Chapter 94
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It was a nightmare.
It was a nightmare, but…
I’m glad it was just a nightmare—
I was drenched in sweat and my throat was parched.
I could hear my heart pounding like a rapid drumbeat.
To calm myself down, I moistened my throat with some water. Since there was still some time before I had to get up, I crawled back into bed.
But no matter what, I couldn’t fall back asleep.
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Unable to sleep since then, I arrived at the meeting place just in time, feeling a bit sleep-deprived. I reach the gathering spot while yawning.
The sky remains overcast, just like the past few days.
The dull, humid sky could have unleashed a downpour at any moment, but for now, only the humidity was gradually increasing to a noticeable level.
The same three members as before (me, Milo, and Diete) set out to exterminate Fog, relying on Milo’s presence detection skill.
Even as we fight, part of my mind can’t help but wander to last night’s nightmare.
Should I talk to someone about it? But if I were to say, 「I had a dream. Something terrible happened to so-and-so,」 I’d surely be met with responses like, 「So what? It’s just a dream, right? Isn’t that kind of inappropriate?」
So what should I do? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t find an answer.
Milo, the spear user, dashes forward with lightning speed, wielding his spear with nimble movements to mow down and scatter the Fog.
Just like yesterday, after obliterating the Fog, Milo turns to me with a beaming smile, puffing out his chest proudly to show off his accomplishment.
His demeanor radiates an aura of 「praise me, praise me,」 much like an overgrown puppy.
It suddenly reminds me of my sister, Hikaru.
Whenever Hikaru would get good grades on a test or do well in club activities, she’d always report to me first.
Remembering how Hikaru would stand before me with her perfect test paper, chest puffed out, emanating that 「praise me」 aura, makes me feel a bit nostalgic. That’s right, at times like these—
「You handle that spear as if it’s an extension of your body. What’s more, your swift attacks don’t give the enemy a chance to counterattack. Well done.」
When I praise him, Milo runs his hand through his hair, seeming a bit embarrassed.
「Really? Well… being praised so openly feels pretty good…」
Meanwhile, Diete, with her glasses and braided hair, continues to give us her usual side-eye.
Although Diete can be somewhat difficult to communicate with, judging from the Fog extermination, her skills are undoubtedly genuine.
This happened during the extermination.
There was a moment when, from her position, the Fog and Milo overlapped, making it seem difficult to target the Fog.
However, she cleanly took out the Fog with a precise shot of the intermediate water magic 「Ice Lancer.」 It was a feat that could only be achieved through considerable training.
「Diete, that precise shot with ‘Ice Lancer’ earlier was impressive. Many mages think it’s enough just to be able to use intermediate magic since it’s powerful on its own… but your effort really shows.」
「W-w-what are you saying? Even if you praise me, I can’t give you anything in return!」
Seeing this— setting aside my worries for now— it’s time for me, as the senior, to show them how it’s done.
I pat my cheeks to psych myself up, ready to give it my all. I can be quite fickle sometimes.
After a while, upon discovering a group of Fog (seven or more), I seize the opportunity and unleash 「Rain」 over a wide area, showering them like a hailstorm.
After confirming their annihilation, I spin around to face the two of them.
I turn to them with a 「Feel free to praise me, you know?」 kind of expression.
Diete responds to my look:
「Wasn’t that just a waste of mana?
Using an appropriate amount of magic to defeat opponents efficiently conserves mana. In that respect, Mr. Low’s method just now was—」
Her critique hit the mark.
And she continued:
「After using such powerful magic, you should be on the verge of mana exhaustion.
For future battles, you should consider your fighting style more carefully—」
While her point is valid, it doesn’t apply to me. Far from mana exhaustion, I could perform that 「Rain」 spell a thousand times over.
When I explain this to her,
「What nonsense are you talking about… Listen here.
Normally, only someone like the Saint or the wise would have enough mana to do something like that.」
「But I’m telling you, I can do it. It’s true. I don’t lie, you know.」
In response to my rebuttal, she explains as if talking to a slow learner:
「This is no time for such ridiculous jokes.
We three are tackling this Fog extermination together. Your overconfidence and thoughtless actions could endanger not just you and me, but Milo as well.」
Sniff, sniff.
Why… why are you saying such things? Why won’t you believe me?
And then,
Huh? Wait a minute!
「Milo as well?」
!?
Aha. Could it be…!
I see, I see. I get it now.
At this point, I have an epiphany.
The era of pathologically dense protagonists or those desperately pretending to be dense out of cowardice is long gone.
Now is the age of the perceptive man.
And as a representative of perceptive men, I’m sharp (?) enough to suspect 「Could those two…?」 at the slightest exchange of glances between a man and a woman, or to think 「Could she have feelings for me?」 at the slightest body contact like a tap on the shoulder from a girl.
If that’s the case, then as the only adult here, it’s my duty to help nurture their healthy growth and strong bond.
「I understand, Diete. I’ll be more thoughtful in my approach from now on. As expected of Berserga’s top mage… Hey, Milo, don’t you think so too?」
Somehow, being able to help with love matters is what makes one an adult, right?
I feel like she’s flustered, but that must be my imagination.
「Uh, yeah, that’s right. Diete’s skills are undeniable.」
You dense fool!
In response to Milo’s halfhearted reply, I decide to continue promoting Diete’s good points without giving up.
Diete is blushing and waving her hands behind me, modestly saying 「Please stop…」 but I have no intention of stopping.
There’s no need to hold back when you’re a senior in life.
「To think that such a cute young lady is not only skilled, but also calm and collected, and even capable of battle analysis… It’s wonderful, isn’t it, Milo? Don’t you think so too?」
As they say, children shouldn’t hold back with adults, so they can just leave everything to me.
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For the next few days, we continue our extermination efforts without change.
It’s quite a fruitful time as we discuss and plan our coordination with Milo and Diete, deciding on our respective roles.
However, as the days pass, a few things start to bother me a bit.
First, Sensei, who is usually cheerful, often seems lost in thought lately.
This started the day after Sensei had a call (from now on, I’ll refer to long-distance conversations via the Contact Pearl as 「calls」) with the elf guildmaster— Purume.
I interact with Sensei as usual, but when I catch her alone, I often hear her making troubled sounds like 「Hmm…」 while ruffling her own hair with both hands.
When I ask, 「What’s wrong…?」 Sensei snaps back to reality with a 「Huh!?」 and says 「Oh, it’s nothing…」 showing a side of her I’ve never seen before.
Another change, although it only happened once, was that the Fog appeared with a physical form.
Although our party didn’t encounter it ourselves, we heard that among a group of Fog, one ghoul and one skeleton warrior were confirmed.
The Fog materializing into ghouls and skeleton warriors was exactly as Sensei had explained before.
However, according to Sensei and Anon, compared to when they faced the Sealed Domain before, the appearance of materialized monsters seems too early.
But since it’s unclear how this will affect things in the future, I suppose our course of action remains unchanged.
In the end, all we can do is search and destroy the Fog as soon as we find it.
There’s one more thing that’s been bothering me.
It’s something I’ve been worried about recently.
The weather has been bad for a while now, and if it starts raining, our burden will surely increase.
We need to discuss this possibility as well.
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