by Takehaya
“Should we go around and climb up?”
“Hmmmm...”
Considering Maki’s idea, Koutarou looked to his left and right. From what he could see, there were a lot more trees to either side. If they went around, they would be able to stay hidden as they made their way up the mountain.
“Let’s not.”
However, in the end, Koutarou gave up on the idea circling around. While it would lower their risk of being detected for now, they would still hit the edge of the forest eventually, putting them right back at square one.
“So what do we do? If we just twiddle our thumbs here, Yurika-san will be in danger.”
“That’s true, but can’t we lure him to us somehow?”
“Lure him?”
Maki’s eyes opened wide in surprise at hearing such a strategic idea from the normally simple Koutarou.
Normally simple Satomi-kun, huh?
At the same time, Maki gave up on her own idea and began laughing on the inside. She had only just today overcome her misunderstanding about Koutarou and started to learn a little bit about him. Despite that, she pretended like she knew everything, including declaring that an intellectual idea was unlike Koutarou. Maki was sorely amused at how quickly she was changing.
“Yeah, I feel like that would be better.”
During Koutarou’s time in Forthorthe, he had taken part in several large-scale battles. In those battles, the strategy of baiting an enemy was an old trick. It was something that had stayed fresh in his mind.
Right. If we lure him here, we can ambush him and we can get him away from Nijino Yurika. You put some real thought into this, Satomi-kun.
Maki understood where Koutarou was coming from and took a moment to reflect on his plan.
“We’re luring that demon out so we can save Yurika-san first, right?”
“Huh?”
This time, it was Koutarou’s turn to be surprised. Maki had brought up exactly what he was just about to ask her about.
“We’re not?”
“A-Ah, no... That’s what I wanted to do, but I wanted to run it by you first.”
When Koutarou explained himself to Maki, she clapped her hands together in a gesture of realization.
“I see. Since you don’t know how much time you can buy, you don’t know if you can save Yurika-san before the demon returns, right?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Maki once again pointed out exactly what Koutarou was about to say.
It happened again... Aika-san, can you read my mind?
Considering the timing of Maki’s remarks, Koutarou had to wonder. But not paying surprised Koutarou any mind, Maki began racking her brain.
What happens if we can’t save her?
Maki quickly gathered her thoughts together and was about to share them with Koutarou, but...
“If we don’t manage to save her, that demon will know what we’re trying to do and might target Yurika instead.”
Oh?
This time it was Koutarou who beat Maki to the punch. Hearing her own thoughts come out of his mouth almost word for word, her eyes opened wide in surprise.
Can Satomi-kun read my mind, perhaps?
Maki was curious about their seemingly overlapping minds.
“In that case, luring him over and taking him out first would be better.”
“That’s right. What do you think?”
“Heehee, what do you think? I just said defeating him would be better.”
“Oh, right, sorry.”
Koutarou and Maki agreed on luring the demon out and ambushing him. If they did it the other way around and tried to save Yurika first, even if they freed her, there was a high chance they’d still be forced to fight the demon. And if it was going to lead to a fight anyway, luring him out and ambushing him would be a more reliable strategy. That was the conclusion Koutarou and Maki came to.
“...I feel like this method of attack is more fitting of a villain. I don’t really like it.”
“Me neither.”
“Right. You’d rather face off with the demon than rely on petty tricks, wouldn’t you?”
“But if he stays that close to Yurika-san, we don’t have a choice.”
“I guess not...”
“We’re just civilians after all.”
“That’s true... Let’s not get in over our heads.”
They were both resistant to the idea of using an ambush, but they had to prioritize Yurika’s safety. In the end, they resolved themselves to resort to such an unfair attack.
Maki’s specialty mind manipulation magic was closely related to the magic that created illusions, so she was quite good at those as well. Instead of using Encyclopedia’s mana for them, she used her own. That way the spells would be more accurate and powerful.
“Good luck!”
Maki had created an illusion of Koutarou. It was so well done that Koutarou found himself cheering for his doppelganger as he watched it walk off. Reacting to Koutarou’s voice, the illusion turned around and waved its hand.
“Uwah?! It responded?! Creepy!”
The illusion Maki conjured was created with a certain degree of consciousness, however feeble. It was like an autonomous robot that could act by itself within reason. In this case, the illusion walked away on its own and would be acting as a decoy.
“Creepy? You’re always like that, you know.”
“I’m more manly. I’m not that weak looking either.”
“That’s not true. You’re just like that.”
The illusion had been created based on Maki’s perception of Koutarou. Because of that, there were some minor discrepancies. In Maki’s mind, for example, Koutarou was slightly slimmer and more handsome, so the illusion created from that didn’t quite live up to Koutarou’s ideal of manliness.
“Am I really...?”
“More importantly, let’s get ready. There’s a lot that needs to be done before Satomi-kun No. 2 lures the demon here.”
Maki didn’t want Koutarou to dwell too much on her creation, so she rushed him along on the plan. If he thought about it hard enough, he might realize that the illusion was based off of Maki’s ideal Koutarou, and Maki definitely didn’t want that.
“Sorry. So where should I hide?”
“Since No. 2 should be running past here, behind that tree should be fine.”
“Got it.”
Koutarou pulled his sword from its sheath and approached a tree by the mountain path. Since the illusion would be running down the path, this would let Koutarou jump out at the demon that should be following right after it.
“And I’ll cast some spells on you.”
“Please do. I’m not wearing my armor today.”
“Heehee, then please leave this to magical girl Maki.”
Full of confidence, Maki giggled and pointed the staff at Koutarou.
“Magic Armor. Shield. Elemental Protection...”
Maki incanted spell after spell, using the power of Encyclopedia whenever it would be more powerful than her own magic. Doing that let her optimize her spells while also conserving her mana.
This staff might be far more convenient than I thought...
Since Maki often fought on her own, she couldn’t really appreciate the true value of the staff until she used it for herself. There was no better tool than Encyclopedia in a situation like this where she was casting multiple spells on herself and an ally. Before long, Koutarou had been strengthened with the power of over ten different spells.
“The next spells will depend on how things go.”
“Got it. Aika-san, you should go hide too.”
“Okay.”
Having finished casting her spells, Maki headed towards a bush a little bit away from Koutarou. She would be supporting him from there.
“Ah, Satomi-san! It seems No. 2 was found by the demon. He’s heading this way under attack,” Maki warned Koutarou and jumped into the bush.
“So we really are going to have to fight...”
&nbs
p; Koutarou had only seen the demon roar standing next to a frozen Yurika so far. Based on circumstantial evidence and Maki’s testimony, Koutarou believed the demon was violent. He’d expected that this would lead to a fight, but now that there was no going back, he was a little depressed.
“All right...”
But no matter how depressed he got, he couldn’t leave Yurika behind. Having steeled himself, Koutarou peeked out from behind the tree and looked up the path. There he saw the illusion of himself with the white demon in hot pursuit. Seeing that, Koutarou’s face turned pale.
“Aika-san, this is bad! He’s chasing after No. 2 in the air!”
The white demon was floating behind Koutarou No. 2 and repeatedly firing shards of ice at him. The illusion was dodging the attacks while running down the designated route, but there was one problem. The demon was flying far too high up in the air for Koutarou to be able to hit it with his sword.
“Hopping Carrot!”
Maki’s response was a new spell. Yellow light enveloped Koutarou’s legs. It was a spell that increased his jumping power.
“You should be able to reach him with that!”
“I’ll give it a shot!”
Koutarou and Maki’s conversation was kept brief. Since the demon was approaching, they didn’t have the time to leisurely chat. There would be no point in the ambush if they were discovered.
And not long after, No. 2 was upon them. While replicating the sound of running on snow, the illusion continued running down the path past them.
“Gaaaaa! Gruuuuuaaaaa!”
The white demon was right on its tail. He was completely fooled by the splendid illusion and was frantically trying to destroy it.
“Die! Dieeeee! Vadra! Dieeeee!”
While shouting, the demon shot shards of ice from the palms of his hands. Some of the ice shards passed right through the illusion.
“It dos no wok! Magi is no wokin! Vadra rely is a monser!”
If the demon had been calm, he might have been able to see through the illusion. However, he was clearly worked up about something.
“Now!”
It gave Koutarou the perfect opening. As the demon flew by, Koutarou kicked off the ground with all his might and jumped, swinging at the demon in the sky.
“Gaaaaaaaa!”
Koutarou’s swing connected just where he’d been aiming: the wings on the back of the white demon. The blow caused the demon to lose his balance in the air and he fell towards the ground.
“It was too shallow?!”
However, as Koutarou clicked his tongue, the demon flapped his large wings and made a soft landing. Koutarou’s sword had damaged the wings, but they were still usable.
The plan had been perfect. The demon’s back was wide open for Koutarou. It was the impromptu jumping that was the problem. Since Koutarou was under the effects of a spell he wasn’t used to, he misjudged how much force he needed to use to jump.
“Can I do it again?!”
Koutarou readied his sword again midair. His first attack had been too shallow, but the demon had landed with his back towards Koutarou. If Koutarou could land right, he would be in a position to make a second attack.
I’m not sure about the timing, but I have to try!
However, the demon didn’t stay where he was. He had already recovered from the shock of the ambush and looked prepared to defend or dodge now. It was questionable whether or not a second attack would work.
“Force Field!”
Two spells came flying towards Koutarou. One was a defensive spell that would block attacks. The other was a spell that could control Koutarou’s falling speed. However, oddly enough, the defensive spell didn’t protect him. Instead, it deployed like a wall next to him.
“Satomi-kun, use that―”
“This’ll help!”
Koutarou kicked off the magic wall and adjusted the direction he was falling in.
“―as footing!”
Koutarou had acted before Maki could even finish her sentence. But she was already making her next move too. She accelerated Koutarou’s speed after he adjusted his direction. That was thanks to the second spell she had cast using the staff that allowed her to control his speed while falling.
“Haaaaaaaa!”
Koutarou was now lined up for another swing as he fell, and he went for it with all of his might. In response to Koutarou’s will, the sword was enveloped by a sonic barrier. It was weaker than what the Blue Knight’s armor could create, but it still served to improve the range and power of the sword. When the blow connected, the sonic barrier enveloping the sword was unleashed as a shockwave that assaulted the demon.
“Guuuuu! So tha is wher yu ar, Vadra!”
However, the white demon wouldn’t go down that easily. The thick slabs of ice created in front of him served as a shield and had blocked Koutarou’s attack. The sword shattered the sheets of ice, but couldn’t reach the demon on the other side.
Signaltin’s power really has weakened! It didn’t do as much damage as I thought it would!
If Signaltin had been in peak condition, by the time the sword hit the demon, it would have negated some of its inner mana and caused major damage. That’s what had happened when Koutarou fought demons in Forthorthe. However, it wasn’t the case now. Despite having been attacked twice, the demon didn’t seem to have taken any real damage at all. The sword was in an even weaker state than expected.
“I kan tel, Vadra! Signaltin is weaken, is it no?!”
The white demon’s mouth warped into a twisted grin, and he moved to attack Koutarou with his massive arms.
“Kil! Is my chans to kil!”
The demon’s sharp, icy claws gleamed as he stretched out his arms.
“Satomi-kun, keep going like that!”
Though he’d already attacked, Koutarou’s body accelerated even more. It was like a powerful force was trying to slam him into the ground.
“I got it!”
Koutarou pitched his body forward as if he was trying to roll. Thanks to Maki increasing his speed, he sailed right by the demon and the demon’s claw caught nothing but air.
After rolling once when he landed, Koutarou kicked the snow and stood up. By that time, Maki was already casting a new spell on Koutarou.
“Flame Weapon!”
Maki used her own mana to cover Koutarou’s sword in fire, increasing its attack power. She also used Encyclopedia to cast a spell that let Koutarou see heat with his eyes. Suddenly Koutarou’s sword burst into flames and everything above a certain temperature began glowing red. Of course, the thing glowing the strongest was Koutarou’s sword.
Which means the next thing coming is...
Koutarou could tell what was coming, so he quickly shouted to Maki, “Aika-san, make good use of the fire at the end!”
“Quick Cast Darkness!”
Almost at the same time, Maki’s next spell cloaked the region around Koutarou, herself, and the demon in darkness. Suddenly unable to see anything, the demon froze up. However, the darkness didn’t make much of a difference to Koutarou who could see temperatures. He could still clearly make out his sword and the enemy’s position, and thanks to the reflecting heat, he could see the ground as well. It was the perfect setup.
Koutarou’s sword crashed into the white demon, but he felt a great deal of resistance. Once the demon could no longer see anything, he focused on protecting himself and covered his entire body with a wall of ice.
So that’s what he was up to!
Koutarou’s sword crushed the wall of ice, but still didn’t reach the demon. The only damage to the demon was that some of his fur was singed by the flames of the sword.
“Guoooooooo!”
He realized that as long as he stayed in the darkness, he would keep getting attacked, so the demon flapped his damaged wings and took to the skies to escape.
“Satomi-kun, was using the fire like that good enough?”
“Like what?”
“I tried copying Yurik
a-san.”
Maki indicated the area where the demon had flown.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a cloud. However...”
Maki had created a large cloud with magic. Since it was floating right above the darkness, the demon flew right into it before realizing it was even there.
“It’s a special cloud made out of highly volatile oil.”
Not a second later, the smoldering fur of the demon ignited the cloud and caused a large explosion.
As he looked up at the explosion, Koutarou was engrossed in a strange sensation of surprise.
Can Aika-san really read my mind...?
What surprised him wasn’t the explosion, but all of Maki’s actions during the fight. She had predicted what Koutarou wanted to do and used spell after spell to make it happen. When he wanted to pursue the demon, she had created footing for him. When he wanted to dodge the demon’s claws, she had given him the speed he needed to do so. And when he was lamenting that his sword lacked the power it needed, she had enchanted it with fire. And then there was the finishing touch—the explosion overhead.
This was on a completely different level than just being good at using magic. It was almost as if Maki knew what Koutarou was going to do and gave him just what he needed to succeed. Thanks to her, he hadn’t taken a single one of the demon’s attacks.
At the same time, Maki was equally surprised at Koutarou’s performance in battle.
Can Satomi-kun really read my mind...?
She was feeling the same way Koutarou did. He had done everything she wanted to do before she could.
By the time Maki realized it was possible to attack the demon while falling, Koutarou had already readied his sword. By the time she thought of using the spell that controlled his falling speed to avoid the demon’s claws, Koutarou had already pitched himself forward. And lastly, when she was infusing Koutarou’s sword with fire, he told her to make good use of the fire at the end. She then created the oil cloud, and the demon had jumped into it of his own free will.
The demon was caught up in the explosion before he even had a chance to put up a fight. Maki looked up at the sky, but she felt nothing for the demon or the explosion. Instead, what she felt was a strong sense of unparalleled freedom. She didn’t think she could feel this way even if she were soaring through the skies. The feeling of being able to do everything she wanted truly liberated her mind. She wanted to feel this way forever.