Maseki Gurume – Vol 1 Chapter 5 Part 2

Here’s the chapter, enjoy~



Part 2

 

Lloyd had prepared a carriage inside the main gate and was waiting for Ain and Chris. Where and what the three of them were going to do from now on ─ the place was a forest about a few tens of minutes away from the royal capital.

The carriage carrying Ain and the others arrived at their destination, a forest near the royal capital, in a few tens of minutes.

“The weather is nice, so the air in the forest feels good.”

“Fufu… Yes, I think so too. Come this way, please.”

As Ain stepped out of the carriage, he could hear the deep greenery and the chirping of the birds.

“It’s a beautiful place. It doesn’t seem to be inhabited by monsters.”

“There are no dangerous monsters in this area. But be careful.”

Taking Chris’s advice, Ain braced himself.

The reason why he came to this forest today was to experience a battle with a monster. His sword training had come to an end, so he came here to gain new experience.

“Then, I will lead the way, so please stay with Chris, Ain-sama.”

“Understood.”

Lloyd was in front of Ain. And Chris walked next to him. The two of them were the most powerful forces in the great nation of Ishtalika, and they were more than reliable.

“Lloyd-san. What kind of monsters appear in this forest?”

“The most common ones are Forest Rats, Giant Caterpillars, and Green Slimes.”

Then Chris added some information from next to him.

“All of them are about one meter in size. They’re not very strong even in a group.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

He felt more at ease. He didn’t think that he wanted to defeat a strong opponent from the start.

“It will be easier than training with the knights in the castle. Ain-sama is able to fight well, even against knights. If that’s the case, it’s not an opponent you’ll have to struggle with.”

──Lloyd said. Then.

“Just in time… That’s the Forest Rat!”

From behind a tree, a giant rat appeared. Its gray fur gave it the appearance of a normal rat, but it had two tails and sharp claws. In general, it looked nothing like a normal rat.

“Ain-sama. Let me show you how to deal with it first──.”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll think about that while I fight.”

“…Good luck then.”

When Chris’s suggestion was rejected, Ain took a step forward. He pulled out an iron dagger and calmly held it up.

(Okay, let’s go for it.)

Then Ain repeated a deep breath and calmly looked at the Forest Rat. The next moment, he stepped out and ran toward the Forest Rat.

“Now, it’s Ain-sama’s first battle. I believe that Ain-sama will have no problem dealing with it.”

“Yes. It’s a bit of a downgrade from the knights in the castle, so he might be a bit confused about how to deal with it at first…”

The two of them happily watched crown prince Ain’s first fight. However, their light words were easily betrayed a few minutes later. The reason for this is because of what Ain did to the monster.

A few tens of minutes later. After defeating the first Forrest Rat, Ain continued to fight many other monsters.

“…Lloyd-sama. It seems that the monsters here are not enough to challenge him.”

“Fumu… To be honest, I expected some of this. Since he can even compete with the castle knights with his sword.”

Chris and Lloyd were looking at Ain from behind as he fought. What they could see from behind was Ain, who was not having any trouble at all with the monsters.

“Hmm, it’s different from dealing with people, but well… I think I can handle it.”

Ain said after defeating a Green Slime with one hand.

In the beginning, Ain was confused about how to fight, but he soon got the hang of fighting monsters.

“Also, it’s sad that there were only low-quality products.”

One of the things he was looking forward to was investigating the taste of the magic stones. Neither the Forest Rats nor the Giant Caterpillars tasted good. But the Green Slime seemed to be different.

“The Green Slime tasted like melon, but…”

Lloyd, who was listening, laughed out loud as Ain talked about his impressions, which were far removed from his training.

“Hahahaha! Ain-sama! It looks like you’re not satisfied enough.”

When a big man like him opened his big mouth and laughed, it was as if the forest was shaking.

“It’s not like I’m dealing with a human being, so I was a little confused by the differences.”

“I guess. The monsters must be desperately trying not to be defeated by Ain-sama.”

If they were running away, it would be heartbreaking, but the monsters of the forest attacked on their own. It’s not a bad experience for Ain to have this first fight.

“But I’m glad I was this strong today.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We’ll try to have stronger monsters next time.”

“Ah… come to think of it, how strong is a really strong monster?”

The only ones that come to mind that Ain can think of that are stronger than anything else are the Demon Lord… and Dullahan.

“Yes, there are dragons that are bigger than our battleships, for example.”

“…I’ll pretend that I never heard of it.”

Ain said while looking at a nearby Green Slime.

Ain, who wanted to try out the technique at least once, took out Katima’s special claws from his pocket.

“Oh, could that be…?”

Chris noticed it. She had seen it once in the castle courtyard.

“I thought I’d use it in a real battle since it’s so useful. Is that okay?”

“No problem. We would like to see your new technique, Ain-sama.”

Lloyd looked at the rumored research results with great interest. His answer was yes. Ain jumped up and down, and an illusory hand appeared, and Ain attached the claw to it.

“Lloyd-sama. I’ve heard that the name is Darkstraw.”

“U-umu… Well, I don’t think it’s wrong in principle… I see…”

He made up for it with a thin smile, neither saying it was good nor bad.

Ain stretched out a black tentacle, or perhaps the Darkstraw, without taking notice of the two of them.

“All right… go!”

The tentacle’s appearance as it undulates through the air does not seem like a technique that a human being would use. Born by sucking Ain’s magic power, the tentacle extended its claw in a straight line toward the Green Slime.

…Then.

“──!?”

The Green Slime’s body trembles as it is pierced. As the Green Slime’s magic stone gradually loses its color, something like a faintly glowing bubble passes through the inside of the illusionary hand.

“It’s the life force of the magic stone… I see; it’s basically a straw.”

“Y-yes. A straw, indeed…”

It’s a technique that means exactly what it says, but the effect is remarkable. The glowing bubbles eventually stopped as soon as the magic stone turned into a transparent crystal.

“I wonder if it would taste better if I absorbed it directly.”

He decided to tell Katima about this achievement when he returned to the castle.

…The technique is inexplicably unusual, but its usefulness is unquestionable. The black tentacle coming out of the young boy’s back, which alone is unique, pierce the monster and suck its contents. The two who were watching were tormented by emotions that are hard to describe.

“─Well, Ain-sama. Let’s call it a night, shall we?”

Lloyd suggested. They can’t continue to be in a daze. Chris nodded quietly as she looked at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set.

“Yes, that’s right. Thank you very much for the precious time today.”

Ain bowed his head. The two of them replied to Ain with a kind expression and returned to the carriage they had ridden in.

It was Ain’s first time fighting a monster. If someone were to ask how it went, the answer would be that it was a success.

 

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