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Translator: Reo
Editor: PalenMisha
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 70 (Part 1)
The path was wide and the ceiling was tall, but it was surprisingly dark inside the dungeon.
With me and Luca in the lead, we walked for a while before I sensed the presence of a monster ahead of us. Immediately, I let go of Luca’s hand, hid my presence, and sprinted with all my might.
There were four wraiths. Wraiths were S-ranked monsters that looked like a black, humanoid spirits and specialised in magic. They could use a series of wide-range magic attacks, including darkness, hallucinations, and curses, that lower your magic defence or render your injuries incurable. On the other hand, they were weak to physical attacks, so it was best to get close to them before they noticed you.
“Dark Blast!”
As I ran, I released a mid-tier spell.
A number of black spheres flew into the air, hit the targets, and exploded one after the other.
Wraiths have excellent magical defence so my attack wouldn’t have done much damage, but it was capable of distracting them. Then, after a slightly longer pause than usual, I drew my dagger.
“Secret Skill – Twilight.”
As I chanted the spell, my blade grew longer and swish, I swung my sword again and again and again. It was a secret skill that allowed me to continue slashing my opponent at high speed until the mana stored in my dagger ran out or until the enemy disappeared. The more mana I had, the more potent my attacks became – it was a skill that was highly compatible with my fighting style.
I defeated the wraiths within a few minutes, giving them no time to counterattack.
As I was about to pick up the mana stones and materials that had dropped on the ground, Luca and the others caught up to me.
“Hey, onii-san! If you defeat all the monsters, the rest of us won’t get to do any fighting!” (Nina)
“Sigh. I know you’re strong but can’t you cooperate with and be more respectful to the rest of us?” (Miranda)
“My bad. It’s a habit of mine – my body started moving the second I sensed their presence.” I apologised to the bitter-sounding Nina and Miranda right away.
My body really did move automatically, but since I’m now part of a party, I’ll need to make sure to match my pace with theirs. Time to reflect on my mistake.
“Up until now you’ve been working solo, so I understand that it’s hard for you to adjust to us all of a sudden, but wasn’t it a bit too much to let go of my hand and leave without saying a word, hm?”
I thought Luca would take my side because he’s so sweet to me, but his scolding was even worse and it made it strangely hard for me to reflect on my actions.
Luca stared at my face, giggled, and then held my hand again.
“From now on, letting go on your own is a no-no, ok?”
No, I mean, in the first place, walking around a dungeon holding hands was dangerous. No matter how good I am at detecting mana, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any surprise attacks. But he’d gone so far as to wrap a tentacle around my waist, so I had no choice but to look the other way.
While Luca kissed me on the head and cheek as if to soothe me, Noel and Bennet picked up the dropped materials and brought them back to us.
“Here you go, Nii-sama, the materials and mana stones. And, the battle earlier was truly wonderful!”
“I-it was amazing, Zagan-san. You defeated four S-rank monsters in the blink of an eye. You’re so strong and cool.”
“Thank you. It does feel like I’ve grown stronger than before.”
In June, I had a hard time defeating three chimeras that were the same S-rank, so despite them being a different type of monster, easily taking down four wraiths was a tremendous improvement. As expected, winning against five SSS-rank dragons was a huge win. Since then, my mana reserves have grown, my body strengthening and magic wall have grown stronger and my fighting ability has also improved.
I left the materials that the wraiths dropped with Luca. Since we were moving as a party, even if I had defeated them on my own, the materials belonged to everyone.
“For now, let’s change the formation. Luca and Zagan, you go to the back of the line and support us if it looks like we’re in danger.” (Camilla)
“Speaking of which, last time as well, Luca-kun was fighting in the vanguard, right?” (Cindy)
“He was trying to beat Orobas-san, so we had no choice but to follow him as he jumped ahead in battle. So it’s only fair that it’s our turn now.”
So Miranda and Nina took the lead while Luca and I took up the rear. No matter how much I looked at him, Luca wouldn’t let go of my hand. He did have his sword drawn though, and I was also holding my staff in my left hand.
As we cautiously continued walking, I felt a presence again. And it was getting rapidly closer.
“There’s one monster ahead of us. It’s good at hiding its presence. A formidable enemy.”
“That’s amazing, nii-sama. I can’t sense anything.” (Noel)
“Me neither. You sure about that?” (Nina)
“Yeah, it’s coming. It’s fast. Brace yourselves!”
“Uh, Area Defense! Area Attack!” (Bennet)
The moment Bennet finished casting buffs on all of us, the enemy silently rushed out of the darkness. A headless knight astride a headless horse – a dullahan. The tip of its large lance came at us all at once.
Clang!! The piercing sound of clashing metal reverberated in the air. Miranda instantly blocked the lance with her axe.
Her body was being pushed back by the dullahan’s tremendous force and the others quickly jumped out of her way.
I was going to go help Miranda, but the tentacle around my waist lifted me off the ground, forcing me back.
Why?
I was about to reach a tentacle out to her when Miranda stopped being pushed back.
“Ha… this kind of attack is nothing!!”
Amazing. She easily stopped that tremendous force. The strain on her legs and back must have been considerable, but she managed to endure it without being blown away.
As I was busy admiring Miranda, the girls started attacking the dullahan, now full of openings. Noel with her well-honed sword skills, Nina with her dizzyingly quick attacks, and Camilla and Cindy with high-powered spells. In the meantime, Bennet cast a recovery spell on Miranda.
As we watched the girls fight, Luca slipped his arm around my waist.
“It’s fine, Zagan. Everyone here is strong. So we just have to trust and look after them.”
That’s right. Luca and I weren’t the only ones who’d grown stronger. The girls had originally been strong enough to face the dark dragons, and they’d been training diligently every day. Especially Noel, Miranda, and Nina, who were at the vanguard. They’d often practise sparring even outside of their training sessions with Luca.
The dullahan was an S+ rank monster. Its attacks were not only fast, but also powerful, so even a single blow could lead to serious injury. However, the three of them were blocking and dodging its attacks while launching their own attacks one after the other. The other three girls in the back would then calculate the right timing and cast magic attacks, debuffs, or recovery spells.
The girls’ teamwork was as amazing as always and the dullahan was successfully defeated within a few minutes.
“Good work everyone. As expected of you. There were hardly any injuries either.” Luca praised them after they picked up the dropped materials and grouped up again.
“Of course! I could block that kind of attack with my eyes closed!” Nina puffed her chest out proudly.
She should be proud that she’d managed to avoid almost all of the dullahan’s attacks. From time to time, her face got grazed, but that wasn’t a problem because a recovery spell would quickly be sent her way.
Noel came up to me and looked up at me.
“What is it, nii-sama? I… I’ve grown stronger since I sparred with you back then. Of course, I’m still far behind nii-sama who can defeat opponents in the blink of an eye, but I can still win against a strong opponent.”
“Yeah, you’ve grown strong. As expected of my little sister.”
Her whole face lit up with a smile when I praised her and patted her head.
Miranda, Camilla, Bennet, and Cindy also praised each other for a job well done and reflected on how the battle went. Discussing the fight like this probably strengthened their bond and improved their teamwork.
As we walked and talked, I felt the presence of yet another monster.
Thud, thud. The earth shook with the sound of its footsteps. It was clearly a type of golem.
“My my, an easy one this time, huh?” (Cindy)
“Huu… the shaking is getting worse…”
“There are probably two of them. If it’s S-rank it might be an emperor golem. Now then, what should we do?” (Camilla)
Camilla glanced at me, so I nodded.
“Luca and I will take on one of them. Luca, you don’t mind, right?”
“Of course not. I’ll show it the power of our love~”
It would be a horrible form of bullying to take down a golem with a power like that. I thought, letting go of Luca’s hand and taking out my dagger. As soon as I did, Luca looked visibly depressed.
“Zagan isn’t agreeing with me. I’m sad.”
“…Aren’t I the only one you should be showing your love to?”
He had spoken with a very pitiful voice, so I comforted him with a suitable answer.
“Zagan…” he called out like he was deeply moved and squeezed me tight from behind. “Don’t worry. My love will forever belong to you and you alone. I love you, Zagan.”
Careful – what if you get stabbed by the dagger? Don’t drop your sword either!
“You there! Stop with the flirting and get your asses in gear!”
It wasn’t my fault, but I got yelled at. I’m glad though that Luca was in a good mood and picked up his sword, all gung-ho for the upcoming battle.