CH 81

「Ms. Eris and Ms. Ripple. It’s been a while.」

Inglis politely greeted the two Hyrule Menaces. It had been several years since she met Eris in particular. Seeing her made Inglis felt nostalgic

「Yeah, it’s been three years. You’ve become so beautiful. You were so childish back then, but now you’re an adult.」 「Thank you very much. I see that you haven’t changed at all, Ms. Eris.」 「I guess I haven’t. I’m a Hyrule Menace, after all.」

She had heard that Hyrule Menaces had a long life span, but Eris’ look was exactly the same as when Inglis first saw her after all these years; a beauty just before her twenties. While she looked more mature compared to the fifteen-year-old Rafinha and Leone, she appeared about the same age as Inglis.

「Long time no see!」 「Good afternoon!」

Rafinha and Leone also bobbed their heads with a smile. Ripple then cracked an amiable grin at Inglis and the other two.

「I heard the news~ Y’know, about the negotiation stuff with the Highland the other day! You guys contributed greatly, right? It should’ve been us who take care of stuff like that, so I’m really grateful you scored hard back then for us.」 「Let me say my thanks too.」 「No, it’s alright. The two of you were away because of a mission, so there was no other way. Your absence could also be the direct reason ‌the incident took place in the first place」

If Raphael, a Holy Knight, and a Hyrule Menace were there to exercise their authority over the entire premise — Then the Knights under Prime Minister Althea wouldn’t consider resorting to such a careless action.

And perhaps Special Envoy Myynti would not have let the Rune Eater loose. And the Ironblood Chain Brigade would also be vigilant and chose not to enter the scene as well. It was very probable that the chain of incidents wouldn’t have kicked off, or so Inglis thought.

「It is all thanks to you that I have gained some good battle experience. I am but feeling grateful for it.」 「Uwah. You haven’t changed on the inside at all—Still a battle freak as usual.」

Being said so, Inglis replied with the most charming smile.

「Yes. If possible, I would be thrilled if you come and brandish your weapon at me to celebrate our reunion. Shall we clash our hands again?」 「Nope! Not in the middle of the city! I’d be thought of as a weirdo!」 「Hahaha. Isn’t it fine, she sounds so reliable!」

At the same time Ripple said those words—— Inglis quickly brought her hand up.

CHINKK!!

Immediately after that, a gleaming, fleshy blade was settled in her hand. It was an all too sudden attack enacted from right above her head. A blow from a perfect blind spot, yet Inglis sensed the presence of it and reacted accordingly.

A big thumping noise thundered the second something hit the ground. Which meant that the attacker was jumping down from above when they attacked.

「「!?」」 「S-, so suddenly!?」 「Wh-, what are you doing, Glis!?」

Everyone present except Inglis seemed to be late to catch up.

「Just right when I’m in the mood for a few punches. Thank you very much for the arrival.」

Said Inglis as she turned to the attacker. They were some weird-looking creatures, nothing like she had ever seen before. Skin dyed in blackish blue, tail and ears of a beast, enormous body one size bigger than Inglis, and there were hard gem-like objects embedded all along their body.

Those gems were the easy-to-tell characteristic of a Magic Stone Beast. The blue-colored gem was oozing a frost-like mist that lowered the surrounding temperature. Inglis assessed that they possessed a fairly strong power aligned with ice.

Clutched dead tight on both of their hands were huge machete-like swords with thick edges.

「Eh? It’s not big brother Rafa.」

She had genuinely thought it was Raphael who was supposed to meet them there — It turned out to be some random Magic Stone Beast that attacked her. Not to mention that it was a humanoid one, though with a set of beast ears and tail.

「Big bro won’t do such a thing!」 「I thought he pulled a tactic on me.」

Inglis turned her head to Rafinha to answer. In that instant, the Magic Stone Beast came swinging their machetes down to Inglis’ blind spot. However—Inglis just caught them like it was nothing, without even batting an eye.

「There’s no way he’ll do that. Rather, it’s a humanoid Magic Stone Beast!」 「Which means, a Highlander……!?」

Surprise took over both Rafinha and Leone.

On the ground, Prism Flow transformed natural creatures into Magic Stone Beasts that would attack humans. Normal people wouldn’t turn into a Magic Stone Beast under Prism Flow, but Highlanders would. Inglis had already confronted a few cases like that before. However, something was clearly off that the Magic Stone Beast appeared literally out of the blue in this exact place. There was no Prism Flow taking place to begin with.

「You’re wrong, it’s a beastman Magic Stone Beast. Beastmen ‌get influenced by Prism Flow, you see—I’m a Hyrule Menace though, so it’s different for me.」

Ripple was a beastman who had ears and a tail that resembled that of a dog. Inglis had no idea how Hyrule Menaces were born, but it seemed like Ripple had a sense of kinship with the beast. There were pity and grief reflecting in her eyes.

「They appeared again. At any rate, we can’t just leave it be.」

Eris sternly tightened her expression.

「”Again?” Do the two of you know anything?」 「Ever since we returned to the Royal Capital, Magic Stone Beasts started showing up out of nowhere. Not only beastmen, other varieties as well.」 「We don’t know what’s the cause, but — this isn’t the first or second it happens.」 「Well, if there’s a Magic Stone Beast, then we’ll send them flying. That’s basically our mission, y’know.」

Ripple’s face was sullen as she said so. Her cheeks were flushed as though blood was rushing through her head. If Inglis were to comment only from the looks, she would say Ripple appeared to have caught a cold. Though it was still questionable if a Hyrule Menace could catch a cold or not.

「Are you okay, Ms. Ripple? Your complexion looks bad.」 「Y-, yeah, I’m swell. I’ll be as fit as fiddle soon.」 「She is always like this whenever the Magic Stone Beasts appear suddenly. I don’t know why, though.」

Eris added.

「And if this guy is defeated?」 「Well, it always makes me feel better so far.」 「Is that so? Then——」

Inglis used nothing but her arm strength to jostle back the machetes she grabbed. The beastman Magic Stone Beast took pride in its size, and yet it was incapable of preventing itself from falling backward by the push.

「You sure have some power, girl……!」 「What a superb physical prowess, within such a slim body——」

In the meantime, Inglis quickly converted Ether into mana. She then manipulated the generated mana to produce an ice sword.

「I will be the one putting it down. Please wait a little.」

Without a single care in the world, Inglis uttered those words as she pointed her blue sword at the beast.