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Chapter 12

The More You Do Things Naturally, The Less You Realize When You Stop Doing Them.

 

Things were progressing better than we expected after I learned Wind Barrier.

It can block if the black goblins attack with their throwing knife and prevent any kind of unexpected situation. Even if they’re going for a sudden attack, it can at least serve as a cushion to buy time until we can counterattack.

I never realized how much less tense I’d be without having to always be wary of danger suddenly coming from somewhere.

 

And then there’s the characteristics of this magic.

This magic is big enough to fit four people, and since it’s just me and Sybilla in it, we have still plenty of room to move around.

Thanks to this, Sybilla is always within the range of this wind barrier, even when I need to keep moving.

 

It is easier to grasp the extent of Sybilla’s injuries when she’s nearby.

Every time she gets attacked, she always says things like 「Ouch」 or 「Tsk」.

So whenever I hear her saying those things, I just use Heal and Cure without the need to check at all.

Even Extra Heal which doesn’t consume a lot of magic power no matter how many times I use it doesn’t have the chance to shine, so what’s the point of saving up my magic power and only using Heal as she asked me to do?

 

We sure took down quite a number of them. Or that’s what we thought, when another group of black goblins showed up followed by the scarlet dungeon bats that had attacked the village.

The two goblins readied their weapons with their eyes locked on us as they moved to the side so that the bat could go first.

 

「We haven’t even found anything resembling a staircase that would take us to the lower floor yet, and this guy is already showing up here…. how troublesome.」

 

If we don’t completely eradicate these monsters here on the upper floor, the children in the orphanage won’t be able to play outside peacefully.

 

Sybilla holds her shield in front of her while looking at the bat.

 

「They finally came out huh. I don’t know how this dungeon was created, but for this kind of monster to go outside the dungeon is definitely unnatural. So if we defeat all of the monsters on the upper floor, the children and Gemma-san will be safe for the time being.」

 

「Well, then we better do it thoroughly, shall we?」

 

「Don’t let even one of them escape!」

 

「Right back at you!」

 

That’s what I said to her, but… I can’t use long-range offensive magic like Sybilla. Still, I can’t let the bat escape.

The combination of monsters in front of us attacked simultaneously, though it didn’t seem like there was any coordination whatsoever.

Sybilla was fighting mainly with her shield in front of her while firing chantless fireballs.

 

「Tch… these black goblins are pretty smart, they’re quite cocky even though they’re just goblins. 《Fire Javelin》!」

 

Before we could discuss our strategy, Sybilla had gone ahead and used a high-rank magic.

The magic was sharper and stronger than the Fire Arrow that had been her mainstay earlier fired from her hand, cleanly pierced and skewered the center of the bat’s body.

 

I leaped at the goblin who stopped moving for a moment after seeing the magic, and cut off its head.

The other one reacted immediately and threw its knife at me as it turned away and made an escape. That one sure has a quick judgment.

 

Just as I was about to run after it, a red line pierced through its heart. That was a Fire Arrow.

No, wait…. just now….

 

「Alright~! Not bad for me.」

 

「Oi, Sybilla.」

 

「N? What is it?」

 

Sybilla, who was casually cutting off the black goblin’s ear looked at me when I called out to her.

 

「If you can shoot Fire Arrow without chanting, then you should’ve done it sooner. Also, if you had used the Fire Javelin just now, we wouldn’t have been in so much danger in the first place.」

 

When I pointed this out to her, Sybilla put on a smug look and crossed her arms.

 

「Fufufu, just like you just leveled up earlier, I just leveled up too. That just now was the power of Level 10 Mage’s magic! How’s that?」

 

Ahh, so that’s what it was….. Certainly, if I leveled up earlier, then it isn’t strange for Sybilla to level up too.

 

「….The fact that I’m still at level 6 while you went up by 2 levels already is a bit frustrating though.」

 

「Well~ that’s because I have offensive magic, isn’t it? It’s only natural that the person who deals the most damage will get stronger faster.」

 

Sybilla’s answer.

It was… a really obvious answer.

 

Now that I think about it, even in the hero party, the order of level going by the highest was Vince, Jannet, Emmy, and lastly, me.

Emmy is a vanguard who also uses a sword, but being a 【Holy Knight】, her skills are mainly for defense. That’s why her level was lower than Janet, who was in the rear guard even though she should’ve been in the front and closest to the monsters.

 

So it’s only natural that the same also applies to me and Sybilla even though we’re both rearguards huh.

 

「…Um, H-Hey, Russel…」

 

「N? What’s wrong?」

 

Sybilla squeezed out a few words while looking up at me with a somewhat apologetic look.

 

「…I think you know this already, but the number of people with the 【Priest】 job is very small, and it’s common knowledge that a party with a Priest in their party should nurture them from early on. But you are so strong that I just don’t understand why you got 【Saint】 job, so I got a bit carried away too.」

 

「Sybilla, you…」

 

The truth is, someone with a common job such as a Mage like me should let you deal the killing blow instead…. Sorry, I didn’t tell you this.

 

I see… so that’s how it normally is huh.

If I’m treated like this, just how does a Priest which is a lesser version of Saint usually operate in a normal party? I have always wondered about this.

It’s not a surprise, since Healers themselves are very rare in the first place. So I guess it’s only natural that they’re being prioritized even if they don’t play an active role.

 

Well, I’m still useless in that party…… but I feel a bit relieved after knowing this.

 

「You don’t have to apologize.」

 

「Eh?」

 

「It’s not Sybilla’s fault. Just the fact that you think I’m strong is good enough for me. And it’s all my fault if I can’t deal the killing blow. Besides, it’s not like you at all to be apologizing like this. Being cheeky and smug suits you more.」

 

After I was done saying what I wanted to say, Sybilla turned her head away with a surprised expression, closed her eyes, and fell silent as if thinking for a moment.

She then sighed deeply, and when she opened her eyes again, she returned to her usual expression.

 

She crosses her arms again and laughs as she shrugs her shoulders.

As I thought, this side of her suits her more.

 

「You’re right. Then, I won’t hold back and go all out like I’ve always been, alright?」

 

「Yeah, fine by me. Oh, and also…」

 

「N?」

 

「You got blood on your jacket because you’ve been holding the goblin’s ear while you cross your arms, you know?」

 

「Gyaaa—!」

 

Just when I thought this beautiful woman was striking a pose in her stylish, lightweight outfit, her eyes turned white as she screamed loudly.

That was really clumsy of her, but including this cheeky and clumsy part of her is what makes up the woman called Sybilla.

I never get tired of watching her, and I never feel nervous being around her.

 

「….Pu~」

 

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as I watched Sybilla wipe the blood on her jacket with tears in her eyes.

Then, after a few seconds, it suddenly crossed my mind.

 

——When was it, I wonder? The last time I laughed from my heart like this.

 

「Ah geez, I have to wash it later… N? What’s with that face?」

 

「No, it’s nothing.」

 

I didn’t realize until just now that I had stopped laughing even before I left the hero party.

That’s how preoccupied my mind was that I didn’t have time for that.

 

And since I didn’t want this girl who can get easily carried away to find out about it, I just replied curtly.

Sybilla tilted her head to the side but quickly lost interest and proceeded to dismantle the bat and grill the meat.

 

Sybilla the Mage. We ended up teaming up by chance, but… she has a unique way of thinking and she’s also powerful enough as a mage, so I really don’t understand why she goes solo.

If it was a guy-related problem, that would make sense, but then I’m even more confused as to why she wanted to team up with me.

 

Well, even if have a lot of trouble, since she’s willing to cooperate this much, it’s good enough for me.

Let’s cooperate as much as possible, at least until we eliminate the threat to the village.