And so a gaze was focused on the map that I was holding.
“…Hmm…”
A snarl came from the young man’s mouth as he thought it over.
Then shortly after, he wrapped it up by muttering words of satisfaction to himself.
“So you want me to be your sword in exchange for your guidance?”
He spoke out loud with a conclusion that was quite natural, as he and I had never met before.
When something was offered to someone, it was normal to conclude that it was a give and take.
But I shook my head at his words.
“No way. I’m not expecting anything like that.”
I returned the words with a slightly bitter smile on my face.
“I said it because, if I had to say so, you didn’t seem like a bad person. And you don’t have to worry about me, I can fend myself against the monsters that’d attack by myself.”
“…You seem really confident.”
“Of course. I’m going to Slay the Stars after all. I can’t call myself a ‘Star Slayer’ if I can’t stand against mere monsters.”
I would cut down every obstacle that stood in my way.
Without that kind of spirit, there was no story to be told.
As I spoke these words from my heart, a burst of laughter reached my eardrums, which roared louder and louder each time.
“Ku— Hahaha!! AHAHAHAHAHA!! A Star Slayer? What the hell is that? You’re not going to really try and slay those things in the night sky, are you?”
I frowned in response to his loud laughter and, unfortunately, I recalled having memories of being laughed at for saying such a thing in the first place.
And so I chose to be silent about it.
“I have lived for twenty-five years, and I’ve never met anyone who’d proclaim such a thing… so I’ll tell you as your senior. If you fail to know your place, the only thing that awaits you is death.”
“I know without having you tell me. I understand it best, and that’s why I’m proclaiming it.”
That was to say, he’s saying that one should know their place, and that one should be capable of doing something that could only be considered a fool’s errand, let alone Slaying the Stars.
And in fact, I believed I could do it.
“…Haaah. I give you friendly advice, but you won’t listen to me.”
“I’m listening just fine. Upon hearing your words, I’m just still planning to get to Minaura, that’s all.”
“That’s what you call not listening.”
Haaah…
The young man sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“…I would rather not admit it, but according to my friend, I’m what you call a hopelessly direction-impaired person. If you’re going to show me the way, I’d love to take advantage of your hospitality, but are you sure you don’t want me to protect you?”
“I’m not repeating myself again.”
“Hah— What a quick reply. Well, that’s the spirit. I like your enthusiasm, if anything.”
He chuckled uncontrollably, overflowing with laughter at my lack of grace.
“I’m pretty sure you already know, but the closer we get to Minaura, the more monsters we’ll encounter, and such battles are definitely inevitable… Don’t hold a grudge on me if you end up dying.”
“I don’t need you to reiterate that. I won’t change my mind about this, no matter what you say.”
“…Jeez. What an unloveable little brat.”
He really wasn’t a bad person.
I affirmed it as he constantly asked me if I was going to be fine from time to time.
…That was probably how unreliable I looked in his eyes.
“I’m not going to lend you a hand if you really insist, are you really sure?”
At the same time, the sound of rustling leaves reached my ears.
And immediately afterward, a possibility popped into my mind.
Smelling the stench of death, similar to iron rust that pervaded the area, I turned my attention to the direction where the corpses of the bandits were.
…Monsters were sharp at discerning the scent of blood.
I was suddenly reminded of the blunder I made two years ago where I had lured the ogre to me because I let the goblin’s blood stick to my body.
“…Monsters.”
The moment I said the word, the smile reflexively slipped from my face.
My right hand went to the hilt of the sword on my waist and clenched it quietly.
“Hmm~?”
The young man who stared at my posture, as if he had no regard for monsters, sounded somewhat impressed.
“So, what are you going to do? I can’t have my precious guide get—”
But I paid no heed to his words, and instead, I turned my attention to the monsters that were likely hiding just beyond my line of sight, with an alertness that I had pressed to the limit.
I leaned forward with my weight and leaped backward, kicking the earth away from my body.
“—killed here, h-HEY! Were you even listening to me?!”
He raised his voice, but my approach toward monsters was to win.
The idea was to attack the opponent before they even had the chance to engage me.
Thus—
“Probably somewhere around here…”
Quick as a flash, I pulled out the sword at my waist and shifted my hand to a reverse grip, then I threw the sword in a spear-like throwing motion.
“HUUUH?! Haaah… I knew you were hopelessly stupid, but who is crazy enough to give up his only weapon?!”
The young man was screaming, perhaps to get an answer as to what I was doing, but I still ignored it like I was doing earlier.
My sword was a magical weapon that would always exist by my side, so there was all the more reason for me to not be concerned about it.
***
Reaper Scans
***
As soon as the sword I threw pierced the earth, the monsters hiding in the vicinity made a noise and dispersed from the area.
Determining their count— there were five of them.
“Sorry, two of them went your way! Those monsters have four legs… They’re probably wolves!!!”
Knowing that it was unnecessary, I still yelled out in a panic.
A four-legged predator, and a monster that easily tears off human limbs— The wolf.
They were probably lured here by the stench of the bandit corpses.
I had been so caught up in the young man’s fearsome skill that I had completely lost track of it.
Even my father had told me to stay as far away as possible from places that smelled of death unless I was confident that I could defeat them even when surrounded by dozens of monsters.
“No, don’t mind that! You don’t have a sword now, do— …you?”
However, contrary to the frantic concern of the young man, I was already holding the sword in my hand that was supposed to have been thrown away at the distance.
And that’s why he stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence.
“It would’ve been nice if I was able to impale at least one of them. But I guess things don’t work out how you want after all.”
Wolves were very quick monsters.
They were not gentle monsters that you could take down once you set your eyes on them.
In fact, the sword that I threw was just piercing the earth in vain.
“…No. I can get a hold of them, and the fact that they came out to me says it all.”
Five wolves spread out.
Three of them set their sights on me and jumped out from behind the bushes to attack me at once.
And as usual… they came at me jumping in a straight line.
“No matter how quick you guys are, if you can only aim in one direction, there’s a way to deal with you.”
Monsters with low intelligence, especially wolves, only attack in one straight line.
And as long as one knows in advance which direction they’ll attack, there was a definite way to deal with them.
Bending slightly, I slid the sword I had instantly created over the ground.
Then, with the momentum of their own leap, in a flash—
The unique feeling of a bone-cutting strike is passed from the sword into my hand, and I shrugged it off with a slight furrow of my brow.
I turned my wrist and struck again.
Two heads flew into the air at the same time.
“Hm.”
Within a breath, the number of corpses increased.
After confirming that I had definitely sent the heads of three monsters flying, I looked back over my shoulder and, sure enough, there he was.
The image of a young man who had just finished disposing of the other monsters was reflected in my eyes.
The smell of iron rust and lumps of meat tickled my nostrils.
Although the discomfort in combination with the red color that gruesomely painted the earth rose at a concerning pace, I had already gotten used to it in my own way over the past two years.
“…Now this is a surprise. For a mere villager, I didn’t expect you to be a magician.”
The young man realized that the existence of my “magic” was the reason for my unwavering confidence.
He affirmed as he looked at my sword, which was dyed red in its entirety.
“You’re also a pretty skilled fighter. I guess I was meddling for nothing.”
Wolves were no strong monsters.
In terms of strength alone, the ogre I encountered two years ago was tens of times stronger.
Even so, the young man in front of me said it was an unneeded interference.
Perhaps the reason for it was because of the craftiness shown in my process.
“I thought I’d return the favor as soon as you offered to guide me, but from the looks of it, it seems unnecessary. I’ll have the favor returned someday, then. —It’s a bit late, but I’m Siva, just a swordsman.”
I considered him to be a very strong swordsman, but following Siva’s example, I introduced myself as well.
“I’m Julius. Just a swordsman who’s aspiring to be a Star Slayer.”
“Heh… I don’t even need to hear that, you already said it earlier.”
Siva smiled at my statement, still somewhat taken aback.
However, the thorniness that had been present just a moment ago had all but disappeared in the air.
“Then, before the next wave of monsters arrives… I’ll leave the guiding to you, Julius.”
——
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