks, including the quezunarl who brainwash others as you have seen just now, with just two people; I have never heard about something like that . ” Amu said flabbergasted .

This place’s name is Big Cave of Heat Waves? No wonder that it’s slightly sultry .

“What are you guys doing in this cave then?” I inquired .

“We are the Religious Organization Halfmalida . I’m the leader Amu Alisa who leads the headquarters of the Religious Organization Halfmalida . ”

Amu Alisa-san, huh?

“We were in the middle of returning to the headquarters of Halfmalida located in the upper world city of 【Independent Underground Volcano City Devil’s Mountain】 in the eastern direction from here after finis.h.i.+ng to hand over a letter to Caneriel of the Halfmalida Spirit right wing in the【Independent Underground City Farzan Dome】 . ” Amu explained .

It was an array of completely unknown underground cities .

Just what is that Religious Organization Halfmalida? Viine might have known .

Ah, but she’s a dark elf, right? It might be dangerous for her since it’s possible that they are at war with other communities .

I will call my comrades after observing the situation for a little while longer .

“…What’s that Halfmalida?” I asked .

“What, is it because he’s a magul…?”

“You don’t know Halfmalida-sama?”

“Even if the magul is strong on a first glance, he might be ignorant in many ways . ”

Even if you say such things, there’s no way for me to know something like that .

“――How rude! Don’t run your mouth about His Excellency!” Helme screamed .

s.h.i.+t, Helme snapped .

“W-What is it? It looks like the owner of that voice, which is difficult to understand, has become angry . ”

“Hiiaah! She’s spurting out water from her whole body!”

“What mysterious magul . Her words are hard to understand, and her shape is questionably different from the largely built man . ”

The surrounding midgets voiced out their complaints even while faltering from Helme’s anger .

“Helme, they don’t know magul . We also don’t really know them . Don’t get too p.i.s.sed off . ” I soothed Helme .

“Yes, excuse me…” Helme apologized .

After my warning Helme obediently moved behind me while making her leafy skin wither across her whole body .

At that point I turned my face towards Captain Amu .

“…You say it’s because we are magul, but you’re right . We are magul living on the surface, or the world above the lid as it’s called by you . Although you might call it a journey, there are many things we don’t know . ” I explained .

“…Okay, I guess that’s how it is . My subordinates had been rude to you . Halfmalida is a being considered to be one of the great ancestors of us gnomes . She is someone who is a G.o.ddess of our religious organization . ” Amu said .

I see . For the gnome society she’s probably something as if I had been asked “What’s the sun?”, an expression of deepest ignorance .

“Is that so? Then I have asked you something rude as well . I’m sorry . ” I apologized .

“No, don’t mind it . So, what’s your destination, Shuuya-san?” Amu-san asked .

I guess I will deceive them as fits .

“…I think you could say we have been wandering randomly? While devoting ourselves to our studies on a daily basis, we have been going through the underground world that’s connected by unknown holes on a quest of finding unknown items . Haven’t you heard of the 【Special Exploration Party Mutsu Guroumaru】, one of the world’s best parties following the motto of the great words “What’s love?” while investigating the beauties of this world?” I made up some appropriate bulls.h.i.+t .

“…One of the world’s best…special exploration party mutsugurou…” Amu-san muttered after hearing my nonsense, looking at me suspiciously with a baffled expression .

Aye, she’s completely suspecting me to be shady . Even if it’s suitable, it’s vague, that mutsu goroumaru .

Now that it has come to this, I guess I will aim for being accepted as a good-natured, old man who hugs unknown animals in the underground…or, an unarmed kenpou family’s…

Amu-san was hesitating, staying silent for a short while .

“…I see . Could I possibly ask you to guard us until 【Independent Underground Volcano City Devil’s Mountain】 then, Shuuya-san?” Amu-san requested .

“Captain! To be escorted by that fishy magul of this mutsugurou exploration party!? I can’t consider that to be sane!” A young gnome roared, clasping the shaft of his axe with both hands .

“Zemt, shut up! I don’t want to see anyone else die . No matter whether he might be a demonoid, a glanbar, or a magul, we should request his cooperation if he becomes our ally!” Amu-san rebuked him .

“…Captain, to such an extent…sorry, I said something uncalled-for . ”

“Understood . ”

“We have to also do the share of the job of those who died, right?”

The gnome members all stamped their feet on the ground at once, striking their small s.h.i.+elds with the hilts of their swords .

It looks like Captain Amu convinced her troops, but…

“Guarding, huh…?” I showed how I was pondering about it for a bit .

“Of course we will hand over a belbaque’s core and powder of a firebird’s horn to you as reward once we safely reach the city . ” Amu-san offered .

“Eh? Captain Amu seems to intend to pay with a precious belbaque core . ”

“Isn’t that an item wanted by the peddling mercenary army corps?”

“Yeah, boss Orik who put the moves on captain . ”

“I don’t know him…”

It looks like I will be given a considerable item . I suppose I will help as guard on this occasion .

“Helme, I’m considering helping them, but what do you think?” I consulted Helme .

“Okay . Your Excellency’s eyes show that you are having fun . I’m for it as well . ” Helme said .

No wonder, seeing how long we are a.s.sociating with each other already .

“There you have it . Let us join you as guards, Amu-san . ” I confirmed her request .

“Ooh, that’s great . Thanks, Shuuya-san . We will rely on you . ” Amu-san answered delightfully .

“You don’t have to use “-san” with me . ” I corrected her .

“Understood, Shuuya . Then you can just call me Amu, too . ” Amu smiled .

Her chin line and cheek muscles moving delicately was obvious even through her black mask .

“Very well, Amu . ” I agreed .

“Okay, let’s go . It’s this way . ” Once Amu began to walk, the group of midgets started to proceed .

The midgets that had been brainwashed had recovered .

They were almost running, but since their steps were small, it was no different than walking for me .

Monsters appeared with a fairly high frequency on this trip . Once again there were many magic source responses on the left .

“On the left side, huh?”

“Yes . ” Helme responded, and looked over her shoulder while nodding .

“Shuuya, several dozen war jailor ugra seem to be approaching from the left . Be careful . ” Amu’s warning resounded .

“I know . Amu, as befitting for guards, we will act as the vanguard . ” I said .

“…Got it . Zemt, Killvice, Dacue, you heard him . We will go around as support . ” Amu ordered .

“Roger . ” Zemt replied .

“I know, I know . ” Killvice confirmed .

“Aye, we will just stay next to you, captain!” Dacue yelled .

Having received their orders, the gnome troops remained as they were .

Helme and I headed to the left towards the magic source responses .

The ugra appeared from the shade of a rock . They possessed yellow and c.o.c.kroach-like black sh.e.l.ls, and looked similar to dinosaurs . They had two hands and were walking on two legs . Their hands and feet were normal, but their torsos and parts of their heads were abnormal .

“Gnomes, eat! Gnome woman, eat! Gefuyu, gefuyu!”

“Gnomes, eat! Gnome woman, tasty tasty~ gefuyu, gefuyu!”

They were split apart from the back of their heads to below their belly as if cleaved open to the left and right .

Right in the middle of that divide, there was what appeared to be a huge, vertical mouth . Similar to ribs, countless yellow teeth were growing at the edges of their lips . A peculiar voice and humming sounds reverberated through the gaps of those teeth .

“Gnome woman, tasty tasty~ gefuyu, gefuyu!”

What weird monsters .

For the time being I summoned the Magic Halberd into my right hand, and charged at them . Helme followed me from the left .

“Gnome, different?!”

“Different, woman, eat! Man, meat, bad . ”

“Gefuyu, gefuyu! Maaan, bad, chinmiski!”

“Woman, is, niceee, gefuyugefuyu! Hungry! Eeeat . ”

“I, you, bite whole, gefuyugefuyu!”

Speaking with their disgusting voices, the words of the ugra were gross as well .

“Stab, stab! Spiky, gol, gefuyugefu――”

“Stab, stab! Spikygol, spikygo――”

Moreover, while running towards me, two ugra made strange sounds while extending their teeth, which were growing out of their mouths, towards me like tentacles . These guys were long range types? I dealt with it by shooting from both wrists .

The tips of the chains, which flew like bullets, clashed with their yellow teeth tentacles . The tips tore apart the tentacles just like that while continuing on straight ahead, and then pierced through the chests of the ugra .

“Stab, ugeeeeh!”

“Geeeeh, huuurtz . ”

While the chains penetrated through the bodies of the two, screaming ugra, they entwined themselves around the ugra . In the end, the two were fused against their wills, and a round, compressed meat wall hammer was completed, a huge footman’s flail . You could also call it a big morning star .

I jumped high into the air, and freely brandished that meat wall hammer . Making the hammer clash into other ugra, I squashed their heads, and properly targeted and crushed the parts that could be considered to be their nether region by drawing an arc from below .

“――Ahyafyu――”

They were raising odd screams in death agony, but I blew them away without minding it .

I erased the Magic Halberd and the , which I shot from my right hand, and then shot the out once more . I used that chain to support Helme .

The chain extending from my right wrist pierced through the chests of three ugra while going around as if drawing arcs in midair, killing all of them .

“――Your Excellency, thank you very much . ” Helme said .

“Don’t worry about it . There’s many of them after all――” I answered .

“Yes . ” Once Helme responded loudly, she jumped while emitting water sprays from beneath her feet .

Stretching her arms to the left and right, she created a circular, ice coc.o.o.n, using the mana she had ama.s.sed beforehand . And then she made a rain of ice pebbles pour down over an extended range, where a large number of ugra were a.s.sembling, from the ice coc.o.o.n .

“Can eeeeat――”

“Womaan, can’t eat…”

The ugra were hit by ice pebbles across their whole bodies, and became sluggish as several parts of their bodies had apparently been frozen . The teeth tentacles stopped extending as well, and they were simply killed with my huge morning star afterwards .

I had been crus.h.i.+ng them one after the other, but since I got bored of crus.h.i.+ng them from above, I erased the morning start for the moment . And then I extended the two chains diagonally to the left and right .

“You guys don’t need your heads anymore, right? I will put an end to it in one go――” I declared .

I made the chains, which had stretched to the side, cross towards the middle with lightning speed .

All the ugra, which were caught by the chains with their terrifying speed, had straight half of their chests torn up in an instant without even being able to raise screams of death agony .

“…It’s the first time for me to see that there was such a way to handle the chains . ” Helme talked to me while walking like a model .

“Yeah, I came up with it on a whim . The hammer as well . I enjoyed it with a feeling of playing whack-a-mole . ” I explained .

“Whack-a-mole?” Helme asked back .

“No, well, it means that it’s important to enjoy whatever you do…” That was second-hand knowledge from master, though .

“――Shuuya! That was an amazing battle . ” Amu said .

“――The magul are strooong . They should be able to easily defeat quezunarl . ”

“What’s going on here? They defeated all the ugra with just two people…”

“The mutsugurou exploration party, how frightening . ”

“Captain! a.s.sign Shuuya-san as leader of the special attack unit of our squad, by all means!”

“Captain Amu! I agree with Papamu’s opinion! Let’s make the magul Shuuya-san, no, Shuuya-sama the head of the special attack unit . If we do, we will be able to oppose the dark elves, the military cliques of the stray dwarves, and the Demonoid Empire . ”

The soldiers of Halfmalida were excitedly saying such things . One of them addressed me while adding “-sama” to my name, but I didn’t mind it .

“Zemt, you’re really all talk . Didn’t you have the exactly opposite opinion just now? But, it can’t be helped for it to turn out like that after seeing Shuuya’s heroic battle . Honestly said, even I felt deeply moved . I’m sure this must be Halfmalida-sama’s guidance . ” Amu took out a woodcraft doll out of her pocket, and began to pray .

With that alone, all the gnomes simultaneously went on their knees, and began to pray just like Amu .

They are deeply religious . No wonder it’s called Religious Organization Halfmalida .

Afterwards I didn’t show off too much anymore .

While pulling a suitably nice face towards the Religious Organization Halfmalida, I cooperated with Amu’s group, and continued the travel through the Big Cave of Heat Waves .

◇◇◇◇

At the time we came out at a place with several limestone cave-like rocky areas scattered, I detected multiple magic sources with Grasping Perception .

“It’s monsters again . Be cautious . They are in the shadows of the deeper rocky areas on the right behind us, and on the left in front . ” After informing everyone of the results of my Grasping Perception, I summoned the Magic Halberd .

“Understood . We heard you loud and clearly . ” Amu answered .

Once Amu’s group also got ready for battle, we were simultaneously attacked by eyeball monsters that had many thorns grow out of their lower halves . The monsters extended th.o.r.n.y tentacles from the front of their small lower body halves .

I charged while standing at the front . Without minding the cuts to my face by the th.o.r.n.y tentacles, I extended my Magic Halberd after stepping on and crus.h.i.+ng rocks underfoot with an image of smas.h.i.+ng the eyeball’s colors ― piercing through an eyeball monster with the red spear . I seized the th.o.r.n.y tentacles of that eyeball monster with my left hand as if grabbing hair, and then I forcibly pulled it sideways, tossing it towards another monster with . It crashed into its fellow eyeball monster with a loud sound .

Helme liquefied . I saw her heading towards the back of the eyeball monsters while pa.s.sing through places with many rocks .

Alright, in order to make the enemies focus on me, let’s escape from here .

“Nuooooooo――”

I charged towards a spot where the monsters were crowding in order to get out of the rocky area . Seemingly having considered me as a threat due to that action, the monsters fired beams from the colored parts of their eyeb.a.l.l.s .

Using Magic Combat Step, I dodged the beams with a nimble footwork of repeatedly moving left and right while snapping my left wrist, and shooting . The chain penetrated through an eyeball monster that had released a beam .

Without making sure of its death, I advanced as if creeping through the gaps of the rocky area .

In that moment an eyeball monster, which had been hiding in the shade of a rock after apparently having activated a skill, unleashed a darkness spear-like spell from a short distance .

Nuooh ― I quickly performed a rotation by using my toes as an axis, and while barely evading the black-bladed spear so that only a line of blood was created on my nape, I fully swung the Magic Dragon Gem of the Magic Halberd diagonally from the lower left to the upper right . I made the Magic Dragon Gem crash into the monster in a counter style, destroying it as a result .

Furthermore, Helme, who had moved to the back, fired her ice pebble spell across a wide range . The eyeball monsters had their backs stabbed – although I couldn’t judge whether they had b.u.t.ts – and their movements became slow .

The instant an eyeball monster that was. .h.i.t by ice pebbles turned around to the back, trying to oppose Helme, it was cut in two by Amu’s slash . The soldiers of the Religious Organization Halfmalida brought down eyeball monsters in succession .

Grasping the timing when it turned into close combat, I switched to logistical support .

While activating the hidden bladeIce Claw by sending mana into the Magic Dragon Gem, I silently cast the water attribute’s elementary spell 《Ice Sphere》 and the intermediate spell 《Ice Arrow》 .

I defeated the eyeball monsters from a distance in order to reliably crush each of them . I dealt with the nearby eyeball monsters by extending the hidden blade and stabbing their eyeb.a.l.l.s .

After a short time, we managed to annihilate the entire swarm of eyeball monsters that showed up in the rocky area .

“Captain, all of the arbiter subspecies are dead already . It’s amazing . ”

“To be able to defeat so many th.o.r.n.y arbiters quickly without any injuries…that’s a first for me . ”

Amu listened to the reports of her subordinates, and sheathed the weapon in her hand while smiling .

“Shuya-san’s presence plays a major part . ”

“Yes, he’s a remarkable magul . ”

“That’s why the captain likes him . I mean, even I have fallen in love with him . ”

“Tom-neesan roared!”

“Jim, you can be my partner . ”

“No way . My a.s.s is tight . I have to refuse . Besides, I like the captain’s smile . ”

The troops were rejoicing .

We continued our journey at such a tune after defeating the eyeball monsters .

In a big, depressed spring area, where water lily-like plants were floating, Helme delightfully took a bath, and danced while creating sheets of water spray .

Floating on the water’s surface with her glamorous b.o.o.bs swaying, she took a unique pose .

In addition, she made one then two backward somersaults while emitting beautiful water sprays . And then, while repeating splendid forward somersaults, she returned to her original position while lifting her pretty leg to the back . As she held the tip of her foot with both hands, she next performed sideways revolutions . She demonstrated a Biellmann-Pirouette on the lake’s surface .

Yes, she even made me invoke an urgent subliminal nether region staring committee meeting…

Helme danced like a skate dancer while looking as though she was truly enjoying herself . Her appearance was a feast for the eyes and a pleasure, but…since huge aquatic insects appeared to be a nuisance in the middle of it, I decided to join forces with the gnome troops and we defeated the insects .

Even though the lake changed into a blood lake as soon as we killed the insects, we took a rest close to the lake’s sh.o.r.e .

On that occasion…Amu approached me .

“Shuuya, you’re the height of a magic spear user . ” Amu praised me with her eyes sparkling .

Amu-san took off the hood on her head, lowered the mask to the base of her throat .

Her curly, ash blond hair with its braids had been plucked behind her ears . Those small ears had a cute, oblong shape which seemed to be characteristic for gnomes . Her nose bridge was small, and she possessed beautiful, pink lips . The lips’ contour, which couldn’t be seen through the black mask, was that of a slender triangle . It was the face of a perfect beauty .

“…Thanks, I’m confident in my combat abilities . ” I replied with a smile .

“Helme-san also possesses magnificent magic skills . Are all the magul wonderful sorcery warriors, possessing strength that seems to surpa.s.s the spirit world knights appearing in stories?” Amu asked with a serious expression .

I don’t understand the example with the spirit world knights, though .

“I think there are many others that are strong, but Helme and I might be called slightly different beings . ” I answered .

“So a handful of chosen ones exist even among the magul, after all . ” Amu said .

I remember having heard such a line before . Even the underground world doesn’t appear to be all that different from the magul world .

“I think it’s somewhat different, but a select few chosen by the G.o.ds, you say?” I asked .

“Yes, correct . Even I’m one chosen by the great ancestor Halfmalida-sama, a hunter, a swordswoman, and an apprentice of an awakened person who experienced being a dormant person, but I will succeed the teachings of the religious organization . ” Amu explained .

I can agree about the sword skills . Her movements were fast with her main focus being close combat . She used the skill quite often as well, though .

“…Really?” I asked back .

“Yes, I watched the battles, but not only do you have a unique spearmans.h.i.+p, but you also have mastered secret techniques, haven’t you? In legends it seems that the great ancestor of the dwarves, Paddock-sama, also mastered a mysterious spearmans.h.i.+p . ” Amu added .

Paddock-sama, huh?

The sound of this somewhat grim name…I heard it before .

“…Is that so? Since I’m slightly fussy about the spear, I’m interested in that story . ” I stated .

“Fufu, there’s a dwarf, who’s my friend, in the city we’re headed to right now . Please talk with him by all means . His main weapon is the ax and not the spear, however . ” Amu answered .

“Hee, the ax, huh? I’m looking forward to it . ” I said .

I felt like I got slightly closer to Amu .

While traveling like that, I discreetly got in touch with my