Chapter 139: Stepping into the Light - 11
Chapter 139: Stepping into the Light - 11
Daytime.
Jiha was training in his training ground.
After using Bloodsucking on Asira, he had been inwardly hoping he might gain some Special Ability.
Ideally a healing art.......
"Guess not."
Jiha surveyed the scorched surroundings and shook his head.
Red flames flared up along the path of his light-footed strides.
Not natural fire but Mana flames—sustained by the slight trickle of Mana flowing from Jiha.
Since they were magical flames, they caused Jiha himself no harm at all.
"But......."
When Jiha poured in more Mana, the flames surged upward to the height of a man.
The fiercely blazing fire swallowed a three-meter tree in an instant.
The green tree was reduced to a pile of ash in less than two seconds.
"So it's an area-of-effect skill......."
The flames were generated by Jiha's movements, and he could detonate them by investing Mana.
"I'll call it Blaze Dance."
When Jiha withdrew his Mana, the flames vanished without a trace.
Jiha pushed aside his lingering disappointment.
At first he had been a bit let down that it was not a healing art, but on reflection it was a remarkably good ability.
In a one-on-one fight its utility would be relatively limited, but in a chaotic melee or group battle, Jiha could control the situation at will.
Enemies would have to stay wary of Blaze Dance, limiting their movements.
"Good. A decent ability."
As for healing arts—once he had secured Asira, she could simply cast them on him.
'Lijin is looking after Asira right now. I'll have to meet with her soon and win her over.......'
He would need to plan carefully and act at the right time if he wanted to fully claim Asira.
She was attractive as a woman, but it was Asira's strength that Jiha truly coveted.
Her values and mindset pursued justice and righteousness, but her martial prowess was absolutely top-notch.
'Especially given her command ability.......'
He wanted to bring her on as a loyal subordinate if possible.
"As for my Mana reserves......."
When he summoned his Mana, it covered both arms and spread down below his left knee.
"What happens once this is fully complete?"
As Jiha sank into thought, he heard footsteps.
Jiha had the training ground to himself, and no one was allowed to disturb him there without cause.
If someone came looking, it meant they had business worth interrupting him.
Jiha, who had withdrawn his Mana expecting Uben, was puzzled.
Dog ears atop her head, a neatly dressed maid uniform.
It was Enril's Super Rare, Mayan.
"What are you doing here?"
Mayan was usually busy managing Enril's mansion.
He had made use of her to eliminate Kamain, but that had been an exceptional situation.
"I asked the young lady where you were."
"Don't twist my question."
Jiha was curt.
He did not even want his own subordinates to see his training, and Mayan was an outsider.
"I apologize."
When Mayan bowed her head gravely, Jiha only frowned.
Arguing was pointless.
"What's your business?"
"I want to thank you. And repay the favor."
There had been the incident where Jiha had rescued Mayan after she had been taken hostage by Kamain.
Though they were both Super Rare Grade, Mayan, perhaps due to inexperience, had been completely subdued by Kamain.
Jiha nodded.
"Fine. If you're grateful, don't just thank me with your mouth—use your body too."
"Who should I kill?"
"......."
At the provocation he had thrown out to tease her, Mayan promptly drew a dagger.
He had thought it ever since he first saw her—the way a dagger slid so naturally out of her maid uniform sleeve was uncanny.
"A life should be repaid with a life. Just give the word."
"I don't expect much from you in combat anyway. From now on, if I need someone chased down or tracked, you do it."
"I only obey the young lady's orders......."
"Didn't you say you wanted to repay the favor?"
"......Understood. However, the young lady's orders will take priority."
"Sure."
Jiha could simply tell Enril to have Mayan act, if it came to that.
'Still, Mayan's tracking ability is solid. Her combat experience seems lacking, but a Super Rare's Mana combined with a dog beastman's sense of smell...... within Waris, she can find just about anything.'
Jiha nodded in satisfaction, and Mayan abruptly held out her hand.
"Then give me the key."
"If it's the key to my heart, you'll find it somewhere over the rainbow."
"......The key to your room. I will clean it for you."
Jiha stared at her, speechless. Mayan spoke with perfect confidence.
"I am confident in my cleaning. I won't leave a single speck of dust."
"Hm......."
Jiha considered it for a moment and shook his head.
His room contained nothing but books. His future plans were all organized in his head.
So there was nothing problematic even if someone rummaged through it.
"Save the nonsense. More importantly......."
Mid-sentence, Jiha frowned at the sound of footsteps and turned around.
The wolf beastman, Uben, was approaching but stopped when he spotted Mayan.
Jiha gestured for him to come over and jerked his chin toward Mayan.
"That's enough. Go. I'll call if I need you."
"......Understood."
Mayan withdrew with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
Uben approached and smiled wryly as he watched Mayan's retreating figure.
"Dog beastmen have a strong sense of duty. If they believe they owe a debt, they will repay it without fail."
"Like a guard dog."
She openly disliked Jiha, and she had unilaterally decided that Enril was grieving or had changed because of him, nursing a private hostility all on her own.
'Still, teasing her is entertaining.......'
Jiha set the thought aside, and Uben stated his business.
"Information from the advance party is coming in. They are already lodging at an inn within Waris and are preparing for a long-term stay."
"Who is leading the advance party?"
"Two of them."
"Two heads for one group?"
Uben nodded.
"Yes, factions have formed. They competed over who would lead this advance party and apparently compromised by both coming at the same time."
"Twin heads......."
The escort guards who followed a Dirga were all male, so the structure would naturally be hierarchical.
Two families under one roof meant their organizational cohesion was bound to weaken.
"Interesting. Either they're incompetent, or they don't care. One or the other."
"There is very little known about the Unique coming this time, Narsha Russellarms. Her weapons are decently well-known, but the woman herself is poorly understood. Her escort guards handle all sorts of matters, so information about her is scarce."
"Know the subordinates, and the head becomes visible. I'll go in person."
Jiha wiped off his sweat as he led the way.
Meaning he intended to wash up before heading out. Uben continued talking as he followed.
"Who will you take with you?"
"Hm....... Two hundred, you said."
A two-hundred-strong armed group, men who had volunteered as escort guards in hopes of acquiring weapons—naturally they would be belligerent.
'Uniques are out. The Dirga herself isn't coming...... our side would lose too much face. And I want to approach them under a false identity.'
The escort guards might have heard Jiha's name, but they would not know his face.
Warsland had no photography or video technology.
Various things were possible with Mana tools, but for a person's face, there was no choice but to produce a portrait.
"Anyone whose face is known is out."
"Garaon was naturally getting ready, assuming he would go with you."
"Tell him to stop preparing. Anyone who looks too strong is no good either."
Lijin? No, she had good instincts but no combat ability.
He needed someone who could fight in case the situation took an unexpected turn.
"To put the men at ease, it should be a woman. Someone whose face isn't well-known, reasonably strong, with other skills, and able to follow my instructions well on her own......."
Muttering to himself, Jiha's gaze came to rest on a building's wall.
Mayan was leaning against the wall, staring vacantly up at the sky.
"......."
Noticing Jiha's gaze, she looked back at him squarely.
It was the face of someone hoping he might have a task for her.
"No. That one will definitely cause trouble."
The moment Jiha turned back to Uben and said it, Mayan came running over with flying steps.
She looked Jiha straight in the eye.
"What should I do?"
"I didn't call you. What you should do is go back and stand where you were."
"What you just said had the distinct nuance of having a task for me."
"Do dog beastmen also lift one leg to piss in the bathroom?"
Mayan stared at Jiha, utterly flabbergasted.
Her fists clenched tight, she trembled, then spoke with her face bright red.
"If you have a task for me, then give it to me!"
Mayan stormed off, her footsteps heavy and angry. Uben smiled wryly.
"If you leave her be, she will keep at it. Just assign her something."
"What are the elves up to?"
"They are aware the Dirga's advance party has entered the city and are pushing to arrange a meeting."
The Dirga's escort guards were men whose potential the Dirga had acknowledged—each with a certain degree of standing.
Among two thousand such men, they were looking for one who could face Jiha.
Everything was going according to plan.
"Find out when and where. And which of the two heads they're trying to contact."
"Understood. And what will you do?"
"I'm going to sow some seeds. Would be nice to find an obedient, loyal subordinate."
Far off in the distance, Mayan, who had been leaning against the wall, spun around sharply.
But still suspicious, she only glared at Jiha and did not come running back.
"A woman, and it'd be nice if she looked a little docile. Courageous enough to endure dangerous work, and even better if she combines that with the loyalty to keep her word without fail."
At Jiha's words, Mayan's dog ears perked up.
"Even better if her name is two syllables."
"......."
Mayan approached slowly, eyeing Jiha with open suspicion.
The doubt from the bathroom question earlier was written all over her face.
"Do you truly have a task for me now?"
"Is it true that dog beastmen mark their territory by pissing everywhere?"
"Ye-s. It. Is!"
Mayan practically shouted the words, then spun on her heel.
Jiha stopped teasing her and spoke.
"I'll compromise with you. Let's go."
"......I'm not falling for it again."
Mayan answered curtly, and Jiha shrugged.
"I genuinely need you, though?"
"......."
Mayan confirmed suspiciously.
"Is it really for real this time?"
"We're going to pick a fight. Get ready."
"......."
Mayan's dog ears stood straight up.
"Go and do exactly as I say. Can you do that?"
"Of course. You can count on me."
As Mayan puffed out her chest with confidence, Jiha grinned.
"It's like playing. Hit whoever I tell you to hit. Hold back when I say hold back."
"Understood. Who's the target?"
"Some local thugs."
Jiha intended to plunge straight into the two-hundred-strong fighting force.
He would divide them, splinter them—and then absorb them.