Chapter 19: Knight Attendant(Tsukaeshi) ⑦ – Chimera Variant.

The Good Flame Boar spewed fire from its mouth, which Lupinus-san blocked.
Liv-san tried to close in, but its fangs stopped her.

Pachira-san summoned a whirlwind, pulling the Flame Boar’s fire into it.

Whoa, a fire tornado.

“Amazing.”
“This isn’t the time to gawk.”
“Sorry.”

Shiro-san scolded me.
She and I were surrounded by a pack of Fire Wolves.

They had come with the Good Flame Boar—monsters, red and burning like flames.

I did have a bit of an excuse for being distracted in the middle of a fight.
The Fire Wolves were only surrounding us, not attacking.

They just kept a certain distance, growling cautiously but doing nothing.

I thought maybe I should strike first, but Shiro-san stopped me.

“I told you to wait, but even so, never drop your guard in battle.”
“Yes.”
“At least until that fight over there is finished, we don’t move. Wait.”
“And when it’s finished, then we move?”
“Yes. Without a doubt, they’ll run.”

The Good Flame Boar was clearly their boss—or at least their guard.
If it was taken down, then of course they’d run.

“So we don’t fight them?”
“If they’ll run, there’s no need.”
“True.”

When she put it like that, yeah…
Shiro kept her gaze fixed on the Good Flame Boar and muttered:

“That boar… it’s not a monster from this floor.”
“You’re right…”

Torquetam weren’t exactly struggling, but they were taking longer than usual.
And the Good Flame Boar was even using a relic.

Come to think of it—what’s with that name, Good Flame Boar?

“It’s a Stray.”
“A what?”
“It happens sometimes. Monsters way too strong for a given floor will wander around.”
“…Sometimes, you say?”
“Yes. Only sometimes. If you’re unlucky.”

So right now, we’re unlucky—ah, they beat it.

“Haa, haa… why the hell was that thing here!?”
“Ugh… too strong… I’m exhausted…”
“Haa, haa… of all things, it had to be a Stray! What rotten luck!”
“Good work, everyone.”

I handed small vials to the three of them.
Pachira-san, who received one, looked a bit conflicted.

“This is that stuff, right?”
“Mm… power… x100.”
“The fatigue is melting away in an instant!”
“Every time I think about it… is it really okay to drink this?”

Pachira seemed hesitant to drink.
I kind of understood the feeling.

Lupinus and Liv didn’t seem to care, but maybe she thought it felt like cheating.
It wasn’t cheating, though.

Still, instantly erasing fatigue does feel unfair.

With a bit of nudging from the other two, Pachira drank.

The empty vials were lightly rinsed and collected again.
I’d refill them later and hand them back. Though I had already given the girls spares.

Shiro tilted her head curiously.

“What is that?”
“An Elixir.”
“…You still have more?”
“Yes, plenty.”

I’ve got infinite, in fact. I handed her one as well.

Vials filled with Elixir—I had tons.

Since it takes time to use directly from the eggs, I stockpiled them in bottles for convenience.
Shiro studied the vial I handed her with interest.

“Alright, let’s—”
“Help meeee!”
“Somebodyyy!”

Suddenly, two men’s voices shouted.

“What’s that?”
“Mm… nearby…”

I used Crisis Detection.
Countless red dots surrounded two white dots.

That direction—there.

“This way.”
“Wait a moment.”

But I rushed off.
The red dots were closing in on the white ones.

If I didn’t hurry—there they were.

Two male explorers surrounded by a pack of Fire Wolves.

They were swinging swords, taking down a few, but the wolves’ numbers were overwhelming.

I drew Agaro-san’s modified knife and jumped in.

“I’ll help you!”
“Oh, thank god!”
“A kid?”
“Y-yes. Fifth-rank explorer.”
“Same as us, huh?”
“Whoa, he’s cutting them down so fast…”

Using Silent One, I precisely struck down Fire Wolves.
Didn’t even need to use Knife Magic.

The men also fought hard, and the remaining wolves scattered.

“Phew, you saved us.”
“Man, I thought we were dead…”

One was a blond elf, the other a black-haired human.
Both looked early twenties, typical explorers.

They sheathed their swords and faced me.

“Thanks, kid.”
“Honestly, we’d be corpses without you.”
“Not at all, I’m glad you’re safe.”

We shook hands.

“I’m James.”
“Johnson.”
“I’m Wof.”

When I introduced myself, they exchanged a glance.

“You’re the Witch’s apprentice!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Whoa… first time seeing one.”

Kinda embarrassing.

So the blond elf was James, the black-haired human was Johnson.

…Why do their voices sound oddly familiar?

James suddenly locked Johnson in a headlock, grinning.

“This guy’s a huge Witch fan.”
“H-hey! Don’t say it like that!”
“A fan?”
“He bought bromides at the last festival—he got the Witch and was thrilled!”
“Like you weren’t happy when you got the ‘Immortal White Rose Princess’!”
“…Bromides…?”

I knew bromides existed here, and that they were basically the same as in my past life.
But “Impregnable”…?

“What, you don’t know? Maybe it’s because you’re the Witch’s apprentice.”

“What do you mean by impregnable?”

“She’s one of the the eight first-class female explorers who absolutely won’t ‘fall’ for a man.”

“…Excuse me?”

That kind of “fall”…!?

James went on enthusiastically:

“The ‘Canopy Witch’, the ‘Immortal White Rose Princess’, the ‘One-Slash Executioner’, the ‘Automaton’, the ‘Reasonable Beast’, the ‘Silent Musician’, the ‘Explorer Knights’ Commander’, and the ‘Green Protector Cub.’ Those eight.”
“……”
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing at all.”

I was sweating.
Because I personally knew about half of them…

“By the way, uh—can I just call you Wof?”
“Sure.”
“So, what are you doing here?”

Shiro suddenly appeared, looking rather annoyed.

“Oh, Shiro-san.”
“!?”
“W-wha… ‘Immortal White Rose Princess’!?”
“Who are these two?”
“The ones who screamed earlier. They were attacked by the Fire Wolves.”
“I see. Well, since you’re safe now, that’s enough. Let’s go.”
“Y-yes ma’am!”

Right. I turned back toward them.

“Um, James-san. Johnson-san. Talking with you was fun.”
“O-oh.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Well then, see you. Hm?”

Shiro took my hand and lightly pulled me along as we walked away.

“H-hey, did you see that?”
“The real thing… I’ve never seen her before.”
“At the end, they were holding hands.”
“Their fingers were interlaced.”
“…Interlaced fingers… t-that’s the Witch’s apprentice?”
“The Witch’s apprentice is incredible…”

Later, when I ran into them at the Cidre Inn, for some reason they called me “Wof-san.”

“Uh, um… the hand thing.”
“Did you not like it?”
“It’s not that I didn’t like it…”

Her hand in mine was smaller, soft, cool to the touch, and pleasant.
And with her fingers laced firmly into mine, I could really feel the connection.

“Shiro remembers that day very clearly.”
“That day?”
“The day we ate together.”
“The milk-cheese rice.”
“I liked it.”
“You had seconds, didn’t you.”
“It was the first time I’d ever tasted such a gentle flavor.”
“Shall we go again sometime?”

It’ll probably be busier than before, and we’ll probably get stuck in the VIP room again.
Shiro chuckled softly.

“You… before you’re the Witch’s apprentice, you’re a strange person.”
“R-really?”
“Chive’s expression… and her attitude. I’d never seen her like that before.”
“Chive-san?”
“And Munieka too. That iron mask of hers actually showed emotion.”
“Ahaha…”
“And the Witch herself, yes. She changed as well.”

Shiro looked at me, but her gaze seemed to wander somewhere distant.
Then she let go of my hand. Immediately, I grasped it again.

She blinked in surprise, her snow-white eyes opening wide like a cat’s.

“I just… wanted to hold it a little longer.”

That was my honest feeling. But I startled even myself with the action.
To grab a woman’s hand again after she let go—it felt clingy.

“You really are a strange one. Witch’s apprentice.”

Shiro smiled as she entwined her fingers with mine again.

10th Floor.

The floor’s Keeper, the Salamandara, was dealt with surprisingly quickly.

Lupinus-san blocked its flaming fangs.
Pachira-san’s wind blew the flames off its whole body. And then—

“Mm… Sky Style… Subaru… Maia Blade…”

With its body laid bare, Liv-san’s crimson slash cut the Salamandara clean in two.
For a moment, it reminded me of a grilled eel skewer.

Not that I wanted to eat Salamandara, but the image popped up anyway.

Torquetam’s teamwork—this fight in particular—was flowing and beautiful.
Even Shiro praised them.

Everything after went smoothly as well.
No surprise, since they’d been here many times before and knew what to do.

And then—we arrived at the 13th floor.

It was a labyrinth of black lava walls.
The endless sameness of the walls made it even more confusing.

“If only this weren’t a maze.”
“Mm… complicated… bizarre…”
“It always slips away from us because of this maze.”
“Ah, I see.”
“There are a lot of Chimeras here too. Though unlike the Pyrochimeras below, they don’t use relics.”
“…I hate… Chimeras.”
“The Chimera subspecies are insufferable. That 【Evil Eye】 of theirs is absolutely hateful.”

As we walked the maze, Torquetam’s complaints didn’t stop.
Hearing that, Shiro joined in—apparently she had her own gripes about Chimeras.
It turned into a full-on insult session.
They really let loose on the Frost Chimera. Just how much do they hate them?

I listened and nodded, while using Crisis Detection. Just in case, I also activated the Wheel of Fortune.

Here and there, I spotted green, yellow, and blue lights.
Probably treasure chests. But… the walls blocked the way, so they weren’t easy to reach.

“Ah! There are lots of enemies ahead!”

Multiple red signals appeared in front.
A little further back was a single black one.

Torquetam, who until a moment ago had been discussing sweets with Shiro, shifted instantly into battle stance.

In the open space ahead, a group of Chimeras.
And behind them—a completely white Chimera.

An albino Chimera. A subspecies.

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