Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4.2

For the note, it is surprisingly difficult to kill even a "small Youkai" with a single blow using ordinary weapons. Therefore, it is a common practice to strengthen a weapon or body by pouring spiritual power into it. In my case, I do not strengthen the whole weapon or the whole body, but only the necessary parts such as the handle or the edge of the weapon, or the joints and muscles of the body by instantaneously pouring spiritual power into them, which is not my original idea but the original main character's idea.

"Ayaka-sama, there are too many enemies than expected. I think we should evacuate."

I throw two kunai from my pocket, which hit the head of a big rat that was trying to jump on us in the fog, and smashed its skull. These rats were a mass of germs, and their bites and scratches would cause infection and trouble later on.

"But in this fog...!!"

"Tsk, I forgot...!"

I click my tongue. This fog is made up of youkai energy that probably makes people lose their sense of direction... So, no matter how much we run away as long as this fog is there...!!

'Oh, are you in trouble? I can't help it, I don't want you to die here. So, I'll adjust the difficulty level a little for you.'

A moment later, I heard a whispering, amused, yet sticky voice in my ear. This voice sounded familiar to me.

At the same time, a rumbling sound echoed in the distance, and instantly the thick fog began to fade away.

"Eh!? What was that sound...!?"The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"This is... the fog has weakened! Everyone, let’s retreat from here while protecting Ayaka-sama...!"

The sudden noise confuses the exorcist, but I order my colleagues to evacuate the area. Naturally, the leader of the group is me, the one with the most fighting strength among the surviving servants.

'Roarrrrr!!!'

However, out of the light fog came a leaping tiger... no, it’s not a tiger. It was a huge monster cat that could easily have been mistaken for a tiger. Tigers are only found on the continent.

"Tsk!!"

Fortunately, the fog has thinned out. If the fog had remained thick, I wouldn't have been able to react. So, I could catch the monster's attack with the hilt of my spear. But it was one step short and the monster tries to crush me with its weight. Damn...!

"Don't you dare!!"

At this moment, I used my right hand to blind the monster in front of me. Just for this kind of situation, I extended the nails of my index and middle fingers. I poured spiritual power into the tips of the nails to make them harder and smashed the eyeballs of the monster cat.

For a moment, I was relieved, but then a quick weasel, a monkey, and a frog, the other "small Youkai," came around behind me. They jump on me at almost the same time...

"Watch out!!"

At the same time as that cry, the heads of the monsters, which consisted of weasels and monkeys, splattered. Ayaka's arrow struck them from a distance away. But...

"Ah..."

The third shot, perhaps out of impatience, just passed right by a frog the size of a big dog.

'Shaa!!'

The fog, which was probably the work of a monster, is clearing up, probably because it is nighttime, but that is not the only reason. The sound during the battle, that creepy whisper in my ear, and my knowledge of the original story... the answer is easy to find if I only have the time and the mental capacity to think calmly.

"...Shall I sleep?"

I sewed back on the light white clothes I had put on under my black robe... though they were already stained reddish-black... as a first aid measure, and then, with my spear in my hand, I put my back against a rock, spread salt around me to create a simple boundary, and closed my eyes...

*

At three o'clock in the morning, the time when the monsters are the most fierce and powerful of the day, it appeared.

A black fog. Or perhaps a miasma. It slipped easily through the boundaries that the servants had set up, corroding and disabling the salt that protected them from the evil air.

And when the black miasma finds the servant, it gradually solidifies in one place, creating a shadow that resembles a human silhouette.

'......'

For a few seconds, the shadow stares at the sleeping servant, and then it begins to walk slowly. When it comes in front of the servant, the shadow approaches the servant's face and starts to walk...

"....What are you trying to do, monster?"

I ask, thrusting the blade of my spear at the shadow's neck. I thought this monster would come to me after I fell asleep, considering its personality.

'Oh, come on, isn't that terrible? I was just about to give you a medicine of my own making...'

The shadow that emits black Youkai energy speaks in a boyish tone. Though its tone is friendly, the words of a monster are not to be trusted in the first place, especially this one, if people in this world know who this monster is, they will either run away or try to kill it. Unless someone is a very famous exorcist, they will be beaten back and eaten.

And, as I know the original game of this world, my distrust is even stronger. So why is this monster coming close to me, whose taste is not its taste? If it's only the ring finger of my left hand, you can eat it now. But, please, will you stay away from me forever?

"Isn’t that a terrible thing to say? I'm not here to eat you. Let's be more friendly to each other."

The shadows condense together, take on a distinctly human shape, and begin to take on color.

It was a beautiful blue woman. She had long blue hair and blue eyes as well and was dressed in priest's clothes designed to look like a mendicant monk. However, the color of the dye is blue. She wears a bamboo hat on her head to hide her origin. She is as tall as a large man and has thin features, but her bosom is moderately curved. From the in-game stills, she is probably neither big nor poor, but beautiful. And although I won't say this, what stands out the most is the huge anchor she carries on her back...

"What the hell are you talking about? Haven't you been eating enough of them?"

I turn unfriendly with my spear at the ready. Anyone would have done so, considering her past behavior, and her crazy personality would have preferred it. I can't tell how many first-time players have been seduced by her friendly attitude and treated her as a heroine, only to have the game end with the death of the hero.

"Well, well, anyway, aren't you hungry? I only have a handful of rice, but I'm carrying it with me. Won't you eat with me? It's not the brown rice you servants always eat, it's Ginshari (cooked white rice)."

With a smile, the woman sits down in front of me naturally. Then she takes off her bamboo hat. From her head, I could see two thick, scarred horns curving up from her head.

"Here, eat up. I have a plum paste, kelp, and bonito too. It’s delicious, you know. Oh, are you thirsty, too? I have a water bottle ready for you."

Seriously... this cowardly, sneaky, arrogant, selfish, and crazy creature declared with a comfortable, good-natured smile?

And for the note, this ‘Calamity Youkai’ is called Aoko the Red-haired Blue Demon (Akagami Aoko Douji)... Her name was so infamous in the capital that the emperor himself had issued an imperial order to defeat her. Moreover, her misdeeds and misbehaviors had made her the most hated of all the game fans.