He found some men on the ground tied up in ropes with their faces were swollen.
Erina noticed Reito first and waved at him happily.
âBro, whatâs up? We caught a few scoundrels.â
âSh-Shit⊠Who are you people!?â
Reito looked at the foul-mouthed men and asked Erina, âWho are these people?â
âThey are some of the underlings of the bounties we caught the other day. They were trying to burn down your house, but I apprehended them.
Reito was convinced. It was good that he had the elf guards protecting his house.
Hearing the fuss outside, Kotomin came outside â she was wearing Suramin as clothing.
âShut up! I canât get any sleep in!â
âKotomin? Werenât you playing with Suramin in the garden?â
âI got tired so I was sleeping,â Kotomin said and approached Reito. Her hair was sticking up with cat ears. Reito petted her head while he said thanks to the elf guards.
âThank you very much.â
âIt was no trouble at all. Your protection was an order from the princess, donât worry about it. What are thoseâŠ?â
âIâll explain later. I have something I need to do in my home, so Iâll be stepping in now. Can I ask you guys to keep a constant guard on my house in the meanwhile?â
âWhat? Um, okay?â
The puzzled members of the elf envoy lowered their heads while Reito stepped inside. Kotomin and Erina followed him. Airis said nothing against this, so he figured itâd be no problem if they saw what he was up to.
âAll right, no one should be able to see me in here,â Reito made sure he had locked the door.
âYouâve taken us to a place where we can all be alone⊠I have a feeling my chastity will be stolen.â
âBruh, you serious? Iâm not ready to take that stepâŠâ
âDonât be crazy!â Reito joked before taking Caldewflch from the storage dimension and drawing it from the sheath.
Kotomin and Erina were taken in by the golden light beaming from the sword. Reito paid no mind as he reached for the Lightning Stone.
âYou two, get back!!â
âOn it.â
âOkay.â
Kotomin and Erina stepped back. Suramin and Hitomin were peeking at the holy sword on the desk.
âPurupuru.â
âYou two also get back.â
Reito picked the two of them up and handed them to Kotomin.
âItâs okay, come to mama,â Kotomin took the two slimes.
âReito, I touched Kotominâs boobs in the heat of the moment,â Erina said.
âThey donât feel like that, so it wasnât her boobs that you touched. Try grabbing the slimes more firmly.â
âWhat? Are you saying you know what Kotominâs boobs feel like?â Erina poked fun at Reito.
âDonât worry about that. Just keep an eye on the slimes! I swear.â
Reito concentrated his energy and used the alchemy skill âMatter Transformationâ on the handle of the holy sword. He was trying to get the lightning stone out of the holy sword.
âNghhhh!!â
A lot of energy was needed to use âMatter Transformation.â Reito struggled before managing to turn the metal surrounding the Lightning Stone soft.
Next, he used âHigh-Speed Shape Transformation.â Transforming the metal surrounding the Lightning Stone, he was able to expose the stone itself and grasped it.
A surge of electricity ran through his body.
âWah!?â
âReito!?â
âBro!?â
âDonât come near me!!â
The two of them noticed Reitoâs pain and were about to run over before Reito stopped them.
He tried to take out the stone, but it was a perfect fit and wouldnât budge.
While he was doing that, high-voltage electricity continued flowing through his body. If it was an ordinary person, they would have died. But, he was a magician and therefore had a higher resistance to magic.
âHeee!! Get out!!â
Reito implemented âMuscle Reinforcementâ to help pull the stone out. He also used âRecovery Boostâ to heal the burns on his palm.
âWow!!â
âDonât give up, bro!!â
âJust a little more!!â
âPururun!!â
Despite not understanding the situation, Kotomin and the others were cheering him on. The slimes were also shaking their bodies intensely.
Reito used all his might to pull on the Lightning Stone before Airis chimed in.
ăI understand youâre trying your best, but shouldnât you just use that magic?ă
ââŠAh!â Reito finally realized what she was talking about and used Storage Magic.
The stone itself was pulled into another dimension and the electricity flowing through his body ceased.
âHah⊠All done.â
âWowâ
âPururu.â
Things had suddenly gotten quiet and there was an awkward atmosphere in the room.
Reito used âRecovery Boostâ on his hands to completely heal the burns. Next, he set his sights on the Holy Sword and got to work on his next task.
âIâm gonna fix this up.â
âWhat do you mean?â Erina asked.
âIâm going to erase a certain seal off of the blade. Itâs putting a level restriction on it.â
âAre you for real?â
Caledfwlch had an emblem engraved on it that wasnât there just for decoration. It was a special magical seal that had been carved on it by the first generation of heroes. It made it so that people without a level above 70 couldnât use it. He had learned that from Airis.
She also told Reito, ăIf you were to erase the seal with alchemy magic, it would become available for use for people under Level 70.ă
However, in order to erase the seal, he would have to take out the Lightning Stone which is why he exposed himself to danger to get it out.
Reito touched the holy sword and yelled, âRaaah!!â
He managed to change the shape of the blade without effort. The seal on the surface of the blade had completely disappeared.
Reito picked up the sword to make sure there was nothing strange about it and tried to put the Lightning Stone back in it. He thought of a genius idea.
âAh⊠Maybe?â
âWhatâs wrong?â Kotomin asked.
âNothing. I just thought of a way to avoid feeling the electric currents.â
Reito opened his wardrobe and pulled some gloves out from it. Using âMaterial Transformation,â she changed them into rubber ones.
After that, he used his storage magic and pulled the Lightning Stone out from the other dimension. He grabbed the stone with his rubber gloves. It was still emitting electricity, but none of it was being conducted to him.
Reito grasped Caledfwlch with his rubber gloves and took a breath.
âI should have done this in the first place.â
âTo be honest, we didnât really know what was going on,â Erina said.
âCan we get closer?â
âBring it in.â
Reito put his hands out as if to self-deprecate. The two of them hugged him and patted his back.
Pulling away from them, Reito looked at Caledfwlch.
âAll right, this should be ready to use. Is now a bad time to test it?â
âYouâre really able to use a Holy Sword based on what you did right now?â Kotomin asked.
âGreat work, Reito. In short, Greito!â she said, making a pun.
âBoo! What a bad pun!â
Reito took off his gloves and grasped the holy sword. He felt as if a magical force were being pulled in via his palms.
Reito had a high aptitude for lightning magic and the magic inside the sword was responding. An electric current continuously surged from the blade.
Reito gave it a swing.
âTake this!â
A golden stream of electricity came surging out.
âWoah!?â
âThat was a close one.â
âPurun!â
His friends were frightened.
Erina and Kotomin put in their two cents, âHey bro, donât be so careless!â
âI thought I was going to die. Electricity is fatal for mermaids.â
Suramin and Hitomin got on Reitoâs shoulders and were biting his ears.
âPurupuru!!â
âOww⊠SorryâŠâ
Maybe because he had elf blood running through him, but Reitoâs ears were particularly sensitive. He apologized and tore the slimes off him.
He gave the slimes back to Kotomin and sheathed his sword. The sheath was made of wood from another dimension and was extremely resistant to high temperatures. It wouldnât melt.
âThe next question is whether anyone can make use of this.â
âWhat? Youâre not going to be the one to use it? Even though it belongs to the Baltros Kingdom?â
Erina thought that Reito should be the one to use it since he was the son of the Baltros King.
Reito thought that was wrong.
âI have better compatibility with the longsword. Also, we need someone who can properly bring out the strength of this sword in the fight against the Rotten Dragon.â
âWhat a waste. How humble of you,â Kotomin added.
Reito planned to go to the Adventurerâs Guild and get advice as far as who would be a good fit for the sword. It was unclear whether any of the current members of the guild had an aptitude for lightning and it might need to be used by another guild.
âIâm off to the Adventurerâs Guild. What are you two going to do⊠what is that?â
He heard a metallic noise coming from outside and he frowned.
âWhatâs wrong?â Kotomin didnât notice the noise but Erina, who was an elf, noticed it as well.
âBro, is someone outside!!â she said and drew her bow gun.
The next moment, his front-door burst open and a human wearing a brown cloak stormed in carrying a sword.
ââŠâ
âWho are you!!â Erina shouted.
She readied her bow gun before a member of the elf envoy came in covered in blood.
âStand back, Erina!! Heâs too strong.â
Erina immediately fired the bow gun.
âTake this!!â
âUnsheathe.â
âWhat!?â
Right before she could fire her bow, the mystery person pulled out his sword and sliced her weapon in half.
The sword was about to hit Erina too. Unable to react, she prepared herself for death.
âWater gun!!â
âHn!!â
âWahh!â
Just before the blade sliced Erinaâs face, she ordered the slimes to release a large volume of water.
The water, which was released with great force, blew back the intruder.
Reito jumped out, holy sword in hand, and drew it from its sheath.â
âTake this!!â
âTest Strike!!â Reito sent an electric current through the sword and attempted to strike his water-soaked opponent before the mystery character dodged the attack. He pulled a dagger out and aimed to slit Reitoâs throat.
Reito immediately moved his neck out of the way and avoided the attack, but his skin was still grazed and blood was oozing out.
âShit! Donât think weâre done here!!â
â!!â
Reito sent out one kick after the other, but the mystery character just leaped onto the ceiling. Even though he was soaked and his clothes were heavier, he was able to jump some ten meters onto the roof of the building.
Everyone was shocked before they realized he must have been a skilled assassin.
âYou wonât get away that easily!!â
âBruh!?â
He used his own âLeapâ skill and hopped up.
âReito, take Hitomin with you!!â
âPururu!!â Kotomin tossed Hitomin up to Reito.
âThanks!!â Reito snatched Hitomin out of midair and put it on his shoulder as he landed on the roof.
The assassin turned away from him and began to flee. He threw his ninja throwing stars at Reito.
âYou think thatâs gonna work!!â
Reito repelled the throwing stars with his holy sword and chased after the assassin.
âYouâre really fast, huh. I feel like Iâm playing chase with Ullr.â
ăPurupuru.ă
âAiris! Iâm trying to concentrate, so donât be weird!!â
ăThat wasnât me.ă
Reito and the assassin were sprinting across the rooftops. They were almost equal in speed.
The assassin appeared to have mature skills and was using spy skills as he ran along. He tried to hit Reito with some attacks. Reito kept his âObserving Eyeâ skill on at all times, but there were a few times when he nearly lost sight of the assassin.
âShit! Where did he go!!â
âPurunâ
âThis way!?â
Whenever he lost sight of him, Hitomin would tell him his position. As a result, he was just able to maintain pursuit.
âIn that case⊠âMagic Reinforcement.ââ
He was already using the auxiliary skill âBody Reinforcement,â but given the situation, he decided to use âMagic Reinforcementâ as well. Reitoâs physical capabilities were further increased, and he was able to close in on the enemy further. His muscles were shrieking at the extreme physical change he underwent, but Reito put his sword in the sheath and used a battle skill.
âUnsheathe!!â
â!?â
The assassin looked back guarding himself with a dagger repelling the holy sword. The electricity stemming from the holy sword entered the dagger and conducted itself to the assassin. His whole body stiffened.
Reito took advantage of the break and kicked him as hard as he could.
âTake this!!â
âAhh!?â
Taking the kick, the assassin screamed in pain and fell off the roof.
Reito was about to give him a follow-up blow before his body screamed in pain.
âWahh⊠Shit, âRecovery Magic!!ââ
âPurupuruâŠâ
His body was under quite the strain after having carried multiple auxiliary magics at once. He reluctantly used âRecovery Magicâ to heal his body.
His opponent had gotten up and inspected himself before drawing his sword. He was going to settle things once and for all.
âSo, you wanna fight. Bravo. Hide yourself, Hitomin.â
Reito grasped the holy sword and faced his opponent. He exhaled and looked at his holy sword.
âThis is not gonna work. This one matches me much better.â
Reito used his storage magic and put the holy sword away. He grabbed the Extermination Blade in its stead.
The next moment, the assassin kicked up the dagger at his feet.
âYouâre one skilled son of a bitch.â
Reito repelled the dagger rushing toward his face with his longsword.
His opponent used âLeapâ to retreat a little bit. Before he knew it, Reito had drawn his sword and was ready to fight.
âUnsheathe!!â
âIceclad Sword!!â
Reito iced over the longsword in his right hand and took the blow of his opponentâs blade.
âSpin Strike!!â
âNgh!?â
The assassin took a step back and avoided the extermination blade. Reito didnât think his opponent was going to be able to dodge his attack and was a bit shaken. He didnât show it on his face and grabbed his longsword with both hands, charging at his opponent.
âIâm not gonna let you get away!!â
Reito used his âLeapâ skill to move onto the roof despite the logistic difficulties in doing so. He almost closed the gap between him and the assassin. When he lived in the Forest of the Abyss, he learned how to hop from tree to tree and boulder to boulder. He was used to fighting on the move.
âStrike Blade!!â
âAhh!?â
Reito approached his opponent before he could fix his posture and swept sideways with his blade.
The assassin drew his own sword to stop the blow, but it was unable to withstand the force of the Extermination Blade and it shattered.
It was a perfect chance to put a pin in things, but Reito was hesitant to kill his opponent. He struck him with a big blow.
âAll right!!â
He watched his opponent go flying away. Reito was jubilated over the successful strike.
But, his opponent landed safely on the rooftop of a building sandwiched between two roads. He stood up as if it were nothing.
Reito was dumbfounded. His opponent was able to use the strike to his advantage and pull away at just the right time.
âHow did you make that judgment so quickly?â Reito muttered in disbelief.
If his opponent had misstepped even just a little, he would have died. Reito was puzzled that his opponent could do such a risky maneuver so easily.
He had put enough distance between him and Reito that he could now run away. Despite that, he stood his ground and asked Reito a question.
âWho the hell are you!!â
His opponent took off his hood and revealed his face.
The moment Reito saw his face, he was taken aback and dropped his sword.
âLong time no see, little boy.â
Why was she here? Why was she attacking him? Reito had so many questions, but instead, he just said her name.
âAria?â
Standing in front of him was no other than his former maid, Aria.
âIâll be taking my leave now.â
Aria bowed to the dumbfounded Reito and put her hood on before running off the rooftop.