Chapter 9 - Wait a minute!
Chapter 9 - Wait a minute!
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What is the very first thing you should do when the things that tried to kill you just a moment ago are standing blankly right in front of you?
Naturally, it's killing that bastard first.
"Karl! Can you move for now?"
"I can move, Dennis."
Catching an 8-meter-tall giant skeleton is impossible with my strength alone.
But Karl could probably do it. With physical abilities that leave her completely fine even after falling from a height of 10 meters, it should be possible to climb a tree and strike it down.
"Uhm, you see. I don't know if I can make it stop completely, but since it's stopped for now... in this opening..."
"Understood."
However, things turned out a little different from my expectations.
Karl readjusted her axe in both hands and stood up from her spot.
Then, stepping back slightly, she took a running start and literally flew up.
"W-Wait...?!"
Karl, who was about 2 meters tall, jumped. She was moving so fast she looked like a single dot.
The place where she reappeared was the top of the giant skeleton's head.
"GRRRAAAAA!"
Given the giant skeleton's sheer size, its head was also massive—big enough for Karl to climb up and still have plenty of room.
The bastard flailed its arms, trying desperately to shake off the uninvited guest who had climbed onto its head.
But Karl, much like a squirrel, nimbly scrambled all over its body to dodge its hands.
"GRAAA!"
A massive palm struck various parts of its body. Every time it did, bones snapped with a ppakak sound.
But the bastard paid no heed and kept flagellating itself.
"As expected, only instinct remains. A bastard worse than a beast. Even so, gloating over an opponent that can't move is a bit shameful."
After a brief exchange of blows, Karl was hanging near the bastard's collarbone.
She hooked the blade of her axe onto the collarbone, then slid right down and hung onto the axe handle.
"Step aside from there, Dennis."
"Pardon?"
"It's going to fall."
Grasping the axe handle, Karl applied force straight down, snapping all the ribs as she slid down with a chwarureureuk.
Landing on the ground, Karl moved swiftly to strike and sever the bastard's left ankle, then dashed to the right.
With a strong front kick, she made it face-plant forward.
What kind of strength is this?!
No matter that it lacked organs, muscles, and other parts, a skeleton of that scale should weigh several tons.
And yet she knocked it over with just a kick, without any tools?
Could it be B-class or even higher...?
Fortunately, thanks to hearing her warning and taking shelter beforehand, I wasn't crushed underneath.
"GRRRRRRAAA!"
"Shut your trap."
They say there's nothing easier to kill than a fallen opponent.
Displaying the composure to spin her axe in circles, Karl approached the giant skeleton's skull.
-Ppakak!
And punched a hole straight through it.
Thus, the bastard was silenced forever.
"Tiresome. I'll have to take this bastard's bones. I need a hefty payout."
"We have rope... so we can tie it up and drag it along."
"Understood. But before that, there's something I need to say, Dennis."
She brandished the axe—the very one that had blown a massive hole in that huge skeleton—right at me.
"Are you a dark mage?"
"What on earth is that...?"
"Don't play dumb, Dennis. Depending on your answer, it will be decided whether an axe gets embedded in your skull or not."
What the fucking hell is this bullshit!
Me, a spellcaster? Sure, I've thought about wanting to be one a few times, but...
I'm hearing the word "dark mage" for the very first time since dropping into this world.
"Earlier, those skeletons followed your commands. When you told them to run, they ran. When you told them to stop, they stopped."
"But didn't they attack me?"
"It could have been an act to kill me."
Karl took a step forward.
I can tell for sure. If I answer wrongly here or back down even a little bit—
I die.
That axe will fly over and crush my little skull.
"...To be honest, I don't really know either, Karl. Honestly, if I were a dark mage, I'd use that power to make a living."
"Is that so."
"Yes, because since I'm a dark mage, wouldn't I be able to make dark bread too?"
She chuckled with a phisik and lowered her axe.
As expected, jokes are best in a bloody atmosphere? Anyway, the brutal event of her killing me was averted.
"That's incorrect. Dark mages wield wicked powers. They sacrifice people alive, summon demons, and cast curses. They even insult fallen warriors by resurrecting the dead."
"Wow... You know a lot more than I thought?"
"Because a dark mage is what destroyed my homeland."
Ah.
I shouldn't have joked, fucking hell.
"Dusk is falling, little warrior Dennis. We need to find a place to stay."
She turned her back. Then, letting out a small phisik chuckle, she looped a rope around the giant skeleton's right thigh bone.
She really must be planning to take that thing with her.
Day turned to night with terrifying momentum.
Nights in the forest are darker than in the city. They say it's because the foliage is too overgrown.
Only the intermittent cries of beasts and the sound of the campfire leisurely savoring dry twigs could be heard in the silence.
"It's a relief there's a cave."
Conveniently, there was a cave near the graveyard where we could stay. Karl and I lit a campfire and decided to spend the night here.
"It's going to rain soon, and roughing it out in crumbling ruins is seriously not an option."
"It was so bright and clear during the day."
"No, it'll be here soon. The spotted frogs are crying."
And sure enough, her words were right.
Tuk-tuk. Sounds resembling fingers tapping against leaves were heard one by one, and soon a torrential downpour poured down with ferocious momentum.
"It doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon. I'm glad we lit the campfire in advance."
"Indeed."
Karl quietly leaned her back against the cave wall.
Then, she took off the helmet she always wore.
Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen her bare face.
Was there some kind of scar on her face? Karl hadn't even taken off her helmet when eating.
Hmm, didn't barbarians have some sort of strange custom of treating scars as medals of honor?
"...?"
Her appearance without the helmet was, how should I put it—
Truly unexpected.
I was confident I wouldn't have been surprised even if a rugged, brawny female Orc warrior had been there. In truth, nitpicking people's appearances is something only people with nothing better to do would do.
But Karl's appearance shattered that common sense.
Pretty.
Since coming to this world, Isabel was the only woman I'd ever thought was truly pretty.
But Karl possessed looks equal to, or perhaps even surpassing, Isabel's.
"Is something smeared on my face?"
"Your appearance is so beautiful that it's a waste to have kept it hidden all this time."
"Beauty isn't important to a warrior. I merely covered my face because it's a vulnerable spot."
Well, I suppose being a pretty woman in this world has no real perks other than being popular with men.
Besides, Karl is a barbarian.
"Would you like to eat something?"
"No."
"...Understood."
Anyway, is it because of the joke from earlier?
The atmosphere is so, so awkward. It's to the point where even breathing is uncomfortable.
Even when I keep trying to talk, she gives one-word answers or cuts me off cold...
"Little warrior Dennis. Do you have no fear?"
Right then, as if reading my mind, Karl suddenly spoke to me.
No fear? I was just measuring the angles to ditch her and run away right now...
"I have no idea what you're talking about... but I'm a coward who's only ever played the role of a porter because I'm so scared."
"That's not true, Dennis. You helped me when I fought that giant slime. And earlier, if not for your help against that giant skeleton, I would have suffered a fatal wound."
That wasn't courage; I just went for it on a whim.
Courage requires the ability to back it up, too. When an incapable person does it, people worry about the resulting damage rather than giving applause.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to draw the giant skeleton's aggro. But what if things had gone wrong and the bastard started running wild in a frenzy?
It would've all gone down the drain. That's exactly what I did.
"You were a truly stellar warrior."
"Haha... Thank you for the compliment."
"Dennis."
Karl crept closer bit by bit. Wait, when did she take off her breastplate?
More importantly, pressing this close in such a narrow, humid place is a bit suffocating.
"Do you remember what I said when we first met?"
"Uhm... You mean the contract for me to act as your guide?"
"Wrong. I said it much earlier than that."
"Uh, I don't... really! Remember?"
Karl, who had closed the distance before I knew it, grabbed both of my hands.
Her face is close. A darkly tanned, beautiful beauty is staring straight at me from up close.
"How about now?"
"Y-Yes, yes! Besides, isn't this a bit too close...? No matter how much we're comrades-in-arms who survived a life-or-death battle together, haha! Uh, there's a line we need to respect, you know."
Close.
Far too close.
A bewitching gleam poured from Karl's narrowed eyes.
She looks like a beast right before devouring its prey. She glares this way to a terrifying degree.
"Right? Exactly!"
"I think we've already crossed the line, little warrior Dennis."
Ah.
We're in deep trouble.