Volume 23 - CH 32

The seven trials set forth in the grimoire "The Poetry of Welgilius".

The third of these trials was to capture the Great Lion that lives in the mountainous regions of Portiana.

However, it was not only difficult to capture it, but I also has to fight it properly.

The lion moves too fast. Not only is it fast, but it also has tremendous power , making it impossible to fight it properly.

If it can avoid the magic of high-speed random strikes, there's nothing I can do.

I had no choice but to flee the scene, my wits running wild.

「GHA!」

The golden lion just keeps on jumping at me.

「Tsk!」

I barely ducked in time, but the rock the lion had hit shattered into pieces.

If I take that one seriously, I'll die.

There used to be a creepypasta on a message board that said if you were caught by a gay man, you would be raped immediately, and if you got away with it, you would get a million yen, but this was even more thrilling than that.

While I was attacked by it several times, I used 【Instantaneous Movement】 and 【Levitation】 to avoid being bitten by the lion.

Once you are bitten by the fangs that are as long as a longsword, you will become its food.

I don't use 【Appraisal】. The other party is higher ranked than me, and I can't see the important parts anyway.

Now, what to do?

Do I still want to rely on my skills?

――Well yeah, I should stick around a little longer to train, but I can't let myself get beat up before then.

I didn't hesitate to call out my skill candidates, as it was too dangerous.

「What!?」

But no skill candidates came up.

Damn, I'm relying too much on my skills.

I thought I had a skill that could turn the tide here, but this is a tough situation.

【Turtle Shell Binding!】

I tried to use Ariadne's thread to tie up the lion, but sure enough, it quickly ducked and attacked me.

「Gahhh!」

My vision went dark and I almost lost consciousness, but I held on.　

I think magic at a distance is the way to go here.

If that's the case, I might as well use a class change to increase my magic attack power.

Thinking that, I used 【Class Change】.

「Hmm? This one is ......, I see!」

There was an unfamiliar class in the list of classes that lined up.

【Magical Beast Master】.

If I use this――

「Ohhh, don't be scared. Oh, good boy, good boy, come here-come here」

I stopped running away and approached the lion's bosom unprotected. The lion biting my body regardless, but I don't care.

The Magical Beast is my friend.

I stroke the lion, while I covered in blood.

「Rub-rub-rub-rub-rub」

It's fluffy. Especially under the chin, stroking along the hairline.

Then――

「GRURURU......」

The Great Lion that had been so wild closed its eyes and fell instantly, as if it felt good.

Mission complete.

――It was so easy.

I see, you don't have to use only one method, combat, to succeed.

Even if it seems difficult, there's always another path to the right answer.

That's what I've learned in this third trial.

「Alec!」

A familiar voice came from behind me, and I turned around to see that it was Serina and the others.

「They've finally caught up with me.」

I knew they would come, but I was relieved that everyone seemed to be safe. Meena and Kaede were nowhere to be seen, but Ione, Lily, Nene, Jouga, Fianna, Letty, Luka, Saki, Hannah, Yulia, Marilyn, and the whole clan is here.

「Idiot! Why don't you join us right away!」

Serina tearfully complains as she jumps into my chest. Her beautiful face is crumpled.

「It's true. It's impossible for a Waterfowl Swordsman to walk around with your friends worried about you. I'm sure Welbard-sensei taught you to horenso.」 (TLN: Horenso, HO=Houkoku=Report, REN=Renraku=Contact, SO=Soudan=Consult)

The freckled loli swordswoman, Yulia, is also really angry. As always, her forehead peeking out from her very short blue hair is a little cute.

「My bad. The headmaster of Austin showed me how to defeat Emperor Gilan - the Seven Trials - and I was trying to conquer them.」

I'll explain why.

「Yes, I heard that from Vanilla-sensei at the Academy of Magic. That lying Giant Lion is the third trial, correct?」

「Yeah, that's correct」

「That's my darling! So you're almost halfway through the trials. So what do we do now? Should we split up and take care of the rest?」

Saki, a lightly dressed Thief with black hair, asks me.

「No, the enemies up to this point have been pretty tough to fight alone. And their levels are higher than ours.」

「「That much!?」」

Everyone is surprised, but I guess it's understandable. I myself thought that there wouldn't be many opponents that can compete with us who had defeated the Demon King.

「Yeah, the world is a big place. So let's take on the whole clan members.」

「「「All right」」」 「「「I understand!」」」

With this, the S-Clan "Black Cat of the Wind" is all here. I may not be able to do it alone, but with my friends, I'll be able to manage.

The next trial is Cerberus, the watchdog of the underworld.