episode_0033

I used acceleration magic to return home.

As I entered, a mouse appeared in front of me, squeaking and scurrying away.

It seemed to recognize my face and quickly disappeared back into the house at the speed of light.

Hmm, I don’t like mice.

With that thought in mind, I entered the house, which was surprisingly clean and organized.

Of course, I had tidied up before leaving, but it was difficult to clean the small dust particles on the furniture.

“Oh, you did a good job cleaning.”

I complimented as I carried the Tanghulu I brought and headed downstairs.

Knock knock.

As I knocked on the door, it cautiously opened, revealing the room inside.

It had transformed into a maze-like space.

It had transformed into a place that suited basil quite well.

“Ah… I’ve finished cleaning.”

“You did a good job cleaning. By the way, have you tried this?”

Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of Tanghulu, so I only bought basil’s favorite.

“Isn’t this expensive…?”

Eyes widened in surprise.

It definitely seemed like something he hadn’t eaten before.

With that thought in mind, I handed the Tanghulu to basil.

He hesitated for a moment, then carefully put it in his mouth.

And a moment later.

“It’s delicious…!”

Basil quickly devoured the Tanghulu.

It seemed quite tasty.

Honestly, I’m not sure about food being good or bad.

After giving Tanghulu to basil, I went back upstairs from the basement.

I checked the ingredients I had brought.

“Hmm… I wonder if this will work.”

Honestly, I was nervous.

It was my first time using a magic circle.

I was worried about failing and not being able to do it.

But not trying because of fear of failure was foolish.

With that thought in mind, I started drawing the magic circle as Amelia had taught me.

But…

“Hmm… I think it would be better to do this a little differently.”

Looking at the magic circle roughly, I could understand how it worked, so I saw where I could make improvements.

So, I made some modifications to the magic circle.

I fixed the part where mana was inefficiently entering and made it move more flexibly.

How much did I modify the magic circle?

Finally, I completed the magic circle.

Now, if I infused mana into this completed magic circle, an alarm would go off if enemies entered the house.

“Well… basil isn’t weak.”

Because he was the opponent, most thieves would be taken care of in one shot by basil.

If basil hadn’t been afraid of the house burning down last time, the fight could have been quite long.

So, I trusted his fighting skills.

He was picky when he was an enemy, but comfortable when he was an ally.

Of course, he wasn’t a complete ally.

With that thought in mind, I went to the nearby public bath, took a shower, returned home, took off my robe, and fell asleep.

*

After rumors spread that a ghost lived in the place where the master and I had settled, no one came.

And because of that, we were able to continue living there.

But when I came back after working outside for a while, I could see that most of the items from the basement had been taken outside.

So, I couldn’t help but be on edge.

Someone was definitely inside the house.

Despite hearing the rumors about the ghost.

It was likely not a mediocre opponent, so I decided to finish it as quickly as possible.

Humming quietly, I entered the house, dagger drawn, and ran towards where I sensed movement, swinging the dagger.

But…

Clang!

“A magician.”

And quite a skilled one at that.

Otherwise, it would have been difficult to maintain this level of barrier.

There had been no barrier that could block the dagger until now.

Feeling a sense of error creeping in, Basil continued to attack the wizard who was casting a barrier, but he felt his movements slowing down.

“..My movements have slowed down.”

There was no doubt that the wizard had used some related magic.

Otherwise, his movements wouldn’t have slowed down like this.

Nevertheless, he continued to wield his dagger without hesitation.

But then, he felt a strange shift in the flow of the opponent’s mana.

It seemed like they were preparing to use magic.

So, he tried to block it, but the magic was cast immediately.

Whoosh-

The surroundings were filled with scorching flames.

Although his body was defending with mana, it was still tough.

Continuing like this, he felt like his body might get used to it.

Feeling that way, he looked around.

But-

“..Huh?”

His master and the sanctuary he always had were being destroyed by a spell from a wizard he had never seen before.

So, he surrendered immediately.

Even if he were to win the fight, losing the sanctuary would be no different.

“Stop!!!”

And now, he found himself in this situation.

With Tanghuru in his right hand and a club in his left.

The club was given to him by that wizard earlier.

“..By the way, what does that man want?”

It didn’t make sense to have spared his life until now.

Asking him to protect the house.

If he was at that level of a wizard, there wouldn’t be anyone invading.

And although he had made a strange contract, it was possible to cause destruction with a little effort.

But as long as that man resided here, he couldn’t escape.

And his current life wasn’t bad either.

He even promised a salary.

“There’s no need to steal.”

He said to the club.

The club didn’t understand his words, but when he spoke like this, it made a chirping sound.

He didn’t know what his purpose was, but for now, it seemed right to keep watching.

There was no need to fight.

He still seemed kind, after all.

Thinking that, Basil curled up and fell asleep.

This was the most comfortable and familiar position for him.

*

The next day, he woke up, checked the time, and immediately ran to the adventurer’s guild.

He had made a promise.

Arriving at the adventurer’s guild as quickly as possible, Harz and Dontas were already waiting inside.

Of course, both of them were drinking beer.

“Oh, sorry. I was a bit late because of something.”

“It’s okay. I have no work today either!”

“Neither do I.”

It was fortunate that both of them had good personalities.

If it had been someone with a bad temper, they would have already gotten into a fight.

Feeling relieved, he handed the gold to Dontas and Harz.

“This is the gold I earned from defeating monsters.”

“Haha, I can drink a lot of beer today!!”

“Well, it’s a fair price.”

Harz seemed to know the price of monsters well, so Basil was a bit worried, but it seemed like he wasn’t being cheated.

Seeing Harz’s reaction, he felt relieved.

This time, he handed the gold to Dontas.

This was the payment for handling magic stones.

“Wow, you’re making a lot of money today..!”

“Haha.. that’s right.”

Today, Dontas received a considerable amount of money.

Because Harz had given up a lot.

Thinking this, they chatted.

“Oh, by the way, the smell of monsters was really unbearable. How did you get rid of the smell?”

“I used purification.”

“That’s unfair! I had to throw away my clothes to get rid of the smell of those monster bastards.”

“Oh, come to me. I can remove it for you.”

He felt a little sorry.

If only he could use purification to clean other people’s clothes as well.

Regretfully, I began to talk about the recent tasks with a sense of disappointment.

“By the way, it seems like the members from Kurotom are moving to Baruk! It seems like Andromalius will be resurrected in a few days, as it has been widely known everywhere!”

“Oh, is that so?”

Although famous in the gallery, I didn’t know it had already been announced.

I wondered how many people were actually active in the gallery.

With a sense of wonder, I spoke.

“But isn’t Andromalius not that strong of a demon?”

“Well, that’s true! He’s not that strong of a demon. But still, being a legion commander, he must have some hidden tricks up his sleeve..!”

Hartz’s words seemed to be correct.

If Andromalius had the power of a legion commander, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have some hidden tricks.

So, if I ever come face to face with Andromalius later on, I should be cautious.

“But still.. wouldn’t other adventurers take care of him?”

“What are you talking about!! Shouldn’t we be the ones to take care of him?”

“Excuse me?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to take on the request right away? We won’t be receiving any compensation for dealing with the spawn of demons this time either.”

I was pondering over the sudden proposal that came out of nowhere.

[What on earth are these guys?]

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