Chapter 12

Shuu, basically, is a monster who has a lot of free time.

Apart from practicing magic control, developing magic, and hunting rogue monsters, there isn't much else he does. Moreover, these three activities are close to hobbies, so there are days when he doesn't do them if he's not in the mood.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the only thing he does on Iris's days off is to go to Eldana, listen to her complaints, and learn letters.

He had already heard about her day off, which started in the morning with a trip to Eldana, killing time at a café, and then having lunch. In the afternoon, he might learn more letters or help Iris with her shopping.

And today was a day for shopping.

"Thank you for carrying it all the way to my house."

"It's no problem. It's a thank you for teaching me the letters."

While he says this, Shuu has his own calculations.

He wants to maintain a good relationship with Iris because he hopes she will continue to be a source of information. In particular, as a holy knight, she can provide useful information for monsters. Surprisingly, she even talks about the details of her missions.

Unlike the military, the church's activities need to be visible.

To some extent, information about holy knight missions is made public as a form of promotion. However, the information you get directly from a holy knight is much more detailed. This is where Shuu has been collecting knowledge about human magical equipment and magic.

"I'm heading back."

"The next day off is in eight days. I'll be waiting at the usual place!"

"Got it."

As usual, they part ways in front of her house.

Shuu thought it was a bit like a lover, but unfortunately, the other party is Iris. Her clumsiness makes it hard to see her as a woman. At best, he sees her as a troublesome little sister.

Incidentally, she lives alone.

She lives in a small rented house and plans to move when she has saved up more money.

"If you forget, I'll find you and stick around."

"Don't do that."

After a lackluster farewell, Shuu leaves Iris's house. Although Eldana Forest is close to Eldana, it will probably be dark by the time he returns to the village.

Originally a spirit, he doesn't get tired, but he is mentally exhausted.

(Women's shopping is long... I remember this from my human days.)

Many of the things he learned in his previous life are not useful in this world. He had to relearn writing and the calendar, and his knowledge of electronic devices is completely useless. The existence of magical equipment is a whole new power to be amazed at.

However, human nature seems to have many commonalities, even in different worlds.

Walking through Eldana in the sunset, he continued to the outskirts and headed towards Eldana Forest. He managed to enter the forest before the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

(This area should be fine to de-materialize.)

As a precaution, he checked the surroundings with magic perception. Since being a monster is an absolute secret, he can't risk anyone seeing him de-materialize.

He sensed a small amount of magic behind him.

Although it seemed to be at a considerable distance, he checked just in case.

He turned and stared at the spot where he sensed the magic.

(Behind that grass...)

Given the size of the magic, it was probably a low-level monster.

Thinking this, he used an acceleration magic array.

He channeled magic into the magic array, which he instantly drew with his mental power, and activated the acceleration magic. He aimed to hit whatever was emitting the small amount of magic against a nearby large tree.

Unable to react to the speed of Shuu's magic array deployment, something was suddenly accelerated in one direction and hit the large tree with a loud noise.

"Oof!?"

It was something invisible.

Wood chips scattered and leaves danced from the impact with the large tree. However, the figure of what he had hit with the acceleration magic was not visible, and only a groan could be heard.

He thought it was a weak monster based on the size of the magic, but from the sound, it was probably a human.

Shuu tensed up.

"Who are you?"

"Ugh... I didn't expect my magic concealment to be seen through..."

The invisible something regained its color and glared at Shuu. It looked like a knight in full armor, including a full-face helmet. Judging by the build, it was probably a man.

The man stood up with a look of disgust, removed the helmet from his head, and revealed his face.

It was a man Shuu recognized.

"You're Ymir, right?"

"Call me Lord Ymir. You're quite bold, commoner."

Shuu remembered him as the nobleman who had approached him and Iris at the café terrace. At that time, he had noticed that the man had harbored ill feelings towards him.

He hadn't expected to meet again like this.

It was too much of a coincidence to be dismissed as such.

"Invisibility magic... or rather, magical equipment?"

"You figured it out, commoner. You seem to have a decent intellect for someone who calls himself a mage."

"Then... can you tell me why you were following me?"

"Reason? You're asking a strange question, commoner."

Ymir's gentlemanly smile turned into a sadistic expression as he spoke.

"I'm getting rid of the bug that was following my Iris. She belongs to me, not a lowly commoner mage like you."

"Actually, I think I'm the one being followed—"

"That's why, as a noble, I'm eliminating you, an obstacle. It's my duty as her future husband. She can't be honest with me because of commoners like you."

"Listen to me."

Shuu genuinely found him creepy.

He was curious about how someone could be so delusional.

It was clear that Iris disliked Ymir. He couldn't understand how anyone could think otherwise.

"I'll praise you for seeing through my invisibility. But this is where you end. A troublesome bug needs to be squashed."

"I refuse. If you leave now, I'll pretend this never happened. Go home."

"Fool. You will be squashed by me. It's a certainty!"

Ymir put his helmet back on and drew his sword.

He activated the power of his magical equipment, turning everything but his sword invisible. Shuu decided that a peaceful resolution was impossible and resolved to eliminate him by force.

He had been attacked, after all.

The only option was to counterattack.

That was his instinct as a monster.

"I'll clean up with my sword."

As Ymir stepped forward, Shuu immediately deployed an acceleration magic array. It was a reflection magic that reversed the momentum, easily deflecting Ymir's sword. The unexpected force on his wrist made Ymir cry out in pain.

"Ow!?"

"Even if you can turn invisible with magical equipment, it's useless if your sword is visible."

If Shuu were to engage in close combat, there would be a point to the sword being visible. When using a weapon, you need to predict the opponent's movements by observing their hands, feet, gaze, and body twists. However, with the body invisible and only the sword visible, that prediction becomes impossible.

Worse, the partially visible sword blade would only confuse the prediction.

However, Shuu was a mage.

He could deploy magic arrays with his mental power, making it possible to cast spells faster than swinging a sword. Ymir had miserably self-destructed.

"Ugh... What kind of spell casting speed is that!"

"I told you. I'm a mage, which means I study magic. Instant spell casting is easy. Can you understand that?"

"There's no way! Being able to use magic without incantations is something I've hardly heard of, even from S-rank holy knights!"

"Who cares. The fact is, I can do it."

It seemed that the shock of being seen through had canceled the invisibility. Ymir reappeared in his full armor. This armor, while magical equipment, was still heavy. To handle it freely, he needed body enhancement.

Body enhancement, like magic perception and magic concealment, is a basic, non-elemental magic. The effectiveness of magic control techniques is directly reflected, showing how well the basics are maintained.

From the fact that Ymir, who was still in his youth, could handle full armor, it was clear that his body enhancement was quite advanced. The force of the reflection had naturally caused pain to his wrist.

"You seem to have some abilities. Not just body enhancement, but magic concealment as well. I could only sense a small amount of magic. I might not have noticed if we weren't in this empty forest.

But once I saw through it with perception, I was already ahead."

"Commoner... I'll kill you!"

Unable to tolerate the insult, Ymir endured the pain in his right hand and attacked again. He didn't forget to turn invisible.

This time, he also made his sword invisible.

In other words, Ymir had completely disappeared.

However, Shuu remained calm.

"Too easy."

He could sense the magic. All he had to do was use the reflection magic in that direction.

Ymir's sword was deflected again.

"Ugh..."

"Interesting. This time, you focused on enhancing your wrist. You deserve to be an A-rank holy knight."

"Die, commoner!"

Ymir, like a fool, swung his sword again.

Of course, he was invisible, so Shuu relied on magic perception.

Shuu tried to deflect it with a reflection, but this time he noticed something different. Ymir had canceled his magic concealment and infused his weapon with magic. The magic of an A-rank holy knight... no, someone who could potentially become an S-rank, was now wrapped around the weapon.

(Dangerous.)

He immediately made a judgment and took a step back.

As expected, Ymir's sword sliced through the reflection magic array and grazed Shuu's body. He only felt the wind pressure because it was invisible, but it was probably a close call.

For a weapon to withstand such a powerful infusion of magic, it had to be magical equipment.

"Is that sword also magical equipment?"

"Good eye, commoner. My magical equipment is a combination of weapon and armor types. Combined with invisibility, it becomes the ultimate offensive and defensive tool. This is the difference between a poor commoner who can't use magical equipment and a noble like me!"

Thinking back, the sword hadn't broken when the shock was reflected because it was part of the magical equipment. This acceleration magic reflection reflects all energy.

Normally, the shock from the impact would be reflected back into the sword, along with the sound and heat energy. Therefore, there was no loud noise when it was reflected.

It was an excellent magic, but it had a weakness.

If it received more magical energy than the magic array could handle, it would be destroyed.

This was a weakness of all magic, and the excellent holy knight Ymir naturally knew it.

"Die, die!"

Ymir increased his speed and strength with body enhancement. He was also invisible, and the magic he infused could easily destroy the magic array.

Even Shuu had to use some of his power.

(Killing this guy might draw attention from humans again, but... there's no choice.)

Shuu decided to kill Ymir and stopped moving for a moment to focus.

Of course, Ymir didn't miss the opening.

"This is the end!"

"That's my line."

Magic: "Void Slash Field."

A giant magic array instantly appeared on the ground. The range was about twenty meters in radius, and it had the effect of a slash cutting through space.

More specifically, it was a decomposition magic with a designated area.

By setting an extremely thin area and breaking molecular bonds through decomposition, it separated the two. The shock from the decomposition also cut them apart.

In other words, it wasn't a magic that created a slash, so armor was useless. The magic resistance could be eliminated with the magic "Life Drain" in the thin area.

Ymir's defense with magical equipment was futile, and three decompositions activated inside his body.

His right wrist, left leg, and neck were severed, and Ymir died instantly.

"Ah...!?"

He probably had a moment of consciousness at the end.

He managed to utter that one word before collapsing.

The final blow was weakened because his right hand, which held the sword, was severed, and the trajectory was altered because his left leg was cut off. As a result, Shuu was unharmed.

Looking down at the dead holy knight, Shuu muttered.

"It would be bad if a body is found in Eldana Forest. I'll use a teleportation magic to move it to a suitable place."

If the promising A-rank holy knight were found dead in the forest, a large-scale search might be conducted to find the cause. This could lead to the discovery of the monster village, which would be problematic.

In the nearly dark forest, he drew a teleportation magic array and channeled magic.

The three parts of the body and the spilled blood were the targets, and they flew out of the forest according to Shuu's will. The distance he specified was about one kilometer, so they would likely be found near the large city of Eldana.

The suspect would be a human.

"Well, time to go back."

Watching the body fly away, Shuu disappeared into the depths of the forest.