The Heavenly Slaughter Star Grows
The Heavenly Slaughter Star grows.
Enoch glanced around at the gentle scenery of the forest. The woods he had wandered through before meeting Rionne had also been a forest, yet somehow this one felt entirely different.
“Today I’m going to teach you about the forest.” Rionne seemed to be in an especially good mood. Perhaps it was because she loved the woods so much—her long ears were even twitching with excitement.
“You never know, Undine. It’s best to be prepared for anything.” Rionne, who was essentially teaching Enoch the way one might teach a young elf child, offered the excuse. Come to think of it, it wasn’t entirely untrue.
“I also like forest.”
Crackle—!
With a sullen look, Enoch flicked a thin bolt of lightning and immediately ducked behind Rionne.
“Undine, I told you to speak nicely.”
Undine clutched the back of her head and dramatically collapsed at her friend’s ungrateful behavior. The fallen spirit was automatically unsummoned, but Rionne paid it no mind. She would probably pop back on her own in about five minutes and start chattering again anyway.
Rionne shot a glance at the spot where her age-inappropriate friend had been, straightened her posture, and looked at Enoch.
“The forest is a kind friend that gives us so much. Oh, right, Enoch. Do you remember how to write the word ‘forest’?”
Enoch nodded and traced his finger across the dirt. Rionne gave a satisfied nod at the correct strokes.
“Our Enoch is so smart. Well done.”
Rionne ruffled the brightly smiling boy’s hair and continued.
“Anyway, just because the forest is a kind friend doesn’t mean we can treat it carelessly, right?”
“Yeah.”
“In the forest, we only take what we need. And if someone tries to harm it, we have to protect it. It would be bad if the forest got upset, wouldn’t it?”
Nod, nod. Enoch bobbed his head with a blank expression. Still, knowing he always listened well, Rionne took his hand and led him through the woods.
“This is a deer-nose mushroom. It’s delicious when roasted. Shall we take a little? We can have it for lunch today.”
The round, black mushrooms that really did resemble a deer’s nose went into the basket.
“This is rough-thorn grass. If you have indigestion, wash it thoroughly, boil it, and drink the tea. You’ll feel better right away.”
Enoch studied the rough-thorn grass carefully. Those fuzzy hairs didn’t look like they would taste good raw.
“Oh, there’s a rabbit. This forest has lots of animals—deer, wolves, wild boars, even bears.”
The forest Rionne had lovingly tended was incredibly bountiful. It might have been one of the most livable woodlands on the entire continent.
That was when it happened.
-Snort!
At the faint sound, Enoch’s ears perked up.
Rionne smiled softly and explained, “Perfect timing. It’s a wild boar. Want to follow it quietly?”
“Yeah.”
Rionne moved with feather-light steps. She appeared to be walking normally, yet she made no sound at all—not even the slightest trace of her presence. Enoch watched her in fascination and did his best to imitate her.
“Hehe.”
Rionne’s eyes curved with delight as Enoch’s presence faded away second by second.
Soon she whispered, “Shh.”
The pair poked their heads out from the bushes. There was a wild boar, peacefully eating berries.
“It’s huge, isn’t it?”
Nod, nod.
“If we catch it, we could eat for a whole month and still have leftovers… um… or maybe not?”
Now that she thought about it, Enoch’s appetite was enormous. Back when she lived alone she wouldn’t have bothered, but now they could probably finish the whole thing without any trouble.
“Then, Enoch, would you like to try catching it?”
Enoch nodded at Rionne’s suggestion. Without hesitation—crackle!—he leaped onto a tree branch in a spray of electricity.
The clueless boar continued grazing. Enoch’s eyes narrowed as he watched it.
Rionne was watching. He couldn’t fail. He had to be as fast and silent as possible. End it in a single instant.
“Sss…”
Enoch held his breath and waited for the right moment.
Then—whoosh—the wind blew. A single leaf brushed past the boar’s side, and its gaze shifted.
An opening.
Crackle—!
Wrapped in lightning, Enoch’s body shot forward like an arrow.
“Squeee!?”
The boar noticed and widened its eyes, but it was already too late.
When Enoch reached it, he twisted at the waist and clenched his fist.
Rumble—!
The thunderous punch slammed into the boar.
“Kyeeeek!”
But the boar was no ordinary beast. Having lived in this rich forest and absorbed faint traces of mana, it refused to go down easily. It staggered, then glared with savage eyes.
Impudent human. It would make him bow.
Yet the human was nowhere to be seen. As the boar looked around in confusion, thump—a heavy weight landed on its back.
“Squee!?”
Enoch had mounted the creature and seized its coarse fur in a death grip.
The boar began to thrash wildly. If this dragged on, even Enoch would tire. Having calculated everything in an instant, he acted.
Lightning coiled around him as he sank his teeth into the boar’s nape.
Crunch———!!
“Kyeeeeeeeeek…!!”
The boar screamed loud enough to burst its own throat.
“N-no biting, Enoch!!”
Even Rionne cried out in shock. Why bite when he had perfectly good limbs! Battles were supposed to be brutal, but that was clearly not something a child should be learning.
“Huh?”
Enoch lifted his head at Rionne’s horrified expression. Ptoo. He spat out the chunk of flesh; blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. The boar was already staggering, its strength gone.
Well… she had told him not to bite.
Obediently, Enoch wrapped electricity around his hand and slammed it down on the torn spot like he meant to crush it. The boar shuddered violently and collapsed.
Enoch hopped down from the fallen boar and stared at Rionne with wide, innocent eyes.
He paid no attention to Undine, who had returned at some point.
“Enoch, you can’t do that.”
Of course, in truly desperate situations it couldn’t be helped. Survival came first. But if he made a habit of such behavior, it could cause serious problems once he returned to the human world.
No matter how little Rionne knew about humans, she was fairly certain there wasn’t a culture that involved suddenly biting people on the nape.
“…Yeah.”
At her gentle scolding, Enoch lowered his head dejectedly.
“I-I’m not scolding you, Enoch! Don’t look so sad!”
“Yeah…”
“Still, you did very well! I doubt there are any humans your age who could take down a boar like that.”
“Undine!”
Rionne shoved her constantly interrupting friend into her pocket and smiled kindly.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No.”
“Then shall we explore the forest a little more? Or would you rather go home and rest?”
“Explore more.”
“All right.”
Rionne tapped Enoch’s lips with her fingertip. Water droplets formed in the air and neatly washed away every speck of blood.
“Let’s go!”
*
After their chaotic tour of the forest, the group returned home. Rionne made the sleepy, freshly washed Enoch finish his studies, then stretched with a long sigh.
“Mmm…!”
Her snow-white skin glowed beautifully under the deepening sunlight. She gathered her golden hair, letting it fall over one shoulder, and asked the pouting boy,
“It’s an awkward time for a nap. Shall I teach you a little more martial arts instead?”
Studying was boring, but martial arts training was fun. Enoch nodded eagerly.
“Let’s see…”
As Rionne walked into the yard, she searched the vast library inside her mind. Her accumulated knowledge over centuries could easily fill an entire archive. She recalled a suitable technique.
“Yes, this should be perfect.”
Furious Eagle Claw Technique. A claw art modeled after the movements of an enraged hawk. Claw techniques used fingers bent like talons to rip enemies apart. Since Enoch instinctively fought in a similar style, it seemed like a good match.
“You’ve already learned the basics of fist techniques, so this probably won’t be too difficult.”
Though fist and claw arts were technically different, they shared many similarities. Besides, the Furious Eagle Claw was essentially a foundational technique. Its difficulty was low enough that Enoch should have no trouble learning it.
“Here.”
At a flick of Rionne’s finger, plant stems burst from the ground and wove themselves into a scarecrow.
“Try copying—huh?”
Rionne watched as Enoch waved his hand through the air. At first she wondered what he was doing, but then she realized he was extracting mana and shaping it into a pattern.
“Eh…!?”
The pattern looked exactly like the magic circle she had just used. In a single instant, Enoch had memorized the flow of mana and was trying to replicate it.
-Crackle——!
The clumsily completed magic circle activated. Electricity surged from the ground, briefly traced the shape of a scarecrow, and then scattered. A tiny sprout on that patch of earth had been burned pitch black.
“Oh my goodness…!”
Our child is a genius!
While Rionne made a huge fuss, Undine pushed her aside and grumbled.
Judging by how he acted, the word “magic” felt wrong. The savage little brat looked more like he would just bite everything in sight. Was he actually pretending to be dumb when he could speak perfectly fine?
“Grrr…”
Rionne quickly hugged the snarling Enoch, calming him down, then lifted him high into the air.
“Enoch! Shall big sister teach you magic!?”
Seeing her beaming face, Enoch’s eyes darted around. He didn’t like having more things to learn, but…
“Shall I teach you!?”
There was no way he could refuse. In the end, Enoch broke into a bright smile and nodded.
“Yay!”
Rionne cheered with delight.