Chapter 175: The Horse and Deer Rise Again 4
*
There was me, thinking, I’ll definitely endure this and kill him, and the man, whose expressionless face somehow conveyed his full intent to kill me.
With my Healing Magic working at full capacity and my whole body pushed to its limit with Physical Enhancement, even my exhaled breath burned with an Azure Flame.
As the Flowers covering the water’s surface reacted to our Magicka, dyeing themselves red like blood, he literally came flying.
Unbelievably, while shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Sky Prince Straight-Line Fist!”
I don’t get it.
Neither the meaning of his shout nor the fact that he was shouting loudly and ruining the Ambush himself.
More than anything, the very existence of a prince thrusting his right arm forward, turning his whole body into a straight line like a spear just as his shout described, and flying at the speed of an Iron Stake thrown by Elza was just too nonsensical.
See?
The man—the Black Magicka—despite noticing the Ambush, was stunned by the sheer absurdity of it all.
Even while keeping the prince flying straight at him in his sights, the reason he took the attack head-on was probably because his thoughts blanked out from the sheer idiocy.
Amazing, Daryl.
Your idiocy is so profound it can make someone—who might not even be human and is dead set on killing me—lose themselves in astonishment.
“Are you alright, my lifelong friend?”
You’re heavy, so heavy.
What should I even retort to first?
The fact that you suddenly came flying? Or the appropriateness of asking someone pinned to the ground if they’re alright?
Faced with this incomprehensible situation, the only thing that came out of my mouth was a question bordering on praise: “You’re the biggest idiot, aren’t you?”
For ‘idiot’ to become praise, that’s really ‘something’, Prince.
I watched, dumbfounded, as the man who took Daryl’s Ambush head-on tumbled backward, rolling across the water’s surface before being sent flying.
For a moment, I almost felt a sense of admiration for that considerable idiocy, but I hastily shook my head.
“You alright, kid?”
So, I was a little late in responding to the voice calling out to me.
“Who are you calling kid?”
The man carrying a spear on his back, who appeared a breath after Daryl, ignored my reply and casually pulled out the Sword embedded in my left chest.
Did he mean, ‘Is it alright if I pull this out?’
Biting back the scream that almost escaped my lips, I thought, Then don’t shorten your words!
I knew instinctively that screaming in front of these two would be incredibly lame.
Daryl looked dejected at being called an idiot, but I ignored him.
Even though I praised him, he still doesn’t understand reason, as usual.
“Thanks for the help.”
I stood up, tapping my displaced sternum back into place.
My voice was slightly gurgling, but I figured they’d understand.
So, who are you?
I was about to ask when I almost tilted my head.
Because for some reason, I felt like I knew the man.
There shouldn’t have been any bald guys among my acquaintances with a build like a barrel, bulging not with fat but with solid muscle.
Inspiration struck like lightning.
“Could it be… Baldo Barrel?”
Baldo Barrel—the head of the Adventurers Guild—laughed.
“What, you know me, Longdagger?”
“Only by name.”
As I answered, I almost tilted my head, wondering if ‘Baldo Barrel’ could really be considered a name.
I frowned, testing the feeling in my right arm, which had finally started moving again.
“If you knew it was me, then stop calling me ‘kid’.”
Baldo Barrel nodded in satisfaction at my complaint, saying, “Now that’s a complaint full of Guts, just like a real adventurer.”
No doubt about it, this guy is definitely the Guild Master (Baldo Barrel).
He’s the chief idiot who tries to solve most things with the single word ‘Guts’.
“Hey! You! What’s the meaning of this!? I did exactly as you said, and yet my friend called me an idiot!”
Just then, Daryl rounded on the man.
So, that bizarre spectacle called the Prince’s Ambush was Baldo Barrel’s fault?
I was wondering how he did it, but now I knew the answer.
Baldo Barrel threw the Prince like a spear?
I used the precious time gained from the Prince’s Ambush to crank up my Healing Magic.
The damage is worse than I imagined.
My left arm, bare flesh from the elbow down, is a complete mess.
Besides that, I’ve taken so much damage that if I started counting seriously, the sun would set.
The trembling in my knees won’t stop.
I want to go follow up with an attack on that man dressed in black right now, but I’ll have to give up on that.
Well, fine. Time for a reset.
“Wasn’t shouting the technique name a bad idea after all!? That’s why I told you, shouting during an Ambush is crazy!”
“I’ll praise you just for actually calling for help and coming back, so focus!”
“Baldo Barrel! I shall praise you!”
What a busy guy.
After silencing the noisy Daryl, I spat out the blood remaining in my throat and thought.
Even though I made a rare noble-like move and let him escape, for him to actually bring back help… what an idiot.
Satisfied with the feeling of my left arm moving properly again, I checked.
“By the way, can you guys see that black stuff?”
There’s a lot I want to ask, but there’s no time, so I’ll get straight to the point. I pointed at the Black Haired Man who’d been sent flying and asked.
The man, lying near the opposite bank, was still enveloped in Black Magicka.
He wasn’t twitching, but he was definitely alive.
The Flowers around the man were dyed bright red.
“Black stuff?”
I knew from the look on Daryl’s and Baldo Barrel’s faces as they muttered that.
I see, so unlike my Azure Flame, that black stuff isn’t visible to the eye.
Alright, the plan going forward is decided.
I’ll have the two of them deal with the body.
“That guy… probably isn’t the main body.”
“Did you hit your head, kid?”
“I hit my head plenty hard just now, Baldo Barrel.”
“Then you’re sane. Continue.”
Baldo Barrel’s words almost made me dizzy.
“I can see the black stuff. That’s the real body. I’ll take it down.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes right then and say, ‘You’re an idiot,’ and continued talking.
This is why people who think they can solve anything and everything with Guts are useless.
Incidentally, I think I can do anything if I just shout Erica’s name.
“I see. So, my friend is saying he wants us to hold down the enemy’s body?”
I was almost moved by Prince Daryl’s comprehension skills.
Standing next to Baldo Barrel, he seems dazzlingly sensible.
No, that’s wrong. Just coming back here to face that Black Haired Man means he’s not sensible. Just run away quietly, you idiot.
Just as I was about to affirm Daryl’s question with ‘Exactly,’ the Black Haired Man stood up.
Stay down a little longer.
Thinking that, I picked up the Sword that had been stuck in my chest with the tip of my boot and handed it to the Prince.
The Prince, who caught it reflexively, made a strange face.
“What? Are you planning to fight unarmed?”
“No, it was stuck in… No, it’s fine.”
He’s probably unhappy that it’s a longsword.
As I was interpreting the Prince’s weird face that way, the Black Haired Man spoke up, sounding displeased.
“I know, but…”
What had been a girl’s voice changed to one that could be called a woman’s.
“It’s no good if they look alike, huh? I hesitated on reflex.”
“That’s quite a cute voice.”
Baldo Barrel muttered.
It’s terrifying that he’d have that thought in this situation.
Shouldn’t he be wondering things like, ‘Who looks like whom?’
Even Daryl, when he first saw him, said something like, ‘A man’s form with a girl’s voice, how bizarre.’
I covered my mouth with my left hand and said.
Using Physical Enhancement, I spoke in a low voice that could only be heard by those nearby.
“I’ll strike the main body when I see an opening, so back me up.”
I tossed aside the question of whether I could actually coordinate an attack with these two.
I’d bet money on it; something like that is impossible. It’s what you’d call a foolish question.
“Also, he uses invisible attacks. The Flowers at your feet
“Isn’t it cruel to leave me out at this point!?”
My strange true feelings slipped out.
Afterword
Daily posts to commemorate winning the award.