#044 Premonition
#044 Premonition
After returning from Shax's dungeon, we rested at our lodgings.
I decided to put off thinking about what had happened in the dungeon and what lay ahead, and to take care of the most important thing first.
"Training, Lucius!"
"......Huh?"
I raided Lucius's bed at the crack of dawn.
Not just by waking him from beside it—I climbed right onto his bed, planted my feet on it, and kept prodding him with my foot.
"What are you spacing out for? I said training."
"...Do you mean physical conditioning?"
"No!"
Honestly, it would have been fine to ease up a little on the physical conditioning.
I knew that well because I'd used Lucius's body myself.
What Lucius needed was mental discipline.
"Mental fortitude training!"
"...Mental fortitude?"
"Yes. A mindset that stays unshaken in any situation. Composure that doesn't waver even with an enemy right in front of you. And...."
I tapped my temple lightly with my index finger.
"While I'm using your body again, keeping your mind focused on me without losing consciousness. That's your new mission."
"......That's."
Lucius looked like he had a lot to say.
It didn't seem like he'd simply blacked out, but he appeared reluctant to put it into words.
'Did he see my true identity?'
No.
Even if a soul had taken residence and used Lucius's body, there was no way Lucius could have seen my identity during that time.
Because in the first place, 'that isn't possible.'
Just because you share a body doesn't mean you can see another person's soul or memories.
Unless it was something you experienced together.
Or else.
"Are you upset that you can't remember everything from when I used your body? Hm?"
"...Master."
"Well, of course. It really is a shame you didn't get to see my magnificent swordsmanship. Hmm. Shall I show you again sometime?"
"A-again?"
Lucius gradually began to react.
"Yes. As long as my body's safety is secured, I can use it fairly often without much trouble."
"M-m...isn't it a technique that uses a lot of life force?"
He had actually called mana life force.
That showed just how well Lucius understood how precious mana was to me.
"How admirable, Lucius. But my life force isn't what matters. What matters is how much powerful strength, how much powerful technique, you internalize with your body."
As long as I could raise Lucius, defeat Zepar, and reclaim my body, it wouldn't matter even if this body's lifespan ran out.
"So, Lucius. Get up soon. After some light mental training today, we need to go to the Adventurers' Guild."
"Today, right away?"
"Yes. We've filled our record, so shouldn't we start playing in deeper waters now?"
E Rank was far too trivial a place.
"Starting today, we're D Rank."
"D Rank...."
"Let me make one thing clear: this D Rank has absolutely nothing to do with the Holy Sword."
This was certain.
I pressed my big toe firmly into Lucius's solar plexus.
"It's a record built purely by your swordsmanship, by the hunting skills you accumulated while living as a hunter in the village. Even without my help, you would have become a D Rank adventurer."
There might have been a difference in timing, but with Lucius's skill, he could quickly rise past D Rank to C Rank.
It's just that.
"You probably think the record you climbed on was thanks to the Holy Sword's power. But no. You became D Rank by yourself. So...."
Tap.
I lightly tapped Lucius's side with the top of my foot.
"Congratulations on your promotion in advance, Lucius."
"......Thank you, Master."
"Thankful, are you? Still, thanks to me, you got promoted in one week when it would've taken about three. Heh heh heh."
The same goes for me.
"After the review is over, since it's a special occasion, let's eat something good. What do you want to eat?"
"Hmm.... Could you choose, Master?"
"Me?"
"Yes."
Lucius didn't seem to have any particular preference.
"You've always eaten whatever we picked. This time, I think it would be nice to eat something you want, Master."
"I'm not picky. I eat anything."
"Still, you must have something you prefer, right?"
"Hmm...."
I didn't have any particular preference when it came to food.
I couldn't exactly say I had much of an appetite.
But.
'I do have a preferred category of food.'
I didn't know whether Lucius or Rosemas would like it, but I was the one paying in this party anyway.
Rosemas had lost all her money while escaping from the orc village, and had only received a little support from elf acquaintances.
Much less could Lucius, who left his village with nothing but a Holy Sword, possibly have any money.
What we earned through adventurer work wasn't just Mana Stones—we also earned the money that paid for room, board, and the like.
And I'm the one managing that money.
'Have I been giving the kids too little for food?'
It wasn't enough to go out and order a thick steak every day, but I thought I'd been giving them enough to spend about five silver coins a day.
'I gave them plenty for meals and tea time too.'
They must have been eating well.
"All right. But first, let me discuss it with Rosemas."
"Rosemas?"
"Then Rosemas should eat with us too. Even if it's to celebrate our promotion, were you planning to leave Rosemas out and eat without her?"
"...Oh, no. Haha...."
Aha.
I thought I knew why he looked so awkward.
'He's probably afraid I'll suggest going to a vegetarian restaurant.'
I understood.
"Don't worry."
I lightly raised my thumb toward Lucius.
"We're definitely eating beef."
"Ah."
Lucius's eyes sparkled.
As expected.
Men are beef.
* * *
The Adventurers' Guild was bustling with people from the morning.
To get a fast review, we had waited in front of the guild before it opened, but more people than expected went inside.
They went in, but they didn't come out.
"What's going on?"
"...I don't know."
Rosemas had been in a very low mood since morning.
She kept glancing at me and barely opened her mouth.
"If you have something to say, say it. If you don't say anything, no one will know."
"Th-then."
Rosemas took a deep breath.
I wondered if she really needed to take a deep breath.
"Do you...use magic with your lifespan as collateral, Witch?"
"Huh?"
"It's just, the mana around you is always...."
"Ah. That."
She'd noticed precisely.
"It's roughly similar. Though the specific principle is hard to explain."
"Ah...!"
Rosemas pressed her lips together with a shocked expression.
"Th-then fighting without using mana is...!"
"How is a mage supposed to fight without using mana? Spear techniques? That all uses mana too. Since my body is weak, if I want to use martial arts, I have to compensate with mana."
Even breathing requires mana.
Because this body is weak.
"In that sense, once my mana runs out...well...it's basically the same as dying."
"Witch."
Rosemas grabbed my hand with tearful eyes.
"I'll do my best to make sure you don't have to use mana, Witch. Please just give orders from the rear."
"Th-thank you."
Overnight, Rosemas had undergone some change of heart and had become considerably well-disposed toward me.
'There's no downside.'
She liked Lucius but hated me?
That made no sense.
-Lucius. Master is actually....
-What? Master, I didn't see you that way. I'm disappointed.
-No, what did I even do? Rosemas, are you framing me right now?
-Eek! S-sorry, Master...!! I won't do it again!
-Master....
-N-no! Lucius! This is a misunderstanding!
The Hero Party members like the hero but hate the hero's master?
I can already picture the scenario where they suck up to the hero and get the hero's master kicked out of the party.
'Not a chance.'
Our team was centered on Lucius, but I was the one who built the party.
There's no way I'd be driven out by the people I recruited.
Use formal speech with me.
Treat me as your master.
Don't try to use Lucius recklessly for your own purposes.
As long as those three rules were kept, I didn't care what anyone did with Lucius.
"Rosemas. After today's review, we're going to eat lunch. You don't eat meat, right?"
"Y-yes. I...only eat vegetables."
"Good. Then I'll make sure you eat something delicious today. Tailored for you, Rosemas."
"Master?"
Lucius approached from a distance.
Just then, the Adventurers' Guild doors opened, and we went straight in through the open doors.
Murmur, murmur.
There were still a lot of people inside.
I wondered why there were so many people from the crack of dawn, but I felt like I'd soon learn the reason.
"The branch head came out."
The branch head.
The head of the Normance branch of the Adventurers' Guild.
A man whose head gleamed especially brightly on top headed toward the bulletin board carrying a black parchment.
'Black?'
Something about that seemed incredibly ominous.
Murmur, murmur.
As soon as the branch head posted the black parchment on the bulletin board, the adventurers began talking among themselves in worried voices, one by one.
Monsters.
Massive numbers.
Attack.
Acedia.
"Ahem. I have one announcement for you all. Yesterday, in the course of investigating the recent disturbance, the Mercenary King discovered an element that could pose a major threat to Normance."
"A threat?"
"Yes."
The branch head wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and raised his voice.
"We have obtained intelligence that Acedia is preparing a large-scale monster attack targeting Normance. The number is a staggering...."
* * *
"Ten thousand."
A man whose upper body had the form of a black crow looked over the swarming Magic Beasts and smiled with satisfaction.
"If I occupy a human city with these and hold a festival of blood, surely 'that one' will be pleased."
Lick.
The black crow licked a red Mana Stone with his tongue and grinned.
"A festival of blood. A banquet of blood to celebrate that one's descent."
Caw.
"To commemorate the resurrection of the Great Demon King Belphegor, I shall release ten thousand Magic Beasts into a human city and slaughter them."
Caw.
"Ahh, Belphegor. Are you listening? A mere crow who was nothing more than decoration for the Demon King's castle has become a demon commanding ten thousand Magic Beasts like this."
Caw.
"I shall please you with a feast of blood."
"This demon, Malphas."