episode_0016

Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult.

Using two spells at once didn’t drain me too much, and my mana wasn’t depleted much either.

“Hmm, easier than I thought.”

Of course, it was easy to capture them because Theron had informed me about the approaching orcs beforehand.

If I hadn’t known about the orcs coming, I might have been a couple of seconds late in casting the spell in a rush.

It was a simple fact, not bragging.

But it felt a bit awkward to express such thoughts outwardly.

It seemed like showing off for no reason.

So, I smiled and said, “Ah, I was lucky. Seems like lightning magic works well against them.”

“..Orcs are known to be resistant to lightning magic.”

Violet revealed a fact that I didn’t know.

Upon hearing that, I felt a bit embarrassed.

I had tried to act like I knew, but it was a clear failure.

“Why is everyone just standing around! The mage did the hard work, so we should do the butchering.”

“Oh, right.”

As Dante’s words rang out, Theron and Violet approached the orcs to start the butchering.

All three of them seemed very skilled at this task, as if they had done it many times before.

Slice, cut, remove the flesh clinging to the bones.

Watching the process, a curiosity arose in me.

“Is orc meat not valuable?”

Since there was so much meat, it seemed a waste to leave it all behind.

If it could be sold, I wanted to take some.

Upon asking, Violet chuckled and said, “It’s too gamey, not worth it. Of course, if there’s nothing else to eat, you might have to, but… there’s no need to eat it.”

“Oh, I see.”

We had captured a total of five orcs.

We decided to distribute the orc bones evenly among us.

There was a prejudice that mages would be weak, but I was not particularly weak.

I actually belonged to the stronger side.

Compared to adventurers, I might be on the weaker side, but among ordinary people, I could be considered strong.

That’s why we decided to each carry our share of bones.

“..The mage is going so comfortably.”

“That’s why some become mages. It’s comfortable.”

“Uh, I really hate that. You have to work your brain.”

“Oh, it’s not that difficult. I’m pretty dumb too, but I learned quickly.”

“Huh, it’s the first time I’ve heard that mages are dumb.”

I had mentioned that I could carry the bones, but I had never actually carried them myself.

I was using telekinetic magic to float the bones in the air.

If I were to be generous, I could also float other people’s burdens in the air… but that seemed a bit troublesome.

It would require more mana.

So, I was just carrying my share of bones.

But then.

“By the way, are you not going to show your face? I’m curious about your face. I have a feeling you’ll become famous later.”

“I’m also curious about the mage’s face. I’m not usually curious about a guy’s face… but today, I’m a bit curious.”

Theron and Dante expressed their desire to see my face.

There was nothing I couldn’t show from my perspective.

My face wasn’t particularly ugly.

But I hesitated a bit.

My master had warned me not to show my face unnecessarily.

It could invite unnecessary enmity.

‘Hmm… they seem like good people.’

Having spent time with them so far, they seemed like good people.

So, I felt it would be okay to show my face.

And anyway, I would only be in the Baruk 3rd district, so what’s the harm?

With that thought in mind, I briefly lifted the hood that was covering my face.

“..You look like a parasite.”

“I agree.”

“Haha.. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I’ve never heard anyone say I look like a beggar before.

Of course, back in the day when I was a beggar, there was no occasion to hear such comments.

So I pulled my robe back on and started walking again.

As a result, I naturally started chatting.

“I heard that adventurers these days are subduing the Demon King’s army. With your skills, you could join them and get your share.”

“Teron has a point. This place isn’t exactly a good place to have a mage.”

Teron was right.

With my skills, I could join a party to subdue the Demon King’s army and get my share.

But then I had a thought.

“..Do I really need to?”

I didn’t really need to.

Even if I just stayed still, things would sort themselves out. There was no need for me to go and sort things out.

Maybe if I were a skilled individual, but I wasn’t.

So I replied with a casual smile.

“Well.. I like it here. Lukpelton doesn’t agree with me.”

“Hmm, then where do you stay in Baruk?”

Violet’s sudden question.

I hesitated whether to tell her the truth.

Why would Violet ask me where I live?

After thinking for a moment, I decided to tell her the truth.

There was no need to hide it.

If Violet came looking for my belongings, I could just pay her back.

I wouldn’t be taken advantage of by a mere silver-ranked adventurer.

“I stay at the Moose Inn. It’s the closest.”

“Ah, the Moose Inn. I stayed there briefly before, it’s just right for a short stay.”

“Huh? Is it not good for a long stay?”

“Actually, I don’t really like the soup at the Moose Inn. It looks dirty.”

I enjoy the soup and even ask for refills.

If I were to tell her that, I might receive disgusted looks, so I laughed and shared the story.

How long had it been?

“Wait, someone’s coming.”

After Teron’s words, how much time had passed?

A group surrounded us.

Their appearance was not bad.

They seemed to be good at fighting, but they were too dirty.

This situation was new to me, so I was a bit flustered.

On the other hand, the other three were sitting on the ground, relaxing.

And then.

“Hey, greetings.”

A man with one eye missing and half of his face burned greeted us with a long sword in hand.

So I greeted him back.

“Hello.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere cooled rapidly.

And then.

Violet, who was next to me, whispered quietly in my ear.

“..That guy, he’s carrying several gold coins.”

“Oh, I see.”

Seeing the smirking bandit, I noticed several gold coins hanging from his neck.

“..So?”

“..That means he’s a skilled fighter of gold rank. Enough to take down several people.”

“Ah.. Impressive.”

I didn’t quite understand the situation at the moment.

Why were these people surrounding us?

I just wanted to go back to the inn and get some sleep.

I couldn’t understand why they were blocking our way.

If their intention was to attack us, they would have done so already, which made me even more confused.

“Um, may I ask why you’re blocking our way?”

“..Crazy bastard. Can’t he understand the situation?”

Saying that, the one-eyed man leaped towards me in an instant-

And thrust his sword at my neck.

Naturally, my barrier deflected the sword.

At that moment, I realized.

These people were bandits.

In this world, beggars usually look like this, so I naturally assumed they were beggars begging for money.

But to attack me with a sword…

It was a bit unsettling.

“Can I take care of this?” I asked Violet behind me.

This side seemed like something Violet would know well.

Asking like that-

“Uh, you can kill me.”

“Well, killing people is a bit much. I’ll just knock you out.”

As soon as Violet gave permission, she immediately prepared to cast a spell.

This time… it seemed okay to knock them out with a water attribute magic.

Of course, using lightning magic would be more convenient, but she needed to practice other types of magic as well.

Thinking like that, she cast the spell and the one-eyed man seemed to sense something and immediately came at her again, swinging his sword.

Ping-!

Naturally, he was blocked by the barrier again.

Although this barrier seemed insignificant, it was a very useful magic that varied in strength depending on the user’s mana level.

She blocked the enemy’s attack and immediately cast the spell.

And then she infused mana into the spell.

[Water Prison]

Literally creating a water prison.

Even though there was no water around, the water choked the bandits.

But the one-eyed bandit in front of her was different.

“Gah, gah!! Ugh.. You, bastard. Just kill me.”

It was a bit funny for him to say that after almost suffocating to death just now, but she remained tense.

Because you never know what might happen.

[Water Cannon]

She immediately cast the spell and infused mana into it.

A cannon appeared in the air, shooting out water instead of a bullet.

At a very fast speed.

Naturally, the one-eyed bandit couldn’t approach her.

He could only hold his ground.

“Um… hold on a moment.”

Since it had come to this, it seemed better to test out other spells.

Opportunities like this were rare.