Volume 1 Chapter 9
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After that, we were walking along the river, moving deeper into the forest.
Creatures tend to gather near the water.
So, it’s probably more convenient for my classmates to live close to the river, and even Demonkind needs to stay hydrated. If we take this path, the chances of running into them should be higher.
”There are a lot of fish swimming.”
Just like Yodomizu said, there seemed to be plenty of fish in the river.
It’s hard to believe that there are so many fish without any bugs around. It feels intentional. No matter where I walk, I see mushrooms and fruits, so at least it doesn’t look like we’ll starve on this island.
”Most of it looks edible, so we should be okay as long as we can survive. But that’s only if there are no Demonkind around.”
Kashiro seemed to be thinking the same thing as she made eye contact with me.
”It’s like the stage is set, and they want us to focus on fighting.”
If I can team up with the classmates nearby, it doesn’t seem too hard to survive.
There are those like me who have magic specialized for living, those like Kashiro with magic focused on information, and those like Yodomizu who have combat-focused magic… If all our classmates could work together, even Demonkind shouldn’t be a threat.
Well, I don’t really think it’ll go that smoothly.
Humans are mostly selfish to some degree, and in a situation where everyone can act freely, it’s hard to know who’s on your side. There are plenty of things that could cause fights, like competing for food or women. If things get really bad, some might even abandon their friends to escape.
I might end up doing something shocking myself if I find myself in a really dangerous situation. Thanks to my ‘Base Magic,’ I can stay calm and act rationally, but if I were more cornered, I wouldn’t be able to chat cheerfully with Kashiro and the others.
”Hyakudou.”
Kashiro calls my name.
It seems like walking along the river was the right choice, as I was able to spot my 2 classmates. They noticed us too and waved.
”They looked like annoying guys.”
Yeah, they didn’t seem like the best type.
”If you make eye contact with Tatejima, you’ll get petrified. Be careful.”
Kashiro whispered a warning to me.
I nodded silently and gave Kashiro a glance, and she stopped with Yodomizu, just like we had planned.
”If we don’t know if they’re enemies, I’ll handle it first.”
I guess you could say I was playing the decoy, but since I could take the lead, it balanced out. Not a bad role to have.
”Who would have thought it was Hyakudou? And…”
A light-haired boy with a carefree attitude approached, looking at Kashiro and the others behind me. He didn’t even try to hide his intentions, which was almost impressive.
The light-haired guy was Tatejima Masaru, and the guy behind him with a buzz cut glaring at me was Ashihara Souji. Both were muscular boys from the sports club and had a history of causing trouble in class with their cocky attitudes. They were definitely not the people I wanted to run into.
They were pretty close to being delinquents, and Kashiro really hated them.
”We’ve both gotten ourselves into a mess, huh?”
”Well, I’m actually having a lot of fun. Killing Demonkind is enjoyable.”
Tatejima said while grinning and eyeing Kashiro and the others.
Everyone in class knew he was a ladies’ man, so it was clear we had run into some real trouble.
”How’s it going on your end?”
When I spoke to Ashihara, who was shooting me a deadly glare, he clicked his tongue loudly.
”Shut up, punk! Don’t think you can talk to me like that!”
He really seemed to dislike me.
He frowned every time we met at the Academy, so he probably genuinely hated me.
”By the way, what kind of magic does Hyakudou have?”
Tatejima asked, smirking at me.
It’s a suspicious attitude. He might be trying to use Petrification Magic.
”Tatejima, just stop. If you use Magic on me, it’ll end badly for you.”
I warned him in a low voice, and Tatejima flinched.
”…Hyakudou, you’re really scary.”
Well, honestly, it wouldn’t be a problem if he did use it. It might be a good chance to test it out.
”Actually… maybe it’s fine to try it out. It probably won’t work anyway.”
”Really? …You won’t kill me?”
”Yeah. I promise.”
As soon as I said that, a message from the Base system popped up.
’Seraph’s blessing nullifies the Petrification magic eye.’
”Oh, it really doesn’t work, huh?”
Tatejima looked puzzled.
This turned out to be a good performance test. Truly, big sister’s love is limitless. I can’t help but admire how she gave this function to the blessing.
”Wow, that’s scary. I guess Hyakudou is just impossible.”
I was honestly fed up with Tatejima’s carefree attitude, and even Ashihara was exasperated.
”Dude, Masaru, seriously, just use your body already, don’t bother with magic when dealing with Hyakudou, okay?”
”Come on, saying that, someone like Souji wouldn’t stand a chance. Remember when you tried to pick a fight and got beaten up? That was seriously hilarious.”
”I’ll kill you first.”
Seeing the two of them start to bicker like friends, I thought to myself. I really wish they would just go away.
”By the way, Hyakudou, what was that? Isn’t it unfair that my magic doesn’t work?”
”Do you think I’d tell someone who suddenly tries to attack me? Be grateful you’re not getting punched.”
”Scary~.”
Tatejima was laughing happily. This guy really isn’t reflecting on anything. In fact, he doesn’t seem to be thinking at all.
”Tsk. If it weren’t for Hyakudou, I could’ve scored with Kashiro. What a damn waste.”
”How could you say that right in front of Kashiro?”
”Masaru… you really need to stop going crazy over a girl.”
Even though Ashihara and I were both surprised, Tatejima didn’t seem to care. It looked like there was a difference in how they saw things, and Ashihara seemed to be a bit shy when it came to women.
”Well, whatever. If Hyakudou is around, shouldn’t we go take him down?”
Tatejima said that and started moving upstream along the river.
”Why do I have to help?”
”No, I’m sorry. Just forgive me since it didn’t work out. Actually, we just escaped from a really strong Demonkind.”
”Got out? Don’t kid yourself. If you weren’t such a coward, you could’ve taken it down, dumbass.”
As the two guys kept talking, I decided to have a word with Kashiro and the others.
”Sorry about that. Those guys were really useless.”
”Why is Hyakudou apologizing? I should be the one saying sorry for just watching from the back.”
”…That’s not something to apologize for. Kashiro, you waited as we planned. As long as Yodomizu, who has the instant death ability, protects me, I’ll have a chance to turn things around no matter what happens.”
So I stepped forward, making sure Kashiro and the others could quietly come up with a plan. In the meantime, Kashiro probably told Yodomizu about her magic, and they should have been able to make the right decisions based on the situation.
”By the way, what kind of magic does Ashihara have, Kashirou?”
”Ashihara’s is defensive, and he has a counter ability too, but… it shouldn’t be a problem as long as we don’t attack first.”
So it’s not offensive magic. That’s lucky.
”…I-is Mr. Hyakudou okay?”
Yodomizu asked with concern. Even though I suggested it, he might have been worried about the magic being used.
”Yeah. You don’t need to worry about me.”
It feels like I’m being protected by my big sister. Just thinking that without her protection, I could have turned to stone gives me chills. Tatejima’s magic is dangerous, especially for anyone else.
”Just like Hyakudou’s ‘Base Magic’, it seems that if the user kills someone, the Petrification state will also be lifted. If you were Petrified, I would have asked Yodomizu to use her instant death ability right away.”
”That would be great, but I’m not sure if Yodomizu could actually kill a classmate. Well, the Veil of Darkness should work well with the magic eye, so even if she couldn’t kill, she could probably negotiate to lift the Petrification.”
”I’d prefer not to put pure Yodomizu under that kind of pressure, but the magic eye is pretty much a one-hit kill, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that happened.”
”──Huh? It suddenly got dark. I can’t see anything.”
Tatejima, who was ahead, muttered something confusing.
”Hah? The hell you yappin’ about?”
Ashihara also seemed genuinely puzzled. Could it be a side effect of the magic eye?
”No… this might actually be pretty bad. Souji, you’re nearby, right? What’s going on with my eyes?”
Tatejima sat down and rubbed his eyes repeatedly. It seemed like Ashihara hesitated to look at his eyes, probably because he was told about the magic eye.
When I took a look instead, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong. However, judging by his behavior, it didn’t seem like he was just acting. Did he suddenly go blind? That shouldn’t happen unless it was some kind of magic…
I looked over at Yodomizu.
”…Um, did you see something moving over there?”
”It seems like there’s a Demonkind nearby. Probably, Tatejima was attacked.”
These 2… they really did it. They used dark magic to mess up Tatejima’s vision!
I sighed and spoke to Tatejima and the others.
”We’re going to chase the Demonkind. Ashihara, keep an eye on him.”
”Ah, got it. My bad.”
”Sorry, Hyakudou. …This dagger was given to me when I came to this island… I’ll give it to you, so make sure to take down that demonkind.”
Tatejima took out the dagger from his pocket and placed it on the ground.
”Hmm, so some people are getting weapons. Good to know.”
”It’s fine. Just… from now on, stay away from us. I don’t want to kill my classmates if I can help it.”
”Yeah, I’ll be careful. Thanks.”
It seemed like Tatejima, usually so flippant, was genuinely shaken by his blindness. It’s understandable, I guess. Without his eyes, he can’t use his prized magic eyes either.
We parted ways with the two guys, and once they were out of sight, I spoke to Yodomizu.
”Was that a test of your dark magic?”
”I’m sorry. When I thought Mr. Hyakudou was in danger… I just couldn’t let it go.”
”No, you did well. It felt good to see that.”
I never thought Yodomizu would take matters into her own hands, but if she did it for me, I can’t blame her.
”Just, please release the spell after a while. If he’s left like that, he might get killed if attacked by a demonkind.”
”You’re kind. Is there a reason to help someone like him? I think you should have taken the dagger.”
”If I do him a favor, he probably won’t think of attacking us. Plus, there are many demonkinds on this island. Even guys like them can help reduce the demonkind population if they stay alive.”
Even if they’re not much different from demonkinds, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
And I don’t hate those guys that much. They’re annoying jerks, but sometimes it’s fun to talk to them. Maybe it’s because they’re so shamelessly jerky.
”Mr. Hyakudou is too soft. I was considering using the instant death ability. Even though it was just an attempt… I can never forgive him.”
”Yodomizu, you’re more dangerous than you look.”
As expected, she really have a knack for dark magic. She might be the type you don’t want to mess with.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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