Just Because

“Just because.”

Pyooheeeeng!

The Spear's Roar bursting from my spearhead crashed into the Black Mare.

The opponent was nothing more than a run-of-the-mill monster in the level 80s. Now that I'd grown even stronger through my 4th Advancement, a casual swing should have been enough to end it—

Neigh!

The Black Mare survived, taking only a few deep gashes. Perhaps enraged by the wounds, its red horn burned even redder as it charged straight at me.

“Well, that's the problem…”

THWANG!

The Black Mare's explosive charge slammed into the pristine white barrier surrounding me and stopped dead.

It strained with all its might, but the barrier didn't budge so much as a speck. Instead, the recoil sent it bouncing backward, and giving up on breaking through, the mare retreated a step.

“My healing power is canceling out the damage.”

Divinity, depending on how it was wielded, could become a panacea capable of curing any illness or wound—or a poison more lethal than any toxin known to man.

The divinity housed in my current body was decidedly the former. More precisely, it was the former with the latter's power converted into it as well.

“Simply put, my healing far outpaces my ability to deal damage. It's like healing and attack land at the same time, you see?”

No matter how I attacked, the wounds would simply close back up thanks to me. And the bigger the attack, the more healing power would kick in to counter it.

Which was to say, techniques used as weapons were effectively off the table now.

“It's not like I can't use them at all. I just have to release the 4th Advancement state, right?”

The conversion of all my divinity into the Divinity of Healing was, after all, a condition unique to my 4th Advancement, Path of the Saintess. Outside of that state, I could use my techniques as freely as always, without any restrictions.

I wouldn't be able to pull off massive resurrections like this, of course.

“Besides…”

I slipped the White Savior away and drew out the new unique weapon I'd received alongside it.

A staff made of pure white wood. From its tip, curled into an empty ring at the top, the Divinity of Healing flowed out in a gentle stream.

The barrier vanished.

The moment the Black Mare noticed it was gone, it charged in, horn lowered—and I leveled the staff at it.

WHOOOM!!

A boundless divinity bore down on the Black Mare all at once.

It was far more divinity than any ordinary living creature could endure. The Black Mare died on the spot.

“Attacks aren't only about what you strike with, after all.”

A form of 'buff' once wielded by Nea, the Imperial Saintess—an attack that granted the target a crushing flood of divinity beyond what their body could withstand, tearing it apart in an instant.

A way of turning the power of healing and blessing into a weapon. I'd used it before in the past, but since I'd always favored weapon techniques, I'd never really fought this way.

“I just tried what Nea used to do, and apparently this kind of attack works too. I imagine I can approach it through the magical side of things as well.”

That said, it wasn't particularly efficient, nor was it a style I was fond of, so if I wanted to attack, staying in my 3rd Advancement state would probably be the better choice.

Either way, it wasn't half bad.

That about wraps up the testing…

I'd shown everything worth showing at this hunting ground. An hour and a half remained until the Red Moon Guild, masters of this plain, arrived.

I wasn't here to grind levels anyway, so I could head back whenever—but still.

I'm curious, though.

What was in that cave, that they'd told me not to go in? Maybe a separately managed field boss or something?

“…Let's head back for now.”

“Nope, no cave for us. I was thinking of doing an arena broadcast, actually—it's been a while.”

Still, I left the place alone. This hunting ground belonged to the Red Moon Guild, and everything it produced was their property. I had no business running roughshod over it.

Granted, there was plenty of grumbling out there—people saying claiming hunting grounds was monopolization, that dungeons and monsters don't have owners. But managing the grounds was something those people had earned through their own effort.

“And with that, we'll wrap up—”

“There she is! Lily!”

“?”

Clip-clop-clip-clop!

A horse came galloping toward me—no, correction. Someone was riding toward me at a speed on an entirely different level from an ordinary Black Mare.

A boy who looked to be around middle-school age. Dressed like a samurai, he was hard to miss with that long katana sheathed at his waist.

“Whoa, it really is Lily. Awesome.”

“And you are?”

“This is my big bro's land, y'know? Why are you here?”

“Your brother? Ah—I borrowed it for a bit. Do you happen to know the owners of this ground?”

He called him "big bro," so family, or maybe a guildmate? When I asked, the samurai kid tilted his head with a confused “Huh?”

“Weird. Nobody said anything about lending it to Lily.”

“……”

I want to smack him one.

The kid cocked his head and grabbed the horse's jangling reins.

“Why are you using it without permission?”

“Not without permission—I got the okay from the people who lent it. I only used it for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the agreed time, and I was just about to leave, actually.”

“Doesn't matter. Nobody lent it to YOU.”

“…That's true, I suppose.”

The Red Moon Guild had told the Vitamin Guild to make use of the grounds, after all. And whether the Vitamin Guild used it during their allotted window or I did was largely a non-issue—the monsters respawned anyway, and anything I killed was something they no longer had to hunt themselves.

Apparently pleased with his own cleverness, the kid smirked and urged his horse forward. Young as he looked, he seemed remarkably gifted at riding; handling the animal gave him no visible ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trouble at all.

“You shouldn't just use whatever you want. And you're a famous streamer, too? Shame on you.”

“It's less that I used it however I wanted and more—”

“You used it however you wanted. Nobody lent it to you, so why are YOU the one using it? It should be the people who actually lent it.”

“The loan was for six hours anyway. Whether they caught the monsters or I did, what difference does it make?”

“It makes a difference? You kill way more than they do, so they're losing out. Am I wrong? I'm not, right? Right? Can't argue with that, can you?”

“Hmm.”

CRACK!

A rod of pure white divinity smacked the kid square on the head—a rod that dealt no injury, only pain.

“AAACK!” The kid clutched his head with both hands. Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes.

“Why'd you hit me?!”

“Just because. Go ahead and report me as a Bandit.”

“Nnngh…!”

“I'm seriously reporting you!”

“Go right ahead. You're welcome to march into Elbritte while you're at it, I truly don't mind.”

“You won't regret it?!”

“No.”

“F-fine, I'm invading!! I can't beat YOU, but I can kill your NPCs!”

“Then every single one of you will die.”

They would bear witness to a miracle—all of them dying, reviving, dying, reviving, over and over. I put real weight into my voice, and the horse whinnied in alarm and stumbled back a step.

Even the boy, so bold until now, swallowed hard and shrank into himself.

“…R-really?”

“Of course I'm joking. Sorry about that.”

I gave a light bow of my head. The samurai kid, looking oddly as if he'd just been made to grovel for a full prostration, nodded back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a cringing expression.

“If you'd like compensation, I'm happy to pay it. I did borrow something that was itself borrowed, so I suppose complications could arise.”

“Uh, um, sure.”

“Well then, shall I be off?”

Just as I genuinely turned to leave—

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“How are you paying, exactly. The compensation.”

“I was going to send it to your guild…”

“Don't do that.”

The kid pointed somewhere with a look that reeked of an ulterior motive. His finger was aimed toward the cave. Expectation was written all over his face.

“Clear my quest for me and we'll call it even.”

The Red Moon Guild had discovered the red-horned Black Mares roughly seven months ago. The hunting ground had been found around the same time I returned to Earth, and unlike other high-level hunting grounds, its monsters respawned.

Recognizing the value of the plains, the Red Moon Guild decided to bring the ground under their control, hunting the monsters at every opportunity to farm experience and resources.

In managing the grounds, they learned exactly two things—one of which was that this 'resurrection' was a gimmick driven by some special mechanism.

“There's a quest about that gimmick here. It's one of the plains' own quests, and it gives a ton of experience.”

“So that's why you ride around on horseback?”

“Yep. I mean—yes. My class is Rider. I got it here.”

“A hidden class?”

“Not hidden, exactly. More like an Epic, they said. There are two of us in the guild with it.”

The samurai kid, Wind Gale Sword, said all this while leading his horse along.

Wind Gale Sword, huh. He really was a middle schooler in actual age. No wonder he'd picked a name like that.

Come to think of it, though—wasn't "Wind Gale Sword" basically the same thing as just "Windblade Sword"?

Ding!

“A quest? What's 'Acknowledgment of the Red Mare'?”

“It's for the field boss here. It's already way too far along for you to clear it yourself even if you do it. So instead, you help ME.”

“And what would I be helping with, exactly?”

Wind Gale Sword pointed off into the distance.

A pair of red eyes, watching us ever since a moment ago.

“Field boss hunting.”