79 – Test Subject
Monsters’ corpses pile up on ownerless land.
Milaea took Cain to a place close to the Demon World, even in ownerless land, deliberately blocked by a large cliff behind.
Cain wanted to escape from this crazy woman, but there was no way out in the place she chose.
The only exit was blocked by Milaea.
And that exit was also the entrance through which demons from the Demon World poured in to kill warriors.
Milaea, leaving Cain behind and preventing him from escaping, drew her own longsword and sat down with it in front of her.
And she waited endlessly for demons and monsters to attack.
And when the monsters targeting the warrior Cain appeared, she grabbed the sword she had placed in front of her and stood up, swiftly cutting down the monsters.
At first, the number of monsters coming was small, but news spread even in the Demon World that a warrior was waiting here.
“What do you expect me to do? Are you saying we should die together here? That crazy woman…”
“….”
In this situation where relying on the position of a warrior was useless, Cain was powerless.
He felt like a piece of meat thrown to lure wild beasts.
Even with the Holy Sword, even with the power of a warrior, Cain, who had deviated from the path of a warrior himself, could not stop Milaea.
Milaea was waiting.
For the enemy of her homeland, and the enemy of Yunoa, Bloodstain, to come back again.
If she had a warrior with her here, he would surely lead the monsters and come back again.
The frequency of demon attacks was increasing.
The hero was a really good bait.
Just by revealing his existence in this ownerless land, the demons would come searching even if he didn’t move and stayed still.
The corpses of the demons that Mireia had slain were piling up at the entrance, in a gruesome sight.
As time passed, the smell of blood and decay grew stronger, but Cain paid no mind.
He watched Mireia from behind, sharpening his resolve.
No matter how strong Mireia was, they were still a team of two.
For now, only insignificant demons were coming, but it was obvious that the demon lords, the direct subordinates of the Demon King, would soon attack with proper preparations.
In that case, neither Mireia nor Cain would be able to withstand it.
Cain couldn’t understand the situation, and it felt like he was being pushed into a corner where he could only die no matter what.
There was no hope of survival if they just stayed still anyway.
So, he thought that he had no choice but to seize the opportunity, harm Mireia, and escape to the capital.
Finding a way to defeat the Demon King could be thought about afterwards; it wouldn’t be too late.
Of course, with Cain’s current skills, he had no chance against Mireia.
But what if she was in the midst of fighting demons?
If slightly stronger demons or devils attacked, Mireia’s flexibility would decrease.
Cain tightened his grip on the Holy Sword and decided to seize the opportunity.
* * *
“It’s been a long time since I came here.”
In front of the Bellafork Mansion.
I was looking at my mansion and reminiscing about the past.
Shari, who was attached to my head, popped out for the first time in a while and looked at the mansion with me.
Since then, the mansion had not been maintained at all, and there were cobwebs all around.
The reason I came here suddenly was because I had been contacted by a magician who wanted to buy this mansion.
The buyer of the mansion, introduced to me by Algot, said they would come here today to see the condition of the mansion in person.
“Hmm… Are they still not here…?”
The promised time has passed, but there is no sign of them yet.
Well, they came from far away, so they might be a little late.
They said they would buy this mansion, which seemed like it would cost even more for repairs, for a whopping 5,000 gold, so I could wait as long as I wanted.
After finishing the request that Algot had prepared, Meruru safely returned to the guild as a receptionist.
Before the rare energy I found flies away and I become depressed, I should meet my sister.
I heard that Algot also agreed with my opinion and was checking the situation at the demon protection center from time to time.
The most recent news was that Aruru was also adapting well, but I couldn’t imagine her losing that venomous look she had when she stared at me like she wanted to kill me.
By the way, the buyer is really late…
Should I clean the mansion roughly?
I can’t repair it myself, but I can at least clear the debris or mow the grass in the garden that has grown as tall as a person.
If it looks a little neater on the surface, maybe I can get a higher price?
As I was thinking that, I suddenly heard a strange sound from above my head.
Crackle… Crackling!
It sounded like the crackling of an electrical wire happening in the air.
I looked up and saw a blue electric current-like thing flickering in the empty air.
And after a moment, as if tearing paper, the air split into blue and suddenly a person’s leg popped out.
“Wh-What the…!”
Upon closer inspection, it was a woman’s leg.
It looked white and soft.
The unidentified woman’s leg poked out of the torn gap in the air and wiggled around, struggling here and there.
It looked as if it was stuck in a crevice.
“….”
Crackle! Snap!
As I watched a little longer, another leg popped out from the gap.
Two white legs with smooth skin crossed in mid-air and kicked around.
“Yunoa was admiring the two legs of the magician Mariel, who appeared in the air.
To be staring at a woman’s white legs in a situation like this, he was truly a pervert.
But Mariel’s situation was more urgent than he had thought.”
No, what am I supposed to do when it’s right in front of my eyes?
Who in this world wouldn’t stare at such a spectacle?
By the way, the owner of those legs, wriggling through that blue gap, seemed to be the magician who was planning to buy the mansion.
Magician Mariel… I’ve heard she’s an eccentric magician.
I wonder if she used some kind of teleportation magic. She could have just taken a carriage here.
“Yunoa was leisurely admiring the legs, but in reality, it was a very dangerous situation.
It was because of an incomplete teleportation spell that my body couldn’t fully escape the rift in dimensions that had opened.
In this state, if all the magic power used for the spell were to be depleted, my body could have been physically divided based on the rift.』
Wait, so if I run out of magic power in this state and the rift closes, my upper and lower body will be separated and I’ll die.
Listening to the narration, it seemed as if the two legs were desperately thrashing about in the air, struggling to survive.
I didn’t want to witness the sight of a person being split in half right before my eyes, so I decided to help.
Anyway, since I’m stuck in this rift or something, maybe I can help by pulling with all my strength to help you escape.
I grabbed hold of both ankles of the flailing legs in front of me.
And I pulled downwards with some force.
Creak… Snap…!
With a tremendous cracking sound, my body began to slowly emerge.
As I came out to a certain extent, my whole body suddenly popped out.
Magician Marie, who had completely escaped from the rift of the teleportation spell with my help, rolled on the ground and fell in a spectacular manner.
Thud!
“Cough… Cough…! Ah! Thanks to you, I’m alive! This magic is indeed quite unstable.”
She got up, patting her buttocks, and looked at me, thanking me in an old man-like manner.
She was a young woman with a unique hair color, half pink and half white, which was very different from her tone of speech.
“Are you Yunoa? I’ve heard a lot about you from Algot. By the way, where is the mansion?”
She casually stood there, as if the extraordinary event we just experienced hadn’t happened, and asked me.
What’s with this strange, nonchalant, my-face human?
I’ve heard she’s eccentric, but something doesn’t seem right.
“There… Miss Mariel, right?”
“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I am Mariel, a wandering magician and magic researcher from the northern city of Arunhem.”
“You came all the way from the northern city?”
The northern city was a city located near the northern tip of the continent, far beyond the capital city of Pipnel.
I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard people talk about it as a cold region.
But considering she came from there, her outfit is quite daring.
From Noble mtl dot com
Mariel was wearing clothes that were so short that her white legs were exposed up to her thighs.
She had a thin coat with peculiar symbols engraved on it, giving off a magical vibe, but it didn’t seem warm enough.
“I used teleportation magic to come here because the distance was quite far! It’s a bit unstable, but it saved me days of travel! Thank you for earlier! I almost had a hard time!”
“That… almost killed you, didn’t it?”
“hehehehe! Don’t worry! Even though it failed a bit, I have confidence that no one can surpass me in terms of magic power! Even if I struggled for two days, I would have found a way to get out!”
I recalled the image of her struggling with her legs stuck in a dimensional rift.
Is it really okay to be in that state for two days…?
Anyway! Oh! Is that the mansion over there? It looks so eerie and it feels like a ghost could come out any moment! It’s really intriguing!”
“….”
“The garden seems to be okay even in most explosions! I like that there are no windows that could shatter! Can I go inside?”
Mariel looked at the mansion, sticking one eyebrow as if she was looking at something far away, and asked while praising the mansion’s disadvantages as if they were advantages.
Strangely enough, I feel a bit dizzy even though it’s only been a few minutes since we met.
It seems like she genuinely likes my shabby mansion, so I guess the introduction went well.
“Whatever… Do as you please.”
“Great! It’s a place that could potentially be used as a magic research lab, so I want to thoroughly explore every nook and cranny!”
Mariel pointed her finger towards the entrance of the mansion and confidently approached, opening the door.
* * *