Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
After leaving the capital, we began walking down a long road. Meiri entertained herself by making practice swings at imaginary enemies.
「If it comes like this, I’ll do this!」
Swish.
「And if it comes like this, then I’ll do this!」
And another.
「Have you fought since we parted ways?」, I asked.
「Nope. I spent most of my time with Mother, making rounds in the streets!」
「Lyla and I will be witnessing a warrior’s dawn, then.」
Lyla was looking at Meiri the way one would look at a baby chick.
「What about Roland’s ‘dawn’? What was it like?」
「Mm. I’d like to know as well.」
「It’s not particularly interesting」, I said, trying to deflect the question. They pressed me on, however, and I folded: 「Everything went according to plan, right down to the last detail. I ended my target’s life within twenty seconds of meeting him, and fled via one of the four pre-planned escape routes.」
Both Lyla and Meiri’s eyes narrowed.
「…That’s all.」
「Well, that’s a letdown.」
「Bo-oring.」
「That’s what I said.」
We made more small talk as we walked, and soon spotted claw marks on the ground.
「They look like the claw marks of a… Big Ant?」
「Y-Yeah, they do」, agreed Lyla.
「What’s that?」, asked Meiri.
「It’s a formic monster that burrows into the ground, digging nests to live in. It’s pretty big, too — about the size of a medium-sized dog」, I explained.
[T/N Note: Formic — ‘ant-like’, ‘of an ant’. Used in the same vein as lupine — ‘of a wolf’ or serpentine — ‘of a snake’. These words were invented for a reason, so why not do their existence justice, I thought.]
「Each nest houses a queen. The other Big Ants bring food to her.」
「They have queens?」
「Yeah. If there’s a nest here, then that explains the attacks.」
Glancing around, I spotted three of them gathered around a carcass a small distance away.
「Look over there, Meiri. Do you think you can do it?」
「Ehh… I’ve never seen a-ants l-like that…」
To Meiri, who was still little, they probably looked like giant monstrosities. The number of Big Ants in the nest would also make any rational person avert their eyes on reflex.
「C-Can you do it instead, Roland?」
「I can. However, I’m just an employee, and you’re a licensed adventurer. In other words, your magicka and fighting ability have been deemed sufficient for you to rise to the challenge.」
The Big Ants were cutting their prey into small strips with their mandibles, then skewering them with their razor-sharp front legs. They’re sluggish, however. If Meiri takes special care when dealing with those body parts, then she should be able to defeat Big Ants easily.
Unlike archers and mages, assassins have to get within point-blank range of their target by hook or by crook. All we have are our own bodies and a knife. Even if we get the jump on them, that doesn’t guarantee success. We must be the first to draw blood, and the only party to draw blood. Thus, simply having the technique isn’t enough — whether we have the courage to pull it off or not will decide our fate as assassins.
「Those are almost certainly what’s attacking the travelling merchants and their goods. Will you give up? I have connections with some of the adventurers who pass by once in a while. Would you rather leave it to them?」
She’s the same age as Rina, maybe a year older. Despite my conditioning, she’s still a princess at the core. She may have been able to go through the training, but the battlefield might prove too much for her.
That’s what I was thinking, until I noticed that the fight had yet to leave Meiri’s eyes.
「Look at them closely, Meiri. Two of them are leaving. One will be left behind.」
「Y-Yeah…」
「Rest assured that it is not only weaker than me, but weaker than you as well.」
I could feel the little princess swallowing. I knew exactly how nervous she was. Also on tenterhooks, Lyla watched over her protectively. At that moment, I sensed that she had channeled her nervousness into her will to fight. Before I could tell her to attack on my signal, her actions told me that there was no such need.
While the Big Ant was still dreaming of its sumptuous meal, Meiri made a beeline for it. Even though ‘Backslash’ is little more than child’s play when used against me, it poses a considerable threat when used against a monster. With the same movement she had rehearsed countless times, the first — and fatal — blow was struck.
「‘Backlash’!」
Her voice trembled, but nonetheless got the attention of the Big Ant, who whipped around.
「Gi?」
Notwithstanding the butchering of the name, she struck true. Her blade sunk into the Big Ant’s thorax and slid all the way up to its head, producing a satisfying sound.
「Giii… giii…」
The monster quivered a few times, then stopped moving for good. Panting from the exertion, she turned back to look at us.
「I did it… Roland, I did it!!」
Running back to me as quickly as she had run toward the enemy, she wrapped her arms around my waist.
「That was a clean blow.」
「Right? Ehehe」, she giggled.
And that’s why there’s no need to say the name of the technique, I thought to myself as I patted her head.
「If you look around us, there are about thirty more nearby. It’s up to you now.」
「Eh?」
Her expression darkened.
「Only two more, no…?」
「Meiri. If you don’t get rid of the pests attacking passing shipments, then they will continue to terrorise the passers-by.」
「Uuuu…」
Perhaps they were hungry, or had found no food. But whatever the cause, Big Ant after Big Ant was trailing out of what looked like the entrance to their nest. The creatures surrounding it began to rave as two sickle-shaped front legs revealed themselves. Each leg dwarfed the rest of the Big Ants.
「The queen has come out」, said Lyla as if she was narrating a documentary.
Breaking the earth in front of it, the rest of the Big Ant’s body appeared.
「Giiiiiiiii!」
It’s the Queen Ant, all right.
「Hiii… hyeeeh… it’s… it’s huge…」, muttered Meiri, trembling with fear.
It would be too cruel to make Meiri take on that one. For someone who was still largely unacquainted with monsters, King Kong might as well have appeared before her.
「Lylael-sama…!」
Looking in the direction where the voice came from, we saw Rodje and Dee waving as they walked over.
「Rodje, Dee… you came at the right time.」
「What’s the matter, Lylael-sama?」, they asked despite clearly having seen the Queen Ant, looking confused.
「Could you lend this girl, Meiri, a hand in dealing with those creatures?」, explained Lyla.
「Oh, so this is Meiri…?」
The little princess hid behind me to avoid Rodje’s piercing gaze.
「Oi, hentai elf. Don’t intimidate her like that.」
「I’m doing nothing of the sort.」
「Can I leave it to you to help Meiri, Dee? Rodje Sandsong alone is unreliable.」
「What did you just say!?」
「Ufufu. Of course you can… man, this girl’s so cute that I want to eat her up…」
「There you have it, Meiri. These two onee-sans will be assisting you.」
「O-Okay… I look forward to working with you.」
「Aye, let’s do this.」
「Fine, since it’s Lylael-sama’s orders. Don’t expect this every time.」
A troublesome elf as always.
「Shall we get rid of that Big Ant-san over there?」, cooed Dee, taking Meiri’s hand in hers and guiding her towards the enemy.
「Onee-san, your hand is cold.」
「Indeed it is. I’m literally a has-been, so my body temperature is comparable to that of a banana in the middle of winter.」
「????」
Meiri had clearly not understood, but Dee just left it at that. It’s for the best, I thought. I don’t think a member of the walking dead is particularly geared towards education.
「Oi, vampire! How dare you take the child with you only! A support role was bestowed upon me too!」
「Ara-ara, maa-maa. So the noisy elf will be following us.」
Dee met Rodje’s biting edge head-on with her willowy nature. Differences aside, they had the potential to be a dynamic duo.
「Kufufu. Now that your star pupil is giving it her all, will the master just stand back and watch?」, snickered Lyla, trying to trigger me.
I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of succeeding, but fine, whatever.
「Ufufufufu. Haa～」, chuckled Dee. 「Why is it so fun to stomp weaklings into the ground?」
Standing a good distance away from the others, she whirled her bloodsucking spear around, slicing through Big Ants like butter.
「Oi, were you not told to support them?」, I shouted at Rodje, who was just watching.
Beside her, Meiri was making good use of her trusty knife, cutting down her adversaries one by one.
I think they’ll be fine.
Screeching loudly, the Queen Ant started skewering nearby subordinates and consuming them.
「Tirelessly bringing you food only to end up as food themselves… they will never rest in peace.」
With that, I made my move, zipping over to the formic tyrant and scrambled up its back, barehanded as always. Even if I deliver a clean blow with my bare fist, its sheer size will negate most of the damage. Nevertheless, I brought a karate chop down on its neck.
Of course, it would be naive to expect a physical attack like that to kill. When my hand reached its highest speed, I infused the wind it generated with my magicka.
It’s almost like ‘Magic Regus’ was developed to do this.
Zing.
「Gyeeeeeh!?」
The wound I had carved ran deep into its neck, reaching near the back of its head.
A fatal blow.
I had expected to need another blow or two, but its flesh was surprisingly soft. Leaping off the carcass, I knew that Meiri had stopped what she was doing to watch me, for she was looking at me with pure respect.
「You got the big one, Roland!」
「As expected of Roland-sama. Beautifully merciless…」
「Oi, all of you! Get on with it! Move your asses! Guh, these ants…! Why are they only coming to me — ugyaaa!? My ass…!」
Finding the elf with her posterior sticking out a sorry sight, we got back to work until every last ant could no longer put up a fight.
Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
After leaving the capital, we began walking down a long road. Meiri entertained herself by making practice swings at imaginary enemies.
「If it comes like this, I’ll do this!」
Swish.
「And if it comes like this, then I’ll do this!」
And another.
「Have you fought since we parted ways?」, I asked.
「Nope. I spent most of my time with Mother, making rounds in the streets!」
「Lyla and I will be witnessing a warrior’s dawn, then.」
Lyla was looking at Meiri the way one would look at a baby chick.
「What about Roland’s ‘dawn’? What was it like?」
「Mm. I’d like to know as well.」
「It’s not particularly interesting」, I said, trying to deflect the question. They pressed me on, however, and I folded: 「Everything went according to plan, right down to the last detail. I ended my target’s life within twenty seconds of meeting him, and fled via one of the four pre-planned escape routes.」
Both Lyla and Meiri’s eyes narrowed.
「…That’s all.」
「Well, that’s a letdown.」
「Bo-oring.」
「That’s what I said.」
We made more small talk as we walked, and soon spotted claw marks on the ground.
「They look like the claw marks of a… Big Ant?」
「Y-Yeah, they do」, agreed Lyla.
「What’s that?」, asked Meiri.
「It’s a formic monster that burrows into the ground, digging nests to live in. It’s pretty big, too — about the size of a medium-sized dog」, I explained.
[T/N Note: Formic — ‘ant-like’, ‘of an ant’. Used in the same vein as lupine — ‘of a wolf’ or serpentine — ‘of a snake’. These words were invented for a reason, so why not do their existence justice, I thought.]
「Each nest houses a queen. The other Big Ants bring food to her.」
「They have queens?」
「Yeah. If there’s a nest here, then that explains the attacks.」
Glancing around, I spotted three of them gathered around a carcass a small distance away.
「Look over there, Meiri. Do you think you can do it?」
「Ehh… I’ve never seen a-ants l-like that…」
To Meiri, who was still little, they probably looked like giant monstrosities. The number of Big Ants in the nest would also make any rational person avert their eyes on reflex.
「C-Can you do it instead, Roland?」
「I can. However, I’m just an employee, and you’re a licensed adventurer. In other words, your magicka and fighting ability have been deemed sufficient for you to rise to the challenge.」
The Big Ants were cutting their prey into small strips with their mandibles, then skewering them with their razor-sharp front legs. They’re sluggish, however. If Meiri takes special care when dealing with those body parts, then she should be able to defeat Big Ants easily.
Unlike archers and mages, assassins have to get within point-blank range of their target by hook or by crook. All we have are our own bodies and a knife. Even if we get the jump on them, that doesn’t guarantee success. We must be the first to draw blood, and the only party to draw blood. Thus, simply having the technique isn’t enough — whether we have the courage to pull it off or not will decide our fate as assassins.
「Those are almost certainly what’s attacking the travelling merchants and their goods. Will you give up? I have connections with some of the adventurers who pass by once in a while. Would you rather leave it to them?」
She’s the same age as Rina, maybe a year older. Despite my conditioning, she’s still a princess at the core. She may have been able to go through the training, but the battlefield might prove too much for her.
That’s what I was thinking, until I noticed that the fight had yet to leave Meiri’s eyes.
「Look at them closely, Meiri. Two of them are leaving. One will be left behind.」
「Y-Yeah…」
「Rest assured that it is not only weaker than me, but weaker than you as well.」
I could feel the little princess swallowing. I knew exactly how nervous she was. Also on tenterhooks, Lyla watched over her protectively. At that moment, I sensed that she had channeled her nervousness into her will to fight. Before I could tell her to attack on my signal, her actions told me that there was no such need.
While the Big Ant was still dreaming of its sumptuous meal, Meiri made a beeline for it. Even though ‘Backslash’ is little more than child’s play when used against me, it poses a considerable threat when used against a monster. With the same movement she had rehearsed countless times, the first — and fatal — blow was struck.
「‘Backlash’!」
Her voice trembled, but nonetheless got the attention of the Big Ant, who whipped around.
「Gi?」
Notwithstanding the butchering of the name, she struck true. Her blade sunk into the Big Ant’s thorax and slid all the way up to its head, producing a satisfying sound.
「Giii… giii…」
The monster quivered a few times, then stopped moving for good. Panting from the exertion, she turned back to look at us.
「I did it… Roland, I did it!!」
Running back to me as quickly as she had run toward the enemy, she wrapped her arms around my waist.
「That was a clean blow.」
「Right? Ehehe」, she giggled.
And that’s why there’s no need to say the name of the technique, I thought to myself as I patted her head.
「If you look around us, there are about thirty more nearby. It’s up to you now.」
「Eh?」
Her expression darkened.
「Only two more, no…?」
「Meiri. If you don’t get rid of the pests attacking passing shipments, then they will continue to terrorise the passers-by.」
「Uuuu…」
Perhaps they were hungry, or had found no food. But whatever the cause, Big Ant after Big Ant was trailing out of what looked like the entrance to their nest. The creatures surrounding it began to rave as two sickle-shaped front legs revealed themselves. Each leg dwarfed the rest of the Big Ants.
「The queen has come out」, said Lyla as if she was narrating a documentary.
Breaking the earth in front of it, the rest of the Big Ant’s body appeared.
「Giiiiiiiii!」
It’s the Queen Ant, all right.
「Hiii… hyeeeh… it’s… it’s huge…」, muttered Meiri, trembling with fear.
It would be too cruel to make Meiri take on that one. For someone who was still largely unacquainted with monsters, King Kong might as well have appeared before her.
「Lylael-sama…!」
Looking in the direction where the voice came from, we saw Rodje and Dee waving as they walked over.
「Rodje, Dee… you came at the right time.」
「What’s the matter, Lylael-sama?」, they asked despite clearly having seen the Queen Ant, looking confused.
「Could you lend this girl, Meiri, a hand in dealing with those creatures?」, explained Lyla.
「Oh, so this is Meiri…?」
The little princess hid behind me to avoid Rodje’s piercing gaze.
「Oi, hentai elf. Don’t intimidate her like that.」
「I’m doing nothing of the sort.」
「Can I leave it to you to help Meiri, Dee? Rodje Sandsong alone is unreliable.」
「What did you just say!?」
「Ufufu. Of course you can… man, this girl’s so cute that I want to eat her up…」
「There you have it, Meiri. These two onee-sans will be assisting you.」
「O-Okay… I look forward to working with you.」
「Aye, let’s do this.」
「Fine, since it’s Lylael-sama’s orders. Don’t expect this every time.」
A troublesome elf as always.
「Shall we get rid of that Big Ant-san over there?」, cooed Dee, taking Meiri’s hand in hers and guiding her towards the enemy.
「Onee-san, your hand is cold.」
「Indeed it is. I’m literally a has-been, so my body temperature is comparable to that of a banana in the middle of winter.」
「????」
Meiri had clearly not understood, but Dee just left it at that. It’s for the best, I thought. I don’t think a member of the walking dead is particularly geared towards education.
「Oi, vampire! How dare you take the child with you only! A support role was bestowed upon me too!」
「Ara-ara, maa-maa. So the noisy elf will be following us.」
Dee met Rodje’s biting edge head-on with her willowy nature. Differences aside, they had the potential to be a dynamic duo.
「Kufufu. Now that your star pupil is giving it her all, will the master just stand back and watch?」, snickered Lyla, trying to trigger me.
I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of succeeding, but fine, whatever.
「Ufufufufu. Haa～」, chuckled Dee. 「Why is it so fun to stomp weaklings into the ground?」
Standing a good distance away from the others, she whirled her bloodsucking spear around, slicing through Big Ants like butter.
「Oi, were you not told to support them?」, I shouted at Rodje, who was just watching.
Beside her, Meiri was making good use of her trusty knife, cutting down her adversaries one by one.
I think they’ll be fine.
Screeching loudly, the Queen Ant started skewering nearby subordinates and consuming them.
「Tirelessly bringing you food only to end up as food themselves… they will never rest in peace.」
With that, I made my move, zipping over to the formic tyrant and scrambled up its back, barehanded as always. Even if I deliver a clean blow with my bare fist, its sheer size will negate most of the damage. Nevertheless, I brought a karate chop down on its neck.
Of course, it would be naive to expect a physical attack like that to kill. When my hand reached its highest speed, I infused the wind it generated with my magicka.
It’s almost like ‘Magic Regus’ was developed to do this.
Zing.
「Gyeeeeeh!?」
The wound I had carved ran deep into its neck, reaching near the back of its head.
A fatal blow.
I had expected to need another blow or two, but its flesh was surprisingly soft. Leaping off the carcass, I knew that Meiri had stopped what she was doing to watch me, for she was looking at me with pure respect.
「You got the big one, Roland!」
「As expected of Roland-sama. Beautifully merciless…」
「Oi, all of you! Get on with it! Move your asses! Guh, these ants…! Why are they only coming to me — ugyaaa!? My ass…!」
Finding the elf with her posterior sticking out a sorry sight, we got back to work until every last ant could no longer put up a fight.
