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Chapter 80

Entrusting My Back to the Dependable Goddess For the First Time in a While

 

「Well, now that we’ve accepted this subjugation request, do we have a lead?」

 

What I asked Sybilla was, of course, about the monster spawn points.

Honestly, I’m not about to walk across this vast plain without even knowing where they are.

 

「I’m scanning for enemies for now, but the range is limited. I mentioned before that magic is fundamentally designed toward dungeon exploration, right? So when it comes to the surface, you’ll need a tool specialized for the surface.」

 

As she said that, she brought out a small, flat object.

 

「…What’s that?」

 

「This is opera glasses, a tool for seeing faraway objects. It’s something the nobles carry to watch the opera from a distance.」

 

Yeah, there’s no way I would’ve known that…

Using those high-end binoculars meant for nobles watching opera to scout for monsters outside instead is so typical of her.

 

「Even without this tool, I actually have a hunch as to where they are. We headed northeast from Seiris and entered Madeira from the south. The orcs are probably on the southern side.」

 

「Why is that?」

 

「Those Crimson Church bunch, what do you think they were doing in such a place?」

 

That’s quite the leap from our current topic.

 

Normally, you would assume that they were simply stuck in a standstill as they were under attack by the orcs while protecting the priest.

Come to think of it, that was when they tried to recruit us, huh?

 

Don’t tell me…

 

「Were they waiting for a carriage like ours to pass by there?」

 

「Sharp, aren’t you? That’s my guess, too, at least—that’s why none of the orcs were defeated. They probably lured the orcs on passing travelers, then the Crimson Church will come to their rescue and try to recruit them.」

 

Right… Well, that priest kid aside, the other people covered in white didn’t seem to be in any dangerous situation.

 

I see. So we almost owed them one back then, huh?

Thinking about it now, I’m really glad that we came with Frederica…

It would have been difficult to turn down their invitation after they had saved us from a monster attack, after all.

 

「Oh! First villa— or rather, orc, spotted!」

 

Sybilla let out a cheerful cry as she made her way down the path.

Our first target, finally.

I walked up to her side while readying my sword.

 

I can see it with the naked eye now.

Looking at it again, that orc… It’s shorter than me, huh?

 

It kept leering at Sybilla, so I took the initiative to step forward to hide her from its view.

…Hey, Sybilla, don’t just go giggling like 「fufu」, and you better not make any weird assumptions there.

I pulled myself together and looked at the orc… it looked clearly in a worse mood than before.

 

「For a monster, you’re quite full of yourself, are you? Fine, bring it on!」

 

『Gugaa—!』

 

As if understanding my words, the orc lunged at me..

I lightly parried the crude wooden club in its hand and lopped off its head.

Against my dark-element sword, their physical defenses are practically nonexistent.

 

「It’s done.」

 

「Good job. Looks like more are coming, so let’s take them down.」

 

In the direction Sybil pointed with her chin, a second orc, third… more are coming one after another.

Did they gather because of the orc’s shout earlier?

But… this much is no problem for me.

 

「They’re a bit disappointing, but I’ll take you on.」

 

I readied my sword and pointed my hand forward.

 

「《Dark Splash》」

 

The dark pellet I fired with double chant hit the orcs’ bodies.

The three within sight were, unsurprisingly, killed in one hit.

These monsters sure don’t possess any real challenge, huh?

 

When I looked back… Sybilla was busy setting two orcs ablaze.

 

「They’ve gathered quite a bit, haven’t they?」

 

「They sure are. I’m leaving my back to you, let’s get this over with.」

 

「Fufu, giving me orders like that, how cheeky of you!」

 

Right after she answered in a cheerful tone, my neck picked up the sensation of Sybilla’s nape.

What came next was a light pressure on my back.

 

Right now, I’m standing back-to-back with Sybilla.

…I see. It’s not a bad feeling at all.

If she’s got my back, I can focus all my attention on what’s ahead.

 

「Let’s compete to see who can defeat the most monsters, shall we!」

 

「Do you really think you can win against me?」

 

「Ahaha, you sure got a way with words now, aren’t you? 《Fire Javelin》!」

 

「《Dark Sphere》, 《Dark Sphere》…」

(…《Dark Sphere》, 《Dark Sphere》)

 

I stuck my sword into the ground and, just like when I’d defeated the boss in the lowest floor of the dungeon in Adria, fired a barrage of magic from both of my hands.

As soon as the bullets hit, a black blast spread out, causing the orcs caught in the blast to fall flat on their faces.

…Is it just me, or the blast seems considerably bigger than before?

 

I thought I saw a larger Orc mixed in midway… but when hit directly by the Dark Sphere and its blast, it fell just like the smaller ones.

 

Incidentally, Sybilla, behind me, seems to be doing just fine as well.

Judging by the occasional 「Haah!」 shouts she made instead of the name of a magic, she’s clearly using her sword like a natural.

And the fact that she can fight so well with it makes you wonder if she’s really a mage at all.

 

Honestly, even though you’re far from Goddess-like with how you normally act daily… I have to admit that you’re the most dependable partner anyone could ask for.

 

……It had only been a few minutes, but the entire area was now completely covered in the corpses of green monsters.

By the way, Sybilla had already gone off with a delighted look on her face to start cutting off their ears.

 

「You’re the one who brought it up, so why aren’t you counting which one of us has more kills?」

 

「Oh my, you remembered something from that long ago~? Kya~aa!」

 

Anyone could tell I had more kills than her, but I appreciate that reaction, which is so typical of her.

Here, let me give you a chop as thanks.

 

All of a sudden, Sybilla stopped moving as her gaze landed on a certain orc out of the bunch.

 

「What’s wrong?」

 

「This one… It’s a Great Orc, isn’t it? It’s clearly bigger than the others.」

 

「Aah, there was one that looked bigger now that you mentioned it.」

 

After cutting off the ear of that monster, Sybilla looked at me… then fixed her gaze on the other side of my line of sight and took out her opera glasses again.

 

「Russell, let’s walk a bit more.」

 

「Understood.」

 

She must have noticed something.

Like that, I followed Sybilla’s back once again.

 

We were walking for a while when Sybilla suddenly frowned.

 

「Somehow, it feels like we’re heading home, don’t you think?」

 

「To Madeira, you mean?」

 

Sybilla nodded, then struck her signature thinking pose. Once she gathered her thoughts, she came over to me and took my arm… wait, aren’t you being too close now?

 

「Russell.」

 

「What’s up?」

 

「Wind Barrier.」

 

Sybilla suddenly mentioned the name of my magic.

I was surprised, but I immediately did what she told and cast 《Wind Barrier》 with double chant.

 

「……Why, though?」

 

「If… Just if.」

 

「Yeah?」

 

Sybilla leaned closer and whispered her mind-blowing prediction.

 

「Would you believe it if I said these Orcs were intentionally being allowed to overflow outside?」

 

「Something like that… that’s just unforgivable. Rather, that should be impossible in the first place.」

 

「Right, that’s why this is purely hypothetical.」

 

With our arms linked, appearing from afar like lovers whispering, she uttered something even more unbelievable.

 

「If the Orcs overflowing to the outside is indeed caused by human intervention, then the next target of whoever did this would be us, who are stronger than these Orcs.」

 

It’s a thought I’d rather not entertain…

But the fact that Sybilla considered it a possibility means it’s not entirely out of the question.

 

「I don’t want to suspect such a thing either, you know? But if that’s the case, then naturally, we can narrow down the list of suspects.」

 

「Don’t tell me…」

 

Sybilla turned her gaze, and there it was… just outside of Madeira.

 

An oddly massive building that makes abundant use of the vast plains.

Not only is it huge both lengthwise and widthwise, but it’s also incredibly tall. Making you wonder how many floors this building has?

 

But the most eye-catching thing is… the entire front of the building that’s painted bright red.

 

「It’s almost laughable that such a conspicuous building appeared out of nowhere.」

 

Yeah… I can agree to that.

 

In a spot where we couldn’t see it from Madeira, stood an unnatural building that clearly belongs to the 『Crimson Salvation Church』.