Reincarnated (2)
The day at the orphanage always ended the moment dinner was finished. The girls would return to their rooms and prepare for bed. I slipped out of my nun’s habit and changed into my regular clothes instead of pajamas. It was a navy-blue dress that showed its age. When I first put it on, it had felt loose and awkward around the hips, but now it was comfortable.
“Where are you going?”
A girl poking her head out from the top bunk asked. Her name was Millie. She was my roommate and, like me, an orphan living at the convent.
“Just to the forest for a bit.”
“At this hour?”
“I ate too much at dinner, so I’m going for a walk.”
I patted my stomach lightly. Millie stuck her tongue out and scrunched up her face.
“Ugh, you actually thought that tasted good?”
The dinner menu came to mind. It had been vegetable soup boiled until the vegetables turned to mush. For a child’s palate, it was probably a bit much. But for me, it was perfectly fine. Compared to the slop I’d eaten on the battlefield, it was practically a feast.
“You can’t be picky with food. You have to eat a balanced diet. Especially when you’re young. If you don’t, you won’t grow tall——.”
I gave Millie a proper lecture on the importance of not being a picky eater. It was the kind of advice an adult should give a child. Having grown up without enough to eat in my previous life only made me emphasize it more.
“But Elia, aren’t you shorter than me?”
Millie hopped down from the bed and stood in front of me. It was a classic acorn-measuring contest. I had to admit she was a little taller than me. Just a little. Really, just a tiny bit!
“I’m still young. Just wait a little longer. I’ll shoot right up and you’ll be the one looking up at me, got it?”
It was the truth. Anyway, enough small talk.
“If the dorm nun asks where I went, tell her I’m in the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
I opened the window and hopped out with a light bounce. It was the third floor, but there was nothing to fear. I grabbed the tree branch right in front of me, used the long vines growing down the wall like a rope, and landed safely on the ground.
“Have a good trip~”
Millie waved at me as if she were already used to this kind of thing. I waved back and headed straight for the forest.
The forest was wrapped in deep darkness. Tonight was a full moon, but thick clouds clung to the night sky, leaving the moonlight faint.
“Can’t see a thing…”
I stood at the entrance of the forest and closed my eyes. I focused on the flow of the air. The cool night breeze brushing against my soft skin. The currents painted a picture. They drew the trees. They drew the rocks. Finally, they sketched out the entire shape of the forest. I roughly grasped its layout and opened my eyes.
“Let’s go.”
I picked up a branch that looked like a club from the ground and started running deeper into the woods. Using the information I’d gathered beforehand, I weaved around every obstacle. As I ran, I let out a low chuckle.
It had been so long since I felt this kind of thrill. The corners of my mouth twitched with excitement at the thought that I might get to hunt a demonic beast.
“Hm…?”
I could feel it. The demonic beast’s mana was slyly mixing with the night air. That way.
I spun around and chased after the mana. The farther east I ran, the sharper the mana that pricked at my skin became.
“Found you.”
In the darkness, purple eyes floated like will-o’-the-wisps. The creature was moving quite leisurely between the trees, completely unaware that it would soon be devoured.
I hope it’s a strong one.
“Huuuup……”
I inhaled through my teeth, steadying my breathing, and locked my gaze on the enemy.
“Hup…!”
I kicked off the ground. The earth caved in as my body shot forward like an arrow. My golden hair, which glowed elegantly even in the dark, fluttered behind me.
Oh. I had only strengthened my body a little with mana, yet it felt as light as a feather. The scenery blurred past. In a single step, I reached the demonic beast.
The beast’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of a girl in front of it. I spun my body and brought the branch down hard on its head.
-Crack!!
The crisp sound of its skull shattering rang out cheerfully.
“What? That’s it?”
Too boring. It wasn’t even a proper warm-up. I never expected it to die in one hit.
I poked the collapsed demonic beast with the branch. It was still warm, but it didn’t move.
“Heh heh……”
Ending so anticlimactically left me feeling unsatisfied and a little irritated.
“But… isn’t this one kind of small?”
According to the village chief… he had definitely said the footprints were only the size of a human palm. Yet this thing’s paws were only as big as my fist. Definitely small.
I examined the demonic beast’s corpse. Its fangs weren’t fully developed, and its fur was still soft and fluffy. It was quite different from the wolf-type demonic beasts I knew.
“Is this a pup?”
It was a small one. There had to be a bigger one somewhere nearby. I almost felt disappointed. Just as I was about to search the forest again, the bushes all around me began to rustle violently.
And a moment later, multiple pairs of purple eyes flashed in the darkness. There were roughly fifteen of them.
“Grrrrrrr…!!”
A massive wolf-type demonic beast stepped forward with heavy footsteps. The mana rising from its body was on a completely different level. It was sticky and incredibly unpleasant. So this was the mother of the pup whose head I had just smashed.
To think something like this had been living in the forest. If it had gone to the village, there would have been serious casualties. It was fortunate that I found it before it reached the village.
“Still, isn’t this one a bit too big?”
Was I small, or was this thing huge? The chief had definitely said the footprints were palm-sized, but the tracks this beast would leave looked like they’d be the size of a human head.
Actually, I liked it that way.
I smiled brightly and charged toward the demonic beasts.
The Saintess’s body moved with the instincts of the Sword Saint.
Even without a proper sword, the flow of mana answered her call perfectly.
Three adventurers stepped into the forest. The silver emblems on their chests proved they were Silver Rank adventurers. A warrior armed in leather armor with a sword hanging from each hip. His face was full of youthful vigor. He was Dian, the party leader. Having become an adventurer at a young age, his eyes sparkled with passion.
Beside Dian was Fiala, a mage in a blue robe clutching a staff larger than she was.
“C-can’t we come back during the day…!”
“That’s ridiculous. They said it only appears at night. How are we supposed to catch it if we come during the day?”
The man scolding the frightened, muttering Fiala was Arol. He was the party’s scout.
Arol took a yellow orb from the pouch on his belt. He pressed it between his thumb and index finger, and it cracked open with a snap. The fragments crumbled, and a small spirit rose into the air. A bright light illuminated the darkness. It was a one-time-use fairy light. It would follow them and act as a lamp for the next three hours.
“Dian…!”
Fiala sniffled and grabbed onto Dian’s sleeve.
“Don’t be scared. A wolf-type demonic beast is only threat level 2. We’ve taken down threat level 3 monsters before, remember?”
Dian comforted Fiala as he walked deeper into the forest.
“Ah… uh…”
Fiala hurried after him, sticking close to his back. As the party moved, the spirit followed along. They pushed through the darkness of the forest, searching carefully.
“Arol, tell me the moment you find anything.”
“Got it.”
“Fiala, don’t panic. Get your protection spells ready.”
“Y-yes!”
Although he was the youngest in the party, Dian led his companions properly as the leader.
“Multiple moving presences detected to the west.”
Arol, who had been walking while using detection magic, noticed something moving quickly a short distance away.
“M-multiple?! Wasn’t it just one?”
Fiala turned deathly pale and shrieked. The request had definitely been for a single wolf-type demonic beast. There had been no mention of multiple creatures.
“How many?”
Dian calmly began assessing their combat strength.
“Wait… seven, no, six… huh? Five?”
The presences were disappearing at an alarming rate. The detection magic was functioning perfectly. There was no barrier interfering with the spell nearby. Yet the mana signatures were vanishing one after another at incredible speed.
“Two…!”
He had no idea what was happening.
“Could it be… another party getting wiped out by the beast?”
It was possible. Unless it was a joint request, normally one party was assigned per request. However, in remote places like this, mistakes sometimes led to two or more parties being assigned to the same job. They had run into that situation a few times before.
The Adventurers’ Guild had said there was only one. So it wasn’t that there were multiple demonic beasts. It was far more likely that another party was currently fighting the creature.
“Let’s hurry! Guide us!”
Arol took the lead. Dian and Fiala followed right behind him.
“It’s right up ahead!”
“Prepare for battle!”
Since they might have to jump straight into combat, Dian drew the sword from his hip. Arol also pulled out a dagger and gripped it tightly.
“I-I’ll prepare the spells from back here…!”
A short distance away, Fiala began preparing her magic.
A strong wind blew. The clouds that had been covering the moon were swept away to the east. Bright moonlight poured down over the dark forest.
“Kuuoooooo!!”
An enormous roar echoed. Was that really the cry of a wolf-type demonic beast? It was nothing like the howls they knew.
“……One.”
At Arol’s words, the party tensed up. A monster that had wiped out adventurers in an instant. It couldn’t possibly be an ordinary threat level 2. At the very least, it had to be level 3… no, probably 4.
Dian and Arol held their breath and slowly approached.
“……?”
But there was no wolf demonic beast there. Well, there were, in a way. More than ten demonic beasts lay sprawled on the ground with their heads completely smashed in.
“What the… is that…?”
There was also an incredibly large wolf-type demonic beast. A thick branch was embedded deep in the crown of its head.
And standing in front of it was—
“Haa…… That feels much better.”
A girl with golden hair swept her locks back and smiled beautifully.