Each One's Circumstances
Each One's Circumstances
The conversation with Ragnis was enjoyable, but ultimately the time she could spare was limited, and we could only spend time together until dinner.
Still, perhaps because we had faced each other and talked for the longest stretch since returning from the Empire, her face looked more satisfied than when I first saw her.
[Master! I like this person!]
Or maybe it was thanks to the healing she got from petting Laika nonstop except during the meal. No shedding, no smell, yet the texture was the real deal, and now it didn't even piss or shit. I could confidently say this was the ultimate evolution of a pet.
As I marveled at the results of Radnelbandes-style training—Ragnis showed not a hint of discomfort even after keeping the fairly heavy Laika on her thighs for so long—she let out a deep, regretful sigh and spoke.
"Can't you leave Laika with me?"
"Wake up. Laika's a Demon Sword... no, a demon dog."
Perhaps completely captivated by Laika's charm, which in some ways was even more vicious than a Demon Sword in how it bewitched people, Ragnis hugged Laika to her chest and buried her nose in the fur before reluctantly letting go.
"It's a bit strange. It doesn't just feel like mental healing, but physical healing too."
"Our demon dog doesn't come equipped with that kind of function... right? Laika, you don't, do you?"
[Dunno!]
I petted Laika as Laika trotted over, naturally snuggled into my arms, and panted. I thought about it for a moment, but it wasn't the kind of question that would produce an answer. Laika had already shit out iron and transformed into some unidentified thing that was no longer even a sword. The only food Laika ate was Magic Power, so maybe the body had become composed entirely of Magic Power, like a demon's. If all the material from the Demon Sword days had been shit out, that had to be the case.
Then what exactly was Laika? As far as I knew, the only beings whose bodies could be composed of Magic Power were spirits or demons.
"Laika says even Laika doesn't know, so it's a little hard to say..."
"Well, couldn't we find out if we kept Laika here for just one more day?"
"Mmm... let's put that on hold for now. At the very least, I need to be certain Laika isn't causing any harmful effects."
It wasn't easy to refuse Ragnis while she looked at me so expectantly, but Laika was fundamentally a Demon Sword. Even if Laika didn't intend it, there was no telling what variables might arise. If I casually left Laika behind and something happened, I'd never forgive myself for being complacent.
Fortunately, Ragnis accepted my explanation and shook off her lingering attachment to Laika. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination, but her movements as she saw us off seemed somewhat more relaxed than when I first saw her.
"...Tch."
But even after leaving the manor, I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. I stepped into a secluded alley, placed my hand on Laika's head, and injected Magic Power.
[Oohoooh?]
Remembering how Laika had collapsed on the spot last time from being overfed, I adjusted the amount slightly. Laika's eyes grew sharper, but the movements showed no sign of discomfort.
"Hey. Think it over with that smarter head of yours. Did just holding you really seem to improve Ragnis's physical condition?"
I crouched down in front of Laika, stroked the head, and asked quietly. Laika's eyes moved as though thinking something over, then came a small nod and an answer.
[I think it's possible. Master, you remember when you first met Laika, right? You more or less forced that bandit to stay alive.]
"Fuck. Isn't that dangerous?"
[If it had stayed that way, it would've been dangerous, right? It was a kind of recovery ability, but because it used the victims' blood as its foundation, it had the drawback of carrying the usual side effects of blood magic.]
"The losing your mind and getting violent thing?"
[Right! The forms vary, but that's usually how it manifests! But now it's based on Master's Magic Power, so even if it activated unconsciously, there are no side effects!]
"...You sure?"
[Sure! But for Master to understand, I'd have to explain everything about blood magic to properly explain the cause of the side effects!]
There existed a human who couldn't understand the principles of magic that even a dog comprehended, and so needed explanations from a dog. And that human was me. No matter how much Laika wasn't an ordinary dog, it was a situation very hard to accept.
"Can't you explain it simply?"
[The side effects stem from a poisoning phenomenon in the user caused by blood energy that hasn't been fully refined during the process of magical interaction with the grudges contained in the blood!]
"...Okay. Even if I don't understand what all of that means, I do understand the conclusion: once the blood causing the problem was replaced with Magic Power, the side effects disappeared naturally."
[Right! Master's smart!]
There was a human being praised for intelligence by the dog they were raising. And that human was me. Was Laika going to keep eating more and more Magic Power until becoming smarter than a person? Even now, that temporary intelligence was already there, wasn't it?
Even while imagining that grim future, I rubbed Laika's neck as the tail wagged as if asking for praise for the explanation, then brushed myself off and stood. Fortunately, nobody had mistaken me for a lunatic talking to a dog in an alley while all this was happening.
"Hey there, big guy. You're the Guillotine, right?"
It was just that some guys who had approached at some point blocked both ends of the alley, surrounding me.
The one among them with the biggest build and a long scar etched onto his vicious face twisted his lips into a smile that didn't suit him at all and asked. I stretched and answered him.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Guillotine Eldmia Ega."
"Playing dumb won't... huh? It is you?"
Earlier, I was in a good mood, so I'd been about to let things slide nicely. I had no intention of extending such mercy when I was in a normal mood, so I cracked my neck lightly and this time asked a proper question.
"Who the hell are you bastards to keep annoying me since earlier?"
"Ha, listen to this funny little shit. Earlier you denied everything and supposedly left our boys so they couldn't even eat their gruel properly..."
"Get your facts straight. I made them eat gruel. I didn't rip their jaws off, so why the hell couldn't they eat it?"
Even though I merely flatly corrected the misinformation, the big guy's expression crumpled. And it wasn't just him—everyone around him started reacting poorly.
"Crazy bastard, look at this overconfidence. A mere blue-rank shit, now that he's found a good party, he sees nothing in his way, huh?"
"A bunch of worthless bastards who can't even use aura are babbling about rank. Do you bastards not have ears to hear rumors with, or do you not have brains..."
Before my words could even finish, the big guy, who had been scowling, suddenly flashed a vicious grin and slammed his fist into the wall of the building next to him.
-Thud!
The fist, swung without any gauntlet, stamped a print into the wall as easily as if leaving a mark on a cardboard box. Simultaneously, snickering laughter began to erupt around us. The big guy shook out his fist and grinned triumphantly, opening his mouth again.
"What? Worthless because we can't use aura? Say that again."
I didn't bother saying it again. Instead, I swung my own fist and smashed it into the wall.
-Crunch!
There was no heavy impact echoing through the surroundings like the big guy's punch just now. But a single hook, swung as lightly as a jab, gouged a deep groove into the wall. I offered condolences to the poor citizen whose home had been damaged by pointless strength flexing, and looked at the bastard.
"...Huh?"
He, and the other bastards behind him, had their wide eyes nailed to the groove in the wall, undergoing cognitive dissonance. So I spoke first, helping them snap back to their senses.
"Let me correct that. A bunch of useless fucks who can barely squeeze out a speck of aura are babbling about rank. Do you bastards not have ears to hear rumors with, or do you not have brains?"
"Huh...? Huh? How? Huh?"
"Brains it was, then."
It was truly unfortunate for the building owner, but that single display of force made my task much easier. The big guy, who still hadn't come to his senses even as I strode closer, only started rolling his eyes frantically with cold sweat pouring down after I'd gotten right in front of his nose.
"I'll ask one last time. Who the hell are you bastards to keep annoying me since earlier?"
The big guy still couldn't answer, and I cursed my own stupidity for choosing the wrong conversation partner as I drove my fist into his philtrum.
"Ugghk!"
With a single bloody scream, the big guy collapsed unconscious. Just that alone made the four or five adventurers blocking the alley flinch and step back. As I watched that painfully predictable reaction, I racked my brain, but I couldn't guess their intentions or identities at all.
I'd heard stories before that among adventurers, some with solidly built careers would, rather than just forming a party, establish their own guild like a sort of service company and take on work professionally.
But calling it a 'service company' was just an analogy. Normally, such groups were closer to mutual-aid associations: retired mid-ranking adventurers helped raise rookie survival rates and provide stable income while also preparing for their own retirement. It was an extremely rare arrangement, usually seen not in the capital but in hunting cities deep inside perilous frontier regions where truly exceptional adventurers established their bases.
Since they collaborated with the Adventurer's Guild and getting entangled in dirty business could spectacularly derail their peaceful retirement, they tended to run their operations very cleanly too.
"The world's so unfair. A dumbass who can't even speak properly knows how to use aura. Right?"
Having spent over two years in the capital, I knew a fair bit about such groups. I just hadn't paid attention since I had absolutely no reason to be in contact with them.
But no matter how much I searched my memories, there were no rumors circulating about any group that habitually engaged in thug-like behavior like this.
Still, I decided not to particularly lament or obsess over my lacking knowledge. Instead, I looked around at the bastards who were still waffling over whether to run away or all rush me together, and spoke.
"I wonder about you lot. Are you the type who can't use aura but can talk well, or the type who can use aura and talk well?"
They could just be useless idiots who could do neither, but whatever.
The answer would come out once I beat it out of them.