Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 46

"Kayla, what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I've lived here for over 20 years, and I've never seen that man before. Not even once."

"Huh... what..."

Thompson, who had been listening quietly, interjected with a dumbfounded expression.

"Miss, even if you're from here, you wouldn't know everyone living here, would you?"

"Sector 7 has a small population and not many safe zones, so almost everyone knows each other. Rumors spread quickly too."

"...Is that so?"

Everyone froze at Kayla's words.

I was also bewildered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I checked several times, but I'm certain. He's not from here."

Kayla said firmly with a convinced look.

Thanks to that, I also became uneasy.

"...This situation is taking a strange turn."

If Kayla's words were true, the passerby had deceived us.

But I couldn't understand why.

What was his purpose?

"Maybe he's planning to steal our equipment while we're asleep?"

"If it's just theft, there's no reason to come all the way here. What do the people here have that's worth stealing?"

"Hmm, then why..."

We racked our brains for several minutes, but couldn't easily find an answer.

I just had a hunch that it might be related to this invasion.

Since everything was still shrouded in mystery, I didn't voice this thought.

In the end, we came to this conclusion:

"Let's just observe for now. Let's see what he's up to."

We decided to wait and see.

It was a pretty good method.

Now that we knew he was lying, we wouldn't be in any danger.

"I agree. If we stay close to him, we'll find out something."

"I also think that's a good idea."

"Can't we just subdue him and ask?"

"Mister, are you really a mage? Why do you want to resort to force right away? It's better to use that as a last resort."

"Ugh..."

With Thompson's agreement, we had everyone on board.

We arrived on the second floor, and as the passerby had said, there was an open space.

"Not bad."

As expected of an abandoned building, it was just a cement floor, but there were useful things like blankets and pillows, so it seemed like we could stay here for a few days without any problems.

"I'll take this spot."

"Then I'll use this place."

Thud, thud, clink, clink.

Everyone put down their luggage and settled down.

I laid my blanket closest to the stairs in case of an emergency.

This was to detect any danger as quickly as possible.

After settling down, we decided to spend our time individually.

"Phew..."

Hum!

Kayla immediately closed her eyes and began her solo magic training.

It seemed her magic skills didn't grow without reason.

I couldn't just sit around either, so I approached Barundel, who was diligently taking care of his equipment.

"Barundel, shall we do it now?"

"Ah, the training?"

"Yes."

We hadn't had the time to properly do the scheduled training because we were busy.

Since we came here together, I thought it would be good to train whenever we had the chance.

"The fatigue will be a bit severe from this training onwards. It might affect tomorrow's work... Are you sure you're okay with it?"

"Yes, well. It's better to achieve physical completion even a day sooner. If it seems like I'm overdoing it, I'll stop on my own."

"Alright."

With my assurance that I wouldn't overdo it, Barundel readily agreed.

"Dwarf, then take a look at me too. My body has been itching since earlier."

"Hmm, then come this way."

Thompson naturally joined the training.

Huff! Huff!

The building was quickly filled with the smell of sweat and heat, and the training continued until dawn.

After 2 a.m., I entered meditation to finish the training.

I emptied my mind and accepted the sensations from my body as they were.

Throb!

It felt like I hadn't done much, but the pain was intense.

It was true that the intensity increased from this stage onwards.

Maintaining a motionless posture for an hour, moving while blindfolded to accurately reach a desired location, and so on.

The movements and methods were simple, but they required tremendous concentration, which directly translated into physical fatigue.

However.

'The tremors in my body have decreased.'

The effects were also tremendous.

I could already feel it, even though it was only the first day.

If I continued like this, there would definitely be good results.

With that thought, I ended my meditation.

How much time had passed?

When I opened my eyes, Barundel and Thompson were already asleep, and only Kayla was sitting still, wide awake.

"Whew... haa."

Seeing her regulate her breathing, it seemed that her training had just ended.

"Did you make any progress?"

"...No, not really."

Judging from her expression, it seemed like the training hadn't gone well.

In my experience, there was only one reason for this.

'When you have a lot on your mind.'

Magic was a power most influenced by the mind.

Therefore, if your mind was complicated, training wouldn't go well.

And I could roughly guess why Kayla's mind was complicated.

"Are you okay?"

I asked Kayla cautiously.

I had realized she was in a complicated state of mind ever since we were in the underground passage.

Her complexion hadn't been good since she saw the corpses there.

She was probably thinking about what happened to her parents.

"...What?"

Kayla asked back, pretending not to know, but when I just stared at her, she reluctantly opened her mouth.

"...I'm fine. I don't care what happens to those people. Really."

It seemed she hadn't succeeded in the revenge she talked about back then.

Well, no matter how great her anger was, it was a difficult revenge to achieve.

Dealing with your own bloodline wasn't something you could do with just willpower.

"Being eaten by demons... It's fitting. As their end."

She said that, but her voice was choked with emotion.

Her pupils seemed to tremble slightly.

She wasn't being sincere.

Of course, there was no need to point that out directly.

"Well, if that's what you think. But if you change your mind, let me know. I'll do as you wish."

"..."

She closed her mouth tightly and buried her face in her knees.

It seemed like she was lost in thought again.

Somehow, that reminded me of the first time I met her.

"...I'm going to sleep."

Kayla suddenly said that and lay down.

I didn't say anything more and set up a detection-type flash spell for a night watch before lying down.

Hoping that she would overcome this on her own.

I slowly closed my eyes, listening to the increasingly clear chirping of crickets.

***

Morning came, and sunlight streamed through the open space where a window should have been.

I woke up the party members and we were eating the food I had asked Thompson to prepare beforehand when the passerby came up to the second floor.

He was holding the same broken biscuits we had seen yesterday.

"Breakfast... Ah, you're already eating."

"Yes, would you like some?"

"Haha... I'm fine. This is enough for me."

The passerby waved his hand and showed the biscuits.

Well, I wasn't really planning to give him any anyway.

I wasn't compassionate enough to share precious food with someone who could be an enemy.

After finishing the meal, I asked the passerby,

"What should we do now?"

The passerby nodded as if he had something in mind and said,

"First, we'll eliminate the demons nearby and look for survivors. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, let's do that."

"Then this way."

The passerby told us to follow him and went down the building first.

I put on the robe I had taken off and spoke to the party members in a low voice.

"Let's try to hide our abilities as much as possible. We don't know what might happen."

"Alright."

"Hehe... This is kind of fun, isn't it? It's like we're assassins."

Fully armed, we gathered and went down to the first floor.

The passerby, seeing us, approached as if he had been waiting and unfolded the old paper he was holding.

"This is a map of Sector 7 that I drew myself. We're planning to go this way first..."

I briefly scanned the map and looked at Kayla.

Kayla, who met my eyes, silently nodded.

Fortunately, it seemed like the map wasn't fabricated.

"As you can see, I'm not good at fighting... Would you mind taking the lead?"

The passerby gave a wry smile as he touched his skinny forearm.

Was this an act, or was it real?

I wasn't sure, but judging from the fact that my heart wasn't pounding, it seemed like he didn't have any malicious intent for now.

"Alright. Stay close behind us and follow."

After saying that, I gestured to Thompson to stay with the passerby.

As the most resilient one among us, he would be able to respond to any sudden surprise attacks.

"Let's go."

I checked the map and headed towards the place the passerby had pointed to.

The distance from here was about 10km.

On the way, whenever we saw a building, we went in to search for survivors, and every time we did, groups of two or three Imps would appear and attack us.

Of course, the pattern of the battles wasn't much different from before.

Slash!

Barundel cut off an Imp's head and asked the passerby,

"There are fewer demons than I expected?"

"Ah, yes. I don't know why, but there are particularly few demons in this area. That's why I evacuated here."

The passerby answered immediately, but perhaps because we already knew he was hiding something...

His behavior seemed even more suspicious.

It felt like he had prepared his answers in advance.

Anyway, as we entered the fourth building...

"Oh?"

We found a person huddled in a corner, trembling.

It was the first survivor.

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

"Wh-who..."

"It's been a while, ma'am."

Kayla gave a wry smile as she checked the survivor's face.

"Oh... Kay-Kayla? You're alive? No, wait, what's with that outfit..."

"I became a mage."

"...What? Is that true?"

The survivor looked at Kayla and us in disbelief.

A bulky man, a thoroughly armed dwarf, and me, cloaked in a black robe.

I didn't know how we appeared to her, but the survivor's eyes started to well up with tears.

"Th-then am I saved? Hiccup!"

The survivor even started to hiccup.

I could imagine how terrified she must have been here.

Kayla looked at her with pity and held out her hand.

"Come on, ma'am. You'll be safe with us."

"Th-thank you. Thank you so much... Hiccup!"

Kayla helped the survivor up.

Just then.

"Um... Are you by any chance from Sector 7?"

The passerby suddenly asked Kayla, looking at her.

As if he didn't understand what was going on.

With a look that realized something was wrong.

Kayla chuckled at him.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]