Chapter 72

Previous Summary:

Defeating Weitiantian-chan

18

"…It was pretty close, huh."

Sitting on the riverbank, I muttered softly.

In front of me was a fast-flowing stream, the same one that flowed at the bottom of the cliff on the mountain path we had been using.

Caught in the landslide caused by Gerbera, I didn't get injured, but I lost my footing and fell into the river below.

The current was swift, and I was carried a considerable distance. While it was fortunate that I didn't die, it would take some time to return to the original location.

As I sighed, the sound of the campfire crackling reached my ears.

I had started the fire to dry my wet clothes.

Feeling the heat on my bare upper body, I turned my gaze away from the stream.

Around the campfire were three others. I called out to one of them.

"…Kato-san"

At my call, Kato-san turned to me.

She, too, was in her underwear. Her slender shoulders, the curve of her back as she hugged her knees, and her damp, lustrous white sides were exposed, making it a bit difficult to know where to look.

Still, this was a situation where I should properly look at her face.

I tried to keep my focus on her face as much as possible.

"What is it, senpai?"

"Try not to take such risks."

At the scene of the landslide, Kato-san was the one most exposed to the greatest danger.

While my familiars and I could handle it, she, who couldn't even properly use magic, could have easily died in that landslide.

While she must have acted because she thought there was a good chance of success, the thought of what might have gone wrong made me shudder.

"But, at that moment…"

Kato-san, who was about to say something, stopped when she saw my face.

"…No, I understand. I'll be more careful."

"That response doesn't really make me feel any better…"

"Hehe, I'm sorry."

Kato-san's lips curved into a shy but delicate smile.

"Thank you for worrying about me."

"…Yeah."

Even though I tried to look only at her face, I couldn't completely block out the view below her shoulders.

When Kato-san shifted slightly, the modest swell of her chest, compared to Lily's, softly pressed against her knees, catching my eye.

I quickly looked away.

…You shouldn't look at her like that.

I know that, but I'm a guy. Even for just a moment, it's hard to resist.

Besides, it's biologically impossible to be in such a state of undress and not react.

Especially with someone as cute as Kato-san. The only thing I might consider a failure is that I've lost my prejudice against her. It was better when I found her creepy…

"Master."

I was grateful that my attention was diverted by someone calling out to me.

"Are you cold? If the fire isn't enough, I can go gather more wood."

"I'm fine."

The voice belonged to Rose.

The masked woman with dull silver hair, drenched and heavy, was facing me. Since she doesn't get sick, she was still wearing her clothes.

However, the fabric clung to her hard, mannequin-like body, giving it a strange, lifelike quality. Part of it might be because Rose herself was vulnerable, and part of it might be because the aftereffects of feeling Kato-san as a woman were still lingering in me.

I sighed and shifted my focus.

Then, I noticed the cracks that had appeared on Rose's translucent clothes, now visible as wrinkles. They were from the damage she sustained when Hitano hit her. It looked painful.

"Are you okay, too?"

"I can still fight, but the effects of the damage are unavoidable."

"That's understandable."

"I would like to replace the parts, but our luggage, including the car, was scattered. If I could at least recover the magic tool bag, it would be helpful. I had stored all the spare parts, including the torso, inside it."

"I'm sorry, Rose. It was an emergency, and I couldn't think that far…"

Kato-san, who had intentionally caused the landslide, shrank back.

Rose shook her head.

"No, don't worry about it. If we lose them, we can make more. As for the magic tool bag, I've almost finished analyzing it, so I think I can make one myself soon. Besides… it's not Makoto's fault."

"…What? Are you saying it's my fault?"

The last person around the campfire spoke up, sounding discontent.

Hitano Yuna, the girl with the nickname 'Weitiantian' and the power of a cheater.

However, she had lost her pride and joy, her speed.

Her legs, stretched out in front of her, were wrapped in blood-stained cloth on the left thigh and a makeshift splint on the right ankle.

"Hey, Makoto! Stop staring at me like that!"

Noticing my gaze, Hitano glared at me.

Incidentally, Hitano was also in her underwear.

While it's hard to imagine a cheater catching a cold, she had taken off her clothes because being wet felt uncomfortable.

"…I'm not interested in your naked body, so don't worry."

"What!?"

Hitano is beautiful, with a slender and elegant figure. However, seeing her in her underwear, I felt nothing. It was as if it didn't matter at all.

Well, of course, that's to be expected.

While we are sitting around the same campfire, it goes without saying that Hitano is our enemy.

The current situation is a strange stalemate.

Even though 'Weitiantian' has temporarily lost her pride and joy, her legs, she is still not someone we can handle. Attacking her would only result in us being defeated.

Conversely, Hitano, with her injuries, cannot attack us. We are also keeping a certain distance and are on guard.

Moreover, even if we captured her, we couldn't carry her back since she can't walk. It was fortunate that Hitano is a pure front-liner who can't use healing magic.

The reason we ended up in this situation is largely due to Kato-san.

At that moment, when it seemed she might be caught in the landslide, Kato-san used a fake magic stone that emitted a blinding flash.

Since it was a surprise attack at a moment when there was no time to think and the target was not on guard, Hitano was directly blinded.

However, the others present were also restricted in their actions to some extent.

Only two people could move without any issues.

One was Rose, and the other was Asarina.

Neither of them relies on their eyes to see the world, so the blinding flash was no obstacle.

Thinking about it, Kato-san might have considered Rose's characteristics and trusted her when she gave the plan to Gerbera.

Rose would surely come to her rescue.

Indeed, Rose moved to protect her from the falling debris.

I instructed Asarina to retrieve Kato-san and Rose.

In the process, we also ended up with Hitano, which was somewhat inevitable.

This was because, when Hitano, who had lost her vision, rushed in, Kato-san, who was entangled with her, stabbed her in the thigh with a knife she had picked up.

Sure enough, a Rose-made knife. Even though it was a surprise attack on an unguarded spot, it successfully inflicted damage on 'Weitiantian's body. Hitano's other leg was also injured when she was caught in the landslide, likely due to the pain distracting her.

Or perhaps, it was Kato-san who was truly impressive.

She showed no mercy to the enemy. Of course, without such actions, it would have been impossible to reduce Hitano's combat ability, so her judgment was accurate.

"By the way, senpai, what should we do now?"

"Hmm… let's see…"

Kato-san asked, so I crossed my arms and thought for a moment.

"First, we should regroup with Lily and the others."

We had become separated from the others who were not here.

From the scene I saw just before the blinding flash, Shiran, Kai, and Gerbera, who were behind on the mountain path, were not caught in the landslide.

This was because Gerbera had thrown the car against the cliff ahead.

At the moment I understood Kato-san's intention, I had thrown Ayame, who was nearby, in Gerbera's direction. Gerbera should have recovered her. Even though it was a spur-of-the-moment action, it was a bit rough. Ayame might be angry and pouting right now. I'll have to make it up to her later.

Unfortunately, Lily had the worst luck.

As you know, while she is in disguise, she is influenced by the structure of the object she is mimicking. The blinding flash should have affected her, and she was also caught in the landslide.

While it wouldn't cause serious danger to Lily, a monster, she was carried away by the river. I could sense her moving toward us through the Pass.

"Let's wait here for Lily and the others. Lily has a wolf's nose, so it's better to let her find us rather than us searching around. After that, we can regroup with Gerbera."

Gerbera, who should be pursuing us, seems to be moving slowly. It might be because she can only vaguely sense direction through the Pass and has lost most of her legs.

Shiran and Kai are with her, but as an undead monster, Shiran can't use healing magic, and Kai's magic skills are not enough to heal Gerbera's lost legs. We will likely regroup with Lily first.

"After that, what?"

"We'll continue as before. Return to the mountain path and head for Aker."

"Wait a minute, Makoto. Are you planning to run away?"

At that point, Hitano interjected.

I looked at her uncertainly, but she glared at me as if nothing had happened.

"Come back to the Empire with me."

Hitano had been in this mood the whole time.

Honestly, it's troublesome. However, I can't just ignore her.

I have no reason to fight Hitano actively. In fact, I don't want to get involved with her, and I would prefer to escape as soon as we can't fight each other.

However, we are sitting around the campfire with Hitano to gather information. Without talking, we can't get the information we need.

Still, my words inevitably carried a sharp edge.

"Even if you tell me to go back to the Empire, I can't just follow you after you suddenly attacked us."

Hitano's expression darkened.

"…Wait a minute. You were the one who sent your pawns first, right?"

"Me? What are you talking about? And don't call them pawns. You were the one who showed hostility."

"Even so, you didn't have to attack me right away?"

"We were suddenly attacked like a pervert. It's natural for Lily and the others to counterattack."

"Pervert!? What are you talking about! I wasn't going to kill you!"

We were completely at odds.

Staring at each other, the sound of a hand clapping broke the tension.

"Let's at least share our situations, shall we?"

It was Kato-san.

Her calm voice helped me regain my composure.

I realized I had lost control of my emotions.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down.

I was angry and upset about Lily and the others being hurt.

However, losing my composure wouldn't lead to a productive conversation or gather information.

I needed to calm down and think about Hitano's words from earlier.

Hitano thought I was one of the people who attacked the Chiria fortress and had come to pursue me.

She only wanted to capture me, not kill me.

I see. From Hitano's perspective, she might have thought that she pursued a suspect, confronted them with her suspicions, and they lashed out in anger.

Of course, we have our side of the story.

But Hitano must have her reasons too.

…Well, the root cause is Hitano's misunderstanding, but there was an unfortunate misunderstanding on both sides.

I relaxed my shoulders.

"…Alright."

Kato-san, seeing me lower the shoulder I had subconsciously raised, then turned her cold gaze to Hitano.

"Hitano-san, don't you think something is off?"

"…What do you mean?"

"At the very least, you know that senpai's familiars are not puppets, right? Gerbera and Lily were desperately trying to protect senpai from you. Did they look like puppets to you?"

Hitano pursed her lips.

During the battle with Gerbera, she seemed to have some doubts. Kato-san's point seemed to have hit a nerve.

"Besides, Rose-san here is not a mindless puppet either."

Kato-san's final statement, filled with conviction, made Hitano gasp.

"…Alright."

Reluctantly, Hitano backed down.

Thus, we decided to have a discussion.

◆Thank you for waiting.

This is the first time I've included a scene with Kato-san that's a bit suggestive.

Hitano is also a bit suggestive, but that's beside the point.

◆I'll update again in an hour.

◆Finally.

As announced on the official page, Volume 3 will be released on April 27th.

I'll start releasing more information in April, so stay tuned.