WM – Chapter 9: My first comrade

“Good morning, did you wait, Makoto?” 

“I got here just now.” (Makoto)

“Then, let’s go.” 

After having an exchange like that of a couple, I head off with Lucy.

The rendezvous point was the guild entrance.

Anyways, no matter how many times I look at Lucy, she is still a beauty. 

Being able to form a party with a beauty like this, Isekais aren’t that bad, huh.

But there’s one thing that bothers me.

“Aren’t you cold?” (Makoto)

It may be spring already, but the mornings are cold. 

Even though I have a long sleeve shirt, and a coat on, Lucy was lightly dressed. 

A shirt that looks like a camisole, and a short skirt. She is also wearing a cloak, but it is hard to call that protection against the cold.

“I have a naturally high body temperature, so don’t worry.” (Lucy)

“I see.” (Makoto)

Lucy says she has no problems with it, but as a healthy high school boy, with that attire, it is hard for me to know where to look.

Her fashion that shows her shoulders and thighs is so dazzling.

I set [Clear Mind] at 80%.

With this, I can cut off most earthly desires.

I act as if I don’t mind and change the topic.

I stand at the front of the guild’s notice board.

“Are there any good quests?” (Makoto)

“Hmm, nothing seems to click.” (Lucy)

Giving a cursory glance, there’s Griffon Subjugation, Search and Subjugate the Labyrinth’s Minotauros, Deliver the scales of a Firedrake; those kind of high difficulty quests were lined up.

It would be impossible for us.

The other ones left are things like: Gather Medicinal Plants, Deliver Horn Rabbit Meat; the errand kind of quests.

“Ara, isn’t that Makoto and Lucy? In the middle of searching for your first quest as a party?” (Mary)

Mary-san seems to have begun working for the day just in time.

“Good morning, Mary-san. Are there any good quests?” (Makoto)

“Hmm, a party of 2 bronze rank mages, huh. That will be difficult.” (Mary)

She was making a troubled expression.

Can’t be helped.

“Let’s hunt goblins. It is safe and we can earn some small change.” (Makoto)

“It is your specialty after all.” (Lucy)

“Mary-san, we will be going. Good luck with your work.” (Makoto)

“Yes, be careful out there. I think you will be okay though, Makoto-kun.” (Mary)

“And me?” (Lucy)

“You listen to what Makoto-kun says okay, Lucy? Don’t fight each other, got it?” (Mary)

“Eh? What’s with that?” (Lucy)

Lucy didn’t seem to like that.

In her previous party she fought with her party and separated from them.

Can’t be helped that Mary-san would worry about her.

We waved at Mary-san and left the guild.

◇◇

 “Hey, don’t you think Mary-san likes you, Makoto?” (Lucy)

“Eh?” (Makoto)

What’s that all of a sudden?

“There’s no way.” (Makoto)

“But isn’t she awfully kind to just you?” (Lucy) 

“That’s because I am a newcomer.” (Makoto)

Also, she must be quite worried due to my poor stats and whatnot.

She was quite surprised the first time I showed her my Soul Book.

“She apparently stops looking after the other adventurers once they become bronze rank, you know? People are saying only you are being looked after this whole time.” (Lucy)

“No no no.” (Makoto)

I haven’t heard about that gossip though.

“Aren’t you overthinking it?” (Makoto)

“Everyday you go have dinner, she talks to you, right? Before you came to the guild, Mary-san would go drink around once every 2 days, you know.” (Lucy) 

“I-Is that so.” (Makoto)

Mary-san likes me?

A beautiful Onee-san type of girl.

Her boobs are big.

I gulp.

Would she kindly lead me in bed too?

Wait, that’s not it! 

I am getting impatient here since the time I heard about the story of Fuji-yan.

I am not the type of man that burns in desire.

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go.” (Makoto)

“Aah, changed the topic.” (Lucy)

“That’s enough of it. Even against goblins, we have to take it seriously, or we will get hurt.” (Makoto)

For now, let’s return the conversation to the quest.

“I get it, geez. Hey, where are we heading today?” (Lucy)

“Close to the Demonic Forest that I am always hunting goblins at.” (Makoto)

“Eeh? Isn’t that far? It takes around half a day just going there, you know.” (Lucy)

“It is okay, it is okay.” (Makoto)

“Really?” (Lucy)

Lucy seems to be worried.

Well, you will understand once you see it yourself.

I greet the gatekeeper-san at the west gate and leave the city.

Once you leave the gate, you can see the forest immediately.

We walk through the main road of the forest for a while.

“Now that I think about it…” (Makoto)

I ask her about something that was bothering me.

“You are an elf, Lucy?” (Makoto)

My first party member is an elf.

I can brag about this to Fuji-yan!

“T-That’s right! You can tell by looking at my ears, right?!” (Lucy)

“Ooh, I see. So there’s elves with red hair and eyes’, when I say this, Lucy averted her gaze.

“Uhm, I am a mixed race. Not a pure blooded elf…” (Lucy)

“Hm?” (Makoto)

Aah, so this was a landmine, huh.

Maybe she has had it rough until now because she was mixed? Like getting isolated from the other elves.

If that’s the case, I have said something insensitive here…

“Well, my grandfather is the chief of the elf village, so I had the people that complained about me be ostracized though.” (Lucy)

Lucy says this without a single shred of guilt and a triumphant face.

This girl is bold.

“Does it bother you that I am not a pure blood elf, Makoto?” (Lucy)

She looks at me anxious.

Oi oi, where did the boldness go?

“I just asked because you are the first elf I met after coming to this world.” (Makoto)

“Aah, so that’s what it was.” (Lucy)

Lucy looks relieved.

Conversing in a party is difficult. I don’t know how far I can step in.

The difficulty is high for an antisocial person like me.

We walk in the forest for a while, and we head to the brook that’s at the side of the road.

Around here should be fine.

“Hey, where are we going? There’s a stream that way, you know.” (Lucy)

“This is the right way.” (Makoto)

I walk on the surface of the water.

Water Magic: Surface Walk.

“Chantless as if natural, huh.” (Lucy)

“Here, come.” (Makoto)

I beckon Lucy.

“I can’t use Surface Walk. Or more like, what are we doing after that?” (Lucy)

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Give me your hand.” (Makoto)

Without waiting for an answer, I grab her by the sleeve and pull her to the stream. 

“Kya!” (Lucy)

“Don’t let go, alright? The effect of the spell will cut off if you do.” (Makoto)

“Don’t pull me all of a sudden!” (Lucy)

Support magic like Surface Walk can be shared by staying in contact with a part of the user’s body.

The effect disappears once you separate.

Well, I can just cast for two people, but this way, I can save mana. 

“The surface of the water is this cushiony, huh. Feels weird.” (Lucy)

“Hold on tight. We will be going at quite the speed after all.” (Makoto)

“Eh? What do you mean by that?” (Lucy)

[Water Magic: Water Current]

“Eh? Eeeeeh?!” (Lucy)

Lucy raises a voice of shock.

We move forward on top of the stream.

“Only the water at our feet is moving?!” (Lucy)

Fufu, she is surprised.

“What’s this?!” (Lucy)

“A variation to Water Current I suppose. I call it Moving Water Road.” (Makoto)

The image I use for this is the railroad in a train station.

This world probably doesn’t use it in this way.

“What a weird name for a spell…” (Lucy)

“Shut it. I am raising the speed.” (Makoto)

“Wait wait, my heart is not ready yet—” (Lucy)

I speed up at once.

This moment of acceleration feels the best.

“Kyaaaaaa!!” (Lucy)

A scream echoes in the forest.

“Oi, don’t raise your voice.” (Makoto)

“Don’t ask for the impossible!” (Lucy)

We cut across the forest in one go.

◇◇

 “Wait, let me rest for a bit. I might have gotten dizzy from that.” (Lucy)

Lucy staggers her way to a tree and leans on it.

“Sorry, I sped up too much.” (Makoto)

Gotta reflect.

I got way into it.

“No, it is okay. That’s incredible. We arrived close to the Demonic Forest in 30 minutes. So you were moving in this way until now, huh.” (Lucy)

“Yeah, we arrived quickly, right?” (Makoto)

“Is this really the area around the Demonic Forest?” (Lucy)

“Yeah, that’s why, don’t go raising your voice here. We would get surrounded by goblins.” (Makoto)

“Eh?!” (Lucy)

Lucy hurriedly grabs my sleeves again.

“Around how many?” (Lucy)

“Around 40, I think. Just like usual.” (Makoto)

“Eeh?! That’s a lot!” (Lucy)

“That’s just how this place is. We have a good amount of distance from the closest one, and the mist today is thick, so the chance is low that we will get noticed. It’s gonna be okay.” (Makoto)

“Y-You are used to this, huh.” (Lucy)

“I come here everyday after all.” (Makoto)

“As expected of the Goblin Cleaner.” (Lucy)

Stop with that nickname!

“For now, let’s go hunt a random one close by.” (Makoto)

If it is a monster near here, Lucy should be able to take her time chanting her magic.

◇◇

 -Lucy POV-

“Then, wait a bit.” (Makoto)

Saying this, Makoto disappeared inside the mist.

He must be erasing the sound of his footsteps with Stealth.

I can’t feel his presence anymore.

“Don’t leave me alone in a place like this…” (Lucy)

When my mind realised that this is nearby the Demonic Forest, I suddenly got anxious.

“!” 

I heard the slight sound of something from afar.

I am an elf, so I have good ears.

Even so, it was a sound so slight that I could even pass it off as my imagination.

After a while, Makoto returns.

“I defeated one.” (Makoto)

“You can tell me that, but I can’t see you.” (Lucy)

I say this as if sulking.

A rustling sound was made.

A small goblin is looking here?! 

It was making the movement to call its comrades.

“Makoto!” (Lucy)

“It is okay.” (Makoto)

When Makoto raised his hand towards the goblin, suddenly, something white was covering the mouth and eyes of the goblin.

That’s…he is controlling the mist?

“?!” 

The goblin seems to be flustered unable to let out its voice.

Makoto approached it without making a sound, and stabbed the heart of the goblin with his dagger.

The blade cuts in smoothly, but there’s no blood spurting out. 

The dagger was also clean even when it was pulled out. 

The goblin collapses.

There was no sound of it falling.

He probably erased the sound with Stealth.

(He controlled the mist while using skills, and he is controlling even the blood so that he doesn’t get stained in blood?) (Lucy)

This guy is doing quite the outrageous things as if nothing.

“See?” (Makoto)

Don’t make that face of ‘Easy right?’.

Is this the appearance of a mage that has polished his magic proficiency? Amazing.

…Just that, what he is doing looks more like an assassin.

“I will go hunt a few more.” (Makoto)

Saying this, Makoto disappears in the mist again.

“This is today’s result.” (Makoto)

Makoto hunted 10 goblins in around an hour.

What he basically did was use Stealth to approach them silently and hunt them.

If he gets unlucky and gets noticed before he gets close enough, he immediately covers their mouth and eyes with magic.

As a result, they couldn’t call their comrades.

“There’s a lot of mist around here, so I can use my magic as much as I want.” (Makoto)

“The Demonic Forest is covered in mist all year long after all.” (Lucy)

Everyone has been asking the question of why the rookie Makoto always goes to a dangerous place like the Demonic Forest to hunt. That mystery has been solved.

“I have low mana, so I can only use cheap magic like this.” (Makoto)

“Is it cheap?” (Lucy)

I think it is quite impressive.

“By the way, can you show me your magic next, Lucy?” (Makoto)

Oh, it finally came.

“If I remember correctly, it takes time to chant, right?” (Makoto)

“Yeah…at the minimum, more than 3 minutes.” (Lucy)

“That’s long.” (Makoto)

Uuh, did he get disappointed?

“Well, fine. I have defeated most of the goblins around, so even if it is a long chant, they shouldn’t be able to notice immediately,  I think.” (Makoto)

“So you thought that far?” (Lucy)

“Since we have the chance here, I wanted to take my time and look at Monarch Magic.” (Makoto)

Makoto’s eyes are glittering.

His eyes are brimming with expectation.

Eh? His character changed?

I thought he was more of the cool type of person though. 

“Then, I will prepare.” (Lucy)

I cannot fail.

I separated from Jean and Emily’s party after a quarrel, and there’s already no people in the Adventurer Guild that I can join a party with in Makkaren.

I begin chanting.

I say that, but it is the Elementary Grade Fire Spell: Fireball.

“Wow!” (Makoto)

Makoto mutters.

The fireball steadily gets bigger.

1 meter, 2 meters…

In the end, a fireball as big as a house was made on top of me.

“Isn’t this…dangerous?” (Makoto)

Makoto’s face stiffened.

But I am concentrating on my spell and don’t have the leeway to answer him.

My hands tremble.

It is taking me my all to keep the giant mass of fire that I generated.

“[FIREBALL]!!” (Lucy)

I release the giant fireball to the front.

A big sound of something heavy falling to the ground along with the shaking of the ground.

*Whooom!* A fire pillar raises as if trying to burn the sky.

Now that the mana has left my body, I feel a bit lightheaded.

Aah, what a relief!

“Hmph, the expected firepower from me!” (Lucy)

“That’s impressive. The trees of the Great Forest that are supposed to be strong against fire are burning.” (Makoto)

Makoto says this impressed.

It has been a while since I used around 10% of the fireball power.

It felt good.

Ah, but the intensity of the fire is too strong?

The magic trees of the Great Forest are hard to burn.

But the trees were blazing up as if that didn’t matter.

E-Eh? 

Wait, did I overdo it?

...It ended up in a fire.

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