Chession chuckled, wondering if all those emotions were too honestly revealed on her face.
"How is it? Is it a good place? My territory."
"..."
"Let's start with the boutique. You're a member of our family now, so you should pack lots of clothes to wear."
Chession took Gremory here and there. A boutique, a famous jewelry store, a famous restaurant... that's a pass.
Sunset evening.
The streets were lined with boxes filled with seasonal fruits, giving them a red hue. Not the eerie red of the demon world, but the soft and calm color of the human world.
The voices of each merchant hawking their wares came together as one, and the sound brought life to the streets of the city center until late at night.
That wasn't all bad, Gremory thought.
The two headed to the park. On one side of the park, there were tables and benches set up for people who came to enjoy a picnic. The two sat across from each other there and had a quick snack.
Chession's was a sandwich and peach juice. Gremory's was diced big tenderloin. People passing by looked at her strangely, but Gremory paid no attention and munched on the raw meat.
"Hey, Mori."
"?"
"Would my sister hate it if I saved people who were accused of being witches and treated them well?"
"??"
"I think Iris might think, 'Why couldn't I save her?'I think she might think badly of me."
Gremory swallowed the raw meat. Why are you asking me that?
There must be many people in the mansion whom he could ask. Oh, she guesses there isn't a bamboo forest among them that will shut up and listen to your worries.
Gremory wrote in her notebook.
"You are a good person."
"...Really? That's good."
Chession smiled bitterly. Gremory wrote one more line in her notebook.
"Iris is speaking next to you. She says she has no grudge against you."
"What? Hahaha! Mori, are you joking to cheer me up? Thanks."
Chession laughed, holding his stomach.
Gremory shook her head as she faced Iris. It's true, but even if she explains it, he won't believe her.
Gremory wrote the last letter and showed it to him.
"Your territory is pretty."
Chession, who had been laughing out loud, answered with a big smile.
"Thank you, Mori. For everything."
Gremory, who couldn't understand what he was thankful for, just listened with one ear and let it go out the other.
"Mori, let's go home now. Isolene and the maids have prepared something special for you...!"
It was then that he sensed something suspicious. A gigantic monster's energy was descending from the volcano at an incredible speed.
His expression became serious. Judging by his magical power, the monster descending from the volcano was a high-level mutant. It was a monster that was questionable whether it could be captured, even if a proper punitive force was formed to deal with it.
There was no other way. Chession decided to go to the volcano alone to buy time.
"Damn it, Mori! I'm sorry, but can you go back to the Grand Duke's residence alone? If you go back and tell the butler that the mutant monster has awakened...!"
At that moment, Gremory grabbed Chession's shoulder and showed him the writing she had scribbled in her notebook.
"Come with me. I'm a good fighter. I'll help you."
Gremory was happy to help Chession. He showed her pretty things and fed her delicious food, so she could help him to this extent.
Without any contract as a witch or anything, just like that.
Because he showed her the vitality of the human world without asking for anything in return.
Chession, who had been looking at Gremory with a long, questioning look, eventually decided to head to the volcano with Gremory. Even though Mori looked weak, she could at least watch the situation from the rear and relay information to the punitive force.
Chession ordered his coachman to convey the message on his behalf. A high-level mutant monster has awakened, so he should immediately summon a punitive force.
Chession released one of the two horses from the carriage and rode towards the volcano with Gremory on board.
***
Two people... no, one person and one witch arrived at the village closest to the volcano. Fortunately, the demons had not yet descended upon the village.
And perhaps because the monster warning system worked well, most residents simply packed their belongings and evacuated on their own.
"Mori, let's go to the mountains. We have to finish this in the mountains so that there is as little damage as possible to the village."
Gremory ran after Chession. Because the situation was so urgent, Chession ran as fast as he could without trying to match Gremory's speed.
At that moment, he looked back, wondering if Mori had fallen far behind.
"Ack...!"
Mori was running towards him with a fierce expression, holding a huge axe that she had picked up somewhere. It looked like she had picked up a weapon that a villager had left on the street.
Chession, who was startled for a moment, quickly came to his senses and ran in the direction where he felt the monster's energy.
It was just after entering the mountain that they discovered the monster. An elephant-sized spider was glaring at the two people, its teeth chattering.
Chession, who had summoned a sword with magic, stood guard in front of Gremory.
"Spiders have poor eyesight. Try not to make any noise, and if you find yourself at a disadvantage, just hide behind a tree."
At that moment, the spider spewed green venom from its mouth. Chession held Gremory in one hand to avoid the venom, then hid behind a tree.
Gremory was uncomfortable with his overprotection. She thought he came to fight together with her, so why is he protecting her and causing trouble? If that's the case, then there's no point in coming together.
"Hide here."
Chession, who had hidden Gremory behind a tree, moved behind the spider, making his footsteps sound muffled. Since his goal was to buy time until the punitive force arrived, he made noises here and there to confuse the spider.
Ten minutes passed like that. The spider, whose temper had exploded, became enraged and started spewing venom in all directions. As Chession tried to avoid the venom by moving, the venom ended up splashing on his right leg.
"Ugh!"
The poison quickly seeped into his skin. After the burning pain began, he gradually lost feeling in his entire right leg.
The spider followed the smell of burning flesh and moved towards Chession. Chession shouted at Gremory, who had no idea where he had gone.
"Mori, you run away too!"
Gremory snorted. She had high hopes for him since he was said to be some kind of great Grand Duke, but he turned out to be nothing special. At that moment,
Gremory teleported behind Chession and hugged his head, covering his eyes.
"...Stay still."
Chession's body stiffened at the quiet whisper. Gremory infused magic into the axe in her left hand and threw it at the spider.
There was a flash of red light and a loud thud.
Gremory, who had cut the spider's body in half, released Chession's head. If she hadn't covered his eyes, the flash would have been quite blinding.
"What, what is this...!"
Chession blinked. The powerful spider was split in half. In just three seconds, his eyes were blinded.
"Mori, what on earth have you done?"
Looking at the flustered Chession, Gremory pointed to the thrown axe.
"No, does that make sense? You cut down that huge monster in one go with just one axe like that?"
The human magical circuits cannot detect the witch's magical power. Therefore, from Chession's perspective, it must have seemed like Mori had simply chopped down the monster with an axe. Gremory decided to kindly explain the situation.
"The power of the witch."
"Huh? What do you mean... Wait, you! Were you able to say that?"
"I could do it, but I just didn't do it because it was too much trouble."
"What the... Ah, anyway, are you from the northern snowfields? I heard that the fighters there have incredible secret skills."
"Think whatever you want."
While Chession was thinking his own thoughts, Gremory placed a hand on his paralyzed right leg and gently gave it strength. It was a bit burned and paralyzed, but if they just deal with it to this extent, the Grand Duke's healers will be able to heal it on their own.
Gremory turned her back towards Chesion.
"You really are a hands-on person. Hurry up and get on my back."
"Hey, wait a minute. Mori. Are you okay? I'm pretty heavy..."
"The spider's venom is flowing this way. Get out of here quickly, or sit down here and melt."
Gremory looked at Chesion with a slightly annoyed expression. Chession, who was feeling discouraged, obediently let Gremory carry him.
Chession, who was carried by her, didn't know what to do. He was always in a position to protect someone. This was the first time he was being protected like this, so he didn't know where to put himself. In addition, Mori's small body had solid muscles that were quite sturdy.
'I'm a little excited. But, do the northern snowfield fighters originally have fighting power that surpasses that of humans?'
***
After receiving treatment for his legs from the healer of the punitive force that arrived shortly after, Chession and Gremory returned to the Grand Duke's residence.
Then, as if she had been waiting, Anna popped out.
"I heard that a monster came down from the volcano, are you okay... Your Highness! Your legs!"
"I'm fine, so take Mori quickly."
Chession calmed down the surprised Anna and gently pushed Gremory's back.
"Actually, I was just wasting time preparing a dinner for you, but I didn't know that a monster would descend from the volcano. Anyway, don't worry too much and just follow Anna."
A feast for someone who can only eat raw meat? Gremory was taken to Anna with a puzzled mind.
The place they arrived at was the dining room. A grand banquet was prepared there. Isolene, who had been waiting for a long time, came running after spotting Gremory.
"You're here! Here's a feast prepared for you. There must be at least one dish you can eat. Now, try them all. You don't have to eat the ones you don't like. The maids and I will eat the rest."
The maids and Isolene. They spent an entire day preparing a feast for Gremory, who was complaining about the food.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment