Chapter 5

The silver-haired girl who emerged from the box made me inwardly tremble.

She was wrapped in chains up to her neck inside the box, and her pained expression suggested she wasn't dead, but she was unconscious.

Seeing this, I stood there for a while, rooted to the spot.

No, no, what am I doing? I have to help her quickly.

...Help her? Who is this girl, anyway? There must be a reason she's here. Is it right to help her just because of my own arrogance? Maybe she doesn't even want to be saved.

No, that's not it. This is a flag...! There's no other route for me to choose but to save her!

In the end, I decided to help her and tried to remove the chains, but they wouldn't budge no matter how much I fiddled with them.

If I forced them off, I might hurt the girl, so there was nothing I could do.

There's no choice. I'll have to move her first.

"Here goes."

I lifted the girl along with the box. It felt like I was carrying a pizza, but I had to be careful.

When I lifted the box, I noticed a magical array drawn around where it had been.

The array was unlike anything I had seen before, and it raised my spirits a bit, but it was probably related to the girl.

Well, that's not really important. I just want to get out of here as quickly as possible.

However, digging to escape would be too much trouble with the box, and going back the way I came would definitely be blocked.

What should I do?

I was thinking about this when...

"Of course, that's your target, Great Sinner."

Whoa, someone's here...

I cautiously turned around to see a tall man in armor with a sword at his waist. He had red hair and red eyes, and I thought he looked pretty cool.

"Are you... the Captain of the Knights?"

"Correct, and I will kill you here. I will also take it back."

The Captain of the Knights placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

"Reject!"

In a flash, he attacked my hand. I let the box float in the air for a moment to avoid it.

Then came the second attack.

I thought maybe I could use the girl as a hostage, so I held the box in front of me.

However, his sword didn't stop. Seeing this, I quickly lowered the box and jumped back.

"I'm surprised. You're quite capable."

"You... just now, you tried to cut me and the girl, didn't you?"

This is a line I've always wanted to say.

"Killing you and taking the treasure is my priority. I wanted to keep you alive if possible, but you're no longer needed."

I also wanted to get information from you, he continued, drawing his sword.

I quickly positioned the box in front of me.

I'm sorry to the girl inside, but she's going to be shaken up a bit.

The Captain of the Knights' slash. With my enhanced physical abilities, I could clearly see its trajectory, but I didn't have the time to counterattack.

I aligned the chains wrapped around the girl's body with the trajectory of the attack.

And I managed to get him to cut the chains at the last moment.

The chains were severed with a screeching sound, and the girl, now free, floated out of the box.

The Captain of the Knights' attack didn't stop there. I narrowly avoided several slashes, and when I saw an opening, I delivered a surprise Mach punch.

He tried to block it with his hand, but it was a feint.

"Boom Head!!"

I planted my left hand on the ground and delivered a swift kick to his chin.

"Ugh...!"

The Captain of the Knights flew upward. I caught the falling girl, landing the move perfectly and impressively.

The Captain of the Knights fell from the sky.

"Did you use a spell, Captain?"

I taunted, but the attack didn't seem to have much effect on him. He got up with a nonchalant look on his face.

Even though I wasn't at my full strength, the fact that it didn't have much of an effect was a bit worrying.

It would be great if I could supplement with creation.

"Since you've gone this far, I'll get serious too."

With that, the Captain of the Knights closed his eyes and began to hum while taking deep breaths.

I wondered if he was about to defecate while I checked the girl in my arms for injuries.

This girl is so soft and smells so good. She's incredibly cute. What a lucky break!

Her long silver hair hung down, and for some reason, it felt erotic. I hadn't felt this excited about a real girl in a long time.

But I shouldn't be thinking about that. The Captain of the Knights was surrounded by an aura that crackled with energy.

His red hair stood on end, making him look like a Saiyan.

Compared to before, his presence was on a completely different level.

He was clearly getting serious.

"Let's resume."

With the aura surrounding him, the Captain of the Knights said this to me. The sword in his hand glowed, and I could easily imagine the damage it would cause if it hit me.

I crouched into a defensive stance while holding the girl.

---And I created.

"Rimireto!"

With that sound effect, I escaped from the scene.

---

Earlier, I thought maybe I could use "Rimireto" with creation. Surprisingly, it worked.

Creation wasn't limited to physical objects.

However, it consumed a lot of stamina. The feeling of my stamina draining was quite unpleasant. God had mentioned that there were limits to my abilities, and this must be one of them.

Still, I wondered what the Captain of the Knights' face looked like.

He had just gotten serious, and now he was alone. I wondered what he was feeling.

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but laugh. I was grinning to myself.

I was currently standing on the roof of a house, princess-carrying the girl who was still unconscious.

"Search! Find him no matter what!"

I could hear voices from below, as if they were searching for me.

Hmm, what should I do? I should probably wake her up.

Wait, hold on?

Oh no, what a healthy thought. It would be terrible to wake up such a cute girl without playing a prank on her. This is the situation I've dreamed of.

Deciding on this, I must have had a creepy smile on my face.

I created a futon to lay the girl down, but a jellyfish appeared instead.

Damn! I can't concentrate at all!

I'm sorry to the girl, but I can't create a futon because I'm too excited. She'll have to make do without one.

I gently laid the girl down on the roof and rubbed my hands together.

"Hehe, hehehehehe"

First, I'll grope her breasts.

Just as I reached out, the girl's eyes opened.

Oh no, I have to grope her quickly!

Thinking this, I instantly moved my hand to her chest and squeezed a few times.

They were soft and the right size.

"What are you doing!"

Of course, I braced myself for a slap. I had always wanted to experience a girl's slap, so this was perfect. She woke up, I got slapped, and I got to grope her—truly a three-for-one deal.

However, instead of a slap, I received an unexpected attack.

"Beep!"

What, what? I understand a punch, but a poke in the eye?

This girl is dangerous...

After suffering from the eye poke for a while, I regained my composure and explained everything to the girl.

However, she ignored me, and I wasn't sure if she was listening.

"Can you at least tell me your name?"

"..."

She remained silent. I kept talking to her, but she ignored me.

"Hey, can you tell me now?"

"Stop talking to me, it's creepy."

Finally, she spoke, but it was this.

Well, I guess it is creepy to suddenly grope a girl.

But I won't give up.

"My name is Reia. What's yours?"

"Alright, I'll tell you, but can you move a bit further away?"

Move away? She asked, but we were already three meters apart. Besides, our hearts were probably even further apart. I was at fault, but I didn't really like her personality. Her face was cute, though.

If I moved any further, I'd have to speak in a louder voice, which would likely attract the attention of the people below.

When I explained this to her, she reluctantly agreed to stay three meters away.

"My name is Shara."

"So, Shara, why were you in that place?"

"First name basis...?"

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Younger than me!"

Oops, I accidentally spoke too loudly. I have to be careful.

The topic was diverted, but the main issue was who Shara was.

"Again, why were you in that place?"

"That's..."

Shara hesitated. She clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"It's okay if you don't want to."

Reia, the man, didn't push her.

"Who are you, Reia? Did you help me to use me?"

"Are you that useful?"

When I said this, Shara looked regretful and fell silent.

"No, I don't intend to use you."

Shara still looked uneasy at these words.

From what I could guess, Shara probably had incredible magical power from birth and was locked up to have her power absorbed. I've seen this kind of setup in anime, and considering the need for magical power for the hero summoning, it makes sense.

Thinking back, the Captain of the Knights said Shara was no longer needed. So, her power must have been fully absorbed.

I had many thoughts, but they were all just guesses.

After a while, Shara spoke up.

"Reia, what are you going to do now?"

"I'll travel the world casually. What about you? Want to come with me?"

"I don't have any other options, so I'll reluctantly follow you."

"Can't you ask more cutely?"

*Note: Rimireto is a spell from Reia's favorite game, Dragon Punk Quest.*