Chapter 202: Metal Lizard |
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With Sora’s breath attack, all signs of the monsters that had been in the area have vanished.
This is troublesome. We’re back to square one.
Well, with Sora’s speed, it’s not too difficult to track them down.
“…… Hey, Sora. Regulate your mood please.”
“…… What are you talking about? I’m not mad at all.”
“So, can you hurry up and fly faster?”
“No. I’m tired. I need to rest.”
You’re completely unreliable, you dragon.
No, I admit that I didn’t communicate properly, but I think that we both need to reflect on our actions and cooperate with each other a little more.
I mean, you’ve been changing your character too much lately.
Where’s the dignity you had when we first met?
“She is completely sulking. What are you going to do about it, Kudou?”
“What should I do with her…..”
I played with the goblin’s magic stone (large) I had picked up from the center of the crater and thought about how I could fix Sora’s mood.
Hmm, I didn’t really want to use this method, but I guess I have no choice.
I shook my hood to wake up Shiro, who was sleeping inside.
“……? What’s up, Kazuto? Food?”
“No, you ate a lot of hay before we left……”
“I can smell something delicious in Kazuto’s hands.”
Hey, listen to me.
Shiro swooped down and popped her head out of the hood, trying to smell the goblin’s magic stone.
“You want to eat this?”
“Yeah, that looks really good.”
“…… Then, I’ll give you this, and in return you can help me convince your mother.”
“……? I don’t really get it but, okay?”
Shiro used both her paws to take a bite out of the magic stone like a squirrel, and then flew towards Sora, saying, “Mom~”
“……Kuun?”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Momo. I’ll give you the magic stone I get next time.”
“Waow.”
Momo was a little disappointed that she couldn’t eat the magic stone, but when I called out to her, she rubbed her body against mine and said she was fine.
Shiro is a junior, and Momo is a senior! So there’s no problem! Is what she seems to be saying.
It’s so cute to see Momo acting like a senior. Yeah, let’s fluff her.
“Mom, don’t trouble Kazuto.”
“Nuuh! Sh, Shiro-chan. What, you are on Kazuto’s side……?”
“No no no! We all have to get along!
“Guh…..Guhuh. Kazuto, you, you are a warrior from the human race that I do not acknowledge. You… my child. You should be ashamed of yourself!”
“No, you’re the one who should be ashamed as a parent for being so easily frustrated and being persuaded by your child.”
“Gnu, gnu, gnu,……!”
With an incredibly frustrated expression on her face, Sora picked us up again and started flying.
Good job, Shiro.
Now then, let’s go after the monsters that have escaped.
Among the monsters caught in the search, there was one that seemed oddly strong.
It was not a monster that was startled by Sora’s breath and fled.
It was a monster that had left the area before Sora had fired her breath.
I’m going to go after it.
“huh…… huh……!”
–How did this happen?
She was running desperately, out of breath.
It was a young woman. She had brown hair and a good figure. She was a beautiful woman, even without makeup, but her face was covered with fear and trepidation.
(It hurts. …… It’s hard to breathe. ……)
It was a mountain road with poor footing. She must have fallen many times.
The clothes she was wearing were stained with mud and blood in several places.
But even so, she did not stop running.
That is because if she stops for even a little bit, she will be immediately eaten alive by the thing.
“Ha… ha…. n, no, I don’t want to die….. I don’t want to die.”
“Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
The monster was chasing her.
That monster’s appearance could be summed up in four words: a giant metal lizard.
Its body length alone was nearly three meters, and if you counted its tail, it would be well over five meters.
It had a huge mouth with sharp fangs that could easily swallow a person whole.
And its entire body was covered with shiny metal scales.
–A metal lizard.
With its light and supple movements unique to reptiles and its solid metal scales, this monster boasted a strength incomparable to orcs and goblins.
She could feel the thick presence of death behind her.
That sensation seemed to prickle her skin. She continued running desperately.
(What was that explosion earlier…..?)
I thought it was my lucky day.
While exploring, she found an empty house, and when she looked inside, she found a large amount of untouched food and daily necessities left behind.
There was only a small amount of food left in the base. With this much food, they could last a few more days.
She was thankful to whoever had left this behind.
However, what she was doing was basically stealing, and she felt guilty. But when she thought of her mother and friends waiting for her at the base, she was able to crush that conscience.
She left a note saying “I’m sorry” in case the landlord came back, and packed her backpack with as much food and medicine as she could find and left the house. She planned to come back here with her friends and take away the remaining supplies. If the owner of the house came back then, she and her friends would apologize to him.
With this in mind, she was on her way home when a mysterious explosion occurred.
(This, what the hell—?!)
The sound of the explosion came from far away, but the roar and the mushroom cloud made her feel as if her heart would stop.
She turned to the direction of the explosion and was astonished.
Her occupation was that of a “thief”.
She knew immediately who had caused the explosion when she used the “Visual Enhancement” skill.
“Dr, Dragon……? You’re kidding, right?”
The details were blurry because of the distance, but it is definitely a dragon.
Even from a distance, you can feel its overwhelming presence.
The presence of a powerful creature that made your skin burn.
It’s impossible.
How could such a being appear?
(No, I have to hurry and inform everyone….!)
Her body cowered in fear, but she mustered up the strength to run.
But then…
“……?!”
“Shrrrrrrr…..”
She decided to return back to the base. And on her way, she encountered a Metal Lizard.
From there on, she began to run for her life.
(A little more…… Just a little more ……)
I’m almost through the forest.
Then I’ll be able to reach the base.
It would be safe there, and my friends will be there waiting for me.
Those thoughts made her relax for a moment.
That was a terrible mistake.
“Ah….”
She stumbled over a tree root and lost her balance.
She rolled on the ground several times and fell on her back.
A dark shadow enveloped her body. “Death” was looking at her.
“Shriiii……”
“No…… Stop….”
The Metal Lizard was delighted to finally catch up to its prey.
The very next moment, it opened its big mouth and tried to bite her.
“Woof!”
For a moment, it thought it heard a dog barking.
The next moment, something black crawled from the surroundings and wrapped itself around the Metal Lizard’s entire body.
“Eh?! Sha…. shiiii?”
Something black tangled around its entire body like a slime and quickly robbed the Metal Lizard of its freedom.
The Metal Lizard was confused for a moment, and then it immediately tried to resist.
But the more it resisted, the more the black thing twisted and gripped the lizard’s body, like a strong thread that could not be broken.
“Wha, what is this, this….”
Of course, she had no idea what it was.
It was the first time she had ever seen such a thing.
“Anyway, now is your chance, Satsuki. You need to get out of here…….”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh?!”
Perhaps noticing her attempt to flee, the Metal Lizard roared even louder and struggled harder.
But soon something black blocked its mouth and it could not speak.
“Hi, hii…….”
In the midst of confusion and panic, she started running again.
This time, a Shiba Inu jumped from the bushes and appeared in front of her.
Cute. It’s a very cute Shiba Inu.
For some reason, there was a red transparent dumpling on its head.
“….Doggo?”
“Waauwwww!”
The Shiba Inu walked past her and headed straight for the Metal Lizard.
She was startled by this.
“Hey, what are you–“
She turned her head reflexively.
Then, a surprising scene unfolded before her eyes.
The same black stuff that she saw earlier was now spilling out from under the Shiba Inu’s feet.
“Whau!”
In response to the Shiba Inu’s shout, the black thing attacked the Metal Lizard again.
“No, no way……”
When she saw the scene, she understood.
The black thing had been created by that Shiba Inu.
“Okay, good job, Momo.”
Then, this time, someone appeared from under the Shiba Inu’s feet.
She could not make out his face from the back of his head, but he was probably a young man.
However, he had a fox on his shoulder and a blue lizard on his head – or rather, a smaller version of the dragon she had seen earlier.
The man looked incredibly suspicious.
“Momo, stay still.”
The man then waved his hand to the side.
At the same time, the Metal Lizard’s head fell to the ground.
“…eh?”
Just now, what did he do?
In her eyes, it only looked like the Metal Lizard’s head suddenly fell off.
Fresh blood gushed out from the Metal Lizard’s neck, but when the man held up his hand, the blood stopped.
The blood that should have been flowing out suddenly disappeared.
“Metal Lizard’s Magic Stone (medium) huh……. Momo, you can eat it.”
“Waw!”
Huh? Is that something you can eat?
She had fought monsters many times, but she didn’t know that the stone was edible.
Seeing that the Shiba Inu was eating it with relish, I guess it was harmless.
“Oh, um…….”
“Oh, um, are you okay?”
The man turned towards her.
At last she could see his face. It was surprisingly normal, it was the face of an ordinary young man which could be found anywhere.
“Yes, yes. Thank you for your help.”
“No, it wasn’t much. I’m glad you’re okay.”
She was impressed by how humble he was, even though he had the power to easily defeat a monster like that.
She was impressed.
But why did that man look strangely apologetic for a moment?
“Um…, if you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me your name?”
“……My name is Kudou Kazuto.”
“Kudou, right. Honestly, thank you very much.”
“No no, there is no need to thank me, um…”
“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, I did not introduce myself to Kudou.”
How rude of me to ask the other person’s name without telling my own.
She lightly brushed the dirt from her clothes and straightened her posture.
“My name is Satsuki. Goshogawara Satsuki. It’s nice to meet you.”
“…huh?”
As soon as she said her name, he looked at her in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
*****