âWind Blastâ was a skill Reito had previously learned from the commanding officer of the elf security envoy, Linda. He developed it by modeling her âFa Jinâ skill.
The enemies were blown away by the âWind Blast.â
âAlright, that should be all of them,â the moment he muttered that, the man hit with the âElectric Shockâ stumbled back up.
âWh, what are you doing!? Who the hell do you think we are!?â
Reito was impressed before using the beginner grade magic âFireballâ on him. He was blown away in a gust of flames.
The man was blasted through the entrance to the outside.
âWhat!? What is all this!?â
âA man just came flying out here⌠He seems to be alive.â
Dain and Gonzo approached the man.
âWhat the hell monster was that!?â
âOh, heâs conscious!? Go to sleep!!â
âGah!?â
Dain smacked the man with a stick, knocking him out.
Meanwhile, a beast man came rushing down from the second floor of the hideout. He smelled of alcohol, and his body was worn away. He had chains wrapped around his right arms.
âHey, what was that noise just now!? I told you before, if youâre going to fight, do it outside you dumb shits!!â
âSo, you are Balgal.â
âHah? Who are youâŚ?â
Balgal tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Reito. He saw his underlings piled up on the floor in the hallway. Understanding the situation, he clicked his tongue and kicked the head of one of his underlings.
âGufh!?â
âTsk!! Was standing guard not enough for you!!â Reito shouted at the underling to throw Balgal off.
âHey!! Cut that out, are you trying to kill me!!â
Balgal looked at the shouting Reito with caution.
âShut up⌠I hate when people wake me up!!â Balgal kicked the underlings lying about the hallway as he approached Reito.
Reito put both his hands at the ready and was about to use magic before Balgal flicked his wrists and released the chains, trying to wrap them around Reito.
âHey!!â
âHungh!?â
Reito used âleapâ to avoid the attack, but Balgal released more chains, scraping the walls and the floor as he launched more attacks.
âStop moving!!â
ââWind BladeâŚâ Woah!?â
He tried to stop Balgal with magic, but found his feet bound up before he could do so.
Dain and Gonzo screamed.
Balgal began dragging Reito in by his legs.
âHah!! Too easyâŚâ
âYou THOUGHT!!â
Reito had got himself bound up on purpose. He put his hands together and used âHigh-Speed Shape Changeâ to tighten the part of the chain wrapped around Balgalâs right arm.
âOw!?â
Balgal did not expect his own chains to be used against him, and he shrieked in pain.
Reito took advantage of the gap to remove his chains, and he concentrated his power into his right arm. He released an electric tornado at him.
âLightning Strike!!â
âWheeeh!?â Balgal went crashing into the wall. He is a high-level fighter, so he wasnât defeated, but he was knocked out.
âHo ho!!â
âW, Wicked!?â Dain and Gonzo exclaimed.
Reito was able to defeat Balgal on his own. In part because Balgal was off guard and had been a bit inebriated, but also because Reitoâs raw fighting abilities were greater than his. Even his manager in this world, Airis, didnât expect him to have such great battle sense.
To make sure that Balgal and his underlings didnât die, he used âRecovery Magicâ on them. He called in his friends from outside and had them tied up and restrained.
Before long, the underlings, who had suffered relatively light damage, opened their eyes. They looked puzzled and afraid, and asked Reito, âWh, what are you!?â âDo you know who we are!?â
âYou have a bounty on your head, right? 120 gold coin Balgal and some underlings to go along with itâ Reito said.
âShit!!â
Dain went around checking the faces of each of the members before inquiring, âHey Reito! The entire crew has a bounty on their heads. They should all be worth at least one gold coin!!â
If what Dain said was true and they were to turn them into the Guild, they would earn about 150 gold coins in total.
âAre you serious!! Easy money!!â Erina was excited.
âReito gets 2 parts, I get 2 parts, and the rest of you get 1 part of the gold. A perfect distribution!â
Dain poked fun at the triumphant looking Kotomin, âWhat are you on about!! Also, why are you counting Suramin, Hitomin, and Ullr in the count!?â
Reitoâs crew members were thrilled, but there were still two more empire leadership members in the city.
They were putting Balgal and crew on a carriage they had prepared beforehand while Reito had Airis tell him the whereabouts of the next target. As luck would have it, one of the targets, Magari, was a woman who was traveling on her own.
He finished communicating with Airis and got on Ullrâs back. He was feeling more confident now that he had defeated Balgal alone. He was hoping to do the same this time.
âIâm sorry but, could you take these guys back to the Adventurerâs Guild?â
âHuh? Why? Whatâs up?â
âAre you going somewhere, bro?â
Reito thought about it before deciding to make up an excuse.
âI forgot something at home, and I need to go get it. Do you mind going on without me?â
âThatâs no problem, butâŚâ
Dain was pretty suspicious but decided not to pursue it any further.
âReito, Iâm coming with you,â Kotomin said.
âDonât worry, Iâll be back before you know it. Ah, but I would like to borrow Hitomin.
âPurupuru?â
Reito scooped up Hitomin from Kotominâs head and put it on his shoulder. He figured Hitomin had exceptional perceptive powers and might come in handy.
âUllr, run as quietly as you can. When I give the signal, stop.â
âWoof!!â
Ullr ran the cart as fast as he possibly could through the city.
Before he knew it, Reito had arrived at his destination. It was a large street with a decent crowd of people walking on it. It would be impossible to tell who Magari was in this group.
Reito got off Ullr and gave him an order, âUllr, stay here.â
âWoof.â
Reito used his âObserving Eyeâ skill. It was a skill that heightened his observational abilities, but it was also capable of seeing through assassinâs skills like âStealthâ and âSeal Presence.â He spotted a person with a suspicious atmosphere about them.
She was an old lady wearing a black cloak. One of her legs was prosthetic, and she was walking slowly down the road. The people passing by her paid her no mind, as if she wasnât there at all. If Reito wasnât using his âObserving Eye,â she would have been able to pass through without being noticed.
He gave an order to Hitomin, who was riding on his shoulder.
âHitomin, keep an eye on that old lady.â
âPurupuru.â
âGood girl!â
With Hitominâs perceptive abilities, tracking the old lady would be easy.
Reito released his âObserving Eyeâ and would occasionally ask Hitomin the old ladyâs location as they tailed her.
While they were following her, the voices of a mother and child talking could be heard.
âMommy!! That man has a red slime on his shoulder!â
âOh my! I wonder if itâs a pet! They get along so well.â
âMommy!! I also want a slime!â
âHmph⌠Fine, weâll stop by the magic wares shop later. I donât know if they have any slimes though.â
âOkay!!â
Red slimes are relatively rare, so it drew a lot of attention from the people passing by.
The old lady looked back and saw Reito before she immediately dashed into an alleyway.
âDonât let her go, Hitomin!â
âPururu.â
Reito grasped the Reflection Sword and maintained a stance that would be easy to draw his sword from as he chased the old lady down the alley.
A second later, he found the lady with her wand at the ready.
âShadow Flame!!â
â!!â
A black flame came bursting out of the magic stone at the tip of the old ladyâs wand. However, given that he couldnât feel it approaching him, he ascertained that it was not a flame but a type of shadow like that which Dain used.
Thereâs no doubt this lady was Magari, Reito thought as he pulled his reflection sword out and cut into the flames.
âHelmet Smasher!!â
âHah!?â
The Reflection Sword has magic deflecting properties. The flame that touched the blade would be divided cleanly in half, deflecting to the left and right.
Magari was shaken by the unexpected event.
Reito took advantage of the gap and used âLeapâ to draw toward her.
âAaahh!!â
âChi??â
Magari guarded herself against Reitoâs slash, but she wasnât able to fully stop the attack and was blown back. If it were an ordinary wooden wand, she wouldnât have been able to take the blow of the sword, but she was equipped with an extraordinarily strong wand made out of Yggdrasil. She was able to avoid her complete destruction.
âYou little!!â Magari got back on her feet and was about to cast a spell when Reito came in with a follow-up attack.
âWind Blast!!â
âWeh!!â Magari was sent flying back by the gust of wind.
Magari was in agony and was in a bad mood.
âSh, Shit!!â
âYouâre still conscious. Youâre a magician, so I guess youâre more resistant to magic attacks.â
âWha!?â
Reito zoomed toward Magari and jabbed her with the hilt of the sword.
She was knocked out, and Reito carried her on his shoulder.
âTwo down in one day⌠Things are proceeding smoothly.â
Airis chimed in, ăDonât let your guard down. Thereâs still one more heavyweight in the game. His name is Pherkad and right now heâs in a hiding spot.ă
After hearing the location of the hiding spot from Airis, he whistled loudly.
Ullr, who had been waiting in a place a little removed from him, came running over.
Reito put Magari on Ullrâs back, and scribbled something on a piece of paper in his breast pocket before sandwiching it in Ullrâs collar. The note said that this old lady was Magari and she has a bounty on her head. Once sheâs turned over to the Guild, heâd like a âcertain somethingâ done to her.
âHand this letter over to the people at the guild and have them read it. Iâm going to go home for a minute, but Iâm just going to get ready and then Iâll be right back.â
âWoof!!â Ullr barked happily. He ran off at breakneck speed toward the Adventurer Guild.
Reito used âLeapâ and jumped onto the roof of the building before heading toward his own home.
ăWhy are you going back home? Did you forget something?ă
ăI thought of an interesting battle tactic just now. Iâve gotta go get a certain weapon to use it though.ă
ăInteresting?ăAiris sounded puzzled.
Reito explained as he leaped toward his home. When he got home, he collected the weapon he was aiming for.
It was the weapon he used at the Hunting Festival to capture the monsters. He hadnât had a chance to use it since then. There was no doubt that it would be a perfect match for his current abilities.