(AN: {} Japanese speech)
(Rudeus POV)
"{Failure. Next.}"
A flower.
"{Failure. Next.}"
A small insect leg.
"{Failure. Next.}"
Nothing. Oh, wait, no, there is a small seed.
"{Failure. Next.}"
Okay, this time there is nothing. Or, it could've been air.
"{I said next.}"
"{Alright, alright, I'm going to.}"
When Mrs. Grumpy took me to her study room, she first gave an enhanced punch against the eye and showed me the linear scar going down the right side of her face after my second [Bright Sky Wave].
It worsened the guilt I felt about nearly killing her. But in my defense, her friend killed me first, so it was only fair to do the same despite it sounding immature.
We talked a bit after we both had calmed down a bit.
Her name is Nanahoshi Shizuka, a high school girl who got summoned to this world a while ago, and as an aftereffect, having stopped aging.
She would rather not tell me when, so I refrained from telling her too much about myself. I only told her about me dying and suddenly getting reincarnated into this world.
Back then, she thought that I might have gotten summoned to this world like she did, but didn't think of the possibility of reincarnation being a theory.
Just like with the Metastasis Event, Orsted didn't have a clue on how or who summoned her in the first place.
On the mention of his name, she also told me that before I healed the chest wound Orsted gave me, she was in the middle of suggesting him to spare and heal me.
I found that to be a losing case after the method he killed me with. Even I wouldn't just heal someone I killed just by getting talked over it.
The possibility of her telling Orsted about me is high, so everything was told at a rough minimum. At least I tried to.
That is until she pulled out the Orsted card and made me use my mana to empower her Summoning Circles.
It is a small price to pay as I can add in ambient mana to lessen the absurd amount these Magic Circles require.
Just one of them is enough to severely drain any advanced Magician. But for me, even a hundred won't drain me at all.
And on another note, I could learn a few things about Summoning Magic since I can feel the circles and memories parts that may indicate their specific function.
"{How many of these have you made? Don't you have any homework to do as a student of this school?}"
"{I got enlisted as a special student. They get exempt from regular classes and only need to attend to a monthly homeroom class, which I can skip because of the ideas I have brought forth. We also get full access to the library and don't have to pay for the tuition fees.}"
"{I see... Wait, what? You didn't pay for the tuition?}"
"{That's what I just said.}"
Hold on, I got this letter for a recommendation as a special student not just for being a Great World Power, but because of my natural ability to cast spells without the incantation. The vice principal explicitly said that he was amazed by my talent as a chantless Magician.
You need to tell me that I could've avoided being used daily as a punching bag? Three years were just wasted with a single unknown major factor.
Well, at least I got materials to learn other languages in the time I was tutoring. And it wasn't exactly wasted as I got trained in swordsmanship by someone who doesn't use grunts and sounds to explain.
"{What are you frowning about?}"
"{Nothing. How many more of those do you have? It almost seems like you have taken no sleep to make these.}"
"{Well, they ended up pilling because I would rather not buy all the mana-powered crystals from the market, even if I made a fortune with the improvements I have given this underdeveloped world. The Magician Guild is still bothering me about giving them all my secrets.}"
Right. She did use the knowledge she has from our previous world to sell them here in this rundown medieval world to make a profit.
It even involved the school itself by giving them the idea of school uniforms and chalkboards.
There were other improvements that gave her a place as an A rank by the Magician Guild.
She even made some money by making oil easier for availability for some recipes she suggested.
Weirdly enough, she did that latter part around the world when travelling with Orsted and I have been seeing them but didn't think someone from my world created them.
It wasn't for some revolutionary culinary meaning, she did that so she herself could get access to them. Moreover, something about giving out a signal like that.
All she wants is to go back home to her family and friends and finally leave this stinking world. But I think what pissed her off the most is that she herself doesn't have any mana and has to rely on Magic Items to defend herself.
You know, one of the few unlucky isekai characters that get no cheat whatsoever.
*Boom*
Suddenly, an explosion from very far away broke the short silence we had.
Looking out the small window, I could see mushroom clouds rising.
"{Who is causing this?}" Nanahoshi pondered.
Meanwhile, I had a bad feeling about who that was since I couldn't think of anyone else causing such an explosion.
"{I need to leave. I'll come by tomorrow.}"
"{Wait.}"
Her words didn't reach my ear as I exited her room and sprinted away thanks to barrier armament and Wind Magic.
I swiftly evaded any students who were distracted by the sudden explosion from afar.
As I approached the center of the campus, an individual captivated my attention, prompting me to halt immediately.
It was that white haired Elf again.
That person also noticed me looking at them and had a bit of a shock when locking eyes with me.
Another weird feeling of déjà vu hit me where I met this person before, but something else felt... off.
Like, there is something missing, but I can't recognize the person with those sunglasses on.
"Master~!"
Zanoba suddenly ran over to me, the Hiryū figurine gently held in his hands.
"I have a few more questions about this masterpiece of yours. Please listen to them."
"S-Seriously? That's your concern?"
What about the constant explosions that are happening tight now? Does he think another chantless Magician is doing all of this?
"Hey, you!" Another voice yelled.
This time, it was the cat girl I had scared off with my killing intent earlier.
She came stomping right towards me, her gray hair standing and claws (fingernails) ready to scratch.
I almost felt pitiful for her stupidity of not learning from her first experience.
But to my surprise, Zanoba went before me, shielding me from the cat girl.
"Linia, your impudence seems to have no bounds. I will not allow you to threaten my master."
Aww, he is trying to defend me. What a dependable guy my disciple is.
"You would end up getting mutilated by him in ways worse than your group had suffered before. For your own sake and that of the others, seize your actions."
Never mind. He is just afraid of what I would do to them. At least he is doing them a favor.
"Shut up! As if a twig like him could do that. He just got lucky last time."
"Because of your status as next chief candidate, I refrained any confrontation with you. But as it seems, you do not possess the ability to learn from your mistakes and repeat them again."
Oh my, Zanoba. I thought he wouldn't care about anything except dolls. This is rather surprising despite the short time we spent together.
The cat girl, however, wasn't fond of his words.
"Excuse me, are you perhaps related to Gustav, the village chief of the Doldia village?"
"Mew? You know my gramps?"
She started to loosen up a bit.
Ah, I see. So, she is perhaps Gyes daughter that he sent away..... I can already see why he did that. She doesn't seem to be the brightest.
*Boom*
Another explosion from afar, but this time, there wasn't a mushroom cloud.
I think I remember this sound. Wasn't that the sound Hiryū made before turning on his phoenix garment?
Whatever he is fighting, it must be serious if he goes that far.
'Wait a second. Where does he think he is flying off to?'
From the looks of it, he is rocketing directly above me. And so he did. As he passed by, a streak of fire came across the city's sky.
Up there, I saw something descending to us, and it was sparkling the closer it came down.
*Bonk*
Interestingly, the object hit the cat girl's head and bounced off her, falling down towards me more slowly than before.
As I caught it, I felt a squishy yet solid exterior on my gloves.
On closer inspection, it was a transparent membrane with something colorful within it. Just for a brief moment, I used my sensing ability and came to the astonishing conclusion that there were Magic Stones inside that thing.
There were so many colors and probably different properties. Maybe my hopes of getting a better Magic Weapon aren't that far for me now?
"Linia!"
A screech brought me out of my bubble. Before me laid the cat girl, suffering from the impact with the membrane.
She is lucky Hiryū kept the crystals inside the membrane. Otherwise, it would have been more lethal. Just a mild trauma like getting hit with a bag full of coins.
Wait a second, that's the perfect cartoon scenario. How hilarious. The membrane should've had a dollar sign on it to show how valuable the objects inside are.
But, as funny as this is, I should probably heal her, just to be certain Hiryū didn't just commit murder on a cartoonish degree.
Some people around us spectated as I used Healing Magic on the cat-girl, whose name is Linia, apparently.
Many of them were in awe when the green light emitted from my hand onto her head, probably because I didn't use any incantation.
"Mew?" She said sitting up almost confused.
She must've thought that her life flashed before her eyes or something. Better not tell her that it was my pet's fault for knocking her out cold.
Their underlings started to look at me, the man who just casually casts spells like that.
"Well, now that you are all better, I'll take my leave then."
I put away the membrane in my pocket dimension, and then attempted to leave these premises. Just like that. Or so I thought.
From the direction he flew off to, he came rocketing back and towards the direction his hatch should be.
And again, he dropped... someone? I picked up so glad of two people falling down.
Unclear whether Hiryū let them fall from the sky out of wary of their strength, I let fate decide what happens next to them.
As their screams became louder, their descend ended with a crash onto the campus, a spot where no people stood.
A dust cloud formed paired with the rustling of rubble flying off and thrashing around.
"God damn it! You damn dragon, give me back my sword."
"It's no use, son. The thing is already off to who knows where."
"AAAAAARGH."
A loud scream of frustration filled the air and a little bit of murderous intent flew off where the person stood.
Huh. It is quite something to feel it from another person coming out once in a while.
Whoever they are, I'm impressed they recovered so quickly after falling from such a height.
The dust cloud was still covering them, so I couldn't see who they were.
Using this distraction, I quickly used [Specter Force] and Gravity Magic to sneak up on the roof of the buildings while no one was looking.
Jumping from roof to roof, I ensured that no one saw me and even lessened any sound by using Wind Magic.
At one point, they must've noticed my disappearance because I heard Zanoba yell in disbelief from it.
Until I reached a point where nobody would suspect me, I started to walk the way to my inn leisurely.
With the panic Hiryū caused, it would be better if I searched for him at night, to avoid getting too much attraction.
As I neared my inn, there stood an angry Sara waiting for me.
"Any explanation on what that was?"
Oh my. Are we really skipping that many stages and years in our relationship? We haven't even started any fun parts yet.
"With the number of explosions he created, I think it must've been a powerful monster. Here, look."
I opened my pocket dimension and pulled out the membrane Hiryū sent me. She looked disgusted as she saw me holding it.
"Inside this thing are numerous Magic Stones. Whatever that was, it's good he took care of it before chaos would have ensued."
"Are gonna go check on him?"
"Tonight. Looks like there were two men he dropped off after this. There is a good chance they found his hut and attempted to exterminate him."
"Who would even be so dumb to take on a dragon in a pair of twos?"
"Randolph and I."
"... right."
I then put the membrane back into my pocket dimension. I would later look into the properties of those crystals once things have settled down a bit.
"Oh, right, this isn't your inn. Is there something you need?"
At my question, she started to remember something but then just looked away.
"It's nothing."
Her answer felt off even without my emotion detection.
Before I could ask what really was going on, she shook it off and put on a more serious expression.
"So, what's this about a Great World Power being after you again?"
Oh... right. Because of Hiryū's sudden uproar if activity, it slipped my mind that Orsted could still be lurking to get me.
"Since you've already heard about it, why don't you join the others when I explain it to you all."
"You can handle that person if it comes to it, right?"
"No, not even if I go all out."
Sara began to feel shocked again when she heard me explicitly emphasize the words all out.
She knew that I meant my cursed form, even if it sounds unbelievable to her.
Last time was just a fluke. I could never defeat him in that form ever again unless I come up with a plan to surprise him.
In our last fight, it almost seemed like he was curious about me, watching what other tricks I would pull out of my sleeve.
Once the others came back to the inn as well, I explained that it was partially a false alarm.
They all felt like having their souls come back into their bodies after hearing that, only to shot out again when I vaguely explained the danger Dragon God Orsted actually is.
Part of me feels bad for how much trouble they are getting into thanks to me. Just a little more and they might just lose a bit of hair from all the stress.
***
On the following night, I sneaked through the security of the city to look for Hiryū.
Security in this city really is as terrible as I thought. Too bad they aren't allowed to put any barriers for protection like Millishion.
It didn't take long before I found him. Or rather, we found each other.
As when also has the ability of detection, he noticed my approach and came out of his hiding.
Since his steps would make too much noise, he only used a small cinder to reveal his location for me to see. A spooky method that would make anyone scared that there is a ghost lurking in these woods.
Once I was close enough to him, he put out the fire he held and bowed his head to me again.
"You destroyed your hut, didn't you?"
He gave a *huff* as an answer. That means yes.
"Was there a powerful monster?"
*Huff*
Another yes from him.
He then started to get something out from in between his wings, dropping it before me.
A massive chunk of metal, extravagantly made and visibly valuable. From the looks of it, this was a greatsword. But, there was something emitting from it that put me off.
Once I grabbed the handle, a surge of magical power was evidently coursing through this weapon.
And to my surprise, it was the power of Gravity Magic this thing held.
Just by holding it with one hand, I can manipulate the weight of this sword with great ease, as if I would be trying to use my giant shuriken without much effort.
Now then, on to the next question.
"Whose hand is this?"
Very close to the cross guard of the sword was a severed hand that grabbed on to the hilt.
It must be the hand from one of the two men who Hiryū dropped.
Let's just hold on to it until the owner appears somewhere. I'm talking about the sword, not the hand.
I have to give this powerful weapon back to its owner and maybe have to heal them a new hand as this one will decay too much before I can find them.
Putting the sword away (and burning off the hand) I was about to ask Hiryū something else, but before that, he moved his head beside me, and signed me to hop on.
This gesture already tells me that he needs to show me something important.
It must have something to do with the membrane he sent me. Perhaps there are more of those monsters. Either way I hopped onto his head and he immediately flew off.
It took about half an hour until we arrived at the spot he wanted to show me.
Now I know why he insisted on showing me this. It's a bit too dark for me to see, but I can sense it.
A whole colony of monsters, identical but different from the mantis monster I defeated the other day.
A single one of them was strong enough to handle a King class swordsman, and now there is an entire army of them lurking beneath the hill we are flying above.
If Rosenburg had it tough with dragons, then this city will have a literal insect disaster building under them.
A live-action horror movie scenario.
///