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“Manifest, [Flare Rain]! Ugh, there are so many!”
In one room of the Demon King’s castle, Tia mumbled as she rained down flames on about seven gigantic ants. The ants, which had metallic-like skin, were being burned by the magic of fire, their weak point, and were dying off, but replacements kept coming and their numbers didn’t decrease.
“Damn it, who the hell brings trolls indoors!?”
“Guha, die!”
In front of me was a demonic beast in the form of a man, boasting a body close to three meters tall. At first glance, the body appeared fat, but it was actually a mass of muscle, and the power of the club being swung down was enough to flatten even a metal armor in one hit.
“Hah, as if I would die from this!”
The troll appeared slow due to its large size, but in reality, its movements were fast enough. I dodged its attacks and cut off the troll’s arm. However, the beast, known for its regenerative power, quickly restored the severed arm.
However, even if it can regenerate its arm, it can’t recover its club. The troll now tried to attack with its bare hands, bringing it closer to me. I then swung my sword upward from below and split the troll in two.
“Guh, ga?”
The troll, with a puzzled look on its face, fell to the ground, split into two. Even for a troll, recovery from this state should be impossible.
“One down! Tia!”
“I’m still okay over here! Go to Gou-san!”
“Understood!”
I turned my back on Tia and headed towards Gou. He was also fighting a troll, but the situation seemed more disadvantageous for him.
That said, it’s not that Gou was weaker than the troll. The problem was…
“Gehahaha! This me will destroy you!”
(T/N: The Troll uses “Oresama” while addressing himself)
“Nooooo, I won’t let you! I won’t let you break this pot!”
For some reason, Gou was fighting to protect a pot. He says it’s fine if he breaks it himself, but it’s not acceptable if someone else does.
“Gou-san! Hah!”
I approached the troll attacking Gou with a club, and I cut off its left leg. It will probably regenerate soon, but the giant body lost its balance and fell… and Gou didn’t miss that chance.
“Fuh!”
“Geha!?”
As the troll’s body fell and its head lowered, Gou’s attack cut off nearly half of the troll’s head. I pierced its heart in sync with its brain spilling out, and with its eyes rolling back, this troll also died.
“Phew, you saved me, Ed.”
“I’m glad you’re not injured. Tia, I’m coming!”
“Understood!”
Leaving Gou who was expressing his gratitude, I now ran towards Tia. The metal ants, Adamant Ants, were hard to slice, and it’s difficult to cut them without targeting their joints, even with my [Dawnbreaker]. But for such times, this… comes in handy.
“Blood Blade Forging!”
I put my beloved [Dawnbreaker] into its sheath, and I hit the hilt of the other sword I took out against my left wrist. My banishment skill, [Master Smith], formed a transparent blade when combined with the blood-drawn sword.
“Slice ’em apart, Sword of Thin Life!”
With a blade so weak it can’t maintain its form for even a moment, but so strong it can cut light and sound. It sweeped horizontally across the swarm of Adamant Ants, and dozens of ants are split not into upper and lower halves, but into top and bottom parts, spilling all over the place.
“Good job, Ed. How’s Gou-san?”
“Hm? Ah, he’s the usual.”
After finishing off the surrounding beasts and confirming that there were no enemies left, I turned to answer Tia, who had called out to me. There was Gou, having safely broken the pot himself, rummaging through the chest inside.
“Could this be, the legendary Victory Armor!? Hey Lunaritia, you should equip this!”
“Ew, no! What’s that, it’s just a string! Where’s the armor in that!?”
Gou held up a faintly glowing blue string with a radiant smile. It seemed to be just wide enough to cover the bare minimum, which also meant that it only hid the absolute minimum.
“Mu, don’t you know? This has a powerful defensive magic applied to it, it’s an excellent piece that provides the defense power of metal armor without hindering movement at all!”
“Absolutely not! Then Gou-san, you should equip it!”
“Well, in my case, my current armor has higher defense… What about you, Ed?”
“Uh… let’s see, I’ll pass. My defense is also quite high.”
“I see…”
Gou was slightly disappointed as he stuffed the blue string into his bag. It’s probably a great piece of equipment since it’s in the Demon King’s castle, but I don’t have the courage to equip that. Yeah, that’s definitely hero-exclusive equipment, in a different sense.
“So, Gou-san, are you done now?”
Tia, slightly exasperated, asked Gou who seemed downcast. The reason we were fighting a horde of monsters in such a place was because Gou was obsessed with breaking pots and rummaging through chests.
Even though it was a small room, it was a part of a huge castle so we could manage to fight, but I don’t want to engage in additional battles in a place with so many monster corpses. Gou hurriedly replied to Tia, who had such feelings seeping into her voice.
“No, wait. There’s one more… It seems like there’s a pot behind this shelf.”
“Behind the shelf?”
“Yes. But I can’t seem to move the shelf… I think there’s some kind of mechanism.”
“A mechanism… In that case. Manifest, [Akashic Compass].”
I activated the [Akashic Compass] with ease and searched for the mechanism to move the shelf. There seemed to be a small button on a pillar in the room, and when I pushed it, the large shelf moved to the left with a noise.
“Oh, there it is! The pot!”
“Why would they hide a pot behind a mechanized shelf?”
“Who knows? Maybe even the Demon King likes pots.”
“Ewww.”
Tia made a disgusted face at my joking answer. Even if it was a joke, if the Demon King analyzed Hero Gou and prepared this mechanism to stall him, then the attempt could be said to have been a great success. He’s invading humanity quite solidly, this world’s Demon King seems to be growing quite well.
“Hm? What’s this?”
“What’s up?”
Gou, who broke the pot with a satisfying ‘clink’ sound, tilted his head at the contents he held in his hand.
“Look at this, both of you. This was inside the pot…”
“? What’s this?”
On Gou’s palm was a perfectly round black ball, about the size of an adult’s fist. It seems like there’s definitely something about it, but I can’t think of anything specific.
“A magical tool? I can’t sense any magical power though…”
“Is that so? I’m not familiar with magic, but just holding it makes my hand tingle…”
“Tingle…? Can I try holding it?”
“Yeah, sure. Here.”
Gou places the black ball on my outstretched hand. Hmm, there’s nothing special… Wait, what!?
“Oh, oh? Ooooh!?”
“What’s wrong, Ed?”
“Are you okay, Ed?”
At the sensation that suddenly ran through my body, I involuntarily raised my voice. I answered the worried pair with a sly smile inside.
“Gou-san, is it okay if I keep this?”
“I don’t mind, but do you know how to use it?”
“Ah, somewhat. I think I can make the best use of it at the perfect timing.”
I see, it seems that this world’s Demon King is more cunning than I thought. But… Hehehe.
“Hey Gou-san. You’re really the true Hero after all! Hahaha!”
“What’s with you all of a sudden!? Well, I am indeed the true Hero! Gahahaha!”
“Ugh, you two…”
A treasure that I would have missed if not for Gou. Laughing together with him, who seemed perplexed but joyful at my sudden praise, I was also assured of our victory