LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 5: Encounter with the unknown
“My leg… Argh, someone… Is anyone there?! Help me! Argh…”
Judging by the aura surrounding his sword, he was definitely not a weakling. At the very least, he had to be considered someone of considerable skill. I wasn’t sure about Jake.
But that roar, powerful enough to make one’s ears tingle, coming from such a small frame, and the rock fragments that flew with a speed that could easily sever a leg. And the sight of her climbing the mountain, riding a huge boulder.
So there was a reason why even the Adventurer’s Guild was so tense. Then, weren’t the guards virtually useless? Such a question arose, but it wasn’t of great importance at the moment.
“What a waste. The world would be a more beautiful place if those idiots were dead. You’re quite merciful for a half dragon.”
I punched Akash, who was smirking unpleasantly, to make him stop laughing, and climbed down the tree.
“You… Anyway, people with muscles only know how to use their fists. Are you going to save him?”
“Of course. I’m not a cold-hearted person like you.”
Yuna seemed to share my thoughts and jumped down from the tree. Finn, upon seeing us, either didn’t recognize us or his previous attitude was gone, as he clung to my leg and cried out.
“Help me! The blood… The blood won’t stop… Please…!”
I forcefully pulled him off me and asked Yuna to wake Jake up, then examined Finn’s wound.
The strongest bone in the human body is said to be the thigh bone, but judging by the severed cross-section, even that was completely shattered.
Flesh was scattered everywhere, making it a gruesome sight.
“What, you moron. I’m a warlock, not a priest. I can cauterize it, sure. Of course, if you let me use my book a little, that is?”
I stared at Akash, but he just slyly asked if he could use his grimoire.
“…Fine. But only cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding. Don’t even think about doing anything other than what I tell you. This is an [Order].”
“Yes, yes, master. Satisfied? Now give it to me. Judging by the blood loss, he’ll be dead in five minutes. It’s your loss, not mine.”
“D-dead? Me? N-no… No…!”
If there were a few things the Kingdom of Collucia had given me, one of them was Akash. They said a Hero needed a powerful mage to match, and they would attach a docile one who would listen well to me.
He was indeed a powerful mage. His true form, that is. He was even one of the Four Heavenly Kings when the old demon king was alive. But his clone was not.
Without the grimoire that only Akash could read, which was also provided by the kingdom, he was less than an ordinary person. Even then, every time I let him use the grimoire, he always caused trouble, so I had to implant a slave imprint in the middle to control him.
It was uncomfortable to put such a thing on a person, but after almost being assassinated in my sleep a few times, I could do it without any remorse.
“Fire, burn moderately.”
As always, with a spiritless incantation, fire bloomed from his fingertips. Finn, still not understanding the situation, was still clutching his leg and staring at the fire, and just as Akash was about to bring the fire to his wound.
“W-wait a minute! If you cauterize the wound, it will be difficult to heal even for a priest!”
Jake, who had barely gotten up with Yuna’s help, hurriedly stopped us when he saw this.
“Then let him die. Are you a slave? Or a friend his mother bought and attached to him? Hmm, a lackey? A beastman couldn’t possibly be a real friend.”
“We’re real friends…! Anyway, is there no other way? Like freezing it…!”
“Then why don’t you do it? I won’t use any other method. Even if the priest says it’s difficult, they can just cut out the burned and deformed part, right?”
“Jake… I think I’m going to die… Save me…”
Akash, who casually brought the fire closer while saying cruel things, Jake, who was trying to stop him, and Finn, who was dying by the second. There was no time to hesitate, so I ignored Jake’s opinion and told him to proceed with the cauterization.
As soon as the fire touched him, Finn let out a scream that was almost inhuman and struggled. Yuna and I restrained him with force.
“Argh! Ah, argh! Jake, kill these bastards! They’re trying to kill me!!!”
Looking at Jake, there seemed to be no need to stop him. He had a displeased expression, but he wasn’t doing anything in particular.
Eventually, the screams and the sound of burning flesh continued for a while before Finn’s bleeding finally stopped. After the cauterization was finished, Finn cursed Akash, but he calmly retorted.
“Yeah, yeah. Cry like a baby now. But let me tell you, adventure isn’t as beautiful and wonderful as you think. Losing a leg is a cheap lesson, so you’re a very lucky guy, you know? So stop whining. It’s getting annoying.”
Akash, who briefly licked his tongue while looking at the grimoire that was covered as soon as the cauterization was finished, took the grimoire back from him, and I asked Yuna to take them back to the city.
“…Yes. But you speak as if Myungho will not follow me.”
She had already finished preparing to leave, carrying the severed leg and Finn on her shoulders. Jake also stood beside her, looking at us.
“Yeah. I think I need to meet that girl from earlier.”
“Are you a goldfish? You’re still going to go after seeing that? Do you want your trashy brain to be filled with rocks instead?”
“Sigh. Alright. I’ll give you the book. But only use it to protect me. Don’t use it to counterattack. You never know, until you talk to someone, you don’t know if they’re good or bad.”
Meeting her wasn’t purely for the sake of conversation. I felt insecure living in this world with my current party members, so I was betting on the slim chance that she might join my party.
“Then that changes things, master. Let’s go now. And you, violent girl, don’t beat him up on the way if he doesn’t listen.”
“…Be careful, Myungho. And Akash. Let’s talk later. I’ll teach you what true violence is.”
“Ooh, scary.” Akash replied and started walking up the uphill path created by the girl.
“…Akash. Can’t you use magic to go up quickly like that girl? You keep saying you’re a great mage?”
“You told me to only protect you. If you’re so eager, tell me to go up too.”
…For some reason, I felt like I would lose if I did as he said, so I decided to just walk up.
I also ordered him not to smile until I told him to smile again, to stop his unpleasant snickering.
– – – –
Delicious.
After eating meat that tasted worse than dirt or rocks, this is so delicious.
I was so focused on the sensation on the tip of my tongue that time had passed, and the sky was slowly getting ready to turn red.
“…Was this called a sponge cake… Or was it called castella…”
It doesn’t matter. As long as it’s delicious. It was clearly advertising that it would spoil soon, so I hurriedly took a big bite, and before I knew it, I was sucking on my fingers.
It’s so delicious that I don’t want to miss even the crumbs. I rummaged through the bag hoping there was more, but sadly, there wasn’t.
I was dizzy from using up my mana, so I thought about taking the blue medicine, but it felt and tasted like chewing aluminum foil, and I didn’t want to do that at a time like this.
It’s a once-in-two-months day, and I can’t let such foul stuff enter my mouth on such an auspicious day. I took another big bite of something else that looked like it would spoil easily.
As soon as I bit into it, something sweet and soft overflowed in my mouth, so it was a bread with cream inside. There were several of these, so I could enjoy this happiness for a long time.
Until next week… Maybe it’s a stretch? I was having such happy thoughts.
While I was enjoying my time, I felt vibrations from about two people.
The reason I didn’t hide my presence was that I had the leisure to easily kill anything that came. I even gave a warning this time.
Which idiots dare to disturb my happy time?
I couldn’t put down what I was eating, so I sadly chewed and swallowed it, then got up.
If the vibrations were this clear, they were close, so I endured a slight dizziness and channeled mana to my horn in advance.
Walking towards the source of the vibrations, I found one guy with a strange identification tag and another guy holding a book.
The guy with the strange tag had ordinary black hair and black eyes, and he was reasonably good-looking. Even more eye-catching was the large brush he carried on his back.
Does this guy use that as a weapon? How?
The unpleasant-looking white-haired mage beside him had a vast amount of mana emanating from the book he was holding, but the brush didn’t have any.
…It’s none of my business. It’s their fault for coming even after I warned them. The white-haired one is annoying, but since they came this far, I have no intention of letting them go alive.
Using the mana I had channeled in advance, I shot a rock spear from the ground. The spear, aimed precisely at their heads, reached their noses in the blink of an eye, but when the white-haired mage muttered something, it stopped right in front of them as if by magic.
“Stop! Whew… That’s some power, worthy of someone who killed her own parents! It’s no joke, it’s quite tough. Wouldn’t it be wiser to run away now?”
So they won’t die easily.
Then, I’ll have to use a method that kicks up some dust.
I plunged my hand into the ground and pulled out a greatsword made of rock. I was about to rush at them and slash them in half when the guy with the strange mark shouted at me.
“…Wait! Can we talk for a moment!”
And those words, I could definitely understand them.