Chapter 118

Chapter 118

The silver blade gleamed. The sword smoothly pierced through the hide. It was like sticking a fork into pudding, but the result was far from peaceful.

Slash.

The monster’s head flew through the air. The lifeless head spun, scattering blood everywhere.

“Oh.”

I made a mistake. My original plan was to neatly separate the head from the body, but I ended up using too much force while getting distracted. Now I’m all sticky…

I grumbled as I roughly wiped off the blood clinging to my body.

“Ah… Kana, you shouldn’t say things like that carelessly…!”

“You’re starting again?”

I wondered what nonsense she was going to spout this time. With my arms crossed, I waited, and Da-eun took out a white handkerchief from her pocket and rubbed it against my cheek.

Rub rub.

Squeeze squeeze.

“…”

“Hehe, hehehe…”

“You’re trying to wipe it off, right?”

“…Of course! There, all done!”

As soon as I finished speaking, Da-eun quickly pulled her hand away from my cheek. The once pure white handkerchief was now stained with the dark red of the monster’s blood. Even if washed, it might be hard to restore its original color.

And since it’s covered in monster blood, it won’t be usable anytime soon because of the magi. If I took this to the human villages in Ardina, they might treat me like a terrorist.

“A clean and shiny Kana, all done!”

“Clean and shiny? I still feel sticky, though.”

Even though the blood was wiped away, the unpleasant stickiness and the lingering discomfort remained. Naturally, it wasn’t washed off with water.

“See, you shouldn’t say things like that. In this world, there are some really strange people who’ll take even normal words and think strange things.”

“…What could they possibly imagine from feeling sticky? And what even is this ‘strange thinking’ you’re talking about?”

“…Some things in this world are better left unknown. I want you to stay pure and innocent just like you are now. Can you understand this sister’s feelings?” ᚱ

“Sure. At least I understand that Joanie is one of those strange people.”

“…Kana, what do you mean by that…? You just haven’t met really weird people! I’m actually pretty normal!”

“Hmm.”

But, the way she says, ‘I’m pretty normal,’ shows that she knows she’s weird. If she truly believed she was normal, she would have just said so.

Ignoring the strange person who insisted she was normal, I shook the blood off my sword.

“How many did we catch?”

“With this one, it’s exactly twenty.”

“Quite a lot.”

Instead of Da-eun, who was still mumbling, Celine answered my question.

“Would you like to take a break if you’re tired?”

“I’m not tired. Just bored.”

Repetitive tasks get dull no matter what they are. And especially when the task is as monotonous as this, it gets even worse.

“A monotonous task, huh?”

“Exactly.”

Wait for the monsters to arrive. When they get close, separate their heads from their bodies and send them on their way.

That’s it.

If a powerful monster came, one strong enough to make the air heavy with magi every time it breathed, I wouldn’t have the luxury of such idle thoughts.

But, unexpectedly, there weren’t any exceptionally strong monsters in the center of Laxia. Contrary to my expectations, it turned out that the center of Laxia didn’t have monsters as strong as those in the Ardina Continent or even the outskirts of Laxia.

After hearing my words, Justina calmly replied.

“That’s why the barrier was made in the first place, wasn’t it?”

One of the barrier’s functions: to prevent the gathered magi in the center from spreading throughout the continent.

Even though it couldn’t completely stop some magi from seeping out, Justina said that without the barrier, Laxia’s situation would have been much worse.

“The life force and strength of a monster come from magi. With only this much magi, it’s no wonder there aren’t any monsters that can pose a threat to you.”

“By that logic, shouldn’t there be such monsters inside the barrier? I haven’t seen any even inside.”

“A farmer must always keep an eye on the field. If pests appear, they must be caught immediately.”

Even if a monster with latent potential were to be born outside the barrier, it would just end up as prey for other monsters.

Unlike other creatures that instinctively shun magi, monsters aren’t concerned with such things. The environment of Laxia, which is conducive to the emergence of monsters, ironically hinders the blossoming of their true potential.

“So, the reason such monsters were occasionally seen in Ardina is…”

“It must be because there are no natural predators. When an exceptionally strong monster is born, it will devour other monsters and grow stronger.”

“I don’t care about that. I’m not interested.”

“…Weren’t you the one who brought it up, Kana?”

“Joanie, it’s not nice to falsely accuse people.”

“No…! But you definitely brought it up…!”

Da-eun pounded her chest in frustration. I watched her for a moment and then tugged at her sleeve.

“That’s enough.”

“…!”

Da-eun looked at me with a touched expression.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Yeah.”

How could I not be, when she’s pounding her chest like that?



“Joanie, you like big chests, don’t you?”

“…What?”

“If you keep hitting your chest like that and it caves in, what if it gets smaller?”

“Wait, wait, wait.”

Huff…

Da-eun took a deep breath. And she exhaled even faster than she inhaled. After taking a few deep breaths, she spoke in a voice that tried to sound calm but was anything but calm.

“I have a lot to say, but let me ask this first. That… liking big chests, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“…? It’s exactly what it sounds like. You’re always jealous of Celine, so I thought you liked them…”

Was I wrong?

I tilted my head in confusion, and Da-eun’s expression softened as if relieved.

“Oh… is that what you meant…? Next time, could you phrase it in a way that doesn’t cause misunderstandings?”

“Was there room for misunderstanding?”

“It’s not just ‘was there’; it was overflowing with potential for misunderstanding. Ugh… this is getting out of hand again. Kana just said that’s not what she meant, so stop harassing that poor polar bear! A polar bear has feelings too!” seaʀᴄh thё nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I couldn’t have understood that statement before, but now I do. It’s a surprisingly useful ability, after all. Nodding in satisfaction, I suddenly found myself the new target of her attention.

“And besides, pounding on your chest doesn’t actually make it smaller.”

“What are you talking about? If it only got smaller, that’d be fine, but do you know how many people die from a collapsed chest cavity?”

“…Do I look like an idiot who’d pound my chest hard enough to collapse my ribcage?”

“…”

“Hey, Kana?”

“…”

“Answer me.”

“Hmm, who could she be talking to?”

Da-eun usually called me “Kana” or “Kana-ya” when she spoke to me. Even when we talked face-to-face, she’d use my name. This must be one of Da-eun’s habits. At first, her sweet, almost ticklish voice felt awkward, but now I’ve grown quite used to it.

Anyway.

What I’m trying to say is that if she were calling me, she’d use my name, so when Da-eun says “Hey,” she must not be referring to me. Hmm, then who could she be talking to? It’s unlikely she’d address Justina like that, so could it be that she’s on casual terms with Celine now?

As I feigned ignorance, Da-eun suddenly reached out and grabbed my waist.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, my perspective rose, and my feet dangled in the air, not touching the ground.

“You, you. Are you trying to throw me into despair? You cheeky little brat! I’ll punish you, so take it!”

“…Haha, that tickles.”

Even though my face was clean, my clothes were still drenched in blood. But Da-eun didn’t seem to care that her own clothes were getting dirty. She rubbed, hugged, and tickled me…

After a bit of time passed, Da-eun, who had been making a fuss, finally set me down. She seemed quite satisfied, whether she noticed the blood smeared on her face or not.

“Whew…”

“You seem like you’re reflecting on your actions, so I’ll let you off this time. Be a good person from now on.”

“…Reflecting, you say?”

Celine, who had been watching from the side, tilted her head in confusion.

“Of course. Just look at Kana’s expression. She looks remorseful, doesn’t she?”

“It just seems like she’s ticklish… By the way, Da-eun.”

“Yes?”

“…Um

Celine hesitated, struggling to speak. Meanwhile, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my still rapid breathing. Finally, when I was completely composed, Celine, who had been hesitating, spoke up.

“I sometimes felt like I was being watched, but you were envious… If it was something I could give you, I would have, but it’s not something I can just hand over…”

“…Why is Celine saying that too!”

This is all Kana’s fault!

Da-eun cried out, nearly in tears. At least it seemed like it wasn’t my fault. I pretended not to notice, turning my gaze away as I spoke to Justina, who looked at me with a pitying expression.

“We should move. It seems like all the monsters in this area have been dealt with.”

While more would come eventually if we waited, it seemed better to change locations.

There were two reasons why we were hunting monsters outside the barrier.

One was to eliminate potential threats in case the barrier disappeared and monsters invaded. The other was to gather enough magi, using the monsters’ corpses to compensate if there was a shortage when retrieving the barrier.

As I said before, it wasn’t too difficult a task, and even if the magi gathered this way was a drop in the bucket, it was better than doing nothing. It was a simple matter of luring in monsters with mana and taking them down as they approached.

“I share the same thought.”

Justina nodded in agreement with my suggestion.

“How much longer do we have to keep doing this?”

“We should probably circle around once, don’t you think?”

“By circling around, you mean…”

“I mean around the barrier.”

“…That much?”

The village… or city… of the Demonic Race? Either way, the scale of the barrier that both protected and isolated the place was considerable. While it wasn’t as vast as the holy magic that surrounded the Holy Kingdom, it would take quite a while to make a complete loop around the barrier. It wasn’t just a matter of moving either; we had to lure in monsters, defeat them, and then move again…

“…Let’s finish quickly.”



If I didn’t want to spend the night outdoors, I’d have to keep moving.

Deciding on that, I started walking before waiting for Justina’s response. After all, while she agreed with the plan, she had no intention of moving until we cleared the nearby monsters. It seemed I’d have to dig my own well if I wanted water to drink.

And as for those two… I wondered how long they would keep at it.

Hoping to avoid being caught up in their bickering, I pretended not to notice Celine and Da-eun squabbling with each other.

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