“Leg… Khack, there’s… no one here?! Help me! Ugh…”
The fact that he had an aura surrounding his sword indicated that he was far from a weak novice. At the very least, he seemed to possess a decent level of skill. As for Jake, I’m not so sure.
Still, it was hard to believe that such a roar—chilling upon hearing—and rock fragments flying fast enough to sever a leg could come from someone of his build. And then there was the sight of him climbing the mountain using large rocks as footholds.
Now it makes sense why even the Adventurers’ Guild was so tense about this. Then again, aren’t the guards practically useless in this situation? Such doubts arose, but at the moment, it wasn’t a significant concern.
“Pity. The world would be a little more beautiful if losers like that were dead. For a Half-Dragon, you’re surprisingly merciful.”
I delivered a strike to the unpleasantly smirking Akashi, silencing his laughter, before descending from the tree.
“Hey, you… Anyway, just because you have some muscles doesn’t mean you know anything but brute force. Are we going to save him?”
“Of course. I’m not a cold-blooded person like you.”
It seemed Yuna shared the same thought as she leapt down from the tree too. When Pin saw us, either he didn’t recognize us or had forgotten his previous attitude, and instead clung to my leg, wailing.
“Help me! My blood… it won’t stop! Please!”
With brute force, I pried him off and handed over the task of waking Jake to Yuna while I examined Pin’s wound.
They say the femur is the strongest bone in the human body, but judging by the jagged cut, it was completely shattered.
The flesh was torn in every direction, making it almost unbearable to look at.
“Well, idiot. I’m a Dark Magician, not a priest. I can cauterize it, though. Of course, if you let me use your book a bit…”
I stared silently at Akashi, but all he did was ask cheekily for permission to use his grimoire.
“…Fine. In return, just cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding. Don’t do anything beyond what I’ve instructed. That’s an [Order].”
“Yes, yes, Master. Got it? Judging by the blood loss, you’ll be dead in five minutes if we don’t act. It’d be a shame for you, not me.”
“D-die? Me? Ah… No… No way…!”
Among the few things the Kingdom of Koluscia gave me, one of them was Akashi. They said every Hero needed a powerful magician, and they’d attach someone who’d follow my orders well.
He certainly was powerful—his true form once held a position among the Four Heavenly Kings during the old Demon King’s reign. However, his clone wasn’t the same.
Without the grimoire the kingdom sent, which only Akashi could read, he was less capable than an ordinary person. Even when allowed to use the grimoire, he always caused trouble, so I had to implant a slave seal to control him.
Though it felt wrong to put a seal on someone, assassination attempts while sleeping happened often enough that I had no qualms about doing it.
“Fire, rise appropriately.”
As usual, his weary incantation was accompanied by flames sprouting from his fingertips. Pin still hadn’t grasped the situation and was clutching his leg, staring at the fire. Just as Akashi was about to apply the flame to the wound…
“Hold on! If the wound is burned, even a priest will struggle to heal it!”
Jake, helped up by Yuna, immediately intervened upon seeing this.
“So what? Let him die then. Are you his slave or some friend his mom paid for? Or maybe a lackey? There’s no way a water elemental would be a real friend.”
“It’s a real friendship! Anyway, isn’t there another way? Perhaps freezing it…?”
“I’ll let you do that if you want. I’m only using this method. Even if the priest finds it tough, burning and cutting off the deformed parts is all that’s needed, right?”
“Jake… I feel like I’m dying… Save me…”
Given the cruel sounds Akashi made while casually applying the fire, and Jake trying to stop him while Pin was slowly dying, there was no time to hesitate, so I ignored Jake’s protests and ordered Akashi to proceed.
As soon as the fire touched him, Pin screamed and thrashed around, which Yuna and I forcibly restrained.
“Aaaah! Ugh, aaaah! Jake, kill these guys! They’re trying to kill me!!!”
Looking at Jake, it seemed unnecessary to stop him. Though he wore an expression of disapproval, he wasn’t actively doing anything.
Eventually, after a mix of screams and the sound of cooking meat, Pin’s bleeding finally stopped. Once the cauterization ended, Pin cursed Akashi, who coolly retorted.
“Yeah, yeah. Cry like a baby now. But listen, adventures aren’t as beautiful and glamorous as you think. Losing a leg is cheap tuition for learning that lesson. You should consider yourself incredibly lucky. So stop whining. It’s getting annoying.”
As soon as the procedure ended, Akashi flicked his tongue at the closed grimoire and returned it to me. I then asked Yuna to take them back to the city.
“…Understood. But it seems like Myungho isn’t planning to come with us.”
She had already prepared to leave, balancing the cleanly severed leg on one shoulder and carrying Pin on the other. Jake stood beside her, watching us.
“Yeah. I need to meet that girl from earlier.”
“Are you crazy? After seeing how she acted, you’re still going? Do you have rocks where your brain should be?”
“Hmph. Fine. You can have the book. But only use it to protect me. Don’t use it for retaliation. We don’t know if she’s good or bad until we talk.”
Going to meet her wasn’t purely for conversation. Given the current instability of our party members, I wanted to see if, even with slim chances, she might join my team.
“Then things change, Master. Let’s go now. Oh, and violence-girl, don’t hit me if I don’t listen on the way.”
“…Take care, Myungho. And Akashi, we’ll settle this later. I’ll teach you what true violence is.”
Ho ho, terrifying. With that response, Akashi began walking up the path created by the girl.
“…Akashi. Can’t you cast a spell like the one that girl used to climb quickly? Aren’t you supposed to be a great mage?”
“You told me just to protect you. If you’re annoyed, tell me to go ahead.”
…For some reason, following his advice felt like losing, so I decided to walk up myself.
As a bonus, I commanded him not to smile until I told him to, which irritated him further.
—
It’s delicious.
After eating tasteless meats compared to dirt or rocks, this is truly heavenly.
So absorbed in the sensation on my tongue that I barely noticed the sky gradually turning red.
“…Is this called sponge cake… or castella?”
It doesn’t matter what it’s called. As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters. It practically advertised “Eat me fast!” so I took a big bite without hesitation, only to find myself licking my fingers clean moments later.
It’s so tasty I don’t want to miss even the crumbs. Searching through the sack I brought, hoping for more, I was sadly disappointed.
Thinking of taking the blue pill to counteract the side effects of expended mana, but its metallic taste and texture deterred me during such a delightful time.
This is a rare day occurring only twice a month, and I won’t allow such filth into my mouth on such a joyous occasion. I took another big bite of something else that looked perishable.
When I swallowed it with water, the sweetness and softness filled my mouth. It was a cream-filled bread, and since there were several, this happiness could last longer.
Perhaps a week… will it hold out? Amidst these happy thoughts…
I sensed vibrations of approximately two people approaching.
I left traces intentionally because I’m confident I can easily handle whatever comes my way. I’ve already given a warning.
What fools dare to interrupt my happy time?
Reluctantly swallowing what I was chewing, I stood up.
Since the vibrations are so clear, they must be nearby. Despite feeling slightly dizzy, I circulated mana through my horns in preparation.
Walking towards the source of the vibration, I found someone with an unfamiliar insignia and another holding what looked like a book.
The one with the strange insignia had plain black hair and eyes, fairly average-looking, except for the large brush strapped to his back.
Does he use that as a weapon? How does that work?
The white-haired mage beside him radiated immense mana from his book, yet nothing from the brush.
…Not my problem. They came despite my warning, so it’s their fault. Though the white-haired one irritates me, I have no intention of letting either live now that they’ve come this far.
Using the pre-circulated mana, I summoned a rock spear from the ground, aiming directly for their heads. It flew swiftly, nearly reaching them before the white-haired mage mumbled something, stopping it abruptly.
“Stop! Phew… Girl who killed her parents, you’ve got quite the strength! Honestly, it’s overwhelming. Wouldn’t it be wise to run away now?”
So they won’t die easily.
Looks like I’ll have to use a messier method.
Driving my hand into the ground, I summoned a massive stone blade. Just as I was about to charge and slice them horizontally, the one with the strange insignia shouted.
“…Wait! Can we talk for a moment?”
And those words were clearly understandable to me.
