CH 184

Ch. 184: The Daily Routine in Ligaleo

“～～♪　～～っ、♪！”

We were assigned to the 3rd Line. On the battlefield, a song rang cheerfully to all those around.

Henry: “....! Hah!” (*sfx exhale)

A Bear-like Creature, a Mid-Tier Top Class swung its claws, and I quickly ducked to avoid it. I swung my spear as hard as I could to bash it away. It flew back and took two more in its group with it as it rolled backwards.

Ferris: “Mr. Henry! Please go support Jend!”

Henry: “Got it!”

Seeing that I was available, Ferris sent an order.

I look and see that Jend was facing a Water Fairy, an Undine- a disadvantageous Creature Type for his Fire Sword.

Henry: “[Strengthen] {Hazac} + [Strengthen] {Hazac}!”

Jend: “Oh! Wait 3 seconds, Henry!”

With his sword blazing, Jend cut the air between him and the Undine to make it flinch, and then immediately retreated.

A moment later, I threw the spear filled with my power.

…….as a result, my spear split into 5 and struck all 5 Water Creatures and watched them explode.

Teo: “......Earth Charm!”

Teo jumped in and with a Magecraft Spell inscribed on a small piece of paper, she mixed the remains of the Undines’ bodies with the earth.

For Spirit Type Creatures, you cannot defeat them by simply tearing them apart. The standard approach is to use another Magic Type to completely erase them, but as long as they are not Earth Types like a gnome, mixing their bodies with dirt is also an effective strategy.

For the pure Spirit Types, being surrounded by another Magic Type will significantly delay their recovery. So if you are able to weaken them enough, you can finish them off.

Ferris: “Jend! Spin them upwards!”

Jend: “Sure thing!”

Following Ferris’ order, Jend thrust his broadsword into the ground and threw up dirt into the air. ……..the dirt mixed in with Undines’ water flew towards the Bloody Bears I encountered earlier.

[Give me 5 more seconds!]

…..and Cyril sent a message telepathically through the Link Ring.

Good timing.

Henry: “[Strengthen] {Hazac} + [Restrain] {Isu} + [Launch] {Veros}!”

Teo: “Restrain Charm!”

I catered my Spell to cover and restrain Creatures in a wider area, and Teo, who began using her Magecraft items more frequently, used her restraining Charms.

Bloody Bears are strong though, and they would be able to break out of this quickly butーー

Cyril: “{Bright Flood}!”

….our Cyril, who spent two minutes building up this Spell with her song, swallowed up the Bloody Bears and the Undines who were regaining their former shape.

A whirlwind of light passed by the area, and we did not see a single Creature remain. All that was left was a dark cluster of swirling black fumes that were turning back into Corrupted Magic.

Cyril: “Hehehe….a grand victory! YES!”

And Cyril let out a victorious shout.

…..she’s always so energetic in the beginning. Just in the beginning though.

Henry: “Cyril, sorry to burst your bubble, but we got some nasty company. Incoming Zombies, Rotten Dogs, and even Dead Birds.”

These types were famous for being extremely unpopular with the Adventurers - the Undead Type Demonic Creatures. ……..ughhhhhh…..they’re still quite a distance away, but I can smell them already.

Cyril: “Ugh?!? IーI, I, I can do it!! Don’t underestimate Miss Cyril!!”

Cyril pinched her nose with one hand to avoid the smell and began singing.

…….and well, I chose this location on purpose, because my Party needs to get used to these Types of Creatures quickly. Though they all freaked out in the beginning, they’re finally getting used to it.

Henry: “Jend! I know you know this already, but be careful! If they scratch you, you’ll be sick for a few days!”

Jend: “I know!”

And for close-combat fighters, the Undead are difficult enemies. The Creatures know no fear, and even if they don’t wound you badly, a small scratch could be problematic later on.

Henry: “[Fire] {Ignis} + [Fire] {Ignis}”

I envelope my spear in flames.

Jend also poured his Magic into his broadsword as it roared with flames and readied his stance.

Burning the Undead with flames is a standard tactic. Occasionally, one of them would be full of gas, and it would ignite though.

I nodded to Jend, and hearing Cyril’s singing behind us, we dashed towards the Zombies.

<<<<>>>>

Cyril: “Ahhhhhーーー today was another exhausting day～”

Cyril laid her head on the table.

We came back to the Cries of the Stars Inn and took our routine baths.

…….once we were done, Cyril came over to the table in the inn’s living room where I was sitting and laid out her complaint as soon as she saw me.

Henry: “Hey, good work today.”

Cyril: “Henry, compliment me more. I worked so hard!”

As she laid her face against the table’s surface, she peeked her hopeful eyes up towards me. I patted her head gently with a few more compliments of “Good job. Good job.”

Cyril: “Hmph. I don’t think you really mean it, but I’ll take it for now.”

Henry: “You know I’m the Party Leader and a Heroic Warrior class, right?” But after our expedition was done, the Party members now have energy left over to sit around and chat. Earlier, they would return, bathe, eat, and then go straight to sleep. Compared to those days, they’ve improved a lot.

But it’s not that they somehow gained more stamina in such a short period of time. They quickly adjusted to this environment and tweaked their fighting style to match it. And this is the result.

Jend: “But in all honesty, we’re really thankful for your Magic, Cyril. Seriously, your Magic reserve is your one incredible talent.”

Cyril: “Jendーーー what do you mean my ONE talent, huh? What do you mean by that?”

Jend: “I’m joking. I’m joking.” Jend brought it up lightly, but as a matter of fact, Cyril’s Magic has been incredibly effective even here in Ligaleo.

Jend, Teo, and I have stopped focusing on taking down our enemies, and rather, we made sure to stop them from running by us. We also made sure to gather them as close to one another in a group………and Cyril’s Spell would blast them away.

This was our most effective fighting tactic, and it allowed us to fight more leisurely.

There is one problem. Normally, we would be faced with the issue of Cyril’s Magic reserves depleting, and then we would have to retreat. Butーー

Teo: “.......Miss Cyril, are you sure you’re not taking some sort of Magic increasing pills? You’ve fired off at least 100 large Spells per day, and you even lent us your Magic through the Link Ring. …….and even then, you still have more than enough Magic reserves to spare. Quite frankly, I don’t think you’re human.”

Cyril: “TーTeo! What do you mean?! And besides! Can’t you see that I’m worn out! I’ve sung so much, my throat hurts!”

Ferris reached inside her pocket to bring out a candy and handed it to Cyril.

Ferris has been studying medicine, and this candy was handmade to help with sore throats. I tried one before, and it had honey mixed in so it tasted great. I didn’t have a sore throat then, but tasting the other medicinal elements, I figured it had to be pretty effective.

Cyril happily rolled the hard candy inside her mouth as Ferris chuckled.

Ferris: “Since we began in Flowtier, I’ve seen you run out of stamina but never out of Magic. We’re impressed, but the more we rely on you, the more we get worried, Cyril. We can’t imagine the strain we’re putting on you.”

Cyril: “.......hmmmm, well, I do appreciate everyone worrying about me, but I’m not sure myself. I know I’ve used up quite a bit of my reserves, but I can’t tell how much.”

Yeah……….in regards to just Magic reserves, she outranks even Mr. Riol.

Cyril: “Well, I come from a long line of Magicians. The original Magician of our order used their Spells to develop farmland, apparently.”

Henry: “Ohhh, yeah. I’ve heard about that too.”

We were leaving out a lot of details, but Cyril is a daughter of the former Fezard Royal Family.

There was a time before godly equipment and Magecraft. People were pretty helpless, and it was the rare Magician who defended humanity.

Among the Magicians, the founder of the Fezard Kingdom was born with enormous Magic power and built up the Kingdom. ……is what I learned when I was a squire in the Knights Order.

And in fact, it was said that many in the Royal line were born with great Magic reserves. ……and even then, I still think Cyril must be in the upper tier of the highest tier.

Cyril: “So that’s why you can place allーー your faith in Miss Cyril! It’s the first time in my life that I was able to blast so many spells. It’s so much fun!”

Jend: “Yeah, that’s right. When we were hunting in the Flowtier forest, you didn’t use any big Spells. …….man, that seems so long ago now.”

Cyril: “Yeah, it was just me and you in the beginning. In our first expedition, I almost wiped you out with a Spell, right?” Jend: “......since I have some resistance to fire, I didn’t die from that Fire Spell, but because of that, we began signaling each other, right?” It was the time before I met the two.

They both looked back nostalgically, and I felt a slight rush of jealousy.

Yeah, I know, I know. They’re just childhood friends. But Jend is a good guy, and he won’t make a go at her. Even so……….there’s……just this slight flutter of worry and concern.

I glanced at Ferris, and she also looked disgruntled with the situation like me. She did notice my stare and wiped the frown from her face.

And of course, I’m not going to throw a fit over this and ruin our Party’s dynamic. It just bothered me a little.

Henry: “Cyril, can you come over here?”

Cyril: “? Okayーー”

As they wrapped up the discussion about their first expeditions, I called Cyril over with a wave of a hand. She scooted her seat over to where I was sitting, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her near me.

Cyril: “!! What is it all of a sudden?!”

Henry: “It’s nothing.”

Looking next to us, Ferris was also talking to Jend.

………feeling her against me, I felt the worries drift away.

“Here’s the coffee you ordered.”

As I was watching all the jealousy inside me vanish, a shadow crossed over us. A boy ー or rather, someone who resembled a very young man ー spoke with a gruff voice. It was the owner of the Cries of the Stars Inn, Mr. Chris, holding steaming hot cups of coffee.

Henry: “Oh! I almost forgot that we made those orders.”

In the Inn’s living room, Mr. Chris serves tea and other beverages. Since it’s Mr. Chris who makes the drinks, if there’s too many orders, he would flat out refuse.

Chris: “Hmph. Henry, you wanted your coffee black, right?” Henry: “Yes, thank you.”

I took the cup from him……..and Mr. Chris remained standing there looking between Cyril and I.

Chris: “.......to think that a turd like you would fall in love…”

Henry: “WーWait, Mr. Chris? What are you…..?” Chris: “I’ve looked after you since you were a wee little brat. I can’t help comment if you’re flirting with a girl like this.”

Well, yeah, and I’m really grateful for all his help then. But I really wish he wouldn’t tease us like that.

Chris: “But, as you well know, sex is prohibited in the inn. It’s a pain cleaning the rooms, and there’s still concern about night raids ー albeit, not as often. If you want to do it, go to one of those establishments made for it.”

Henry: “*COUGH*!!”

I accidentally spewed the coffee I was sipping.

……..looking over, Cyril’s face was bright red too.

Henry: “Mr. Chris, aren’t you being too direct?”

Chris: “If I don’t, there’s idiots around who tend to forget. ……oh, and Jend and Ferris, was it? This applies to you two too. Break these rules, and I’ll throw you out.”

“ “ YーYes sir… ” ”

The two nodded towards Mr. Chris.

Chris: “Well, I won’t stop you from flirting. Anyways, see ya.” Leaving it at that, Mr. Chris finally left.

……….*sigh*. Well, it’ll take some time before the Party has enough energy remaining after expeditions.

…………..I felt Cyril’s quick glances in my direction.

……….ughhhhh, it feels so awkward now!

In that way, as we dealt with these kinds of small concerns, our days in Ligaleo continued.