CH 9

We were on a roadless path.

At first, the road was flat, but before long, we seemed to have wandered away into the forest.

You don’t think that’s possible? But it’s actually happening… Because we have no sense of direction.

This has happened before…

When I was in elementary school, all I did was go back and forth between my house at the foot of the mountain and my school. I just dropped by on my way home from school for supplies and stuff.

So, when I was in the third grade, I was in the same class as Suzu for the first time. That was my first meeting with Suzu. At the time, I just thought she was beautiful, but now she’s my best friend, so it’s strange…

Oops, I’m off topic.

Suzu saw that I always went straight home after school and invited me to play with her.

『Let’s go play together?』

『B-But…』

『I’ll meet you at the park around the corner at 4:00!』

『A~u… But I don’t know where that place…』

『Why? that park’s name is Koen Yumei? Right?』

『Because I don’t know much about this town』

『Then I’ll take care of that for you!』

『E~h! ?』

Suzu has been… I’m sure she’s been doing it for a long time, but she’s always been a bit pushy.

It would take some time to show me around, so I promised to play with Suzu on Saturday morning.

And so, the promised Saturday.

『Aah! Aya!!』

Suzu runs toward me, buzzing with excitement and waving her hands… I had a feeling of deja vu.

『Okay, let’s go!』

『!All right!!』

Suzu seemed to have a plan, and she walked with me through the town, staring at her little notepad.

But little by little, things started to go wrong, and eventually Suzu wandered into a place she didn’t even know existed.

At that time, Suzu’s bodyguard came to pick us up in a car and saved our lives, but I don’t want to have to go through that again.

Well, we’re desperately lost…

「Aya~! What do we do now! We’re lost!?」

「L-Let’s just keep going, okay? I’m sure we’ll be out in the open at some point… !」

To be honest, I was also in a small state of panic. But when I see Suzu in more of a panic than I am, I naturally start to calm down.

「E~to… Which way did we come from?」

「I don’t know~!!」

「Wha …!」

Suzu, who usually doesn’t use the language of a young lady…!?

This is not good. We have to get out of here…

「Then, t-this way!」

「………. What do you mean “then”?」

「………. Let’s go this way?」

「………. It can’t be helped」

It’s a subtle atmosphere, though it’s better than before. But the words haven’t changed.

――――

――

「――《Lightning》!」

The flash of light from the staff Suzu held up hit the head of the Forest Wolf. An electric current buzzed around the spot where it was, killing it.

A while later, we had killed dozens of Forest Wolves. My status looks like this.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

【Name】 Ayane LV. 3→7

【Race】 Human

【Job】 Blacksmith LV. 2

HP: 1100→1300

MP: 600→800

STR: 18

VIT: 10

DEF: 10

AGI: 12

INT: 10

DEX: 18

MND: 10

【Skill】 《Smithing LV. 4》 《Swordmanship LV. 3→5》 《Physical Enhancement LV. 2→3》 《Mining LV. 2》 《Lumbering LV. 3》 《Woodworking LV. 3》 《Appraisal LV. 3》 《Alchemy LV. 1》

SP: 0→20

【Equipment】 Beginner’s Clothes, Short Sword, Sword

【Title】 None

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

I’ll leave the SP alone for now.

And so we came to the deepest part of the forest… Why!?

Strange…! Is this some kind of trap… !?

Well, anyway.

The reason why I say we’ve come to the deepest part of the forest is because right in front of me was a wolf that was several times larger than the forest wolves we’ve been slaying, a wolf that looked like it was declaring that it was the boss, along with its usual sleeping spot.

「《Appraisal》」

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

【Name】 Liefel LV. 15 《BOSS》

【Weakness】 ???

【Description】 A Forest Wolf that has evolved after living for several decades. It specializes in magic using leaves.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Liefel is the only one that evolved from the Forest Wolf, and has the same green color.

And since there are a lot of large, hard-looking leaves attached around its neck, it seems impossible to decide on a single blow.

Above all, it’s size is astonishing, even for a large dog of about 3 meters in length.

It’s too furry and I don’t think the blade will go through…

『Gururururu…』

U wa, it’s really intimidating…

「N? I can’t see any weaknesses…? …I wonder if my level is not high enough…?」

「Wa-Wait, it’s coming!!」

「I know」

The first step will depend on how the other side reacts.

『Gau!!』

――Byu~u~u

Liefel howled and a strong wind arose.

The leaves that can no longer withstand the wind and fell were also caught by it.

I finally understood what was happening when the leaves started to gather in one place. I figured that’s what magic using leaves is all about.

「! Is there no protection magic!?」

「《Protection》!!」

As expected, that can be handled with…

When Suzu chanted this, a dim light appeared to separate us from Liefel.

At that moment.

――Byu~o~o~oo!!!

… Gagagagagagagan~!

『… Wafu?』

Liefel’s eyes widen at the sight of the leaves being blocked by something in front of us.

What a cutie…

「Aya, don’t be fooled, okay…?」

「O-Of course!」

『Gurururu… Gau!!』

When the leaves didn’t work, Liefel jumped on top of it.

「Fast!? Jump!! Kyauu!!」

「Understood!! Ukyaa!?」

Suzu jumped to the right and I jumped to the left.

Paryi~in!… Dogo~on! !

As soon as it landed, an explosion followed, and we were blown away by the aftershock.

There was a large crater in the ground where we had been standing. If we hadn’t moved… I don’t even want to think about it.

But this is not the time to be dumbfounded.

I quickly got up and ran towards Liefel.

I want to do a lot of damage somehow.

――Its neck is impossible because of the leaves and fur.

――The legs are also impossible with the fur in the way.

――The one place that’s softest and has no fur!

Placing my right hand on the handle, I step in with my left foot and jump.

――Supa~tsu……

I landed near Suzu and sheathed my sword, which hadn’t been covered in blood because of the speed of the slash.

A beat later…

―Bushu~tsu!

『Gya~u~uu!!! Ku~u~unku~u~un…』

The puppy makes clinging noises and gets away from us… No, Liefel, who distances itself from me.

What a cutie…

「… Aya?」

「I wasn’t thinking about it. Yes」

I felt a little pressured by Suzu, who called my name with a smile.

Liefel’s face gradually changed from a frightened expression to a glaring one.

I’m pretty sure it’s angry…

『Gau!!!』

Then Liefel howled and the forest became noisier.