Do You Want to Fix This Foot?
Do You Want to Fix This Foot?
"Disintegration" was the only fitting word for the way the Queen Spider's threads snapped from the air in a single instant. The sight—a rain of red falling from the sky—left all three of them speechless.
And they all opened their mouths a beat too late.
"Plan!"
"You're here!"
The giant demon beast looming before them, the fact that they stood inside a danger zone—all of it became completely irrelevant in the face of their relief at seeing him.
Plan, however, did not so much as glance their way.
"I have something to teach. For now, focus solely on defense."
He spoke only those words, his gaze fixed on the Queen Spider.
It didn't take long for the three of them to understand what he meant. As if infuriated beyond reason that its sport had been interrupted, the spider went berserk, lashing out with its red threads.
Louis swiftly conjured several thin pillars of light. He layered them like iron bars and blocked the attack.
—KWAANG!
"What the...."
He was so dumbfounded his words trailed off on their own. Every single red strand hit like a steel whip.
Avoid danger zones whenever possible. No—avoid them at all costs. The warnings they'd heard countless times replayed unbidden in their heads.
"Huh?! My ice shield!"
The others were struggling just as much on defense. Worse still, some of the whips snatched Becky's ice shield right out of the air.
"This is no time to stand there gaping!"
"Ah, r-right!"
Each time its whips were blocked, the Queen Spider grew more frenzied.
The sight of hundreds of red whips crisscrossing wildly through the air—it was so dizzying it felt almost hypnotic.
"My arms are starting to go numb!"
"...."
Trixie furrowed her brow at Becky's shout.
Normally, she'd have snapped at Becky to quit exaggerating, but right now, it didn't sound like dramatics in the slightest. This demon beast was genuinely hard to handle.
"Agh!"
A sharp pain shot up from below. In the same instant, Trixie's body was yanked into the air. Before she knew it, a red thread had coiled around her ankle.
"If you're a mage, keep your field of vision wide."
Plan offered a word of advice as he severed the thread. Her ankle, which she'd assumed was only lightly caught, was bruised as though a whip had wrapped tight around it.
'A war of attrition won't work.'
Letting an attack or two land was one thing. The real problem was having to drag the fight out even longer while already injured.
In that case, she might as well settle it with a single blow. Trixie poured every ounce of her strength into her blue flame and fired it in a straight line.
No matter how dangerous a threat-zone demon beast might be, there was no way it would come out unscathed after taking a hit like that. The moment the thought crossed her mind—
The spider demon beast yanked its threads taut, vaulted into the air, and dodged Trixie's flame.
"It dodged?"
It wasn't merely savage. It possessed intelligence. The realization that she would have to wage psychological warfare too sent a sudden chill down her spine.
Could they defeat this demon beast at their current level?
The mere presence of doubt meant she lacked confidence. If Plan hadn't joined them, Trixie too would have become one of those corpse-puppets.
One by one, the representatives' faces turned toward a single person. Plan, naturally.
"Good. This much will do for now."
Plan murmured and extended his hand.
"Pl..."
Becky, who had been about to call his name aloud, couldn't bring herself to finish the last syllable. More precisely, she no longer felt the need to.
Plan had simply extended one hand.
And yet the urgency of the situation—the desperation in her heart—vanished all at once. At last, his hand closed around the red thread.
Sssss—
As if ink were spreading from somewhere. The fact that he'd seized a whip-like thread with his bare hand was shocking enough, but the sight of it gradually staining blue struck far deeper.
Trixie found her gaze stolen before she knew it. The blueness she so adored had unfurled right before her eyes.
The next moment.
"KIEEEEK!"
The spider lost its freedom and was handled like a toy. Biting at its own body, twisting and writhing, it drove itself toward death.
CRUNCH.
The sound of something snapping reached all three of them. The spider demon beast that had reigned as queen was soon nothing more than a corpse.
"...."
Trixie blinked without meaning to. If anything, the only regret she felt was that she hadn't been able to gaze longer at the blueness she'd wanted to hold close.
Just as they were all about to offer him their thanks.
"You'll need to get used to this level of difficulty."
Plan's words were quicker.
"If anything, this one's on the weaker side. You three will, from now on—"
For a long while after, the three of them could do nothing but listen quietly to his extended instruction.
◈
After finishing a few pieces of advice, I did not set off right away. There were two things I needed to do before moving forward.
The first was a matter of basic decency.
I did not wish to see the bodies of those who had already departed this world be toyed with, so I fashioned a temporary coffin and laid the knights' corpses inside.
Beside me, Louis and Becky murmured a few words with solemn expressions.
"How tragic. Even though we have no connection to them."
"I know. Should we call it bad luck, or...."
My concern, however, lay elsewhere—a sense of dissonance. The reason I did not close the coffin lid wasn't mourning for them, but a simple question.
'To begin with, they weren't at a level to fall so easily to a demon beast.'
Back at the temporary shelter, I'd confirmed the knights nearby possessed formidable auras before activating the magic circle.
That wasn't the only question. These corpses, rather than having been felled by a demon beast, seemed more like....
"I'll verify it directly from here."
I shook my head and brushed the thoughts aside.
In any case, I would learn the truth soon enough.
I moved on to the second remaining task. Healing. I layered Healing Magic over the representatives' wounds.
It was nothing more than first aid, but in a prolonged engagement, nothing was as critical as first aid.
"Whoa. That's kind of unexpected."
"Right? I really didn't see this coming."
Becky and Louis widened their eyes and exchanged glances. For them, the very fact that I was treating them registered as a major event.
I clicked my tongue.
"You two require an awful lot of handling. There won't be a second time."
"No, Plan, I didn't mean it like I don't want it."
Becky hastily waved her hands from side to side. She went on looking at me with freshly astonished eyes for some time.
"Um.... Hey, Plan."
At some point, Becky spoke up again.
"That spider just now—was it really on the weaker side?"
"Probably. From now on, demon beasts won't be the only thing we're up against."
"...Hmm, I see."
A faint worry clouded Becky's face. I gave her a brief reply.
"There's no particular need to be frightened."
"Huh? Ah, y-yeah. I will."
She blinked a few times. As her head turned away, it was tinged faintly red.
"If Plan says so, then I'll do that. Yeah."
Becky murmured, kicking at the ground with the tip of her foot.
But telling her there was no need to be frightened wasn't merely a remark to comfort Becky. It was closer to a fact I could state plainly.
"By the way, Plan—are you alright?"
This time, Louis asked after my well-being. It wasn't a perfunctory greeting; he was genuinely worried about me.
"You call that a question?"
"Ahaha, was it that obvious? I just said it because I'm grateful."
Louis smiled brightly.
"Honestly, if you made us forfeit, it'd be easier for you, wouldn't it? Since you, Plan, could handle things just fine on your own. But I was curious why you're going out of your way to look after us, and also grateful."
"Don't you want to reach a high rank?"
"Huh?"
I continued quietly, facing him.
"Exactly what I said."
"Hmm.... You're right. I do want to reach the 6th rank or higher."
Louis gave a careful answer. For now, an answer of that caliber was sufficient.
"I'm merely lending a hand."
The head of the Magic Department—Conet—had promised me that if I successfully concluded the Subjugation Festival, she would organize a class for me.
Three Rough Gemstones, the object related to Ancient Rune Language slumbering in the danger zone, and the Subjugation Festival results.
These three elements would surely serve as a compass for those who followed. I wanted magic in this world to grow great, even if only a little faster.
'Besides, their growth rate isn't bad.'
Though they themselves didn't seem to fully realize it yet, the three of them were growing quickly.
And that was the reason I willingly healed them.
'I had intended to make them forfeit if they showed no promise.'
The fact that they'd managed to defend against the Queen Spider's attacks in their own way, that they were breathing without difficulty in this place with its murky air currents, that they were maintaining their composure....
None of that could be explained away as simply "good luck." In other words, even now, all three of them were steadily cultivating the skill to back themselves up.
A desire to see them grow further arose naturally. My eye for recognizing them as Rough Gemstones had not been wrong.
The Imperial Household, which had apparently begun taking an interest in the Magic Department lately, would come to recognize their value before long as well.
I cut off my musings there. Trixie's treatment still remained.
"Extend your foot. Trixie."
"...."
But Trixie instead subtly pulled her foot back. She shook her head as if to say she was fine.
"I'm fine."
"I'd rather you not make this troublesome."
"I said I'm perfectly fine.... Agh!"
She stumbled backward and fell squarely onto her backside.
Trixie desperately tried to hide her foot. Her lips twitched a few times, then she turned her head sharply away.
I let out a sigh and studied her.
The claim that she was fine was obviously a lie. Even at a glance, her left foot seemed immobile.
I didn't want to waste time. I used Telekinesis to catch hold of her ankle.
Trixie flinched, her shoulders trembling as she reacted.
"Wh-what are you doing? I said I'm fine."
Instead of answering, I used Healing Magic on her ankle. Perhaps even she thought insisting she was perfectly fine was a bit of a stretch—Trixie soon changed her words.
"Look somewhere else. Look somewhere else while you do it."
Trixie fidgeted restlessly, then covered her face entirely with her palms. It didn't take long to understand why.
A badly burned foot came into view. The moment she confirmed where my gaze had landed, Trixie hastily added.
"...I told you not to look. Because it's ugly."
Instead of answering, I returned a question.
"Why is your foot in this state."
"Why are you suddenly picking a fight."
Trixie glared at me as if dumbfounded, but the moment she met my gaze—which held no ill intent—the tension in her expression eased slightly.
I asked again, quietly.
"There must be a reason it ended up like this."
"It was a long time ago, so I don't remember. The healing's done, right?"
With that, Trixie tried to pull her foot free as if fleeing.
But I kept hold of that ankle. Looking closely, I felt I could see the cause. Across the top of her foot, Mana Soot remained intact.
I asked once more, this time differently.
"Do you want to heal this foot."
"...."
Trixie hesitated for a moment, then answered quietly.
"You're asking the obvious."
Cleansing away Mana Soot wasn't as complicated as one might think. The issue, rather, was that I was the type of person who regarded such wounds as marks of honor.
"It isn't ugly at all."
For now, I left it at that.
In that instant, Trixie's body went rigid. She drew a sharp breath, and her mana scattered wildly.
Soon Trixie blinked several times and stared at me. In her eyes rippled a mixture of shock and confusion.
"Wh-what."
A beat late, she pulled her foot free and hurriedly stood. From the look of it, she had been restored to full condition.
She swept the hair from her forehead back several times, tidying herself. In the end, she spoke only a single phrase.
"...You're the strange one."
It was an uncharacteristically unsharp tone.
◈
After finishing the healing, I led the representatives and advanced into the danger zone in earnest.
The path split into two branches, then three, growing complicated as we walked, but because I had the map, there was never any hesitation.
And when we at last stood at the end of the path.
"What is this."
"A temple? It's enormous."
All three widened their eyes and took in their surroundings.
What had revealed itself before us was a massive temple—a structure whose size alone was enough to draw awe.
Becky parted her lips with a tense expression.
"Are we going inside this thing now?"
Right after she said that.
"Huh?"
—RUMBLE!
Violet mist flooded our vision as the ground heaved beneath us.
"I can't see a thing!"
"Everyone, be careful—you're still right next to me, right?"
By the time the mist cleared and we regained our sight, the path we'd walked until now had transformed into nothing more than a single gloomy forest.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Becky's forehead.
"They said the terrain in danger zones shifts in real time.... Seeing it firsthand, it really feels like this."
"And thanks to that, our options have disappeared. Looks like we've got no choice but to go inside the temple."
Louis clicked his tongue beside her and added his thoughts.
I led them forward, unfazed.
"We were planning to enter the temple interior from the start."
The three were quite fascinated by how the terrain had flipped in an instant, glancing back over their shoulders even as they followed behind me.
My own concern was with what lay inside the temple. There were presences there—beings radiating their aura intensely, as though to flaunt their power.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who had sensed that aura. Trixie's lips moved, her expression grave.
"...There's something inside. Something rather dangerous."
We walked the temple corridor, which stretched out in a straight line.
What must once have been filled with antique ornaments was now covered on all sides by the corpses of demon beasts.
And when the end of the corridor finally began to come into view, I was able to face the source of that intense aura.
'Knights.'
As expected, they were not demon beasts—they were knights.
No. But I couldn't call them purely knights, either.
Having noticed our party, they began to converse among themselves.
"Mages, this time."
"Rather convenient, actually. I was hoping to hold someone accountable for dragging us into a danger zone on a whim."
Listening to their exchange, I quietly retraced their aura. At the same time, I felt a strange sense of familiarity.
That was when Becky beside me recognized them.
"Kian of the Blue Cloud Knights? Wait—that guy who lost all his points to me at the gambling hall!"
"There was that, yes. You're still not my type, I'm afraid~ but it's good to see you all the same."
Neatly swept-back blond hair and blue eyes. Becky, who had been scrutinizing those features, furrowed her brow.
"Ugh, gross. Why are they blocking the corridor here."
Kian was about to respond to Becky's remark, but before he could, I spoke.
"Kian, was it."
I had finally grasped the source of my unease.
These Blue Cloud bastards were still radiating an intense aura even now—and my Qi Sense never lied.
"Why did you kill the knights from the other party."
Silence settled for a moment.
But it was unmistakable. The aura I had faintly sensed from the corpses matched theirs perfectly.
And yet, this was not purely the aura of knights, either.
It was closer to that of a Maine.
"Hmm...."
Kian rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking.
He rolled his eyes left and right, then exchanged glances with the other Blue Cloud knights.
And finally.
His smile vanished in an instant as he shrugged.
"What about it."
The veins bulging above his neck were pitch-black.