Chapter 12: The Strongest Onmyoji Takes Another Challenge

The next day, the six of us went to a forest near Keltz.

Yes, the forest where Almiraj comes out.

“Hey, are you sure it was a good idea?”

Amiyu asked the two demons.

“We shouldn’t have taken on a request to hunt Almiraj. Don’t we have to do a lot of more expensive work?”

Amiyu was right.

The first thing Rurumu and Nozuro chose to do was the almiraj hunt that we had given up on the other day.

“It’s okay.”

Rurumu said with a small smile.

“This one is close by and can be done in a day. It’s not so bad from an efficiency standpoint.”

“That’s what we thought at first, too. ……”

“ It’s okay, watch me.”

Ahead of us, a lone almiraj had already appeared.

Nozuro steps forward to face the rabbit-shaped monster, which glares at us and shakes its horns.

Suddenly, Almiraj kicked the ground.

It turned its sharp horns toward the large god-demon and lunged at it as if it were flying.

Holding his fist loosely, Nozuro seemed to duck the lunge by pulling back …… half his body.

But just as he passed the rabbit’s small body.

“Hmph!”

A blindingly sharp hand blade was unleashed, smashing the corner of —- Almiraj.

“Gigigi!”

The rabbit-shaped monster squealed dully and rolled on the forest ground.

Then, in a flash, it fled through the trees.

“Ahhhh ……

Amiyu muttered regretfully.

“You’re doing a great job, but …… It got away, did it not?”

“No.”

Nozuro picked up an antler lying in the underbrush and pointed it out to us.

“The first one.”

“What?　Is there such a thing ……?”

Amiyu looked puzzled.

“The horns are proof of defeat, but …… this is a scam, isn’t it?”

“I don’t care.”

Nozuro explained in a casual manner.

“The purpose of this request is not to reduce the number of monsters. The point is that it doesn’t matter if you kill fifty or so small monsters. The point is to keep the monsters away from the roads. Almiraj, with its broken horns, will not be seen in the sphere of human life for the time being. Then there will be no problem.”

“Is that right, ……?”

“Monsters are part of nature. Where I come from, we are taught at an early age that if you hunt too many, you will pay for it.”

“Hmmm. ……?”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?　You don’t have to think so hard. If it serves the client’s purpose, then fine.”

I say.

“Well, I guess that’s where the hard part comes in.”

********

A few moments later.

Sure enough, the number of almiraj that attacked us had decreased dramatically.

As we had seen the other day, they seemed to have become completely wary of us.

“I guess it’s come to this after all. ……”

Ifa said tiredly.

“Shush ……!”

At that time, Rurumu suddenly stopped.

“Ah……!”

Ifa raised her voice slightly.

A lone almiraj was standing where she pointed.

However, it was quite far away.

It was so far away that I wondered how she had managed to find it. It was a miraculous position where the trees did not overlap, and its light brown body was barely visible. At such a distance, it was unlikely that the other party would have noticed us.

Rurumu suddenly picked up the bow on her back.

I raised an eyebrow.

Aiming from here is not realistic at all. In addition, Rurumu’s bow is a short bow that prioritizes maneuverability. You might be able to at least hit it, but without …… power and accuracy, it’ll just be able to run away.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the arrow is a very good one.

At that time, I suddenly felt a stream of power flowing from the —- arrowhead.

Before I could confirm its true nature, Rurumu released the arrow.

The arrow, perhaps a stronger bow than it looks, follows a near-linear trajectory and hits …… Almiraj in the back limb.

“Gigigi….!”

A nearby shikigami hears Almiraj’s brief cry of distress.

It was far from a fatal wound.

I thought it would escape.

But the next moment, a sudden flow of power appears starting from the —- arrowhead, and at the same time, ice is created by water-attribute magic.

The ice quickly covered Almiraj’s small body and soon turned it into a solid block of ice.

The almiraj lay on it’s side and did not move.

Amiyu, who had been watching the whole scene, muttered in shock.

“That arrow …… might be a magical tool?　You are a grantor enchanter, aren’t you?”

“ Yes, it’s interesting, isn’t it?

Rurumu said a little proudly.

The enchanter is a magician who enchants objects with magic, in other words, an artisan of magic tools.

There are a few useful objects called magical tools in this world, such as crystal balls for measuring magic power and amulets to ward off calamities. So it was not a particularly rare magician, but it was surprising to see a grantor enchanter of the …… demon tribe.

Because they were born with the ability to use magic, I imagined them to use magic more freely.

I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to have them around, though, since there are magical tools out there made by the demon tribe.

Amiyu says.

“I think arrows are great, but even the …… demon tribe had people who made grimoires.”

“There are magic tool makers in every tribe. What?  You thought we were more like barbarians?”

“I was under the impression that …… divine demons would use amazing magic without chanting or something like that.”

“W-w- what!?”

As Amiyu, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, said, Rurumu opened her mouth wide open.

“I don’t know about it in the human country, but enchanter enchanters are respected in my hometown! Of course I am…”

“… huhu”

“What? Nozuro. Why are you laughing now?”

“No……”

The god-demon martial artist panicked at Rurumu’s serious face.

Seeing that, I involuntarily interjected.

“Hey. Fighting is fine, but it seems there are quite a few Almiraj around here.”

“I know.”

Rurumu answered with a snort.

Those eyes that looked out over the forest―――― somehow seemed to catch a group of almiraj hiding in the trees and bushes.

“My arrows are also limited… from here on out, let’s all push in. Can you help me?”

*******

Then, a few moments later.

“Yeah!”

A spear of wind from Ifa’s spirit magic breaks Almiraj’s horns at the base.

The wounded body runs away, but …… that was the end of it.

“The body of Almiraj escaped.　Now we have fifty!”

Amiyu shouted in joy, her voice bubbling with excitement.

“I didn’t think it would really be over in a day!”

Looking at the sky, the sun was still high in the sky.

This would give us enough time to return to the guild, report the accomplishment of the request, and then choose the next request.

Mabel says with a subtly disappointed look on her face.

“Somehow, I feel like I did almost nothing.”

“You were useless this time.”

“……Shut it!”

“No more… that’s not the case. You protected me.”

“I did!”

Suddenly, Amiyu turns to Rurumu and the others and says.

“But it’s different if it’s a six-person party, isn’t it?”

“party……”

Rurumu muttered a little, and then shook her head.

“No, it was us who were saved.”

“Come to think of it, it was. But it’s refreshing that we were able to complete this request. It was kind of half-finished.”

Amiyu said with a grin.

“Next time, let’s make a higher request.

“… that’s right”

Rurumu laughed as if she had been caught.

Then suddenly she asks me with a puzzled look on her face.

“Come to think of it… you didn’t put your hand out this time.”

“Hmm?”

“Even though you’re a  Summoner, you didn’t summon anything.”

“I’m not a Summoner, and I always do this when I go on adventures with these kids.”

“eh?”

“Seika is of the healing class. We are the ones who defeat monsters.”

“yes?”

“You also turn on the lights in the dungeon, don’t you?”

“Also, i work as a porter. But that’s about it. It’s amazing, I can use magic that doesn’t make sense, but we’ve decided that’s not an adventure!”

“Eh… uh, what’s that…?”

Rurumu said with a bewildered look.

“Maybe it’s not what I’m saying… but isn’t it a waste? Even though you have that kind of power…”

“No, I’m fine with this.”

I say with a smile.

“Because it’s not good to make only lending, or to make only borrowing.”

“I’m just borrowing it….that’s right.”

Rurumu muttered as if she had something on her mind.

“Maybe so.”

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter