Ch.276Grown NPC. (2)

“What’s with you?”

“W-well, I was wondering if maybe… you might like me…”

“Huh? Of course I like Grace!”

“WHAT?!!”

My heart goes *thump!* as the cute girl with bright purple eyes looks at me questioningly. N-no! Ira doesn’t understand what I’m trying to say!! That’s not what I meant!!!

“Th-that’s not what I meant. A-anyway! Will you stay by my side, Ira?”

“Yes! If Grace stays with me forever, I think I’ll be very happy too!!”

-*Thump thump!!*♡

That’s not what I meant?!! Heart, stop racing!! Ira doesn’t mean it that way!!!

I press down on my chest, which has just entered its growth phase, and breathe heavily. What’s going on?! Could it be, could it be that I’m *that way*?! No way?!! I just feel this way because Ira is so cute and precious, right?!

I feel my face heating up with anxiety and fear, as if I’m about to open the door to a whole new world. No, this can’t be! I’m the second daughter of the Müller family!! L-liking another girl, that’s strange…!!

-Tap.

“Eep…?!”

“Grace, are you sick? Do you have a fever? Your face is all red.”

Just as I’m desperately trying to suppress this awakening within myself, Ira presses her small forehead against mine with concern. Ah, she smells nice. Her forehead feels warm and pleasant against mine. Ira’s nose is small and perky? And her lips are so plump… Wait, no!!!

“Th-that’s not it!! I-it’s just that the fire is too hot…!!”

“Huh? That can’t be right. I told Piyak to keep it not too hot for us, didn’t I? Piyak?”

“Pee-yak?”

As I struggle and pull my face away while making flimsy excuses, Ira genuinely asks the supreme spirit sitting on her head, who tilts its tiny head in confusion at her question.

I’m sorry, Supreme Spirit!! But please just let me use the heat as an excuse!!!

As I continue making desperate excuses to hide my feelings from Ira…

“Really, a supreme spirit? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Well, having three good sacrifices isn’t a bad thing at all.”

-Whoosh!!!

“!!!”

“Pee-yak~?!”

A snake-like voice that seems to choke the air cuts through the massive flames surrounding us. N-no way!!

“Wow, I thought I was going to die. If it weren’t for me, I would have been burned to a crisp like these friends.”

-Thud!

The man in white priest robes who appeared from the flames casually walked out without a scratch, demonstratively tossing aside the charred corpse of a priest he had used as a shield.

“Th-that’s impossible?! There’s no way you could block that ball of flame just by using one person as a shield…!!!”

“Yes, one would have been insufficient. But I had three priests following me, didn’t I? With three priests who can use holy power, well, I can block something like this.”

Bilyen Helm, the High Priest, shrugged as he dusted off the ashes on his body and began walking toward us. Ugh…!!

“Spirit of fire!! Spirit of wind!!!”

“Oh? Summoning intermediate and lesser spirits simultaneously at that age? Truly, these are remarkable sacrifices.”

I’ve already seen Ira’s and Piyak’s incredible power, but considering the installed teleportation, the diversionary fire, and that massive fireball earlier, I can’t imagine Ira has any magical power left.

“Who are you calling sacrifices?! Everyone!! Heat Storm!!!”

[——!!!]

[——!!!]

I hide Ira behind me and immediately activate a composite spirit spell. Common sense says it’s excessive firepower to use against a person, but Piyak’s attack earlier had already far exceeded what would be considered excessive. So I don’t need to hold back either.

Responding to my command, the two spirits create a whirlwind around the High Priest and begin heating it from the ground up, creating a super-heated gust. This attack, which not only burned but melted training dummies at the Academy, leaves no way for someone to take the hit for him or for him to escape!!!

“Haha! My, both young ladies have quite fiery temperaments. Indeed, I suspected as much since you boarded the carriage earlier. Is it because you’re women who like other women? Both of you are so passionate?”

“Ha!! You can only act smug for now!!!”

The ground around the High Priest begins to melt, and I can see him starting to surround himself with what appears to be holy power for defense. He’s clearly planning to defend himself and break through the heat storm? But!!

-Click click click!!

“Don’t underestimate the abilities of the elementary division’s top student!!!”

It’s not as magnificent an attack as Ira’s or Piyak’s. However, predicting and countering an enemy’s actions isn’t difficult for me. While controlling the composite spirit spell, I snap my fingers with my other hand to summon Rock Spears—earth-attribute magic I had stored in advance—making them float around and at the center of the storm, ready to intercept him when he tries to escape. With this, he can only choose whether to die burning or be impaled by stone spears!!

“Haha, my goodness. To think that twelve-year-olds would have no hesitation in killing people—truly, humans untouched by God’s grace are incomparably barbaric.”

“Ha! It’s common sense on this continent not to treat criminals like you as people!! Now, answer me!! Where have you put the other nobles?!”

Originally, I had planned to capture another priest to question, but now that we’ve caught this High Priest, I thought we could extract information from him. And upon hearing my question, the High Priest…

“Pfft…!! Ah, I see. So you knew? That the sacrifices here aren’t all of them. Kekek!! This is quite unfortunate. If you had arrived a little earlier, you might have met them all, but I’ve already ‘consumed’ all the other sacrifices.”

He looked at us as if licking us with his eyes, raising the corners of his mouth as if unable to contain his sinister smile. What does he mean by sacrifices? He consumed people? What is he talking about…?!

-Step.

“Kuh!! Fine!! If you don’t intend to talk properly, then die and apologize to our nobles whom you tortured in the afterlife!!!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I launch stone spears at the man who started walking as if trying to escape the heat storm. With this, the leader of these priests will be finished…?

-Crack crack crack!!

“Is this all? Indeed, weaker than the fireball I threw earlier.”

“Wh-what?!”

My Rock Spears, which could pierce training dummies harder than iron armor, all crumble without penetrating the man’s body, which should be much softer. Moreover, the man escapes the heat storm created by the composite spirit spell as if it were nothing more than a spring breeze. Wh-what is this?!!

“Let me answer your first question. The fireball was certainly threatening, but the reason I needed shields was to buy time to activate my holy law. I didn’t expect to lose everyone in one shot, but now that it’s activated, attacks like earlier won’t work on me anymo…”

“Piyak?”

“re. Huh?”

“Hehe, we’ll see about that if we try once more, right?”

From within the storm behind the priest who escaped my heat wave, a small sparrow—no, a red chick—chirps with its head tilted, and Ira stands beside me with a bright smile. Huh? Could it be.

“Piyak, blow him away!”

“Pee-yak!”

-WHOOOOSH!!!

The composite spirit spell used by my spirits seems to respond to Piyak’s chirp, growing much hotter and larger. The wind that could be called a whirlwind begins to rotate rapidly to the level of a typhoon, and as it swallows up the surrounding huts, a massive pillar of fire rises as if more firewood had been added to a furnace.

Is this Piyak’s true power?! More importantly, Ira, just how much magical power do you have?!

“Kugh?! This is truly maddening! Is a supreme spirit some kind of natural disaster?!!”

The man’s complexion turns blue despite his earlier composure, but like before, he doesn’t burn or get injured. Instead, as if unable to keep his body on the ground due to the tremendous typhoon, he immediately kneels and grabs the ground to hold on. I see! Even if he doesn’t burn or get hurt because of his holy law, if we blow him into the sky, we can at least buy time to escape!!

“Kuk, I wanted to use all three as sacrifices, but I have no choice now…!!”

“Huh?”

As the priest, who looks like he could be swept away by the pillar of fire at any moment, mutters something, Ira and I immediately prepare ourselves, wondering what he’s trying to do next. However.

“Come!! Paimon!!! I shall give you sacrifices according to our contract!!!”

-BOOM!!!

“PEEE-YAK?!!”

Before we could prepare, as soon as the man called out something, thunder roared loudly, lightning struck, the heat storm exploded, and even Piyak flew back into Ira’s arms. What on earth?!!

[Hierarchy of Gluttony (Gula), having summoned me, a high-ranking demon. If you offer me trash like last time as a sacrifice, I will devour you instead.]

“Ah. This time I’ve prepared sacrifices that will surely satisfy you, so please don’t direct your killing intent at me.”

“That’s… a demon?!!”

Under a cloudless sky, thunder roars and lightning strikes everywhere as a black demon with huge horns and wings appears. The monster with a maw extending down to its chest looks down at the priest with its back to us, speaking in a voice that sends chills down my spine. And even more so.

-Shudder!!

“In-incredible magical power. No, demonic energy…!!”

Under the overwhelming pressure that seems to rival even the magical power demonstrated by the headmaster at the Academy, cold sweat begins to form on my hands…

“Piyak. Burn that thing too.”

-WHOOSH!!!!

“Ira?!!”

Ira immediately attacks without even paying attention to the overwhelming pressure of magical power surrounding us, and I call out to her in surprise. She looks at me with a bright smile and continues.

“Hehe, criminals and demons should all be killed before they can do anything. That’s what my brother said!”

I think I really need to have a serious conversation with her brother when I meet him…